#but so's sonia -- she just hides it better

[causeitsagame]

SECOND/FOLLOWUP PROMPT. In case of capture, the former Remnants would be questioned about where Izuru is and where the rest of the remnants are, which of course, no one wants to reveal. Fuyuhiko lets himself get captured, because a) his pain tolerance is super high, b) he's been trained to deal with torture, c) Hajime is not being made into a lab rat AGAIN and Fuyuhiko needs to make sure of that, even if it means a world of pain. Angsty mood today! Have fun at the gardens! -xoxo hajihiko

(Torture warning, etc etc. NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED IT FROM THE PROMPT)

"Put his hand flat on the table."

Unimpressed, Fuyuhiko spread his hand flat before any of the special operatives in the interrogation chamber could force the matter. "Are we doing something with the fingernails, or lopping pieces off?"

For an answer, the officer overseeing matters lifted a broad, heavy knife.

"Sure thing," Fuyuhiko said. "Hey, Knife. Mind if I ask a favor?"

Knife grimaced at the nickname. "You've got some nerve, Remnant, to dare to ask for any mercy after what you've done to the world."

"No mercy. I'm just hoping that you can start here," Fuyuhiko said, and swapped which hand was on the table. He wiggled the new hand's pinky. "See the scar, there?"

"Yes. What of it?"

"I had that cut done when I was little. It showed me what I might be ordering on some asshole who let me down, y'know?" In the silence, Fuyuhiko wiggled the finger again and continued, "It feels like a half-finished job. So, mind starting there?"

Knife looked at his companions with a flat, irritated expression.

"It probably doesn't make much sense to start with something he's been trained to tolerate since childhood," mused Red, and ran a hand through his messy copper hair.

"Fuck it, let's do the fingernails," sighed Stain, who must have been in a rush eating lunch.

"Whatever," Fuyuhiko said airily, and met and held Knife's gaze. "You getting started any time soon, or what?"

"The man knows what he wants," Knife calmly replied, and put away his knife in a locked case. When he returned, his hands instead held thin but wickedly sharp bamboo skewers and a rubber mallet.

Well, this was gonna fuckin' suck.

"I see you understand what's about to happen to you," Knife said in the same smooth, level tones. "I want to see if you understand how it can be avoided."

Fuyuhiko held his gaze. "You'd better remind me."

"We brought down your aircraft after it attacked one of our vessels. We didn't have piloting skills or missile targeting in your dossier, suggesting that it was on autopilot."

"Yeah," Fuyuhiko freely admitted. This wasn't anything he needed to hide, and maybe they'd think twice about going after the others. "Kazuichi had a hell of a program in that thing. It was fun to watch it work."

"And while you were holding our attention, the rest of the Remnants vanished. Where?"

"You said it yourself: I'm holding your attention, dumbfucks." Fuyuhiko grinned lopsidedly. His head already felt fuzzy and distant as he prepared himself for the agony to come. "Why would I tell you where they went, now?"

He didn't actually know where his friends had gone, but it was best if these assholes thought he did. There'd be more pain, that way.

"Very well," Knife said, and motioned for his companions to hold Fuyuhiko in place. "Just remember: you know how to make this stop at any time."

Nodding, Fuyuhiko tensed his core muscles in anticipation. They'd really have to work to get screams out of him. As the first skewer was lifted, he pictured sobbing faces on Jabberwock pleading for him not to go. The mallet struck, and the memory exploded into raw agony and loud, screeching static.

Fuyuhiko gritted his teeth and threw back his head as black-and-white nothing scoured through him. All thought cut out momentarily like a broken television channel. But he hadn't screamed.

Knife waited a few seconds longer, nodded, and reached for the second skewer.

This time, Fuyuhiko pictured Sonia. She actually knew how to operate heavy machinery, she'd argued. She might be able to put up more of a fight before they caught her. But she wasn't trained for what came after, not like him. That was so inarguable that it'd stopped her in her tracks, and soft, frustrated crying served as her good-bye.

The mallet struck again, and Sonia also exploded into static.

Ten fingers equaled ten memories to hold onto before the mallet hit. As Fuyuhiko was thrown physically into his holding cell, having to catch himself with bleeding, raw fingertips, he was proud of himself for not mentioning a single one of those memories to the interrogators. The hardest part was over, now.

Three hours into sleep, a jolt of music woke him. Whatever godawful song they'd picked, the volume was loud enough to thrum through the metal walls and flooring like an approaching earthquake. Sleep deprivation. A classic, and not a bad technique to try against most people.

But most people hadn't dealt with Ibuki Mioda's discography for years on end.

Fuyuhiko moved his pillow so it looked like he was trying to block the noise. In actuality, he wanted to hide his face. On future nights, they'd surely crank the volume to a level that even he couldn't tolerate, but for now, he wanted to hide the fact that he could still sleep.

The next day brought electricity. "Not very good at this, are you?" Fuyuhiko coughed after Stain slammed a fist against his chest, and he felt his heart's irregular rhythm steady out. "Don't get it that close to my heart, dumbass."

"Noted. You're the torture expert, after all," Knife levelly agreed.

"Huh. Yeah, you guys aren't supposed to do this kinda stuff, are ya?" Fuyuhiko wondered. His smile up at Knife was knowing, hungry. "Or is that what 'good' does, now?"

Knife's hand flexed around the sparking wire it held. "Officially, you should be put on trial. But unofficially, we shot your plane down and killed you. You have zero advocates who will argue otherwise, and an entire planet full of people who won't care what we had to do to find the rest of the Remnants. Talk."

"I'm not gonna be able to talk if you stop my heart again."

"True," Knife airily agreed, and gestured at one of Fuyuhiko's mangled hands. Red obligingly poured water over the raw, bloody tips, and left enough on the table to form a small puddle under them. "We'll keep the flow well away from your chest, now."

This was gonna fuckin' suck, too.

Fuyuhiko clenched his jaw as he remembered Peko grimly accepting his plan. She'd been the one who held onto Hajime, and kept him from coming after the plane. While Hajime could easily have thrown her off, seeing Peko of all people accepting Fuyuhiko's imminent capture and torture broke through his outrage. This is how it has to be, Peko's agonized expression said. Respect his decision. He's made it. He understands.

The wire touched his mutilated flesh, and memory again exploded into agonized static.

After a week of pain, it was time for another conversation. "You don't have to tell us right where the other Remnants went," Knife said in a disturbingly friendly voice. "If you can point out some past hideouts they might use, we can send people to look for clues. Why not think about that as option? You wouldn't be selling them out, but we'd count that as cooperation."

"...Catacombs beneath Paris," Fuyuhiko said with feigned reluctance. That meant nothing to them, now, but Mikan and Gundham had used them like a biohazard stockpile before three generations of deliberately infected vermin exploded onto the city streets. There'd be all sorts of evidence for these assholes to dig through, and ideally, some leftover rats to gnaw on them while they did.

(And more importantly, there was absolutely no way the Remnants had fled to Paris.)

Four days later, Fuyuhiko awoke to Knife backhanding him. "Not Paris," Knife said. His eyes glinted in the darkness. "Give us a better suggestion."

Fuck. Fuyuhiko should have been awake for that. That jolt of pain was a missed opportunity. "Can't seem to remember anywhere else," he said, and wiped away blood from the lip Knife had split. "You'll have to help me remember."

"…Very well."

And so the pain began again. What memories Fuyuhiko had of love and friendship exploded into agonized static, over and over and over.

But each night when they threw his increasingly battered form back into his cell, Fuyuhiko smiled. He'd done it. He'd held their attention. And since they hadn't broken him right at the beginning, that meant that he'd won.

When he was younger, his father had taught him a very useful technique. It was one thing to simply suppress knowledge, his father explained. With tremendous pain tolerance, as men like them must develop, even the most valuable knowledge could be protected until help arrived.

What if help would not arrive in time, though? What if the knowledge would cause great harm if it could actually be carved out of them and handed to their enemies? Then, Fuyuhiko's father explained, they must go a step further. They must turn their enemies' own attempts at torture against them.

With tremendous self-control and dedicated practice, sufficient amounts of pain could be used to rewire memories. His father explained that when he'd been tortured, he pictured the shifting glint of sunlight on their backyard pond. So much pain running through him took his mind to its absolute capacity. Picturing something else—instead of the demanded information—let his brain latch onto that replacement image, instead.

Instead of pushing the memories down into some hidden safebox, enough pain could be used to scour them clean. It took enormous practice with controlling one's thoughts, and even more with suppressing pain, but dangerous knowledge could be treated like mere tinder: set alight. Abandoned. Destroyed.

Fuyuhiko had tried picturing sunlight on water, as his father had, but that hadn't worked for him. He'd found success with picturing television static, instead. And now, each time Knife and his crew tried to torture him, they were helping him to burn away another memory that was too dangerous to hold onto.

Staring up at the ceiling, Fuyuhiko did wonder where all those people had gone. It was good that he didn't know. They'd stay safe, this way.

He didn't remember much about the group, any more.

But he must have really cared about them.

[darkcrowprincess]

The losers club parents:

*trigger warning use of homophobic words*

*their parents have all noticed their children have been missing together for hours. They start looking in all the spots the kids hang out.*

Mrs and Mr Uris calling out together, their voices echoing together out near the barrens: STAN!! STANLEY!

Mrs Denbrough freaking out and hyper ventilating: We cant lose another child Zack! I can't lose another baby!

Mr Denbrough tries to console her but it feels like empty words: We'll find him. He'll be alright. Its not like Georgie he's with his friends.

Mr and Mrs Hanlon yell out together next: MIKE!!

Sonia Kaspbrak: Your children are never going near Eddie again! You hear me!

Mr and Mrs Hanlon call out again: MIKE!

Maggie Tozier is unfortunately stuck near Sonia, her husband up ahead with Ms Hanscom so they both could call out for Richie and Ben together. The parents have spread out in a big circle near the woods of the barrens. Each calling out their childrens names hoping they'll hear it. Maggie was unfortunately left to deal with Sonia( who they were surprised that the hypochondriac actually agreed to look with them)

Maggie tries to be nice and puts a comforting hand on Sonia's shoulder: Sonia it will be alright. Well find them. It's not any of the boys fault.

Sonia slaps the women's hand away and goes on a horrible tirade: NO! My Eddie Bear is delicate. He should have never run off with any of these boys! Especially your son!

Maggie is finally pissed off(and protective): What do you mean by that?!

Sonia with a cruel smile on her face: You know what your son is like. The whole town knows what a dirty boy he is. But I will not have that little faggot infecting my son with his disgusting feelings!

Maggie slaps the woman hard across her face. Red is in her vision. Her long nails leave scratches along her fat cheek.

Wentworth, goes to stop his wife from full on beating the shit out of Eddies bitch of a mother: Maggie!

Maggie: Our children are missing and all you care about is saying hurtful things about my son! I don't give a shit if my son is gay or both our kids have feelings for each other! As long as they're happy!

Maggie is about to jump on the vile woman but her husband picks her up. She's still tries to kick and hit at Sonia (unknowingly, she looks a lot like her son in that moment).

Maggie: You are a vile woman and your son deserves better. FRANK WOULD HATE YOU, especially for what your doing to your son.

Sonia: YOU BITCH! You take that back!

Sonia is held back by Mr and Mrs Denbrough.

Maggie: Why its not like I'm lying, Frank if he was alive right now would take Eddie away from you and never look back! And it be within his right! Your suffocating your son!

Sonia screams in anger: I'm protecting him! Its because of all your kids!

The two mothers keep fighting. Which causes the other parents to come closer and try to help. Unknowingly their children are at the top of the cliff of the barrens hearing everything.

All 7 of the losers peak their heads over the cliff to watch everything. Like little animals popping their heads out of hidding.

Eddie and Richie both stare at each other in shock.

Bill: W-we need to get down there. I-I can't believe t-the-y ww-were looking for us.

Richie: Do we have to, I'm actually finding it really cool how badass my mom is being right now.

Bill: R-richie! What about Eddie?!

Eddie with a bit of satisfaction for himself: Give it a few more minutes. Mrs Tozier just tackled my mom into the mud.

The losers all look back to see the fight.

Eddie to Richie: Your mom is so cool.

Richie with stars in his eyes: 🤩 I know right.

Richie without thinking moves fully out of hiding to cheer his mom on: GO MOM!

Maggie who finally hears her son, looks up to see the kids on the cliff: RICHIE?!

The other losers: Richie! How are we suppose to explain this to them?!

*This being the fact that they just finished fighting an evil space clown*

Richie: Oops.

Maggie dropping Sonia Kaspbrak back into the mud, yells back up to her son: RICHARD WENTWORTH TOZIER! Get your ass down here now! You know how worried we have all been!

Richie nervous now: Ooooh full name not good.

[shinymisty-blog]

Who wants a Sonic Underground Swapped AU

I’ve been a huge fan of Undertale for a pretty long time. And one of my favorite things about it was the concept of “different timelines/universes” that so many fans started to make. I know AUs have been around for a long time, longer than Undertale, but it was because of Undertale that I started thinking of AU ideas. 

Case in point: A Sonic Underground AU where all the characters' roles and personalities are swapped. 

A…Sonic Underswap, if you will. (I am going to hell)

The idea smacked me last night when I thought “...hmm. Wouldn’t it be funny to imagine a Manic who grew up in Sonia’s shoes?” It then formed into wondering “Who would switch with who?” So… I will jot down what I think a Sonic Underground Swap would be like.

And, while I would pull the whole “the triplets are evil” idea…but where’s the fun in that?! (...aside from a lot of fun to begin with). This is playing with the idea that MOST of the characters are still the same when it comes to their placement in the story. 

There is one HUGE exception:

Obviously, Aleena and Robotnik would HAVE to swap places. This would mean Aleena becomes the “tyrant ruining Mobius” while Robotnik is hiding away, hoping to one day take Aleena down. 

So the story would go like this:

Fearful over the thought that her newborn children could overthrow her, Aleena abandons them shortly after birth in hopes of ruling. Even if she is a really bad leader. Brushing off the struggles of her people as she feels they aren’t worth her time. Only those who pay the outrageous tax have her attention, and they never really have any struggles, to begin with.

Robotnik, being an outsider notices just how horrible she is running Mobius and plots to take her down. With the help of Athair’s future visions and elderly wisdom, he realizes that her children are alive and are destined to fix what their mother has caused.

However, Aleena didn’t deal with her children as well as she had expected, and they were raised by three different families.

As mentioned, Manic would be raised in the higher class, with Sir Farrell as his father. Raised to use and abuse the lower class and how much they need to rely on the upper class to stay safe, and he isn’t afraid to admit that. But, hey, at least he has a close friendship with [_____], though even that is stripped away when he was exiled due to Aleena realizing her children were a risk. Now he feels like an outcast when he joins up with Sonia and Sonic, both lower class and slightly spiteful over Manic’s upbringing. 

But he does know how the upper class works, and what makes them tick.

Sonia, meanwhile, takes Sonic’s role. 

