#it's like the world looked at this infant and decided he would be too powerful and decided to nerf him via trauma

[the-girl-with-too-many-ideas]

You know, ever since I started getting into svsss and got attached to Shen Jiu (OG SQQ), the one thought keeping me up at night is that if his childhood wasn't so fucked up he could have easily become one of the most powerful cultivators.

His like the embodiment of "Jupiter was supposed to be a star but failed."

[post-apocalyptic-fantasy-au]

Tango's room was... not a cell, exactly. It was comfortable, and he had all the books and trinkets and furniture he wanted. He'd painted the walls himself, in fiery sunrise colours to match him, and the carpet was soft enough that his toes sank into it when he walked around. He even had his own separate bathroom with no cameras in. But the only window was a mirror on his side of the wall, and the door locked from the outside, and cameras near the ceiling monitored his every move, and he was only allowed to leave when one of the many scientists interested in him decided he could, and even then, he never left the lab.

Still, it was all he knew, and he'd learnt as a kid to make do with a little.

Besides, it's not like the scientists were bad to him, not anymore. After 105 years, he'd become a sort of mascot to the palace labs, and it was taboo among the scientists to mistreat him. The tests, while annoying, never hurt, and for the ones that did they provided him with powerful anesthetics that made him loopy and completely numb.

The tests themselves varied. They took cells from all over his body for the geneticists and microbiologists. They took samples from his scalp for the chemists trying to figure out how the fire on his head works. They tested how his body reacted to various types of radiation for the radiologists. The list went on and on, even after 105 years, of things they didn't know about him and wanted to find out.

He'd outlived four kings already, and more scientists than he could count, and they were no closer to discovering how much longer he was suspected to live. He still felt as lively as ever, so the general consensus was that he still had quite a while.

He was sitting at his desk, fiddling with the mess of wires and parts between his hands, when the door opened.

Tango looked up, confused, and saw Cub standing in the door frame.

"More tests?" Tango frowned. He'd already sat through a whole host of tests that morning; he thought he'd be free for the rest of the day.

"No quite," Cub told him.

He was a man on the shorter, rounder side, but you wouldn't notice, not with everything else going on with him. Cub was the lead geneticist in the lab, and often conducted many of his experiments on himself. As such, he had a pair of tattered wings too small to be anything more than decoration, borrowed from the genes of a feathered dragon; a full set of sharp teeth not dissimilar from Tango's own, with which Tango had seen Cub snap a bone in half, borrowed from a mermaid; and pitch black hair and eyes, as well as traces of death magic, from a dark elf. He was the only person Tango knew who was older than him, though no one knew which race Cub had gotten the longevity from. While he was by no means human anymore, he got away with walking freely around the palace without hiding any part of himself by being a perfect mix of friendly, unsettling and indispensable.

It was Cub who had first combined the DNA of a pygmy dragon with that of a human, resulting in an infant with a mix of human and dragon traits, ie, Tango himself.

Cub studied Tango for a second with those almost soulless eyes, before announcing, "The king is dead. The new queen has ordered that all Vis being held against their will in the palace be released."

Tango blinked, reeling. "What?" The king was dead? He'd only been crowned a few years ago - that had to be some kind of record for shortest rule of the era. And the new queen...

Tango had met her once. Rebecca Argnum. She'd come to the lab the day before she disappeared two and a half months ago, and she'd sworn that she'd help him see the world some day. Tango hadn't put much thought into it - her brother was still young, after all, so by the time he died, he would have children of his own, and Rebecca wouldn't be next in line anymore - but still, it had been an tantalizing prospect ever since. Now that it was suddenly a possibility - not just that, but a reality - he didn't know what to do.

Finally, he managed to get a question out of his brain and into his mouth. "What about Torchy?"

"Last I checked, he's still a Vis, too. He's as free as you are."

"But can he come with me?"

"If he wants to."

"Where is he?"

Cub eyed him up a moment longer, before smiling smugly, pointed teeth on display. "I sent Doc to fetch him. He's on his way."

Relief pulled Tango's shoulders downwards. Torchy, the pygmy dragon that half of his DNA came from, was usually in his room with him, but he'd been taken out earlier that morning for reasons no one would explain to Tango, and hadn't yet returned.

With the first of Tango's questions answered, the rest started spilling out. "Where do I go?"

"Wherever you want."

"Where am I allowed to go?"

"Wherever they'll have you."

"What happened to the king?"

"A group of rebels killed him."

Good.

Before the next question could make itself known, Doc M stepped up behind Cub, a tiny, writhing mass of red-gold scales twisted around his cybernetic arm.

"Torchy!" Tango grinned.

The dragon lifted his head, spotted Tango, and pushed off of Doc's arm, with a happy growl of, "Tongo!" Torchy struggled more with speech than most pygmy dragons, and often his words came out garbled. Most of the time, no one besides Tango had any idea what he was saying.

Torchy reached him and settled on his shoulders, twining happily around his neck.

"Don't use me as your errand boy again," Doc snapped to Cub, though Tango knew he wasn't actually mad.

Doc seemed intimidating to those that didn't know him, because he was abnormally tall, had a resting scowl and held a grudge like a champion, but those who actually knew him knew he was really a big softie. He was the chief engineer in the lab, often working side-by-side with the geneticists, and was almost as strange to look at as Cub. An undercover mountain nymph, he took great care to conceal his the goat-ish parts of him: he wore his dark hair long and hid both it and the goat's horns the hair didn't quite conceal under a cap. His skin was more grey than pink, and he had a goat-like beard growing from his chin. Much of the right side of his body had been replaced by bionics, leaving him with a glowing red eye, an arm rather more "muscular" than the other, and a limp due to his right leg being human-shaped and his left being goat-shaped. No one knew what had happened for him to require the additions, and whenever someone asked, he always refused to explain. Doc was the oldest person in the lab, apart from Cub, and took orders from no one except Cub and the king himself.

Although, it was probably the queen herself now, Tango reasoned.

Everything Tango knew about engineering and electronics, he had learnt from Doc. Everything Tango knew about genetics and biology in general, he had learnt from Cub. In return, Tango didn't put up a fight when they wanted to do any sort of test, even the uncomfortable ones. The three had formed an unlikely crew of mutual benefits and mix-and-match bodies.

Doc held out his flesh arm, a messenger bag swinging from it. "I got you food and some real clothes - you can't wear Cub's old lab coat in public."

Tango looked down at the lab coat he wore. It was scorched from where he'd lost his temper a few times, stained from where he'd spilled seadust on it, and torn from both his and Torchy's claws. Cub had gifted it to him years ago, after the previous lab coat got incinerated due to events entirely unrelated to Tango's flames, he swears it.

"Thanks," he said, accepting the bag from Doc. He flicked it open and peered inside. All he could really identify from the pile of folded clothes was a dark grey vest, though he definitely saw both yellow and red fabric beneath.

"Go get changed, then you can throw some of your things in the bag and we'll walk you out," Cub told him, gesturing at the bathroom door.

"Got it."

*

Half an hour later, Tango was standing at the palace's side gate with Torchy coiled around his arm, Cub on his left and Doc on his right.

He'd filled the messenger bag with books, seadust and seadust-related components, and as much of both his and Torchy's hordes - a small collection of gears and springs for Torchy, and a handful of pieces of wood he carved himself for Tango - as possible.

Tango loved the outfit Doc had picked out for him - though part of it was, of course, due the fact that he had never had real clothes before: in the summer, the lab coat sufficed, and in the winter he burrowed under the blankets and slept most of the time.

But he had real clothes now. The long-sleeved yellow shirt was tight enough to keep wind out and heat in, and the grey vest he wore over it was buttoned all the way down to keep it from flapping around. A pair of thick, baggy trousers made his thin legs look far bigger than they really were, fuzzy grey boots kept his feet warm, and fluffy bands around his wrists kept his hands from freezing off. Without the carefully warmed conditions of his room in the lab keeping him just the right temperature, added measures were a must to ensure he didn't freeze; as such, a long, thick, black coat lined on the inside with blue fur was hung neatly over the bag, ready for when it was needed.

Tango only hoped it was enough.

"Keep walking east," Cub was telling him. "You'll reach the Subsol Woods in about two days, if you make good speed."

"To du?! Toy cu wok to du!" Torchy protested.

"You won't be doing any walking," Tango reminded the little dragon, holding up his arm to look him in the eye. "You'll probably barely even do any flying, for void's sake!"

Doc chuckled, but then sobered up quick. "Just make sure you ration your food and don't eat it all at once. In the woods, you'll find both a faerie and an elf camp, though you'll probably come across the elves first. Tell them Meyer sent you, they'll take care of you."

Right. Tango kept forgetting that "Doc" wasn't the engineer's real name.

"Got it," Tango nodded.

"Good luck," Cub said.

Tango took a deep breath, and took his first step out of the castle gate.

"WAIT!" a voice called before he could take a second.

They all turned to see a young woman - barely more than a girl, really - running towards them. The queen.

"Thank goodness, I was worried I'd missed you," Queen Rebecca panted when she reached them.

She'd been crying; Tango saw the red rings around her pale brown eyes right away. If it weren't for that, though, it would have been impossible to tell. Her red-gold hair still lay in perfect waves, her back was still pencil straight, her head still held high. A queen through and through.

"Your majesty," Cub and Doc said together, bowing.

Wordlessly, Tango copied the motion.

The young queen waved her hand at him. "Ah, no need for that. Once you're outside those gates, you're officially free - you're barely even under my rule anymore."

"Oh," Tango said, because what else was he supposed to say?

"I wanted to give you this before you go." The queen held out a small drawstring pouch.

