#i just... don't know where staff is going with this. why all these ancients now? why make them (for lack of a better word) boring?

[roukabi]

I feel like when it comes to the Dusthide debate, a lot of people seem to misinterpret the main point of Ancients as both a game element and a product.

A big part of Flight Rising is dress-up. While users can argue on what the sole draw of FR is (dragons themselves, breeding, the Dominance system, etc), it's generally agreed that the dress-up aspect is one with a lot of care and resources put into it, and is therefore very important to site gameplay. Dress-up keeps getting updated with new apparel, and if there is to be a new dragon breed, it needs every piece of apparel re-drawn on it. This takes time. A lot of time. Gaps between dragons (now known as Moderns) stretch for years at a time.

Ancients were initially created as a way to fill in these time gaps between Moderns, and the easiest way to do that was to release dragons without apparel. However, this is a game that puts a lot of emphasis on dragon dress-up. Imagine if Obelisks were released without any coded apparel. You'd just have a naked dragon missing a huge element of the game, and for most players, there's no fun in that.

This is where the second point of Ancients comes in: because the appeal of clothing is gone, there has to be some kind of compromise. So... if Ancients can't wear apparel, then they are no longer restrained by the requirements for apparel (1 head/4 legs/2 wings)...

which means that they can break the modern mold freely! You can have a dragon with no legs, or six. Or with two heads, or no head. And now that you don't have to worry about apparel clipping, the tertiary genes can go wild! There is room for customization that apparel can't fulfill - you could give it extra wings, or a jellyfish head, or giant tree horns, or you could give it nothing at all as tertiary genes are optional, and it wouldn't matter because there's no apparel to be drawn around it!

Ancients are supposed to be a trade-off. There's no selling point to a dragon without clothing on the Dragons With Clothing Game, but there is a selling point to a dragon with, say, 13 legs, no wings and no tail. It doesn't wear apparel, because it physically can't, and it makes use of this function in creative ways. The inability to wear apparel is justified by the Ancient's unique proportions.

And this is where the criticisms for Dusthides and other 'basic' Ancients stems from: if your Ancient dragon is just the 1 head/4 legs/2 wings setup, then is it really an Ancient or a Modern you can't dress up? You could have the wildest, gaudiest, 15-limb tertiary gene on a Dusthide and it wouldn't matter, because tertiaries are optional and aren't a permanent part of the dragon that would inhibit the usage of apparel.

If a dragon doesn't have a justifiable reason to not wear apparel, then there's no reason for it being an Ancient.

No amount of linebreaking tertiaries will be able to hide the fact that some dragons seem to be created only for the first, initial purpose: just to tide people over until a better, 'real' dragon is created.

And that's just disappointing.

[gh0st-t0wn3]

I finally had time to make proper designs for the Trio!

Redson: Ver 1

Ver 2

I couldn't decide on if I liked it better with the braids or not so I just posted both, but anyways!

I gotta admit, I used to not like the idea of redson having Bull features (except for a small pair of horn maybe) but the concept really grew on me and now I really love it and wanted to try making my own design and I'm really proud with how it turned out.

I would've added more scars, since Guanyins throne pierced his entire body, but there came a point where it just looked like there was too much going on so I had to get rid of a few scars to tone it down, so we're just gonna say they faded over time, okay? Okay.

I also made him Miao (one of the largest ethnic minorities in southwest China) on PIF's side, and Mongolian on DBK's.

The Miao ethnicity of China has a long history, rich culture, and an ancient folk religion. Adorned in beautiful traditional clothes, possessing natural talent for singing and dancing, they live in uniquely designed indigenous architecture, which I think fits perfectly with how I imagined Princess Iron Fan and with her; Redson.

As for DBK being Mongolian, I saw someone else talking about this headcanon and I just liked it so I decided to use it, I don't really have a specific reason for it, I just thought it fit, not sure why though, it's just one of those things that makes sense even if you don't know why, you know?

Mei:

I made her taller and gave her a long dragon tail (like really long, it drags along the floor if she's not holding it up), though her scales are pretty much everywhere across her body they're most noticeable on her shoulders, thighs, and face (they're a bit hard to see in this photo because they're kinda hidden behind her hair, but I did give her scales beside her eyes)

I also gave her horns these little spiral designs around them, gave her sharper nails, and designed her ears to look like coral, since she's a water dragon and I thought they looked cool.

Honestly idk what else to say about her design, I didn't have anything specific in mind when designing her, I kinda just had to wing it, but I'm happy with how it turned out :)

(I also made her Bengali, on her dad's side, but it's not really important or has any reason behind it, just a headcanon I've had for a while, don't know where it came from though)

MK:

Alot of people have speculated that the monkey form we see during the fight against Azure in season 4 isn't MK's full form yet, that we're just seeing a fraction of what he's yet to become, based on the fact that while he has the weird side burns, the tail and the face marking, he also lacks a natural skin tone, they didn't give him a proper nose etc, so I wanted to play with the idea.

I decided to make him this strange mix between human and monkey, leaving him pretty much human with the addition of his tail(s), and weird li'l monkey feet.

(I was also gonna give MK more arm/leg hair, it was in my first sketch, but I forgot to add them when I was doing the line art and didn't realize until after I saved it as a jpeg, so that's my bad, but I'm gonna add it in to any other art I make)

It's also a bit hard to see in this, but I designed his staff with more details, specifically adding dragon-esque imagery to the Golden ends, this is because (for anyone who's new to the fandom/hasn't read JTTW) Wukong's staff was originally one of the several pillars that held up the sea in the dragon palace, until he stole it and shrunk it down to use as his weapon.

I also did MK's clones :)

Porty MK:

I gave him stripes of coloured hair and gave his tails all different colours, though I don't think he would actually dye it, instead I like to think that he would use that really crappy dollar store spray in hair dye (or hair chalk). I kept the fishnet clothes that I added in my originally design of him for my headcanons post, and decided to give him striped elbow length fingerless gloves.

I also gave him a cropped shirt, ripped shorts and these weird fingerless glove-esque shoes for convenience, since regular shows seem like they would be uncomfortable.

Edit: my dumbass forgot Porty's stupid print jacket 😭

Artist MK:

For Artist MK I gave him overalls and a jacket over it, which he wears specifically for when he's doing paintings so he doesn't ruin too many of his actual clothes (I know I said that this was inspod by Circusapple, which it still is, but this is almost exactly what I wear when I'm painting too, just in different colours).

I also gave him those gloves that digital artists wear so they're hands don't accidently trigger something on the screen because everyone knows that every artist just walks around with their art glove on even when it's not necessary.

Delivery MK:

I have to admit, I was never a big fan of MK's work uniform just being his regular clothes with a work jacket thrown over it so I wanted to try and make him look a little more professional and decided to instead give him a chef coat (similar to the one Pigsy wears on the show as well), with a logo for the restaurant on the chest, along with it I gave him plain black pants, since casual red jeans didn't seem very professional (I know he's just a delivery person, but if you were to look at pretty much any food corporation, even people who do deliveries have to wear uniform, so it's always been kinda strange to me that he's just in regular clothes). 

The shoes were harder to make professional given the whole "half-monkey" thing so I opted to give him the same strange fingerless glove-esque shoes for comfort and convenience, but made them plain black as well.

[afurtivecake]

Ok now that I've finished Dark Heir, I still think there's something not right about The Lady and the forces of light. Something's not adding up.

The white death and the army - If the army created with the white death belongs to the Dark King, why would the Lady kill Visander, her champion, to be resurrected that way? Would the Dark King not have power over him when he returned? If she knew what returning would be like and intended for Visander to actually fight the Dark King, why was he not briefed on the procedure? He didn't even know that he wasn't going to be returning in a few years.

Sarcean's brand - Why would the Dark King put a mark that protects people from the white death on his followers? If he killed his followers in the past so that they could return in the future, why wouldn't he want his past followers to possess the bodies of people he had chosen and and were devoted to him in the present? Surely that would make a stronger fighting force than an army made up of the bodies of peasants, children and the elderly? Why leave it up to chance when he could have hand-picked the bodies that would house his loyal army?

Why did Sarcean choose for him and Anharion to be reborn the way they were? It's risky, isn't it? Either of them could have been killed as children. What's more, it is mentioned in the book that the returning spirits, like Visander, have no regard for the people or the world of the present because they had never lived in the present. They just carried on their ancient goals as if they had never been gone. So why did Sarcean choose to be reborn with no memories of his past and with all the chances in the world to form connections and to be a different person? Why take the chance with Anharion?

Kettering didn't recognize Will. He didn't even care about fighting but he knew about how they were to return. Why? Why wouldn't someone who was supposedly part of the Dark King's loyal army recognize the one who put him in that state? Visander recognized Will/Sarcean even when he was wearing someone else's body. But Kettering didn't even recognize Will when he was just himself. If Kettering really had been just a lowly foot-soldier, he just happened to have the knowledge of how the resurrection of the army worked?

It's not that I don't believe Sarcean was a bad guy who did a lot of evil shit. I just don't think he was the biggest, baddest guy around. I think the reason Visander wasn't prepared for his return, the reason that Kettering didn't know Will and the reason that Sarcean's mark protects people from the white death is that the white death is a tool of The Lady and the side of the light. I think if Sarcean wanted an unstoppable army, he didn't have to do it that way. He already had the stewards-turned-shadows, the shadows kings, Anharion and his collar - all the methods of control that relied on his blood and unstoppable magic to control, rather than on some sort of staff that anyone could get ahold of.

Besides that, the whole story that "The Lady and the Dark King loved each other" seems more and more like propaganda and rewritten history. As far as Will's flashbacks show, the only one Sarcean seemed to be genuinely obsessed with is Anharion. The only irresistible impulse Will regularly felt and acted upon was seeking out and sticking to James. He wasn't even drawn to Katherine the way Katherine was drawn to him. There was even one part where Sarcean is surprised to feel something for The Lady: "He hadn't expected his feelings of their one night to catch him so unawares; to recall how painfully and beautifully they had found themselves matched." My theory is that Sarcean cared only about overthrowing the Sun King and having Anharion, no matter what it took - all of that taking over the world stuff, I don't think that was him.

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Chapter 27

Hey it's them again! Are they still dead?

They've managed to find Falin's remains but now the party is stuck figuring out what to do next. They can't take her remains back to the resurrection office because her soul bond is already exceedingly fragile and they cannot risk anything that might happen on the journey. Meanwhile, getting a revivifier wouldn't work because the resources needed would rot on the trip back.

A revivifier sounds like an object but it's probably a person. Not sure why they don't just use monster flesh to perform resurrections. Marcille even points out that the dragon's corpse can be used to resurrect Falin right there. Probably just another aspect of adventurers thinking of monsters only as things and not actual living creatures.

Marcille has a pretty grim complexion throughout the first part of this chapter. It definitely emphasizes how far she's willing to go to save Falin when she suggests casting forbidden black magic, but I'm going to say she looks that way due to a mixture of exhaustion, crying, and frequently touching her face while her hands are caked with dried blood.

Marcille's specialty being ancient forbidden magic kind of comes out of nowhere. In the flashback to her time at the academy, we learned she's interested in studying dungeons, but maybe having a suspicious scene or two beforehand might help. Like maybe during that undine fight we could have had a moment where Marcille looks at a bloodied hand, pauses to think for a moment, then casts something using the same font style as we see in this chapter. Just something that is clearly suspicious and out of the ordinary.

Since its forbidden magic, this will probably add to that future conflict chapter 22 implied will happen. The Western elves will probably try to arrest/execute Marcille for casting black magic and Falin for being resurrected by it which will force Laios into the conflict.

