#desmond would spoil children

[auroramoon-draws16]

Fuck it, crossover that shouldn’t exist time

Here’s another Assassin’s Creed crossover, but this time in Minecraft.

Yes, one already exists, but I need more.

This time, with Sbi (because I love them).

Lets say, that the whole Desmond getting isekai’d thing happens and he meets Kristen, the goddess of death and matriarch of Sbi. Maybe accidentally gets adopted as Kristen’s own little assassin, angel of death, son, which means our boi finally gets a supportive family, good for him.

If not that, then he opens a bar nearby while sbi sons are still kids and becomes a badass, bartender uncle who trains them/babysits them when Phil is out. Love that for him, mans gets a family and favored by a literal goddess of death, how fitting.

Bonus points if the other assassins show up and hang out at the bar, maybe start another Brotherhood if there’s a threat that pops up, who knows what that could be tho.

Bonus bonus points if Desmond gets to be a family with his ancestors, because they really needed that closure. And shenanigans. They also get to be the badass uncles.

Do what you will with this idea, because I sure as hell won’t.

[teecupangel]

*chants* CAPYBARA DESMOND MILES! CAPYBARA DESMOND MILES!

Look at that little face:

They would probably first see Desmond somewhere with a body of water.

For Ratonhnhaké:ton, it would be when he first sees Aquila. He would be walking back to the manor and find Desmond following him. He’s never seen a capybara before but it seemed friendly enough and had went on his hind legs, raising his front legs as if to ask for Ratonhnhaké:ton to pick him up. Ratonhnhaké:ton does and he brings him to Achilles who admits to not knowing what Desmond is, only that ‘it’ usually stays inside the wreckage of the Aquila. Faulkner would probably have more information so Achilles suggested that Ratonhnhaké:ton talk to him (but also to not get distracted by the ‘rodent’, cue Desmond glaring at him) but Faulkner only knows as much as Achilles as the ‘thing’ appeared one day and never left until he followed Ratonhnhaké:ton anyway. At least, Faulkner was able to tell Ratonhnhaké:ton what Desmond likes to eat. Desmond spends most of his time in the manor and served more as a companion to Achilles who always gives him something to eat whenever Ratonhnhaké:ton is gone.

For Ezio, Desmond would actually be a gift from Machiavelli. A strange gift with Machiavelli saying “He reminds me of you” which Ezio and Desmond still aren’t sure if it’s meant to be a complement or not. Regardless, Desmond becomes the unofficial mascot of the Italian Brotherhood and is super spoiled by the other recruits. Claudia also teases her brother that Desmond (and Ezio didn’t know why he named the animal Desmond, it just seemed right) is the only child that Ezio would accept officially. It’s all said in jest as Ezio has no idea if he has any illegitimate children running around. (Claudia doesn’t believe it, Ezio is more on the fence, Machiavelli says the only way Ezio wouldn’t have any unknown children is if he can’t have children at all). So Desmond is treated like the mentor’s child more than pet and everyone spoils on him. Then Leonardo meets him and… Desmond began to appear in Leonardo Da Vinci’s works and sketches.

Altaïr would meet Desmond during his travels to one of his mission. A small pond or lake that he stopped by to let the horse rest. Altaïr would find Desmond flopping around the bank and they would stare at each other for a moment before Altaïr would turn around to ignore him. Desmond would probably be offended and ‘run’ after him, his feet making wet squishy sounds against the ground. Desmond would grab hold of the reins of Altaïr’s horse or maybe his robes and wouldn’t let go. Altaïr has no time to deal with this kind of tomfoolery but he couldn’t just kill this creature since it wasn’t dangerous. Annoying, sure. But innocent nonetheless. ……… and that is how… Altaïr finally manages to turn Malik speechless when he brings the creature with him to the bureau, letting the creature rest in his arms. Oh. And the creature waved at Malik and Malik was simply too confused that he instinctively waved back.

[briefhottubcoffee]

Hello! This is the very first story I have ever put out into the world! I am very nervous and have ~social anxiety~ so please be kind!

This story came to me looking at all the stuff my friend with kids has on her fridge and I thought it would be perfect for the Forgers. My husband helped me brainstorm ideas so it may be multi-chapter. I’m waiting to make an AO3 account. Again I’ve never done this before lol. Apologies if formatting is weird, I only use tumblr on mobile.

Refrigerator Magnets

Loid is grocery shopping with his daughter one Thursday evening, the sky cloudy and gray. He’s so tired. He was assigned two extra side missions this week, dull and mind numbing, but then a patient at the hospital actually did kick him in the stomach! It wasn't just an excuse! Leaving a bruise and a slight wince to appear on his face occasionally when he inhaled. But they needed groceries for this weekend and Anya was still bustling with energy when she came home from school, Yor working late. So out he went, robotically putting ingredients in the cart and leaning his body on it far more than he usually did. Anya was skipping beside the cart, humming a tune, the exact opposite of her father. He could never get on her level.

And then she spotted them, hanging from an endcap as Loid browsed the juices, a package of refrigerator magnets, different colorful animals.

“Papa!” Look! This looks just like Agent Penguinman! And this one is like the lion I saw at the zoo!”

He reaches for the pack, handing them to her for a closer look. She coos at them before putting a cute, purposeful look on her face, flipping the package and standing on her toes for him to see.

“Neat,” he says mildly, gesturing for her to throw them in the cart, and letting her help him steer. He grabs his ingredients and her favorite candy bar before heading to the front. I am a normal, tired father, he thinks, apologetically smiling at the cashier as Anya, pushing the cart she can’t even see over, lightly crashes into the corner of the register.

******

Another Thursday evening, this one a little brighter with Yor’s pretty smile directed at him and the refrigerator magnets bringing some color to their kitchen. She’s helping him start dinner, when the front door bangs open and Bond shoots up from his nap. “Anya has returned!” their daughter shouts, grabbing for her dog.

“Welcome home, Anya. How was your day?” Yor asks, taking her hat from her head.

“Oh! Guess what?” Anya says. She unzips her backpack and rummages through before pulling out a rose pink envelope. “Anya was invited to a birthday party!” She lifts the invitation high above her head, before Loid grabs it.

“Oh? I’m glad you're making more friends.” An excellent source of information for Operation Strix. The parents of this child might be important in Ostania. It might be crucial for her to attend.

“Well, Hannah isn’t really Anya’s friend. She took the last cookie in the cafeteria,” Anya pouts.

“Well… she invited you to her party.”

“She invited the whole class,” Anya shrugs. “But can we go Papa? Can we? I’ll be nice to Hannah! She said there would be ponies! Ponies that we could ride?! And a big slide and an orch-ee-stra, and a magician!”

“My goodness! What an elaborate birthday party!” Yor says, opening the card and marveling at the beautiful, ornate invitation inside, fit more for a formal wedding than a seven-year-olds birthday party. Loid blinks. He supposes this is the norm for rich, pompous people, to spoil their children with extravagant birthday parties and ponies. Anya’s attempts to befriend her more wealthy classmates have not gone particularly well, Damian Desmond in particular, which caused Loid intense stomach pains, but this party could indeed be a big opportunity for the mission. He could meet some upper-class parents, perhaps gather intel, and then, of course, since this girl invited the whole class, Damian Desmond himself might attend. Could his parents even show? His reclusive target? Surely not, but this is still a good chance to get another foot in the door with his young son, a chance for Anya to play nice outside of school, a positive step forward!

“Alright, we can go,” he says. “But you’ll need to get her a present.”

“Ooohh lets go to the Big Toy Store! I can get Hannah a Mega Elephant Circus!” Anya squeals, spreading her arms wide. Loid turns to watch Yor with her pretty smile tack the pricey, shimmery invitation on the fridge with the elephant magnet. This birthday party is going to be a big expense for Operation Strix.

****

The invitation stays on the fridge for weeks, a reminder of the upcoming party and ooting for the Forgers. Before the party, the family heads to the toy store, the huge, expensive toy store, with giant stuffed animals and a freaking merry-go-round in the center.

Anya and Yor spend time checking out all the toys, Anya pointing out all the ones she wants. Loid trails behind, tired again. They settle on getting Hannah a doll tea set, reasonably priced, but still, hopefully, expensive enough to satisfy a rich family. Loid then sits on a bench to rest, watching Anya bounce up and down beside Yor, both waiting to ride the merry-go-round. Yor is such a huge help at times like these. He’s grumpy and worn down. Side missions pile up, patients pile up, and he feels a gnawing frustration at his lack of progress with Operation Strix. Yor’s pretty smile and cheery disposition make up for his failures with their daughter. She can get on Anya’s level. She can match Anya’s excitement about riding on a merry-go-round. She can marvel at a giant stuffed kangaroo with her and come up with a silly name for both the mama and the baby in her pouch. She can crouch down and help Anya snap blocks together as they build a castle complete with a watch tower for Bondman. Present and engaged and sweet all the time.

Last night, Anya was fussy when it was time to go to bed, too wound up to be sleepy. She wailed at Loid as he helped her with her pajamas and tried to tug the covers over her, rolling around in bed instead and kicking her feet up on the wall. Loid felt impatient and drained as he sighed at her. This is impossible. Bedtime seemed like a straightforward task but was so draining in reality. He felt like he would never get this parenting cover right. Yor came in after hearing their bickering, and laughed softly, kneeling down next to Loid.

“Let’s try to hush a bit,” she calmly said to their daughter, smoothing her hair down. Loid watched as Yor pulled out a book and began reading to Anya, and what an idyllic picture they made. Yor’s voice came out in such a tranquil way, her eyes twinkling in the dark room. He couldn’t look away. She kept stroking Anya’s hair, her voice like a melody, her presence like a soothing light. Like a miracle, Anya yawned and her eyes became heavy, and Yor shot Loid a smug look and he felt like he was flying. She was magic. She could do the impossible.

In the present, Loid watches with a frown as the pair climb aboard, Anya tugging on her mothers arm and pointing to the two horses she wants to ride.