"What is it?" Tango asked curiously, taking it and weighing it in his hand. It was heavier than he expected, considering how little it seemed to hold.

"Something that'll help you later - trust me, it's saved my life more than once."

Tango started to open the pouch, but the queen hurriedly said, "No, no! Wait until you're alone."

Tango frowned. "Why?"

"It's..." She hesitated. "It's the sort of thing best opened in private."

"Right." Tango nodded, like that made any sense at all.

As he was tucking the pouch into the messenger bag, she went on, "I also wanted to wish you luck. I told you I'd get you out, and I did."

"Thank you," Tango said, and meant it with his whole heart.

Finally, finally he was getting to see the world.

He turned back to the city beyond the gate. He'd have to navigate that before he even reached the plains that stood between here and the Subsol Woods, but he'd memorised many, many maps of the country in his time, including one of the city as it currently stands. He didn't think he'd have much, if any difficulty with it.

After another deep breath, he took his second step out into the world.

And just like that, he was walking, a free male, his best friend on his arm and a mystery pouch in his bag, and Doc's call to "be careful!" in his ears.

He had no idea where he was going or who he would meet, but he was prepared. He was more than prepared - he was ready.

[super-paper]

What was the point of Chapter 419 with AFO giving Tomura decay and being involved in his life since he was born, besides generating AFO is behind everything and Kotaro gay affair memes?

I still believe Hori could have pulled this off if he hadn't veered completely off course after 419 because a LOT of Tenko's (and AFO's) arc revolves around the concepts of "identity" and fantasy vs reality (Like, just scratching the surface: AFO attempting to escape from his reality through fantasy, Tenko angrily attempting to pull away the curtain of fantasy and expose the cruel reality of their world. AFO using "reality" as his source of power by claiming its victims for himself, Tenko using "fantasy" as his power by offering those same victims a dream and the promise of an "escape" from their painful reality. "Shigaraki Tomura" as the fictional construct that both AFO and Tenko are attempting to insert themselves into, for both different and similar reasons-- Tenko because he decides to embrace the fact that he killed his family and uses it as evidence that he was "born evil" and "wanted them to die" as a way of explaining his existence. AFO because he wants to escape from the reality that he murdered his brother, while also escaping from the reality of his origin as a helpless infant who no one would look at no matter how much he cried. Blah blah blah etc etc when I say u have to read AFO and Tenko's arcs as a set instead of getting angry at AFO for "inserting himself into Tenko's story," I really do mean it lmao).

Like, MVA aside, Chapter 115 in particular set the tone for Act 2 and HEAVILY foreshadowed what Tenko's arc would end up being about:

(lmao ya'll there is so much evidence in Act 2 that points to the idea that Hori really did want to write a deconstruction of your typical hero story. like, the framing of this panel with Jin angrily turning the TV off when they start talking about "focusing on the positives"????😭I get so sad when I think about the mha we coulda had)

(Side note: Jin was just so so so good as both a character and as a device meant to introduce the reader to MHA's concepts of identity + how a "hero/villain" identities are frequently used as crutches to stop a person from breaking apart under the weight of their trauma

..... which of course makes the fact that Hori rendered his death pointless in the end all the more upsetting :/)

(Pictured: AFO and Tenko fighting over the role of Shigaraki Tomura)

(this scene where Jin talks about the importance of knowing "who u really are" immediately transitions to a scene with AFO, btw. lmao)

((As an aside: 115 is another shining example of how Hori is definitely a competent writer, bc it manages to set up pretty much the entirety of Act 2 + its themes up in just 15-17 pages-- which is all the more reason why the extremely poor quality of MHA's conclusion is so hard to swallow. I definitely don't believe in blaming the editors/publishers alone for how things turned out, but all the same, I do think there was some executive meddling from behind the scenes bc of how rushed and disjointed the epilogue ended up being. It's not the quality we're used to, not by a long shot, and you can tell as much by reading pretty much any chapter before 423.)) /tangent over

ANYWAY. To me, it ways always pretty obvious that AFO was more or less grooming Tenko to be his perfect ~Demon Lord~ OC-- the idea of treating a real person like a fictional character is something I find pretty terrifying + it's something that further emphasizes MHA's metafiction elements, with Tenko being trapped in a role that was written for someone else. I feel that there was adequate build up to AFO being "the author" behind Shigaraki Tomura, specifically-- and it all seemed to be leading up to a point where Tenko would be encouraged to break free & finally take control of his own story ("I needed to hear those words" -> "Those guys (the villains) need a hero, too" -> "You CAN be a hero" "Uh, whoopsie??" 🥲🥲🥲)

Sadly it ends up amounting to nothing because..... Tenko isn't even allowed to fully process the implications of his birth/life and how this has influenced his actions/beliefs/"dream" before exploding, a core scene between him and Nana gets offscreened, and our MC never even bothers to react to the revelation that Tenko's life was scripted. It renders a HUGE part of Tenko's character arc almost completely pointless because we get no actual resolution/pay off for everything that was set up. Like, so much of the finale + epilogue just feels like Hori was going down a check list of plot points/parallels he wanted to include before putting MHA out of its misery, rather than building up to them naturally-- and it's just sad it had to end this way, bc, well. It didn't HAVE to end this way. Hori had all the ingredients necessary to make something truly wonderful, but he didn't use them.

[rei-ismyname]

Defenders #16 Highlights

I don't usually do #Highlights for single issues, but Defenders #16 is a banger and a stealth X-Men comic with some cool guests.

The premise is that Mags has bio-engineered Alpha, the Ultimate Mutant - and plans to crush his enemies and rule the world through him. It'll become more clear how impressive Mags' achievement is here, and speaks to how good he was at evil science. Chuck forms an ad hoc Defenders non-team with Doctor Strange to stop him. Neither can touch Alpha.

The Brotherhood of EEEVIL Mutants are there too (minus the Maximoff twins who are now Avengers) but they don't do much. The Hulk has a shot next but Alpha no-sells his assault. Blob says something very clever - 'just kill them bro' but Mags (who really needs to brush his teeth) has a very narrow definition of victory.

Alpha seals the cavern they're in shut and teleports to New York!

The homies roll up to the UN, and Alpha seems to be evolving very rapidly. Mags quotes The Doors to the General Assembly and they say no. At his command, Alpha...

... fucking levitates the building several kilometres into the air.

Alpha is basically a proto-Beyonder at this point, though he's still taking orders on the premise that the Defenders are evil. He doesn't want to kill them though, which is lucky because they made it into the building but are drawing dead power-wise.

Alpha has a trick for everyone, including turning Valkyrie's legs into putty. Chuck recognises a kindred spirit in him, though his head is much bigger and balder. His argument is basically 'Magneto is full of shit.' Alpha is intrigued!

Having reached full God mode (how the fuck did Mags cook this guy up?) he decides to judge everyone. Not looking good Mags, though he makes his case.

Alpha is like 'nah fuck that, I'll turn you all into babies.' Then he undoes all the havoc and decides Earth sucks so he bails immediately, never to return.

See! Babies. Hulk is like 'what the fuck just happened?' and the Brotherhood of Breastfeeding Mutants cry a lot, as you would. Magneto created a God and now he's an infant, again. There's probably a philosophical lesson here but I got nothing. Pretty wild shit.

[flutteringphalanges]

Reaching for the Stars

Adam Warlock x Star Lord!Sister Reader

Prompt:  When your infant daughter starts to exhibit signs of inheriting her father’s powers, you and Adam find yourselves in quite a predicament. Not to mention when your brother, Peter, finds himself caught up in it. 

Word Count: 1,509

A/N: So I decided to write another one shot involving the reader and Adam Warlock having a child together. It is the same baby mentioned in my first one shot Aydith. The baby’s name is a combination of Meredith Quill and Ayesha (Adam’s mother). Also I couldn’t decide if the reader is married to Adam or dating, so I just said “partner”. You can decide! I might do another part to this one but I am not sure. I am open to requests! I hope you enjoy!

                                 Reaching for the Stars

“Look, I’m no baby expert, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t exactly normal.”

Your heart was pounding too hard to even glare at your brother for his comment as the two of you stared up at the ceiling. You had only turned your head for a minute. A minute! And now your baby had decided that she no longer liked the ground and instead preferred floating several feet in the air where you couldn’t reach her. Thank god you were at least inside!

“Peter, do something!” You cried out, finally looking over at your brother in desperation. Oh, you felt sick. And faint. Christ, where the hell was Adam?! “Help me get her down!”

“What am I supposed to do?!” He gestured, obviously beginning to panic as well. “I’m not Groot! I can’t just extend my arms and grab her!” Peter exhaled and began to look around. “Maybe there is something we can use in here, like a broom?”

Your jaw dropped. “You want to hit my baby with a broom?!”

Peter threw his arms up in the air in frustration. “How the HELL did you come to that conclusion?! Why in all the universes would you assume I’d want to smack my niece out of the air?!”

“I don’t know?!” And your panicking was slowly growing into hysteria. You were just getting accustomed to parenting and now your perfect baby had decided to show off her celestial talents. Dammit, where was Adam?! “Aydith, it’s okay! Mommy is right here! Don’t move!”

Unlike you and her uncle, the infant seemed as if she hadn’t a care in the world. She floated in one place, occasional flipping and offering you a two tooth smile. Her (your eye color) sparkled and she giggled down at the two of you, completely unaware of the terror she was causing you both.

“Y/N?”

Both you and Peter turned to see Adam standing in the doorway. If it hadn’t been for the severity of the situation, the way his expression of confusion switched to one of bewilderment upon seeing his child in the air would’ve been comical. You didn’t have time to enjoy the feeling of relief as you hurried over to his side.