Otherwise, the story might as well have Marcille reveal that she knows revivification magic since as far as I can tell, there's no difference between what she does and what revivification is.

This ritual is elaborate. Since mana flows through Marcille's staff, she probably has to mix her blood with mana to make this whole thing work. Also, extra proof that Marcille bites her lip when she's stressed.

That is a lot of blood. Marcille nearly died to the undine a few days ago so she ought to be lightly anemic already. She should be barely able to stand after writing all this. Maybe it's not all her blood.

I can guess a little about how mana flows during the ritual. There's another circle that Marcille stands in when she casts the spell and a line connects her to the circle where Falin will be resurrected. That circle has a line connecting to the dragon's corpse.

If Marcille was using something smaller as the resources, I would assume it would have to be placed in a circle as well. But since the dragon is so big, Marcille doesn't need to define the perimeter the resources for the spell are located.

Here's how I imagine mana flow works during this spell. Marcille stands in her caster circle and her mana will flow through the line to the larger semi-circle to create a concentrated "wave" of mana pointed at Falin. Think of it sort of like how a satellite dish collects satellite waves and directs them toward a receiver in the center of it.

From there, additional mana will flow toward the dragon corpse to collect material and pull it toward Falin's body. The concentrated mana wave will then mold the materials into the shape Marcille wants.

Laios and Marcille were just showing off how much they know about anatomy this chapter. I can understand Laios knowing warg skeletal structure as part of his mnster obsession, but I don't know how Marcille knows so much about human bone structure when she isn't a good healer.

Also, Laios had no problems with the warg skeleton, but he kept fumbling when he started helping Marcille rebuild Falin's skeleton. Goes to show how little Laios knows about human anatomy compared to monsters.

Meanwhile, Senshi and Chilchuck were just standing around. You'd think Senshi would try to make something to eat while they wait.

Darkest joke.

There's not a single shot of Falin's skeleton feet. Kui did not want to figure out how to lay those bones out.

The ritual is so primordial in nature. Marcille had to take off her shoes, unwind her staff, and loosen her hair before starting.

The hair is an especially big part of how different this is from normal magic. Hair is important in magic. Marcille kept it clean and tidy as part of her magic. But this magic requires her hair to be disheveled and filthy.

As she casts her spell, chilchuck and Senshi hear whispers in the wind and mana flows toward the ritual site. Everything about this feels strange and wrong.

But I'm going to argue something in defense of this magic. There's always a sort of distance between adventurers and the world around them. I mentioned earlier how revivifiers bring flesh to cast resurrections rather than use nearby monsters.

I'm not sure how to put it, but the best I can come up with is adventurers treat the dungeon like it's dirty. They bring their own rations in and scoff at the idea of eating monsters. They have their civilization and they would rather try making the dungeon conform to that civilization rather than adapt themselves to the environment.

Even the whole thing about cleanliness being part of magic seems to tie into that distance. You're supposed to be clean in order to be part of society and magic being tied to that cleanliness means you have to overcome the "dirtiness" of nature to use it. It kind of gives me the same vibe as someone who would bulldoze a swamp to put a giant amusement park over it.

The spell Marcille is casting seems like it requires her to surrender herself and be a part of nature to cast it. She has to embrace the filth and disorder of nature and be one with it in order to use its magic. Meanwhile, standard magic requires the user reject the natural world and how it cannot be controlled in favor of an artificial setting that subjugates nature.

Hopefully, we'll get more detail about this kind of magic.

back

[life-in-the-monster-haus]

I am so so so sorry for just popping in here and bringing back bible talk because I know you got flack for it but I wanted your opinion on this.

Fontana was doing a Q&A on Instagram for September and she answered a question about why Clawdeen and Howleen weren’t related anymore:

But the leaked bible (which I don’t believe you read) said Clawdeen and Howleen were secret cousins and it would be revealed at the end of season 1, which contradicts the show and what Fontana is saying here.

I guess I just want to know what you think cause I value your opinion but I also see fans refer to the Bible leak a lot and I know you were one of the people that didn’t believe it. (You can ignore me too I kinda just stormed in here)

I'll never ignore a well thought out question or a fellow fan who wants to exchange ideas! bring them on!

No need to apologize! The thing with the show bible got quite out of hand, now that the season is over we can clearly see it was a bunch of circumstantial nonsense. I can talk about it now, enough time and fan fare has passed.

I read it and personally? it sounded like it was mostly assumptions and educated guesses based off the direction Nickolodeon / Mattel are going in matters like diversity & inclusion. Not really something that a show staff would write.

I think everyone was HOPING Clawdeen and Howleen would still be related (I was too) but honestly? after the secret dimensional crap they pulled with Clawd & then finding out her mom was still alive, the likelihood of Clawdeen having a 3rd surprise relative she wasn't aware of became more and more unlikely.

I don't really care for the cultural consultant they hired to over-see this season. While the concern of "all monsters of a certain ethnicity assuming to be related" IS a valid concern, I don't think it applies to the wolf pack. In fact I think it brings up way more and weirder questions / implications than the one they are trying to fix.

So now that we know Howleen is not related to Clawd & Clawdeen what does this mean for Howleen? is she no longer black now? they said Hexican heritage so I'm assuming Howleen is no longer black and she is now only Mexican. I take bigger issue with them erasing Howleen's blackness than encouraging this obscure & ancient stereotype that "people of the same ethnicity would all be related" or is she ALSO mexcian and black? it's POSSIBLE for 2 different interracial families to have kids in the same area / school / grade. it's just not very likely. As a mixed person myself I take issue with this... I know lots of half Puerto Ricans in my state but I'm one of three who's Puerto Rican AND Irish and none of us are in the same age range. I don't think the wolf pack encouraged any negative stereotypes because we saw other black kids and other werewolves. it's not a problem to view them all as related IF they are in fact related. There's nothing wrong with having a big family either. Harry Potter did it with the Weasley's there's 7 children in the family but no one said it was encouraging negative stereotypes about redheads.

I love G3 I really do, it's mostly done positive things for the brand and the characters we love. But every once in awhile they kinda shoot themselves in the foot while trying to avoid something they do something way, way worse. for example in this generation they're trying to "tone down" mentions of death because they said it's too depressing for modern kids and Shea has also gone on record saying that monsters like Zombies and Ghosts aren't the remnants of dead humans, they were born monsters. Which is all well and good but then they still do things that only dead creatures do - like Vampires drinking blood - the reason they do it is because their blood cannot sustain life or Zombies eating brains, why do they still need brains if they're a complete being? and where are the brains coming from? Ghoulia made an entire loaf of Whole Brain Bread in the first season of the Nickolodeon show, brains came from someone. So someone somewhere died to provide those brains and if they're not real brains they why are we calling them brains? why not just have it be pink nutrient mush!?

Because THAT would ruin Ghoulia's cool flesh eating aesthetic, no more Brain Puffs or Cup-O-Brains. (which I personally love & I hope they never stop doing this)

See the logistical nightmare that one change created!? If no one has ever died, where is all the dead stuff coming from!? Frankie is literally made out of corpses, why is that okay!? Because their donor parts died a long time ago!? What is the cut off for how long someone has to be dead before we can joke about using their body parts to create a new person!? They have Frida Kahlo's arm and Frida died 70 years ago.

Making Howleen not related to our main wolf pack did something similar. it's created a logical nightmare that I am confident Shea and her crew do not want to answer for because "it's not plot relevant" but it's relevant to us, the fans, we're the only ones who care.

I don't like it and I think their cultural consultant is needlessly walking on egg shells. I don't feel this concern was all that much of a prominent issue with Clawdeen's family during the previous generations - if anything the fans spent WAY more time denying her being black than anything else and Mattel's flat out refusal to give her natural textured hair supported this theory. But at least G3 is trying to correct this... they need to try harder though, a few braids and baby hairs aren't going to cut it I NEED Clawdeen to have some puffs, corn rows or a whole head of braids. (stop putting blonde in her hair mixture while you're at it!) I do not like that Hoween is no longer part of our wolf pack but I guess it's better than her being written out of the series completely.

Sorry I kinda went on a tangent there, but I assume these in depth thoughts are why you guys ask me these kinds of questions to begin with.

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

Whenever there's a story about a secret society or a shadowy quasi-government organization that pulls all the strings and controls the entire world and regularly defeats apocalyptic threats against humanity, I always wonder who the hell's paying for it all? The Men in Black, Hellboy's Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, the Assassins, the Templars, they all have blank check budgets and carte blanche to do whatever they need to, whenever, wherever, however. Need to go to an archeological site in Baghdad that may be the literal Garden of Eden? No problem, you'll be on the next flight alongside all your friends and co-workers, and all their supplies and guns and computers, you know, all the stuff that's really easy to ship across international borders. The Kola Superdeep Borehole is actually a portal to hell? I'm sure the Russian government won't mind us checking it out. Area 51 is about as impenetrable as the backstage at a rock concert; sure, some burly guy in a STAFF t-shirt or full combat gear may shout "HEY" and start chasing you, but you can give him the slip real easy and go about your business without him ever alerting a superior.

BORING.

Give me the shadowy agency that has had regular budget cuts since the 1980s. Their power and influence ebbs and flows every 2 years depending on which party controls congress. There's so much red tape and so many roadblocks that the 10,000 year old cult which was once the dominant global superpower is now just a rump echo chamber; they've preserved their ancient Proto-Indo-European language, the mother tongue of about half the world's population, but there was so much infighting over the millennia that they broke into countless warring factions that basically don't do anything anymore. "We're the People's Front of Judea, not like those wankers in the Judean People's Front."

Agent Kay once said "there is always an Arquilian battle cruiser or a Corilian deathray or an intergalactic plague about to wipe out all life on this miserable little planet, but the only way these people can go about their happy lives is they DO. NOT. KNOW ABOUT IT!" Surely they drop the ball from time to time.

"Hey, where's the Archduke? Aren't you part of his security detail?" "I thought that was your job!"

or

"When you disabled the alien ship, you set the autopilot to crash into the Pacific, right?" "The Administrator told me to aim for the Arctic." "Why the hell would he tell you that?!? Its orbit was nowhere near the Arctic! Where is it now?" "Apparently it's about to enter the atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia. Whoops."

or

"A rematch?!? That wasn't the plan! Why don't the higher ups ever give me a warning before they go off book? Do you even know which campaign you're supposed to sabotage? Everyone already hates them both!"

[katyspersonal]

I don't believe I am going to make much SOTE progress today, especially since this traitor @fantomette22 is apparently asleep/busy and can't help me right now -_- So yeah, some extra stuff before bed

1) It is interesting to think of an implication of this item.. damn, apparently there WILL be places where you are stuck but can't teleport or something? :p Okay then.. Sacrificial Twig + this shit it is, then?

2) They continue with the "monkeys are trying to comprehend magic" lore!

! Onze is the Demihuman swordsman I fought in the Belurat Gaol earlier! The sword is dropped by a Demihuman Queen you fight in Cerulean Coast! I mean, yeah, even in the base game there was a Demihuman in Weeping Penunsula who used a Glintstone Staff, but damn..

3) Miyazaki: Yeah DLC area map will be like the size of Limgrave :)

Also Miyazaki:

Me: Girl you ok? 💀💀💀

4) I love the woman with Sulyvahn's blades, but I can't defeat the woman with Sulyvahn's blades ;-;

Maybe eventually.....

5) WAIT gdhyyf it is like, a symbol of moon and flame or something?????

