#obviously you can get there and then become bad later or be born there and grow up a jerk

[thornvault]

Some more Kali backstory

Kali lived on the street in a war-torn land for several years of their life. After a while they formed a group with a few other homeless people of all ages. One boy, who'd been a sailor once upon a time, would tell them stories of Rosas, a place where everyone is safe and happy, protected with magic by a great king who will grant your greatest wish.

Kali never believed him, they thought it was only a story he told to give the younger kids hope. They too loved to hear of it, but wrote it off as nothing but a fairytale. Something that wonderful could never truly exist.

Until they themself wound up at the shores of Rosas, and it was everything they'd dreamed and more, just as he'd described. This is why it takes them a while to be normal around Magnifico. They basically just Met God and need to reevaluate a lot of their beliefs before they can even remotely begin to function again. Give them a minute.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Actually, I think this does link in with a wider conversation that I have been thinking for a while Tumblr maybe needs to hear.

There's a common meme on this site now that no one here has any reading comprehension skills. The best one is, of course, the original "No offense but reading comprehension on this site is piss poor/How dare you say we piss on the poor" post, which gave rise to the nickname "pissing-on-the-poor website". There's also the "I like pancakes/How dare you say waffles are terrible" one. Both of these are great, because they're silly jokey ways to show two closely related phenomena that are probably the commonest ways to fail a reading comprehension check.

The first is someone reading certain catchphrases or buzzwords in the post, and based on their own biases or prior experiences or whatever else, their brain simply fills in what it reckons the poster is saying on the topic. Instead of reading the rest of the sentence and digesting it, the reader then just uses their assumption as the interpretation, and reacts to that.

The second is closely related, because it also uses biases and prior experiences to to interpret the post, but rather than ignoring what the OP is actually saying, it instead performs a series of gymnastic leaps to construct a whole new assertion on the OP's behalf that simply isn't there.

There's also a third, of course; that one is people being so eager to feel smug and superior over someone they perceive as Bad that they wilfully assume the OP is stupid or being serious when they're actually joking. And if the reader hadn't been so blinded by their desire to get to look down on someone, they'd have seen the very obvious tells, sometimes even including sentences like "Obviously this is a joke." (I think we have all seen examples of these. Also, in a bid to avoid as many reading comprehension fails here as possible, this does not include misunderstandings borne entirely of neurodiverse struggles to parse intentions; but, neurodiverse people are just as likely as neurotypicals to have ego play a part in their misinterpretation of others, and that is what this point is about.)

And the thing is... actually, we are all capable of any of these. I imagine a sizable chunk of people reading until this point were probably thinking "Lol, yeah, people are so stupid," but na, nage, I'm not having that. Literally everyone does these sometimes. And it becomes a particular risk when the topic under discussion is something that might brush against an issue that is a pressure point for you, like a social justice talking point that you are forever having to argue with internet strangers about, for example. Your brain holds schemas! And sometimes it likes to pattern match things before it deigns to tell you about its findings! And that can hit you right in the emotions, which if they are strong enough, really can shut down all rational thought.

But. This brings me to the real point of the post.

Because the thing is, we have all saddled up and gone to war under these conditions, or at the very least been strongly tempted to. And a vital skill that literally everyone has to learn, sooner or later, is:

Before you hit 'reply', double check the post to make sure you fucking understood it.

And that does not mean "simply re-read, confirm your bias, carry on." It means, "Is it possible to read this post from the point of view of someone who doesn't intend it the way I've taken it? If I put myself in the shoes of an innocent, could they still have written these words? Is there another interpretation for these phrases?"

And you do have to do this step. You simply do have to. Because if your desire is to 'clap back' and call someone a gargling knobskin made of garbage, fuck me sideways but you must see that it is imperative that you check if they actually deserve that kind of treatment first. You cannot spend your time claiming that we must all choose to be kind and then not bother doing your due diligence before screaming a person's various and assorted bigotries at them. If you misread it, and they were innocent - you are the raging aggressive cunt in this situation.

It does not matter that you reacted from an emotional place of normally having to defend yourself either, by the way. Sure, that makes the quality of your human soul better than that of the average Redditor who just enjoys anonymously hurting people, I guess? But it's also irrelevant. If you messaged someone and called them a misogynist because you performed several mental somersaults and landed on your own sore spot when they meant no such thing, you are the attacker. You owe them an apology. And yeah, sure, you can explain your over-reaction as the product of your normal experiences if you like, but that is only an explanation, not an excuse. You are still the asshole here. You still need to apologise and mean it.

And you could have avoided it if you'd done that due diligence, as you should have. If you're going to take a swing, make sure it's the right target. This was once described to me as donkey people - they don't think, they just kick. This is admittedly a little unkind to donkeys, who always do their due diligence, but I feel it's an apt metaphor.

TL;DR: If you feel moved to angrily reply to something, first make sure you've interpreted it right. Don't be a donkey person. And if you ask for clarification, people are innocent until proven guilty. Ask nicely. If they are a bigot, you can then smelt them for parts.

[a-bad-case-of-the-stephs]

How Batman uses the idea of those "born for" vigilantism to justify working with Teen Vigilantes before and after the death of Jason Todd, and what it has to do with Stephanie Brown.

(DISCLAIMER: I'm not trying to condemn the concept of child/teen vigilantes in superhero comics, its a staple of the genre and dumb to condemn it like you would in the real world. I'm analyzing the times in which Bruce Wayne the character has questioned the concept himself, and the rationalizations he comes to about it)

By examining Bruce Waynes mindset immediately before, during, and after Jason Todd's deadly time as Robin, we can see how Batman rationalizes and justifies teenaged vigilantism.

When Dick Grayson as Robin is shot by the Joker, Batman essentially fires him from being Robin. Bruce entirely dismisses the concept of working with a "child" to fight crime. Batman seems to believe working with Dick as Robin is simply too dangerous.

Batman #408 (1940)

His Mindset at this point: Teenaged Vigilantism = Dangerous and Bad

But this, obviously, doesn't stick. It barely takes any time at all after this forBruce Wayne to take in Jason Todd and subsequently make him the second Robin.

Crime fighting with a 19 year old is too dangerous, but crime fighting with the 12 year old? Yeah, sure, why not!

There is an obvious contradiction, and a clear change in mindset.

In order to rationalize his choice to take in Jason Todd as Robin after firing Dick, Bruce Wayne must internally reendorse the concept of Teenaged Vigilantism. And he does so in a specific way:

Batman #410 (1940)

Mindset: If Jason Todd was not Robin, he would become a criminal and die

The dying part is specific as well. When confronted at first by Alfred, its more of an afterthought, something which would occur down the criminal "road" Jason was bound to end up on. But when he is later confronted by Dick, the idea that being Robin "saved" Jasons life takes center stage.

Batman #416 (1940)

It's no longer some distant crime related death Jason was on course for, it was an imminent death which Bruce was able to save him from.

Mindset: If Jason Todd was not Robin, his "self destructive energies" and lack of "self esteem" would have killed him.

This phrasing is SUPER interesting to me, because its not true in a very specific way.

1. Jason Todd wasn't really shown to have "Self destructive energies" before he became Robin. He was stealing to make a living, to stay alive. He never showcases a desire for "self destruction", unless you count his hitting Batman with a tire iron, and his interference in Ma Gunn’s heist. Which I don't.

2. It seems to imply Jason Todd might have died because of specifically "self destructive tendancies", which seems ascribes a small amount of passive potential suicidal ideation, which is also vastly unsubstantiated by anything we see from Jason before he becomes Robin. But you know who is a character who is deeply rooted in concepts of suicidal ideation? Batman. (I'm not going prove this point here, but this concept gets more firmly rooted in the upcoming years after this comic, Knightfall being a great example) Being Batman, Knightfall will establish, is pretty much all that keeps Bruce Wayne living. You could say that being Batman saved his life.

3. Bruce admits he took Jason on because he was lonely in this very same confrontation when Dick pushes him on this idea. This makes it abundantly clear why he needs this rationalization in the first place, his real reason for making Jason Robin appears to be somewhat selfish.

But what does this all mean? For one, it proves that Batman's primary explanation for why he took on Jason Todd is lowgrade BS. It also shows how Batman's rationalization has begun to veer into projection. He states that Jason was saved from his self destructiveness by becoming Robin, something that is certainly true for himself, but not really Jason.

We see this projection fully take root when Leslie Thompkins confronts Bruce. Not only is Jason Todd saved by becoming Robin, now he wasn't even chosen by Batman. It was, much like Bruce Wayne becoming Batman, inevitable. Something he was "born" to do.

