#and he's using his knowledge to help people!!!

[bcksbarnes]

flowers in hand

pairing: bucky barnes x reader

summary: unfortunately for bucky barnes, he is head over heels in love with you, and when you want something, it doesn't take much convincing.

word count: 3.6K cw: 🔞 some suggestive content (minors do not interact)

a/n: based off of this request! lots and lots of fluff.

bucky barnes was an ex-brain washed assassin who had been broken down and beaten time and time again. he had seen horrors that would leave most people catatonic, he had done things that most people wouldn’t even dream of. this was not a man that wore his heart on his sleeve.

stoic. brooding. an absolute brute, to put it mildly.

but there was something that bucky never wanted anyone to know. a secret he’d take to his grave and would deny if ever asked about it. 

what was this secret? simple. 

bucky was head over heels in love with you.

he knew it the second the two of you met. when you stretched out your hand and told him your name, he felt his knees buckle. when you asked him for his? a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. he was nervous. a reaction bucky had never had before.

it sent him into a spiral for several days after the two of you met. weeks, actually, if he was being honest. 

everything after that had fallen into place pretty quickly. you had liked bucky as soon as you met him and before you knew it months had passed, the two of you quickly found yourself in a budding romance that needed nothing but water and sunlight to grow. 

the hardest part of learning to fall in love again was that he was so taken aback by how his body and brain responded to you, it was a bit jarring. it was like his entire brain had awoken a part of himself that had been dormant for years. one yearning for love.

it showed in the way you would get home from work and your favorite flowers would be waiting on the kitchen table, powder blue hydrangeas, with a handwritten note alongside it. bucky’s handwriting was a little scratchy and hard to make out, but you didn’t need to read it to know what it said:

thinking of you always. - bb

or when he took you on a joy ride on the back of his motorcycle, never wearing a helmet himself but making sure the straps were just right when he helped you get yours on. his hands would carefully click the buckle together, biting down on his bottom lip in concentration as he made sure it fit you perfectly.

he didn’t want you getting hurt, not on his watch.

that was it - his big secret. you had him wrapped around your finger. something so mundane and, frankly, obvious.

though you never went out of your way to use this knowledge to your advantage. bucky always came running at the sound of your voice.

“buck?” you called out one afternoon.

the sun was high in the sky, it was a beautiful day - maybe a little warmer than you liked, but the cool breeze offered some relief. 

you were sitting on the balcony reading a book in your favorite spot, overlooking the city that bucky had loved so much, and that you’ve learned to love with him. it was different from the one he lived in all those decades ago, the apartment he had lived in as a child was small, cramped - to look out the window was to face a family he never knew, living their own lives.

now, in this decade, the apartment was spacious, overwhelming, the view encompassing the bridge and the east river separating the two boroughs. 

a different life, a different time.

“yeah?” he called back, the door to the balcony slightly ajar so you could both hear each other.

“can you bring me my sunglasses?”

bucky chuckled to himself at such a simple request. he was working on fixing some issues in the kitchen, a leaky faucet to be exact - the one that kept dripping. bucky had a hard time falling asleep as it was, hearing the pitter patter in the middle of the night made him feel like he was going insane.

“hold on, honey.” 

he was currently laying on his back under the sink, his shirt was discarded somewhere next to him and his black mesh shorts rode a bit lower on his hips than he had purposely intended. 

it only took him a few turns of his wrench to tighten the compression ring around the pipe in hopes that it would stop the leaking. 

“that should be it.”

a few moments passed as he placed the wrench down next to him. he held his breath, but bucky, unfortunately, a second later felt another water droplet land on his forehead: unsuccessful.

“shit,” he mumbles to himself before gripping the side of the counter and pulling himself out from under the cabinet. 

bucky hated that this wasn’t working - honestly, he wanted to run to the store and grab some new pvc pipes and just fix the entire thing from scratch. but, your request ran through his head and he quickly pivoted his priorities as he stood up, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“where’d you put them?” he calls, trying to look in the usual spots before finally stumbling on them. “nevermind.”

you hear the door swing open, his footsteps alerting his presence but your attention stayed on the book in your lap, wanting to finish the page you were on.

“i couldn’t find them,” he says. 

when you finally finished the passage, you placed the bookmark in the between the pages, saving it for another time.

your head turned to look up at bucky, his metal arm glistening in the sun and your sunglasses sitting right on his face - that goofy smile of his plastered on his features as he waits for you to notice.

a loud chuckle passes your lips as you reach your hand out for them, shaking your head as he slides them off the bridge of his nose and into the palm of your hands. once you grab them from him, you put the glasses on, the world dimming a bit, but bucky still shines bright in front of you.

“thank you,” you say softly, tilting your head back to admire his half dressed physique. you whistle lowly, causing bucky to roll his eyes at you. “were you working on the sink? sorry, i didn’t even realize.”

“yeah,” he responds, taking a step closer. 

bucky gestures for you to move over and make room for him, groaning as he finally sits down. his arm rests on the back of the sectional while his fingers run through the hair on the back of your neck.

“i thought i’d be able to fix it by tightening it, but i think the pipe itself has a crack somewhere,” he huffs out, shaking his head. “i’ll have to go to the store later.”

you watch him carefully, your hand holding the book on your lap moving to rest on his thigh, giving it a reassuring squeeze. you could see the concentration in his face, the way his brows furrowed until there was a crease between them. he hated unfinished projects.

“you’re not going to rest until it’s fixed, are you?” you ask, though it’s a question you already know the answer to.

“absolutely not,” he shakes his head. “why? have something in mind for us today?”

“i thought maybe we could go to the park later” you hummed, your fingers tracing shapes into his skin. you tilt your head back to look at him, both of your eyes meeting. “they’re doing a movie night. raiders of the lost ark, if i remember correctly.”

bucky’s other leg bounced anxiously at the thought, it’s not that he didn’t want to go with you - it’s that he really wanted to fix this stupid sink. 

he peaked over at his watch, it was nearly 5:30pm. the store would be closing soon, he’d have to find the right parts then fix the sink, and shower at some point before he’d be ready to go. he didn’t know if he had time to do both the movie and finish this project.

his eyes trail back over towards you and he was greeted with the most beautiful pair he’d ever seen. were you batting your eyelashes too?

“you play dirty,” bucky mumbles.

he brings his metal hand up to your face, squeezing your cheeks softly as he leans in to press a few soft, chaste kisses to your lips. he mumbles something about how unfair it is, but you’re so wrapped up in the feeling of his lips you don’t even care what he says.

bucky begins to stand from his seat, though he doesn’t remove himself from your lips, hunched over to make sure he stays closely connected to you. your hands now resting on his abdomen as if to keep him in place.

“i have to shower,” he hums against your lips. “and if the movie sucks i’m coming home and ripping the sink apart.”

“you did not just say that raiders of the lost ark is going to suck.” 

bucky chuckles as he trails his lips down your jaw to your neck, giving it a few kisses and a quick bite before he pulls back completely, that same love stricken look on his face.

“i did. i mean it too,” he teases, backing up until he gets to the door of the balcony. 

“you’re going to be very upset when you’re wrong, barnes,” you call out after him.

he gives you a quick wink before dipping back inside the apartment. 

you take one last look over the balcony, the cars that were passing over the bridge and the people walking on the streets below. all of them had their own little story. it makes you smile to yourself, thinking of this little life you had built with bucky.

it kept you both going.

finally standing, you stretched your arms over your head and grabbed your book before heading back inside the apartment. the cover made a soft thud as you set it down on the coffee table on your way over to the kitchen.

the sound of the shower trickling had your thoughts distracted, even as you began packing the tote bag. you tried to keep your focus on all the goods you wanted to bring and not your very naked boyfriend some 50 feet away from you behind one, probably not locked, door.

how easy it would be to slip in.

you shake your head and focus on the task at hand, packing the bag with: a blanket to sit on, two lime sparkling waters that bucky had picked up a few days ago, and a mix of snacks to enjoy. the perfect picnic.

right as you finished, you hear the door open and bucky step out of the bathroom, the warm steam filling your apartment almost immediately. he looks striking with the towel draped around his hips, his almost freshly cut short hair now wet and combed back.

“you didn’t join me,” he teases, making his way past you and into the bedroom.

“i want to make the movie,” you say back, a smirk on your features. you knew well enough that if you took a step in that shower, bucky would never let you leave.

the sound of shuffling comes from the other room as you can hear him looking through drawers and the closet for his clothes. your feet walk you into the bedroom right as he slips his boxers on, a smile on his features as he catches your gaze.

he didn’t want to go out to the park and watch a movie. he didn’t even care about that stupid leak under the sink that he could still hear and was driving him up a wall. 

no, he wanted to stay here with you and show you all the ways he loved and adored you. he wanted to worship you with everything he’s got. 

his hand reaches out for you and he intertwines your fingers together before he pulls you towards him. you happily oblige.

“you’re still thinking about that damn leak aren’t you?” you whisper, your voice filled with jest.

“every fucking second.”

the smile on his face is wide as he brings his hands up to your face and kisses your cheeks once, twice, three times, causing a soft laugh to leave your lips. in one fluid motion his hands are under your thighs and lifts you up, placing you on the dresser behind you.

he slots himself between your legs and watches you closely, your hands moving to grip his wrists.

“let’s stay here,” bucky pleads softly. “let’s never leave this apartment ever again.”

“i’d love to never have to do that, but you know that’s impossible.”

“hmm,” he hums. “not with that attitude, sweetheart.”

he manages to get his hands free from your wrists, sliding them down to your hips and pulling you forward until your legs wrap around his waist, your heels resting on the back of his thighs. 

“bucky,” you groan.

your head falls back softly against the wall, in the same motion bucky rests his head on your shoulder.

“wishful thinking, huh?” he asks, a sigh leaving his lips afterwards. 

it’s not that he hated the power that you had over him, it was that he didn’t know how you managed to affect him so much. you didn’t even put up a fight with him and he folded, all because you said his name.

he pressed a soft kiss to your shoulder before he untangled himself from you and moved to get dressed - a pair of black jeans, a t-shirt that was a little too tight around his muscles and a sweatshirt he knows you’re going to steal at some point. 

finally ready to go.

it only took a few minutes to get to the park. you’re greeted by a sea of people, most of whom have already laid out their lounge chairs or blankets. the sun hadn’t set yet, casting a warm glow as you two found a spot a little bit away from the rest of the crowd. more secluded, but you two would still be able to see and hear the movie just fine.

bucky helped set up the blanket, a long red gingham pattern one that he may have muttered a sarcastic comment about how cliche it was. you may have, lovingly, given him the finger in response. 

the movie started only a few minutes after you and bucky set up the snacks and drinks. both of you were laying on your sides, elbows planted on the blanket while hands kept your head off the ground. 

bucky was very into the movie, barely sneaking glances over at you like he normally did whenever. it captured his attention almost immediately. you watched as he popped a grape into his mouth, his tired eyes trained on the screen in front of him as he absentmindedly chewed. 

it was calming to see him in this environment. you knew that deep down he would never 100% be present, that he always kept one part of his brain active to scan for any potential threats. but seeing bucky in a state of, mostly, ease felt like finding a diamond in the rough. rare, but valuable.

halfway through the movie bucky moves to sit up, stretching his arms over his head before holding his hand out to you. he always seemed to be reaching for you. once your hand is in his, one swift motion is all it takes for him to pull you into his lap, nestling you between his legs, your back now resting against his chest. 

his hands move to run down your arm and he can feel the goosebumps rising against your skin.

“you’re cold,” he mumbles in your ear.

you want to protest that it’s just from his touch, but the words die in the back of your throat as soon as you feel him sit back from you. he pulls off his sweatshirt and hands it over, watching as you carefully slip on the oversized material. bucky wraps his arms around your torso once you’re settled, pulling you back as close as he can before resting his chin on the top of your head.

“much better.”

your heart flutters, as it seems it always does when he acts this way. 

cuddly. soft. in love.

bucky feels like his heart is bleeding out right through his shirt at this moment, you could tell him to do anything in front of this crowd of people and he would comply without hesitation. he didn’t even care.

maybe that was the thing that kept him going in this life. the little pieces of calm he can get when you are around. when the tides don’t feel as strong.

he didn’t want to think about it, he wanted to enjoy himself: your presence, and the movie.

it’s a little while later when the movie finally finished, you craned your head back to look up at him, a smirk on your lips. he was staring ahead at the now blank screen, jaw slightly dropped. 

“i thought you said the movie was going to suck,” you teased.”

“i didn’t know i was coming to see a cinematic masterpiece.” 

you let out a laugh, and then another one as bucky squeezes your sides as his response, falling back over his thigh as you wriggle to try and get away from his wandering, playful hans. 

god, he wished you weren’t in public right now.

“and here you wanted to stay at home to fix that stupid sink.”

“no, i wanted to stay home so i could –”

“bucky,” you cut him off before he can finish that thought, watching as a family walks past.

he lets out a scoff that sounds more like a laugh and pinches your side again as you start to stand up from his lap. bucky admires you from this angle, the way that you towered over him was so jarring compared to how small you normally were when he stood next to you.

“i was going to say so i could take care of you, but if you were worried i was going to say something more vulgar than you need to get your mind out of the gutter, sweetheart.”

“you’re so full of shit.”

bucky’s smile reaches his eyes this time as he throws his head back and lets out a laugh. you were so right and he loved being called out on it, because he loved how well you knew him.

he stands to help you pack the tote bag again, throwing it over his shoulder when it’s done. you grab his metal hand and intertwine your fingers together as you make your way back to the apartment. 

the city was dark now, only illuminated by street lamps and a few fluorescent signs. surprisingly the neighborhood was mostly empty, you and bucky seeming to take up most of the sidewalk and filling the silence with your chit chat about the movie.

bucky was blown away by the story, the action … well the whole thing. 

you were biting back your tongue to not say i told you so.

“you always get your way, you know that?” he says once you're in the lobby waiting for the elevator. “i don’t think i’m capable of saying no to you if i really tried.”

“that’s not true,” you respond.

though if you take a second to think about it, he’s probably right.

the elevator dings its arrival and dips slightly from the weight of the two of you as you step on. you press the button for your floor a few times before turning your attention back to bucky. he’s standing right next to you, his hand slipping out of yours to wrap around your shoulders, pulling you against his side. your head leans to rest against him, it always fits perfectly.

“it’s a little true,” he says with a shrug. “i’m not complaining.”

there’s a beat of silence before he speaks again.

“i’ve never had anyone to care about. not in this way at least.”

“you cared about steve.”

“that’s different,” he sighs. “i made sure steve stayed alive. i didn’t dote over him. i look at you and i’d drop everything just to see that damn smile on your face.”

the blush developed on your cheeks at record speed, a smile accompanying it that was hard to hold back. sometimes bucky had a way with words that took your breath away. he could be deeply poetic. it made you wonder what he thought of in that brain of his. 

“there it is,” he whispers, his gaze flickering down to your lips.

the ding of the elevator snaps the moment back into reality, but that doesn’t deter bucky in the slightest. 

no, instead he follows you down the hall and into the apartment, waiting for the door to shut before he picks you up from behind and walks you to the bedroom to toss you on the bed - the sound of your giggles filling the air.

the second you hit the mattress, and he crawls on top of you, your hands grab his face bringing him down to kiss him feverishly. it’s rushed and messy, tongues sweeping across lips, teeth biting and pulling. 

you don’t need to tell him you need him for bucky to know it, he can read you like an open book. 

as he kisses down your jaw – his stubble scratching your soft skin, hands moving to slide your shirt up, ready to spend the night devouring you – all he can think about is how his love for you is the worst kept secret in the world. and not about the stupid leaky faucet.

[callalillywrites]

Henry's Matchmaking Efforts

Written for @flufftober's Fluff Bingo. A3 - Craft Fair.

Spencer Reid Masterlist | Fluff Bingo Masterlist | Main Masterlist

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Teacher!Reader

Word Count: 1747

Summary: Henry decides to use his school's craft fair to try and set up his favorite godfather, Spencer, with one of his favorite teachers. His ploy seems to work, too.

Warnings: mentioned illness; awkward Spencer and reader moments; sweet Reader; smitten Spencer; matchmaking menaces - Henry and Will; lmk if I missed any

A/N: This prompt was originally going to be Aaron Hotchner's, but a poll gave it to Spencer instead. I can't say I'm disappointed, either, as this turned out so cute and so fun to write especially with Henry playing his little matchmaking role.

I do not give permission to have my works copied, translated, reposted, or fed into an AI machine.

*****

"Uncle Spence, you made it," Henry shouted, his happiness apparent. He raced between the groups of people, easily dodging elbows and knees, in his pursuit of his destination. That happened to be one Spencer Reid, godfather extraordinaire.

Spencer couldn't help the smile that tugged across his lips, bending down and catching Henry in his arms. "I couldn't miss this when you invited me as sweetly as you did. Where's your mom?"

"Dad came with me. Mom's home with Michael. He's sick."

That pulled Spencer's previous smile into a frown for a moment.

Will, who'd been watching his son and his friend interact, stepped in. "Michael's fine. Just a little stomach bug going around school. Henry had it last week. He's fine to be here. We both are."

It was no secret how Spencer felt about germs, even those involving those he cared about.

Hearing that nothing serious was going on, Spencer allowed himself to relax. His attention returned to Henry as he asked, "So, what should we see first? I don't know that I've been to a craft fair like this one before. You'll have to show me how it's done. I don't want to miss anything."

Henry beamed at the idea of teaching Spencer something. His godfather was so smart, he knew, and it wasn't everyday that Spencer told someone he didn't know something. Knowing just the place they'd start, he grabbed Spencer's hand and tugged him forward.

No words were exchanged as Henry was on a mission, but a look of amusement passed between Spencer and Will.

Spencer didn't have a clue what Henry had in mind first, but he never would've considered the refreshment table set off to one side. Across the banner, he read the school's name that Henry attended. Compared to the other booths set up nearby, he didn't spy any type of signage broadcasting prices.

Henry called out a name, but Spencer couldn't quite make it out over the noise echoing through the large space. He hadn't thought to ever forget the sounds of a gym, and he hadn't really. Just that the memories had managed to fade at the edges a bit.

All Spencer knew was one moment Henry was holding his hand, and the next, he's watching Henry tugging someone from the booth until they stood in front of Spencer. Until you stood in front of him. You wore the sweetest smile Spencer could remember anyone ever wearing. When it flashed towards him, he almost forgot how to breathe. You were breathtaking.

"So, you're the famous Uncle Spence we hear so much about," you said, holding out your hand while also introducing yourself. You retracted your hand just as quickly, but your face never lost its smile. Settling for a small wave, you asked, "Are you enjoying the craft fair, Dr. Reid?"

Spencer's brain refused to work. You had him off-kilter with the knowledge you've shown in the few moments of time you've shared with him. How did you know he didn't like to touch others, especially strangers? How did you know he went by doctor rather than mister?

As if guessing his thoughts, you leaned a bit closer but not too close and said only loud enough for him to hear, "Henry talks about you a lot. We hear about your adventures every week. You're quite impressive. Henry tells us you're a real-life hero."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Spencer stammered.

His cheeks warmed at Henry's praise of him, but more so, at the way you continued to look at him. He could make out the open curiosity you had for him, but he couldn't tell if it was genuine interest one feels for another or if you were merely being polite for a student's sake. A part, bigger than he'd ever admit aloud, of him wanted it to be the former, but his experience almost assured it was the latter.

"Hm, I wouldn't discount yourself too much," you rebutted softly, your eyes leaving his face to inspect the rest of him. He really hoped you wouldn't find him lacking, grateful Hotch and Morgan weren't standing next to him. Will was more than enough to make enough comparisons. You must've liked what you saw because your smile never faltered though your attention shifted to Henry. "Wanna grab your uncle one of the cookies I promised to save just for him?"

Henry nodded and dashed behind the booth's large table.

Spencer could make out the containers from the store you'd bought the cookies. One of them held a couple leftovers that weren't available to others. The others had been set out around the table in a display meant to entice fair-goers until the supply had been depleted.

Henry raced back with the plastic package, handing it to you.

You popped it open and motioned for Spencer to take the cookies. "Only hands that might've grazed them were mine, and I wore gloves after washing my hands thoroughly. Can't be too careful nowadays."

The way you hadn't made him feel weird for his germaphobia endeared you to him all the more. It was the reason he didn't hesitate in picking up the cookies while murmuring his thanks. As politeness dictated, he took a bite and followed it up with, "There are really good."

"They're the best store-bought ones you can find," your eyes sparked with mischief as you added, "but you should really try the ones I bake sometime."

The cookie he'd been chewing lodged itself, causing him to choke.

Will came to his rescue, thumping his back until he could take in normal breaths again.

You, the sweet temptress you were, held out a small cup of lemonade from the booth you manned for the school. Your face had contorted into something more akin to someone feeling shame or apologetic of their actions as you murmured, "I didn't mean for that to sound the way it did. I mean, I do bake some great treats, but I'm not trying to insinuate anything. We are surrounded by families and little ones after all."

Spencer quickly shook his head. Even if he'd only met you, he knew enough from what Henry had told him to know you spoke the truth. Everything about you screamed how much you adored the kids, calling out to the ones you recognized. It didn't matter you held a conversation with him or any other adults that happened along. You had kind words for everyone that passed and encouragement for the few students helping you run the booth.

As if realizing he'd been monopolizing your time, he took a step back.

"I should let you get back to it," he said, grabbing up Henry's hand, "but maybe we can stop by again. See if you have anything left before we head out."

Your smile glowed once more as you nodded. "I'd really like that. Maybe you could tell me what about the booths I can't see, too. I've heard some good things, but I won't really get the chance to explore today."

"It's all weekend, isn't it?" Will asked, surprising both you and Spencer as he hadn't really said anything up until then.

You nodded.

Will continued, "Are you working the booth tomorrow?"

You shook your head.

At your answer, Will's grin came out as he eyed Spencer for a moment before turning back to you, "Then, maybe you and Spencer here could explore the fair together. That is if Spencer here wouldn't mind coming back and seeing it a second time. What do ya say, Spence?"

"Oh, I couldn't ask that of you. That would be too much," you protested, but Spencer was already saying, "Um, yeah, I could do that."

Will clapped. "Great. Now that's settled. Henry, why don't we let them sort themselves out, then we can pick Uncle Spence back up in say another few minutes?"

Henry quickly agreed, taking off for a booth not too far away. It held a bunch of crocheted plush animals that might appeal to his younger brother.

Will followed after him after shooting Spencer a wink and saying, "Don't bungle it now."

When the two of you were alone, you risked touching Spencer's sleeve. His gaze dropped to where your warmth seeped through his thin shirt before you hastily took it away again. He missed it as soon as you did. That surprised him the most.

"Please, don't think I was fishing. I wouldn't want to impose on what's surely limited time to yourself. You don't have to come back tomorrow if you don't want to."

