#in a bad way. normal adult to child. he respects him and all but see teru acts and maybe feels that he feels like an adult. so he sees that

[metukika]

ill say it before and ill say it again. hc that teru doesnt like serizawa at all.

[cursedcola]

Prompt: "Will You Marry Me?"- Proposal Headcannons Characters: Everyone :) Part(s): Heartslabyul, Savanaclaw, Octavinelle, Scarabia, Pomefiore, Ignihyde, Diasomnia (Pt.1 !) (Pt.2 Here!) Fandom: Twisted Wonderland Warning(s): None. I mean, unless you don't want to marry any of them. Just don't read if that's the case. ALSO SLIGHT SPOILER FOR CHAPTER 7 IN SILVER Note: These are all if he is the one proposing btw. Also, I went overboard. I had to break Diasomnia into 2 parts because I exceeded tumblr's character limit. I have favorites I guess :/

This man is a child masquerading as an adult. As in to say that he resists any illogical emotions until they bottle up and explode. The traditional pathway for finding a life partner typically follows: stranger -> acquaintance -> friend -> crush -> lover ->partner. You know, as it normally goes when bonds form.

Sebek....is not a textbook case in this regard. His path is a bit more customizable

stranger -> person he is forced to interact with -> acquaintance of Lord Malleus -> Acquaintance of Lord Malleus that Sebek approves of -> Friend that Lord Malleus approves of -> Repressed Crush -> Acquaintance that Sebek avoids at all costs -> Acknowledged crush -> Acknowledged crush that Lord Malleus approves of -> Respected individual with mitigated interactions -> Courting -> awkward situationship -> lover -> awkward situationship (with better communication) -> spouse

Enough said.

This process isn’t as complicated as it may seem on paper. While there are many steps, Sebek is fortunate enough to have people in his life willing to force commitments onto him. It also helps that he has blind trust in a select few. This makes him a bit naive and easily influenced. A boon in the right hands, and a bane in others.

In short, Sebek is emotionally constipated and only acts when there’s a driving force. Otherwise he just gets frustrated. This is extremely apparent at two stages: ‘repressed crush’ and ‘awkward situationship’. Scratch that. Three stages.

Beginning at ‘repressed crush’ - Sebek realizes that he likes you when you ask about how his training is going. He happened by your dorm during his morning jog, and was more than happy to go off on a tangent of the strict regimen developed to forge a perfect knight.

Except that’s not what you wanted to hear. You were more interested in his health and how he was enjoying himself rather than how his work was benefitting Malleus.

His heart fluttered, as if a shock of electricity thrummed through his body. Having never felt this before, Sebek mistakes it for a lapse in his strength and runs off at a much faster speed than before. Forget a light jog, he had enough energy to run 500 laps around the school track.

Don’t you get it human?! You were distracting him! His body was at rest too long. Now shoo, you’re hindering him from doing his duty.

He represses these budding romantic feelings and ‘misinterprets’ them as deviant behavior. He even goes so far as to blame it on ‘useless hormones’ and convinces himself that it’ll pass. He spares it no thought until his pining becomes apparent to everyone except for himself

Que the driving force. Despite Sebek believing otherwise, he does have friends and his entire love-life can be credited to their affectionate stupidity.

Simply put, Ace takes every chance to seamlessly flirt with you whenever Sebek is around. Not in a subtle way either - he's making some risky comments and trying to eat up every moment of your time. The others in your year are well aware of what he's doing too. Deuce thinks he's being unnecessary, but also agrees that Sebek needs a push so he lets it happen. Epel has his gripes with Sebek, but admires him for his manly tenacity. So he's 100% in support of giving an extra push and even tries to copy Ace. Except... yeah, he's pretty bad at flirting so he gives up after one try. Jack is against it at first, not wanting to hurt your feelings in the process but gets talked into it after seeing you get salty over Sebek being distant. Ortho, bless his innocent soul, thinks of it as a fun experiment. Lil guy just wants everyone to be happy.

You have no idea though, which is great because all of Ace's attempts fail hardcore. Sebek and his chivalrous ways (jealousy) won't stand by if you're being constantly bombarded with 'unwanted' romantic affections.

Nevermind that you don't seem to be taking Ace seriously at all. It is still not proper behavior! It would be a stain to his Lord's image if Sebek knowingly let Malleus' beloved friend endure such a hardship.

Every time Ace makes an attempt, Sebek shuts him down faster than you ever could. You have no idea how he does it, but Sebek is always around when it happens. The timing is honestly creepy....until you catch on to what's happening because the Ramshackle prefect isn't a dumdum.

"So....prefect, how about we go get dinner together tomorrow? Just you and me, what do ya say?" Ace slides into the seat to your right during breakfast. He leans in on his fist, eyeing you with a mischievous grin that crinkles the heart on his cheek. Just as he does, Sebek occupies the seat at your left and pushes Ace back with his palm.

"Do you ever rest?! They will do no such thing, now eat your meal before it runs cold. The chefs worked too hard for their efforts to be wasted by a delinquent!" Sebek answers on your behalf like clockwork. This event was not an uncommon sight to anyone, neither was Sebek failing to control his volume, so no other student paid the show any mind.

Normally you'd let them spit a few words at each other before returning to their own devices. Yet letting this continue just felt cruel, especially knowing that Ace was doing it to get a rise from your friend. Although Sebek wasn't innocent in the matter either

"Alright - Ace, would you knock it off? You don't even like me that way so quit messing with my head. I thought you were better than this," you say in between bites, side-eyeing your friend with a disapproving glare "And you!" you turn to Sebek, "I can answer for myself. Why do you even care? It's not like you're in charge of my love life. Just because someone wants to date me doesn't make them a delinquent...sheesh"

Why...why does he care? Sebek short circuits at your scolding, opening and closing his mouth to rebuttal yet coming up with nothing. Angered by his own turmoil, he grabs his meal and goes to sit with others from his dorm.

Stupid human. How dare you be so haughty and ungrateful? He was just protecting you from....from, what exactly? It's not like you going out with Ace would impact him in any way. It's not like you were in danger or upset with his advances. If anything. he was doing a good job at keeping your relationship professional for the sake of his liege!

Go ahead and date that childish hooligan for all he cares! Sebek won't be there to protect you when you're lost, or lend you a scarf on cold winter days. Ace can be the one to call you before bed every night, and keep your yearbook photo on his desk. Possibly keep his favorite candid photo as a bookmark for his diary, not that Sebek would know anyone that keeps a journal. He can have your birthday written in his calendar with a heart drawn around it, and have your picture in his wristwatch. He can set alarms to know when your classes end and walk you home. He can worry when you're sick and listen to your obnoxious prying....he can receive all your affections, and have your loyalty. Listen to your silly ramblings and receive those random 'i just thought of you' presents that Sebek always has a dilemma over what their purpose serves

You can be Ace's headache, and Sebek's heart will be lighter for it. These attachments he's formed were a lapse in judgement and will never be allowed again.

...

Sebek asks his lord for permission to court you. The next morning Malleus wakes to find the devotee bowed outside his bedroom, forehead attached to the floor and hands laid flat on the ground in reverence. Sebek proceeds to begin a long rant about how he's succumbed to his inner demons, and that he has sinned for letting another in his heart - Malleus cuts him off, happy to see love blossoming and interested to watch it all play out. He tells Sebek to take good care of you, before leaving. Meanwhile Sebek is sobbing at his lord's blessing

Once he's gathered himself, Sebek runs to your dorm and pounds on the door with fervor despite the early hour

Grim shakes you out of sleep, grumbling something about an 'annoying bastard' at the door before flopping back in bed. He shoves two pillows over his ears and tells you to fix the problem. That's when you hear the thumping, it's relentless and somehow sours your mood beyond what you thought possible. Mornings were not meant to exist on the weekend. So with an irritated groan, you slip on a robe over your pajamas and answer the door. A fist pauses in the air, moments from striking you. Sebek freezes momentarily, his body going ridged before coughing into his fist. A light blush dusts his cheeks.

“G-good morning, human. I apologize if I've disturbed your sleep, but I have an important announcement that cannot wait any longer" Sebeck studders, focusing on the door pane instead of your disheveled morning appearance.

“Alright" you sigh, resigning yourself to his whims, "what is it?"

Sebeck bows at the waist. "I am in love with you. Please accept my affections."

And so the motions continued on. A most unconventional pairing - possibly the hottest topic of the school year, in the words of Cater Diamond - was formed. Sebek was cautious of Ace at first, their previous spats leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. When he found out the truth, he was both appalled and grateful. So much that he scorned all his friends for weeks on end for pulling a stunt like that - but also thanking them. He apologizes for calling Ace a delinquent, and his heart changes a bit in response to their 'unique' display of care. Their intentions were good, and in the end it worked out. So he can pardon the indiscretion.

Life goes on until your relationship forms an 'awkward situationship'. The first time is brief. As it is with most cases of young love, the binding force that ties you to them crumbles. On earth it is highschool. In Twisted Wonderland it is NRC. Sebek knows where he's going - to serve the Draconias . The grey area is what you plan to do...because as much as his affections have grown, Sebek isn't willing to give up his dreams for you.

He's astonished when you decide to follow him to Briar Valley. He doesn't even have to breech the topic - arrangements were already being made without his input. You wouldn't be staying at the palace against his Lord's wishes. Instead a small cottage was built at a safe distance from the main city. Close enough for you to visit the castle, and far enough for you to feel comfortable and not out of place.

Seeing you taking his wants into consideration alters Sebek's perception of your relationship. You truly were lovers, and not a passing 'hormonal induced fling'. You loved him, and it's here when he truly begins to consider a forever. It was like the time when he first called your name, no longer calling you by 'prefect' or 'human'. He had done it many times in private, yet doing so to your face altered his brain chemistry. He loved the way your name rolled off his tongue, and the way your attention became his at the call.

Which leads us to the third and final major block-aid. Years have passed, and Sebek's well grown as an established knight for the Draconia family. He works alongside Silver, and many other comrades in arms. Everything is exactly as he dreamed. Malleus has become a beloved, strong king. Sebek is respected, and you are thriving as well. He didn't have much faith in your ability to last alone - it's not that he doubts your abilities, but he did doubt his people. When you first moved to Briar Valley Sebek was well aware that there were many like his past self - fae with a hatred for humans. He worried you would struggle to fit in.

Yet you surprised him. The tensions did exist against your kind, but you managed to card a space for yourself in Briar Valley with ease. You didn't even work in the palace, instead choosing to work towards becoming a children's teacher and work towards helping future generations of fae feel comfortable around humans.

His family adored you - with his mother in particular fawning over how Sebek fell down the same pipeline she did. His father offers you both advice on being an interspecies couple - and Sebek actually found himself listening.

Huh. Character growth. Is this what it's like to mature?

All is perfect, yet not. Sebek is forced to confront this when news travels that a human was attacked on their way to the palace. The dread that coursed through his veins was unlike anything Sebek's felt in his entire life. Under Malleus' rule, humans were slowly becoming more prevalent in Briar Valley. They hadn't mentioned your name specifically, but he jumped the gun.

Against his better judgement, Sebek abandons his post and rushed to the city's clinic. The injured human wasn't you, thank the seven, but the dread lingered. So he ran to the school you taught at and practically barged into your classroom. Luckily it was empty as the day was near end. Sebek hadn't known that yet still behaved recklessly.

He rushed to your side, talking faster than your brain could keep up with while checking over your body. He flipped topics like a teen trying to pick a college major - scolding you for worrying him, blubbering gibberish about how you'd no longer be allowed to walk alone, and myriad of other things.

Sebek was so shook, that he completely forgot about his knightly station. Malleus didn't punish him for abandoning his post. Not like it mattered, considering Sebek was already doing ample damage on his own. The realization hit him like a stone punch to the gut - there was a threat to his liege, and instead of focusing on apprehending the criminal he chose to find you.

Malleus' power or his dismissal of the matter meant little in the overall picture. Sebek failed. He's ashamed beyond belief.

and yet, he can't help but wonder what ight have been. What if you were the one attacked and he chose to stay? He would have failed you in that scenario.

He's surprised to find that the prospect his failure hurts just as much - if not more. His lord is powerful, and there are many to serve him. Your last moments could have been spent in a cold medical bed, surrounded by strangers. Fading away and taking Sebek's dreams with you.

............

Ah. Since when had that word become plural? His dream was always to serve Lord Malleus. Now there are more - he wants a family, and he wants to go to that play you were organizing with the valley's children next weekend. He wants to become a greater knight to protect the city that houses all the people he cares about. Again, plural. Lilia, Silver, his siblings and parents, all the human and fae who are loyal subjects to his most revered. You, and your decedents to come.

It's frightening. How valuable one's life can become. His always belonged to the Draconia bloodline to do with at they pleased - now Sebek's in pieces. Is he truly worthy of being a knight if he cannot give his whole heart?