Detective #574

Mindset: I didn't chose Jason, he was chosen, he is just like me, we were born for this

This is essential. This mindset will show up again and again as a core part of Bruce's ability to rationalize working with child vigilantes once Jason has died.

Lets look at how his mindset has been evolving from before he meets Jason to his time as Robin progressing. Batman has gone from:

Teenage/Child vigilante Bad --> Child Vigilante Good because Jason would have become a crimial --> Child Vigilante Good because Jason would have died, I saved his life --> Child Vigilante is Good because I saved his life and Jason was meant to be Robin just like I was meant to be Batman, this is what we were was born to do

This is insane rationalization. But it works. For a while.

Then, Jason begins acting out, and putting himself in danger. Whoops. uh oh! How can Jason be saved by becoming Robin, if he is endangered by it? The balm for Bruce's semi-suicidal ideation was crime fighting, so if Jason is self destructive as Robin, does that mean Jason isn't like Bruce after all? Does that mean he wasn't born to be Robin? Was Bruce right in the begining? Is Teen Vigilantism Bad? Well, lucklily, the rationalization Bruce has built doesnt need to change too much in order to accommodate these new facts.

Batman #426 (1940)

See, this issue has not reverted back to being child vigilantism, it's the fact that Jason isn't ready yet.

Batman #426 (1940) / Batman #427

Batman latches onto this idea, he identifies it as "the problem". Is he wrong? No, not really. It does seem like Jason needs come to terms with his parents deaths. But this is important because it is still a rationalization for mindset he started with, still part of the reason he can be in favor of Teenage Vigilantism.

Then Jason Todd dies, as Robin. That truly breaks the underlying concept for this rationalization, that being Robin saved Jason Todd. The entire justification has fully shattered, and Bruce Wayne has lost a son. And, so because of this, in the wake of Jason Todds death, we see a full 180 revert back to the idea Bruce held onto at the end of Dick Graysons time as Robin: Teenage Vigilante = Bad.

Batman #428/ The New Teen Titans #55 (1984) / Batman #439

He has fully rejected the very concept of working with anyone, including the now adult Nightwing. He is literally right back where we started, with even deeper convictions against working with someone else (especially a kid) ever again.

But we all know this doesn't stick. He takes on 13 year old Tim Drake as Robin not long at all afterwards. As the 90's progress Bruces goes on to work with a huge variety of other vigilantes and partners, both teenaged and adult.

So how does he possibly justify this?

I believe he retrofits his rationalization for taking on Jason as Robin.

He adheres to a primary idea. The idea that some people are, like him, simply built for Vigilantism. That they, much like he once believed Jason was, "born" for it.

Mindset: Child Vigilantle is not always Good, but it can be Good. When its the right kind of teenager. Some Teenaged Vigilantes are meant to be Vigilantes just like I was meant to be Batman.

In this way, Jason Todds tragic murder is not a failure of concept, it a category error. Batmans mistake was not working with a teenager, his mistake was working with the wrong kind of teenager. Jason Todd was not built for vigilantism. But others are. This means he's still totally in the clear to work with teenagers, Tim Drake as Robin, then Cassandra Cain as Batgirl, and then eventually Stephanie Brown as Spoiler. So long as Bruce is able to believe they are "born" for it, that they are like Batman himself, meant to do this, and incapable of living a normal life, there is no contradiction, his rationalization holds.

But where’s the proof?

This mindset can be clearly seen and prominently seen when Stephanie Brown is fired as Spoiler.

When Steph is fired as Spoiler because she has moved in Bruce's mind from the "acceptable Teen Vigilante" category into the "unacceptable Teen Vigilante category". And the reasons he gives for this decision are exactly in line with the rationalization I've lain out. She is consistently contrasted to other teen vigilante characters who are fit for duty because he does not see her as "like him/them".

Detective #790

Notice how he jumps right from "Jason and Stephanie were/are not fit to fight crime" to "they could/can have a normal life" right to "unlike me and you, Cassandra Cain, who are stuck fighting crime forever". Much like how he originally justified his decision to work with Jason Todd as Robin through the idea that Jason and Bruce were both destined for this life, he applies the exact same idea, but this time, about himself and Cassandra Cain as Batgirl. And in contrast to them, and in directly comparison to Jason Todd, Stephanie is not meant for crime fighting.

Batgirl #38 (2000)

And Stephanie Brown is contrasted with Cass again, when Bruce first explains why he fired Steph to Cass. This is a consistent pattern. She is not like Cass. This is why she shouldn’t be a vigilante.

When he explains that he is going to fire Steph as Spoiler to Tim, he says something very interesting which invokes the same idea. In the list of three reasons he throw out that Steph shouldn't be Spoiler, he mentions that she is going to "throw her life away". When taken in combination with the other panels discussed, its clear to me that he means this is the common way the saying is used. That she is wasting her life by being a vigilante, that she should, as he mentions earlier, be living a normal life. But why is he saying this to Tim? If one of the reasons Steph shouldn't be Spoiler is her ability to lead a normal life, why the fuck is Tim exempt? I think it comes from a genuine belief that Tim is "like him". Unable to live a normal, non-vigilante life, "born" for crime fighting. Much like Cass, who we already saw him directly compare himself to in this exact same way. Thats why he can directly reference to Tim Steph's ability to have a normal life as a reason she shouldn't be a vigilante, he doesn't believe Tim fits the same category at all!

Robin #106 (1993)

So why the fuck does Stephanie move categories? She was acceptable earlier? What changed?

I've already done an in-depth explanation for what the subconscious underlying reason Bruce fires Stephanie: she simply is no longer useful to as a balm for his loneliness. I highly recommend checking out the post here if you are interested in the breakdown of why and how.

But in addition to that, it’s clear to me that it also has a weird amount to do with Jason Todd.

Stephanie simply and clearly reminds Bruce of Jason Todd. He points out their similarities in personality, and it’s worth mentioning the similarities in their circumstances as well (mothers who struggle(d) with drug addiction, and fathers who were criminals).

As we saw in Detective #790, their personality similarities led to Batman associating Steph with Jason. This makes sense, this association would only grow as he got to know her over the time she is sanctioned as Spoiler.

I believe this association leads to him eventually placing her in the same category as Jason, as not "born" for vigilantism at all, and as capable of having a normal life.

But it also serves as a clear way to rectify his mistakes with Jason. It’s his way of “making up for” his role in Jason's death. It’s his second chance. Never mind that this second chance leads to his assessment of Stephanie having very little to do with Steph herself, and a whole fucking lot to do about Bruce’s guilt over Jason’s death.

This is especially brutal because it seems to come from a place of genuine care (and a selfish desire to assuage his guilt too), but Stephanie doesn't get the tender moment of explanation and grief and regret that Cassandra hears. She doesn't get to know this.

What she gets, is to be told point blank that she is fired because she just isn't good enough. She gets to hear that she lacks the "skills and talent" from the same man who originally came to her to train her because he finally saw and recognized her potential. She gets told she will never be good enough by the guy who told her that she could learn and improve under his instruction. She gets two sentences. She has to fight for any more.

I cannot emphasize enough the fact that she had to track Bruce down to get an explanation for why he was suddenly ghosting her. He didn't even have the decency to tell her himself. Stephanie had to track Bruce down just so she could find out that he gave up on her.

Stephanie gets a blunt lie about why she is fired. And Bruce Wayne gets to feel good about "correcting" a mistake that had nothing to do with Stephanie. Stephanie gets cut off from her friends. Bruce Wayne gets to reconcile with his team. Stephanie gets to feel worthless. Bruce Wayne gets to feel justified.

