#but as a character he is so. he’s such a fascinating critter I love him

[mitternacht]

I’m back again with some ranting/thoughts about Fuuta, his character, and current mental state based on the T3 teaser because I could write essays upon essays analyzing this guy and I’m also tired of some of the takes I’ve been seeing about him on the bird app that solely blame Amane for his current state. (TW for brief sui. mention, talks of mental illness/delusions)

Starting off strong and controversial maybe but I can’t state enough how much I hate the “Fuuta killed Shidou” theory because it would be a complete assassination of Fuuta’s character. The entire point of his murder was that it was indirect and he has stated multiple times that he can’t stand physical violence. It makes no sense that he would up and kill someone now, even with how departed from reality he’s become. Now, him indirectly helping cause Shidou’s death is a gray area. I genuinely don’t think Fuuta would consciously assist with this, but he’s so far gone at this point I can’t say there’s zero chance he would. But as far as Fuuta carrying out the act, absolutely not.

Now the biggest point I want to make and talk about, is that Fuuta has been exhibiting signs of psychosis since his T2 interrogation. It’s already clear from the T3 teaser that it’s gotten progressively worse and he’s now completely dependent on and enthralled to religious delusion, which is a common symptom of psychosis. None of this was Amane’s fault, mind you. She’s always been very open about her faith and Fuuta developed this religion-based delusion all on his own, he was already at his breaking point so it’s not really a surprise that he’s reached this point. It’s driving me insane that anyone is blaming Amane for these changes in Fuuta’s personality, and not understanding how severe an effect Milgram itself has had on Fuuta who was already not a very mentally strong individual.

And even then on top of his poor mental state, the huge amounts of physical pain he’s likely still been dealing with are probably not doing him any favors. You do not have consistently coherent thoughts with that much chronic pain and no relief for it.

Now the presence of hundreds of eyes in Backdraft, Fuuta stating in his T2 interrogation that he can’t sleep (sleep deprivation being another cause of psychosis) because he feels like he’s being watched (perhaps causing hyper-vigilance) and hearing voices (which seems to affect him more strongly than any other character who’s mentioned the voices), the physical trauma he endured, the mention of “succumbing” (aka killing himself) in Backdraft, his sudden mood swings/random aggression and disordered speech in his T2 interrogation, like it’s. All telltale signs of psychosis and religious delusion was almost always going to be the next step unless he succumbed to despair and died. Again, at no fault of Amane’s. Fuuta needed something to cling to, and he found it.

T3 Fuuta is going to be extremely detached from reality and is likely going to have delusions of grandeur or a superiority complex as well, since those commonly come along with religious delusion. I’m almost resigning myself for him get a Guilty verdict for T3 because it’s going to be a massive shift from the character we know and Es is probably going to have an extremely difficult time trying to communicate with and understand him as he is, which might be frustrating to people. All of this combined with his strong sense of justice is…. likely going to go badly for him in terms of winning us over to vote him Innocent. I’m expecting a similar reaction as T1 Muu to T2 Muu honestly, I feel like it’s going to be a similar kind of shift in character.

Not to mention. How do we think he’s going to react to Mahiru’s death by the way. Not great I’m sure.

Anyways. At the end of the day I’ve loved breaking down Fuuta’s character since T1, he is so much fun to dissect and he has consistently seemed to be the character most heavily and negatively affected by Milgram’s environment which is so fascinating to me. I’m really excited to see where they go from here with him.

I do also adore the 0308 sibling dynamic even though I desperately wish Amane had a mentally competent adult in her environment that she trusts because she desperately needs one. The toxic codependency they’ve probably formed is going to be hard to watch as well.

[randoimago]

Hi there! Could you please do headcanons on Astarion, Wyll, Karlach and Gale with a Druid reader? And if it’s okay to be more specific, one who’s in the Circle of Stars? Thank you!

With a Circle of Stars Druid Reader

Fandom: Baldur's Gate 3

Character(s): Astarion, Gale, Karlach, Wyll

Type of Request: Headcanons

Note(s): Ngl when I was looking into Circle of the Stars, it made me very much want to make a Druid character (that I'll probably never get to actually play in a campaign 😔 )

Astarion

Oh good, finally someone that can use those random hovels that he always ends up coming across in his travels. He'd tell you to stay safe and don't play hero if you do decide to go through one, but also maybe find something shiny.

Asks if you're able to turn into a bear for research purposes. Is a bit disappointed if you can't. Sure, your shining dragon thing is pretty, but you're a druid. Why can't you turn into an actual dragon?

Just a bit of agree to disagreements with Astarion. Your fascination of the night sky is nice and all - and yeah, it's a bit romantic - but he's honestly a bit tired of the night. If your star magic can make him live in the daylight then that'll be great. Until then, he hopes this tadpole doesn't screw him over.

Gale

He's heard of druids that seek to control the cosmos, to meet someone from one of those circles is fascinating to him. Gale absolutely wants to hear of what findings you or your circle might have.

Honestly, he wants to hear about any interesting facts you have of constellations too. Just any knowledge in general, he'd love to learn. Gale is happy to tell you whatever knowledge he might have as well.

Gale is also a bit intrigued with our Wild Shaping abilities too. He has met many interesting creatures that he's summoned and while he knows you can't transform into many of them, he does have a request. Just now and then when he's reading a good book, he'd love if you can be a cat that he can cuddle with too.

Karlach

Karlach is so excited that you're a druid. She has a list of animals she's always wanted to pet, but has been unable to because of her running a bit hot. So if you'd be willing to indulge in becoming little critters for her to pet then she'll be ecstatic.

Considering a lot of her life has been stuck in the Hells, hearing that you are studying and learning about the skies sounds like a dream to her. She'll gladly hear any stories you have of the sparkling lights in the sky, happy to think back on those stories instead of remembering the ones from her past.

Might not quite understand everything you tell her about the stars and night sky - specifically the sciency stuff - but she does love listening to stories behind each constellation. Can't help but joke with you about one day having her own constellation in the night sky.

Wyll

With all of Wyll's traveling, he has some knowledge of the stars. He's needed to rely on them to help him travel a bit so he'd love to learn a bit about your star maps in hopes it'll also help him out in the future.

Can't help but be slightly in awe when he sees your Starry Form. He finds it absolutely gorgeous. The way you glimmer and look like the a star map yourself is amazing. As if he thought he couldn't fall in love further, you just prove him wrong.

Wyll is on a mission whenever your group stops at a city or town now. He's just looking for star maps or special inks and such for you to create and add on to your own. While it's not quite bouquets of flowers, he hopes that you appreciate the gesture.

[ssruis]

I will literally always go to bat for tsukasa’s fragment sekai card story & anyone who thinks it should have been flashy and focused on shows misunderstands him as a character on a very basic level

[Goes into the situation seeking to gain something -> gives up the chance to get what he wanted in order to help Hiro]

(Tl by Tsukasa’s #3 fan)

Why This Fucking Rules Actually:

- echoing tsukasa’s first character arc (focused on himself & what he stands to gain from wxs and emu/nene/rui -> growing to care about them as his friends & being willing to give up the commercial chance/lose the show contest for the WMS show). It’s the selfish & selfless aspects of his character we see over and over again. Tsukasa *is* egotistical and selfish. Sorry! I’m right. A lot of what he does is self serving & he tends to focus on himself. He’s just also capable of being very selfless. Which in turn benefits him. & This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

He loves & desires attention and fame. He wants to use that attention and fame to make other people happy. He wants it to be *him* (& wxs) making other people happy because it comes with attention and fame. He wants to put on good shows because it gives him what he wants and he enjoys it. He’s responsible and helpful and kind to others because that is what his idea of a star is, and because he likes being viewed that way and the gratification that comes from it. He compromises and gives up what he wants and does things for others because that’s what a star would do, so that is what he will do. He is selfless because he is selfish. He is selfish so that he can be selfless. He is a fascinating critter & a paradox of a man.

That being said, the one person he consistently values over all else, above shows & fame, has always been Saki. Tsukasa “the grind never stops” “tried to go to an acting gig with food poisoning when he couldn’t make it out the door without collapsing” Tenma skips practice when she’s sick. Rui (+ nene iirc) is shocked that he’s actually a really good older brother (twilight musical parade). He wants her to be happy more than anything. Saki is the most important person in his life. She’s his number one fan & centric to his first step towards improving at acting (torpe event) for a reason. He would not be who he is, where he is, or have his current goal & motivations without her.

(Tsukasa’s musical twilight parade card)

Before he wanted to be a star he wanted to be a good big brother, & being a good big brother is so important to him that it has essentially been baked into what his idea of a star *is*. It has quite literally shaped his entire personality. It’s natural enough to him that even as someone who loves to be praised he will go “? That’s just normal though I’m not doing much” when Saki or Toya comment on it (his SOAD 2*, Akito’s initial 3*, Toya’s doll festival 4*, etc).

Tsukasa’s fragment sekai is based on a book he read with Saki when they were kids. It’s about a brother doing The Most to make his sister happy. He goes into the situation thinking about acting by trying to figure out the weird expression on Hiro’s face, & finds out it’s an expression near tears that is only weird because Hiro never shows it to his little sister. Tsukasa spends his time in the fragment sekai helping Hiro be a good older brother. His last words to Hiro are praising Hiro for all he’s done and encouraging him. & tsukasa does figure out what he was trying to figure out! But that’s less important to both the viewer and Tsukasa than helping Hiro.

Nene, Rui, and Emu’s fragment sekai were about their dreams & what they value most - Nene wants to be on Broadway and grow with her friends by her side, Rui wants to put on incredible shows and continue to be with the people who accepted him, Emu wants to carry on her grandpa’s legacy and make him proud (and I think it was deliberate to release emu+tsukasa’s fragment sekai cards together given that saki is to tsukasa what emu’s grandpa is to her).

Just as you can’t separate Tsukasa’s character from Saki, you can’t separate his goal of becoming a better actor and future star from his goal of being a good big brother. His relationship to Saki was the catalyst for his dream, & that’s pretty clearly why they chose to make his fragment sekai reflect this. They’re emphasizing one of the most crucial and often overlooked parts of his character. And it was a fantastic decision.

Tsukasa fragment sekai card they could never make me hate you. Keep sitting there in your boring little costume eating your stupid slice of bread Tsukasa. I love it & will defend it until my dying breath. I’m cheering and clapping and hooting and hollering and whatever other words describing applause fit.

[merakiui]

Oh so real!! Aaa I would love to learn more about RSA. It's been, like, what? 4 and a half years now? They've gotta give us something eventually!! (coping) I do think in general we should get more fun traveling events. I know we're getting those obviously with the hometown events, but I'd love to learn some more about the world that isn't the few countries surrounding Sage's Island? Like we still have no idea where Sam's hometown (Port O' Bliss) is! Though considering what Sam's twisted from maybe they could be saving it for something like halloween??? They probably won't tbh but it WOULD be really cool.

I want to update and say I unfortunately did Not pull b7 eel cards (Jade got me to about 87 before the banners ended, no chance to pull on Floyd 💔 so greedy) so I'm handing in my Jade lovers card and twirling his poor twin around. Floyd wouldn't do me and my savings like Jade did. Trust. This does remind me actually to reread some of your Floyd fics ,, it HAS been awhile I fear

It is a really cool feature!! And AAAA I LOVE BARB !! We share,, many fictional men. Right down to my poor poor childhood crush on Kyoya. Reiji though has plagued my brain for YEARS I would love to see what all you think of him if you ever do read a full translation!! There's been fan-made english patches made actually for the first two Dialovers games on the vita if you have a pc and patience with the silly silly world of emulators. It's how I did his Haunted Dark Bridal route :-) and goodness what a trip that game is!! Ohh Reiji and Laito the interesting little critters you are,,,,

Vampires though in general,, auughfhh,, I think about vampire fish a good bit honestly. I can't remember rn if I've stumbled across any works like that but maybe I should check ao3 after this,,, for science. of course. Also don't worry about answering these quickly or anything. You could respond to this in a month and I'd still have the same joy reading your response as I would if you'd responded immediately. So always take your time.