He doesn't blame you for this. In his youth Sebek might have tossed your relationship aside in a heartbeat - that, or he might've demanded Malleus dismiss him and send him to repent in exile or whatever. Sebek has a problem with embellishing with dramatics.

BUT... he's more mature now. Mature enough to realize that maybe he can have his cake and eat it too.

So, he asks Lilia for advice. At this time the general merely lazes around the castle like a bat on the wall - acting as an advisor and observer. Surely he'd know what to do.

"There is nothing wrong with sharing a heart amongst many. If anything, the toughest decisions make us stronger. The more you have to lose, the stronger you will become to protect"

Preach it grandpappy. Lilia wants to see his grandkids so stop the slow burn already.

It's deja vu because Sebek wants to propose as quick as possible. Just like when he confessed, the man nearly runs to your home on impulse. You can thank Lilia for your proposal not taking place at 3am with your door being broke in two (Sebek is much stronger than he was in his teens, and sometimes miscalculates his strength).

Instead, Sebek finds himself anxiously clutching a ring in his pocket the following week. It was the night of a school play you were hosting - one he was looking forward to since you were so proud in your work. Ergo, Sebek felt pride as well by default.

How unfortunate that he can't focus on the show. With his mind reeling so much, it's taking all he has to sit quietly in the audience. His eyes follow your movements as you direct the kids, and for a brief moment you smile at him from the stage.

Zap. Alright. Don't clutch metal when you're a living thunderbolt. Duly noted. If anything the jolt of pain brings him back to reality.

When the play ends, and all the children have gone home with their families, he finds you back stage sweeping confetti. His plan was to congratulate you, and take you to a nice restaurant where he could do this properly.

Except he can't wait. When you turn around from putting the broom away, he's already taken a knee and holding the ring out. Those diligent gold iris' not pulling away for one moment, as he holds the ring out between two fingers and his other hand placed over his heart as if taking an oath.

"Before you say anything - You have sacrificed time and time again for my happiness - my efforts are insignificant in comparison. I have taken your patience for granted like a spoiled juvenile. There was a time when I found this kindness of yours unnecessary. I thought it a distraction - a test of my strength to fulfill my destiny. I see now that I was foolish”

Sebek pauses, grinding his teeth together in regret and anguish.

“I had not known fear until you. I have more to lose now than ever before. Last week I abandoned my post - my purpose- In that moment, all I could think about was if you’d been attacked, then my life would be over. You make me lose all sense of logic and reason…so I demand that you take responsibility and marry me!”

{A gold band with an obsidian base. Gold and silver flakes are sealed atop the obsidian plate using resin. Very practical, yet charming nonetheless. Humans typically wear matching bands, yes? Sebek sees no purpose in getting separate designs since the point is to show proof of partnership. He needs a practical shape that will not interfere with combat, yet also wants it to be an aesthetic choice. Sebek could care less about looks, but if he’s going to give you a ring then it will be the best possible option to match to your worth}

Silver is beautiful like still ocean waters. He's breathtaking - literally and figuratively. With the beauty of a fairytale prince, personality of a wise knight, and deadliness of the deep sea. It's easy to be sucked in when Silver seemingly has no flaws. So easy that at one point there were rumors of him being a living doll, created by the fae to be a perfect solider.

These perceptions all rely on his outward appearance: the knight in shining armor. Albeit so, being so perfect almost makes him unnoticeable. Compared to his rowdy peers with quirks and notable personalities - Silver truly is a doll. Like the complacent child praised for being more mature than their siblings. He is as easily forgotten as he is admired.

Some would say that this is a flaw in itself - because no one is naturally perfect. No one is so complacent and calm at birth. It's simply a desirable flaw. One that hurts him, yet has ben praised by others.

Silver is strong. Silver is diligent. Silver is beautiful. Silver is breathtaking and yet not the showstopper - like gold. Gold brings warmth while silver is cold. Imperfections in gold give it character, and can be seen as art. Imperfections in silver are seen as unsightly scratches.

Silver knows this, yet doesn't want to be gold. He doesn't deserve to be gold.

Silver doesn't deserve anything. He has already taken so much simply by living. He has a world to be grateful for, and not enough time to repay his debts.

He is content being Silver - if he could then he'd be copper. Lesser. Yet he is Silver, a reminder of the blood he carries.

He will remain unremarkable yet dedicated. He will dedicate everything to his family and friends - do whatever he can to break free of his sleeping curse and help others. He will give until he cannot give anymore. Then he will give more, to repay all he has received.

....For as much as he is content with this life, Silver still envies gold.

You are beautiful like a new dawn. Ushering in each day with a vibrant display that commands attention. People instinctively admire you despite the risk of hurting their eyes. You heal the world naturally, and help others simply by existing. People take you for granted, because inevitably the moon will rise, and the cold will inevitably return.

You were bathed in golden light. This Silver noticed the moment he laid eyes on you. He couldn't tear his eyes away.

Silver envies gold.

........

You envy Silver. His calm, his family, his dedication despite being limited by his crippling drowsiness. Out of the students from Diasomnia, he was the one you lingered towards more often than not. The freshmen revered him for his skills, and he was a true gentle soul. You at first couldn't believe that he was Lilia's son - how did such a kind boy come from a rambunctious tease? Revelations of his past brought much to light, and now you couldn't think of him being anyone else.

Silver was loved like the first snowfall. He had a family that loved him dearly, no matter how short his time with them would be. He was raised to bring happiness to others, and protect their hearts using his demure temperament.

Silver was modest, and silver glistened when you'd expect him to the least. As the wind caressed his hair during an afternoon siesta, or sparks lit in his eyes while swinging his sword. How the horses nuzzle his side after equestrian practice, showing full trust and affection. Even in the sweat dripping from his brow, shining as he easily finishes a set of push ups.

Yet nothing struck your heart more than the melancholy he'd emit when no one was looking. How quickly he'd fade into the background, only popping in when necessary or if someone gave him note. In these moments Silver gleamed brilliantly, yet a shadow put out his shine.

You thought the melancholy inviting. It felt so natural, so real. Except you believed it balanced dangerously between despair and serene. The larger question being which side would he evidently fall towards.

.........

Silver admires gold.

He couldn't stop the pull. He just couldn't. Not with how you seemingly watch him when no one else does. Who wouldn't feel special? With the way you take note of things he normally wouldn't think of, and recklessly delve into helping others with no regard for yourself. Whether you desire the trouble is beyond him - the matter is that you see every issue through. There isn't a soul who doesn't know of the ramshackle prefect.

Perhaps this is his torment to endure. To get a taste for what he could have been, and willingly be tied to it.

Silver stares into a vanity mirror, his expression neutral despite the growing emotions inside. A slightly tattered sheet is tied around his neck like a bib, covering his front and part of his back. A shiver runs down his spine as you comb through his hair, deftly trimming the edges with a pair of kitchen scissors with the precision of a professional. A shiver runs down his spine every time your fingers linger against his scalp, either from tucking stray strands or combing through layers with your fingertips.

Your expression is stern, eyes intensely focused as you cut around his ear, afraid to nick him in the process. He finds the expression adorable yet bites his tongue. Silver couldn't think those thoughts. Not when you offered to do this out of the kindness of your heart.

Nonetheless, his heart thrums. If it were possible he'd think the organ about to pop out at any moment.

"Finished!" you smile in satisfaction and tussle Silver's soft locks for good measure. In one fell swoop, you undo the knot around his neck and pull the makeshift apron off of him. Silver nods, a slight smile teasing the edge of his lips. He stands from the chair and steps over any hair on the floor, reaching for the broom to clean before you could think to. "Thank you. I no longer need to schedule with a barber. This will save much time," In truth he had no intentions for a haircut. Either himself or his father would trim the ends once they started interfering with his sight, but he was too busy as of late. You were the one to notice how his bangs hindered his vision, and offered to help. Silver couldn't bring himself to deny your kindness. "You really like it? Hehe. Y'know, maybe I should start a shop on campus? I only started doing this since there aren't any affordable salons....maybe with it I can finally afford to fix the guest room!" you cheer and prattle on about all the different possibilities. Occasionally you'll ask for Silver's input, or even give an off hand compliment about how he was the perfect 'test subject'. Your company is intoxicating, he realizes. Talking with you is as easy as drinking water. Before Silver realizes, night has fallen and you've fallen asleep on the couch. Despite his better judgement, he finds himself wandering the Ramshackle door. He compulsively cleans up the mess you'd both left behind during his visit, doing the dishes from dinner and rearranging things here and there. As he does so, Silver notes all the little improvements around the dorm. It feels more like a home than a school building. Then again you do live alone. He wonders how often you host visitors, and if you unknowingly ensnared them just as you've done to him. He covers your shoulders with a blanket and steps outside under the moonlight.

It’s cold.

...............

You wake up the following day to find all the windows shut, your living room clean, and a warm blanket covering your shoulders. Your eyes peer around for silver, yet turn up empty.

Of course. Silver has a dorm to return to and people that would miss him if he returned late.

Shuffling around the silent dorm, the rickey old floorboards creek underneath your weight. In manufactured motions, you brew a cup of tea and pour it into the only well-used cup from the cabinet.

As your cup brews, you sit at the table with the blanket still clutched tight over your shoulders.

The tea goes cold, yet you are warm.

................

Silver loves gold.

but silver and gold don't mix. The question always is: silver or gold? When deciding a piece of jewelry to match your skin tone, people will ask 'silver or gold'? The metals are not meant to mix because they clash. It's an outfit catastrophe.

Yet, Silver cannot help but wonder. As he lays with his head in your lap and the sun and silence coaxing him to slumber - what if an outfit existed to compliment both silver and gold?

"Silver..are you sleeping again?" you tap his cheek with one hand, and his eyes open instinctively. Despite his drowsiness he will always look for you. Yet right now he's never regretted the magnetic pull more. With the sun casting a golden overcast, you peer down at him from above with tender eyes typically reserved for one's child. Your glow is breathtaking, and he cannot help the sinking feeling in his stomach that he is unworthy. With such gentle hands combing across his scalp and eyes that look upon him so tenderly - he is afraid to steal your warmth. And yet… "You are beautiful," Silver lets it slip, his hand reaching to brush against your jaw as if under a spell. He feels unnervingly calm. Not in his usual way, where he is constantly observing and playing a game of mental chess. This is a true calm, and he knows now that this is a point of no return.

Silver is beautiful like a still ocean. You are beautiful like the rising sun. When combined, a perfect image is formed just waiting for an artist to stumble upon it.

Against his wishes, the world has granted the child of dawn another gift. The gift of true love. 'True love's kiss will break the curse' and while it is childish to believe so in this case, Silver does so wholeheartedly.

When with you, the days pass like minutes. He wants nothing more than to forgo need for sleep, if only to work harder towards becoming a man worthy.

Silver envies gold for it's effortless demand for love, yet he no longer wants to be gold. He no longer wishes he were born copper.

Gold loves silver, so Silver he will be.

And with time, both Silver and Gold will be ground to dust regardless.

He thinks of this on a winter evening while holding a ring up into the moonlight. It's cold outside, yet he doesn't mind. The chill atop his nose does nothing but tinge it a lovely rosy color.

He looks through the windowpane into a home masquerading as a school building. His reflection is familiar yet changing rapidly in comparison to his family. The years have aged him, yet not by much. Silver is stronger, his soft jaw a bit sharper. His bangs have grown long again, it would soon be time for a cut. Perhaps he'd enlist a 'barber' after relocating back to the castle in briar valley.

Inside you sit at the couch, sipping from a well-used mug with Grim on your lap and watching cartoons. Silver's bag rests on the armchair, unzipped with nightly necessities spilling out the side. A slightly newer baby blue mug sits on the coffee table, with steam evaporating into the air as it waits to be used.

Silver smiles, walking towards the door and walking inside. Heat warms his cheeks and he is calm.

"I know I am unworthy of you, the thought plagues me to this very moment. Yet I cannot help but love you - like wishing on a star yet knowing deep in the depths of your heart that miracles are made not granted. I've received many, so I would know. My father gifted me life through love - and with you I understand how it is possible. I cannot imagine life without you. I promise this, I will cherish you and protect you for as long as you allow it. Would you marry me?"

Months later a ceremony is held in a secluded forest, in the yard of a cottage where a child first learned love. As an adult, he joins his most precious in matrimony, offering his sword to be sworn faithful.

You are beautiful like the first breech of daylight - and for once, Silver is happy to be a man of dawn.

Silver and gold.

Silver and gold.

Everyone wishes for silver and gold.

How do you measure it's worth?

Just by the pleasure it gives here on earth.

{A ring forged from a silver band, gold leaf embellishments, and a moss agate core. Enough said.}

[chaoticallyfluffy]

Ok consider:

A new hero emerges and the Justice League watches him for a while who make sure he’s not a threat. They see this giant clumsy man who moves like he’s not used to his body, smiles goofily every time he saves someone, and is clearly inexperienced with his powers and they’re all just like. Ah. This is a child.

