#but still!!! start treating them like they are the scared miserable kids they are | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

auncyen · 4 months ago

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SO WHEN I STARTED Sif having a bad King fight and then freezing (which lead to Isa and Mira being sad), I'd. kind of wondered where that left Loop, and that's like the one part I wanted to get to, even if I don't plan on writing past that.

Loop is...not doing that great. I'm still figuring out how exactly this conversation would go (Odile wasn't planned at first LOL) but yeah there's a lot of "UM":

You got better. You got to leave the infirmary, though they still wanted you to stay in the House itself for a bit, just in case something happened, rather than being all the way out in the clocktower. You didn't mind, because you felt you needed to be here.

Sif wasn't getting better. They were still frozen on the highest floor of the House. You started helping M'dame with the research she was doing in the library, including the secret library after Euphrasie entrusted her with the knowledge. She raised an eyebrow when you started skimming through tomes and summarizing the chapters aloud to judge if you should give it a closer look, put it back on the shelf, or put it in the 'maybe' pile--only tangentially relevant to healing Craft or Time Craft, but sometimes writers do go on illuminating tangents. "I, uh, used to be a huge nerd," you muttered, because it didn't feel like the time to hide your smarts when Siffrin needed a cure.

Odile looked surprised for a few seconds. "Interesting. I'd wondered."

"You'd…wondered?"

"You're the only man I've ever heard sound smarter with three drinks in him. I'm curious, but it's fine if you don't want to talk about it. We've business right now, anyway."

You did indeed have business. Unfortunately, it was a bust; none of the books you found had an insight into healing a powerful Time Craft curse that M'dame or Mira hadn't already considered. Mira looked increasingly tired and miserable by the day, and at the end of the week Bonbon came in the House to visit Sif and came down yelling because someone had left flowers at his frozen form and that wasn't right, it wasn't right, because Frin was going to unfreeze and be greeted by dead flowers and that would suck, and if someone had left them flowers the way you would at a grave that was even worse because Frin wasn't dead. Bonbon was very clearly more worked up at the idea of Sif being considered 'dead' than Sif waking up to see dead flowers, but you promised them that yeah! You'd tell everyone to wait to give Sif flowers until they were able to appreciate them again. Because of course Sif was going to be able to appreciate flowers again.

You didn't want to think about the other possibility any more than Bonnie did.

The four of you were all stuck in a painful limbo. The Housemaidens and townspeople didn't seem to know if they should treat you as heroes to be celebrated or glass vases ready to shatter, and as much as you tried to smile you felt increasingly brittle. It was kind of a relief when a new issue popped up: there was a stranger at the Favor Tree.

So, strangers usually weren't a problem. Most strangers are nice! Accepting the change that strangers may bring is a key part of the Change faith!

…Most strangers, even if they had different ways of dress and custom, still looked…well. People weren't sure if the stranger was even human? According to the scattered descriptions, they had a human-shaped body, but the skin was like the night sky stuck over the House when it was frozen, and on top of the body was not a head, but a spiky orb radiating light. Some people were scared the stranger might not be a person at all, but some new kind of Sadness left over from Vaugarde's ordeal, or even the King's creation, since…well, yeah. He'd pinned the night sky over the House while he was controlling it. And he'd had stars on his armor. And the night-sky stranger was lurking at the tree, hiding, which unnerved people once they noticed the new and unusual presence. One of the kids had gotten bold enough (he'd been dared) to approach the tree anyway, trying to call out the stranger to talk, and had gotten frightened by an inhuman voice snapping at him to go away. So. Even if this was a human stranger who'd done extreme Body Craft beyond what anyone in Dormont knew to be possible, they were a rude human stranger who'd decided to take over a town's Favor Tree.

…That was the best case scenario. At worst, they were something created by the King.

You decided that as an ex-Defender you were probably the most qualified to have a talk with the stranger and try to figure out who (or what) they were, why they'd taken over the Favor Tree, if there was an alternate arrangement you could work out… or to take them on if they proved hostile.

M'dame decided you were under no circumstances to do this alone, regardless of how well you'd been feeling lately, so she was accompanying you to the Tree. Which you had no complaints with! M'dame was good backup. You got to the base of the tree, standing under its crown. You didn't see anything yet, but the small handful of townspeople who'd seen the stranger had said they'd always ducked behind the tree or had already been hiding behind it, allowing only glimpses of them. They must have already hidden. "Hello, stranger?" you called. "I'm Isabeau, a Defender from Jouvente. Well…ex-Defender, but, um! My colleague and I would like to talk with you?"

"So now we're colleagues?" Odile murmured to you, smirking even as she scrutinized the tree ahead of you.

"Well!" You lower your voice, flustered. "That's how I was used to approaching people on the job."

"I'm teasing, Isabeau."

You know, you know. It still flustered you.

…Although the lack of response was quickly growing more concerning. "Stranger?" you called. "Are you there? Can you talk?"

Still nothing, except for the faint sound of grass being stepped on, like someone was shifting their weight. Odile huffed. "You go right around the tree, I'll go left--"

"Go away!"

You jumped at the voice. The kid's description really hadn't done it justice, mostly because it was inhuman, crackling in a way you'd never expect from a human throat. But after the brief shock, you moved to stop Odile from going around the tree. "M'dame, wait."

"What?"

"I think they're scared." The way the kid had described it, the voice had been threatening, but the kid had probably already been scared himself. Underneath the strange crackling, the intonation, the way the pitch had wavered… it sounded like the stranger was panicking. You didn't want to make that worse; you might force a confrontation where none was needed. "Listen," you said, raising your voice again. "You don't have to come out right now if you don't want to, but we still need to talk. Okay?"

"…Fine."

"First things first, are you all right?"

"That's your first concern?" The crackling voice was tight, almost sarcastic.

"Um, yeah?" It was now. "Look, people have been getting worried about you hiding out here, but… it's not like you've been trying to scare anyone, right? You've been keeping to yourself."

"I didn't mean to scare that kid. I haven't scared anyone else, unless people are scared of beautiful stars!"

So the stranger…didn't consider themself a person, but a star? Like in the sky?

"People are, in fact, a bit wary of strange stars after the King," Odile pointed out, which! 100% true!! But not something to point out right now!

The stranger immediately got upset, the crackling in their voice sharpening. "So, what, the King has a monopoly on stars now? Isn't he dead? It's not like you beat him with the power of friendship. Oh, King, I'm sure there's a reason you're doing this! We don't have to fight!" The stranger scoffed. "I know that didn't happen."

"The King is dead," Odile confirmed. "You didn't know?"

"You think I can just walk into town and ask questions looking like this?"

You and Odile looked at each other. Some of the tightness left Odile's posture. "They're acting scared," she said, and you knew from that word choice she hadn't ruled out yet the possibility that it was only an act. But she was willing to give the benefit of the doubt for now. "Isabeau, you're better at this, you talk to them."

…Well. Hm. They didn't seem all right, but they also hadn't answered straight when you asked about that. Maybe they weren't ready to talk about themself yet. "If you've got any other questions, we can try answering?" you offered. "I'm Isabeau, he/him, and M'dame Odile uses she/her."

"…They/them for me."

Odile arched an eyebrow. "But no name?"

"No, my turn for questions!" the strange voice said, but then it fell silent for a moment. Were they still scared, or struggling to think of any? You folded your arms and waited, not wanting to rush them. "You're…two of the Saviors. Is, um, the Housemaiden--Housemaiden Mirabelle okay?"

The question made Odile frown. "Why do you ask?"

"It's a little strange that you came out here to talk to me without her, if you thought I might have anything to do with the King. Not that I do!" the voice said quickly. "Good riddance."

"Three-on-one would be pretty intimidating," you point out. That's exactly the reasoning you would have told Mira if she'd asked to come along, too… but the truth is, she didn't know you were out here. Even though her long quest was done, the stress hadn't disappeared, and Siffrin's condition wasn't helping anyone. You hadn't wanted to toss more on her plate. "We were hoping for a nice talk! Anyway, she's fine." Burnt out, but time would surely help.

Time, and Siffrin getting better.

"And the kid traveling with you? They're fine too?"

They knew about Bonnie? "They're fine too. We kept them away from the fighting."

"I know, but--" The voice stopped abruptly.

"You know?" That…was kind of odd, especially with how quickly they'd shut up, like they hadn't meant to let it slip. You'd reassured more than a couple people that Bonnie didn't actually fight with you, was only tagging along with your group because even if they weren't old enough to fight they were old enough to decide where they wanted to be and they'd made it very clear they'd chase after the group if they were left behind. So the star could have learned that secondhand, but that seemed unlikely if they were afraid to approach people with their appearance. Along with the slip, it made you wonder… "Did you, um. Did we meet you before the Body Craft? …Is that Body Craft?" You cringed a little. "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but--"

"It's okay. I, uh, I've been told how I look right now."

You immediately felt a pit open up in your stomach. They hadn't seen for themself how they looked? There was no way this could be Body Craft, then, at least not the way you knew it. No one in their right mind would Body Craft themselves without being able to track the process. But 'right now' implied there had been a Change. Odile had caught that too, her expression torn between wariness and alarm.

