#mostly because he has bad memory and forgot what happened

[falselyemmit]

I remember like three years ago I had my dad try playing champions, but for the story bits I narrated it to him in Spanish because he's not the best at English.

So I don't remember much of it but I do remember the last time we played it. We got to the part where the hot springs was filled with jelly and we had to go to cranial island. Even though he already knew who the main bad guys where at the time, and they literally said that the bb brigade was behind it, when Kent finished telling him to go to cranial island he was like: I think he's secretly behind this and he's the bad guy!! And I was so confused because what. He would not back down. Weird thing is he's always saying stuff like this and I can never tell if he's messing with me or 100% serious.

Yeah and then I lost my ds for like 2 ish years.

[beneathsilverstars]

been doing research on writing plural systems for sif+loop in mundane modern aus, and i think i've got a solid idea of what i want to do! specifics may vary by au but i wanted a base set of headcanons to vary from, so sif+loop being a system can be a background fact of my au musings instead of something i have to reinvent every time.

(i'm a singlet so if any systems have concrit or thoughts they want to share i'd be happy to hear it! i'm not like planning a fic or anything currently, but it's still nice to not be working off of misconceptions for my silly little posts.)

siffrin took over as the main host in their late teens and doesn't remember anything from before that. in their early-mid 20s their work/housing situation was horrible and when they couldn't take another day like that, siffrin split into loop (who kept the mid 20s memories, with a new personality) and siffrin take two (who remembers the 17-20 era a bit better, but then there's a big gap). between the two of them they were able to cope better and hold a not-as-awful job and get a shitty apartment all to themselves!

siffrin fronts more often on average, because they're better at quietly accomplishing day-to-day tasks. but if he gets too overwhelmed or anxious (think their mini loop-backs in canon) then loop takes over, bc loop dgaf about some of the things siffrin worries about, and doesn't shut down as easily. but since they don't bottle up their feelings as severely, they're more likely to react outwardly and make rash choices like quitting their job, being rude, splurging on little treats, etc. so that's why siffrin is the default fronter for things like work and chores, when he's feeling up to it.

loop is fairly aware of what's going on while siffrin is fronting - sometimes they choose to tune more of it out, but they can catch most of it if they want to, and sometimes siffrin will talk to them or nudge them to pay attention. since they know at least the basics of what siffrin was up to, they can usually step in pretty smoothly when they need to take over! and it's very easy for them to take over, with or without siffrin's say-so, though they try to ask if it's not an emergency (and if it is an emergency, siffrin is likely trying to back away from the front anyway).

when loop is fronting, though, siffrin is entirely away, dreaming in the void. loop can nudge them for a vague opinion or relevant memory, but they can't hold a full conversation and they're not aware of what loop's doing. when loop puts them in the front again they're usually disoriented and need a moment for loop to tell them what's been happening. and again, loop is the one deciding to switch; sometimes siffrin might resist getting pulled back if they're still feeling bad, or get antsy and start reaching out if they've been asleep a while or are having bad dreams, but they're not gonna react to environmental situations since they're not aware of them.

mal is in there too but doesn't front. its role is to be socially hyper-vigilant, pointing out when other people might be upset at them so the alter who's fronting knows to fix it or avoid the person. it's been around longer than siffrin, and was helpful way back then, but now that siffrin and loop have worked out an effective balance and are fairly safe, mal's behavior is somewhat maladaptive (ha!). it's not super directly aware of the outside world like loop is, not anymore at least, but it does get secondhand memories from both siffrin and loop. it actually sometimes remembers facts and details that sif and loop both quickly forgot, because maybe those details will end up relevant to spotting and avoiding future problems - but since it got the memories secondhand and filtered them through a particularly paranoid worldview, it's likely to misremember subjective interpretations as literal truth, so you gotta take its claims with a grain of salt.

it mostly hangs out in the void imagining fractals and whatnot these days, keeping an eye on siffrin while they sleep. it occasionally perks up and chimes in with its pessimistic point of view when siffrin is really upset - it can communicate better with sleeping siffrin than loop can. loop is not on speaking terms with it because they're mad that it goes behind loop's back and makes siffrin more upset right when loop is trying to shield him from the upsetting situation. but siffrin doesn't mind it bc it's just trying to help in its own way, and sometimes it is helpful to face their fears in plain words instead of avoiding them. and siffrin will sometimes ask it for help with like, puzzles, because it's good at pattern recognition.

there's also a no-longer-quite-dormant alter that presumably fronted for much of the body's childhood. they don't hang out in siffrin and mal's void, and they don't talk to anyone else within the system. but now that the system is more safe and stable, every once in a while something will catch their attention and they'll gently push to the front and start talking. as soon as their train of thought is interrupted they're gone again, and the other alters don't even remember that they got usurped for a moment, a la siffrin's bits of telling childhood anecdotes in canon. loop and siffrin have surmised that they exist, and call them the lost one.

mal has also implied that there's at least one more dormant alter, but it's from before siffrin-and-loop's time and possibly mal's as well.

if something happens that's so distressing that siffrin retreats into headspace and loop won't take over either, the body goes into dissociated autopilot. it will follow basic one-step instructions (such as "follow me" or "eat this"), speak in a couple simple scripts (such as answering "how are you" with "i'm fine"), and complete rote tasks such as taking a familiar route home from work or going to bed. loop doesn't pay much attention because that would defeat the point / put them back in front, so they usually have very little if any idea of what happened in this state, but it is possible for outside events to catch their attention enough for them to try fronting again. otherwise they'll be back next time the body wakes up. siffrin, on the other hand, usually won't front for at least a day or two after this happens, and will likely have forgotten the events leading up to it as well.

it doesn't happen very often since it's the very last resort, after siffrin dissociating, loop taking over, and loop dissociating. loop and siffrin don't consider the autopilot an alter because it doesn't form memories, have emotions or opinions, or interact in the headspace; it just follows where it's led, by habit or outside influence. loop has argued in favor of trying to imbue it with more personhood so it's less uncanny for other people to interact with and can get loop's attention when the distressing thing is over, but siffrin argues that if it can think that defeats the point, and they'd just end up with this new alter and a new autopilot.

past all that, the specifics will depend on the exact au; particularly the ratio of loop time to siffrin time will depend on how much siffrin works and how awful their job is, whether siffrin and/or loop have friends yet, etc. but i think when they're doing pretty well they'd be happy with siffrin doing work/chores and most of the activities that they both enjoy (since then they'll both remember it), and loop fronting for maybe a third of their free time to do their own thing, and maybe here and there if something goes wrong at work. and then if siffrin starts feeling burnt out, they swap for a couple days of loop doing most things and siffrin just coming out for an hour or two. siffrin and mal probably talk maybe a couple times a month, unless siffrin is really going through it, in which case they might talk a lot for a couple days. it also might be possible for mal to eventually adapt a little more to being safe, and start providing a wider range of possible interpretations instead of just the worst case scenario.

ok that's all! and as i said, i'm totally open to feedback. :3

[vaos-studios]

GIGANTIC 2.0 Deadwood drop because I have no self control—The sequel

Part 1 is here!

The Treekiller

Currently suffering from the curse of being my favorite character (sorry spruce)

I like to think he sounds like Davy Jones (POTC). I’ve seriously considered doing voice claims for the AU, god knows when I’ll actually get to it

Just realized I forgot to put the Cashbot pattern on him

Has a tool belt with various sharp tools attached to it, it’s mostly woodcutter tools and various types of axes (this is most definitely a hazard ).

Working under this guy is no better than Chip himself. Spruce doesn’t necessarily fire people like Chip does, but you’re gonna wish he did. The work is incredibly dangerous and the hours are grueling. On top of that safety is not a priority of the project, if you get squashed by a tree that's on you. So watch your back and you’ll be fine. Probably.

Spruce still couldn't care less about the environment, at all. He probably despises it a lot more now…

Forgot to mention this before but I added a neck guard to his hat, sorta like a Gladiator helmet.

Still eats trees. Like– fully uprooted trees. 

Can now use the Cigar smoke attack and a unique animation for the Shred attack, considering his mouth is a shredder.

And yes Spruce’s shredder still works perfectly fine despite all the foliage!

Which, speaking of…

A new phenomenon gave rise midway throughout the Deforestation and Demolition project. Several members of the force report invasive Kudzu moss and various species of flora growing on their exteriors. Kudzu moss “infections” hadn't been an issue prior to transitioning to 2.0, so they're not well documented or recorded. It’s suspected this skyrocketed due to constant contact with vegetation and exposure to the elements. Fortunately, the moss doesn’t seem to be contagious from cog to cog—only from the original source. While cases range from mild to severe, so far it’s been purely an exterior issue—just changes to their outer shell. Except for one.

Spruce Campbell is one of the many “infected” and may have the worst case by far. Something went wrong—maybe it was bad luck, maybe it was a mistake during his rebuild that let something slip through. No one knows for sure. But something happened, and flora spread into his interior. It wasn’t obvious at first, not for a long time. Outwardly, he looked fine—aside from the usual signs of invasive growth. Spruce is an awfully good actor and whatever symptoms he had, he just brushed it off. No one suspected a thing—until his system malfunctioned.

While I didn't include it in the images, Spruce’s malfunction acted like a blue screen. Eyes turned blue in error, stopped dead in his tracks, and shut down. As you would expect everyone in the Deforester force immediately panics. This never happened to a cog before, let alone Spruce Campbell. The team was in chaos, unsure what to do, until Spruce woke back up. And he seemed… totally normal. His memory was fuzzy sure, but otherwise he acted as if nothing had happened. Despite this, the Deforester force swore among themselves never to tell Chip about the incident. They’re already on thin ice with him , and this would only guarantee their heads on the chopping block. 

Interestingly, the foliage provides effective camouflage in the dark forests of Acorn Acres. And the Treekiller himself doesn't even show up on the cog radar, due to the organic matter engulfing his skelecog. It’s an advantage for him but definitely not for you.  

The negatives drastically outweigh the positives however. The overgrown foliage makes the host prone to overheating and vulnerable to fire-type attacks. Not to mention it causes motor malfunctions, extreme hearing loss, severe coughing fits and unstable internal temperatures. Yeah it sounds bad, real bad but, as long as your outer shell is still intact you can get repaired no problem. After all, Kudzu moss can’t corrode metal...can it?

Treekiller’s defense is heightened due to the “reinforced” Skelecog, and the buff lowers depending on his RPM. This next part was going to be in the 3rd image but that didn’t happen so I’ll tell you here: His skelecog is reinforced due to branches and bark literally growing on it, adding another layer of defense to his anatomy.

Also I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this (oops): The Deforestation project mainly takes place in an area called Site-B (which is in AA’s redwood forests), which is where you can access 2.0 Treekiller’s fight.  

The Chainsaw Consultant

His office is now located on the second floor of Cut to the Chase!, with a window over looking Acorn Acres. There’s nothing much to look at except for barren fields and smog.

His skelecog spine is somewhat retractable (this is a recurring theme with skelecogs), which does allow him to take on and off his coat without getting stuck (this was also going to be in the 3rd image).

The work place environment in Cut to the Chase! Logging Co. is still pretty rough. While override instances have steadily lessened, the danger hasn't.

Chip still shreds through employees everyday, and it doesn’t help that there's constant Toon infestations in the basement.

The embroidery pattern on his coat is a reference to his older redesign from November (lore: it was originally a tear Mouthpiece fixed with an embroidery pattern) (I love you Belle)

Chip got a new hat! It’s not that different than the older one but I just felt like putting flannel stripes on it.

Yes Spruce was the one that gave him the new hat.

He's supposed to be a businessman but I turned him into a runway model by accident (I like putting him in long coats).

The exhaust pipes were drawn very loosely like bull horns, and they’re removable which also lets Chip take off the hat easily.

Unsure if I mentioned this before, but he can rotate his head like an owl. This usually only happens during override though.

Character of inspiration : The Terminator robot (1984 film) (like just the robot design) (also is this a bad time to mention ive never actually seen this movie)

I was going to add a chainsaw man reference as well. Specifically the fact that 2.0 Chip’s left arm can turn into a fully fledged (diamond tipped) chainsaw. But that would mean he has a flame thrower embedded in one arm AND a chainsaw in the other…For some reason I feel like I cannot do both—even though i am literally just doing this for fun and can do whatever I want with character design. I should not have free will

Chip and Spruce share a lot more similarities than they think.