Except they don’t think he’s a ten year old or however old Billy is at the time, no no. Clearly this hero came into existence shortly before his first appearance, just a few months ago. They don’t know how or why but It’s not the weirdest thing they’ve seen so it’s pretty easy to believe.

But they can’t just leave this toddler with the powers of a god to stumble around and potentially hurt someone by accident, nor go down the wrong path and become a villain. So of course they decide to ‘subtly’ guide him without alerting him to the fact they’re onto him.

They introduce themselves but instead of inviting him to the league they pop by every once in a while to ‘subtly’ teach him about responsibility and power, but also about love and humanity. They try to teach him to enjoy life and that he doesn’t have to act like an adult around them, instead encouraging him to enjoy his childhood even if it’s not an ordinary one.

(Too bad the Justice League suck at subtlety.)

Billy is certain they somehow found out he’s a kid before they even met him, probably because of Batman’s freaky know-it-all powers, but he isn’t very worried as they seem nice and don’t treat him like he’s dumb or fragile. They respect him as a hero despite his age so he lets himself act like a kid around them after a while.

When he gets comfortable enough to detransform Billy thinks that’s his identity reveal. The league thinks that he magicked himself a body that’s more of a representation of his true self and fits his developmental age better, possibly as a way to blend in with humans and experience what it’s like to be a normal child. Good for him!

Basically Billy gets a bunch of super powered parents and the Justice League get a newborn man that they think they’re raising from scratch lol

[miriadalia]

Kwon and Draco Malfoy's character archetype and why it makes fans go crazy

(Warning: this post contains spoilers from both stories)

Like it or not, Kwon Jae Sung has become one of the most beloved characters in the Cobra Kai series, and he only needed 15 minutes or less of screen time to do so. Here's my analysis of why his character traits are so interesting to many fans and how this reminds me of the "Draco Malfoy effect" in the Harry Potter fandom.

Cobra Kai and Death Eaters

The first time we see Kwon, he's a student at the Korean Cobra Kai dojo, a place that not only condones but actually encourages young people to be violent, offensive, and merciless. We see how this teenager eagerly absorbs every one of these teachings and puts them into action.

Sounds familiar? In the HP universe, Death Eaters were an elite group created for the sole purpose of terrorizing and eliminating those they considered "the weakest and unworthiest": Muggle-borns and Muggles. They convinced (or forced) very young people to join them in their "mission": Draco, Snape, Regulus… All victims who then became perpetrators of the same crimes.

This scenario is SO attractive from a fictional POV. You have this dark group of adults that use and manipulate these teenagers or young adults for their own selfish purposes, and you begin to wonder: what are these young characters going to do when faced with the real consequences of their actions and way of thinking?

Draco realized (slowly and painfully) how his family's ideals were turning him into a monster forced to torture and kill innocent people. Kwon wasn't given enough time to do that… But I'll talk about this later.

Bad Boy trope and the King of Ships

Now, we can't deny that a huge part of both Kwon and Draco's attractiveness stems from their charisma, quick-witted remarks, and their inflated sense of self-importance, believing themselves untouchable and incomparable. They feel empowered to say and do whatever they want, whenever they want, to whomever they want.

All this, combined with their appealing and recognizable looks, creates the perfect formula for your next fictional Bad Boy crush™. And it also makes them so easy to ship with other characters, especially if their interactions can be interpreted as flirtatious when taken out of context (ahem, Dramione, ahem, Drarry, ahem, Kwon x Tory).

"He's just a boy"

At the end of the day, both boys were just that: 17-year-old boys trying to fit into the world they were raised in, be the best in their class, and achieve great things in life. And this is what makes them so endearing to many fans like me.

Both tried to impress the father figure they kind of idolized.

And both suffered when they faced the reality that they were just as powerless and insecure as any other normal teenager.

But in Draco's case, this moment of realization became the start of his regrets and redemption arc.

In Kwon's case, he was fated to be consumed by rage and die… due to a questionable plot and chain of events.

Now, I'm not going to debate the last 15 minutes of Cobra Kai Part 2 here. I've already written about it, and this isn't the point of this analysis anyway. I respect the people who think that Kwon's death was necessary and that it will help other characters' growth in Part 3, even though I strongly disagree with how the Cobra Kai writers handled it all.

However...

The infinite possibilites of the Redemption Arc

Not giving Kwon the possibility of a future redemption arc was a real waste of his character's potential.

Draco Malfoy wasn't truly redeemed in the original books, but at least in the epilogue, we see him raising a beautiful family, far removed from his racist past. And if you consider what happens in Cursed Child canon, you'll see how much he has grown and how good he could have been as a teen, too, if he hadn't been fed the wrong ideas and morals.

Imagine how cool it would have been if the "There's no such thing as bad student, only bad teacher" theme was applied in a drastically different way than what they decided to do in Part 2.

I'm not saying they should have shown us Kwon's redemption arc in Cobra Kai Season 6. That wouldn't have been good because we only have five episodes left, and it wouldn't have been believable that he changed so fast... But if he hadn't died, then all possibilities were open (for future spin-offs or even just to be coherent with the tone the CK series had until season 6, that is: no dead kids, just adults and only because of an illness).

Sunshine Actors

Lastly, it can't be denied that Brandon H. Lee and Tom Felton have played a crucial part in making their characters fan favorites.

They both have amazing acting skills, portraying charismatic yet tragic characters. And Brandon's stunt and martial arts skills are truly fascinating to watch.

But there's even more to their casting as Kwon and Draco. And even though I can totally separate the actor from the character, I won't deny that the actors being handsome, gentlemen, and the nicest people behind the scenes plays an important part in fans loving their characters.

If you've made it this far, thank you so much for reading!

I often post more character analyses and plot reviews, so if you like this, feel free to follow me and message me with any questions you may have :)

~miriadalia

[fluentisonus]

still chewing this one over so hopefully this makes sense but one very minor running thing I feel like we get w jean valjean is that without disliking women or even believing that they're in any way unequal to him he. hm. for the most part doesn't have much normal contact with adult women after his sister (and presumably none for the 19 years he was in prison) which means that. not that he doesn't understand women so much as i feel like idk. he makes the mistake of unconsciously assuming men-are-from-mars-women-are-from-venus style that he doesn't understand them (being aware of that lack of contact & under the impression women are fairly different to men), and because he's a guy who wants to understand things & is largely self taught (often from books) especially wrt social niceties, he ends up being very credulous, in that presumed lack of understanding, of commonly held beliefs & traditional, societally reinforced ideas of gender rolls & gender characteristics, and this sometimes ends up ultimately hurting women around him despite his genuine good intentions

like obviously firstly in montreuil-sur-mer where he wants the female workers to have "pure morals" and gives them a separate workroom to the men to "remain discreet" which I think he genuinely intended as a means of making it a good work environment for the workers -- women can have privacy & focus on work & nothing uncomfortable or untoward is being brought into the workplace etc -- but as we know this backfired horrendously because it essentially resulted in fantine being fired for having a child out of wedlock & everything she went through after. and given his reaction he doesn't seem to have ever considered this a potential effect of his rules -- like he doesn't seem to have understood how those sorts of rules end up ultimately punish the women involved more than anything

and the other main instance of course is with cosette and his assumption that essentially a woman has a father, & then she has a husband & having a husband no longer needs a father (this is strengthened a lot by his own feeling of his own taintedness -- it's not the main thing responsible for what happened by any means. but it's a part of it) & this assumption is incredibly hard on her!!! she obviously doesn't see it that way at all! but it never seems like it occurs to him not to think of it in that framework bc essentially society in general sees it that way

idk I guess what I find interesting abt this is that it's a big blind spot in a guy who's otherwise extremely willing to question social biases & generally likes to take people all on a level as just another sort of person like himself. again I think in his general behavior towards women interpersonally there's nothing bad & in fact there's a lot of genuine respect there & probably willingness to learn even (in fantine 's case), but it's like he just never worked out that these ideas about gender are about as true & helpful as ideas about class or criminality etc etc

[1bringthesun]

what a lot of bsd fans, especially the younger ones, don’t understand is why or under what circumstances characters are described as “childish.”

it’s always a slap in the face when i see someone say, “oh, Oda called Dazai a ‘crying child,’ and people still ship them? obviously he’s his father figure!”

i’m not gonna argue against the fact Oda could have been some sort of authoritative, caring, older, responsible guy to Dazai, but under no circumstances do i think Oda saw Dazai as a kid.

as far as BSD goes, Oda is one of the most respectful characters to other people’s perceptions of themselves. hell, he didn’t even see his orphans as children. he had a convo with one of the em in dark era that went something like this:

“It’s always so upsetting when Pops treats us like children. We’re not kids, y’know? We’re adults. Is the fact that we grew up so fast an issue for the grown-ups?”

“Mhm, it probably is.”

so, if Oda doesn’t see a literal eight-year-old as a child simply because he knows how mature he is, what makes people think he’d see Dazai of all people as one…?

the reason Oda described Dazai as wearing the expression of “a child about to cry” has nothing to do with his age or his maturity- it’s because there’s a distinct difference in the way adults and children cry.

when adults cry, it’s with the knowledge that they’re not the only one suffering. that the world isn’t against them, but instead, they probably got themselves into a bad situation. when children cry, it’s free from rationalization and logic, just pure unadulterated agony at something that may not even matter in the grand scheme of things.

it’s not that Dazai is dumb, can’t understand that the world doesn’t revolve around him, or seems like a kid to Oda, it’s that the chasm in his heart transcends the normal despair of what you’d expect to see in a grown-up. it’s the same flavor of raw pain that you can see a child display when something doesn’t go their way, the same blindness to anything outside of their own point of view.

Dazai looked like “a child on the brink of tears” because while walking into the outstretched gun of a sniper, he could only see his own abysmal emptiness.

Oda also described Mori as having a child-like grin or something of the sort, so if he sees Dazai as a kid because of that, i’m going to claim he saw the boss of the mafia who happens to be double his age as a kid, too.

this is just something that has been on my mind, especially since i’ve been seeing an influx of Oda dad content. everyone’s entitled to their own opinions and headcanons, of course, but it admittedly grates on me when people get attacked for something stupid like this, and since the tumblr bsd community seems to be forgiving, i’m talking about it here.

[emper1on]

ro'meave brother hcs

garroth

- as a teen he would often have to pose for paintings because o'khasisian painters would find his perfect darling face just amazing for paintings. he was basically a model

- he has a very subtle but always active magicks that softens the emotions of people around him, which will calm them down or make them easier to work with, though it doesn't work on everyone ( ex. zane )

- although he loves his mother and his mother clearly loves him, he was her least favorite kid and he could tell. whether it was because he looked like garte or just because he was the oldest he doesn't know

- sometimes he thought about dying his hair black but looking at his reflection for too long and seeing garte in himself made him sick. so he avoided dying it because he didn't want to have to see his own reflection. looking at himself became easier when he ended up getting scars on his face

-he surprisingly has an incredibly week immune system, mostly because as a kid he was rarely allowed to be outside because he had to learn how to be a lord.

- he's known he's probably bisexual since his time at the o'khasis guard academy but he was too busy to think about that

zane

-he's blind in one eye because of an accident caused by garroth when they were really little. neither of them really remember it so there's no bad blood ( over that specific thing at least )

- he thinks it would be easier to make garte respect him if he didn't look like zianna.

- surprisingly before he went down his dark path he was incredibly devote to irene. sometimes he would pray that she could came down and take away all his family's pain

- he wasn't actually born evil like whatever the fuck jess was trying to say when mentioning him as a child. he developed a lot of emotional and mental issues because of how garte treated him and his mother. he was actually a pretty normal child aside from the mental issues that went unchecked and untreated.

- he just wants his family back

vylad

- undeniably zianna's favorite son but gartes most hated.

- he was the only son zianna ever took to meat hyria ( zianna and hyria are friends )

- he actually knows some witchcraft from hyria and he has a few owl familiars that he can see through the eyes of

- he's not actually emotionless as a shadow knight, only shadow knights who's souls and minds have degraded are emotionless. cutting out his emotions and not letting himself feel was his way of coping with everything. shadow knights are Not reliable narrators when it comes to emotions

- he once had a crush on a boy and he got so nervous talking to the boy he ran away everytime he saw him

- he died tragically young, barely an adult

[glade-constellation]

We try to stay away from interacting with drama, as it can be very stressful on us, but yesterday’s TSAMS episode was genuinely upsetting and it’s something I feel needs to be talked about.

TW for alcoholism and suicide, do not continue reading if you feel you cannot handle these topics!!!

(I would like to state that I am not just throwing my opinion around. These are both topics I have dealt with in my life, either from someone I know or myself. I have personal experience with these issues. These opinions are based off of real events in my life that I had to go through.)

Let’s start with how the episode was set up. The thumbnail is funny, the title is obviously mean to get people’s attention. Looks like a normal TSAMS episode where Miku does some weird shit and leaves. Starts out pretty funny. Sun randomly is being given a child and Miku is trying to get him to pull some friends to lovers speedrun that is failing.