(Also I wasn't sure how to throw this into my ask, but have you ever shared your twst friend codes here? If not, would you be open to doing so? If you aren't it's totally chill!! But I'd been wondering for awhile :]! )

- :3 anon

Begging twst for an RSA event!! OTL I want to see the inside of RSA and see more characters from there,, more Neige and Che'nya!!! Omg and it would be so fun to learn more about places beyond Sage's Island and the other areas nearby. I would love more Sam crumbs, especially hometown crumbs!! Thinking about a Princess and the Frog inspired Halloween event,,,, AAAAA THAT WOULD BE SO AMAZING!!! OTL OTL hoping with all of my heart for something.....

No eels... (◞‸◟；) I am sorry you couldn't bring either of them home. Those rotten eels!!! ( ｡ •`ᴖ´• ｡) how can they be so troublesome and slippery!!! Friendship ended with Jade. Floyb is the new bestie and he would never treat you or your savings in such a disrespectful manner! Certainly not in the way Jade did. I hope he will comfort you more than Jade ever could. <3

We are on the same wavelength, :3 anon!!! Immaculate taste as always for us hehehe!! We are passing the fictional men around and letting them spin in our brains like conveyor belt sushi! I definitely want to learn more about Reiji because he was one of the brothers I sort of,,,, ignored due to my lack of interest. ^^;;; but now I am very intrigued. What do you MEAN he creates drugs and potions and other nefarious things!!!! I fear I am not immune to a cordial smile and the drugs slipped into my tea (winking and nudging Reiji). How terrible it would be if attractive vampire with glasses did that to me...... uuwaaaa,,, I want to be able to play those fan-made patches!!!! One day I shall have a PC that allows me to unlock full gamer potential like Idia. >:D haunted dark bridal route sounds so fascinating... 👀

AND LAITO!!!! Dare I say,,,,, what if Cater x Laito crossover!!!! Cater in Laito's outfit,,,, VAMPIRE CATER?!?!?!?!?!?! OTL my brain chemistry was irreversibly altered when I first watched that church altar scene in the anime. LAITO, THE VAMPIRE THAT YOU ARE!!!!! Truly the most interesting of critters.

Vampire fish my beloveds. AAAA I just love vampires. <3 gothic vampire Azul is amazing, but I also love modern-day vampire Floyd....... and of course vampire Jade who loves playing with the cute vampire hunter who is after him. Many thoughts for those three. May you find plentiful vampire works in your very scientific ao3 search!!!

UUWAAA you're too kind and patient,,, 🥺 thank you so very much... I would feel so terrible if I responded as late as a month later!!! orz but it's a relief to know you would still be happy to read my thoughts. Please also take your time in replying!! There is never any rush.

:o I haven't shared it before!! Here it is below! Feel free to add me as a friend! My profile is very Rollo as of this moment. I hope my level 105 tako card can be of use in battle. 🐙 ✨

[felignis]

the first and last lines of characters in the left/right game

spoilers under the cut!

ROB

first

ROB: Course my wife started to get dissatisfied, I was away a while.

last

ROB: … It’s been a real honour drivin’ with you Miss Sharma.

APOLLO

first

APOLLO: I've come out of Chicago. Took three days hard driving.

last

APOLLO: Oh god. Rob! ROB!!

CLYDE

firsy

CLYDE: We would have gotten here sooner we had to drop by to get some blankets. Pleasure to meet you ma'am.

last

CLYDE: I hope so too. Thank you for coming with me, I know it’s late.

LILITH AND EVE

first (joint)

LILITH: We have a friend there, he's been seeing some-

EVE: -He's a seismologist

LILITH: Yeah and he's been recording readings over the years that show subterranean movement. Predictable movement.

EVE: We're going to see him in July, but we could work it around you if you're free.

last (eve)

EVE: I.. love you. I love y… you Jen.

last (lilith)

LILITH: I wish we could have been friends for longer.

ACE

first

ACE: It's my car. What am I meant to do,? It's my car.

last

ACE: Rob, what do I do?! Rob?!

MARJORIE

first

GREYWOMAN: Lambs at the gate. Hoping for something better than clover when all they find are things worse than slaughter.

last

MARJORIE: And what do I do now? What- What do I do?!

BONNIE

first

BONNIE: Well OK I suppose we should get back on the road then… if everyone’s ready.

last

BONNIE: I love you very much Martin. You’re always welcome.

THE HITCHHIKER

First

HITCHHIKER: Not much in the way of seating back here huh!

last

HITCHHIKER: I can tell you everything you want to know. Even the things you never knew about yourself. Even the thoughts you didn’t know you were thinking… those little critters, all the way at the back.

BLUEJAY

first

BLUEJAY: I’m tired.

last

BLUEJAY: I was ri… I was-

CHUCK GREENWALD

first

CHUCK: That was “Sister Moon” by Leslie Estrada, another song to calm you folks down as we head into the evening. It’s Chuck Greenwald and I’m with you till the witching hour.

last

CHUCK: They’re going to hurt now.

ROB JR/BOBBY

first

last

ALICE (SPOKEN)

first

AS: For work?

last

AS: I’m still not certain I trust you.

ALICE (WRITTEN)

first

They say great stories happen to those who can tell them. Robert J. Guthard is an exception to that rule. As I sit at his table, sip his coffee and listen to him recount the past 65 years it sounds like he's reading off a shopping list. Every event, his first job, his second wedding, his third divorce, none of them receive more than one or two sentences. Rob plows through the years, the curt, dispassionate curator of his own personal history. Yet the story itself is so fascinating, so rich with moments and so wildly meandering that it somehow stands on its own merits.

last

I’m going to take a drive. Take a left, then the next possible road on the right, then the next possible left. I will repeat the process ad infinitum, until I wind up somewhere new.

And from there I’ll keep driving, beyond worlds, beyond time, beyond the bounds of my imagining. To a place where the lake runs dry, where the broken moon drifts away, and the stars disappear in the rear view.

To a place where everything has fallen away, and the road is all there is.

[monsoon-of-art]

Hhhhh I know that sea creechurs and birbs are completely different, but I love seeing the instincts you give the merfolk in your Pokemon Mer AU.

The need to protect, the drive to hunt, the emphasis on community (staying in a pack or pod), and all that. It's so much fun to see whenever a writer includes stuff like that in their works.

As for the birbs I mentioned, I keep chickens, and they are. very fascinating little organisms. I've seen people with wing aus incorporate things like dust bathing and brooding and even feather-plucking and molting, and it's just... I've observed those things (except for feather-plucking, which doesn't seem to be common in chooks as it is in birds like cockatoos and parrots) and it's so cool to see in other fics.

And you! The way you put in things like grouping together and teaching the young ones how to hunt is so cool! Again, the two groups of critters I'm talking about are very, very different, but it's really cool to see how many creatures share instincts like these, and then to see it applied to people!

Your au is just. Very brainrot. It rots my brain every couple of months and I can't stop thinking about it, and it makes me want to critterfy characters myself.

Also, I found you for the Mer stuff, but I really like your OCs, too! They're really cool, please feed Hayday, I'm begging you, he's so skinny and stressed I want to give him a meal. :<

This is... very rambly, sorry (I should be asleep, but no). But! I hope that you have a good, blessed day, and a good night's rest!

With my mer stuff its kinda funny, I made the 'basis' for them years and years ago for a different fandom, and I actually lessened the 'critter-fication' of them lmao (or its there I just havent talked about them)

But! It might be the neurodivergent part of my brain, it may be the dormant furry in me, but I love critter-fying things. It's so fun. Bc they're not human, they'd have their own quirks and society and culture! And thats fun to think about!

Thank you for this ask, it was so nice to read and reread ;w;

[salem-witch-slut]

Sweet, Sweet Truth

Poppy Sweeting x Nicki Dimitrescu (Hogwarts Legacy MC)

WARNINGS: Idiots in love. That's it, a useless lesbian in love with her classmate.

SYNOPSIS: Nicki has been wanting to show Poppy the Room of Requirement for months now. To see all of the creatures and beasts she's rescued from the poachers grasp. But part of her still wonders if she's making the right decision.

WORD COUNT: 3.4K

A/N: As I played this game, my MC quickly became her own character to me and I started using her name more and more and she is basically just an OC at this point. Kind of controversial but I really like this dynamic. Fight me, it's cute.

She always felt most at peace in this room. 

Could it still be called a room and not a home at this point? She spent all of her time here, after the term ended and everybody returned to their homes, she remained behind within the Room of Requirement. While she could have asked Deek to care for her animals, this would have been time wasted bonding with all of the creatures she rescued over the school year. 

There was something calming about studying in a transcendental garden inside of a room of her mind’s own creation, surrounded by all of the beasts she’s rescued from the poachers that roam the land across the wizard world. 

She was so enraptured with the book she was reading that the huff of a creature behind her nearly made her toss the book from the small picnic table in front of her. She looked up and heard a familiar chirp as the creature nuzzled against her face. 

“Hey, Highwing,” She smiled, reaching up to scratch at the white Hippogriff’s cheek who responded with an almost purring sound. She was forever fascinated with the mystical beasts surrounding her. Highwing was the smartest creature she’s ever met. Whenever the Niffler would approach her, the feathers on her wings would ruffle and she would prance in a circle around the curious little shiny thief. 

On many occasions, the pink-haired Hufflepuff would find her silver-lain quill inside of the critter’s den and have to trade a real galleon with him to get it back. With all the coins he was hoarding, she could probably buy a brand new broomstick. 

“What’s wrong, my friend?” She stood from the table and ran her fingers across Highwing’s beak. “Do you need to stretch your wings? You have all of this space, you don’t need me for that.”

The Hippogriff snorted, jumping a little as if to get her point across, stepping forward and nudging her face into the witch’s chest. When she chirruped again, it sparked a realization in the girl’s dark brown eyes. “Ah, I see… Do you think its time I invite your mom into this room?”

This was a long-time coming. She had been meaning to tell Poppy about the vivariums inside of the Room of Requirement for almost ten months. It was around the middle of October and the castle was decked out in Halloween decor and she did her best to set the mood in her little hideout, thanks to Deek helping set the ambience of a moonlit glow. 

“Pardon me, Mistress Nicoleta?” The pink-haired girl looked behind her at the house elf who slowly shambled in with a letter in his hands. 

“Deek, you really don’t need to call me that,” She smiled warmly to show her lack of irritation. She learned very quickly that with a house elf, she had to be very particular with how she worded things and with her facial expressions. Most of the wizarding world is so cruel to their assigned elves and forces punishment on them if they make mistakes. 

“Of course, forgive me,” Deek smiled. “Miss Nicki, you have a letter here. The owl just arrived not a moment ago.” 

“All right,” Nicki accepted the letter, immediately recognizing the handwriting and smiling at Sebastian’s signature on the envelope. “Thank you Deek.”

The house elf smiled and with a snap of his fingers, he vanished. The smile lingered on Nicki’s face as she turned over the letter and tore the seal open to read what was inside. The letter had the most elegant handwriting, as usual when Sebastian wrote to her. Sometimes she struggled to work out if he wrote an F or a J.