“Our baby is flying!” You pointed as if he couldn’t clearly see the situation before him.

“I didn’t know she could do that.” He replied so innocently. Damn, you loved him so much but sometimes…

“Nor did I!” You sighed deeply, trying to regain some form of composure after losing it with Peter. “But apparently she can and now she is up there and I cannot get her down!”

“Y/N wasn’t open to any of my ideas--” Peter began to argue before you cut him off.

“Because you wanted to knock Aydith out of the air with a broom!” You hissed.

“I was going to try to hook the handle on her overalls and pull her down!” He shot back. “But you didn’t even let me finish my plan!”

You really wanted to point out Peter’s interesting history when it came to planning, but decided against it. Instead, you watched as your daughter peered down at Adam, her chubby, little arms reached out towards him. Effortlessly, your partner rose into the air and gingerly took a hold of her. The moment his feet touched the ground, the wave of relief that hit you almost brought you to your knees.

“Oh, Aydith!” At once, you scooped her from Adam’s embrace and hugged her close. “Don’t you ever do that to me again, okay?!” It was a battle to hold back tears as you held her close.

“So the kid can fly now.” Peter said as he looked at Adam. “And she isn’t even one yet. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume you are just as clueless as the rest of us of what else Aydith might be capable of?”

You felt Adam’s hand rest on the small of your back. Even though his eyes weren’t fixed on you, you knew he was trying to offer some comfort. You moved closer, resting your head against him as Aydith fiddled with the collar of your shirt.

“No, I’m sorry.” His eyes met yours, the look on his face hard to read. “Until I learned Y/N was pregnant, I didn’t even think it was possible for us to reproduce.”

Your daughter let out a whine, one that you had come to recognize as her needing a nap. Peter made a goofy face, trying to make her smile. He’d always been so good with her--not that you had ever doubted he wouldn’t be. Aydith looked back at him, one cheek pressed against your chest. She was tired--and if you were quite frank, so were you.

“We need to talk with the others.” Peter stated, looking from you to Adam. “Maybe come up with some sort of game plan to keep Aydith grounded until we fully understand what she is able to do.”

Your eyes flickered down to your daughter who appeared to have finally drifted off. She was so small. So little. How could someone like that do something so extraordinary, yet so terrifying at such a young age? You didn’t fear the possibilities of what she would be like if she had inherited some of her father’s powers. No. No, you worried what would happen if she did. What dangers she would face. That’s what scared you.

  “Okay.” You nodded, shifting her in your arms. You knew the other Guardians would literally drop anything any of them were doing and come to your aid if you asked. That’s what families did after all. There was an old saying you remembered that said it took a village to raise a child--in this case, that village was turning out to be Knowhere. “Let’s do it.”

                                                      XXX

Silence followed you as you and Adam walked to Aydith’s room. Peter was gone and a part of you felt guilty of not apologizing after he left. You made a mental note to do so the next time you saw him. When you reached her crib, you cautiously set her down, doing your best not to wake her. Thankfully you were successful.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N.” The sound of Adam’s voice pulled you back to reality. “I never even fathomed the idea of Aydith having my abilities. If I had known, or even considered it for that matter…” He shook his head, guilt heavy in his tone as if he blamed himself. “If there hadn’t been a roof…”

The last thing you wanted was for him to feel bad. Adam’s powers, his gifts, they were beautiful. You didn’t dare want him to think otherwise. And certainly you didn’t want him to think that he’d cursed your daughter. Reaching out, you take a hold of his hand, interlocking your fingers. Aydith was safe. That was what was important. She was in her crib before the both of you passed out. Completely and utterly lost to the world.

“You have absolutely nothing to apologize for.” You assured him, reaching up with your other hand to turn his face towards your. “Aydith is a part of you, just as she is me. And I suppose one of those parts of you involves her having some sort of special abilities.” You offered him a small smile. “Even if witnessing my child levitate in the air wasn’t what I had initially ever anticipated her doing.”

Adam squeezed your hand. “No, I cannot say I pictured her doing so either.”

You both watched her quietly, his thumb gently stroking your hand. You were still on edge, though your anxiety had lessened quite a bit since Aydith had been deemed safe. Exhaling, you catch Adam’s gaze in your own.

“We’ve got this.” And you were a little surprised how sure you sounded. “At least, we can’t afford not to be, right? After everything we’ve been through as Guardians, I think we can manage this new milestone…Or whatever you want to call this new development.”  

The corners of Adam’s mouth twitch slightly upwards at your words. “Yes, I agree with you. We haven’t let anything stop us yet.”

He dropped your hand and wound his arm around you to pull you into a kiss. You let your eyes close for a moment, melting in his embrace. It was moments like this that you cherished between the two of you. Especially after Aydith had been born and your intimate times had shifted some depending on her needs. Parenthood had surely become a whirlwind--one that you had welcomed with wide, open arms.

“I love you.” You murmured softly, pulling back just enough so that your eyes met. “Both of you.”

“And I you.” Adam replied, resting his forehead against yours. “In every universe and every dimension.” He turned away for just a second to peer over at your daughter before looking back. “We’ve got this, don’t we?”

This time, the nod you gave him felt much more confident. “Yeah,” you agreed. “We do.”

[shiroganeryo]

So... I may or may have not made a Dazatsu lovechild a while ago 💦 Decided to show her to the world after seeing some discourse on the neighboring site today 😅

I took inspiration from Yūko Tsushima, Osamu Dazai's daughter and novelist! Her ability is Child of Fortune.

A lot about her is still a WIP, but please check under the read more cut if you're interested in knowing more about her (and also see me exposing myself with the delirious idea that brought her into being)!

Feat. married Dazatsu, which is always good; but this post is looong.

So, how did this happen?

I'm very weak and give lovechildren to my ships often. I was thinking about how cute would be a child of theirs and conveniently found out about Dazai's daughter, who also was a novelist and everything simply fell into place effortlessly.

The actual backstory

Yūko is a byproduct of the Book. The text written into it desired a strong ability that could be easily manipulated to come into being. However, since the Book follows a certain logic, such ability manifested as a singularity; key traits of two abilities it considered powerful if combined merged and came into being as an infant's.

Still following the Book's logic, this weak, vulnerable being appeared in the vicinity of the ones who would protect it from harm.

And now the "serious" part is out of the way, imagine Dazai randomly getting up in the middle of the night for a glass of water and finding a sleeping cat that had broken into their home.

...Except when he touches it to put it back outside, it turns into a child.

This is a case of "instructions too vague, gave a random couple a child" lmao

What happens from there

What else would Dazai do if not wake Atsushi up, who at first doesn't understand why all that fuss just because of a cat that broke in until he sees it for himself. Both are extremely confused.

Then what else would they do if not resort to Kyouka next door because they're at a loss and need a female's feedback here. She's immediately smitten but Atsushi keeps reminding her they can't just keep her like a lost kitten, they need to find her parents.

This results in them deciding to take her to the Agency, they're detectives after all. The three of them walk in, Dazai with the girl in his arms (to prevent her from activating her ability and running off), Atsushi carrying a bag with the improvised provisions they had arranged, and Kyouka with the straightest face ever.

Everyone looks at them in confusion. Ranpo instantly knows what's up. Atsushi says he would love to say they can explain but he honestly has no idea whatsoever.

They tell the others what happened and since Ranpo likes to make things more amusing, he remarks on how similar she looks to both Dazai and Atsushi in appearance, and that her ability also resembles Atsushi's weretiger features. Dazai instantly picks up on the hints.

Kunikida is hellbent on finding the girl's parents before anything else, but Dazai suggests running a DNA test to test a theory of his. Kunikida resists a little because there's just no way you're implying what you're implying, but Dazai insists for the sake of ruling out possibilities.

It's a perfect match with both him and Atsushi.

The next steps

Apparently, they're her parents now. She needs registration documents and whatnot; Ango takes care of the bureaucracies and necessary paperwork to make this happen more smoothly because this is by no means your everyday occurrence, she must be properly recorded in the Special Division's files.

Since Dazai and Atsushi are married, this means they're also both her legal guardians. For safety's sake, her surname is registered as Tsushima (津島) instead of Nakajima (中島) to make her a little harder to track because there's definitely something up with that (or so Dazai thinks, which he tells Ango).

To help cover her identity better, she's also accepted into the Agency as an employee (she went through an entrance exam and all) of sorts, so Fukuzawa's ability takes effect on her. The ID card on her lanyard is her official detective ID.

Currently, she's learning how to read and write and undergoing training to better control her ability.

Ability

Yūko's ability was dubbed Child of Fortune (寵児, Chōji); it's still under observation to determine the full potential of her skills. So far, it's known that much like Atsushi, she's able of transforming fully into a tiger (except it's a tiger cub) or partially, into a weretiger. She supposedly has restoration skills, but they're still not fully developed.

Exceptionally strong claws.

She also has a powerful bite, observed to neutralize the effect of other abilities with the only exception being No Longer Human. The bite leaves a mark that renders the affected person unable of using their ability for a set time.

Some trivia

Since Yūko can't heal herself properly yet, her injuries are kept bandaged. Usually seen on the wrists or ankles. I left this detail to match Dazai's bandages, as a visual representation of the young age the irl author lost her father to suicide.

The reason why her left hand is bandaged in the second drawing though, is because she punched a classmate who was bullying her; she didn't mind the offenses until it sounded like they were badmouthing Atsushi and GOD FORBID she hears anyone say anything bad about any of her dads.

It's fine btw, they're best friends now. Dazai actually talked to the kid and they apologized after that; Yūko only apologized because Atsushi told her to.