There are no TWs on screen anywhere that potentially triggering topics were about to be discussed. They just started talking about alcoholism and suicide.

They made it look like a completely normal episode and gave no warnings that heavy topics would be discussed. They used a joke video to talk about things such as alcoholism and suicide.

That is 100% not how you handle a situation like this. The VAs all have social media, and are in the TSBS discord server. If they were having a problem with people forcing their headcanons to be made canon, they have the ability to use these online platforms and talk about these situations as adults. Literally a kind PSA to the fandom would have done the trick.

“Hey TSAMS Community! We just wanted to give you all a quick reminder that, while headcanons are nice to have, they aren’t factual to the canon. Bullying and harassing others because they don’t agree with you is bad etiquette, and creates an unsafe space with in the fandom. Please be considerate to others around you, even if have different opinions!”

Post that on their social medias and boom. You don’t have to make an entire episode to explain one quick fix! Not a single TW needed! When you are an online content creator with a decent sized fan base, you have to step up and be able to handle situations in an adult way. Using a roleplay YouTube video was just not the way to handle this situation.

Now, Miku is supposed to represent the TSAMS community. Sun was representing the TSAMS staff. When Sun was talking to Miku, it was really the VAs of the show harshly criticizing the audience for having opinions. This is a disgusting way of treating your fans, especially with the topics being talked about. Like I said earlier, you need to be able to be the adult in the situation. You need to treat your fans with respect or they will stop watching your show.

Next, the topics of alcoholism and suicide. With the way the situation was presented, it could definitely be read as Sun becoming an alcoholic. A bottle of wine every day after having never drank before? To a human, that’s a lot of drinking, and a lot of sudden drinking. Until Sun explained that a bottle to us is a glass to him, it sounded like he was getting drunk every night. That would definitely make him an alcoholic. Even then, small drinks each day can eventually lead into addiction. There was valid reason for the fans to believe he was becoming an alcoholic. If you guys didn’t want your fans to see Sun as an alcoholic, then why even turn it into a possible plot point in the first place? It would have been better to just completely dodge the situation if you didn’t want it happening. “How would we address all the wine bottles in the house?” Easy, it’s sparkling grape juice. It’s a fancy cider. It’s some sort of non-alcoholic beverage packaged as one to make it fancier and cost more/sell better.

The part of the episode that upset me the most was how the handled the talk about suicide. Specifically when Earth and Sun were talking about “there are signs that people show when they are suicidal and Sun wasn’t showing anything”.

Sometimes there are signs. Sometimes it’s obvious when people aren’t okay. But it is 100% incorrect to say that every single person who has contemplated suicide, attempted suicide, or died by suicide showed all of the same exact signs of how they were feeling. Not everyone is going to show the same signs. Some signs are so minor that they don’t look like signs at the time. Sometimes signs are overlooked because people close to the person believe the person will tell them if something is wrong, so obviously nothing is wrong since they haven’t said anything. Sometimes the person who is hurting doesn’t want people to know they’re hurting, and they hide it as best they can so people won’t notice. Yes, there are signs, but those signs are so rarely actually caught and treated because people don’t want to believe another people would ever actually go that far.

Sun is a character we have seen past suicidal tendencies from. Often times, these urges or emotions come back, even is situations that don’t seems stressful to others. We as fans were being told that a character with past suicidal tendencies was showing concerning behavior most would associate with relapse (drinking alcohol, becoming more reclusive, etc.).

Calling your fans crazy and gross for being concerned for someone’s life is disgusting behavior.

Saying that the fans are projecting their own problems and then making fun of them for doing so, especially when what they’re projecting is suicidal tendencies? Downright fucking deplorable.

Once again, all you guys needed to do was actually use your social medias.

“Hey guys, we know you’re all worried about Sun right now. We just want to clear up a few misconceptions. As shown in [list of specific episodes], Sun is not dealing with any sort of mental health issues right now. He’s perfectly fine! Please remember that, while it’s okay to have headcanons, your headcanons are not actual canon and are not something to fight other people over.”

That would have stopped both problems addressed in the video without doing so in a harmful and completely unnecessary way. What you guys did was disrespectful, rude, and insensitive. Especially to your fans that are dealing with these things.

When you want to handle talking about heavier topics, you have to be an adult about it. Especially with the big following that TSAMS has. There are moments where you guys have to step out from behind the characters and straight up address the community.

I’m sure that are still a few minor things about the episode that I could talk about, but these are the main things. The fans had every right to believe what they did with the evidence given. Turning it into content for a joke video was not the way to handle this.

[can-ya-guess-my-curent-obsession]

Growing up with 2D, being childhood friends and crush

Authors Note: Okay so these are really old, theyu were apart of my second ever request and was the third thing I ever wrote, but I ended up giving up on it because I over complicated it too much, so while I intend on starting over with that request I didn't want to throw away my work, so I kinda refurbished them and am now posting then. Extra note: Theres likely to be a part two for this. Edited: Requests: Closed Pairing: This is technically to be romantic HC's but they can be partially platonic, as Reader and 2D never explicitly get into a relationship, 2D x GN!reader

S/O knew 2D waaaaay before he was 2D- back when he was just Stuart

Back before he had hit his head and his hair fell out, and grew back blue

And despite all the years all the together, all the ups and down S/O's and 2D's friendship made it to adult hood

The two met in elementary/primary school when Stu was in time out because he had gotten himself in trouble for who knows what, and S/O had also gotten in trouble for [insert your own reason], which was so stupid but anyways- the two had to sit in during recess and despite the fact S/O and Stuart weren't supposed to talk to each other, the two still did anyway

And from that day on the two were inseparable

He'd often invite you to the carnival his dad worked at

The pair was together with each other through thick and thin

And even when Stu had to move (ya know cuz he broke his piano teachers hand still can't get over that) it was just lucky that S/O had to move around a similar time

Stu was quite the dunce as a kid he still is

So S/O had to help him a lot especially when the migraines started, as he would often misplace his pill or just forget to take them

Also Stuart supposedly started to smoke when he was pretty young (we were shown this in the image of kid Stu), around that time(middle school/secondary school) i assume he became a bit more of a rebellious kid, not like he'd full on harass people but just like throw paper balls/spit balls and that kind crap (and again this is based on the very few cannon images we have of the characters as kids/pre-teens, as we have the personality of Stu when he was a young child but not much on when he was a teen- there may be more then what I've seen but it's a bit harder to find all the older stuff about gorillaz, so like if you know any less well known shit about gorillaz i'd love to hear it)

Despite all that he wasn't tyrant to his parents or anything in fact he avoided them seeing the bad shit he did- because he really didn't want his parents to be disappointed in him despite that fact he may have not acted like it, and he was too busy listening to music to be sour about what his parents thought

So S/O could have fed into this bad behavior, by participating in it too

Which kinda would've made him really happy- but would also make him do more bad things so you two could hang out more, and so Stu could impress S/O

Especially, if you so wish, Stuart had a crush on S/O

If that was the case 2D would be very forth coming about his feelings, I mean he doesn't say it out loud, but he's the type of guy who wears his heart on his sleave, ya know?

And if S/O told him to cut the crap with his behavior, he would kinda be surprised and shocked

He would get really sad because S/O were mad at him and Stu has a great deal of respect for S/O

Also because Stuart was a bit of a people pleaser and really wants people to like him

He'll not participate in as much rebellious behavior around S/O, but when not around them Stu will continue to act poorly

Either way s/o helped Stuart a lot with school, even into high school/secondary school you helped him with home work- and even if s/o wasn't the brighter either they could study together

And if they were of the smarter variety, he always asked for there help studying or occasionally asking to copy off them

Also Stuart never really developed a crush on s/o necessarily in the way a normal person would

I mean he could of had one but he would be completely oblivious, and most people around him mistake the crush for just admiration for s/o because they've been friends for so long

Logistically it would take- if S/O is female- his friends making fun of him or his parents pointing it out for him to realize he did have a crush, he would mostlikly figure this out way earlyer compared to if S/O was Non-binary/male, because due to the place he was born and the time he's from, having feelings like that just wasn't something that crossed his mind or something he thought he could have, it probably took a lot of his friends jokingly calling him gay for S/O for 2D to clock, 'hmm, maybe I am gay for my friend'

And even after that he couldn't see himself in a relationship with s/o, why? Because he liked them to much is that even a thing

And because he had zero idea of what a relationship actually is or what it takes to be in one, he just pretends to know to look cool

Infact he was pretty nice to the significant others of s/o... unless the significant other of s/o was an asshole

Which kinda seems inevitable as the two became late teens to young adults as we all go through our fair share of bad relationships

If he did see S/O with a crappy S/O or a S/O who he didn't think was good enoough for S/O he wouldn't really butt in or be direct with how he felt and he wouldn't really out right say you you should break up with them but he would drop little hints

It's true he is human, and will express bais, and so he may if given the opportunity, shit talk.

But if the significant other of S/O did something abusive as shit in front of him- oh dear lord- this boi may not be that strong and may be dumb as rocks but he's about to throw hands... till he realizes he's about to get his ass kicked, so he grabs s/o and runs as fast as his lanky legs can carry him

Despite being chill with both S/O's friends and partners, I wouldn't say he gets jealous, more like need if you give to much attention to someone else in front of him or neglect your relationships in the slightest, he's exta clinging because he's known s/o for a long time

And if there was jealousy, it would be completely platonic jealously because he just hates being ignored

Also S/O's likely one of the few friends Stu had as an adult before Gorillaz

He kinda drifted a lot form his his friends from high/secondary school, and while they talked occasionally, Stu had very few vary close friends, so that contributed to him clinging to S/O

S/O was also usually very suportive of 2D's relationships

But Stu's relationships were few and far between, and often ended up with him getting dumped

He definitely did not go to college or at least attempt either- Stu told his parents he would try but he didn't

He got the job at Uncle Norm's Organ Emporium first then got an apartment, you two discussed getting an apartment together because it would be cheaper to split rent because S/O were paying for college, which he was really supportive of

And so you two started to room, he worked during the day while S/O took classes during the day and worked a night shit at [insert job]

Stu at the time was dating some chick called Paula, she seemed nice

Then comes the day S/O thought we be like any other, S/O was sitting in class when they received a call from Stuarts mom, which was odd, they answered the phone and to their dismay they are informed Stu was in the hospital, after getting hit by a car and is now in a coma

You best believe S/O drove their ass straight to the hospital, it turns out some dick- what was his name- Martin, Marshall?, Murder?- well, whatever his name was S/O was about to murder him for hospitalizing Stu

And then the court date came and- they made his service is taking care of a comatose Stuart?

Hell knows no fury like s/o's when that jackass was supposed to take care of Stu

But S/O and Murdoc weirdly had never closed paths

s/o constantly checked up on stu, it was obvious this dude was not qualified to take care of Stuart

But eventually exams eventually rolled around and S/O had to spend less time with him

And the night after class finished for that day, you were lying in bed trying to sleep, you got a message telling you Stu had gotten into another accident because of that shit stain, again!

Annoyingly enough, S/O couldn't get to the hospital now, as it was closed for visiting(at least not for those who aren't family) and S/O had classes the next couple of days so they would have to wait to the weekend to visit

When the time finally rolled around for S/O to see Stu, when they got there they squeezed the life outa Stu when they saw him

Wait- what? D-did he just tell you he joined the band of the FUCK HEAD who hit him in the first place? Huh- who? Who's 2D? Wait why are you asking s/o to call you that?

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON??

~Time skip brought to you by my laziness~

So it's been a month now and st- I mean 2D... has moved out of the apartment and into 'Kong Studios'? And is now the singer for the dude who knocked out 2D's eye's

It's all to much... school, life... your friendship with- Stua-.... 2D

You can't anymore and your twos relationship fades, until...

It is no more then a fleeting memory of the past

To be continued

[royboyfanpage]

Hello I really like your page. It's nice to see so much great Roy content and thoughts!

I was wondering your thoughts and opinions on Roy's relationship with Mia.

!! You're too sweet, tysm!

As for the ask:

Short answer? That's his little sister.

Long answer?

I'll be honest, I haven't seen all that many interactions between them in canon. I do have my own thoughts and feelings about them but, upon looking through some comics I've read, I haven't found many where they're actually talking. I have managed to find panels which show they *have* talked and have a good relationship in canon, but I've only seen them actually interact a few times and have definitely read more content with her and Connor, so if you have any reading recs I'd appreciate that :)

Because of this, my point is gonna be a lot more based on symbols and my own interpretation than actual sources, so some of my opinions may be disputed by canon content.

To start with, Roy's fiercely protective of Mia. Even from the beginning, he expressed his dislike of the thought of Mia becoming Speedy-

-because he knows first-hand just how detrimental that role can be to a child's mental health. Speedy, to him, meant a lot of bad things. I have a whole lotta thoughts on how the original sidekicks, particularly Roy and Dick, view becoming sidekicks, but I'll try and summarise. To Roy, Speedy meant losing any chance of a normal life. Keep in mind Roy was 13 when he became Speedy- he absolutely was not old enough to decide what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, and yet once you're *in* the hero business it's extremely difficult to leave.