"But what if I want to," Spencer said over your rambling.

It was enough to have you snapping your mouth shut in brief shock. It was also enough to have Spencer wondering if he'd somehow overstepped or misread your earlier possible interest in him.

Only when your smile blossomed once more did he breathe out a soft sigh.

"I'd really like that but only if you really and truly want to."

Spencer allowed his own smile to come out as he said, "I really want to."

The two of you might've continued to smile at each other if one of your students hadn't called out to you.

"I better get back to it, but please, stop by before you leave. We can exchange numbers, then we can secure plans for tomorrow after I'm done for the day." You took a step back toward the booth behind you, but you didn't get far before you added, "I really am glad I got the chance to meet you, Dr. Reid."

Spencer offered his own sentiments, watching as you backed up until you bumped the booth. He bit his lip lest his smile grow wider at how cute you were.

It took another minute before he, too, moved away, intent on catching up with Will and Henry. After all, he had a new job to scope out the best booths to show you tomorrow. Maybe even spend a few minutes considering his options to prolong his time with you tomorrow, including possible dinner plans.

Spencer had known Henry had a special reason to ask him to his school's annual craft fair, but he hadn't counted on you being that reason. He definitely hadn't considered how much you would end up affecting him or the turn of events that took place.

But, he couldn't say he regretted them as he spared a final glance at you and your booth.

Nope, no regrets at all.

[aninipanin1]

ZOOOO CUTE

Notes: I got inspired by @neeeooon work about the blue lock boys as the zodiac's from Fruits Basket. Shoutout to them hehe. I also wanted to write something for Reo and Nagi after that traumatic chapter huhu. Enjoy!

"Hmm...it's really cold today. Maybe some hot chocolate drink would be good."

You muttered to yourself, looking down at your grumbling belly. It had been a few hours since you had your breakfast, so you decided to head to the cafeteria to get atleast some snacks and beverages.

The moment you entered the kitchen, you were bombarded with a shocking image.

There was a sloth hanging itself on one of the chairs, snoring away and under said chair was a lion cub, also slumbering away, laying on his back, exposing his tummy.

"What the..."

What the hell? Were you high or something? This must be a dream right?

Rubbing your eyes, you were proven to be wrong as the sloth and lion cub were still there.

And then you were panicking. Where did these two come from?! From your knowledge, lion cubs are never separated from their pride since it is dangerous for them. Meanwhile, sloths are usually in the trees.

Well, there were trees surrounding the facility, but you are sure that there are no lions or sloths living in them. In fact, the two animals are not even native to Japan!

So why are there two wild animals just chilling in the Blue Lock Cafeteria?!

Looking closely, you notice that the sloth has fluffy white fur that was pretty long and was dragging itself on the chair, causing wild hair to fly.

Thats gotta be a hassle to clean.

The lion, meanwhile, has a pretty purple coat. One that made you side eye. Lions are NOT purple as far as you knew.

'Did they escape from a zoo somewhere? That's the only explanation...Aww, the poor cub, maybe it was forced to die its fur for the sake of people's entertainment. How cruel!'

You found yourself slowly approaching the two animals. A little wary, knowing that even if you are larger than them, they are still wide animals that can possibly hurt you.

Seeing as the sloth is starting to wake up, you backed off from the animal. You knew that their sharp claws are their main weapon and if not handled well, can dig deep in your skin and injure you.

"Hey, little buddy... sorry to interrupt your sleep. But I think you and your friend got lost your way in here."

"Y/n-chan...? Help us..."

The sloth spoke or rather whined, raising its arms as if asking you to pick it up.

Wait...spoke?

'Haha right...spoke. I'm definitely dreaming...This isn't some Disney movie...right?'

"Y/n-chan...! Me and Nagi can explain-"

The purple lion cub woke up, and trudged its way to your legs, standing on its hind legs before grabbing your own, nails gently clawing at your pants.

"Oh my god! WHAT THE HELL?!"

"So let me get this straight...the reason Hakuho is a private school is because...their students are cursed to turn into random animals?!"

You felt like the world just lied to you, as you looked at the sloth and lion or rather - Nagi and Reo, respectively. They just explained to you the reason as to why they became talking animals.

Supposedly, there are some people who are cursed to turn into animals whenever they feel certain emotions. With Nagi, it was hunger, and Reo's was nervousness.

"Yeah...it can get pretty wild."

"Right...so when Nagi gets too hungry and you get too nervous, you turn into animals..?"

"Yep...its a hassle...I was just about to eat too..."

Nagi sighed, looking down at the neatly folded clothes beside you. You found their clothes lying about in another part of the cafeteria, where they transformed.

"Wait...if Nagi was so hungry he turned into a sloth. What got you so nervohs to turn into one as well, Reo?"

The lion looked shy for a second, clearing his throat before speaking.

"I...well, it was the first time any of us transformed! So when Nagi turned into one and I heard your footsteps, I couldn't help it."

"Oh..."

Then a chuckle left your mouth as you started to scratch a spot beside Reo's ears, which amde the cub purr.

'So cute!'

"So, how do you guys turn back? You do know you both have a shared practice with the rest later with Ego-san, right?"

"..."

"..."

"AWW you both are so cute! Too bad you both can't play~"

Charles pat the two, his tone so condescending that it pissed of the Reo, who scratched at his hand, which of course made the French yelp in pain.

"Rude!"

"Get your filthy hands off the fur! We're not your pets."

Reo sassed, yet he nor Nagi would only just roll and purr when you run your hands through them. They had favouritism, and they know. But do they care? Nah.

"Just when I thought this lazy asshole could not get anymore useless."

Barou commented as he sneered at the sloth who was just plopped like a starfish on your lap, enjoying the attention you gave him.

"Shut up, king. Continue being jealous I get to rest while being with Y/n-chan..."

"HAH!? SAY THAT TO MY FACE YOU-"

"Barou-san...please don't fight and head off to the field before Ego-san gets mad."

You interfered, hugging sloth Nagi, who hugged you back with his long arms. Barou sighed at that, knowing that he can never say no to you.

"Bleh..."

Nagi stuck his tongue at the king wannabe before turning to you, with an innocent face, which translated well on his sloth form's face making you smile brighter, patting the sloth's head even more.

The players were definitely shocked to see two of their competitors incapacitated for the practice due to their...odd predicament. However, seeing as Ego seemed to already know of this, they were given an excuse to not participate the practice because according to his words:

"You two idiots will only destroy the balls with your claws. Blue Lock does not have enough budget for that bullshit."

Yeah...he could have said it more nicely.

But the only good side was that they got to spend their time with you! And they capitalized it hard. Nagi was clinging to you, arms and legs wrapped around your neck and waist. While Reo was on your lap, wagging his tail happily at the attention.

This, of course pissed off all the players who got to see the position those two were at.

"Bastards. They're enjoying this too much." Barou rolled his eyes.

"Pfft, Nagi got you good though earlier." Isagi chuckled, which only made the Ubers' player even more mad, cursing at the ravenette striker.

"They're kinda cute, though. Can't say the same when they're in their human form." Niko shrugged, which made a certain lion cub glare at him. Welp, not like he cared about a premature predator that can't even roar like a man.

"If I was an animal, I'd probably be a phoenix." Otoya smirked mischievously, to which Karasu only rolled his eyes.

"Nah, you'd fit being a rat better, asshole."

"Hey!"

"Pfft, that is so mean! The rats don't deserve such comparison." Bachira laughed to which made the albino haired striker even more mad.

"Hah?! Oi blondie-"

"The rat has to be Kaiser. His hair alone says it all." Lorenzo mocked, which made the New Gen 11 Striker walk up to him.

"Say it to my face, you creep."

The chaos continued until you did something that made everyone's jaw dropped simultaneously, like they practiced it.

"You both are so cute...!" You squealed at the two players turned animals, who unintentionally made cute faces at you.

Not finding the strength to hold back anymore, you leaned down and gave the both of them kisses on the forehead and cheeks. You are not the most affectionate person there is, but when it comes to animals, you most certainly melt for their cuteness.

Lion Reo and Sloth Nagi were no exception to this.

And needless to say, no one was happy about this other than you.

"This is going to give me a heart attack." Yukimiya fixed his cracked glasses.

"Hello, darkness, my old friend... I come to talk with you again." Otoya started singing like some cringe emo edgelord.

"Ugh, you're so annoying, Otoya. Shut your mouth for once." Chigiri rolled his eyes and pushed the boy's head away.

"Google, How do you turn into an animal?" Bachira asked seriously on his phone.

"If there is a god out there, please turn those two back to normal as soon as possible." Shidou muttered on his knees on the field to which Rin just blinked at before kicking his side, making the blonde fall face first on the grass.

"This is just chaos... I wish I was in their position. Maybe I'd finally have peace on my life." Hiori said, looking at the content Reo and Nagi, who was blushing and enjoying the attention you gave them.

What an interesting Monday after all.

ADDITIONAL TIME:

"You guys are so damn immature." Rin rolled his eyes at the explosion that happened on Twitter because of the chains of post from the others.

"Its called being truthful, Rin-rin." Shidou laughed, typing his own response.

"You guys couldn't even do it on a private account?" Yukimiya asked, to which Otoya just pat his back.

"We're men! When you say something, you have to own up to it!"

"Don't hate me cause you ain't me, losers." Reo, who already turned back into his human form stuck his tongue out.

We are so back gais AHHHH Fun fact: I chose sloth and lion because theyre Nagi and Reo's fav animals respectively.

Blue Lock is WRITTEN by Kaneshiro Muneyuki and ILLUSTRATED by Nomura Yusuke. All credits to the both of them.

[copperheid]

Honestly Bruce has been treating Jason particularly awful the last few years. Like it's just endless.

Most recently it was when he fucked with his brain so that he'd have a panic attack any time his adrenaline was raised, creating an endless feedback of fear as fear itself raises your adrenaline. Not to mention much of everyday life also raises your adrenaline like working out, sex, romance, being annoyed, enjoying a good book/film/game.

And Bruce did not, to my knowledge, actually help remove this when he came to his senses - seemed like whatever the Joker gave Jason fixed it? (Truthfully I didn't read much of zdarskys work after gotham war because I was not enjoying it so it may have been resolved in a later arc - but the fact he didnt fix it at the start of the next arc at least is telling on its own. But he's appeared in other stories and been fine so I assume it was resolved eventually)

Jason regularly seems to just let Bruce walk all over him and treat him extremely poorly, and it's clear Bruce has a low opinion of him in several arcs but Jason thus far has remained downright inexplicably loyal.

I'm starting to wonder if it had all been building up to this heel-turn for Jason.

Personally I think he might take a turn back to being more anti-heroic. It seemed they were testing the waters on that with 3 jokers but that was ultimately not made canon because fans hated jaybabs.

But Jason having more complex morals and being willing to kill does make him more interesting, so having him be strictly non lethal to please Bruce does hamper that.

I don't necessarily think Jason is about to go full supervillian like he used to be, but I do think he might be a lot less willing to put up with Bruce's abuse and a lot more hurt by it.

Bruce is very willing to use excessive force against Jason in a way he rarely does to the rogues. And while yes this could be explained by the fact that Jason is very nearly on par with Bruce as a combatant (both in training and physical strength) so he poses a greater threat in Bruce's mind - that doesn't justify it at all.

Jason has commented on it a few times now - Bruce has now almost killed Jason on multiple occasions. Slitting his throat (UTRH), pulling him off his bike while travelling at speed (Task Force Z), beating him to a pulp (multiple - most notable being RHaTO 25), nearly giving him a heart attack with an incredibly dangerous little brain 'tweak' (Gotham War) and now shooting him in the head (Hush 2), '. It's all been chipping away at their relationship bit by bit.

Going out of his way to save the Joker is just a step too far. Jason has come to understand that Bruce will never kill the Joker outright at this point because he understands Bruce's moral code better, even if he still resents it. But Jason still believes that the world is better off with some people dead. He's a moral utilitarian, so Bruce's deontological moral standpoint does leave them at odds on the issue on whether it is moral to let the Joker die.

As Jason sees it, he can understand Bruce not outright killing - but going out of his way to save him is another matter, because for him it's a trolley problem - Joker on one side of the tracks and his future victims on the other, and the trolley is actively headed for the Joker this time. And to him, Bruce has actively chosen to redirect the trolley towards the future victims. He's not just choosing inaction, it's an active choice to kill countless innocents by saving the Joker.

Bruce of course is just set in his ways that it is always immoral to kill and always moral to save the dying, so they will always be at odds on this issue.

So yeah, I don't think Jason turning heel in this moment, permanently or not, is OOC at all. I think it makes perfect sense and has been a long time coming. Working with Hush is another matter - we'll see how that plays out. Jason is as much a schemer as Bruce and Tommy are. He may be playing them both.

Bruce on the other hand...well, there's enough instances now that it's not technically out of character for him to act like this. But I certainly don't like where his characterisation is going. His ethics are making less and less sense whenever Jason is involved.

…Bruce. You brainwashed him. Your abused son placating you does not mean you made amends.

Also… “The worst of it now. Having to explain my actions.” Do you have any idea how you sound right now Bruce? Well? Do you?!?

As it turns out, Bruce doesn’t even end up explaining his actions. Instead, he shoots his son in the face.

Yeah, I’m not kidding. The man who has trauma about his family being shot proceeds to…shoot his family. And honestly, “I did it to shatter his helmet to make sure he’s not Clayface” is a really terrible excuse. Keep in mind that this occurs during an argument over Bruce saving the Joker yet again.

Anyway. Wanna play spot the difference?

Yeah, the stuff Bruce was saying in RHatO 25 was worse, but the context of Batman 159 is worse. And the fact that Bruce shot Jason in the face. Even with the helmet it’s a true wtf moment.

I don’t know why Jason went “evil” this time but tbh even if it’s not a trick or some secret plan (which it very well could be) I’m kinda with Jason here.

[thatdisasterauthor]

Just saw that FEMAs Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program has been canceled. As the disaster knowledge person, I come to you seeking hope- do you know of any other programs still doing this important community disaster preparedness work?

Unfortunately FEMA is under heavy assault, and that doesn't look like it's going to end any time soon. The BRIC program is just one portion of it so far. We're also seeing Trump be slow to sign disaster declarations, and even not signing them at all or denying them, and tons of grants have been frozen or revoked outside of the BRIC program as well. He also just announced the people he's putting on his FEMA review committee today and...ah...it's a terrible bunch.

This administration's goal with FEMA is to put disaster response back into the hands of the states. But that is just impossible. According to one higher up Emergency Management guy I spoke with recently, in Alabama, only four counties could afford to run their own Emergency Management departments without FEMA grants. Four. Alabama has 67 total counties. (He also stated that, to recover from Helene without FEMA help, counties in Alabama would have to raise property taxes 55-70%.) I would guess the numbers would be similar across most states.

Point is, yeah, it's a bad damn time right now. And it is probably not going to get better at any useful speed.

BUT.

But there are a ton of great people focused on this problem, and we're all working hard to plan for these changes as much as possible. What that looks like is changing all the time, due to the goalposts constantly getting yanked around, but it is being worked on. No matter what, some form of help is ALWAYS going to be there. It may not look the way you expect, or the way you want, but there will be something, even if it's just your neighbors.

Some things you can do to help:

Look up "Your State + VOAD." VOAD stands for "Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster." This will get you a list of local, vetted volunteer organizations that specifically offer their services during disasters. See if there's one you want to/can help out with, even during non disaster times! You can also look up "National VOAD" to find national groups.

If you have ever made use of ANY of FEMA's services, or you know someone who has, and you have a positive story to share about it, do so. Do it loudly and repeatedly wherever and whenever you can.

Go to your local city/state political meetings and talk about the value you see in FEMA and that you want to see it protected.

Call your representatives and tell them the value you see in FEMA and that you want to see it protected.

Make sure you are personally prepared as much as possible without it turning into an anxiety spiral. The more you can help yourself, the more weight you can take off a stressed system. A go bag and an evacuation plan are great places to start, and will already put you ahead of the game.

[meathunt]

Alien yan idea

This story has been brought to you all by inspo from Chaos's Arkuma oc and also the though of "Human spacecrafts are the equivalent of a cardboard box to aliens" Hope yall enjoy! ---

Your fist slammed against the control panel.

The escape pod that you were shoved in was malfunctioning, you bet that your luck is so great that the madman that decided that blowing up the main ship was their God given task was throughout enough that they most likely messed with the pods to ensure they took everyone down with them.

You were fortunate enough that when your boss decided to drag you into the pod he gave you a very generous emergency package, med kit, tools and both food and water rations that would suffice for months if you measured yourself.

The first weeks you were hopeful that you would receive some response to the distress signal you were sending, but as the time passed you hope slowly diminished. And when the alerts of malfunctions started to pop up you felt even more hopeless. You didn’t want to give up, for the people that were waiting for you, and for the people that helped you get out of the station you will survive. ---

Oyrehn was overlooking the work of his crew, checking up on the borders of their territory, and as one of the most renown captains of his organization he took pride on doing a flawless job.

That being said it still was mind numbing work, after all this part of the territory was most times completely unremarkable at best, it was a space dumpster if you will, filled mostly with space debris and the occasional smartass that thought could use it as a secret road only to end up needing help to get out of the occasional meteor rain.

So when he noticed an out of place shinny object he took the initiative on looking deeper into it. Setting the computer to analyze it, the results that the computer gave him took him by surprise.

A human? So far out on here?

Humans were a bit of a hot topic around the network, they were a new found species still a bit archaic in terms of technology, but their biology was the most interesting of all. No claws or fangs, no external carapace or protection, just squishy soft creatures that don't grow taller than most their hips. Their survival has been credited to their ingenuity and mostly straight up luck and chance.

Things that make them very interesting creatures, and in some cases sought out creatures. As they have been rumored to be living lucky charms.

He is one of the ton of interested aliens in humans, but not exactly because he believes in those rumors, but because he is enamored with how soft you all look, warm blooded beings that are moved by curiosity and motivation, how is he supposed to not gush over you all?

But the thing is that, you are in no level to be able to explore space safely, much less survive or thrive in this environment.

With that thought in mind he gave the order to catch and bring your ship aboard, and that he will deal with the issue at hand. ---

You felt the pod shake before being able to register that you were moving, indicating that something was very wrong.

The sudden movement waking you fully, you were going to check the system to see what the fuck went wrong now when you saw it.

A behemoth of a space ship that was slowly getting closer. You wanted to believe that somehow this was a rescue crew that came for you.

But you couldn’t trick yourself, you knew the team had nothing of this magnitude and the closer you got you could notice just how big it really was. No human could build something like that without it being public knowledge.

As you felt your ship touch ground and noise outside of the pod filled your ears your only thought was how did you end up here?

[echo-exco]

With Damians recent developments towards wanting to maybe be a doctor, I think it could be interesting to see that dynamic with reader.

Where his hands are stained with blood, yours have only helped others. Maybe youre both volunteering at the same hospital, and the patients there flock to you like a flicker of hope in the darkness. The patients of Gotham are much more wary than anywhere else, so gaining their trust feels nigh impossible. Somehow, you've done it. Like second nature, like you haven't even noticed.

Something akin to envy might first spark in him, as a natural response, before relenting his pride and trying to learn what makes her "better" at this than him. Of course he wouldnt know she was a meta, but still.

Also you can totally ignore this your wonderful fic just had my mind spiralling lol

I LOVE THAT!! THAT’S A REALLY GOOD IDEA!!

But unfortunately, I don’t think we have something like that with Damian here yet… 😔 (or maybe we do, if my inner author feels motivated enough).

(Small warning for a long reply)

Damian and healer!reader’s relationship is already quite complicated on its own (with some one-sided, inexplicable hatred).

It’s not really a surprise though, considering healer!reader tends to be pretty “neutral” with almost all the Batfam members.

To be honest, I don’t think healer!reader could actually treat people in Gotham.

She does have pretty good and experienced medical knowledge, but she depends completely on her healing powers, which not only allow her to heal someone instantly but also make her feel “alive.”

Without her powers, even though she can try to help in conventional ways, healer!reader always feels like she might fail, that something could go wrong, and that fills her with anxiety.

Healer!reader is completely dependent on her power and validates herself through it, and since she’s currently unable to use it in Gotham… well…

Besides that, healer!reader would need Bruce’s permission—or a doctor’s—just to even think about using her experienced, non-basic medical knowledge.

A better example is when I mentioned Tim in the post: like I said there, healer!reader only did small things to help him deal with his discomfort.

She doesn’t consider that she used anything that required “master-level” knowledge… she just took care of Tim the way a (family) doctor should.

BUT if somehow she were to get permission and trust to use her healing powers on the patients in a Gotham hospital…

They wouldn’t even have the chance to decide whether they could trust her or not, because healer!reader’s abilities are extremely fast for a normal being.

In an earlier reply, I explained how I imagine healer!reader’s powers work: think of it as her using threads to “fix” her patients like they were broken dolls.

That said, the pain that comes after the instant healing is horrible (though it heavily depends on how bad the patient’s condition was before healer!reader treated them).

Earning the trust of the wounded in Gotham wouldn’t even be something healer!reader consciously seeks—it would just happen.

Maybe it’s because of the calmness she radiates, or because, unlike most people, she never shows disgust, fear, or resignation when facing an injury.

However, seeing such an indifferent expression on a child’s face in such a gruesome, chaotic scene full of injured people is unsettling.

Though it’s even worse to endure the pain after being healed, isn’t it?

That’s why I think, even if Damian wanted to learn from her, I’m not sure healer!reader could really teach him how to treat people, or even how to be a good doctor.

She herself never allowed her mind to approach healing in a traditional way, because her powers and skills are her refuge, her absolute security: she never fails at healing.

But that very gift also isolates her, because in Gotham, a place full of distrust and disdain toward most metahumans, revealing her ability would be a huge risk to her life.

I also think the same about how Damian would feel toward healer!reader because of her medical skills.

He might feel a mix of admiration, frustration, and envy, especially because, without knowing she’s a meta, he would desperately try to find a logical explanation for why she can do what others find almost impossible.

Why his seemingly weak and gentle sister has absurdly good medical knowledge…

That’s NOT right, she’s supposed to be normal… so why?

She’s supposed to be safe… why?

In short, the relationship between Damian and healer!reader would be complicated if we explored that aspect.

(Who knows? Maybe in a what if? if I get enough creativity!)

Awww! Thank you so much for your sweet words at the end, dear!

I’m really happy to know you like my writing, and I’m also sorry if this response was way too long!

[asha-mage]

Something I've been thinking about a lot since Goldeneyes is Perrin's line "Not a solider among us and yet you are the only one afraid to die" to Padan Fain and how it really captures the Two Rivers broader place as a Vietnam allegory, something that easily could have been lost in the show.