Nicki scanned over the letter, rubbing at her neck. He wanted to meet in the Undercroft with Ominis later in the night, which meant she would need to cast Disillusionment again to avoid someone seeing her out of her common room after dark. Though, come to think of it… when was the last time she slept in the common room?

There was a separate section in the ROR just for her to sleep. Set up one of the most comfortable beds she’s ever slept in and enchanted the ceiling so it looked like a night sky to keep her calm throughout the night. 

Ever since those restless nights after Professor Fig’s passing, Nicki couldn’t sleep with the rest of her roommates in the room. She cried a lot, and kept them awake so she isolated herself inside of the ROR until she was able to stop crying… But by then, she was so comfortable alone, she never truly returned. And if anybody noticed, they didn’t say anything. 

“Alright darling,” Nicki spoke softly, patting her hand against Highwing’s neck as she started walking towards the entrance of the aviary vivarium. “I will be back later. Stay out of trouble, and stop chasing around the Diricawls, hmm?”

Highwing scratched her claws against the dirt and chirped, almost with approval as she watched the pink-haired heroine step out and back into the main room. Nicki pocketed the letter and double checked her side holster to make sure she took her wand with her before stepping out of the ROR. Some of the students walking by noticed her, but simply nodded like this was a normal thing they always saw. To be fair, this was Hogwarts. Disappearing, and reappearing doors seemed to be all over the place. 

“I know Poppy sometimes lingers near the front courtyard,” Nicki mumbled to herself as she strolled throughout the hall, taking her time to get there. Part of her was excited to show her what she’s been doing, but another part of her was absolutely terrified. Some of these creatures she’s kept inside of her vivariums make sense… But some of them?

How will Poppy react to seeing the herd of thestrals? Or the unicorns? What about the phoenix? Or worse… Nicki’s mind lingered on the Graphorn that has bonded with her. She attempted to return him back to the shores where he lived for the longest time, but he followed her back and refused to leave her side. 

Nicki had to give him a name. He was powerful, an ancient creature of strength, and was considered a lord among his kind… Odin seemed like a fitting name. And he seemed to respond and like it so it stuck with her. 

Her entire mind was plagued with these thoughts as she wandered down to the courtyard. She was tugging on the sleeve of her robe when she walked directly into someone. The impact was hard enough that the other student was knocked clean off of their feet and Nicki tumbled forward right on top of them. 

Her forehead smacked against their chest and the student under her groaned with pain as her pink hair fell out of its usual slicked back style. 

“Nicki?” Her face went almost the same color as her hair as she looked down and saw the exact person she was looking for. Poppy smiled, her hair sprawled all over the grass behind her head as she instinctively put both hands on Nicki’s waist. It felt like her hands were on fire; Nicki could feel the heat of her skin through her button-up white shirt as she sat up on her hands and gave a very nervous chuckle. “You always know how to sweep me off of my feet.” 

Nicki chuckled again, this time in humor as she reached down and gently pulled a stray lock of Poppy’s hair away from her forehead. “Are you alright?” 

“Well,” Poppy gently squeezed the girl’s sides. “I’ll be better when we aren’t on the ground anymore with… everybody looking at us.” 

Nicki jerked her head upward and noticed that yes, almost the whole courtyard was staring at them both. She bit down on her lip, a nervous habit that had gotten so bad that her lip started bleeding sometimes. Her fingers dug into the dirt for a second before she scooted back until she could stand up and then held out her hand for Poppy to take.

The brunette accepted it without hesitation and was once again shocked with just how strong Nicki was. Her feet left the ground for a second and the fellow Hufflepuff began brushing off the dirt that gathered on Poppy’s robe. 

“Well, this was a lucky coincidence,” Nicki smiled before reaching up and removing a blade of grass from Poppy’s hair, seeing the shorter girl blush slightly at the gesture. “I was just coming to look for you.”

“For me?” Poppy asked. “Did you need something?”

“In a way,” Nicki shifted her weight on her feet, trying to work up the courage to ask her to come back to the room with her. After a few seconds of nonstop looking at the ground, Nicki sighed and looked back up to meet Poppy’s eyes. The brunette focused on the scar over her left eye and was reminded of how her freckles looked like constellations.

“There’s something I want to show you… But I need you to keep an open mind going into this.”

The words sounded a lot less menacing in her head than when she spoke them out loud. And from the look on Poppy’s face, she realized that it was phrased wrong. Her heart sped up for a second and she reached out with both hands. “N-Not that it’s dangerous or anything! But, let’s face it… you can handle something dangerous.” 

The memory of the dragon rescue was something the two of them always talked about. And then returning the dragon egg was just as dangerous, if not more so than the former task. Of course, it was all worth it. 

“Alright, where are we headed?” Poppy smiled warmly, much to the pink-haired girl’s delight as she began to walk backwards, beckoning her housemate to follow behind. Poppy had to almost jog to keep up with the girl’s lengthy strides. Her legs were just so long that it was always a struggle for Poppy to stay in step with her. 

They went up the staircases that Nicki had just come back down from and very slowly, she approached the wall where the door would appear if she thought about it. 

“Now remember… open mind,” Nicki said, clenching her hands a little as she closed her eyes. Poppy tried to not look confused but jumped a little as the swirls of the iron door design began to appear right in front of her. When the entire door materialized and opened up for them, Nicki stepped forward, holding out her hand for Poppy to take. “Let me show you what I do with my time, Poppy.” 

Oh, how could she possibly say no to that? The brunette put her hand in Nicki’s almost like it was without her control as the girl led her into the Room of Requirement. 

All around the room, Poppy saw something new. Statues of mystical beasts in the open spaces, potion tables lined up along the far left hallway, and potting tables on the other side. Across the main room, she could see a staircase where she was sure even more wondrous things lie and up the stairs to the right were rooms with glowing light surrounding the glass enclosures. 

“This is the Room of Requirement,” Nicki said, stepping forward and removing her wand from her hip. The tip of it glowed before she gave it a small flick and a chair conjured right next to Poppy. The girl jumped in surprise as Nicki smiled and then flicked the wand backward, vanishing the object in an instant. “It adapts to the needs of the occupant and allows them to have access to what they need.” 

“Incredible,” Poppy stepped forward, taking in the room around her and looking up at the ceiling to see all of the books flying around and the enchantment that Deek placed on the room to give the illusion that the moon was always shining down inside. “Is this where you spent your time last year?” 

“Most of it, yes,” Nicki reached out her hand and a book appeared within her palm. She flipped through the pages of her Field Guide journal and smiled at how Professor Weasley commemorated her completion of the book. “When I wasn’t off saving all of Hogwarts, anyways.” 

“And rescuing dragons, and bargaining with centaurs, and searching for the golden snidgets…” Poppy listed off all of Nicki’s accomplishments and she tried to hide her embarrassment as she rubbed the back of her neck. “You were certainly busy last year.”

“You don’t know how busy,” Nicki placed down the field guide and began to walk towards the stairs, gesturing for Poppy to follow her towards one of the glowing rooms in the corner. “Which is why I wanted you to come here… there’s something I want to show you.”

Poppy was two steps behind her the whole way and couldn’t help but notice the scar on the back of Nicki’s neck in the shape of a claw mark. Very carefully, they approached the door and when Nicki stepped through the light, Poppy was close behind. 

For a moment, she couldn’t see anything, and then when it all came into focus, she was completely speechless. 

In front of the two was a massive beach. The waves in the distance crashed against the beautiful rocks lining the shore, the smell of the sea filling their noses. The sun within the room felt so real, so bright, so… Poppy walked backwards, looking up and admiring just how incredible the room looked. Near where the tide just stopped, there was a bench made of stone along with a lamp post. A scarf was draped over the back of it, proof that Nicki was comfortable enough in the room to leave her clothing behind inside. 

“This is…” Poppy struggled to find the words. “This is amazing, Nicki… It’s absolutely breathtaking.” 

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Nicki smiled before turning around and pressing two of her fingers to her teeth. A long, high pitched whistle escaped her mouth and it felt like the ground was now shaking under their feet. Poppy instinctively stepped back and when the creature Nicki was calling stepped into view, she was shocked. No, not shocked. Poppy was in awe. 

“Is that…” The Graphorn began to gallop forward and gave a mighty roar as he approached the two girls. Nicki dropped down to her knee in front of him and Poppy immediately followed her movement, not willing to upset the magnificent beast in front of her. It was the largest Graphorn she had ever seen before. 

The beast stepped in front of them and gave a soft snort as he leaned down and pressed his nose against Nicki’s face. The tendrils on his mouth tickled against her cheek and she smiled, reaching up and gently petting his forehead. “Poppy, this is the Lord of the Shore… but I call him Odin.”

“How did you possibly manage to tame a Graphorn?! Let alone bring him inside of this room without being noticed?” Poppy gaped as Nicki reached down for her hand and led the girl closer. Without hesitation, Poppy reached out and placed her palm against his face and he gave an almost purring noise. “This is incredible.”

“I’ve done it with all of them,” Nicki said softly. “All of the other rooms that look like this? They all have beasts within… I even rescued a phoenix.”

“Nicki,” Poppy noticed the fear in the girl’s brown eyes and she stepped back, looking down at the sand gathering on her black boots. “What is–”

“Am I doing the right thing, Poppy?” Nicki asked. She couldn’t bear to face her friend’s look. “Am I no better than those poachers? I tell myself that these creatures are safer with me than out there to be captured and slaughtered for a price… but am I doing what’s right? Keeping them here against their will?”

Poppy could see tears in her eyes. This had clearly been on her mind for weeks, if not months… The girl clenched her hands into fists and looked as if she was seconds from breaking down in front of her. This was an incredibly important thing to Nicki. Poppy knew firsthand how cruel the poachers could be. Her family subjected the poor girl to terrors beyond her nightmares, forcing Poppy to watch innocent creatures die for a profit. 

What Poppy endured was absolutely awful… And now here was her best friend, confessing something that she believed to be just as terrible as what she tried so hard to stop. What does she say? How does she actually feel about this? 

“Oh, Nicki,” Poppy said softly, reaching forward and gently pressing her palm against the girl’s cheek. She looked down to meet her gaze and immediately leaned into Poppy’s touch, like she was warmth in the cold winter. “You are doing the right thing… These creatures are in danger out there.”

“But this isn’t their home,” Nicki said. “I took them from their homes and said I was keeping them safe–”

“And you are,” Poppy grabbed the girl’s face with both hands and gently rubbed her thumb over Nicki’s cheekbones. “They are all safe here. They are treated with kindness and respect by the sweetest witch I’ve ever known. You are protecting them from those who would wish to do them harm.”

“Are you sure?” Nicki sniffed a little, a tear rolling down her scarred cheek and Poppy swiped it away with her thumb. “I just wish to do the right thing.” 

“You always do the right thing,” Poppy said, almost breathlessly. Her heart sped up as she stepped forward and slid her right hand up to the back of Nicki’s head. The short cut hair tickled between her fingers as she looked down at the girl’s slightly shined lips from the special salve that she’s been applying every day to heal the cracked skin. 

Almost immediately, the brunette looked back up and tried not to focus on her lips and how she was curious about the taste of the salve. 

“Poppy, I–” Nicki started, but immediately went quiet as she got even closer to the shorter Hufflepuff, her hands reaching out and gently pressing them against the small of her back under her robe. “I… I think that I–”

“Me too,” Poppy all but whined out, her knees trembling a little as she tried not to breathe in case it ruined the moment. She was so close… Close enough that Poppy could see the gold flecks in the girl’s irises. She wanted to close the distance. Poppy wanted to break this tension so badly, but it was like she was frozen in fear. 

Their lips were centimeters away from each other. Nicki could smell the other girl’s soap as she huffed, her hot breath caressing Poppy’s cheek as she bit her lip again. 

