#but that choice ended up making him worse. he's at one of his lowest points (i say ''one of'' because ody got multiple lmao)

[epicfirestormer]

I think it's both hilarious and depressing that Circe's "one act of kindness that could lead to kinder souls down the road", was what ended up leading Odysseus into his downward spiral of becoming a monster. Circe lead him to the Underworld, thinking it may help him (acknowledging that it's dangerous but his only way home, which. Ironically enough, this is the ONLY saga where they don't face ANY danger besides Odysseus' own past actions) as an an act of kindness, when in actuality it was what lead him to the realization that he needed to be a monster. This might unintentionally be a parallel to Polyphemus, where Odysseus considers it a mercy to not kill him only for it to backfire on him. Circe had good intentions, but ended up making it worse for him. Act of kindness isn't always a good thing.

[thedartingandsprinting]

Natsuo Todoroki hasn't changed

Since he was introduced, I have always considered Natsuo troublesome for his family. He doesn't respect Rei and Fuyumi's choices to forgive Enji. He spreads the false rumours that Toya said to him as a kid. Despite Enji already atoning, Natsuo gets aggressive with him, stressing out the whole family and preventing them from healing.

As the manga reached its finale, I hoped that Natsuo would realise he was going down a dangerous path and apologise for his mistakes. However, this turned out not to be the case. Natsuo hasn't changed and is set to turn out like his father, if not worse.

When it comes to stopping Toya, the Todoroki family is inconsistent with their choices. At first, the family's civilians remained safe, and the heroes were allowed to do their jobs. Otherwise, they could get into legal trouble for vigilantism. It doesn't matter how personal the stakes are. Additionally, Shoto could focus on his fight with Dabi and not worry about his loved ones.

Natsuo fulfils his promise at first, remaining in the shelter and keeping his sister safe.

It was reckless enough when Rei got involved in Toya's fight. Then, Natsuo and Fuyumi had to disobey their mother. Three civilians had stuck their noses in hero work. Luckily, it all ended well in the end.

Who knows, this plan change could be better in the long term. They are in the middle of a war, and sometimes, you can't wait for legal permission. The ice users have no hero training but could negotiate as the criminal's family. Natsuo claims he is the closest to Toya, so he must step up the most here.

For a brief moment, Natsuo seems he is on the right track. He remembers the night when Toya called the women "useless", and he refused to refute it. He enabled Toya for too long and now Natsuo must take responsibility.

Instead, he unhelpfully insults Toya. Where is Natsuo admitting his own guilt? Where is his meaningful speech? He hardly tries for the brother he claimed to be close to and enabled.

This is why non-professionals getting involved was a bad idea. He could have angered Toya further and made everything more dangerous.

After this brief line to Toya, Natsuo gives up on negotiating. Instead, he focuses on using his untrained quirk and trying to overpower Toya. This could have been disastrous.

When Shoto finally defeats Toya, Natsuo makes his loyalties known. He doesn't rush to check on Toya, who is likely dead. Instead, he keeps his distance. Natsuo is simply flunking his duties.

Natsuo doesn't even acknowledge or thank Shoto for saving everyone. It is Fuyumi who speaks up.

Despite having his thoughts, Natsuo doesn't say any of them aloud. He completely ignores his villainous brother dying on the ground and the complicated history that led to this point.

Enji's apologies revealed the bitter truth about Natsuo. He had it the easiest out of the entire Todoroki family. Enji and Shoto have put their lives countless times on the line to save them. Rei has spent ten years in a mental hospital. Fuyumi had to do the housework and keep the family together from a young age.

Meanwhile, Natsuo can fulfil his dreams at college, get a girlfriend and barely phone home. It is time for him to do his fair share and do some emotional labour. He can ease the load of his loved ones. However, he selfishly makes them do all the heavy lifting.

Even after his 16-year-old brother faints, Natsuo doesn't move to check on him. Toya is one thing, but Shoto is the most innocent one of all.

Even at the lowest possible point, Natsuo can't help but insult Enji: "Mom and Fuyumi had enough heat for one day." He indirectly throws shade on Shoto as well, just because he has a fire quirk.

Worst of all, Natsuo demands that Enji continue fighting despite losing his arm and having third-degree burns. Ignoring the family aspect momentarily, Natsuo is incredibly ungrateful as a civilian towards a serving hero.

After the war, the Todoroki family visit Toya in the hospital. Despite his brother dying and everyone being scarred, Natsuo just coldly stares. Rei and Fuyumi pipe up, but the thirdborn thinks he can ignore the past.

Worst of all, Natsuo decides to make it all about him and suddenly announces he is disowning Enji. Is he going to abandon his mother to look after his wheelchair-bound father? Will he ignore all the effort that Enji has put into atoning?

A child unnecessarily disowning their parent will leave an emotional scar on their very soul.

Has Natsuo reflected on everyone's part in the family's dysfunctionality? Does he not understand how sociopathic Toya was as a child and responsible for his parents' poor mental health? He remembers that Toya called the women "useless", but he doesn't acknowledge all the other horrible things Toya did.

Will Natsuo be a hypocrite and not disown the relatives who sold off his mother?

Despite Natsuo's stinging words at Enji, he gives him emotional whiplash by praising him. Deep down, Natsuo knows Enji deserves better, and he wants a connection with his father. However, he is overtaken by childish stubbornness and pettyness. Natsuo is the only person preventing Fuyumi's dream of their family being complete and he is denying her that. He is holding everyone back. He is a coward and ungrateful.

I'm seriously convinced that Natsuo will continue the cycle of abuse. He is already making the same mistake of marrying at the young age of twenty.

I'm wondering what Natsuo's girlfriend feels about this. Why did she agree to never meet her father-in-law? Why did she agree to a non-ceremonial wedding? Did she agree that her future children would never know their grandfather? She looks like she has a shy personality, and I wonder if Natsuo likes to take advantage of that. Is he controlling towards her?

What will his attitude be towards his future children? What if they become curious about their family history? What if they have fire quirks? What if they look exactly like Enji?

I fear that Natsuo will become like Kotaro Shimura, Shigaraki's father. If this happens, the ice user would be worse than Enji. Endeavour lost his father at a young age and didn't have a good example for his own parenting. Meanwhile, Natsuo has a long history to learn from. Multiple loved ones are reaching out to him and begging him to heal. Natsuo should know better, yet he chooses to fester on his grudges and potentially carry on the abusive cycle.

Natsuo already has a fierce temper and a habit of hitting things. How long before it turns from objects to real people?

[rubra-wav]

[ Entry #10 ] What it would be like actually dating Vox hcs

A/N I love Vox, but the reality of it is that he'd be terrible for a lot of reasons and I'm not gonna sugarcoat it in here like at all.

Me when theoretically very complex but ultimately still extremely problematic character: *foaming at mouth*

I love him.. but God I also hate him... but I also love hi-

This is a long one jfc.

Cw: Nsfw - no smut but strong themes, discussion of toxic relationships, manipulation, discussion of emotionally abusive/controlling behaviour, insecure aa toxic cis man behaviour, suggestive at one point

Someone asked me what I thought he'd be like with a yes-man reader so here it is

The worst out of the way first

The thing about Vox is that he's got a fuckton of baggage and bad traits that need desperate management, and they would sure as hell not be being managed by him on his own choice.

As his partner, you would NOT be able to be a pushover or shy away from any kind of confrontation about actions that have upset you because if Vox had a partner like this? He'd become the absolute worst version of himself in your relationship because you would not be calling him out or enforcing boundaries with him.

- He's insecure, and it's in the worst way possible.

And not in the 'aw he just needs to be loved and then he'll be healed' way. I'm talking in the 'toxic, refuses to remedy his own behaviours, becomes very emotionally abusive abt it if you don't pull up your boots and confront him abt it and make sure he actually does shit about it' way.

The fanfic community likes to portray him as a victim in the relationship with Val, and while it's true Val is certainly worse for obvious/overt reasons - He's still not just a victim in that situation. He's also terrible.

Just for reasons that are less overt and are thus overshadowed a lot. Acknowledging that doesn't make the shit Val (at least seemingly thus far. Vox side-stepped the drink being thrown pretty fast and seems accustomed to violent tantrums) does to him any less terrible, it's just the truth he's not a poor defenceless victim in that. (Vox literally goes to try use his mind control power on Val the second he seems like he's gonna damage their image then throws his lowest earners under the bus.)

- In the beginning if you aren't giving him attention at all times, do something that reminds him of Valentino even slightly, or if you do something that he just mildly doesn't like; then he will be passive aggressive or straight up aggressive as absolute fucking hell.

The second he feels slighted even a little bit, he's going to be so pissy.

- And he can't communicate for absolute shit. He thinks you are doing shit on purpose to piss him off or hurt him. This is due to his relationship with Val, but it's not him being a sad sob story kind of thing (not all around at least), he will be awful to you if you allow him to ever be just a victim who can do no wrong.

- He will project all his bs heavily onto you in the beginning with complete self awareness and no thought given to managing his own shit.

If you ask what's wrong when he's acting up he probably would be the type of bitch to go 'nothing's wrong' and will then proceed to ruminate upon it until he ends up exploding about it later on. Or, maybe he'll even do the 'you know what you've done' type of shit.

- He would probably expect you to be a mind reader and when you inevitably aren't aware of wtf is happening because he hates being emotionally vulnerable at all and can't describe what's going on properly for himself, he will be an absolute bitch about it. (Carried here from my other hc that he has a bunch of self-imposed toxic masculinity he needs to deconstruct)

- If you call him out, he will likely try to convince you he's not doing it.

- He'll become increasingly more self-aware of his behaviour you are aware of and will just be even worse because he hates that you could see something about him he doesn't want you to see.

Basically, he feels embarrassed as fuck about it, and cannot apologise because that's humiliating as all hell to him, so instead of turning inwards and dealing with his crap he then proceeds to consciously project shit onto you even when he knows he's in the wrong.

He'd rather argue the wrong point and behaviour than admit he's capable of making mistakes.

He will probably also try to hypnotise you into forgetting anything he thinks is undesirable you know about him too.

- You will need to actually teach him real consequences for his actions, but also need to be assuring him that you aren't going to do shit like Val would have or leave him for someone else and shit like that simultaneously.

He needs to essentially be taught consequences, boundaries, healthy relationship behaviour, etc. From absolute scratch. I would literally pay for this cunts therapy atp istg.

- And this is gonna be an absolute fucking nightmare because again, he doesn't want to admit that he doesn't know what the fuck he's doing and that he's in the wrong. All that interferes with his image he wants to put out at all times in your relationship with him.

He's got masks on masks. Even one for your relationship. The second that cracks in any regard, he's gonna be rushing to compensate for that, and if that doesn't work, he's gonna be pissed and most likely end up pushing that onto you.