There came a time when Chip realized he hadn’t really seen Spruce in weeks—maybe even months. The last time they truly saw each other was early into the Deforestation project. Now, every time Chip sets foot on Site B, Spruce is nowhere to be found. And on the rare occasions they do cross paths, it’s always in the dark—so dark that Chip can’t see him very well, only catch glimpses of his shape before he’s gone again. And whenever Chip asks the Deforester force about Spruce, they grow uneasy. Their answers are vague, half-hearted excuses about Spruce being “off-site” or “too busy to report in.” The longer this goes on, the more suspicious Chip becomes. The Deforester Force is hiding something from him—and he's going to find out what.

Also my headcanon is that they aren’t actually related / made by the same manufacturer—They’re from two different families but knew each other since they were kids. They’ve been through rough patches before, and this 2.0 upgrade is no exception, but they’ll be okay.

...

…right?

[blueishspace]

Hero, Villain God 59

(Prev) (Next) (First)

*Scar's pov*

You never really liked hospitals, they are empty and dull and white and you go there only when something bad happens... Never a pleasant experience, you of all people have bad memories of them...

This time It's really silent too, the association pulled all the steps to keep Grian far from other patients, maybe to prevent his identity being discovered by someone wandering around.

Cub stops you in front of the door right before you can enter.

"Before we go in, Altostratus and Ocean Queen don't know Cuteguy's identity"

You forgot about that, you didn't even consider it... you feel awful, you got distracted and- not the time, you'll feel bad later, you can just ask Grian what he wants to do...yeah.

Altostratus crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. "And?"

You are the one to speak up this time around. "A-and the choice to reveal his identity is still his" Your words get caught up on eachother a bit but they must understand what you are trying to say.

"So, I'm going with Cub to ask him if he wants to do it." That should be ok right?

Altostratus goes to say something but is shushed by his wife (You are still shocked about that and no, you will not let this go, how did no one notice??). She nods in his place and hits him the head slightly when he tries to protest...

You open the door and step in, there is a corridor in front of you and at the end of it is Grian's room, as you do you hear Ocean Queen call Altostratus a "Nincompoop" from behind the door...you have no idea what that means and at this point you don't think you even want to ask.

Grian is waiting for you, you don't really question how he knew you were coming, as far as you know he just has been waiting like that for hours... You hope he hasn't done that. Maybe he just heard you! That makes more sense! You didn't really care about the noise you made so he must have noticed when you and Cub came in.

"Scar! Cub! Finally!"

He's excited? You of course It's good that he's doing good of, that's the most important thing, butbyou didn't expect this from someone who just woke up from almost dying. You just don't know how to feel, you expected him to be angry or sad or something, more then that it feels like you don't deserve to see him so happy since he got hurt because of you being careless.

"You can't believe how bored I was! Here all alone ... waiting!"

He was...bored? The room is mostly empty except for some medical machine stuff, that does seem like it would be pretty boring. You are wondering if your thought about him waiting for you the whole time might actually be what happened- Wait, you need to say something, you are usually a lot better at talking over thinking.

"Well, eh...no time to be bored with me here. And I brought friends!"

Cub nods and adds "They are heroes...but still, seeing them would have you reveal their identity to them, Scar insisted we ask you first. I agree with him."

...

Grian looks thoughtful, this is probably a really big choice for him so you understand he might need some time to make the choice-

"Sounds good to me!"

Nevermind! That was a bit fast though, you hope he doesn't feel like he has too.

"Are you sure Grian? You can say no, no one is-"

"Nah! I'm sure, bring them in! I wanted to meet the others for a while now anyway."

Oh. Oh? Oh! Well, that's good news then Cub nods again and leaves to get the others... Hopefully they'll get along well.

...

Well this is weird, Altostratus and Grian are just staring at eachother. Like they know eachother already??? I mean, Altostratus is a top hero so it makes sense for Grian to know OF him but this feels different, like they met face to face.

But you would know if something like that happened right? Grian would have definitely told you. Cub beats you to it though, you aren't surprised he noticed it too, he's very smart about these things.

"Do you two know eachother already?"

The two answer at the same time, Grian with a no and Altostratus with a yes....Ok so, something strange is definitely going on here, you akwardly look between the two. For a second Grian looks actually angry???? Frustrated at least. You don't think you ever seen him make an expression like that, it disappears immediately but you can swear it was there.

. . . Huh

*End of Chapter 11*

[nonbinary-bitch]

So some time after Still wakes the deep came out, I made a little AU. I was going to make little doodles and post about it, but I forgot.

BUT now that the dlc came out, and I remembered this game exists, I decided to post about it. I never made all the doodles and I changed some things about the AU but whatever, I'll show them anyway.

In short, it's a time travel AU, at least it seems like one at first if not for one thing - All the infected are STILL infected and mutated.

They're not as messed up as before- or, in the future I guess? They're all human for the most part, and while many of their parts have changed, they're in full control, aware of what they're doing and it doesn't seem like they can infect anyone on the rig anymore. Sound good? Wrong.

They might be in control now, but they have all the memories, the pain, and worse of all, they have no fucking clue how to control their 'powers'. Not to mention that since 'nothing happened', they still have to work!

That's where Rennick steps in.

Out of all the infected, he has the most control over his powers, which ended up with him being their 'leader'. None of the others like that but they have no choice, figuring out their powers by themselves is too risky.

So now they all have to hide their powers, try to figure out what to do when they get back to the mainland, not to mention Caz has to figure out his situation with the police.

Doesn't that just sound fun!

Now for the characters:

Finlay: is the least infected, and one of the last infected people. Unlike others she didn't get much, and her 'powers' aren't all that special. Since she was the first one to see what actually needed to be done about The Shape, she was given great eyesight, to the point that it gave her headaches at first. Because she died by being crushed, her skin harden and now can handle more impact (not to mention her punch got stronger, Caz was very happy to see that). She mostly keeps her distance from others, since her powers don't really need controling or anything like that, but when she does spend time with people it's mostly Caz and Brodie. She seems to be handling everything better than others, but the look Rennick gives her tells a different story.

Caz: is pretty much the ultimate survivor, especially with his given powers. Originally he had more powers as you can see here:

But after some thinking I decided his powers didn't make sense, especially since he wasn't that infected. So I toned it down a bit. Now, Caz's balance got absurd, to the point that he can have a stroll on a wet metal pipe like it's a normal tuesday, hands in pockets and everything. Because of all the jumping, climing and swimming he did, he pretty much became the master of parkour, not to mention he can jump further now. His hands also became more sticky, kinda like suction cups, which makes it easier to climb and hold on to stuff (they don't work very well with wet surfaces but he will not admit that). The downside is that he needs to warm up A LOT, you can see him near heaters with a cup of tea from Roy and a blanket he probably got from Finlay or Brodie. Caz tries to spend a lot of time with others, especially with Roy, always thinking he might lose them at any second. His ptsd is pretty bad, to the point that he wakes up in the middle of the night and patrols the rig, jumping around and walking on pipes just to make sure The Shape didn't come back. Rennick finds him every night and drags him down to his office by the hair, calling him a moron. It annoys him a lot but he eventually started to be thankful, knowing what might happend if someone sees him. So every night, at the same hour, they sit in Rennick's office, drink coffee and then part ways.

Rennick: doesn't seem very mutated, in fact he seems really normal, but then he takes off his hood and you see what happened to his head and neck. While making his powers, I mixed his big head mutation with his words about 'being the fucking king'. You can even kinda see that in my old doodle about him:

He got his wish about being the king. When he attaches his mutation to pretty much anything, he can see and hear the entire rig. He can always just touch the walls with his skin and get a familiar result but with a smaller range, not to mention he developed a habit of using his mutation instead. He also has the most control over his powers, mostly using them for work (or to make sure no one talks shit about him but he will never admit that). His hearing is amazing but his eyes are shit (especially the left one), it's so bad that he can barely write even with glasses on. But his powers have downsides as well, and holy shit there are many of them. The mutation he uses to look around the rig comes out of the growth on the back of his head and neck, and explodes when he uses it. It does heal in the matter of minutes but it's still very painful, not to mention the strange spike that comes out from the back of his neck. If that wasn't bad enough, his head grows every time he's angry, and shrinks only when he calms down. At first it doesn't seem that bad until you realise he can still break his neck. Mind you, were talking about a guy with anger issues that runs a rig with a skeleton crew AND has to watch over the other infected so they won't harm anyone or themselves. Did I mention they're all traumatized? Or that he's overstimulated almost all the time BECAUSE he's watching the rig with his mutation? And can't stop because of his paranoia? Yeah, he's not having a good time. (a little fun fact, because of the helicopter crash, he's now scared of the helicopter and elevators and only uses stairs despite, you know, being an old man. Yes he complains a lot.)

Trots: doesn't have fucking legs. Well, no, that's not the right way to put it, let me explain. After waking up, his legs stopped working. It's not a physical thing but a mental one, the trauma of what happened to his legs was too much and they just stopped working, he can still feel them but can't really do anything with them. That's where the infection steps in. His power is turning back to his mutated form, but less graphic and not as messed up. He mostly travels by vents and other spaces like that (which scares the shit out of Finlay), but when he can't the others carry him around, the rig is not very wheelchair friendly after all. He tends to listen in on conversations and then pass the information to others. He mostly spends his time helping Rennick with work, since his eyes don't exactly do the job anymore. He just kinda hangs around, screams at books when he doesn't understand a word or something idk. He's amazing at crawling tho! It honestly scares the shit out of others, seriously, why is he so fast?!

Muir: is the ultimate super glue. He's able to climb any surface as long as his skin touches it, it doesn't matter if it's wet or not. Sure, he might sometimes get stuck and needs help to unattach his hands from the floor, but beside that his power is pretty awesome! Not to mention he gets to jump very high and far! He's like a goat made from glue! His relationship with others is complicated, sometimes he avoids everyone (especially Innes), sometimes he's attached to everyones hip (especially Innes's), it's hard to tell with him. Thankfully, or maybe not thankfully, Innes quickly found out about his mutation and despite being freaked out he promised to keep it a secret, often going out of his way to help him as much as he could, emotionally or otherwise. (Caz jokes that Rennick is jealous of them to some degree but he might be on to something)

Addair: was very disappointed with his power. He didn't get anything cool (in his opinion). He can handle heat to the point that it's just riddiculous, you can set this guy on fire and he will STILL barely take any damage (Finlay glared at Caz when she found out, we all know why). His other power is being able to taken fall damage, how you ask? By inflating his flesh (at least it seems to be the case, none of them is really sure). Not only he can take a lot of fall damage, but in case he falls into the ocean, he will literally float on water. (Caz is a bit jealous of it but he will never admit to it) This guy is kinda a human shield. (his powers were inspired by his death and this one moment in the game where he slammed his body into the window lmao)

Roper: ironically has familiar powers to Rennick but for different reasons. While Rennick's powers tie to his desire for control and paranoia, Roper's powers have more to do with his fear of Rennick and desire to not hurt anyone but also protect himself. Just like Rennick, he can use his mutation to look around the rig, but his power is more limited. He tends to incidentally to that, looking for pentacial threats (mostly Rennick). It's like an alarm sistem for him. His other power is a last result, activating when he's in danger he can't avoid or ptsd hits too hard. What's his other power? It's a flesh shield that explodes from his back and hides him from the world, it hurts but it protects him susprisingly well. Funny enough, because of their powers, Rennick and Roper sense each other a lot. It annoys Rennick and scares Roper, what makes this worse is that they KNOW because they sense it, they literally feel each other's emotions. Strangely, despite not talking a lot to each other, they bond over their rig connection, unintentionally sending each other the emotions they're feeling. At some point they even started eating together but only at night, because it's the only time they don't get overstimulated. They don't talk, they just sit and eat their sandwiches. It's actually kind of nice.

O'Connor: is hard to talk to and his powers are a bit of a mistery, mostly because all the trauma caused him to block out a lot of stuff, causing some minor memory problems. He's not exactly sure what his powers are, or maybe he is but doesn't want to tell? Who the hell knows! What IS known however is that he can make tentacles, the same ones that were often used to attack Caz. While he has a hard time controling his powers, he can very easly hide them. He limps a bit because of his 'injured' leg (it's not injured anymore but he claims it is, even though it's obviously just phantom pain) but besides that he seems really normal! Until you talk to him for too long that it.