But before either of them could talk themselves out of this, a massive force behind Nicki had the girl stumbling forward and her lips came crashing down against Poppy’s. The shorter girl let out a squeak, her eyes widening as Nicki stumbled forward, thanks to Odin’s influence. The creature had enough as he shoved the pink-haired girl into Poppy. 

It was like sparks all over Nicki’s body. Her fingers flexed, digging into Poppy’s back as she practically melted against the brunette who reached up even higher and threaded her fingers into the soft pink hair. It was everything that she had hoped for. And the salve on Nicki’s lips tasted like sweet honey. 

The kiss was even more magical than this room. Nicki gave a soft whimper when she felt Poppy’s fingers gently pull on her hair and she broke the kiss, her face going a deep red with embarrassment. “I’m sorry. Ugh, that was embarrassing, I shouldn’t have–”

“Hey, hey,” Poppy released her pink hair from her hold and reached down to take one of Nicki’s hands in her own. “It’s alright, I’m sorry that I did that.” 

Nicki rolled her eyes a little, chuckling as she held the girl even closer to body. “If I ask nicely, will you do it again?” 

The brunette blushed before smiling wickedly, leaning forward once again and taking a moment to really appreciate the intricate details of Nicki’s handsome face. “I’ll do whatever you wish, hero of Hogwarts.” 

“Oh please don’t call me that,” Nicki said, playfully making a face. “It feels far too excessive.” 

“Alright, then how about…” Poppy pressed a kiss to the girl’s lips once again, taking Nicki by surprise when she broke it and grinned. “My fierce protector?” 

The pink-haired girl’s eyes fluttered for a second before she pulled Poppy as close as possible, their bodies pressed together as she captured another kiss like she just couldn’t get enough of her. Nicki mumbled against Poppy’s lips. 

“That works for me.” 

[shadowqnights]

Do you have any like thoughts on or headcannons for MCD Travis?

its funny cause i haven't really gotten around to him in any rewrite stuff yet except for like. AUs where he's a part of the guardboys(tm). so this may be brief but here's my rewrite thoughts so Far on travis.

i feel like most people like sticking with the canon of travis being socially awkward because of his isolation. like yeah. i'm a big fan. social cues are lost on him and his more confident/flirting behaviours are from copying books (even the most extreme or fantastical ones). unspoken social rules are the devil to him. this boy was born to yap his head off.

[clashes most with katelyn and garroth at first because of this BUT finds common ground with them later thanks to his studies.]

speaking of his studies hoo boy hello my freak scientist. let him learn! loves getting his hands dirty and doing experiments. no qualms about going to hold bugs and rolling around in the dirt to try and Figure Shit Out. he's a cartographer, in his spare time he's trying to fully map out gal'ruk. he loooves to read, just you wait until he gets his hands on actual up-to-date books and becomes kenmur and emmalyn's bestie. that's kind of where his common ground with katelyn and garroth comes from because they're all fascinated with history to a degree and Can like . sustain a convo with Just pure infodumping. but garroth's a bit of an academic snob sometimes vs travis is a bit of a freak scientist so.. clash...

in a similar vein god travis journals like a teenage girl trying to get her life back together. he notes down everything. he's interested in biology and geology in particular. he will draw and write about everything he sees, and later begins noting down a Lot of human behaviour to understand it better. even to an invasive degree, since he's incredibly perceptive. what he lacks in social cue knowledge he makes up for in pure Vibe Checks and straightforwardness. he will just say exactly what he's feeling.

emotionally he gets along best with laurance and aph, then later katelyn. also kenmur. he and garroth still have some shit to work through. he and laur start off trying to kill each other a little bit and then become besties. i still have to work on his demon mode but it will happen . hoenstly even though he would tire aaron out, they would probably have a mad good chat about divine grudges and demons. younger dante and travis would probably relate a lot to each other.

he's a little bit odd in the way of like . you know the trope where a character is like. isolated alone in the wilderness and is just. having conversations with animals. that's travis. he's just chatting casually with the island critters a lot , if only to have Some company. but he does genuinely also have a really good bond with the wildlife on gal'ruk. i imagine him with a snake companion.

carries knives and a polearm of some sort as his weapons. despite being like a good fighter and like a core of his life on gal'ruk is literally 'guarding' by technicality, he's not really that big on fighting. he's capable , but similar to aaron he would NEVER think of himself as a guard figure. they're more like . freelancing out of necessity.

i think those are like the Main things ive thought about but again like barely scratching the surface cause i haven't really got to him in rewrite yet. but i will one day. sorry i have a funny way of typing casually in a janky way that my brain would say it irl happy to explain anything further if it doesn't make sense. tee hee

[cassi-pokeblogging-hub]

Pokepark - Shout out a Pokemon IRL blog you really like!

ill do you one better i have A LOT to shout out lol. its very hard to like articulate ALL my thoughts in just like one paragraph cause i dont wanna drop a masive ESSAY for each blog so ill try to keep it brief but do check all of them out if you havent yet!!

@lovenpeace-pkmn - anthea and concordia are,, surprisingly forgotten about pkmn characters so finding out there was a blog for them a few months back was like. insane for me. i love the blogrunners characterization and its just generally a fun blog to scroll through and interact with on occasion!

@thatfailedpokemontrainer - sprite an interesting critter fr. theres something wrong with them and i love it. every once in a while something goes down on the blog and im just in the discord chat with friends like omg look at whats happening on tumblr RIGHT NOW!!! also as a dedenne best pikaclone TRUTHER i am obligated to promite this blog lol

@battle-subway-ghost - is also a really fun blog that im always like GUYS LOOK AT WHATS HAPPENING OVER THERE!!! honestly i could probably link ALL the blogs linked to this one and thatfailedpokemontrainer but i dont wanna decimate a buncha peoples notifs with me @ ing them all on the same post lmao. but like. something up with paris fr and his relationships with other characters are so fun to read. also i love rattatas so any blog about characters that give love to the rats get a good grade in my book

@wingsofachampion - tropius is such a fun character and bench plays her so well!! pokemon like tropius are sososo underrated compared to a lot of the like. anthro/more humanoid pokemon and pokemon that are just cats or dogs so seeing one about one of these more underrated pokemon so good to me. bench (blogrunner) also has a ton of fun pmd lore that builds off the canon stuff on this blog and a few of their other blogs so if you love pmdstuff you should REALLY check them out

@psn-stalling - i could list A LOT of the bbablr blogs because theyre all some degree of something up with that guy fr but atlas is one of the first blogs that popped up on my dash p often and is what got me to check out a ton of the bba blogs. atlas and his relationships to other characters are so fun to me and tbh atlas is just a fascinating character in general. top ten guys of all time i hope he beefs with even more of his classmates in the future

@viridian-rat - OKAY SO. TURT (the blogrunner) IS MY FIRNED SO PERHAPS THIS MAY BE CHEATING BUT RAT IS SO SOSO SOMETHING TO ME. 12 YEAR OLD OF ALL TIME. turt plays rat like an actual 12 year old and its so refreshing because a lot of people DO NOT KNOW HOW CHILDREN ACT AND ITS INSANE. also turts been putting so much effort into a whole ass animation for this blog thats almost done so you guys have to follow the blog before it comes out so you'll see it.

@harteofthehart-ayyy - harte is another character on pkmn irl thats a guy of all time fr. fascinated by him and everything that is revealed about him. whatevers going on with him and his roommate has captivated me. this is also another blog where i REALLY like the art thats posted on occasion, and i just find it funny to follow. also its just a REALLY fun blog to interact with. like some blogs are just awkward to reply to because theres like way too little to actually grab onto but harte's mod is really good at giving you stuff to actually reply to

theres sosososo many more blogs but some are just escaping my mind rn or i dont know how to like properly articulate anything than this blog good. id like @ my entire following list rn if i could but i do not think people would be happy with the amount of notifs

[8thplacewolfos]

Pet Regression Caregiver Albert Wesker Headcanons

Back at it again with some pet-regression-oriented caregiver Wesker headcanons! I just know he would love all sorts of critters, so I tried to keep these as general as possible so that any pet can enjoy them! I’m a parrot and puppy regressor myself.

I accidentally made these a bit long-winded, whoops. These are less headcanons and more… assorted one-shots? I’ve got no clue what happened here.

Reader (that’s you!) is referred to with neutral pronouns, and is not described.

As usual, this is for non-sexual, sfw pet regression. DNI if you sexualize pet regression. Also, please heed my general DNI criteria which can be found in the pinned post on my blog.

Content warnings: food, finance, Wesker is a bit more in-character this round, meaning he’s… a bit egotistical, but I did my best to try and keep it harmless. There’s also a slightly sad part in the “activities” segment but no worries, it ends on a happy note. And there’s almost a swearword.

How Wesker Finds Out About Petre

Wesker finds out about petre the same way he found out about agere; from you, of course! As he did research on age regression, he happened upon articles on pet regression and decided that he should do some reading on that as well. He wants to be a prepared Papa, so he covers all his bases.

He stumbled into a world of adorable little creatures: puppies, kitties, wolf cubs, bear cubs, bats, and all sorts of other darling animals that require their own special types of care. It was all a bit overwhelming, but fascinating. He wrote a short profile for each animal he came across until you got home.

You two had a lovely chat about it. He encouraged you to tell him all about your pet space, even if you were a little shy about it at first. He loves you, after all; he’s happy to praise you for any of your healthy coping mechanisms. If it works for you, it works for him.

Besides, Wesker never had a pet before! This will be exciting. Even if he doesn’t come across as outwardly excited, he definitely is.

General Pet Care Style

No matter what kind of critter you are, Weskie wants to make sure you have ample space to play with whatever kind of toys you need.

With all the jobs (and… extracurricular income) he has, money is no object; he dedicates an entire space in his home to your habitat. Being as well-read as he is, he makes sure to set it up practically, filling any needs a little critter might have. The floor is soft enough for quadrobics if that’s your gig. If you’re the type of pet that needs a nice comfy corner to sleep in, he makes sure to set up a plush, quiet space for you to rest. He lets you pick out any toys you find interesting.

As for decorations… he’s got taste, sure, but he’s not exactly sure how to decorate a baby animal habitat. You might have to help him out there. He might give you a piece of paper or two so you can doodle up some ideas!

Wesker sits his pet in his lap, laying their head against his chest. They hear the calm beating of his heart and feel as if they might nod off, until he gently calls out for them. The rumble of his voice makes them smile. They look up at him as best they can. “There you are, sweet one,” he coos once he meets their gaze. “I’m just picking out some things for your new playroom. I need your help, though. I’m not very good at seeing the ‘fun’ in pet toys. I can tell you scientifically what type of enrichment toys you need, but I’m sure you have your own preferences. Would you like to choose your toys?” Wesker’s pet perks up at that, rapidly nodding and turning to face the laptop screen. They scroll through the website, so enwrapped in colorful photos and the sheer number of things to play with, that they click anything that catches their attention. Wesker watches them, amber eyes amused behind his sunglasses. Once they pause, Wesker places his hands back on the laptop. “All done?” he asks. The pet nods. He clicks over to the checkout tab and his pet paws at him sympathetically, eyeing the price of the items in the cart. “Now now, none of that. The happiness of my precious pet has no price tag. This is nothing, dearest. Papa will make this back in an hour, probably less than that.” Their Papa’s not-so-humble bragging makes them feel a bit better. They give him a big “thank you” hug, nuzzling their head back into his neck. His grin can be heard in his quiet laughter.