- Speaking of image. I mentioned this in a fic, but he'd most likely be extremely controlling over your freedom to disclose your relationship, too. If he thought you would look poor as a partner for his reputation (ie. Low status, bad reputation), he'd most likely never want to publicly reveal your relationship no matter how much he loves you - he'd likely hide this completely behind you having privacy but if you say you want people to know anyway he's going to slowly become more and more overtly pissy about it.

And, if you are openly known to be in a relationship, he will be wanting to control your own image as well.

If you step one foot out of line of what he deems perfect, good lord he will be an absolute nightmare.

- Also mentioned in another post, but he would absolutely also watch you through cameras you don't know are there. Same as what he's seen doing with Val.

- He's got practically zero qualms in the beginning of your relationship with violating your privacy or boundaries if he thinks he'll get away with it/that you won't find out about it. This also likely goes for things like checking your texts, calls, and search history without permission.

- The possibility that he'd try to interfere with your personal relationships if he thought they would try drag you away from him or if they take up a lot of your attention is also pretty present.

He's an incredibly jealous person (as seen by him seeming jealous of Angel with Val of all people), so the second he sees you giving someone else positive attention? He's gonna be fucking furious.

- Again, you could not be a pushover in your relationship with him because he'd be absolutely awful. You'd have to basically be reality checking him every three seconds - it's NOT for the faint of heart and even if you're incredibly patient you will probably be going insane from it at points.

Implying you can actually get him to change tho he would become a lot better - he's gonna be fighting you on practically everything because the second he feels out of control of a situation or himself he's gonna be freaking out.

He will probably be straight up terrified if it seems like you are making him 'change', even if it's for the better and will ultimately ALSO benefit him too.

The SECOND he feels out of control of a situation in any way, he will be terrible.

- Also, if you manage to push him on the path to behaviour management this cunt will be looking smug and proud of himself as all hell the second he even slightly does what you ask and will be a bitch if you don't rain down praise on him for it. 💀

- He's so positive attention motivated it's actually pathetic lmao

With that out of the way - the slightly better/good other stuff

- Vox works fucking nightmare hours with his position in hell, and he hates not being able to be around you much so he's almost always trying to make it up to you.

- He'll be on calls with you or texting you most hours of the day (even when he probably should not be) because he's honestly clingy as hell.

If you don't like having a million notifications from someone blowing up your phone with random shit then you are not going to like being apart from him because he is chronically on his phone.

- Another thing is the gifts.

If you want a sugar daddy aa boyfriend? This is the man for you because my God will he shower you with the most expensive gifts you have ever received. New phones, cars, jewellery, clothes, so on so on.

It's bad if you don't like consumerism and want to keep devices even if newer ones come out because the second something new comes out he's getting it for you - even before it becomes publicly available to the rest of hell, it's in your hands. He wants the best stuff and only the best stuff for you. How would that make him look if his partner didn't have all the best stuff? To you and also others

- Also, the second you mention you actually want or need something? It's there right in front of you. Bro has personal delivery drones, and it will be there in under 15 minutes delivered to you or someone's getting shot.

- I've seen a few people imply gift giving is his primary love language, and it's certainly up there, but I personally think that it's more likely acts of service.

This man never does anything for anyone unless it's to keep things from being annoying to him, self gain, or damaging his image. So for him to do things for you that he knows you want from him even if he doesnt particularly want to? He is well and truly in love with you, and that would be how he'd let you know that even if he isn't self-aware of it, lmao.

He doesn't like being told to do things, but he's really good at picking up on what people want usually (unless he's being delulu) so if he notices something or you mention stuff off-hand? He'll try to do it/get it/whatever it is for you.

Material things are just material things. He's rich, it doesn't mean that much to drop thousands for him. Him actually doing things for you, though? Even if it doesn't benefit him at all? That's something else entirely.

Will be annoying asf if you don't thank him enough for it, though. Ie. "Well, you're welcome then." While pouting at you.

- As for spending time with him:

I believe he constantly wants to be alone with you and only with you when he actually has time to do so, so he only wants dates to be one-on-ond most of the time.

There aren't exactly limits upon that, though, like at all.

He's absolutely rich and has ridiculous privileges so you could be on comfy home dates where you two just stay in and cuddle after eating dinner, or seeing concerts/watching movies/etc exclusively where they are not available to just anyone, or something fucking ridiculous like eating a fancy dinner at a custom designed restaurant just for dates under a goddamn aquarium (very likely ngl)

The second he gets to show off his power, he's gonna do it with a smug grin.

- He's also extremely big on physical touch but would never admit it. I already go over this in another entry, but he's gonna have a hand on you at all times (hand on your waist, hip or shoulder, purposely brushing against you more then he logically has to be, etc)

Brief mentions of sexual stuff here

I feel like he'd love someone big on physical touch - both in a sexual way but also especially in a non-sexual way.

He's not used to getting someone cuddling him or holding his hands or literally just touching him at all without some underlying ulterior motive, so he'd probably just melt into your touch.

Also I'll link the post bc there's further takes on this in it but they are ✨️sus✨️

- He would be extremely protective of you- this can absolutely become one of the blue sections really easily- but if you're in a relationship he's gonna be constantly concerned about your safety and whether you are at risk.

I mean, you're in hell. Just about anyone could turn out to be some maniac (ironic he would think that 🤨)

Anyways, point is, you'd be safe from any other maniacs. He would give you the best security and protection probably in hell.

Another thing is that he's gonna be super paranoid at all times about whether you're safe or not. Which would probably get honestly annoying rather than endearing at a point. 💀

- Even though he's really against revealing his more vulnerable parts and what he doesn't think are desirable of himself, he's absolutely craving emotional security with someone.

So when you get him passed that? He's gonna be so goddamn clingy - even more then before lmao.

Ending note

He's an absolute nightmare who's high maintenance asf and could become extremely abusive emotionally, but he really also needs to be romanced properly for that to actually get better by a partner who won't take his bs and knows how to take him down a peg and put him in his place when he's being awful.

And definitely therapy.

The fact that I think all this and know how much an awful person he is and still love him this much as a character has gotta indicate some sort of insanity/j

[ Masterlist ]

[pleucas]

i'm still half asleep as i write this. sorry if unorganized. i wake this morning but a wee little soul accused of not dismantling the facade of the character, of demonizing mental illness and most horrendously, watching the anime first. oh Cheese is also here sitting in the corner. real ominously, kinda scaring me.

so, firstly, i actually hate watching anime and like all animated media where there's a book. they speak too slow and less information is conveyed. if i can read something faster than i can watch the show, im going to read it. ive actually only watched the first couple episodes of BSD and the Dark Era ones. ive read the manga like 3 times and most of the light novels relating to chuuya and dazai. now that that the clear most important point is out of the way, which is that my media illiteracy is through MY OWN CHOICE !! onto the others. dazai is a well written character. he's entertaining to think about. a character being well written doesn't make them likeable though? he was written to be annoying, he gets on near everyone's nerves in the show. i can be annoyed with him AND ALSO understand that despite that he is a multi layered character who isn't necessarily all good or bad. sorry if i came off like that wasn't the case in my other asks. i get his facade, i understand why he does it, ive been there to when i was reallllly deep in depression. and with that said, it still frustrates me. this is gonna be a shocker, a real hard pill to swallow, some other expression of surprise, living life in a state where you're always passively lying to people is bad for you relationships!! i feel the burden to see through the facade is often placed on the people around him, but i think setting the standard that people should just know without you telling them can be pretty unhealthy.

i think in these kinda ships where one of the character's has basically erected a wall between themselves in the war, the compelling part is seeing the bricks, day by day, be taken apart. and, ultimately, it is on the person who put up the wall to do that in the end. they can have help, of course. most need a remarkable amount of assurance for it, but still it falls on the shoulders of the person who put it up.

im not going to compare mental illness or toxicity, but i don't think Chuuya even wants to assure him. furthermore, given their relationship, i think that's a respectable decision. im not going to bash him for disliking someone who admits to doing everything in his power to annoy him even at his lowest moments (STORMBRINGER DAZZAI OH HOW I HATE YOU. TANGENT TIME: there's a difference between manipulating a situation to be advantageous and it happening to turn out good for the people involved and helping. intentions matter!! dazai wanted the outcome best for HIMSELF. he does this a lot, drags other people into it. all the time. beast dazai? even worse. hate that guy. people read beast as a dazai angst book?? what??? clearly it was sskk fodder.) Chuuya is far less intelligent than dazai, alright. not a negative, but when it comes to holding him accountable my standard isn't as high. he clearly cares for others and has a strong moral backbone, even if id disagree with him on it, unlike SOMEONE i know. he values personhood generally. mentally ill people still have free will. i don't hate dazai for being mentally ill, i hate him for the choices he makes. i understand they stem from the illness, everything exists in context or whatnot, but that doesn't excuse it. on the point about him changing for the better, i don't actually think he has. not in a significant way. once more, intentions matter. he's 'being good' because Oda told him to be, but to this day, he still manipulates the people around him - and this is an active choice. one example: everything he makes Akutagawa do. in the relationship, he's very clearly still taking advantage of the emotional abuse he put him through. it helps the ADA, but it also shows he falls into the same patterns he always has. he can change, of course, and id like to see him change, but in my eyes it hasn't really happened yet. when it does? maybe ill like skk!! ive got hope for this arc.

on a much lighter note, im pretty sure i know who Cheese is. i showed this page to a friend a couple days ago and they said something about sending an ask in. sorry about them, they talk too much. me? im very concise. This has obviously been Rimu

RIMU OMG WELCOME BACK I'VE MISSED YOUUUUU

to preface: yeah totally fine to hate a character and acknowledge their complexity. very valid perspective, don't let anyone tell you otherwise

this is getting intense (& interesting!) and i've received a few more additions to this Saga in my inbox so i supposed i'd get a little into it as well. dz's character and skk has always been interesting to me so m gonna start procuring theses... sorry

firstly, i apologize for disregarding your agency in your own media illiteracy. please understand that there was little ill intent and i was actually trying to protect you from the dazai glazers, tho idk if you rlly want my protection there. they do get kinda feisty tho so you are one brave soldier

abt the dazai brick-wall-facade thing: super interesting and yeah i generally agree with you. his inability to communicate has been emphasized and i think it's something that, if he were a real person, he'd probably have to work on LOL. idk if bsd necessarily treats it as a bad/good thing — just a Thing. but then applied to skk, i actually believe asgr puts a lot of time into showing (not telling) that dazai does Not do this with chuuya, especially when they're 22, arguably even in stormbringer (tangent for later).

it's all very subtle — laughing at the rich girl act, smiling at him during lovecraft, legitimately giving him a choice about corruption, even calling him a diff "partner" title in jp. very, very subtle shit. notice that bones kills most of this. the thing is, i think it's also made clear that chuuya easily reads through the remainder of dz's bullshit, mostly when they're 22 (but therefore suggestively 17 and on, since they haven't been in contact since dz left the pm) — playing into the rich girl joke, suggesting code-worded formations during lovecraft, reading through dazai's stupid rolling-on-floor shtick in meursault. none of this has to be explicitly romantic either, asgr employs this stuff to demonstrate that they have a close, long-term bond. again, subtle shit, probably only readable if you have the context of stormbringer, which leads into the tangent.