After all, if she didn’t fill this tier, Sonic wouldn’t have changed. And, honestly, I feel the idea that Manic being raised high class and Sonia fighting with the Rebels (the Resistance) gives better story ideas over Sonic being raised high class and Sonia being poor.

Anywho, Sonia was raised by Windemere, a high-status member of the Anti-Royal Movement, better known as the Rebels. She was adopted by Windermere after her “original” family was killed during a raid. Since then she has been fighting for what she felt was right. She is heartbroken during a raid when she finds out that Windermere was caught and, later, was found out to have been hiding one of Aleena’s children. 

She is well known by the Rebels. 

Sonic was found by Chuck, who’s been struggling hard since Aleena’s rules made it harder and harder for the lower class to survive. Everything has gotten so expensive (mood), and he wasn’t going to rescue the infant, but he couldn’t abandon a life in need. Sonic grew up knowing that life is harsh and mean. Don’t trust anyone but yourself, ESPECIALLY the higher class. That makes him and Manic not get along really…at all. 

Sonic is still the fastest, and his speed helps with snatching up food and money. But mostly food. 

Aleena is warned by Athiar about her eventual demise, causing her to stress out and hire Dingo and Sleet, famous mercenaries who can easily find and…silence almost any targets. For the right price, of course.  (...I think you are seeing where this is going)

Though he relies more on his brawn than his brain, Dingo is still the leader of the duo, always more focused on his work, and less focused on anything else. However, he has to always remind himself to keep a close eye on his absent-minded partner, Sleet, and he is starting to wonder if the wolf would even notice if he left him mesmerized by something. It doesn’t help that Aleena’s influence is beginning to rub off on him. Why worry about a mobian that causes him more trouble than he’s worth?

Sleet’s mind’s in the right place. He’s smart, and when he’s able to focus on the job, he can be a real threat. Too bad he’s easily distracted and is amazed by everything and anything and will often leave Dingo to do most of the heavy lifting. It doesn’t help that Sleet thinks that Manic is super cool and admires being JUST like him one day. He never realizes that his constant admiring is getting on Dingo’s nerves, though. It’s always work work work with that canine. Can’t he stop and enjoy the moment once in a while?

All his life, Cyrus was raised to believe that everything Queen Aleena said was law and that those below him were just obstacles in his way. But when his long-time friend, Manic, was found to be the Queen’s son and she wanted him gone before he and his siblings could overthrow her, Cyrus finds himself in a pickle. Maybe, if Manic accepts that Aleena is the true Queen and promises to not try and defy her, he’d get his friend back. Why even worry about the others when he had everything he needed if he just behaved? 

Knowing Sonia from the Rebels Group made Bartleby a target for manipulation for Aleena, trying to trick the mink into luring the Rebels out and punishing them for all their wrongdoings, all to protect what remains of his family’s history. But once he realizes that the lives of innocent mobians would be at stake, he quickly breaks away from her control and vows to help the Rebels in any way he can. His love for the arts helps him create things, though they seem to be more dangerous than helpful. It’s the thought that counts, right?

The other prevalent member of the Rebels is Knuckles. Cunning and decently strong to boot, he makes good support for the group. He also knows a bit about nature, so that’s a plus. Early on, he was captured by Aleena, who attempted to learn a thing or two about the growing Rebels, but the triplets quickly saved him when Sonia realized he was in danger, as the two knew each other from childhood. 

Under the watchful eyes of “Delphius” (The Oracle isn’t “the Oracle”, but is replacing Athiar), Trevor is destined to watch over the Chaos Emerald resting within the Floating Islands. Good with the few mechanical items he can find littering the Island, he became quite a handyman, making small weapons and other things to keep the Emerald, and the Island, safe.

If it isn’t obvious, Cyrus and Bartleby swap while Knuckles and Trevor swap. 

It was…hard trying to figure out who would take Knuckles’ place, as he is kind of…REALLY strongly tied to the Emeralds. But, Trevor has as much character as Knuckles does in the show, so it fits. 

I also find it funny that the two characters that have some sort of relationship with Sonia…STILL have relations with Sonia, just differently. (Seeing as Bartleby and Knuckles take Cyrus and Trevor’s place, who were friends of Sonic originally).

The Oracle (or just “Delphius”) and Athiar also switch places. The Oracle was a strong contender for the one switching with Robotnik, but…Athiar makes more sense in the long term. Both are old. Most likely DEAD already. One is cryptic while the other is a bit of a fearful hermit. 

So, yeah. There we go. There are other characters in Underground, and they’d all switch around as well, but I’m gonna leave this here for now with the more important characters.

[writingdespair]

I just read your cat like reader prompt and I'm hoping to request a continuation of it with Kirumi, Maki, Sonia and mahiru

Kirumi, Maki, Sonia and Mahiru with an S/O who has cat-like tendencies.

Kirumi Tojo

-With her calm and almost cold attitude she’s not one to play into your personality. Early on in the relationship it’ll feel more like she’s your servant rather than your partner. 

-Once the two of you make it though that awkward patch, Kirumi will be more warm and affectionate. She’ll pat the top of your head, hold you while stroking your back. Though these affections will only be seen behind closed doors. Kirumi cares deeply about your safety and her professional position.

-Kirumi isn’t very fond of your habit of climbing on top of furniture. It makes her worry. If she were to catch you somewhere high up, she’ll lightly chastise you. Telling you how you could’ve gotten hurt up there.

Being a maid, Kirumi comes across many boxes. She’ll be sure to offer them before tossing them out. She has even made a variety of blankets and pillows for when you decide to curl up somewhere.

Maki Harukawa

-In the early stages of her crush, she’ll treat you like you’re a burden. Scoffing at you, asking if you wanted to die when you brushed up against her body. Deep down she couldn’t fight the warmth she felt. Your friendliness was a bright and shining beacon in her otherwise depressing life.

-Maki wasn’t given much affection growing up. Your affectionate gestures and cuddling makes her very flustered. She’ll weakly threaten you, looking away as a blush covers her cheeks. She would reciprocate your affections in small doses; linking pinkies in an empty hallway, buying you a snack from the school store, or sitting close enough for your knees to be touching.

-Kokichi would tease the two of you all the time. “Aw, how cute. Maki’s little cat has her all soft now!” She’s about three more teasing remarks away from punching him in the throat.

-When you climb on top of something or hide away in a box, Maki just knows. She can somehow locate where you are like a sixth sense. She’ll tell you to be careful, but other than that you have free range of the counters. In the event you do fall, nine times out of ten she’ll be there to catch you.

Sonia Nevermind

-She thinks you’re just the cutest! Before the two of you were even together, she’ll pet and coo at you. Sonia would be the type to call your attention like she would a cat, she thinks it’s just too adorable. Your classmates were practically gagging at how sappy you guys were.

-Sonia takes any of your affection with open arms no matter where you are. She’ll pull you into her lap in the middle of class with no shame. Though if you were to ask for her to tone it down she will.

-With her almost sickening amounts of money, Sonia would buy you all the boxes you could ask for, including any pillows, blankets, or comforters you’d want. She cuddles up with you in a pile of blankets, leaving dozens of lipstick kisses on your forehead.

-Upon seeing you lounging somewhere high up, she’d panic. Asking for you to come down so you wouldn’t hurt yourself. If her asking won’t deter you from climbing up dangerous places, she’ll do her best to be there to catch you.

Mahiru Koizumi

-At first she’d find you pretty annoying, saying the way you acted was childish. She’d reprimand you for acting so silly. Something about the way you would laze about, ticked something off in her. Once getting to know you better, she’d still be on your case but more willing to let things slide.

-She prefers to keep affection in a more private setting, though if you were to be persistent she’d let you snuggle up to her. Mahiru is used to Hiyoko’s constant clinging, so you’d be another cuddly addition. 

-On the topic of the traditional dancer, Hiyoko would be pretty mean to you. Yelling about how you’re trying to take away Mahiru from her, berating you at any chance. It would take a small argument between her and Mahiru to see how much you mean to the photographer. From then on, she’d cling onto you as well, calling you her big sibling and asking you to help tie her kimono.

-While Mahiru is more lenient on your lazy habits, climbing onto things is not something she favors. “(Name)! Get down from there!” is something you’ll be used to hearing. She will try to climb whatever you’re resting on and drag you off. “Geez! Are you trying to get hurt?��

[nightghoul381]

Melted by Aphrodisiac on this Night ～Fallen, Disheveled, Loved Keith Howell Part 2

This a fan translation so it is definitely not 100% accurate. I do not own anything related to Ikemen Prince. Support Cybird by buying their amazing stories!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Sweet End | Premium End | Epilogue

I ran out of the room with another candy, an aphrodisiac, given to me by Ms. Yuel.

(I’ll give it back. After all, if I keep it I would act strangely)

As if to shake off my growing curiosity, I continued running down the hallway…

(Aah…!)

As I turned the corner, I spotted a figure and immediately hid behind a pillar.

I check to make sure no one notice, and I saw that Keith was handing the bag of candy to Ms. Yuel.

Keith: “Absolutely… you make too many unusual sweets.”

Yuel: “It’s a far cry from the original sweets that Prince Clavis gave you as a thank you for the medicinal herbs, though.”

Keith: “It’s good to be far away. Don’t try to get close.”

Keith: “I’m not saying don’t make it, but if you’re going to give it to someone, at least tell them what it is.”

Yuel: “That means, if Emma knows and accepts them, you’re in favor of aphrodisiacs?”

Keith: “…You’re as perceptive as ever.”

(Really…)

From the interactions between the two, it’s clear that they have known each other for quite some time.

Keith awkwardly averted his gaze at Ms. Yuel’s words and opened his mouth hesitantly.

Keith: “…Well, if she wants to use it…”

(Is this something I should be listening to?)

(…I feel like I shouldn’t.)

I was about to leave when my eyes met Yuel’s

Yuel: “……”

(…why are you winking now?)

My bad premonition turned out to be true…

Yuel: “Prince Keith, don’t you want to see it? Emma wild from the aphrodisiac.”

Keith: “Huh!? What are you talking about?”

Yuel: “I just asked out of curiosity, So, what do you think?”

Keith: “Oh, I don’t have to tell you that.”

(Keith… that alone says the answer.)

(I knew it, but Keith is still easy to understand.)

Unbearable and embarrassed, I covered my face with my hands and it was surprisingly hot.

(I guess Keith felt the same way as me.)

(……)

I shouldn’t be here anymore. While I thought this, an evil thought crossed my mind,

Amber liquid shimmers in the small bottle.

It’s like it’s testing me, like it’s inviting me…

I suddenly came to my senses and shook my head.

(Even though we’re both interested, there’s no way I could ask Keith to take an aphrodisiac.)

(I could also mix it with something and have him drink it…)

On the other hand, I could have chosen to drink it myself in response to Keith’s reaction, but I wouldn’t have the courage to do so.

(What’s better than when you eat candy… I can’t let the ugliness of it all be shown.)

(After all, I’ll return this vial to Ms. Yuel after Keith leaves.)

--bedroom—

(I thought I was going to return it…)

As I sit on the bed, I hold my head in my hands while I think about how weak my will is.

(I had plenty of time to return it.)

In the end, a day later the vial was still my hand and that was my answer.

Once curiosity is born, it is difficult to shake off.

(But, I don’t have the courage to take action. What am I doing)

Just as the never ending argument in my head was about to start again, a knock echoed through the room…

(Keith!)

I immediately hide the small bottle under my pillow.

We had promised to read Sonia’s new story together tonight.

Keith: “Emma, I got here early. Is everything alright?”

Emma: “Yes, I welcome it.”

Keith: “If you say that, I think I’ll come see you early next time too.”

Keith came into the room and sat down next to me, as happy as a flower in full bloom.

(We’ve been looking forward to it, even before it was released, right Keith?)

The corners of my mouth naturally curl up.

Emma: ‘Keith, let’s read it right away!”

Keith: “Aahh.”

Keith: “But before that…”

Keith placed the book on his lap and pulled my waist closer.

Our bodies fit perfectly together, and my heart races as I feel Keith’s body temperature seeping through my clothes.

Keith: “If we’re going to read together, We’ll have to get this close.” 8010

Keith: “Or maybe it would be easier to see if you sit on my lap.”

Emma: “No, it’s okay! I can see fine.”

Keith: “It’ll be fine. You can lean on me without hesitation.”

(Keith’s concern is so warm and sweet.)

Its sweetness draws me to lean in shyly.

Keith seemed happy and kissed my forehead.

Keith: “I’ll read this much tonight, and maybe the next chapter the day after tomorrow.”

Emma: “Keith, your mind is already focused on the day after tomorrow.”

Keith: “I’ve been found out. I just wondered if I’d still be able to read like this with you the day after tomorrow.”

(He was thinking about me, not the book…)

The unexpected words cause my heat to race again.

(I love doing little fun things like this with Keith.)

I was so engrossed in reading Sonia’s book…

The page we decided on together was reached very quickly.

Keith: “I think It’s time we went to bed.”

Emma: “Yeah.”

(I can’t believe it’s time to go to bed already, time moves so quickly when I’m with Keith.)

The book closes with a snap and a sweet goodnight kiss falls on your lips.

When I felt sadness at the heat leaving, his large body began moving toward me as though to lean against me.

(This is…)

My body unconsciously anticipates what’s to come, and I close my eyes involuntarily.

What I heard was a low, amused voice, far from calm.

Keith: “Emma, what is this?”

(Is that…)

Before I knew it, the ‘mean’ Keith, who had taken over, had the small bottle in his hand.

Keith: “It peeked out from under your pillow.”

(I enjoyed my time with Keith so much that I completely forgot about the vial…)

Keith: “There you go, Emma. Don’t be shy, tell me about it.”

(You definitely know what’s inside.)

He may have already heard about the vial from Ms. Yuel.

(If so, then you must have known that I wouldn’t reply.)

(I’m getting more embarrassed.)

There’s no point in trying to fool him. I took a deep breath and answered in a low voice, trying to hide my shame.

Emma: “……it’s an aphrodisiac.”

Keith: “I didn’t know you were interested in adult amusements.”

Emma: “Oh, wait, no, it’s a misunderstanding!”

Keith is in a good mood and tries to open the vial, but I hurriedly stop him.

Emma: “I was just wondering how you would… I was curious to see how you would react to the aphrodisiac!”

Emma: “But I didn’t want to use it, I was just agonizing over what to do when you came along.”

Keith: “Hmmm.”

He looked down at me with a grin that was as sinister as it could have been.

Keith: “If you don’t feel the need to use it, I can use it, can’t I?”

Emma: “Eh?”

Keith: “Emma, I’d love to see you all messed up with aphrodisiacs.”

Keith shakes the vial lightly.

His eyes are filled with joy…

(He’s serious!)

I try to escape in a hurry, but I am held firmly by the waist, as though he had expected it.

He forced me to look up…

Keith: “Let’s give in to each other’s curiosity and have some fun, shall we? Emma.”

Keith opened the small bottle and took a sip without hesitation.

(Eh, why…)

[loudrantsensue]

WARNING, long post ahead:

In my own personal opinion, Sonia’s death in Tears of the Kingdom was poorly handled, to not say dumb.