In the books Jordan writes the Two Rivers' struggle with serious parallels to the Vietnam war. A pair of outside forces- the Whitecloaks and the Trollocs- march into a foreign largely rural area both intending to occupy it for their own aims. And while the Trollocs are their out of simple fear and the promise of violence, the Whitecloaks are, in theory, there on the justification of a broader idealistic struggle.

And yet the Whitecloaks face a constant crisis of morale, as the murky politics and unsound tactics of the occupation create doubt, and the increasing violence carried out in the name of vaguely defined goals and uncertain outcomes erodes their sense of moral authority. This is worsened by 'allies' such as Padan Fain, who commit gleeful war crimes of such excessive cruelty they unsettle even the pretty flexible sensibilities of the of the Whitecloaks....while also carrying the official sanction of the Whitecloak leader, and operating nominally towards the same goals. While the Whitecloaks do help against the Trollocs to a limited degree, it is clearly not their intended priority- as Perrin notes their help seems almost accidental, and in a way it is. On the surface their there to fight Shadow, but in reality they are not here for anything of the sort. Both groups are here to try and lure Rand out, for the Shadow so that they can psychologically torment him in the hopes of breaking his spirit, and for the Whitecloaks so that he be used as a pawn in Niall's efforts to unite the Westlands under his rule- which means for the most part terrorizing innocent people and focusing on inconsequential battles like book banning and hunting Aes Sedai, instead of doing anything meaningful to actually help anyone. Dain ultimately realizes this (or at least enough of it) which is root of his crisis of faith, which he resolves mostly by drinking and tormenting himself, because this runs so counter to what he has been raised by his father to believe about the Children of the Light and their purpose.

It's also this combination of factors that lead to the Two Rivers uniting under Perrin- who carries out what amounts to a guerilla war against the Trollocs and the Whitecloaks both. Using superior knowledge of the terrain and a quickly constructed network of support from farmers and other locals, Perrin launches a series of highly successful ambushes and raids meant, not to win any open battles, but to inspire fear and make the task of actually holding the Two Rivers impossible for either group.

And this works because ultimately the Whitecloaks aren't committed to the conflict. It's one thing to use the threat of force to bully small groups into compliance- it's another to take and hold miles of farmland and in the face of popular opposition- common men and women who want nothing more then to be in left in peace and live their lives. It's a bloody, draining mire that saps the morale of the Whitecloaks, even despite their deeply ingrained indoctrination, and in Dain's case even begins to erode his faith in the ideals the Children stand for. Their not their to bring the Light to the Two Rivers, their there because of a calculation made in a room none of them have set foot in- a piece on a chess board carelessly tossed out without regarding for their humanity, to do bloody work judged necessary by a politician with an agenda utterly divorced from the lived reality of the people he is presiding over.

The Two Rivers folk have everything to loose and as a result nothing to fear. They will never stop struggling, and ultimately the Whitecloaks and the Trollocs can not outlast their determination- they fear dying more then they want whatever their is to gain out of scouring the Two Rivers.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

I want to write a fanfic that of a transfem headcanon, but it's hard to show how the person struggles with gender dysphoria & envy towards his cis female gfs beyond being jealous of how they look.

Writing Notes: Gender Dysphoria in Transfeminine People

DEFINITIONS

GENDER DYSPHORIA: A concept designated in the DSM-5-TR as clinically significant distress or impairment related to gender incongruence, which may include desire to change primary and/or secondary sex characteristics. Not all transgender or gender diverse people experience gender dysphoria.

GENDER PRONOUN: The pronoun a person chooses to use for themselves.

Examples. Gender pronouns can look like and are not limited to:

he/him/his (masculine pronouns)

she/her/hers (feminine pronouns)

they/them/theirs (neutral pronouns)

ze/zir/zirs (neutral pronouns)

ze/hir/hirs (neutral pronouns)

It is important to ask people what their pronouns are. If you have questions, politely ask the person if they feel comfortable giving examples of how to use those pronouns.

TRANSFEMININE: (also trans-feminine or trans feminine, sometimes abbreviated to transfem or transfemme) A gender identity. It is typically used by people who are assigned male at birth (AMAB) but identify more with a feminine gender expression than a masculine one. To be transfemme means that you identify with femininity, but you don't necessarily identify as a woman.

When a person expresses femininity outwardly, there is no one correct way to do this.

TRANSGENDER: An umbrella term describing individuals whose gender identity does not align in a traditional sense with the gender they were assigned at birth. It may also be used to refer to a person whose gender identity is binary and not traditionally associated with that assigned at birth.

While transgender is generally a good term to use, not everyone whose appearance or behavior is gender-nonconforming will identify as a transgender person. The ways that transgender people are talked about in popular culture, academia and science are constantly changing, particularly as individuals’ awareness, knowledge and openness about transgender people and their experiences grow.

People who are transgender may pursue multiple domains of gender affirmation, including:

social affirmation (e.g., changing one’s name and pronouns),

legal affirmation (e.g., changing gender markers on one’s government-issued documents),

medical affirmation (e.g., pubertal suppression or gender-affirming hormones), and/or

surgical affirmation (e.g., vaginoplasty, facial feminization surgery, breast augmentation, masculine chest reconstruction, etc.).

Of note, not all people who are transgender will desire all domains of gender affirmation, as these are highly personal and individual decisions.

GENDER AFFIRMING CARE

Some transfeminine people get gender affirming care, but some do not. It depends on what a person feels is right or helpful for them.

If a person does seek gender affirming care, the options may vary depending on their age. To begin with, they may include:

Social transitioning: This involves changes in behavior, from an individual and from others, to acknowledge and affirm that person’s gender. It could include telling family members about their gender, changing pronouns, trying a new name, or dressing differently.

Mental health support: Counselling may help a person cope with feelings of gender dysphoria, which is distress from a person’s identity not matching the sex assigned at birth. Counselors may also help a person tell others they are trans.

Voice therapy: This involves vocal training to help a person match their voice with their gender identity.

Appearance changes: This could include hair removal, padding the hips or bust, or tucking the genitals.

These interventions are reversible, and for some people, they feel happy with these options alone. Others may want to pursue medical transitioning, which can include:

Puberty blockers: This involves taking hormones to pause the changes in the body that would otherwise take place during puberty. A 2020 study shows these medications can significantly decrease the risk of suicidal ideation in trans people at risk of suicidal thoughts.

Cross-sex hormones: After undergoing hormone therapy, people may take cross-sex hormones. In transfeminine people, these medications may cause breast development.

Surgery: This may be an option during adulthood. It involves surgically modifying the body, such as reducing an Adam’s apple, breast augmentation, or procedures to feminize the face or hips. Some people may also choose surgery to remove male genitalia and create a vagina or clitoris.

A specialist can recommend the most appropriate gender affirming treatment for each person’s situation.

Gender-affirming care is highly individualized and focuses on the needs of each individual by including psychoeducation about gender and sexuality (appropriate to age and developmental level), parental and family support, social interventions, and gender-affirming medical interventions.

GENDER DYSPHORIA

Gender incongruence: A marked and persistent experience of incompatibility between a person's gender identity and the gender expected based on sex at birth.

Gender dysphoria: Discomfort or distress related to an incongruence between an individual's gender identity and the gender assigned at birth.

Gender incongruence & gender dysphoria symptoms in adults:

Most people with gender incongruence or gender dysphoria begin having symptoms or feeling different in early childhood, but some do not acknowledge these feelings until adulthood.

Some transgender people make choices at first that are consistent with their birth sex, such as doing a job that is typically associated with that sex or marrying a person with the gender expected by their society, as a way to escape or deny their feelings of wanting to be the other sex.

Some men may cross-dress first and not acknowledge their identification with the other sex until later in life.

Once people accept these feelings, many transition to their preferred gender, with or without hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgery.

Others experience problems, such as anxiety, depression, and suicidal behavior. The stress of not being accepted by society and/or by family may cause or contribute to these problems.

Diagnosis. Doctors diagnose gender dysphoria when people (children or adults) do all of the following:

Feel that their anatomic sex does not match their gender identity and have felt that way for 6 months or longer

Feel greatly distressed or cannot function normally because of this feeling

To be diagnosed with gender dysphoria based on standard psychiatric criteria, adolescents and adults must also have 2 or more of the following symptoms:

A marked incongruence between one's experienced/expressed gender and primary and/or secondary sex characteristics (or in young adolescents, the anticipated secondary sex characteristics)

A strong desire to be rid of their sex characteristics and, for young adolescents, to prevent the development of secondary sex characteristics (those that occur during puberty)

A strong desire for the sex characteristics that match their gender identity

A strong desire to be another gender

A strong desire to live or be treated as another gender

A strong belief that they feel and react like another gender

OTHER STRUGGLES EXPERIENCED

Transgender people often face serious discrimination and mistreatment at work, school, and in their families and communities.

For example, transgender people are more likely to:

Be fired or denied a job

Face harassment and bullying at school

Become homeless or live in extreme poverty

Be evicted or denied housing or access to a shelter

Be denied access to critical medical care

Be incarcerated or targeted by law enforcement

Face abuse and violence

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Here are some writing notes you can use as reference. "Symptoms" of gender dysphoria include some struggles that transfeminine people experience. Choose which ones (a mix of both internal and external experiences would be good) are appropriate for your specific character. Highlight the incongruence, dysphoria, and envy through internal monologue, dialogue, and their actions/choices throughout the story.

Additionally, "research demonstrates that gender-affirming care—a medical and psychosocial health care designed to affirm individuals' gender identities—greatly improves the mental health and overall well-being of gender diverse, transgender, and nonbinary children and adolescents."* You can show this struggle in your character if they have a desire to seek such gender affirmations, but for certain reasons, aren't able to access the necessary interventions/options.

If possible, it would also be valuable to ask and listen to transfeminine people about their experience to better inform your work. Here's one research consisting of a series of focus groups on experiences, challenges and hopes of transgender and nonbinary U.S. adults.

Lastly, here's a previous post that includes an overview of The Transgender Emergence Model & The Stage Model on Transgender Identity Development, which you could consider as another guide in developing your character. (There are other models that you can also consider.)

You can go through the sources linked above for more details I wasn't able to include here. Hope this helps with your writing!

[noneedtoheedtheweed]

Decided to take a break from agonizing over Alya to draw some of the other characters <3

Our main villain is Gabriel, wielder of the Spider Miraculous.

Instead of being the villain we all know, The Weaver is the leader of a secret society in Paris consisting of only the most powerful, influential, and knowledgeable people in all the city. While he initially seems frail and caring, like a somber, loving grandparent, he is a monster who will do anything to achieve his goals.

As the wielder of the miraculous of emotion, he is able to sense the emotions of others and empower them with his own grief and pain. He spins his blood, breath, and tears into the thread he uses to enhance his chosen, although this comes at the cost of his physical health.

When we see him in the show, he is always seated and with an iv in his arm. This man is wasting away but cannot die until he brings the love of his life back from the cold embrace of death.

On the opposite side of the character spectrum is Marinette. While she was originally the wielder of the Songbird Miraculous, she gave it up for her own mental health.

The thing about the songbird is that it gives the wielder visions regardless of whether or not they're transformed.

Combined with the stress of school, her budding fashion career, being class president, working in her parents' bakery, and attempting to have a social life, the visions manifested as paranoia. After only a month or two of being a superhero, she had to give it up despite its incredible and incredibly useful power.

After she recovers and regains some normalcy, she serves as an anchor for the heroes and a home base for them, letting them use her Grandma's apartment as a home base as she will frequently house sit for her while she's away (which is most of the time).

Marinette helps the heroes design their suits and even makes some of her own, sliding into an Edna Mode kind of role later down the line.

Sometime towards the midpoint of the story, she actually ends up working for Gabriel as a personal assistant/ intern without knowing he's The Weaver. She would be the one to discover Gabriel and Lila's connection through this after she discovers that he's the villain.

[thiscityneedslessfog]

Only me and Shadows around here

Teddie’s story is a giant identity crisis. He bearly has a sense of self when Yu, Yosuke and Chie first meet him, he’s deeply insecure about the idea of not being able to help as much, and what I think is overlooked is the self-hatred he feels over being a Shadow—a self-demonization that eats away at him. So he’s desperate to be more helpful because of that when… he’s already the most important Investigation Team member (which is saying an incredible amount, all eight of these guys pull their weight)!

Teddie doesn't have much of a sense of self when we first meet him. He has a name, but that’s… about all he can give you. He doesn’t know what he is, he doesn’t have any memory whatsoever.

And he doesn’t like it. Second time we see him, he’s having an existential crisis over not knowing who or what he is, delibearating over the pawsibilities. And furthermore, he's growing insecure. He's at this point the only noncombatant member of the Investigation Team, and only convinced Yosuke and Yu to accept him in the first place because of his nose and knowledge of the TV world.

And he's worried about being held to that as he becomes more and more attached to the Investigation Team.

You notice Teddie uses "scoring" a lot, as in "scoring [one]self a hot stud." It's partly because he overheard Chie and Yosuke discussing Konohana Sakuya on Yukiko's bizarre Midnight Channel Episode, but I think he uses it so much because he's been taught that "romantic gestures" are the best way to connect with people. Society values romance over friendship in most cultures, after all. And Teddie really, really wants to attach to the rest of the group, accusing them of abandoning him in Rank 1 of his social link and talking about how hurt he was when he felt left out of the group.

This desire to help, attach and protect extends to Teddie’s moveset. Let's analyze Teddie's Persona, Kintoki-Douji, shall we?

Even as a combatant, Teddie's role is primarily supportive. He knows both Matarukaja and Marakukaja, he can heal much like Yukiko can albeit less specialized, and he takes over the ice mage role for Chie. In his Social Link, he can learn Marakunda, which is probably the best debuff spell that isn’t Debilitate, and Samarecarm. He also learns Amrita via level-up. He can be offensive and defensive support, and a healer! In my group playthrough with my friends, Teddie was almost full support! He's that dedicated to not being useless, he's that dedicated to being helpful to the Investigation Team.

Now, the reason Teddie has such attachment issues is because the Investigation Team are the only friends he’s ever had at this point. But also, Teddie has recently confronted his own Shadow, and has realized a truth about himself that horrifies him to the point that he’d think it bearfectly reasonable to abandon him over it…

When Rise accepts the idea that she doesn’t have a “true self” to pursue when she soothes and awakens Himiko, Teddie just is having a massive existential crisis in the background over the idea of not having a self and it leads to Kintoki-Douji just spawning in out of (almost) nowhere. Because the thing is…

Shadow. He’s a shadow. And a shadow as he knows is inherently incomplete. He’s not an amnesiac. He’s always been a Shadow.

This is why he snapped at Yosuke when he joked about Teddie’s head being hollow. Sure, it’s funny to Yosuke, but it’s terrifying to Teddie, because to be hollow, to be a Shadow, is to be incomplete. To be less than.

Not only that, every shadow they’ve seen other than himself has been hostile. Hunts them down and chases after them, save for the golden hands. They kill their full selves if the fog is cleared because they go violently berserk, which Teddie himself explains. He has to hide from these creatures trying to kill him, but… he’s technically one of them!

Which is why he shouts at Kintoki-Douji to shut up. In Teddie’s eyes, shadows are monsters… so if Teddie is a shadow, then… Teddie, himself, is a monster. And that prospect is horrifying. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone, he hates the idea of even being a liability. A threat?! He can’t be a threat. No way. He couldn’t bear that idea. That’s why he snaps at Yosuke over being called hollow. Hollow, like the monsters they fight.

This is why Kintoki-Douji looks the way he does as a Shadow. He looks like a disintegrating, monstrous Teddie that’s collapsing in on himself, pieces of him being sucked inside the black hole within him. Because Teddie’s emptiness, his status as a Shadow, is critically dangerous in his eyes, dangerous to himself and his only friends.

He does stop lying to himself that he's a Shadow and, in his eyes, a monster, but it still haunts him, so he doesn't let the Investigation Team know.

I’m fairly sure is actually why he pursues a human form. He not only wants to become closer to the rest of the Investigation Team, he wants to believe he’s complete. He doesn’t want to be a fragment or a monster. He’s terrified of himself. This is the real root of his crisis. “What if I’m a monster?” And he doesn't want the Investigation Team to leave him, as they're the only friends he has. And he fears if they knew he was a Shadow, they'd leave or turn on him. He can't stand that thought.

And even in human form, he's constantly thinking about the terrifying possibility of being left behind. Even as Yu assures him during the cooking competition (Teddie’s Rank 4) that it's going to be fine and he can stay as long as he wants, he’s genuinely startled by it. And later proves he doesn’t truly believe him.

In his Rank 7, he tells Nanako and the IT that he still doesn't know what he is—when he obviously knows what he is at this point, Kintoki-Douji would never have awakened otherwise. He's lying to them because he doesn’t want the team to know, he so badly doesn’t want them to know because he’s terrified of how they’ll react, so he just keeps up the act that he’s not sure what he is. Because he’s something that he doesn’t think the Team would accept. He's something they've been mostly fighting against.

And his Rank 8 doesn’t help… when he gets the physical examination, it bugs out. It glitches, and Teddie laments that he “still hasn’t found out anything," anything that could point him away from the truth that Teddie is naturally a Shadow.

He’s drowning so hard in the idea he shouldn’t be an Investigation Team member that during the Nanako arc he leaves of his own accord over his sheer guilt of being unable to save her.

But what Teddie learns throughout his link is... it doesn't matter if he's "fundamentally different," it doesn't matter that he's a Shadow. He's still a member of the Investigation Team. The team panics when he’s gone, constantly asks where on earth he is.

I mean, see the rank above. Yu doesn’t care about the whole promise, he just likes that Teddie’s there. He can even use Teddie’s staunchness on promises to talk him into staying. I think Teddie’s also afraid of possibly going bearserk and turning on them all, to be honest, but the IT isn't.

And Teddie’s so freaking wrong about being useless. I’d argue that Teddie is single most important Investigation Team member. And none of those kids are dead weight in the slightest. Persona 4's story would fundamentally be wildly different without Teddie. Probably the most important reason is… right in the TV world hub at Junes. Who made those exit TVs? Who?

Teddie did. He's the reason the group can even safely traverse the TV World in the first place. The kidnapping victims of Namatame would be exactly as dead as the Midnight Channel Killer wanted them to be. And Chie, Yosuke and Yu would also be stranded in the TV world if not for Teddie showing up and making those exits.

Not to mention he’s why those awesome glasses exist. Of both varieties. Not only do the normal ones help the IT see in the fog, the goofy ones just are really cute.

And not to mention during the Midnight Channel Killer arc. Teddie feels insanely guilty over Nanako's apparent death, and self-hates so hard over his inability to save her that Igor picks him up and plops him in the Velvet Room.

When he's missing, the group's in serious trouble. They figure out who the MCK is without him, but can't catch that damn spider because reality’s beginning to fog over and the TV World’s fog is getting denser.

It’s Teddie who finds Adachi when the fog is too thick for Rise to detect him. Teddie is helpful. He found the literal Midnight Channel Killer and helped the team corner him.

After Teddie’s social link is maxed in the Velvet Room, where he finally comes clean to Yu over being a shadow, and therefore “incomplete,” he chooses to visit Nanako. And the doctor tells him that his and the others’ voices reaching Nanako are what saved her from the brink… and that’s what makes Teddie start to believe he’s not something meant to be tossed away after all. He can do something—he helped save Nanako…

So he comes back to the Investigation Team to come clean. Who cares if he’s a Shadow—he helped save Nanako, didn’t he? And if there’s one thing he knows, it’s that the love he feels for the Investigation Team and Nanako is real. And the Investigation Team reacts with joy when he’s back, because… he’s one of them! He’s their friend and they love him.

Oh, and all that self-hatred he had over being a Shadow? Nobody cared when he admitted he's a Shadow after his Social Link is maxed. Yosuke literally says this:

That hits. They figured out he was a Shadow, in his eyes a monster, and they didn’t care for a moment. I mean, he’s not incomplete either. Him being a Persona user proves that. Naoto explains it pretty well why Teddie’s not incomplete in any way. Or a monster at that.

Humans can be monsters. See the Midnight Channel Killer himself. But Teddie? Teddie is not lying when he says he’s 50% kindness by volume. Who cares if he’s a Shadow. He’s a member of the IT, and severely underestimates his own importance because of his own self-fear. The Investigation Team would never have caught the MCK had it not been for his knowledge and capabilities, and furthermore… they love him, who cares if he’s a Shadow or whatever. He’s an Investigation Team member. Screw the idea of being a monster or empty or whatever, he's still important. And it's pretty fitting Yosuke was the one who told him that he didn't care that Teddie was a Shadow, because he also talked about wanting to be important to others in his Social Link.

Teddie is lovable no matter what, and shouldn't downplay how important he is on so many levels. He's great. And was always worthy of love, the IT always loved him, no matter how long it took him to realize.

[swiiivet-screamathon]

Addendum: What does the Sage of Truth skin tell us about Shadow Milk?

Hi, yeah, noticed a uh, mistake, of mine lmao

In the og post I mentioned that I wasn't certain what the Sage was about, as it surely wasnt the past and was unlikely to be the future

but turns out thats quite obviously his silhouette right there

So assuming that this isnt some fabrication from Elder Faerie and is indeed proper canon, that's a flashback, not a reconstruction

That the Sage of Truth is Canonically Pre-Beast Shadow Milk, we can then more confidently start making assumptions and deductions with that groundwork

Now I still hold my ground from the original post that they are very very similar to each other, and having picked at his character thoroughly through my own writings I can decently confidently say that the Character of Smilk has never changed, the only thing Beast-ifying did for him was change his Worldview

He is still playful "Well, well, well! Are we ready for some tomfoolery?" "Now now, I'm not like those other academics." "Time for some real DRAMA!" "Ugh, come on! Why do you refuse enlightenment?!" "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" "Aright, let's put your knowledge to the test!" "A Fount of Knowldge. A-who could that be?!"

He is still cheeky, condescending at times "Think! What if all yoru life is a lie?" "Do I really need to spell out everything? Come on, think!" "Oh no, you got tricked? (Blows raspberry) Well, TOO BAD!" "Why does everyone try so hard to hide their ignorance? Tsk!" "If I told you I'm a liar, would that be a lie...?"

He still holds his beliefs with confidence "The Cookie of Truth? That's-a-me!" "Hope is nothing else but a cheap trick of the mind!" "The Truth is born in dispute." "We all live for some spicy drama, amirite?" "Admitting your ignorance is the first steps towards the Truth!" "A tiny droplet of deceit can bring down a might empire." "The key to the greatest theorem is often... pretty small!" "Truth is... the world is built upon lies." "I can always find an answer. Even if it means "no answer"." "A blade's edge is what seperates Truth from Deceit." "The more you know, the less you know!" "The arts, academia, technology, magic... Truth exists everywhere!" "The Truth reveals itself through creation!" "Hogwash, rubbish, BOLONEY! I will not tolerate any!" "See the Truth, and you shall know all!"

