#but that's a core part of who he is

[myprongsfootera]

I cannot stop thinking about that "Sirius killed for James, died for Harry, but lived for Remus" post

No.

Stop it.

I want to squirt water like "bad fandom"

Sirius stayed sane in Azkaban solely to avenge James's murder and try to protect Harry. It was about the two of them and Peter. If Remus ranked on the list it was a very distant fourth.

When Sirius came back, his *sole focus* was how to protect Harry. He lived alone as a dog feeding on scraps for most of his time post-Azkaban. He was only with Remus a tiny fraction of the time at the end, and even then it was with a primary focus of how to work together to protect Harry.

James's son.

It all comes back to him for Sirius.

He killed, lived, and died for James. All of it. Over and over, he was willing to do all of it for James.

Fucking Remus, who?

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Kiss Kiss Fallen Tree!

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[aroaceleovaldez]

i am once again thinking about Percy and Annabeth and their respective relationships with their step-parents, particularly how the other views the other's dynamic with their step-parents.

Because there's a really interesting subtle thing that we see which is when Annabeth talks about her step-mom to Percy, Percy's assumption is that Annabeth's step-mom is like Gabe. He just presumes that because that's what's familiar with him and based on his own experiences he assumes their situations are similar.

But then when Percy actually meets Annabeth's step-mom (and her dad) he realizes their situations aren't at all the same. He was expecting another Gabe, but instead he just found a genuinely caring family that was just struggling to find their footing with one another.

The interesting thing is that this implies an inverse - especially with what we know about how Percy and Annabeth describe their experiences. Percy doesn't really talk about Gabe ever. To anyone. Grover knows the whole picture there but he's basically the only one of Percy's friends who does. As far as we know, unless Grover told her at some point, Annabeth doesn't know about Gabe. She knows he was a jerk, but Percy out loud doesn't ever really get into details about it. She knows they didn't get along and eventually Gabe disappeared and Percy basically never spoke of it again. Presumably, Annabeth thinks Percy's dynamic with Gabe was like her dynamic with her step-mom, like how Percy had thought their situations were the same. Especially given we know Percy assumed their situations were the same and likely spoke about it as such if it ever came up.

Like. That's such an interesting tiny aspect of their dynamic that never gets touched upon. Annabeth likely doesn't know about this very core traumatic experience Percy endured before they met because she's operating under the assumption that their family just was a little rocky like hers was.

[dykedvonte]

I just realized some people are confused about events in the alluded to past in Mouthwashing, particularly about how long the crew has been working together.

The only person who is truly new is Daisuke and it’s why his dynamic with the crew and role in the story is very unique and somewhat distant. Curly didn’t just get Jimmy this job on the Tulpar, he got him the job with the Pony Express. He’s been his copilot for probably a couple of years but still not as long as they’ve been friends. None of them are new with the freight industry, Anya and Swansea especially have been doing this for years, together.

Jimmy is the newest on the regular crew, maybe just a few assignments, but it’s not his first time working with them. I think it’s just something important because this isn’t just one bad mistake that snowballed with giving Jimmy the job. None of them thought Jimmy would do anything, no matter how off-put by him they could’ve been, since he hadn’t done a thing since being there. Generally unpleasantness isn’t a crime and he’d be aware of that.

It was a festering thing and a sort of forced trust they had to give him that he knowingly took advantage of. He was the black sheep and still a wolf under the wool. He expected when he lashed out, that he had been there long enough for it to be looked over completely. Got too comfortable in the space he inserted into and did a lot of damage with his claws when he felt he was going to get shaken out.

[starry-bi-sky]

tales of the passerine - danny fenton being bruce wayne's first kid

okay okay. so this is like a continuation/elaboration of my oneshot/prompt i wrote about the idea that Danny was the first batkid. We have a lot of aus where he joins the family after the rest of the bats do, right? So hey! Lets shake things up a bit. Danny is the first to be adopted by Bruce Wayne.

Danny's parents and unfortunately Jazz die shortly after the events of TUE -- how so? I was gonna say an ecto-filter explosion, that would call back to the TUE explosion and trauma behind that. But lets do something new! Carbon-monoxide poisoning.

It's not too unexpected for something to break in the Fenton house, especially with the Fenton parents' questionable understanding of proper weapon handling and lab safety. The water heater broke from a stray shot by one of the weapons, and was promptly MacGyver'd incorrectly. Danny went to stay with Tucker for a guys' night, and came back to a dead silent house.

(Danny's neighbors got a very unfortunate shock when he ran to the next house over in hysterics.)

There was a lot of shuffling around with CPS, the police. People had to be called in to handle the equipment in the lab, and the GIW was rumoring to show up in aid to clearing the scene. When Danny heard of that, he immediately went and dismantled the ghost portal to the best of his abilities. He burned the physical blueprints of all his parents' inventions, their blueprints on the ghost portal, and their most dangerous weapons were destroyed beyond recognition. Anything to prevent the GIW from getting their hands on his parents' tech.

It opened up another investigation, but he was not under the list of suspects. He was placed in the care of Vlad Masters, where they then went back to the rebuilt castle mansion in Wisconsin. Danny, terrified of the future that has once passed and may do so again, shuts down in his grief. Inadvertently, he ends up somewhat repressing his ghost half. Something Vlad, who is grieving Madeline but relishing in Jack's demise and his custody of Daniel, is not very happy with.

Vlad's... gone into a bit of a mental health spiral. He's becoming increasingly possessive over Daniel, the final remnants of his friends and a liminal being like him. He doesn't like that Danny's repressing his ghost half -- both out of genuine concern as a ghost, but also because of his desire to control Danny and groom him into the perfect son. If you ever had a phase where you read Dark SBI found family fics, first off; me too bro, and second off; those are the vibes I'm thinking of.