#loop #odile #isabeau #in stars and time #in stars and time spoilers

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evilkitten3 · 1 year ago

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decided to read the gay pride sasuke fanfic (called the blessed realm, if anyone was wondering) and it is INCREDIBLE

first off the most famous scene (the "what are they proud of" moment) occurs very early on in the fic when naruto runs into team taka (read: sasuke comes up from behind him while he's reading the newspaper intending to interrogate him about konoha and failing miserably), and long story short sasuke gets a little drunk. only he doesn't know he's drunk bc he doesn't actually fully understand what beer is.

also they watch a mediocre play about two gay men trying to get married without letting their parents know but still having them be involved, and at the end naruto (who has been effectively treating sasuke like a scared rabbit, in that he might disappear at any time for any reason, and has thus been barely interacting with him) wonders if sasuke liked the play and starts going over all the reasons he might not have, only for sasuke to say, completely unprompted, "i wish my parents were still alive," and then they go back to naruto's place (team taka is crashing with him bc they have nowhere else to stay and sasuke didn't want to waste time trying to find a place that would fit their ridiculously high standards so he was just going to leave and naruto offered bc he thinks sasuke might stop existing if he's not careful)

also juugo has been in mini form for like the entire time so naruto is trying to work out why the fuck sasuke's new team has a little kid on it. no one on team taka has thus far thought to explain this to him

i'm seven chapters in and this might be the greatest literary masterpiece of our time

#naruto #naruto shippuden #narusasu #sasunaru #sns #uzumaki naruto #uchiha sasuke #uzumaki karin #hoozuki suigetsu #juugo #team taka

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phantoms-lair · 27 days ago

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BnHAxFFXIV

When Katsuki got home to see his Mom sobbing on the phone he feared the worst.

He couldn't help but remember seeing her the same way, the day she got the news that Inko and Izuku had been attacked by a villain and no one could find them. Her later reactions had been anger. Anger when the police gave up, anger when Midoriya Hisashi didn't even show up for their funeral. Anger when she found out about everything he'd done.

But the reaction that stuck in his brain first was the raw grief, too strong for anger to get any foothold in. His mother sobbing and screaming and unable to even stand without his father supporting her. And seeing her crying on the couch brought him that to that moment.

He looked around, his Dad wasn't anywhere to be found. Had something happened to him? Was he in an accident? Was he going to make it?

His mother must have seen his face because she laughed. "They're happy tears, brat."

Bakugou let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "You scared the life out of me, old hag!" he barked.

She laughed again. "They found them, Katsuki. They're home!"

"Who's home?" he asked, still a little harshly as a result of the scare.

"Inko and Izu-kun! They're home!" And Katsuki felt the ground fall out beneath his feet.

When the news broke, Katsuki hadn't had much reaction at first. He didn't care that much about Deku, but he was worried about Auntie. And the longer it took, the more hope was lost, and he started to feel the fear that Auntie was...gone.

And then he heard the comment in the hall of school "Dad says it's good the Midoriya woman is dead, so she can't create anymore quirkless kids." And he'd lost it.

His parents had been called into the principal's office for his attacking the kid with his quirk. He told them what he said and his parents were immediately on his side. It got bitter and his Mom seemed on the brink of repeating his attack on the kid's father when the principal decided it was enough and announced that Katsuki could find a different school. And that was fine with his parents. What the Principal failed to recognize was Katsuki didn't just get his temper from his parents, but his intelligence. The Bakugou's had influence, money, and an indomitable will for vengeance. His Mom had pumped him for every detail about how Izuku was treated at Aldera Elementary, and that revealed his own actions toward Izuku. The Deku name, the bullying, all of it.

He hadn't realized at the time what he was saying was wrong. He knew his Mom was angry, but assumed it was at the school. He didn't realize it was at him at first. Not until he accidently heard her cry again, and telling Dad the only mercy in the whole thing was that Auntie had died before she found out Katsuki was one of the people who made her life miserable.

And Katsuki was confused because he'd never done anything to Auntie, just Deku. It took longer than he'd admit for him to figure out he hadn't been acting like a hero. He'd been becoming a villain. Izuku's villain. He was a bully and a bigoted asshole. And he'd never be able to make it up to the person that mattered most. Apologies to a shrine or grave meant nothing, in the long run.

He thought to give up his dream of being a hero, but in the end decided the best way to honor Izuku was to be a hero. Not the Number 1 slot he'd aimed for before, but a hero who would actually help people. He stood where Izuku once had, between those who would hurt others and their victims. And hopefully, it would be enough.

But now...now Izuku was back. And Katsuki could apologize for real. He was as excited as he was terrified. He'd always wanted to but...there was no guarantee Izuku would forgive him. He had no reason to, after all.

But either way the first thing out of his mouth was going to be an apology. He had a shit ton to apologize for and he was going to do it, even if Izuku and Auntie hated him for forever. As they arrived at the hospital and made their way to the Midoriya's room, he rehearsed what he was going to say in his mind. Every variance to every word. This was going to be the best apology ever!

His mother knocked and he felt a lump on his throat as a voice he neve thought he'd ever hear again said 'Come in!'. His Dad opened the door, he stepped inside and met his former victim's eyes.

"Izuku I-Why the fuck are you a cat?!"

Katsuki clamped his hand over his mouth, but at least Izuku was laughing.

"Do you like it better?" Izuku asked.

Katsuki narrowed his eyes. "Do you?"

Hesitantly Izuku nodded.

"Then to Hell with what I think. It's your body. If you're happier than it's better."

Izuku's eyes widened. "Thanks Kaachan."

Kaachan. He never thought he'd hear that name again. "Just the truth Izkun."

How they hell had he forgotten how much the nerd could cry??? They were going to flood the hospital room at that rate.

#Ghost Writing #BnHA #FFXIV #Bakugou got a whole bunch of character growth offscreen #SO he's actually going to be the friend Izuku always wanted him to be #Izuku not only never thought he'd see Kaachan again #But even if he did never thought he'd see him as his old friend #He's still mourning being separated from his Da #But at least he has his old friend

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wordsandrobots · 6 days ago

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So I do kind of want to write something about the ending of Gundam ZZ, having now finished my rewatch. But as an aside to that, I wanted to note a few thoughts about how Judau is presented, or, rather, how he isn't presented in a romantic context by the show.

Because both Amuro and Kamille definitely have romantic aspects to their arcs. Amuro has his crush on Matilda and Fraw Bow's (unrequited) crush on him, while Kamille's relationships with Four and Fa are key to his development throughout Zeta. It's treated as part of them 'growing into manhood', in that highly tedious way of exposing a lot of uninterrogated sexism, that we nevertheless have to accept as part of the framework within which these stories were written.

But Judau doesn't have anything like that. He and Haman's rivalry is not really presented in romantic or sexual terms, at least, not directly. Haman is *scared* of Judau and transforms that into a desire to control him, and while her control of several other characters is coded in romantic terms (capital R Romantic, no less, when it comes to Mashymre), their particular dynamic is instead rooted in a push and pull over their differing world-views. Judau's embrace of straightforward emotionally-driven action is critically at odds with the puppet-mastery Haman aspires to and exposes the loneliness and pessimism beneath her approach. She's not in love with him; she's fucking furious this no-account kid could come along and be a shining example of an empathic, caring newtype, right as she'd given up on that as a possibility for humanity's future.

And with Chara, and Judau getting smothered in boobs, the titillation is entirely on her side. It's not even played as him being embarrassed by it, which, while it clearly plays into the joke about Chara being unattractive owing to her overly-sexual aspects, is still notable when there are pretty much zero examples of Judau caring about girls in that way at all. Or, in fact, girls caring about him that way.

Roux and Elle's bickering is notably devoid of any 'we want the same guy' aspects. I shall go further and say that Gundam Wiki ascribing Roux as Judau's love interest is bunk: they never once have romantic interactions and there are other good, character-based explanations for them picking the same path at the end. She and Elle butt heads for the same reason there is tension between Roux and the Shangri-La kids from the start. She's more grown-up and more invested in being the grown-up in the room, which rubs everyone else the wrong way.

Elle, meanwhile, does seem to have strong feelings for Judau but whether these should be considered romantic is actually a surprisingly slippery question. That is, obviously that's the natural read in the sense of being completely typical, but there's a sequence in the final episode that positions her feelings slightly differently.

Under a cut due to spoilers and two teenagers slapping each other.

Right before Judau heads out for his climactic confrontation with Haman, Elle tries to talk him down, since he could very well be killed. He won't listen and Beecha tries to make Elle stop, leading to her backhanding him, him slapping her, and the two of them accepting that they can't do anything except be there in the hope Judau will come back home safe.

Setting aside the gender weighting on the slapping, the part that makes Beecha really angry is Elle asking how he can let Judau go alone because, despite Beecha often disliking playing second fiddle to the other boy, he doesn't like the idea of Judau going alone either. It's just at this point, they're down to one other remaining mobile suit and the priority is protecting the ship.

Beecha is clearly miserable about this too and his contribution here is helping Elle come to terms with the situation. What interests me is that this places Elle's emotions on the same level as his, that of a deeply concerned friend who, regardless of their differences, don't want to see any harm come to Judau. Beecha is implied to have (romantic) feelings for Elle and gets annoyed at her paying more attention to Judau, but here he's the one to express the bulk of the shared emotions. In essence, the text renders everything platonic while underscoring how the Shangri-La gang have grown closer over the course of the show.

Either that, or you go the other way and read this as Beecha's jealousy coming from his own crush on Judau, and conclude he and Elle are reaching the same conclusion about a shared romantic connection to a third person. I don't think that's likely as the intention, although who knows? Certainly Judau shows no negative reaction to an earlier comment by Roux about Beecha being cute, so maybe this is another case where polyamory was the solution.

(And if this isn't a perfect summary of what kind of relationship Roux and Judau have, I don't know what is. That's not romance; that's the cosmos' peanut gallery in the making.)

Irrespective, I find it interesting how the show forecloses romantic possibilities around Judau, not by having them hook up with other people ala Fraw (crucially, there's no hint Elle and Beecha actually do form a couple), or by killing them off, but simply by placing the friendship of the group above everything else. At the end, while Kamille and Fa dance on the shore, Judau's big moment is being reunited with his sister ahead of leaving to get some greater perspective on the world.