[noihavenosanitythanksforasking]

ableism in mha

okay so i was scrolling and i came across this post and it helped me reorganize a lot of thoughts ive been thinking sense i first started mha. ive always been not a fan of izuku getting ofa in the first place as it felt to me as it almost completely erased any meaning of his backstory. it felt like such a plot armor/mary sue moment but in the end i got over it, assuming that most likely he would loose it at one point (i was right but we'll get to that later).

after he enters UA its almost as if his entire past is just like- not important?? i have plenty of hcs about his suppressed trauma and if you read into a lot of the situations he goes thru in the manga i can see it but is not blatantly said/expressed that he struggles with a complex from how he was treated as a child.

in the end mha becomes a manga mostly focused on some sort of version of not judging a person by their cover. The fact that a technically "villainous" quirk does not make someone a bad person.

now ofc this is totally true. no one should be overlooked or declined rights or decency because of the quirk they have. this lesson is a valid one.

the analogy i have made up in my head is this.

people who are born with "hero-like" or "useful" quirks, for example: bakugou, todoroki, hawks etc are beautiful people

(for the context of this metaphor ignore the fact that beauty is complex and is in the eye of the beholder just roll with me)

and then you have the people with "useless" or average quirks that are just average people

and then you have people like toga or shinsou with quirks that are seen as inherently dangerous. quirks that are unable to be used for good. those are the ugly people.

now obviously we shouldnt discriminate people just because society says they are ugly. there is no doubt in that and it is a tragedy that it happened and still happens.

however

20% of the population cannot even fall onto this scale. the quirkless. aka the disabled. they are not even seen as being worth a label on the scale because they are so disgusting and strange that no one wants to remember yhey exist.

i wouldnt be as upset by the lack of talk about quirkless people if izuku wasnt quirkless, if the first arc of mha wasnt izuku struggling with the fact that no one in the world cares about him but his mom and that not even her believes he can achieve anything because of his disability.

the whole set up was izuku wanted to be a hero DESPITE his disability. even though truly he thought it was impossible. he didnt work out, he didnt try and do anything to become a hero because he believed everyone was right. that what society had been telling him his whole life was true and he couldnt be a hero. but he wanted to despite that. that was the hook of mha. at least for me.

a bullied lonely boy with a disability achieves his dream despite society. despite being told at every turn that he couldnt do it. he said he can and he does.

but thats not what happened at all.

instead some pillar of all that is heroic drops down from the sky and magically cures his disability. and suddenly hes just a normal kid.

and suddenly we forget all about midoriya izuku and how hard it is to be quirkless. how much quirkless people struggle. how many of them must commit suicide because of yhe seeming completely normalized harassment of them in everyday life.

and i dont want to blame izuku for this because in the end hes a kid with trauma who just wants to fit in. its frankly quite obvious that he whole heartedly agrees with bakugou and everyone else from his past that yeah quirkless people are useless.

the way he treated Melissa in the movie broke my heart. he belittled her like it was second nature and while he obviously had no malicious feelings toward her because of her quirklessness he sees her as a second class citizen. hes surprised that she is able to achieve things despite her disability. that she manages to be happy in a world where she isnt "normal".

and again in the long run i dont truly blame izuku for feeling this way. like everyone he is a product of his environment.

again, however:

i do blame horikoshi

do we need to be nicer to people with villainous quirks: yes ofc

but your manga isnt about that. your manga is about someone whose seen as even less than that. you can address both issues.

having bakugou break down about izuku becoming quirkless was good but that was pretty much all we got.

and what happenes when izuku looses ofa?? he gives up on being a hero.

how the hell does that make sense

everyone in japan knows this boys name. he is considered a top hero. and he just drops off the face the hero scene?

hatsume exists??? izukus face has been in her boobs TWICE for gods sake. yaoyorozu can make things out of thin and are they had to wait 8 years.

izuku is too smart to not think of that.

it would take hatsume 3 days max.

and ignoring that whole point again hori is pushing the idea that bakugou and everyone from aldera were CORRECT. that yeah u were right to think the quirkless of useless cause like they cant do anything :3c

izuku has had NO growth this whole manga. all hes learned is how to hit things how to kick things and awww kacchan sad :(((.

nothing about believing in himself. nothing about how he can be a hero despite the odds. nothing even about the power of friendship helping him to overcome.

im just like wtf hori.

[aelincreativ]

Oshamir as Mace Windu's Grandparents - Crack Au

This idea is complete and total crack and should not be taken with any seriousness, unless you want to go wild I guess. I thought of this late last night while half asleep.

Mace Windu, renowned, respected, and strong Jedi Master of the Order. Known for his iconic purple lightsaber and having Force Visions of Shatterpoints, or moments of choice in time.

Now timeline can get a bit fuzzy, but Star Wars timeline is always fuzzy. (Plagueis is supposed to be like 15 at the time of the Acolyte so, lotsa questions bout that do I have) But it works out pretty well for Windu to be Osha and Qimir's grandson.Acolyte is set in 132 BBY and Osha is 24. Mace is born in 72 BBY, 60 years after the Acolyte. Say Osha and Qimir have multiple kids, Mace's parent could realistically be born any time between 130 BBY and 100 BBY depending on how well Osha and Qimir age due to their Force connection since we know that affects aging.

I personally like the idea of Mace being the baby of the family, youngest kid of the youngest kid type vibes. Before him, all his Aunts, Uncles, and cousins either didn't pursue a Force connection or trained with Osha and Qimir in the Force. Maybe not as Sith-inclined, but not light siders and obviously not as Jedi.

(I've got a whole bunch of headcanons about Dark/Light and the proper use and connection to the Force, ask me about them later but the gist is that the truly best way to connect to the force is to be balanced. Feeling, acknowledging, and using every emotion with no distinction of good or bad. Understanding that the universe itself is full of both good and bad and that to try and focus on either side makes you weaker.)

(Osha and Qimir are still very much “what a Jedi like you would call a Sith” but they've chilled. To the point as long as you don't touch their family you're fine. They are that old couple that will casually drop the fact they were Bonnie and Clyde if you get them reminiscing but otherwise the grandkids have no idea. Oshamir's kids though, the oldest ones experienced some wild shit but it was normalized for them and they don't realize that was weird.)

Back to Mace. This idea has Mace being taught by his grandparents as early as he can remember until the age of four when he gets a vision telling him that his greatest path toward achieving balance in the universe takes him to the Jedi. He creates a force bond with his family, but does not view it as an attachment because he understands that his highest calling and duty is to the Force itself and the path it takes him on with the Jedi. He feels no darkside temptation from his missing family because his family is there with him giving him the push and motivation towards his dreams, actively encouraging him to be the best Jedi he can be.

Now. Mace is only four when he goes to the Temple. He was not fully aware of everything going on with his grandparents. (Osha and Qimir not being obvious about their Sith-inclined tendencies. Hiding the red sabers and battle armor from the grandkids and the kids knowing to not bring it up. They still strongly despise the Jedi but what their grandson wants they will support as long as he remembers that his family always loves him and supports him and believes in him.) Mace doesn't keep it a secret that he was trained by his grandparents before coming to the temple. Openly talking about it with his fellow younglings and comparing what he was taught with what they learn at the temple.

Because of this he assumes it's just a known and recorded fact in his profile about his family. It is not. When he becomes a Padawan to Master Myr, he tells her about his family and while initially surprised, she realizes there's no negatives with Mace's connection to his family. Further solidifying in Mace's mind the difference between connection and attachment.

They struggle some through Mace's padawanship and take a visit to his family where Master Myr meets them and also misses the Sith indicators. Just seeing them as another type of Force user. This is because Jedi look for darksiders with very narrow minded cues. They think that all “darksiders” would be rampaging murderers. Not a slightly older couple surrounded by their loving family and carrying their first great grandchild around while picking sticky things out of their hair.

Sure Master Myr is a bit worried about it all, because she is a good Jedi, but she is also a person who sees the happy family and has to suppress her own twinge of jealousy at the large family joyously reuniting and celebrating the success of Mace in his journey with the Force. When Qimir steps aside next to her, and softly but with aged wisdom and surety, speaks about how their family treats the Force and finds greater connection and purpose through it. How it ranges from encouraging the crops they grow to the mechanical work intuition to their one granddaughter, Mace's older sister actually, who is off pursuing a career as an investigative journalist because her calling was similar to Mace's but she wanted to find and expose the corruption so that her little brother would know where to look and work on next.

Master Myr and Mace leave with their bond brighter and stronger than before and a promise to visit again. And if Mace assumes that Myr reported everything about their visit to the other Jedi and as such that the attitude of the Jedi about connection versus attachment is different than what it actually is, that's an issue that doesn't come up till over 20 years later when Anakin Skywalker stands before the council as a scare little boy. Mace's almost off-handed response to the reveal Anakin has no father shocks and then changes the course of the future.

Apparently responding, “So? My grandmother and her sister were Force conceived too. Force conception is rare, yes, but not impossible, just difficult. I would like to meet with his mother though, and ask what her technique was. The process my great grandmothers used was lost with the destruction of their coven when my grandmother was a child.” This response was not the response the other council members, besides Depa Billaba who had been to visit his family during her own padawan years and celebrated as part of the family, were at all expecting or supported.

Mace's further explanation of his family, something he is bewildered to learn the Jedi didn't already know about as he never felt he had kept it a secret. Depa herself chimes in about her meeting with the family and agrees with her confusion about this not being common knowledge. Yoda chimes in about his confusion and when prompted, Mace reveals his grandparents to have trained with the Jedi in their youth before both leaving as teens. He gives Osha's name and when her profile is pulled up there is a startling amount of information redacted from it, the redaction signed off by Vernestra Rwoh, who had vanished on a mission decades prior. Mace found this strange as the information he had been told about his grandparents past all seemed contradictory to what was left in the file.