And when Ollie first tells Roy that he's gonna make Mia Speedy, Roy's reaction is essentially that.

He's angry at Ollie for making Mia become Speedy, not because of "It's my name", it's not, Roy hasn't been Speedy in years at this point. He's angry because that is a seventeen year old who Ollie wants to throw in there, a seventeen year old who'll be making the choice to, in his eyes, throw away the rest of her life before she can even vote. And Roy's absolutely right about the world being different- Roy's teen years were spent in the gold and silver ages which were definitely a lot less dangerous than the 00s. And I think there's definitely an element in that fear of "look what being Speedy did to me" in Roy's fears. While it's likely Roy was an adult by the time Snowbirds happened, considering the amount of drugs he had experience with and the different connections he'd built it's safe to say that Roy was already an addict by the time he was Mia's age. But what I don't think Roy understands is that Speedy isn't that for her. She's already gone through the shit Roy's scared of her going through and more, having been a child prostitute and meth user by the time she was fifteen. To Mia, Roy isn't a cautionary tale but rather an inspiration- someone who'd gone through a similar situation to her and come out the other end.

After this, their relationship definitely progressed. Roy comes to trust Mia and her identity as Speedy, as well as letting her have things (that he kinda shouldn't have had in the first place, but all vigilantes are criminals it came free with the independent delivery of justice) that could help her as Speedy-

-and trusting her with Lian who he's always been fiercly protective over

And their relationship in the few times I have seen them together is incredibly sweet, with Mia reassuring Roy that he's a good dad and that it's not his fault that life gets in the way of his time with Lian.

So yeah. I really hope that they get to interact in the ongoing series because the Speedys should absolutely talk more. I think that Roy naturally has a great instinct with younger heroes, and he's absolutely someone Mia respects and looks up to.

Anyway I think Roy should take Mia and Connor to a theme park for sibling bonding time <3

[myrmyrtheorca]

Ranking reveal please ! "5 most compatible with the oc of your choosing amongst khr cast' ✨️ ( — romantic ! or not! it is up to you.) maybe, with explanations? hehe

taking a little break from preparing the answers with the Entity (who was very pleased with them and is trying her best to articulate her answers because she hasn't spoken to people in a while) to do this because I have been hunted for sport when it comes to KW pairings/compatibilities-

These will be for Myr and Lidija, if anyone's curious to see this done with Anemone and Tristam let me know! The post would be too long with all 4 of them I feel qwq'

DISCLAIMER: Myr and Lidija are adults, so every non-familial pairing here listed is assumed to take place in a scenario where both individuals are adults.

-- [Myr] --

Yamamoto Takeshi (romantic) - Myr is naturally more attracted to people with a positive attitude, and Takeshi adds to it with his laid-back personality. They would work well together, whether it's a relationship or a mission. Takeshi's understanding personality would be a good "counter" to Myr's more sharp and aggressive one, though he'd probably draw the line the moment Myr puts herself in danger while trying to prove a point or strike down the enemy. She'd berate him for it, but deep down Myr needs someone to take care of her.  

Adelheid Suzuki (platonic) - one could argue that Adelheid's tendencies to discipline could be a dealbreaker for Myr, but that would mean she wouldn't be friends with Anemone either. Adelheid will fuck you up if it means following her beliefs, and Myr would respect that. I feel like they could bond thanks to their abrasive personalities, Adelheid would have fun trying to get Myr to dress properly and Myr would have fun teasing her and making her angry on purpose.   

Uni (familial/admiration) - a young but strong-willed leader who isn't her brother and who's in DIRE NEED of a big sister ? Sign Myr right up! Myr would immediately recognize that Uni is not exactly a normal girl and that her strength comes from within, not to mention her kindness and the way she maintains her child-like behavior even with the burden of her responsibilities. Myr would love to act as a big sister to her and with enough time she'd make a loyal subordinate and close friend.  

Superbi Squalo (admiration/romantic) - to the surprise of absolutely nobody, yeah. Squalo is pride incarnate, he has a title, he's feared, and most of all, independent. That's exactly the person Myr would like to become deep down, at the cost of proving right all those who already consider her to be a monster. He's the living proof that being ruthless gets you what you want, and while she tries to push those violent thoughts away for the sake of Lidija and her newfound friends, he'd be like a "Stop Being Nice, Go Apeshit" switch. After all, if she was as strong as him, she could take back all that was taken from her by her family.  

Lancia (romantic) - ok so canon gives out exactly 0 info about Lancia other than "he's actually Not the Bad Guy", but. As mentioned Myr tends to associate herself with strong people because she likes the challenge, but here we have a man trying to salvage what's left of his life because he was too strong and got manipulated because of it. It would be a great wake-up call for Myr, because she too is subjected to prejudice because of her past (in her case, her lineage) and Lancia would be the one to tell her that revenge and hate are not roads to follow.

-- [Lidija] --

Chrome Dokuro (romantic/platonic) - Lidija is a natural caretaker, and would immediately understand that Chrome is delicate. She needs time, it's a trial-and-error process with her. But just like she did with Myr, when she's dedicated to making a person smile, she doesn't give up that easily. I feel like Chrome would learn to see that Lidija is a safe place, but whether that would develop into something romantic is something I myself don't know if it could happen. I feel like Chrome's sense of relationships is a little warped seeing everything she's gone through.  

Tsunayoshi Sawada (platonic) - discovering that the most rumored family in the Cavalieri halls is run by such a genuine and brave person would absolutely make Lidija Tsuna's number 1 fan. I don't have much on these two, Lidija's extroverted manners would probably make Tsuna feel a little embarrassed (think a bit of Haru's effect), but overall she'd be a loyal subordinate.  

Lussuria (platonic) - they would be such a POWER DUO. Lidija could even learn a thing or two about sass. Since I HC Luss to be both an ex-stylist and an ex-architect, they'd have such long and interesting talks about a variety of topics. And of course, Lidija could absolutely act as a model for their fashion experiments! Overall I think Luss would act as an "enabler" for the more flamboyant part of her extroverted personality.  

Dino Cavallone (romantic) - YEAH HE'S HERE TOO LXD FANS REJOICE I've always been a supporter of her and Dino myself because he has the looks of the typical prince charming and the goofness of, well... Dino Cavallone. What else to add? He's gentle, devoted, honorable, and would have a hard time saying no when she asks for him to gift her something expensive. As a treat.  

Irie Shoichi (romantic) - he'd be like a plush toy Lidija can sport around. His soft but dedicated personality would really complement hers, and he'd probably trigger her more protective side with all his stress symptoms. Plus, she'd make the cutest assistant!

[kelpan]

Hello again!

It's been busy past couple of weeks! But thankfully, mostly for positive reasons. Worked a big 'ol theater summer camp all of July, made some good progress in figuring out what's going on with my body, and signed up to go back to school! Gonna try my hand at Medical Coding.

May have taken me two months to get this chapter out, but I feel pretty good about how it turned out! Hopefully you'll feel the same 🙂

Slight trigger warning for a bit of verbal abuse towards the end. I'm a big believer in respecting trigger warnings, so should you wish to skip but still want to know what happened, feel free to message me and I'll give you a generalized, abridged version.

Credit for the Chrysanthemum OC headshot goes to wwispie on Etsy/Instagram!

Ao3: Petals on a Stream of Stars

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Act 1, Chapter 14: Careful What You Wish For

Wednesday

9:00 pm

Chrysanthemum

“Goodness, that’s quite the uh… escapade. Are you sure you’re alright?”

Chrys waved off her concern, her arm covered in an assortment of colorful bandages, an apologetic smile across her face. 

“Oh no, this is nothing, really. I’m more concerned for her. Are you sure you don’t want to take her to a doctor?”

Marigold’s mother smiled back, tired, but accepting, with an assuring nod.  

“Yes, at least for tonight. Our family doctor has likely already retired for the evening, old man that he is, and she’s been through enough for one evening, I think. We’ll check in with him first thing in the morning.” She glanced away before meeting Chrys’s eyes once more, a cautious vulnerability seen within. “You know… I knew that she hadn’t been herself lately, quieter, prone to getting lost in her own little world, but I… I just thought it was her way of mourning, of dealing with her grandfather passing. Kids are always so difficult to judge with this kind of stuff, especially at her age. I guess with all the chaos going on, I missed just how badly she was truly hurting… ” She sighed, defeated. “Maybe I’m both a bad wife and a bad mom.”

Chrys’s initial instinct was to assure, to dismiss the statement, but something in her held back. Her gaze instead pivoted to Marigold, the frail and pale thing clutched once more to her mother’s side, with one hand latched firm to her own lips, her regressive thumb sucking the only sign of any thought behind her glazed, heavy-lidded eyes. Her entire body exuded pure exhaustion. 

Unsurprising, given the circumstances. Fainting would be draining to even the hardiest of adults, let alone a young child.

 She could still see the moment clear in her mind; How heavy the child’s tiny body felt as she fell limp in Chrys’s arms, her ear-splitting scream taking up the last of what strength the poor thing had left. In hindsight, Chrys recognized she’d been wholly unprepared to handle this sort of emergency. Without a bit of outside help, she was loathe to think of how much worse everything could have progressed from there. 

Marigold’s mother continued. “Oh, but listen to me, postulating like some college intern. Pay me no mind, I should have known better. Daring to hope she might still have a normal birthday party despite everything going on right now was just wishful thinking on my part.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t exactly say that.” Chrys said, finding a touch of strength in her voice. “Yeah, it ended badly, but there were some good moments. Though, maybe in the future a small family gathering might be better, rather than some grandiose party. All these kids to play with, and all she really wanted was her brother, you know?” 

Marigold’s mother grew quiet and pensive, listening intently. “You… may have a point there.”

Chrys’s attention shifted to the rest of the quickly dwindling crowd of kids, each still smiling as their guardians came and picked them up one by one, blissfully unbothered by everything that had transpired once they’d returned from dinner. Nothing but joy and laughter on their minds, with new crafted masterpieces to show off at home. 

Shame washed over her, knowing that Marigold wasn’t one of those smiling faces. This was her day, her chance to be pampered and celebrated. And she was leaving worse off than when she arrived. 

So much for wanting to give her the best birthday party ever.

“Well, thank you again, for everything. I’m going to get us home now, get her in bed. You have a good rest of your evening, dear.”

Marigold’s mother afforded her one last, polite smile, before turning and walking away, guiding along the ghost of a daughter who trailed behind her. 

 Chrys managed a weak smile as they left, for their sake, but couldn’t maintain it long. As soon as the two disappeared from sight, her facade crumbled, revealing the miserable expression waiting underneath. 

What a week. And it’s only Wednesday…

An out-of-place giggle pulled her from her thoughts, coming from the other side of the entrance, where the last child waited to be dismissed. He sat on the floor, legs outstretched while Moon, back towards her, helped him to tie his shoes.

“Oh my, you have snakes on your sneakers. Whatever shall we do? Here, let's tie them together in one big bow so that they can’t slither off on your way home.” 

He spoke with a softer inflection compared to Sun, far more gravely and nearly an octave lower. The boy cackled louder this time, amused as Moon added little “hissing” sounds as he looped each shoelace. The scene brought a soft smile to her face. 

“Hunter!” A voice shouted from out in the hall, manifesting in what must have been the boy’s mother storming through the gate, her distress evident. “Hunter Daniels, stop messing around this instant! It’s time to go!”

Heels slamming the ground with each step, she grasped the boy beneath his arms and hoisted him to his feet, with enough force to cause him to stumble before finding his footing, a single shoe still left untied. 

“Mom, stop! I’m not ready!”

“You’re ready enough! If I’d known this birthday party would take place in here I never would have let you come, even if the Chanceller’s are footing the bill. Now let’s go!”

“Okay, okay!”

His meek protests faded as they rushed from the daycare, a chaotic blur as the boy struggled to keep up with his mother’s furious pace. The gate doors closed behind them with an out-of-place and heavy “thud”.

“Yikes,” Chrys said, hesitant to make a sound in the wake of their departure. “What’s got her in such a tizzy?” 

Moon remained still, crouched in the same position on the floor, as if he’d been frozen from the very same moment the woman arrived.

“Moon?” Chrys asked, hesitant. “You alright?” She inched a step closer, enough so as to nearly place a hand on his shoulder. Just before she could, he snapped back to life and rose to his feet, shoulders tense, hands balled, and addressed her without so much as a tilt of his head in her direction. 

“I’m fine. The party is over now. You can go home.”

His words were curt, devoid of any of the warmth or affection he’d just shown the boy in helping him get ready. The sudden and unexpected shift in his attitude caught her off-guard. He’d hardly spoken since he’d found her and Marigold in Kids Cove, but that could be easily justified given the situation at the time. Now, his introversion felt cold, prickly almost, as if a web of thorns had woven throughout his personal space, threatening injury to any who dared to get too close. 