“Will the ponies at the party be green and pink like these?” he hears his daughter shout.

“I doubt it,” Yor replies with a giggle, helping the girl on to her horse. The music starts and the ride begins to spin, daughter and mother sending exuberant waves to Loid as they squeal with excitement. Loid feels pensive and melancholy. Cranky. I am no good at this, he thinks. Appearances are everything for a spy, and he supposes he is a good father at surface level, to the bystanders who see him wave to his wife and daughter each and every time they make their way around. But he feels lacking. Anya is a sweet girl and Yor is a lovable mother, he feels another painful kick of guilt at the thought of using them, deceiving them. They deserve the real thing, a matching father to complete their pretty picture, something perfect enough to tack on the fridge and admire everyday. Not someone playing pretend.

It’s what needs to be done, he thinks with finality. He centers his thoughts, reminds himself of the mission, of war, of the invitation on the refrigerator with its elephant magnet, of what this seven-year-old’s birthday party means for world peace. Pull yourself together. He has rich parents to schmooze with, he must appear charming and affable, he must ask all the right questions, not too probing, not too demanding. He has to appear engaged and interested. He has to fit in with the other good fathers. They will be charming and affable, they will laugh with joy at their kids, walk next to them with their hands on their backs as they ride ponies, they will wipe their faces when they're covered in icing. He has to remind his daughter to play nice with Damain Desmond, to be on her best behavior, to not eat too much cake.

He has to crush this child's birthday party. World peace depends on it.

****

The party is too much. It’s so extravagant and pink. There are balloons and peonies everywhere, the birthday girl sits on a gold chair in a pink tutu with a crown on her head. Loid sighs. Next to him, Yor frets with the pink gift bag she’s holding, her lips in a thin line and a crinkle between her brows.

Loid leans towards her. “Rich people,” he scoffs with an eye roll and Yor looks up at him and giggles, swats his arm.

“Hi Becky!” Anya shouts as she pelts across the perfect, giant lawn.

“Anya, don’t crash into anyone,” Loid warns looking around. He immediately hones in on his main target for the day, a young boy with dark hair and a pompous arrogance about him, surrounded by two other boys and glaring at Anya as she twirls around, showing Becky her dress. Loid thinks of a way to move his mission forward, a way for Damian to bring up the Forgers to his father, who is definitely not here, so that he is interested. Perhaps there is a servant or even the boy's mother present? Someone closer to the man in question. Loid and Yor are then approached by the mother of the girl of the hour. Hannah’s family are rich socialites, the father a bank executive.

It’s time to schmooze.

The shmoozing goes well, the birthday party is in full swing. There’s a damn violin quartet in the corner, and waiters dressed as princes and princesses serving hors d'oeuvres to the parents. Loid has gotten a little useful information to bring back to Wise; the fathers had retreated to the mansion shortly after the party began. Loid had joined them for a bit, engaging in a game of poker and listening to the men complain about their wives and their jobs, gathering intel in a room full of cigar smoke. But he grew tired of it.

I have to make sure she and Damian are getting on well, he justifies to himself as he ventures back out to the lawn. He is the only father out there. He sees Yor standing awkwardly with the other mothers and slides next to her, resting a hand lightly at her waist.

“What are you doing back here, Dr. Forger?” Hannah’s mother asks, surprised.

“Oh I wanted to check on Anya. And I missed my wife,” he replies with a charming smile and Yor stiffens and flushes as the other women aww at them.

Anya and Damian are not interacting, at least not in any friendly way. Loid watches as Damian shoves past Anya and Becky in line for the pony ride.

“Rude!” Shouts Becky as Anya sticks her tongue out at him. Well… their relationship hasn’t improved much.

Loid blinks. There are at least ten ponies and only one handler, he seems a little overwhelmed at the task at hand, monitoring young children on little ponies trotting in a circle.

“Is no one going to help?” Loid asks Hannah’s mother, gesturing towards the pony ride.

“Well the boys are busy inside,” she replies with a sniff. “He’s got it covered.” And that’s the end of that.

This isn’t going to go well, Loid thinks as he rushes over, just as Damian Desmond tries to climb on to a pony alone. His foot gets stuck in the saddle, and he falls over. Tears well in his eyes as the other kids laugh at him. All except Anya who walks over to him.

“Here you go!” Anya extends her hand to Damian. He frowns at her, a bright red blush on his cheeks. “I don’t need your help, dummy!’ He shouts in reply. Despite the kids reaction, Loid is proud of his daughter for being caring and kind, compassionate and warm. Yor is raising her well.

“I’ll help you up,” Loid says, picking up the boy and placing him on the horse. Damian looks at him suspiciously. “You’re shorties- I mean- you’re Anya’s pops right?” he asks.

“Yup! Horses can be a bit intimidating at first, but you’re up here now! Just hold on tight to the reins and you’ll do great,” He says. His mind is running a million miles an hour. Don’t overdo it, this may get back to Desmond, be kind and fatherly, I am a good dad, I am a normal dad.

Damian is still blushing but mutters his thanks. Loid realizes this kid is alone. No guardian for him, he must have attended with friends. The ponies begin their circle. Loid stays nearby and straightens up the kids as needed, teaches them how to tuck their shoes into the saddle, how to hold the reins correctly. The handler shoots him a grateful look. The mothers are looking at him curiously. Maybe he messed up. Maybe he should be inside with the other men. Maybe it’s not normal, but it didn’t seem right to him to be like the other fathers. The men smoke inside while the women gossip outside, helpers and nannies monitoring the kids. It was so detached. He had felt something unsettling in his gut, something he couldn’t ignore. Maybe he actually did want to check on his daughter, maybe he actually did miss his wife. She’s looking at him now, her pretty smile back. He feels like he’s flying again. Anya is laughing with joy on her pony, the sound like bells, waving at her father.

No good, this is no good. This isn’t going to go well. He tries to center himself, remind himself why he’s actually here. But he can’t. He’s going around in circles. He’s flying high.

****

They return home from the party, everyone exhausted. Anya is quick to settle for the night, he considers nights like these where she is actually tired a miracle indeed.

“Night, Papa,” Anya mutters, closing her eyes and snuggling with her chimera. Loid hums and smiles, affection rising in his stomach. Anya is a good kid. Disruptive and loud, but sweet and happy, reminding him of the good in the world.

Once she is tucked into bed, he sighs and settles on to the couch, petting his dog on the head. Yor’s quiet tonight. She shuffles around the kitchen making tea, he sees her take down the party invitation from the refrigerator and tuck it into a box they keep on a shelf. She hands him his tea and he shoots her a grateful smile, but she’s looking away, her lips in a tight line and her frown back between her brows.

“What’s up?” He asks, letting the steam from the tea settle on his face. She looks at him and blushes, his heart stutters in his chest.

She sits with her tea and shakes her head. They stay silent. He listens to his dog snoring softly and the clock tick, as he and his wife watch each other with their tea. It’s a good night. It was a good day. He spent time with his family, for the mission, he reminds himself. He feels calm and warm, his mind slow, helpless, thinking of the picture they make in this living room, an idyllic picture.

“You’re a good father,” she says finally. “One of the best, I think.”

She blushes pink and her eyes twinkle and her pretty smile is back and Oh. I am flying again.

[sister-cna-reader]

Bill: Brings out a thousand dollars worth of chocolate, flowers, and a horse ride.

Damian: Brings out a bag of peanuts.

Guess who Anya chooses.

and guess who Becky has to fill in.

I have been inspired. (This is great cause I think this means my brain has finally recovered from covid)

Becky sighed as Anya walked away with Damian to the cafe, leaving Bill to Becky’s care. 

Again. 

The bouquet of exotic lilies Watkins brought on Thursday gave Anya an allergic reaction consisting of hives and the most sneezing ever heard at Eden, totaling 50 sneezes in under an hour. The offending flowers had been passed on to the faculty break room to be appreciated, with Becky plucking the card from the blooms as they exchanged hands. 

Bill had been mortified by the reaction, vowing to make it up to Anya in the nurse’s office- his tearful face as earnest as he always was. 

So on Friday, he had offered the pink haired lady a box of the finest chocolates in Berlint. The amount of chocolates was so over whelming that Anya had handed them out to the class, taking only one of the 5 tiers to save for her parents. 

Becky had to pull Bill aside and explain that perhaps the way to Anya’s attention, and possibly affection were experiences- things that she couldn’t just buy.  

“It’s my job to spoil her with material wealth as her best friend you know.” she reasoned to the school’s lovelorn giant. “She likes action, experiences. Take her to an adventure park or something.” 

He had taken Becky’s advice alright, riding into the park Saturday on what had to be the largest horse to ever exist. Its tawny coat was well maintained, its’ dark mane and tail tied in a militaristic fashion. 

The war horse was docile, barely a twitch from its ear even as children gawked and giggled, huddling closer to see just how big it was. The park was teeming with people, even on the edge of the city proper, and on a Saturday when most would be shopping in the department stores or catching a movie.  Still, the beast only huffed when a hound was a little too loud, a little too close, the horse sounded more like a tired old man than a creature who could kill you with one kick. 

Bill had looked quite handsome in his riding attire, the tall boots still supple, and his matching jacket and cap showing his perfect posture. 

Not that Anya took any time to appreciate such a spectiule! Even Becky was moved by how natural Bill had looked on the steed. But Damian had crossed their pathes not two seconds after Bill arrived. The scion merely handed Anya a bag of roasted peanuts and mentioned a themed coffee drink for Anya to follow Damian, smile on her face, Bill and Becky forgotten. 

She knew Anya had her reasons to pursue the Desmond, but it didn’t excuse the little tact that she seemed to possess. 

Becky had an uncle somewhere like that. Couldn’t read a social cue to save his life.  (And to be fair, Desmond did ask quite bluntly if she wanted to go to said cafe- while Bill hadn’t said anything outright so far.) 