stormbringer dazai, or mafia dazai, is dazai at his worst. every character in bsd has a time when they are at their worst, and they are all working to redeem themselves, for themselves. that's kinda the point of the whole series: find a reason to live, for others but primarily for yourself, no matter what you've done or will do or didn't do. at the point of sb, dazai does not understand human connection as a part of the self, since he's an isolationist little imp and also a traumatized "i know too much" child. pretty sure the whole shipping container scene was meant to demonstrate this. so yeah, dazai put chuuya through physical and emotional hell because he didn't understand the weight of either of these torments. when he finally does in dark era, he gets outta his "worst."

but you'll notice that when it comes to chuuya's humanity, he gives chuuya as much time as possible and hesitates to speak. again, subtle shit. i really think it does sb a disservice to say that dazai was trying to have the best outcome for himself — his goal was to protect mori and the freshly righted PM from collapse (aka protect yokohama from collapse), and along the way chuuya gets a power-up after losing some friends and going through some pain (which isn't that deep to dz) while also hurdling the question of his humanity by finding out a bit of his past. it's a very "i'm above it" analysis of reality, which i think sets up dazai's character arc + og mindset pretty well — through dark era and fyodor, dazai faces that he cannot be "above it" if he wants to really live. and so, here we are, witnessing him come down here to eat, breathe, fall in love, and die.

abt BEAST — i agree with you lol. i think BEAST is the epitome of a dazai who is forever "above it." his only option is suffering, lackluster returns & the achievement of a singular goal, and suicide. it's a subplot and subtlety to read into. otherwise, BEAST is utterly and wholly sskk/aku/atsushi gourmet dinner.

& on the topic of dazai's death that you mentioned way back, i agree with you. dazai needs to get nerfed somehow to confront the struggles of living. i think meursault has been pretty good for that, now that fyodor's up and kicking again — dazai's been intellectually and physically bested, and now he's facing everything he thought was inconsequential. the loss of friends, of agency (lol of The Agency also), of purpose, of physical ability. his suicide stuff is quite possibly chekov's bazooka missile and he'll probably end up dying (maybe through self-sacrifice), although in a completely different tone than in BEAST. im going to tentatively trust asgr with that... it would possibly make or break dazai's character LMFAO

ugh this is so long. i have/had Thoughts and you've dragged them out. but abt dazai being good/bad (as dz glazer identifies it) or better (as you id it), i'm pretty certain the whole point of dazai is to demonstrate that there is no good or bad in the world. like. Yeah. i somewhat agree that he isn't "changing for the better" in any significant way, precisely for the reasons you pointed out. him relying on others directly is a good sign tho (trusting atsushi to handle things in dead apple, sending akutagawa as the eyes/flare, etc). i'm rather certain we're seeing, rn in meursault/airport arc, dazai's capacity to truly change being challenged. so yes!!! i too have hope for this arc :0

this ended up being pretty dz centric which is sad because skk are two components after all... but this is way too long now. as always, pleasure to read ur writing, and keep it going!!! and please say hi to your discursive cheese friend for me <3

what have you done to me, cas

[hel-phoenyx]

The Fucked Up(tm) dynamics of the van Heel Family being like :

Starting with a huge ass generational trauma probably originated from their nobility roots, pushing every member to act a certain way so they're worthy of their name, wealth, and legacy

Having on top the grandparents living in an other age, borderline monarchists, still making use of today's world because they were part of the generation that created it, consider themselves on top of the food chain and teaches their children to act like apex predators

The first child, raised to inherit, trust fund baby at its finest, married the woman he wanted but cheats on her on a daily basis, knows nothing except to take advantage of others, would die in three days if put in the place of one of the people he frowns upon, traditionalist af, believes in the male "sex" supremacy

And the you get Adelheid, second child and worse, a woman, profundly dissatisfied with her position, raised to have children and birth other heirs preferentially male to continue the legacy but inhabited with a lust for power visceral enough for her to manage to take the first place

Place that she snatched from her big brother without him even noticing before it was too late and Adelheid wad head of the family and ready to create her own legacy whatever it takes, using every mean in her reach, money, brain, husband, to climb to the top and stay here

Husband who is in her shadow but nobody notices it because he acts like he isn't, like he's the ruthless one in the family, still raised in another rich environment with traditional values but a deep, deep knowledge that his wife is more intelligent than he ever will be

People, when they see the van Heels, could imagine Damian being neglectful, or the abusive one of the couple, and in a way he is, wanting his children to accomplish the mission his wife has set up from them, he went to extrems, like cutting communication for Elvira or stopping Mareva from pursuing her first career of choice, actress

But the worst of the two is Adelheid because she manages to gaslight everyone into thinking she's good, a good mother for her children, someone who loves them and only wants the best from them

And in a way doesn't she ?

She acts like a loving mother. She is a loving mother. She bought her children books and toys and gifts when they asked, she tells them she loves them, she is proud of their achievements, she pays for everything they need

But the achievements she praises are the one that will help her, the words of love only are used when they fit in the image she has of them, the toys she buys them are one she considers worthy, she pays for everything she thinks they need

Her love is conditional, her love is manipulative, and she displays it like it's how a mother should act, because what mother doesn't want the best of her children ?

The three siblings are all fucked up in the head, but both Elvira and Mareva hold their father mainly responsible (up until a certain point), and Emerens is the only one who sees through Adelheid's charade, because of what happened when he was at his lowest

He knows that her love is conditional, her words poison coated in honey, and her smiles a manipulation tactic

And when you can see through that, you can see through everything

Is it a surprise he ends up like her ?

[twobellsilence]

Okay so. Daima 11. Lots of thoughts under the cut.

It seems like Duu is finally up to Arinsu's standards. We haven't seen all he can do yet, but being notably more Buu than Saibaiman, it's pretty safe to assume he's got a pretty deep bag of tricks he could use in case Tamagami 1 decides it's done playing around and fights for real. And it's a scary prospect to think about, even scarier than Arinsu potentially getting the third Dragon Ball, because that would mean we have a True 2.0 version of Buu on our hands and the gang is quite underprepared to deal with it.

And that's not even touching on the issue of Gomah. He knows Arinsu is up to something, and he might suspect she wants the throne, but he clearly doesn't see her as an immediate threat and is quite nonchalant about her to the point that she can go out there and make not one, but two Buu clones without his knowledge because he's too busy stalking the "real" menace. Now, if Duu does beat Tamagami 1, then Gomah would find out, wouldn't he? And then he'd know Arinsu has Buu 2.0 by her side. So not only would he have the protags to worry about, but also Arinsu, and we all know he's not strong enough to beat either in his current state.

Lucky for him... He's the lowest in everyone else's list of priorities.

Think about it. Arinsu knows she has the tactical advantage by virtue of being left completely unattended at all times, so even if she gets the third DB and Gomah notices, she'd have the other two thanks to Glorio (on paper, at least) and a living weapon of mass destruction more powerful than any Tamagami by her side, meaning she's probably already won that particular fight. She has to be more concerned with the Z gang than Gomah, given the fact that they *could* take Duu down, so any next moves she makes will most definitely target them, not him. And the Z fighters themselves want to get the DBs first before hunting him down, and to do so they'd have to get over Arinsu and Duu. This means Gomah is left by the wayside and free to do whatever he wants while the two Big Threats duke it out, and what other choice does he have but to get the Evil Eye before he's inevitably thrown out of power? And it wouldn't be hard to get at all. Hybis would be in the First Demon World with the others, after all.

And this is where things get interesting. We have absolutely no idea what Super Evil Powered Up Gomah could do. And not only that, but we also have to account for both Duu and Kuu. Duu is the scarier threat for sure, but Kuu has to be there for a reason, either as a setup for a future fusion or an emotional catalyst - Duu is part Buu, after all, so it wouldn't be far fetched to think we could get an Evil / Super Duu situation if something were to happen to Kuu. Not to mention the threat of absorption... Could you imagine Duu absorbing Gomah? or worse, Super Evil Messed Up Ultra Powered Up Gomah? Now THAT is a universe ending threat.

Seeing whether or not Duu manages to beat Tamagami 1 and where the story would go from there if this ends up being the case will be interesting for sure. Oh and also Goku saving vegeets from that oversized squid lmao rip bozo

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 5 Meakashi pt. 10

Watanagashi hijinks continue.

Ooishi and Kumagai look at the body of Satoshi and Satoko's aunt (though they don't know it's her just yet) when Dr. Irie shows up and they examine the body and theorize that the victim lost consciousness immediately after the first whack and then got pulverized. Including flipping her over so the killer could just annihilate her face. Irie claims he doesn't know who the victim is and leaves the area. Which Ooishi doesn't buy for even a second.

Then they call in Satoshi to ask him some questions about his aunt, whether Teppei lives at their house and so on. Then after insisting on letting them give him a ride home Satoshi asks if they have any suspects. Ooishi confirms they have a few and sends him on his way.

The next morning Shion and Mion are discussing the current topic of the day, Satoshi's aunt's brutal bludgeoning. After being surprisingly insulting to her Shion ends the call and prepares to go to work, when she sees Satoshi looking at the big 100,000 yen teddy bear and the pair gets intercepted by Ooishi. Shion in a state of near panic decides the best way to cover for Satoshi is to fess up that she's actually Shion.

Incidentally this is one of those moments I thought for sure was going to be an option to make a choice to lead to a bad ending the game warns you about at the start. It's not, by the way. Also:

And so the two are taken away to the station, where this is clearly the end of Shion's trials of the day.

Shion is brought to Oryou Sonozaki, whereupon she just grabs a nearby shovel and just starts digging herself deeper and deeper. Screaming and swearing at the head of the family with a whole pile of the Sonozaki clan together Shion just steams ahead about how she loves the boy, and family grudges are stupid and so on.

I guess her defiance is commendable? I'm trying really hard here not to write off Shion as stupid as Keiichi during his lowest points, but she's making it rather difficult.

"Well well well, if it isn't the consequences of my actions." -Shion Sonozaki, probably.

Shion, champ, you're in for a pretty lousy time either way. When I got blood drawn they did it a ways away from the fingernail, but still basically on the end of the finger, and that was some of the worst pain. So I imagine that getting three of your nails yanked off using the contraption to drive a wedge under them and pop em off has got to be a thousand times worse. Got to be at least as bad as accidentally whacking your finger with a hammer.