Danny's mentally shut down from grief! And fear. He's dropped into a bad depressive state -- paralyzed with grief and the terror of the inevitable. Clockwork saved his parents because he believes in second chances, but what's the point of that when his family ended up dead anyways? Danny doesn't wanna believe that he's destined to become evil, and he's holding out onto that hope, but it's a thin line, and he feels utterly hopeless and trapped. He hasn't used his powers or ghost form since he trashed the lab, and Vlad has alarms set up to prevent him from trying to escape.

He's also unintentionally cut off Sam and Tucker -- both of whom are so scared and concerned for Danny too, and are trying their damndest to reach out to him. He keeps ignoring their texts. Danny basically haunts Vlad's manor. He goes out to eat if he has to, attends parties Vlad drags him to, and stays in his room all day if he can.

At parties, Vlad doesn't allow Danny to leave his side, or really talk to anyone -- not that Danny wants to. A product of Vlad's increasing possessiveness. Well, he almost doesn't let Danny leave his side. Danny has a habit of slipping off to hide somewhere for the parties whenever he can, and Vlad reluctantly allows it so long as he stays alone.

This becomes an advantage when eventually, Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham after missing for years, and holds a bright charity ball to celebrate the return. Vlad has been chomping at the bits to get his hands on Wayne Industries, and with the return of its owner there is no better opportunity to wipe out his rival. He goes, and he as normal, brings Daniel with him.

Vlad thinks Wayne will bleed his little heart out for Daniel's poor orphan sob story -- he's a fellow orphan himself, after all. He's not wrong; Wayne's little heart will bleed, just not in the way that benefits him.

Bruce sees Vlad and Danny approaching before they're even close enough to introduce themselves - and like with many of the children he will soon come to care for, it's like someone set a mirror into the past right in front of him.

Danny Fenton's suit is tailor-made for him, and despite the fact that it's his perfect size, the sag in his shoulders, the ducked down head, and the way he hunches into himself all pictures the image of a child in shoes too big for him. There's a far away, glazed over look in his eyes and grief marble-cut into the lines of his face. There's not enough makeup in the world that will hide the dark circles under his eyes.

("My nephew, Daniel Fenton." Vlad's hands are possessive on Danny's shoulders. Bruce immediately notices the way the boy tenses under his touch. "His parents passed recently, and as his godfather I was designated his guardian.") ("I'm so sorry, the loss must've been terrible.") ("Yes, carbon-monoxide poisoning caused it. Daniel was out with friends, when he came home... they had already passed.") (Bruce immediately dislikes that Vlad shared the details of their death unprompted -- he likes it even less when Danny flinches at the reminder and hunches into himself.)

Danny runs off at some point earlier into the charity. At this point, parties are still being held at Wayne Manor (because iirc google search mentioned that was a thing at first before it was changed), so he disappears and hides in one of the empty rooms nearby. It just so happens to be the same room Bruce Wayne hides in when he needs a break from all of the socialization.

Thus begins a long, long process of trust. Bruce can't reveal his hand as being smarter than he looks, but he can be compassionate. Kindness needs no measure of intelligence. He keeps Danny company for as long as he can before he runs the risk of being found.

Rinse and repeat. Vlad insistently wants Wayne Industries, and he'll go to as many Wayne parties as he can to get his hooks into the man. The problem is that Bruce Wayne is never alone, and getting him alone is impossible. Finding him too. It's like the man never stops moving. Always talking to someone, always circling somewhere. He orbits around the room as if he isn't the sun of the Gotham Elite's solar system.

Danny's had such repetitive behavior that Vlad never thinks to believe that Bruce Wayne is disappearing to go talk to him. That "Vlad's" son is even interacting with him at all. Danny never gives him a reason to think so, and neither does Bruce.

Danny doesn't actually acknowledge Bruce until a handful of parties in, where he hands Bruce a small slip of paper he smuggled in that says; "don't trust Vlad". Danny's face stays carefully blank, but he's so tense that his hands are trembling, and he's purposely looking away from him. Bruce plasters a smile onto his face, slips the paper into his pocket, and tells him "okay".

(he's been busy with his own goals with the mafia, but he sets aside time to investigate Vlad Masters. He was holding off. Until now.)

Danny does eventually start speaking to Bruce, he's starting to really like the guy. He's starting to see a little hope, even as Vlad is starting to get more and more agitated with him the more he refuses to use his powers.

He reaches out to Sam and Tucker again, and starts trying to reconnect with them. Vlad has spyware on his phone, and he limits the amount of times he can talk to them. A weird parental control lock of some sort that leaves a time limit on how long he can talk to them for. 30 minutes. Danny doesn't tell them anything about Mr. Wayne.

Danny, slowly, wants out of here, and he's slowly gathering the motivation to do it. Vlad is genuinely scaring him -- and Danny wonders just how truthful the past-future Vlad was when he told him that Danny wanted his ghost half separate. He starts trying to come up with an escape plan.

Vlad has anti-ghost wards everywhere around the mansion, and while they're always on, they boost to full power at sunset. The doors and windows are always locked, all main exits have alarms set on them. The only reason it's not super extensive is because Danny hasn't tried leaving at all yet, so Vlad hasn't had to tighten anything.

At night, Vlad locks the door to his room and puts up an anti-ghost ward around the room. The mansion is on the outside westward side of Madison, more entrenched in rural Wisconsin. The closest town is a four-way stop sign with one house on three corners, and an open bar on the fourth. Not much to go.

He refuses to go to Sam and Tucker; Vlad would look there first. It's too dangerous. Vlad would sound alarm bells and have a manhunt looking for him, Danny can't risk going just anywhere. Too much risk of being found, sold out, or caught. There's really nowhere for him to hide.

Until there is. Bruce is telling Danny about the history of Wayne Manor, and says, as casually as saying the weather; "The manor has dozens of empty rooms, I'm sure Alfred wouldn't mind filling another one if he could." And quietly, hesitantly, Bruce places a careful hand on Danny's shoulder, unrestrictive and gentle; "He wouldn't mind getting one ready for you if you need one."