Raffs: was always pretty quiet, but after 'going back in time' he pretty much became mute. He can still talk, but he's too traumatized to do so, even confessing to Caz that he's scared that 'this thing will enter his throat again'. Despite being one of the more infected, and one of the first infected too, he doesn't seem to have that many powers. He gained the ability to breathe under water and swim like a pro, but he's so scared of the water that his powers don't get used much. It's really ironic, especially since he has some strange longing to be in the water. He also seems to have developed immunity to extreme cold, not even shivering when he came outside with just a shirt on. What's interesting is that Brodie became very protective over Raffs, despite having no idea why (Rennick and Finlay suspect that maybe he was infected to some degree).

For now that's all I have. I might make another post about this AU cuz I like it a lot lol.

[laciefuyu]

Zuo Ran and memories always have a melancholic flavour, despite calling his past mostly filled with something uninteresting. The statement is not quite true considering the traces of some memories he shared with her occasionally has a flavour of regret, especially childhood regret.

Let's retrace a bit to the past as far as Loving Memories SSR, he told Rosa about a bit that happened in his childhood. His parents were always working, so he rarely had chances to go to places like Amusement Park, and Nie Qiu means for him to enjoy and remember that day in the Amusement Park but it ended up being remembered for something else because he never got to fully experience it as Neil had to return because there is development in the case he is working on.

And Rosa never forgot this despite it something he said a long while ago before they were dating, and in Heart Listener SR as she observed the thing he said about and with Felix, make her recall what he said to her in Loving Memories SSR and question him whether he had similar childhood with Felix, while Artem denied it was that bad but he was a child so he had regrets as he said here.

and her response to it was to ensure making it up in the present time, in the way they can do it together.

Or in his recent SR, Sweet Woven Memories SR, about the cotton candy. The way that memory stuck in him but he also never told anyone about it until Rosa noticed his fixation on it. He also tried to downplay it a bit and called it weird to be so focused on it but again, Rosa's response is so good because she immediately called it cute and near the end story, once again making it up for him in order to resolve that regret.

There is also A Thousand Mountains SSR. When Zuo Ran told her about how he waited for his father, and the question that lingered like a shadow but ended never asked, the question that he considered quite childish in hindsight but Rosa was the one who convinced him to try and ask again. Even though the one in the Capital failed, when Zuo Linchuan visited them in Stellis City, she tried again for him.

Then to the recent Adorable Amusement Event Story where he told her about the Fairy Tale he heard from a storyteller from back then, and how he never got to hear the ending of it nor any commemorative things left to remember that summer, and her response was trying to find the story ending for him.

That's why a certain section in the epilogue moved me so much. I remember the first time I read this event story last year I was feeling emotional over it.

"And because childhood memories fade as the years pass, and he's not good at treasuring [childhood memories], so you want to help him record them piece by piece."

Few examples above regarding his memories have similar sentiment on how he gently downplayed his feeling or saying it's alright/it doesn't matter (which is classic Artem response or to borrow that narration from Day and Night SSR "Yet his tone is soft and gentle, as if he wants to downplay their impact.") but this is why the way Rosa take notice of it and how she carefully taken care of it, and treating it as something precious is important.

Because Artem was a child who used to put himself aside, the "mature", the "good and understanding" child that doesn't want the adults around him to worry about him.

Therefore those memories slipped from his grasp, only occasionally remembered yet still stung. He needs someone who would tell him that all of that are precious, and deserve to be taken care of, deserve to be remembered, deserve to be made up for simply because it's his.

It feels like Rosa crouched in front of his inner child, and embraces him tightly and warmly. How he deserves to be remembered and loved even tho he has gotten used to being forgotten.

And so all those memories become something painted with a warm feeling instead of something barely remembered and foiled with regret.

Anyway, Adorable Amusement Event Story has been one of my favourite event stories. It's short and yet written with so much warmth, and I was and am still very thankful about it.

That's all and I hope folks who encounter this ramble enjoy it.

[bloody-bee-tea]

Emotional Spring 2025 Day 7 - Don't look

Shouta's hands keep shaking as he tries to hold Hizashi's throat together. There's blood pouring between his fingers, leaving red traces all over the place and Shouta can't think. His ears are still ringing and he's pretty sure he has a bleeding headwound himself but all he's aware of is the red, hot blood leaving Hizashi's body.

His stupid directional speaker is supposed to protect his throat, not shatter on impact and slice Hizashi's throat open and Shouta distantly thinks that they'll have to talk to the support department to get something new developed for Hizashi.

Hizashi, who keeps bleeding out, who keeps moving, who keeps making desperate sounds and Shouta moves his eyes from his throat to his face.

"Hizashi, stop. Stop. Don't move. Don't talk."

Shouta is no doctor but he has seen enough injuries to know that this is serious. Before he wrapped his hands around his throat he's certain he caught a glimpse of Hizashi's aorta; unhurt and whole for now but being exposed like this raises the risk of it bursting too and should that happen, Hizashi's life will slip right through Shouta's fingers.

It's already bad enough as it is, mostly because there was a whole lot of other damage that Shouta doesn't want to think about, like his exposed trachea and possibly even some damage to his vocal cords and it would be a great help if Hizashi would stop moving and trying to talk.

"Hizashi," Shouta hisses out, desperate to get him to calm down, but Hizashi stares up at him with huge, panicked eyes and his hands keep scrabbling at Shouta's arm and he keeps making these noises and Shouta is certain they are going to haunt his nightmares for months to come.

"Please, please, just stop," Shouta whispers, and he thinks he's going to be sick when another wave of blood spills over his fingers.

"Sensei," Hitoshi suddenly croaks out from the side and Shouta startles badly enough to almost lose the grip he has on Hizashi's destroyed throat because he completely forgot about Hitoshi for a moment.

"Don't look," he says, and forces himself to tear his eyes away from Hizashi to settle on his student. "Don't look. It will be okay," he says, even though he's not entirely sure if he's lying.

"I can help," Hitoshi says and Shouta hears him shuffling closer.

Shouta roams his eyes over him but apart from a few scraps Hitoshi doesn't seem to have any injuries at all. He got lucky then.

Shouta's fragmented memories finally piece themselves back together now and Shouta remembers what happened. He and Hizashi were trying to do something nice for Hitoshi because they've been working hard on his hand-to-hand combat and Hitoshi has been working even harder and he finally managed to beat Hizashi and land three solid hits on Shouta and today was supposed to be for celebrating.

Not for being caught in an explosion and getting trapped under the rubble and having a throat sliced open.

"It's okay, it will be okay," Shouta says again, though he doesn't even believe it himself and Hitoshi kneels down next to him.

"I can help," he repeats and stares at Shouta.

Hitoshi is pale, his eyes are wide, and there's a cut on his cheek that left a faint trail of blood on his skin.

Shouta just blinks at him because he doesn't see how Hitoshi could help but he's also too occupied by the feeling of Hizashi's too fast breathing under his hands.

"Aizawa, I can make him stop. If I brainwash him, I can tell him to be still, to not move, not talk. I can make it so he doesn't feel any pain," Hitoshi whispers and Shouta trembles.

Hizashi lets out another horrible sound and Shouta's eyes snap down to him again. There's so much blood already and Shouta isn't sure if anything can help right about now, but he forces himself to take a deep breath.

"Okay."

To his credit, Hitoshi doesn't hesitate for a second before he turns to Hizashi.

"Yamada, I need one tiny verbal response, okay? Do you think you can do that?" he asks and Shouta holds his breath when Hizashi whines out a response.

It's not really verbal, not quite, but it seems to be enough because Hizashi's eyes cloud over in the by now so familiar milky white and he grows still under Shouta's hands.

"Breath evenly but not too deeply. Do not talk or make any noises. Don't move. Don't feel any pain," Hitoshi rushes out as soon as he has control over Hizashi and Hizashi's breathing immediately evens out as he continues to lay still.

Shouta almost doesn't dare to trust it, even though he knows how Hitoshi's quirk works, but when Hizashi stays still and continues to breathe evenly he allows himself a moment of relief.

"Thank you," he then whispers out and looks over at Hitoshi.

He doesn't want Hitoshi to see this, it's still too early to be confronted with situations like this, to have situations like this happen to him, he's not even in his third year yet, but like always Shouta's wishes go unheard and Hitoshi's eyes are on Hizashi before he looks back up at Shouta.

"I can take over," he says and Shouta's immediate instinct is to refuse.

If Hitoshi shouldn't have to see this then he definitely shouldn't have to hold Hizashi's throat together.

"I don't know what else to do. I don't know if anything here is stable or not and I don't know how to act in a situation like this. You do. You know what to look for, how to best get help and I can put pressure on his wound. I can take over."

For a moment, Shouta is frozen with indecision. Everything about this situation is so fundamentally wrong that he struggles to wrap his head around it, despite the years he's already been active and Hizashi's blood on his hands makes it hard to think as well.

"Sensei," Hitoshi says, pleads almost, and Shouta snaps himself back together.

"Okay. Okay, you're right, come here," he says and moves to the side, careful to not move his hands. "See how I'm holding the wound?" he asks and waits until Hitoshi nods. "I need you to hold him exactly like that. Don't put too much pressure on or you could rupture his aorta; too little and you can't stem the blood flow."

It's unhelpful, as far as instructions go, but there's no way for Shouta to convey to Hitoshi what the right pressure is. He'll just have to trust him. At least Hizashi won't feel any pain when they switch places.

"I can do that," Hitoshi says, more confident than he clearly feels because now that Shouta is looking for it, he sees Hitoshi's hands shaking.

"Yeah, you can," Shouta encourages him and Hitoshi moves into position. "On three. One, two, three," Shouta counts and then moves away, Hitoshi seamlessly moving in and replacing Shouta's hands with his own.

Shouta can practically see him stumbling over the feeling of flesh and blood on his hands but to his credit, Hitoshi takes it in stride and doesn't flinch away. Shouta tries to check the pressure he's using on the wound and it seems to be alright, because Hizashi's breath doesn't get laboured and the blood doesn't start pouring again.

"Good, good," Shouta says and forces himself to his feet. "I'll go check our surroundings," he says and for the first time takes a look around them.

It seems they have been caved in by the rubble, which is a miracle in itself but it will be hard to find a way out like this. Help is definitely already on the way, though, so they just have to hold out until then.

They just have to hold out.

"I'll go take a look around. If something happens, yell for me. And just—keep talking to him, okay? Don't let him—" die in silence, Shouta thinks but he can't even say the words.

His entire being revolts against the mere possibility that Hizashi could die here and so the words die on his tongue, but judging by how Hitoshi presses his lips together, he heard Shouta loud and clear.

"I won't," Hitoshi says. "I'll keep talking to him."

Shouta nods at him, once and sharply, and then he turns away. It feels a little bit like leaving his heart behind but he knows that Hitoshi is right. He has no experience with situations like this and it's on Shouta to take control here and get them out.

With Hitoshi’s muttering as the background noise Shouta takes a tour around the area he can access and he realises there's very little he can actually do. When he gets his phone out in a desperate attempt to at least do something he sees that he miraculously still has a signal, so he doesn't hesitate to call Tsukauchi.

"If this isn't important, I'll have to call you back," Tsukauchi greets him with, because of course he's be busy with this incident.

"I'm in the building that came down," Shouta says and he can practically feel how Tsukauchi's attention snaps to him.

"Where?"

"We were on the ground floor in the hallway leading to the restaurant. There is no one else around, I can't find a way out and Hizashi is—"

Dying is what he should say, injured is what he needs to say, but all that comes out is a helpless sound.

"How bad?" Tsukauchi immediately wants to know and Shouta can hear him snap his fingers at someone.

"Bad," Shouta croaks out. "His throat is basically sliced open. Hitoshi is holding him together for now but—"

There's no telling how long Hitoshi will be able to do what he's doing, especially not with the strain he's soon going to experience.

"I have your location. Ground floor means we're going to get to you quicker, anyway. I'll have them concentrate on that area for now. We'll get you out, Eraser."

Tsukauchi hangs up before Shouta can say something else and he's not sure what he would have said anyway. Promises like that are nice, but they could still be too late.