I do wonder if this is part of Judau being a more immature character than Amuro or Kamille. After all, the point is that he doesn't 'grow up', doesn't shed his driving anger or the idea of trying to save everyone, instead carrying forward the possibility that things can change in spite of all the 'damn adults' who've harmed the world. He manages to embody Amuro's original idealism about the future without succumbing to the sin of 'doing something he can't take back' over the course of the battles he's forced into.

Again, it's either that or we add another tick in the 'asexual protagonists' column, which would also be perfectly groovy.

#gundam #gundam zz #judau ashta #elle vianno #roux louka #beecha oleg

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bucketspammer4life · 1 year ago

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☆ how the boxers were as children ☆

Hey besties, sorry for dissapearing i was busy decaying, enjoy my cringe ass writing

Glass Joe

- Really sleepy & an edgelord, he was the kid that had hair covering the side of his face in middle school

- his parents always said that he wouldnt really be able to take up boxing due to him being a natural coward, jokes on them Joe isnt scared to get hurt (physically)

- loved reading old writing, especially gothic literature, he has a soft spot for dark writing

- wrote cringy edgy poems about every crush he had, his parents sometimes pull them out to torment him

- tried to start his own band, failed miserably

- still attached to his edgelord phase very much

- if he was a teen during the 2000-2010's he def would have a edgy wolf oc and a Deviantart account

Von Kaiser

- sickly victorian child + little german boy hybrid

- his parents always spoke with permission so he also started copying them, leading to him always interrupting people by saying "can i ask something?"

- had that one little german boy outfit, along with the huge ass lollipop and dumb hat, anytime someone pulls out his childhood pictures he prays they dont whip out those photos or he will get bullied recklessly

- NEVER EVER cursed until the wonderful age of 15 when he yelled out the word "fuck" after dropping a wrench on his foot, his dad wasnt even upset he was more concerned because holy fuck his child dropped a wrench on their foot

- got sick really often, he was out here being asked to be taken out into the garden one last time before you all posers

Disco Kid

- that one kid who had a really cool dad that let him do anything as long as he didnt blow up the house

- Really creative, writing up stories with pictures, his grammar wasnt really the best (along with his writing) so his parents had to read "the addventours off the brince" and hold in their laugh

- He was the kid who performed an entire ass dance choreography to get your parents to accept the sleepover invite

- got introduced to Disco music by his dad, got obsessed with it instantly and started dancing everywhere

King Hippo

- ate glue

- never spoke with anyone, Just beat up anyone picking on him and no one messed with him ever since

- people just gave him paper to eat, fresh with colored pencils

- liked to play make believe with his plushies

Piston Hondo

- He let you copy off his homework, i think that tells you enough

- everyone only recognized him for being a smart ass, not being creative and that really upset him

- played chess a whole lot, joined tournaments and won some medals

- academic burnout hit him like a train

- for a while, art and writing was his only escape from stress & pressure, he journaled about his feelings and drew his soul out, due to this he struggled to express his feelings without words

Bear Hugger

- chased everyone around with a spider then ate it, he was so evil for what

- never actually went to school, his parents lived out in the woods and homeschooled him since no one likes walking 2-3 hours straight just to suffer in a seat

- He always had a interest in animals, him and mrs bear go are childhood friends, mrs bear met him when she was a cub, due to this he got spared by mrs bears mom and suddenly had a 2nd mom, once his family realized that their son got adopted by a bear, they kindly let the bears in and treated it like it was normal

- loved fishing with mrs bear, he taught her how to use a rod and she taught him how to catch fish with his bare hands

Great Tiger

- so called "self sufficient" When he was just used to being alone and kinda accepted the fact he'll never have proper friends

- created the most batshit insane scenarios with his clones that would make the average hollywood movie maker shed tears, these gems include: divorce, murder, crime, assault and tea parties

- talked to himself a whole lot to the point where his parents took him to a therapist

- never really made friends, Just made himself his own friend

Don Flamenco

- oh no.

- his dad basically hated him, insulted him a whole lot, made fun of him, literally just made him insecure, when he got the opportunity to escape his dad by boxing, he took it without hesitation and got out of there

- was never really home, he was always out with friends to avoid his dad back at the house

- emotional stability? Who needs that when you can ignore your problems?

- people pleaser no matter what he says

Aran Ryan

- greasy ass bitch

- his parents didnt teach him shit, you think tigers parents didnt care about him? They'll look like helicopter parents next to them when they see what aran has going on

- had bad hygiene, only learned to shower and take care of himself in the 5th grade, thanks to that and his name, my boy got bullied and developed his behavior to defend himself from people

- Always ran from school & home, he had a hide out from away from home and a bit close to school to escape whenever he had the chance, he always dissapeared for a few weeks (sometimes months) and nobody really went looking for him, either from knowing he'll return sometime or they just dont care enough

Soda Popinski

- lonely, him and tiger are the difference between feeling lonely vs being alone, he doesnt handle loneliness well

- grew up with his grandpa & his stories, always loved listening to them and copied him whenever he wanted to tell a story

- never had a proper social life due to having to take care of his grandpa + him getting concerned about soda whenever he was out for too long

- spent most of his time crying from loneliness, away from him

Bald Bull

- precious!!! Was really shy and had a rounder face that everyone in his family pinched like crazy

- extremely sensitive & emotional (he still is hes just bottling it up shh)

- stuttered a lot, think about that one "have you ever had a dream you could you can't you would you you could be anything" kid

- was really short and just shot up one day

- scaredy cat, could be scared from anything, including: bugs, darkness, thunder, needles, sharp stuff, blood, death and alcohol (he also still gets scared easily but shh shut up)

- Always snored in his sleep, inherited it from his dad

Super Macho Man

- obsessed with sharks, dinosaurs, trucks and cars, basically got obsessed with anything he found cool

- his parents spoiled the living fuck out of him, no dime left unspent on him, no quarter spared

- Always lied about having something at the playground, sure Macho i trust the fact that you have "every dinosaurs teeth" 100% never doubted you for a second

- his parents love language was money so it got passed down to him, they were just throwing money at him and fucking off

Mr Sandman

- oldest child in his family, has 4 siblings and loves them all very much, had to help his mom & dad take care of them since they were a handful

- started boxing early so he was never in school that often unless it was 99% neccessary

- slept a lot thanks to him being tired constantly from rushing around

- knows how to do hair & make up from his younger sister

#punch out #headcanon #punch out wii #punch out headcanons #don flamenco #glass joe #piston hondo #aran ryan #bald bull #great tiger #this was so fun to make yay yay yippee #sorry for dissapearing i was mentally going downhill #i am drained eughshhs

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nyaagolor · 1 year ago

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A genuinely shocking amnt of people said they wanted to see my “Apollo backstory but it’s exclusively based on AA4” so huzzah! Self-indulgence on main! It’s under the readmore because I don’t wanna clog anyone’s dash :)

Everything starts with Thalassa because of course it does. She’s part of the Granmarye Troupe but kinda Hates It. Her father gives her very little autonomy, and she feels like they’re treating her more as an asset or employee than family. She's good at putting on a brave face but she has very little autonomy there and is completely miserable, so she sneaks out to meet with the audience sometimes to get a taste of freedom. It’s on one of these little trips that she meets Jove, who she quickly falls in love with. They continue to meet in secret, and Thalassa’s resentment for the troupe only grows. The day she turns 18, she runs away to go elope with him, not leaving a note or any indication of where she’s gone

The two of them are happily married for a year and have a child, but Jove dies in an accident (unrelated to Kuhrain in this version) only a year into their marriage. Thalassa, now a 19 year old single mom with no money and no documents, realizes the only person who can help her now is the last person she wants to see. Desperate, she calls Magnifi, who agrees to help her IF she gives up the kid and comes back to the troupe. He thinks if she still has an attachment to the child she’ll try and run away again as soon as she can (and he’s right!). Thalassa gives Apollo to the orphanage with one of her bracelets and secretly tries to keep track of him— she does plan on coming back for him as soon as she can, Magnifi be damned

Magnifi, knowing that both Zak and Valant are in love with his daughter, actively encourages the both of them to pursue her, hoping one of them will get her to fall in love and give her a reason not to leave the troupe. Zak is the one who ends up succeeding. They have Trucy together and things immediately take a turn for the worse

Thalassa immediately gets very depressed after having Trucy and nothing seems to cheer her up. She can’t stop thinking about being forced to give up her first child and the life she lost and nothing Zak does seems to help. Eventually, Magnifi steps in and says that she needs to get over it and get back to performing. To everyone’s surprise, Thalassa agrees without protest

This is when the “accident” happens. Air quotes here because surprise! It was not an accident at all. Thalassa was tired, desperate, and wanting nothing more than to go scorched earth on the entirety of Troupe Granmarye, so she loaded the gun improperly on purpose in hopes that the aftermath and scandal will bring the troupe down with her. She somehow survives, but only Magnifi knows. Not wanting news of it to escape and seeing an opportunity to hold this over Zak and Valant’s heads, he ships his amnesiac daughter off to Borgnia and tries to wipe his hands of the whole thing

While clearing through Thalassa’s things, Magnifi finds all of the information on Apollo and Jove, which he shows to Zak. Zak, who didn’t know about Apollo, feels wildly hurt by it all. He ends up projecting a lot of his feelings onto Trucy— he still loves her but becomes more distant because he’s grieving Thalassa’s death and “betrayal”

This is how Zak knows about Apollo and why he tells Phoenix about it. Phoenix does try to find Apollo as soon as he learns about him, HOWEVER, Apollo is trans and all of Thalassa’s documents have his deadname on them so they can’t be used to track him down. (By the time Phoenix realizes Apollo is the kid he’s been looking for ((via the bracelet)) he’s already broken Apollo’s trust enough that he doesn’t feel like he can safely drop that truth bomb without scaring him away. By the time Apollo DOES come to trust Phoenix, Thalassa has her memories back, at which point Phoenix feels it’s her truth to tell). Anyway.