He still performs theatrics "Let the show BEGIN!" "Let the show begin!" "Why the looooong face?" "Tis I, your humble jester, here to brighten up your mood!" (Done through sing-song) "The arts, academia, technology, magic... Truth exists everywhere!" "Well, well, well! Are we ready for some tomfoolery?" "A WOLF!!! HELP! A WOLF! ... He he..."

He still likes showing off and being center of attention, people finding him specifically important and making himself important "Excuse me? I'm so sorry to disturb you... But I'm still THE MAIN CHARACTER here!" "There you are! Time for some magic!" "Welcome, folks! Ready for some giggles?" "Who's hungry for knowledge? (Oh!) Come 'ere!" "Whoah, PAL! You don't wanna get on my BAD side!" "Ooooh, are you proposing a debate? Alright, but no backsies!" "Fool me once? Crumbling to see you try!" "Think I'm wrong? Very well, present your case!" "You want in on a scrumptious little secret, mm?" "Ah, the origins of magic! Buckle up, you're in for a ride!" "Raise the curtains! The show begins...!"

There's also a belief that these desires are natural that I didn't mention last time "Ever told a lie? Then we're pals!" "Craving for the Truth is as natural as simply existing!"

And a very curious part to me, is that he indulged in creative works, like, at all, "Art can heal the soul!" "Playwright, poet, actor, and sage! All is MOI!"

I'll elaborate on that in a minute

Like at no point does any of Sage's dialogue ever come across as something that'd be out of character for Smilk, although he might not say those exact words in that order, he's not speaking with the intonation or intention of someone like Cacao and he speaks his words. As a person he has not fundamentally changed. At most he's become more theatrical and a little less... demeaning? Not holding others to a standard. Because unlike Sage where he wanted others to try to value the Truth and was disappointed when they wouldn't-- Smilk is confident that you are a liar, that everyone is a liar, so has no reason to be disappointed when you tell the truth because the moment you spoke a lie, something he believes everyone to have done, then you are permanently labelled a liar, you will almost certainly already have his mark before you ever met. But that's not exactly a character upheaval by any means.

The only thing we're really missing from Sage is the loneliness and anger that riddles Smilk, but given he doesn't demonstrate it either in the overworld its hard to make any judgements on how Sage feels, if he's either joyous to have followers or if he feels isolated for having no one on his level intellectually, if he's really just a chill guy now and doesn't ever get angry or if he does have specific triggers that send him into violent outbursts and we just happen to never encounter them-- any comment beyond "they seem to differ in this aspect" would just be assuming, not deducing.

So, what other information can we garner if so far the only difference we've found is that one believes in the Truth and the other Deceit?

Well we can start with a pretty basic exercise, their differences in behaviour physically.

With Smilk the more physically intensive the task the more upset he is about doing it, with the easier jobs he seems considerably more bored. The one time he stands on solid ground is when he's hammering, where he exerts the absolute least amount of effort possible with the tiniest tool out of all the ones he uses. The only one he enjoys is the one he can be theatrical with, demonstrating to at least some capacity, (though canonicity questionable given this is on kingdom grounds and not in the story) that he's willing to do things for others if it means he gets to do what he wants. He'll absolute shill for you if it means he can go hogwild w it lol.

Sage comparatively has normal sized tools and puts in reasonable effort when doing all the tasks, seeming either neutrally pleasant with most of the intensive activities whilst enjoying the easier ones considerably. He also stands on solid ground for almost half the tasks, implying less of a need to rely on his flying abilities compared to Smilk. Given his only unique expression being calm that also happens to mirror Smilk's perfectly (Leaning back, cross-legged, leaning on the other arm) is when watering flowers. It thus becomes possible to deduce that he might find watering flowers relaxing, possibly even in the present day, and that there's another reason that has nothing to do with watering of why he's seemingly not interested in the activity in present day.

It also brings up an interesting question, if we know that Sage is Smilk in the past, canon and all, then who is the other guy? The guy I claimed to be the Fount of Knowledge?

And I would still argue that to be the Fount, and I would still argue that Sage is not the Fount.

A key part of their differences is Sage's lack of hair eyes, the only eye iconography in their actual design is on their hat and staff, neither of which do a whole lot of blinking in any capacity. And given that the hat has both closed and open eyes I don't think it's too wild to say that the connections between him and eyes are superficial at best, nothing beyond most of our own assumptions when it comes to truth and lies, that you keep your eyes open to see the truth of the world and close them to hide from the truth, so him being the representative of knowledge would of course have both facets available to him, not that much deeper than that.

There are a couple things we can automatically deduce from the very little we know of the Fount:

He Had at some point swapped from White to Black clothes. The whiteness of his hair had lessened and it's now its 3 pronged state, it still has the galaxy pattern that the sage does and the gradient seems to stay darker for longer. He still has the forehead symbol. He at some point swapped the Souljam's placement off his chest and onto his staff. Eye iconography is stronger but has not yet adorned his hair. The elements are important somehow as they show up in the bg. During this time he still had followers but they one by one 'ate the apple' and abandoned Fount's teachings to embrace lying. His staff is still a key.

The only thing I feel confident in deducing is that this is just before the beast-ening, this is what he looked like the final days before he too succumbed and chose the path of the beast. And although less confident I feel confident enough to deduce that something actionable happened between Sage & Fount, and I think whatever that was is the cause of the hair split, the cause of the eye iconography becoming more prevalent and most likely the cause of everyone abandoning his teachings; though if I try to argue that further we leave analysis and enter headcanon so lol.

And a final piece to note, is that they both have access to the other-realm, shown in their rabbit idle, although Sage has some gold streaks in theirs. Which although not inherently notable as I'm like, a little confident that it's just the Souljam's externalized land, "bigger on the inside blue box rock", I do find it mildly notable though because either he got it from the witches, implying that such a power would in some capacity help them out when it comes to managing the world, creation and/or his ability for knowledge-- Or as a fresh cookie he decided to gain that power through other means somehow, how he would do that I'm not particularly confident, but I don't think that detail should be overlooked at all.

Getting back to thing I mentioned earlier, the strangeness of Sage participating in the arts, is from a thing I noticed that made me actually write this thing, its been sitting in my drafts for ages lol.

And that's a connection between all the beasts' understanding of their own virtue and something that consistently trips them up about it, something I had accidentally laid the groundwork for.

Sbice from day one was heralded for his combat, change has always since he popped out of the oven been defined by slaughter, which as I pointed out in part 1 is not the only way change exists. Moving to a new place is change, having a child is change, even just tiny things like hanging up a new picture up on the wall is change, none of these things have anything at all to do with death but are all still changes in someone's life. But Sbice never got that aspect of his virtue.

Mystic granted wishes for everyone in the name of volition, or, well, not everyone, not those who were cruel and evil. Volition still encapsulates those people, they still enact upon their own volition to be terrible, awful people. Someone chose to assault a guy, another chose to shoot a stranger, a third chose to torture an innocent; these things all still fall under volition. But Mystic couldn't handle that.

And my hypothesis as to why he's the Sage of Truth is that he believed knowledge was synonymous with the truth, that lying wasn't knowledge-- but it is. If I tell you the world is shaped like a bowl of spaghetti you now know that information, its not the truth but you still know that I told you that. Truth is also not objective in any way, time is relative, gravity is relative, our perspectives are relative, our lives is relative, the truth will and does change depending on dozens and hundreds of factors. I could tell you that it is false and untrue if I say the statement "I am a cis man." but that is true for someone who's actually a cis man, someones truth is not everyones truth. Which is why his participation and respect for the arts is so interesting to me, because they are inherently a fabrication of truth, within the world of the art anything can be true, but it's almost never, ever true for the real world. Even stuff like auto-biographies or documentaries will inherently be skewed by the fact that you're just taking a portion of existence, a tiny sliver of it, that inherently removes infinite amount of context which is required to define 100% of the media as "true"-- But the type of art he consumes are stage plays, a medium that's inherently deceitful by a mile, because a lot of the time it asks the audience for things that aren't real, you apply your suspension of disbelief when watching a play. The actors say they're in a castle when really they're on an elevated wooden platform, there are no castles in the vicinity, and that king you're speaking to certainly has no royal credentials I'm aware of! So what gives? Is my hypothesis flawed and there is no problem Sage trips over? Not quite-- I think the case is that he's in the same boat as Mystic, knowledge is good! But not all knowledge. Theaters and Media in general are consensual lying, you go there expecting to be lied to, and those lies are often the whole appeal of going. But non consensual lies, which still fit under the definition of knowledge, thats no good-- We can also take the deductions backwards too, we know that Smilk believes that 'all lies work best with drops of truth in them' and 'truth can be dismantled and ruined if a single drop of deceit is inlaid', he believes that because that's the lesson he learnt as the Sage, that his truth wasn't good enough to stand on its own, that fact by itself isn't won't convince anyone ... Or, well, the reason why he learnt that lesson was because of other cookies, as they abandoned his teachings to pursue the sweetness of deceit, his truths stopped mattering, fewer and fewer cared about them anymore, they weren't as good as the lies that were told. He focused so hard on the importance of truth and fact with some indulgence in the arts that the rest of knowledge was neglected, leading cookies to search for that instead. One must accept all knowledge, but Truth is all that mattered to Sage.

There's not else a ton of note what I can tell, the bond story still isn't particularly relevant unless we really want to fanfic some "Pv has lived through the same cycle of history since the dawn of cookie-time" or an alternative "Pv is a standin for a real past figure without being the literal figure but smilk is the literal figure of smilk" but that's insane for an analysis who's trying to asses facts lmao

So given all the info that was presented in part 1 and now with this Sage information, what can that tell us about Smilk's Redemption possibilities?

It doesn't give us a ton to work off of, since redemption isn't a circle, it's very unlikely that a redeemed Smilk would just be Sage again, they'd probably look different from one another.

It does give the implication that the more gold accents Smilk gets the more "good" he is but shhh thats just patterns not deductions lmao.

What it does mean is that its incredibly likely that the lesson Smilk has to learn to be redeemed is the exact same lesson that Pv learnt, that both are important; you cannot abandon deceit and lies, it's a part of existence, being conscious and having autonomy-- plus his students and listeners abandoning him are proof that trying to abandon it once more will simply repeat history. But of course you cannot abandon the truth either, existing in a world without truth is impossible, its one of those ideas thats impossible to imagine, same as 'imagine nothing, no not blackness, actual nothing', facts are facts of existing, things just are, a rock will exist, space will exist, atoms will exist, those are all facts and truths of the everything. Although as discussed in the part 1 he absolutely hasn't at his core abandoned truth, in this very addendum I explained that he recognizes the importance of truth in lies, someone who has denounced truth completely wouldn't believe such a thing, so given he's clearly swimmin in the deceit sauce and believes in the value of truth what gives? What he has to learn is why the truth is so important to fight for to begin w, lies are comforting and sweet, they alleviate your fears and solve your problems, what does the truth have in it that makes it good, that makes it worthwhile? Because without an answer to that question it automatically makes deceit seem like the better choice, there's reason to fall for it, and none for the truth. He will never recover if he doesn't figure out the answer.

And yk what, since we're at the end of the post I'll indulge a bit and go on a wild tangent-- If I'm comparing them anyways why not go on a wild tangent and demonstrate the reasoning as to why I always draw Smilk w disembodied limbs-- It has literally nothing to do w Smilk redemption but if we're going deep dive into Sage then why not lmao

Though first lets tackle the easier out of the two, demonstrating is his neckless-ness

Don't get scared about his stretched head I took 10 tries to get a clear enough screenshot I'm not tryin again lmao

If simply seeing him plop his head off isn't proof enough for you, it's a magic trick or somethin, heads not really detached at all times-- well then technically I can't prove that outright, but I can say it'd be strange if that was a spell he was pulling off every single second he lives, leading me to question whether the difference is semantics at that point anyways lol

Given what we know of cookies who show their body/head connections clearly, both old and new cookies, it is shown that the head tends to sink in just a little bit into the body, having the shoulders come out from the theoretical lower jaw of the cookies

And to me I just don't see that like, at all on Smilk's outfit, if I were to imagine what he'd look like taking off the ruff I don't think the shoulders would go that high, because w/o the souljam being in the way we'd be able to see his entire head, it doesn't go that far down; I see picture 1. And especially if we believe picture 2 to be correct and it does indeed connect, meaning the shoulders have to raise up through the thickness of the ruff, I believe it would then make complete sense if when Smilk detached his head we would see his body through the neck hole, it has to be big enough to fit his entire fat neck after all. But it doesn't, it just shows roughly where the neck hole should be, but not only does it not show the body in any capacity it's also by far too deep to fit his neck in, that hole depth is for someone with a neck as tall as people, not a species like cookies where saying they have a neck at all is dubious at best.

Hopefully no doubts here? I don't think this should have to be headcanon at all or even somethin I have to prove, but if ya wanna analyse ya gotta back your stances up.

Now then, what about those hands?

(Me lookin through my sources finding him do a hairflick might be the best thing to come out of this addendum lmao)

What I could find this is every single instance where we should be able to very clearly see the arms got into the ruff, and there's 2 things I need to prove.

That the ruff is indeed hollow to the same capacity the the neck ruff is, where we would actually see the arms at all in the first place, and that it isn't simply a stylistic choice.

We'll get to the second part of that after, because the first part is trickier to say for certain to me. All of the images except for 2 shows a reasonable amount of "That hand is not connected to an arm, I should be seeing that arm if it was" to me, but nothing really definitive as proof of much of anything. The two in question are these ones.

(The right image is control, if we should view anything as a "definitive" design it should probably be that one)

Top left looks like in any reasonable sane universe there should absolutely be an arm poking through to some capacity, his hand is too far away from the ruff to all the explanation that the ruff is simply hiding the arm like it's possible to argue in most of the other images.

The bottom left one however is, strange-- It is art from the game so dismissing it outright feels incorrect to do, but that's still not his design? His arm ruffs don't curve inwards like a cone like that, it can be up in the air what that slightly darker blue tone is inside the ruff but that tone definitively does exist like, at all lol, so why it wasn't drawn in that instance is alluding me.

If that's not conclusive enough, which fair, we can tackle the second question; perhaps it is just stylization after all, so how do they treat similar scenarios? Smilk ain't the only sleeved character who holds something after all.

This is what I can tell every cookie that applies for our question

Cookies that have long enough sleeves and big enough objects to hide the arm in the first place that are holding objects with their hands wrapped behind the object, and it seems that there are a lot of "there r no rules" here.

Match, Pearl & Pomegranate being the least helpful as they don't have revealed hands at all

Alchemy, Clover, Velvet, Snow & Sapphire all have their arms/hand connections visible, although harder to spot on some than others

Cacao, Choco, Onion & Herb have objects that are too big to be able to see anything anyways

Cotton can be hard to tell but every time she puts her lamp down she shows that she has her arm out at all times

I misinterpreted Prune's design there, he doesn't wear sleeves he wears gloves, so duh do we get several perspectives of his arms showing, they're not hidden in any way after all lol-- I also misinterpreted Yam's design, it looked like it was a hollow void the same as Smilk's but it seems that it was just an attempt and really bad failure at perspective, that's supposed to be a glove/gauntlet but because of the perspective fail it now looks like it's much much wider than it actually is

Mint has an even worse case of disembodied hand than Smilk does but it does very much seem to be a strange perspective issue rather than it missing completely

Our closest matches imo are Frost Queen, Affogato, Cream Puff, Rebel, Vampire & Pure Vanilla, Pvs already being disqualified because his hand shape is drawn differently, unlike the half circle the others get he gets this slanted raindrop shape, implying the arm perfectly adequately. If we look at even a single piece of art for them though, and uh

Whoops, I can see some arms in those arts, although rebel looks like he got a third elbow lmao-- all duds there

Or wait, hold on, Vampire isn't there... What's that supposed to mean op?

Well apparently it means that Vampire has like, 4 pieces of official art and exactly 0 opportunities in any of his sprites to show off his arms in any manner, he always holds his glass the very exact same way or his hand is just barely peeking out from the sleeve. It never looks obviously wrong like it does w Smilk, it doesn't ever give the impression that beneath his sleeves we would find a lack of wrists and other extremities-- Mguy just needs an event sometime soon ig lol

So given all of our examples for how CRK handles this type of character design, unless Vampire wants to disprove us somehow I don't think there's a strong enough argument to say this is within their m/o, and that Smilk should in some capacity have their arms shown

And finally, why I brought this up in the Sage section at all, is because of 2 points, one regarding to each limb lol

The first is what made me think of it in the first place, that Sage replaced the juggle animation with a new one, so now the only evidence to the disconnected head is the same body proportion issue that was mentioned previously, but making any conclusions from that would be jumping too large of a hurdle I think-- though I wouldn't call anyone out if they came to the conclusion that if asked Sage couldn't juggle his head because it's thoroughly attatched

For me though the hands feel more compelling

To me that looks incredibly obvious that it makes complete sense that Sage's hand continues under the sleeve, and the thing that's cutting it off is not a vague nebulous space but it's the lineart, the fact that the lineart color is the same color as the inside of the sleeve is what makes it look like it disappears prematurely but recolor the linart to be a distinct color and it will look like it makes complete sense

The closest angle we have with the same posed hand is that surprised one, that hand is not bent it is stretched out. The lineart of the ruff and the strange void thing are not the same color, those two things should be two distinct planes of the object, that hand should continue up to the lineart if there was an arm to connect to.

I rest my case ^^

And also for funsies the puppet looks like it has arms better than any present day Smilk's do lol

(warning the keep reading section is really really long -- also bestie logged into the pc vers of tumbrlr just so i could ensure i got this written out how i wanted lmao)

ok i recognize that this might be a contentious subject given how my for you page has been, so just like mini warning i am very fragile & scared so pls dont be too mean if you disagree w me here lol

but i just have to write about it in a fashion that like, anyone can read about it? the thoughts are holding me in a chokehold and i need to be let free so let me vent lmao

ever since i rejoined crk w the intent of dissecting its story i wanna see when they fix the gaping plot hole w white lily lmao i've been writing out my complaints & strange things i've noticed, but one of the things i wrote there is about this subject:

I think out of our current known beasts, Shadow Milk has the highest possibility of being redeemed.

i'll immediately mention that I recognize my bias, i like the guy, i think he a goofy feller who chews the scenery really really hard and is in love w his own voice cause he has so much charm in his way of speakin, so ofc that automatically has to be taken account when i write this up, but i make this claim from the facts i know of with reasonable assumptions based off the facts, or at least i am trying to-- if it's any assurance I also like handsome jack & springtrap but think redemption is off the table for them, this is not coming from "i want every character i like to be a good guy" i do genuinely think it's possible. i also very much know "i just wanna" is not a valid argument lmao-- also quick mention I haven't finished chap 3 of oddessy or the dragon book, so if im missin info you have to wait for an addendum lol

anyways, i think the easiest point is to mention the contrast between him & the other beasts, as to prove why he's the most likely I have to adequately demonstrate why i think the others arent as likely, and I think it will also be decent framework to the rest of my conclusions

the one I think has absolute negative chance of being redeemed is Burning Spice, because no part of him to me seems like he ever wanted to or presently want to be his original virtue. I genuinely think if he never had the virtue thrust upon him he would've never accepted it at all ever; he was one of the first cookies so he got the title of Change, not because he was particularly specially suited for it.

Even in his very own description it mentions he was hailed as a hero because of how much he fought, he has for all of his life only wanted to fight, and used the virtue as an excuse and justification for his actions from the very beginning, one that he sort of believed in to some extent, otherwise he would've never kept any civilization alive ever at all, but he wouldn't have been so gungho about combat for all of his life if he truly believed in change, one who did represent it would recognize that the cycle of life and death does not have to be perpetuated by violence or combat, nor does all change have to involve the death of another.

He also has his past the most secretive out of the 3, the only hint i noticed of his past displayed in the present day was the single mural that we saw the flashback through, which the only way we saw the flashback at all was through the souljam, meaning only his other half had ever the chance of learning what he was like back in the day and no one else. The only way you would even know that the mural is about the past is the 6 arms (since the rest of it depicts cookies burning up into ashes, Sheese describes it as looking like a carnage after all) which is something im not sure if present day sbice can do, but it also doesn't strike me as something the citizens would assume means he was originally a virtue either, it'd probably just be read as sbice being far more powerful than they think of him as.

I don't think he should've ever gotten the title of a virtue, I don't think if given the choice he would've accepted the virtue, and I don't think he ever 100% believed in the virtue and from day 1 has used it as an excuse to satiate his desires.

Speaking of his other half, i dont think there's any universe where Gheese would ever forgive him either, if she won't even forgive one of her best friends for something she shouldn't blame her for I'll try to not get hung up on lily too much sry lmao, required her paradise to fall to war and even then barely got convinced and that he physically mutilated her? There's no way she would ever look past Sbice's actions in a million years, which isn't a great habit to have if you want to redeem someone. So yeah, I think Sbice is off the table as possible candidates lol

Mystic is a different story from Sbice, and will probably end up being the second most likely, including the unreleased beasts.

I've got no idea how they're gonna make sloth into a villain, girlie who does nothin and can't bring themselves to do anythin at all doesn't really feel like someone who can cause much of a fight, and depending on the definition of sloth you're workin w you can attribute it to resting, which is important to any fighter. But especially since their original virtue is happiness I'm presuming sloth is going to be presented very similarly to Gheese's paradise, one w lavish existence, having all your needs met, drowning in fulfilment and no one has to struggle, because surely that leads to bliss-- which still doesn't make me read them as a villain to me, which yk, makes redeeming pretty pointless?

And mr Silence is uh, idk..? What the deal is? I don't read solidarity as a virtue or silence as a sin, i think tumblr knows more than most the benefit of silence actually lmao-- takin the quickest of googles to recheck my definition of solidarity ig its supposed to be unity? so like, teamwork? ig mby the more plain wording of the guy is virtue of Communication and then beast of Not Communicating, which ig I can see how that could make the girlie a villain if its done deliberately, which makes redemption I think at least a little less likely than Mystic but more likely than Sbice.

Anyways!! Tangent ahoy! Point is, I think Mystic is second most likely to be redeemed lmao

Both Smilk & Mystic has the same thing in common that makes me think that they're the likeliest to be redeemed: the continued belief in a 'good', non-beastly trait.

(I should preface that I saw Mystic's story as it was released, but I am rechecking through the logs just to make sure I'm not bein a blatant dumbass, but I might've missed somethin by skimming through the logs)

With Mystic though she doesn't have a ton of connection with Volition in the present day but she does have some-- compared to the past which is the inverse where she mostly had a connection w it but did waver, but only by a very slight amount, one that comes along with every idea of 'freedom': the dissonance between free action vs humanity/personhood. But in this situation unlike a lot of other examples its become her achilles heel. Some people's free will is to assault, murder, harass, maim, damage, rob, whatever else, and hell her (probably) supposed friend Sbice was most likely one of those people.