Shouta tries to push that thought away, because right now he needs to concentrate on the now, and for now Hizashi is still alive and Hitoshi still needs him, so he makes his way back.

"No way out but I managed to contact Tsukauchi, they have our position and they will come for us," Shouta says as he kneels down next to Hizashi, who is still and pale and bloody, and Shouta can't help the way his hand wraps around Hizashi's wrist, desperately searching for a pulse.

"He's still alive," Hitoshi quietly says. "And he's not fighting my quirk. He knows we're helping."

"You are helping," Shouta gives back. "How are you holding up? Any strain?"

"Not yet," Hitoshi gives back with a careful shrug and they both know that that answer is going to change sooner rather than later.

Shouta prays that they get rescued before that but with how today has been going, he's not holding his breath.

Twenty minutes is the longest Hitoshi has ever gone without strain and that was just holding one person, not while also giving orders he has to hold on to. Shouta mentally calculates for a moment and comes to the conclusion that Hitoshi maybe has two to three minutes left before the first strain sets in.

"Tell me the moment that changes," Shouta orders and holds Hitoshi's gaze until he nods.

It's exactly two and a half minutes later when Hitoshi says "I'm starting to have a headache."

Shouta bites back a curse because it's not going to help, but Hitoshi must still know because he turns towards him, a stubborn set to his mouth.

"I'm not going to drop it," he says, a warning more than anything else and Shouta presses his lips together.

He would love to tell Hitoshi to not be stupid, that of course he's going to drop it, right now, but he can't form the words. If he says it, it means Hizashi is going to die, Shouta is certain of that and even though he hates the way he mentally weighs their lives against each other, he knows that Hitoshi can still hold out for a while longer before the strain gets really bad.

Before he comes anywhere close to dying.

Shouta stays devastatingly quiet while Hitoshi stares him down and it seems Hitoshi seems to understand him even without words because he nods once.

"I have much more time left than him," he almost quietly says and looks back down at Hizashi. "And they will find us before that."

"They will," Shouta nods, even though there is no way for him to know it and he could end up losing them both.

Shouta can't even comprehend that thought, so he pushes it away.

"Still, keep me updated," he adds, as if it's going to help when he knows how bad Hitoshi feels but there is not much else he can do.

The only thing to do for them right now is wait and pray to all the gods out there that they will pull through, all of them.

Shouta hasn't prayed in years but he thinks he makes up for lost time right now.

He's so lost in his desperate pleas that he startles when Hitoshi speaks up again.

"It's turning into a migraine now," he says and Shouta can see the pain etched into his face already, so it has probably been a migraine for a few minutes before he decided to speak up.

Shouta simply nods because there's nothing else he can do and then he has to watch how Hitoshi holds and holds and holds his quirk, how the tension around his eyes and mouth grows bigger and bigger and then, finally, how he gets a nosebleed.

"Hitoshi—"

"No," Hitoshi cuts him off, licking off the blood he can reach. "I can hold it. I can."

Shouta should tell him to stop, just tell him to let go but Hizashi is calm and still under Hitoshi's hands and if Shouta tells him to drop his quirk then Hizashi will be calm and still because he'll be dead.

Shouta stays quiet.

He stays quiet and quiet and quiet and watches how the blood continues to trickle down Hitoshi's face, watches him grow pale and sweaty, until he has to close his eyes against the pain and still, Shouta stays quiet.

He manages another five minutes, another five minutes where he watches Hitoshi be in pain, watches Hizashi continue to bleed out before he says "I'm sorry."

It's clearly enough to get through to Hitoshi, because he blinks his eyes open and Shouta doesn't dare think about the time it takes him to focus on Shouta.

"Don't be," he rasps out. "Not your fault."

The explosion, maybe. The situation they are in, definitely. But what Hitoshi is going through right now is definitely Shouta's fault and he's not sure he can ever make it up to his student.

Shouta wants to argue, despite how irrational it is, but he's interrupted by a noise, before a part of a wall simply disappears and light streams in.

"Eraser?" someone calls out and Shouta pushes himself to his feet.

"Over here!" he calls back and his heart stumbles in relief when paramedics spill into the hallway.

"Situation?"

"Present Mic's speaker exploded and sliced open his throat, the damage is severe," Shouta forces himself to say. "Shinsou Hitoshi has him under his quirk and is experiencing severe strain."

"What's the quirk?" one of them asks as he kneels beside Hizashi to take in the situation.

"Brainwash. The orders are to breathe evenly, to not move or speak and to not feel any pain."

"Can you hold your quirk until we're in the ambulance?"

It takes Hitoshi a beat too long to answer, but in the end he nods.

"Can hold it until the hospital," he gets out, though his words come out slurred and Shouta watches how worry flits over the paramedic's face.

"Ambulance is enough," he decides and then there's a flurry of activity around Shouta that leaves him reeling.

By the time his mind can catch up to everything, he's sitting to the side of the building, sheltered from the buzz around the collapsed building and Tsukauchi is kneeling next to him.

"Eraser?" he asks and Shouta fears that it's not the first time he tried.

"Yeah?" he croaks out and Tsukauchi lets out a rough breath.

"The paramedics cleared you but—are you okay?"

"Hizashi, he's—" Shouta can't even finish the sentence before panic sets in. "I have to get to the hospital."

"Sansa is going to drive you, that's why I'm here," Tsukauchi says and puts a hand to Shouta's shoulder. "Are you good to be on your own?"

"My family's at the hospital," Shouta gives back and he doesn't even realise that, technically, Hitoshi is not his family.

Tsukauchi musters him for a moment longer before he nods and waves at Sansa. "Alright. Sansa, he's in your care now."

Sansa salutes before he guides Shouta to the car and Shouta loses himself in all the bad news he could receive when they reach the hospital. It's not just Hizashi he could lose; that much strain in someone with a mental quirk could lead to brain damage or straight up death and Shouta is not ready to receive either of those news.

Still, he'll have to get through this somehow and so when a doctor walks up to him he meets them halfway.

"You're here for Yamada and Shinsou?" the doctor asks for clarification and Shouta nods, following along as the doctor leads him to a room.

Hitoshi is already in there, asleep or knocked out, hooked up to an EEG and several other machines and while the picture is horrible, it at least means there's something left to monitor.

"The strain he experienced was severe and there's some swelling in his brain, which is why we're monitoring him like this. We won't know the extend of the damage, or even if there is one, until he wakes up, but for now, he's stable."

Shouta lets out a shuddering breath as he stumbles over to the bed and takes Hitoshi's hand in his.

"He also undoubtedly saved Yamada's life, because without him and his quirk, things would have ended badly. Yamada is in surgery right now, and while complications can still arise, things are looking promising. I can't say if he'll have any lasting damage to his throat or even his voice yet, but from what I heard his life is no longer in danger."

Shouta feels as if someone cut his strings, and he's glad for the chair that's right next to Hitoshi's bed because he gracelessly falls into it.

"Thank you," he mutters and he's not even sure if he's saying it to the doctor or Hitoshi.

"You're listed as Yamada's emergency contact, but we couldn't find any for Shinsou. Is there someone we can call?"

"No, he's in foster care. CPS needs to be informed, but—I'm here," Shouta says as he reaches out and pushes some hair out of Hitoshi's face.

"Alright," the doctor says as he makes a note. "Once he's out of surgery Yamada will have to stay in the ICU for tonight, so we can adequately monitor him but if he's stable, we'll move him in here. I'll keep you updated on his condition."

Shouta simply nods, and then he's being left alone. He loses himself in this thoughts and the steady beeping of the monitors around him and he only startles back into awareness when Hitoshi squeezes his hand.

"Sensei?" he croaks out, his eyes still closed and Shouta immediately moves closer.

"I'm here," he reassures him and squeezes Hitoshi's hand back.

"Yamada?"

"Still in surgery," Shouta guesses because no one came to update him yet. He tries not to let that worry him, because if things went wrong or took a turn for the worse, he would have been informed. "You saved his life, kid," Shouta softly admits and pats Hitoshi's head as carefully as he can.

"He'll be alright?"

Shouta doesn't want to lie to Hitoshi but he also doesn't want to upset him, so he redirects his thoughts.

"How are you feeling?"

"Head hurts," Hitoshi mumbles and Shouta nods, because that was to be expected but the fact that he can form coherent sentences is probably a good sign.

"Sleep some more," Shouta urges him, feeling exhaustion tugging on himself as well and if he's already feeling bad, Hitoshi must feel so much worse.

Hitoshi apparently drifts off again, because his breath evens out and Shouta lets out a shuddering breath.

He's not proud of how he handled the situation today, reprimands himself for having to rely too much on Hitoshi, for panicking and being unable to help in any meaningful way but he also recognises how insanely well Hitoshi handled the situation.

Shouta promises himself to let him know, once he wakes up again, to tell him just how proud he is of him and that is the thought he finally falls asleep over.

(Shouta is startled awake an hour later when the doctor comes by to let him know that Hizashi is out of danger and out of surgery. Hitoshi is being released the very next day, with a clean bill of health, though the lingering headache persists for three days. Hizashi is moved into Hitoshi's room the next morning and while he has to stay in the hospital for much longer, things turn out alright. He'll forever wear the scars and his voice is raspier than before and using his quirk too much leaves him with a sore throat much faster, but he's alive and well and can still do what he loves, all thanks to Hitoshi. Shouta never tires to thank him for it.)

[sweet-cuddlebug]

Rage aspect and meta. Pre and post retcon. Homestuck au inspired by csau. Past Gamzee/Terezi. Gamzee makara recovery/dealing with the consequences of his actions. Post-sburb gamtav.

[The texts in this post are mostly my own messages copied and pasted from HS Discord. It's recommended that to better understand this rant you read my other posts about Gamzee and these concepts, not necessarily mandatory.]

Ok so listen yall im thinkin about the rage aspect and post-sburb au

My understanding of Rage and Hope is that one is more connected to reality, and the other to fantasy. In Rage's case, it's everything that's true and exists as it is, while Hope is all the infinite possibilities of what can be. So I figured maybe a rage player could gain some sort of insight/understanding into the reality of the story and their place in it.

That's why Gamzee can do what he does, he's passively destroying reality/the story.

SO

Rememeber how Terezi recovered the memories of her past self (before retcon) due to her mind+seer powers and emotional turmoil

I'm writing an au where that also happens with Gamzee in the retcon, maybe after they defeat LE and destroy Cal (<- VERY important for that to happen), due to the sudden freedom granted to his mind Gamzee suffers some kind of emotional and mental shock, similar to what happened with his chucklevoodo (unconsciously giving John nightmares etc etc)

And I'm not even sure if this happens to Gamzee in canon, but here he gains some understanding of the meta and manages to regain his memories from before the retcon

And then comes the emotional spill and meltdown blah blah blah his reality is shattered and he's miserable etc etc

THEN

This contains OCs and I'm not gonna go into too much detail but they're the ones who are mainly in charge of getting Gamzee through the door

TIME SKIP

FOUR YEARS LATER

Gamzee received professional help and support in addition to getting used to this new life outside of anyone's or anything's control, but he also has to deal with the consequences of his actions

WHICH LEADS US TO Gamzee meeting and having a conversation with Terezi (also Nepeta, Karkat, Equius and Tavros etc BUT MAINLY TEREZI FOR NOW) and both of them talking about their relationship and what happened before the retcon, since it's only them + john + time players + sprites who know

I forgot to talk about this on discord but it is in this conversation that both manage to reconcile and receive the answers/apologies they deserved IMPORTANT THAT THIS HAPPENS 4 YEARS LATER OR MORE AFTER THE GAME both need time to heal and improve at their own pace

We continue with the discord messages

OOOOOOH I THOUGHT OF SOMETHING

similar to the scene with Lapis Lazuli, Gamzee is with a group going about their normal day and things take an unexpected turn and now Gamzee is having a breakdown, he's questioning if what he's doing is okay, questioning if he can really be a better person, and ADMITTING that sometimes he "misses" what he went through in the game, AND IT'S CRAZY BECAUSE NOTHING GOOD HAPPENED TO HIM, and he's like (I don't know how to replicate gamzee's speech, I apologize) "i know it sounds bad but sometimes i think i miss the purpose LE gave me" and someone (I didn't put any specific character but I imagined this scene happening with Tavros, I'll explain more later) retorts with "but he was evil and he made you suffer!" and gamzee retorts with "IM EVIL, I MADE MY FRIENDS SUFFER, I TORMENTED KARKAT AND TEREZI AND I KILLED EQUIUS AND NEPETA AND A LOT OF OTHER BAD THINGS" and maybe he mentions something he did before the retcon and everyone's like "what when did that happen" and gamzee gets worse because he remembers that only a few people know the damage he really caused

Okay, as I said, I was going to talk more about Tavros. In my AU, I plan to make flushed Gamtav canon, but like with Terezi, for that to happen, I need a time period where the characters involved can heal separately, so the development of their relationship would not begin until almost 4 years after the game. And just like in csau Tavros gains the confidence (and wings) that he previously lacked/wanted, and the dynamic between Gamzee and Tavros changes.