This is adorable gfhgfhgggb I know it makes sense, but aww

6) I already screamed about it at Fantomette, but

HOLY SHIIIIIT SHE WAS FUCKING RIGHT ABOUT DRAGONS FASCISM THIS WHOLE TIME WHEN WE QUESTIONED WHY WOULD DRAGON COMMUNION BE A THING IF GODWYN BEFRIENDED ANCIENT DRAGONS THE ANSWER IS THAT ANCIENT DRAGONS FUCKING HATED GREYOLL-TYPE DRAGONS I REPEAT THEY HATED THE "IMPURE" OFFSPRING OFF THEIR SPECIES WHAT THE FUUUUUCK AAAAAAA

7) There is a new Carian Knight! And it is a big deal since they were "no more than a dozen"! Cool!!!

And it is a girl! However I am curious.. Moongrum, Moonrothyll... why their names start with 'moon'? Are they siblings? Or maybe Carian Knights had ancestry thing going on so those born with expectation to be raised as Carian Knight had 'moon' names in advance? Or they assume 'moon' name as new one upon entering a service (least likely since we already can recall exception)? Arghhhh

8) Okay this was actually an important one for me personally! So basically @jarognieva asked me whether I've met Queelign and I said I had no idea who it was. So greeeat, I've missed an invader -_- She said he was at Belurat and I checked but he never appeared, so I assumed he is one of those invaders that vanish after the boss of the area is defeated. (Who thought it was a good idea? I bet I've missed a cool drop... ;-; ) However, she added that he also invades in another place but she would not tell where! I didn't mind that and continued exploring the DLC as usual. So, after defeating that red bear beast at last (horaaaay!!!), I decided to check a distinct building on that map, and GUESS WHO I'VE MET?????

THE FUCKING GUY HIMSELF LOL!!! OF COURSE HE HAS A FUCKING PETRUS HAIRSTYLE LMAOOOOOOO GGJHJGJJ

So basically bro talked shit (that all 'graceless' shall meet death in Messmer's flame), that already made me REALLY want to kill him as if this cursed hairstyle wasn't enough gghghg . And he also called us 'graceless heathen' upon death lol. But it ACTUALLY clicked when he dropped an item, like:

Okay all 6 of you already had enough of my lunatic ravings about how much I abhor this specific type of attitude, as well as my theories on Messmer's motivations being rooted in purism of religious kind when anon asked about my expectations for him (I haven't met him yet so schhhh). But it is.. more than that. Miyazaki hates this sort of people too, especially he consistenyly bullies clerics in his works. Just.. read this description

Like not only this gave me some STRONG hatred for this character already, but also reminded me of one of the reasons I ended up loving Miyazaki's works so much to begin with. Shit like this just makes me feel understood, and without exagerration, reading this gave me HUMANITY RESTORED effect after I was feeling low because of a certain spoiler 😔 Honestly.. I don't care how many dramatic blonde twinks he will do dirty with a random plot twist, but as long as he addresses his disdain for this kind of people in his works I'll always love his games. Like I know it sounds oddly emotional but you need to be familiar with his other works to understand vfhgjbghb My faith in him as a creator straight up got restored, it is a personal detail for me!

9) So I figured that Ascetics are dropping pieces of their set.. I had suspicions, yeah, but now I am just sad ggjhhhjj I don't want to grind these guys *ends up doing it anyway probably*

10) For some reason I am starting to really like that hornsent guy who drafts maps of Miquella's crosses! Knowing Soulsborne tho I guess I just need to wait for something bad to happen to him -_-

11) Some people (all two of them) legit thank me for showing these item descriptions because they can't play the DLC themselves, but the players they watch don't stop to read items lore! Okay.... I guess I'll continue, heheh;

[shebeafancyflapjack]

Hidden Away

A little hurt/comfort fic requested by @idiotwithanipad . Hope it's okay. 🥰

-

"You seen Stompy? Just seen guy in staff room open new drink with big M on side, thought she like to come sniff."

The caveman asked Humphrey the question when finding the head on the receptionist table, as had become the Tudor's usual hangout, other than Higham Suite or Amy's bedroom when she wanted his company.

"Not since this morning. Don't think she's feeling all that bright at the moment." He replied with a touch of paternal concern; "I asked her if she wanted to come on a walk with me to judge some of the golfers but she said she just wanted some quiet time with Silver."

The pink haired Pagan still had another week until she awoke to grace them with her chirpy, New Age presence again. But when Amy wasn't feeling up for human interaction, she could either be found in her bedroom or beside her sleeping friend's memorial.

Robin gave a grunt, frowning.

"But me just check on Moonah Girl hour ago. There no sign of Stompy?"

Humphrey blinked.

"You sure?"

"She pretty hard to miss, Head! Black and pale figure against all pretty grass and flowers." Robin scoffed; "Only other one there was owl near tree and that not her, unless she have cool new ghost power me no know?"

Not as far as he was aware. Had she lied to him? That didn't seem like his Amy.

"I haven't seen her come back in and I've been sat here all day watching comings and goings." He muttered.

"Ehh, flashy news, ghosts no need to use front door-"

"Yes, I know that, thank you Robin!" Humphrey tutted; "But Amy knows I'm usually here and usually finds me when she comes back in! I 'spose she could have gone up to her room using the staff staircase if she still wanted privacy."

"No, me already check there. Room empty. Except scary clown. He worse when she not there." The caveman shuddered and Humphrey tried not to snort. It always gave him a little hit of joy to see his oldest dead friend get scared by anything.

"Well...I'd like to know she's okay. And...Oh God. Oh, you don't think-"

"She not go Up."

Humphrey felt his chest deflate with relief, despite it being god knows where.

"You sure?"

"Yes, me sure. Her smell too thick to miss." He flared his nostrils wide, "She definite in house...somewhere...You want me to track her down?"

"Oh, give me some credit, as if I'm about to become some sort of paranoid helicopter dad who needs to know where my kid at all times just because of a piece of paper."

"....That yes?"

"Yes, please, just let me know where she is. Discreetly! If you know what that word means."

"Think Disco not till Friday night."

Never mind.

He watched the ancient human slink away, following his nose to hunt Amy down, disappearing through the wall next to the fireplace.

Humphrey tried to keep himself calm. He'd seen a variety of reasons by now for what often caused his adopted daughter to go into an emotional funk when she wanted to be on her own. Maybe Julian said another inappropriate comment in her earshot, though mostly he was too afraid to utter a word in her presence. Maybe a visitor to the hotel had drank too much or one of the managers had been too harsh on the new staff.

He'd like to think they were at a point where Amy could come to him with any problem that she had. But he was aware that teenage girls were anything but easy. He just hoped that she wasn't hiding away in some dark corner on her own. It didn't matter if she chose someone other than her dad to talk to, so long as she wasn't alone.

"She in basement." Robin informed, returning less than two minutes later; "Heard voice through door, she talk with Nigel."

"Nigel? Who the bloody hell is Nigel?!"

And why was she talking to him and not-?! Okay, chill out Humphrey, bordering on jealousy now.

"Nigel one of Plague ghosts." Robin gives him an incredulous look.

"They have names?!"

-

The basement had been expanded upon ever since the renovation. While the actual plague pit now had a spa where the clutter and electricals had once been, there was still a set of hallways and a much nicer and cleaner utilities area beside it. Meaning the ghosts usually had to deal with more traffic coming through from bellhops grabbing towels or someone checking the electrics, but they were actually glad of the company.

Amy sat on a barrel, hood up, fists curled inside her sleeves as she listened to Agnes finish her story about the two men having a serious debate that turned rather angry in the steam room, which turned out to be about which My Little Pony character was less problematic.

"Knock knock!" Came a voice on the other side of the door.

The ghosts all frowned at each other.

"Was that meant for us?" Asked Mick.

Amy froze. She recognised the voice right away. Shit, she was cornered too. The walls here just lead into solid dirt.

"Uhh....'ello? We don't do Cold Callers!" Replied Jeff, who then turned back to the others; "Get it? 'Cause of the pneumonia!"

"Ah, yeah, good one!" His friends chuckled back, after which Sharon fittingly coughed.

"No, uh, it's just Humphrey. Humphrey Bone? One of the upstairs lot?"

They all murmured, frowning at each other.

"I'm the one without a head."

"Ah, yeah, Humphrey, 'course!" They chorused. Amy just rolled her eyes, remaining quiet, though she knew why he was here.

"Don't mean to trouble you, just wondering if Amy is with you guys?"

They turned their eyes to the teenager. It was up to her if she wanted her presence down here to be known.

Agnes gave her knee a pat.

"C'mon, love, it ain't kind to make your dad worry, is it." She whispered.

That made her squirm with guilt.

"I'm here. I'm just...hanging out with some friends." She announced.

"Aww, ain't she sweet." Smiled Mick.

"Right....Nah, that's cool, uhm...Can I just have a quick word, Poppet? Please? Then I'll leave you to it."

Another huff and Amy slid off the barrels. She gave a knowing look to the other ghosts before going out the door, hands in the pockets of her hoodie, still up around her head.

Humphrey was outside the door, in one piece, after Robin helped to wrangle his body back to reception.

"What's up?" She didn't quite meet his eyes, her focus on the adornments of his cloak.

"Just wondering if you're all right, Poppet."

She shrugged; "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You said this morning you wanted to be alone with Silver for a bit. Robin said he hadn't seen you around there when he checked in on her?"

Her expression hardened.

"You keeping tabs on me now?!"

"What? No, love, sorry - I get how that sounded-."

"I did go to sit with Silver, for like two hours, but there's only so long a one-sided convo can go on for when your mate is in her month long coma! So I came inside!"

"I get it, that's fine, I just....These guys? Really?" He asked, doubtful.

"Walls are pretty thin, mate!" Called Nigel from the other side.

Whoops.

"What's wrong with them?" Amy shrugged; "They're all right."

"Yeah, yeah, they're lovely, they're just a bit, uhm..." Humphrey considered his words.

"Oh here it comes." Tutted Agnes loudly.

They must all be listening in at this point.

Sod it, Humphrey threw up his hands; "Grotesque."

"Honestly, that's fair."

"Yeah, can't argue with that, really, can we."

While the ghosts seemed to not be too offended, the same couldn't be said for Amy.

"What, because they've got all those sores and stuff from when they died? You think that makes them gross?" She challenged, her expression flinching between anger and...something more personal.

"Now, I didn't say gross!" The Tudor objected.

"It's the same thing!"

"Actually, though the etymology of the words are linked, grotesque means abnormal while gross is saying the abnormalities are revolting-" commented Jeff.

"Oh listen to Stephen Fry over here!" Harked Sharon, as the others jeered.

Humphrey ushered Amy away from the door and down the corridor, away from the commentators of what's supposed to be a father-daughter conversation.

"I didn't mean to insult your friends, Poppet, I just wondered why you were hiding yourself down here with them is all."

"Well maybe I feel at home with the 'grotesque' more than you lot sometimes."

"Hey, come on now, you're talking to a guy who's a strong gust of wind away from his head falling off his shoulders!"

Amy shrugged; "It's not the same."

"Come on, what's this really abo-." He went to put a hand on her arm only for her to flinch back.

That stung, as did the quick look of fear interrupting her usual pissed off expression.

"Amy? What is it?"

"It's nothing! Just go back upstairs, I'll find you later. Or if you're really curious, get Alison to explain it."

"Explain what?" Alison was currently on holiday with Mike and she'd left a request not to be interrupted unless urgent, or until she can call them.

Amy sighed. She could see he wasn't going to let this go.

"Fine. Come to my room."

Once they were up the two flights of stairs and inside her private little suite, with the ICP poster as their silent protector, Amy told him the truth.

"Hidradenitis suppurativa." She said.