And there it is. There's his out.

Danny, just as quietly, replies; "I'll keep that in mind."

The ball starts rolling.

Now I've been trying to summarize this au as much as possible for length convenience, but Vlad has been steadily growing more and more controlling. More emotionally manipulative. More agitated at Danny for not using his powers.

He wants Wayne Industries under his thumb but he's been steadily growing more and more concerned with Danny. He's started grabbing him, yanking him around, shaking him; trying to goad him into using his powers. He gets angry when Danny doesn't react, or tells him he doesn't want to use his powers. He hasn't outright attacked him, but he's getting there. This has been happening over the time it takes for Bruce to indirectly offer Danny sanctuary at his home.

It all comes to a head when Vlad stops going to parties at all -- something Danny has to pretend he isn't upset about -- because Vlad doesn't want him around other people anymore. Vlad rarely goes now without him, and only leaves to go to a Wayne function or to handle something at VladCo.

Danny can't wait for Vlad to leave long enough to escape. So he leaves during the night of a big storm. Vlad's locked him in his room, but Danny doesn't bother trying to go for it; he goes to the alarmed window instead. Danny's been repressing his ghost half so long that he can't access his powers immediately anymore -- he can feel it, he knows its there, but he can't quite reach it.

He breaks the lock by hand.

Immediately the alarm goes off through the entire castle, filling the room with red, and he scrambles for the rope the Wisconsin Ghost left for him a few months back. Danny's already out and climbing down the side of the castle before Vlad even reaches his door -- the only good thing about the entire room being ghost-proof is that Vlad can't get in that way.

The rope ends before it reaches the bottom, and he's still twenty feet in the air. It won't kill him if he lands it right. Danny takes his chances, and drops. He breaks his ankle, but he survives.

And he fucking books it to the back garden. He hears Vlad shrieking over the thunder and rain.

I'll save the full experience for a future oneshot, but Danny makes it out into the nearby woods and forcibly experiences what it's like to be in a horror game, trying to hide from the thing that's hunting you. There's only one thing going through his mind; "i'm going to die"

I have this mental image for this scene. Very stereotypical horror imo. Where Danny is hiding behind a tree, with a hand over his mouth, and Vlad is a few feet away from him, glowing ominously red through the trees, trying to search for him.

Danny doesn't get away from this unscathed, but he does get away alive. That's all he could ask for. He gets away by getting his ghost half awakened long enough to transform into Phantom and fly to Gotham.

But he gets to Wayne Manor, he gets to Bruce. Or, at least, Alfred answers the door from his insistent pounding. Danny's just in tears and Alfred gets him in the living room, wrapped in a towel, with ice on his swollen leg before he has to step out and alert Bruce.

Bruce already breaks multiple traffic laws on a nightly basis. And that's just with the sheer existence of the batmobile itself, not including the speeding and military artillery attached. He breaks double the amount trying to speed back to the cave and get out of the suit.

Right off the bat: Bruce will know, at least before Dick enters the picture, about danny's powers. He'll figure out something considering the fact that Danny traveled from Wisconsin to New York in a single night. That'll be a bit of complicated affair, but I've already got something in mind.

Actually it'll probably be very soon after Danny joins the family, because Bruce tries to offer to fight for custody for Danny - the state Danny was in at arrival is clear enough evidence for a trial. But Danny immediately shuts it down, says it's not going to work and then Vlad will know Danny's with him and he won't be safe. He tells him that Vlad cannot know Danny was with Bruce.

Danny's biggest regret was not telling his parents he was a halfa, and while he doesn't want to tell mister wayne (yet), he does tell him about Vlad being one. He needs to know why Danny can't be seen with Bruce. So he tells him, and Danny's current plan is to just hide out from Vlad until he turns 18. That way, he has no more legal jurisdiction over him. After that? He's not sure.

And to wrap this up, since this has already gotten very long and I can make more posts about this au later; I've thought about it, and I'm going to say that Danny does become a vigilante before Dick enters the scene. He goes by, as you probably guessed; Nightingale. "Gale" for short.

[pineappical]

would calling this something like "the sun to his earth" be a little bit too cliche? maybe...

[sunb0ts]

something that always gets me about klavier is that he is so clearly just like. friendly. he cares so much and he cares too much. he's one to tease simultaneously but he so clearly just like. loves and loves and loves, even when it puts him in harm's way, he likes people and he likes being around people enough to be desperate for it and for friendship like. ough

[puppetmaster13u]

SO. Thinkin of This AU/Thread of ideas. Y'know, Halfa Jason adopting the entire liminal class. That one.

But what if, Dragon. Because I am in fact weak to dragon AUs. And I could draw them, but instead have scrys beneath the keep reading bit.

So, Ghosts are Dragons sort of AU. Which means that the people in Crime Alley debate on whether local dad Peter (Who is totally with Red Hood they're sure) & the kids are dragon-based metas, or in fact straight up dragons disguised as humans.

Jason isn't exactly oblivious about this per se, but like, dude also has 13 kids ranging from 4 to 6 who are also both very powerful and also traumatized from the whole GIW experiments going on. So. He's understandable more than a bit Distracted.

Jason [Star Core] & Jazz [Ocean Core] & Jordan [Sun Core]

Kyle [Shadow Core] & Kwan [Wind Core] & Dash [Speed Core]

Wes [Light Core] & Paulina [Fire Core] & Star [Electric Core]

Sam [Life Core] & Tucker [Storm Core] & Valerie [Metal Core]

Ellie [Moon Core] & Danny [Space Core] [& Bonus Fright Knight just Because]

Also have link to the designs of the fam for the base Au

Psspspsps @mkarchin713 @radiance1 @hdgnj @theobliviousshipper perhaps u may enjoy or have ideas

[quietwingsinthesky]

i really do think the desire to paint ten as unambiguously The Worst™️ when it comes to his relationship with martha is out of this desire to uncomplicate their relationship. to decouple them as friends and people who profoundly impacted each other’s lives. it’s just an easier narrative to swallow: that ten was Awful to her and then martha kicked him to the curb when she realized she was too good for him. easier, maybe, then dealing with the troubles of unrequited affection don’t have to be anyone’s fault, or that ten shut martha out in a lot of ways but let her in in others that he wouldn’t let any other companion near, or that they were still friends, they still wanted to see each other and be around each other, even though it was messy and sometimes hurt. you know?