Tavros becomes more confident and assertive about the type of relationship he wants to form with Gamzee (<3), while Gamzee is now the one who doesn't know if he wants to pursue that (because he doesn't trust himself and that he's not going to ruin everything again). They first begin by forming a friendship; both are different people and must learn to love this new version of themselves. But as time passes, it's clear that Gamzee isn't talking about some things that bother him and prevent him from expanding his friendships/relationships (idk maybe they should mention the makeout with his decapitated head, maybe who knows). This would lead to the scene described above.

Original messages:

Dividers made by enchanthings-a on Tumblr

[sunday-good-enough]

hey guess what

EVERYONE LIVES AU THATS WHAT

I'm calling this the 'roof au' because sunny. well. you can guess

-the premise of this au is that sunny, overwhelmed by mari, his parents, and his own expectations attempts suicide by jumping off the roof of his house, similar to the bad end

-he survives of course, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down and blind in one eye

-mari is, expectedly, DISTRAUGHT. She hates herself at first for not noticing and for pressuring him, but eventually channels it into making sure sunny never gets hurt Ever Again

-sunny, similar to the canonverse where he forced himself to forget about the incident, forgets that the accident was a suicide attempt. If you ask him, there was an accident that left him paralyzed and that's it

-hes really pissed because everyone, ESPECIALLY mari, seems to be treating him like hes about to die or smth

-since he doesnt remember the whole suicide thing, he thinks its because hes disabled and that makes him really, really annoyed

-with mari home from college for summer and more overprotective than ever, sunny feels almost suffocated

-the story starts when sunny overhears a conversation between aubrey and mari that suggests his accident may not have been an accident, leaving sunny confused

-he starts to realize that theres gaps in his memory and things that dont add up, so he tries to figure out through his friends and his own headspace what ACTUALLY happened

-headspace still exists, tho its more of a place for sunny to have fun adventures with his friends that he wouldnt be able to have in the real world

-in headspace, sunny can still walk, and instead of being confined to the picnic blanket, mari joins his party and is able to fight (though, like hero, her skills are less attack focused and theyre able to buff her friends stats, and theyre usually music focused), though basil still sits on the picnic blanket since he doesnt like to fight

-omori is a seperate entity from sunny, sort of like an imaginary friend. he protects basil at the picnic blanket (and sunny from the truth) sunny has had him as an imaginary friend since he was very little in this au, with omori often comforting him (even more so before his attempt, due to the stress he was under)

-its important to note that sunny is no longer suicidal, since he doesnt remember a reason to be. he woke up one day and completely forgot, so mari just went along with it, believing it was better for his mental health

-its equally important to note that like kel, basil does not think sunny attempted suicide. he believes that mari PUSHED him, and it was all her fault, so he refuses to talk to her

(edit cuz i forgot to add this) the ships in this fic are:

rosemari: very much an old married couple, more distant than they used to be because of mari spending so much time worrying about sunny

suntan: idiots in love. they both have a crush on the other but they're way too obvious to notice

cotton candy: 'just got into a relationship,' lots of awkward handholding and kisses. sunshine + sunshine protector. aubrey LOVES gushing about kim, mostly to Sunny cause Kel makes fun of her, Hero keeps telling her to be careful, and Mari's never home. Kim tried making a bracelet for Aubrey once and majorly fucked it up, but she kept it as a keychain

sunflower: onesided, Basil mistaking deep platonic love for a crush

thanks for reading! my rainy au is more of my main au and this one doesnt have a fic (yet) lol

[utopia-and-broken-cynics]

So. Since you've properly read Pinocchio now. What are your thoughts on how the book was adapted into Cedar and her dad in EAH

I need everyone to look me dead in my eyes, okay? I love Ever After High. I love Pinocchio. 

No matter what I say later, you have to remember I love Ever After High, okay? Got that? Good. 

That being said, Pinocchio and Cedar in EAH don’t really seem to be based on the book, as much as the Disney movie (I know, I know, booo and all that), in the way that most modern adaptations of Pinocchio are based on the Disney movie. Cultural phenomena and all that.

I would like to break down some points of Pinocchio, link them back to Ever After High, and then explain what this means to me later. Okay? Let’s go!

[Please note that I make points in the order they came to me and NOT in the order of how they reference each other. This isn’t a professional essay, and nobody is allowed to grade me. Also, this is purely from memory, so if I’m wrong, I’m wrong.]

What it means to be good (obedience, honesty, school/hard work)

The story of Pinocchio deals a lot with what it means to be good, a concept that does mostly carry over. Usually, good means honest, right?

Being good in the book means a lot of things. Pinocchio is often scolded and punished for being lazy, for being disobedient, and, yes, for being dishonest. He’s a complainer, he’s greedy, he wants to get rich fast without doing any of the work, and he loathes the idea of going to school. Classic little kid things, really.

School is the biggest one. As soon as Pinocchio is up and moving (and, y’know, after Geppetto gets out of prison— long story—), he is told he has to go to school. And he immediately, and I do mean immediately, skips. He sells his school book to go to a puppet show.

Later in the book, the reason the Blue Fairy plans to make Pinocchio human is because he did well and was diligent in school for a good part of the year.

Hard work is also a big one. After Pinocchio and Romeo get turned into donkeys, Pinocchio is sold to the circus, and is forced to do tricks and stuff to earn his food.

In the very end, to show he is good, and ultimately deserving of being real, he does hard work to earn money for his ailing father, and the Blue Fairy once he becomes aware of her being in a poor state. He grows from being an undeniably bad child, to being a good one.

Pinocchio lies to get out of trouble, more often than not. He lies to the Blue Fairy about being sick, about what happened with the Fox and Cat to get him hung from a tree, and about skipping school. 

And eventually, he just. Stops. He must have figured it was more harm than it was worth.

Blue Fairy

The Blue Fairy is a pretty big part of the book, something not reflected in EAH.

She starts off in a little sister role, getting Pinocchio brought down from where he’s been hung from a tree. Then he gets out of jail (long story) and finds out she is dead.

Then she comes back, transitioning into a mother role as Geppetto has had an… unfortunate accident at sea. The Blue Fairy is a fairly forgiving figure in Pinocchio’s life, giving him numerous opportunities to prove he is good, and that he is worthy of being human.

The Blue Fairy is so so so patient with Pinocchio, and sometimes he doesn’t deserve it. And I love her for it.

All that being said, Farrah should have been way more important and involved in Cedar’s life, ESPECIALLY since Cedar has already lost a Blue Fairy.

 Do you think I forgot?! Hell no! Did y’all forget that Cedar’s Blue Fairy went poof?

Considering how important the Blue Fairy is to Pinocchio (how they live together for a good while before the Donkey-ing, how quickly he mourns her), there is no doubt in my mind that Cedar’s Blue Fairy was very important to her.

We don’t know how she felt about the poofing, and we don’t know how their interactions went pre-poofing.

But this is about Farrah.

If Farrah is truly gonna take on the Blue Fairy role, they would have to do more than just say it. Let them hang out in the background, let them talk a couple of times.

I just think they should have been more of a Thing, y’know? The Blue Fairy is too important to the story for Farrah taking over to not be a Certified Big Deal.

Danger

According to my partner @the-lavender-creator and my good buddy @rarepairqueenmochi, the fox and the cat that appear in Darling’s horse’s tragic backstory would hang a child if it made them money. I would like to believe that it’s a point towards the fox and cat being very similar to their book counterparts.

Which means that maybe all the other super dangerous stuff that happens in Pinocchio could also happen in the Ever After High Universe. For example, Pinocchio almost gets battered and pan-fried at some point, could that happen in EAH?

What about the hanging? What about when the Black cat tries to stab Pinocchio? When he spends a little time drowning as a donkey?

I don’t know, and you don’t either. Moving on.

Pinocchio as a Character

Pinocchio starts off the story as a sort of gullible miscreant. He gets warned by numerous characters that “if you do this, things will go wrong” and he does it in spite of them. For goodness sake, he kills the Talking Cricket with a hammer because the cricket calls him an idiot for thinking he can lounge around and have fun all day. (The cricket kinda deserved it, tbf. Don’t call him an idiot. That’s a kid.)

Pinocchio is also (sort of) a sweet boy. He wants to do the right thing, but he also wants to do the easy thing, the fun thing. 

Why go straight home to his father with five gold coins and go to school the next day like a good boy, when he can go with these two people he just met and make way more money really easily?

Why go home to the Blue Fairy when Romeo’s promising him endless fun?

What you have to remember is that during the story, Pinocchio is (to my knowledge) between the ages of 6 to 10, and it shows.

We don’t know a lot about Pinocchio in EAH, unfortunately. We know he was friends with King Charming and Goldilocks in high school, and that he’s notably a wooden boy still.

I don’t think teenagers can really go through the plot of Pinocchio (not saying that teenagers can’t make the decisions he does, just that they are older, more informed, and likely more cautious. It takes more effort to get a teenager to bury money in the hope that it’ll grow a tree, for example.), but that’s just me.

Cedar as Pinocchio

Cedar is not a gullible miscreant. Cedar loves her father too much to sentence him to two years in a stomach.

Cedar Wood wants more than ever to be human, and able to lie. I love her so much; she would never recover from going through book Pinocchio’s shenanigans. If we assume that the Legacy system will go through the same beats and lessons, despite prior personality and values, then she’s, quite frankly, fucked.

Cedar doesn’t need to learn the lessons book Pinocchio, or even Disney Pinocchio needed to learn, about honesty, hard work, and accountability.

Maybe she can learn about the divide between wisdom and age, which would lend itself well to the whole Rebel cause that Cedar aligns herself with. Being that she’s willing to call out Milton Grimm for lying, though, she probably doesn’t need to learn that one either.

—

Okay, now that I’ve gotten all of that out of my system, let’s talk about what that all means.

Nothing, really.

Ever After High, for better or worse, doesn’t dig into the fairytale theme as much as it could. This means that we never get a full picture of the exact version of the story most characters are being prodded towards. They mention that the stories have changed over time, but how.

Cedar and the story of Pinocchio are no exceptions. Many of the details can be inferred, but many are just hopeful guesses on my part. 

However, while trying to tell a story about Legacy, they could have utilized elements of the story to add a little specificity to the nuances of Cedar advocating for choice.

It would make sense, given how the story of Pinocchio goes, that she wouldn’t want to go through with it, but she has to to get to the ending. The happy ending probably cancels out all the stuff she has to go through in everyone’s eyes, but it doesn’t to me.

Cedar will make choices that go directly against her personality, against her and her father’s wellbeings, and she will have to be okay with that when she becomes human. How does that make her feel as she heads towards her story? How does that make her feel as her friends choose not to follow their destinies? Does she decide to change how the story goes?

TLDR; it was adapted fine. I personally wish we had more Pinocchio themes and aspects referenced and mentioned by Cedar and her father, but considering how little Cedar is the main focus/a major character, I probably shouldn’t be picky. I’m just happy she was on screen/on the page.

[fictive-culture]

Being a OCtive is interesting, specifically in my case in this system. I’m the OC of a friend the host doesn’t have anymore, they stopped being friends before the host realized he was plural. Like a lot of the other people here, A lot of my memory is mostly the stuff the host already knew about me, alongside knowledge of some other characters and of my creator and everything surrounding them. However, I don’t actually have a lot of memory of my own, and it’s almost painful. I know things about myself and my family but I can’t remember any of their names or growing up or doing hardly anything with anyone from home. I wish I knew something about my family, and I want to ask my creator so bad. I couldn’t say goodbye because I didn’t know this was going to happen so the least I want to do is know who they are and what they like, but my creator isn’t our friend anymore, and I don’t think they’d react quite positively to us reaching out.