"...Gesundheit!" Humphrey replied with a chuckle, then stopped when he could see by his daughter's glare she was in no mood to joke; "Sorry. Uh, what's that?"

"It's a..." She took a deep breath, "Probably easier to show you."

Amy wriggled her arms inside her hoodie until they were against her torso and then pushed it off over her head, her hand keeping a tight grip on it. Ghosts usually had a good minute or so of being allowed to remove or change their outfits before they 'corrected' themselves.

The Tudor blinked at the vest top she wore beneath that he was glimpsing for the first time. A black top with a skeletal hand on the front giving the world its middle finger, with two rude words across the top just in case the message wasn't clear.

"Oh. Right. Well, I'll take the hint-." He turned to leave.

"No, D- Humphrey, wait." She yelled; "The top ain't what I'm showing you!"

Thank God. He turned back around, wondering what else she'd been trying to reveal.

It was odd to see her frame without the bulk of the hoodie. Christ, she really was a little thing for nineteen. She didn't seem much bigger than Sophie when they'd got married, although his wife had always been tall for her age, even before puberty hit them both properly.

"Wh-what am I looking at?" He asked, cautiously.

She nervously raised her arm up, revealing a cluster of painful looking welts and reddened scars in her armpit.

"Oh! Well...well that's-."

"Grotesque, right?" Amy scoffed.

He blushed. The pieces were coming together now.

"What are they? What is...Hydra dental, no wait that's teeth-."

"I just call it HS, it's easier. It's this fucked up skin condition I've had to deal with for years." She sighed, putting her arm back down, just in time for her hoodie to rematerialise back on her top half. Good, she needed her hood back up; "I get these sores come and go on my body now and then. You'd think being a ghost would mean I'd be free of them but I guess because I died on the brink of a flare up, I'm stuck with them forever!"

"Do they hurt?"

She nodded.

Humphrey felt like he'd been winded; "Oh, Poppet, why have you never said? All these years you've been with us now..."

"Didn't wanna bother you with it. I mean...Alison knows because Mike's sister has it and she brought it up one time. Silver knows, only coz I was venting to her about it one night and thought she was asleep but forgot it was a full moon. I didn't mean for anyone to know..."

"Why not?"

"Because it's embarrassing!"

Humphrey couldn't resist chuckling at that; "Poppet, we share a house with a bloke who walks around without any pants on."

She shuddered. Probably not the person she wanted to be compared to.

"That's why you were hanging out with...the downstairs lot?" He asked.

"They are actually really cool. But...yeah. They've had hundreds of years dealing with painful sores all over them. I know I ain't as bad as them but they still welcome me into their 'club' when I get a flare up."

"That's nice of them. But, sweetheart, you shouldn't be feeling ashamed or thinking we don't want you around just coz you get sick now and then." He tried to console her. "Did you really think I'd think less of you because of this?"

Amy shrugged and went to sit on her bed, hands shrinking back inside her sleeves again.

"Did Alison or Silver treat you any different?" He attempted.

"No. But Alison is desensitised to weird shit at this point. And Silver is about sixty percent weed and sugar. She spends most nights staring at spiders and beetles, thinking they're beautiful."

"Perhaps. Or maybe they're your friends, they care about you and it doesn't make any difference."

His daughter seemed reluctant to believe that, despite it clearly being the most logical conclusion.

Humphrey dared to sit beside her, a slight gap between but not too distant as if it looked like he was afraid of catching something.

"Is there nothing that can be done to make you feel better?" He asks.

"Can't exactly pop down to Boots and get me some relief cream, no." She snarked.

"I meant like...no exercises or...massages?"

"Less touch the better." She says, "That's why I've been swerving a bit when you or...the body bit, tries to hug me. Sorry if it seemed like I was in a mood. Well, I was, but-."

"I get it. Air hugs it is!" He mimed putting his arms around her with a goof few inches of space.

That made her laugh.

"Hey! I got a smile! It's my lucky day, after all." He grinned at her.

"Shut up." She blushed.

"Honestly, love, don't feel like you have to hide anything like this. I'm your dad now, remember? It's my job to know about these things and to be the one you feel safe to come to." He said.

"I know. I'm just...still getting used to what having a dad means, I guess."

"M'still getting used to being one. We're both learning as we go, ain't we."

He threw his cloak around her shoulders and placed his hand to her covered head, gently tilting her closer, moving in to place a kiss on top.

He stilled; "No sores on the scalp?"

She smiled and shook her head.

"Good. C'mere, you." He planted a rather sloppy kiss on her hood before resting his head atop hers.

She reached her hand across to find his, interlacing her fingers around his.

"Thanks, Dad."

[obsidiancreates]

Out Of The Shadows and Into The Neon (Part 8)

"Uncle Casey?"

"Yes, Donnie?" Casey holds the bo staff by the little turtle, then shakes his head and rummages through the pile of similar yet varied in size staffs.

"Do you have a battle cry?"

"Battle cry?"

"Mikey says all good ninjas have battle cries, but I said not all of them, because you don't."

Casey tears up so quickly that Donnie shoots to his feet and wraps him in a tight hug. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you upset!"

"You didn't," Casey assured, choked up as he hugs his sorta-nephew back. "I'm just honored that you hold me to such a standard."

"Duh!" Donnie pulls back, frowning at his uncle now. "You're just as awesome as our dads! And you're not even a mutant, you're way more easy to injure but you fight anyway, that's extra awesome and brave!"

Casey blinks, and more tears spill out. How does he even begin to explain to the ten year old how much this means to him? To be admired the same way he used to admire his own Senseies? To be thought of as a warrior just as incredible as the leaders of rebellions, saviors of the world, preservers of a future worth living in?

"... Stop it." Donnie puts his oversized hand on Casey's face. "Stop crying! That doesn't even make sense, you're happy! Why do people cry when they're happy?!"

"Sorry, Donnie," Casey says with a wet laugh. He moves the hand off of his face and wipes his own eyes. "I just... that means a lot to me."

"You didn't know how awesome you are? After everything you've done?"

"I knew. It's different hearing it. Everyone appreciates hearing it from others sometimes, even when they know it themselves."

"Oh." Donnie's frown deepens. "Even when they say it a lot? Like... all the time, constantly?"

"Even when they say it a lot. Sometimes people say it out loud just to try and make others agree, because they don't believe it but don't know how to ask." Like Sensei Leona- like Leon. Boy, was that a family therapy session to remember, when that came to light.

Donnie nods, expression extremely serious. "I'll tell everyone every time I think they're awesome, then. "

"That's a great goal." Casey rummages through the staffs some more, and holds another one next to Donnie. "There! This one seems about right for your size."

"Whoo!" Donnie grabs it and instantly go into spinning it around himself.

"Whoa, buddy! That's to power up for a strong attack, too much spinning in combat will render your attacks pretty ineffective!"

"But spinning it is the best part! I know how to use my own weapon, and my style is lots of spinning." Donnie spins it again, and then points the end at Casey. He frowns. "Hmm... I feel like it needs something extra..."

"Your dad said No Techbos until you can build your own, remember?"

"Yeah. ... I'll think of something."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Auntie Cass?" Raph dangles his feet as his aunt digs through a bin of different size and weight sais. "Why do we need to use Brownie Clan weapons?"

"Your fathers didn't plan on taking you out on a real patrol this soon. AHA! Hold these ones!"

She shoves them into Raph's hands. He holds them for a second, and then-

Tries to spin them.

"Bleh! Nope!" He hands them back.

"Sai aren't traditionally a 'spinny' weapon. ... I ADMIRE YOUR ADDITION TO THE ART OF COMBAT!" Cass pats him on the head with a wide grin. "We'll find the perfect pair for you to practice that trick with!"

Raph kicks his legs more as she goes back to digging. "So what's patrol like?"

"I've only gone on patrol with your fathers a few times over the years, and Foot Clan patrol was much different. BUT! Both require focus, intensity, and PLENTY OF SNACK BREAKS!"

"What was working for The Foot like?"

"Not very different from a regular assistant job! Except for the world domination, ancient evils, and fighting turtles."

"Did they ever use robots?"

"Robots?"

"I had a dream where they used robots, but really crappy robots. Donnie could beat them with his stick."

"His bo. And no, we never used robots... why didn't we use robots? We could've hired that strange small child before he went on the lam..."

"Strange small child? ... Donnie?"

Cass lets out a loud, sharp laugh. "An excellent burn! But no, I believe his name was Blaster... Stossbid. Something like that."

Raph laughs. "Bastard Stinkboy."

"Where did you learn language like that?"

"Pop-Pop. He swears in Japanese now because Dad scolded him." Raph smirks. "But we taught ourselves Japanese, so we know them all anyway."

"You- how?"

"Donnie." Raph grins. "He knows everything. And if he doesn't know it, he knows how to find it for us. But then he makes it lame by talking about all kinds of stuff none of us get."

"It's not lame to be knowledgeable. How about these?"

"... Nope. And that's not lame, but the way he talks about it is lame."

"Does your brother call it 'lame' when you talk about art to him?"

"No."

"Does Donnie understand or have an interest in art the way you do?"

"No."

"So you've betrayed him, and treated him as less than equal!" Cass puts her hands on her hips and narrows her eyes at Raph. "He's your clan and kin, and yet you DISMISS HIS SKILLS AND INSULT HIS ATTEMPTS TO SHARE THEM!"

Raph blinks, eyes wide. "But I didn't mean to betray him! I'd do anything for my brothers! I-I'd fight the world's biggest cockroach, and I hate cockroaches!"

"I believe you!" Cass hands him another pair of sai. "But do your brothers know this?"

"They should!" Raph stands up on the bench he'd been sitting on. "Why do I gotta tell them for them to know?! I show them!"

"How?"

"I-! I... um..." Raph plonks back down onto his tiny turtle tush. "Um... well, well I show them a lot in dreams!"

"Dreams?"

"Yeah! And so I'm gonna do the same tonight." Raph spins the sais, and this time his eyes light up. He jumps down from the bench and spins them again, striking a pose. "If any of them get into any trouble, I'm jumping in to protect them!"

"Admirable bravery! But also, very foolish." Cass kneels down. "A team that protects each other is just a team that knows how to function in combat. You're also a family! So tell your brothers you love them and when they do cool things! Casey Jr tells me how incredible I am often, and it makes me feel the MOST DELIGHTFUL SWELL OF WARMTH AND LOVE EVERY SINGLE TIME!"

Raph blinks at her, and wipes a little spit off of his face. "And Leo says I yell a lot."

"We yell because a normal volume can't contain the sheer intensity of our emotions! Come, young nephew, and together we shall SHOW OFF YOUR INCREDIBLE TRICK TO YOUR BROTHERS AND COMPLIMENT ANY THEY HAVE TO SHARE BACK WITH YOU!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"And then-" Mikey says, running around as April tried to find some non-spiked nunchucks for him, "-and then Leatherhead goes RAHHHHHHHH!" He holds his hands up to his mouth and opens them. "And then snaps his teeth around the zombie dog and drags him way down, and the zombie dog lives down there forever and never bothers anyone again!"

"And you came up with that all by yourself? I'd totally read that comic, little man!"

"I saw it in a dream," Mikey says proudly, "And I knew Leatherhead would be the awesomest comic hero ever!" He raches into the back of his shell and pulls out a piece of paper. He starts to run towards April, and then freezes.

"What're you- WHOA!"

April scrambles out of the way as Mikey suddenly launches into a frontflip, and then right into a backflip! But instead of falling over or even stumbling, he lands perfectly on his pancake feet and holds the drawing up to her.