I dunno if it’s because I’m getting old or that I grew up in fucking LATAM of all places, but I don’t buy the way Ganondorf tricked Sonia in TotK.

Let me explain...

In the short scene we see a fake Zelda trying to assasinate queen Sonia, such attempt is stopped by the real Zelda who was in hiding, and the way Sonia reacts makes it clear that she was also aware that the other Zelda was a fake. Then Zelda uses her powers to return the dagger to the puppet and throwing it at her feet. Then the fake Zelda lets out an evil laugh and vanishes. Then Sonia and Zelda just stare at the place where the pupped vanished.

THAT last part is what bugs me.

I can see why the scene works, but very slightly. They were alert and looking straight at the place where the threat disappeared, and the scene passed fast enough for Ganondorf to strike, so it was a decoy.

HOWEVER, what bugs me is Sonia’s reaction after the puppet disappears. (or lack of any action at all, she doesn’t do jack shit)

Sonia was shown previously to be quite perceptive and wise. Then we add to that that she and Rauru were the first king and queen of Hyrule, so at least they could have already passed / be going through complicated times. I can’t think of any independent city or village willing to be annexed to a kingdom at the get go, such example are the Gerudo.

Based on this it is not difficult to image that Sonia would be a wise and experienced leader, and it would be expected from a queen.

So, after the decoy was revealed, it would have been more in character for her to be immediately on guard right after the puppet vanished, taking a look at the surroundings. Turning around to have a good look for any lingering danger should've been her immediate reaction, and is not like she was entirely alone for this to fail. Zelda was there and they could have been back to back, close enough to protect each other in case some shit like, I don’t know, Ganondorf coming out of nowhere and striking happened (herd animals, animals, do this in the wild!)

Someone gave me the excuse that “they thought the danger was over”. You want THAT to work better? Have the puppet pretend being defeated, screaming in frustration instead of letting out an evil laugh that just makes it painfully obvious that danger may still be lurking!

I would have believed the decoy fooling a younger, more naive character, but not Sonia, because as a diplomat and sage she should have known better to not just stand there like a fool after an assasination attempt.

Heck, ranting about it made me though of a better alternative, at least works for me:

Have everything stay the same, but this time after the puppet vanishes Sonia and Zelda BOTH stay on guard, scanning the area. Then Zelda steps away from Sonia (either to search better, say they can leave cuz it appears safe, I dunno, but she steps away). HERE is where you have Ganondorf coming out of the shadows and target Zelda instead (is not far-fetched as Zelda also had a secret stone which was the thing Ganondorf was after), but Sonia acts fast enough and in an attempt to protect Zelda, takes the hit instead. Then she dies, Zelda grieves and the rest stays the same.

Also, don't say it couldn't have happened because Zelda would have "messed with the past," because in canon events she was pretty proactive in that whole ordeal. (Ok, he didn't "mess" with the past exactly but you get the point.)

I really liked this alt scene because it sorta improves the three involved characters (IMO!!!):

Sonia dies doing something noble and not like and idiot fooled by Ganondorf.

Ganondorf appears more cunning, malicious and despicable (he’s already evil just because so why not?).

Zelda is impacted by the event and has a stronger reason why later in the story she’s so proactive in stopping the Demon King in the future. (I mean, her story is quite good already but adding a little more angst doesn’t hurt, right? at least to spice a bit more the story.)

Still, I mean sure sure, the actual canon events sorta work at the end, sure. Hyrule could have been more peaceful than our real world so Sonia didn’t need to be on her toes, or maybe she was just not informed enough about how shitty politics can be. I read somewhere that apparently she was a priestess before marrying Rauru, so sure, perhaps she was still naive and Rauru was the one actually managing most if not all of Hyrule’s external relationships and stuff. Heck, now I’m thinking that perhaps I thought too high of this hoe and the only character with the pants and relevance in the backstory was Rauru, and Sonia was just there to be a plot device, what a shame.

Anyway, I myself would feel disappointed if the previous reasons were true, because I did like this character and it did pissed me off the way her death was handled. Then I was even more pissed off when I came up with my optional turn of events, which to be honest I’ll make my own headcanon cuz screw it, Sonia deserved better.

In conclusion I repeat that this is just my own opinion and take on a game that to be fair I really enjoy, and what it may lack in story it makes up in a really fun gameplay experience. I repeat, I LOVE the game and think is good, even if (imo imo imo) it sacrifices a couple bits in its story department to work as well as it does in general.

[hajihiko]

I am sad and in need of my bed

SO MY QUESTION FOR YOU RUMPS IS

How do you think the dr2 characters cope with the big sad, what kind they are (good and bad), and who comes to help em out :)

(if you say hajime for assistance because he’s technically the ultimate therapist you’re gonna get your shoes stolen /lh/nsrs)

Hajime.

BUT not because hes the Ultimate therapist, rather because he is very adept at making people feel comfortable. Meta-wise, this is because he's the protagonist of a character-heavy game that encourages you to form a bond with at least one NPC, and most of the NPCs are jerks. Of course you want some encouragement or rewardl and your reward is the NPC opening up and trusting you, the player character.

But since we're not viewing the characters as NPCs in a game, in-world it comes out as Hajime getting even the most suspicious, awkward and stand-offish people to like him enough to overcome some of their issues, meaning he's just a comfortable dude.

So, besides Hajime;

Akane: ignores the big sad for as long as she can. Might have a little breakdown but still tries to get over it way before she's ready by distracting herself or pretending like a comfort worked 100% ("now that I've cried for half a minute I'm FINE haha see ya"). She would go to Kazuichi for distractions and someone who will probably do the crying for her. Slowly starts being open to Fuyuhiko's offer of talking things out, but only when she's already done being sad.

Sonia: Even if she is big sad in private, she has a hard time being real with it in front of others because she tends to pop into inspiration mode. She might pep talk herself (and others) several times without any real progress because she isnt letting it out. Eventually she'll yell and cry and then actually feel better afterwards. I think besides Hajime shed split pretty easily between Akane and Fuyuhiko, who are both awkward around big emotions but ultimately also very helpful.

Kazuichi: Feels big emotions all the time and sadness is a big part of it. He is very capable of feeling the things- its hiding them that's the problem- so he's used to it, but a linger melancholy cloud that doesnt go away even when he's done sobbing about it is a bigger problem. I think he would go to Sonia if he needed point-blank merciless advice (he is careful though, between not wanting to seem like he's pressuring her and not being able to take rejection when he's already so depressed) or Akane for comfort.

Fuyuhiko: it's kinda complicated because he was actually fairly good at dealing with grief in-game (once he was past the passive suicidal ideation) but that was in the middle of a murder game and. I think he would be the type to push it aside for as long as something bigger needs doing, but he suffers for it when there's nothing else to focus on. He feels better when he thinks he has some control so besides Hajime he goes to Souda, who a) has no room to judge and b) wont dare to snitch or get too mushy.

The ones most likely to intentionally seek out the sad people are probably Fuyuhiko (as with Akane post Nekomaru death) and Souda (again Akane & Nekomaru's death). Probably Sonia too? Just based on vibes (and she got Fuyuhiko a get-well-soon present).

Hajime definitely feels like the type to isolate when he actually feels the sad, but he's more likely to get frustrated or listless than outright sad (he also does not have a crying sprite in the game). I think who he goes to is really dependant on what he wants out of the interaction. With Akane, it's easy to forget anything is wrong, but she'll also be a big strong pillar to lean on. Souda is great with distractions and emotional validation (easily affected by other people's moods). Sonia cheers people up and doesnt let anyone get away with wallowing, and Fuyuhiko is a good conversationalist and has experience with actually handling grief (fun fact, all of Fuyuhiko's FTEs revolve around just talking, mayhaps because he has no hobbies besides crime but who knows) .

[chocolatte-and-despair]

Ooh, can I ask for some headcanons for Hiyoko Saionji, Ibuki Mioda, & Sayaka Maizono (/Sonia Nevermind) My lesbian heart just love love LOVES them ❤️❤️

Sayaka Maizona

Sayaka loved her groupmates, but there was one specific groupmate that she loved a little bit differently than others. That groupmate was you. You were one of the new members, and you were brash, and childish, but that was part of your charm.

Many fans had dubbed you as a tsundere, and Sayaka couldn't agree more, often times teasing you lovingly about it. She just loved how flustered and puffy eyed you got whenever you were embarrassed or teary.

How did Sayaka's feelings develop? Well, it just happened naturally. Being friendly and determined to achieve her goals, when you joined her group, she did not give up on you even if you were rude and often times liked to isolate yourself.

Through her determination, she figured out that you put up that cold front because of personal fears. And soon enough, she learned to read you like a book.

Maybe it was the fact that she was the only one to understand you in such a way made her so obsessive over you. I mean, you had nobody but her, she had to give you all her time, no?

After she got kidnapped and brought in this insane game, she didn't want to hurt anyone, but seeing the video of you being touched by someone else, and kissed forcefully, made her realize that if she didn't get out and save you, you will be forever lost.

She would do anything for you, even kill.

Hiyoko Saionji

Hiyoko always disliked men. She never felt comfortable around them, and hated when men would become her managers. But when you came into her life and started to manage all of her performances, and finances, stuff started to become a little bit better.

The two of you were a little apart in age, but that was alright for her. She'll be an adult in a few months! She didn't mind. But you did. It infuriated Hiyoko how you never reciprocated her advances, even if she made it very clear that she was serious about you.

It was because she looked so childish? She usually didn't hate her body, finding it a good tool to manipulate adults, but in this moment, she truly wished she was more mature to be able to attract you.

Hiyoko always had a spoiled nature and haughty attitude, so it was no surprise that whenever she noticed that you started to get along with someone that was not her, she would start harassing that person.

The only exception was any member of her family, but it didn't mean she wouldn't curse their name in that moment, before she would calm down.

How did the ultimate despair trick Hiyoko into despair? Of course, she promised Hiyoko you and complete ownership over you. Everything else is history, especially now that you are her perfect doll.

Sitting still, looking pretty, and without the ability to leave her anymore.

Ibuki Mioda

Ibuki was a genius of a kind. But with most geniuses, it's hard to realize their beauty, for it's unique and different from what you are used to. But you were different.

You were a loner at her school, usually staying away from most on your own accord, only having one or two friends you occasionally spoke to, but primarily, you spent time alone.

On one of your travels through your old school, you heard music coming from a room and went to check it out.

The music you heard was experimental and not many could appreciate it in it's raw form, but you were in awe. You didn't shy away from telling her that you loved her music. You even asked how you could support her or hear more of her music.

Ibuki always knew that she was a great musician, but with this new adventure into finding a new style for her, it was hard when nobody could appreciate her. But finally, she found someone who did.

You were her first fan. Her first manager. Her first friend who understood her music. And most importantly, you were her first love.

Ibuki didn't hide her feelings for you, and you didn't hide your dislike for committed relationships, be it platonic or romantic. You didn't even consider her a friend on an official level. But that was okay, she was determined to make you a part of her journey.

She was nothing but persistent. Following you around, creating opportunities where you two could be together. And besides, even if she didn't do any of that, her music always brought you back in her arms.

She was content for now. But for how much longer would she be?

[thelediz]

Sonic Underground watch along

Because… madness, is why. Almost twenty goddamn years ago, I started writing a crossover between the absolute worst piece of Sonic media ever and the games. That fic is The Lost Prince. I am maybe like… two or three chapters from finishing it. TWENTY YEARS AND THREE CHAPTERS. And I have no motivation. You cannot understand the pain this causes me.

So I’m watching the worst piece of Sonic media again in search of inspiration.

And I’m going to talk about it while I do it.

(Normally, I do things like this over on lediz-watches, but because this is specifically to explain some of my headcanons and inspire my writing, it’s here)

So let’s set the scene, first. This has become somewhat common knowledge in Sonic Tumblr fandom these days, but bear with me, because it’s important context.

(Also, the next paragraph is going to get me more death threats because I CERTAINLY HAVEN’T GOTTEN ENOUGH OF THOSE FROM THIS FANDOM, but we’ll carry on anyway because it’s important context)

Once upon a time, there was a cartoon series called Sonic the Hedgehog, now known as SatAM for reasons mostly relating to its timeslot. Sonic the Hedgehog was perfectly acceptable grimdark 90s environmentalist children’s programming which due to classic 90s multimedia marketing strategy also gave rise to the Archie Sonic the Hedgehog comics. It got cancelled on a cliffhanger because that was the kind of thing that happened in the 90s where writers thought FOR SURE a cliffhanger would spare them from the dreaded 2-season contract. (It never did.)

The reason this matters is because the production house maintained the licensing rights to that particular branch of franchise. And they needed a quick cash grab.

For some reason which I will never understand, this spawned Sonic Underground, which is… an insane premise, cheap animation, surprisingly not terrible songs, and a handful of voice actors getting milked for every inch of their three-voice contracts.

Sonic is a prince! He has siblings that are TOTALLY NOT knock-off Princess Sally Acorn or Miles Tails Prower! They have magic necklaces! They save the day with music! Don’t notice the statues of King Max Acorn in the background! Knuckles’ grandfather from the comics is there! Knuckles has magic! The Floating Island has guns! Totally don’t pay attention to the fact that both the episodes and music tracks have separate licensing that will cost the networks extra! No we don’t have time to check for animation errors! ALSO let us use highly complicated political socio-economic difficulties of enlightenment and industrialism as world building BUT DON’T NOTICE WHAT WE’RE DOING just accept the ones we say are bad are bad and the good guys are good! Good? Good. Great.

It is a trashfire.

I adore it.

I have no excuse.

I do, however, have wine.

Let’s go, kids.

Sonic Underground 01: Beginnings

The plot (for want of a better word): Once upon a time, Queen Aleena of Mobius ruled a beautiful world kingdom city (?) and had three lovely babies: Sonic, Sonia, and Manic. An evil industrialist named Ivo Robotnik came out of nowhere and took over her city world kingdom (?), turning all the aristocrats evil. In desperation, Aleena turned to the Oracle of Delphi I mean Delphius who told her that she must hide herself and her children away, until they could reunite as the Council of Four and enter a glorious New Age.

This episode is about the three children growing up, realising they have siblings, magical music, and the much less exciting fact that they’re once and former royalty, and coming together through The Power of Harmony.

Now, this episode immediately showcases what I love about The Trashfire: its background worldbuilding. You are not supposed to notice the worldbuilding, but it’s there and it’s amazing.

Realistically, Aleena would have been an absolutely terrible queen. I am not in the least bit surprised her aristocrats followed Robotnik, who promoted science and industrialisation and then sold them cheap labour. Honestly. Compare that to –

The facsimile of the Hanging Gardens, right there in the first twenty seconds. The HANGING GARDENS. Beautiful, yes. Legendary, absolutely. Would I have loved to see it? Hell yes! A good use of time or resources or indeed environment? HAH. MEANWHILE –

Slums! I don’t care what your artistic imagery is telling me, those tight dark alleyways you’re running down were there before Robotnik took over, your majesty. And you’re wasting tax payer dollars mobiums on THE HANGING GARDENS.