Hell, I don’t use my full/first name, I use a shortened version of my first and last names combined, because the host doesn’t think it’s a good idea for me to be clear about who I am because of my origin. Another OCtive in this system, from a different friend we still have, also uses a different name to not be confusing, but at least she could ask if she wanted to know more about who she is! But she doesn’t even have to, because she does know! It’s unfair!

Other fictives in this system have gotten memories with creation, or I suppose kept their memories, however you want to put it. But I didn’t. And I just want to know so badly that there’s someone else out there who understands

Hi, I'm Themisto, my situation isn't exactly the same as yours but it still has the same ending. I am, an octive of this bodies creation for the Runicsmp an smp that was canceled before it's official launch. We had about a month where we were on the server meeting each other planning vague ideas of what we wanted to do and other pre set up. So I'm left with only the beginning of the story, the home, my group, a few people, but really nothing else because it went no where else and the brain didn't grace me with memories past that. I'm in contact with a couple people from it but I haven't told them who I am and they likely forgot about their characters my friends long before I realized I was apart of this system. I understand your pain of not knowing and not really having a way to know that feels comfortable and real I almost wish I had memories of a terrible end or one of the various dark timelines we and another creator spoke about rather than be left with nothing as at least then I'd know. I'd honestly do anything to just find a copy of the server so that I could walk around my home again even if it's empty but I don't believe the server owner is still active on any social media.

[hostilemuppet]

Hyping you up Muppet. I’m sitting with popcorn waiting for the next post. Also with how Boomer is treated by both the boys and their “”fathers”” realistically I can see him like. Being the first one to try leaving at least. Mostly because I can’t imagine him growing up to become a punching bag (he has SUPERPOWERS) but also because, as you said, he’s already ON the path out of villainy. (1/?)

how i think it would happen is, like you said, boomer gets sick of the way his family treats him

hes ostracising himself from society, and for what? so his brother can hit him? so mojo can call him stupid? so HIM can scream at him for every little misstep? his familys supposed to be there for him, but because of them hes got nothing and no one! and its not like he sees himself as useless and dependent on them, he doesnt agree with them when they talk down to him and gives them these sassy looks all the time and he maintains hes NOT as dumb as he looks. i think its only a matter of time before he decides its not worth it, cuts his losses, and gets the hell out of dodge (mojos observatory). his main obstacle would be HIM because HE probably knows where all HIS sons are at all times, but its equally possible HEd gotten sick of boomer at that point, considering him more of a liability than an asset, and just let him go so HE can focus on the two that actually have a chance of killing the girls

as for where boomer would go... its possible hed just roam the streets (like the boys seem to do anyway) and shoplift only what hed need to survive while keeping a low profile (the girls can go invisible so the boys probably can too), but honestly? its the basic choice definitely, but i think it all comes down to bubbles. for one, she already thinks boomer is cute, and while that was before the Events of tbabit, when they reminisces on their teen escapades in clipsville, shes the only one who smiles; she sees it as a positive memory

and then you think about who bubbles is as a person; she talks down monsters from destroying townsville bc she sees the good in them (three girls and a monster) and she takes home animals to nurse them back to health (stray bullet, helter shelter) so i think all that needs to happen is she sees boomer on his own (without her sisters) and he tells her that hes not interested in being evil anymore, he wants to go straight! and because bubbles arguably has more empathy than common sense shed take him home with her and hide him from her family. she sneaks him her leftovers for dinner and he sleeps on the roof, and they have much better luck hiding boomer because hes a sentient creature and one metre tall instead of a fucking whale. shes learned from her mistakes!

and when her family actually finds out what happened, its probably because brick and butch are banging on their door because theyve looked everywhere else for boomer, where else would he be? they bet they kidnapped him again, the sickos, and buttercup and blossom say that they havent seen him either! honestly, they thought boomers probably been dead in a ditch somewhere for the past month or so. bubbles is suspiciously quiet. blossom asks her whats going on as they hear the pew of boomer taking off because he thought itd be better to leave for a bit so he wouldnt get caught but he forgot that flying is like, super loud. bubbles says it was probably a bird. no one believes her

bubbles comes clean and the girls obviously tell the professor, and bubbles insists that hes been here so long and nothing bad has happened so hes totally fine! hes good now! he can stay! brick and butch say they never thought hed actually go soft, and bubbles says that the most hardcore thing you can do is stay true to yourself instead of succumbing to peer pressure. the boys laugh at her so she super spits at them and takes one of butchs eyes out (itll grow back)

boomer returns "home" to see 6 people waiting for him on the roof. butch is wearing an eyepatch and when boomer comments on it hes told to mind his own beeswax. the professor says he cant stay here, and brick says hes coming home to mojos with them, and boomer says fine but hes not doing whatever they say anymore. bubbles taught him this little thing called self respect so hes not gonna let them boss him around! he asks bubbles if thats okay and she nods in approval

brick and butch assume itll only be a matter of time until everything goes back to normal and boomer resumes being their punching bag, but he sticks to his word. he doesnt ask "how high" when they tell him to jump anymore, and when brick hits him to get him to listen, boomer actually... hits back? and then tells him to get his own damn soda, boomer has plans. with bubbles. because he actually has friends now, they should try it sometime. butch asks him to repeat that because he was talking on the side of his bad eye. boomer doesnt understand. brick goes to his room to break something on purpose. butch watches his cartoons since it doesnt require depth perception. he supposes hanging out with someone other than his brothers doesnt seem half bad now that he thinks about it...

[shewritesinblackink]

Twilight fanfic - Paul Lahote x reader part 2 “Rain and anguish”

part 1

masterlist

ao3 link

While you’re dealing with the aftermath of your beach adventures, Paul is too. The difference was that he has the pack to look after him and help him understand what’s happening to him. And they all know two things for certain: one; you had the distinct scent they’d smell on the clothes found deep in the forest a few days ago, and two; Paul had imprinted on you.

And the two weren’t adding up. They didn’t understand how they could be another shifter in Forks and they hadn’t noticed. Some had suspicions ever since that day in the forest, but nothing had been confirmed. Though your sudden appearance had lifted some concerns at the reservation, and even sparked a meeting between the elders.

Sam wanted to meet you, make you come to the reservation and have a discussion. They couldn’t have another shifter outside of the reservation or it was war guaranteed with the coven of vampires that were the Cullens. They had rules they needed to respect. That’s what made the elders agitated mostly.

Paul’s imprinting was the lesser of their concerns. But to him though? It was a big deal. He couldn’t believe it happened to him. He didn’t know how to feel. When he had looked at you at first, it’s like gravity had suddenly shifted under his feet and his whole world was upside down. Or rather like it was finally making sense. Everything was a little smoother around the edges, a stark contrast to how he had seen life unfold around him for years; sharp and tough. Hurtful.

You were soothing him.

When he had looked into your eyes, it was like the final piece of the puzzle of his soul had finally been found and put at the right place. He didn’t know if all these feelings and emotions washing over him all of a sudden were good or bad. Maybe a little of both, he decided. He couldn’t make up his mind. A part of him was furious that another choice in his life had been taken from him. First he had shifted without even wanting it. And even now after some months, he still hates himself for it. Blaming himself, as if he had any say in all of that.

And now the imprint. It scared him. An imprint could be a lot of things, but in general people ended up getting together and irrevocably in love. It was almost endearing but also disgusting to witness Sam and Emily and their perfect love bubble.

You spent that day alone inside your house, trying to keep your mind busy from the beach events and the pain, but you barely managed to read a few pages of a book before your brain started wandering off. At least it seemed your brain was so focused on the recent events that it almost forgot the pain coursing through your body. 

Bella called you the next day, saying that Jacob had asked her to drive you down to the reservation. She said he didn’t tell her the reason, but maybe she knew and didn’t want to tell you in case it stopped you from following her there.

That’s when your mind snapped back to reality and doubled over, hands braced against your knees, trying to catch your breath. Your head was pounding and thankfully Bella drove in silence. No questions, no music, just the sound of the road underneath her truck and the cool breeze coming through the open passenger window.

You saw in the corner of your eye that Bella turned her head towards you a couple of times, probably checking if you weren’t dying on her passenger seat. She could probably see the beads of sweat forming on your forehead.

“You okay? You haven’t said much since the beach,” she let her voice drop low and quiet as if she wasn’t sure she should or could mention it. Like you would burst in an uncontrollable rage at the memory. You thought you must have scared her quite well if she was taking so many precautions to talk to you.

You blamed yourself and hated yourself for behaving a certain way sometimes, but there were days, moments, during which you could barely control yourself because you weren’t yourself.

When she parked beside Jake’s bike, you immediately noticed him standing straight, arms crossed over his chest. A few other boys hovered around him, some sported curiosity on their faces, others looked more worried than anything else.

As soon as Bella got out of the car it was like Jake forgot all his worries and the world around, as he ran to greet her with a big hug. You hesitated, hands on the door handle, finger’s fidgeting nervously. You could sense something in the air, but you didn’t know what it was. And it made you nervous.

What did Jacob want to talk to you about? Had you done something wrong the other day at the beach? Had you hurt or vexed anyone? You didn’t fully remember the day but you know you barely talked. You let Bella do the talking that day.

Taking a big gulp of air you pushed the door open. The very moment you put one foot on the ground and Jacob had you in his line of sight, it was like the stars in his eyes had been turned off. He didn’t look happy to see you, but again Bella hadn’t said anything so you weren’t sure.

He came up to you as you closed the door, fidgeting with your sleeves. “There’s some things we need to talk about.” Was all he said. He didn’t even greet you, so you guessed you had done something pretty bad for him to be so closed off and grumpy. He simply nodded at you to follow him down a muddy path toward a simple but cute house.

Hidden away underneath the shadows of the big trees in the forest, you could see silhouettes moving inside behind the windows, and you heard chatter and laughter.

Jacob entered first, followed by the guys that had been waiting with him and Bella. You were the last one to get inside, and as you closed the door behind you, every pair of eyes landed on you. What you didn’t notice though, was that some eyes traveled from you to Paul and from him to you again.

Looks were exchanged and finally when the silence became too loud and heavy, a man in his thirties and a woman about the same age came out of another room hand in hand. They stopped short when they noticed everybody inside the house, and finally their gaze landed on you. The woman was the first one to speak, greeting you warmly and introducing herself and the man by her side. Her name was Emily and he was Sam.

She immediately went to the oven, opened it and took out a tray of freshly baked cookies. Sam went up to you and introduced himself as well as the other boys and young men in the room. Meanwhile one of the youngest boys sitting down around the dining table got scolded by Emily who had just put a plate full of hot cookies. He was shaking his fingers and blowing on them, you guessed what he had tried to do and a soft smile brushed your lips.

You all but noticed the dark silhouette hovering at the far end of the room, like he was sulking after being punished like a child. His arms crossed over his bare chest, his eyes remained on the ground.

Sam told you to take a seat and you obliged, not wanting to show how tired you were but also grateful he gave you the option.

You sat in silence observing the scene around you. The boys had started talking amongst themselves, the agitated chatter filling the kitchen and dining room. It looked like a mundane scene in the home of a loving family, you thought nostalgic.

Sam leaned back against the wall facing you, his hands in his jean’s pockets. You noticed he was barefoot, but you also noticed they were all shirtless and barefoot. Sam had a gentle smile tugging at his lips as he observed you. You didn’t know if you should feel nervous about it, or nervous about the way they all seemed to share a secret that the world would never know.

He took a deep inhale, then started talking again, ending the torture of waiting silently while happy chaos gently unfolded around you in the room.

“I know this seems strange,” and he gestured to the room around the both of you, “but there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

He then took a place on a chair in front of you, beside the table and started telling you a story about his tribe and the reservation. About some monsters named the Cold-ones and others beasts trying to protect their land. It was a story of life and death, survival and war and bloodlines.

You got chills when he talked about the violence and the fights. And somehow you felt the story resonating inside your bones. You weren’t sure you fully understood or grasped the whole point of his story, the whole gravity of it, but somewhere within yourself, you felt that this story was a part of the past and that it had really happened. At the end of his story his eyes were still on you, trying to gauge your reaction, trying to see if you’d get the hint.