You know, I got to wonder, what changed between chapter one and now with Ryukishi? In Onikakushi he didn't really dwell or describe any of the acts of violence. Sure Tomitake tears his throat out with his finger nails but he never really focused on the violence of the act. Even when Keiichi killed Rena and Mion it was just described as he killed em with the bat, and that was that. But somewhere around the end of Watanagashi he started going into more detail about the bad ends the characters were meeting like with Keiichi getting stabbed and the knife twisted. Mion slipped on a ladder and broke her neck, the entire murder of Teppei Houjou in Tatarigoroshi, the description of Teppei's lovers death, now the pulling the nails off of Shion's hand, and then all the many violent deaths in Umineko. I know they're never actually visualized with graphics, but he's been going into deeper detail that I can't help but wonder why this change occurred? Do you suppose it was a response to reader criticism? I don't wish to sound squeamish or anything of the sort, I don't mind the violence, but I'm just curious about the change that's occurred.

[grievedifferent]

Meta/drabble/thoughts on a verse where josh joins Jack hunting the monsters. What circumstances would he if at all, what would he do, there's plenty of more generic aus where josh gets saved but the stranger doesn't feature in Josh's delusions since they never met, etc. Would love whatever scattering of thoughts about "would josh ever use a flamethrower"? (Bonus points: my specific au of Jack & the themes of community and purpose, but also just generally about in-game Jack is perfect too!!!)

circumstances that might allow josh to join the stranger: an entire rewrite of the ending where jack is either injured or just not killed, but was separated from chris (potentially under the pretense of dead?), potential lodge explosion still (but a definite vacancy of the survivors), but josh is still left behind. from there, he is found by the stranger, ironically the body he was supposed to consume to start changing should he make the wrong choices. assuming this pans out, jack could take an ailing josh, turning him into a sort of heir, especially with josh's seemingly inherent binding to this curse (which i associate to the greed of his father, i suppose, though it's sad bc the purchase of the mountain to the washington family is this first "big" display of wealth, bought supposedly for his young family, but i assume bragging rights, too ... others are buying cars, washington is buying mountains).

a potential au where josh went missing younger / in his earlier teens and is picked up / never returned? if hannah and beth can so easily go missing, so can josh.

would he use a flamethrower? absolutely. he foreshadows the use of them with chris ... or more not even foreshadows as we've seen them being used with beth and hannah's prologue scenes via the stranger, but he does make reference to them. i think it would be an easier transition considering josh is likely familiar with also using a gun, given you can have chris be a pretty sharpshooter, which we can associate from his time with josh's dad. why wouldn't josh be a good shooter, too? if not better than chris? (or even funnier ... worse ... i'm fine with either).

i think dealing with josh's mental health would potentially be something the stranger / jack would seek to assist with in a more spiritual way? it's not a cure, he knows that, but it's something josh has probably struggled with, so could potentially bring comfort or routine or something to him to give him a coping skill since all modern skills are no longer available to him.

one thing about josh is that he hates being told what to do. this would definitely be a problem between them for a while, jack having to earn josh's trust (and the problem of why should i have to earn it at all?) and getting josh to cooperate. out of all the cast, i think josh (while physically clearly capable when he's optimal) is the worst to pick as a mentor for this sort of thing when he's not able to have access to any sort of treatment. he's not doing well with treatment.

yet, in saying this, there is a path here that i see ... josh's hallucinations do involve the creatures, so perhaps assuaging and affirming him that that is real might help him continue this natural resistance he has? he openly fights these things, he doesn't want to slip into the hallucinations, and we see him resist with as much logic and willpower as he can before he's overcome.

until dawn is all about duality and choice ... with the right choices, josh could be definitely swayed into at least potentially being somewhat fit to inherit the role. he's no mike, but he's a big guy ... he's also a natural fighter, even if his bravery stat is one of the lowest, i have argued against that a lot. i don't think that makes sense for him. he is very brave. he is also protective. if he's also lost his family in some capacity, not even to death, finding family is big for him. having the wolves to "big brother" might help, having jack as a stand-in mentor/father/older brother figure to josh might also help. he needs structure and foundations he is familiar with, or they need to be made for him to fall into, if that makes sense?

bonus: i think josh would enjoy the fiddle. it might relax him.

josh comes into a lot of this knowing nothing. mike is the propeller for us, the audience, to connect the two plots of the missing girls with what josh has created with what the stranger and the mines bring to the story. without mike's persistence, we'd never know. he'd need to be taught, but he isn't at least a "rich boy" in the way of not knowing how to use his hands. he's definitely active, knows how to use generators, knows how to build sets, butcher pigs, and seems pretty athletic despite not being an athlete. he can take a hit and stabbing decently well, though he is absolutely going out of reality by this point (hanging on barely), so his adrenaline is also all over the place. in this instance, without a "mike", jack would be the history teacher to josh, who is coming into the plot as a "mc" from another side of the story that has no real idea of what's actually going on on this mountain. — @mountaindmned

[sailforvalinor]

Seeing your post got me thinking. How did you feel about Ten's ending? Especially the fact that he "didn't want to go". That hit me rather hard when I first watched Ten's ending. It was rather unlike Five's for instance where he accepted his fate. I forget in what order I watched it, I think I watched Five's story after, but I digress. I don't know, it felt so human to me, and raw and David Tennant delivered it flawlessly. So I wondered your thoughts on it.

I loved it. I loved it I loved it I loved it. I was a bit too emotional at the time to post anything coherent about it, but…yeah. If it tells you anything, my dad cried—and he’s seen it at least three times before 😂.

Here’s the thing about the “I don’t want to go” line: Series 1 and 2 is a positive character arc for the Doctor. At the beginning of Series 1, he is at his lowest, the Time War having just occurred. He is angry, closed-off, refuses to be “domestic”—i.e., he’s refusing to get attached again. But Rose drags him back into all of that anyway—and this arc is a lot of things, it’s about him rediscovering joy, confronting grief and guilt, but most importantly, he is allowing himself to care again.

But to care is to leave yourself vulnerable to loss, and that’s what happens when he loses Rose—and it’s inarguably devastating for him. His characterization takes a definite shift here, he’s lost a bit of his joy (and even at times when he does express happiness or joy it can feel like a mask, or at least somewhat forced), and he becomes so unwilling to let go—think of the “I can do this, I can do anything” scene where Astrid dies in “Voyage of the Damned.” To me, Series 3 and 4 and the specials are a negative character arc for Ten, though a subtle one, one you don’t realize is occurring until it culminates with the Time Lord Victorious—a slow, agonizing trainwreck. He’s lost so many people by this point—not just his Rose, but Martha, Donna, the Tylers, Mickey, Astrid—and he’s been isolating himself to avoid getting attached again, to avoid hurting anyone else, but when he comes to care for the crew of Bowie Base One and loses them, he snaps. And we all know what happens—he falls for the lure of power, the illusion of control. And he himself falls.

“The End of Time” is the consequence of that fall, and I would argue that the Doctor finds himself much in the same position as he was in at the beginning of Series 1–desperately lonely, but unwilling to get close, so so scared of loss. Though in a very different way, I think Wilf helps Ten relearn the same lesson Rose taught him all those years ago, that he has to care, to try to force himself to be apathetic is so much worse, but Wilf (and the Ood) help give him the second half: he also has to learn to let go. It’s a constant cycle: “you have to love -> you have to lose -> you have to love -> you have to lose,” and Ten finally, finally understands—but as he’s dying. He’s finally grasped the truth, he’s seen the light, but he’s seen it too late. And that’s the tragedy of it. As I watched the specials, I got the sense that he wanted his time to end—it’s never explicit, but you can sense it, he seems tired, makes references to having lived too long. He had all that time he wasted self-isolating and alternately wallowing in despair or trying to force apathy, but it is on his last day, at the sound of four knocks, that he finally realizes that he wants to live. And he can’t.

I think that Matt Smith was an absolutely brilliant casting choice as Eleven, because it would be impossible to not resent any other replacement after that. Smith’s Doctor is just so sweet and goofy and joyful that it’s hard to dislike him for long. Honestly, my personal headcanon is that Eleven is like that because of Eleven, trying to make up for Ten’s lost joy.

Anyway, sorry about the ramble, I had more thoughts about this than I realized.

[stackthedeck]

I haven't read any of his comics, what did Zeb Wells do?

so i'll be real with I haven't been keeping up with this run, I read the first couple of issues and was like fuck this is ass and decided to wait till the next writer (which is kinda a shame because Wells has written some good stuff in the past) so I've just been picking up the details from mutuals but I pirated the latest issue and god it's worse than I thought (oh shit this got long, rant under the cut)

so Peter and MJ are trapped in an apocalyptic dimension with this dude Paul because sci-fi bullshit, Peter gets sent back and MJ and Paul are trapped there with no other human beings. Peter proceeds to make enemies of the fantastic four and Captain America because he won't say the words "my girlfriend is trapped in an another dimension and I have to save her" but he does say that to Norman fucking Osborn (I don't care that he's "good" now I still can't stand him he's still a manipulative asshole). He gets back to MJ and finds out that more time has passed for her and she's got kids with Paul now.

Listen, Marvel Editorial has been character assassinating Peter Parker for years, I've given up on Peter centered comics past OMD but I'm just so fucking over the way they treat MJ nowadays! And everyone is framing it as "Peter got cucked by Paul" when it should be "MJ was trapped with one man for years in a hellscape and are we sure that she had a choice here?? Are we going to unpack her trauma??" No because it's always about fucking Peter!!

I get it, Marvel editorial wants MJ and Peter separated so Peter can date someone else, fine I'm good with that. But it shows such a flagrant disregard for MJ's humanity that the only way they can imagine doing that is by essentially locking her in a closet with another man. Who the fuck is this Paul guy and why is he entitled to MJ?! She's exposed to all of humanity again and she's like nah hell dimension husband. Like this is literally what Kang did to Captain Marvel like fuck and I understand that Paul isn't a bad actor here but this is so sketchy. If you want a jaded MJ that's been through hell and back in the apocalypse cool we did that in the 80s and it was so much better. MJ is a capable full character that isn't just a hole to be fucked goddamn!!

I'm sick of Peter and MJ being broken up by sci-fi bullshit, MJ has so many fucking reasons to leave his ass, but the fact that their relationship has to end every time through external forces is 1. lazy writing and 2. shows a disregard for MJ's agency in the story. Before one more day when Peter was on the Avengers and they were married and MJ was surrounded by heroes, she was at one of her lowest points emotionally, she felt isolated and overwhelmed and she felt so powerless. This was causing obvious strain on their relationship, if they wanted to break them up, MJ could have said "I can't live like this anymore, I'm not asking you to change, but I'm not cut out for this." but no it was the literal fucking devil!! And I know that Marvel knows that this could have happened because they did it in Life Story!!! Hey remember Judgement Day, where Peter's ultimate reward for being a hero was seeing his high school girlfriend again, not I don't know, getting his children back from the dead?? Yeah, what the fuck did MJ think about that! I want to see MJ lash out at Peter for that if there was ever a time to pull out the "I'm tired of feeling like the runner up to the perfect ghost of Gwen Stacy!" then was the time!!!

they can character assassinate Peter all they want, Miles is the better Spider-Man with the better stories and what I've been reading instead of the new run, but there is no other Mary Jane. Fans already discount the entire era of their marriage because of omd and fans and writers alike boil her down to the slutty party girl so her "cucking" Peter is only going to make it worse and I know she's going to be written out of Spider-Man comics or if she is there she's going to a cardboard cut out of her character. I miss when they were friends, but these writers can't imagine a woman and a man being friends without thinking the woman just wants to sleep with him. I'm fucking sick of the misogyny of the comics industry

[dracomeir]

The following would be the lowest point of Renegade Detective, and what happens before the ending of the story. (Also, I hate Zarcorin. Worst antagonist I’ve ever made, and I’m glad Boyfriend ends him.) Angst, worsening depression, and dark stuff below. This is like 7 paragraphs. (It’s also 4 in the morning. Why am I like this?)