Wesker loves the nurturing aspects of animal care, but he’s also logical, so he makes sure he keeps your habitat stocked with pet snacks and drinks for you. He has fun figuring out human-safe alternatives for animal foods; like using dry cereal for kibble or cut up cooked meat for meat-eating pets. If you’re an herbivorous pet, he offers you all sorts of fresh fruits and veggies, even ones you haven’t seen before that he gets from fancy grocery stores and places he travels to!

He also keeps his pockets lined with your favorite dry treats, like animal crackers, cereal biscuits, or fruit chunks. It’s important that he’s always prepared to reward good behavior!

If you’re a sneaky creature, you might be able to steal a couple treats from him when he’s not looking. Of course, his superior senses never allow you to get away with it, but he always plays along and acts like he doesn’t notice.

Wesker pats the pocket of his coat, making a show of being confused. “Hm. I could’ve sworn I had more treats on me just a moment ago… What a mystery this is.” His pet, mouth full of those very treats, chews a bit faster, aiming to clear their mouth before their Papa can turn around to see them. They agree with him; missing treats are a severe mystery. Glancing behind him and catching a glimpse of the critter, he bites back a chuckle. He felt them snatch a few treats from his pocket a bit ago, but he can’t bring himself to discipline them for it. It brings him joy to see them having fun. “How about we play detective to find them? I will be the detective; you’ll be my loyal little pet and sniff out where they might be hiding. I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of this if we work together.”

Activities

If you’re a more active type of critter, Wesker will try to find time to play games with you! His personal favorite is any kind of fetch; it’s easy for him to play at his desk while he works. You bring him a toy, he throws it, you bring it back, rinse and repeat. That is, until he gets a little forgetful of his own strength and accidentally beams the toy through a wall on one particularly hard throw.

Both Wesker and his critter stare at the ball-shaped hole in the drywall. If he squints, he can see clean through the hole, into the hallway, and into the front wall of the room across the hall. “God—“ he glances over at his pet on the floor, reconsidering his word choice. He lets the rest of his sentence go with an irritated sigh. “I'm sorry dearheart, but I don’t have the patience for more fetch today. Let’s pick a different game.” His pet toddles across the hall, brushes off their ball, and brings it back to him. They don’t expect him to play more, but perhaps having the ball back might cheer up their Papa. Wesker glances back down at the floor, his agitation fading into amusement. “Thank you, pup.” He places the ball on top of his desk and pats them on the head.

Games that require a lot of room, like chase, are a little more uncommon for him because of his schedule, but they’re a ton of fun!

Well, they are once he learns how to play, and not win. He spent his life having to succeed at everything he’s tried, physically upgrading himself so he wins by default. He’s not accustomed to playing to have fun. You may have to teach him to play fair.

A defeated pet sits in the soft green grass, finally giving up on trying to catch their Papa in their game of chase. He’s just too fast; he jukes out of the way too quickly for them to tag him. When he’s the one who’s “it”, they lose almost immediately because he tags them before they even finish thinking about which way to run. Wesker approaches the creature on the ground and crouches down to their eye level, features softening with concern. “Dearheart? Is everything alright?” He looks at all the common locations for owies; shins, knees, elbows, hands, and determines that his pet didn’t fall or hurt themself. “Come now, tell Papa what’s wrong. You were having fun a moment ago.” The little one looks up at him and frowns. No, they weren’t, they say. They gently explain that he’s always winning, and it isn’t fair, because they can’t possibly run as fast as him. Wesker, for his part, listens intently. He’s been raised to win, no matter how; no “game” he’s ever participated in has lasted long enough to be considered “play”. He takes a moment to catalogue his own behavior, adding it to the list of belief systems from his childhood that need to be dismantled. It also strikes him that baby animals, like his pet, play to learn and have fun. They don’t gain any skills if they always lose. There’s a faint aching in his chest when he realizes he’s just been besting them this entire time, so much so that they wanted to quit. His brow furrows as he considers how to respond to what they’re saying. “I see now. I had no idea I was playing so ruthlessly. This whole time I thought I had to win; I didn’t stop to think about how that must have made you feel. I’m sorry, my sweet.” He sits himself down across from them, not considering how the grass would stain his suit pants for even a moment. “You’re right, games aren’t any fun if one person always wins and the other always loses. You’ve taught Papa a very important lesson today. Quite a wise creature you are, for one so little.” A relieved grin starts across his pet’s face. They scoot across the grass to sit themself in their Papa’s lap, giving him a big hug of understanding. They know it’s hard for him to admit that he’s wrong and they’re proud of him for being able to. He kisses the top of their head. “Angel, are you up for one more game? One where Papa will play fair?” The critter scrambles up to stand, tagging Wesker’s shoulder and taking off as fast as they can across the yard. He chuckles as he lets them take full advantage of the head start, taking his time to stand up and brush the grass off himself.

And that’s all I’ve got! I didn’t have too many ideas for this one, so I made sure to expand upon what I did have. My beloved @woofkie inspired and helped with a good percentage of these, so very very big shoutout to him! Big thank yous <3! I hope you like 'em!

I hope these are enjoyable for everyone! Thank you so very much for reading!

[eternadreeblissa]

I've been getting into Sonic for a smidge so here's some hcs on how Sonic, Shadow, Silver and Mighty the Armadillo react to Ava for funsies

If I'm gonna have to rank, I'd have to say the fastest to like her and fall for her to least would be: Silver, Shadow, and Sonic. I haven't figured out Mighty's yet but we'll explore that here later! If I get the characters kinda OOC/Off-key though, i'm sorry. I'm a lil rusty since I havent been in the fandom and stuff for a bit since... Sonic colors?? I forgot but yeah sghdfgjsfgjuf Might get back just to re-analyse the characters and get their arcs and stories right.

Anyway we start off with Silver :D

Oh beloved. He started off nice and friendly with her but ofc didn't exactly trust her just yet. Guy came from an apocalyptic future or some timeline whatever. Terrible times. But despite all that is so optimistic, hopeful and driven... Love him.

The Ava i'm having over in this story is the overseer Ava; not quite Goddess yet, but a very powerful one and is more enigmatic and mysterious.

Anyway, I think he was quite curious of her. She lives in this enchanted forest? Alone? By herself? Oh wait she has lil chao friends! And spirit wisps too? Well at least she's protected. But either way, yeah he's a lil curious. If there's anything else he noticed about her though is that she loves her lil small friends, and not just that, the other lil critters and animals big and small are fond of her and seem to respect her. The environment seems.. More magical and react to her presence. Something Silver is amazed by. I bet he asked her a ton of questions just cuz he was so fascinated by her.

It's when he saw Ava caring for the animals and nature and how sweet and caring she is did Silver felt like he liked her. Not necessarily attracted just yet, but just like her as a person, you know?

Next we kick off with Shadow XD :DD

Shadow was definitely on guard with her, but also intrigued. As the ultimate lifeform with powers I don't fully remember its whole list about asides that he has a lot of capabilities and skills, I can say for sure bro sensed Ava to have something in her: he feels a mysterious power, a force, to her. Her aura was alien. Like something foreign, not from this world type of thing. He has this sense she's not exactly from here and the environment seems to react with her, as if drawn to her in some way. But she doesn't seem to be a threat... She's nice, kind and compassionate to those around her. Still, while she seems harmless, her aura and her... Influence he can't put a finger on is smth he feels he shouldn't exactly ignore just in case. For all he knows she might become a threat and he can't let that happen.

So... He kinda stalks her??

A little. Last I remember guy works at G.U.N so he doesn't necessarily have all the free time in the world to do that and, while he does wanna keep an eye on her, she's not that high in the danger or priority list... It's just a lil gut feeling or hunch you know? A feeling that doesn't exactly scream danger, but just for him to make sure she really isn't a threat just as she seems to appear. So I guess he comes around watching her every... Once a week? Twice? Sometimes if he feels he hasn't checked in on her for a long time he might send out Rouge or Omega to watch her (theyre absolutely confused tho and have no idea why he would want them to look after her... Except maybe Omega who also sensed smth w his scanning whatnot?)

Bcs of that, he learned quite a lot of things about her. If there's any way to describe it, this gal could definitely pose a threat should she ever decide to.

He's seen her disappear from his sight a lot, and later learned she can teleport. But she barely if ever makes a sound; the only traces of it are lightly carried by wind; if he wasn't in its direction, he may not have heard her leave at all. He also notes that she has a lot of friends who could help her and assist her, and often times when danger was around, like a monster or robots, said friends, the ones who are more capable and stronger at least, dealt with them. And he's learned they sometimes even come in hordes, otherwise, many are hiding within the trees and leaves. Like they ambushed their threat. It's a deadly but efficient method of keeping themselves safe.

And that was just her friends in action. She must be very cunning or some significant person to have all these animals and creatures follow her every command without any use of force whatsoever. But he didn't need to know the full details to get the memo she can be a dangerous individual.

Either way... She's intriguing. Shadow got interested in watching her go about her life when he has nothing in his hands. It became.. A weird hobby. Rouge and Omega started teasing him that he's crushing on her or smth XDD Oh yeah did Rouge and Omega also learn how potentially dangerous Ava could be? Well not upfront like Shadow surely. They probs only heard bits of it from Shadow but the full picture hasn't really caught with them.

It wasn't until Ava wasn't in her home in the enchanted forest, somewhere beyond it, dunno. Maybe in some desert or a town? without her friends in sight or hiding around anywhere, and was surrounded by tons of eggman's robots for some reason, did he finally came and meet her, by destroying and beating up said robots and saving her.

Shadow was fascinated with her skills yes, but he supposes that she's a bit too reliant on her friends. Because he didn't see any sort of action or movement from her to attack those robots. They were about to hurt her if he didn't do anything, so he had to step in. After the robots were turned into metal scraps littering the ground, he turns to her like: "You can't always rely on others to help you and sit around and wait. You have to find your own strength and help yourself." Sorta rough tough love advice thing. And then he left her.

After some time, watching her as usual, she got caught in another sort of trouble again. But Shadow couldn't step in; actually he finds he didn't need to. Ava was simply standing there, looking unfazed and unwavering with the foes facing her, and seems to only talk and have her enemy be angered or fearful. Either way, they tried lunging themselves at her, but instead of Ava steps out of the way, or dodges. There was more talking and less moving and hitting. But Shadow noticed her often confusing her enemies and suddenly, he and her enemies finds Ava being the one in control of the situation or has higher ground that the enemy couldn't deny or face, and is forced to leave with Ava unscathed.

He had to come down from behind her, remarking smth like: "It seems you some backbone by yourself after all. I underestimated you."

Ava turns to him. "It's flattering to know you came out all the way from afar just to say that to me."

He blinks in surprise. "So you knew I've been here this whole time?" But her friends weren't with her at all. He's sure of it. He triple checked the area and everything.

Ava simply smiled.

Shadow was impressed.

He started showing himself more to her after that, and took a liking to her then.

WOOO ahem, Shadow was embarrassingly long. Did not anticipate to ramble an entire marathon with this guy 🧍‍♀️, my bad. The words tumbled out and the ideas were running a waterfall haha 🥹 But Ok. Man—

This was a doozy to ramble through @@ ig this'll be a two parter thing KFBKDBDKDBDK Thx for reading, to those who did at least, especially the ones who went until the end. Id appreciate if you reblog if thats fine 👍

[justacanofcorn]

quam amiterre ludum (losing the game) James Moriarty x OC

Chapter One: losing the game

Description: "To begin it plainly, she had loved him." This is what Anora chooses to believe, true or no, after the events at the Falls of the Reichenbach. It begins with her covertly taking her recently deceased brother's place at university and meeting Professor James Moriarty. It shifts into a web of illicit acts, crimes, and a game of shadows. How it all ends remains to be seen.