I need you to imagine them being called to the school because Yūko got into a fight and Atsushi becoming disconcerted after learning the reason behind it from their daughter while Dazai tried very hard not to laugh because it would upset Atsushi but he was a little too proud of Yūko (defend your cinnamon roll dad!)

She's very easy to deal with, a very calm and obedient child despite having a strong, assertive personality. When she's not in school, she's hanging out in the Agency; she stays in the lounge area of the office and spends her time drawing or trying to write words. Both Atsushi and Dazai take turns checking on her.

Like any child, Yūko has a lot of energy and may tire out her parents, especially if she decides to activate her ability; she outsped Atsushi once and since then they're both surprised and terrified. She always falls for Dazai's trap of calling her by saying "pspsps" with a smile though and fails to understand why she turns back to normal every time.

Her training isn't just to teach her how to control her ability better, but also to teach her how to use it responsibly. Sometimes it looks a lot like gym classes tbh.

Yes, tiger Atsushi does carry tiger cub Yūko around in his mouth and gives her baths.

Yes, Dazai does whine there's yet another cat in his immediate family circle that he can't pet.

And if you read until here, I wish you a wonderful day, please know that I love you and am sending good things vibes your way 🫶

[cocoacat323]

Naruto Fic Recs

Since so many people liked my svsss rec list I thought I might do one for Naruto, warning all of these are either sasuke-kakashi centric so if you don't like that I recommend you don't read this! Anywho!

heroes come back Summary: Sasuke Uchiha is reborn as Timothy Drake

With Friends Like These Summary:

“I’m from the future—seven years in the future.” There’s a long, drawn-out silence. Itachi’s face is unreadable as he stares at Sasuke. “You’re what?” he finally says.

Sasuke travels back in time to stop the war. He infiltrates the Akatsuki in order to kill them - he doesn't expect to take a page out of Naruto's book and befriend them instead.

CCG Public Enemy No 1 Summary: Kakashi had a single red-and-black eye for more than half his life. Now, he has two.

twist 'verse Summary: Team Seven, in all its iterations, gets fucked over by whatever cosmic powers yet again and time travels/reincarnates/possesses bodies of the Founders. (Note: This is a series not a fic, but I thoroughly enjoyed it so it's making the list anyway.)

Frayed Truths 'verse Summary:

"What are you saying?" Kakashi demands, distress turning his tone harsh. "That you don't know when he'll wake up?" "I'm saying I don't know if he will."

When Itachi uses the Tsukuyomi on his brother that day in the hallway, he miscalculates. In the aftermath, Sakura and Naruto struggle with what it means to be a team and Kakashi sits by the bedside of a boy that might never wake.

A single misstep, and everything changes.

[NOW UNDERGOING EDITING]

(Note: This is also a series and not a fic, I'm sorry about that, but once again it's very good. The series itself has no summary so I went with the summary for the first fic in the series.)

How a Young Heart Really Feels Summary: It was absolutely the most devastating thing to ever happen to him in his six years of life. He knew Uchiha were supposed to love too deeply, but this was ridiculous! He was just a kid, for god's sake! He didn't want to be in love!

Or: Sasuke gets a crush and it messes with best laid plans.

Misrecognition Summary: During the fight on top of the hospital after Itachi's tsukuyomi Sasuke sees Naruto's rasengan and decides that was the final nail to hammer home his weakness, how he would never be able to become stronger than his brother. He was a loser, destined to fail, destined to die. So he might as well die now.

Sasuke tries to use Naruto's rasengan as a means to an end. Friend-killer Kakashi watches this.

Restore My Faith Summary: Sasuke was consumed with hatred because his family was killed. His entire family, not a single person left alive except him and their killer. It was enough to drive someone insane, or into the arms of the first maniac promising him enough power for revenge.

Instead Sasuke finds a little baby Uchiha on a meaningless mission and leaves Konoha for a vastly different reason. (Note: Very literally my favorite fic in the world, of you were to read any fic on this list I beg that it is this one.)

Never Trust Your Rinnegan (Tales of Sasuke's Travels) Summary: "Sasuke isn't in the Elemental Nations.

None of the Elemental Nations have buildings quite like this, people quite like this. Sure, Ame is weird, but this is really pushing it. These people don't have Chakra signatures, they shouldn’t be alive.

The Rinnegan has never teleported him somewhere he hasn’t already gone."

OR: Sasuke is transported to the world of BNHA and has a very hard time trying to get out.

Road to Nowhere Summary: Hitoshi knows there's something wrong with himself before he's even old enough to have a sense of self. He looks at his reflection and knows that the infant looking back at him isn't what he should be seeing.

His dreams are a maelstrom of grief and fear, his mind overwhelmed with a lifetime of emotions his brain isn't developed enough to comprehend. There's an ingrained instinct blaring that everything is wrong wrong wrong.

--

In which Hatake Kakashi is reincarnated as Shinsou Hitoshi, and he wants nothing to do with this world's so-called "heroes."

A step to the left (and right off the cliff) Summary: Team Seven starts off on a different foot and Sasuke's canonical journey to get stronger goes off the rails a bit. It all works out though. Probably.

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 - Three spicy/spoilery reviews

The reviewers are just saying whatever they want, I guess! O_O

Here's my favorite bits from TheWrap, ComicBook, and IGN.

I've decided to mix and match them, comparing what they each say about similar themes/topics/reveals.

ELEVATING THE SOURCE MATERIAL

TELL IT! It's about adding DEPTH, y'all, not just a 1:1 page-to-screen.

Intellectual horror, instead of psychological horror--fascinating.

An "even more authentic adaptation" -- WE BEEN KNEW!!! I roll my eyes at book stans who hate on the show, acting like the movie was more accurate just cuz it was set during slavery times with white actors. 🙄 Like PLEASE, there's so much missing from the movie, or glossed over, or straight up changed, that the show-antis just demonstrate how shallow they are when their every attack hinges on the timeline/race/age changes. Cry harder.

MORE elevated than Season 1--you love to see it.

Yaaas, bring on the petty melodramatic mess, and fierce performances! 👏

CLAUDIA & MADELEINE

Because Bailey used profanity to convey her agony being a woman trapped in an adolescent's body in S1 too, I'm assuming Delainey will just cuss more? But cussing is all over the show, so I don't get it.

Everyone keeps raving about Roxane as Madeleine, but they've been SO CLOSE-LIPPED about her scenes, and it's KILLING me. 😭

"Deeply willful around Louis"--yeah, we saw a glimpse of that in the trailer; it's what he deserves. Give 'em hell, Claudia!

And yeah, she's PISSED that they cast her as Baby LouLou--imagine, being infantalized, and given the name of the father you've already gone through so much to emancipate yourself from as a "Brother" instead of "Daddy Lou." 😒 Eff Louis--where's Claudia's scythe at!?

LOUIS / LOUMAND

"Nonsense--" TheWrap isn't holding back a single punch huh?

"dating show contestants feigning authenticity to clumsily present themselves in the best light--" oof. 💀

Holy god; "begging the question...if Louis has just traded one abuser for another" GO AWF! 🚩🚩🚩

DANIEL / DEVIL'S MINION

Wow, so this must refer to Episode 5 from the episode titles list released recently. "Genuine horror".... 😈

RIP. 💀 Youngmaniel might see some action, but Oldmaniel's "utterly allergic and adversarial;" OOF. 💀💀

ARMAND

They keep saying petty. 😅 These messy queens are a trip!

"Far more powerful" -- I am SEATED~! I wanna see THE coven master!

Yaaas, come through Children of Satan/Darkness acolyte! 😈

"Scarred and transformed by the same man" -- they sound like war veterans. U_U

LESTAT / LOUSTAT

"the show's primary villain--" say it louder. Book stans need to stop projecting post-IWTV Lestat the hero/protagonist/MC into the narrative that LOUIS is telling, as a guy struggling to get over his ex.

"There to berate him for his poor choices--" this tracks with the trailer released today, too, where the producers said Dream-Stat would "pass judgement" on Louis' pisspoor actions.

PRODUCTION (Sets, Costumes, etc)

Yes, IWTV S1 was absolutely gorgeous; their attention to detail was immaculate. And so far it looks like S2 is gonna be just as nice. I REALLY like what I've seen of the Threatre's aesthetic.

THEATRE DES VAMPIRES & SANTIAGO

I freaking love this. XD

Agreeing with him about WHAT though? 🤨 That Louis & Claudia are hiding things? Or that they deserve to die because of it? (Especially since Lestat is OBVIOUSLY not actually dead, so what "crime/rules" are they actually breaking, Lord Kangaroo Court?)

TALAMASCA & CRITIQUES

Thank you lord god kamisama flying spaghetti monster he's a Talamascan, not another secret vampire.

But now I'm nervous, thanks to the ComicBook review:

Uh oh. The Talamasca feels forced & out of place. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

The AVENGERS INITIATIVE. 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

But they say it feels like "Daniel's being recruited--" YES PLEASE. 🙏 If Daniel's not gonna be a vampire, at least let him be a Talamascan. Ain't no way he can return to the mundane world after all this.

My BIGGEST complaint about IWTV as a franchise is its tenuous connection to the Immortals Universe. AMC is dropping the ball hard on creating an ARCU--Anne Rice's Cinematic Universe. There are SO MANY immortals & supernaturals we should've BEEN seen in S1, walking the streets of NOLA. I will say this every time: Oncle Vervain Mayfair should've been brought in from the OG pilot script. We should've seen Louis go to him for gris-gris before the poker game, and introduce Lestat to Vervain as a practitioner of what Louis thought was "European voodoo." Also: we should've seen Lasher. There should've been a scene where the Mayfairs told the vampires to GTFO their territory, and keep their hunting grounds on the other side of town. Like, the Mayfair Witches show sucks like you wouldn't believe, it's so stupid (looks gorgeous though), but the WORLDBUILDING is ripe for the taking! And AMC did squat with it!