Now she had to pick up the slack for her best friend. 

Watkins leaned forward and patted the horse’s neck with a small frown. “I suppose I should just drop it.” 

Becky patted Bill’s calf (the only part of his body she could comfortably reach while he was still mounted on his steed), “Yes. But I should’ve tried warning you against it sooner.” 

Silence passed between them before Bill extended a gloved hand to her, his lips somewhere between a smile and a grimace. 

“Want to ride with me? I recall you’ve dabbled in equestrian sports.” 

Her foot was already in the stirrup and her hand in his as she answered. 

“I would never say no to such a handsome ride from a gentleman.” 

She was already seated in front of Bill by the time he recovered his composure. 

[assassinschaoticcreed]

So I know in the modern au you said the boys would probably all be around their 20s but we know canonically some of them have kids - how would they react to finding out some of them are parents? Thanks!

so in my AUs none of them are in relationships or have kids, but for the fun of it, my noggin worked.

Desmond: he's shocked, scared, and doesn't want to be a part of the child's life AT FIRST. since he grew up in a messed up family/childhood I don't forsee him wanting a kid hes got that PTSD. but if he ever found someone he truly loved and they wanted kids he'd be down for 1 (maybe 2) I think the reason being that he'd have at least 1 would be because of the love from the auditores. gender doesn't matter to him. since he had no siblings or treated like a child by his parents he'd be the one that reads books on how to take care of them, good formula recommendations etc.

Ezio: He'd be shocked, but not at the same time since hes a womanizer. excited to show his child to his family. I HC that he wants 4 kids, just like his parents had and would prefer 2 boys and 2 girls. he had good loving parents so he'd be a good dad. since he helped his mom with his brother & sister when they were younger he has that natural nurturing care/love. knows what he's doing and doesn't read books.

Arno: he too is shocked, this man thinks he may faint. loves the child before he even saw it. I see him wanting 3 kids, he'd want 1 girl and 2 boys. his parents were also very loving & nurturing and since he was an only child he got attention to himself. he knows just the right amount of discipline & 'spoiled'. he does do a little reading up on certain things before the first child is born, and then after that he's like don't worry, I got this. he'd definitely be Mr. Mom lol

Connor: he DOES faint, went into shock but he's okay. excited and scared to be a dad, his tribe and parents adore this lil baby. another Mr. Mom lol I see him wanting 4 or 5 kids, and since his tribe was so close and he helped raise other small children he also knows what he's doing. another one that got the right amount of love and affection. doesn't read up on child care, but does read up on what's the most popular/best diapers, baby wipes etc.

Edward: another one is isn't fully surprised. he'd take one look at the mother of the child and say "who the hell are you lass?" then to the child "what's that?" your child. man goes into shock and can't speak the rest of the day. he will take responsibility but it'll take awhile to sink in hes a dad. I see him wanting kids a little later in life, maybe mid 30's he's still young and wants to do things in life before settling down with a family.

Jacob: "that's a baby, why's it here?" the mother of the child turns to Jacob "its your child" cue Jacob "YOU WERE PREGNANT? all I heard was you gained weight--" Jacob gets bitch slapped. "yeah okay, I did deserve that I shouldn't have said that." ever seen the hang over? with the baby wearing sunglasses in that carrier over his chest? that's Jacob as a dad.

Altaïr: "why is there a small human in your arms?" he asks the woman as he's staring directly into the baby's eyes, who's staring right back at him. "this is your child--" he's shocked and confused. another one who doesn't want to be in the child's life but it's out of worry, he doesn't want the child to be in danger. I'd say early 30's he'd be more comfortable with a child, but he's another one who needs to find a woman he truly loved before that, like the trust needs to be deep for him. but before that were to ever happen he'd want the Templar situation to be more in control.

[greatwyrmgold]

Manga has said nothing about Twilight's birth name or what he thinks of it. We're all speculating wildly depending on our own interpretations of Twilight's character.

Speaking of which, here's my wild speculation. I don't think it would be difficult for him to forget, or at least ignore, his birth name. You've seen the episode 1 flashback, right? The only thing left to the boy Twilight used to be is that name, connected to a man who officially died years ago.

Beyond that, Twilight is a master spy, specifically mastering the craft of sweeping away any trace of his personal identity and assuming another role. Through his inner narration, we can also see that Twilight is very good at self-deception. And, of course, there's the context of that aforementioned flashback. Twilight convinced himself that he disliked the sound of children crying because it was annoying for Endo knows how long.

If Twilight wanted to pretend that he was never the unnamed boy whose hometown was bombed in the war, he could do it. And all indications are that he wants to do it.

If I wasn't concerned about spoiling the manga, I could bring in some other details (especially from the flashback mini-arc) to support my thesis. But that's the general shape of it. Twilight is good at changing his identity, he's good at hiding things from himself, he wants to not be that crying child.

And beyond that...

Spy×Family is a story that prioritizes social bonds over blood. The fact that Twilight was born Lenny Fowler or whatever matters no more than the fact that he's not Anya's sperm donor. The fact that nobody remembers Lenny matters as much as the Desmond parents' neglect of Damian.

Loid Forger's family is Yor, and Anya, and maybe Yuri once he gets some more character development. Lenny is dead, buried, and forgotten; Loid is known and loved. He brings comfort to Anya, and to Yor, and even to Twilight (not that he'd admit it). If Twilight has a "true" self underneath his spy persona, it's more Loid than Lenny.

Saw a post somewhere about how Twilight doesn't want to remember his original name because he connects it to his past and he doesn't want to remember that past (yeah I may be anime only but I have a vague impression of what pain and horrors that past included) and so he never thinks of that name consciously

But like, how easy is it to not think of his birth name, the name his beloved mother called him by? I know he's Twilight™ and he's discipline personified but it would still need some work...

And now I'm building a theory that just like the aliases he's used up until now, his original name started with L or R (considering in Japanese there is no difference between how those two letters sound), practically brainwashing himself into mixing up his original name among his aliases so that it won't have any impact on him anymore.

(Again, anime only fan here, don't spoil me for the manga)

[principledpropo]

Does she… hate her children? Despise having to be involved in any way - does the action of simply discussing Damian piss this woman off?

Because if so, then god damn I love it, because we get to see the truly perfect antithesis to Loid and Yor.

The Forgers aren’t perfect, but the way they involve themselves in Anya’s life is beautiful. It’s warm and loving while teaching her to make and respect boundaries (that’s difficult for a telepath lmao), but their walls almost always come crashing down the second they find themselves alone in each other’s company. Loid may be strict and Yor may be a little too enthusiastic, but every action they take for Anya is for her sake, and every mistake they make is an experience they immediately learn from to better raise Anya.

The Desmonds aren’t physically abusive, nor do they scream nor degrade their kids. Both Desmond scions are clearly well-off, having wealth and service in spades. Everything they could ever want, at the snap of their fingers. Except their parent’s love and attention. Donovan sees his sons as tools to further his name and goals, while Melinda (and this is just conjecture) shows shades of a woman who never wanted children and is searching for ways to live and enjoy her life free of their burden.

(Little tangent, but people, women especially, shouldn’t be saddled with kids if they do not wish to. Their body, their choice, and no one should ever say otherwise. That being said, when the child is born, the parent has a lifelong responsibility to that child, and regret is no longer an option. I see so many parents who practically begged to have kids, but ended up resenting them, and in turn their kids grow and feel the same way to them. You can never let your children feel like they are a mistake. Never.)

To Donovan, his children are materials that can be shaped into weapons for his political gain and clout. To Melinda, (again, just a hunch), they are nuisances she can’t be bothered to deal with.

But Loid and Yor, who don’t share a single drop of blood with Anya? Who created and joined their family for self-protection? They can’t stop themselves - they shower Anya with love. They can’t spoil her with gifts like Becky and Damien get, but they never starve Anya of what matters most: their love, their time, and their energy. Anya is an esper - if she grew up with people like Desmonds, she’d know immediately she was unloved. Hell, she has! Returned to foster homes again and again. So it is beautiful that a girl who can read her parent’s anxieties and fears has never once heard them think she was a mistake (well other than that first episode with Loid lol). They have had every opportunity to grow resentful of Anya, but they never have. They think the world of her. Mr. “It’s for the mission” Twilight bends over backwards on a whim for his daughter. Yor “I won’t let my daughter die in school” Forger would commit war crimes if she even thought her precious child got a boo boo.

The Desmonds, at best, see their children as investments and at worst mistakes. But no matter what Anya does, good or bad, it doesn’t ever change their perspective of her.

She isn’t just a cover child to them. She’s their daughter, and they’d shake heaven and earth for her when the Desmonds can’t even be bothered to attend their son’s orientation day.

[mj-ackerman]

Tatsuya Endo's Character Commentary from the Official Spy x Family Fanbook English Translation Part 2:

Long post ahead. <<Part 1 here>>

Franky:

(Endo) The model for his character is Mozzie, who is next to the main character of the foreign drama "White Collar". The glasses are also exactly the same. He's a really good character who talks a lot of nonsense, but not a despicable one. It is rare to find a character with a model in "SPY x FAMILY".

This is Mozzie from White Collar, played by the actor Willie Garson.

The stripes on his socks are intended to make him look a little more fashionable, to give him a popular look.

He is well liked by the people from the underground. The tobacco shop is a sort of hideout for Franky, and if he's chased out of there, I think he's got another place and identity. His name "Franky" seems like not his real name too.

Sylvia Sherwood: 

(Endo) The cool big sister superior officer. Big sister...? Her design was inspired by the Paris Collection, or whatever fashion magazine I was looking at. Her glasses, curly hair, and the hat are all a bit too troublesome to draw...

She has the appearance of an independent woman, but in her private life, she is a very sloppy person. She lives in a very dirty room. I may draw that in an extra chapter soon. Her fighting ability is unknown, but it seems she's not that strong. 