Fic rating: M | Chapter Rating: T

Fic tags: slow burn, older man/younger woman, gender issues, secret identities, secret relationship, period typical attitudes, fix-it, post-canon, canon compliant to canon divergent, stockholm syndrome, morally ambiguous character, grooming

Author Notes: does she finish SAVIOUR COMPLEX? No. Does she finish Old Country for No Men? No of course not. Does she continue If We're Lucky? Don't be silly! Obviously the correct answer is to begin an entirely new fic born of brainrot and hyperfixations. She's not sorry either. (She is me btw).

CW: mentions of scars

To begin it plainly, she had loved him.

Or, at least, that is what she believed.

It is easy to believe that one has had the wool pulled over their eyes, that the rose tint coloring their world made them into fools. That a poisonous and ruinous mixture had somehow been sneaked into them without their knowledge or consent. It is much easier, more comforting to believe this, rather than the likely truth that it had been a series of conscious choices. That a part of that person is poisonous and ruinous.

Anora still is not sure which was the reality of her life before the Reichenbach Fall.

It began with the death of her brother. Joseph had only just received a scholarship to the newly opened Queen Mary University of London, studying mathematics and chemistry. They were subjects that Anora and Joseph both found themselves fascinated by since childhood. They would spend their summers in the country digging through riverbanks for critters and fossils. It was on Joseph's twelfth birthday that their parents gave to him a chalkboard for the study. He and Anora would spend hours upon hours challenging each other with mathematical equations. Anora would have to stand on his stack of textbooks to reach his height to the board. Life remained that way- simple- until their parents died aboard a sunk passenger ship bound for Italy.

Joseph, aged thirty, was older for a student. But he had also been abroad at the time of their parents’ death, so when he returned, he applied for a scholarship. A degree at a prestigious university meant connections and almost guaranteed post graduate work. It meant money for Joseph and Anora, since their parents were no longer able to supply it.

But Joseph never got to go to school. A week after his return to London, the doctors diagnosed him with consumption- the sort that doesn't always show until it already has a person's lungs in its bloody grasp. Joseph died two days later.

For Anora, it was simple. She was built without much curve but a narrow waist and firm shoulders. She could pass as a man of thirty easily, though she was twenty-eight and would look younger regardless. But she had Joseph’s old clothes, his scholarship, a mind to match, and nothing to stop her.

So, with a thick vest, waistcoat, and short hair, Joseph Leeds began at Queen Mary University of London at the start of fall semester.

-

The church is empty when she enters, save for a sole occupant. He sits with his hands between his knees, looking up at the stained glass, his cane resting against the end of the pew.

Anora gathers herself what she can and approaches the doctor from behind. The memorial plaque catches her eye.

“My condolences.”

The doctor jumps a little at her sudden intrusion of his reverie. He speaks before he sees her fully.

“Sorry?”

Once he catches sight of her her, though, the recognition settles in and he sets a steely gaze on her.

“Detective Holmes, I mean. I'm sorry for your loss. Truly. I always thought he was a great man, perhaps even a good one.”

She sits at the pew opposite his and tries to look as earnest as she feels. But the confusion that is paired with her honesty seems to come out as well, making for an understandably wary John Watson.

“Right. I suppose propriety dictates I should offer the same sentiment to you.”

“Nothing proper about any of this,” she chuckles breathlessly. She fidgets with her nails in her lap. There's no one here to judge her for it. “I didn't want him to die.”

“Nor I your professor. Though I expect it's for different reasons.”

Anora bristles at some buried accusation. “Do you think? Because of my emotions and your sense of righteousness?”

Doctor Watson opens his mouth, then closes it. He sighs.

“It doesn't have to be this way.”

No, it doesn't, and Anora knows that. She feels it in her bones that still creak under the weight of an explosion.

“I'm sorry. I've lost so many people in so short a time. I'm alone so often that I can forget how to speak to someone. May I ask you a question?”

His eyes light with the natural curiosity of a doctor…and of a good man. “Of course.”

“Did you…I mean, I know he wasn't buried, but…”

He seems to understand. “They never found a body.”

“Did you look?”

“It was left to local authorities; I wasn't allowed near the investigation.”

Anora nods away her disappointment. “I see.”

“Why do you ask?”

She feels traitorous tears begin to prick at her eyes. “It gives me something to think about. I spend my nights alone, Doctor. Cherish that you do not.”

Watson nods. “I do cherish it.”

“Good. Oh- and I meant to say, congratulations, to you and Mrs. Watson.”

The shock of her knowledge of Mary Watson's pregnancy shows plainly on his face. “How do you-?”

“Word gets around,” she says coyly, then stands and smooths her skirt. “I want you to know that I don't resent you, though it would be dishonest to imply I don't envy you.”

He stands to match her and grabs his cane.

“I'm fortunate enough to have an enviable life,” he says and extends a hand. Anora takes it and they shake.

“Goodbye, doctor. Hopefully you'll not be troubled with me again.”

She goes. He watches her, hesitates, then says before she leaves,

“Anora? I- at the risk of sounding piteous… Would you like to join Mrs. Watson and myself for dinner?”

She turns around and regards his caring face. “You do sound piteous.”

“There's no reason for us to be enemies.”

“Nor is there reason enough for us to be friends. I wonder, sir, if you'd be so willing to extend an olive branch if I weren't a young woman. I chose to be with him. It was a job I took on willingly.”

Watson seems to think on this for a moment before settling on a response.

“The offer stands.”

He doesn't seem to play games the way his partner had. Neither of them do, really. Both matched in the fact that they could never match their counterparts in moves and countermoves. Anora comes here in sincerity and Watson responds in kind.

“A time and place, then.”

-

The time is seven in the evening the following day. The place is the Watson residence.

Earlier in the day, Anora finds herself going through her closet, attempting to find a dress that speaks formal but without too much effort. Not that she has many options. In total she has two evening gowns. Everything else is trousers and shirts and a handful of loose skirts. Any high society raised with her was abandoned the moment she became her brother.

In her shift she paces her bedroom floor. No longer in the dormitories of Queen Mary. No longer enrolled at Queen Mary, in fact. But that's in the past even now. Anora fingers the locket that hangs from her neck and sits

between her breasts. She thinks of him. Many things make her think of him.

It isn't so much that he had seeped into every aspect of her life like one might think. When you love a person like she had, it's easy to see them in the world around you.

It helps that the truth of this soothes the sting of its consequence.

She settles on a green gown that covers most of her skin. After the explosion, she doesn't like showing much. Too many scars prompt people to ask questions and she can only look at someone dumbstruck for an answer so many times. She keeps the locket on though.

The doctor and his wife have taken residence in a nice two story in a part of town removed from much of the construction. It looks to be a good place to start a family.

A maid greets her at the door and takes her jacket. It's weeks from Christmas and London is freezing. In all her dealings with the doctor and the detective, Anora never had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Mary Watson. She's very pretty, with small features and freckles coloring her face. Her pregnancy is showing under her blue frock. Though the choice of clothing is surely for comfort, it still makes Anora feel overdressed.

“Miss Leeds! I've heard so much about you,” Mary says. Anora's sure she means it well but it's too ironic an opportunity to pass.

“I'm sure,” she jokes. Mary seems to understand this immediately and turns sheepish.

The doctor comes to greet her.

“Thank you for coming, Miss Leeds. We haven't had the pleasure of entertaining guests yet.”

“Then I feel honored. It's a lovely home.”

“This way, please.”

The Watsons lead Anora to a dining room that's still in the throes of renovation, but is cleaned up enough for company. John Watson pulls a seat for Anora and pushes her in. As she adjusts her skirt and gathers her bearings, and once the Watsons have sat, she notices a fourth place setting.

“Are we expecting another?”

Mary's polite smile drops and Watson casts a look over Anora's shoulder. She follows his gaze and is honestly more surprised than she's ever been in her life. Because standing behind her, no worse than bruised up, is Detective Sherlock Holmes.

Immediately, Anora shoots up from her seat and bumps her back into the table. Though she has no real reason to fear him, it is like seeing a ghost, and Sherlock Holmes has every right to be a vengeful spirit. Doctor Watson and Mary make moves to help Anora gather herself but she's able to do it on her own and puts plenty of distance between herself and the man she believed to be dead.

“I'm flattered, Anora, truly. But I'm not here to haunt you.”

Holmes sits at the empty seat at the head of the table. John and Mary both lower themselves with hesitation, leaving only Anora standing. Her grasp on the back of her chair is so tight that it manages to absorb the tremulous shaking of her body. What began as shock has dripped its way icily into a sickening fear. Though it makes no sense for his character or sense of law, she feels certain he's going to kill her.

The cook brings out their plates. Holmes greets the dinner with a pleased “ah!” and tucks his napkin into his collar. Once she realizes no one is immediately out to hurt her, Anora eases herself back into her seat but doesn't go anywhere near her food.

They go on eating in silence for far too long. Only the awkward clattering of silverware and the snoring of a dog can be heard.

“So, Anora, how are your studies?”

Anora realizes that she's been staring holes into the patterned tablecloth when Mary pulls her attention. The bizarre nature of the question, or rather it being asked in the middle of such bizarre circumstances, leaves Anora befuddled.

“I- I'm sorry?”

“Your schooling. John tells me you transferred to the University of London. How are you liking it?”

Anora watches Mary with uncertainty until she decides the question is being asked in earnest. Instead of answering, she turns to Holmes.

“What's going on? How are you- I mean, how long have you-”

“We knew it was only a matter of time before your guilt drove you to visit my memorial, thank you, by the way, for your sympathies, so we waited for you to broach the conversation first. From there it was simple. Watson is unceasingly charming when he wants to be,” Holmes explains. Watson catches the end and looks offended.

“I'd like to think I'm charming more often than not.”

His wife puts a reassuring hand on his.

“So, is this some sort of sick joke? This doesn't make sense, I saw you die.”

And remembering so vividly that night makes Anora's chest tighten.

“You didn't, actually. Watson tells me you two didn't go to the trouble of checking we fell into the Falls in the first place. Supposed I'd grabbed onto a ledge.”

“Yes, and suppose you can breathe underwater,” Anora snaps. Holmes chuckles but she's thoroughly unamused. “It is funny to you! How dare you?” Anora pushes herself from the table again, this time throwing her napkin onto her untouched plate. “I did everything I could that night! It was you who drove me away from that balcony. I could have helped you. I could've helped him-!”

Anora stops herself with a hiccuping cough as hot tears fall down her face. She turns away from her audience and covers her mouth to muffle the embarrassing noise of her anguish.

“He never would have left with you,” Watson says. Anora grabs her napkin and dabs at her eyes with it. The audacity for the detective to be so cruel, for them to talk about him like-

Anora stills; drops the napkin. Turns back to the table shakily.

“But- if you're alive, then…”

“And now we come to the climax of the show, the reason for the facade. Miss Leeds, your beloved professor is in fact alive, and you're going to assist us in finding him.”

[sshbpodcast]

Character Spotlight: Spock

By Ames

Last week we highlighted (and lowlighted) James T. Kirk here in our new blog collection, going character by character where no one has gone before. It’s going to be a bit of a trek in and of itself, so join us here on A Star the Steer Her By to learn what we think of all your Starfleet favorites: when are they at their most naughty and most nice. This week, we’re moving on to the best first officer in the fleet and one of our favorite Vulcans, the ever logical Mister Spock!

For the franchise’s first major alien character, he succeeded in teaching humanity to audiences throughout his far-reaching tenure, and that wasn’t always his human half! Credit to Leonard Nimoy for giving us such a well-rounded character even though he couldn’t display emotions in the same fashion as the others (but boy did he find a way!). Follow along below for our thoughts on Spock’s best and worst scenes, and listen to some bonus chatter over on this week’s podcast episode (discussion at 1:05:00). Fascinating.