Like, tbh, I don't see the point of a whole Talamasca show, and if it's handled by Esta & the gang from MW, then I don't wanna see it--I WILL, ofc, but I won't WANT to. Especially since we haven't seen any ghosts. ISTG, PLEASE have Merrick Mayfair in Ep7 or Ep8--not only will that bridge IWTV with MW, but it can perfectly lead to Blackwood Farm., while keeping the threads between vampires, ghosts, AND the Taltos (if they're determined to do a Lestat/Rowan crossover from Blood Canticle 🤢🤮).

I was wondering why so many reviews were giving it 4/5 or 9/10, like wtf are y'all being so stingy for!? But if this is the problem, then I'm not surprised, I've been complaining about it the whole time.

[seraphcelene]

IWTV S2E4 - I Want You More Than Anything in the World

There are games being played.

Let's talk about Louis -- how he's been transformed from the melancholy, self-flagellating moral mess to almost equal parts temper and angst, ever balanced between joy and hope and rage.

I can't compare this series to the books because it is a different beast altogether, and I LOVE the changes.

There is something sinister and beautiful in the way that IwtV has turned gender politics on its head. Queer love is centered and the vulnerability of emotion demanded of women in depictions of romantic relationships gets equal demand in the male leads. That is wildly true of the novels and makes for a welcome shift in the way that men are portrayed on screen. Armand's NEED oozes out of his eyes when he's with Louis. He is so in love. He also opens a vein describing his life before vampirism. It's a narrative that typically frames womanhood -- objectified, sexualized, enslaved and without agency. Then there's Louis grief, guilt, and unrequited love for Lestat, a force in every scene Jacob Anderson is in.

The commentary on how women fit and are objectified within society are there too. Madeline's shunning after her affair with a young German solider is explained in equally by "patriotism" and loose morals (she is slut shamed). Claudia's infantilization, at complete odds with how she sees herself and wants to be seen is horrifying. Her "maman" in the play makes a comment about Baby Lulu distracting her father so that he keeps his hands off her (the mother). It's coarse theater, of course, and it's meant to be a purple comment that suggests and titillates. It is also, to a modern audience, or at least this person as audience, horrifying. It reminded me immediately of how women are portrayed as objectified stand ins to attract the male gaze. Claudia's debasement, sexualized infant for the mortals and walking ridicule as blasphemy to the immortals, is a game, a show and a joke for everyone. That girl is going to break. Her developing relationship with Madeline is the closest depiction of normalcy and something she craves and has craved since she accidentally ate that boy back in Season 1.

It all makes an interesting comment on power structure. Who has it, who doesn't, who wants it, who doesn't. Season 1 sets Louis as the beta to Lestat's alpha. It makes sense. Lestat is a natural born alpha, but Louis as a beta is a little sleight of hand. Yes with Lestat, but as is increasingly more obvious absolutely not with Armand. Louis even reminds us that he is good at running things.

I'd argue that Armand was never really an alpha vampire. He holds the coven because his dark gifts are strong enough to allow him to, but not because anyone is particularly afraid or in awe of him. It makes Louis and Armand as a coven of two an interesting question. @lynnenne has posited that Louis is the one in control. I find that idea deliciously fascinating and more likely as we're watching the events of the past. But because this is still a story of unreliable narrator's, I have to question the truth. Is he? or isn't he?

Louis dresses his disdain and his resistance to emotional intimacy in Lestat's figure. He holds on to him as armor to hold off real emotional attachment even as he stares lovingly into Armand's face in the present and declares that he loved him even back them. I don't know that him letting go of Lestat in the rain (SO FUCKING SAD AND OH!) was about him deciding to be in love so much as it is about him deciding to let go of guilt and fear so that he can move forward. Lestat was his past. Running the theater could be his future and it would be to protect Claudia as much as it would be to protect Armand.

But again … what of this story is real? Daniel's migraines, the reemerging memories of San Francisco that are very much centered around what looks like Armand playing mind games.

Little things I loved about this episode:

Madeline and Claudia in the shop and the way that Claudia is lamenting that she is a vampire and Madeline is dinner

"Go sit in your choice, sister." - That fight was epic and hurtful and real. Both of them abandoned in different ways.

Claudia calling Armand on his shit. She is Lestat's daughter for sure. She doesn't give a fuck about the rituals and the rules. Claudia is looking for a space to belong in, but it has to be shaped for her and according to her rules. Anything else will chafe.

"The wilderness that is our daughter."

Louis letting Lestat go is one of the saddest thing ever. The music is a slightly discordant, manipulative goodbye in this very constructed story reflecting a very constructed end between Louis and Lestat. I love the way that Louis makes Lestat say apple and then apple in French as proof that he is just a figment of his imagination because Lestat is never that accommodating. "There isn't going to be a hunt, is there?" And then he is washed away by the rain.

[t1oui]

my headcanons about the weasley-wood family but i try to make them coherent

(side note - if you want more info about the oc kids i gave them in this fic, you can find said info here. there will be some inconsistencies, because i've changed some info about the weasley-wood family story since then, but most info is the same.)

percy never wanted kids as a child growing up in a family with (in his opinion) far too many kids.

oliver and percy got together in fourth year, so while oliver had had a few thoughts that it would be nice to have a big family he could play quidditch with, he didn't really think much about a future where that could actually happen.

after the war, they both took a different perspective on this issue after the war orphans fund was introduced and harry was all over it.

it started with them fostering kids. they took care of a few different children. only children and groups of siblings, infants and toddlers, etc. but then they met lucy and her half brother.

lucy was two, but her infant brother was too young to have a name by the time he and lucy's parents were killed. because they felt weird just calling him the baby or lucy's brother, they nicknamed him skye after where oliver grew up.

this is really when they got attached, because how are they supposed to let go of lucy and skye after this? after giving skye a name and lucy her first broom? (yes, she was only two, but this is oliver wood we're talking about, so who's really surprised? at least percy was able to talk oliver into not letting her fly alone.)

a year after they officially adopt lucy and skye, they decide they want another kid. (it's for the charity. they're doing it for the charity.) this is how katie comes into the picture.

katie has dark hair and dark eyes and olive skin and doesn't look anything like her siblings or percy and oliver (lucy and skye, who have blonde hair and blue eyes and brown hair and green eyes respectively, both look like they could be biologically related to their parents). and this changes absolutely nothing.

katie and lucy both love quidditch - lucy lives and breathes it just like oliver does - and yet they are both truly, undeniably like percy.

katie is the one people always talk about. the girl who's most like him all the time, even though he doesn't see it (or, at least, pretends not to). the girl everyone bets will be in slytherin because she's too alike percy to be in any house other than the one he was in. she's even ultra powerful like he and oliver (and marcus and penelope) are.

lucy, meanwhile, is the daughter most people don't realize is like percy because she's so unlike him outside of home. it's not like she isn't herself outside the house, but she's much more outgoing. much more energetic and ready to pull pranks, because why be anything less when there's so much of the world to see?

but at home, everything is familiar. there's nothing new to see when she knows it like the back of her hand, and she can be calm and run on the beach and overturn rocks in search of crabs without feeling the want (or need) to put on a show. and there, at home, in her element, she's so much like percy that sometimes, he has to look away.

percy and oliver were 1/2 of the golden era marauders, and now lucy is 1/4 of the next gen marauders. percy is secretly very proud of this.

skye doesn't like quidditch, and doesn't really like talking to people at all, but he's painfully similar to oliver. almost weirdly so.

skye is a hufflepuff, but - like lucy - he was a hatstall, and like lucy, he was almost put into gryffindor. he doesn't really even understand quidditch, but he spends hours in the library pouring over strategies when his friends or sisters need him to.

skye is the one who looks like he could really be oliver's son, because even though he has green eyes and oliver has brown, their hair is the exact same shade and texture. skye is the one who gravitates to oliver's side while lucy goes to percy's, because while he loves both his parents, we look for people who are like us, don't we?

but there are also moments when skye and percy sit together reading while oliver, lucy, and katie fly above the beach. there are afternoons where oliver and lucy bake together while percy, skye, and katie play board games in the living room.

there are moments when the five of them fly together, skye clinging onto lucy from the back of her broom, because while she's the one who aimed her bludgers at him when they were little, he doesn't feel safe being off the ground with anybody else.

there are long nights when percy and oliver aren't home, out with friends or on a date, when lucy gathers skye and katie into her room and they set up beds on the floor so they can stargaze through the skylight.

all in all, their family might be different, but it's a family, and i think that's pretty cool.

[allthelittlecreepycrawlies]

Time again for "Things I Will Probably Never Write!"

Short Version: "Jin Guangyao is reincarnated in a position that would give him power over Nie Huaisang, but finds he can't go through with getting him back because A) Huaisang doesn't remember their past lives, and B) Huaisang's current life already sucks."

More Detailed Version: After being freed from the get-along coffin, Jin Guangyao is reborn into a slightly-to-the-left version of the world where there's still cultivation and still gentry-clan sects, but different ones from those he remembers.

And he does remember. He remembers everything.

Zhan Haoyu originally decides that he is going to stay as far away from the cultivation world as possible, but the allure of the better parts proves too strong. So he, as a teenager, takes up a job as an apprentice bookkeeper for an orphanage that a local sect frequently draws recruits from. It's a close enough position that he can get away with reusing some cultivation techniques to improve his health and such without drawing suspicion, but (mostly) disconnected from all the political bullshit.