[biblicalhorror]

Aroace Riz real but also Fabian is SO clearly in love with him and Riz has no idea

[twinstxrs]

the gorgug-porter conversation is interesting to me because like. yea for the overwhelming majority of the conversation porter’s being shitty & trying to fit gorgug into a box that gorgug just does not fit into by trying to make gorgug’s relationship with his rage more focused on the aggression aspect of it. but then there’s also this specific thing that brennan brought up again in the ap, which is that gorgug’s relationship with his rage is wholly “this is a tool i use to protect my friends.” which isn’t a bad thing! but that’s his Whole relationship with it, & gorgug seems to place next to no value on his rage in relationship to himself. which is problematic, because it’s first & foremost his rage.

being raised in a household with a sort of toxic positivity largely meant that, whether or not it was his parents’ intention, gorgug internalized the message that more traditionally “negative” emotions such as anger are the wrong response to something. part of the reason he prioritizes his artificing is probably because it’s “fixing” things. in comparison to being a barbarian, which gorgug associates with “breaking” things. good vs. bad behavior, in his eyes.

it’s a totally unacceptable bar to measure a 16 y/o by, but i do think part of porter’s reasoning for not letting gorgug multiclass is him recognizing that gorgug generally does not value anger as a valid emotional response to something, at the very least for himself. & that directly conflicts with what being a barbarian is, because whether you like it or not, that rage is what fuels you. but again, barring a kid from pursuing something they deeply care about in part (not entirely, porter has a lot of more bullshit reasons) because of their fundamental values & world outlook is crazy.

so yes, 98% of porter’s reasoning is pretty shitty, immature, rife with a toxic view that there’s only one proper way to access rage, & generally not a good thing to do as a teacher, but also within that reasoning is the 2% of ‘there is a fundamental part of yourself that you only value if you can use it to take care of other people & you need to accept that as something that can take care of you, too.’ but that’s something to discuss with a therapist or a guidance counselor, not something that should hugely impact gorgug’s academic future.

[ancha-aus]

RealAgeAU Drabble - Progress

I am here! And I made this drabble! @spotaus get in here! We got a new update :3

This one i had to take the time for haha Also I am fucking dying it is so hot and warm and everything is moist and i hate it and please end me i am not made for this heat. and as i am melting so his my sanity and mental health

anyway hahahah it is warm :') I dislike the heat.

First drabble Prev drabble Next drabble

And no beta or edits. I write these in one go and hope for the best lmao.

*------------------*

Dream watches as the bear walks through the stream. looking at the water and following movements Dream can't see.

The bear eventually gets to some mysterious perfect spot and stays put. it opens its mouth and waits.

For a moment. nothing happens.

Then the fish start to jump and rush and one ends right in the bear's mouth. The bear bites down and starts eating.

It is fascinating.

Nature in motion.

Dream continues to lay right there on top of the branches as he watches the bear continue hunting and eating. at ease with what it does and who it is.

His phone ringing ruins the silence and Dream curses as he grabs his phone quickly checking who is calling now. He sighs at the sight of the caller ID and answers it "Hey Core."

The child, is core still a child?, sounds frantic "Dream? Where have you been!?"

Drema hums as he leans against the tree, watching the wildlife again. Good to see the bear has dismissed the noise he made and it went about its day again "out and about. learning stuff."

core sighs "Dream... the people here need you and-"

Dream hums "No they don't. They can do their chores and tasks themselves. I told you and all of them this before." he is not going to fall into the same trap as always. cutting himself apart to please others. He needs to figure himself out first.

Core sighs loudly again "Dream... If you like it our not. You are still the guardian of positivity to them! They are nervous and you can relax them."

Dream sighs annoyed himself "No Core. I can't. Or at least, i don't want that role anymore. Correction. I never should ahve had that role. I already told you that what i did before was a mistake." he had explained this so many times already. Explained that he shouldn't have tried to stop what Nightamre had been doing.

Yet no one understood!

They kept demanding him to keep doing what he had been doing before.

It is exhausting.

Dream sighs loudly and cuts off whatever Core is saying "I am not coming back to the omega timeline. Let it rest Core and move on. That is what i am doing." and he hangs up the phone. He leans against the tree and calls the number he knows by soul.

one ring later and "Dream! How is your break going? Seen any cool things?" Blue sounds excited.

Dream smiles as he leans against the tree already feeling relaxed. Just hearing his friend and hearing him respect what dream wanted makes everything right. The need to complain disappears and he focuses on the good "Yeah it is pretty cool. I am in a large forest. Saw a bear catch a fish with its mouth." the bear moves towards the side to eat some of the fish it caught.

Blue groans "lucky!! I am stuck in another reset. Kid got stuck somewhere in hotland and my bro and I are trying to figure out a way to hel them progress quicker."

Dream chuckles "You and your brother gave up on acting as if you don't notice the save, loads and resets?"

Blue hums "Well... yeah! I know it is a large risk and a big show of trust... but my brother explained to me that knowing I was there for him? With him in the resets and that i truly understood how it felt? He said it gave him peace and hope. that he felt less alone. And that got me thinking... Maybe... maybe Chara would feel better if they knew they weren't alone? That they didn't need to figure it all out alone? Papy had been unsure but he ended up deciding to trust my opinion and decision..."