"Um, Mikey? When'd you learn that?" He's not usually that sure-footed in training-

Mieky blushes and looks away. "Dad said I shouldn't try it without mats, but mats are too lumpy. ... Don't tell Dad."

"You've been practicing flips alone?! Oh, no way I'm not telling your dad, if you snap your neck-"

"I won't!" Mikey puts his hands together and widens his eyes, somehow getting them to water instantly. "Please! Pleaseeee! I wanna surprise him tonight by showing off! It's really easy for me, like- like how DNA and stuff is easy for Donnie!"

"You're asking me to lie to my best friends, little man! I-I can't just let you guys-"

"Please!"

"No way!" April goes back to rummaging. "Why are you four always tryin' stuff in secret, anyway? You can just tell your dad the mats mess you up! He'll understand."

"But he's so worried!" Mikey sits down and then flops over to lay dramatically on the floor. "All he does it make sure we're not gonna get hurt!"

"Uh, Mikey, newsflash. He's your dad. That's what a good parent does!"

"But he does it too much!" Mikey does a backflip to get back up. "He caught Donnie doing a handstand on my shoulders while we were skateboarding the other day and totally flipped! But we do that like, every time, and we don't go on the ramps or anything!"

"You WHAT?!"

"Donnie like to walk around on his hands, and I like moving around while he's talking to me! So we mixed 'em!"

"Mikey, that's way more dangerous than just backflips!"

"But we're really good at it!" Mikey frowns and tenses, his head lowering into his shell from the sheer rage in his muscles. "Why does everyone treat me like a baby?! Do you know how tough nunchucks are to use as a good weapon? REALLY TOUGH!"

"Whoa, whoa, hey." April puts her hands up. "Where's that coming from?"

Mikey crosses his arms. "Raph and I were wrestling the other day, and our dads made us stop because he's 'bigger than me'. He's only bigger by a little bit! And I'm just as strong as him, maybe stronger! My dad's the strongest and he's the smallest too, why am I any different?!" He grabs a pair of nunchucks out of the bin himself. "Look!"

"Wait-!"

But he spins his weapons perfectly, does a flip, and lands without bonking himself even once. He kicks and follows it with what would be a truly devastating hit to the rib area in a real fight, and then finishes his little demonstration with a solid punch to what would, presumably, be the jaw.

April's own jaw is dropped. "You- that was-" She shakes her head. "And we thought you weren't paying attention in training, dang kid!"

"Training is way different." Mikey pouts as he hooks the little nunchucks to his little belt. "Everyone else takes it so seriously, but it's not real!"

"... Hun..." April crouches and puts a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "They take it seriously because it is serious. And you goofing off makes them take it even more seriously, because they think you aren't paying attention."

"So?"

"Uh, so, they think you're gonna get your butt whooped out there and that they'll have to protect you! Obviously they won't, but they don't know that! ... Tell you what, when you're out with your dads tonight, show them they can mix fun with serious. Your Uncle Leon makes puns during fights all the time, goad him into it! I've seen Leo have pun-offs with his dad, it'll work like a charm."

"... Really?"

"That's an April O'Neil promise."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Pop-Pop?"

"Hmm? Yes, Little Blue?"

"Can my swords have red on the handles instead of black?"

"I don't see why not." Splinter shudders as he opens the cabinet. "All of these little girls running around with deadly weapons... this is why we live in a sewer, away from Girl Scouts."

"I thought we live in the sewer because humans don't like mutants?"

"At first. But no-one really cares anymore." Splinter pulls out a pair of katanas, and then shakes his head and tosses them aside. "Ooooh, this one has something engraved in it... eugh!" Splinter's tail stick straight out as he reads it.

Leo walks closer and reads it aloud-

"NO!" Splinter puts his hand over Leo's mouth. "How do you know what that says?!"

"Donnie found Japanese lessons for us online."

"Never repeat those words around your fathers! Purple donates to the Algebra channel just to keep it running for when he's mad at me."

"Donnie can fix that for you."

"Little Purple? Since when?"

"He built a new TV out of trash his dad didn't want anymore." Leo grins. "We stayed up all night watching your old movies the other day. You're the coolest grandpa ever."

Splinter's eyes water, and he pulls Leo into a hug. "I know this is so I won't tell on you," he sniffles, "But I don't care!"

"What? No it's not. You're just awesome. I wanna be just like you and Dad. You're both great ninjas, great teachers, and great heros!"

Splinter's hug grip falters a bit. "I... do not know if I deserve such praise."

"Why?"

"... I was not a great teacher for much of your father's life. ... I was not even a decent father."

Leo leans out of the hug. "What? But our dads love you so much!"

"Yes, because my boys are very forgiving. ... But I am ashamed to say that I... I failed them. I did not prepare them in time for many things, and I often failed them in smaller ways. Which is why I try so hard with you boys." Splints pats Leo's head. "So I do not make the same mistakes twice."

Leo shakes his head. "No. You're so wise, and-and Dad always talks about how cool you are in a fight."

"This is a heavy subject, Little Blue." Splints looks up at the armoire of swords (knowing Leon would make a pun about it somehow).

"... How do I avoid those mistakes?"

"What?"

"If you made any mistakes, I'll avoid them." Leo kneels down, sitting on his knees and putting his hands in his lap. Splints doesn't even know where he learned to sit like that, if he knows how much it reminds Splints of his early childhood before he and his grandfather moved to America.

"Oh, you won't have to worry about my kind of mistakes for a long time." Splints pats his head again and wipes his own eyes with the other hand. "You're a good person, Little Blue. But you're rushing to grow up too fast! Let yourself have a little fun! Your father has fun all of the time!"

"At home."

"Not just at home." Splints pulls out another pair of swords, one having a longer handle than the other in this pair. "Have I ever told you about the time your father outsmarted Big Mama?"

"Dad told me he tricked her and you two had the most epic father-son battle ever."

"Hah! We did! But, he also was plenty silly for it. He had them make us matching costumes, and did not even tell me his plan the whole time! I thought he was going to get us killed!"

"Why wouldn't he tell you his plan?"

"Because he is a smarta- um, forget you heard that."

"Raph says the F word."

"Yeesh. He is like a teapot. All his anger in too small a space."

"Ha!"

"Do not tell him I said that."

"I won't. ... Mikey would laugh at it too. And Donnie."

"Which is why you will not tell them either! I've seen you boys, you trade insults like normal kids trade playing cards!"

"Hey, Donnie and Raph do it way more than Mikey and I do!"

"Still. You are all smart-mouths, just like your fathers."

"You just told me to be less serious."

"By that I mean to do fun things! Make terrible puns in battle! insult your enemies and not your brothers! Embarrass your enemies in front of their partners!"

"... How will I be a good leader if I'm busy doing that?"

"Who said anything about being a leader?" Splints hands Leo the swords. "Your father did not become the leader until years after your Uncle Red was. And even then, he needed time to grow into it! You are only ten, do not worry about that kind of thing yet."

Leo tests out the swords, running through a basic attack. "But what if we need a leader?"

"That will work itself out. You're not going into battle without your fathers anytime soon! Let yourselves find your rhythm before you try to force things." Forcing things results in sons kidnapped, teapots given as ransom payment, demons unleashed-

Leo nods. "Okay, Pop-Pop. I'll loosen up." He sheathes his swords behind his back in one shockingly fluid motion. "... You really think we'll see a fight tonight?"

"Oh, no, not tonight. I'm sure it will be villain-free!"

[animehouse-moe]

The Ancient Magus' Bride Season 2 Episode 13: Nothing Venture, Nothing Have I

Hot on the heels of the ending content for part 1, we're finally treated to the continuation that follows with part 2. It might not be the most flashy episode ever to return to, but it does a really great job of setting the tone and providing details, so I'll get right to it.

Firstly, in regards to details I highly recommend checking out the official MahoYome Twitter account as they provide a whole bunch of context and extra details right from the source. Chatting about why characters sit like they do, what might happen if Alcyone takes their mask off, and a great deal of other things. It's a treasure trove of aspects viewers might have missed during the episode.

Anyways, this is about my thoughts on the episode, not the Twitter account's. So, where to really begin. I guess in broad strokes, the direction and boarding through this first episode aren't anything impressive. There's good ideas, but a lot of it stems from the overall style of the season, so I don't feel like there's any real great ideas to point out purely in that context.

What I can point out visually is really cool stuff like this. The college has been sealed off so of course students are on edge, looking to the adults to know what's going on and what will happen. Mahoyome directly counters this by placing two key "adults" in front of the students. The first, the artificial fairy Alcyone that is playing the role of Philomela's guardian. The second is the enigmatic Zacheroni from the end of the previous cour. Both are characters that the students are unfamiliar with, and both are considered somewhat dangerous because of that.

So, how do you convey that feeling of distance and uncertainty? Mahoyome answers with 'stature'. By having the pair tower overtop of the students, you feel a disconnect that you don't see with the other staff within the college. It asserts their position as authority, but in a suffocating manner that can feel uncomfortable.

On the topic of big and imposing characters, Elias continues his story arc of discovering friendship. I really, really like that Yamazaki has separated him from Chise since it allows his experiences and understandings to feel far more organic. Well, maybe that's not the right word, but you can feel Elias groping around in the dark rather than having Chise's guiding hand to contextualize his experiences.

Let's go three for three on big and imposing, why not? The golems that Liza places around the college to patrol are very interesting for two reasons. The first, they're activated by her specialty quill magic (I mean, her last name is Quillyn). The second, what they provide isn't quite the feeling of safety, especially with how they're shown. It's a two parter, where the episode shows a bunch of areas populated by students during the day, and then re-uses those scenes with the golems to create that feeling of discomfort.

Now, onto the main event, Zacheroni's lesson. It does a lot, not really in terms of "wowing" the viewer, but providing context to the world and its characters. Yeah, it's a weird thing to say, but it's almost like Kafka is putting story above all else. Like they're passing up visual flair to ensure that the context of the events is passed through as much as possible. Can't say I'm complaining, but it's just an interesting observation.

So, let's talk what it does during the lesson then.

First of all, it separates the students in Chise's "class" into groups surrounding their socialization. Chise's group all being in one area, while Veronica and Philomela are in another, and so on and so forth. Just a fun little thing that preserves the social aspect of a classroom despite there not being any need to.

It also talks about the use of magic. It might be easy to forget, but how the average person can use magic is entirely different to how a proper sorcerer can wield it. Thankfully, Zacheroni reminds viewers as well as students of that fact. It's much easier to thrust a knife into someone than it is to unleash a spell that could kill them.

He also slips in the fact that protective and defensive magic are much easier to use than offensive.

And finally we get to Chise's fight against Zacheroni's familiar. It's not anything crazy, but once more it provides important visual details, like Chise letting go of the cube instinctually to free her hand to attack.

Perhaps more interesting than the cube though is how she destroys the familiar: by crushing it. Not anything special on its own, but Zacheroni specifically mentions crushing while chocking the one student. Did Chise internalize that aspect and that's why it was the attack chosen by her body? I'm not sure, but it presents a very curious idea about how the different aspects of her "self" interact with one another.

We get to see a few other fights, but they're not really special in what they do, as they provide mostly what you'd expect to see in terms of character details.

Though, I think one part that should be noted is the gazes given by Isaac and Zoe. I think it's also important to consider them both within the context of one another.

Isaac's gaze lands in a specific spot on Philomela, for example, and focuses on putting himself down and raising Philomela up. It's a great and subtle nod to the type of relationship Isaac sees and desires with Philomela as well as how he views himself as a person. That is, nothing more than a tool (though in his eyes, that's a tool maker).