It looks like he'll be able to build himself a comfortable, quiet, safe life, until a new child is brought to the orphanage.

It's Huaisang.

His appearance might be different, but he knows this is Huaisang.

His first immediate thought is to do something to get the kid kicked out. Whether Huaisang remembers or not, he doesn't want the boy anywhere in his general vicinity. There are two other orphanages in the town, or the brat can live on the street for all he cares.

But then he finds himself eavesdropping as the adult who brought the child in explains the situation to the matron.

Little Xie Ying had been born to a woman whose husband abandoned her during the pregnancy. She'd been lucky enough to eventually get remarried to a rich man, but when she got pregnant with his kid, he insisted on getting rid of Ying in favor of his incoming heir, and she hadn't argued with him on it. The person bringing him in is a neighbor of theirs who disapproved of the decision, but doesn't have the means to raise him.

The irony is thick enough to choke on.

The incoming half-brother has to be Mingjue, because that sounds exactly like the kind of sick punchline fate would write to their joke of a situation.

Xiao-Ying is six years old (heavens damn it, even the age difference is the same), old enough that he understands he wasn't wanted. Also, most of the orphanage's residents arrive as infants or very small toddlers, so he's immediately singled out as Other.

Watching how small and quiet and miserable he is, Zhan Haoyu finds he can't go through with any revenge ideas. He'll just avoid the kid and that's that.

Except he keeps finding xiao-Ying hiding from the other kids in the library or his office. Not only that, but little scrap paper doodles and halves of the rare treats the kids are given and shiny rocks and other "small child" gifts keep showing up on his desk.

He eventually clues in as to why xiao-Ying insists on always showing up in his shadow, remembering his previous childhood in the brothel and how a lot of the time, being ignored was a lot safer than being noticed. The boy apparently adores him just for not picking on him.

Again, the irony is almost sickening.

But... if he's being honest with himself... this is the side of Huaisang he'd missed.

He's not going to encourage it. He's not going to be this child's friend.

He's not.

The cheap little calligraphy set he leaves on the boy's pillow the day after his realization is just a practical replacement for the brushes one of the older boys had ripped all the hair out of two days ago. Nothing more.

[oatmealcrisp-freak]

Little preview of the next Single chapter cus uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh idk when the rest is gonna happen SO HERE

“Big brother,” Yuuta said with complete seriousness. “Why do you have a baby.”

Kusuo debated. It took him about three seconds.

He said, “Why shouldn’t I have a baby?”

Yuuta squinted. It was hilarious to watch the kid’s face work as he mulled over the riddle Kumi presented, one which Kusuo had decided not to answer so easily because this was all Yuuta’s fault, really, at the end of the day. It was his little bit of fanfiction slash creative writing project that’d gone viral and meant people were leaving Kusuo prayers at the hokora after all. Why he’d even posted it on his blog to begin with Kusuo wasn’t sure, certainly it wasn’t poorly written but what it was was embarrassing.

He ignored the flash of intuition that said to look at the hokora. Not for the first time today, either. He was tired, damnit, and still dealing with the other o-

Yuuta said, “Did you kidnap a baby?”

Kusuo’s jaw dropped in offense. “What? No! Why would you even say such a thing?”

Kumi’s presence in his home was entirely legal, thank you very much.

“Well you’re not married and last I checked, you’re still more interested in dating coffee jelly over people,” Yuuta said, grinning ear to ear but there was a tick in his eyebrow that told Kusuo he was, for some reason, not as happy as the rest of his face told. “So it’s not like you could conceive naturally. She doesn’t look like a clone, or like an experiment your older brother cooked up, so that only leaves one option.”

Yuuta ducked closer to the phone and raised his hand to hide his mouth from the side, pretending to a slyness he really didn’t actually have. “Do you need help burying the bodies?”

Kusuo stared.

Sometimes Yuuta’s imagination was a little frightening. He could only guess what the kid must be thinking for him to ask something like that.

As if Kusuo would ever need help disposing of remains. Tch. But anyways.

He sighed as Yuuta cracked up into laughter, no doubt his so called ‘little brother’ was enjoying teasing him. Fine. He’d let the kid get the one up over him this time.

Even though calling Yuuta a kid was a bit of a misnomer by now. He was in college after all. Just about done, too.

“The only body around here worth burying is yours, kid.” Kusuo said, looking down at his little girl. 

She looked confused, insomuch as an infant could look confused, and he could feel her developing mind cranking hard in an attempt to figure out where the brand new voice was coming from.

“What?! Mine?” Yuuta squawked.

Successfully distracted from his daughter’s cute little face, Kusuo looked into his phone. He even arched an eyebrow, for the benefit of appearing arch. 

“Yours. You’ll never guess,” Kusuo lifted Kumi a touch. “What I found at a certain hokora, in the rain, with a cup of coffee jelly.”

His intuition pinged again. He ignored it. Again. It was easy, because Yuuta’s face was falling into a very entertaining cringe that told Kusuo yes, he understood. He understood very well.

“Ah.” Yuuta said.

“Ah.” Kusuo agreed.

“But that’s insane,” Yuuta said a handful of minutes later. “Why on earth would a person leave a baby in a hokora?”

Kusuo shrugged as he poured himself a cup of coffee, one eye on Kumi’s nearly sleeping face, the other on the coffee pot. The phone levitated to his left, keeping Yuuta’s face in view.

“As far as I can tell they may not even be from earth. Our earth, anyway.” Kusuo said, setting down the coffee pot and starting on doctoring it to his preferences. “Her mother has uncontrollable psychic powers that tear her around dimension after dimension. I’m not altogether unfamiliar with it, it’s a bit of a pain. Not a suitable environment for raising a baby in, at all.”

His intuition again. Uhg, it was so itchy today. Leave him alone.

“So she left it in the rain? No, I still don’t buy it, not when she knew enough about our world to get you a coffee jelly,” Yuuta, lover of sci-fi anime and flexible punch-roller-wither, said. “If she knows about coffee jelly then certainly she knows about police, why not leave the baby there?”

There was an undercurrent to Yuuta’s voice that made Kusuo’s other sense of intuition perk up to nag at him, his more earthly sense, the one that had known instinctively that punks were trying to hassle him when he’d been oh so temporarily powerless all the way back in high school. It made him look up into the camera after he finished preparing his coffee. It made him look at Yuuta’s face. The boy was a man now, tanned from the outdoors, his green hair cut short but still long enough to flip out from under the edges of his beanie. His jaw was stronger, and his shoulders wider, but those big green eyes were looking, somehow, someway, very five years old.

“Yuuta,” Kusuo said. “What’s the matter?”

Yuuta appeared taken aback. He puffed himself up.

“Well. It’s just not right, leaving a baby like tha-”

“That’s not what I’m talking about Yuuta, and you know it.” Kusuo said around a sip of his coffee, his unblinking eyes now fully focused on the young man before him.

Yuuta blinked. He looked down, then, avoiding his eyes, and Kusuo knew immediately that something was definitely up. Yuuta only ever avoided his eyes like that when he’d been caught out at something.

Some things really never changed.

Yuuta blew out a sigh. He smiled. He looked a bit embarrassed. “It’s nothing.” He said.

“Then it’s nothing to talk about it,” Kusuo said, getting a bit irritated because uhg, if this was nothing if just not him, prying at people’s problems like he wanted more of them. 

But this was Yuuta. If there was anyone Kusuo should be allowed to prod and pry at, he decided, it was Yuuta. Payback, fair and square and such, right? Right.

Yuuta scratched his cheek with a short laugh. “Well. When you put it like that. Uh.”

He sighed and dropped the pretence of a smile, his shoulders slouching.

“I’m just. Being silly, I think. Really, it’s-it’s nothing. I’m. Just.”

Yuuta forced another short laugh. “I mean, I called you up for help on my homework cus you’re always good for that, but.”

He looked down, probably at his feet if Kusuo had to guess.

“It’s not like you can just drop everything to come help me anymore.”

Ah.

Hm.

So this was a bit awkward.

“You’re jealous of Kumi,” Kusuo surmised, perhaps a little too abrupt to be gentle but, well, he’d never been the gentle sort and Yuuta knew that. Still, it hurt to see the kid drop a short flinch, but then Yuuta was flushing hot around the ears and Kusuo knew that even without the aid of his telepathy for all this distance, he was right.

“It’s silly, right? I mean. She’s a baby. And I’m definitely not that anymore. But.” Yuuta’s shoulders rode in a onesided shrug. “I guess in some ways I must still be a kid, to be jealous of your kid like this. I mean, we’re not even related, like at all, and it’s not like you’re my dad, it’s just.”

Then Yuuta sighed, a long and tragic affair indeed, and looked up at Kusuo with eyes that made him want to flinch because it was those very eyes that’d sucker punched him how many years ago now, when Yuuta had been barely five years old and whimpering up at the sky after his lost balloon. Good grief, he was such a sucker.

“You’re still my big brother, right?” 

Ah… Ah hell. 

What else could he say to that, what else could he do? 

But bear the uncomfortable brunt of reassuring another person.

Kusuo smiled. 

He said, 

“Of course.”

Yuuta blinked, looking a little flummoxed, but then shortly relieved and he coughed into his fist, itching at a bottom eyelid and pretending he wasn’t a little teary eyed. Kusuo’s smile quirked to the left and he shook his head.

“I might not be able to teleport to be there in an instant anymore, Yuuta, you’re right about that. But that doesn’t mean I can’t still help you with your homework. We just have to do things the, uh, normal way.”