Yuri Briar:

(Endo) His visual is exactly like Yor, a male version one. I thought about him having short hair, but it didn't feel right, so I decided to go with my current style. If he doesn't talk, I'm sure he'll be popular (with girls). I wonder if he's interested in anyone other than his sister? 

(Hayashi) I think he's interested in his job?

(Endo) Yuri is certainly a very hardworking and a serious person. He really wants to protect the peace of Ostania, and I think he truly believes that this is for the sake of his sister. After all, she is his sister. He doesn't seem to have any hobbies that involve spending money, and since his taste buds are spoiled, he doesn't seem to eat gourmet food either. 

He thinks Anya is a "despicable little brat". Compared to Franky, he's not used to children, so he competes with them in the same way.

Henry Henderson:

(Endo) Most of the characters are introduced only for a particular episode, but if I try to draw them and find them easy to move, I stick with them. I never thought that Henderson and Yor's boss, the shopkeeper, would play such an active role...

By the way, he's the only character who has a fanservice scene (the shower scene) in the work.

I liked the mismatched jersey he wore during the dodgeball round, so I'd like to have him do various cosplays as well. Like doing "Today's class is [redacted]", but I don't think there will be much demand for it.

Damian Desmond: 

(Endo) He's exactly like Domyoji from "花より団子 / Hana Yori Dango / Boys Over Flower" (by Yoko Kamio) (Laughs). In his first appearance, he was a jerk who boasted about his status, but he soon became a good boy. I wanted to make him a meaner character though.

This is Domyoji Tsukasa, the main lead of the romance series Hana Yori Dango or Boys Over Flower, a manga by Yoko Kamio

(Hayashi) Because Ewin and his friend are good guys, I think he's getting better hanging around with them. They're really good guys who are always there for Damian and give him the attention that he needs. Damian should be thankful to the both of them.

(Endo) In the future, there may or may not be a dark episode of "After all, humans only want money and power...." (Laughs)

Becky Blackbell:

(Endo) Like Damian, she started out as a tsun-tsun (tsundere), but she soon became friendly.... And she was able to get along with Anya in just one episode. She's very easy going.

She thinks people her age are "brats" and doesn't have many friends other than Anya. I would like to make at least 1 more person to be her friend. Her personality and design are probably based on Marika-chan from "愛してるぜベイベ★★ / I love you baby ★★" (Yoko Maki). She's precocious and cute.

Marika-chan from the manga series Aishiteruze Baby / I love you baby by Yoko Maki

Unrelated, but I kinda like her last name "Blackbell". I don't remember the reason why I gave it to her though.

Fiona Frost: 

(Endo) I really like "Nightfall's" design including her coat. The image color is "blue" in contrast to Yor. In terms of standing position, her character is to stir up the romance part of the story. I thought of it as a way to add variety to the story.

(Hayashi) There was quite a bit of talk about putting out a character on WISE's side as a friend during Twilight's meeting. I thought it would be nice to have at least one colleague for Twilight.

(Endo) The name "Nightfall"  means to "follow around after Twilight (evening)". Emile and Ewin start with "E" because they're following Damian "D". I know people might think that the names of the other characters also have meanings to them, but I actually just added them on a whin (Laughs)

Donovan Desmond: (I can't add his pic anymore)

(Endo) Since he's the last boss, I'm careful not to make him look like a dull character. With a face like this, I'm sure that Damian looks like his mother (Laughs)

He was a member of the ruling party during the war, but now he's a member of the opposition party, so I have an image of him hiding in the background.

(Hayashi) He's a character with a lot of secrets, but the goal is to get into his heart, so please pay attention to him in the future!

[quibbs126]

And here’s an actual themed collection of drawings, featuring the Bronev family

The first one is just a headcanon of mine that Rachel had just the meanest glare, and that Desmond inherited it. If anyone who’s been in Targent long enough sees that glare, they kind of immediately know that’s Rachel’s (and by extension Bronev’s) kid. Not sure I portrayed how intense the glare is supposed to be though

Anyways, after that I just decided to draw the Bronev family being cute

I don’t think I’m very good at drawing small children in proportion to adults, I probably need to improve on that

I drew them all in the outfits we see in the AL credits just because I like to imagine that’s their outdoor/adventure outfits, and that these would be taking place in that hypothetical pre-Targent Bronev family game, where these would be their outfits

Speaking of which, to be perfectly honest they could totally do that. I mean, so long as you don’t reference Hershel Layton or Descole too much, if someone hasn’t played Azran Legacy they could very well have no idea who these characters are, other than one of the kids looks like Professor Layton and the other is named Hershel like him, but I don’t think that’d immediately tip someone off, considering those are two separate facts. You could just as well assume these two are merely references to the character. And plus, because Professor Layton exists in a world without a set timeline like our own, you could easily assume that this “game” would be taking place in the 60s just like the rest of the games, despite it actually taking place in the late 20s or so, so you could just assume this is happening parallel. And because personally, I’d put this hypothetical game around a year before everything goes down, there wouldn’t really be any references that could spoil things for people, unless you just so happen to be playing Azran Legacy but haven’t finished when playing this game

Granted that’s all hypothetical talk, but at the same time I really would mind a puzzle game featuring a family like this, you could do a lot with the dynamics I think

But yeah anyways, hope you enjoy the drawings

[depressed-deranged-clown]

I took a while cause I was also working on another headcanon post of this (I will tag you when I do post it). But to answer your questions

Operation Strix & Yor and Loid

As we all know, the main goal for this is to get close to Donovan Desmond

Loid is incredibly smart but he also is more perceptive to feelings than in canon (because he’s a kid and also he can read minds)

He can easily pass every test and get straight 100s but he sees how much Yor struggles and in his head he wants them to be friends so he tries to help her feel better

He starts to fail or get barely passing answers on purpose simply to show Yor that she’s not alone

Anya is a bit confused cause he understands the concepts but isn’t good when putting it on paper but he finishes his homework perfectly very quickly

Because his grades aren’t well while he’s in school, she decides that him befriending the child Donovan is sponsoring is the best way to go about it

But it doesn’t help that Yor and Loid misunderstand each other’s actions very easily

Yor at first thinks Loid hates her because she is very strong and isn’t like the other children

And Loid thinks at times that Yor blames him for getting a bolt and so he tries his best to help her get a Stella

Anya believes that if Loid gets close to Yor, he can get close to Yuri too and if Loid can’t be an imperial scholar, he might as well get close to an imperial scholar (Yuri does have a good reputation and he and Donovan actually speaks once in a while unlike Yor)

And speaking of Yuri

Him being older than Yor definitely makes my brain tick

Him being older changes a lot of things

He would probably get a girlfriend at some point but then they would break up because he was too focused on how his sister is doing

It probably takes another year or two for another person to actually ask him to hang out and he doesn’t realize it a date for the longest time

He speaks a the whole time talking about how adorable and amazing his sister is

And the girl actually pays attention and laughs at the stories

She even replies in turn with her own little sister

Before they go their own ways, the girl just straight up asks him if he wants to have a second date later that week

He is confused cause he thought he was simply hanging out with a friend and then feels embarrassed cause he talked about his sister the whole time and that’s what ended his last relationship

She tells him that it’s fine and she thinks it’s cute that he is proud of his sister

They do end up having that date later that week

As for who the girlfriend is

I don’t have any person in mind cause no romantic interest has appeared for Yuri cause he’s too focused on Yor and most of the people who would actually be the same age as him or Yor in canon are taken or wouldn’t be compatible

Nightfall

As we all know, Nightfall is very obsessive passionate when it comes to Twilight in canon

They originally meet as Fiona is seated next to him in class for partner work

As the tests get passed out from the day before, he opens his bag to put it in so he can show his mama when his homework book falls out

Fiona picks it up before he can and sees how all the answers are completely correct

He stumbles over his words at first asking her to not tell anyone

He then explains how he doesn’t want anyone to know how smart he is because he doesn’t want people to think differently of him or take advantage of him

Fiona Frost is the only daughter of the famous Frost family so while she is pretty spoiled, she knows how important a public image is

She also knows how many people in their class don’t realize this fact so it makes her respect Loid even more

This respect quickly turns into a crush but Loid doesn’t think she has bad intentions so he tries his best to ignore it

I do have a few headcanons not related to these questions so I’ll probably make a separate post and tag you in that one too. But if you have any more questions please continue asking me. I enjoy hearing your thoughts so much and I’m so glad I can share these idea with someone :)

So,

This is literally for no one but me but I don’t really mind much.

This is a hell of a post for my first actual one that isn’t a reblog, but here you go.

My interests switch every other month at least but I’m really invested in Spy X Family rn and for the past six months. And while scrolling through tumblr today I found the Spy X Family swap AU. So I wanted to put my own thoughts down for anybody to look at and comment as they please. Enjoy :)

The beginning of the mission

Code name: Agent Starlight

Specialty: Disguises, infiltrations, cons

Despite how clumsy she is, she is the best spy from Westalis

Her clumsiness actually helps her in her missions sometimes by leading people into a false sense of security

Sometimes it leads to a setback

But she always gets the job done

That leads her to her current mission: infiltrate the prestigious Eden Academy to get close to Donovan Desmond, a man so suspicious of others he is almost a complete recluse

This leads to her needing a child to have a way in

Her disguise for this mission: Anya Forger, loving mother and wife and hardworking psychiatrist

She goes to a really sketchy orphanage to get a kid for the mission

When she said she wanted a smart child, the director lead her to a boy playing by himself with a small penguin plushie

This young boy’s name is Loid

He’s a telepath

He reads Anya’s mind and is able to find out she’s a spy fairly quickly

But though that interests him, he just wants a family

He (like canon Anya) is obsessed with the show Spy Wars once he sees it but not because spies are cool, but because his mama is a spy and he wants to understand her job and her thoughts better

Loid (like canon) is still really smart and perceptive, but he’s also a child so Anya isn’t able to make sense of everything he does and everything he does isn’t calculated but more of a spur of the moment thing

Of course there has to be that one moment where Loid reads Anya’s mind where she thinks, Basic diplomacy states that understand the other party is the first step to peace.