Boyfriend learns he could free himself from his curse by using Zarcorin’s soul for a spell. With his former master planning to conquer the city, he takes the opportunity to take him out with Pico’s, Darnell’s, and Nene’s help. He was confident they could defeat him. Especially now that the detective was basically back to his old self. As he was going to deal the final blow, Zarcorin uses the last of his energy for a final fuck you to Boyfriend. The incubus dodged it easily. Too easily for his liking. Then he heard Darnell and Nene shouting the ginger’s name. With Zarcorin laughing as he died, Boyfriend turned around to see Pico’s soul orb had shattered completely. All the work he put in to help him heal was gone in an instant.

Boyfriend had a choice to make. Free himself from his curse, or consume the arch demon’s soul to gain the power he needed to mend Pico’s soul before Death itself takes him. He knew the ginger would blame himself for losing the only chance they knew for him to no longer be cursed. A part of him wondered if he could even drag him out of the depths of depression. A shattered soul meant that person would lose their will to live, and he wasn’t sure if he could even repair his soul. He was only a lesser demon after all.

Giving up his freedom, Boyfriend used up his energy to fix Pico’s soul. He could only mend half of it, but it was enough for the ginger to regain consciousness a couple of days later.

When the incubus thought things couldn’t get worse, the SCF used the detective as a scapegoat to save their reputation. He was blamed for the partial destruction of the city, and he lost his job as a result. His friends quit soon after which made his mind weigh more heavily with guilt. He was mostly silent at first. He went back to barely eating, refused to take his meds sometimes, and didn’t do anything most of the day. Then Boyfriend brought a twin tailed cat home with wings. He didn’t want to be responsible for another creature’s well being, but something in the feline’s eyes told him things would get better.

A few days later, Pico’s partially broken soul started healing. Having Scarlet around along with Boyfriend helped him think positively again. Then one day he found the cat playing around with his long forgotten guitar in the closet. He didn’t know what came over him at the time, but he decided to play it. The strumming caught Boyfriend’s attention. They played a song together for the first time since college, and decided to get the band back together with a twist.

Opening a private investigation business, the four of them dealt with cases the SCF no longer had the means to solve without them around. If there weren’t any jobs, they would do gigs as a band instead. They eventually move back to Bseurf to avoid further conflict with the SCF branch in Starlight Amity. They also moved to allow Pico to visit the orphanage. It was something he always wanted to do, but he didn’t want the kids to see him in the sorry state he was in before.

This is pretty long at this point, so I’ll talk about the effects BF experiences after eating an arch demon’s soul, and his side of the story another day.

[purgetrooperfox-moved-again]

listen okay the thing about bojack horseman is that if you watch it, there's a 97% chance that one of the characters is going to be like looking in a mirror that just reflects the lowest points in your life and it's not always the same character. you watch dianne go through your trials and tribulations re self worth and mental health treatment, and you watch todd go through feeling estranged from his parents and like he lacks a meaningful purpose, and you watch princess carolyn breakdown alone in her office because this is all she has she's alone she's just a stepping stone in other people's lives she's not allowed the fulfillment of connection, and you watch PB try and fail to cling to the energy of his youth and end up hurting the people around him because of it, and you watch bojack do literally anything because you're probably in there somewhere. and it hurts and it's horrible and you scream and cry about it and wonder if you're making yourself worse by recognizing all these shitty parts of yourself in these deeply flawed characters

and then life goes on for you and for them and somehow it's the most profound tv show you've ever seen

and then you watch a horse have sex with a cat or an owl or a human woman and you question all of your choices again

[late-to-the-magnus-archives]

Cloud City, Chapter Twelve - a Malevolent AU

You are taking the biggest fucking risk.

“The biggest fucking risk, Hastur, was choosing to trust you after I learned what you did.”

Hastur is silent.

“I still hate you for it,” Arthur says. “But… I trust you. I’m making that choice. And now, I need you to make that choice, too."

AO3 || Masterpost

-------

And south they go, again. It’s deeply weird for the city to be so empty even before they get to the flood zone. Arthur is beyond nervous. He keeps playing with the strap of his bag. He clenches and unclenches his fist. He keeps forgetting to breathe.

Asenath skitters ahead, but not too far—shockingly red in the normal gloom of the city, maybe even glowing a little in the dark of the night. He could almost swear he sees afterimages around her—trails of that red, kissing the air, then evaporating like smoke. Or maybe his remaining eye is just busted, and he’s not seeing anything, really.

Or maybe she’s doing that to ensure he can see.

He wonders if it’s costing her. He wonders if she’s running out of whatever remaining power is here. He wonders…

Arthur? Breathe. You stopped again.

Arthur exhales with a woosh.

This is not good for you. Let’s try this: tell me a story.

“What?” says Arthur. Whatever the witches did, it’s more than just keeping people home. Not a single light shines in any window; there’s not a voice, not a hint of cooking food. For a moment, he wonders if anyone is even conscious.

Hastur reaches across and grips his right wrist. You are old enough—you were here when Dagon’s ritual failed, yes?

Boy, is that turning the clock back. “Yes.”

Tell me about it. How old were you?

Asenath keeps skittering along, heading apparently straight for the sea; it’s still many blocks away.

Fuck it. “I was two.”

What did you know about it?

“Not much, other than it’s the reason I lost my parents.”

You never talk about them.

Arthur swallows. “That’s because they killed themselves. I really don’t like to talk about it.”

I can imagine not, but I’d like to hear about it now.

“Fine. Who else am I ever going to tell?” His throat tightens again. “They weren’t involved with that Dagon mess, but they were among the people who lost everything when it went so wrong.”

Yes… as I recall, a Mass Summoning?

“Yeah. They never work. Summoning one great being into multiple people? It never works. Always goes wrong.”

You sound very sure of that.

“I am. My parents tried it four years later. It’s how they died.”

The bugdog makes a sad, buzzy flutter.

Why would they do such a thing?

Arthur sighs. This section of the city has been abandoned all of Arthur’s life, but it's worse than further north where things are simply boarded up. The windows here are entirely covered with some kind of mold, fuzzy and green. The doors are completely missing, and he knows better than to go anywhere near those openings.

Probably there are no monsters squatting there. But if there are, they’d get him—and ocean-monsters are so much worse than monsters from the Wastes. At least if they’re from the Wastes, they’ll just kill you and eat you. Things from the sea keep you, and though you’re never seen again, it won’t be long until someone with your face and something else’s heritage comes shambling into the city, smiling and smelling of fish.

Asenath has reached the lowest point in the street where an old, ruined sign sits at the crossroads—just a pole and a couple of boards, painted, narrowed at one end to say what and which way.

She takes a moment to let him catch up. Talking, apparently, slowed him down. Or maybe he slowed because he’s just afraid. “Because they were desperate, and we had nothing but debt. I do remember that.”

Tell me.

Arthur sighs. “When that stupid Mass Summon went wrong—one god into fifty-five people? Please—it didn’t just kill them. It did… something to the ocean. But you know that.”

Tell me anyway.

Asenath peers up at him.

“You’re so ugly, you're cute, you know that?”

Flap-flap-flap. She wriggles her rear at him this time, then turns right, heading west along the street, only one block of buildings out of sight of the water.

Hastur waits.

Arthur sighs. “So those people tried their Mass Summon. Fuck if I know why. They failed, and when they did, it’s like the ocean itself got mad at them. It rose… it wasn’t a wave, but just… swallowing, engulfing, taking the city.”

Flap-flap.

“Yeah, I guess you were part of that resistance, weren’t you?” he says to her. “I know the witches saved us; did… something that calmed the sea, that maybe appeased the god behind it, or whatever. The ocean rose up there—” he points back the way they came—“all the way to eighteenth street. When it retreated back down again, not a single living thing was left in any of the buildings. Even the people who’d gotten onto their roofs disappeared.”

Quite horrible.

“Am I wrong? You guys saved us, right?” Arthur says to Asenath.

The bug-dog somehow looks absolutely pleased with itself, then scurries on.

Arthur follows.

And your parents?

“Won’t let that go, huh? Well. they lost everything. Their business was down here somewhere—I have no idea where. I’m not even sure what it was, but I do know that when the waters went back down, they had nothing. They got into debt; whatever they did for a living apparently was so damn specialized they couldn’t start again. Dad tried to get work, and so did mom, but… everyone was struggling to do that. I mean, it threw everything off. Shipping was fucked. We were cut off now by not just the Wastes, but the sea—and it had never exactly been friendly.”

So they chose Summoning to save themselves?

“Neither of them could… manage a Summon on their own, so they talked about it. Planned it out. They were going to dual Summon, then use whatever power they got to pull us out of the hole. Well. Like I said. Those never work.”

And so you were orphaned.

“Yeah. So I was orphaned.” Arthur shrugs. “Had all kinds of plans before that. Even wanted to be a sailor. Crazy, I know.”

Do I hear longing in your voice, Arthur?

Asenath took a left, heading down again down an alley.

“I wanted to see the world,” Arthur admits, following her.

A very dangerous career, Hastur purrs.

Why that pleased him, Arthur has no idea. “Well. Sailing was the best way to do it. See lots of cities and lands. Get out of this place.”

Do you still want to see the world, Arthur?

“I’ll never see the world now, so what does it matter?”

It matters.

“Sure.”

Would you, if you could?

“Hastur, I deserve jack shit. But if I could… I would. I’d go further than I even knew it was possible to go.”

Asenath stops. Ahead of her is a single door at the end of the alley. Unnervingly, the wall isn’t that high; beyond it, Arthur hears the weird, surging shush of sea on shore, and though he knows he’s safe, he shudders at the thought of how close he is to things that could take him.

The bugdog does its whispery, wing-chatter bark.

The door is locked. “Figures,” says Arthur, and picks it. “How the hell is Parker going to find this place?”

Oh, he’ll find you.

“Ominous.” The door opens, and Arthur is briefly dizzied.

It doesn’t open onto the beach. Instead, he’s facing a wide, dust-mote-filled room—high ceilings, distressed wood floors, and brick walls like a warehouse. The only things in here seem to be at the far end by the single, tall window: a long wooden table with a few odds and ends on it, and a tall, gilt-framed mirror.

Why, witch… you do have a black mirror!