“I guess you’re right about that.” Yuuta sighed then the background behind him stopped moving, signifying that he’d stopped walking, and Kusuo got to recognize the buildings behind him as their old stomping grounds. Even like this, his old neighbourhood was nostalgic to look at for some reason. “That’s still too bad though.”

Kusuo blinked. “How come?”

Yuuta lifted a plastic bag and looked at it with an atrocious pout. “What am I going to do with all this coffee jelly? You know I can’t stand the stuff.”

Kusuo’s jaw dropped, but he shortly picked it up again, but he also didn’t know what to say, and he was sure he looked very consternated right now indeed because Yuuta was cracking up, the brat.

[elliemarchetti]

The Queen of the Quills - Jily Edition

Posting on Tumblr too because this fic's sister is already there.

Reading The Queen of the Quills - Blackinnon Edition will not be mandatory to understand the developments of James and Lily's story, but some details could be shared, therefore, for anyone wishing to fully enjoy the experience, I will leave a small index.

Blackinnon Edition - Chapter 1 Blackinnon Edition - Chapter 2 Jily Edition - Chapter 1

This was @athenasparrow's gift for @jilymicrofics ' Exchange 2024, but if you like it and are willingly to reblog, it would be super appreciated since stories like this require quite some time and effort🥰

Plot: James Potter, London's most evasive bachelor, an impertinent libertine, has decided to get married. He has also already chosen his wife, the debutante Lily Evans, a self-confident young woman who has not the slightest intention of being seduced by such a man. A Bridgerton inspired Regency AU.

Words: 872

Warnings: angst because of Fleamont Potter's death. If you feel uncomfortable with the topic I suggest to skip the whole fic since it's kind of central to the story. If you want a more lighthearted Jily Recency AU, or any other kind of Marauders Era content, DM me or drop and ask with a prompt from this list or a brand new idea.

The season has officially opened for the year of 1813, and there is little reason to hope we will see any noticeable change from 1812. The ranks of society are once again filled with ambitious mamas, whose only aim is to see their darling daughter married off to determined bachelors. Discussion amongst the ton fingers Mr. Potter as this year’s most eligible catch, and indeed, if the poor man’s hair looks ruffled, it is because he cannot go anywhere without some young miss batting her eyelashes with such vigour and speed as to create a breeze of hurricane force. Perhaps the only young lady not interested is Miss Lily Evans, and in fact, her demeanour towards Mr. Potter occasionally borders on the hostile. And that is why, Dear Reader, this author feels that a match between Potter and Miss Evans would be just the thing to enliven an otherwise ordinary season. The Queen of the Quills, April 30, 1813

James Potter had always known he would die young.

Not as a child, his infant self never had cause to ponder his own mortality, his early years pure perfection.

Although it was true that he was the only heir to an ancient and wealthy family, unlike most other aristocratic couples, his parents were very much in love and they adored him with a fierceness and devotion rarely seen in their social circles. Much to her own mother’s horror, Euphemia insisted upon nursing the boy herself, and Fleamont never subscribed to the prevailing attitude that fathers should neither see nor hear their children. He took James on long hikes across the fields of Kent and spoke to him of herbology and magizoology in terms he could understand, telling tales of wondrous things, of perfect flowers and might dragons, of powerful wizards and smart witches. Euphemia used to laugh when they returned all windblown and sun kissed, and Fleamont would say, “See? Here is the smartest witch of them all. Clearly we must learn from her.” And James would throw himself into his mother’s arms, giggling as he swore he will become even smarter.

Fleamont Potter was, quite simply, the very centre of James’s world. He was tall, his shoulders broad, and he could ride a broom as if he’d been born on it. He always knew the answers to arithmetic questions, even when the tutor didn’t, he saw no reason why his son shouldn’t have a tree house, and his laugh was the sort that warmed a body from the inside out. Fleamont taught his son how to play Quidditch, how to cast perfect spells, and how to swim. He wrote to him every day during his first months at Hogwarts, assuring him everything will be alright and he would make the best of friends. And it happened, because his father, after all, never lied.

James loved his mother too. For Merlin’s beard, he’d probably bite off his own arm if it meant keeping her safe and well, but growing up, everything he did, every accomplishment, goal, hope and dream – it was all for his father. And then, one day, everything changed. It was funny, he reflected later, how one’s life could alter in an instant, how one minute everything could be a certain way, and the next is simply… not. It happened when James was eighteen, after his graduation. His life was as bright and dazzling as any person his age had a right to enjoy. He had discovered women, and perhaps more splendidly, they had discovered him. His parents were trying to give him a sister, and James did his best not to roll his eyes when he passed his pregnant mother in the hall, for it was a bit unseemly, in his opinion, having children at their age, but who was he to doubt Fleamont’s wisdom?

When James found out, it was late afternoon. He was returning from the trip he took to accompany Sirius to the port, where he would sail to explore Africa, and he had just pushed through the front door when he saw Marlene McKinnon sitting on the floor in the main hall. He stopped short, the sight already odd enough if his young friend wasn’t crying.

“What…” he started, but before he could finish his question, she lifted her head, and the shattering heartbreak in her large brown eyes cut through him like a knife. He stumbled back a step, knowing something was terribly wrong.

“Dragon pox,” she whispered. “You father has a bad case of dragon pox.”

For a moment, James was sure he’d misheard. His father couldn’t be ill. He was perfectly healthy when he left and they still had places to visit and things to do and he was so excited for the baby, and…

“You’re wrong,” he told, panic straining his voice. “You must be.”

But she wasn’t, and her eerily blank expression followed him in his dreams until the funeral.

It was on that rainy day, as the gravediggers lowered the coffin into the hole dug at the cemetery, that James had an epiphany about his own mortality: Fleamont Potter had died at the age of fourty-three, and his son simply couldn’t ever surpass him in any way, even in years.

[onegianthotmess]

I can’t help but want to make either Morel, Divian, or maybe even Mealodie in mourning wear after the sudden death of their respective loves-

For Morel, it was likely an assassination that took Leona away. He was just fine a moment ago, walking beside her as their children walked ahead of them to various food stalls in a rare family outing. And the next moments are a blur as Morel hears a gunshot and then feels the warmth of her husband’s blood splatter on her and the weight of his heavy body nearly crush her. She can’t really understand what else is going on as screams and murmurs from the crowd and her children’s voices are all muffled into one muffled yet ear bleeding background noise as she screams and yells at Leona to wake up, despite the clear gunshot wound point blank in the side of his head and the lifeless, glassy look his eyes have, their regular smug shine gone. The next month blurs together and Morel is at her husband’s grave, crying and begging him to come back and sobbing about how he broke his promise to never make her cry again. It was the night after the funeral, so no one was there to hear her practically die inside.

For Divian, I’d imagine that she’d find Lilia on the ground where she last seen him lay down to nap, not knowing he’d never wake up. Distraught, Divian is crying and begging Lilia to wake up from death for the second time in her life. She’s also confused, given that her and Lilia were bound by ancient magic to die together. So why hadn’t she died the moment Lilia breathed his last? The next few weeks blue together and suddenly Divian is at Lilia’s funeral, their daughters standing beside her along with their adoptive children. Malleus and Mealodie didn’t think that this day would come so soon and Silver is at a loss for words, never dreaming that he’d outlive his father. Eventually, after everyone leaves, Divian can’t help but break down into quiet sobs, asking why she had to live this for a second time. They’d finally gotten the married life that they both longed for and they even had both adoptive and biological children that they’d raised together. So why couldn’t Divian be allowed to die with her love? It was all she wanted in the end, and yet that was the one thing the world decided was too much for her to ask.

For Mealodie, I see someone murdering Lucienne while they’re visiting Malleus in Briar Valley and Mealodie and Malleus would find him in the botany section of the library, an inch from death on the floor. And Mealodie can’t process anything until Lucienne smiles at her and says he’s happy she was the last face he’d see before the light drained from his eyes and he let out his final breath. And then it was nothing but chaos. Mealodie couldn’t stop screaming and crying for Lucienne to wake up and it was almost instantly storming outside thanks to her emotions. It took Malleus, Divian, Lilia, Silver, Sebek, and Amelia hours to get Mealodie to let go of Lucienne’s corpse and to calm down at least a little bit. But she didn’t really calm down until she cried herself to sleep that night. And it wasn’t even half a week later until Mealodie and everyone else were all back in Lucienne’s homeland with his family for his funeral; his and Mealodie’s infant daughter clueless to what was happening. The funeral proceeds and later that night, Mealodie is back at his grave by herself. And it isn’t a moment until Mealodie is on her knees and breaking down, begging whatever higher power to let her go back in time and let her be the one that was poisoned instead of Lucienne.

[regaliasonata]

Ninja Storm AU lore dump

Marah and Kapri's parents, Kairi and Gasharioto

Psst @lordkingsmith @skyland2703 @ninjastormz made more on this 👌🏾

(Temporary images to get some idea before I draw their designs, Gasharioto is based both on Gasha Jr from Kakuranger and Rito from mmpr with a little of Skull mixed in)

Anyways, Kairi was adopted when Kiya and Kanoi were four years old. Their parents were on a retrieval mission stationed in New Zealand due to a hidden town being destroyed mysteriously and in the remnants of a few relics they found an infant no older than two years old, black and pinkish hair.

The parents never were able to have a third child so they decided to adopt the infant and named her Kairi. Both Kiya and Kanoi cared for her very much, Kiya seemed to have a better bond with her considering his negative upbringing and drifting away from his twin brother. Kairi was described as a very adventurous person as she would stay up for many nights looking to the stars and wondering about “other worlds” as she saw something that the others didn’t, her teen years consisted of a little rebel phase and enjoying rock music.