So what was the answer to deal with the people who were violent and cruel? She took their volition away, she wouldn't give them their wish, her method of displaying her virtue, completely going against it.

(if you want to argue that she did not choose to not grant their wishes but was instead physically unable because of her cocooning then she would still be making a choice to not fulfill her virtue for all cookies which was her goal, but i dont think that's that case anyways)

It's difficult to encapsulate how I believe she viewed her own virtue, I think she fully believed in the virtue in principle, the idea of free will is a good thing after all! Taking away people's free will is a bad thing! But the moment it had to be played out in practice it all fell apart for her, showing that she never really truly believed in it as a real concept along w its consequences, only the image of it, what she wanted it to be, not what it truly was

No, what Mystic wants is Cacao's virtue, Resolution, one of the earliest mentions what I can tell is Haetae pitting his & her resolution against each other, but it's something brought up time and time again, and something she displays over and over. It's something I saw about when the chapter was being released, she's really bad at the whole Apathy thing,

(I am running against the 30 image mark constantly, I have to trim this down, sorry lol, keep on reading to understand my formatting, also sorry if some of the order is incorrect I'm not double checking the chronological events of all these quotes beyond my first check before I had to remove the screenshots, I'm just trusting me from a couple hrs ago lol)

??? (Mystic): It is my purpose to protect Cookies with my unwavering willpower and lead them to Paradise. I enclosed myself in a cocoon for the sake of my followers. And yet the world seen from inside the cocoon was far from pure... Cookies putting their own green first, pushing and shoving to have their own wish fulfilled before anyone else...Witnessing this, my heart grew forlorn and empty. At first I believed this emptiness would crumble my dough, but my enclosed cocoon remained strong and intact throughout the ages. Time comes and goes as Cookies are baked and crumble once again... But I learned how to overcome time itself simply by being me. Just as I was one step away from becoming the Leavened One... Someone spread a false rumor that my cocoon was full of treasures. Mystic Flour Cookie: The cocoon was cut open with one slash of a sword. "Fake immortal," they said, just like you. ... What do you think of my story? Does it not make you feel... like everything is futile? No matter how strong your resolve is, no matter how hard you try, this world will never change. *** Mystic Flour Cookie: My soul jam, come to me. Return to your rightful owner. *** Mystic Flour Cookie: At last, I am complete. I can feel the force of Volition within. Mystic Flour Cookie: Return to nothing, as if you never existed in the first place. This is the world of perfect apathy... that I've been dreaming of. ***

she has desires/dreams of her own, hell she wants her souljam more than anything, the whole reason she was in the cocoon was for her people, one of the first things she says after bein released from the cocoon is a story where she reiterates her purpose & explains the reason she didn't kill herself was because of her resolution. the story itself is dumb as well, she concludes that everything is futile because, checks notes, some guys enacted upon their own volition? that story should be one that enforces your virtue not prove it doesn't work

bestie goes from "resolution? who's she? a worthless cause?" to "that resolution is mine actually" in like 2 sentences, she's a perpetually ideologically conflicted char

She explains a little bit as well in the beginning, how she came to the conclusion, one that once again doesn't go against her own virtue: that when one desire is met, you don't just cease to exist and will probably want more things ever in your life, which is the premise of volition? If you didn't have free will you wouldn't have the option to gain new desires, you couldn't achieve things you want w/o having the capacity and freedom to want, this whole ordeal is a part of the print, yet she takes it as a reason to believe everything is meaningless and nothing will change, revealing she's really lost the plot because she is looking insanely zoomed out lmao

as established later on, she sees every action as meaningless in the wake of infinity, but that would be more equatable as antithetical to volition, as the ability to make choices requires a timeframe, but it's not antithetical to apathy, as you can very much see infinity in an apathetic light but that is a choice you're making, ironically. You can see infinite as wonderous, as scary, as aspirational, as most emotions really-- personally i see infinity as worth fighting for, i think immortality is pretty neat, and frankly i dont think thats very apathetic of me lol

idk if you realized this mystic, but you're not asking for apathy *and* the removal of volition in any these sentiments, youre actually asking for complacency, which doesn't have to be antithetical to apathy but they're very close siblings, as you can be happy with what you have, ie not apathetic, and not want anything more, ie complacent, but because mystic doesn't realize any of this they act like apathy will solve the problem of bad people doing bad things, so will use the power of resolution to ensure that her idea of apathy, total death and later the acquisition of the souljam, will be enacted, because that's totally very apathetic of her /lh

Her belief in apathy is as strong as an emo teens belief in edgyness and dark eyeshadow, and has as much of a backbone as one of them. She doesn't truly fully believe in her apathy at all, no matter whatever she says otherwise, but she believes she has completely lost her belief in volition, even though she hasn't given all said previously. Apathy sounds like the closest answer to her loss in belief but the two ideas really have incredibly little relevance to each other in any intrinsic matter, the opposite of volition isn't anywhere close to apathy, in fact they aren't even antithetical, you can choose by your own will to be apathetic and not care, you can choose to lock yourself away, you can choose to value other things over emotion & desire-- all she is is a girlie who's pissed because bad guys exist and will use their free will to do bad things, thats it, it has nothing to do with apathy, she simply chose to see the world in that manner.

The only thing she does that's anywhere close to doing anything antithetical to volition is taking the people's choice away in living w her pale ailment, the victims didnt exactly choose to keep on living after all, but that seems more like a happy accident rather than something she would actually align with if she was truly Apathy, if she was apathy she would've just stayed in the cocoon, it doesn't matter what everyone else does, it doesn't matter what they think, it doesn't matter what i do, it doesn't matter if i live- a truly apathetic character couldnt bring themselves to act upon the idea that everyone should be as apathetic as themselves, because you would care then! it's very similar to my description of sloth, Apathy can't be a villain, so the way she's a villain is by being one of the most passionate and resolute people around whilst waving the flag around that she's totally apathetic guys trust me bro

also two rq mentions, firstly when mystic shows the kingdom w/o cacao she shows choco's subjects being devoted & choco choosing not only to be a leader but a good one at that & grieving his late father, she is truly incapable of imagining a person who's not driven by volition & resolution to some capacity, or at the very least if you want argue this is fabricated to specifically undermine cacao's resolution and not a depiction of what she thinks will realistically occur, she doesn't think apathy on its own is a convincing enough argument leading her to need to launder her ideology, which really is a great example of her believing it's inherent validity huh?-- and secondly that chippy didn't turn to futility or apathy when he got wooshed heh

(one thing im genuinely unsure about is how real these dustings are, they seem like they were just imagined up by mystic, but i forgor lol)

i've yapped way too long about someone who isnt smilk in a post about smilk lmao, but finally tldr, i believe she is a character who never commited to anything yet put her whole pussy into acting like she did lmao, she believed she was the virtue of volition yet folded when it actually displayed the reality, deciding to instead hold onto her idealized false version of it up to this day, and she claims to believe that she has achieved enlightenment and subsequently apathy yet cannot stop being resolute for 2 whole seconds lmao-- i don't think mystic has the capacity to return to being the virtue of volition, since she doesn't believe in it in a practical sense anyways and it'd be really really hard for them to justify why you should let ppl do assault, but I do think she can become a sister believer of resolution, she can't stop displaying her resolution through her conviction to apathy after all, no matter how much she insists otherwise. i also wouldnt be surprised if they gave instead a synonym, virtue of conviction or somethin heh

Even cacao realizes her, pity, her anxiety, her childishness, everything impossible to be whilst trying to be apathetic, she never succeeded in what she preached and it's blatantly obvious that's the case

feck, speaking of him, i should also talk about cacao shouldnt I? i'll try to be quick-- Cacao is not a man of incapability to forgive like Gheese, as long as you're not a threat to what he's resolute about he's generally fine, especially since he has also shown capacity of recognizing when he himself is in the wrong, it would for sure take a while and a third party would definitively be needed since i'm not sure if we've ever seen him change his mind w/o bein heavily pushed to do so, but in no way do I think w enough evidence that she means no harm would he not accept Mystic if she were to try to redeem herself, but she would probably have to do a lot to prove that to him before he would forgive and he'd watch from afar to see her actions

ok, finally, lmao, the smilk part, i'll try to make it longer than the mystic part so i dont feel like ive wasted your time w her /j who am i kidding all of this is a waste of time im an amateur in analysis and writing and also autistic idk any shit lol im just hopin im coherent and not inherently nonsensical

you might've noticed that as I wrote about the two previous beasts I've laid down the groundwork for some requirements, for features I believe are necessary for the possibility of redemption for any of these characters, which to speak plainly here:

They should have either elements of their previous virtue present in the current day or have the capacity to embark on the path of a new virtue.

Their belief in their beastly aspect should not be absolute and either be depicted as wavering, contradictory or partially believed in.

They should have the capacity to believe they are wrong and thus capable of learning to any degree.

The other half of their soul jam should not permanently reject them.

And uh, if you don't see where I'm going with this, yeah I think that is completely and unabashedly true for Smilk ^^ time to try to adequately prove it lol

Rightio then, how should I tackle this... have them all go down in order ig? or eh, i'll swap the last two, i think that makes it easier to explain, very well then

Coming back to this a little later this absolutely barely works lmao, I'm mostly just making a ton of sub categories that hopefully I can string into somethin coherent lmao, I'll try to make it sensible lol

... It seems I have reached the image limit....

Ok problem solving time, all quotes displayed like this are all quotes directly found from the game, I don't have the energy to source which chapter it is from as I haven't for any of the screenshots lol, but know that unless stated otherwise they are all found within the quest logs menu thing, hopefully thats a good enough middle ground, cause I have 0 energy to figure out how to work around the image limit, if there is a workaround-- I'm gonna reduce the redundant repetition of names since this text block doesnt have the same restrictions as the game does and to differentiate large walls of separate quotes the segment will end with a *** ... + when one of those separating lines of elipses occurs means some dialogue in the same section was skipped, as it's either filler or irrelevant to the point im making, i am trying to not source even more than i have to yk lol

As a final reminder before entering the Smilk section, ofc he fuckin lies, he lies a lot lmao, but a big part of what I'm going to be saying is that he does not lie all the time. I will sometimes put things into sections you might disagree w their authenticity in regards of truthful sentiments, if he is clearly lying about a subject that the quote is being categorized within, then the category probably isn't about assuming absolute truth is coming out of his face hole, it probably matters to the grander themes and messaging of the entire story lol.

They should have either elements of their previous virtue present in the current day or have the capacity to embark on the path of a new virtue.

Light of Truth...?: I govern all Truth and Deceit of this world. What you mistake for the power of Truth is but a cute tiny droplet in my limitless ocean of Knowledge. So! What am I?! Need another hint? I thought you would've solved my little riddle by now! Pure Vanilla Cookie: The one who governs all Truth and Deceit... The Master of All Knowledge...? Light of Truth...?: RING DING DING! *** Silverbell Cookie: It's all a lie! There's no way that His Majesty protected the seal for such selfish reasons... Wizard Cookie: Shadow Milk Cookie is the Cookie of Deceit. Of course he's full of lies! White Lily Cookie: He's not simply making up obvious lies, but weaving in threads of truth to his story... *** Fortune Teller Cookie: ... The lord of this tower is a Cookie all-knowing. Space and time intertwine in a myriad of reflections here. For in the realm of Knowledge, there is more than one truth. *** Shadow Milk Cookie: Ahem, rise and shine! Daydreaming again? Do understand, I'm not mad. I'm simply disappointed. For you fail to see the truth. THIS is not an other-realm. ... It's time to accept the truth you like so much, Pure Vanilla Cookie. *** Shadow Milk Cookie: The Truth... How do I put it? It has a rather ugly countenance. Some Cookies prefer the safety of a sweet lie, afraid to stick their head outside, to the cold reality. Others? They find a twisted pleasure in weaving deceit for their own benefit. I know exactly what you're thinking. BEEN THERE, so to speak! My boy, the universe once was but an open book to me. Time and space unfurled before my eyes. Truthless Recluse: Perhaps, it's not an easy task for those who haven't witnessed the majesty of Truth and Knowledge. *** Shadow Milk Cookie: Look at this fallen seeker of Truth. Your mind is like an open book!*** ??? (Sapph): The great Shadow Milk Cookie, Archmaster of all Knowledge and Deceit there is, played a genius stroke by leading our reckless foes right into his trap in the spire! ... And now, I invite you to sit back, relax, and forget about the boring notions of Truth and some such! Instead, join me tonight on our fantastical, magical journey...*** Shadow Milk Cookie: Ah, Cookies! They just love a good gossip, don't they? Something to gnaw on, truth or not. Black Sapphire Cookie: Excellently said, My Lord! A droplet of Truth in a concoction of Deceit works wonders! Soon, this world will kneel before you, Master Shadow Milk Cookie!*** Black Sapphire Cookie: Knowledge and Lies have existed since the very genesis of these lands. Master Shadow Milk Cookie's power is truly beyond all measure and comprehension! Shadow Milk Cookie: Lo and behold! I shall purge the darkness of the unknown and illuminate your future!

This point is the biggest reason why I thought he could ever have a redemption all along, because HE WON'T STOP TELLING US THIS IS THE CASE, he LOVES the truth, he LOVES knowledge, the only way to tell the truth is to know things, and the only way to lie is to also know things, a baby cannot lie, they don't know shit lol-- lying inherently and intrinsically is a distortion of knowledge automatically requiring his virtue to be a part of the equation, and smilk cannot shut up about how much he knows that to be true. He will preach the virtue of truth (this ones important dont gloss over it lol), he will choose to tell the truth, he will admit that he isn't lying, he will make his own truth. At no point did Sbice want abundance, and there was a single point where Mystic even admitted that she had a grain of volition within her and all other cases were accidental, but he will just. not. stop. mentioning. truth.

Pure Vanilla Cookie: I realized that my power and his... They are like two sides of the same Coin... What do I do? *** Light of Truth (Smilk): I am the Light of Truth. And the truth is... Your dreadful adversary and I. We might not be much different after all. One and the same... *** Pure Vanilla Cookie (Interspersed w Smilk): Truth and Deceit... Like two sides of the same Coin... Perhaps, those dreams are merely a trick to confuse me... A product of my power resonating to Shadow Milk Cookie's presence... ...!!! No, impossible!... Or is it?... Even so, he and I are different. Shadow Milk Cookie and I are different! And yet... that custodian's riddle... It was too easy... And this place... it feels oddly familiar. Ever since I gained my Soul Jam, I've come across so many questions without answer... I wonder... Did the Fount of Knowledge feel this too? All this doubt and confusion? Like I do? Pure Vanilla Cookie...?: All the roads I have ever taken... All the roads you have ever taken... They all lead to Him. Pure Vanilla Cookie: These are not my words! Once the Fount of Knowledge: You and I are bound... ... You will see.*** Pure Vanilla Cookie (Smilk): Knowledge, Deceit... Maybe they are not that different. ... Pure Vanilla Cookie...?: Oooh, looks like we have an expert in the audience! Shadow Milk Cookie: Very well, go ahead. Prove me wrong! *** Light of Truth...?: Why, you've said it yourself! We are like the two sides of the same coin! *** Shadow Milk Cookie: I know exactly what you're thinking. BEEN THERE, so to speak! My boy, the universe once was but an open book to me. Time and space unfurled before my eyes. You... You are merely following in my footsteps. ... Oh but it's inevitable. In the end, you will become... me! And it's gonna feel good!***

[That entire section lol ^] Gingerbrave: Phew! Pure Vnilla Cookie will play White! Shadow Milk Cookie: Huh? That doesn't seem right... Are you sure? Wizard Cookie: What?! That's cheating! Shadow Milk Cookie: Aren't we like two peas in a pod? I get that a lot! Heh. Sometimes it's hard to tell us apart! *** Truthless Recluse: I think I'm beginning to understand him. And... it fills me with fear and self-loathing.*** Shadow Milk Cookie: Oh, we are one and the same now! Meet the other Cookie of Deceit, Pure Vanilla Cookie!***

It is also repeatedly emphasized w PV & Smilk specifically, not any of the other beasts what i recall, that they are two sides of the same coin, unlike the other pairs who although are both representative of their respective virtue are incapable of existing with one another, these two are both aspects of knowledge and they need each others traits to exist as a whole, there can be apathy w/o resolution and there can be destruction w/o abundance, but there cannot be lies w/o truth and truth w/o lies is pretty antithetical to humanity, autonomy & consideration, which at least I think are decently important for ppl who, yk, give a shit at all, like pv lol. They both on separate instances deny it whenever it starts hitting just a smidge too close to home, but it's a theme that runs continuously throughout the entire story.

Shadow Milk Cookie: But then... a particularly wise Cookie, who had seen the truth of this world, appeared in his kingdom. Smart Cookie: And she said, "I've seen the truth of this world! It needs the strength of the Five Great Cookies to exist!" ***

I'm not sure if this is the best category to put it in, but since I mentioned the coin thing here I'll mention it here too, Smilk likes truth tellers and truth knowers, to at least some extent, someone who fervently believed otherwise I think would struggle to admit otherwise. I take that observation specifically off a video I saw a while ago, an acknowledgement of a strange behavior, that a conservative guy made a parody newshow of leftists based entirely on lying and struggled to stick to the bit, since the conservative doesnt believe trans ppl to be real and are just one gender pretending to be the other, you would then believe that the newshow that lies all the time would disagree and claim that they arent just pretending, but that would require for just a moment that the conservative guy has to say w his own words that trans ppl arent just pretending, and since the belief is so vehement that they are just pretending they cant for a second do what they believe to be lying and thus end up making the lying newsshow accidentally trans validation. Although I very much think Smilk to be physically capable of making such a lie, if he does indeed believe all these truthers to be foolish idiot morons, I don't think he could psychologically get himself to admit that.

And finally a little bit of a catchall of him generally displaying otherwise 'heroic' traits, stuff that could be compiled in that 'new' virtue, even if they are, ofc, twisted in some capacity, usually pretty heavily-- I'm well aware we're talkin about Smilk here dw this isnt me tellin me he's the good guy all along lmao

Shadow Milk Cookie: Shadow Milk Cookie couldn't forgive the foolish king for how unjustly he treated the Five Great Cookies! And so... He decided to dispose of the foolish Kinch and save his comrades! ***

Saving your friends and disposing of the villain is usually done by protagonists of all media, so why be a hypocrite for him?

Shadow Milk Cookie: Those False Heroes were nothing more than petty thieves. They stole the powers of the Five Great Cookies, who had been sealed away so unjustly, and used these powers at (a?) whim! ***

Ik this is gonna be shockin, but stealing is usually bad lol and being locked away unjustly is a decently common trope for heroes, even Gheese got that experience later on lol

crk on a couple occasions has believed the opposite idea, that lying is having your eyes closed and the truth vice versa, but for the characters of Smilk & PV it's the opposite, the man with his eyes closed at all times is the man who speaks the truth, and the one who has a heavy open eye motif is the liar, so any instance of either doing the opposite is worth considering. A different post made by someone i do not have the capacity to go check on, made me really really think about what that is, and although I don't think my answer is airtight, I think it is because of trust & the choice. In the same vain that cats will close their eyes around those they trust, if you believe something to be true then closing your eyes to not see any possible distortions of the truth is you choosing to trust that what you know is real. That's why way way back when mr was Healer Cookie, he didn't know the truth, and had to be shown it, because a blind fold isnt having your eyes closed voluntarily, his eyes were closed so he could not get new information until he took them off, but the truth wasn't real as the (metaphorical) ones who put them on him had an agenda. With deceit, which already is heavily associated as a choice anyways, is you choosing to take in new information about the world, all information, truth or not, your senses also being inherently biased, and you're not trusting at all. Again, I'm not fully confident about this interpretation, but I do at the very least feel like it has something to do with volition (teehee).

And the final point on this case, I'll get into the sage skin a little later, I think it needs the context of all the points for me to say the words in a coherent manner, but when you tap on him with his skin he will close both his eyes, indicating he is a truthful figure, and default Smilk will wink at you, one eye closed, the other open, he is both truth and deceit, he is to this day the virtue of knowledge

Their belief in their beastly aspect should not be absolute and either be depicted as wavering, contradictory or only partially believed in.

This section has sort of been made obsolete because of previous one, that Smilk cannot just shut his face about how much truth means to him, but I'll try to collect all the instances he just outright tells the truth here, w what I believe to be no caveats, manipulation or distortions. And I only mean sections that he could obviously lie, ofc if he's just expositing plainly or sentences w no comparable false equivalence then I'm not adding those, this isn't a dump to add all of his dialogue in one spot lmao. "..." is hard to make a lie out of lol

Shadow Milk Cookie: You may be celebrating your little victory for now... But heed my words! We have finally risen. Do not think that you can hold us back. ... Pure Vanilla Cookie: ...Shadow Milk Cookie's lies... always have a grain of truth in them. His last words sounded like a warning to us... Perhaps, they were truthful after all. ***

I'll move this section down from the previous category though, since this is the biggest instance of him displaying his antithesis to his beastly nature. The thing that is absolutely most interesting in terms of the idea that Smilk is just fully a believer of the truth specifically, is the chess game. The chess game is the peak point of why this has held me on such a chokehold. I'll summarize the game here for ya, once you read later into this whole text you'll know why I choose to not rely as heavily on quotes.

Besides Brave noticing that it's a big chess board, it is then established that "Each move is like a stimulating conversation, unfolding one step at a time!", which boy don't you know it lmao. The special rules of this version of chess is listed out, the most important one for this section is:

You surely have to realize how big of a deal this is? right? That the beast of deceit, who supposedly should fully have given up on knowledge, be a full believer of lies and intrinsically oppose the Light, chose on his own to play a game with no lies, exclusively with the truth involved, for the sake of gaining knowledge? He's just returning to his Fount days here, the only difference is that he's a bit more of a maniac but that doesn't inherently devalue his connection to his past and mirrored virtues, he's fully and completely demonstrating that not only would he be capable of reform in theory, but that he doesn't even need reform in his belief, he still believes in knowledge and he still believes in the truth, why the hell else would he employ tactics he wouldn't believe in? The entire crux of his own fall is his lack of conviction and self confidence on his own end, and this shows clearer than any scene that he fully still believes in his old virtue, and we know the reason he fell all those days ago into the beast is because Cookies rather choose the sweet, savory taste of Deceit over the harsh reality of the Truth, not because he himself stopped believing in it, abso-fuckin-lutely does it make sense that he never ever shuts up about Truth, because he hasn't given up on it, it's integral to his current believed ideology after all.

Cough, anyways, there's more to the chess scene lol.

He then does his first act of cheating ever, all of his previous acts of deceit technically hasn't broken any rules, implicitly or explicitly, and then possibly argues that he sees Pv as the same as him.