Whereas in contrast, Zoe's gaze meets Lucy as a full person, focusing on her action and confidence during the lesson which inspires Zoe to continue on. It gives the relationship a far more wholesome feel to it that speaks to Zoe's desire to be equal with Lucy, whereas Isaac's is more self-pity and raw desire.

Now, last but certainly not least, Chise (and Rian) and Zacheroni's fight. Really great details where Zacheroni begins on the defensive and allows Chise to have the initiative. However, the more Chise gets into the fight and gets stirred up by Zacheroni, the more that other aspect in her appears. Because of that, Zacheroni actually ends up meeting her on the offensive, but not before his supervisor Sigrid can step in.

It's really an important detail, because we only get to see Zacheroni strike at Chise during this sequence. Chise herself makes no such moves herself. With that in mind, it makes it possible that while Chise was not using that side of herself, it was nonetheless present in her demeanor, which Zacheroni then picked up on.

And this is where the episode comes to an end. We get a scene about Mariel hiring what looks to be the creator of Alcyone, but nothing really too special. The majority of the episode is centered around the danger lurking about the college, and so it does a really solid job of conveying that. There's some off model characters here and there, and the use of CGI can be a little questionable at times, but Kafka remains ambitious with this cour with perhaps a bit more of a level headed approach. The use of CGI vines was most likely impossible to avoid, and there's not really any other massive uses of CGI in the episode. Nor do they try and go above and beyond their abilities with the fights. All in all, I'm very curious to see both how the stories goes over with this second cour, and how Kafka keeps things going in terms of visuals.

[sinkingtime]

More Marvel X DC

Here's the first one.

I had more ideas, after all! But first a correction: Darkseid and the Yellow Lantern Corps are both DC, so I cannot mash them up. I mean, I could, but it feels wrong. I miscounted, and will be more careful in the future. Revoked!

So instead Darkseid, or more accurately Apokolips, will be Galactus. The world roams around, the fire pits are thrusters, and it invades and consumes other worlds. Like Mortal Engines, but there's only the one. And it's a planet.

Could also have the implication Galactus sometimes has, that its existence is somehow metaphysically important for the well-being of the universe, even if it comes at such a high price.

Clark Kent is Spider-man. Ace reporter, Kansas farmboy, you know him. But he's secretly also the last survivor of planet Spider, sent by his father aboard his secret, illegal spaceship/combat platform, Leopardon, which he keeps in the Arctic.

With that I suppose this isn't a pure comics mashup anymore. I'm okay with that.

Cindy Moon is Lex Luthor. But it's the evil Cindy, from Spider-Gwen's universe. Her name is Luna Luthor, her company is Silk Corp, and her attempt to create an artificial Spider-man was mostly a failure, but one sample was lost, eventually becoming the goop that would then become Gwen's suit.

Peter Parker was the Joker. When Star-spider started heroing, he wanted to also be a hero, brewed up a serum that should give him powers, but it destroyed his sanity and he became a villain instead. She fought him and killed him, and then he transformed back, thereby giving her the requisite spider-guilt.

Also because I just like spiders, both Miguel O'Hara and Peni Parker are members of the Legion of Superheroes. Though her name is now Peni Drew, after the original Spider-woman, who I think won't otherwise appear. Also also, the future company they both work for is a distant descendant of Silk Corp; they are the result of ancient research on Spider-man and Leopardon, respectively.

Queen Maxima is also Black Cat. After the requisite "you have bested me we must be wed" "i must go my planet needs me", she follows Spider-Man to Earth, where after a bit of research she decides to settle, adopting the identity of an alleged secret illegitimate daughter of a famous dead thief, the original Black Cat; while also pretending she's pretending not to be her. She does do a little thieving, but is mostly a superhero.

Also like early Black Cat, she has no patience for "Clark Kent". She understands that he's just pretending to be weak and meek, and even agrees that it makes for a very good disguise, but she barely can hide her disgust. His friends all don't understand why he tolerates her. But then when the masks come back on they are both extremely happy together.

Leaving the spiders behind for a moment, there's the Danverses, Carol and Linda, a.k.a. Supergirl and Captain Marvel. Except it's not actually Carol, instead it's Mara Vell, alien invader who decided to turn on her people and become a protector of Earth. Her uniform is Supergirl's white shirt variation, but with the kree star as her logo.

Clayface's daughter, from Batman: the Animated Series, is Miss Marvel. First, Flint Marco was Clayface, accidentally gaining powers and trying to steal money to save his sick daughter. He failed and she died, and it broke his mind; he kept trying to use his power to re-create her, but they kept dying off. Eventually he made a big effort and transferred most of his essence to her, so he was the one to die. She had no understanding of any of that, so she ran away, got put in the system, and eventually was adopted by the Khans.

She also has the Miss Marvel uniform, but with the lightning bolt replaced by an oversized kree star.

Billy Batson was judged worthy by an ancient wizard, given a magic staff the order has guarded since time immemorial, and with its power transforms into The Mighty Thor. The olde englishe speeche is definitely him making fun of everyone.

[krs724490]

9/19/2024

the girl at naropa dressed like faerie reminds me. of the fantasy world that I chose to overlay over the world as I know it. The one that is just as real as the world as it is presented to me.

I've always had creativity. Since I was younger I believed in faeries and I pieced together collages that inspired me. I love pixie hollow and the way it is drawn. its so enchanting, warm, innocent. I can wander in the woods and go to a place where I am ancient. For some reason this place is always existing in another time period. Or in another realm such as alice in wonderland. It has never taken place in this time in this place in my clothes and in my body. I pray to spend just as much time cultivating this imaginary world than the one right in front of me. The imaginary world is more interesting to me. Its been so long since I've stepped into it. I kind of want to swing that way for awhile until balance sends me back to center. today as I was meditating in the woods, I felt myself drifting amongst the trees in a beige floor length gown. I was in no rush, just admiring the view. Gazing out lovingly on the soft filter that was seemingly laying on top of the scene around me. I was able to stay with her awhile as I descended down the mountain. Slowly space is cultivated. Even though all morning my neurosis was running. An empty morning to fill with whatever and my mind couldn't stop running with possibility. Opportunity to check things off of my to do list. and yet I checked nothing off. I couldn't return my shirt at billabong. There was no staff to let me pick up my parking pass. Its so funny the way my mind runs. I was craving a coffee all morning despite knowing I didn't need one. Where does that come from? Why do I want that bump? Why am I craving gummy worms right now? its borderline hysterical nonsensical. there is a place in me that is so proud that this is how I let the day play out. I went on a calm hike. I didn't get coffee but I did get a moderately caffeinated bubbly drink that costed less and fulfilled the need to get something extra. I ate the food I made in the fridge at naropa. It wasn't easy to get here, but I was paying attention. I loving placed my attention on the craving.

The modern day warrior princess in me exists in boulder and is so proud to go to naropa. living in boulder is such a privilege to have access to nature and resources that are more inventive/up and coming. I am doing exactly what I have always hoped for myself. I'm not sure what narrative I want to write from here. I don't have a sense of self. I kind of skip over myself which is beneficial because it means less ego, however, there is a place where somewhere to stand is helpful and necessary. but also I want to give so much space to the unknown to show me more magic than I can even dream up.

I guess I can say that there is a girl. She lives in Denver, Colorado in 2024. She is dating a prince, he is kind and handsome, patient, understanding, goofy, and loving. She works at her dream job where she gets to spread good cheer to those around her and assist others in doing so. She goes to a unique school. One that brings incredible, loving people together. One that really cares to make the world a better place and embraces the challenges that come with that instead of running to hide behind power and money. She is learning to sit with people. To truly sit with people, welcoming all of them as well as all of herself. She wears leggings and sports bras and tennis shoes. and she owns this pair of sunglasses that look like someone spilled blue and yellow gatorade on the lens. She has this insane hair that she cannot tame and is not even on the verge of trying. She has addictions and cravings - exercise, caffeine, sugar, curry. but she's bringing kindness and understanding toward them. she's learning to let go. and its becoming lived experience.

[leonbloder]

Why Did It Have To Be Snakes?

The symbol for the medical profession is weird. It has snakes in it. 

I'm sure you have seen that symbol hundreds of times but never considered it the fact that it contains snakes.  Snakes, y'all.  Ewww. 

To quote Indiana Jones, "Why did it have to be snakes?"  

In the ancient world, snakes were considered symbols of eternal life because they shed their old skin periodically and emerged with a fresh, new appearance. This notion informs the story of Moses creating a cross of snakes when the Israelites were bitten by them and then dying in the wilderness.  According to the story, anyone who looked upon the cross of snakes was healed.  The symbol is called the Caduceus, and this is what it looks like: 

Now that you see it you can't unsee it, am I right?  Snakes.   In Greek mythology, the god Hermes carried a staff with this symbol on it after he tried to stop two snakes from fighting by throwing his staff at them, which they then intertwined.   That's a weird story. Also, there are snakes in it.  The other day, I read a quote that struck me, and the more I thought about it, the more I knew that it would eventually become a Devo. 

In his book The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, author John Koenig creates words to express emotions and feelings that don't have words to describe them. 

One of those words had to do with the symbolism of shedding skin like a snake and discovering something new and transformative underneath. Here it is: 

apolytus n. the moment you realize you are changing as a person, finally outgrowing your old problems like a reptile shedding its skin, already able to twist back around and chuckle at this weirdly antiquated caricature of yourself that will soon come off completely.  

I love this and I'll tell you why it's so impactful for us.  We are all going through transitions all the time, changing in ways that might escape us at first but become too apparent to gloss over. 

But if we are willing to embrace the healing properties of change as we grow and learn more about who we are and who we are becoming, it can transform our lives. 

A certain amount of wisdom comes when you can go through changes and shed your old skin, so to speak.  You get the chance to look back at what you left behind with both amusement and gratitude. 

Amusement comes when we realize just how silly we were about some of the things that used to hang us up. Gratitude comes when we realize that we get to leave that old us behind.  

Like a snake shedding its skin, we may retain similar markings and appearances, but we know how different we've become.  We know what it took to get us to the new place; because of this, we can let go of regret, pain, heartbreak, and more. 

So don't be afraid to apolytus now and again.  Let go of what doesn't serve you, and be thankful for what got you where you are today.  Then leave that old skin behind. 

May it be so, and may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, now and forever.  Amen. 

[azlrse]

Embarrassment (Various Ancient Cookies x GN Cookie!Reader)

CW: a bit suggestive but contains overall sweet fluff!!

A/N: Pure Vanilla Cookie is officially been added to the list and I'm going to write for him for the first time so bare with me!

[This is a filler post since my recent fic has been flopping lately--]

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

Dark Cacao Cookie 🗡️

"My King, is their majesty alright? Where's the other throne?" You looked at Dark Cacao Cookie, both flustered and embarrassed while your husband looks at the cookie that spoke towards him with a blank expression. "It needs of repair, watcher. For now, my spouse will sit on my lap in the absence of their throne."

That was a lie, the only reason why he took away the throne you usually sat on was because in revenge, from your endless pranks of course. You always played numerous pranks from him; from hiding his own crown to giving him a small heart attack when it turns out, you only hid in the bedroom closet.

The last straw that finally snapped him is when you scare the living shit out of him, causing him to shout loudly out of fear. Now, here you are, sitting at his lap as a way of his revenge towards you. To say the least, it's very embarrassing.

While you gave a playful stare to your husband, Dark Cacao would wrap his arms around you and snuggles up on your neck. "Dark Cacao dear, can I at least stand up a bit? It's kind embarrassing when you gave some of your affection like this." The king looks at you questionably and replied, "No one was here, beloved. Now stop talking and let me enjoy your presence here."

What a great way to spend some time with your husband...