One night when she was twenty three a flash from the sky shot down and a man in spatial clothes with a rebellious style appeared and fled the scene. Without any notice Kairi went on to wonder what happened to that mysterious individual but flash forward a few months later she met the man during a small rock shoe and the two hit it off with a marriage? He went by Gash for short and soon after a few dates the two were obsessed with each other, Gash revealed himself to be a karmanian which from the show are being of energy who pass their powers onto another being when they pass on.

As to why this man from the stars arrived on earth stayed unknown for a while but ignoring his purpose he took Kairi on a honeymoon trip to enjoy music and see the stars, due to going without notice everyone assumed Kairi up and dissapeared for a year causing a grave panic for Kiya and Kanoi. She returned from space with Gash and with her were two twin infants, Marah and Kapri, of course her brothers were skeptical as they were unaware of the marriage nor did they know about the space antics and origin behind Gash, Kiya was quite untrustworthy of Gash but hey what are you going to do?

1989, the twins are now five and Gash is starting to act weird, something or someone has been making the karmanian feel on edge and Kairi can sense this. The couple has been living on their own for a while and also overseeing Marah and Kapri as they went to attend ninja school, on one tragic night another light fell from the sky causing Gash to get Kairi and flee, though it was too late as whatever caught up with Gash from his past managed to not only to torch their house but ended up killing Kairi before going after Gash.

Marah and Kapri were staying other at the Watanabe estate with their cousin and uncles(Miko as well) when the news was shared about their mother’s passing, Gash wasn’t found and presumed dead as well. Outside of the family being heartbroken, it’s also rather tragic as the year after Miko Watanabe would pass way from a sickness. With the loss of their parents Marah and Kapri tended to act out on their own and usually tried keeping to themselves, gaining quite a reputation within school of being semi troublemakers, Kiya seemed to be very attentive to them throughout it as he could relate in being a problem child within the family. Gash’s true form is very human like but the aura he emits with qi turns into a rockstar like suit as it reflects his own persona, he hid it while on earth due to how strong it was but Marah and Kapri also have this trait with being half karmanian hence why their true forms consists of those serpent and insect related outfits.

The Karmanians and the lore I’ve created for their species will come in later story wise but this is all to explain a bit of the background between the sisters and family stuff. This was a bit sad but I have lots of cool stuff planned for them when I get further into the AU 🩷🧡🩷🧡

[ninjago-neo]

Midori: Origins of the Ouroboros

Uuuuuuh fhdgsgsh i finished my little lore document for what happened to Midori and how her story continues after. I dont have everything 100% planned out yet, but hopefully the read is good.

To Midori. I hope you will forgive me, one day. For everything.

Back during the time of the FSM, there was a time where the serpentine had not been created, but the Overlord had been defeated. Before his destruction, he swore that the actions of the FSM will only lead to his continued suffering. 

The FSM became known for being the creator of Ninjago and its defender, and as towns and civilizations grew, they worshiped and praised the one who made it possible. Whether he intended to or not, he became a figurehead in some. Despite this, he never viewed himself as a deity or royalty, and found himself alone despite being among people.

The oni believed he was weak. The dragons believed he was an abomination. Here, he was a deity. No matter the label given to him, it was hard to believe he even had a place here. That he truly belonged and felt like a person.

That is, until he met Midori. 

She was considered, by all means, unimportant. Had a normal upbringing, grew up to own a tea shop and grew her own teas. In her village it was customary for farmers to pay a tribute in hopes of the FSM controlling the weather. She thought it ridiculous, as he never seemed to do so, and confronted him on extorting the locals. In reality, the FSM had never told anyone that he could, and actually didn’t want any offerings or tributes of any sort, but most ignored him. 

Both were shocked at meeting each other. Midori couldn’t believe someone of such great power could be so humble, and the FSM was surprised she wasn’t afraid to rebuke him and treat him as a person. 

Their meeting should have ended there, but the FSM continued to think about her, and this visited her in her shop in secret to avoid the attention of other villagers. She taught him how to work alongside her in the shop, and as the two began to know each other, they fell in love. Eventually, they decided their relationship would be a secret no longer, as Midori was announced to be the FSM’s wife. Despite the sudden change of status and the regalities bestowed upon her for marrying Ninjago’s creator, she was still the same woman he fell in love with.

Midori was headstrong, honest, hardworking and brazen. What was in her mind she would say no matter with who, and above all else supported the FSM and reminded him to stand up for himself if he did not wish to be treated as a god. 

Eventually however, the two sought to have children in peace, and journeyed away from their past home. 

As Midori finally gave birth, the two eventually began to interact with civilization a bit more, and for a brief moment, the family was content with their lives, being welcomed by the world, raising two infant children, and with each other. Until one day, Midori wandered far into a nearby forest in search of rare plants/herbs she believed she could find there. During her exploration, she encountered a dark substance nestled into a rock. She did not realized it was a piece of the Overlord’s own body, and as she inspected it, it suddenly became absorbed in her body, and she collapsed. When the FSM finally found her, it was too late. She grew up with a terrible illness no medicine could cure, and he realized she was overtaken by the ancient evil power of his enemy. Unable to fully handle the power of even a sliver of the Overlord’s energy, he knew her body and spirit would undergo a transformation to adapt to it. Despite all of this, he promised his wife a cure, and that he would never leave her side. Midori was hidden in the upper floor of their house, for fear of the dark power hurting their own children, and the FSM’s time was divided by helping Ninjago, raising Wu and Garmadon on his own, keeping Midori company, and looking for answers. But he could not find any, as the Overlord’s power was more potent than anything in Ninjago, and came from a world he could not bring himself to go back to. As he grew more desperate for a solution, he visited Midori less and less, and her condition grew worse. The Overlord’s power evolved to become her own, and Midori became repulsed and horrified as her lower torso grew into a sepert-like tail, and magical venom coursed into her veins. She despised her situation, and despite the FSM’s warning, occasionally left her room to explore and traverse through town hidden away from everyone. But she wasn’t perfect, and eventually the villagers told the FSM of a terrible monster they saw in the woods. The two grew frustrated with each other, and the FSM still had no way of knowing how to cure his wife. He decided to go to the Cloud Kingdom in search of answers. Unfortunately, the prophecy relayed by the Cloud Kingdom could not soothe the FSM’s mind. Instead of Midori being cured, it was predicted that her curse would overtake her and doom their entire family, and future generations, into misery. It was suggested to the FSM that he destroy her and the curse that lives within her, but he vehemently refused, distraught over the woman he loved possibly hurting their sons. Still unable to confront the powers of the Overlord, he realized that he could buy himself and his wife more time to avoid this destiny if she was unable to reach the children if she became fully corrupted. However, he was unable to bring up this plan to her as she became more out of control and furious with him over a lack of a cure. In her mind, she feared he was abandoning him, leaving her to suffer in silence and isolation while he pretended everything was normal. She hadnt even been able to see her kids, and the two were at a standstill. Fearing that the time was near, and having no solutions, the FSM decided to seal her away while she had been sleeping. Unfortunately, she had woken up to see him and assumed he was going to kill her. The two fought, and Midori managed to escape, but not before biting the FSM. Unknowingly, their powers converged, and Midori discovered she had the power to create life, while the FSM felt the Overlord’s power within him, but in a sedentary state. It was then that he realized his powers were slowly being drained for him, as well as his immortality. It was then that a secret battle waged between the FSM and Midori. She created the Serpentine to serve as mindless minions to destroy the world the FSM created, only for him to intervene and prevent disaster, as she once again fled. In the aftermath, he did not want to destroy Midori’s creations, as he still felt fondness for his wife and did not want to destroy these living beings. He instead lied to them that he was their creator, in hopes they’d be unshackled by their shallow purpose in life to destroy, and could live in harmony in this world. However, he could not stop the fighting between Serpentine and Human, and when they sepeparated, could only hope keeping to themselves would still offer some sort of peace. However, he would not live long enough to see that peace. He never told his sons about his hidden ailment, as he fought to keep it at bay and not show that his powers were being drained from him. He still managed to live for hundreds of years, but as his life started to fade, and unable to find Midori, he sought refuge in once again, another prophecy. And he learned that his power would not be fully destroyed, but inherited in it’s full potential by someone. That person would have the key to either repairing the broken bonds of the world, or destroying them entirely. Eventually, he gave in to his illness, and passed away. He did not let them see it, but he was terrified of the world he was leaving to his sons and his creations. How his mistakes and decisions led to possible endless conflicts, and how he yearned for his wife to return somehow, but afraid of what she would do to their family.  Midori, after her failed attempt to weaponize the Serpentine, still interfered in their lives, creating the Great Devourer, sending false prophecies and inciting further conflict in the shadows. She had to wait not just until her husband's passing, but also observe her family and Ninjago to wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. While the FSM believed in destiny, she believed the only predetermined thing was cycles; that everything was bound to repeat itself. That  the misery she had undergone would be paid tenfold, that the conflicts of her and her beloved would echo in the conflict between human and serpentine, and break the bonds their family had so briefly. So she had no qualms with creating the snake that would eventually attack her own son, or watching and the Green Ninja, the inheritor of the combined powers of the FSM, suffer through the burden of his destiny and the events that followed. However, her hatred never became satiated, and she still wallowed in the loss of the life she once had. And suddenly, she had a plan. One that would be the ultimate revenge upon the FSM and grant her the life she so desired. In her eyes, the snake would continue to eat itself, and she was going to let that cycle destroy her grandson. He would be the key to her husband’s eternal punishment.