And Loid hears this (thinking, understanding me means world peace?) so he stands as tall as he can and says “I really like to eat strawberries. But broccoli is gross. Oooo! Bacon from bacon-ries!!”

“I’m sure you means bakeries, and sadly they don’t sell bacon” Anya replies, leading Loid to continue on their shopping trip

Getting into Eden

Anya goes to her best friend and coworker Becky Blackwell to get a copy of the test to get into Eden

Becky specializes with electronics and gadgets but she is able to get information when needed

Anya makes Loud memorize the answers to the best of his ability (which is better than she expected and it makes her pretty proud)

On the actual test, though Loid memorized it all, all the other kids and their panicked thoughts overwhelm him

He does pass (are we surprised) but barely due to the fact that he couldn’t differentiate his own thoughts from others at times

Then Anya received the letter detailing the second part of the admission

There has to be an interview with both parents. No exception.

And as Loid states “but there is no papa”

The next day, Anya calls Becky over and dresses her up to look like a man

Doesn’t work (Loid: I don’t want this papa)

Becky gives her stacks of papers of any single man in the area who Anya could possibly marry, but at least half of them had some crime to their name and she needs a husband with a flawless record

She and Loid later go to the tailor shop nearby simply because they needed some air and because they both needed some outfits for the interview (if they could even find a man willing to marry her to go to the interview with)

Then enters Damian Desmond

He had to go to the tailor shop because the night before he ripped the pants to his only nice outfit while on his main job

Name: Damian Desmond

Job: civil servant

Actual job: Assassin

Code name: Nightshade (named that due to his tendency to use daggers covered with poison)

He became an assassin do to wanting to make the world a better place where children wouldn’t have to be neglected or taken advantage of like he had in the past

His older brother called him the day previous cause he heard Damian promised some people at work that he was going to go to a party of one of his coworkers with his girlfriend

He doesn’t actually have one and hasn’t dated anyone his whole life so his brother truly was happy to hear he was bringing a date

Upon seeing Anya he was ready to ask if she wanted to pretend to be his girlfriend when Loud ran up to her

He thought in his head, of course she would be married. How despicable am I, ready to ask a married woman to date me just because she’s beautiful?

Loid, hearing Damian’s thoughts, decides to put on the show of a life time

He tugs slightly on Damian’s pant leg asking “are you going to be my papa?”

Anya goes wide eyed and lifts up Loid saying, “it’s rude to ask people to be your father”

He sniffles in response, fake tears welling in his eyes as he speaks “but there is no papa”

Damian perks up “you aren’t here with your husband”

Anya puts Loid down again. “No, my husband died a while ago so it’s just me and my son now”

Damian and Anya have a talk and decide to help each other

Anya then last minute has to go on a little side mission and arrives late to the party with the classic “I’m Damian’s wife” “I asked for a girlfriend, not a wife”

And it leads to them deciding to just stick to that cover story and living together

Damian of course is like canon and goes total tsundere whenever Anya shows affection because of her mission and when she wants to

I have so many ideas with the tests and the interview but I’ll leave that out for now cause this is already very long and I’m not done

Just know that they did pass

Honestly just give me an episode (I haven’t read most of the chapters of the manga so please no spoilers past what is also shown in the anime) and I’ll change it to this AU with pleasure

[pixelnrd]

Maggie and Alex argued about their teenage children. Things had been going well for so long, but now - it seemed they were all at risk of ruining their lives when they had at all.

'They're all out of control,' said Alex angrily. 'Desmond isn't focussed anymore, Leo is wasting his time on music. The girls care about nothing but the attentions of boys.'

Maggie was less inclined to think poorly of her children - for their shortcomings, she saw them all as individuals with their own struggles.

'Desi is young and in love... much like we were.'

'Yes, and look where that got us,' said Alex meanly. 'He'll have to give up on his dreams to support the family she will want.'

Maggie became angry at her husband's outburst. 'Is it really so bad, the life we have had?' she argued. 'I'm sorry if you haven't been able to be a writer, Alex, because you had a family to support. Maybe you should've kept it to yourself and let me marry your brother if it was so important for you to follow your dreams! How can you judge our son any differently?'

Alex sighed in exasperation. 'I've worked hard my whole life to support this family, Maggie. All I ask is that our children don't waste the opportunities we've worked to give them. Leo plays his ridiculous music, but that won't get him a job! Where did we go so wrong with him?'

'He's a talented, creative boy determined to make something of himself!' yelled Maggie, defending her special boy. 'He's overcome so much to find his purpose. Which you would know, if you spent time with him, rather than hide away in your office! I don't understand why you wouldn't support his passion, when you always say your parents never supported yours!'

Alex was angry now. 'Well, the girls are just like you! They could have done so many things these days, but care for nothing. Let's hope they don't spoil themselves - if they're anything like you though maybe it's too late!'

It was their worst fight in a long time. They had both said hurtful things to one another, things they had been holding close for a long time. They could see so much of each other in their children, including their own flaws. And Maggie wondered where they could possibly go from here.

'At least Stella is not such a lost cause,' sighed Alex, getting up and walking away.

[tiny-librarian]

The boy was outrageously spoiled. He ruled the household. When Caesar came to his suburban villa to work on a revision of his "De Bella Gallico (The famous commentaries, about his campaigns in Gaul), Caesarion liked to interrupt his father in his study. On being let in, the child ran to his "dear Papa," who caught him up in his arms and kissed him. There would be no more work done on the Commentaries that day.

Cleopatra’s Children - Alice Curtis Desmond

[ceph-the-ghost-writer]

What are their thoughts on children?

Ollie: Too many people have them who shouldn't.

Micaela: If she'd slowed down and thought about it, she would have had some. She also probably wouldn't have left Haiti or become a bloodborn or...well, any of it. She doesn't regret anything, but she can definitely trace certain outcomes to particular choices. Since she did leave and become a creature of the night, she contents herself with spoiling the children of her descendants and other humans she's befriended.

Elfy: If she meets the right woman/person, she definitely wants to have some. Of course, that means settling--no, slowing down first.

Ben: He likes kids, though he doesn't know if he would've been a good father. Scratch that, he does know. He would've been lousy at it. Mean and angry, or just absent altogether. It's better he met Desmond and became somewhat civilized instead. Now at least he can set a halfway decent example for the kids the community takes in, even if they aren't his, biologically speaking.

Tilda: They shouldn't be thrown into an exhibit of wolves at a zoo, and they shouldn't be around her either.

Yi: Her biological clock starts ringing sometimes, and she has to keep hitting snooze. She tells herself maybe someday soon, when the job eases up a bit. But that idea gets weaker and weaker with every passing year.

Mergus: There's hardly been a decade where he hasn't adopted at least one child. The world never seems to run low on its supply of lost or broken little ones. He hates to see it, but is comforted by the joy he gains from taking in the discarded from each new generation and helping them become something more. Especially his aquilae, who've chosen to stay with him forever.

[sister-cna-reader]

I petition Bill to have seven kids! Him and Becky would make great parents! Also, I picture Bill parenting boy would be much like his dad’s a little strict but also caring and attentive to their needs and wants. And when he does have a girl, she’ll be a daddy’s girl and Bill would spoil her but also be strict with her.

😘💕 For you anon

For a horde of children, one needed a firm hand and a loud whistle.

But Bill Watkins couldn't use his whistle right now, not with his youngest fast asleep on his arm, their little face squished in his palm where he held her in a football hold. She had not sleep much the night before and surprisingly she had slept through the outfit change.

But he still wouldn't chance the whistle.

They had a birthday party to get to, and he knew his sons had forgotten in favor of playing rugby, soccer, or some other sport on the lawn.

He stepped out into the well-loved outdoor space and caught the eye of his oldest.

With no more than a quick shout from the oldest, they all lined up, oldest to youngest, the four boys in various states of grass stains and dirt.

"You have five minutes to clean up before your mother finds you. The twins are keeping her busy but you better get a move on."

It was all they needed for his Lieutenants to shuffle their siblings up the stairs and into proper party clothes.

His little fairy still slept on, oblivious to the thundering of her brother's steps.

The twins were still new to the family and were practically attached at the hip to Becky, imitating her posture, her manners, and even her way of talking- even though they were barely school-age.

He had seen them eyeing the boys and their activities and Bill wondered when the two would relax enough to elbow their way into the games.

They were fast too, almost Watkins speed already. He'd have to enroll them in a cross-country or track team to curb the bolting into any large open space.

"Are we ready Princess?" he asked the sleeping girl in his hand.

The newborn sighed- still fast asleep, sounding just like her mother.

"Honey?" Becky called from the stairs. "Can you get the boys loaded up in the car? I still have to find shoes!"

Four sets of thundering feet and two sets of slower, daintier steps flooded down the stairs to line up in front of their father.

His oldest boy straightened his glasses and combed his hair back, looking like a spitting image of his father at 15, all muscle and tall enough to worry about the height of most doors.

His second and third sons hadn't hit the last of their growth spurts yet, and were likely to overtake their eldest by the time they were done. As good as twins, they had gotten lucky and had inherited Becky's 20/20 vision.

His fourth son was darker in hair color and had gotten a bit of his mother's dramatics with how he stood in his place tapping his shoe on the floor waiting for the inspection to be over.

The twins were holding each other's hands, opting to rely on their old habits while their new father inspected his children. Their dresses were clean and far nicer than what they'd come in, and he could see how stiff they held themselves in them.

Finally, Princess was still clean and stain-free in her little ruffled dress, her hair bow safely tucked in his breast pocket for when they arrived.

The small troop had finished getting buckled in, even his princess safely ensconced in her car seat between the oldest sons. Each of her tiny fists wrapped around their pinkies while they cooed over her.

His wife burst out of the doors, bag and purse in hand, looking just as beautiful as when he met her.