Once the missing chess pieces are acknowledged and the gang gets turned into them, curiously Smilk Points out that they volunteered and wasn't forced by Smilk, which also curiously was a point mentioned earlier this chapter where Pv on his own accord went to the spire. He's starting to point just straight up facts, another word for truth, he's doing it for a point he wants to make later, but it's interesting that the first time he does it is when he was the peak of his villainy, ie peak deceit, so therefore had no reason to speak the truth yet did it anyways and the second time when he's the most Fount he'll ever be this entire chapter.

Shadow Milk Cookie: Let's get this game going! You gotta tell the truth, only the truth, and nothing but the truth! Or your pieces won't move!

He begins with what he believes will be an easy question for Pv, what is a lie? Answered as "... The antipode of truth." Which we can't inherently take as a fact, not in our current state at least, we've got no way of knowing if this is some sort of cosmic entity controlling the board or if Smilk is determining what is the truth, but I think it's easier to assume that it's his belief, especially since it'd be inline with his other conclusions. The second question is however a lot more interesting, what is the truth? which is answered as "The only right thing that must be protected." and that is right, and as we just moments prior established, odds are the answers are what Smilk believes, Smilk agrees with this answer, he also believes that truth is the only right thing and must be protected. This is extraordinarily close to being an outright admission that he's not even a beast, he has no stakes in deceit, he doesn't believe in deceit, it's not right and it shouldn't be protected, he's most likely firmly in team Truth, but because he is so caught up in, ironically, his own game, he doesn't even realize that he's done such a blunder. If you think that interpretation takes it too far, then at the very least what factually did happen is that he was laughing, finding this exercise fun and kept playing, what he didn't do is disagree, or call the board wrong, or say that the board is lying. The next question is probably the closest we get to confirmation that he is controlling what is and isn't truth here, as Pv answers the question he believes to have understood which causes the piece to move but then stop in its tracks to indicate a wrong answer, if he had misunderstood the question and Smilk wasn't in charge I don't think the piece would've jammed in place like that, but Smilk's intent is to prod at Pv, so making the process as painful as possible is a part of that goal.

He is absolutely ecstatic about truly catchin Pv in a lie, he's been pretty quiet or hostile up until this point, and he seemed unsatisfied with the river situation, but here, he truly, legitimately and fully caught him in a lie, for the first time. And then proceeds to be a bad winner about it lmao, but importantly is in love with the possibiltiy that Pv might not know the difference between right and wrong, which, once again, ironically, is happening to him this entire match lol

Shadow Milk Cookie: Ah, what a thrilling game! Looks like I have the upper hand! He he he he he!

Mans is lost in the sauce lol. When he notices the souljam reating he pivots into talking about White Lily, which really seems to affect Pv poorly to Smilk's excitement, and then once again goes at it from the angle that he's not at fault, that this is actually all Pv's fault. Where he then just says the funniest thing huh.

Shadow Milk Cookie: In the end, it all comes down to a very simply conclusion. If the so-called "truth" were the only right thing, it would've granted you the power to overcome all the odds you've been up against! Whose fault is it?

Don't tell Smilk which category this is in, or the words he said like 3 paragraphs ago lmao, he'd be fuming right about now xddd

As Pv admits that he agrees, that he is weak and is all at fault, Smilk bursts into laughter and starts taunting Pv, absolutely adoring watching him fall further and further. But then does another really funny thing.

Shadow Milk Cookie: If I was able to bring you down so easily... That makes me your Truth, doesn't it?! Yours and everyone else's! ... And so, the ultimate Deceit becomes the ultimate Truth! Now that's right up my alley!

Smilk go 5 seconds in this chess match not being your own antithesis challenge level impossible lmao.

He then repeats an idea he said in one of the first chapters, something that because I've organized this poorly that I don't think y'all know about yet, that Smilk wants to control Pv, and that pv and just relax and follow his command. Smilk with his final question pulls out his testing of the waters, what he truly believes in, going full project blast canon lmao-- Since he believes his endeavour of knowledge was futile, that his sharing of the truth was landed on deaf ears, perhaps his own vision was incorrect all along, was his entire purpose, his life? A lie? And that filled him w supposedly enough regret to get him to beastify. So now he believes he has put Pv through the same feelings, the same disappointment, the same futility, the same disproving, that he must also regret his whole life now. But he reacts unexpectedly, he starts laughing, to the confusion of Smilk, where Pv starts to just cheat..... Which Smilk LOVES, he LOVES it SO much, the projection being completely and utterly dodged doesn't matter at all, because Pv is becoming more like him!! He is clearly embracing deceit!!! He is far more than overjoyed at this moment, the loudest and most excited his own entourage has ever seen. He admits that he thought Pv still had more resolution, but this here showing proved otherwise and commends him for the act, adoring that Pv is fulfilling his potential and using his own tricks.

I really, really hope that I've at least a little bit conveyed how much this entire game revealed Smilk's full hand with this game, seemingly entirely beneath his very own nose: he displayed he still believes in truth and knowledge, that he doesnt believe in deceit, that he views himself as the ultimate truth, that he's torn down his own defences around Pv a fuckton, and I'm not sure if he event knowingly told a single lie during the entire match, just prodded the guy and faked a single coin. If anything at all killed his chances to win as a villain it was the chess game, it undermined his power internally and externally a huge amount, and he never recovers it again.

The other half of their soul jam should not permanently reject them.

(ie, the pv analysis also included in here lol)

Pvs change into acceptance is definitively most obvious at the very end, and I'll ofc show my work even if everyone knows it, especially if you follow the smilk tag and are the likeliest to read this lol-- but it did not begin at the end, nor is it exclusive to the latest chapter, there has been drips of it earlier.

Shadow Milk Cookie: Out of these false heroes, which ones is only half a Cookie? ... Gingerbrave: None of them! Shadow Milk Cookie: WRONG!!! ... Pure Vanilla Cookie: The right answer is... All of them. Shadow Milk Cookie: ..... RING DING DING!!! Did you hear that?! A correct response from our sharp audience! My my, I'll let you advance to the next round!*** Shadow Milk Cookie: Out of these three Cookies... Who is the biggest liar? ... Pure Vanilla Cookie: The biggest liar is... me, Pure Vanilla Cookie. ... Pure Vanilla Cookie: ... It's correct, isn't it? Shadow Milk Cookie: Unbelievable! You got it right again! RING DING DING!!! That Pure Vanilla Cookie knows his thing! I'm impressed, I must say!... Indeed, what is pure, unquestionable truth if not deceit...?

PV is always the one to answer all of Smilk's og quiz questions correctly (the ones he's allowed to answer at least lol, and the one that he wasn't allowed to answer was answered "wrong"), which not only establishes that they are to some capacity on the same wavelength from the very start not just because smilk is in the souljam lol so it isn't a result of his very pleasant stay at his tower /lh but also each time Smilk not only respects the answer, he also ignores the previously established (unquoted) punishment in favor of Pvs correct answer on the first one and on the second one compliment him, establishing at least some sort of report for Smilk to recognize

Also wanna take a quick moment on that second set of quotes, to further re-establish that 100% truth cannot exist w/o lies, and to elaborate to make me not seem insane here lmao, it's the same principle as "history is written by the victors" or however the phrase goes, objective truth does not necessarily equate to described truth, nor does a telling of truth automatically mean that the entire truth is revealed since that is quite difficult to do, whatever information you omit will change the way the information is ingested by the audience, and it doesn't have to be the case of lies by omission to our perspective either, you can describe you playing with your kid on a playground, a fully true statement, but you omitted that it was raining when you were outside, the omission I'd be hard-pressed to call a lie personally but it changes the story quite drastically. And even if you don't agree w this sentiment, at bare minimum that's the world that crk has established in these chapters to be true, and I think it is inferable that Smilk would find those omissions to be lies.

(Read aloud by pv): And thus did the all-devouring heart of darkness fall into slumber... The Beast-binding Rituatl of the Witches demands a great wisdom and even greater sacrifice. It much be conducted by someone who is ready to pay the price. This power lies hidden, far and out of reach, for you are forbidden from meddling with magic beyond you ken. Now, The Spire of All Knowledge stands without a master... where all knowledge began, and there it shall remain, as long as there is light. You who dares lay hand on the forbidden knowledge! After many a hardship, may you find the answer your seek... Pure Vanilla Cookie: The master of the Spire... It's about Shadow Milk Cookie, without a doubt. He could be there... Awaiting me... Without a doubt, having gained a physical form, he will pose a much greater threat... Our encounter can't be avoided. No matter if I fear it or not. The Beast are regaining their former power. All the more reason to face them and put and end to their evil. For the good of all Cookies, of the entire world!

The book planted specifically to trick the gang to go to the spire instantly gets snuffed out by PV, he notices instantly that the tower is Smilk's and its likely to contain the man himself, he goes not because he's tricked as Capple believes and relays in her overworld dialogue w smilk, but by his own volition (teehee)

At no point does he get legitimately tricked by Smilk specifically, all the times he does get tricked they're not by cookies with the eyes that are shown in the portraits to be a consistent feature or the flashbacks where the eyes are always eventually shown-- all the pain he goes through is either his own resolution (teehee) to be kind or his kindness being taken advantage of, but he is always in tune w Smilk

Bit annoyin to put the entire interaction down so there's the entire section lol [04 Young Shepherd Cookie], but the entire one of the wolfherd (which I don't think is Smilk, as explained earlier) is an example of him bein taken advantage of, he prioritizes kindness over being suspicious of the kid even though he has already acknowledged they are surely in Smilk's domain-- but once the kid is established to be safe & help is offered Pv then doesn't say a word and generally just acts surprised at the story, until the very end where the gang is talking amongst themselves recognizing that they've been tricked, First Strawberry, then Gingerbrave, then Wizard... But not Pv, he implicitly establishes to the team that kindness is more important than the lying, and recognizes internally that this is Smilk's presence in effect.

The story after is one that can be interpreted as Pv lying, cookie is dying before him, and he tells the cookie what I would argue to be ethical lies, which is that the cookie will be fine. The absolute last thing you want a dying patient to do is give up, you need them to follow your orders, and you need them to believe it will work, because if they don't that's just a self fulfilling prophecy and they are much more likely to go kaput. He suspected that it might be too late but not for a second did that stop him from trying, but since this was an artificial situation to begin w nothing was going to work, ofc. And once Pv finds out that this is another (non Smilk performed) trick and that his kindness has once been taken advantage of, he once again reinstates that kindness is more important and keeps wanting to help the cookie out.

And the final one after, the one with the towerkeeper, is harder at least for me to determine, keeping one of his eyes closed automatically puts him on the sus meeter as a truthful speaker, the way he presents his question as a riddle instead of a quiz yet formats and phrases his question the exact same as Smilk, praising Pvs answer, but also Pv not seeing through the trick if it was performed by Smilk, at most I'd argue that he may be the third closest connection Smilk has but that's very much flimsy and unbiased heh (unrelated but idk why white lily leaves except exclusively to make the story less crowded lol)

Pure Vanilla Cookie: We must look carefully for any clues on the ritual. ... Apple Faerie Cookie: Oh yes... It's as if everything we knew... was wrong! Pure Vanilla Cookie: Let us not jump to conclusions. Perhaps, it's another test... We must keep searching. ... Perhaps, it's a trick to make us stray from our path.

Pvs order of priority the moment of entering the spire is Kindness - Searching for the ritual, then Suspicion - is this another trick, then Confirmation - yes this is a trick, im recognizing this is a stretch which given the experiences w the wolfherd and the dying cookie is decently consistent w how he reacts to non smilk made lies

Pure Vanilla Cookie: The Light... of Truth...? This is... the Dark Side of the Moon... Another dream. ... ... What are you saying? Are you not... my guiding light? Light of Truth: Do not doubt me, Pure Vanilla Cookie...! I am the Light of Truth. Your old friend. All this time, I've been illuminating your path. Fore a long, long time... Even when you were smaller than your Cream Lamb.

Tbh to be frank idk what happens here lmao, he should be fully aware that the light is compromised and even recognizes that this is the moon, so absolutely smilk's influence here... yet he still believes the light to not be smilk...? But at least i think its reasonably inferable that the moment that the cream lamb is mentioned thats when Pv suses stuff out, I really dont know with this one gang, if ya wanna use this as the bullet to shoot my analysis down there's not much I can argue lmao

(The cards): Fshh... Gingerbrave: Huh? What are these cards? They have peculiar markings on them...! Pure Vanilla Cookie: These are tarot cards. Fortunate tellers use them to read someone's future.

Also I don't think Smilk pulls any tricks that Pv himself isn't previously aware of, the moment recluse in the inn brings out the tarot cards Pv immediately knows what they are, I don't think Pv was at all confused what chess was about lol

Fotune Teller Cookie: This way! ... Follow me, now! We're Safe. They won't reach us here ... ... No wonder. After all, this is the Spire of Deceit. Here, have a Jelly. Gingerbrave: Huh... Whoah! Thanks! But we have no time! We need to save our friend! Fortune Teller Cookie: No. You must go back. ... Don't you understand? You cannot win the battle against the Beast of Deceit. ... You'vebeen deceived by someone you trusted. You couldn't see the illusions of the Spire for what they were. So, tell me. How can you save your friend? ... ... If there's still a friend to save. *** Fortune Teller Cookie: Wait. ... I must ask one last question. Does your resolve remain strong? Are you sure you won't regret your choice, come what may? ... ... Follow me. You will only meet more foes down this path. I will show you a safer road.

Now when we're actually in the spire, we can also keep a closer eye on the fortune teller, since we know that he and Pv are on in the same, and we're not going to go into any details as to why teller cause we're instantly going to get into weird timey winey shenanigans lmao. The first what we see of teller once entering the spire is exclusively kindness, he is terrified of the beast but his priority is getting the people out of there. But once the gang absolutely refuses to follow his word, his kindness shifts, if he cannot ensure their safety, he will at least help them to the best of his ability.

Pure Vanilla Cookie: This place... Looks different but feels the same. As if it has revealed its true colors. I must get back to my friends. ...?! These portraits... They all depict Shadow Milk Cookie! They all look different, but it's unmistakably him!*** Pure Vanilla Cookie: This must be Shadow Milk Cookie when he was still called "The Fount of Knowledge"... Everyone is looking up to him. But there are some Cookies who chose... to deny reality. They rejected the bitterness of the world in favor of the sweetness of Deceit... He must have walked a solitary path... ***

Further establishment that the instant Smilk tries to pull off any trickery, although these just bein portraits and not him literally, Pv will instantly snuff it out. And also that enforcing that they're on the same wavelength, that once again when it isn't hittin too close to home he will relate to Smilk.

In the entirety of 18, 19 & 20, he immediately fights back against Smilk, multiple occasions pointing out that he's not telling the truth, being resolute (teehee, ok ill stop lol) in his own self, in a very few occasions faltering for just a step but then immediately regaining his ground. He's not stoic and he is struggling yes, but he has 3 things he believes in and he's not going down yet heh.

Also the next one 21, I'm not super confident if this fictional section lets Pv have any autonomy? But if we assume he does he once again prioritizes kindness over smilk/his tricks, as he heals a cookie even if it means smilk knows his location, he will 100% risk a fight or even dyin if it means he can save at least one other cookie.

And then we get the teller decrying how they never change and turning into recluse scene, or well, sorta, but shh we're not talking about the time travel its weird lmao-- where I mostly just want to mention the connection to the earlier point I made, the shaky interpretation, that the "reason" he turned into the recluse was because he had his eyes open to all the lies, he didn't close his eyes to the lies and let them in, clouding his judgement.

And now we've finally entered the latest chapter, where I should immediately apply our framework that we have to view the entire chapter through:

I'm letting this one tick down my image count, because it's that important. It's admitted at the very end, that this whole recluse thing was an act all along, that he tricked smilk, because Smilk can never lie to Pv and have him not notice it, that image I sent earlier? The one where pv is looking into the mirror and sees smilk? I think thats what he means when they "became one" and knew that smilk was lonely, so yes, before the fall, he knew-- He was still very fragile, very fickle, it wasn't like he was stoically going through the experience, very little would've convinced him to give up, but he knew there was a light to go towards and take advantage of, that tiny light was enough to keep him trucking, to keep him lying, to keep his resolution. I should also make it clear why I think the "becoming one" was that scene and not the scene where he becomes souljam of deceit x2, since I believe that's the scene that most people will assume that is referring to not the one I believe it to be, and tbh... i don't really have facts facts to back either of them up, neither of them sound like good candidates for being the scene, I don't think becoming 2 can be automatically instinctually argued as becoming 1 lol, hell idek what the (unquouted) "I saw your records." is referring to, but all I can do is present my case why it makes more sense for Pv to have been acting the whole time, instead of truly having given up and only the last couple minutes did this specific spark of hope work and not one of the dozen other ones.

So, with that down, once we go to the first part of the latest chapter, is that we know the consistent behaviour for Pv is to instantly snuff Smilk out, when Smilk is not involved he will go in the order of Kindness > Suspicion > Confirmation, his entire full and complete motivation + light at the end of the tunnel is his friends, his goal is to make smilk let his guard down (+ presumably make it out alive), and if at all possible in the slightest; befriend smilk. Alright? We're on the same page? Final chapter time heh. I will be going through the entirety of it in a summarizing fashion, adding in my own reasoning for the claim I made earlier and will quote things whenever I think it establishes things, instead of just the quotes being contextless.

First ep doesn't include any Pv, but it shows Smilk being more brazen w his lies, no longer are they sprinkled w truth, this ep is pretty much peak "villain", yes, even more villain than him gettin 2 deceit souljams, he is relishing in his first major step in victory, a footnote I make later in this diatribe because I cannot order these points to save my life, is that Smilk has long wanted Pv in his clutches, before Pv entered the spire did he intend to capture Pv.

So in ep 2 o with that accomplished he is joyous and flaunts his power to Pv. Pv however is silent and Smilk immediately tries to pry out information from him, guessing what could possibly be on his mind. Pv however has incredibly little interest in being swayed by the power display and nagging, his interest lies is solely within his friends, as although not directly confirmed word for word it seems after Pvs 'goodbye', his absolute rock bottom, Smilk took the gang away, the fear of them being harmed once again awakening Pvs kindness, even for only the tiniest smidgeon, I gotta reiterate this is incredibly fickle, if Smilk were to go hard on Pv rn he would probably give up entirely, the light can just barely rarely get Pv to act in accordance to pre-recluse in its current state. His plan to deceive Smilk isn't in process yet, he's mostly just processing what's happening to him and mostly letting his impulses guide him through the events. Smilk enjoys plucking the obvious weakpoint of Pv, but once again Smilk's nagging isn't his friends, so he doesn't really bother with it. Since Smilk is actively plucking said string, weakening that light, when he brings them out Pv doesn't respond, leading Smilk to poke a little further. A timeskip occurs where Smilk "toys" with the gang, whatever that means, and establishes that the only reason any of the gang is alive is due to his non-violent desires, where he then gets distracted ig? And grabs Pv, threatening to grab the souljam, Pv immediately recoiling and supposedly going to claim that its his, and since he's mostly on autopilot and Beat To Hell Mentally he gets pretty pissed, so Smilk's prodding finally gets an answer he likes out of Pv, but fully believes there is more boiling under Pvs skin so prods further to get him to lash out further. The gang interrupts trying to assure Pv to keep on fightin, and whilst Sapph tries to threaten them further with the legacy of Smilk, but that doesn't deter Brave at all. Smilk decides however to take the moment to, I think enter the souljam? Where he notices how unstable it is, who would've thunk it ikr, where its then established that his plan probably only extended to the recluse stage, after having a little bit of fun w recluse he would then take the souljam and move on, but because of how fragile it is he gets curious, where he then decides to see how far down he can go, the very next sentence admitting he changed his mind from whatever it was before.

They're then all taken to the river, where they just explain that truthtellers drown and those who "embrace deceit" don't, woot exposition lol. Pv however havin been rallied by his friends moments before being sent here but also still being pretty pissy snaps back, establishing his own autonomy, wherein Smilk does a wonderful job immediately undermining the tiniest pushback he got lmao. Oh I should probably mention its the choice of him or his friends right? So yeah, kindness wins out, without a word he chooses himself and heads straight into the river. And as we know earlier, his friends is the stated reason why he got out of the river, and I believe once he gets out of the river, after maybe hearing all of the confident blabberin from Smilk and definitively the blasted hoorays from after he re-emeges, is when he gets his plan to trick Smilk is in action.

His eyes being closed the moment he emerges from the water has nothing to do with that conclusion, just btw /j, lh

I do think he did hear what they were saying when he was under the water, as asking "... Are you satisfied now?" directly replies to their previous disappointment, in finding him just drowning instantly to be anticlimactic, with the ensuing excitement as I previously explained ensures. And just to make it a little clearer, I believe this is the moment where he sets his plan to deceive Smilk, yk, perhaps, oh, idk, he "embraces deceit" and that allowed him to complete the requirements laid out by the river?

The chess scene is where things get really, really intersting for Smilk, but I think I'm going to put that in the earlier section, and leave any Pv relevant parts here. So yes since you're reading the finished product you would've already known my dissection of the chess game, teehee.

As the rules get explained and Wizard questions the "No lies" rule, Pv seems to be implied to be physically repulsed by the idea, but doesn't say anything, since Smilk notices that he doesn't want to play the game. The coin gets flipped, the coin is rigged, Smilk goes first. Ik I mentioned this quote earlier in the two sides of a coin section, "Aren't we like two peas in a pod? I get that a lot! Heh. Sometimes it's hard to tell us apart!", but I want to elaborate a tiny bit on the point, because this is the first time we ever see Smilk cheat, which yes I talked about earlier but this is about Pv lol, he deceives and lies, but he hasn't ever broken any implicitly or explicitly stated rules before this point, so I think it's one of 3 options, the least meaningful one is that he is talking about how they look similar, you simply mistook my face for Pv's how silly of you, or the two remaining options, that Smilk also sees Pv as a cheater or re-enforcing previous information where he believes Pv to be the biggest liar in the world, and tbh I think it's probably a mix of both. Afterwards the comment about the lack of chess pieces arises, and ofc the friends get turned into pieces, which he doesn't seem to react a ton to either. Though if I can extrapolate a bit farther than I think is reasonable for the claim I've made, I think he is just paying attention to what Smilk is saying, as we also know that Pv knows, that Smilk is full of suspicions, so if you want to trick the master of lies, you really need to know what he truly believes in. Now he no longer is just defensive and trying to protect his own resolution, he is now trying to calculate what Smilk's truth is, which in turn makes him sturdier-- But ofc only like, by 1% maybe, he ain't recovering for a while lmao. Pv says his first words this entire ep when he answers Smilk's proposed easy question, what is a lie. And then the second answer also doesn't bring a ton of insight into Pv, but the third does, as its designed to provoke Pv. The original question is "How do we judge what is right?" which gets instantly contorted into absolute nonsense, mans a weasel here lmao, and it instead turns into a question of "When you blew up the souljams (I think is what happened) for what you believed to be the greater good, would you do that again?" to which Pv denies, leading to the piece getting stuck some more.