At this point they shuffle out Anakin and give Obi-Wan instructions to not fuck up the kid they clearly need to do something about but just not right now. Go get him a snack or something and come back tomorrow.It's only after that Mace realizes that a looming shatterpoint had disappeared without a fuss. Strange but he'd had worse and weirder encounters with his unique visions.

How this continues is anyone's game, but a key component is Osha and Qimir coming to the temple to drop off Mace's niece who wanted to be a Jedi just like Uncle Mace. During this meeting at the temple, Yoda needs to walk into the room and immediately get into a mental conflict with Osha and Qimir. They rip the green troll apart and put him back together shaken and aware of just how disastrous everything could have gone.

The reveal that Darth Plagueis was killed decades back when the Sith tried to take one of the Aniseya family members to study and experiment on. Unfortunately this left a loose end of Palpatine who had only recently started his Sith apprenticeship when Plagueis was killed. So ripple that out however you want.

What secrets get spilled and what ones don't is all up in the air but yeah. This has been my incoherent ramblings about absolute crack Star Wars AUs.

[moonspirit]

Reiner's mother and Annie's father are very close. When Annie was a baby, her father adopted her. And a baby needs breast milk. Do you think it could be Reiner's mother who breastfed Annie?

Let's take this information as true! And Annie found out somehow. Annie's eyes are twitching. It's so funny to think about it ahahaha…

What about the reactions of the others?! XD

The way this ask made me nearly burst a lung laughing because AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

I guess Karina wouldn't have minded if Mr. Leonhart had asked: sure, Reiner is a bit older now, she CAN take care of another baby! So off Annie goes in the crib in her house, being sung lullabies too and getting breastfed by an absolutely sweet, harmless, innocent woman.

And that's how Annie even grows 🥺 At Karina Braun's Bad-Mother Daycare Center.

Years later the Ambassadors are having a gathering of their families and friends and obviously, Karina's there (since her beloved son Reiner boy is) chattering away to other parents. At some point when Annie walks by, she's stopped to be congratulated on all the successes in her life, not the least of which is about her survival.

And that's when Karina says, "Oh my, I do remember how tiny you once were! Just a weepy sleepy bundle in my arms, but it was so easy to breastfeed you! You were just so well-behaved when it was time for--"

Annie almost breaks whatever she's holding into fine powder.

She??! Was breastfed??? by THIS LADY???!!!!

But that explains a lot.

Reiner was super depressed. So was she.

Conclusion: Anyone that Karina Braun breastfeeds just becomes fucking depressed.

At Karina Braun's Bad-Mother Daycare Center, you can get a chance to experience a freefall into despair! If you're between the ages of Just-Born to Okay-I'm-Gonna-Stop-Drinking-Milk-From-a-Tit-Now, then enroll yourself immediately!

[rom-e-o]

I need headcannons for Belismerich babies.

And in the same vein, I need headcannons for big brother Manfred.

BELISMERICH 💕 I’m honestly obsessed with the pairing name.

Okay, so babies! Yes. Tbh, I can imagine them having a family together. He’s obviously comfortable with the idea, with Manfred canonically being a son to him. Once the world is safe and sound and these two marry, Emmrich retains his position as a professor (though with a more lenient schedule). Belisma remains a Watcher in name, and she and Emmrich share responsibilities of reading rites to the dead, keeping the memorial gardens in check, etc. The couple is quite comfortable, emotionally and fiscally.

Manfred also continues to learn, becoming a mage in his own right and becoming more dexterous as well. He learns to open doors without help (the handles are tricky) and can even write basic words! He’s also learning to read. 🥹

So, with everything going so well, they decide that it’s time for them to have a family. F

I could see these two adopting a child (both being orphans, you know) and conceiving.

I see them with two babies: one boy (conceived) and a girl (adopted).

Emil (Boy):

He has Belisma’s dusty/ashy hair color, but Emmrich’s hazel eyes.

He becomes a dancer like his mama, loving ballet but being more prone to gymnastics. By the time he’s a schoolboy. he’s entertaining the other children with elegant flips and spins. And terrifying his teachers by climbing trees and buildings, then jumping off with perfume spins and flips.

He wants to be a Watcher, but also, a performer. This pleases both parents. As he gets also, he gets a sassy personality, haha. A little flippant (especially to the nobles; a bias he got from his father’s disdain for nobility, haha) but always serious when it comes to respecting others and the dead.

Em: He inherited your grace, my darling.

Isma: And your eyes. Not you mention your disdain for life-leeching nobility.

Em: Haha. When the wealthy learn that death plays no favorites, perhaps I’ll favor them more in turn.

As an adult, he’d be a rogue-type Watcher, favoring a bow and arrow.

Amaryllis (Girl):

The young girl wanders into the Grand Necropolis, crying and screaming that her Mother is missing. Agents go out, but the woman is never found, but a scrap of her dress is found near a rocky cliff.

Emmrich and Belisma have space in his lodgings for the girl, and the accommodations are quite nice. A private, spacious apartment with extra rooms and a library. By that time, Emil is born. Ama warms up quickly to the baby, and even likes Manfred. He’s easy to talk to, and brings her tissues. (“Crying. Good.”)

She’s a great baby-sitter, and Manfred teaches her fire magic. She learns magecraft fast, and Emmrich and Belisma (also being mages) are so proud.

They officially adopt her a year later, because she asks them to. They are more than happy to oblige.

She adopts her father’s love of botany, and wants to become a professor like him. 🥹

She’s very prim and proper, and quite mature for her age. She has very curly hair and is also taller, like Emmrich. She looks like she could be his biological daughter, haha.

As an adult, she would be a mage Watcher, and would love to one day assume her father’s post.

Now, BIG BRO MANFRED:

The teapot Manfred always carries? It actually belonged to Emmrich’s mother. One of the few items he kept to remember her by. Manfred is trusted with it, so obviously, he is trusted openly with carrying very valuable possessions.

Manfred carries Emil a lot, in his arms and in a baby bjorn. He actually is sad if he doesn’t get his quality time with the infant. At home, Manfred is always peering into the bassinet, or sitting with them by the fire, supervising. When they get too close, he pushes them back. “No. Hot! Bad!”

He swaps out his travel gear for being a walking diaper/baby bag, haha. His ribs are filled with blankets, toys, etc.

With Ama, he loves going on walks with her. He’s a great listener (haha) and is very kind. He’s a little easier for her to talk to at first than the others.

As she gets more into gardening, he’s out there helping her plant blue creepvine, Shroud’s Kiss, and other adored blooms.

And if boys dare to shout rude remarks at her. They get a VERY hostile hiss.

[not-a-mimic]

why is it an important point that alan is very light sensitive and prone to migranes? other than being a disability rep for those of us who cannot function in broad daylight without sunglasses and explaining why the bright lights in aw1 are such a pain to look at (from alan's point of view) but like. it's important.

we see it in the flashback with alice where alan is hangover and seemingly has his sunglasses next to his bed already - a little weird right? and alice mentions them as well - because this is common. because he often needs them. frankly speaking from experience you don't get to the point where the sunglasses become a mandatory bedside fixture unless it's a really bad day often - which must be the case here. we also see then in 'herald of darkness' where "Dark shades could never save the day" and we see alan in shades. it's common for him. he does it often. mood! anyway mr champion of light being sensitive to light is just a funny coincidence right? wrong.

I also suspect that alan's tendency towards full outfits is also a part of this. no sane human wears that many layers in september, and alan specifically covers pretty much all the skin possible without looking weird.  also a lot of his article shots in rose'.... shrine have sunglasses and thick layers as well. this man is SENSITIVE sensitive to light and that's a coincidence I can't ignore in the remedy!verse.

alan was born (as stated in aw2) in 1977 - we don't know when, or where as he moved to new york later. his mother spent most of his childhood in psychiatric facilities, and his father is not only non existent but highly suspiously fictional (the only object we are told alan has of him is the clicker. the fucking clicker. tom zane's clicker that was definitely written into alan's life before he was born and was not a gift from his father proper. frankly we know the least about alan's childhood compared to all other remedy!verse protags - not knowing where or truly when he was born is important because it leaves options.

Light sensitive could be a coincidence - but we thought that about the nightmares too, and they turned out to be important clues. and hell-  *Scratch* is less sensitive to light than Alan is - only flashbangs and the super steong hand flares make him flinch, direct light seems fine unless super powered and normal flares are nothing. alan actively gets headaches from these things and obviously it hurts him. wtf is up with that? when the protection of the dark presence patches up your weakness you have a issue.

theory time:

we know alan is tied to this god damn lake. zane wrote it so - at very least alan was destined to fall in it at the end of aw1. but what if there is more? we also know that alan's darkness became at least the aw2 dark presence which. fine? an endless cycle of destroying yourself while under the impression that that's not yourself. we don't know if the dark presence in aw1 is also this same one, and if it isn't we now know there can be multiple dark entites (implied by Mr Scratch also). if it is then damn alan has issues.