A sharp, rude set of flaps.

I certainly am. This simplifies everything.

Chitter-flap.

Hastur laughs, low and wicked. Oh, I think I’ll be doing that no matter how this turns out, don’t you?

Arthur sighs. “Focus.”

Mmm… yes. This is it. Close the door behind us.

Arthur does with a gulp. “Is that where he’s going to come through? Should I lock it?”

Hard to say. We’re on the opposite side of the city now—by the docks, near the Lake. When he comes—and he will come, when he knows where you are—he could choose any number of avenues.

Arthur looks out the window. It’s covered in grimy film, and he can make out no details, but a surprising amount of light still enters; he can clearly see the room, the table, the mirror. The things on the table. “What are those?”

Flap-flap-flap.

Tools. You’re going to have to do some magick.

Arthur reaches up and touches the onyx taper in his earlobe. He’s down to his last protection; his last barrier between Hastur just burning him out, like a used piston. “How did those rings work, anyway? They weren’t attuned to me.”

They were attuned to me.

“To… to you? What did you do, have them on standby?”

They were a gift. You’re getting distracted.

“Sure.” He looks at the mirror, then at the bugdog.

Asenath’s little spirit-bug is looking… faded. If he squints, he can see through her to the boards.

“Oh, no,” says Arthur, breathing fast. “Oh, no! Oh, no!”

Shhh, Arthur, calm down.

“Fuck! She’s dying again! Fuck!”

Arthur, this is a piece. It was never going to last. It’s going to go join the rest of her in the Wood. Calm down, or you’ll waste all the effort she put into leaving this here for you.

Arthur stops as if slapped. “I can’t keep losing people tonight. I can’t.”

Arthur, that—

“I can’t!” Arthur yells it, bending at the waist, putting his whole being into the words.

The bugdog flies up to eye-level. Here, lit by the window, she is definitely see-through, and it’s dizzying to watch her hovering there. Arthur stares.

She licks his nose.

He laughs, or maybe cries, or something else, wiping his face, wiping his eyes. “You sure?”

A whispery, weird bark.

Arthur sniffles and straightens. “Okay, okay. Okay.” He reaches and just rubs the top of her head with his finger.

Are you? says Hastur, sounding very dubious. That’s all it took?

“Can you get that her not suffering matters to me?” says Arthur. “She’s… she’s really all right with this. So I guess I will be, too.”

You poor thing. Yes, indeed, she is.

“Roses on my grave, remember.”

I remember. A low, weird purr in that voice.

Arthur ignores it. “Talk me through this. How do we show Parker where we are?”

Arthur, we don’t have a plan yet.

“I do.”

A pause. Do you.

“I do.”

Well?

“I’m not telling you what it is because he can hear you, and I need you to… react honestly.”

Another pause. So you expect me to be upset. Arthur, that isn’t making me terribly confident in this plan.

“Too bad. That’s all you get.”

Asenath lands. Her wings buzz. And Arthur knows, without a doubt, that she is laughing at Hastur.

Arthur laughs, too. He blows his nose. And then he’s done. There's no more time for self-pity. He's getting what he deserves, after all. “Show me what to do.”

Are you sure?

“Yeah. I had my fucking cry. Let’s get this bastard before he hurts anyone else.”

Hastur’s hand touches his lips again, and Arthur startles. Remarkable.

“Will you stop being weird and tell me what to do?”

As you wish. On the table, you will find a feather, a living frog, three small diamonds, a complete fish skeleton, and a knife.

“Oh, this is gonna be fun,” Arthur mutters, and doesn’t mean that at all.

#

Asenath’s spell works. After it’s all done, and the frog—decorated wildly with diamonds and bones and Arthur’s blood—leaps into the mirror and disappears, Arthur is almost unsurprised to see its dark surface shimmer like a puddle in the rain as it reveals Parker's office.

Parker, on the other hand, looks stunned. He’s staring directly at them; seated at his desk, phone to his ear, dressed for a normal day of work and not murders and rot-gods. On his desk are piles of paper and a couple of boxes of evidence, odds and ends in small bags, and two coffee mugs, one fresh, the other looking unpleasantly old.

Arthur has spent time in that office. He knows its smells, knows the weird little bump in the carpet that makes it a pain to move the chair around, knows exactly how the electric lights sound overhead as they flicker. He’ll never be there again. Of all the things he’s saying goodbye to today, this one, he’s just fine losing.

“What the fuck?” Parker says, standing.

Arthur knows he’s quite the sight. His taper blew out toward the end of the spell; blood patterns that side of his face, and he’s seated on the floor. He can barely move. “Hi, Parker.”

Parker’s mouth is open, but his eyes are active; he’s clearly trying to figure out where Arthur is. “How are you doing this?”

“Favor. Last favor, from Asenath, before you fucking killed her.”

“She struck first, Arthur,” he says.

Arthur doesn’t believe him. “Probably,” he says with a shrug.

“Where the hell are you?”

“That’s why I’m reaching out.” He starts to lift his hand to his ear, seems to think better of it, drops it. “I’m done.”

Parker goes pale. “Done? Are you—fuck, you’re injured. What happened?”

Arthur wishes he could believe that fuck was on his behalf and not some wicked god’s. He sighs slowly. “John knows who killed my daughter.”

“Good?” says Parker, slowly. “Where are you, asshole?”

“He’s known for five fucking years.”

Parker stares.

Arthur, says Hastur. What are you doing?

“The whole time?” says Parker.

“The whole time. Within the first week.”

Parker stops looking at the room and looks at him instead. “You look real fucked up.”

“I am.”

“What happened?” His eyes narrow. “You go to all the trouble of fucking escaping, and here you are, doing whatever this is?”

“I’m done, Parker.”

“You said that,” he says slowly.

Arthur shakes his head. “I’m tired. I… John hurt me. He…” His voice cracks. None of this part has to be faked. “He fucking… I can’t do this.”

Arthur…

“Do what?”

“Let him win. Let him get me. He set some stupid shit up so whoever killed my daughter will get caught no matter what,” Arthur says, “but he still hasn’t told me who it is.”

Parker looks deeply wary. “How… would he have…”

“I don’t know. I was unconscious, okay?”

“Fuck,” says Parker, low. “So he’s really powerful, then.”

“He serves that fucking King in Yellow. The one who made people kill themselves.”

Arthur. Hastur’s tone is warning. I know you have a plan, but this—

Parker has gone so very still. Then he does something Arthur doesn’t expect: he smiles. “That explains a whole hell of a lot.”

“Does it? Great. I’m done.”

“You said that. What do you mean by it?”

“He. Lied. About my daughter’s murderer. Fuck him. I won’t do it. He protects his ass with whatever that setup is, but then he strings me along for five years? No. No.” Arthur’s louder, and his voice is haggard, rough. “He doesn’t get to Harvest me after what he’s done.”

Hastur inhales. Tell me this is the plan, Arthur. This is part of your plan.

Parker’s eyes lid. “Really.”

“I fucking mean it. The one thing that matters to me, the one gods-damned thing, and he….”

Arthur!

“Where. Are. You.”

“You know the warehouses on the strip between the Lake and the Ocean? I’m in one of those. John’s told me a lot of weird things about what you want to do. So has Asenath. I have one question, Parker: if you do it, if I let you do whatever this is… will it hurt him?”

Arthur!

“Will it hurt… your Summon?” says Parker, and he’s not able to hide his delight, he’s already grabbing things from his desk, he’s snatching his jacket. “Oh, yeah. It’ll hurt him. Bad. Especially now that we know who he serves.”

“Fine. Then come get me. I don’t care.”

Arthur! Fucking… Arthur! Will you listen to me?

“Which warehouse?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t… I don’t have the strength to go back down.”

That gets him upset. “Shit. I’m coming. Shit.” Anger flashes over his face. “You better not be fully fucked up. You better not, Arthur.”

Arthur shrugs.

“You can walk? The asshole doesn’t have the rest of your body, right?”

“Just the eye and the hand. I’m just… I’m tired. I haven’t eaten. This magick thing? This favor from Asenath? It took it out of me. I’m not good with magick, you know that.”

“Okay. Okay.” Parker calms a little. “I’m coming. Don’t you fucking move. I’ll find you.” And he leaves.

Arthur finally releases the will keeping that connection open, and falls onto his back with a sigh.

The frog hops back out, shakes off the feather and bones and jewels, and hops off into the gloom. Arthur can’t be bothered to watch.

Arthur, what the fuck was that? He’ll bring backup!

“No, he won’t. There is no backup right now.”

How the hell do you know that?

“Did you see what was on his desk? City map. He had pins where the witch streets were—and  I recognized the colors he was using.”

And?

“Green means under control, problem solved. Yellow means in progress. Red means emergency, not enough officers, or maybe none at all. Guess what, Hastur? All but one witch street was red.” Arthur grins at the ceiling. “Anybody he has is already out there, and I don’t think he’s going to take time to go around picking people up.”

You are taking the biggest fucking risk.

“The biggest fucking risk, Hastur, was choosing to trust you after I learned what you did.”

Hastur is silent.

“I still hate you for it,” Arthur says. “But… I trust you. I’m making that choice. And now, I need you to make that choice, too.”

To trust you.

“This is going to be ugly. Trust me. That’s all.”

Hastur sighs. If this doesn’t work—

“Curtains. I know. I know.”

Asenath toddles over. Her little bug form is almost completely invisible now, only legs, spots, and parts of the face visible. She presses her cold nose to his cheek.

To his surprise, he can touch her, and does, stroking her buggy back for a moment. “I know. You’ve got to go. It’s all right. You’ve done… everything. Thank you. Not just for this. For all of it. Thank you, Asenath. You can rest now.”

She makes a little sound— whispery, oddly sweet—and touches her nose to his cheek one more time. Then she’s gone. Just gone.

He feels the absence. Maybe he’s crazy, and the true loss of someone that special doesn’t really make a difference, but he swears he feels it. The world’s lesser without her. He’s sure. He hopes the stupid goat god (or whatever the Mother is) appreciates what it just gained.

Arthur sighs. “He’ll be here in about twenty minutes. Can you wake me in ten?”

Sure, Arthur. I can do that.

“Trusting you.” And he’s out. He’s out the moment he closes his eyes, and he absolutely does not dream.

(chapter thirteen)

[sunshineandtheprincess]

NO REST FOR THE WICKED {SELF-PARA} || 001 || PARKER

Parker was studying when he heard the familiar sound of shouting and laughter outside. Curiosity got the best of him, and he wandered over to the window. It was his brothers, messing around in the yard. A sad smile tugged at his lips as he watched them. He sat down on the window nook, wishing more than anything that he could just jokingly yell out for them to shut up—or better yet, go join them. But that wasn’t their relationship. Not for lack of trying, though. At least, not on their part.