Manic was supposed to go to a middle-class family – you can tell by the clothing of the person that comes to the door. And he’s immediately stolen. Don’t question why a thief would steal a baby (there are so many things we must not question), but notice that it took all of ten seconds. The crime rate in her supposedly perfect city is CRAZY.

Side note: Manic was supposed to go to a middle-class family! The triplets should have gone aristocrat-middle class-working class, but instead we skipped straight from aristocrat to working class and then down to thief, but Aleena NEVER INTENDED to teach her children about the underclass.

Is Mobius a kingdom? Is it a world? We don’t know. We will never know. It Just Is, and Robotnik rules it, while Aleena used to rule it. Stop asking questions.

Music is illegal. This is a real thing that has happened in fascist communities, by the way, usually as a way of controlling the youth. And yet Sonia and Bartleby are out looking for an illegal club. Bartleby is bitching the whole way, but he’s there and he’d looking because it makes Sonia happy and it says SO MUCH about the spineless little worm. I love him.

Anyway. Onto my episode notes:

These character designs. What are these character designs… In my fic I call the alien-looking thing mixes, and say it's what happens when too many super classes (like... canine, feline, fish, etc) interbreed, but really it's just WEIRD.

Goddamnit, I hate Sonia. Not because of her character itself – she is… fine. But I hated GRRL Power even when I was the target audience of it, because of reasons that I can and probably will eventually go on for hours about. But basically, I mostly just hate that she’s perfect at everything, and her only flaws are being bossy and over emotional. It’s not real character, it’s not real personality, and I hate it.

Oh. A thing I’d forgotten. Sonic Underground’s one and only positive influence on other Sonic media: this was the first western animation that gave the hedgehogs more than three spikes. Probably because 3D games were also coming and going to make it A Thing.

Also: Sonic’s Tragic Backstory! I make so much of these foster parents for so many reasons.

But uh… yeah, starting the first episode with the out of place smiles during emotional moments… Sonic and Chuck smiling blandly as the only home Sonic’s ever known burns to the ground in front of them…

Imagine if you’d never read the comics or watched SatAM. Uncle Chuck and his dump-base would be a such a strange thing to see…

Oh, wow… Sonic’s reaction to the Oracle of Delphius’s nonsense. “I’m a prince? Weird. I’m a BROTHER? HOLY CRAP!”

Poor Sleet and Dingo. They never wanted to be evil, but they’re… not even very good at it…

THE SONG: Someday. Meatloaf pop eat your heart out. You would never believe that this was actually a pretty good storyboard match for some legit music videos at the time.

Seriously, Oracle, you could have stopped all of this by just stabbing him instead of warning him. You aren’t a good guy. Don’t pretend to be.

The instrumental song! Legit Sonic music. In fact, this gives serious Sonic and the Secret Rings vibes… I demand more than thirty seconds.

“Oh no, my family has been captured and turned into a robot! But you say my necklace is MAGIC? Fascinating…!”

I mean, look. I can’t defend this thing. I won’t defend this thing. Even when I was a kid, I knew it was terrible.

But I’m having fun anyway.

Normally, on these posts, I'll do one at a time because I've just realised how LONG these are, but the first three episodes are really just an hour-long conjoined episode. And things like that are s why I know at least someone in the producer's studio legitimately thought the Trashfire was a good idea. They were wrong.

Anyway. Sonic Underground 02: Getting to Know You

The plot (for want of a better word): the three siblings set out as directed by the Oracle of Delphius. They encounter a trainer who teaches Sonic how to stop, Sonia how to spin, and Manic how to do cool tricks with his drum sticks that he will barely use throughout the series. Mostly, it’s an episode that introduces some overarching themes, like Sonic being impulsive and irritable, Sonia being prissy, Manic’s insecurities, the divide between proper girl and stinky boys, and that while the triplets will tease each other constantly, it’s always all for one if someone else comes after them.

…That made it sound much sweeter and better than it actually is.

Dingo… she’s not that pretty, and don’t let Sleet tell you you’re ugly. You’re both 90s villains. I’m sure someone’s made Rule 34 fanart of you.

Oh hahaha Sonia’s so out of touch, thinking there’s a maid and that a mouse is terrible ahahano. GUYS.

Look, I hate Sonia, I do, but I have to give her props that Sonic and Manic don’t. Two hours ago she was a sheltered aristocrat’s daughter, she’s stating her expectations, and when Sonic shuts her down she makes a quick joke and gets on with things. I appreciate the pragmatism. I will give her that.

Look, Sleet, you gave Dingo an instruction and he followed it. Don’t act surprised. (Spoiler warning: He will continue to be surprised.)

Okay, this is a weird thing that the show will play with occasionally. Sonic and Sonia trade off mission-focus tunnel vision all the time. Usually when they want the other one to seem flighty or impatient respectively. But Sonia loses her props for not just getting to the point when their lives are on the line.

And then the boys lose it for being Idiot Boys despite the conversation.

Ah, Sonic Undgeround’s weird timelines. How I’d forgotten them. Side note, I also have trouble with pacing and timelines when writing The Lost Prince, so I probably can’t blame it. But here, they’ve been walking for two days, and Sonia is only NOW asking what Manic did for a living.

(also, notice that even Sonia, sheltered aristocrat that she is, thinks everyone of their age should have a proper job. They are somewhere between the ages of twelve and sixteen, folks! I make way too much of this!)

Gondar. Is certainly not voiced by the same guy as Robotnik, I’m sure.

No one questions why Sonic has super speed. This is not considered to be his ‘hidden talent’. For Reasons.

Manic’s ability to make drum sticks fly around will never be mentioned after this episode, to my memory.

Three days plus however much training time… and Robotnik is only just now figuring out the map they found? Apparently the super genius can’t read.

Ahh, Manic’s insecurity. So very well founded. He’s right, I’d argue – Sonic’s speed and Sonia’s… whatever that spin thing is, they are both so much more powerful than being able to throw sticks. And this isn’t even Sokka in the Last Airbender thing, the sticks are basically useless and will continue to be so. His actual power (SPOILERS) is over the earth, to the point that the whole stick thing is a weird addition from the get-go.

I’ll be honest with you, the monks and the invisible stairs are the only things I ever remember from this episode, because it’s such a weird visual that isn’t important in any way.

Sonic implying less than 100% American heterosexuality counter +1

Okay, so this is another running theme with the series, where they’re going to say Sonic’s impulsiveness is a huge problem, but the times when it isn’t, he won’t do anything different, it will just be that either Sonia tells him what to do, or he suddenly shows far more battle skill than he does when the impulsiveness is a problem. This is a common thread in Sonic media, actually, and it always kind of annoys me because they never do it well. Everything is always Sonic’s fault, except when it isn’t. Yes, this is why I still haven’t gotten around to watching Sonic Prime.

The SONG: Working Together, in which 60s rock would like their style back, thanks

…Wait, that was it?

Oh, yeah, in a better show this would have been the second third of a long first episode, RIGHT.

Sonic Underground 03: Harmony or Something

The plot (for want of a better word): After having discovered Manic’s power over the earth, the triplets are told Sonic’s friend Trevor is in danger. They abandon their training to rescue him, only to uncover a scheme to hunt down the Oracle of Delphius! The triplets must think quickly and work as a team to save everyone!

Once again, Sonic being cranky disrupts the harmony and causes problems. 90s Sonic was always so cranky…

A bit of world building here again, that you surprisingly are supposed to notice: elementals (of which dragons apparently count) are a thing, and apparently common-place enough that they teach it in school. Now, the way the conversation is phrased, you’re supposed to think Sonic’s stupid for not knowing about it, but Sonia is the only one that does. This is absolutely where I got the idea that she’s the only one of the three that went to school. Which would make sense in context, but I am thinking way too hard about it…

“Control of the earth can set off powers beyond your control”… this will never come up again. Manic, you could have had such an epic character arc of growing arrogance and humility… Instead I have to think too much about it and read into Manic’s insecurity and make him into A Nice Guy and ughhhh I am such a problem.

“I have also learnt that you might have the biggest heart in the world” – this is about Sonic, and while I agree with this characterisation in general, I have not seen it in this series, and certainly neither has Sonia. But we move on.

 Jeez… yeah, Bartleby’s a sleaze and a problem, but again, put a little reality on this situation and he’s actually worth his salt. He ‘walks the fine line’ as per Sonia’s words, and is immediately threatened by the sight of a woman who was his social equal (if not better) having been robbed of her sentience and turned into a slave, and he still does nothing worse than continue to walk the fine line. He’s a jellyfish, but the man’s got integrity.

Dingo, in contrast, is a creep, and Sleet’s insults make like, no sense

Once again, Sonia knows all the things. Hacking, flying jets, this will keep happening… If a skill is needed, Sonia will have it, as a good 90s female. God, I hate her character type.

Manic… seriously, man, mortal peril is not the time to play around, but Sonia, snarking at Sonic during mortal peril is also not appropriate

And the first of Aleena’s guilt tripping holograms! Hooray!

THE SONG: Birds of a Feather… oh, the… the early 90s pop nostalgia… oh ouch… it hurts…

 …I appreciate Sleet’s pragmatism. It never works out for him, but I appreciate it.

Sonic implying less than 100% American heterosexuality counter +1

Aleena… Oracle… it… I get prophecy, but… you’re RIGHT THERE. Reunite! Save us the next 37 episodes and the unresolved ending! Or at least tell the kids to stop looking until they’re ready. Come on.

The prophecy is obnoxiously vague, by the way. In this episode, it’s… arguably implied that the triplets need to learn to be better before they can be given their rightful place as rulers, but I would argue that in 40 episodes, the show takes absolutely no steps to improve their characters and make them better leaders. And as I said last time, Aleena is implied to have been not great to begin with. So CLEARLY my solution to this whole problem is change the last two minutes of this episode.

But that was the opening movie! Ridiculously too fast-paced for what it was trying to do, terrible animation, amazing world-building, interesting characters, acceptable dialogue. Welcome to the Trashfire that I have loved for half my life.

Come back tomorrow if you want to know more!

[okthatsgreat]

So this one may be hard since it feels like your ocs are catered specifically to the V3 meta timeline, but it popped into my head anyways. How would your ocs act as Remnants of Despair? Let's say Team Danganronpa's doing something and needs to make them Remnants (probably for a gacha game, spend 50 for a chance to get Remnant Naomi)

OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD FUCKING FANTASTIC QUESTION im bouncing up and down. this is so cool. A GACHA GAME IS SO FUNNY TOO like the idea that danganronpa is looking to make some money on the side so theyre like Whatever. throw ryobe into genshin impact. who gives a shit anymore

here they are at their edgiest 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

IN A LIST OF LEAST DANGEROUS TO MOST DANGEROUS I RECKON. COULD BE KIND OF A FLIMSY RANKING LMFAO

billie: scrawny fifteen-year old kid with no talent or charisma. you'll be so fine. worst case scenario it's some kind of izuru 2.0 best case scenario she's not even there in the first place. likely doing the family guy death pose somewhere

mika: another ultimate lucky student who won't be able to do a whole lot. definitely got a lottttt more edge to her than billie does, can definitely be ruthless but can't hold much influence and doesn't have any relevant skills. she's either in hiding or she's made friends with another remnant and kept herself safe that way

yoshito: just a fucked up guy honestly. his entire ultimate revolves around helping people so i can definitely see him taking advantage of this amount of trust he has accumulated and getting a lot of people into some deep shit but eventually they'll learn his tricks and he'll be a lot less immediately dangerous. definitely a behind the scenes kind of guy can't see him being super influential or anything. honestly i don't even think he's a team leader in this scenario i think he just let's all of them go off on their own GHFDKJG they're probably ALL on each others asses

rie: can't realllyyyyy think of a whole lot for her... this is not to say she isnt extremely persuasive and able to get her way but she is more of a figurehead for despair. an extremely well-spoken salesperson in that regard, very charming and probably on a lot of billboards already. i reckon this is a similar situation to sonia but on a much smaller scale, probably does public speaking kind of events and turns people to despair that way, is definitely somebody to be wary of but you can take her in a fight easy. her bodyguards not so much

naomi: you are not running from this girl. she can reach you anywhere and knows how to use a firearm. its either you learn how to fight better than an athlete with a shotgun or youre dead bud. she is extremely independent though so that is a bonus for you

sae: the only reason she is higher than naomi here is she is a lot stronger and knows a lotttt of hunting tactics that can definitely land you in hot water. you'll really need to brush up on avoiding traps because if she catches you in a position where you arent able to run youre fuuuuuckkeddd. unless you are strong it'll be really really difficult defeating her in any sort of hand to hand combat, especially in this despair scenario where she is genuinely not holding back. the one saving grace with sae is she is not dexterous at all so if youre a good runner with a lot of stamina or hell even a more dexterous fighter you'll maybe be ok

erin: ok so she's probably not the most IMMEDIATELY dangerous person, like if you approach her while shes alone with any kind of weapon you'll probably win. but shes this high up just because the implications of her ultimate talent being turned to despair is actually kinda horrifying. like shes a CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINER. she's most persuasive on KIDS. there are many scenarios that can happen here but all of them involve children so immediately all of them are horrible hgfjkgdhsk. could very very honestly turn into something similar to monaca's plan, attacking her will be pretty difficult considering she has a lot of kids hostage

ryobe: evil mr beast. the worst parts of erin and rie and hell even sae combined. has millions of followers who will do literally anything for him, sets out hundreds upon thousands of death traps everywhere he goes. will absolutely 100% throw more ultimate talents into killing games just for good content. catch him alone and you could probably kill him but you will NEVER catch him alone because he is constantly surrounded by people who can and will die for him while also torturing you for views so good luck

andi: most likely wouldn't be there but just for fun andi but SUPER evil (like. somehow even more evil than she already was) is bad news. super bad news. andi being there means that you are likely in some virtual reality type of scenario which means she has complete and total control over everything around you, everything you eat and drink, and everything you experience. she's a rule-oriented machine so the scenario depends on whether or not she's been given instructions, but quite honestly you'd WANT this to be an instruction-less andi cuz she'd kill you quick

[boneheadboner]

Depths in Despair; Megalosomnia

Deep Down Deep Part 2/2

Things don't pan out for the Good doctor the way he had hoped. And under a mountain of work, it's no wonder a Slate fell by the wayside.

Fun is what he would have had…. Had he the chance to. 

Not long after she succumbed to his control, he brought her back to the lab and got her initially checked in. He took a few spare moments to check over her memories… Merely out of curiosity, to determine how long she evaded him.  And found that what was going on in her head was far more concerning than he initially thought. If the voices that spoke to her weren’t signs something was off about this woman, her memories certainly would have told him. It was as if swiss cheese had a love child with patchwork. Many memories of things that he’d not believe were he not able to observe them in her mind. And so, so many significant gaps. Troublingly so. Memories of her life on the surface were rare, and far more frequent were memories that… Held familiar faces, and yet so foreign. Even those were addled with holes and gaps. It seemed that Sonia hadn’t been underground long, and her time wandering through it before meeting him was the most clear any of her memories were. 