I don't know if its just me but the fact that the small darkness within someone can be escalated out to being the whole larger dark presence at full power feels... off. that feels like it doesn't work with what we know of the entities- unless there was more darkness in alan then originally suspected fueling this presence. the strength of the dark presence born from him combined with the strength of his light sensitivity makes me very suspicious to how human he was originally, and how much of alan is just lake bullshit. if he was a creature or creation of the darkness forced into a human body (perhaps the 1976 awe the andersons fought back in brightfalls wasn't all it seemed. maybe the dark presence or something else was looking for a crack to escape through. maybe it succeeded, but was reborn as a human who was already showing signs at a young age of being light sensitive and also being a parautiltiarian, and a strong one at that.

maybe there was never a father because there was never a mother - linda wake may have found a child on the lake shore and adopted it as her own, not knowing the truth behind its origins. maybe the torchbearers who operated in brightfalls around that time were involved. maybe the reason alan and tom look identical is the dark entity needed human dna when being reborn as a human and zane was there at the right time. could be why other traits are shared, and zane foresaw and influenced the creation of the dark place to get what he wanted (after all it was borrowing from him his face and personality - at very least it could give him wiggle room to escape?)

alan always had... issues. darkness. a lot for a man. so what if its all supernatural bullshit? no one is looking too closely because there is supernatural stuff going on. I'm not sure this man is human, or at least his soul isn't and never was. some darkness wearing a human skin maybe, sensitive to the light but forced to manage it. I don't know, maybe I'm looking too much into this.

[sp00ky-scary]

It's 2am and I've been working on an Ever After High rewrite/reboot something or other here's my attempt to make an explanation for why the step mother step daughter relationship between the Evil Queen and Snow White doesn't exist (it's really long so I put the read more thing)

So like a few generations back one of the Evil Queen's like didn't have a kid or had a kid really late in life or something (if somebody with a destiny doesn't have a kid then the destiny is magically assigned to someone born into a similar life as the child would've been, same logic as how the Charming families have kids who gets random destinies) and so the next girl destined to be the Evil Queen was like close in age to the girl destined to be Snow White. So when their story played out instead of the Evil Queen being Snow White's step mother she was sort of in like an advisory position I guess (? idk shit about the monarchy) and got to be Queen when Snow White's father passed away because she was of age and Snow was not so like she wouldn't be crowned until she was of age.

Anyway a few generations later Ever After High exists to keep those with destinies on the right track after one too many bad things happen to certain stories (along with this comes the spreading of the belief that if you don't follow your destiny you and everyone in your story go poof). Like 2 or 3 generations have gone through the school and now it's Apple and Raven's generation, and by this point the Evil Queen and Snow White are often the same age or only a few years apart and the destiny of the Evil Queen has evolved from step mother to close "advisor" and Queen is less of an actual position she has and just a remnant of the stories past (although within the story she does have political power for a while).

Also a note just because of how the story cycle works and to explain all the important stories happening at similar times there's sort of like a cycle of those with destinies being around the same age. UNLESS someone is supposed to be older in which case they're technically from the previous generation but their destiny doesn't occur till the next generation fulfills theirs if that makes sense. So like the Sea Witch from the Little Mermaid is older so in Meeshells case the Sea Witch that will be in her story is like her parents age not the Sea Witch she goes to school with. Also some destinies are kinda complicated e.g. Cinderella becomes the next Cinderella's mum when she has a kid, so like she fulfills the destiny of Cinderella and then when it's time for the next Cinderella (her child) to follow their destiny she fulfills the role of Cinderella's mother (who dies) which is technically a part of of fulfilling your first destiny but they don't really talk about that part, (there's a lot of mums who are supposed to die which is difficult to figure out the logic). So basically everyone with destinies is born within less than a decade of eachother and then when they're all in their late 20s-early 30s and have completed their destinies (unless having kids is also a part of it) they have kids who are the next gen of fairytale characters. And obviously there are like common people born inbetween, a few lesser known stories happen, Ever After High takes commoner students (they have to pay) especially during the like gaps between a lot of stories taking place. (Don't ask how Sleeping Beauty works with all this I need to work it out still) (Also don't ask why Snow White is alive if Snow White's mother dies, she needs to be around in the story but I can't figure out why she hasn't died for Apples story, idk maybe it's so supposed to happen once Apple has signed and then completed schooling, alternatively maybe the stories evolved so Snow White's mother doesn't actually die and just gets locked away by the Evil Queen so that she can gain power) (Trying to make Ever After High make sense is really hard okay (still makes more sense than literally anything happening in Descendants though)) (Sorry if this is explained poorly I'm stupid).

I'll figure out like more destinies and the logistics of them later this was initially just to explain why the Evil Queen is no longer Snow White's step mother idk why I went on a whole tangent.

[fyodior]

It's like 6am now but brain is Thonking Things and I gotta get them out before I forget them

The thought of the day is: getting pregnant with twins

I just know oda would be the happiest out of them all to find that out, like we were supposed to have only one child but now we're getting a bonus one too?? We get to take care of two more kids?? Best day of his life. As soon as you tell him you're gonna have twins I can see him looking at you with his usual neutral face like this 😐 while you can hear the cogs spinning in his brain for a moment as he processes what you said fdjsjdj then a moment later he comes to terms with the fact that the two of you have really been blessed and he hugs you close to himself and tells you how happy he is and how much he loves you with a bit of a wobbly voice bc he's just that happy🥺 the next day he's going to his usual restaurant to tell the owner and the orphans how they're going to have two new friends soon

Dazai would be kinda shocked bc we're gonna have two mini demons running around the house instead of just one??? Am I gonna have to share my belladonna's affections with both of them??? On the outside he's going to act like a clown as usual, telling everyone in the ada about the news and having kunikida nag him for hours everyday bc DON'T YOU DARE MAKE YOUR CHILDREN BECOME SUICIDE MANIACS LIKE YOU!! cjsjsjs But on the inside, having a child with you was already a big choice that required lots of trust for him, but after he hears the news and accepts them he goes to oda's grave and tells him as well, he tells him that he's finally settled down with you and is going to have a family and how happy he is to get to do this this you. "I hope you're proud of me, Odasaku."

Chuuya was already reluctant having just one child with you bc he's a mafia executive and he knows his profession/position could endanger you (not that he'd ever let someone hurt you ofc) but then the two of you agreed to try and have one child to see how the situation would change. He didn't expect that at all when you told him you were having twins, he just stared at you with a mix of joy and shock and he didn't even know what to say. He didn't want to upset you so first he might go to kouyou to talk about his concerns, and after she reassures him that everything will be alright he comes back home and swears to himself to do everything he can to help you throughout the pregnancy and after the children are born. Once he's holding both of them for the first time in his arms he might try to act all tough but then he slowly breaks down into tears and cries with you

Now for fyodor, everything he does is calculated, so having you get pregnant might also have been a calculated act on his part. He decided that this time would be the best for the two of you to have a child bc his plans wouldn't interfere with the pregnancy and viceversa so he bred you extra hard yk djsksks what wasn't calculated tho was you having twins. He knew it was a possibility ofc but he didn't expect that to actually happen. He is obviously happy and gives you lots of praise and patience throughout the pregnancy, making sure your health is at its peak at all times and spoiling you with whatever you might want on your bad days. He might find it endearing when you're so close to crying bc your belly is too big and you can't koala-hug him on his lap anymore jdjsjsdjs you know that some people put headphones on their belly to make the child listen to music? He does that too with you but in the extra fancy way that is playing the cello next to your bed. I'm trying so hard to keep this sfw but my brain keeps chanting pregnancy sex pregnancy sex djdjsjdj