Had she said something wrong?

Capitalizing on her momentary hesitation, he strode into the heart of the room without another word, and began the hefty task of taking down all the various pieces of decoration still attached to the playplaces, leaving her to stand alone.

It was then she realized, while watching him from afar, that this was the first time she’d had the chance to see him out in the open, uninhibited. No impenetrable darkness, no near death experiences, no frightened child in need, nothing. Though she knew she was staring, she couldn’t seem to look away. 

 All the bits and pieces of him she’d seen so far still rang true. His base was a carbon copy of Sun’s, but with a different overall theme, obvious in the details. 

Even his clothes are black-light reactive, just like the stars on the ceiling. How clever.

Remaining quiet, she made her way to where he was, keeping just enough distance to not infringe on his personal space, yet close enough to still make her presence known. His body language communicated that he wished to be left alone, but she chose not to comply. 

It was about time they had a chance to chat one-on-one.

“So… is now a good time to thank you?”

He paused, a confused expression emerging, hands lost in a mess of different strings and streamers. 

“What?” He said. “You don’t need to thank me. Recovering a missing child is literally my job.”

Irritation colored his voice, his words landing with a bite before he scowled and returned to his work. He did everything in his power to avoid participating in the conversation. 

“I mean, that’s not true.” She replied. “I don’t know what I would have done with Marigold if you hadn’t shown up when you did. But, even so, that’s not really what I was talking about.” She tested the waters, stepping closer. “I meant the storeroom, and the paint shelf. Remember? I never really got to thank you for coming to my rescue.” She leaned on the playplace within his line of sight, making herself unavoidable. “That… was you, wasn’t it?”

With how reluctant he was to speak, she knew she walked a fine line, attempting to get him to confess his participation without pushing too far. She’d already gotten all the confirmation she needed; There was no mistaking his voice, not now that she was so close. The only question that remained was whether or not he would deny it. 

His eyes drifted to the floor, and he sighed, finally abandoning the knot he’d been attempting to untangle. He whispered, just soft enough that she was unsure if he meant for her to hear it or not. 

“And if it was? Would you still want to thank me then?”

His statement carried with it the weight of sorrow, dissonant to the standoffish demeanor he wore now. Nothing she had thought to say felt appropriate given this unexpected vulnerability, leaving her at a loss for words.

As if taking her silence for judgment, he grumbled, and turned back to his previous task, brusquely brushing her off. 

“Nevermind. Like I said, you should go home. Forget about all this. I’ll get it cleaned up.”

Mentally, she berated herself. She’d overstepped, and now the wall was back up. His body language, his voice, all worked to push her away, reject her attempts at outreach. But why? To what end? Nothing about his behavior made sense to her. What did he gain by forcing distance between them? Without a clear goal in mind, the wisest thing to do now would be to leave, follow his advice and go home. Respect his unspoken wish to be left alone, and wait until next time to try and make friends again.

Only who knows how long that would be.

With a slight pout of her lips, she stepped back, and moved to the opposing playplace, setting to work on untangling another mess of strings which held a large banner in place. 

“What are you doing?” He stopped, following her every move with an incredulous look. “I just said I’d take care of it.”

“I know.” She stated, looking anywhere but at him. “And I opted to disregard it.”

She heard him make a throaty click, and had to stop the smirk that threatened to break through. 

“I had no intention of letting Sun clean up all of this by himself. I’m not sure what makes you think you are any different.”

Maintaining a veneer of disinterest, Chrys continued to work, doing her best to ignore the prickle that rose to the back of her neck as she sensed rather than saw Moon approach her from behind. Only once his shadow blocked the light from reaching her did she deign to turn around. 

“Yes? Can I help you?” She quipped. 

The permanent smile on his face quivered, the corners tightening with annoyance. He leaned over, closing the gap, with his arms crossed in what she thought was a half-hearted attempt at being intimidating. 

“Go. Home.”

“No.”

His eye joined the rest of his face in twitching, and he closed them for a moment as he let out an exasperated sigh.

“Maybe I should have let you go rushing to your own death. Would have been fitting, seeing as how stubborn you are.”

“Yeah, you could have.” Chrys said, refusing to look away from his strained smile and tired eyes. “But you didn’t. So whether you like it or not, it’s my turn to return the favor. I owe you. Now, mind telling me where this goes?”

She held up the banner she’d been working on, now free from its constraints. His eyes widened, bouncing between her and the impossible knot he’d yet to figure out himself. Throwing his hands up, he rolled his eyes. 

“Fine! You win. Just, I don’t know, be careful? And don’t get in my way.” He pinched the center curve of his crescent nose as she grinned, pleased. “You can put all the decorations in the tubs behind the security desk.”

For the next half hour, the two kept to their own, working separate yet cooperatively from the other to remove all the birthday decor from the Daycare. Trip after trip was made, until the last spool of streamers was placed in their proper place.  

“There!” Chrys said, placing the lid on the final tub. “Finished.” She mimed clapping the dust from her hands. “Aren’t you glad I stuck around?”

Moon came up beside her, picking up the tub and hauled it over to the entrance, placing it among the rest of the packed up decorations.

“You were not… not helpful, I suppose.”

Chrys chuckled. As they had worked, the wall he’d erected to keep her at bay had been chipped away at, their interactions growing more relaxed and less curt. Speaking occurred without as much difficulty, though he still remained a man of few words. Another interesting contrast between the two brother’s, she presumed. 

Following behind, Chrys waited until he was finished before approaching, having learned in their brief time together that he seemed to dislike someone coming up to him from behind when he wasn’t looking. Having already grabbed her bag from her locker, the clock chimed the time, signaling that even if she wished to stay, her shift was nearing its end. All that was left to do was to check-in and say goodbye. 

“Well, I guess that’s everything. Anything else you need me to do before I go?”

He crossed his arms and cocked a hip, cracking a raised eyebrow to her. “Don’t tell me you’re actually going to listen to me now? And here I thought you were trying to avoid leaving at all.”

She laughed. “Oh, I’ll be right back here bright and early tomorrow, trust me. I don’t want to hear Vanessa berate me for being late again.”

For the first time, she heard him laugh. Lightly, softly, but there. The sound made her smile. 

“No, I can't imagine you do. She has a rather impressive way of making you feel like utter garbage the moment she says your name.”

“Hey,” Chrys said. “Least she doesn’t butcher it. You wouldn’t believe the ways people have managed to mess up “Chrysanthemum” before. Someone even once called me “Chlorophyll”. Chlorophyll! Like, how did they possibly come to that conclusion? It’s not even spelled remotely the same!” She held out her hand, her expression and tone both mockingly cheerful. “Hello! Pleasure to meet you, my name’s Chlorophyll! Don’t mind me, I’m just a plant!”

Moon chuckled, amused, surprising her by taking her outstretched hand and giving it a firm shake. “Pleased to meet you, little Ms. Walking Houseplant. Let’s hope you’re not poisonous, shall we?”

The two shared another chuckle, lightening the air around them further.  Though the camaraderie was still new and unfamiliar, it came with a natural, inviting flow Chrys found refreshing…until a tiny, clacking sound caught her attention.

Following the sound, it wasn’t hard to determine what had caused it. There, dangling from his wrist, a yellow and gold gemstone bead bracelet rattled against itself, the colors contrary to the cool blue of his arm. Her mirth faded as she recognized what she was looking at. 

“Uh, Moon…why are you wearing Sun’s bracelet?”

A knot caught in her throat, her “gift” staring at her in the face. She tried to keep her expression neutral, but her mind raced with the implications of what she saw, of what it meant. To have transferred to his wrist in the short time between when she last saw Sun, given all the chaos that occurred…it wasn’t realistic to think it had gotten there by any mundane means. Now that she thought about it, Sun still hadn’t returned since rushing off after Marigold’s disappearance…were her earlier suspicions actually right? 

“Actually,” She spoke with as steady a voice as she could manage. “Where is Sun right now? I-Is he coming back soon? I want to say goodbye to him before I head h-home—”

“Don’t play dumb.”

His hand tightened around hers with a crushing force, and his cold glare made her stomach drop. For the first time, the sheer magnitude of his unnaturally tall stature left her feeling vulnerable and exposed. Reflexively, she buckled towards him, clutching at their hands.

“Moon, s-stop, you’re hurting me!”

“Why?” He spat, his expression steeled. “You late on sending in your report? Let me guess, it’s all about how you’ve been keeping tabs on us, trying to see if we mess up? The “poor, damaged robots” not keeping up appearances well enough for management’s liking? Oh no no no, can’t have that now, can we?” He made a clicking, “tsk” sound before yanking, hard, on her arm, drawing her in dangerously close. “Is Vanessa getting worried we’ll cause another controversy? Is that really why she hired you?” 

She tried to pull away, to put the safety of distance back between them, but his hold was unyielding. He waited, eyes demanding an answer, yet she could think of nothing. None of the accusations he slung at her made any sense, and as the fire in her hand grew, she couldn’t even find the strength to speak up in her own defense. Bitter, confused tears burned hot trails down her cheeks, and she dug at Moon’s hand on hers with an ever-increasing panic.

With a growl of frustration, he threw her away, sending her sprawling backwards, her back falling into the wall with a heavy, solid “thud”. Her legs barely found the strength to keep her standing in time, having to prop up the majority of her weight on one hand as she found her footing.

“I bet you thought you were so clever, didn’t you?” He stalked towards her, eyes sharp and fierce, a cruel smile in place. “I’ll admit, you had me going there for a while. What a talented, pretty little actress you are, giving such a stellar performance.” He slammed his hands to the wall on either side of her head, causing her to cry out. “You may have Sunny fooled, but not me. Your little “nice girl” act has failed. But I can promise you something, starlight,” He spat the last word. “I won’t let anyone hurt my brother again. Not you, not Vanessa, not even the owner of Fazbear Entertainment himself. If you want us scrapped that badly, well…I guess you’ll just have to try a little bit harder.”

Rage rolled off him in waves, assaulting her senses. She wilted under his biting words, each as confusing and damaging as the last. Her breath hitched as he drew close, hovering his face just a few inches from her ear.

 “…still grateful I saved you?” 

His voice dripped with venomous sarcasm, and she trembled against her will. She could hardly breathe, hardly think, her overly-stressed mind an incoherent mess. This wasn’t what she’d expected, wasn’t what she’d thought might come about from making those damn bracelets, but she regretted it all the same. 

He pulled back with a snarl, his sharp teeth bared.

“’Cause it won’t happen again.”

Despite how her gut screamed at her not to, she dared to meet his gaze head-on, silently asking for mercy, respite, anything to make this stop. His red eyes, once a sight that brought her relief, now gleamed a hellish ruby, not an ounce of compassion to be found within.

She swallowed, her mouth dry. “…P-Please…Sun will—”

“Sun’s not here.”

His curt response left no room for retort, and she pressed herself as far as she could into the wall, the desire to be as small as possible almost unignorable.  

“Though…you bring up an excellent point” he said, tilting his head. “It would do him some good, I think, to see you without his usual “sunny-colored lenses”. Let’s fetch him, shall we?” 

With a gravelly roar, he pulled back his arm, and slammed it down again with enough force to shake the wall. Chrys cried out, flinching away from the sound, her hands flying to protect her face. She shuddered, waiting for the pain to arrive, but it never did. Cracking her eyes open, the brightness that greeted her left her momentarily blind until her eyes adjusted. Glancing beside her, she gasped to see the light-switch smashed, cracks breaking through. Turning to Moon, she was surprised to find him watching her, as if he’d been waiting for her to. Using the same hand he smashed the light-switch with, he reached down and took her chin in his fingers, forcing her to face him completely.

“Don’t look away.” 

Without the softness of shadows to cloak his features in an air of fantasy, his countenance appeared duller, weathered, the colors washed out by the intense lighting, leaving him with an almost exposed, unnatural appearance, like a nocturnal animal caught out in daylight. Time stilled around them, each second strained and drawn out. She trembled under his gaze, unsure of what to do and too terrified to find out. 

Though she wouldn't have long to wait. 

In a snap, everything changed. Moon, clutching at his chest, let out a deep, guttural wail, as if his very heart had stopped. He dug and clawed at the edges of his faceplate, stumbling backwards with a lurch. With each second that passed his cries grew more and more anguished, and with horror settling in her gut, Chrys realized she’d heard these tortured sounds once before, in the sudden darkness of the storeroom. 

From his outermost extremities in, his body metamorphosed. As his limbs shook and jerked at odd angles, the colors of his pants changed, leeching up his body like a poison in stripes of red and gold. Not limited to just his clothing, the color infected his arms, his chest, rising up his body until finally, his head. 

Moon’s screams warped, the sound shifting to reflect more of another’s voice than his own, tears flowing uninhibited down her face as she recognized whose. The tension in the air grew and grew until all at once he went limp, his arms falling from his face to dangle lifelessly at his sides. His head spun on its axis, with his hat sliding in-between the separating plates, revealing a tangled mess of bare wiring and circuitry before being replaced by golden pointed rays and a soft, yellow complexion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Btw, for anyone interested, if you haven't yet checked out the FNAF Fangame "After Hours" by snowyrey, I highly recommend you do! The new voice acting added for Sun and Moon is phenomenal!