Dream hums and nods "how did that go?"

Blue is silent for a moment before answering "Well... we dropped hints first and tried to ease them into the idea... then they ended up having a panic attack and apologising over and over again. We just sat down with them and we spoke it all out. they ended up sleeping over at our place for a while and would ask us everything about how we experienced it. So... I think it helped... thanks by the way."

Dream blinks and laughs "Why thank me?"

Dream can hear the smile in Blue's voice "Because you gave me the idea of it all! You were the one to trust me and share your worries with me. and once you shared those pains you felt better. You explained how the powers and responsiblity got too much and painful... That is when i realised. If you, an actual adult and god already felt like that... how would a child feel with so much power and responsibility but no guidance?" Blue is silent for a moment before he speaks "I know we aren't... we arent suposed to mess with the past or what happened or the anomaly but... How can there be any change if we don't try? Be it for the better or worse? At least we won't be stuck in the same loop anymore."

a moment of silence and Drema speaks quietly "What if they end up deciding to use this for bad stuff? To betray that trust and beleive?" what if blue gets hurt?

Blue hums "That is their choice. My choice was to be willing to trust and help. To beleive in the better and do waht i needed to do to take a step in the right direction."

Dream stares down before chuckling "You are truly one of the few between all of us who is sane and has healthy mental health."

Blue laughs "I have struggles too Dream. everyone has! we all do waht we can to cope. talking about struggles... did something happen?"

Blue is too damn smart and knows him too damn well.

Dream sighs "Smething did but... I honestly don't want to talk about it." he chuckles and rubs his new outfit. a more neutral grey with just a few yellow accents "You already need to listen so much to my problems. I want to be there for you too!"

Blue hums unhappily "dream."

Dream sighs and folds immediantly "just... Core calling again."

an even unhappier hum "We need to get you a new cross-multiverse phone. with a new number that Core doesn't know."

Drema can't help but laugh "maybe we can go shopping later? When your loop calms down a bit?"

Blue cheers "Yes! That sounds great! Oh! Did you want to come over for dinner? Chara is going to be friends with alphys and stuff which leaves me free early!"

Dream smiles "gladly. be there in a bit!" blue replies with his own goodbye and Dream hangs up. feeling much lighter and better than before. he opens a portal and makes the multiverse jump.

--

dinner is amazing and Dream takes some time to catch up wiht both Stretch and Blue. enjoying hearing more about the updates about their universe and how tlaking with Chara has helped them all a lot!

Dream is just happy with Blue is getting closer to the happy ending he deserves. To finally be free and explore the surface world he longs for so badly. Dream is also happy that Stretch seems to be doing better mentally. Dream may not be close with Stretch like with Blue but he still likes the other skeleton! Stretch is nice and can be a true sweetheart. Stretch just has to battle depression and hopelessness at the same time.

Blue once asked Dream if he could heal that for Stretch. a desperate plea from a worried brother. Drema had tried but he couldn't. He had once again remembered that it have been the purple apples that could heal mental illnesses. and he did not have a connection to those. Dream never told Blue that and just told him that Dream could only heal the physical body. That mental health was something that needed other and special care and support of loved ones.

Etiher way. it is great to see both feeling better and happier!

They relax and enjoy their time when Dream's phone rings again.

Stretch shoots it a curious look "I thought you muted that?"

Dream groans and nods "i did." he always does. one check later and a frown "Core again."

Blue sighs and steals his phone. he answers it and speaks right away "One. It is rude to call people at dinner time. two. Learn to take no. three. Stop, you are starting to appear obsessed. solve your own problems. It isn't Dreams issue." and hangs up again before handing it back.

Dream stares dumbfounded but Stretch just chuckles "Careful Blue. YOur protective side is showing."

Blue huffs but doesn't appear embarresed at all "Well! They should learn to take no and solve their own problems instead of trying to make it Dream's issue!"

Dream rubs his cheek "I am not much better... I keep asking you for your help..."

Blue looks at him and shakes his skull "Dream that is different. You ask for help. You accept if I am busy. Core demands help and doesn't accept a no." Blue smiles "See the difference?"

Dream feels himself relax again as he happily takes another bite. He enver needed food but it is nice.

a whistle "impressive."

Drema turns quickly and stares "Reaper."

Reaper grins and waves "Hey Dream. Blue and..." he needs a moment "Stretch right?"

Stretch looks a tBlue.

Blue shrugs at his brother "aparently I, or we for that matter, don't know how to not mess with things and cause alternative worlds. it is a long story. also. Don't touch reaper. everything reaper touches dies."

Reaper nods "it is why i float. Anyway. I had a moment and figured i should check in on the whole god thing and had to tell you guys soemthing but well... dinner." he waves at the table and grins "I didn't mean to be rude but..."

Stretch shrugs as he continues eating "I don't mind. talk god stuff. I am gonna keep eating."

Blue smiles at Reaper "I agree! You can just tell us now.. want a plate?" he waves at the dinner served.

Reaper chuckles and waves it off "I don't need food."

Blue huffs "neither does Dream but it is still a nice experience!"

Dream nods as he eats another bite "very nice. also. Blue and Stretch with all the timeloops are good cooks." Blue is already getting a plate and fork ready for the other skeleton.

Reaper blinks but takes the plate thankfully and carefully. he joins in and hums happily "It is great." and continues eating.

It is nice. a little strange but nice. Dream hasn't felt this relaxed and happy in a long time.

Reaper eats antoher bite before starting to speak "Anyway. I came with a mission." he eats antoher bite.

Dream nods and knows where this is going "Is this about... my job?"

Reaper nods as he eats antoher bite "Pretty much. Got any idea on what you want to focus on as domain yet?"

Dream sighs and shakes his skull "I... I hadn't... I had... wanted to wait with picking... until i foudn Nightmare and could talk things out first." he had wanted to pick soemthing together with his twin. make sure they still matched...