[Images © CBS/Paramount

Best Moments

Checkmate, Finney It’s been a minute since I released my blogpost about how bad I am at 3D chess (and all chess for that matter), but Spock’s so great at it that he uses his logic and big Vulcan brain to figure out the chess program is busted in “Court Martial” and save the day, which might be the Spockiest thing I’ve ever heard.

Pain! Pain! Spock mind melds a lot of critters throughout the shows and movies, but one of our favorites is when he connects with the Horta in “The Devil in the Dark.” Like in our Kirk spotlight when the captain defended the old girl, we’ve gotta credit Spock with communicating with her and treating her like a sentient being. And Nimoy’s acting in this scene! Mwah!

A man of integrity in both universes The Spock in “Mirror, Mirror” isn’t exactly our normal Spock, as his circumstances in the mirror universe have made him a different person in a lot of ways (mostly in the facial hair region). But in even more ways, he’s just like our Spock: someone who sees the illogical nature of the Terran Empire and who will take steps to make it better.

I love you but I hate you I don’t know why, but I’m just thoroughly tickled when Spock outwits the androids in “I, Mudd” with a logical paradox that breaks their computer brains. Sure, he tries a neck pinch first (he is Spock, after all!), but it’s telling the Alice robots, identical in every way, that he loves one but hates the other that causes them to malfunction all over the place.

Trademark Vulcan sass If Vulcans are allowed to express one emotion throughout all of Star Trek, it’s sass, and Leonard Nimoy can deadpan with the best of straightmen. In “The Trouble with Tribbles,” McCoy remarks that tribbles are “nice, they're soft, they're furry, and they make a pleasant sound,” to which Spock quips, “So would an ermine violin, Doctor, yet I see no advantage to having one.” Grade-A Vulcan sass right there.

Gladiatorial mind games “Bread and Circuses” may not be a good episode, but it gets the Spock-McCoy dynamic right. Not only does Spock save McCoy in battle, but that scene in the prison cell… I could write essays about that scene as they’re both so vulnerable and desperate to connect, but Spock, ever the Vulcan, represses that emotion… just barely. And when Spock tells McCoy that they share concern over Kirk’s safety without actually telling him, it’s perfect.

Vulcans are incapable of lying, he lied While we found Kirk’s behavior in “The Enterprise Incident” utterly baffling, Spock’s is thoroughly intriguing. He spends most of the episode seamlessly deceiving the Romulan Commander who’s thirsting after him so hard, and she plays right into his Vulcan-saluting hands because she didn’t anticipate so many loopholes allowing Vulcans to be duplicitous!

The wonders of the universe Am I mostly bringing up Spock mind melding a giant cloud in “One of Our Planets Is Missing” so that I can bring up my TOS fanfiction “Sentient Life”? A little bit.

I have been and always shall be your friend This list would not be complete without the beautiful sacrifice scene in The Wrath of Khan. The needs of the many do indeed outweigh the needs of the few in this perfectly poignant and amazingly acted character death. I can’t think of a better main character death in all of Star Trek and Nimoy crushed it.

Rock out with your Spock out We’ve also got to give credit to Leonard Nimoy for the Vulcan neck pinch, a nonviolent, nonfatal deescalation tactic that is perfectly in character. It is a great inclusion for such a logical people to manage violent conflict in a mostly harmless way, and one of our favorites is neck pinching the punk on the bus since it’s also one of many great comedic moments in The Voyage Home.

They are not the hell your whales Speaking of The Voyage Home, we’ve got more good Spock moments to choose from in that movie! It is such a smorgasbord of quippy, fun moments for our resident Vulcan because so much of the movie is that fish-out-of-water kind of humor, but everything Spock has to do with the whales, George and Gracie, is especially excellent.

Cowboy diplomacy We even get to see a little Spock action in The Next Generation when his plan to reunite Vulcan and Romulus gets revealed in “Unification.” It is such a noble goal from our logical friend (perhaps spurred by his encounter with the Romulan Commander in “The Enterprise Incident”? Nudge nudge!) and we loved seeing his resolve and commitment to helping his square-shouldered cousins.

—

Worst Moments

Beep twice for “NO!” I get that the studio wanted to save time and money by using the footage from “The Cage” in “The Menagerie,” but they had Spock acting fully out of character to make it happen. He kidnaps his disabled old captain against his will, he conspires to steal the ship, he puts the lives of everyone on the Enterprise in danger, he nearly gets Kirk killed in a shuttle, he creates an illusion of a flag officer! It’s a full-on mutiny that sees no consequences!

Life-or-death decisions, but mostly death “Strange. Step by step, I've made the correct and logical decisions – and yet two men have died,” says Spock in “The Galileo Seven.” Somehow, every time we see Spock in charge, everyone has a really bad day. The show would make you believe it’s because Vulcans only act on logic with no emotion or intuition, but they really need to stop leaving the ship in his hands!

Not even a grandfather paradox – just a father paradox Temporal shenanigans abound in “Tomorrow is Yesterday” when the Enterprise is forced to beam up Captain Christopher. Spock assures everyone that the displaced pilot will have no bearing on history, until he is forced to eat those words because this science officer neglected to check if Christopher’s son would be influential. Since when is Spock so careless?

A need-to-know basis We joked throughout The Original Series that Vulcans seemed to attain a new superpower each week. And since Spock just doesn’t seem to tell people things they need to know until they really need to know it, we don’t learn about his inner eyelids until “Operation: Annihilate!”, his parents being onboard until “Journey to Babel,” or his having a half brother until Star Trek V!

This has pon farr enough I’m frankly sick of everything about pon farr, and am dreading revisiting it in Enterprise. It’s yet another one of those Vulcan aspects they won’t tell you about until too late, and in “Amok Time,” it’s way too late. The whole biological circumstance is weird enough, but if Vulcans has told us any of their rituals ahead of time, Spock wouldn’t have had to kill his best friend in the kal-if-fee like a chump.

Heil Spock While it’s mostly a gag on the podcast that Spock loves Nazis, there’s definitely a reason why we think that. In “Patterns of Force,” Spock agrees with Gill when he calls Nazi Germany the most efficient state Earth ever knew, saying: “Quite true, Captain. That tiny country, beaten, bankrupt, defeated, rose in a few years to stand only one step away from global domination.” Does that make Spock a Nazi? Not entirely, but it would explain some things, like how quick to wanting to kill Mitchell he was in “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”

What a tangled web he weaves Like in “The Galileo Seven,” Spock ends up in command again when Kirk is presumed dead in “The Tholian Web,” and he borks it. The whole episode is about him and McCoy snipping at each other because of the effects of the area of space, but they’re both extremely out of character even without it, with Spock ignoring Doc’s warning about getting stuck in the web, making awful decisions, and generally being terrible at leading a crew.

If only I could forget We found it weirdly nonconsensual when Spock decides to make Kirk forget about his romance with Rayna (and who knows what else?) in “Requiem for Methuselah.” McCoy jabs at Spock that he’ll never understand, and then Spock seems to act just naively when he takes Kirk’s memory in his sleep, as if Spock were taking him literally when Kirk said he’d rather forget.

Behind every good woman… is Spock taking credit We’ll surely bring up “The Lorelei Signal” when we talk about Uhura’s best moments because it’s a rare moment for the women to get the spotlight, but there’s a moment in this episode in which, despite the lady crewmembers having already figured out the ploy themselves, they’ve hatched their plan “in accordance with Mister Spock’s request” and I vomit in my mouth a little.

You have not achieved kolinahr It’s pretty clear that the production team didn’t know they’d have Leonard Nimoy back for The Motion Picture until late in the writing process because his motivation is spotty at best. Since he has not achieved kolinahr, he rather makes his presence in the movie about himself, and to make matters worse, he yeets off to mind meld with V’ger without telling anyone!

I hear he's nutty as a fruitcake As beautiful as the death scene in The Wrath of Khan is, it’s also pretty messed up for Spock to cram his katra into McCoy with no warning and with dire effects. Think about it: none of the humans knew before The Search for Spock that katras were even a thing, and Bones could have gone insane just for the sake of bringing the character back to life, negating that great sacrifice!

They flung their wooden shoes called sabots into the machines We love a good mind meld on Star Trek, but Spock just plain crosses a line in The Undiscovered Country when he mind rapes Valeris to expose her as the saboteur. Considering the mind meld was first created in order to give Spock an alternative to violent action to combat assailants, using it in a way that’s so violating is the most uncomfortable moment we could think of.

—

Keep your medical tricorders scanning here as we continue along through all the main characters from The Original Series! Next week, we’re scanning for Dr. Bones McCoy here on the blog, as well as continuing our watchthrough of Enterprise over on the podcast. You can also send a message over subspace on Facebook and Twitter, and keep your damn katra to yourself. Live long and prosper!

[winkle-pickers]

Ask game bingo suggestion if no one already asked, Yugi

Yuugi yuugi my spiky little lad <3

Tbf I'm not a huge fan of Sad Anime Boys and I think I read too much fanfiction about him in the early aughts along this vein so my brain had put him in a filing cabinet and tucked him away. Just a sort of vague fond affection for a main character of a series you like. BUT.

Once I did a swan dive back into YGO a few years ago and re-read the manga/rewatched the anime/etc etc, he was pleasantly spikier than I'd remembered!! A spicy pinch of anger and a little bit deranged in the best way!! Another one of those characters (like Jou) where when I first started writing him I wasn't sure what to DO with him, but then as you get acquainted there's all these really fascinating little nooks and crannies. And I found out I like him. Like, REALLY like him. Once I got the hang of finding the kind of fics and meta about him that made sense to me, it was kinda...you know when you're coworkers with someone for years and they're in a different department and you see them in the lunch room sometimes and exchange pleasant hellos, and you're sure they're lovely and that's all you think of it, then you get assigned to a project and you discover they are an active SCA member and have the title Grand Duke of Northern Ontario and go to period accurate medieval feasts every weekend. Then suddenly you are kind of obsessed with them and want to get to know them well enough that they invite you to a feast and maybe help you pick out a neat doublet.

ANYWAYS yes Yuugi he is Very. Love that critter, I'm sorry we were pleasantly removed coworkers all this time, wish I had encountered you in the lunch room earlier you mad little hedgehog!!!! (*¯ ³¯*)♡

[murdermeadow]

And now thoughts on Lanz? (I feel like we're gonna go through all the Ouroboros)

aheehee :3 (also that's totally fine I have many thoughts on all of them)

okay so for Lanz. Lanz-y boy. the man who always wants something a bit meatiah. he's so scroinkly to me. he's in that weird limbo between not exactly comfort character but not exactly high neutral either.

he's very <3 to me. just a little guy. fascinating soft little critter that has gone through too much for his own good. and as always, I'm a sucker for protector characters. they always mean so much to me...

but anyways. Lanz!! his character is very intriguing to me. I adore the fact they didn't just make him the classic himbo meathead like they did with the buff dudes in past games (Reyn and Zeke of course have their merits and moments of sincerity but at their root, they are the comedic relief). I like the fact they didn't put all the work on him to be the funny buff guy™. he's such an excellent subversion of that trope, which I really do adore.

I think my favourite scene of his has to be that soft moment with Sena in the Li Garte Prison Camp. it's just... it really sets his character solid. despite all this raw strength that he has, he is weak in his core. he feels he doesn't match up to the rest, that he constantly has to catch up or bear the brunt for them. he acts as their shield, both metaphorically and very physically. he feels he's nothing more than this, because he isn't at the same level of intelligence or wit compared to his friends. and yet - and I think this is the most important part - he doesn't let that weigh him down. he sees it as a sort of motivator, not a reason to never try again. he wants to be at their level, and has the conviction to get him there. Lanz is very stubborn, as a person. and that brings me to my next point.