- 💍

my brain is also chanting pregnancy sex at all times always and forever. also everything utc because this got long as per usual

and you're so fucking right abt all of them kfljslf;ksjkd oda would be ECSTATIC because. idk if he necessarily wants a big family but he wants more than one, though the thought of you suffering multiple times for multiple babies is so painful for him. so the fact that you're getting TWO babies for the pain of only one pregnancy makes him soooo happy like it's probably everything he could've asked for. and when you're freaking out bc you were already worried about keeping up with care for one baby and now there's gonna be two, he easily calms you down and assures you he's gonna be there every single step of the way bc you're a team. and even tho any mention of the orphans fills me with debilitating pain it melts my fucking heart thinking abt how over the moon they'd be esp because they rarely see oda that happy. he would ADORE your body too

like you said with dazai it definitely would take a LOT of trust and chewing on the idea for him to even be willing to try for a baby, and that's with expecting only one at a time lskfjskd and i can see him only wanting one in general. he'd so paint on a dazai-typical happy silly face for his coworkers but yeah it'd be a pretty major internal struggle for him at first. and all of the agency is a little bit scared bc they could barely picture dazai with one kid but now he's gonna have 2 LMAO but they know you well and trust that you'll raise them well. and you know that dazai's heart is so big and he's such a good guy that'd genuinely want the best for his babies and would work so hard to be a good father, probably thinking of odasaku and what he would do a lot. and the thought of him sitting at his grave to tell him is fr tearing me apart that fucking hurts lfdsjsdkl i can see him bringing a bottle of liquor and pouring two glasses, just talking like. "two! crazy, isn't it? i think you'd be a great uncle." and he'd definitely tell his kids allll about their uncle oda </3

ur right because chuuya would act so brave but would fucking flip out - but he knows you're anxious as hell about it so you wouldn't hear a second of it. i agree i think that kouyou would be the first person he went to, like the only realistically responsible adult he knows flkadsfljdks when mori finds out he'll be so excited and want to dote all over them and have them play with elise but chuuya would be like only under my supervision you fucking weirdo LMAO he's a very smart guy who's amazing at troubleshooting and dealing with any situation but i think he struggles with it more in his personal life, though he'd find his footing eventually. he'd realize that the most important thing by far is supporting and helping you the whole way, doing anything and everything he can because whatever stress he's feeling you're definitely feeling tenfold. when chuuya loves he loves hard, and that applies to both you and his kids

i think fyodor would definitely be mostly prepared for the scenario of twins, but still be taken aback because he didn't quite expect it to actually happen aldfja;kdfj he would def spoil you to death even to the point where ur like i love you but chill. i think he'd be excited though. im guessing he's never had a loving, supportive family who genuinely cares for each other (and shows it) so i think (with time, i wouldn't say he's necessarily like this now) he'd be very happy to not only show love to a whole family but to receive it too. to be looked up to and revered with unconditional love by 2 babies is something unfathomable to him. he's similar to chuuya in that when he loves, he loves HARD. and every single waking second would be spent protecting you, which would obviously increase to protecting his 2 babies. it would be hard for him, but the now 3 of you are his entire world and he's very protective/possessive - no one is allowed to step anywhere near those kids for a while alkfjlskdjfds "can we please homeschool them?" "no. they're going to real school fedya." similar to oda but probably more so, he would absolutely adore and revere your changing body, would be absolutely obsessed with your growing baby bump that is obvi bigger with two babies. he wants to touch it and be near it and play music for it all the time, sometimes he talks to your stomach more than he talks to you aldsfjadslkj i love him so much :(

[amethysia]

alright, I'm caving because my brain won't stop thinking about it. Even though I know so little about Gravity Falls and I've lived vicariously through others since five-ever.

This is a long one, so buckle up.

So with the book of bill, some folks have said that bill can get reincarnated. My brain was like, "well, how about a back in time/different universe reincarnation au?" And this reincarnation makes Bill born as the older brother of Fiddleford (either as a fraternal twin or just by a year). Let's say Bill's real name is Williford Cyrus McGucket, because yknow, why not. He's definitely the sassier, charismatic brother, with some playful bickering. He's a bit heftier with black hair, and has a weird passion for bowties. He and Fiddleford are close and decide to go to the same college together. Bill goes to become an astronomer and astro physicist. He meets Stanford when he visits his brother's dorm room.

The three of them become close and after graduation, work together.

At some point, Bill catches the feels for Ford. However, he notices at one point, Fiddleford also has feelings for Stanford. Fidds doesn't outright say anything, but Bill can tell, because he knows his brother. Now, in this world, he actually loves others more, albeit he still has a rather arrogant attitude. So he has a moment to think about it, writes some letters, and 'quits' working with his brother and Ford. He packs his things and heads westward.

Fidds and Ford are shocked that he left, but reads his letters. Essentially, it says to them that he loves them both, wants to try something new with his life, and who knows from there. PS, you two make a cute couple. They both get nervous and embarrassed that Bill would say that, but in a cute turn of events, they wind up confessing to each other anyhow.

Bill is pretending to not be sad, trying to be happy for his brother and Ford, but can't help but throw himself a pity party when he stays in another state, still trying to figure out what to do with his life (we find out Bill is a wine snob thanks to this moment in his life). At some point a certain door to door salesman comes along who looks an awful lot like Ford. Confused, Bill thinks something weird happened to Ford, but the salesman is obviously Stanley. Bill befriends him and realizes that he could help him out in his business endeavors, due to his 'genius' and giving him the opportunity to figure out his own future if this goes well.

They hatch up a scheme of making an oddities tourist attraction ala Ripley's, in a place that is affordable, has "gullible" locals, and is something they can run with minimum effort and can make the most profit. (Btw, because of this, our boy Stanley dodges jail time)

Stanley and Bill create the Mystery Shack. Because Stanley has been on adventures with Ford and Bill has knowledge of weird things, they are able to take the time to explore Gravity Falls and catch cryptids and other curiosities there. It becomes an odd place where there's fake dead fairies, but a real mummy corpse. Fake cursed gold, but a probably very real cursed spear. They are both charismatic swindlers, but amazing business partners. Because of their similarities, they become great friends over time. "Mr. Decipher" likes to wear a top hat and a gold colored sport coat (Stan: "that jacket makes your hips stand out, like you're triangular shaped."). "Mr. Mystery" wears a fez and a nice suit. (Bill: "At least I don't look like a Shriner...")

Many years later, with a fairly successful, somewhat shadely run, business, Dipper and Mabel arrive. Stan is nervous and does everything to prepare, even asking Bill to shape up a bit too. Bill agrees, because Stan has been a great friend to him and it's amusing to see him so excited.

They have a wild summer. (Bill is a bad influence for Mabel in the party hard sense, but he also becomes a bit of a mentor to Dipper, due to his scientific background.)

At one point, Ford and Fiddleford stop by to visit. They all catch up. Bill is kind of awkward, even though he's written to them, called, 'made peace with being single', but still a little sad over missing out on a potential relationship. Ford thanks Bill for helping him and Fiddleford get together all those years ago and Bill gives him a sober and solemn "you're welcome, Sixer". The visit is pleasant and the rest of summer runs its course.

A day after Fidds and Ford leave, Stan sits down with Bill. He knows the story about why he stopped working with them and how putting distance between them made their bond with him grow. He also thanks him for their business, their friendship, and for helping with the twins. Bill is also grateful and thanks Stan for putting up with him all these years.

Mabel at some point asks Stan how he got such a weird boyfriend. Stan obviously gets all, "What are you talking about?!" At another point, Mabel asks Bill how he landed her grunkle Stan. Bill just stares at her and asks, "Little too much candy today, ey Shooting Star?"

Later that day, Stan is the first to relay Mabel's question and Bill laughs, "you too, huh?"

Stan asks if Bill wants to go out at sea some day on the Stan-of-War and enthusiastically Bill agrees.

Hope you enjoyed my nonsense. Sorry if a lot of it is rather inaccurate, but I guess that's what AUs are for? Lol. Cheers!

[mer-acle]

I’m gonna talk about my reincarnation AU first bc 

Okay so!!!!!! The gods are still around in modern times (it’s current 20’s era to make my life easier lol) but aren’t as worshipped as much so most actually take on human disguises for fun/past time/cure boredom and take on a different name in human disguise and!!!!! Athena takes on a human disguise (along with Hermes, he’s her roommate, he’s also not coping with losing his great grandson :( ) hoping to deal with the grief of losing the Ithaca family even YEARS later and???? She….somehow ends up adopting the reincarnation of odyessus! He obviously doesn’t have his memories yet but he will!!!! (Look, I enjoy Ody and Athena friendship but I’m actually a mom!athena truther no matter how ooc that may be lol)

Athena and Hermes spend a good chuck of the AU thinking the similarities they see in reincarnated!Odysseus is just their grief talking until ody turns 13! In the AU the way a reincarnated person gets their memories back is that they get REAAAALLY sick and have the WORST fever induced nightmare (regaining their memories) and that happens to odysseus when he turned 13! It was not fun :( he called out for Athena like he did in love in Paradise when he woke up

Penelope, polites, Eurylochus and the 600 crew members are also reincarnated (so is Telemachus once he’s born!) how did Ody befriend 600 children you may ask? Idk discord or something this is modern times lol 

+ some screenshots of some other info I don’t feel like copy and pasting lol

Penelope is the first person to realize Ody’s mom is Athena 😂

This just becomes funny after the vengeance saga….