Trucy’s story is effectively identical to canon so I don’t have much to say about that

While in the orphanage, Apollo decides he wants to be a lawyer bc he hears about Phoenix (specifically the whole thing about sticking up for people with no one on their side). He goes thru the lawyer track in HS bc that’s a canon thing in AA apparently and tests into a special fast track law program so he can save as much money on tuition as possible

Apollo works his ass off, he has a ton of jobs and works indexing night shifts for the courthouse. Everyone starts to know who he is bc he works every law related job he can no matter how miserable. This is how Kristoph finds out about him

He works all thru law school but basically all of his money goes to tuition so he goes between shitty apartments and crashing at the courthouse / work when he runs out of rent money. This is the OTHER reason everyone knows who he is and how kristoph finds out about him— he’s always loitering around the courthouse. He makes a name for himself as a hard worker, being fast + thorough with paperwork, and having an excellent eye for detail

During internship hunting season, Kristoph approaches Apollo— he greatly values a dedicated hard worker like Apollo and thinks Apollo’s abysmal financials are good leverage for manipulation. I hc that Kristoph specializes in fraud cases, so Apollo’s talents are extremely relevant to Kristoph’s interests. Kristoph’s firm is only himself because of all the illegal shit he does (less eyes less chance of being caught) so he gambles on taking in Apollo. He ends up personally fixing up Apollo’s credit score, ensuring he has proper documents, and gets him set up with a decent paycheck so he can start to develop a savings account. Apollo decides he would die for him

This continues until Kristoph plays a bad hand— he intends on having Apollo defend Phoenix in the hopes that he’ll lose so he can hang the resulting verdict over Apollo’s head to manipulate him. Turnabout Trump happens and Apollo ends up back where he started, broke and with less trust in others than he had before (which is saying a lot). During his internship with Kristoph he managed to get together a tiny rainy day fund and even started to save up for top surgery, but all that money has to be used to cover rent while he’s jobless bc of the Turnabout Trump aftermath. It’s when the money finally runs out that he answers Trucy’s phone call and agrees to work for the WAA

Canon proceeds as normal, but Apollo has extra paranoia because he’s worried all the money and documents and credit that Kristoph gave him were faked. Also, Thalassa doesn't tell Trucy and Apollo about the whole Thing because part of that would be admitting the role she played in how their lives turned out and she is not quite ready to face her demons yet

#ace attorney #apollo justice #mod vex #textpost #headcanons #this is the most indulgent thing i've posted in a while lol

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sugarywishes · 3 months ago

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Apologies for the flood of questions all of a sudden, I promise this is the last for now. XD I am curious though, given what you have mentioned before, but what do you think would have happened if the Afton Kids has lived? You did mention that Elizabeth was turning against Evan for his preferential treatment, so I'm curious as to how far it would go, and if you have any other headcannons for the future in that case.

Also, no worries! I love answering questions people have about my characters or AUs, it gets my creative juices flowing! Answers below as usual.

I assume by your question you could be talking about a universe where the bite *didn't* occur (as for an AU where the bite did happen and Evan lived, it's a WIP AU idea I might develop soon but I'm not too sure yet.)

Evan already dealt with enough bullying from his old school and from his brother but also getting hated by his own twin? He was already depressed in his life but this would've made him even more miserable. It's not like his mom would comfort him at all. So of course he would fully submit to the one person in his life who was nice to him, William 😔 (I mean, more so than he did before)

And because he only interacts positively with William, it makes Lizzie and Mike more spiteful towards him, which increases their animosity towards him too. (I guess he should be thankful he doesn't attend school anymore, Lizzie would've probably joined his bullies in tormenting him too ☹️☹️) (Elizabeth, your father does not care about you girl! Don't take it out on your brother you deserve better 😭😭)

I feel like since Mike already does enough in the 'scaring/traumatizing my brother' category (who knows if he physically harms Evan too, I don't think he beats him up or anything lmao but pushes or shoves are more in his line of bullying), Lizzie would be generally cruel to him in a typical girl way

(I know that sounds kinda off putting, but I know for a fact that boys and girls tend to bully differently than each other, boys usually are physically aggressive while girls usually do verbal abuse or subtle physical harm i guess idk) So think more in lines of insults, social exclusion (so he can't interact with Charlie, who has a neutral relationship with him and is the only other person who at least treats him respectfully besides Henry who also doesn't interact w/ him), and at worse like push him around or pinch him or something. I'm slightly basing this off my own childhood but we're not here for that we're here for FNAF!

I think she (like Mike) would also disrespect his things, so as I said in the Lizzie post where she breaks her dolls and toys, she'd probably break into his room and destroy his stuff too. (This is why therapy for children is helpful !! Dear lord !!)

So as for when time goes by, I have two alternate ways this could go. Either William divorces Clara later on and takes Evan with him, disappear from the public eye and basically hides him away for his 'safety and comfort' (wow, now he truly will be like Rapunzel and Quasi!) OR the family stays together, and Evan is subjected to further abuse until Mike runs away from home at 18. To which then Evan will also run away at 18 after dealing with Elizabeth's abuse, William's *subtle* abuse and Clara's neglect for *years*. Lizzie still stays at home, and basically the entire family never talks to eachother ever again. Uh, depressing I know. I'm still working out ideas though so who knows!

(Uh, also reminder that most of the FNAF characters in my interpretation are not good people at the start. They have things happen to them that eventually start their paths to redemption, so I guess it functions like A Christmas Carol logic??)

#fnaf #five nights at freddy's #five night's at freddy's #five nights at freddys #fnaf lore #story lore #fnaf au #the afton family #the afton family fnaf #afton family fnaf #william afton fnaf #clara afton #evan afton #elizabeth afton #mike afton #micheal afton #michael afton

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thetavolution · 8 months ago

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BG3 Tav Backstory Bash by Kelandrin

This is a challenge to help people flesh out their Tav’s backstory by exploring their past. It is organized into four sections with seven prompts. You can treat this as a monthly challenge or a general project. You can write headcanons, fics, or share art based on the prompts! You can interpret the prompts however you want. If you want to share use the tag #bg3backstorybash

I was tagged by NO ONE. I am unstoppable.

Tagging (no pressure!): @tavsboots @whenwindwhispers @himbo-hunter-hadrian @vatyrie-avaris @durgeteriormotives @fainlin @auspex-author

INGRID SULLENBERGER

Deep Gnome — Druid (Circle of the Spores)

Baby:

Parents

Calvin "Sully" Sullenberger: He's an artificer and he works for the Ironhand Gnomes. He doesn't feel that strongly about their mission statement though. He's more self-serving than that. He believes in it, just not enough to die for the cause himself. He prioritizes his own skin first. He loves the fact his current wife hates his ex wife. He enjoys being fought over, even if it hurts his kids in the long run.

Greta Bloodstone: She's Ingrid turned up to 11. She's far more timid and scared, and she gives into her fears. She's the reason Ingrid refuses to let her fear win. She's seen what a doormat it made of her mother. She's a bard who often sings about other people's accolades, except for her own daughter's.

Anna Sullenberger: She's Ingrid's step-mother and Sully's second wife. She never behaved like an actual parent to Ingrid, but she's here on a technicality. Anna is a forest gnome and she hates living in the Underdark. She's convinced she'll change Sully's mind about leaving someday. She tries to use the fact the kids both left as an excuse to move to Baldur's Gate. She's just as self-serving as Sully, she's just more open about it. Anna is a wizard who focuses on illusion.

Birth

Ingrid was born in Silverdale, a deep gnome settlement in the Underdark. It's largely hidden away which is partially why it's still standing.

Greta had a midwife while having Ingrid and it was a traumatic birth. Both survived, but Greta decided she would not have any more children. She felt it would be too dangerous for her. It was a source of contention between her and Sully.

First word / Tantrum / When they first walked / First sickness

Her first word was "Ada." Correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe that's the gnomish word for dad. That would have been her first word, just for the man to mostly reject her.

Her first tantrum would have been over a lack of attention, most likely.

She started walking at around 10 months old.

Her first sickness was a cold. She was a baby and miserable, but it wasn't life threatening.

Childhood:

Friends

She didn't have a ton of friends growing up, but she did have some. They send letters to one another.

Bimpnottin Cobblegem (she/they): I saw the name Bimpnottin and decided I needed to have someone in Ingrid's life named this. Bimpnottin is a sweetheart, but naive. They've never left their hometown of Silverdale. Bimpnottin also talks very loudly almost all of the time. She comes from a long line of cobblers and she kept up the tradition.

Gerbo Ironfoot (he/him): He was another childhood friend. He was the kid who talked the others into doing stuff. He wasn't a bad kid, just a little rebellious. He's a fisherman these days and he's married to Orla, a tailor, and they have two kids, Roondar and Dimble.

Umber Rivers (they/them): I'll talk about them in a minute. They weren't a friend in the traditional sense. They were a druid water genasi and the reason Ingrid became a druid.

Siblings

Ingrid has one younger half-brother, Sebastian. His other is a forest gnome and so he looks like a forest gnome. No one immediately pegs them as siblings because of it. I'm still fleshing him out. He is either an artificer, like his father, or a wizard who focuses on transmutation.

Getting into trouble

She rarely got into trouble as a kid. Or, at least, for anything she actually did. Anna was hard on her and would get upset with her over small things, like how she cleaned dishes or something of that nature.

Birthday

I've been waffling on exactly when, partially because I keep forgetting the calendar months in DnD/BG3. I'm officially going on record as making it 22 Alturiak. In her original story, she was born on February 22nd.

She would celebrate as a kid, but they would be small occasions with just close friends and her brother.