Reaper blinks but grins "you dont need to worry! you two are twins after all. if one of you picks a domain the other will automatically lean towards something that matches." he shrugs "god and twin magic stuff."

Dream blinks and feels a bit better. Their magic will always match?! That is great! That is fantastic and-

No.

Dream shakes his skull "Then I really don't want to decide without him!"

Reaper looks confused "But you will match anyway?"

Dream feels himself shake "Like with positivity and negativity?! No! I am not going to pick anything that can cause that kind of mess and split again!" He isn't going to do that to nightmare again!

Wait...

What if he can pick something that is the negative of the match? That would mean Ngihtmare immediantly gets the positive side right? But it hardly ever has only one opposite! Happiness can be the opposite of both sadness and angry to just give an example!

Or people often say love and hate are opposites but then people say it is love and indifference!

There are too many options and he isn't going to do it!

Reaper frowns "Dream. You can't keep going around without somekind of purpose. You are already heavily leaning on Blue as it is."

Dream looks away embarresed while Blue just frowns "Wait how do you know that?"

Reaper raises a brow "Because you are starting to get a boon."

Blue blinks while Stretch frowns "A boon?"

Reaper nods "Yeah. Gods can give boons to mortals who helped them. The more help and support given generally the stronger the boon. Normally these are given on purpose but well... with Dream's magic slightly all over the place." he just waves in their direction.

Blue frowns "what happens if i get one of these?"

Reaper hums "it depends on the god, the boon and the person. YOu could just be kinda like a workshipper if you get a tiny one. High priest kinda deal is also possible. But... with how involved you are with helping Dream? Probably an acolyte. Very strong powers... and pretty much automatically an outcode if not you just surpass that straight to something between mortal and demigod. Acolytes are powerful blue."

Dream shoots blue an anxious look before staring at Reaper "How do i stop that?!"

Reaper shrugs "Now you know about it? And you know you could do it? It is less liekly you will accidentally do it. especially if you don't want to. Boons are suposed to be a thank you kinda deal after all."

Stretch shares a nervous look with Blue but blue pats his hand "I am okay bro." Blue looks at Dream anxious "Dream... You know I love helping you. Really! But... i don't want to be an acolyte or any boon okay? I am just happy to be able to be friends."

Dream grbas his shoulders and stares at him "Blue. I promise and swear! I will never actively give you one unless you ask me okay? And I will try my hardest and best to never accidentally give you one okay?"

He wills himself, his soul, and magic to get the message. Blue doesn't want a boon. Blue doens't want a title. Dream doesn't want to give Blue either of these. Dream does not want to force either a boon or title on blue.

Reaper puts his plate away and floats at a distance "Sorry for the whole... bad news situation. I just figured... fi you are going to keep dodging picking a domain you need to understand this possibility..." he waits a moment before his phone gives a ding. he frowns at it "Work demands me again. Give it some thought. think about your domain and keep an eye on yourself." and Reaper disappears as if he was never there.

Blue frowns at where Reaper left and gives him a reassuraning smile "Hey. If you don't want to give me one you won't give me one. I trust you to not do it on purpose. And we will just make sure I stay in my own universe more! Not tempt fate!"

Dream frowns as he rubs his arm "Maybe i just need to pick a domain... but i don't want to accidentally force nightmare into a role he doesn't want..." it wouldn't be fair.

Blue frowns but Stretch speaks up "makes sense. fuck knows i would never have willingly picked Blue to also rememebr the resets."

Blue shoots him a look but Dream looks a thim confused "But i thoguth it was helping you?"

Stretch nods "It is. it is nice to have his support and everything" he smiles a tblue sadly befor elooking down "But it is a lot. the resets are a lot. i didn't... i didn't want to force him to deal with that." he shoots blue a look "I didn't want to force you to experience the same thing that i saw as hell. I didn't want to do that to you."

Blue frowns and goes to his brother to give him a hug. Dream relaxes and smiles a bit. because Stretch understands. Stretch understands why Dream can't make this choice just yet. Blue understands as well and... and trusts him.

Dream nods to himself and focuses. He doesn't want to give blue a title or boon. He wants blue to just remain his best friend. he wants blue to get the choice. He wants blue to get his chance to pick his future. He wants Nightmare to get his chance to pick his future.

To make their own paths.

To progress and grow in the way they want.

Dream smiles at the two brothers "Thank you two. for being my friends. real friends." he doesn't have many. which makes the two all the more special. and if they want to remain exactly as they are then Dream wants them to stay the way they are. because that truly gives them the chance to be and become who they want to be. instead of being what Dream wants.

Dream just hopes this will work. Because he also wants a chance to figure out who he truly is. And who he wants to be and what he wants. a chance to change and be. a chance to try and grow as a person.

Maybe that is all he ever really wanted.

*------------------*

Meanwhile Nightmare already figured his own domain out and is working on it. Also. No one tell Dream he already picked one. it just isn't as obvious. after all... Blue did mention that Dream helped him find a way to progress and move forwards :3

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[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Lan Wangji Goes To Lotus Pier AU: Part 1: Dread on Arrival

(Part 2)

[staranon95]

do you think Raylan stared into the void a bit when he shot Coover and he fell into the old mine shaft?

do you think he saw himself a bit down there for just a second

that the mines were speaking back to him, telling him no matter how hard he tried he'd never truly escape them

that the ground will eventually swallow him up just as it will with all of us

[pianostarinwonderland]

Now it's likely we will enter everyone's dream what do you think azul dream would be?

rubs hands Ohhhh anon, you're in luck because I have so many thoughts.

Since I also have ideas for the tweels, I'll take this time to write what I think all the Octavinelle dreams will be like. Most of these are my own thoughts, but some ideas are from friends. And because I love the trio so much, I'll also write my own ideas of what would possibly get them to wake up and such.