Telemachus angst is yummy in this AU

A lil more info on when the reincarnated re-gain their memories 

Also! Don’t apologize for being slow! I’m actually kinda slow at sending asks lol, I have a few asks I’ve been meaning to send about your fic and just….haven’t yet

OH MY GOSH I love this so much

Hermes and Athena roommates???? Chaos

Did Athena find reincarnated!Ody like a stray kitten? Cos that's all I can imagine. And he just clings to her specifically so when they figure out he doesn't have anyone she kinda just has to keep him? So now the chaos duo has a child and no clue wtf to do with it (how old is he btw when she adopts him?)

Oh do you know what names the gods use as cover? (I love the idea that Athena gets jumpscared by her own name when Ody calls for her)

Also the fever nightmare thing is such a thing the likes of us do hahahaha

Eury feeling bad about the mutiny oh babe

Tele my sweet child. He's still Ody's kid right?

I love the idea of the rest of the gods being like ah shit here we go again once they know esp Poseidon now LOL

What was Pen's important moment where she regained her memories? Cos I want the angst for that hehe

Gleefully helping your obsession lol

Also I kinda feel like Polites is the most traumatized cos like he died a brutal death while meaning no harm and he never got to see his friends again I kinda think he'd take it hard fsr

Anyway please I need more information about this I'm obsessed

[mintaikk]

You know what? I'm bored, so here's a list of my favorite ship names

I bully ship names, but I like a lot of them because some of them sound really pretty and are genuinely creative, and some are just funny, and I like the way they sound. Imma try to be multi fandom here, but my hyperfixations will show, since ill obviously know the ships in my own fandoms better. I'll also be explaining them here. There's also no order here, it's by the order I remeber it by.

Honeymoon (Beelzebub x Loona, Helluva Boss)

This shape name is super cute and super pretty, and I love it, and it also makes sense. Bee is a honeybee, and Loona is designed to look like the moon.

Dragonfruit (Mei x Red Son, Lego Monkie Kid)

I didn't get it at first because the fruit at the end didn't make sense, but apparently it takes the first characters in their Mandarin names which can be combined with other characters to make it translates to dragin fruit, and their color schemes also resemble one, which I think is pretty neat. Also, draginfruitsblook pretty

-Stolitz (Stolas x Blitzø, Helluva Boss)

A combination of their names that sounds like 'stole it', which is what Blitzø did with the grimoire. I love it

-Bluetooth (Caine x Moon, The Amazing Digital Circus)

The ship was named by @dovewingkinnie and has been growing in popularity, and I love it that I got to see a ship name being born. They're named Bluetooth because Moon is blue, the blue moon cycle, Caine is dentures, and Bluetooth is a way to connect wifi, which makes sense in a digital world.

-Amourshipping (Ash x Serena, Pokemon XY anime)

It's simple, but I like it. It's called Amourshipping because Amour means love in French, and Kalos (the region the series takes place in) is based on France

-Lumity (Luz x Amity, The Owl House)

It's another combination of names, but it sounds super pretty! To me, it sounds like illuminate, which fits because Luz's name means light and Luz literally showed Amity a light glyph when they were first becoming friends.

Goldengarden (Hunter x Willow, The Owl House)

It sounds so pretty omg

BurningLeafshipping (Red x Leaf, Pokemon [adventures manga])

The name sounds so pretty actually I love this name sm

Royallectureshipping (Cheren x Lear, Pokemon Masters)

Because Lear is a royal and Cheren constantly lectures him. It's litteraly perfect

Verbie (Barbie Wire x Verosika Mayday, Helluva Boss)

It's a combination of names. It sounds like furby. I will be bullying this name later.

Trainwreckshipping (Emmet x Volo, Pokemon)

This is such a perfect name for them. A lot of the fanon interactions stem from Emmet finding Volo to try and get revenge or force him to help him find Ingo, and then they have a whole enemies to lovers thing. It's called trainwreck shipping because ITD BE A GODDAMN TRAINWRECK. And Emmet's a subway boss, and Volo wanted to destroy the world

MedievalStoryShipping

(Gardevoir x Gallade, Pokemon): I didn't even know this ship had a name until I found a blog dedicated to it a couple of months ago. They were names MedievalStoryShippimg because Gardevoir was based off a princess and a knight and gallade was based on a prince and a knight. Also, not to put my own opinions, but I have such a sentimental attachment to this ship because I shipped it so hard in 5th grade and made so much (very bad) fanart of it

-Goldenheart (Ballister Boldheart/Blackheart x Ambrosious Goldenloin, Nimona)

It's another combination of names, but it sounds super cute and very angelic.

-Vorbee (Vortex x Beelzebub, Helluva Boss)

It's a combination Bee and Vortex's name, but it sounds like Vore, and considering Bee's whole thing with eating to excess, I can see that

[3hobbitsinatrenchcoat]

I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the very heart of me

Dorym Week, Day Two! (we aren't talking about these early EST upload times >.>) Today's work was inspired by the song prompt: "My life was a storm since I was born, how could I fear any hurricane?" ~ Francesca - Hozier

Title is from Aragorn's speech before the black gates because I couldn't help myself XD

I’ll post all my drabbles to AO3 later, but for now enjoy them here on tumblr.

(Beware minor spoilers for Episode 95)

-----

The first thing Orym noticed as he felt the snap of teleportation magic release was the bitter, biting cold. 

He thought he was used to the cold; Zephrah’s place above the clouds meant that even the longest summer days were cool and the winters could be brutal. But Zephrah had nothing on the endless expanse of blinding white he saw when he opened his eyes, the air so cold he could feel his breath become brittle before it ever left his mouth.

Suddenly glad for the layers he had bought before leaving Zadash, Orym wrapped his arms tightly across his chest and squinted across the barren landscape. In some deeply unsettling way it reminded him of the desert surface of Ruidus, only cold and pale instead of vibrant bloody red. 

Behind him he could hear the murmurs of the rest of the Hells getting their bearings. Well… some were murmuring.

“Fuck! That’s frigid!” Ashton’s voice rose above everyone else for a moment and Orym bit back a laugh. 

“I’m not sure what you expected from a snowy wasteland,” drawled Dorian, a familiar lilt to his tone that told Orym he was also holding back humor. 

“I mean. Snow. Obviously.” snapped Ashton, though there was little bite to their words. “Shit, godsdamn it… I’m sinking. Fearne can you…”

“Well, if you wanted to climb me like a tree all you had to do was…”

Orym tuned out whatever Fearne said next as a gloved hand landed on his shoulder, squeezing lightly. He looked up into Dorian’s face and felt his heart skip at the small smile he found there. Reaching up, he patted his own mittened hand against Dorian’s. The genasi’s smile widened a fraction before his gaze flicked away to take in the desolate view. Orym watched uneasily as the smile fell into a grim stoicism that was becoming more and more common with his friend.

“When Lady Keyleth said we would be heading to the ruins of Aeor I honestly expected a more visible city,” he said after a moment.

“That is because most of the city is buried,” Essek said, gliding past them to peer into the distance. He turned his head slightly to glance over his shoulder with a small twitch of his lips. “And to avoid scattering our remains across several miles of tundra wasteland I had to teleport us well outside of the crash site. As my dear partner would say: Magic does some… funny things closer to the ruins. ”

“Well that’s good to know,” muttered Dorian under his breath, quietly enough that Orym knew no one else could hear. “It’s not like every single one of us relies on magic to survive or anything.”

Orym squeezed his hand tighter. “It’s alright, Dor. We have each other’s backs if things go wrong.”

“I know. I just…” Dorian let out an explosive sigh, breath a cloud of fog in the frigid air. “It’s strange, I think. To be venturing into the ancient ruins of a city so much like my own childhood home and yet so very alien.”

“It’s alright to be worried,” Orym said. “I think we all are, especially after the last few days.”

Dorian turned to face him fully, pulling his hand away only to kneel in the snow in front of Orym, bringing their eyes level. “I’m not afraid,” he said, taking Orym’s hands in his own. “How could I fear Aeor… how could I fear anything with you by my side?”

Orym ducked his head, breaking the eye contact that made his heart flutter in his throat. “Quite easily, I’d imagine.”

“Maybe,” Dorian’s hand cupped the side of Orym’s cheek, warm through the leather of his glove. “But it won’t be so bad if we face it together.”

“Maybe not,” Orym agreed quietly, letting Dorian lift his face back into eye contact. “We’ve weathered other storms before, how is this any different?”

Eiselcross’s chill might be biting and bitter, but Dorian’s gentle smile warms Orym all the way to his toes. “Because this time I’m not leaving your side.”