It seems the implied answer is that because Pv adamantly and continuously refuses to give another answer, Smilk and then continuously get free moves, though the first thing we see is him being quiet some more. Though his souljam (wherever it is lol) is physically reacting in some manner, as once again it is reacting to his friends. After having been mostly quiet this entire match, and only showing much of any stronger emotion by being surprised at Smilk's weaseling but quickly regained his composure, he finally snaps at Smilk again, when White Lily, his best friend, is brought up, and havin to think about her really aint makin him feel too good lol. But after being nagged about it by Smilk he seems to snap out of it, and returns to quiet fuming. Smilk pivots then once again, to establish a point he has been making, which is that everything is Pv's fault, which Pv has now seemed to have caught up on as Smilk's intention, as he replies "... You're right. Perhaps... It's entirely my fault..." with a totally not suspicious annoyed expression on the model, which causes Smilk to immediately burst into laughter and ecstatic. He goes on this tirade about how pathetic Pv is, that he's not the cookie of deceit and how Smilk is not the ultimate truth, but Pv as usual doesn't say much. Smilk then at least sounds like he pulls out his trump card, since Smilk has now thoroughly broken down Pv's perception of truth so that in turn obviously means Pv's point of existance, yk, truth, as pointless and a lie in of itself, shouldn't Pv regret his life for having followed this false ideology? But Pv here has his own ace card to play, noticing the weakness in Smilk's ideology Pv refuses to answer, if he's the cookie of deceit now, which as established earlier, means they can cheat, that means Pv can now cheat, and proceeds to immediately save his friend from immediate peril whilst laughing maniacally to hide the true intent of his actions. This act seems to have taken the wind out of him and he spends the little while recovering whilst Smilk is laughing harder than ever before. After recovering from his laughing fit he commends Pv for not being foolish and surprising him. Unbeknownst to Smilk, he is revealing his own hand, that Smilk is lowering his guard.

Now with the chess game over, Wizard seems awfully eager for the next activity, where we immediately get a great quote from Smilk.

Shadow Milk Cookie: Cookies fear what they don't understand. Always so quick to fill that void with the first thing that fits their belief system! Anything, really!

Given that's entierly true for Mystic, reasonably true for Sbice and technically true for Smilk, I have a feeling I might know at least a little bit how the other two beast's will work lol. Once again, the story repeats, game is introduced, this time it's cards, and friends get in trouble, whoopsies. This time however Pv has had enough, accidentally regressing the upper hand he had gotten from the previous game, whoopsies lol, where he snaps at Smilk to stop involving the friends, and that this is between only them-- he couldn't contain his desire for kindness, and seeing them threatened so often was getting to him too much. Smilk with this reveal of weakness keeps his cards (teehee) incredibly close to his chest, getting more reinforcement that the friends are the ticket to his broken jam. This game along with the chess game is also all about telling the truth, and if they "lie", whatever that means for tarot cards, they get shredded for it. I saw someone like yesterday talk about how interesting the cards answers were, but I'm running on the finest fumes Adhd can give, so I don't remember any of that whatsoever lmao; they should probably be a neighbouring post if this guy doesn't get shadowbanned for being a billion words long. The cards then threaten to do bodily functions cookies shouldn't be able to do but we aren't going on that tangent either lmao. Smilk places all the upset cards out, and asks Pv to pull out the desired cards, who initially refuses but quite quickly folds (teehee, feck I said I would stop that lol) and picks some anyways, where the gang loudly try to rig the cards, to which Smilk just finds cute & pathetic. It turns out that by the force of some kind, most likely Smilk himself, the terrible unfortunate cards are consistently drawn every single time for Pv who doesn't react much, and after trying over and over he decides to instead draw for himself, which then something physically occurs to Pv? I'm not sure what he just hurks over for a second and then doesn't get followed up upon lol. After Smilk rigged his own tarot cards, he then lets Pv try again, to the absolute befuddlement of his entourage, but Pv doesn't accept the offer, not wanting to let Smilk win. But since Smilk for some reason really wants Pv to practice the cards he doesn't go very hard on his prodding this time, instead throwing out some empty threats and focusing on pivoting to showing Pv his room so that he can totally go practice his tarots in there instead, of course establishing that escape is no option. And the final panel is Pv being confused about something, but I'm not sure if it's because of Smilks handing of cards over to Sapph or if Capple is that loud in her anger.

I'm gonna skip most of the Capple drama, I'm mostly confused why the writers wrote her that way? I don't really read it as out of character inherently but it's just, weird? Why'd you do that lol. But the duo does talk about how weird it is for Smilk to behave this way. Also not sure what that really tells about any of the people involved, but Smilk has not informed the duo adequately how he feels about Pv, so they just think he's emotionally no different than any normal cookie, instead of, yk, pining /lh,

After that weirdness occurred, Smilk threatens to murder Capple, so ngl I'm not gonna guess they've got a great personal relationship together.

Then just. filler I think? I'm not sure why we learn the functions of deceit, it doesn't really seem pertinent. Might just be crk wanting to throw in some ideas they had idk lol

Some more filler but then jumpscare Smilk has a curiosity he wants to fulfill, since this entire time his actions could be in theory completely dictated by his very presence, yes? So what happens when Smilk isn't around, will Pv crack?

Pv however, believes he still has the upper hand, he's now in that final step of that plan, he has to make Smilk believe that he won, but that does mean being technically mean to his friends, which he does apologize for later heh. He doesn't actively aggro his friends though, he just keeps emphasizing his "loyality" to Smilk, with a pertinent point being.

Truthless Recluse: I think I'm beginning to understand him. And... it fills me with fear and self-loathing. Wizard Cookie: Shadow Milk Cookie thinks he made you join his side! He thinks he's won! Truthless Recluse: ... He is not wrong.

Besides him describing Smilk's innermost feelings almost to a T, when your own friends tell you to your face your plan is working, I think you're doin an alright job w your deception lol, He goes on a long monologue about how much he doesn't care and how he's the greatest liar ever. However, something goes awry, really awry, in fact, it wasn't just me analysing the scenes who noticed, the friends in fact noticed Pv's behaviour. They start questioning his character, which instantly breaks Pv's character, and then they list out all the actions Pv has committed to keep his friends safe this entire time, whilst struggling to find the words as he has no good answer as to why he would've saved them if he truly, genuinely, didn't care for them anymore, if they really meant nothing to him, if he truly gave up all the way back, why are any of his friends alive right now?-- they bombard him with the truth of his actions, where he then gives up trying to talk back. After a long pause he instead brings out the tool he knows that Smilk, will enjoy, the tool that will cement his connection with Smilk, that neither party will be able to tell him that he's lying right now, the tarot cards, and seals his friends away.

Sapph comes in to collect them, where Pv acts his cruellest, for the first time actually dismissing his friends completely, which I absolutely can see the argument that this is proof that he truly doesn't care about them. I would however argue that Pv was overcompensating, he knows he will never harm them, and so far that has been entirely within his control, Smilk so far has never harmed the gang directly so Pv has had plenty of proof that turning them in will likely not endanger the gang, keeping the gang around would also harm his deception extraordinarily so, super mega so, it might genuinely completely ruin his entire trick, if he showed any mercy at all in the slightest to his friends might tip Smilk off that his kindness has been growing as time has gone on, not diminishing, but because of their grilling of him he was terrified of the possibility, so like i said i believe, he overcompensated, surely there's no way Smilk thinks I'm lying if I had no interest at all whatsoever in the slightest of accepting their offer. I am so mean and evil, Smilk won't suspect a thing and my friends won't be harmed.

Smilk, which I believe was implied to be floating outside of the window spying on Pv, knows that "he failed to get his friends to leave", so twists that into Pv now missing his friends, and proposes a solution, one that Pv can already tell what said solution is. Smilk is excited once more that Pv is becoming more like him, not only does he use the same tricks, not only can he now do tarots, but he now knows what games they're going to play.

Then they just, participate in the game, Brave accidentally spoils the ending by saying he knows their friends wouldn't turn on them, I wonder who that could be about /lh. Smilk starts prodding Pv again, who wordlessly rolls the dice. After a couple rounds Smilk comments on how boring this game is, and Pv explains that they've basically got infinite resolution, which is either a really bad play by him, or Pv's intimate understanding that Smilk's guard is so low that he knew that Smilk would do exactly what he'd do, which is brush it off and ignore it. The mistake that truly happens though is not limited to Pvs, the friends call out to him and tell him to stay determined, and Pv trying his best to keep his stoicism his souljam struggles to lie the same, leading to Smilk noticing that the string can still be plucked, and decides to see what happens if it snaps.

Smilk has to some capacity restrained the gang, expressing tiredness from their lack of appreciation, imposing the power over his land, reiterating his strength, all to turn to Pv, and ask him instead for a solution to these pesky cookies, who asks what he wants him to do, but Smilk insists that Pv should have to make the choice, surprising Pv. Which then leads to Smilk revealing the optoins, as usual, kill the gang or give over the souljam. This is admittedly one of the only points of contention with the claim I made ages ago at this point lol, how would he change the color of the souljam if he wasn't really losing his truth here, the biggest stretch I could give is that he's not abandoning his truth, he is instead prioritizing deceit. He is building up to this moment after all, he knows that Smilk is currently at his lowest defence right now, so convincing him he is an ally through becoming the thing he knows Smilk wants, becoming a cookie of deceit, seems like a logical thought process for him to have, I just, really don't know if that'd convert the color of his jam though lol, maybe its excusable enough that it only converts halfway. He then hands over the half white souljam over to Smilk, who immediately pulls the rug under Pv, because he is pissed off at the gang for being such a nuisance this entire time, and he also knows that its the remaining tether between Pv becoming exactly like him, and off the tower they go, devastating Pv.

He pleads for answers, but Smilk just taunts him, and brings back the ace from ages ago, he's been planting the seeds for Pv to believe that Smilk is innocent after all, this is him cashing it in. He reveals his guard wasn't actually that low, and that he had noticed the fact the gang are still alive. I'm not sure how to describe the intent of his diatribe, ig just quoting it doesn't hurt, he's snappy about it at least.

Shadow Milk Cookie: What was it? Your petty self-righteousness? Foolishness? Sense of Guilt? What was it that made your Soul Jam ring like a thousand bells?! Oh, I couldn't stand this annoying sound of whatever was left of your feeble will that kept resonating and resonating throughout the entire place!

The reason why idk how to describe it is because he then shifts over to gleefulness, where he explains the transition from simply wanting the soul jam to wanting to see what happened when he prodded him. Pv however, instantly picked up on what Smilk was putting down, and instantly repeating exactly word for word what Smilk wants to hear. He then shows the souljam is now completely white, which since it has been in the hands of Smilk and we know the souljam can change colors if the beast gets a hold of it I see no reason why that isn't a good enough explanation to cover the rest of my back lol. Pv however, still wants his shiny rock please and thank you, because he's still enacting his plan, his souljam is his, because it is now the souljam of deceit.

Truthless Recluse: Is this what you wanted? Or is it even better? Instead of one Soul Jam of Knowledge, you will have two Soul Jams of Deceit. And me, forever by your side.

Mans knows exactly the words Smilk wants to hear to a T, mans gauging how correct he was in his reply lmao, also mans says "we are meant to be together" and smilk does :D. Oh and also reiteration of his desire to control Pv. Pv also instantly checks how much power he actually gained from either himself converting a little bit to deceit or having smilks powers infused into the souljam after holding onto it lmao. After smilk gets like a minute to brag Pv immediately has won, his plan succeeded, Pure Vanilla Cookie successfully tricked Shadow Milk Cookie.

Smilk, realizing what has just happened, goes through a lot of stages of emotions, first dismay that he cannot control his other realm, then anger at Pv, specifically regarding that he was tricked, making him sound very hypocritical I wonder why he would be hypocritical what about his character would indicate that he would be bothered by being tricked i dunnooo /lh, then almost uncontrollable rage as he demands the souljam where he rushes pv with anger, then surprise, and i believe for a final moment awe, then pv decides to stab his souljam which is a choice for sure lol. I think the way I would read it requires us to tangent into his awakened form, so uh, tangent time.

Pv's awakened form is all about recognizing the importance of truth and deceit, thanks for coming to my ted talk. ok well no in seriousness the most important part is that he has smilk's eyes in his cape thing, both opened and closed ones, an absolute shitton of his design takes from smilk, his room has keys to smilk's locks, he has moon decorations that are smilks theme whilst he also has sun ones for pv, he has scrolls which is in both his Sage & Fount outfits are important design elements. His awakened form also has a couple lines that signify the importance of both truth and deceit, "You can learn a thing for(?) two from Deceit", "Truth and Deceit may be inseperable...". There are also far more dialogue than pre awakened of his desire for friendship & connection for others, since it only has 2 compared to awakened's 7, friendship, determination and resolution are the primary things that made him awaken into compassion.

There we go, tangent over, with that established, since he stabbed his souljam, do we think it could possibly be direct symbolism that he's breaking the original meaning of his souljam, that it's not just the souljam of truth, but the souljam of both truth and deceit, as both are important to him now? Just a thought? Maybe possible sorta? Anyways back to the rest of the ep lol, he goes through anime transformation sequence where he goes through every aspect of his life, sploshes through milk, then gets ribbons of the yellow/white of truth and the dark blue/eyes of deceit, really hammering home that both aspects are intrinsic to his existence as awakened. He then gets his memories fixed, he describes them being fixed to some capacity as his choices, so regaining the autonomy that smilk so badly wanted but could never once from start to finish ever manage to control. Smilk responds accordingly by calling him a traitor, where Pv's first words to smilk is (paraphrased) "I will embrace deceit, I will accept doubt, everything holds answers, don't you agree mr knowledge man. we can be poggies together duder" which smilk is not a fan of whatsoever, "A lie shall vanquish a lie!" Which is just a description of what he did lol. I think I hit my tired mark, Ill try to stay coherent

Next ep is filler resolution from the first ep

Then Smilk is pissed, but pv doesnt care, his nr 1 action is kindness after all, and especially now when he has awakened and embraced deceit he can see through smilk even more than he already could, he has no reason to fear smilk whatsoever, smilk just laughs in his face to pvs confusion, smilk recognizes his power imbalance and tries to take advantage of that the friends are dead, but teller came back and saved them, leaving smilk with no leverage at all anymore, he is lesser than pv in every single way now, then pv explains how there can be 2 pvs, pv prevents one of the tarot cards but i still dk what any of those cards mean so cant help you there on what he's on about, they fuse together into one, and then smilk comes in pissed cause no one is paying attention to him, he so desperately is clawing for any kind of upper hand

but pv just, isnt phased by it whatsoever, once again because he embraced deceit he is twice the cookie smilk is, and reaches out to smilk, he tries to gain the upper hand again but it doesnt work, pv explains that friendship poggies which smilk finds dumb. Pv then asks why did you do all that shit today, im simply curious dude, smilk tries to mask, pv sees right through it cause of the aforementioned records which told him that smilk was ecstatic when the souljams touched tips i mean deceit, smilk realizing his truest feelings is just bein splayed out for everyone to se shuts down further, but pv pushes through and tries to find common ground, but as someone who has had everyone turn their back to him and then spent lifetimes lying shockingly struggles w friendship, so this connection shit is so inane to him he cant help but just break out into laughter and desperately claw at reasons why it wouldnt work, that he already has his spire, and pv must just be dumbass, but pv aint havin none of it, if you truly didnt give a shit you wouldnt have done all of this effort bestie, but smilk doesnt like that pv is still right so tried once again to flat failure to gain the upper hand, where we then return to all the way back in the beginning, we finish off the loop, pv explains how they became one, and he could sense how lonely smilk was, which smilk reacts violently too, this is hitting insanely close to home and he'd rather not have him keep airing out his feelings please and thank you, pv does not, "Yes, Shadow Milk Cookie. No one else but me can truly understand you. We share the same Soul Jam. We can understand each other like no one else can. You don't have to be lonely... I'm right here. Please. Let me be your... friend.", which for the first second ever this entire ep, doesn't reveal his secret feelings, doesnt accidentally get brought to the surface, but truly cracks his defense, even if its only the tiniest of cracks, Smilk hesitates at the notion, he thinks about it, genuinely, for just a mere moment, which as you can imagine he doesn't like that it just happened and becomes violent again, raising his defenses a billion times as all petulant bullies do and screams his head off and we bonk him heh. pv still outclasse smilk, he has his powers, there is nothing smilk can do that pv cant do, so smilk is at most just bein a whiny baby here, so pv tries again to connect, but smilk is, lets say, not in the right headspace for this conversation, and is rude lol. He then runs away and the first thing pv says is functinoally "ill get to see him again :)"

Now, after aaaaaaaaaallllll that, what have we learnt about pv and his likelihood of forgiving smilk? I at least feel like the odds are the he has already forgiven smilk, that smilk doesn't actually have much that needs to be forgiven as pv was playing along and that he will choose kindness every time. yeah im gonna say its probably decently likely that pv's biggest lesson in practice is determination, he will persevere because his friends are always worth it-- and no intent of not extending his compassion to someone he has already embraced and intimately understands.

also ik it's irrelevant cause it's not talking about the facts, but remember when i mentioned way back at the beginning of the post that I made comments about the stories in discord?

That was my live first reaction to the story at that point, so unless I'm a massive untrusting moron, I think at least I can say there's reasonable precedent to believe that he wasn't at least intended to have truly 'fallen'.

...

...

Okay FINE I'll talk about why the time travel is weird lmao. It's cause it's not time travel xd I think its the grandfather paradox in play? Because if they are indeed the very same Pv, then their endgame shouldnt be capable of changing, there should be no "real" failed recluse and then our awaken pv, they should both be failed or both be awakened, it turns out im too tired to explain how the order of events works, but pv cant get awakened w/o teller, and teller cant know to go to awakened when there is no awakened yet, yes i did write this all in one night thats adhd for you, so the couple options that are available are:

It's an AU not timetravel, meaning all Teller scenes are irrelevant to any analysis of Pv, they lived different lives, it is irrelevant.

It's entirely made by Smilk to trick the gang, which makes the least amount of sense cause he would've then knowingly constructed his own downfall given he should have knowledge of the awakening if past, present and future all were taking place at the same time.

Or the one I find the likeliest, its an externalization of Pvs doubts manifested, it was never real and wasn't any time travel, that explanation was a lie like most parts of the tower, but his fears are real, and in a space that represents the multitude perspectives of truth, so literally just like Mystic, his Resolution and Apathy separated, but also like Mystic the Apathy part is really bad at doin their job and was actually really passionate about their friends lmao

Now let me live in peace ignorin the stupid time travel some more lol

They should have the capacity to believe they are wrong and thus capable of learning to any degree.

Shadow Milk Cookie: What's happening... Why am I not regaining my power...? The guardian is gone... So why is the blasted tree still standing? Why doesn't Pure Vanilla Cookie... obey?! ***

This isn't evidence of him actually acknowledging that he is wrong in the moment, but it's the foreshadowing of his conclusion, as you surely know by getting to this point lol. He continuously gets presented one lesson over and over and over: Lies cannot modify truth, and it cannot control it. It can manipulate the way knowledge is framed, but it does not modify the truth in any way. And although this lesson will be hammered in more once the foreshadowed part comes around, it's absolutely not a sentiment that's meaningless once you've completed the latest chapter heh.

I'm rapidly losing my capacity to be coherent, but the entirety of Pv's ascension is fighting everythin he knows about, he got tricked, he underestimated truth, he became weaker than pv, he lost to this gang, his spire got destroyed-- the question here is now when that has all been smashed, will we get to him in time or is he just going to reinforce his desperation to repair his status, though given pv's acceptance of deceit i dont expect whatever reperation occurs is not going to be particularly weak to a guy who goes 'yeah well im everything you want to be and i want to be your friend'

Felt like there should at least be an honorable mention for the times where Smilk really starts showing their desire to keep Pv around pre-latest chapter, that once again this wasn't a final minute thing. I should extra elaborate that does not mean that all of these are healthy, appropriate or even definable as 'not bad'. This is mostly the toxic part of toxic yaoi lmao

Shadow Milk Cookie: Eugh, I see you're still so deadfully, painfully, unbreaably... "you"!!!... Thinking much about me these days? ... Pretty cosy, innit? Makes you feel right at home! Why don't you stay for another day? Or... FOREVER! Sit back, relax, and watch my sinister plans unfold from the comfort of your very own prison! Oh? What am I saying? Silly little m! You've always been here, and you always will be! *** Shadow Milk Cookie: Indeed, all this time, you've been my most treasured marionette! ***

And the very final section, is there any evidence contradictory to his ability to be reformed? Is he particularly stubborn about something that would hinder his ability to change his perspective?

And I mean, besides throwing a childish tantrum at the end because he got scared of intimacy? Ig there's one,

Shadow Milk Cookie: Cookies fear what they don't understand. Always so quick to fill that void with the first thing that fits their belief system! Anything, really! Ahh, that would make Knowledge simply the collective agreement on the strongest beliefs, wouldn't you agree? Allow me to demonstrate with these cards.

Which yeah, is pretty antithetical to the idea of knowledge as a virtue, well done smilk you've got 1 whole argument as to why you might struggle with redemption, I'll let you know in 5-10 business years whether that out-stumps all the rest of this dissertation lmao.

My tired gang finishing up last section, don't see naything else that's antithetical to truth or knowledge having popped up at all

Now with all of that out of the way, phew-wee, we can talk about the skin a little bit. We know the skin isn't his Fount of Knowledge time, cause first of all the sage is never referred to as that lol, but secondly they don't look alike, the reason I mentioned the hiding of the past thing on the other two is that Smilk proudly shows off his past and deliberately brings Pv to it, so we know what the fount looks like, and it ain't the sage

So if not the past, what then? Tbh I'm not super confident, if I wanted to be a giddy lil fangirl I could argue that it's the future, that it is what redeemed Smilk will look like, that as the story progresses we will more and more see Smilk, though in all honesty it does just feel like an AU version, he does say "They cookie of truth? That's-a-me" which, yk, wasn't his og virtue and probably won't be his redeemed one either, the story told within talks of a recluse that doesn't exist, the one in the main questline never talks about any mountains, it just feels like a swap au, nothing more. Whatever the option though, I still want to make some inferences, though I do very much recognize that because we don't know who Sage is to the canon that all of this is pretty baseless, but since we're here anyways, why not lol.