He’d dealt with subjects that had portions of their life locked away in their memories, as a result of traumas they had endured in life. It was always a case of finding what helped pull them forward, finding a key to that lock. This…? There were no locks to hide memories, there were no closed doors to memories too harsh to remember. 

Just complete sizable absences and gaping holes where memories should have been. Nothing to tether one memory to another. As perplexing as it was to analyze and assess, he was interrupted by Alphys. 

Something else demanded his attention more, which required he leave the new human to Cecilia to process further. Cecilia could handle it, after all. The blasted CORE. Another failure in sector B28-21. Always sector B28… If it wasn’t one problem there, it was another. 

Of course, being part of the CORE that distorted atoms to radiate ambient magic throughout the underground? Made it one of the primary necessities to keep running.

If so much as one sector went down, it could throw the whole CORE out of balance and cause a catastrophic meltdown. If it wasn’t such a boon to have in the first place, he’d happily track down the person who designed it, and throttle them.

If anyone even remembered WHO designed the thing… 

His last foray of frustrations towards the CORE’s creator, and desire to seek them out? Left him without any answers, and a week worth of time wasted for it.

Still, he wasted no time…

– … Because there was never any time to waste. Once the CORE was sorted out, which took him four days to narrow down and solve, due to juggling what other pressing issues he was presented with, there was another issue.

And another after that.

And another after that.

Resources distribution. 

Five hours, two cups of coffee. One tasting flavorful and robust, the second tasting quite obviously as though the assistant who brought it to him reheated it in the microwave. He’d have words for them later.

Tracking movements and changes in the underground. 

Two more births in Snowdin, fortunate news. A Falling Down in Waterfall, another lost to dwindling HoPe. Three moving from Hotland to Capitol. 

Seven hours, six cups of coffee. 

The first tasted so weak that Baggs questioned if he was drinking water and not coffee. The following three were of more serviceable quality. The remaining two tasted like tar, and were it not an invigorating tar, he’d have refused it. And Baggs made the decision that Casey was no longer allowed to bring him coffee after discovering he was responsible for preparing the last two. Bright as the man might be, he’s better suited to helping study the barrier than preparing coffee. 

Keeping systems in check, ensuring security detail is up to par. 

Two new humans were caught and transported to the lab. Cecilia reported that the two were significantly xenophobic, and hostile. Thus would be housed on Floor 18, Block 10. Block 10 was designated for more aggressive and dangerous humans, to be studied on how to rehabilitate or utilize even aggressive members of the species. 

Twelve hours (until interruption). Sixteen cups of coffee.

The first five, typical. With a far more bitter flavor at the fifth. Noted.

The sixth. It took him twenty minutes to try his first sip, so focused on his work that he hadn’t taken a sip until then. 

It felt like a heady jolt of energy flooded his body, the notes of the clearly fresh brew rising up, as if to sing to his senses. And the warmth as it melted into his magic thrived in his body, relaxing him far more than a cup of coffee typically did. 

He’d not seen who brought it, but he did make note of the sound of their walking. It did sound different from the usual assistants who brought him his coffee, but he didn’t think it important at the time. 

Perhaps one of the other scientists decided to brew him something nice. It couldn’t have been Alphys, as it had the lacking anxiety he could always taste in coffee prepared by her. 

No matter, the identity of the one who made this would be revealed in the next cup, he was certain. 

And disappointed with each proceeding cup brought to him over the hours. 

Seventh, from the same pot, but not prepared and delivered by the same hands as the one before. He could tell by the intentions that bled into the brew. The assistant who delivered it unintentionally let their emotions seep in and altered the feeling within the coffee he drank. 

Not the same. Not bad, but nowhere near as good as the prior mug. 

The assistant, a young whimsun monster named Fen, had panicked over his expression of disappointment… But, he reassured them and sent them on their way. The eighth, to the thirteenth, much the same. Decent, but disappointing by comparison. Fortunately a fresh pot was brewed by the tenth. 

Fourteenth cup of coffee, Baggs nearly spat it out. And demanded to know who prepared it, to find he was 13 minutes late to fuss at the one who concocted the nightmare that barely resembled coffee.

Fifteenth cup. Cecilia, It was fucking Cecilia. 

Not the one who brewed bliss in a mug, but the one who concocted terrors unknown into a coffee.

He had the good fortune to be done sending out a U-mail to ‘recommend’ a security plan for Waterfall, when the fresh cup was placed down, ready for him to take his first sip of it. And nearly spat it out again, placed the cup down roughly, and turned towards the offender. Reddish hair, tied in a bun, eye bags that rivaled his own hidden beneath reading glasses, and a look that held more contempt for humankind than any Monster was capable of. And she was human.Perhaps humans simply don’t know how to not brew a cup of coffee that tastes like every agitation in their present mind. 

“Cecilia, what is this supposed to be?” Perhaps his tone was far less reserved than usual, but he did imbibe something foul that masqueraded as coffee. The woman just looked at him flatly. Her response was equally as dead in tone as her gaze. “Coffee, sir.” She retorted, Baggs was no stranger to her sass. Usually it made days entertaining. 

Those days were not ones he was served bad coffee. “My dear, did you even try a cup of that? That is death in a mug.” Baggs fussed. 

Cecilia looked at the cup, and then at Baggs. Her expression was perplexed. He pried at her mind, to determine whether or not she realized she almost poisoned him. Only to find that she was genuinely confused. “... You mean that coffee isn’t supposed to taste like shit?” An exasperated sigh, and a shake of his head. “Cecilia, you are henceforth banned from preparing or bringing anyone coffee. That tastes so bitter, I’d dare not have another monster drink it, lest they dust on contact.” “Fine by me, sir.” Cecilia responded, before placing some papers on his already tall workload of information to analyze. “What is–” “The information regarding the new ones.” Cecilia sighed, before turning to walk away. 

Baggs gave pause for a moment. New… Ah, right. Humans. “Oh, uh. Sir? There’s been a mag-lock failure on Floor 17, Block 8.” Baggs sputtered, shooting the woman a glare. “And you thought to mention this in passing, why?!” he blurted out. 

Cecilia stared at him, before offering a shrug. “The one contained there is a non-issue. She’s not going to cause anyone problems.” If he didn’t trust Cecilia’s judgment when it came to her fellow humans, he’d have far more words for her. 

But for her to make such a statement? Meant that the human contained in such a cell was likely terrified of her, and would make a whimsun look brave. 

“Ugh… I’ll send a U-mail to request immediate work on it.” Baggs scoffed. “Don’t you mean E-mail?” The red-head looked at him, with a sly smirk on her face. Baggs certainly didn’t have the time nor desire to get into this with her again. “You’re dismissed, Cecilia.” “Understood, sir.” Cecilia smirked, before she absconded. 

Likely to do her damn job and oversee Floor 16-18. And fortunately not to unleash terrors unbeknownst to monsterkind by trying to fix someone a drink. And it was imperative that he have that Mag-lock issue sorted out. Were a human to get out, and find a way out of the labs? It would be absolute chaos. 

–

With another 11 U-Mails sent out, two specifically to make demands regarding the mag-lock, and one to Asgore as an update on matters that he wanted to know about. Another cup was brought to Baggs. 

He had noted the click of heels upon the floor, and the cup being set down. With a heavy sigh, he took a drink of the fresh brew as the clicking of heels started again towards the door. The invigoration, the warmth– “WAIT!” Baggs nearly shot up as he called out… And spilled some of the blessed brew on himself in the process. He could mourn spilled bliss later. Barely catching a glimpse of the taller woman before casting his gaze downward at the spill on his labcoat in frustration. “M-Master!!” The clicks sped towards him, before the owner of them dropped to her knees. As a kerchief was very hastily applied by gentle hands to soak up as much of the spilled coffee. “Master, are you alright? Oh s-stars, you didn’t get burned, did you?? I’m so sorry…!” The woman’s voice was wrought with anxiety.

Stars, he should know her name, shouldn’t he? Especially with how wonderfully she addresses him… And perhaps stroked his ego just right.

“I– No, I’m fine. I merely wanted to–” Auburn brown hair, tied in a bun. Large glasses. Green eyes. Pale complexion.

“Sonia?” 

“I– Y-Yes master?” She halted her fretting over his wellbeing to look up at him. 

The human he brought in nearly a week ago. He didn’t immediately recognize her, she looked so different in formal attire. A white coat cinched tightly around her, accentuating her curves. A simple black pencil skirt, sheer pantyhose with black stockings on top. And a pair of white pumps.

Baggs found himself immediately remembering that he sorely needed to alleviate stress–

A rough clearing of his throat was necessary, business before pleasure, he reminded himself. 

He still had to thoroughly examine her and ensure she wasn’t a risk, by… Ensuring she was loyal, before she was permitted to walk around the labs. Baggs kept his tone gentle, remembering how skittish the woman was when he had first met. Given that he hadn’t had the chance to fully condition her, it’s entirely likely she’d be just as nervous. “Aehm… How, did you get out?” Baggs softly queried.

Sonia bit her lip, and looked away meekly. “Um… I… A-Asked very nicely…?” “Mmm hmm…” His tone was that of disbelief. She began fidgeting with her hands. “O-Okay so um… There was an issue with my door… It uh… Doesn’t close like everyone else's…” Ah, so this was the person who had been designated to that cell. With such a timid disposition, it’s no wonder Cecilia let it slide. “But..! It made it so I could actually help out, a-and help out Ms. Cecilia! She’s scary a-at first, but she’s a good person. She even helped me get new clothes on my second day here..!” Sonia explained, a warm smile on her face.

That solved that mystery. Did Cecilia dress her that way on purpose, just to fuck with him?

“I see… And the coffee?” Sonia lit up with excitement, he could feel it from her. “Oh! Yes! See um… E-Earlier in the day there was some fuss regarding the coffee maker making a weird noise.. So I thoroughly cleaned it, checked it to e-ensure that there was nothing loose or damaged… Aaaand brewed a fresh batch, to test it~! Suffice to say, problem solved!” She beamed with pride, satisfied with her small victory.

That sort of satisfaction and fulfillment certainly explains how that earlier cup wound up so potent. 

“A-and, well… Since I got to fix it, I… Wanted to deliver a cup specially for you…” Her voice shrunk so much, as she idly twirled a strand of her hair and averted her gaze. 

Oh. Oh.How curious.

“Well, I HAD meant this cup, but it is nice to know that you’re the one who brought me coffee earlier.”

“Oh… This time? um! Ms. Cecilia requested a fresh batch of coffee. Something about you b-being in an awful mood! So I… Well. I wanted to make sure I made the best cup I could, to… Well, bring a little sunshine into your day?” Sonia looked up at him, with such a gentle and hopeful look. 

“Well, then I personally shall–” It looked as though something clicked in her head, and the woman was back into an anxious rambling mess.  “M-Master, am I in trouble? I k-know I’m not supposed to be out b-but I only wanted to help– I m-mean it’s OKAY if I’m in trouble, I promise I can handle it if I need to be p-punished. I d-don’t mean to tell you what to do, but if I’ve personally upset you, I–” “Sonia.” “Y-Yes Master.” A simple word, and the human woman fell quiet, wincing her eyes shut as she lowered her head.

Baggs cleared his throat. “While you are not in trouble for this, there are questions I have regarding… Well…” Baggs trailed off. Where to even start? It was a significant security risk for a human he personally hadn’t cleared to be running around. Gentle or not. Furthermore, being permitted to bring him coffee that they could have theoretically and literally tainted is something that can’t be overlooked...

“Well… I suppose those questions are more for Cecilia…” Baggs mused out loud, frowning. 

“Then… What questions do you have for me, Master?” Sonia asked, tilting her head in confusion. The one that was confusing the moment she started talking to him. 

Her apparent loyalty. “I… You seem so… Eager to call me ‘Master’.. And yet I’ve not asked you to. It piqued my curiosity.” 

And Baggs would love to hear what manner of reasoning she would have for that. After all, he hadn’t really subjected her to the conditioning he’d need to for such loyalty to become second nature. 

Sonia blushed, before looking down. “... I felt it.” 

Baggs raised his browbone at the statement.

“When you silenced all those voices I… Felt it. Your magic… How it called to me. How it called for me to serve… To obey…” Sonia shivered a bit, her blush deepening. 

A wry smirk grew on his face. “And you… Didn’t even try to fight it~?” Sonia looked up at him, with a frustrated pout at his accusation. That was expected.

“After all the good you’ve done me?!”

Her words? Were not. Baggs was taken aback, looking upon the human woman before him. It was possible he looked like a whimsun caught doing, well… Anything, with the expression of sheer shock on his face. “Since the day I woke up, everything has been loud. Everything has been loud for as long as I can remember, for all I can remember…!” Her voice was filled with pain and confusion. “I can breathe, I can think without h-having to worry about being overwhelmed by all the things I’m hearing that make no sense, I can make my own thoughts about whatever I see, without hearing twenty different voices loudly arguing over what choices I make and what things I say…” Sonia carried on, before looking up at him. The tears prickling at her eyes were visible, but it did not make their presence any less surprising to him. 

“I’m thankful, Master. And I am happy to help you in any and every way I can. You’ve brought me something I never knew I needed. You brought me peace, Master. I only hope that I can even begin to return the favor.”

Baggs had conditioned many humans. His experiments required both willing and unwilling participants, and spanned many methods. All to further monsterkind’s safety and hopeful co-existence with mankind. 

Even Cecilia, who despised her own species, required conditioning to become loyal to him. So he would know that she wouldn’t, couldn’t betray him. To have a human kneel before him on their own full volition, after a mere few hours of his magic several days ago? He’d have never considered it. 

And yet, here one was.  

Something like this was… Simply put, too good to be true. 

And so he peered into her thoughts, there had to be some manner of plot something she was planning–

A memory. So close to the forefront, he could tell she was remembering it fondly.

-

An expanse of dark blues and blacks, splayed overhead, pricks and pins of white in the ceiling.

“... Y’know, before I met you, I… I always kinda took this for granted.”

Her voice, carrying on. Not echoed or reverberating in the room. 

Chirps of crickets abound in the grass around her.

Another voice, deeper in tone. Familiar.

“heh… well, you coulda fooled me. you never took our stars for granite.”

Those… Were… Stars??

“Well–” a pause, before she snorted, and giggled. “Nice~... Well, there’s nothing wrong with feeling sedimental about yours. I mean, a dazzling ceiling full of sparkling gems? Kinda rocks~.” 

“heh, not bad. but don’t be too rough on yourself. for you? a sight like this was just a stone’s throw for you to see.” the other voice responded.

Seems that Sonia and this other person had a sense of humor…

“Yeah, but you literally had to move– out of – a mountain to see this!” Sonia lightheartedly fussed. 

“heh… and you had to fall into a mountain to see things crystal clear.” the other voice responded. “Yeah… Well…” She trailed off. A somber note in her voice. “At this rate, it’s like Sisyphus for you to even enjoy this.” 

“... and it doesn’t stop being worth it. trust me, nothin’ peats this”

“Sans…?”