[darklcy]

𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 : 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 | 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 | 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 : armin arlert x reader 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 : 1.9k words 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: slow burn, takes place in season 1, parental issues, angst, drama, mentions of death, depression, violence, bad language, grief 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: prologue to the series 'altruistic' i am rewriting from a couple years ago. a desperate search results from grief, and the answer seems to be reachable in the world of swords, soldiers, and war. 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭

He wasn’t always around.

In the depths of childhood, you find him there, arm caressing the waist of a smiling mother. Always happy, the two of them were. She wept pure salt at the bundle in her hands, a much smaller human asleep and unaware of the world they lived in now. A name tumbles from her lips, and the man begins to cry as well. What a name, to capture two adults into tears as they watched their newborn breathe peacefully, soon to blossom into a child, embarking their first steps into life.

It’s easy to forgive the world when these thoughts pop up. Images of a newly wedded couple and their baby, instead of the mother grieving her husband, waiting for him at the dinner table to write back. 

The gold from the fantasy faded away, replacing the room with a gray, empty house void of that couple and newborn. 

A basket of rolls and two cups of water sat at the table for breakfast, yet your mother hadn’t budged. Instead her eyes fixated on the wooden door, as if she could will him back home herself. The both of you knew she couldn’t.

The roll of bread twirled itself on the pads of your fingers. It’s gone cold now.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──╮

Last night, you dreamed of having three sisters.

You shared a bedroom with the eldest, while the vacant room across the hall occupied the two youngest. The mattress you slept on encaptured you in such a warm slumber, it was hard to realize it wasn’t real. 

..The door swung open abruptly, a stampede of footsteps thundering inside. 

"[Y/n]! Are you awake yet?!"

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

"We'll drag you out of bed again!"

Their names were Thea, Clara, and Maria. 

The living room roared with sunlight, as if the house itself had awakened from hibernation and pranced with the sisters in their excitement. A gourmet of foods laid out on plates for breakfast, a mixture of fragrances wafting throughout. A woman wearing a delicate apron warmly greeted you with affection, a kiss decorating your cheek, then your sisters’. 

“Good morning my loves, and miss Maria.”

Maria was the youngest. The woman swooped her up into her arms and pecked her face with kisses, earning her with sweet giggles. 

She appeared heavenly. Her skin bounced off the sun’s reflection and her smile was so beautiful. She prepared the meal as if performing a dance, a relaxed expression never swaying. It was melancholic to see her this way, as you soon realized you’ve never watched her be this happy. So at peace, no evidence of worry with the lack of stress lines on her smooth face. 

Overlapping chatter broke the trance as the sisters found their respectable seats at the table. They didn’t question you for still standing, instead the meal began without you, a normal conversation taking place amongst themselves. It was disorienting. Was this how life was supposed to go? Were you allowed to take part in this meal? 

“ [Y/n], please sit. Your food’s getting cold.”

..You decided yes, you were.

The rest of the fantasy was carried out in a similar manner. A layered dress now clothed your body, clean and pressed to fit the standard. The others wore garments of their own, the woman looking the most glamorous of all. The heels of her boots clacked against the wood floors, and all you could do was watch as she tied on her poncho, yet again caught in a transfix. 

A hand grabbed hold of your right. It was Thea, the eldest. 

The city had been changed, as well. Signs of wealth and abundance at every corner, showing an exact replica of the inner cities, deep inside royalty grounds. The stalls alongside the sidewalk provided a variety of embellishments. Brand new collections of clothing, rows upon rows of fish and clay pottery laid out , hauling all the way down the street.

A purple bonnet stood out in the sea of clothes. The woman chuckled.

“Do you want it?”

Her gloved hand dug a couple coins from her purse to hand over, the vendor sliding the bonnet towards you. 

“Have a good day!”

She squeezed your shoulder before pursuing down the sidewalk, the sisters finding interests and desires of their own. A surge of heat spread over your cheeks, your lips following it with a grin. You wished to follow them, to be a part of them forever. But the warmth was gone when your feet didn’t move. 

…Brought back to the real world, you opened your eyes to meet the wall of your empty bedroom, no loud siblings to wake you, and no delicious meal awaiting downstairs. 

No other sign of life, except for the sobs that tore the insides of your throat. 

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──╮

The hand that gripped yours now wasn’t gloved, nor as loving as Thea’s. The walk through town was vacant and still, a hushed dread hanging over the citizens that dared anyone to speak up. The purple bonnet was nowhere to be found, and not a single vendor was selling clothes today. It was a lucky day if there were any fresh produce on the market. 

A piece of carefully folded parchment in a tight clutch reminded you the reasoning for today's outing. Lugging you down the streets, the brutal reminder that today was Wednesday hung from the cloudy skies. Post office day.

The entrance door loomed over your much smaller stature. Much like the walls that bordered the city, your neck craned up to get a better glance while she removed her hand to enter, her fingers returning to yours after the door shut. At the desk was a man who appeared busy with paperwork, his eyes flitting up to meet yours for just a second. The paper crinkled as she slid it over the desk.

"I'd like to ship this letter to the Survey Corps headquarters, please."

Her voice slightly wavered as she spoke. The man stared at her for a few blank moments before reaching over to grab the envelope.

"The Survey Corps, huh? I'll make sure this travels there safely."

He then smiled, tipping his hat softly. She thanked him with a nod of her own. It was always him working, but with each visit his kindness remained. Perhaps it was the smile that brought reassurance to other families, but she merely sighed and dropped her chin as you exited the building. You two knew better. 

It was dusk by the time you made it back home. The sun had fallen and painted a sunset behind it, a mixture of purple and red mixing with leftover clouds. Nighttime would be here soon, another day ending. She didn’t say it out loud, but the tally marks she imprinted in her mind each night was easy to deduct. Endless counting and waiting, always waiting. But even without her vocalization, the physical manifestation of his prolonged disappearance, you'd already begun counting, as well.

The skin inside your mouth tore away with another bite as another tally mark drew itself. He’d been gone for five hundred thirty-six days. 

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──╮

The events of Wall Maria replayed itself in dreams. He’d been recruited just a couple days prior, and though he wore a loud sneer to calm her, you saw through the facade. His hidden terror, his trembling knees that threatened to give way. He was afraid, probably the most afraid you’d ever seen him. 

Once the news reached the town square, the mass destruction that slept just beyond the border, your mother sobbed for days, grieving under the belief he had perished at the hands of beasts. A violent death that promised suffering and blood shed, it was an image so horrid it terrified you. But as mysterious as miracles are, he was still alive, and was granted the opportunity to return. 

It was the happiest you had ever seen her. Tears of joy decorated the floors as she embraced him, one of his arms around her while the other held you. It was so overwhelming to see him again, all you could do was cry. A couple hours was all he promised, before he had to embark on yet another adventure.

As his figure recessed further and further into the city, it dawned upon you that it was easier this way. With him being gone, maybe he could slip into the grass and vanish into thin air, void from existing. If his living toyed with your mother’s emotions so drastically, maybe it’d be better if he didn’t exist at all. 

You missed the couple from your fantasies. The painting of gold, the love in the air that refused to tear away from their grinning faces. Where are they now?

The guilt cracked the vessels of your heart. You should love him. And yet you don’t. 

…

…His letter never made it back to your house. 

The soldier grimaced at your deadpan stare. He’d just retold the passing of your father, a heroic end met on the battlefield, and all you did was watch. You watched her crumble to the floor in screams and hollers. Her hands quivered under the tremendous weight of her sobs. That beautiful woman from your dream had just died in front of you. 

In the arms of your mother, you wept into her shirt. You wept from the guilt that broke you every night, when you longed for a loving family, yearned for sisters to play with, to hold hands with a mother who spoiled you of fresh clothes. He was someone you idolized once, someone you felt safe around. In his final moments, you wondered, did he think of you? 

While he fought, did he remember your face? Did he yearn for freedom, while his love awaited his return? 

You’ll never know. 

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──╮

A whole year goes on.

She only becomes worse. Her skin now pale and grimsly, hair unkept and tangled, food untouched. Who is this stranger sitting across from you?

It kept you awake at night, what led up to his departure. He’s all you think of nowadays. The mystery forever unsolved was excruciating, so painful the nails on your fingers itched your skin till it painted red. Whatever the reasoning had been, you wonder if it was worth it. Were there any regrets left behind, any event he wished he could redo? Could you ever find the answer? 

…The search began when she didn’t wake up. 

Lost to mourn forever, her dreams finally took her away. Wherever she is, you hope she’s happy, as a kiss lands on her forehead. 

Somehow in bed, she appeared much more relaxed. She can finally rest. 

Leaving her to sleep, you departed from the house, just like he did the day he left. With a measly dress shirt and skirt on your form, you pretended they were the beautiful clothes from that dream as the military training grounds rounded the corner. 

A crowd formed a line at the entrance. At the head, a towering man with the posture of an elk, commands dripping from his tongue in a holler. Stepping towards the back, you find your place and await your turn. 

Perhaps you could find the answer here.

[aconflagrationofmyown]

Will we be seeing more of sweet Rosalee’s connection to her father? As an ultimate Daddy’s girl, I hope so. I showered with my Dad until I was in third grade and when they told me I had to start showering alone I refused to shower for like two weeks, I’d scream like if they were murdering me when they tried but my mom’s the tougher one and she was like “Nope she’s going to learn to shower alone!” So she waited me out haha. But even afterwards like in high school I’d have movie nights still with him and I’d lay on top of him on the couch and cuddle. My dad was honestly just the best. He was my best friend. When I had my first kid he went in the hospital room and checked on me first. It’s sad that some people would probably read this and think it’s weird that I was so close to my Dad but to me, it’s more sad that we live in a society where a Dad and daughter can’t be affectionate with each other after a certain age because of the world we live in. My cousins all hated me when I was young because my Dad was the fun uncle but I wouldn’t let him play with other kids! I asked him one time if I bugged him by always being with him but he told me that he was just always scared to fail me which blows my mind because I just always wanted to be near him that’s all I needed. Even after I had my own kid I’d go visit him and lay in the bed with him and bug him and my mom. When he would vacation without me, he would check in with me three times a day and yes, I have siblings but I was the only one who gravitated towards my Dad like that my sister and brother were all about my mom and I’d ask them why if Dad was better and my mom would get upset with me lol! Don’t get me wrong I love LOVE my mom and she knows I do it’s just a different connection. Hope you don’t mind me sharing my memories, Rosalee just wanting to shower with her Daddy and getting a kiss attack on her face until she smiled brought back happy times and I would love to see so much more of that especially because I’m sure Elvis was an amazing father to Lisa Marie too.

P.S I still refer to him as my ‘Daddy’ even now and as I’m from Los Angeles (I think it may be more normal to do so in the South?) so many people tell me that’s weird I hate what people have done to the word Daddy.

Oh my darling anon, this touched my heart so much. We are indeed the lucky ones to have our own connection and memories to draw on, makes me sad for others who would view it through the lens of our unfortunate and broken world. Not everyone’s so fortunate but it’s a beautiful thing and ought to be normalized as much as it can be, the bad always gets more publicity -and while it should always be called out- my goodness, we gotta have representation for the good dads and their devoted little girls.

All of Lisa’s anecdotes suggest such a connection with Elvis, and even the way she respected and honored the man who was her daddy (even though she called him Elvis, haha) more than the legend she could have, touches me. I love it and have tried to bring that to Sarge and give a various connections to each kid but Rosalee is that one special baby who relies fully on him, and that’s quite the weight for him as Elaine is so capable he’s used to the kids finding her sufficient, but not this child, she needs him at all times and I think he’d love that and take it seriously.

All that to say, YES WE WILL GET SO MUCH MORE OF THEM including when she’s an adult and a child. If you ever have any prompts you’d particularly like to see, from memory or otherwise, please send them in!! This is another reason I chose Riley as her faceclaim, I wanted his Rosalee to be his real relative and Riley’s got his bright grin, in my opinion.

Can’t thank you enough for this sweet note, you’ve made my night.

Much love, Marina 💋🎀💋

[blood-darkened-moon]

(1/2) TEW question: If Ruben hadn’t been burned but was still a serial killer, what is his motive for killing? Since there’s no need for revenge, what would happen? SKs IIRC develop a fractured identity hidden behind a wall of primitive defenses, so it’s a horrible way of coping, like self-medicating (we know there’s trauma and a predisposition).

Ok, anon, I love horror movies and games and also read about some serial killers out of interest, but I’m not an expert on this topic, especially not on the psychological aspects. And I refuse to diagnose fictional characters with mental illnesses. The headcanons I write are just for fun and should be seen as an attempt to write a horror AU rather than an analysis based on the mindset of real people. I don’t think that I can give you a qualified answer to your questions, but I’ll try my best. Here’s a more analytical approach to the topic.