Games / Learning something new

She played the same games as many other deep gnome children. She did spend a lot of time alone, so she learned to entertain herself a lot.

She likes to learn. As a kid, she would get excited when she had a chance to learn something new. As a baby, she was a lot more afraid of things. It wasn't until she got older that she deliberately started fighting her fears.

Trauma

Oh boy, her parents did a number on her. Her dad was more excited to have two women fight over him than take care of his kids. He allowed Anna to treat the kids as pawns.

She was neglected a lot as a kid. Her parents were way more into their own drama than the kids.

She and Sebastian were pitted against each other. They have no ill will toward each other, but they never had a chance to grow close. Maybe one day they'll change that.

Teenager:

First love

Her first crush was her schoolmate, Alston Garnet (he/him). He was a deep gnome fighter. She didn't know that much about him because it was a pretty innocent teen crush.

I like to use songs as reference points and my first immediate thought was I'm In A Perfect Relationship from Central Park. It's the perfect sum up of how she and Alston felt about each other.

They both think it's really funny now that they're adults. They aren't close, but do consider each other friends.

Alston is now in a relationship with a deep gnome ranger, Orryn Filchbatter (he/him).

Rebellion / Running away

Her fondest memory comes from the one time she ran away. She was probably around 13, just barely a teen. She left home and traveled the Underdark alone when she was discovered by a druid. The druid guided her home and kept her safe. It left a huge impression on her and it's why she's a druid.

The druid who took care of her was Umber Rivers, a nonbinary water genasi who identified with the Circle of Land (Coast). As a kid, Ingrid fantasized about Umber raising her instead of her parents.

Reckless behavior

She wasn't really a reckless kid. She would sometimes get pulled into things by friends (Gerbo specifically) or her parents. This is when she started to experiment with drugs to treat her anxiety. She eventually found the right mix. It only counts as reckless behavior because she had no guidance while doing it as a teenager.

Peer pressure

She would sometimes give into peer pressure. It was never when it came to hurting other people though. Every time she gave into peer pressure, it was usually just stupid teen shenanigans or trying a drink or drug she shouldn't.

Taking responsibility

She was good at taking responsibility for her actions as a teen. Sometimes a little too much where she'd be held responsible for stuff that wasn't even her fault.

She was often treated like an adult by her parents. Parentification led to her taking responsibility for stuff her parents did, too. It didn't help her anxiety.

Adulthood:

Their “first time”

Donella Underhill (she/her) was her first real relationship and the person she shared her first time with. Donella was a deep gnome cleric, but she focused on becoming a merchant. Donella still lives in Silverdale and sells potions. If someone ever goes to Silverdale, they could encounter her as a potion seller.

The first time was awkward, but they learned a lot from each other.

Ingrid and Donella no longer talk.

Serious relationships

Depends on the universe/AU! In BG3/DnD, her first serious relationship was with Donella. They were young and it didn't end well. Neither of them knew how to navigate relationships and Ingrid didn't know how to set boundaries of any kind.

They have no ill will toward each other, but also have no interest in reconnecting. When they first broke up, there was a lot of raw feelings that turned into "hatred" for each other. Once it subsided, they took a much more nuanced view of the failed relationship.

Donella is now married to another deep gnome named Caramip Sparklegem.

Work

She's a druid, but she also works and makes money as a tattoo artist.

In her original universe, she's a human and a tattooist. It's not the career people expect of her. She loves tattoos and she loves drawing, so it made sense.

Leaving home

She was still a teen when she officially left home for good. She figured if she could take care of herself, she could hit the bricks. She wasn't kicked out, she just didn't want to be around her parents anymore.

Aging

She's a deep gnome so she could live to 350 to 500 years. And that's assuming some DnD shenanigans don't prolong or shorten her life somehow.

Most deep gnomes are expected to ease into adult life by 40 and she's only 28.

Staring a family/found family

Minty, Laura, and Bex are her found family. If you have to compare them to anything, I would say sisters or cousins. In BG3, she also considers her companions found family.

Eventually, she might like to settle down and have children with someone. This could be biological or adopted children. She does fear she'll have a similar birth experience as her mother though.

#bg3backstorybash #bg3 tav #bg3 oc #ingrid

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aita-blorbos · 1 year ago

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AITA for refusing to give up on my friend?

Hi! I (13M) have this really cool friend group. Or at least… I did. The other members were F (13F) and K (13M), and we were super super close. We met at our middle school.

But… we’re not normal middle schoolers. I was the first one to find out. I’m actually the reincarnation of a super cool super-powered alien (who was not actually an alien, but it’s more fun to describe it that way) who died 15 years ago.

I know I’m him, btw. I’m not just making it up. Dude was a super big public figure, and I have tons of his memories. My teacher (who was one of his students at one point) (30m) even agrees with me. He thinks I’m the real deal.

F is the reincarnation of someone, too. Specifically, someone I knew in my past life. In our past lives she was a normal, albeit REALLY NICE person who inspired me a lot… someone who I accidentally got killed. I was heartbroken when I remembered how she died and super stoked when F told me she was her. That’s not why we became friends, of course— F has always been my ride or die, but I was so, so happy my dear friend had been alongside me all this time.

But while on the topic of how F… died in our past lives, I should probably mention what my job was before I was an alien.

I was a serial killer. I called myself an assassin, but that’s giving myself too much credit, really. Ultimately, I was just a murderer— and an INFAMOUS one, too. I had a kill count in the thousands. I was an honest-to-god no good, selfish, terrible guy. It makes me feel sick to even think about.

I even had an apprentice in killing, and one I treated like garbage. I stole him away from his bad family and instead of showing him love only showed him more hatred. I treated that boy like trash.

The only reason I stopped being a serial killer is that he handed me over to authorities. And authorities… well, for reasons I still don’t really understand, they handed me over to this… guy. I’ll call him Y. Y was a no-good, rotten, nasty piece of work. Every bit as bad as I was… and that’s saying a lot! He instantly began to perform extremely painful human experiments on me, doing so with the excuse that no one would miss me.

But it wasn’t all bad. In Y’s custody is where I met F in our past lives. She was working for him. And he treated her like garbage, too. He’d hit her and call her names and make her feel so unsafe. She was miserable when she was around him.

I… tried my best to help, but there’s not a lot I could do from behind a glass screen. Still, I came to empathize with F, and it was actually becoming her friend that made me want to give up killing.

Eventually, I escaped Y’s lab, but at a terrible cost. I turned into a alien monster and went on a horrific rampage— killing tons of people. And even worse, F got killed, too. Like I said: it was an accident, a result of a trap that Y set up, but at the same time it really, REALLY felt like my fault. I hated myself. Both in that life and now when I learned about it.

Still, I lived an okay life after that. I ended up taking in some students that F originally cared for and nurtured them. And I treated them right, unlike I treated my original apprentice. Because of them and F, I learned to love. Eventually, I died, but only after sending Y into hospice and getting to say goodbye to my beloved kids.

I was content with that.

But... here I am now.

Originally, I didn't remember all of this. I just remembered being a cool superpowered guy. Learning how messed up all of it was really, REALLY scared me. I was glad when I learned that F was... well, F, so I could apologize to her, but that didn't fix everything. After all, there were still so many people I hurt. I felt like an awful person who didn't deserve to be alive. My friends and family tried to comfort me, but it was... really hard, for a time.

And even worse than that, soon after, K started drifting away from me.

I know I haven't talked about K much, so let me describe him a little. He's a real stand-up guy. A little cowardly... but he has a big heart. He was always-- and I mean ALWAYS there for me and F, even as we learned all the weird stuff about our past lives. He's funny and sweet and supportive. The kind of person I'd do anything for. I really, really loved him, and so did F.

So... things were stressful when he started to pull away. He stopped hanging out with us. Kept giving us the cold shoulder. I didn't understand why. I thought maybe it was because he was scared of me now, but that wasn't fair to F. I confronted him and told him that if I was a bad person then F shouldn't have to suffer for it. That he was really important to her, and he should keep being her friend, at least!

But that's when K told me something, and it was something I NEVER expected to hear.

...K was Y.

He told me he just remembered recently. That he really didn't know. He broke down in tears, telling me that that's why he pulled away. He remembered abusing the two of us and felt like he no longer deserved to our friend. It was well and truly heartbreaking to hear.

Because... here's the thing. I hate Y. Like really, REALLY hate Y, but K is nothing like him. K is one of the best people I know. He's never treated me like anything less than a superhero. He wouldn't hurt a fly.

I told him it was alright. I told him I didn't care. I told him that the past was the past and that Y was dead now and he was someone new. He was shocked, but I really, really believed it. And for the first time, in saying so, I actually felt alright about myself. I realized that if K wasn't responsible for his actions in a past life-- if he never asked to be born, then neither did I. I realized that if I didn't hate him, then maybe... I didn't have to hate myself.

I gave him a BIG hug and told him we could go back to being friends. I told him it didn't matter. And I thought everything would be alright.

But K... also wanted to tell F the truth.

I get why he did. He kept saying she deserved to know. But at the same time, F is a pretty... standoffish person. She's not like she used to be-- all kind and forgiving. It took me a very long time to befriend her. She gets angry easily and she makes a lot of snap judgements. I was so certain she'd get upset with K.

And F... really needed me and K, I think. She had a bad life. Her parents weren't at all nice to her and she had a lot of self esteem issues. K and I were the only friends she had. I knew that if she ditched K, then she wouldn't have anyone. No-one would be there to support her.

And I'd be asked to take sides. How could I possibly do something like that?

So I convinced K to hide it. I told him that he was a new person now and F didn't need to know. All telling her would do is break her heart. I didn't want to hurt her like that.

And so for a while, the secret remained between us.