"Let's go! We have to beat the Desmonds there this time!"

[manychocolatefactories]

CatCF: White Chocolate

And here is my White Chocolate retelling!

About this version: This version could take place in something between the 90s and the 2000s. It has been strongly inspired by both the world of cartoons in general, and "A Series of Unfortunate Events", as strange as it may seem. In this version, you have Seven Platinum Tickets.

Reinterpretation of Augustus Gloop:

Augustus Gloop, first Platinum Ticket winner. This Augustus, I imagined as a bully.

Physically, he is a very round boy. His belly is round, his torso is round, his face is round, his arms and legs are round, he basically looks like a bunch of balloons tied together, or a mass of spheres/globes. He has two great "beaver teeth". In terms of clothes, he eithers wears hoodies too small for him and of bright, vivid, flashy colors (orange, yellow, pink) or he wears striped shirts that are not slimming at all (such as the red and white stripes shirt of Augustus Gloop in the 2005 movie).

To all adults, Augustus plays the part of the cute, happy, innocent boy. But to all the other kids, he is a horrible, nasty, brutal and greedy bully. He likes to torture and dominate others - though he is not a sadist. He just seeks power and dominion, he loves to strike fear and submission in the heart of other children. A good exemple of his double-faced nature are his beaver teeth - he can actually speak perfectly fine with them, even though they gave him a slight lisp that is quite cute to adults. But with children, he worsens his lisp on purpose so that he would spit and splutter all over their faces, and when said children complain, the adults keep saying things like "He can't help it, he is just different, don't discriminate".

Augustus actually used to be a regular-sized kid (even though taller and bigger than his comrades, but not that fat). He regularly beat up, gave wedgies or other typical bully tortures on his peers to get their money or their toys. But it all changed when one day a boy had the idea to offer him his lunch instead of his money. Augustus was a big eater you see, and he seized the opportunity of having a free lunch. And since all the other kids preferred to give up their lunch rather than their money of their toys, they all started to "encourage" (as in, subtly manipulating him) so that he would racket lunch and food instead of money out of them. As a result, Augustus grew immensely fat on all the free food he got each day - and with his bigger size he could intimidate and crush other kids more easily. But at least, they didn't had to steal money from their parents anymore.

His demise will be with the Exploding Candies (remember those?). I think they would be going by a section of the Factory where some of Wonka's candies are stored, and Augustus would see another kid holding an Exploding Candy. Not knowing what it is, he would bully said kid (maybe Charlie?) into giving it to him. He would swallow it and then...

BOOM! HE EXPLODES INTO LITTLE PIECES!

No, I'm kidding Xp Actually I went with something much more cartoony (this Augustus himself being cartoony - in fact I based him in "fat Chuck with beaver teeth" from the cartoon "Chuck's Choices". It may sound weird but it makes kind of sense in the series Xp). He would  suddenly be all distended and inflated like a balloon, and then deflate completely (again, like a balloon), reduced to a flat, pancake-like boy, with smoke coming out of his mouth, nose and ears.

Reinterpretation of Violet Beauregarde:

The character is named Violet Strabismus, second Platinum Ticket winner. For her, I tried to think about what kind of people/archetype/stereotypes were seen chewing gum all day long, and I ended up finding this idea upon seeing a girl on a train that corresponded exactly to that.

This Violet is the typical embodiment of the cynic, "pseudo-edgy" teenager that seeks everything that is bleak and dark. She is a mix of goth, of emo, of punk and grunge. She only wears and surround herself with things dark, creepy, sinister or sad. She romanticizes notions such as despair, death, suicides, and the like. She is the kind of teenager that claims her whole life is just a series of pains and losses, that she seeks comfort in the darkness and the morbidity, and she disdains everything joyful, innocent or happy. Her two favorite hobbies are chewing gum, and trying to destroy other people's dreams and hopes with depressing talk.

The irony in all that, however, is that despite Violet's claims that she has a miserable and sad life, she actually has a very happy one. She has loving parents that support her in everything she does, and siblings that also love her. She comes from a wealthy background, which allows her to buy all the chains and piercings and extremely complicated goth/punk clothes she wants at specialized stores. She is quite a pretty and good-looking girl, even with her creepy clothes and dark makeup. She even has a huge house, and in fact despite her claims to adore death, never went to a funeral ever in her life, and never knew anyone that died. Still, she keeps repeating that she is a "misunderstood, bullied, rejected loner". And she is not suicidal herself, mind you, nor depressed. She is perfectly fine. She just wants to look like she is, to "fit her style".

Her demise, as with all the Violet variations in my stories, relies on the Three-Course Meal gum. But here, the dish used is the ice-cream. I had the idea that the gum would actually turn Violet's flesh into ice-cream. As a result she is immediately put inside Wonka's cold storage room and freezers, so she doesn't melt. And she is condemned to live her life alone, in dark, cold, locked up places, exactly as she pretended and wished to.

Reinterpretation of Veruca Salt:

Now, I am not much satisfied with this Veruca Salt, but well, it is still worth a shot, even though the idea itself may be not so original.

Veruca Salt, third Platinum Ticket winner. For this Veruca, I envisioned actually a character based on Darla Dimple from "Cats Don't Dance". She is a small, cute and child-like girl, that looks almost like a pretty little doll, but who is able to scream with an insanely powerful voice and can act like a total brat by throwing extremely destructive tantrums and breaking everything everywhere if she doesn't have what she wants.

Her demise was actually suggested by ArtMakerProductions - the Geese Room. The Geese Room from the 70s movie would return, with a full room having geese lay chocolate eggs for Easter (I also think Wonka would be disdainful of this silly idea according to which rabbits laid the Easter eggs). And when Veruca would throw one of her usual tantrum, one of the goose would believe her to be one of her children (due to Veruca's screams sounding like a goose' screams) and just sit on her, crushing the little girl. (Not to death of course, but that's one big goose Xp).

Reinterpretation of Mike Teavee:

This one was hard to think about, but I finally found something I'm quite proud of.

Mike's character is obsessed with television, right? And he wishes to be INSIDE television, right, that's the core of his demise. Well... what about a Mike Teavee that is obsessed with television not as a watcher but as an actor?

Henry Trout, fourth Platinum Ticket winner, is a former child actor who used to be the star of numerous teenager sitcoms and other televisions shows by Disney-like productions. All this fame turned him into a spoiled, arrogant and selfish brat, and when he was kicked off the shows, for both being too old AND being just too much of a jerk, he couldn't let go of the past. He believes that everyone knows him through his work as an actor, and that everyone is a fan of him. He spends a lot of his time looking at his old television shows, and television is his only topic when speaking with other people. He still dresses and acts like a star - and never once realizes that a good lot of people don't know or even remember him. As per ArtMakerProductions, his parents are also his agents, and they desperatly try to find back their son's former glory, by "overselling" him to get a lot of media exposure, and still doing a lot of advertisement and promotion despite him not getting any real work - the finding of a Platinum Ticket was another attempt at becoming famous once more.

Take the characters of "fallen stars" such as Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard" and Jane Hudson from "Whatever happened to Baby Jane?". Mix them with the former Disney or Nickelodeon child and teenage stars, especially if they had a dark turn in their life (the Spouse twins, David Henrie, Cameron Boyce, Zac Efron...). And you get Henry Trout.

His demise is still the Television Room, like all the other Mikes. However his variation is that the television Wonka used was prepared to teleport and air objects, such as Wonka bars. It is still a technology in working, and they only focused on the material and visual parts. They haven't worked on the sounds. As a result, once Henry Trout gets on TV, he is insanely happy because now everyone will see him and nobody will kick him out... but then he realizes he can't speak, because there is no sound. And when rescues from the television, he discovers he turned completely mute.

Reinterpretation of Charlie Bucket :

Charlie Bucket, the seventh and last Platinum Ticket winner.

For this one... I actually don't know. I wanted to do a Charlie based on the "brown-haired Charlie" as illustrated for exemple by 2005's Charlie. But I hesitate. On one side, I haven't used yet the idea of "the too-saint Charlie", aka a Charlie Bucket so good and so perfect he becomes a male Mary Sue, unrealistic and annoying, an exaggerated caricature of a good boy. I thought I could potentially use this with the brown-haired Charlie, especially since 2005's Charlie was criticized for being a too-perfect child.

On the other side, I also liked the idea of a crippled Charlie, in the mind of "Tiny Tim" from A Christmas Carol, and I also thought it would be fitting for him...

So I'll let it float for now.

Reinterpretation of the deleted kids :

# Terence Roper. Since this one had barely any personnality in the original drafts, I decided to include him (especially since I already reinvented the two other kids part of his trio - Clarence Crump and Bertie Upside).

I think of Terence Roper as the typical "hot bad guy" archetype. He is a criminal kid, and a little delinquant, that drives despite not having a permit, that steals, that robs, that like to spread chaos and destroy shop windows and tag walls etc... I think he is the son of two famous criminals, and thus thinks of crime as the "family business". But he is also a very good-looking, very charming, and very popular boy, which resulted in him not only being leader of gangs and the like, but also having a sort of cult or worship around him - similarly to how "bad boys" in high schools can be idolized. I think something very similar appened with his parents - I want to explore with this character how people worship criminals, with very successful bandits, mafioso or drug dealers ending up as popular and romanticized and idolized as movie stars, singers or the like.

He is the blousons noirs of the 50s and 60s, the old-fashioned troublemakers pachucos, the greaser delinquants of the movie Grease, and all other fashionable kind-of-criminal groups you could think of.

But the irony here is that Terence actually got his Platinum Ticket by legal means, by buying a chocolate bar - and in fact, for him to have found the Golden Ticket and not stole it is a great disappointment and shame.

For his demise I thought of re-using the Fizzy Lifty Drink. He would stole it in an act of bravado, and drink it without realizing what it was - which would result in him getting a perpetual case of bad gazes (frequent burps, farts, and other stomach noises). This would completely ruin his cool and good looking image, as well as any kind of grace or discretion he may have.