I agree with you that there was a predisposition, but was there trauma involved before the fire? I don’t think so, or at least I think there is absolutely no evidence for this within the game. Even Jimenez wrote in Research Entry #31, “After surviving the incident and subsequent abuse from his parents, it’s a miracle Ruben can function at all.” We know very little about Ruben’s past before the incident. Some information originates from Ruben’s documents or his recordings after the fire. At that time, he is deeply traumatized, hallucinates, and is overall mentally unstable, which becomes even noticeable in his records. His state likely influences his perception in a heavily subjective way. Due to this and the ongoing abuse by his father, he may evaluate his childhood as worse than it actually was. However, since there are no more reliable sources, I have to take his words for granted.

While I don’t see anything that could have traumatized Ruben as a child, I still think that there were conflicts that could have worsened even if the fire never happened. There was tension in his family, specifically with his father. Ruben already seemed to have a somewhat strained relationship with him before the incident. Yet, he still respected him, as Ruben stated in one of the recordings, “Father was a stern man. Proud, and I thought intelligent.” He was calm while he recorded this. Therefore, I think this statement is valid, and their relationship wasn’t that bad at first. On the other hand, Ruben also wrote: “He’s trying to punish me again. He always resented our closeness. Thinks he can use it against me.” He wrote this while he was clearly enraged, likely not fully accountable. It still indicates a conflict between the two.

The latter statement is somewhat strange, though. Why should Ernesto mind if his children get along well with each other? Isn’t this a good thing? Jimenez describes Ruben’s love for Laura as “almost on an incestuous level”, and considering Ruben’s records, that seems to be a legitimate interpretation. But the records are from after the fire when he was already a teenager or young adult. Moreover, he was locked up in the basement for years without any human contact (except for his father and a doctor, maybe). This long-term isolation would excuse Ruben’s affection for his sister reaching an abnormal level. Even in case little Ruben had a crush on Laura at that age (10 or younger), I think this would hardly be a reason to be concerned. He could likely outgrow it easily if he grew up under normal circumstances. So, it is unlikely that this was Ernesto’s issue.

I think it is possible that the statement relates to Ruben’s experiments in some way. We know Ernesto cannot cope well with problems that would damage his family’s reputation. After all, he preferred to lock his traumatized son away after the fire instead of organizing real help for him. Well, dissecting pig heads is not a normal behavior for a child, and yet Ruben had the equipment and a room where he could do his experiments. Why did Ernesto tolerate this behavior, which is significantly more concerning than suffering from physical and mental trauma after barely surviving a fire? (In the sense of the latter is an understandable reaction.) And why did he show it to Jimenez in the first place? This isn’t something that you show proudly around in the neighborhood. I assume that maybe Laura protected her brother, acted as the voice of reason, and convinced Ernesto that instead of punishing Ruben for his experiments, he should deal with it differently. Jimenez was just about 20 at the time he met Ruben. He can’t have been a doctor then. He was likely only a student. (The model in the game is older, probably due to time or budget reasons.) Jimenez wasn’t working at Beacon yet either. In Research Entry #16, he stated that he started working there but also mentioned Ruben, so he already knew him before that. Perhaps at Laura’s request, the Victorianos looked for someone with the necessary expertise to deal with Ruben’s behavior but who would do so in secrecy. Therefore, they went with a student. In the end, it backfired, and instead of talking Ruben out of his experiments, Jimenez confirmed his beliefs. Ernesto could take this amiss and think strict punishment would have worked better. This is highly speculative, though. Ruben also mentioned punishment in the document, but it is unclear what kind of punishment it was and when it happened. It could be something (long) before the fire, or he could relate to his recent confinement in the basement.

Another issue Ruvik mentioned is his hatred for the church and his father always supporting them. He said, “Somehow he always supported the church, no matter what the newspapers said. He waved away the allegations as if they were infallible. The wretched, the vermin, the stern... All were taken in by that church.”, followed by “They were promised salvation and eternal life. But there’s nothing they could promise that I couldn’t take away.” Where his hatred for the church originates from is again not clear. We know the church was a shady place, but had it anything to do with child-Ruben? I think it is also possible that Ruben developed his hatred later during his time in the basement. He thought his father had taken Laura away from him, the one person he loved the most. Perhaps he then decided to take something away from his father that he cherished deeply.

This covers the conflicts at home we know of. None of them seem to be a major issue before the fire, though. I doubt that these alone had the potential to set up Ruben on the path of a serial killer unless drastic changes occur. However, there are still some other aspects.

Jimenez is one of them. He is not a good influence on Ruben at all. He could have tried to channel Ruben’s interests onto a healthier path. Instead, he affirmed that ethical and moral standards in science must be questioned if true greatness is to be achieved. Ruben knew very well that his experiments were unacceptable when they met for the first time. Jimenez probably had a chance of convincing Ruben to give up on them. Later, he continues to be a toxic influence. Despite his sympathy for Ruben, Jimenez often disregards his poor mental state and only tries to gain profit from Ruben’s results. Only after the experiments reached an extreme level of gruesomeness and the death toll went through the roof did Jimenez realize that he made a big mistake. “I had taught him from a young age that the end shall justify the means, but I could not have predicted things to be this extreme.” Not that it would stop Jimenez from leeching further on Ruben’s work.

Now, before I come to the possibility of Ruben still becoming a serial killer without the fire, I want to speculate a bit about his early experiments, because they could hint at a predisposition. We know that Ruben dissected pig heads, but I think this can’t be the only thing he has done. I assume the pig heads are slaughterhouse waste. (He can’t have killed and decapitated a large pig alone at the age of 9, right?) Little Ruben doesn’t seem to have the proper equipment to prevent the decomposition in his room. (How fresh were the heads when he got them?) As far as I know, brain matter decomposes rather quickly, though. How far can he get with a half-decomposed pig brain? He can develop and improve his surgery skills. However, Jimenez mentions Ruben’s studies, and he is really impressed by them (“… but Ruben... Comparatively insignificant, but even at his young age, his studies are remarkable.”). While it is not shown or otherwise described in the game, I think it is likely that Ruben also experimented on other smaller animals that were either still alive or killed shortly before he started. We don’t know what kind of studies he performed, but I think you likely need a fresh or well-preserved brain for most experiments. Ruben was also hesitant to show his experiments to Jimenez. He said they are gross and that Jimenez now thinks he is a monster. Ruben did not try to justify them. Would this be the case if he only used slaughterhouse waste? It would still be gross and off for a child but a little less disturbing than experimenting on animals he had killed first. At least assuming that Jimenez might think he was a monster for doing so seems like an exaggeration to me since the pigs were slaughtered beforehand anyway.

Edit: In the room where Ruben dissects the pig’s head, there is an eviscerated dog carcass (which I’ve apparently always overlooked). So he has definitely killed other animals and experimented on them. The cages in the room also point to this. Judging by the size of the cages, he probably mainly used cats and dogs.

So much to the background, now what could have happened without the fire? Firstly, Laura was 17 when the fire occurred; Ruben was only 10. Laura probably wouldn’t have stayed with her parents forever. Maybe she would have gone to college the following year. Ruben spent his teenage years in the 80s, so no internet, and telephones weren’t constantly available either. He still has to live almost without Laura for several years. As I said before, I assume that Laura protected Ruben in some way from Ernesto. After she leaves, Ruben has to deal with his father mostly on his own. Their relationship was already strained before and would certainly not improve over the years, rather the opposite. I can’t say how far Ernesto would ultimately go with his punishments if Laura isn’t on-site without further information, though. We should also bear in mind that Ruben is getting older and can probably hide his activities better from his father. Jimenez might also be able to help him with this. I think, it is unlikely that the situation would take on similarly traumatizing proportions as after the fire, but there is still a certain conflict potential.

The bigger problem is, in my opinion, Jimenez. Without Laura and with a tense atmosphere at home, Ruben would probably spend more time with him. At least initially, Jimenez seemed to understand and support him. He recognized Ruben’s talent and was his mentor, even if not entirely for selfless reasons. I think it’s possible that even without fire, he could lead Ruben down a similar path as in the game, but probably at a slower pace. Seeing Laura again would no longer be Ruben’s driving force, but she wasn’t his only motivation in the game anyway. Ruben took a lot of pride in his research. He became furious when Jimenez stole and published his results (“That cockroach, that sycophant; living off of me, feeding off of my work.“). Sure, Jimenez is an asshole, but he was somewhat correct when he said Ruvik couldn’t have published it in a reputable journal otherwise. If Laura was really all Ruben wanted, he shouldn’t have been so angry about what Jimenez was doing. So, Ruben’s own ambitions as a scientist may have played a role, albeit a subordinate one.

Jimenez has persuaded Ruben from the beginning that the end justifies the means, plus there is Ruben’s potential predisposition, now adding some overambition, nurtured by his mentor, on top. Ruben would probably not shy away from human experiments, as they would be more reliable than the ones with animals. Jimenez would certainly provide him with test subjects, and he might even urge him to take this step once Ruben’s abilities were sufficient. After all, Jimenez also wants to profit from his work.

I don’t think Ruben would become an ordinary serial killer, but, for instance, I could imagine him evolving in a similar direction to Josef Mengele. In the game, he no longer sees the people he experiments on as people. He describes them as vermin and microbes. Without fire and the years in the basement, he should feel less hatred towards others, but with Jimenez as a mentor, he may have come to the conclusion that the death of some people is justified in order to help others through scientific advancement. His test subjects may no longer be vermin to him but laboratory supplies. He still would use and kill them as he pleased.

Serial killers often have a traumatic past and use the killing as a coping mechanism, but not all of them. It is not impossible that someone could become a serial killer for different reasons. The scenario above is the best I could do with the little information we have. I guess my answer isn’t really what you wanted, but I cannot see a canon reason for Ruben to snap if the fire and the abuse afterward never happened. If we knew more about his past, perhaps this would change. (I left Mobius out for simplicity, by the way.)

[i-only-want-endless-happiness]

Dear pjo fandom

I just read the sun and the stars and i was so happy to come here and see all the little cute fan arts and what i find is a bunch of adults complaining about a child books series istg this fandom is one of the most toxic ones out there.

Now i could tell you that if you want to consume a product whatever it is movies,books,tv shows ecc that's explicitly for kids/preteens you have to approch it with the right mentality which is letting your inner child enjoy the product if you're 20+ something, cause of course the adult you won't feel the same wonder, and sure kids products don't have to be bad or bland and there are other things out there aimed at kids that are better than tsats BUT it's not a bad book, mark oshiro did such a good job at portraying healing and trauma, they also did an amazing job at presenting to middle schoolers the idea of romantic relationships being not all roses and flowers and unicorns, human relationships are hard no matter the kind, it's something difficult to accept and to deal with especially when every single fairy tale you read as a kid teaches you that there is a happily ever after, that after adversities everything gets solved and goes fine, when you grow up you learn that nothing is further from the truth than that, i could also tell you that of course the concept is extremely simplified but again it's a book for kids/preteens, i could tell you to not go for something you know it's not targeted to you if you want approch it in a cynical way, i could give you as example that reading tsats and wanting maturity out of it is like going to watch a disney animation movie and then complaining they sing too much. Cause now you have to tell me when rick riordan has been mature or not cringe in the whole entirity of the pjo saga? He literally wrote a dam joke after killing off a 12 years old, added a judo flip to a romantic reunion of two characters that haven't seen each others for almost a year, wrote a romantic declaration from a 20 years old something to a 16 years old girl, wrote about gods falling for the stupidiest shit said by teenagers demigods, made percy at 12 years old won a fight against the fucking god of war and i could go on so if that has been ok with you till now what is even the point? The truth is y'all are not complaining cause the book feels immature/cringe/ooc ecc y'all are complaining cause you hate will and you hate him cause you ship nico with percy,jason,leo or who knows who and that's ok you don't have to like will or solangelo you can ship whatever you want (i'm an "anomaly" in this fandom i never shipped percabeth, i started prefering percy and rachel and i ended up loving the idea of annabeth and piper, still i can be objective enough to read a whole saga where percy and annabeth are the main couple and not shit on it just cause i don't ship them together) of course you can complain about this book but at least make an effort and think of valid reasons. The real problem is why did you decide to buy and read a book that focuses as one of the main plots on a relationship you hate so much, if you can't stand them as a couple why did you read it in the first place? This book is not perfect it lacks things and there are topics that needed to be handled better sure, but it's not bad,ooc or cringe, cheesy maybe but not the kind of cringe you are trying to make it pass. The real deal here is you don't really care about any of those things you just hate the ship the book revolves around and again that's fine but just be honest it's way more respectful than taking away the work af a queer author that tried to settle more the idea of a queer couple being normal and equal to a straight one to a group of young people who are living in a society that still is against queer people.

Damnit shut up, do it for the gay kids

A former kid (still queer tho)

(if i made mistakes forgive me english is not my first language)