General notes before listing the individual dreams:

May be an obvious point, but I think all 3 of them will have each other in their dreams. Octa trio are very close, and I don't think they can imagine not having each other in their lives. It also matches how their initial dorm card art have each other + how all three of their stories are tied together.

I think that Jade is going to be the Octavinelle dream segment's SSR because of the twins, Kalim and co. will likely have an easier time waking Floyd up. Jade may need some prodding from someone more familiar with him.

However, I do acknowledge the argument made by my friend that it is possible for Floyd to be the SSR as he's the rightmost one in the order you find at the lessons (if you notice, the order goes Ortho > Lilia > Rook > Kalim (though Kalim is an exception) with Sebek in between Lilia and Rook, and they're the rightmost ones in their dorm order seen in lessons. Floyd is the rightmost one in the Octavinelle order). And I wouldn't be surprised if TWST decides to pull that out. But admittedly, I don't know what exactly would make Floyd's dream deep enough that he needs to be woken up by someone more familiar, so I write the dreams with the assumption that Jade will be the SSR.

Though not necessarily going to be important in the following ramble, I have a feeling that they will release Coral Sea's hometown event to be able to use certain assets (i.e. backgrounds, possible official reveal of Azul's merform) in book 7, just like Vil's hometown event was used for the Pomefiore dream segment.

As a disclaimer, I don't have full translations of the last two updates so I may not have the most accurate ideas for how the Octa dream segment can turn out because there are patterns they're following here. Many of these are still brainrot induced (even though I think I make good logic wheezes).

Ok, with all that said, here are my thoughts for the Octa trio's dreams :>>

Floyd Leech: Living underwater with Jade and Azul

It's not a secret that Floyd is at his happiest when he's in his merform. Among the trio, he's the one who transforms the most often into his merform. Some incidents include the time that he transformed during swimming class according to Ruggie (Book 3) and Vargas Camp where he transformed to get fish. Floyd is also the one who tells the most stories of his time under the sea with Jade and Azul. We know about their middle school band because of him (Robe Kalim vignette); we know about Azul's actual size in his octopus form because of him (Beans 2 main story); we know about the music contests they used to join because of him (Portfest Floyd vignette).

So it makes sense that his dream would be in the sea, where he's in his merform. It's also going to be pretty simplistic, depicting a happy life underwater.

TWST tends to be very comedic, especially with the first dream. So my friend suggested it would be fun if there were literal fish versions of the cast in his dream 😂 so we could have live2D assets of a literal goldfish Riddle, crab Ace, sea snake Jamil, etc.

Jade and Azul of course would be in merform along with him. Maybe they might be playing in their middle school band: Floyd on drums, Jade on bass, and Azul on piano (and maybe their audience is composed of the NRC cast as fish).

In this dream, maybe Floyd has no memory of ever being on land with Jade and Azul. So that may be what the others will use to wake him up.

Jamil would probably remind Floyd of basketball club days + dancing, and Ortho would probably remind him of his love for shoes. These could be pretty reasonable as the permanent card vignettes (so SR Robe/Lab, R Uni/PE, SSR Dorm) seem to be compliant with the canon of the main story. Grim would probably remind him as well of Book 3's events and how he'd do fun shit with Azul and Jade at the Mostro Lounge. They would probably remind him as well that Jade and Azul love what they do on land.

I don't know where to insert this, but it's very likely that Azul in this dream does not hate his merform. Floyd talks highly of his merform (whether it looks yummy or very strong), so it's possible that he wishes that Azul loves himself just a little bit more (I really want to say it is hinted at, but at the moment, I have no idea if that's correct, let alone say where it is hinted at, so I won't say it like it's canon). And by extension, this can be Floyd's way of sharing that maybe Azul wouldn't have OB'd if he was more accepting of himself.

Jade Leech: If Azul never overblotted

Jade's dream would take a similar path to Rook's dream, in which the premise for the latter is that Vil never overblotted because he's not in conflict with Neige. And for Rook, that's okay, he just wants Vil to be happy, even if he looks on from afar. Except that for Jade, he wants to be the reason that Azul didn't have to overblot.

See, it's very subtle, but Jade is probably upset or even traumatized from Azul's overblot. While he never shows this (this motherfucker istg) the one small bit of evidence of this is in Book 4. Jamil's hypnotizing everyone, and Kalim, Azul, and the rest are frantic as they don't know what to do. But as Jamil is about to overblot, Jade tells him to stop, or else he will overblot. And that's a very interesting thing: why is it Jade who's the one telling Jamil that he'll overblot at the rate he was going? Why not Azul, who's both fascinated with Jamil and the one who underwent overblot? Or even Grim and Yuu who have 3 experiences of overblots by that time? Of course, that's not necessarily a guaranteed indication that Jade is upset from Azul's overblot, as in general, overblot is very dangerous and could kill a life. Jade may have been saying this to prevent Jamil from entering a life-or-death situation. However, I still find it intriguing that it's Jade who's warning Jamil, especially when another instance of another character trying to stop an OB was Kalim, who followed Vil since he was reminded of Jamil's own OB (and we know Jamil and Kalim have been together since forever).

There's two ways that this can go: either (1) Jade's dream follows like Rook's, or (2) it goes the opposite of Rook's.

In (1), Jade (and consequently, Floyd) would not be friends with Azul, and Azul would continue on as he is, only a lot more independent.

(1) stems from the fact that the plan Yuu hatched to destroy Azul's contracts was hinged on separating the twins from Azul. Jade might have realized this, either in Book 3 or off screen post Book 3. And in a similar fashion to Rook, he might blame himself a little bit for Azul not being able to get the contracts off of Leona on his own due to the fact that he and Floyd are always with him. So in his mind, he thinks he might be dragging Azul's potential down, and he knows how much Azul wants to become the best version of himself. So maybe he looks on from afar as well. Maybe he's still an Octavinelle student, but not the vice leader.