Pure Vanilla Cookie 🌻

"Pure Vanilla Cookie, where's the other throne?" He only looks at you in slight confusion, yet knows on what he was doing. Through the words of the young cookies of his kingdom, he knows what's the concept of 'pranks' mean. Don't blame this king tho! Not only he just wants to try to pull a prank on you but also wants to spend some time towards his adorable lover.

Pure Vanilla Cookie playfully shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know, my dear. It looks like I've must have forgotten to bring it back here because the throne's need of change of design." He looks at you with his heterochromic eyes and playfully pats his lap. "Why don't you sit here for a while? I just wanna hold my lovable flower." You look at him in pure shock and your face became red.

"Y-your lap, my king?" He nodded as he placed his staff right beside his throne. "I mean, only if your comfortable with it. I just ordered the cookies here at the castle to give us a bit of privacy. Care to join me, my queen/king?" You felt flustered towards his actions as you walked towards him and sat on his lap. Your husband instantly hugs your waist an gives you a small kiss on your cheek.

You enjoyed the peaceful silence until a servant cookie spoke from the storage room. "Um King Pure Vanilla Cookie, why is their majesty's throne was stored at the storage room? I thought that you delivered it at the royal sculptors in change of the design."

You look at him in slight anger (yet playfully). "You lied, sweetheart? That's not very nice of you!" You spoke as you playfully slap his arm, crossing your arms and playfully glares towards him. He only laughs as he holds you tighter his arms. "I couldn't think of a better way to spend some time with you, love. So I heard those little cookies talking about the concept of 'pranks'.

For this one, you just let it slide off. After all, you need some of the affection you husband gave to you.

Hollyberry Cookie 💝

"Nah uh, there is no way I could have lost to this berry juice drinking contest! I could've beaten your record when I still have much time left!" Hollyberry Cookie only laughed as she pulled you towards the throne and hugged you tightly. Upon feeling the warmth from her affection, you calmed down and snuggled up a bit in her arms.

"Oh hush, sweetheart! You know that my record was unbeatable! No cookie could handle consuming 12 cups of juices, including my own spouse!" You only glared at her, began to cross your arms and looked away from her loving gaze. You could handle any tasks like hunting for berries at the forest or handling a dragon together with your wife but being on the queen's lap? Not a chance! You felt really flustered yet embarrassed at the same time.

Your wife places her hand on your cheek and gives your lips a little speck of kiss. "You know I love you right? You did your best at the contest minutes ago." She spoke softly while you also smiled back at her. "Yes, I love you too, Hollyberry Cookie. I love you so much."

Golden Cheese Cookie 🧀

"This sucks, this is what I got after I tripped and fell towards that ditch? I only have a scrape on my dough, not a crack, my queen." You spoke as Golden Cheese hugs you tightly around your waist, unable to let you go. You were used to your wife's protective instinct but being on her lap? That's another story to tell.

You kept on reassuring her that you are okay and she's married to a tough cookie, despite all the challenges the two of you faced throughout the relationship. "No, you're staying in my lap till I say so, my treasure." Golden Cheese said, making you a bit pissed off.

You look away from her face in anger when suddenly she had an idea. An idea that could make you feel less anger towards you. "You know," she stated, placing a single kiss on your neck. "I know a way to make you calm down."

"Hmm? What was tha-"

Your words were cut off when all of the sudden, she peppers both of your face and neck with so many kisses. "Golden Cheese Cookie, stop the kisses!!" You giggled uncontrollably while your wife gives you butterfly kisses both on your face and neck. "Nope, I ain't gonna stop unless my spouse isn't angry at me anymore!" She replied and proceeded to continuously kisses you.

"Alright, alright I'm not angry anymore! I should be careful next time, honey!" Your giggles quiet down as soon as your wife stops her affectionate attack. You placed your head on her shoulder and snuggles up closer to her body. Golden Cheese Cookie only sighs and kisses on the top of your head as she enjoys the peaceful silence on her palace.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

Do not republish, edit, or repost to other websites.

Reblogs and likes are appreciated! 💕

[heretherebedork]

it's possible I just straight up missed something but an issue I have with Eclipse is that for all it's anti authoritarian messaging the protesters never have a good initial motivation and drive to protest. It's like the show is hesitant to show that it might be effective to call out specific issues in the schooling system through protest. They are protesting the school not doing anything to protect them from the curse due to their protesting, or perhaps people in authority causing the curse but what was their initial contention? The only specific issue raised was school uniforms which is a pretty weak drive to spark a revolution imo. Now the show itself does have instances where we see the school's issues, for example that creativity is stifled and the students are taught to be obedient rather than think for themselves. I wish that was something the protesters talked called out, with specific solutions in mind or at least school practices they wanted axed, it would tie in better and give the protests more stake. Right now it seems pretty toothless and I honestly don't understand why the principal is so worried.

The main spark of the revolution is that The World Remembers gang is being pushed around and prevented from expressing themselves by 100 year old rules that have never been changed.

Now, part of the issue I'm going to have getting into this is that I am not Thai and my understanding of Thai politics and Thai culture and the depth of current emotions about school uniforms is... minimal. I understand but I don't have in-depth knowledge.

The protestors are protesting school uniforms and their treatment at the school. They are not allowed any self-expression and are mocked openly for their identities and any hints that they are not the same as everyone else. Is every student protest going to be about something big and deep? No.

The protestors are talking, mostly, about self-expression and freedom through the medium of school uniforms. They're all talking about the violence against queer students at the school which is why the principal and other staff are so overly worried.

There's also a huge part where this in a metaphor for bigger political issues in Thailand and, again, I don't always know enough to speak on this with authority but the idea is that even the smallest complaints and issues must be turned into full protests for any change to occur because of the weight and importance placed on ancient rules is... a big thing in the show.

That's also why they're, likely, not going after very specific schooling issues. This is about a metaphor, about talking about queer rights in Thailand as a whole while using the school as an example of how an unwillingness to change from the top down is leaving people in pain and lost and trying to protest against the small things because the small things are what lead to the big things.

We've also seen more this episode that shows us how much the school and the authority of the school are directly acting against The World Remembers in violent ways. The other students are bullying them, the staff assaults them, they are hanging onto hope for tomorrow and nothing else.

A big part of this is that the protests might seem like they're about little things but for them the little things are what matters. The freedom to express themselves, to be themselves even at school is huge in a world that asks them to not just hide themselves but to not be themselves, to become someone else.

Yes, their protests are mostly about the uniforms. But the uniforms are a symptom of everything else and something they can protest without getting into the specifics of the Thai schooling system which isn't what the show is directly about but also is being expressed through the other students and their struggles.

This show is about the entirety of Thailand's culture and government without directly being about them and Golf is walking a very fine line with their metaphor.

[husbandohunter]

Dear Father [Genshin Impact/Diluc x Reader]

Synopsis: Wherever you are wherever you may be, even if you are beyond my reach, I only wish to see you again. -from a letter lost in the wind.

(A story where you and Diluc somehow managed to meet Crepus)

Genre: all fluff

"I know how late I am to father's day but here's my father's day take on Genshin Impact! Just let Diluc be happy for once T_T Mihoyo pls."

============================

Discovering Master Crepus' old belongings was like wandering in a domain surrounded by ancient artifacts. Each piece holding the memory of someone you've never met.

The paintings. Master Crepus loved to paint. Typically birds were the main muse of this portraits since they deeply embodied Mondstadt's values for freedom which shows you how much he cherished this city just like his son did. In almost every hallway you walked through there was a collection of his paintings, some belonged to another artist but the majority was an original work. Diluc didn't have the heart to sell them.

Elzer. He was one of the oldest workers who served under the Ragnvindr name, ever since Master Crepus had appointed him during his earlier days. You were told that he treated everyone, both staff and noble, with equal respect. Almost all the denizens of Mondstadt knew this man for he was not only noble in riches but also in the soul.

"I'm sure he would have loved to meet you in person. Now that I think about it, you and Master Crepus are quite similar. Haha, it seems that Master Diluc was selective in terms of who he wanted for his future bride."

Elzer adds with a light chuckle but the statement only made you more curious. A man who affected the lives of so many others, he must have been a wonderful person.

Diluc. The bloodline Master Crepus left behind after his death, a piece of himself and the heir to the whole wine industry, his son Diluc. Although you could see the resemblance in appearance, both of them were men of prinicples and values, putting Mondstadt first before anything else and you suddenly realized if that was the reason why Diluc was so protective of this city. As if, it were everything he had? You could tell he loved Master Crepus very much, not because he said so, rather the painful expression buried deep within his crimson glare whenever someone brought up the topic. Diluc was skilled in hiding himself, it's something he practiced over the years of working alone, though he lowered his guard as long as you were the only one present.

Even so, he had many conflicts still wringing him internally and you didn't want to push him until the day he felt ready to personally tell you himself.

But it would be nice if he opened up, just a little bit.

There were times when you would worry since Diluc had the tendency to hide his feelings for the sake of not troubling you. He wanted to keep life simple and bright, bringing the best to the table while making sure that you lived safely out of harm's way. You couldn't seem to get him to understand that as lovers, you would be happy to help him, in anything. Unconditionally. It was natural for you to feel the need to force yourself in every once in a while and there was nothing more you wanted to know than the story of the man who raised him.

You would even jest on the idea of what it fel like to meet Master Crepus in person. Were you able to reach his standards by any chance? Would he have liked you just as everyone claimed? Of course, they were only silly indulgent thoughts so you quickly dismissed them in the end. Bringing back the past was impossible no matter how badly you wanted it. You closed your heart on that possibility.

On a lovely evening, while you and Diluc were taking your time off Angel's Share to make a stroll around Mondstadt's quiet streets, a strange merchant called over to you. She displayed various antiques ranging from different sizes to designs, none of them seemed to haven been carved in the same place but distinct cultures throughout Teyvat. The only thing they had in common was that they were all equally beautiful to the eye.

However a particular item of what looks like to be a heart locket snatches your attention and you instantly became mesmerized, allured by it's mysterious charm.

"Ah, the locked heart caught your fancy, my lady? It's said once you open it, you will be set free."

"It's magnificent..." you muttered, staring unabashed at the shining surface.

Diluc who was observing from behind folded his arms and tilts his head, "How much is that?"

Although you intended to simply inspect the choices, your lover immediately offers to pay. They all already gave the impression of a hefty price and you didn't want him to spend his fortune on things that deemed unecessary. Still, this wasn't the first time it happened. Diluc would always insist whenever you protested against him from buying anything, it was just a way of expressing his affections towards you. Mora was never a problem and you were priceless. That's how he sees things. You had to remind yourself to be careful when stumbling upon a bustling area full of salesmen next time.

"Five hundred thousand mora."

He purchased it without hesitation.

On your way home, Diluc noticed that something was amiss. You couldn't tear your gaze from the locket as if it had hypnotized you by the golden smooth surface. He had to ensure you didn't run into anyone by accident, tugging your arm closer so that it gave him an opportunity to lead you where you yourself could not. Surely it must have been the appearance but instead of being drawn by, you were drawn in. Completely.

I wonder...what will happen if I open it?

"(Y/n)?" Diluc narrows his eyebrows together. Did you like it that much? No, he knew you weren't the type to be so etranced by jewelry, this was certainly different. Even the merchant seemed a little suspicious when she approached you and Diluc couldn't ignore the heavy sense of aminosity that was emitted around her aura. He couldn't think within her presence but now that his mind was much clearer, he was able to use his skillful judgements.

"Wait...! Don't open it yet-"

However, he was too late.