I really love his temper! well, to watch, that is. he doesn't like people's rude words just brush over his head like some other himbo-esque character might. he's aware of when people are mean or don't like him, but he doesn't let that phase him either (at least not outright). yes it happens to really weigh on him sometimes, but yet again, he uses that as a motivator. no matter what, he'll prove them wrong. he'll get stronger. and that's just something I really admire.

his steadfast determination and solid personality make him an excellent anchor for his friends, constantly being there as a support. he'll stand up for them no problem, every time. he will always get up after a fight. even when all is lost, he won't let those he cares about get hurt.

all in all, he's a perfect protector and defender, inferiority complex and all. I hold him very gently.

[fruitzbat]

There is this bizarre mischaracterization problem with Kingsley in the CR fandom that I think shows a certain level of contempt for the character himself — and honestly, I think it’s really revealing about a troubling hallmark of conditional support of nonbinary people in real life, which I find beyond hypocritical given…well, let’s get into it.

For starters, I'm not bothering with leaving a disclaimer about how not all fans do xyz or why I think that anyone should listen to me over anyone else. We’re adults here, we should know that things are nuanced by now. I also think talking about my own qualifications here is silly and masturbatory given that this is fandom and I'm very much doing it for free along with almost everyone else, so I'm not gonna waste the space.

Getting into the exceptions and such is well beyond the scope of this post, and I frankly don't think anything I say in this will convince anyone of anything — I just need to get it out there. If any of does change your mind, great! Icing on the cake.

*eyes glowing* anyway,

Given the admittedly considerable amount of work I do relating to his character, I wade through Kingsley's character tag a lot, and in many different places. On here, on Twitter, on AO3, his tag is full to the gills of bits of people writing stories in which he steals up to a certain member of the Nein and showers them with gifts and forehead kisses and...for lack of a better term, 'Mollyisms', and lays there enraptured while they talk about their relationship with Molly — who, obviously, is him. He's called "circus man" and is unbothered by it; it's testimony to the fact that this person and Kingsley have a history that transcends silly things like death.

Thus, the general depiction of Kingsley within the fandom is one that is not unlike Molly's, if not a 1:1 replica: a fun-loving, carefree libertine whose sun often rises at a certain other member of the Nein's forehead and sets are their toenails. He's curious about his past lives, but sees minimal distinction between them and himself.

And that's utter motherfucking hogwash.

The thing is, Kingsley's not an act II of Molly. He’s arguably a very different person from Molly, and the drift in Molly’s canon and fanon depiction is an essay on its own (not to mention the shift in perception in-universe, also brilliant and fascinating in its own right).

And I sincerely want us to think about that oversight in the same vein as if there were a considerable amount of Critters making content about, say, Beauregard Lionett falling in love with a man when she's explicitly a lesbian. Like, to me, it is that dire. And I will explain why that is momentarily: once I finish talking about who he actually is, and one of the principal culprits that I blame for this schism.

"But fruitzbat," some people might cry. "But fruitzbat, we have so little to go on. He's hardly shown himself on stream and he does, in the end, come from Molly!"

To that I would reply "skill issue," because Kingsley very much has distinguished himself from his siblings. Fandoms have extrapolated way more about a character with far less in the past. I didn't live through Superwholock on this website for anyone to tell me that they can't pull a fully-fledged character out of one episode of something. With all due respect, git gud.

Kingsley is a hustler and a cutthroat. He's driven, micro-managey — like, PAINFULLY Type-A, and interested in staying alive and making a name for himself; but in contradiction with this sense of self-preservation, he’s also ready to impulsively give himself up for a greater good and/or "make new mistakes", which can be read as altruistic at its best and unhealthy and self-deprecating at its worst (a trait which he definitely shares with Molly). In commenting on his new outfit, I’ve shitposted in the past that Kingsley is frum, but it's really not that far off. He doesn't like to leave things to chance, and also strongly believes in taking care of his own — he notably takes excellent care of the Nein Heroez’s crew. He doesn't suffer fools, he's snarky (too many examples to list them all, but have a few of my favorites), and also thoughtful and analytical and a skeptic. And most of all, he’s eager to learn and curious — not just about Molly and Lucien, but in general.

He jokes about being Lucien at one point, but makes it very clear that it's not him when people in his life make that slip-up. He's also been making the point that he’s not either of them as early as the campaign finale. And within the special, too, it’s pretty unambiguous. And then there’s Taliesin himself, also making it very clear that he’s a separate animal and on top of that, that he’s an absolute fucking badass.

And as mentioned, it's true that there's overlap with some of Molly's business — he's theatrical and loves fashion, for instance. But honestly, this character has far more in common with Lucien than he does with Molly. Lucien, who spoke multiple languages and lead a mercenary group into Aeor and back multiple times. Lucien, who even the mere prospect of him being resurrected was enough to reassemble the Tombtakers. If that’s not the makings of a Plank King, I’m not sure what would be.

And here's another thing: "Kingsley came from Molly" in and of itself is a misnomer. Based on both the stream and the addendum from the Lucien novel, Kingsley is mostly the reforged soul of Lucien — Molly's soul fragment was reintegrated into the rest of Lucien's. Kingsley is what was born from that fusion. When interceding on the failed Raise Dead spell, Caduceus said "put it back...whoever it was." There's just as much potential to say that it was Lucien's soul returned to that purple body by Melora as it was Molly's.

In all candor, I think it has a good deal to do with how many vocal Molly fans wanted Widomauk to be canon or somehow endgame.

The inherent tragedy of the dynamic between Caleb and Molly is that there is a constant specter of what could have been. Neither encountered each other when they were at a point to pursue their attraction, and Molly was dead before anything could come to pass. As a passive observer, I think that this what could have been has bled into the fanon interpretation of all kinds of purple tiefling content, mostly because there's so little to analyze otherwise. One only has to glance at the tags for the Lucien novel or the Molly origin comic to see what I mean. And I think that this has also significantly impacted the fanon depiction of Kingsley.

I find that this fandom in particular has a huge problem with sacrificing characterization in the name of fanon archetypes and tropes, but due to the distinct nature of Kingsley’s character this can veer into…I mean, pretty ugly territory.

People love the reincarnated lovers trope, and I see that applied here the most, to which I always want to remind people that Kingsley is probably more like a joined Trill. He has these past lives and memories, but just like Ezri isn’t quite Jadzia isn’t quite Kurzon Dax, Kingsley isn’t Molly isn’t Lucien. Ezri didn’t hop up and get busy with Worf, even when Jadzia had been his wife. Far from it, actually. Similarly, Jadzia had an entire exploratory episode dedicated to encountering Kurzon’s spouse and deciding that she (regretfully for lesbians everywhere) felt differently.

It’s true that it’s not completely baseless; I’m genuinely not saying that. It’s true that one of the first things King did was flirt with Caleb when he woke up. And then when he’d come more into his own, there was all that wild talk they had during the…

Oh wait, that’s right. They didn’t speak one on one even once during the reunion. So the argument could easily be made that in the chunk of the stream that showed us the most about who King was as a person, he didn’t touch Caleb with a thirty-nine and a half foot pole. Meaning that at this point in time, the basis of the ship is predominately Caleb’s relationship to his elder siblings.

I don't have time and ultimately have no interest in unpacking that in terms of it being solid foundations for a romantic relationship — we all can read, baruch hashem — and will also assume that there’s content about that dynamic that explores that weirdness with all the complexity that it deserves. But my central point here is that I’m seeing vanishingly little of it, and far more of it being used in a way that denies Kingsley his own identity. The point isn't hating on a ship. Widoking in and of itself is fine, the point is that people aren't actually shipping Kingsley with Caleb. They're shipping him with someone wearing the skin of his dead older brother.

Which brings me to my next point...

I find this aspect to be incredible given the extraordinary way that this campaign explores trans identity and narrative. Plenty of other folks have written about the extent that campaign 2’s focus on identity as a theme has resulted In one of the most comprehensive studies of several different types of trans stories. Like, VETH?!?

BEAU?!?! Not to mention FJORD’S UNRELENTING T-BOY SWAG?!?!?!

And yet.

And, yes, it is that deep. Let me explain.

Molly and Lucien are canonically genderfluid. Kingsley hasn't come out as anything yet, so the jury is still out... though many people, myself included, headcanon that he's some flavor of not cis.

For me, this is because Kingsley’s narrative is arguably more a traditional trans one than Lucien or Molly's: being born with the expectation that he would be one thing, then coming to his family — who hold that expectation quite dearly — and asserting that he is someone and something else completely different from that. Lucien and Molly are trans characters, no doubt, but their stories are not about being transgender. And there is an intrinsic quality to King's that definitely is.

The notion of "trans narrative" is also something applied to someone like Nott/Veth, even in a world where transness is not stigmatized. So while transphobia is not a thing as we understand it in Exandria, that doesn't change that Kingsley “came out” and transitioned in a more recognizable way to us than Lucien or Molly ever had to — in the same light as Veth arguably struggling with her self-image in a way that many trans viewers find exceedingly familiar.

If we can apply the queer critical lens and think of Fjord being a trans guy deconstructing toxic ideas of masculinity, or of Beau being a trans girl dealing with transphobic parents that wanted a son, got one, and cast her aside, we can also use that same level of discernment when it comes to Kingsley. There's precedent.

I don’t mean to get personal here, but the flat out dismissal of Kingsley's identity as an individual and not as the sum of other parts reminds me so much of my own experience of having come out as non-binary and then telling people that I was going to start HRT. The support dried up almost immediately the minute I made it clear I wanted to switch pronouns again and pursue medical transition, though I still conceived of myself as effectively genderless.

So long as you’re fun and funky and trans in a way that isn’t obtrusive, it’s fine. Well, “fine” isn’t the right word, but people are so fucking terrified of you becoming one of “those” trans people and taking the scary hormones and changing your body and getting the surgeries. It's the cousin of that perennial TERF talking point of "why can't you just be a tomboy/effeminate gay guy". As if being a tomboy/fem guy is somehow easier, too!! But I digress. To a lot of folks, Kingsley can be whatever he wants..........so long as he doesn't reject Molly as a foundational part of him, if not the, and heaven help him if he diverges from the mold Molly left for him.

For this reason (and for other transgender reasons that I don't want to get into), that has made engaging with a lot of this faux-Kingsley content difficult. Because Kingsley came out! Kingsley has told everyone who he is and what he's about, and folks are ignoring that in favor of an interpretation that centers a different person's existence entirely. And with this coming from a group of fans that tends to trend towards being trans, too, that's quite the bitter pill.

Creatively, I firmly believe that people can do whatever they want forever. And everyone has the right to make content where their Barbies scissor. I, for one, also am 100% guilty of it in other contexts. That doesn't bother me.

What does bother me is a collective delusion where a significant chunk of the fandom, in missing their tragically dead non-binary character, effectively stuff a separate one that resembles him back into the closet without noticing the cruelty of doing so. In fact, relishing in it.

And while these people are fictional and aren't real and can't feel pain aside from what we inflict on them narratively, it gives me pause about the way this trend mirrors common transphobic behavior I have experienced as a non-binary person myself. Thus, I cannot possibly watch it happen and not feel compelled to say something about it.

In essence, Kingsley has told us time and time again who he is and what he's about. If we say as fans that we respect the narrative integrity of Campaign 2, I think it's important that we listen and honor that.