Wait… Had she known even back then that he’d be–

“yeah?”

Sonia looked over at the other person. A skeleton, with a blue hoodie, white t-shirt, and black basketball shorts laid lazily in the grass. His arms folded behind his head. 

What….?? That… That looked so much like him, before he…

Sonia stared at him, staying silent for a few moments. “... sheesh, was it that bad?” 

“... I promise you. No matter how many times you have to push that boulder back up…? You won’t ever have to do it alone again.”

“hey, now. don’t go promising things you might not be able to keep.” “I won’t promise you then… I’ll pumice you.” A look of surprise, before the both of them devolved into giggles. 

“oh man, that was so bad…” 

“Look, with a last name like ‘Slate’, you think I’d have to dig for rock jokes? I learned them real early.” 

“.... like ‘archeology’ early or?” An exasperated gasp, before she looked over at him. 

The skeleton started laughing. “Y.. You! I’m not that old!! I’m 27, going on 28! Not 27 going on 200!!” Sonia fussed. “you sure about that? how long have you been 27 going on 28?” He asked through laughs.

“You know that’s a loaded question! How am I supposed to keep track of how old I am if things keep RESETTING?” …!! She… Knew about that? Nevermind, she’s experienced that??

“heh, now you know why i took so long the first time you asked me, ‘sans, how old are you?’.” “Hmph!” Sonia fussed, before rolling over and pinning her hands on each side of the ground next to the skeleton’s head.

He… didn’t even flinch?

“oh, wouldja look at that. ‘view got even better.” the lazy smile tugged up more, as did his eyesockets. 

“If I’m ancient Egyptian artifacts, then you’re dinosaur bones, you dork!” Sonia huffed. “... like… cretaceous period or triassic period? the difference there is pretty jurassic.” he gave a wink. 

“... I mean it though… As long as I can be there for you? I will be. As long as I’m alive, you won’t have to face this eternal hell alone. I promise.” A firm sense of confidence and determination.

A soft sigh escaped the skeleton, as he looked up at her.

“... thank you, sonia… you… don’t know how much that means to me…”

“Master??”

“Master, are you alright???” -

“Master! Please, speak to me…!!”

Baggs gasped as he snapped back to reality. Stars, that memory was so vivid, it practically pulled him in… And left him with more questions than answers.

“Oh thank goodness. M-Master, you zoned out there for a moment… I was worried! D.. Did I offend you? Or… Oh stars, um… Listen, I… I don’t know what happened? B-But I’m here for you.” Sonia offered, her tears overflowing. 

When did his vision get so blurry?

Was he…. How was he going to explain that one? “I… You’re fine, my dear. I was… Simply moved to tears by your display of such… Such inspiring loyalty.” 

It wasn’t a complete lie.

“Oh… I.. Oh gosh, I… I didn’t think it was that special, but…” Sonia averted her gaze, shrinking a bit. “More special than you know…” Baggs gave pause, to compose himself. 

“Now, you are not in trouble. However, there are procedures for handling new humans, as I’m sure you’re aware. To ensure that you’re in good health, and that you’re properly documented as safe to roam.”

Sonia blushed a bit. “O-Oh! Gosh… I’m so sorry… I-It’s been awhile, and I didn’t mean to skip any sort of line… I’m sorry.” She looked sheepishly guilty. 

“No no, you’re fine. I’m the one who must conduct these procedures personally, and there were many things that came up of critical importance, and… Admittedly your processing fell by the wayside. But, rest assured. I’ll handle that as soon as I am able to.” Baggs explained, watching how her gaze fixed onto him as he spoke.

Fascinating. “Oh! So… I think I understand now. Thank you, Master. Shall I return to my cell and um… Remain there until further orders?” Sonia queried. He did need time to think about the new information he obtained from her. The surface… Somehow, someway, she had seen someone like him, with his name, on the surface… And they spoke of the RESETs…

“Yes, I think that would be perfect. Worry not, it won’t be much longer, pet.” 

The last word slipped so easily from his mouth, he furrowed his brow as he realized what he said by mistake.

But he did not miss the squeak she made, or how her lip quivered and her flush deepened at that single three letter word. 

Oh.

Well then. That explained her eagerness to call him such a title. “I… Y-Y-Yes, Master. I’ll be patient. I um, I hope you e-enjoy the coffee. I-If you ever need any when I’m able to roam, you n-need only say the words…” Sonia shakily stood up. With a coffee as resplendent as she prepares? Stars… The amount of work he could get done with ease… 

“Oh, rest assured. I won’t hesitate to call upon you if I’m in need of a cup.” The warm smile and light giggle that escaped her was like sunshine. “You are dismissed.” Baggs calmly waved his hand. A simple nod, and he could hear Sonia’s heels clicking with vigor. “Don’t run in those, you’ll break your ankles.” He swiftly chided.

“Y-Yes, Master!” 

And with that, his new pet– subject left. 

Baggs sighed, there was certainly going to be much to study with her, he could tell. He returned to his chair, to finish what information he needed to dispense with the remaining U-mails. As he took a sip of his coffee, feeling that warmth and invigoration flood his body, he pondered a whirlwind of new questions and information to mull over.

Frankly, he’d been quite lucky that it was her cell that had the mag-lock failure. Had it remained in tact, he might not be blessed with such a reprieve from the usual, much less comforted from the catastrophe that was Cecilia’s coffee. 

Upon consideration, added another question to the pile;

What sort of emotions did she feel when she made this coffee?

[milekael]

belen and sonia, 3 and 17!!!!! (also idk if tumblr is Broken or uve never posted about sonia before, but shes mentioned in belens profile dealy in one of ur posts, so im like. Who Is That 👁 lmao)

HEHEHE So far I haven't really posted about Sonia! Or well, at least I haven't mentioned her and haven't made her profile card SDFGHJ I have some art of her laying around though! (The first one is really old though. The second one has her updated face markings)

For context. She and Belen met a long time ago because of Amelia, a mutual friend who eventually starting dating Belen. When she went missing, Belen and Sonia became way closer as they tried to find her. Eventually Sonia became very.... infatuated with Belen, even if she knows she will always be second place in Belen's heart...

She is also a prosecutor!! and of a very high position, so she is generally very good assistance in the story!

ANYWAY QUESTIONS!!

3- What were their first impressions of each other? How does that compare to their impressions of each other now?

For Belen, she found her kind of intriguing when they meet, basically being Amelia's silent shadow which she always asked for her opinion or advice. When realizing that Sonia is very smart and a good planner that always has a way for them to do what they wanted without being caught ("That wouldn't be advisable, instead, you should do this, that way, legally there is plausible deniability") she started to see what Amelia saw in her, not just in usefulness but also that she had a very interesting way of expressing things. They are friends :)

Now Sonia is the only person that Belen shares basically everything, even the things that she hides from everyone else. Not only will Sonia never tell a soul, but her input allows Belen to find better solutions, to the point she really wouldn't have gotten as far as she has without her advice. She hates to admit it but she is dependent on Sonia's help not just in planning but also emotionally. She... doesn't think she loves her. Maybe she does, or maybe she just appreciates how close they are. But I mean, as long as Amelia might be out there, there is no use thinking about that...

From Sonia's part, when they first meet she was a bit off put by Belen's strong personality, but eventually came to adore it because ey! That's someone that is not paralyzed by choice anxiety! Belen is a really easy person to like socially. I think Sonia already had a small crush back then, but I mean, she also had a crush on Amelia and probably other women of the group. This was around the 50's so this woman is deeeep in the closet.

Now Sonia is just- straight up obsessed with Belen, infatuated with whatever the hell she is doing. I think having such a strong personality in her life that constantly says she needs her and that she would be nothing without her help did something to her brain LOL If is love love or just codependency is... a good question sdfgh

17- Are they keeping a secret together? How do they feel about that?

Literally any of Belen's past actions and future plans, which some are very... ;) They are very big secrets even in the story.

Belen is weird about it. She likes having control over absolutely everything so having a second person know sometimes stresses her out. Then she remembers that person is Sonia and she calms down because she knows she is basically the only person 100% under her control ❤️ She just has to make sure she keeps it!

And Sonia values a lot being Belen's confidante. Even if she sometimes feels conflicted over her actions, she rationalizes them because! Belen depends on her! And she can't disappoint her :( So she would really not tell anyone, these secrets are what keeps them close ❤️

[eternal-love-song]

Point Your Blade Toward Freedom

Kaede practices her swordplay, falls on her ass, gets back up again, and grows up slowly.

[Kaede & Maki, Kaede & Kokichi, Kaede & Sonia, Kaede & Gundham]

[Fire Emblem, Fantasy, Kaede POV, Friendship]

Kaede had always had a love of music. Ever since she was little, she could be found trying to hum any song she heard and following musicians around the palace.Her parents used to have to scoop her up and hold her tight to keep her from trying to follow any visiting music troupe right out of the palace when they were done performing.

Once she was old enough, they had encouraged her to follow her musical dreams. She couldn't carry a tune very well herself, even though she did enjoy singing, and many instruments failed to hold her attention early on. She played the organ with her father and enjoyed the way he could always find a way to make her laugh when she did so, but she much preferred the softer sound of the piano. Even then, as much as she did enjoy playing, it wasn't enough to satisfy her. What really ended up being her passion, was dancing.

There was something magical dance. Something magical in her. Somehow, she was able to gather up the love and energy she felt for her art and share it with those that watched her. Her father attributed it to latent magical talent and tried to encourage her to learn the craft, but magical text never interested her. Her mother said that her footwork would transfer well to battle and mourned over the potential loss of putting Kaede on a horse or pegasus. Kaede had never been very good with a spear though, so there was no helping it.

"Are you sure that I can't get you on a horse, Kaede?" her mother asked while stroking her pegasus's hide lovingly.

Kaede shook her head. "I can't really dance on a horse, mom, and dancing is what I'm good at."

Her mother twirled around to face her. "But what if you could? You could be the first ever sky dancer!"

Nervous laughter bubbled up from Kaede's lips. "That sounds dangerous."

"Out of my way, peasants, it's the sky dancer!" her mother called, acting out whatever scene was playing in her head by moving dramatically around the room. Kaede couldn't see the vision, though she was sure her father would have been able to follow along flawlessly if he were here. That must be what it meant to find true love, they would share your delusions and be able to look into your mind.

Kaede sighed longing at the thought. She admired her parents, even though they could be a little wacky at times. She hoped that someday she could find someone to love as much as they did.

"What are you sighing about, Kaede?" her mother asked, before the excitement lit her eyes again. "Have you been drawn in by my vision?"

"Not a chance!" Kaede shook her head. There was no reasoning with her parents sometimes.

Since she couldn't be talked onto a horse or out of combat training, her mother settled on teaching swordplay.

"A rapier would be best," her mother said. "It relies more on accuracy than strength."

Kaede smiled widely. "Thanks, mom."

Kaede couldn't say that she was very good with a sword. She was good enough to protect herself, but she really wasn't a fighter. She was much better supporting her allies by dancing, giving them the energy to continue fighting. She needed to know how to protect herself though. Not just because she was a princess and therefore could be in danger at any time, but also because she wanted to travel. She didn't want to be locked up in the castle all day. She didn't want the only towns she saw to be through a carriage window.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Maki questioned as she examined her blade. "Trying to travel alone?"

"I wouldn't be alone," she insisted. "You and Kokichi would come with me, right?"

"I suppose," Maki agreed. She moved into a fighting stance and Kaede followed suit, checking her stance against Maki's as she always did. "Do you really think that's enough?"

"Of course." Kaede launched herself forward, trying to land a hit on Maki, but her blade was artfully parried at every thrust. "Why? Don't you think… you can protect me?" she panted slightly.

Maki did something with her blade and the next thing Kaede knew, her rapier was sliding across the floor, having been knocked from her hand. "Not sure you can afford to rely on just me."

Kaede huffed as she looked at Maki. "No fair. How are you so good at this?"

Maki shrugged and looked away, sliding her blade into a sheath at her hip. "Maybe you're just bad."

"Hey!"

"You should think about this more carefully," Maki told her seriously. There was a shadow in her eyes, something painful haunting her that Kaede couldn't see. "There are dangerous people out there. A princess should have more than a few novice soldiers with her."

Kaede pouted as Maki walked away. She didn't think the girl seemed much like a novice to her. OoOoOoOoOo

"Can you believe her!" Kaede yelled, her body pitching forward with the swing of her blade, her anger causing her to put far too much force into her swing.

Kokichi was fast, he'd dodged around her swing to end up behind her before she had even noticed, only his hand on her back pushing her forward telling her where he had gone. The extra momentum nearly tripped her up, but she was able to whirl around on her toes to face him again, staying on her feet. He clapped as he watched her, a wide grin on her face. "Wow, that was impressive! I thought you were gonna eat dirt for sure!"

"Shut up!"

"And of course that's what Maki said," he shrugged. "Her whole thing is being ominous and alarmist. You think you'd have noticed that by now."

Kaede pitched forward again, trying to strike at him, but Kokichi continued to dodge out of the way, just barely evading her blade at times. Just which one of them was the dancer here?

"Do you agree?" she asked, a little breathlessly.

Kokichi dropped down under her next swing and kicked her legs out from underneath her. "Nope!"

"Ow," she groaned. "Cheater!"

"No such thing as cheating in a fight, princess." Kokichi leaned down beside her. "Maki's right about one thing, it's dangerous out there. People will kill you and the ones that won't, will take you. You can't go out into a dangerous world unless you're willing to be dangerous yourself."

"Isn't that what you're for?" she asked, pushing herself up.

"No, that's what Maki is for," he corrected. "I'm a backup plan. Your own skills are a last line of defense."

"Then--"

"Then," he cut her off, raising his voice to speak over her. "Your skills are the most important. You need to be good enough to escape if something happens to us."

Kaede huffed as she pushed herself to her feet. "If I can do it on my own, then what's the point of having you two with me?"

Kokichi laughed. "So that you don't have to, dummy!"

"I'm not dumb!"

"You're acting pretty dumb," he said, standing back up. "The queen can fight, but she still has a royal guard. The boss isn't going around taking out all the bandits in the area. They can protect themselves if they need to, but they aren't trying to fight every battle on their own."

Kaede sighed. "This sucks."

Kokichi shrugged. "Things suck," he agreed. "Get over it."

OoOoOoOoOo "I hate swords!" She said, dropping hers to the ground as she sprawled across the table. Her father didn't actually look over at her, too busy chanting over a bubbling pot, but the action made her feel better anyway. She couldn't tell whether he was cooking soup or boiling up a pure water, since he used the same dramatic flare for both. "Ugghhh," she groaned out, more as a bid to get her father's attention than because it made her feel better. Though it did make her feel a little bit better.

"What foul plague has endeavored to swallow you up, my cherub?" He turned from whatever was bubbling in his pot to give her half his attention.

"The way of the sword is the path of pain!" She sounded a bit more whiny than she wanted to, but she didn't think her father would mind much.

"There is a remedy to your peril," he told her.

"Not magic!"

He pressed a hand to his heart as if she had jabbed a dagger into it. "Spurned once more by the light of my holy protege."