Parker had to keep them at a distance. He didn't have a choice. If they got too close, they’d figure out his secret, and there was no telling what would happen. His family had always prided themselves on being strong, powerful alpha males, generation after generation. But Parker? Parker was the only male omega in their history. Not even his father knew. His father, the one who drilled into them the importance of strength and dominance, had trained his sons to the point where their very scent was enough to intimidate others.

Parker and his mom had gone to great lengths to hide the truth. In his eyes, his mom was more paranoid about it than he was, but she’d managed to convince his father to treat Parker differently. He figured the only reason his dad agreed was because he’d already decided Parker was their last child, and as the baby of the family, his omega mother had just gotten extra protective. His mom, had latched onto him from birth, and his father, wanting to keep her happy, went along with it. He already had three other sons to mold into strong alphas; it seemed fair to let her spoil Parker a bit. Not that it meant he'd let Parker grow up weak.

His mother was nothing short of a miracle worker. She’d managed to get him through childhood without his dad discovering the truth. Parker thought back to the story she told him once about how she found out he’d be different. She and her sister had gone to see a witch out of curiosity after hearing how the woman had given their friend insight into her kid's future. The witch told his mom that Parker would be unlike any Mitchell before him, that he’d change everything. She predicted that Parker would bring about the next great generation and truly establish their family’s name, though it would come with pain, loneliness, and heartbreak. But the witch had promised Parker would always be protected and loved deeply in the end. His mom had been skeptical, especially about the last part. But it gave her hope. Not long after, Parker was born—earlier than expected. His father and brothers weren’t even around; they’d gone off on a hunting trip to train in the woods. Only the omega women were there—his mom’s sister, their mother, and a few close friends. It had started off as a happy occasion. But when Parker came out, silence fell. He reeked of omega.

A male omega. Even worse, Parker was born with a pussy—a rare occurrence since male omegas were usually born with even a dick. When his mom held him for the first time, he stopped crying and just cooed at her. She broke down, crying harder than he had because she knew right then she’d do anything to protect him. Being a male omega was the lowest of the low. They were treated horribly, often cast out or sold off like prizes, treated like slaves. She refused to let that happen to her baby boy.

Terrified of how his father would react, his mother had begged her family to help hide the secret. They saw how desperate she was and agreed. His grandmother managed to get her hands on injections that would suppress Parker’s scent and make him appear as an alpha. It was enough to get by, at least until puberty when his scent would become stronger. After that, it would take injections, scent blockers, and careful planning to maintain the charade.

His grandmother had warned them it wouldn’t be easy. They were fighting his true designation, and Parker’s designation would want to assert itself, so he’d have to act like an alpha, even if it went against his instincts. He had to limit his physical contact with alphas. Any close interaction could mess with the injections and meds, making it harder to keep his omega status hidden. The more time he spent with alphas, the more his true nature would try to break through. He could live among them, even talk to them, but he couldn’t let himself get imprinted, scented, or have too much physical contact. His grandmother knew how eager his brothers were to have another brother throw into the mix, but his mom had to make sure Parker stayed separate from them as much as possible. And then there was his father. Keeping the secret from him would be even harder. He’d want physical contact with his youngest son, and there was no avoiding that.

That was when everything truly began.

When his father and brothers returned home, they were shocked to find their baby brother already born. They were disappointed to have missed it, but Parker was healthy, and that was all that really mattered. They each got a chance to hold him for a bit, but then his mother stepped in and took him away. She rarely let Parker out of her sight, and she hardly allowed his brothers to spend time with him. His father got a little more access, but even then, she kept it brief and wouldn’t let him help with anything else. It struck his dad as odd, but he brushed it off, assuming it was just his omega mate being overly protective of her newborn.

As Parker grew, it became harder to keep him separated from his brothers. They were always trying to get him to play, and Parker, curious and eager, started asking if he could join them. Sometimes he’d even try to sneak into whatever they were doing. But his mom always stepped in, feeding him lies to keep him away. She told Parker that his brothers didn’t like him, that they would bully him because he was different.

As for his dad, she played on his protective instincts. She convinced him to take it easy on Parker, explaining that he was on a different level than Presley, Phoenix, and Peyton. She said it wouldn’t be fair to train them together, that Parker would feel left out or frustrated. His dad agreed, and as a result, trained Parker separately and not as strictly. It created even more distance between Parker and his brothers. Parker was even homeschooled because his mom refused to risk anyone discovering his secret—or risk him having too much contact with alphas. By keeping him at home, she could also make sure he got the alpha training he needed. His father helped out from time to time, and for the most part, the plan worked.

For a while, it seemed like things were settled, the separation in place. But then, one night, there was a glimmer of hope. His brothers were on one of their late-night snack heists when Presley, the oldest and the leader of the three, noticed Parker watching them. Parker had been terrified, bracing himself for the worst, but instead, Presley just talked to him. When Parker didn’t respond, Presley filled the silence, even sharing his snack and getting Parker one of his own. It started happening more often. Parker seemed to warm up to him, explaining how he couldn’t sleep most nights, lying awake and staring at the ceiling. He didn’t want to bother their other brothers, or anyone else for that matter.

Soon, it became routine. Presley would sneak away from Phoenix and Peyton to spend time with Parker. They’d play, or Presley would read to him, and sometimes, he’d even cuddle Parker to sleep. It was the first real connection Parker had felt with any of his brothers. But one night, they both accidentally fell asleep together. They were lucky to wake up before anyone else, and Presley quickly slipped back to his own bed—but not before his scent had rubbed off on Parker. His mother noticed right away. She was furious. Forcing the truth out of him, she gave Parker the worst scolding of his life. The fear and worry in her eyes were like nothing Parker had ever seen. After that, things changed. His mom started giving him something to make him sleep and locked him in his room at night. Presley stopped talking and making attempts to hang out with him after that.

That experience left Parker worried and scared to get close to anyone else. Even though his dad insisted that he needed outside contact to avoid lacking social skills and learning how to interact with others, the fear lingered. His mom eventually began taking him to the park while she caught up with friends. Sometimes, his brothers would tag along if they didn’t have training, but they’d mostly leave him to his own devices. His mom had instilled a deep fear of other alphas, so whenever one approached Parker—whether to talk, befriend him, or play—he would freeze, too frightened to speak. Eventually, word got around, and the other kids stopped trying. But the loneliness started to get to him. To cope, Parker began bringing his favorite stuffed teddy bear to the park, talking to it as if it were a real person.

Apparently, this made other kids think he was finally opening up because they started trying to interact with him again. That’s how a bully found his way to Parker. At first, the boy tried to get him to play, but when Parker didn’t respond, the bully got angry. He shoved Parker, kicked him, and threatened to kill him if he told anyone. Parker was left in pain, but when his family noticed, he lied and said he tripped. No one questioned it. Parker hoped it was a one-time thing, but the bully came back, finding him at the park again and again. Each time, the boy beat him up, hurling insults and threats. Parker would return home bruised, bleeding, or injured. His excuse became that he had made a friend, and they were just playing rough. But the truth started to affect him. He flinched whenever someone got too close and began avoiding the park altogether.

Peyton, his brother, grew suspicious. One day, after Parker had come home from the park, Peyton handed him a toy he’d dropped, and when Parker flinched and hissed in pain, Peyton knew that something was going on and Parker was hiding it. It wasn’t long before the truth came out. One day, when the bully approached Parker to beat him up yet again, Peyton stepped in. He pulled the boy off Parker and beat him senseless, delivering more damage in that one fight than all the bullying Parker had endured. After that, Peyton stayed close to Parker at the park, standing guard over him and scaring off anyone who came near. Parker knew it wasn’t ideal—Peyton would have preferred to have fun on his own—but his brother never complained.

Grateful, Parker tried to include Peyton in whatever he was doing. Whether it was pushing each other on the swings, building sandcastles, or kicking around a ball, Parker made sure Peyton was part of it. Slowly, playing at the park became something Parker actually looked forward to. But then, their parents got involved. They wanted Parker to socialize with children from other wealthy and powerful families, seeing it as a way to build connections. Eventually, one of those kids became Parker’s best friend—Adam. But this new focus on forming strategic friendships pulled Parker away from Peyton. He no longer had time to spend with him, and soon, Peyton went back to hanging out with Presley and Phoenix, along with some omega girls who clearly had crushes on him. It was as if Peyton had forgotten about him entirely. Peyton had completely moved on, forgetting all about him and the bond they had started to build as if events never happened.

Parker thought the worst was behind him until his dad decided to test how well his training was going. His mom had put so much pressure on him, warning that if he failed, the consequences would be severe. His training would become stricter, and he might even be forced to attend a real school. The problem was, his mom had focused more on keeping his secret hidden than teaching him the practical skills he needed. Parker tried his best during the test. He chased after small animals, desperately trying to catch and kill something to prove himself. But he failed. His wolf just wasn’t ready. The weight of disappointment, the fear of his father’s anger, and the potential teasing from his brothers started to crush him. Tears welled up, and before he knew it, he was overwhelmed by his failure.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been sitting there when he felt strong arms wrap around him, comforting him. The familiar scent hit him before the voice did, but he still couldn’t believe it was real until he heard the soft humming, soothing him. Slowly, he calmed down, and when he finally composed himself, he turned to see Phoenix sitting with him. They sat there in silence for a bit, until Phoenix gently asked why he was so upset. Hesitant at first, Parker explained the failed attempt and his fear of what their father would think. Phoenix listened quietly, then let go and disappeared into the woods. When he came back, he was holding a freshly killed rabbit. He handed it to Parker and told him to claim it as his own.

Parker was relieved but still couldn’t shake his worries. He explained that just bringing back one kill wasn’t enough—his dad would expect more. That’s when Phoenix made a promise: he’d secretly teach Parker how to hunt properly. They set a time and place to meet, and over the next few weeks, Phoenix became his secret mentor, showing him how to track, hunt, and use his instincts. With Phoenix’s help, Parker got better. So much better, in fact, that he was able to make a successful kill on his own during his next test. His father was thrilled, so proud that he immediately decided to increase Parker’s training, announcing it to the whole family. It all happened so fast that Parker didn’t have a chance to explain it to Phoenix before being whisked away by his father, missing one of their secret sessions. When he finally got the chance to return, Phoenix wasn’t there. Parker waited, but his brother never showed up. The next time they crossed paths, Phoenix barely acknowledged him, giving him the cold shoulder.

It truly felt like he had burned those bridges. After that, any attempts from his brothers were half-hearted, always as a group and almost as if it were an afterthought. But Parker always declined. Even as he grew older, nothing changed. The trio—Presley, Phoenix, and Peyton—had an unbreakable bond, growing even closer as they did everything together. Eventually, Parker's mom sat him down and fully explained the truth about his situation. She told him he’d have to start taking care of himself too. Not long after, his father decided it was time for Parker to experience school, believing he needed to be around other people. At school, Parker thrived. He made friends and quickly realized that his strength was in his intelligence. He consistently received high marks, and his teachers were always praising him, which helped raise his family’s reputation thanks to his academic success.