You saw some sort of currency in his brown eyes, but you didn’t know why. So you simply asked. You hadn’t noticed that everyone had quieted down and had been listening too despite knowing the stories by heart as it was custom for the tribe members.

“Why are you telling me this? Aren’t these kind of stories ancient and sacred and like, I don’t know, private to the members of the tribe?”

Everybody was surprised that you knew how private the tribe was and how their past was important. You weren’t ignorant or insensitive, you just thought these kinds of stories were passed down from generation to generation. Never wrote down, always shared with their voices.

As the time passed and Sam was telling his story, you could feel your headache coming back. All your senses heightened once again, you could hear everyone breathing in the room, every scrapping of a chair on the wooden floor. Beads of sweat started to appear on your forehead and neck and Sam seemed to notice. You tried to cover yourself up with your hands, but your arms were hurting. Your shoulders were stiff and your head felt so heavy.

You could have fallen asleep right then and there so much the pain was tiring. Or more like your endless effort to tame the beast inside of you was taking your strength. And the beast was still clawing inside, howling silently in your mind. Like silently begging you to let go.

You had developed a pretty strong mental willpower– that or you were incredibly stubborn trying to fight off the symptoms of each shift.

The noises in the room were starting to overwhelm you, added with how hot you were feeling, like you had a fever. Emily walked over to you and reached out with one hand, but you flinched away and it startled her.

You stuttered a half apology, “Don’t.”

You got up fast from your chair, knocking it over in the process. All the eyes were on you. Paul had shifted from his spot to another closer to the table sometime during the storytelling.

And suddenly you heard a branch cracking outside the open window. Your head snapping in its direction. Eyes narrowing and breathing slowing down, you clenched your hands into fists and tried to ground yourself in your surroundings.

You couldn’t cause a scene here. Not now. Not in front of so many people. A part of you was scared and was seeking loneliness in times like these. The comfort of the forest, the silence of nature and the soft whisper of the trees in the wind. The darkness the tall trees and bushes provided gave you privacy during these tough moments where your entire body shifted. All the bones snapping into different places, claws growing out of your nails and your skin getting covered in fur.

It was a painful process, and you struggled a lot.

Sam got up too, pushing Emily behind him protectively. He kept one hand in the air in front of him like you would to a scared or wounded wild animal. A sign of peace. You knew he didn’t want to hurt you, but the thing trying to get out of your skin could easily hurt him. Or anyone in that kitchen for that matter.

You stumbled backward a few steps and looked up to see everyone looking at you with concern all over their faces. The youngest looked the most excited though, and you didn’t fully understand why. The eldest of the small crowd sported a look of worry and pity.

And it made you angry. Why would they be worried about you? Were they scared of you? Scared you could hurt them? Why did they look like they were pitying you too? Couldn’t they just look away and forget everything, down to your very own existence?

You inhaled sharply. The feeling of anger was much easier to trigger during this state of pre-shift struggle. And now that you felt this anger, this hatred at the world and at nothing in particular and you couldn’t hold back any longer.

Shaking your head “no” slightly, your hand flew to your ears. Trying to drown out the noise and pain pulsing through your skull. You staggered out the door, down the few steps of the small wooden porch and onto the mud.

A soft rain had started to drizzle down from the grey clouds, and you closed your eyes as you looked up at the sky. Praying to whoever was listening to help you.

If anyone discovered your secret, knew who– what- you truly were, you’d had to move out again. And you hated this idea. Mainly because you liked it here. You had slowly adapted into a small routine and it wasn’t that bad. Despite the pain and loneliness. But also because something was holding you here and you didn't know what it was. It made you feel like you were going crazy some days.

You couldn’t help it, you let out a low grunt as your knees landed in the wet soil. A few gathered on the front porch and observed the scene. Sam walked forward, not too much as to scare you again. Paul was on his heels, curiosity and something else written on his face. You couldn’t quite tell what else, that you saw in his dark eyes.

But your stare lingered a moment until you doubled over, hands pressing hard against your skull and spine curving forward.

Your nose almost touched the ground as you rocked back and forth on your knees. Someone said something in a hushed tone and you couldn’t make out the words, but then you heard Sam’s voice nearer and you held onto that.

“It’s gonna be okay, don’t fight it.” You took a few ragged breaths and he continued, “Don’t fight it, it’ll only make it worse.”

You wanted to listen to him but you also wished you hadn’t changed into this beast. You were scared, and maybe he could feel it or maybe he saw it on your face as he crouched down and leaned to be closer to you. Trying to make you feel safe.

“Listen to me, it’ll be easier if you let it come, let the feelings wash over you, trust me I know.”

He knew the firsts transformations were supposed to hurt like hell, what he didn’t know was that it wasn’t technically your firsts shift. It had been six months since the incident and ever since that fateful night you couldn’t control the shift whenever they happened.

You wanted to tell him everything, tell him your story, tell him all the details, all the things that happened and that you had to go through alone. You had a feeling he would understand, maybe he had experienced that alone as well. You clung onto that single thought, like it was your only hope.

You heard a few birds taking up in the sky from some nearby trees and the noise only spurred you on– triggering the beastly instinct inside of you.

Suddenly you yelped from the pain coursing through your body and took a few steps forward, away from the house. Sam followed you close enough to help if anything happened, but not too close as to disturb you. He wasn’t sure if your shift would be the same as any of the others he had witnessed.

He knew what you were trying to do, walking slowly through your body’s convulsions toward the forest. Searching for privacy and the dark protective shadows of the ancient trees.

He understood the gesture, all the shifters from his pack had done the same during their first shift. Searching for a private place where they could suffer alone.

Without any watchful eyes, judging and full of unwanted emotions.

Paul took a few steps, staying behind Sam as he couldn’t overstep the Alpha of the pack. He watched you with a deep worry in his beautiful dark eyes. Jaw clenched and hands balled into fists. He wanted to help you, something inside of him ached for you, seeked to be close to you, to help you in any way. But he also knew shifting could be painful. He didn’t fully understand how he felt about all these emotions swarming his mind and body.

You screamed again, head thrown back from the pain, from the bones cracking and moving into place. A big cluster of clouds passed overhead, low and dark, full of rain. Thunder rolling and a few flashes of lightning illuminating the forest. It was like the sky was following you, the shade of the clouds staying above you as you became a big wolf with fur so dark it looked almost black in the shadows.

Paul’s jaw dropped slightly, unintentionally as he took in the giant wolf in front of him. You were big, probably as big as him and Sam. You could probably fight a full grown Alpha and win by yourself if you wanted to.

His thoughts were interrupted by a low, angry growl as you turned back to face him and Sam. Your eyes were dark and narrowed to slits, almost glowing with fury. Paul got chills running up his arms as he stared at your cold and predatory glare. You looked beautiful and fierce, lips curled back, showing ivory teeth sharp like knives. He observed attentively as you growled low, foam gathering at the corner of your lips, saliva stringing a little. Everything in you just showed anger and fury, relentless fury. It was savage, violent but also beautiful. He just knew you would be a hell of a fighter. He also knew you would give a hell of a hard time to Sam.

Everybody watched as Sam moved in front of you, blocking your view of Paul and the others. You wondered silently if he was trying to protect them from you. Were they scared?

The thought only made you even more angry and hurt, your head was pounding as you lowered your head and snarled at him. Your front paws were braced heavily against the muddy soil, the muscles in your shoulders moving. The others were impressed and not hiding it in the slightest.

Sam recognised this stance and didn’t waste a second more. A fighting stance. You were ready to bounce on your prey or on anything. He shifted into his wolf form, ready to help you or defend his family and friends if needed be. He had to keep in mind that you were still a stranger despite knowing Bella, and he couldn’t rely on his trust because he didn’t know you well enough.

So he braced himself ready and waited. He tried to tell you via his thoughts that he was here to help you but your mind was so messy and loud he could barely get a thought for himself. So he tried to look less intimidating, and more curious and cautious. Trying to make you understand he wasn’t here to hurt you.

Unfortunately in your frenzy you barely registered anything, and right now this other big wolf in front of you was a threat in your mind. As your thoughts swarmed inside your own head, flashes of various threats from your past, Sam saw a few of these glimpses in his own, and started to understand that you had been hurt before. He understood easily enough that gaining your trust wouldn’t be easy.

But he was ready to do his most to help a fellow shifter.

So when you launched yourself forward to attack him he only focused on defending himself. He didn’t try attacking you back, but rather trying to help you get all that frustration and hurt out of your system. Like playing with a dog to exhaust him the most to make sure he’ll be obedient afterwards.

The rain started in a soft drizzle, cold and fresh. You enjoyed it but were too focused on your task that you didn’t notice.

The others watched as the fight continued on for a long time. They witnessed Sam being thrown forcefully against trees and rocks. They watched as you obviously led the fight, again and again. You had a lot of strength, it was remarkable. But again Sam wasn’t giving you everything he had and it frustrated you even more each time you landed a blow or threw him hard enough to knock him off.

After a while they all grew restless just as the rain grew more heavy. Some went back inside to fetch a few cookies, as if they were only watching tv and enjoying it. Emily sat on the stairs and Paul could sense the tension radiating from her as she folded her arms against her chest. She fidgeted anxiously with her ring. He slowly got down on the front steps beside her, silently reassuring her one hand on her shoulder.

You could sense that Sam was getting tired of the fight dragging on, but you weren’t the least bit exhausted. You could’ve fought all day and night long. But you slowly started to feel less anger coursing through your mind. More frustration. Slowly becoming a little bit more empty, your feelings erased, leaving your mind fuzzy.

You were growing tired of this game, Sam wasn’t even attacking you back and you had quickly noticed. You turned your attention to the forest as Sam seemed exhausted besides you, breathing heavily.

Sensing something, Paul got up from his spot on the front porch stairs and walked closer slowly. You didn’t look at him once before leaping towards the forest. The sun had started his descent and the luminosity was getting lower by the hour, making the forest even darker than when the clouds arrived.

Paul called out your name for you to wait, Sam howled but you didn’t stop. You didn’t look back. You continued to run forward. And then you heard it, two sets of breathing, more than one wolf coming after you.

The realisation only spurred you on even more and you ran faster, jumping and bouncing above the trunks of trees covered in moss and rockes. You reached the clearing at the same time as Paul, his wolf form right behind you. He was fast, matching your speed. You liked it. You blinked at him curiously as you took it in. His beautiful grey and brown fur, his eyes.

You were ready to fight again, your big black paws stomping on the pretty green grass. Paul walked with you, both of you walking in circles around each other, like you were sizing up your opponent. But when you looked directly into his big dark eyes, the brown almost swallowed by new moon blackness, you couldn’t see what you were looking for. You couldn’t see any trace of hate.

Your thoughts came to him in a big flash, too fast and intense for him to have time to grasp anything and really look into it.

And then you felt that sensation again– the one from the beach. Like the ground moved under you and the sky started spinning above. Suddenly it was like someone had popped the bubble that had surrounded you for so long, and you could hear the birds singing around you. You smelt the flowers from the clearing, something beautiful and colourful. The earth wet from the soft rain that was slowly stopping.

He was intently watching you, his stare locked onto yours. Face unmoving, mouths closed. He was silent, not a single sound coming from him. But if you really listened closely, you noticed his ragged breathing, matching yours.

You both stopped walking in circles, close enough that you could feel his breath on your own muzzle. He tentatively took a few steps closer and you sniffed the air around him. His scent washing over your senses, his heartbeat a melody in your ears.

He did the same, sniffing the air, closing in on the fur around your neck and taking big sniffs. He heard the steady rhythm of your heartbeat, it was like he felt it physically too. Like his heart was cut in half and you were the other half. He thought it was beautiful, like a song he could listen to forever. All animosity and rigid predator behaviour was gone now, replaced by something so tender and soft it was almost painful to witness. Like he was hurting from being so close and yet so far from you.

The soft bubble that had formed around you popped suddenly when Sam erupted into the flowery meadow. You only had time to notice that he was carrying something in his mouth before you ducked your head down in a sudden rush of pain. And in a flash of thunder you were human again, laying down on your side, naked in the wet tall grass. You curled up on yourself, eyes staring at the pretty flowers almost above you. You barely remember thinking how flowers could be so tall.

You heard a few noises behind you as Paul shifted back to human and put on the pair of denim shorts Sam had brought. The Alpha nodded to Paul and turned around, walking back to the house where everyone was waiting.