"Dad."

"Alas, I will have to rely upon my dark pupil to pass along the secrets of the crown."

Kaede slammed her hands on the table as she stood up. "Hey!"

He smirked as he turned to face her more. "Something wrong?"

"Your daughter is right here! Don't talk about replacing me."

He chuckled, crossing his arms and striking a pose as he looked down at her. "Have you not all but rejected the dark secrets held in my forbidden tomes?"

"Are you not my sire and sworn to my love and service?"

He took a few steps away from his cauldron to stand before her. "The cherub pretends her gaze is on the sky, but she seeks the power so oft refused. Perhaps if you beg on your knees I shall reconsider my tutelage."

Kaede sighed and hung her head. "I'm sorry, dad, will you please help me?"

He placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair. "Of course. Upon the completion of my elixir, we shall test your prowess."

"It's bad."

"I know."

She wilted back into her chair with a sigh and he returned to his cauldron. A few moments later there was a burst of magical energy around her and she found herself being cuddled by dad's pets. The Devas never failed to cheer her up and by the time her dad was finished she found that her mood had lightened considerably.

Her dad didn't spar with her. Instead what he did was correct her on her stance, the way she held her sword, the way she moved, where her eyes were focusing, all the little things that she hadn't been thinking enough about. He used his magic to help her try and improve her dodging. Dark magic was slow and he made sure to telegraph his attacks enough that she was able to start thinking about her movements a bit more than before.

Moving from dancing to dodging became easier. As did moving from dancing to slashing. Even if she wasn't fighting anyone while he practiced with her, she still felt like she was improving.

Maybe the rapier wasn't that bad after all?

OoOoOoOoOo

"You've gotten better," Maki said from her position above Kaede. Her entire backside hurt from the way Maki had knocked her to the ground, but the bout had lasted much longer than it would have years ago, even months ago.

"Thanks," she groaned as she struggled to push herself into a sitting position. Maki reached down to pull her up with one hand, making her blush at how easily she was able to lift Kaede up. "Um, dad's been helping me."

Maki raised an eyebrow. "King Gundham can use a blade?"

Kaede shook her head. "No." She paused. "Well, maybe, but he hasn't been… Dad's just a really good teacher."

Maki blew out a breath as she looked away. "I guess he would have to be, to get anything into Kokichi's thick skull."

"They get along really well."

"Don't remind me," Maki sighed. "Being in a room with them both gives me a headache."

Kaede smiled. "I think it's fun."

"You would."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Maki ignored her, sheathing her sword and moving to pick up Kaede's, holding it out to her. Kaede accepted without a fuss.

"You might just be good enough to not die."

That made Kaede perk up and she smiled brightly as she looked at Maki. "Really?"

"Don't let it go to your head," Maki told her. "You still need a lot of practice."

That failed to dim her smile in the slightest and she fell into step with Maki as she began to walk off. "I maintain that I'll have you to protect me. I'm not worried."

Maki just shook her head. "You really shouldn't count on that."

"But I do," she insisted, linking her arm with Maki's. "I trust you."

Maki's face scrunched up for a moment, but she just nodded. "Yeah, I know."

Kaede could never tell what Maki was thinking, but she hoped that whatever thoughts were tumbling around in her head weren't anything too bad.

OoOoOoOoOo Kaede hadn't always had this burning need to travel on her own. When she was younger, her mother would sometimes take her for a ride on her pegasus and she couldn't have been more content with those brief trips. No, it was only after Kokichi and Maki had shown up that the desire to travel had begun to bubble up inside her. It was the first time she had really wondered what the rest of the world was like.

Kokichi and Maki didn't talk about where they came from much. There were occasional hints, but if she tried asking questions, Maki would clam up and Kokichi would usually lie. Granted, some of the stories Kokichi told were really interesting and often fed her desire to explore her kingdom, but she never learned anything about him from these tales. She wasn't even sure how much of what he said about the world itself was true. That meant the only thing she could do was to go out and see for herself.

But in order to do that she needed her parents permission. To get her parents permission, she needed to master the sword. Or at least, she needed to be decent enough with it that she could protect herself.

"Y-you're getting hurt a lot less than you used to," Cleric Mikan said, smiling as she put down her healing staff. "I take it your training is going well."

"It's going," she sighed. "I still can't beat Kokichi or Maki though."

Mikan giggled. "Kokichi doesn't fight you though, does he? I heard that he likes to fight like a thief."

"He hasn't yet," she admitted. "He always has a weapon, but he's never used it on me." She pouted without meaning to. "He just dodges all the time and pushes me around."

Mikan smiled kindly at her. "Do you want him to fight you?"

"I don't want him to keep winning so easily," she sighed.

Mikan reached out to stroke her hair gently, something she had done to aede since she was small. It used to be a calming gesture for when Mikan needed to heal her, but now it was just warm and affectionate. "They're supposed to protect you though, right? Shouldn't they be stronger than you?"

Kaede pouted more. "I guess, but still!"

Mikan giggled again. "If it makes you feel better, I hear he sometimes sits in on training with Akane. Maybe that's why he's gotten so much better."

Kaede drooped in her chair. "That's no fair."

"You could do the same thing," Mikan told her.

She shook her head immediately. "No way! Akane would eat me alive. She's been asking to train me since I was little and I think she threatened to roll me down a hill once when I was four to toughen me up. I don't want to know what she'd do to me now."

Mikan laughed even more. "W-well, if you do find yourself, um, being rolled down any hills, I'll patch you up."

Kaede managed to smile at her. "Thanks." OoOoOoOoOo

Kaede had been studying the sword for three years when she finally decided that she was ready. She had been training for years and if she wasn't good enough by this point, she never would be. And never was an unacceptable outcome!

She marched to her parents' study, threw open the doors, and immediately proclaimed, "You have to let me go!"

Her father was sitting in an armchair with a book on his lap, while her mother was sitting on the arm of the chair and looking over his shoulder. They both looked up at her sudden arrival. Her mother smiled slyly, pushing her hair behind her ear. "And where is it that we need to let you go, Kaede?"

"I have been practicing with the rapier for ages and I think enough is enough," she said firmly.

"It seems the light bringer has become rebellious," her father said, turning his head to face her mother.

"So it does," mother replied, hiding her smile behind her hands. "Whatever are we to do with such a headstrong child?"

Kaede put her hands on her hips. "Don't talk about me like I'm not here."

"Our apologies," mother said. "You have our full attention, dear, do go on."

Kaede nodded. "There's only so much progress that I can possibly make while fighting in the same battles against the same people. At this point, they've probably learned my moves too well for me to be a threat to them. The only way to know if I'm any good is to go up against other people and that means that you need to let me leave. I'll learn way more on an adventure than I ever could locked up in this castle all day."

Silence followed her rant, her parents waiting to see if she was done. Once it was clear that she was, they exchanged looks. After a moment, her father stood.

"As the wheel of destiny turns ever faster, the cherub must spread her wings and soar towards the sun." He tossed out his hand in a pose. "If you are to leave this place, you will not do so unencumbered."

Kaede stepped forward and met her father's eyes with a determined gaze. "What do you require?"

"Enter into a covenant with me," he declared. "Should you agree to the terms, only then shall you obtain freedom from this cage."

"I'll hear the terms," she said firmly, nodding in agreement.

Her mother stood, walking around her father and placing a hand on Kaede's shoulder. "First, if we let you leave, you must not go alone. Someone must be with you at all times, understood?"

"I understand."

Her mother smiled, before her expression hardened again. "Two, Maki and Kokichi and to remain at your side. If anything happens to them, you will return immediately. If they are kidnapped, you will not try to save them. You aren't suited to that type of mission and you need to understand that."

That one was harder to agree to. Even knowing that she wasn't as good at fighting as Maki, she hated the idea of potentially leaving her friends if anything happened. Her stubborn nature warred with her common sense, but ultimately, it was her faith in her friends that made her agree. She trusted them to keep themselves safe. Such a precaution shouldn't be needed."

"Alright."

And finally…" her mother took a deep breath. "You will let your father weave his magic into your cloak. Should you need it, should anything happen, should the danger be greater than you can overcome, you will activate the seal and allow it to transport you back here immediately. Agreed?"

"I…" Kaede hesitated. The wording was ambiguous but she knew how such spells usually worked. They were one person only and if she used it, it would mean teleporting to safety alone, leaving Maki and Kokichi behind. "I… can't do that.."

Her mother glared and in that moment, she felt that she was no longer talking to her parent, but to the queen. "You can and you will." She leaned down slightly, tilting Kaede's head up so that their gaze met. "You are our only daughter, the princess of Novoselic. We will not risk your safety."

[aparticularbandit]

Things I like to play around with re: Ryoko/Junko backstory but probably won't use:

Secondary heir to a great family (similar to Byakuya, Sonia, Fuyuhiko).

Useless/Unwanted spare (her mother was only meant to have one child but had twins instead whoops).

Mukuro remained the sole known daughter of her parents; Ryoko was either left somewhere to die and got picked up by one of the maids/servants who couldn't leave a baby abandoned somewhere or was given the the servant to raise on her own as a back-up in case something happened to Mukuro or Ryoko was given to a servant with explicit instructions to have her killed and the servant just. didn't. (This gives credence to Junko's comment that she was born into despair.)

Ryoko and Mukuro didn't know they were twin sisters until later and grew up only sort of as friends. (Mukuro was probably encouraged to bully Ryoko because, you know, servant's kid and all that.)

But Ryoko has her dad's hair, and there are enough rumors about things that Ultimate Analyst Ryoko Otonashi figures it out.

Ryoko tells Mukuro, who absolutely doesn't believe her (and maybe doesn't want to believe her for reasons (if you want to go Despaircest route)). But Mukuro asks her dad about it (he says no) and then asks her mom about it, and her mom breaks into tears, which tells her the truth more than her dad ever did.

After this, Ryoko and Mukuro are inseparable. Mukuro requires her sister bestie to go with them on big trips. (Her parents encourage her to bring a friend! Her dad wants her to bring someone from her super elite school (reader's choice if that's the Elementary Division of Hope's Peak), but Mukuro only ever wants to bring Ryoko. It's possible this was true even before they found out they were sisters, too.) Her dad hates this.

Mukuro's parents very clearly understand that Ryoko is their other daughter. Her dad hates her. Her mom is just glad she's not dead.

Fenrir is an assassin group. They are not in the market for middle school children applicants. It's likely they were meant to kidnap Mukuro - or that their dad hired them to kill Ryoko and Mukuro joined up with them instead. (Mukuro spent three years with Fenrir? So 7-9th grade? Probably?)

This only increased their dad's hatred of Ryoko, and eventually, she ran away.

At this point, we have reason to believe Yasuke was orphaned, so Ryoko probably went to hide with him. (And then they both ran further away because if her dad knew anything, he would know the first place to look would be with Yasuke.)

Ryoko became Junko for two reasons: 1) because different name and different appearance would keep her dad off their backs and 2) Ultimate Fashionista level modeling career means they have enough money to live off of.

Mukuro finds out about Junko on a mission. Probably finds out that there's a scandal involving her. Leaves Fenrir. (It's possible the scandal involves their dad? This makes the most sense.)

Junko and Mukuro slaughter their parents and the entire family complex. Mukuro starts the slaughter probably re: scandal involving Junko and Junko steps in, not offering mercy to their mother or her adoptive family. Their mother didn't care about them enough to save her, and if her adoptive family had known better, they would have killed her instead of trying to keep her alive. It would have fixed the whole thing. Mukuro would have never needed to know, and it would have spared them all of this pain.

I play with this as I go, but this is like. probably the general shape of what's in the back of mind re: etc. And then might use bits and pieces of this in stuff.

I'd be modifying it a bit in The Thin Line Duology because Chiaki but. It's a good way of making sense of the tiny stuff Junko says with regards to her past, explains why she would have a different last name as Ryoko (as well as why she'd want a second name as Junko, even though stage name is just as good an answer there), and then also gives me nice parallels with the Warriors of Hope and your parents abused you and now you have to kill them to level up.

(It also gives a good reason for Despaircest hints in canon coming from the case of oh no you're my sister but these feelings are already here because I didn't know. Which. Admittedly. I still don't like. And won't be writing because I don't ship Despaircest and have no intention of writing it. Ever. But reader's choice, there's a spot for that, I guess.)

I just. return to these thoughts frequently.

[ellestra]

Better without action scenes

I waited a week to write down my thoughts about the Secret Invasion and I'm still not sure what they are. There were moments when I almost liked the show but then they were instantly squandered by some baffling and incomprehensible decisions.

It's one of those shows so hellbent on keeping its viewers guessing it becomes impossible to either track or care what is happening.

Peple concentrate on the things like bad CGI or boring fights but the truth is bad special effects never really stop people from engaging with a story (see Doctor Who or puppet shows). You will suspend disbelief if you want as long as the story is engaging enough. As long as you follow emotional journeys and plotlines. When they become all scrambled by trying to shock the viewer it all falls apart.

MCU uses to be really good at remembering that but recently they are slacking. It becomes an exercises of going from one cool idea to another cool idea but the connection between them seems to drawn by crayons.

Like everything between Fury and his wife was great. The history between them, the love, the hurt, the distrust and the longing was played beautifully and it was easy to believe it was always there throughout MCU even if we saw her the first time in second episode of this series.

Same with Talos when you can feel both the decade long friendship and all the times it failed. And generally a lot of word battles work great Fury with Rhodey and with Grvik and with Sonia (even if the final one is undermined by it not being Fury there).

But then you have everything that fails and most of it is plot. The need to keep us guessing leads to lack of proper set up of many of the plot points and then half of them is just dropped or leads to nothing. Like Skrull Council was pointless, so was New Skrullos, and so were the deaths in the end. The show introduces characters that seem important but they get couple of scenes that were so underwhelming you ask why even waste time on them - Pagan, Beto, Sonya's boss (what a waste of Tony Curran - again) etc.

What was the point of the rebellion against Gravik beside death of all those Skrulls he recruited? I'm sure the idea was something about him also selling false promises and then disposing of people he used just like he says Fury does but the show did absolutely nothing to sell it. Also the whole plan of killing 8 billion people so 1 (one!) million Skrulls have somewhere to live is ridiculous. Just like there being no other place in universe for them. One million is so little. With Superskrulls they could've just find themselves their own Knowhere.

It's worst with G'iah who is so enigmatic a character and the show tries to keep so many things about her in the is she or isn't she limbo there is no real sense of why she does anything. She seems to be close to Gravik but also not. She switches side to work for her father again but doesn't believe in him (she's right - his plan is one a teenager would thought out not a gown man who saw how humanity reacts to refugees for decades). She dies, she lives, she gets superpowers and the most reaction we get to all of it is when she is with Priscilla. Both her parents are dead. Everyone she believed in failed her and you can barely tell what she thinks about it. Or what she wants. She's just there. And I'm not blaming Emilia Clarke for it. I blame the show for trying to hide so much about her she ends up with no character at all.