But then something really bad happened to K's family. I won't go into details, 'cause I'm not sure it's my place, but it was something truly awful. He nearly lost a parent, and even worse... he was convinced it was his fault. He CERTAIN that the universe was punishing him in some way for being Y, or at the very least, for not telling F about it, and that if he didn't spill the beans then even worse stuff would happen.

...So he did. He told her.

And F reacted just like I thought she would. Angry and crying, she said she couldn't believe she ever trusted him. She accused him of just pretending to not know... and manipulating her so he could hurt her. She was pissed. She punched K in the face and told him she never wanted to see him again.

I tried to reason with her, but she wouldn't hear me out. And when she learned I knew about this before she did... that I suggested hiding it from her, she got even more upset. She told me that I was taking her abuser's side over her-- someone that I'd been friends with for two lifetimes now, and that she never wanted to see me again, either. She called me a selfish jerk and ran off sobbing.

And... that's where things are at. Our little friend group's torn apart. I really want to fix things, but I don't even know where to start. Did I do the wrong thing? By taking K's side? By telling him to hide the truth? I just wanted to protect he and F... I really love them both. But now I'm being expected to choose, and I hate that.

Even K thinks I made the wrong call. That I shouldn't have told him to hide it and that F had every right to react how she did. But at the same time... I just feel so sick. I know he's better now. He's my friend. He has to be better. If he's not, then I'm not. I'm just a no-good killer. Why can't F just see that? Remember all the nice stuff K's done for her?

What do I do? How do I repair things? I feel like if I were still the guy I was in my past life then I'd know how to. But instead, I'm clueless. I feel lost and useless. I'm really, really sorry and afraid.

AITA?

#aita #am i the asshole #unreality #abuse #medical abuse #child abuse mention

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morethanwonderful · 2 years ago

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Ok so the whole thing of this episode (4x1) is that Tom and Logan "won" the end of last season and got everything they wanted business-wise, and all it's done is make them even more lonely and miserable.

Everything's been going smoothly for Logan in the past few months. He's got the Gojo deal all lined up. At the beginning of the episode he thought he had Pierce. And yet he was still miserable. He hates his birthday party and leaves to go on a walk with Colin and philosophize at him (without actually letting Colin speak). He misses his kids enough for Kerry to try and fix it, but he's incapable of saying it out loud. He tries to get his sycophants to roast him because he misses the family's banter. He calls Cyd in the middle of the night to yell at her because even ATN, the crown jewel achievement of his empire, fucking sucks when you actually sit down and watch it.

Logan is the king who has nothing.

And in a less intensely obvious way, it's the same for Tom. He's finally high enough in Waystar that he's in with Logan even if him and Shiv split. He's in the inner circle. And he's even got Greg! Greg is finally treating him like a friend rather than somebody to be scared of, and he's started talking sex at Tom all the time like Tom used to do to Greg.

But Tom is also miserable. Winning the game at the end of s3 lost him his wife, and he finally has Greg, but Greg is annoying as hell. He spends the whole episode cringing and pouting, because it turns out the inner circle and his wife's cousin's fruity friendship aren't actually enough to make him happy.

#the winners take it all but the losers can at least take solace in each other's company #while the winners are inescapably lonely #succession #tom wambsgans #logan roy #succession spoilers #successionposting #tom wambsgans my beloved #logan roy my beloathed #english major hours

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ironychan · 1 year ago

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A Little Human (as a Treat)

Part 1/?: Un Voluntario

Part 2/?: Un Escursione

Part 3/?: Una Complicazione

Part 4/?: Una Famiglia

Part 5/?: Un Aiutante

Part 6/?: Una Ricerca

Part 7/?: Un Confronto

Part 8/?: Un'Emergenza

One set of kids is locked up, the other are on the run, and neither are where Massimo and Leonardo have arrived to look for them. @writer652 @dysphoria-sweatshirt

Walking through the city earlier that day, with her friends at her side and bright sunshine overhead, Flavia had felt like she was having a wonderful adventure with something new and amazing around every corner. Now the sun was getting low, casting long, inky black shadows, and groups of humans were talking quietly or watching suspiciously as Flavia and Perla passed by, and the city felt totally different. She kept overhearing the word monstri, and it made her feel a sudden terror that she might just change back out of nowhere. So far the magic seemed pretty dependable, but who knew? Maybe they'd gotten some tiny detail wrong, and it would all go bad at any moment.

That didn't happen, though, and holding on to Perla's hand helped. Perla didn't look worried about anything at all, herself – she stood up straight and walked like there was nothing wrong in the world. She even waved to a couple of the people they passed, and got waves and greetings back.

“Hey, if you don't transform like the other sea monsters,” Perla whispered. “Do your parents have to live on land all the time?”

“Um... no,” said Flavia. What was the shortest way to explain this? “Usually, it's that I can't get out of the water. This is some special magic just for today. I have to find my friends so they can help me change back.”

Perla's eyes went wide. “Does that mean today is the first time you've ever been to land?”

“Not really,” Flavia said, although she wasn't sure her previous experiences counted. “I've been to Nonna Sofia's. She has a house on land where we can keep our human clothes and get mail and stuff like that. I don't go there very often.” Partly because even with the wet towel she couldn't stay out for very long, and partly because her cousins so enjoyed making her miserable. “It's my first time in a city, though.”

“Do you like it?” Perla asked.

“I... I dunno,” Flavia admitted. “I thought I did this morning, but then we all got wet.”

“Maybe next time will be better,” suggested Perla. “I can show you my Papà's fancy pigeons, and the paintings in the basilica. They're supposed to be a thousand years old! And I know where there's an owl's nest. The owl didn't come back this year, but there's still feathers in it.”

Flavia shook her head. “I don't think there's gonna be a next time. My Dads will never let me.” She wasn't even sure she'd want to.

“Perla?” a woman asked. “Perla Pepitone?”

The name was recognizable, but pronounced oddly. The girls looked to see a plump woman in a burgundy dress hurrying towards them. She had short fair hair, and her cat's eye glasses had little gems on the upper corners.

“Ciao, Signora Mulino,” said Perla.

The woman with the accent shook her head. “Zut alors, you girls shouldn't be out and about without an adult! Where do you think you're going?” She started herding them back into the shop she'd come out of. It had fancy cakes and pastries in the window, and the sign said Patisserie. Flavia vaguely remembered noticing it on the way to the zoo, and thinking that pasticceria was a long word so it was probably okay if people couldn't spell it.

“To Narciso's,” Perla replied. “There's nothing to be scared of. Nonna told Papà about the sea monsters but he doesn't believe her.”

But Signora Mulino would not be swayed. She brought them into the shop and got them to a table, where a woman in blue was already sitting with a cup of espresso. There were a few other people in the room, including a boy behind the counter sorting pastries, and a couple sitting at a table by the window, watching the street as if on guard for something.

“Signorina Mulino is from Francia,” Perla told Flavia, happy to gossip even if she wasn't happy to be here. “Her father did something awful during the war and brought his family to Italia so he wouldn't get in trouble for it after. She won't tell us what it was.”

“It's none of anybody's business,” Signorina Mulino told them.

“When she found out about it,” Perla went on, “she was so upset, she tried to throw herself off a cliff into the sea!”

“And I'd prefer to forget both those things!” the Frenchwoman said sharply. “You are your Nonna's granddaughter, aren't you, Perla?”

“That's what Papà says,” Perla agreed. Signorina Mulino had clearly meant it as an insult, but Perla wasn't at all bothered about it.

“Were you okay?” Flavia asked. She knew that humans were often not very good at swimming, and had now learned from unpleasant experience what happened if they tried to breathe the water.

“Yes, I was,” Signorina Mulino said, and nodded at the woman in blue. “Felicia's a better swimmer than I am, and she pulled me out. Pietro!” she called to the boy behind the counter. “Get these girls a treat, please. Felicia, just mind them, would you? I'm going to ring Roberto Pepitone and let him know they're here.”

“Of course, Céline,” said the woman in blue.

“We're fine!” Perla protested. “We're just going to get candy.”

“There aren't any monsters,” Flavia added, feeling she'd better pitch in.

Signorina Mulino and her friend Felicia exchanged a rather significant glance. “Even if there aren't,” the Frenchwoman said, “the story going around is that they were disguised as children, and I don't want anybody thinking it's you. Wait right here, and I'll call your father.” She bustled off to the back of the bakery, while the boy called Pietro came to offer them a plate of madeleines.

The two girls smiled nervously at Felicia. She had limp dark hair tied hastily back under a kerchief, and looked leery of them, as if she wasn't sure they weren't some kind of creature in disguise. If only she knew, Flavia thought. What were they going to do now? They couldn't just sit here and wait for Perla's father to come get them.

“Do you think sea monsters are real?” Perla asked.

“I... would have to see one,” Felicia replied. She looked to see if Pietro were watching, and when she found him concentrating on scrubbing a pan, she took a cookie off the plate meant for the girls. “I don't suppose you two have seen my husband. I've been looking everywhere for him.”

“What's he look like?” Flavia asked, wanting to be helpful.

Felicia sighed. “Never mind, actually. You wouldn't have.”

---

It was at about that time that a small fishing boat puttered into San Giuseppe Bay with two men on board. Instead of coming all the way into the harbour, however, it stopped a long way out, and one of the occupants took a look at the city through binoculars.

“I don't think anybody's noticed us,” said Uncle Leonardo. People appeared to be standing around talking in small groups, paying no attention to the ocean.

Massimo gave a curt nod. “You get Flavia. I'll find the others. We'll meet back here.” 'Here' was a featureless point in the ocean, but that was no problem to a sea monster's innate sense of direction and location.

“Good luck,” said Leonardo.

Massimo climbed overboard.

Entering the water still gave him a moment of instinctive panic. Born without a right arm, Massimo had never learned to swim and had not spent much time on the beach as a child. He had no reason to be afraid anymore – sea monsters swam with their tails instead of their limbs, and even if he sank he would be able to breath – but it was still disconcerting. Giulia was much younger than he, and had adapted much faster.