# Miranda Mary Piker. Sixth Platinum Ticket Winner (Terence Roper was fifth). She is based on the character as most know her : a school-obsessed, fun-killing girl. The original incarnation was a stern, no-nonsense, very strict girl that basically acted like any cruel headmistress or teacher from those horrible British boarding schools. However, given that this character was alreayd beautifully reintepreted by Danguy96, I wanted to do something slightly different. This Miranda is more like an "annoying moral guardian". She is still obsessed with school, good work and being an obedient and good child, and she still disdains silly things such as games, entertainment or fun in general, but instead of being a stern and harsh girl, she would rather be a nagging and annoying pest, that keeps giving speeches and sermons to everyone about why you should act a certain way and not another, a walking moralization that keeps trying to teach "proper manners", "maturity" and "basic knowledge" to everyone in a very condescending way. I also thought she would try to dress up as an adult, and thus with adult clothes - but since she is just a cild, said clothes are much too big for her, resulting in her looking kind of ridiculous.

Her demise would, of course, be the Spotty Powder. I can't remember if this was an idea that was suggested to me, or one used by someone else in their reinterpretation, but I like the concept that instead of falling inside the machine and being crushed to death, Miranda (and possibly her school director father) would actually fall into a big pile of the Spotty Powder, and thus develop all the symptoms of a contagious disease and be forbidden from setting a foot in school for a very long period of time.

Reinterpretation of the rival chocolatiers :

This is the big defining feature of White Chocolate. In this version, the rivals of Wonka have a big part to play.

They don't appear in themselves - but they sent emissaeries, messengers and spoekpersons to contact each of the kids that won a Platinum Ticket, in a similar way to the 70s movie, and each chocolatier tempts the kid with a different "treat".

Slugworth seems to be a chocolatier involved in the criminal underworld - his emissaries at least seem to have some criminal undertones, and act through fear and violence rather than seduction. In fact, I think his chocolate and candy business may actually be a "cover" for darker criminal activites, and "washing" of dirty money.

Augustus Gloop receives the visit of a man with "icy blue eyes and nasty purple scars on his cheeks". He passes off as a waiter in the restaurant in which Augustus is celebrating, even though it is just a disguise. He tries to convince Augustus by both subtle threats, and the promise of a free pass and unlimited offer in all the restaurants and buffets of the town.

And Terence Roper, due to his criminal connections, actually is invited to the house of a wealthy man with ties to the criminal world, a creepy man in fancy, wealthy suits, but stuck in a wheelchair and with a fake eye shining like a silver dollar.

Slugworth's purpose seems to be the destruction of Wonka. He tries to convince the children to sabotage or put maybe bombs and things like that inside the Wonka factory, or to ruin batches of candy, stuff like that.

 Prodnose rather keeps sending women as emissaries. In fact  even thought of making Prodnose actually a female chocolatier, but I don't know yet... I thought of Prodnose as some sort of media mogul, that tries to spread their brand to everything (there are Prodnose television shows, book series, toys, sport equipment, gardening tools, etc...) including candy-making and chocolate-making.

One "messenger" contacts Veruca Salt. She is one of the journalists interviewinv the young girl after she found her Ticket. Based on Cherry from the musical, she is a happy, charmant, pleasant woman. But her face has something... weird to it, almost unnatural, as if she had a bad surgery job done to it. And she keeps smiling all the time - her smile seems completely stuck.

Henry Trout is the other one to receive a messenger from Prodnose. As Henry goes to have a new suit tailored for him (because of course Henry only had tailored suit perfectly to his size), the tailor reveals herself as a messenger of Prodnose, who could easily bring back Henry in Prodnose-made television series and shows. The tailor herself is a tall and thin lady all dressed in black, and with long, spindly fingers with long and pointy nails - her hands in fact look like creepy spiders.

I thought of probably Prodnose trying to cause a huge scandal inside the Wonka factory, and thus asking the kids to find out Wonka's dirty secrets, and if not, to invent some that they would "reveal" upon leaving the Factory. Where Slugworth tries to ruin physically and economically Wonka, Prodnose tries to ruin his reputation and to discredit him on moral ground.

 As for Fickelgrubber, he is actually envious of Wonka. I think he is a very young person hailing from a very wealthy and powerful family, and his dream was to become a candy-maker, but he was very bad at it. However he refused to give up - especially when seeing how Wonka was succesful. Fickelgrubber is an envious and jealous child-minded young person, and he refuses to admit Wonka can succeed where he fails. Fickelgrubber has tried to copy and steal Wonka's inventions for years now, but all his attempt ended up failing miserably - he copied the ice-cream that never melt of Wonka, but they had a tendency to turn into rock-hard material. He copied the gum that could create gigantic balloons of Wonka, but he mixed up the recipe, and the gum actually made kids inflate and pop like balloons. And when Fickelgrubber released glow-in-the-dark candies, it was later revealed they contained a huge dose of radioactive components.

Fickelgrubber's emisseries are creepy kids (I still don't know if they are "friends" of his or merely all sorts of cousins of his real family - as I said, Fickelgrubber is quite young, both in spirit and mind).

Violet, upon visiting her local cemetery, is contacted by a beautiful blond teenager standing on the wall of the cemetery. He acts flirtingly, seductively, playing the "good cop" (and he also actually acts like a cat, meowing, purring and sometimes even moving like a cat - I thought of him as a parody of Cat Noir from Miraculous). And when Violet is not receptive to this, the boy presents his sister, that is waiting behind Violet. A big, burly, muscular girl with a bulldog-like face.

Miranda is also contacted by Fickelgrubber emissaries - twin girls, identical, but "perfect", as in with perfectly clean and ordered clothes, identical beautiful hairstyle, and the like (I thought of them as inspired by the twins from The Shining). They are basically the kind of "perfect" and "proper" kids Miranda seeks to create in the world. And they try to convince her to join them (they even have prepared for Miranda clothes identical to their own so that they would become their new sister). I don't know however how would Miranda react to that - either she refuses, due to stealing secrets being perceived as cheating and she is against it  ; either the sisters actually convince her to go along with the plan by the simple argument that Wonka is an excentric, ridiculous man that gets success without hard work, and Miranda hates both goofy/clownish and not-hard-working people.

As for Charlie Bucket, he will actually be visited in turn by one messenger from each chocolatier (in fact, he may even escape them when they start fighting each other).

Slugworth's emissary... I actually don't know. Xp I thought of maybe a kind olf man, almost grandfather like, that acts all nice and doting, but then reveals that inside his cane, there is a blade.

Prodnose's emissary is a loud-talking woman with a lot of makeup and wearing a huge coat made out of crocodile (I thought of her as a mix of Cruella and Ursula).

As for Fickelgrubber's emissaries, Charlie meets at first a beautiful Japanese teenager (male or female?) dressed in a refined suit, something between a fashion model and a succesful business owner. And when their smooth talk fails, they present their brothers - because they are triplets. And appear from the darkness two huge sumos, teenagers yes, but the size of elephants. (This was again inspired by usual sumo appearances in cartoons, from JCA to the Simpsons passing by Shuriken School).

[komatsunana]

The Chronicles of Exandria: The Mighty Nein I

And so I do what I did the last 2 times for the Vox Machina Chronicles of Exandria books, which you can read [here] and [here].

These posts by no means contain all of the information in these books, but plenty of what would most interest other fans.  This is by no means a replacement for actually seeing the book.

My best guess on up to where this book spoils is episode 46.  Anyone who has not watched passed 46 can read this without spoilers outside of vague references that don’t really matter.

First and foremost, as usual, the artistry is the most important part of the book. All of the lovely fan-created art work is even more beautiful in ink than on screen. This I promise you.

As has been noted by other people who have received the book, it is written as though it was transcribed by Beau’s journals by the Cobalt Soul.  Some unnamed writer(s) from the Cobalt Reserve from Tal’Dorei have written all parts that are not excerpts from Beau’s journals.  There are edits by Zeenoth, which indicate that the book is not a final draft.  Zeenoth is not impressed by their work.

The books’ foreword is a dedication to critters.  I won’t transcribe all of it but it ends, “As always, we are richer for your company.  For truly, what good are stories unless they can be shared?”

Unlike the Vox Machina ones, which started with pages dedicated to Vox Machina and their adventures first before branching out for guest and NPCs, this one’s table of contents shows that everything is scattered.

The first section is dedicated to the Storyteller - accompanied by art of Matt as “The Storyteller.”   An excerpt follows below:

“A story walks the land through the songs and tales of those who are touched by its heart.  And then one day, long after all the players within have met the Matron, a story will be told for the very last time.  Unless, by the Grace of the Storyteller, we are let to it. [...]  Through Ioun’s blessing we make his favorite children immortal.  You hold one of them in your hands even now.  Wake it carefully.”

Thoreau contacted the Cobalt Soul immediately after Beau’s first arrest - presumably the one with Tori.  As the monks took Beau away, Thoreau referred to her as “his misfortune.”  It is also noted in the margins that Thoreau is a good friend to the Archive.

Unlike the rest of the M9 and characters, there are no excerpts about Beau herself from her journal... Because obviously she doesn’t need to take notes in herself.  However the Cobalt Soul write their own notes about her and her reputation in the Cobalt Soul and note... more than a few times that Zeenoth thinks she is aggressive, stubborn, and quick to judge and anger and as a result they can’t put a lot of stock into her notes on other people.  However, Dairon was right to put their trust in her because her insight in invaluable and is quick to call out injustice.

Beau’s note taking is exceptional - and color-coded.

Beau’s first notes about Molly is that he is “not that bright, definitely drunk, completely full of shit, and not nearly as good of a liar as he thinks he is.  His outfit is loud, far louder than the man himself.”  His coat contains iconography from at least half a dozen gods.  Beau also noted that Molly’s swords were interesting to which the footnotes immediately made note that Molly’s swords were just swords.  Beau thought, in her first impression of him, that he might be on the run from a family of Warlocks.