They try to shock us with death of important characters like 4-5 times (Rhodey doesn't really count I suppose) with like half of those being fake out but instead of being shocked I ended up being just angry. Neither loss of Maria Hill nor Talos really did that much to make the story more poignant. It didn't even do that much for Fury's character development (his talks to Varra were much better at this). It all just left bad taste in my mouth. And the constant so who is really dead dead didn't help either. And the show doesn't properly emotionally engage with those deaths so neither do ewe as viewers.

For me the most ridiculous isn't the big battle but when Fury changes clothes in the mausoleum. It supposed to be this badass moment of him regaining his mojo or something but it just underwhelming. Like the whole show.

The less said about Ritson the better.

In the end my favourite parts where the ones with Olivia Coleman. This show justified its existence by introducing Sonya Falsworth and I'm actually looking forward to her and G'iah working together in the future.

[goofysimpleton]

Keith Howell

Main Route Chapter 9

~This translation is not 100% accurate. Just here for you fellow impatient friends.

N=Narration

⬛️=whenever the next text showed up

I have the characters address Belle as MC for main character

Italics for flashback scenes

Choices are bold. The 4+/4+ is blue.

Scene 1

N: Keith appeared dashingly in front of the Duke, who cursed him for being unsuccessful, smiling. ⬛️ With cold, beastly sharp eyes.

Bad Keith: “Is it okay if I join the conversation too?”

N: While asking the question, he held me close to hide me from the Duke's gaze. ⬛️ I was far from being relieved due to being heated up by Keith’s body temperature.⬛️ The sight of those sharp, beastly eyes made my body stiffer and stiffer.

Jellal: “K-Keith… What I just said…”

Bad Keith: "There's no need to be frightened. That's what you wanted to say, right?" ⬛️ “I'm a poor prince, but I'm not incompetent, and I'd be happy if you think I'm better.”

(Keith… Are you angry?)

N: Even though he looks kind, the air that caresses my skin feels uncomfortably cold.

Jellal: “As I said earlier, that's what I heard, not my opinion." ⬛️ "There is no such thing as a failure! There is no one who has devoted himself to the country more than you, Keith."

(Wait, he’s blaming it all on someone else.)

N: I unintentionally clenched my fist, and Keith’s big hand gently tapped my back as if to soothe me.

Bad Keith: “Then Mr. Fernand, whom you are supporting, is doing more to the country than I am.”

(Mr. Fernand is the king's younger brother, isn't he?)

N: I remember Rio saying that he was taught by Liam.

Bad Keith: “I wanted to hear what you said earlier.”

Jellal: “That’s…”

N: The Duke’s face was extremely blue and looked so dismayed like he was about to collapse. ⬛️ When the air became so heavy that I hesitated to speak, ⬛️ Just like popping soap bubbles with a snap I heard a gentle laughter.

Keith: “What?”

Jellal: “Eh…”

Keith: "I didn't want her to know I was ugly any more, so you accidentally told a bad joke."

Jellal: “Hahaha… Are you kidding me?”

Keith: “I’m sorry, but…” ⬛️ “Tonight I'm in a good mood to be at the party with her." ⬛️ "If you keep talking like this, I think I'm going to get you into trouble again."

N: Perhaps Keith’s words worked, the Duke ran away.

Keith: “…”

(Keith?)

N: I felt a slight bewilderment from the golden eyes that looked down on me, and I couldn't help but stare back, wanting to know the reason.

Sonia: "Are you going to argue in front of me like this?

(Ah, yes, Sonia is here too!)

Keith: "If you're going to try to talk about me, aim for a time when the two of you are alone. yes!”

Sonia: “MC, look forward to it.”

MC: "Oh, you two, please stop teasing me."

Keith: “We’re not kidding.”

Scene 2

Sonia: “The Duke may be exaggerating, but Keith, you’re pushing your hands too hard." ⬛️ "That's the first time I've seen you like this."

Keith: "I should have rushed in without thinking, trying to settle the situation somehow. I'm sorry."

N: If he lets go of me, Keith will apologize. He lowered his eyebrows in a humble way.

Keith: "MC, I'm sorry I made you feel bad."

MC: "Keith, you have nothing to apologize for."

(Rather, it should be fine to be angry, but even at times like this, Keith worries about the other person.)

N: That's why I couldn't forgive everything the Duke said. To the extent that I want to deny everything he said.

(...But it seems true that some nobles don't like him very much.)

N: The kind gaze towards Keith from earlier cannot leave my head.

Flashback Keith: "Even so, my sister is a very kind girl because she still talks to her 'failed' brother. Really."

(Because the people around him say so, maybe Keith himself thinks he's not good enough.)

N: What if I was in that position? ⬛️ Just thinking about it made me feel like I was stabbed with a sharp object. ⬛️ Words can easily hurt others and yourself. It doesn't matter if there is malice or not.

(No, when I remembered it, I became fuzzy again.) ⬛️ (I need to change my mind.)

Keith: “…”

N: At that time, the relaxed tone of the stringed instruments resounded in the room. ⬛️ The people who were chatting took each other's hands as if invited and began to dance freely.

Keith: “MC, do you want us to dance, too?”

MC: “Eh?”

N: When Keith came in front of me, he held out his hand respectfully.

(With Sariel-san's lessons, I was able to dance reasonably well. But...)

N: When I was hesitant about putting our hands together with a handful of anxiety, Keith bent down and looked into my face.

Keith: “Do you mind if I’m with you?”

MC: “I don’t mind. Just…”

Keith: “Then let’s dance. Come on.”

MC: “Keith!?”

N: With a semi-forced but graceful gesture, he pulls my hand and walks to the center of the hall. ⬛️ And without even having time to get nervous, the dance began.

Keith: “MC, were you hesitant because you are so good at it?”

MC: “I feel that way because of Keith leading.”

N: In no time at all, I was absorbed in dancing with Keith, with a gentle lead that naturally moved my body.

(We’re really dancing.) ⬛️ (Dancing is so much fun.)

Keith: “Having fun?”

MC: “Yes! Very much!”

Keith: “Then let's have some more fun.”

(Woah..!)

N: At the moment when the music reaches its peak, he gently picks me up. ⬛️ As we spin around, my dress spreads out like a blooming flower.

(I feel like I’m the heroine of a story.)

N: Feeling like I was dreaming, my mouth feels like it will burst.

(At that time, I couldn't digest my anger at the Duke's words, and I was in a haze.) ⬛️ (Did Keith notice this and invite me to dance?) ⬛️ (what’s convenient idea.)

N: My heart beat frantically. ⬛️ When I involuntarily lowered my eyes, my waist was pulled closer as if reproaching me.

?Keith?: “Don’t look away.”

Scene 3

N: The forceful words whispered in my ear made my heart beat faster.

?Keith?: “I want you to stare at me until the dance is over. Am I being selfish?"

(That way of saying is cowardly)

N: Raising my head, Keith had a satisfied smile on his lips.

?Keith?: “Yes, just like that. Look only at me.”

N: Somehow, good eyes still felt cold. ⬛️ However, the innocence that wasn't there until a while ago disappears, and I can't turn my eyes away from that imbalance.

(I wonder if Keith is enjoying the dance, too.)

N: That thought made my heart beat faster. ⬛️ I’ll get a drink. ⬛️ Telling MC, Keith leaves the hall without paying attention to the servants. ⬛️ Then, he proceeded through the deserted corridor and entered the room at the back of the mansion without hesitation.

Bad Keith: “Isn't it great that you came before your master? Shall I stroke your head?"

N: As if reacting to Keith's words, a black-haired man in a tailcoat turned around.

Liam: “This disgusts me.”

N: Liam grimaced at the fact that he wasn't his usual gentle master, ⬛️ He tossed something wrapped in medicine wrapping paper from his breast pocket, Keith caught it without difficulty.

Liam: “You only think of really barbaric ways."

Bad Keith: “It’s barbaric, but quick. On top of that, it's easy to influence him." ⬛️ "…There are other reasons, too."

Liam: “…”

Bad Keith: “Don’t stare at me. You knew this too, so you honestly prepared like this, didn’t you?”

N: Flutter what you receive in front of you.

Bad Keith: “He’s surprisingly stubborn.” ⬛️ “It's quite possible that this time, too, it will end in just a few days. But..." ⬛️ "He seems to like MC, so it looks promising."

Liam: “I’m sure you like her, too.”

N: To Liam's words, Keith obediently bowed shook vertically. ⬛️ The color of pleasure is clearly blurred on the face.

Bad Keith: “It's obvious. Well, I don't care about this." ⬛️ “It's funny how her emotions and thoughts are both straightforward, and her reactions are fresh one by one." ⬛️ "It's worth bullying, but it's worth it. It's cute, isn't it?" ⬛️ "Well, what I like the most is that she doesn't show a single disgusted face even when she's dealing with a failure.”

N: Keith put what he had received in his pocket and walked towards the door saying he was done with it.

Liam: “Can I ask you one thing?”

Bad Keith: “Hm?”

Liam: “Aren’t ‘you’ going to disappear?”

N: After a short silence, Keith shrugged and sneered.

Bad Keith: “Impossible.” ⬛️ "I want to see him, I don't want it"

N: Keith leaves the room and walks down the corridor leading to the hall. ⬛️ There is no emotion in his eyes.

Bad Keith: “…” ⬛️ “…That’s ridiculous.”

Scene 4

(The stars are some of the brightest stars in the sky tonight...)

N: I put my hand on the railing and look up at the night sky colored with countless stars.

(Before, I read a story about constellations.) ⬛�� (If I remember correctly, the constellation Cassiopeia was formed by connecting five stars in the shape of a W.)

N: When I traced the night sky with my finger, the constellation Cassiopeia, which had not been visible before, emerged.

MC: “And the one nearby is Ursa Minor…”

(Wait, what shape was it?)

N: As I was flipping through the pages of my memories, a familiar big hand reached out from behind me.

Keith: “The minor constellation is on the left.”

N: His hand wraps around my hand that points to the night sky, and points it to the left side of the constellation Cassiopeia.

MC: “Keith…”

Keith: “Sorry to keep you waiting.”⬛️ “MC, do you like constellations?”

MC: “I don’t know enough to be in the category of my favorite, but it reminds me of a book I read before." ⬛️ “Do you like them, Keith?”

Keith: "Enough to say that astronomical observation is a hobby."

(Wow, I didn’t know that.)

Keith: "It was Ursa Minor. The place I'm pointing at is the shape..."

N: After a few seconds of thinking about what to say, Keith moved my hand as if drawing a picture in the air.

Keith: “It’s shaped like a spoon.”

CHOICES:

-Not a high mountain?

-Did you just draw the...spoon?

-sorry please repeat

MC: “Did you draw the...spoon just now?"

Keith: “…Didn’t you see it?”

MC: "I thought you drew a mountain."

(It was a mountain with a high altitude.) ⬛️ (Even so, the way to convey is not words, but drawing a picture in the air,) ⬛️ (Maybe I really felt the gap because I was giving a polite explanation to the pharmacists.) ⬛️ (…) ⬛️ (Spoon, huh.)

N: Laughter slowly welled up, and although I was in a hurry to endure it, it was already too late. ⬛️ The Keith’s face, who was standing next to me, looked a little sulky.

Keith: “Was the explanation that bad?”

MC: “No, I thought it was a bold form, not a bad one... Fufu, I'm sorry."

Keith: “You seem to say things.” ⬛️ “Then can you find Ursa Minor with the bold form I just taught you?"

N: I looked up at the night sky again, and superimposed the shape that Keith-sama taught me on the night sky.

MC: “I found it!” ⬛️ "This is the 6 stars connected from the bright star over there to the upper right. It's Ursa."

Keith: “Correct. Well done.”

MC: “Thank you for teaching me, Keith.”

Keith: "Then, I want to draw and teach other constellations like before." ⬛️ “Maybe you’ll laugh again.” ⬛️ “I want you to feel glad that you came to the party, and that you made good memories.”

Scene 5

(After all, it's kindness that makes me uneasy)

N: The Duke's words, which I had almost forgotten, began to occupy my mind, ⬛️ I feel like I'm worthless because I've been receiving kindness all the time and haven't lost anything.

MC: “Keith..?”

N: Tap...... Keith’s fingertips touched my eyebrows.

Keith: “It's wrinkled. Didn't you like the Duke's words that much?"

MC: “Yeah, I didn’t like it at all.”

Keith: “…” ⬛️ “Ahaha, I didn't expect you to answer so honestly." ⬛️ "I thought you would have said it in a kinder way."

MC: “It felt so unforgivable that I didn’t want to put it into softer words.”

Keith: “Heh…” ⬛️ "I'm happy about your words, but in fact the Duke said, 'There is no lie in the words.'” ⬛️ “The word ‘Failure’ suits me.”

MC: “There is no such thing as a failure in this world.” ⬛️ "If there is, it is everyone in this world."

N: When I answered clearly, Keith narrowed his eyes with interest.

Keith: "For example, let's say there was a person who was never supposed to be born." ⬛️ “Can you say the same thing about that person?”

(who was never supposed to be born?)

N: I don't know why Keith-sama asked that question, but his answer didn't change.

MC: “Yes, of course. That person is not a failure either." ⬛️ "He's a normal human just like me."

Keith: "A normal human like you..." ⬛️ “…I want to experience that.”

MC: “? What do you…” ⬛️ “Wahh!?”

Keith: “Ahaha, What a lovely voice.”

(Wh-Wha….)

N: When I checked the cold thing that touched my cheek, it was a glass filled with a pale pink drink. ⬛️ It smells of roses and faintly of alcohol.

Keith: “Revenge for teasing my art sense.”

MC: “You’re kidding!?”

Keith: “I know. Just kidding.” ⬛️ “Somehow, when I'm by your side, I feel like I can gain confidence in my timid self." ⬛️ “You’re amazing.”

MC: “What…”

(Why? I should be happy...)

Flashback Keith: “I'm not the kind of person to worry about. I can't do anything, and I'm fine and do terrible things." ⬛️ “And I still laugh like this.” ⬛️ "That's why you shouldn't believe me either."

(Because I was given a completely opposite response from that time, I wonder if it feels inconsistent.)

N: Returning to myself, I hurriedly shake off the discomfort.

(It's strange to doubt Keith, even if it's just a little more positive.) ⬛️ (And... it's not like you didn't give me anything.)

N: It's a small amount compared to the kindness I’ve received, ⬛️ Keith’s feelings turned positive, causing my heart to gradually became warm.

Keith: “I chose a low-alcohol drink, is that okay?”

MC: “Yes, thank you.”

N: I took the glass. ⬛️ Perhaps Keith chose the same thing, the pale pink liquor shone like a jewel from the light leaking from the hall. ⬛️ I tilt the glass I received and take a sip.

MC: “Mm, it’s sweet and delicious.”

Keith: “…Yes, that’s good.”

N: Keith narrowed his eyes at my words…⬛️ Slowly and imperceptibly, my consciousness was covered with a thick darkness.

Synopsis of episode 10

I haven't been able to meet Keith since the day of the party, and my heart feels restless. Completely unaware that I’ve made a grave mistake...

"Whoever hurts seems to have gotten used to it."