Parker made friends at school and found his own group, people he trusted enough to share his secret with. They accepted him without hesitation and even helped cover for him when needed. As time went on, he spent less and less time at home, finding excuses to avoid the parties his brothers occasionally threw. He was tired of being locked away in his room—not that anyone was forcing him to stay there, but the risk of exposure kept him cautious.

The worst part of it all was his complete lack of a romantic life. It wasn’t because he didn’t have the personality or looks; in fact, Parker had really grown into his appearance. He had always been attractive, but now, people often described him as beautiful, while his brothers were labeled hot or sexy. His figure was slim and athletic, with a few muscles here and there from working out and playing sports, and he had an ass that definitely didn’t quit. His physique was different from his brothers, who took after their father, but Parker was sure his omega genes had something to do with his softer, more refined look—especially when it came to his ass, which put even his brothers to shame. People definitely showed interest—mostly guys, though, since girls were typically drawn to someone like his brothers. A mix of alphas, betas, and omegas had all tried to get his attention. Dating was complicated. He didn’t have the anatomy they’d expect, and the thought of anyone discovering his secret terrified him. He couldn’t risk it. It left him wondering if he was destined to be alone forever.

At least, that’s what he thought.

Parker snapped out of his thoughts when his phone buzzed. His brothers were still outside, laughing and enjoying themselves, but he walked away from the window to checked his phone. It was a message from Adam, his best friend: Be there in 5. Parker had completely forgotten that Adam was picking him up to help him prepare and train for his upcoming hunting trip with his dad. Scrambling, Parker rushed to quickly change before Adam arrived.

[wyrmskulls]

End game spoilers.

Here is what happened for me and how I feel.

I had shit for Charisma as a Monk sooooo I had a rough time with Companions.

1) Wyll broke his contact, we saved his dad, and I made the choice not to go after the Dragon, my thought being- I think we have this without help. let leave the dragon for the next threat. (He was just one line at the docks in the end.... so not sure there. still wanna toss his dad in the harbor ngl)

2) I let Shadowheart make all her own choices. She chose not to kill the Nightsong, she choose for her parents to die. (My partner got her to keep her folks alive in their run.... and that felt better to me. so, oops.) She wasn't at the dock at all in the end weirdly.

3) I always told Karlach to live, I noticed the thing Companions asking for is not the choice they need but the choice they want. So I kept telling her No, bitch you are going to live. Only for her to die on the docks. I at some point started thinking about irl people who want to die thier own way... and I'll admit the thought of begging her to stay instead of just being with her as she died, sounded so selfish to emotional compromised me. (but this still feels really bad)

Those were the 3 of the main 6 not in my party, the whole game. I did pull them into the party for their story's where possible. These 3 had the lowest approvals but they were far from negative.

4)Laezel was hard, she was in my party the whole game but I didn't do the temple/creche by the time I went to go do it, Halsin was threatening to leave the party if we left the Shadowlands. So that all fine, but I really wanted to make it up to her, we got the orphuc hammer but had no way to the prism till the last minute. It was free the prince then or never. We freed him, only for him to get mad we didnt do it sooner. I was like, um, we couldn't break your bonds without the hammer we went to do get. So even your honor gaurd would have failed. Needless to say I was miffed, only to find out we NEEDED an illithad to over power the brain.... and the choice was the prince or me. Sorry bud but it's YOU. So at the end on the dock He gale Laezel his dragon and asked her to free their people and for Tav to kill him. This weird, but again was what laezel said she wanted, in my head such a strong warrior could do worse then becoming the rebel leader, so I let her go. Again it left selfish to ask her to stay while her people suffered, and I was still torn on the asking me to sacrifice Tavs soul for everyone on top of the rest of it.... so not 100% happy here either.

5)Astarion I romanced his ass, and convinced him not only are his siblings and the souls trapped for the ritual like him, but Tav was like them. This felt good at the time... but him running for cover on the docks and everyone being fine with is SUCKED. had a after scene with him, we agreed to look for a way to walk in the light together. it was sweet but my contingency plan was gale annnnd-

6) Gale. I'll admit having an Ex saying kys was like enrageing for me. I was mad, even when Gale wasn't, I was mad cause Gale wasn't. And I held that anger. I think I picked too many 'tell Mystar to fuck herself' options cause that turned quickly into "I want to be a God too" and like, NO Gale. You are a good human, and Gods are NOT people. I like him as people, I would want him or Astarion on a power trip, I like them as they are. So it was upsetting to see Gale continue to be sure he'd take the known for himself. I passed a DC 30 check to try and conive him not to do the thing, only for him on the docks to be like "I'm going fishing for the crown, and I'm disappointed you don't support me" I didn't change my mind.... ((to be fair I've been dressing him in drow camp wear and this

most of act 3.... so I was dressing him for the evil God job he wants the whole time)) I'm the most unhappy about this ending honestly.

yha I could scum save and try to alter it, but I've been trying not to, and this is where I'm at. But now weirdly I'm looking back at Gale and liking him less because of it. He was so helpful in fights and just a joy, but now it feels weirdly like betrayal, like he was pulling an Astarion all along.

I know he wasn't but that's how it feels he feel bad now in a weird way.

that's Mt thoughts firt play through time for a durge run so I can take some more Spoiler tags off lol.

[hopeswriting]

[ID: Panels from the manga Katekyo Hitman Reborn, showing Kozato Enma and Sawada Tsunayoshi. They face each other, both of them in Hyper Dying Will Mode, talking to each other. Enma is furious and hurt, while Tsuna is mostly taken aback and off-guard by his words.

1: "That's the kind of cunning person you are... Sawada Tsunayoshi," Enma says.

"Did he say... cunning...?"

"The crest on your glove... that's the mark of Vongola, isn't it? You're always like that," Enma continues as Tsuna looks at his X-Gloves, shocked. "In the very center of the Vongola, more than anyone, the Vongola power is named after you... But when it comes down to it, you never step up and take responsibility. A boss who fronts the crest of the Vongola and gets outsiders involved and hurt... A bug would be better than you."

Tsuna takes offense as his words sink in. "......!! ...You're wrong!!" he says eventually. "I never meant to hurt outsiders! I want to use this power to protect my friends! That's what I've always done... that's what I'll keep doing!!"

2: "You just won't believe... anything that's inconvenient for you, will you..." Enma says, tears dripping down his cheek.

3: "Just like the Primo, you're a liar. Do you seriously think you can escape from your blood-stained destiny?" /End ID]

okay but can i just point out the differences in translation first? enma calling him cunning instead of saying it's unfair of him... saying the vongola power is named after him instead of him benefiting the most from it... how he gets outsiders specifically involved and not just others... saying a bug would be better than him and not just that he hopes too much... and in your translation, he doesn't even say that line about how tsuna says he won't succeed as a boss.

that's so fun?? especially because i'm not saying one translation is more accurate than the other, because there's no such thing as the one true and accurate translation. but it's really fun how the different choices made makes enma's speech comes out really differently, and now i get how both our interpretations went in a different direction. because yeah, in your translation, enma comes out much harsher on tsuna than mine. he's so full of disdain and accusation and condemnation. and flimsy is really the right word, i agree. he's basically calling out tsuna for being an opportunist and a hypocrite with no principles or backbone.

Tsuna does do his best work when his back is against the wall, it's when an arc starts to dip to its characters lowest points where Tsuna rises up.

yes exactly!! and that's something i've personally always loved about him, that reluctance that runs so deep into the core of who he is. and i like how it's never framed as a flaw of his either. like, he keeps being told he, personally, has to step up and do something about the situation, and yes, maybe things would have been less worse and people less hurt if he had stepped up earlier, but how exactly being one more person actively choosing violence as the answer is going to help make things better, you know? and i love how tsuna always stands his ground in that belief until the literal last second until he can't anymore. in the belief that no, more violence can't be the answer, that surely they can work this out another way so no one else will have to be hurt and the ones already hurt won't have to keep being hurt even more.

and when he is forced to become violent too, to hurt back so he can put a stop to the hurt happening for good and for everyone before it becomes even worse or becomes something none of them will be able to come back from, he still doesn't come around to believe violence to be the answer. he still doesn't think he's making anything better, he just knows he's stopping them from getting even worse. which makes me think of the way nono describes his fighting style, you know? which is something i also love too. something like "always frowning with his fists held as in prayer". because even then, he's still wishing that things didn't have to come to that and that they could have resolved it another way.

Tsuna goes, "You don't get to pretend you're innocent here either." And it's so actually delicious haha.

not but it really IS!!!! i've talked about this too, about how, blinded and lost in his anger and pain and hatred and need for revenge and justice, enma ends up doing to tsuna & the 10th gen the exact thing that has been done to him & the shimon. he ends up being the exact type of mafiosi who caused him and his family pain and loss and that he hates. and it's just so--??? oughhhh. the drama of it all, love it.

is not the same guy from daily life arc who shed tears of joy when he found out Tsuna "killed" his first person JVJDJFJKDJFK.

WAIT BECAUSE I HAD TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT THAT LMAOOO. 😭😭😭😭 yeah amano sure DID fucking retcon his character zqefdsvds.

jokes aside tho, if we're talking shimon arc, then yes i agree that by that point, there is a bond to speak of between tsuna and nono. but it's just harder to believe (imo anyway) if we're talking varia arc lol.

i'm not NOT a 0027 shipper? like i'm all for their canonical and platonic dynamic, obviously lmao, but i've never really thought about them through a romantic lens before. you'll have to throw me some bait first to see if it's something that'll appeal to me too haha!

remember when tsuna said "but i’m not mafia!! i don’t have an ounce of pride as mafia!!" and enma immediately said to that "you’re still going on about that? you’ve stained your hands as a mafia boss, haven’t you?"

and remember when tsuna said "and i don’t intend to inherit the current vongola" (and how before that he officially said to nono "i would like to… turn down the title of the tenth boss of vongola.”) to which enma said "hahaha, you’re still saying that. that’s just unfair of you, sawada tsunayoshi. isn’t the crest on your gloves proof of the vongola? that’s who you’ll always be. you’re at the center of the vongola, and have been benefiting the most from the vongola’s power. and then, when the going gets tough, you escape from the responsibility. wielding the vongola crest, getting others involved, hurting them, then saying that you won’t succeed as the boss. you hope too much."

and remember when tsuna immediately denied it, saying "......!! ...... no!! i didn’t mean to hurt others! i want to use this power to protect my friends! that’s how it’s been until now... and always will be!" but enma said "a fraud like primo. you liar. do you seriously think you could escape from your bloody fate?"

and remember how the vindice said "what you must fight for in this battle, is your pride!!" and reborn said "it's natural to think that they're talking about the pride of being mafia" to which tsuna immediately said "but i'm not mafia!! i don't have an ounce of pride as mafia!!" but then adel said "everyone holds a different pride within themselves."

and then, remember how by the end of the arc tsuna said "my pride is... you. my pride is... my comrades, my friends!!"

remember??