The wind picks up at an alarming speed and you both brought up your arms to block the debris that had flown in the way. They swirled in non-stop motion until your worlds were engulfed with not even the sky in sight. Amidst the turmoil Diluc latchest onto you and holds your body close his chest as he was determined to protect against any force that dared to hurt you. Something heavy knocks his head and he winces, tighting his hold even further. Your voice could hardly be heard with all the noise that rung around and eventually you discovered the the world wasn't disappearing. You both were.

The last thought you had was the image of Master Crepus and you didn't know why.

---

"Diluc? Diluc?"

He faintly heard his name through a series of echoes. Diluc fights to regaind concousness, feeling your grip upon his shoulder while trying to urge him awake.

"Diluc are you alright?"

Your worried face was the first thing he sees other than the fog that looms above. Diluc blinks a few times in an attempt to ease his migraine, using one arm to force his body into a seating position as he allowed himself to be supported by you at the same time.

"Does your head hurt?" You ask, palming gently against his forehead to feel the heat. Even if her was usually very warm, there was no unusual rise in tempurature, something must have hit him instead, "Here, maybe this will help."

Bringing out your hand you concentrated on generating the water through your fingertips. Having a hydro vision meant you were capable of healing magic which Diluc appreciated since he often came home late at night with injuries hidden behind his sleeves. But nothing came out and he became even more suspicious of the situation.

"Eh? What's going on?" You blurted out, patting down your clothes and your pockets, "My Vision, it's gone too!"

"Mine as well," Diluc flexes his fingers to test his own element, "It seems that our powers were sealed once we entered this domain."

"A domain that prevents you from using a Vision? That doesn't sound very comforting," you scratched your head, suddenly remembering the cause of your current problem, "The locket...it's all starting to make sense now. Ugh, I should have listened to you earlier, I'm sorry Diluc."

"No (Y/n), you don't have to apologize," he interjects and you returned a curious glance, "I should have stopped you the minute I discovered there was something strange. I was too careless."

"You felt that too? I thought I was the only one," your tone and face mimics one of surprise. The fog continues to dance around, enclosing the two of you to the small area. You lifted your head and looked above in deep contemplation, "When I saw the locket I couldn't tear my eyes off of it, like something was pulling me in. Like...there was a spell casted on it."

"What do you mean?" he asked in an inquisitive manner.

You nod, "I can't put my finger on it bit Ifel that the locket wanted me to..." balling your fist upon your lap, you stared intensely at the floor as if drilling holes into them while digging into the depths of your mind for any specific clues. Initially you thought the locket was so captivating that you were simply charmed by it's craftmanship. But tere was more than that, you began deciphering, there was also a need for fulfillment. A yearning desire, "to know. The locket was calling me to know."

'Once you open it, you will be set free.'

"To know..." you trailed off. How strange. No matter how much you tried to rationalize, you were always brought back to the same square as if the locket knew exactly what you wanted. What you were lacking. Because the one thing you wanted to know most about was the person you've never met, "Someone very important to you."

The fog dispersed.

Diluc instinctively puts an arm in front of you defensively as he scanned his quick and thorough eyes around the area. It didn't take long for him to know exactly where everything was. In fact, the abrupt change isn't what puts him on high alert, but it was how familiar everything looked to the point he evaluates if there was any reason to be skeptical or if he should be breathtaken.

"What a beautiful house," However you didn't recognize it. Diluc knew because he had yet to meet you during the time he lived in this estate, "I wonder who does it belong to?"

"Father's old mansion...how?" Diluc breatlessly mutters, as if seeing the supremecy of Celestia for the first time. When years passed after his father died, he chose to sell off the majority of his belongings, the mansion being on for example. Currently it was in the possession of a well-known business associate that used to be a friend of Crepus. The mansion would likely have looked much different due to the renovations it gone through but Diluc remembers the picture as if this were yesterday. Everything was in tact. The vine yard, the gazebo where they drank tea, the hill that he and Kaeya used to race on when they were kids-

Revelation burns in his pupils as his eyes expanded.

"Welcome home, my son."

Both you and Diluc fall wordless at the sight that appeared like a miracle's blessing. Crepus stands at a distance, the graceful smile complimenting his warm features. He looked exactly how the court artists portrayed him in the Ragnvindr's family picture. Sharp face with gentle eyes and an aura that was as pleasant as what Elzer described.

"So this is why the locket was calling to us," you whispered, "I guess the mora really was worth it after all."

"...Fa...ther...."

You snuck a glance at Diluc. From behind the resemblance was as clear as dawn, like you were staring at a carbon copy of Master Crepus himself. Almost. He was a less hardened version of Diluc during uncommon situations. It made you think just how much you didn't know before his father passed away. What kind of person was this man during his days as a knight? You never had the chance to know.

"Father is that really you?" Diluc couldn't help his voice from trembling, paralyzed in place when he could hardly make sense of what stands in front of him. The person he longed to hear from, the person who left the world too quick, Diluc was afraid to get his hopes up in case his father suddenly disappeared and everything was just an illusion conjured by his mind. He was already used to being betrayed and dealt with disappointment too often. Which is why he learned to trust only himself. But, right now, can he really trust himself?

Feeling your hand gently on his shoulders, Diluc was brought back to reality. You smiled with warm reassurance that bled into your voice, "It's okay Diluc. Go, I'm here for you."

There was the faintest light shining in his eyes as emotions swell in his chest. Ever since you came Diluc never had to feel alone anymore, truly, you were the light that was brought back into his eyes, to his life when he gave up the thought of seeing it again. If he couldn't trust himself then at the very least, he could trust you.

"Thank you," he embraces you wholly like you were everything, and you were, before letting go and taking off to the otherside.

The air hits him in a rush and knocks the ones out of his lungs, "Father!" Diluc yells with tearful eyes. For the first time in a long while he was finally letting his feelings run free, "Father!" A name that felt foreign upon words that is pushes him forward, wanting to claim the truth that was smiling from afar.

"Father!"

Crepus lifted his arms and openly catches Diluc when he crashed into him. Here. He was here. He certainly was.

"Haha its been a while hasn't it my son?" He begins, encasing Diluc in a hug like he did the day he turned eighteen. Crepus was a tall man and his genes seemed to have went through. Back when they were younger, Diluc managed to only reach the blade of his shoulders, just barely. Now they were practically the same height, "Look how much you've grown over the years. There were so many things I planned to say but I don't know where to start."

Seven years. That was how long Crepus spent alone with his thoughts. He saw what happened through that time span, the truth about the Knights and Kaeya's origins. To say that none of that bothered him would be a lie. Especially when his son was the most impacted throughout all the events.

"Father I...I-" Diluc tries to speak but the words dissolved the moment it reached his tongue. He wasn't the type to be very good at expressing emotions. None of it could simply be communicated by sentences. For him, actions spoke louder yet somehow, they still wouldn't be enough. Nothing can comprehend the weight of seven years.

Crepus seemed to have understood and fills in the gap instead, "I have also missed you and Kaeya. More than I can even say. It must have been so hard for you both to endure it all by yourselves. Life hits us when we least expect it but despite that, you still chose to persevere."

Diluc clenches his hold, face buried in his shoulders and mouth quivering as he barely answers, "Yeah."

"You're both my pride and joy no matter what happens, as a father I cannot be more proud," before knowing, everything that was said came out naturally from his spirit. Crepus may have his own set of things to share but he knew what Diluc needed the most, "So please don't stop relying on one another, don't always think that you have to do everything alone. Stength is a virtue. However, its okay to let go and allow new people to come into your life. I don't need to be avenged, as long as you and Kaeya are happy, its all I ask for."

As if the world had been lifted from his shoulders, Diluc allows himself to break just this once. On the outside, he was known to be an unstoppable force, the Mondstadt tycoon, the uncrowned king and a hero who serves at night. But here you saw only a boy who dearly missed his father as he hugs him tightly. Although you couldn't hear their conversation clearly, just watching them from where you stood was enough to make your eyes glisten from pure happiness.

"You finally chose to open your heart, right Diluc?" You quietly note to yourself, "You don't have to carry everything by yourself anymore, you're free."

'Once you open it, you will be set free.'

He was able to dwell in this one in a lifetime experience, all because you unlocked the heart and dispersed the fog inside.

They spent a good amount of minutes bringing the distance back together after being seperated for so many years. You made sure to make minimal movements in the consideration of their time. It was only temporary until Crepus noticed you standing in the distance and he gave you a quick glance. Your whole body tenses in response, suddenly feeling guilty as if you were a third wheel who didn't belong in the moment between two family members.

He's staring at me. Diluc's father is staring at me! Your thoughts panicked along with your thrumming heart. What should I do?!!

"I see you've brought someone along with you," He comments, the playfulness rising in his tone, "She seems to have been waiting for quite a while already. If you don't mind, may you do the honours of introducing her to me?"

Diluc turns to see you stiffened in place with your hands tightly clasped below your stomach and heat pooling from your ear to your cheeks as you dipped your head down. His father was a kind man and he couldn't understand there the discomfort came from, yet found it endearing nonetheless. Diluc walks over to you and extends his hand, silently urging you to come with him. You complied, albeit hesitantly at first.

"It'll be okay my love," he whispered softly, causing you to be taken aback by the nickname he called you by. Diluc often reserves them for special instances and this was one of them, "Whatever the staff told you about my father, they're the truth. Trust in their judgement. Trust in me."

"Diluc..." you say, voice fading. You knew him to be someone who always kept his word and someone who would never lie to you. Taking in a short breath, you nodded, "Alright, I will," and followed his lead.

There was once a time where you indulged in the idea of facing Master Crepus in person. But never did you prepare yourself for the amount of pressure it came with. Now that you were together with his son, there was a high chance that he would also become part of his family too, sooner or later. You weren't just meeting Master Crepus. You were also meeting your future father-in-law.

"Father, this is (Y/n)," Diluc starts the welcoming exchanges. You felt his hand squeeze yours gently. He turns to you so that you caught glimpse of his face, seeing the reverance in his gaze that was hinted among his handsome features, "She's the woman I fell in love with and I would do anything to make her happy. I cherish her more than anything else."

"D-Diluc!" you flushed, your embarassment as red as his own hair. But he wasn't bothered by it in the slightest.

"I only speak the truth."

Master Crepus lets out a content chuckle, drawing both of your attentions back to him, "He can be surprising poetic sometimes but I'm sure that he got it from me. Even my wife reacted the same way," he reminisced shortly before sighing, "In truth I already knew that you were together. Staying in the after life gave me the chances to watch things from an omniscient standpoint, I was sincerely worried how Diluc would handle things when I suddenly left, I hope you don't mind. If you do, I apologize for making you uncomfortable."

"N-Not at all!"

"Haha, you're very kind. Thank you. I'm glad that my son was able to find a woman like you to be his fated partner. As a parent, it brings me great reassurance," Crepus remarked, "I know he can be stubborn and a little too headstrong when it comes to making decisions. It really must be a handful for you to deal with at times but I promise you that he means well. So please continue to watch over him in my stead, take care of my son while I'm gone."

"You can count on me," you beamed, "I'll give it my all."

"You have my gratitude (Y/n)," Crepus replies and turned to Diluc, "And listen to her every once in a while. I may have been the previous owner of our wine industry but even I always make sure to get me sufficient amount of rest. Son you know its bad to get two to three hours of sleep every day."

You blinked, "Two to three hours?"

Diluc clears his throat, "I understand Father. You don't have to say it."

Oh I think he does.

With a satisfied grin, Crepus took both of your hands together in his and gave you his blessings. The man once considered to be an artifact through the vast mansion was going to be part of the memories in your life. All of your expressions held as much happiness as the future can become now that he gave you the closure you both needed.