(2) also stems from that same fact, but it also has an additional element: In Book 3, Jade asked Azul if they should do anything about Leona, since it was unexpected for Yuu to stay in Savanaclaw. Azul replied that he probably won't act on anything, so he says not to disturb him. What if Jade might have been hooked onto this? That maybe he should have acted more upon his suspicions? That maybe he should have been more attentive when spying on Yuu and co to find out when they hatched this plan? So maybe in dream (2), he had a countermeasure or he just knew when to nudge Floyd to go back to the dorm before Leona destroyed the contracts. Then once that was dealt with, they deal with the photo and bam, Azul wins and they get the Ramshackle branch.

Both (1) and (2) are connected by Jade's wish in the Dances and Wishes event, where he expresses that his wish is for Azul's and Floyd's wishes to come true. In a sense, (1) fits this a bit better than (2). There's also the idea that moray eels have a cowardly nature, according to Floyd. (1) could be an expression of said nature within Jade.

But if you ask me, I think (2) is a bit more in line with Jade. Firstly because I doubt he can imagine not being close to Azul, secondly because I think in his ideal world, I think he'd wish he had more control over what happened (and Jade has a thing for control).

Thirdly, it matches in terms of how his dorm card and Rook's dorm card are both same and different. The gameplay of TWST tends to be intermingled with the story and characters at times. Dorm Jade and Rook both have first spells where they boost their ATK stat for 3 turns, with fire as their duo element. The differences between them are (a) card typing (Rook Attack vs. Jade Defense) and (b) M1/M3 elements (Flora/Water Rook vs. Water/Flora for Jade). This parallel can be reflected in their dreams vs. the reality of their situations. Rook dreamt of never being involved with Vil, but in real life he was in time to intervene and save Neige. Meanwhile, Jade would dream of being on time to stop Leona, while in real life, he was too late and only in time to kick Azul's ass out of his overblot.

And fourth, this is where you may wonder: Isn't Azul's second dream going to be the Book 3 AU, based on the patterns with Idia, Vil, and Jamil? To which I answer: yes! Definitely! But here's where I'm going to point out something: Jade and Azul not only have similar ish mindsets but also have the same paintings in their initial Platinum card art, just with flipped positions. I like to think that this is reflective of their dreams, where both of them wish to change the same events of Book 3, except that they'd go about it differently.

Jade would definitely be woken up by Floyd, who would remind him that what happened has already happened. (On this note, I wonder if we'll get to see one of their vicious sibling fights so Jade can wake up, but I'm just dreaming at this point)

By virtue of him being the SSR, we gotta think of what's the scenario that would make Jade cry! Him having to fight the fake Azul and Floyd might break him. Yeah, he's fought Floyd and all, probably dueled with Azul too, but it could be different when he has to be 100% serious about it. Either that or, there might be some part of him that hates the fact that it was a dream. And Floyd would have to snap him out of it, saying that everything is okay.

Azul Ashengrotto: Ultimate business owner + Book 3 AU

The first dream we enter, in typical Azul fashion, we're likely going to see him owning a whole chain of Mostro Lounge restaurants! And maybe not only that: he's probably running a hotel or two, he's got a delivery service going, he probably has a monopoly running while we're at it. Basically, it's all the stuff that he lists down in Book 6 before he sleeps on Riddle's shoulder.

His businesses expand over both land and sea. Since Azul prefers being on land, we may see him on land first before diving to the sea to check on business there. And that's where the first confrontation happens.

I think Azul would feel practically invincible by this point! And by invincible, he not only has everything he wants, but there's not a trace of his past to be discovered, so people think he's always been this intelligent and strong. So when he's confronted by Jade and Floyd, who share memories of his past (his shared past with them, from middle school to NRC), that's the first instance of Azul slowly starting to wake up and him panicking about his perfect world being fake. And it almost works until the dream versions of Jade and Floyd come in and remind Azul of the kind of invincible person he is.

Then they descend to the second dream, which is the Book 3 AU where Azul got his contracts from Leona and probably beat his ass. Except that the difference between this and Jade's dream is that Azul does this all by himself. When dream Jade and Floyd get back to him with the photo, they're praising him, all like, "Good job Azul! You're so strong and powerful! I'm glad I get to hang out with someone as awesome as you are!"

But the real Jade and Floyd would try to stop him from destroying the photo and tell him that it's a reminder of who he was, and how much he's grown. And if Azul succeeds in destroying that photo, Jade and Floyd would pull out the photos that they carry with them (think the album from the opening). They want him to accept the person that he was, and realize the person he is now is someone who's grown stronger. He has become better.

On how his dream would collapse, this is tricky. I would want that Azul destroys his contracts (thereby breaking the deal he made with Yuu, which would entail that his happy end has been broken), but him not destroying the photo would also cause the dream to collapse since the way to his happy end involves removing all ties to his past, namely the photos. He could do both. However, the trend so far is that foreign influence affecting the happy ending is what would break the dream. If anything, if Jade and Floyd do have their own copies of Azul's past photos, that means that the presence of those indicates that Azul's ties to his past are not broken at all, and therefore they would break the dream.

Then as per pattern, the others leave while Azul sinks deeper to try and wake himself up. He meets his OB self, who's steeped in his insecurities and is very unaccepting of his past. And this is where Azul accepts those insecurities and accepts his past but will continue to move forward with his life and grow to be a person he can be proud of, and fight his OB self. Then he faces his first dream and dream Jade and Floyd, and then he wakes up eventually.

[nukacourier]

Noticing a lot of people seem to try to fight the mischaracterization of Arcade where people see him as being some soft emotional baby boy who needs protected...by doing the complete opposite and pretending he's a total asshole who doesn't like anyone and never experiences joy or whimsy and will call you stupid for having fun

Like. Yeah it annoys me too that people infantilize him but I don't think stripping away core parts of his character by making him act straight up awful to other people is gonna help fix that