Paul gathered the clothes and walked slowly closer to you. He was facing your back and it stopped him in his tracks when he saw the scars there. Claws marks. Bite marks. On your lower back, your shoulder blades, and he saw a glimpse of your arms too.

He knelt and put the clothes on the ground. He didn’t know if it was safe enough to touch you but he didn’t really care. Something inside of him had been craving your closeness ever since the beach. Ever since he knew what had happened but was too scared to admit it or say it aloud. 

So he gently rested a warm hand on your arm. You startled, curling up even more on yourself like you were trying to disappear from the surface of the Earth. He felt how warm you were underneath his fingertips and he almost hummed from the sensation. Closing his eyes he just took a moment to savour it all. The way his mind was calmer than usual. It was like he could breathe more easily now that you were nearby.

Somehow, with gentle soothing words he convinced you to get dressed. He noticed the goosebumps running up your arm when he took his hand off, as if the contact of his skin alone had been keeping you warm against the soft breeze after the rain.

He smiled a little. Liking that reaction of your body and mind to his presence.

It meant a lot.

He gave you privacy as you slowly got dressed, silently waiting his back facing you. Then he offered you his hand to help you get up, not doubting how sore your muscles were after such a long fight.

Your fingers lingered longer than it should have in his hand, slowly slipping away from his palm as you both silently walked back to the others under the last drops of rain.

You undoubtedly were going to need some explanations and help from the pack. You clearly needed their guidance. But they also needed to know where you were from and if you were any danger to the reservation.

[joefangs]

There are so many discrepancies if we compare season 1 Louis' memories and season 2 recollections of his. He made Lestat look almost bad, devilish in season 1, blamed everything on him, and stayed clean with Claudia. In season 2, we can finally see the issues with his memories of Lestat. Even in season 1 Louis changed his words in front of Daniel. In S2 it kind of proved that Louis' collections were muddled. He changed his memories way too many times. At last he admitted to go on with Lestat's version. I mean, I know and I can confirm that Lestat has always been good as far as the definition of "a good vampire" can go, and all the things Louis said about him are not all true.

If I go according to the books, Interview with the vampire and The Vampire Lestat are two different books with different Lestats to be precise. TV Louis said that Lestat didn't hesitate to kill, but the book Lestat from the second book, said he made a grave mistake of making Claudia ( About who, he said that he loved his dark daughter, and he didn't want that fate for her. He regretted making a young fledgling because Marius warned him about his mistake of creating Armand that young) and other than that he vowed to never kill any innocents. He only killed the damned ones, and the ones who were about to die. Also, got me thinking, how can he kill innocent people, when he took care of his family in France, who were all human. Even his mother opposed his actions, but Lestat didn't listen. So, how can a century old vampire, who still cares about his human family, gives them financial support all along, can kill mercilessly. It just didn't add to my wits. Most important of all, he loved Louis, more than Nicki even and admitted it over and over again. He longed to be with Louis, not because he always felt lonely, but because he loved Louis the most, so much that he rejected Armand in the book.

Louis' recollections of Lestat in season 1 is filled with somewhat hatred, because at that moment he thought Armand was his saviour. In S2, he started to have some clarity, mostly thanks to Daniel, and finally we know what happened.

In the book, Lestat was there at the Theatre the Vampire, he did accuse Claudia for his attempted murder, but let me tell you, he wasn't even in his right mind at that time. Even so, at that time he didn't accuse his Louis, and looked for his love, asked Armand, who (the B***h he is) lied to him about Louis' whereabouts. Lestat was somehow tricked by Armand, his thinking didn't work, as he mentioned that everything went in a trance, and after he accused Claudia, he was taken away forcibly, and he screamed Louis, Louis but with no avail, and they again fed him blood, and he forgot everything. I think Armand used magic, or he fed something to Lestat so he doesn't protest. After all of these, Lestat looked for Louis, and asked Armand to help him, and that BHole said he will not.

So, what I can surmise is, whatever you watched in S1, do not entirely believe it. This is mostly because, Lestat wasn't the one who lost his mind and hurt his Louis entirely. Louis was the pioneer of trouble in their home. He wasn't satisfied, he didn't accept the dark gift completely, and despised Lestat for that. That physical fight between them you can see, Lestat was hurt the most, both physically and mentally. And now I understand, why Louis kept seeing Dreamstat over and over again. Because, his guilt made him conjure Lestat everytime he thought he wanted a "home" with Armand.

Finally, the last episode depicted almost what The Vampire Lestat book has. They didn't show it, but Louis came back to Lestat, which he said was 'you came back to me'. Here, Lestat talks about a world tour, which is his rock concert in San Francisco. Here, Louis asks him to take him, and Lestat complies ecstatically. Also, they hugged compassiontely after meeting each other, just as they showed in the series. However, TV version displayed it as a part of Interview with the Vampire book, which is in reality from the book The Vampire Lestat.

[iwannadrawsadcups]

hello! hope ur having a good timezone! :D

random question of the day: you got any sad/angsty cc!mugman hcs? (or js sad mugsy hcs in general ^^)

curious you made this ask right after i discarded an idea for an angsty mugman comic! so i'll just tell you about it (the list is at the end, if you don't wanna read all that lol)

My main hc (for both casino cups and in whatever au i got going on) is that he's got really bad anxiety, he had it ever since he was a little kid but really worsened after the events of the game. At this point he's having a bad time dealing with it, constantly having this feeling of "something horrible is about to happen, or maybe it already happened, or is happening right now", which mostly manifests as stomach pain and sometimes nausea.

(aside from the whole, studying ways to become immortal) To calm himself a bit he makes a few lists of things he need to do; pay rent, feed the daisy, clean, do laundry. But even then he feels he is forgetting something really important he needs to do, so the lists start to get more specific until every little task one could have in a day are writen down. Which can't be healthy, but does help to calm him at the moment.

I see it as him subconsciously trying to be ahead of any problem that could show up, you know? trying to never be caught off guard again (the deal with the devil, elder kettle's sickness, seeing his brother die time and time again), maybe if he does everything on time everything will be alright, things will never be that bad again.

It's not that he's always worried, it's not that he doesn't sometimes slacks off and doesn't do his chores, but sometimes his anxiety gets bad, and he goes back to that habit.

The comic i was making was going to be about that. Mugman working during rush hour and just being unable to shake off the feeling that he is forgetting something important, so he looks at the tables he's waiting and checks time and time again that he brought everything they asked for, he then goes over every chore he should do at home, everything he should fix now so it doesn't become a problem later.

But something is wrong and he doesn't know what, and suddenly everything is too much, the music is too loud and everyone is talking and those feelings mix up with the memories of his fight with the devil, and "oh god i died here", and he gets a bit dizzy, he's nauseous and his stomach hurts a lot, so he goes back to the kitchen so the clients don't see him like that.

Cuphead sees this and goes to check up on him. This has happened at home a few times already, so he does his somewhat usual routine of asking "You ok? No? You forgot something important? Don't be silly, everything is okay" and he stays with him for a few minutes patting his back (which is about as much physical contact Mugman can handle right now).

But Mugman can't really afford to do a "scene" at work, doesn't have the time to cry while there's a hundred of hungry people at the restaurant, so, reluctantly, he gets up again and keeps working.

Discarded the idea because it's too long, and because it just seems too pessimistic and i'm trying to avoid that because it makes me sad lol

aside from this whole rant, other hcs i have are

he saves as much as he can, not down to every single penny, but probably tries to always have at least a good 300 dollars saved up at any given time, just in case he or his brother need to go to the hospital or something (he can barely get to a hundred before he needs to spend it on something else)

chronic migraines because of his head injury (cuphead has chronic pain in his right arm too, fuck it, everyone gets chronic pain)

used to cry every time he got embarrassed as a kid, even now he feels tears build up when someone makes fun of him, but he's too old to cry for things like that so he tries to leave the conversation ASAP. He thinks he's childish for that

thinks his anxiety has to do with him being a coward, and that maybe if he became more powerful/brave he wouldn't feel like that (he would still feel just as bad, probably)

probably sucks at cooking tbh (tragedy)

[ella-the-fella]

EXPLAINING THE AU!!!

BEFORE I EXPLAIN I MUST LIST THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CANNON APA AND THIS AU.

CANNON! APAEPU:

Was dismembered by blank and given to a scientist.

Doesn't remember his past that much

Works at the asylum (no shit) because of Inkitāru. (This is what i meant when Inkitāru was important to APA's lore because they're the reason he's in the asylum in the first place)

Mostly jolly and has good relationships with pretty much everyone

The virus remains in his system.

Has NOT met radium

Thinks anyone can change and still refuses to believe what blank has done.

In a relationship with CAR.oline!! (This isn't FULLY canon, it's like semi-canon but SHUSH)

ESCAPISM! APAEPU

Escaped blank BEFORE being fully dismembered, therefore there's no virus in his system.

Remembers everything very well due to still having his memory.

Still met Inkitāru. however instead of Inkitāru suggesting APA to work at the asylum, APA asks Inkitāru for help to find his missing partner (so APAEPU isn't his actual name in this au)

Not as jolly and is a bit more serious, doesn't get along with anyone as well as in canon

HE MET RADIUM AND DIDN'T AUTOMATICALLY WANT HIM DEAD YAYY

After knowing Blank's true colors, he realized how much he HATES him now. Still believes that most people can change.. HOWEVER... "If there's anyone that will never change, it'd be a sinner or a liar. My creator was both and deserves to rot in hell because of it".

Not as innocent anymore, can and WILL resort to violence.

Is much less emotional yet mostly feels hatred.

Does end up having to go to the asylum for "business" but we'll get to that later.

Does not meet CAR.oline until much, much later

NOW LET'S GET TO THE LOREE

after everything that happened, Apa was still in a daze... Yet he felt something new.. Something different.... RAGE

Now not only was he damaged and stressed about his partner, but now there's a new feeling in his body and it HURTS. "Im a BOT.. i shouldn't be feeling anything.." he thought.

After running for god knows how long, it starts to rain. APA ran into a nearby cavern for shelter. Then he met Inkitāru!!

Inkitāru felt bad for him and fixed him up..the two talked and became friends rather quickly!!!!.. But when Inkitāru asked why APAEPU was here, APA stopped with the joyful attitude and explained to him how he NEEDED to find his partner.

Inkitāru being the hot, handsome, sexy gentleman he is, agreed!!

"not so fast!! We can't just go god knows where while looking for someone!!! Not in THOSE clothes..."-Inkitāru

Inkitāru sewed up some pretty epic clothing for APA and off they went... ON A QUEST TO FIND HIS PARTNER!!

meanwhile Blank is still out and about, careless and free, not in jail for its crimes for some reason.... When its gets a call... A CALL FROM A VERY RICH COMPANY!!! they said that they heard about the robots Blank made and wanted to hire it!!! Blank being the money hungry piece of shit it is, agreed..

The corporation ended up getting so powerful over the years that now half the entire population is run by robots... Only very few natural beings remained due to the robots gaining sentience and becoming violent.. (The asylum gang is still alive keep in mind).

Inkitāru and APAEPU now have much more to deal with, given all the robots that want them DEAD.

OMG RADIUM APPEARS YAYY!! (APA hated him at first but was immediately chill with him after he found out he was friends with Inkitāru)

Radium states that he knows where APA'S partner is, but its not gonna be easy... SO THEY NEED HELPPP!!

NOWWW THEY GO INTO THE ASYLUM......

by force...

with APA being the most violent....

Of course everyone in there is shocked, confused, and terrified. Albert was especially confused on why the so called "hallucination" that annoyed him was with these strange people.

Forgot to mention this but CAR.oline, beast, and a few other patients also went missing after the "robot outbreak"

"We can help you find your pals if you help us find MINE. this is NOT an option and you will die if you don't agree."- APAEPU probably

"Don't worry he's just stressed out lmao"- Radium definitely.

AND GUESS WHAT??? EVERYONE ENDS UP GOING ON AN ADVENTURE TO FIND THEIR LOVED ONES!!! HORRAY!!! Terrible things will happen...

This au is still a WIP but i hope you like it so far :3

( @weirdsillycreature, @i-am-xp-64, @thetoxxicracoonofficial, @everyoneelseiforgottotag)