Once fully submerged and transformed he was able to make himself breathe, and gave the anchor line a tug to let Leonardo know he could pull it back up. Then he turned to look at the soft glow of windows lit by luminescent jellyfish in the gathering twilight, and set out towards them with a flick of his fluked tail.

While not the type to ever admit such a thing, Massimo was... nervous. The sea monsters near Portorosso all knew who – and what – he and Giulia were. Some of them didn't like the idea of humans who could transform, but even those tried not to be rude about it. The community in San Giuseppe Bay were strangers. He had a good enough grasp on their etiquette, and it wasn't as if he were going to be telling them where he came from, but the idea of talking to them still left him just a little on edge.

Sea monster houses did not have doors that opened and shut. To get the attention of the inhabitants, Massimo stopped outside the first one he came to and called out.

“Scusi! Sorry to interrupt.”

It was a family of five – the parents, and three children of various sizes, all helping cook their supper. As seemed to be usual, it was the wife who came to the door to greet their caller while the husband stayed minding a basket of food perched on the hot water chimney in the kitchen. The children followed to see who this visitor was.

“Buona sera,” the woman said, polite but concerned.

“I am looking for three children, two boys and a girl, around fourteen years old,” Massimo said. “They would have been wearing human clothes, like me.”

She shook her head. “I haven't seen them.” She looked over her shoulder at her family. The children shrugged, and the husband, whose mouth was full, made a negative noise.

“Sorry,” she said to Massimo.

“Grazie, Signora,” he replied, and moved on to the next property.

---

High above and perhaps a kilometre away, Leonardo Scorfano brought the boat puttering into the harbour, thinking as he did how Giorgio was going to kill him when he got home. He should never have let Flavia run off with the others unsupervised. Leonardo should have gone with her. Then, when the fountain had broken, he would...

... well, he probably would have been soaked, too, but maybe he could have given Flavia some option besides going with that horrible Pepitone woman. He could still hear her going on and on about how ugly and frightening sea monsters were. That was the sort of thing to give a child problems for life.

He and Massimo had avoided notice out at sea, but the inhabitants soon saw a boat approaching their dock, and a group began to gather. Leonardo shut off the engine and drifted to a stop a few metres from the wharf to assess the risk here. It didn't look good. The humans were almost all men, watching him warily or muttering to each other. Some of them had harpoons. Others had buckets of water.

Leonardo held up his hands. “My name is Leonardo Scorfano!” he called out. “I'm just here for my daughter. I got a telephone call. She was separated from her friends and she's with a woman named Dionisia Pepitone.” How could he convince them he was harmless without having to get wet?

Giancarlo would have been able to do it. For all Leonardo's little brother was a lousy criminal and had been a worse father to young Alberto, he really could talk anybody into anything. What would Giancarlo say now?

“Apparently,” Leonardo added, “Signora Pepitone saved her from some, uh, sea monsters?”

He wasn't sure this wouldn't be a dangerous thing to say, but as it turned out, it was exactly what the humans needed to hear. The group visibly relaxed, and Leonardo was able to bring the boat the rest of the way in. A man on the shore offered a hand to help him out of the boat, and Leonardo thanked him and decided to risk asking a couple of questions.

“Did anybody see these sea monsters?” he asked.

“My sister did!” somebody offered. “She works at the zoo. She said they had long tails and sharp teeth!”

“They were disguised as children,” another person agreed. “Was your daughter supposed to be with friends?”

“She was with my nephew and a couple of his friends,” Leonardo said.

“Well, be very careful,” the first man said. “If you meet them, you can't trust that they are who they appear to be!”

“Yeah, nobody suspected a thing until the fountain broke,” the second man told him. “Their disguises were flawless.”

“I'll keep that in mind,” Leonardo promised, trying very hard not to sound sarcastic. He tied the boat in place, very wary of the water lapping the posts of the dock. It wouldn't take much to cause a disaster now, just one stray bit of spray. “Is there a telephone I can use? I'd like to warn Signora Pepitone I'm coming.” If she were on her guard for sea monsters disguised as humans then she, too, might have a bucket of water handy to throw on anyone who rang her bell unannounced.

Another member of the crowd showed him to a pay telephone under the row of arches that fronted a line of shops. He put a coin in the phone's slot and asked the operator for Dionisia Pepitone. The phone rang twice, and then somebody picked up.

“Hello?” asked the woman's voice.

“Hello, Dionisia,” he replied, “it's Leonardo Scorfano. I've arrived in town. I'm down at the harbour and I wanted to let you know I was coming. Just so you wouldn't be afraid I was another sea monster and soak me at the door.” He attempted a chuckle.

“Of course, of course,” she said. “Just another test – what colour is Flavia's hair?”

“Dark brown, almost black,” said Leonardo, “chin-length and curly at the tips.” He'd just stared at her that morning, trying to memorize every detail of her human form. Even if he never saw it again, he wanted to know it as well as he knew her sea monster one. Any father would.

He could hear Signora Pepitone's sigh of relief. “I'll bring her down right away. You're at the harbour, you said? Just a moment.” Her voice became muffled as she covered the receiver and called to somebody else in the room. Roberto! Get the girls, would you? Tell Flavia her father's here!

It was now Leonardo's turn to sigh. The biggest hurdles were over. All he had to do now was meet Flavia and return to where they'd dropped off Massimo, and then they could all go home and try to forget this ever happened. Poor Flavia. Would she ever even want to visit her grandmother's house on Procida again, or would this experience leave her finished with the land for good?

Then he heard the thump of the phone receiver hitting the wall, and voices shouting. His heart tightened in his chest.

“Hello?” Leonardo asked. “Hello? What's going on over there?”

Only after several more muffled shouts and what sounded like a lot of running did anybody pick up the phone again. It was a woman, but not Signora Pepitone. “Hello?” she asked breathlessly. “Signor Scorfano, are you still there?”

“Yes, yes, I am,” he said. “What happened?”

“I'm so sorry,” the woman said, “bur the girls are gone.”

For a moment, Leonardo couldn't believe he'd just heard that. He had to have missed something. She couldn't mean gone. Then a shiver passed over him as if he were falling into cold water, so intense that he was a bit surprised he didn't Change. “What do you mean, gone?” he asked.

“Perla and Flavia went into the other room,” said the woman. “Perla was going to show her something. My mother-in-law has all these little ceramic birds and Perla loves birds, it's all she talks about... but now they've both vanished!”

“Roberto's checking the hallway!” came the voice of Signora Pepitone. “Maybe they went to a neighbour's. All the neighbours know Perla.”

“Where's your house? I”ll be right there,” Leonardo said. How could this be happening? Flavia had promised to stay where she was? How had this other girl persuaded her to run away? Where were they going, and why? “Hello?”

The phone was passed back to Signora Pepitone. “Sorry, I'm still here. Oh, this is terrible. My granddaughter, Perla... I thought the two of them would be friends, I thought it would be good for Flavia to have some company after the other children turned out to be monsters! I...” He could hear her take a deep breath and try to calm herself. “Those sea monsters! It must be! They came in and took her somehow!”

“I don't know if sea monsters could get into your house,” said Leonardo, though he didn't know what good that would do. This situation was getting worse and worse. Not only was Flavia missing, but if he were revealed now...

“I don't know how they'd do it, either!” said Signora Pepitone. “We need the police! Yes, the police station is at the Piazza Centrale, we'll meet you there.”

“Right. I'll head right up.” Leonardo put the phone back in the cradle and turned to the group of people, who were gathered around watching as if this were all some sort of show. Humans, like sea monsters, enjoyed nothing more than a bit of gossip. “Don't just stand there!” he told them. “My daughter is missing! Where is the police station?”

“I'll take you there,” a woman offered. “This way.”

---

If Flavia had known that Papa Leo was only a few blocks away, she might not have felt trapped in the bakery. As it was, she and Perla could only sit there watching the woman called Felicia eat the cookies and fret, staring out the window as people went by. She clearly was far more interested in spotting her husband if he passed than in what the girls were doing, but she would surely notice if they tried to leave. Flavia thought as hard as she could, but she didn't have any ideas, and when she looked at Perla, she could see her new friend didn't, either. They were running out of time before Perla's father was sure to come for them.

Then they got a reprieve. Signoria Mulino returned with cups of chocolate for them, and as she set these down she said, “there's no answer at your father's place, and your grandmother's line is busy. I”ll try again in a few minutes.”

“We're really fine, Signorina,” Perla insisted. “We were just going to buy some candy and then we'll go straight back. At the end of the day Signor Giglioli gives it out cheap so he won't have to keep it overnight.”

“It's not like there's sea monsters just walking around in the streets,” Flavia said.

Signorina Mulino and her friend Felicia looked at each other again, but before either could speak, the bell on the Patisserie door rang violently as a boy of about fifteen burst in.

“They caught them!” he announced, breathless. “Pietro, they caught the monsters!”

“What? Really?” Felicia jumped to her feet, speaking around a mouthful of cookie.

Pietro came out from behind the corner, shooing at the younger boy. “Eustachio! How many times does Mamma have to tell you not to bother me at work?”

Felicia stuffed one more cookie in her mouth, then ran up to Eustachio and grabbed his shirt. “What happened?” she asked. “Which monsters? Did you see them?”

“Yeah, three little ones and a big one!” the boy replied with enthusiasm. “Officer Ippolito has them locked up at the police station! Everybody's coming to see! Come on, Pietro,” he added to his brother.

“I am working,” Pietro insisted.

“Well, if the monsters are caught, then it's safe and we can go!” Perla announced. She grabbed Flavia's hand, and when Pietro opened the door to throw his brother out, the two of them dashed through it. “Come on, police station is this way!” said Perla.