The librarians decided to omit all of Molly’s earlier lies that he told Beau and the group about his background, and instead only described the climbing out of the grave and only able to say “Empty” story.  He had scars and 9 red eye tattoos on him at the time.  

There are sketches of the tattoo in full, after Molly had added to it, but it’s noted by Beau that part of the tattoo is covered by Molly’s hair.  Looking at the sketch, it is implied there are more tattoos on his scalp, rather than just the length covering it.

For Molly’s story of climbing out of the grave to be true, it means that Molly relearned to speak both Common and Infernal, learned to perform his skills and duties with the Carnival, covered his eye tattoos with additional, elaborate tattoos, befriended Yasha, and discovered his innate magic ability to use his blood to infuse his weapons with magic.

Beau had made a list of every book she knew Caleb had on his person or expressed interest in.  This includes the erotic books and the 2 spellbooks. 

On the spellbooks, Beau says she isn’t sure about them. One she knows is a spellbook, but she’s not sure on the other as he never opens it.  She wonders if it is a journal of some kind.

There is a page on Beau’s notes in the first arc with the Fletching and Moondrop Carnival - notes about the victim and all her possible suspects of which it is everyone that is part of the carnival.  All of them have a strike through their name, indicating she had eliminated each of them as a suspect at one point, including Kylre.  

Among the notes she has, my favorites are that Beau thinks that everyone in the circus hates each other, never trust a clown (about Desmond), and that everyone has a title such as Molly “The Ice-Spinner” and Yasha “The Brute.”  Beau also notes Yasha as being human.

Outside of Beau’s notes, the best information to be found about Shakästa “Hush” is from an anonymous book from Deastock titled “Heroic Deeds of the Golden Grin.”  It is because of Beau’s notes that Hush is confirmed to be real, not a myth, once and for all.

Because of how cool Shakästa was with his cool bird, Beau notes “I gotta get a bird.”  So we have him to thank for Professor Thaddeus.

Unknown what deity Shakästa draws power from.

Known members of the Tombtakers:

Lucien Nonagon (Molly)

Cree: currently employed by the Gentleman.  Blood powers like Molly’s.

[A name which as been severely crossed out but looks like it says Tyffinl]:  Currently said to be in Nogvurot.

Otis and Zoran:  Still at large, whereabouts unknown

Jurrell:  Deceased

Some lady spellcaster from Rexxentrum 

The Myriad is currently gaining footholds in Tal’dorei as well.  There is also a written notation by Zeenoth to cross reference the Myriad activity with the Tombtakers, indicating that he believes that the Tombtakers and the Myriad might be connected.

Cobalt Soul theorizes that the blood Cree claims the Gentleman took from the M9 to track them might be a new form of blood-based mutagenetic tracking.

Beau’s first impression of Nott and Caleb’s relationship was that Nott heaped praise on him and that there might be some sort of blood debt or magic going on.

Beau’s early theory on Caleb was that he was hiding from a criminal employer and had done a high-level theft.  She made note to watch if he attempted to side-step certain kinds of work.

Everything about Caleb sounded like bad news to Beau, but because he stuck around to get her out of jail Beau comes to the conclusion that that’s endearing.

Beau has made an observation that Caleb was searching for some kind of information in a book, related to transmutation.  She wonders if bartering to get him into the Cobalt Soul library will get her into his good graces, though she hopes he won’t find out that the library is technically open to all if you ask nicely.

There is an entry (in Beau’s second journal, it should be noted) were several pages were ripped out about Caleb.  This indicates that Beau had written down Caleb’s backstory of killing his parents but she, Caleb, or someone else had ripped it out before it got into the hands of the Cobalt Soul.  The Cobalt Soul draws the conclusion that Caleb is connected to organized crime.  They are also unable to find anyone born with the name Caleb Widogast in the Empire and they believe it to be an alias.

There are written notations that say that at least one of the ripped out pages were recovered, in which Beau describes the night Caleb told her and Nott about killing his parents.  Both mentions of Trent Ikathon’s name were crossed out until illegible.  Beau was unconvinced that Caleb’s memories after killing his parents aren’t still jumbled (rather than missing).

Fun fact!  All of the Caleb illustrations in his art section all either have fire or Frumpkin in them.  Because when you boil down Caleb to his essentials that’s all I’m saying.

The strangest thing about the M9, as far as the Cobalt Soul is concerned,  is that they have a goblin among their party.

Beau also wonders if Nott’s relationship with Caleb isn’t also out of love or blind loyalty.  Upon finding out that Nott feels like the parental figure (rather than the other way around, as Beau had assumed) Beau wonders what it is that Nott wants Caleb to be stronger for... Revenge? Or to change herself.

Beau notes that while Nott might have named herself so to call herself not brave, Beau thinks she is pretty brave.  She describes Nott diving into the water for Fjord’s arc twice (even if she complained the entire time) and Nott saving Jester from the blue dragon which “absolutely saved Jester’s life.”  Nott is very focused on everyone remaining together as a team.  Beau believes that while Nott’s loyalty to Caleb has not lessened, her loyalty to the rest of the party has extended to them all.

“I think we might all be her kids now.  It’s kind of sweet, in a really weird way.”

Zeenoth is extremely salty their junior drew lots of buttons instead of researching the crossbow Nott got from Hupperdook.

A list of all phrases that Beau noted in her journals that Kiri had learned in her time with them.

Welcome to the Mighty Nein!

I am Kiri!

Yes, I am very sweet.

It’s sharp.

Ooh, I’m a captain.

Where do babies come from?

Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!

If it bleeds, we can kill it.

I killed people!

Get into trouble!

She’s probably a good egg.

Go fuck yourself.

Zeenoth is VERY upset about the word fuck and wants that entry removed.

Beau thinks Calianna is too polite.

Cobalt Soul believes there is at least one other bowl like the one Calianna destroyed with the M9.

Beau hopes they don’t pick up any more stragglers, as she thinks it is getting crowded.

Cobalt Soul theorizes about why Keg had a four o’clock shadow rather than a proper Dwarven beard, wondering if she wasn’t forced to shave.  This indicates that beards are normal on female dwarves.

Beau thinks Shady Creek Run is so called because it’s full of shady criminals, but the Cobalt Soul notes that Shady Creek Run has a creek that is in near constant shade in the abundant pine trees.

On Molly’s death Beau says:

“Fuck.   That went horribly.  We lost Molly, and I don’t know what to do. [This part is crossed out: Maybe if I had-] I’m trying my best to stay objective.”

Beau also crosses out “I’m starting to like her” about Keg, and replaces it with “She’s fine, I guess.”

On Nila Beau says: “She said something really nice about Molly.  How in her clan, someones spirit never leave you.  They return to nature, and are forever by your side.  I don’t know if I believe it, but I like the thought.”

Beau wants her own “lucky smell bag” that’ll make decisions for her.

The Blooming Grove was built post-Calamity.

Beau’s first impressions of Caduceus is that he is both grounded and flighty.

Because Caduceus hasn’t eaten meat or alcohol in the time she’s known him, she thinks he’s got to have some sort of vice.

Because of Beau’s talk with Caduceus after killing the blue dragon, Beau remarks that she likes her edge and doesn’t want to lose it and go soft. But maybe it is a better, more efficient way of doing things by being there for the M9. “Gross.”

There is a note in the margins telling the editor to contact Archivist Demid (AKA the guy studying the moons) for information on the Dust family.  This indicates that he may have some special information.

Because of Jester’s defacing every town she visits, the Cobalt Soul has been able to track the M9′s movements.

The Cobalt Soul’s 2 working theories on the Traveler is that he’s a smaller/younger deity either from folk tales about a cloaked figure that either rewards or punishes heroes with a ironic twist OR a god of vandalism.

Zeenoth notes that if the Traveler IS a god of vandalism... they may have a secret follower in their ranks because of all the smut doodles in their books lately. Which of course Jester probably drew.

Beau says that as Jester told the group about her prank causing her to have to flee from Nicodranas she was full of her usual bubbliness... But was starting to see that there was underlying sadness in Jester.

Beau has known Jester has had a thing for Fjord since they first met, but after she got Tusk Love it became full-blown infatuation.

“Fjord seems super oblivious, though, which isn’t surprising for a man who occasionally wakes up covered in seawater and confusion.”

Beau stands by her and Jester’s purchase of the owl and blink dog, but she wonders how long the weasel is going to last in their line of work.

Beau wonders if it’s weird to be attracted to your friend’s mom and comes to the conclusion it is so she’ll back off... But the Ruby is smoking hot.

Beau can also see why people who want to release and evil god for Avantika. Not that she would. “She’s hot, but come on.”

No really new information on The Plank King is revealed in his section, but quite a bit is crossed out until illegible.  This could detail what connection to the Cobalt Soul he has, but was redacted.

The Cobalt claims that while the M9 titled a leader, Fjord often took that position.

Beau is making direct reports on Fjord to the Cobalt Soul and his connection to Uk’otoa.  In her latest report, she says that they’ve bought some time until their next trip to the sea............

Waiting for the rest of the M9 to come out of the Happy Fun Ball, after fighting the blue dragon, are among the rest worst few minutes of Beau’s life.

Beau believed Twiggy that she killed the blue dragon, in part because Caduceus believed her.

Beau accidentally writes “cute and dry” instead of “cut and dried” about Yasha’s background.

“For someone dressed in greys, who carries herself like a dark cloud, Yasha sure seems drawn to color and light. I wonder where it stems from.”

On Yasha being tested by the Stormlord by the “man made of lightning” the Cobalt Soul says it is not uncommon for the Stormlord to test his disciples through acts of physical, mental, or spiritual exertion.

The final notes by Zeenoth indicates that whoever wrote the book (outside of edits from Zeenoth himself and excerpts from Beau’s journals) were by someone from Tal’dorei.  Who might it be? Someone we know?