The biggest inference is that Truthful Smilk & Present Smilk aren't all that different in behaviour at all "Do I really need to spell out everything? Come on, think!", they're both cheeky "Now now, I'm not like those other Academics", they're both playful "Ooooh, are you proposing a debate? Alright, but no backsies!"-"Think I'm wrong? Very well, present your case!", they both have their convictions "Admitting your ignorance is the first step towards the Truth", they both tease "Why does everyone try so hard to hide their ignorance? Tsk!", they sing-song "The arts, academia, technology, magic...Truth exists everywhere!", both really want to show off their stuff "There you are! Time for some magic!"-- like the only practical difference between the two in their character is what they're believing in, the only other thing i can think of is that sage tends to just make statements a lot more often, thats it. So, going on quite the decent limb, I don't think he needs a full personality or character rewrite to still work as smilk.

Finally, after 12 hours of straight grinding on this: In conclusion, do I think he's currently redeemed, as I'm a bit scared to post this so I feel the need to assure my stance? No, I don't, nor was that my claim. Do I think it will inherently make it a better story if he was redeemed? Not inherently no, but I think it absolutely can be a good story, I don't think it's doomed to fail or doomed to inexplicably ruin the characters involved automatically. By saying I believe he can be redeemed and to some capacity would like to see it, am I excusing all his terrible/abusive behaviour that i skipped over for this analysis as I believe it to be irrelevant to my case? One of us has the wrong definition of redemption then if you think that to be what I'm saying lmao, cause what I'm aware atoning for your sins and crimes are required to be redeemed, a whiplash "I tried to murder you and then suddenly two seconds later I'm nice now" is a bad redemption story at all times and has nothin to do w smilk-- ofc it'd require growth, recognition, self reflection & consequences, ofc his past behaviour would have to be atoned for in whatever way the victims see fit. Do I think I am undermining Pv's experiences/trauma regarding Smilk if he were to be redeemed? Not only do I feel like i adequately listed out the reasons why I don't think he present day canonically doens't hold a grudge towards smilk in the slightest, i would also not think smilk or any of the beasts to be redeemed w/o their other half also accepting them. Do I expect crk to handle the redemption in a good way? No lol

[desigal-26]

Hii, I've been following you since your aemond work and have been absolutely in love with the Daemon series you have going on right now that I MUST request something because I just love you and your writing ugh I just wanna consume it (in a good way)! Anywayssss, id love an aemond x sister!reader (if youre okay writing targcest! if not, you may delete it and it's totally fine ♡) where she's helped aemond finally conquer the throne? she's very headstrong and has always been more of a warrior, riding a pretty aggressive dragon and aemond asks her to be his queen consort? It's totally fine if not, thank you so much in advance!

I hope this is as per your liking. Feel free to request another anytime.

Your Queen

Aemond Targaryen x Sister!Reader

Born out of storm and fire, she will bring end to her blood and she will rise from the ashes…

She was born with a prophecy—a certain abomination that will come at her hands, a faith the gods had chosen before she wailed her first cry. A name the history would remember with fear. A name that would echo forever.

Warnings: Targcest, Unhinged Aemond and Reader, mentions of deaths and killings, Canon divergence, Reader is Morally Gray at best, Sexual Tension (because honestly? Aemond has it with everyone). I think that’s it, but let me know if I forgot something.

Word Count: 2.5k

“How was the pleasure house, brother?” Her honeyed voice made the new King look up from the parchment he was reading—a report on the damages across the Riverlands, an impact of the devastating civil war that had ripped the entire realm apart and set it on fire. And now, the duty of piecing it back together fell on Aemond’s broad shoulders as he pridefully took over the mantle of the King of the Seven Kingdoms after the ‘mysterious’ death of the Green King.

Their plans had worked—better than either of them had hoped for. The Dance of the Dragons weakened both the fractions, yes, but the maddening of Rhaenyra and the mistrust of people in her had only strengthened the One-Eyed Prince’s cause, even if he himself was called Kinslayer by the common folk.

But she—the second daughter of Viserys Targaryen and Alicent Hightower—was the true piece of art. The perfect composition of deadly beauty mixed with the cunning of a fox, waiting and counting down the seconds before pouncing on her prey like a skilled predator with a feline grace that earned her the title of ‘Realm’s Oleander’—named after the flower that might seem pretty and innocent but is toxic when sunken its teeth into.

A scoff echoed in the study, and the newly crowned King leaned back in his chair, his blue eye watching her with barely concealed interest. He hummed, before waving a hand in dismissal. “You must be mistaking me for our deceased brother,” the words were smoothly spoken, with a tint of amusement as indicated by the slight upturn of his lips.

But the princess only shook her head, hands locked behind while she walked with a cat’s elegance, her lavender eyes watching him with a spark that possessed too much knowledge and thirst for power—maybe, even chaos.

“You must be desperate enough to return to her.”

She didn’t need to specify whom she meant because Aemond’s face hardened almost immediately, finger gripping the edge of the table as he stood up menacingly with a tilted head and a threatening glint in his remaining eye. A small scar beneath that eye was all the visible evidence that remained of the Battle above the God’s Eye, where he had come close to death before slaying their uncle, Prince Daemon.

Her meant the same lady of Flea Bottom who had made him a man—or so, Aegon used to say. Their sister had a simpler term for that woman—Aemond’s abuser. And one thing she knew of her brother was that he would never go back to someone who wronged him, unless that person was of political value—which that woman isn’t—or if he was too miserable.

She watched him with a critical eye, noticing the obvious tension in his shoulders and the hard set of his jaw—though that was her doing, not the crown’s—and the dark circles blooming over his now almost hollowed out features.

He didn’t look any less handsome than he was before, only more menacing and intimidating, with confidence of having lead a war and coming out at the top with the ancestral crown of Aegon the Conqueror sat proudly upon the molten silver hair. A second son who earned his seat with his blade and wits—and the help of his princess who was called an abomination before she could walk, all because of a prophecy.

A prophecy by a priestess from a religion almost unheard of—Lord of the Light. A future predicted before the first air of this corrupted realm was taken in. Future of a girl born during the worst of storms and by fire’s side; of a girl who will bring end to her kin; of a girl who will rise from the ashes while the world burns in the fires of her ambitions.

All of which stood personified in front of Aemond, standing proudly with an amused sparkle in eyes that resemble their father’s with hair like snow woven in an intricate hairdo that the One-Eyed King swore he saw Visenya spotting in one of those tapestries of the the Conqueror and his sister-wives. The dark leathers of her riding tunics carefully hid the small dagger she carried at her hip, a caution she had picked up on after that fateful night in Driftmark.

“You should know what the Small Council had to say today,” the king said, trying to divert the topic from his visits to Sylvi to the more pressing matters of the crumbling realm that held little to no trust in their liege lords now. He watched as she hummed with a smirk, settling down on an armchair by the cracking fire in the hearth, the lines of her face contoured by the shadows it casted.

“Another roguish demand by a lord whose name is forgotten because of lack of worth?” Had the times had been different, or rather, had they been their previous selves; they would have snickered at the comment, adding little tweaks to it behind hidden smirks while the court continued to either be intimidated by Aemond or be at awe of the princess.

Heavy steps echoed through the quiet room until the Green King himself sat down beside her, his eye tracing her features with reverence, studying her as if she was his destiny. And perhaps, she wasn’t. But she surely played a part in fulfilling his destiny—in reclaiming the throne that should have been his from the beginning but taken away only because he was a second son.

“Lord Stark had enough to say about our war crimes.”

Crimes that began with Vhagar disobeying the One-Eyed Prince and bringing a cruel end to Lucerys Velaryon and his dragon Arrax. The skies had wept that day, and the common folk had retorted by granting him the title of “Kinslayer”. But that, was only the beginning of the slow end that took away the innocence of too many, and countless lives.

Blood and Cheese took away the innocence of their older sister who breathes no longer in the world. Neither of them could ever forget the sight of Helaena clutching to Jaehaera, whimpering and silently crying, or even the sight of their nephew Jaehaerys’ frail body, lacking his head until they found it in possession of one of the two assassins who had tried to flee King’s Landing.

The Battle of Rook’s Rest was the real beginning of the war that costed too much. Meleys and Princess Rhaenys lost, costing Rhaenyra’s side heavy losses but so did the Greens. Aegon was critically injured—and that is when Aemond and the Realm’s Oleander had started spinning their webs, slowly but firmly shifting power from the broken King to the One-Eyed Prince Regent until Aegon was King only in name.

Their mother had relented, but then quietly resigned to the fate, opting to remain by Helaena’s side until she jumped from the window of her room during her captivity under the Blacks. Only at twenty and one years, the eldest daughter of Alicent Hightower had died immediately on spikes with her throat impaled.

The princess had slain her nephew, Jacaerys Velaryon, who would—had things been different—have been her husband. But they weren’t different, and she was thankful for it. The Battle of Gullet was a crafted play of letting the Blacks believe that they had a chance until they didn’t. Until the fierce Princess had arrived on the back of Aegarax—her aggressive and fierce dragon with scales dipped in shadows of darkness, tipped with a burning red of blood. An arrow to his chest was how the heir of Rhaenyra Targaryen died, all because his dragon had flown too low and a crossbow bolt had blinded Vermax from one eye—like they did with Aemond when they were children.

Aemond’s own Battle above the God’s Eye was no short of legend mixed in fires and blades and family blood slew in the skies. That was the day that had changed the course of history and outcome. The greatest warrior on Blacks side—the Rogue Prince Daemon Targaryen—was killed by the Prince Regent and hence, half a victory was certain.

None of them were innocent. No one in the House of the Dragon was anymore. For those who were pure, were already gone in the soil or too broken to care for the still burning realm.

“We did what was to be done,” she whispered, her amethyst gaze distant, as if she was catapulted back to the time when she still rode on her dragon, setting lines after lines of there enemy’s armies on fire with a single command. Dracarys.

The cracking of the fire was the only sound to be heard apart from the soft breaths of the siblings—the only ones alive while three of their bloods rested with their ancestors. Helaena was the first one to depart the world, aggrieved by her losses. Then followed Daeron, their youngest and the gentlest of all the brothers—trapped by his burning tent with no escape but death.

And then, only a few weeks ago, the eldest child of Alicent followed, though not willingly or by chance of circumstances, but at the hands of his own siblings.

It was the only way, the two had agreed on, with the Small Council backing them. A poison mixed into the milk of poppy, given to Aegon to “soothe” the pain from his ruined body—but the soothing never came until the toxins hadn’t worked their magic and silenced his heart, once and for all.

“Ormund suggest I must marry,” Aemond informed after a prolonged silence of bitter nostalgia and a silent but mutual introspection of what all they have done. But none of them would change the past, because they deserved it—the power, the strength and the throne. It had been theirs since they were born, and nothing, not even being born the second son and second daughter would stop that.

“You must. For heirs.” He only hummed in reply before his hand deftly moved to remove his eyepatch, letting the scar from his childhood and the sapphire see the light of the fading sun and crackling fire. The leather dropped on the ground with a thud, and he tilted his head back, basking in the relieving stretch of his stiff neck.

She watched him, calculating and ready to remind him of their bargain if he forgot. But Aemond never forgets, not when it comes to her; his beloved, headstrong and clever sister who plotted with him day and night for this day to come when he wears the crown and title of the King of the Seven Kingdoms and sport all the titles that come with it.

She made him Aemond the First of House Targaryen, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm.

“Queen Consort,” he cooed with a tilt of his lips in a smirk that threaded between teasing and taunting. His long fingers found the back of her neck, drawing circles as he watched her with a corner of his eye.

She didn’t react, not for anyone else’s eyes, but he felt her shoulders relaxing a bit, the sharp blade of her gaze lowering in a manner that he hadn’t seen since the war had started and transformed them into more of criminal warlords than warriors. But all is fair in war and love—and theirs was always a complex affair of both.

“I will have a seat at the council—no matter what,” she pressed, turning her piercing gaze towards him, daring him to challenge her demand with anything. But her brother would not deny her what was deserving—for he was many things but not ungrateful, at least not to her.

“You would have a throne by the Iron Throne if that is what issa dāria wants,” (my queen) he smirked, his other hand moving to grip her calloused hand, bringing it up to his lips to press a firm kiss on the knuckles that were too familiar with holding him and a blade.

“That would be fascinating, issa dārys,” (my king) she cooed back, a similar smirk dancing in her face as she watched her brother in a way she had always done—reverent but in a different, darker way than most.

He stood up then, letting go of her hand and moving swiftly to the desk still ladden with parchments and letters from every inch of the realm who thought they could gain any sort of leverage on the new King and the fragile peace that has been restored so far. But all of it still dangled on a tip of a double-edged knife, prone to collapse with a single misstep or misjudgment.

Aemond shifted a few papers, revealing a dragon glass dagger the princess recognised almost immediately. The one their uncle possessed—the one used by Rhaenyra and Daemon to slit each other’s lips and hands to combine the blood and seal their marriage forever. Perform the rituals of the Old Valyria and declare to the world that they were above the laws of the common people—but look at them now, both gone—burnt into history because of their stubborn arrogance.

“I suspect your intentions, brother,” she commented with a coy smile, leaning in with her hands perched on her knees when he knelt before her sitting form, the unsheathed blade glinting hauntingly under the fire blazing behind the king who watched his sister with an intensity that only a few possessed.

Wordlessly, he extended the hilt of the dagger with a crooked eyebrow and a smirk that dared her to accept. The challenge of the moment lingering between them as the air thickened with something unsaid.

She took the dagger, her finger trailing the engraved dragon on the pommel before she opened her left palm, letting the sharp tip create a straight cut along the rough ridges, crimson blooming and dripping down the pale skin in an intoxicating action that had Aemond moistening his lips in feral desperation.

He took the dagger and performed the same action reverently on his right hand, his gaze never wavering from hers. Not long after, the dagger clattered to the floor and his left hand snaked around her waist, pulling her down to kneel in front of him on the floor with only a few inches left between them—noses almost brushing.

His bloodied hand seek hers, mixing the bloods that were already shared in their bodies, hearts beating in a synchronisation like a harmony of two dragons mating in the crack of a thunder—dangerous, relentless and deadly.

His lips crashed on hers, hungry and territorial, hand slipping away from her waist to tangle in her hair that resembled his. Tongues clashed in a battle for dominance, exploring and fighting with an hunger neither had experienced before. An intoxicating drug that felt more crucial than air itself.

“You will be the death of mine,” he whispered against her plump lips, hands tugging at her tresses, some of which had escaped from the prison that her hairdo was. He felt her grin against his lips, pulling away to whisper:

“No. I will be your Queen.”

[encyclopedia-loregirl]

Brothers love Lives part 1

———————

Now, before we dive into this story on why for once in his life Wwx is the one being annoyed, Wwx will say he loves his older brothers, he really does.

After there parents passed when Wwx was 5, Lb being the oldest took it upon himself to raise Hc and Wwx.

Lb was only 13 at the time, and god forbid he knew what he was doing, but that didn’t mean he try his best!

The same goes with Hc, who was 10, despite Lb telling him not to worry, Hc tried his hardest to help his older brother earn money in order to keep food on the table.

And though Wwx nor Lb had any idea where he got the money, something they still don’t know To this day, it helped immensely.

Wwx being the sweet child he was also wanted to help, but every time he tried his older brothers immediately put a stop to it.

As not only was he in no way gonna give up their childhood like they had, but Also because he was smaller than any other kid his age, not to mention he got sick way faster then Hc and Lb.

And so unlike his brothers, Wwx managed to live a somewhat normal childhood. Though he did put any money he found on the sidewalk into the Money jar without his brother’s noticing.

Things eventually did get better though, after they got reunited with Their Uncle Jfm and Auntie Yz.

Along with their cousins Jyl, who Wwx views as an older sister, and Jc, which made Wwx he wasn’t the youngest anymore.

While they didn’t move with them, as by that time they were found, it has already been 5 years. Jfm sent monthly allowance used for the bills and rent.

Along with some extra spending cash.

But we’re getting off topic, it has been another 5 years since then, and Wwx has recently turned 15.

And Wwx has a huge problem. You would think it would be a normal problem that every teenager faces.

But it isn’t! Cause you see, Wwx biggest problem is….

HIS OLDER BROTHERS DISASTERS OF WHAT THEY CALL A LOVES LIFE!

Recently, Lb, who is 23 now, university has gained a new Professor by the name Shen Yuan.

Sy, who’s 25, gained a teaching license early in life, and just recently got hired at the local University as Lb new science teacher.

laid his eyes upon Sy, who he calls Shizun, it was love at first sight.

Now Wwx being a romantic would find this adorable… if Lb wasn’t a low key stalker.

At first Wwx thought nothing of Lb crush on his professor… until he went Into his brothers room to borrow some glue, only to see Lb kissing a handmade Sy plush, in front of what to seemed a Board of pictures taken of Sy.

More specifically pictures of Sy seemingly taken without his knowledge. Wwx immediately left the room without even asking for the Glue.

With Hc on the other hand, he recently met a nice young man named Xie Lian. Unlike Sy, Wwx has met Xl. And Wwx would like to say he would love Xl to be his brother in law someday.

Xl, who’s 24, was probably one of the most nicest people Wwx has ever met!

Wwx couldn’t help but be reminded of his Shijie went he first met the guy.

That’s why Wwx was so happy when he found out Hc, who’s 20, had a crush on Xl.

Now again, Wwx being the romantic he is doesn’t have a problem with this…

But then he walked in on Hc kissing a hand made life size statue of Xl, infront of even more life sized statues of Xl. Wwx immediately left before his brother noticed him.

It was at that point that Wwx realized his older brothers had probably the most disasters love lives he ever seen.

And he regularly watched K-Dramas, which is saying something in his opinion.

Now, Wwx doesn’t have a problem with Xl. Nor Sy who he has yet to meet.

If anything Wwx has a problem with Hc and Lb, cause ever since on what he calls ‘The incident of walking in On my brothers making out with inanimate objects’. Lb and Hc have been insufferable!

For one, he fully believes his brothers have become stalkers, As Wwx keeps finding pictures of Xl and Sy, neither looking into the camera.

Just the other day he heard Lb literally cry on the phone to Sy after the professor sent an class email Describing how and why class was canceled for the day.

Meanwhile Wwx, along with Hc friends Hx and Yy, have been subjected to 6 hour long talks from Hc about Xl.

It was pretty clear that Wwx had to do something, or else he was gonna spend the 3 years being subjected to this torment.

Why 3 years specifically, because once Wwx turns 18 and graduates he’s planning on going out of town for College. Not that his brothers know that yet.

[sharksarewaterdogs]

Codywan Dad!Obi Tatooine Fam Clone Rebellion Death Star Comes Early Au (pt 2)

God I need shorter au names

Clone Family time!

Actually its Clone action and trauma time

So, Rex has been working on a device to disable the mind control chips and then use this device—and copies—strategically to help as many brothers as possible

The Clone aging in this slowed down as they hit adulthood, so they don't have accelerated aging. Also, they're still highly used as the main troopers at this point in time, though only as the grunts, with mainly humans in positions of power.

It takes a decade (well, nine years, but rounded up), but Rex & other rebels (like the Bad Batch + some other clones who had defective chips, as well as some other non-clone rebels and some clones picked off and freed by the device) manage to disperse & use the devices to disable the chips in the bulk of the clone armies

Just as quickly as they snapped into forced blank obedience, they are snapped out of it.

Near-unanimously they rebel (a few are so traumatized they're not up for it)

Fox gets the honor of blasting the Emperor, of course. Thoroughly. There's not really a corpse to bury.

He also takes over as temporary Emperor, to be phased back out slowly (tho maybe becoming Chancellor for a time, but ultimately leaving bc the clones deserve to leave the republic/empire/new republic to deal with its own shit) as they reveal the truth & make the shift back to a more democratic gov, but that's a slowgoing background process methinks.

Rex might be the one to take out Vader. It's a painful moment for him bc he did somehow find out beforehand it's Anakin.

Cody kills Tarquin & reunites with Rex.

(Yes both were on the Death Star but none stationed there learned it was Obi-Wan who rescued Leia, merely that a Jedi/suspected Jedi did.)

Rex explains the situation to the clones.

All of them are reeling with trauma and horror. They need *so much more* than a moment, but they can barely take one, bc there is SO MUCH MORE to be done.

Top on the agenda is putting an immediate freeze on catching/killing Jedi & put them under the protection of the new (new) empire.

Also freeing the other scattered brothers who weren't freed with the bulk of them.

Then comes the massive task of unfucking all the evil Palpatine has done & revealing his lies & machinations.

It is a small relief, but at least there are many of them to share the load, and some knowledgeable fellow rebels to help out. They are offered more rest from the work bc of the special level of hell they have been through, but the clones aren't really trusting anyone rn

With good reason. Very good reason. Bc many, even among the rebels, resent them for being troopers. High on the agenda is spreading the info on Palp's evil deeds & the mind-control of the clones, but there are many, many people who 1) choose not to believe the truth, 2) believe the truth but don't care, 3) have never considered the clones equals in the first place. The idea of them as property is still pervasive, and now many people have been personally abused by the "troopers" (really, the ones controlling them, but the bitterness is still strong).

So, it continues to be a massive political battle.

Meanwhile they're all struggling with the trauma of being dehumanized, and the horror and guilt of what they have been forced to do. It's all very well and good to say they had no control over their actions—a nightmare in itself—but by their hands they killed so many, including dear and trusted companions. They shouldn't feel guilt, sure, but they *do.*

Scene of Cody angsting with Rex over this. Cody breaks down bc he killed his Jedi (he never admitted to it, but he was in love with Obi-Wan—in a way he hardly realized at first, bc they became in-sync work partners first, and then he realized wow I wanna be partners forever; there was some pining his brothers caught wind of and used to tease him on, a bittersweet thought now). Rex shares that he killed his, too.

All they can do is their best moving forward. "Keep *soldiering on.*" Cody—or Rex, if he's trying to be the strong one here—says it with a certain bitterness. All they've been, all they were explicitly created for, was to be soldiers in someone else's army. It used to be a point of pride for them. More and more the cracks showed throughout the Clone Wars, and then the decade under Palpatine revealed just how ugly it was.

But honestly, what can they do but move on? Move on, and cling to the hope that they can change things for the better. Move on, and hope the war *actually ends.*

They gotta find a way to get all their brothers to relative safety. And, if possible, a way to help surviving Jedi as well.

[turtleblogatlast]

One of the biggest things that makes me see Leo as trans is absolutely the size of his carapace in comparison to his brothers’.

And I’m not talking about height! I’m specifically looking at his shell here, because when you compare him to the others, particularly Donnie who is nearly the same height as Leo, it’s very clear that Leo’s carapace is much longer in proportion to the rest of his body.

Like - standing side by side, even though Donnie is shorter his carapace ends noticeably higher up than Leo’s does. And I like this not only because it really helps push the idea that Leo could very likely be trans (or intersex!), but it’s also just a fun design difference between them.

(It also lends way to future scenarios of Donnie eventually getting taller than Leo, but sitting down still has Leo being the taller one haha.)