“Hey, wait!” the woman called Felicia said. “I'm... I'm supposed to be watching you! Wait for me!” and she hurried after them.

---

By the time he'd called at the fourth sea monster house, Massimo was getting worried. Alberto, Luca, and Giulia were not the sort of children to keep a low profile. If they'd been here, somebody should have seen them, but so far he'd heard no three times, and arrived at the fourth house to find there was nobody home.

He was probably worrying about nothing – Massimo was self-aware enough to know he did that where his daughter was concerned. He probably just needed to ask somebody who lived a little closer to shore, but he couldn't help wondering about other possibilities. Flavia had told her father that the others had fled into the river. They'd assumed the river flowed through the storm drains into the sea, like the stream in Portorosso, but what if it didn't? What if they were trapped somewhere underground.

“Are you looking for the Macarellos?”

Massimo turned to face the woman who'd spoke to him. She was tall for a female, dark blue in colour with lighter fins that were starting to fade to transparent with age, and like everybody he'd met so far, she looked a little worried by him. It might have just been because he was big, but he suspected it was at least partly his clothing. Sea monsters off the coast of Portorosso were getting used to seeing their neighbours dressed as humans. In San Giuseppe Bay, it would be a novel sight.

“No,” he replied, “I am looking for my daughter, my nephew, and their friends.”

“Were they dressed like you?” the woman asked. “My brother mentioned seeing three kids in land monster clothes.”

Massimo's heart beat a bit faster. “Yes. Did he say where they went?”

“They were looking for Antonio Macarello,” she replied. “He sent them here.” She drifted past Massimo to look around indoors. “Felicia! Hello?”

“Not on a Thursday, but today isn't Thursday,” the woman replied. “Thursdays Antonio visits friends from out of town, so Felicia goes to see her friend Celina. The rest of the week they're usually here in the evenings.”

“They've gone with the children,” Massimo decided, relieved. Giulia was responsible, as was Luca, and Alberto was smarter than he let on – but it was still good to know they had adults with them. “They'll be in the city, looking for a friend.” Hopefully they could meet up with Leonardo and Flavia, and they would all go home together.

“In the land monster city?” The sea monster woman was shocked. “Surely not! Antonio's scared to death of the place! That's why Felicia never...” she stopped and shook her head. “Sorry, I really shouldn't gossip. I only came to borrow a knife.”

“I have one.” Massimo pulled his cleaver out of his belt. “Will this do?”

She went cross-eyed for a moment looking at it. “Oh, my. Ah, yes, that will more than do it, thank you.” She took it from him as if afraid it would explore. “You're not from the boy, are you?”

“No. I live in Portorosso,” Massimo said.

The woman nodded. “I did think I would surely remember you if I'd seen you before. I'm Deodata Razza.”

“Massimo Marcovaldo.” He shook her hand, only remembering afterwards that this wasn't how sea monsters greeted each other. She looked puzzled, but she rallied.

“Can I fix you something?” she asked cautiously. “As a thank you? My house is just over the rise.”

“No, thank you. I will stay here and wait for the Macarellos,” Massimo decided. They would be able to tell him if the kids had found Flavia and were now on their way back.

Signora Razza looked relieved. “I'll bring it right back,” she promised, and swam away in a hurry.

---

Massimo would have been horrified if he'd known where Antonio Macarello and the kids were at that moment – still sitting in the jail cell under the nervous eye of Officer Ippolito. Luca and Giulia were seated on either side of Antonio on the cell's little bench, while Alberto let the policeman know exactly what he thought of the situation.

“We didn't do anything wrong!” he said, shaking the bars like he'd seen in cowboy movies. “Just being a sea monster isn't a crime!”

“You were... you were disturbing the peace,” said the policeman.

“We were not! It was the lady at the zoo who made a big scene,” Alberto reminded him. “We just wanted to see some animals.”

Ippolito held up his hands. “Look,” he said nervously. “My job is to make the people in this town feel safe, and they don't feel safe when weird creatures are wandering the streets disguised as children.”

“It's not a disguise,” said Alberto.

“What do you call it, then?”

“It's just what we do, Sir,” said Luca, standing up. “When we get out of the water we look like humans. It's not even on purpose.” He thought for a moment. “Except for Alberto.”

“Yeah, Alberto can do it on purpose,” Giulia agreed.

Alberto looked the officer in the eye and demonstrated, which made Ippolito yelp and stumble back a couple of involuntary steps.

Through all of this, Antonio just sat with his head in his hands. “Cod almighty,” he moaned, “why didn't I just listen to my parents. They told me it was a terrible idea, hanging out with humans.”

Alberto rolled his eyes as he changed back, prompting another startled twitch from the police officer. “It's not that bad when dumb things like this don't happen. Have your parents ever even come up here?”

“Mine did, a long time ago,” said Luca. “Them and my Uncle Ugo. It was during the war – that's why they thought it was dangerous.”

Antonio shook his head and leaned back against the wall. “When they caught me getting back in the water, they told me, humans aren't pets. They're cute when they're little but they grow up and get mean. I was an idiot and I didn't want to lose my friends, so I thought, fine, I'll hang out with them for now when Mom and Dad aren't looking, and when we're older I'll stop. I'll be able to tell when they start getting dangerous.

“And you know, time went by and we all grew up. I went to Ippolito's wedding,” he gestured to the officer, who was watching warily from a corner, “and that made me think, I probably shouldn't be doing this anymore. We're adults now, they might turn on me at any moment. I married Felicia and she's terrified of the surface so I figured I'd stay away, but I got curious and wandered into town one day. Ippolito and Ruggero and Graziano were happy to see me, and next thing I know Thursdays are card nights. Felicia thought that was fine, because she's got a cousin or something she sees on Thursdays, so she never found out, and I honestly thought I could get away with it forever. Now... it's just like Mom and Dad said,” he sighed.

“It's not your fault you were hanging out with lousy humans,” said Alberto. “Most of them are fine.”

Officer Ippolito was, of course, still in the room, and he'd come a little closer as he listened to Antonio's story. “If you were so scared of us,” he said, “why did you show yourself back there?”

“Because I thought you might let the kids go if I could show you we weren't dangerous,” Antonio said. “I thought about telling you before, but I always chickened out.”

“So congratulations on being a jerk,” said Alberto.

Ippolito grimaced. He looked like he felt guilty, so Luca decided to try just asking again. “Like I said, Sir, we're just looking for our friend. If you let us go we'll find her, and then we promise to leave and never come back.”

The policeman appeared to think about it, but then he shook his head. “I... I've got to follow procedure,” he said. “I'll lose my job. Too many people already know about it.” He started pacing up and down the room. “I've already phoned the mayor. He's coming all the way back from Campania to see you. I...” he gave them a pleading look.

“Macché?” asked Alberto.

The door between the office and the room with the cell opened, and another man stuck his head in. “Ippolito?” he asked. “The witness is here.”

Ippolito nodded, grateful for the distraction. “Great! Bring her in!”

The door closed again, only to re-open a few seconds later to reveal the woman from the zoo. She was dressed in dry clothes now, without the sunglasses and kerchief, but she was just as horrified to see them.

“Ah, Signora Pepitone,” said Ippolito, ushering her in. “Are these the children you saw?”

She didn't answer. Instead, she pushed past him and stormed right up to the bars to look Alberto in the eye. “What have you done with the girls?” she demanded.

Nobody knew how to react to that. Alberto had no idea what she was talking about. He looked over his shoulder to see if the others knew. Luca shrugged, and Giulia could only shake her head. Antonio Macarello just continued sitting there with his head in his hands.

“What girls?” asked Luca.

“Don't you play innocent!” Signora Pepitone shook a finger at him. “Flavia and Perla are gone, and I know you had something to do with it! How did you get into my apartment?”

“Flavia's in trouble?” asked Alberto.

“She was safe as long as I was looking after her!” said Signora Pepitone. “Her father was coming to get her and everything was going to be fine, but you just couldn't let her escape, could you? What have you done with them?”

“Her father?” Alberto looked at the door. The second police officer was waiting there, with another man – a familiar one. “Uncle Leonardo!”

“Don't listen to him!” Signora Pepitone whirled around to hold up a warning hand. “Even if he looks like your nephew, he's not! He's some kind of creature! I saw it for myself!”

Alberto stuck his tongue out at her back and transformed again. The younger policeman cried out in surprise, and Leonardo groaned, but by the time Signora Pepitone turned around again to see what they were reacting to, Alberto was back to human.

“Stop that.” Giulia gently cuffed his shoulder. “You're gonna make it worse.”

“Madame,” said Ippolito. “Can I take this to mean you've identified them? These are the same creatures you saw earlier, and we can tell the town they're safely in custody?”

“Yes,” said Signora Pepitone, and eyed Alberto again. “You can't lie to me. I see right through you. What have you done with Flavia and my granddaughter.”

“We haven't seen Flavia since we left her with you at the zoo, Madame,” said Luca.

“And we've never even met your granddaughter,” Giulia added.

Ippolito put an arm around Signora Pepitone's shoulders to escort her out. “At the moment we can't prove they're involved, Signora, so let's do the investigation properly.” He passed her on to the other policeman, and Leonardo Scorfano took her other arm. “Tell Officer Bianchi where and when you last saw them, and we'll go from there.”

Leonardo looked over his shoulder with an apologetic grimace, then turned away to help with Signora Pepitone. The kids didn't know what to do. They couldn't call him out in front of all these people who were afraid of sea monsters, but maybe he could come up with something to help. The only thing they could do was wait.

Officer Ippolito shut the door.

#pixar luca #luca 2021 #luca paguro #alberto scorfano #giulia marcovaldo #ercole visconti #fanfiction #a little human (as a treat)

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