[catofoldstones]

Why do antis act as if Alayne is a completely different character from Sansa??? Like... that is Sansa, just under a different disguise. It's still her. It's no different than Arya currently with different identities. But the way they talk its as if Sansa suddenly morphed into a different girl and everything about her old identity is now dead and now Sansa Stark doesn't exist.

I really don't know how to describe this but I've seen posts saying things like Sansa is 'too deep' into the Alayne persona and can't go back to her old name. Thats not how this works???

Because it pushes their agenda that Sansa is not a member of House Stark and therefore not important to the story. Sansa forever being Alayne eliminates the threat she poses to Arya becoming the queen in the north and/or Jon, Dany, Arya becoming this ragtag group of ya teenage underdogs who save the world from the Others. It’s the same idea as behind the theory that Sansa is going to die or is no longer a Stark because Lady died.

They also don’t want to see Sansa in a position of power because they still blame her for lying about Arya hitting Joffrey (never mind realising who the real villains here are), and later getting Ned killed by ratting him out to Cersei (which has been debunked time and again). Furthermore, if she is Alayne and not Sansa, then she clearly does not have the Starks’ best interests at heart considering that she is Baelish’s protégé and holds similar motivations as him - which actualises her as a villain. And if she’s a villain, then she obviously can’t be the Lady/Queen of Winterfell, or just someone who deserves a happy ending in the least. Are you looking at the mental gymnastics?

As for Sansa being too deep into Alayne, I can only say that she constantly thinks of herself as Sansa during the Alayne chapters. In fact, she thinks like she is Sansa, not Alayne, no matter how hard she tries.

The Freys had broken all laws of hospitality when they’d murdered her lady mother and her brother at the twins…

Alayne I, AFFC

Before this she’s just reminding Baelish who she actually is saying Bronze Yohn will know who she really is as soon as he looks at her. She blurts out Jon Snow’s name and thinks of him fondly. None of which she would do if she were “in too deep” Alayne. Her pre-released TWOW chapter is littered with her still thinking as Sansa.

She felt alive again, for the first since her father… since Lord Eddard Stark had died.

For just a little while, as she ran, she forget who she was, and where, and found herself remembering bright cold days at Winterfell, when she would race through Winterfell with her friend Jeyne Poole, with Arya running after them trying to keep up.

Alayne I, TWOW

She others Alayne a lot too, as if Alayne is a friend she knows and not her own disguise.

“No, my lady. I am from Gulltown.” And I am not, though Alayne was born there.

Alayne I, TWOW

And these are just some of the examples. Moreover, the recently leaked outline, even in its scarce information, has bashed the final nail in the coffin of this argument and that has obviously caused much anxiety amongst the antis. Never mind it not working like that because these arguments are clearly bad faith and hold no water next to the deluge of evidence saying otherwise.

[quitealotofsodapop]

(resending this cuz it seems like some of my asks got deleted)

thank you for posting this ver of the ask, and thanks for the extra responses!

[Macaque having the mega-regret when he finds out all those years later about the Stone Egg, feeling like a dad who wasn't around for their (ex)partner and unborn baby and barely having enough time to adjust when baby arrives.]

considering he just finds out about the baby mere weeks before their born, and only actually starts the path to reconciliation the day before if not the day Wukong goes into labor depending on how long it is between the final battle ending and the campsite scene, he really didn't have a lot of time to get used to the idea of possibly being a dad (not even knowing if he wanted to rebuild his relationship with Wukong until he was un-possessed) until their was already a baby in his arms, but he is forever grateful he made the decision to stay.

that being said, I feel like with him feeling like he missed a lot causes Wukong to have to reassure him often that what really matters is that he's here now, and that as long as he makes the effort to be apart of Yuebei's life now Wukong wouldn't have it any other way. I think Macaque (even if a little wistfully) loves to listen to Wukong telling old pregnancy stories of funny or fond moments he missed. he probably likes hearing stories of bad moments too, so he gets a more full understanding of Wukong's pregnancy experience.

[likely responding to the Samadhi fire like it would consumable dao like; "Hey, can I eat that- OOO NO SPICY!!!").]

Yuebei trying to eat the Samadhi fire is absolutely hilarious, so is Yuebei describing a world ending fire that can tear apart the fabric of reality "spicy" in baby terms. as a baby she tries to chew on Red Son hair "because the spiciness has gone down."

[Wukong's mental health was not good after the ritual]

Wukong def doesn't leave Ao Lie's side for weeks after the ritual to make sure he's okay (I like to think that the fourth ring wasn't a problem at first, but as time passed symptoms started cropping up and then they started getting worse and worse). When the affects of the ring start becoming noticeable and then beginning to worsen Wukong only becomes more distraught. he tries everything to help Ao Lie, but he just keeps getting worse, Wukong apologies at least 200 times everytime they see each other, Ao Lie never blames him for anything. Wukong is there when he dies, Wukong's mental health obviously takes an even worse turn.

[Wukong risked his own baby for them, and the couple don't learn this until centuries later.]

they are both all the more grateful when they finally learn, especially PIF who understands that putting his own baby at risk for hers must have been a difficult decision, so he also has more respect from her because of that. they also chastise him for putting his own baby at risk.

but imagine how they (and Ne Zha) would feel upon learning the reason he slipped was his baby reacting badly to the fire, considering losing control and slipping was something he got a lot of flack for because of the danger it posed.

[Spider Queen turns, only to see Guanyin/Kuan Yin glaring her down like the vengeful goddess she is.]

Spider Queen is losing her mind because of her loss, she turns her attention on her own minions for a moment, they don't react at all because they are used to her temper. all of a sudden, they do start shrinking back and acting scared, Spider Queen's yelling falters as a shadow falls over her. she turns, looks up, and finds herself being stared down by a very angry Guanyin.

SQ gets her ass handed to her.

LBD stays hidden until Guanyin leaves, ot wanting to risk being seen by the vengeful goddess and risk their wrath. SQ trusts her a little more than in og canon because when LBD comes out of hiding she also brings a healing item of some kind to heal SQ from injuries sustained from her beat down from Guanyin.

[Instead of the infamous "OH WUKONG!" while flying overhead at the end of S2, Macaque instead announces hos presence to MK specifically.]

so blatantly ignoring Wukong's presence while the bone demon is practically hovering over his shoulder would be too obvious. he fixes this by only seeming to attack when MK starts trying to talk about him. MK's got Wukong alone on the deck of the airship about to tell him about the shadowplay? "ooooo MK!". Wukong and MK meet up while trying to escape the east sea palace and MK once again tries to warn Wukong about the shadowplay incident? I don't think so. MK: *running out of the east palace* Monkey King, there you are! are you ok? SWK: I'm good bud MK: good, I know I didn't get to explain earlier about Macaque but he- MK: *Macaque's staff skims his hair and embeds itself in the wall behind him* MK: STOP INTERRUPTING ME! MK: *a shadow clone comes out of nowhere to punch him, causing both MK and wukong to scramble* MK: on second thought, maybe I'll just stop talking.

[Wukong gets the drop on him cus it's such a paradoxial offer. If he agrees, his baby will be a lonely little cub in the world like he was + he'll lose all his found family and the world at large. If he refuses, LBD might just decide to aim for the Egg directly, taking away something Wukong has been incubating/nuturing for centuries away from him and using the energy accumilated within to fuel her mech.] + [LBD does not think about feeding Wukong in this timeframe ofc, since in her mind he's an immortal self-sustaining puppet now. It's ultimately what leads to her demise...]

the thought of losing the found family he's managed to gain after spending so long alone makes him falter, he pushed everyone away for centuries until now and he's just started relearning what it's like to have his loved ones around again, he doesn't want to lose them now.

but on the other hand the thought of LBD targeting his egg and using their dao to fuel her mech makes him feel physically sick. he can't afford to lose his egg, not after this long. he'd never recover.

funny, how it ends up being LBD who gets consumed by the egg. how the tables have turned.

as concerning as the egg consuming her initially was, Wukong can't help but smirk and call it hubris.

[You know when the Mayor gets un-possessed by LBD? Think that, but the soul energy is getting eaten like a string of noodles and slurped into Wukong's body.]

that is terrifying, I'm gonna have to draw that now. (as of you seeing this, the drawing has already been submitted)

[The Egg needed Wukong to gain a couple few more family members before it could "hatch" into Baby. XD]

egg was like "troop is here? mate is here now? food is sufficient? now these are prime birth conditions!" *sends Wukong into labor*

[Mac's crying cus he's finally coming to terms with why Wukong hurt him all those years ago + he's meeting his former mate's little cub who looks like him!! He makes a sound akin to a dying squeaky toy when he's asked how he thinks of little Yuebei.]

seeing Yuebei look like him and the joy that brings him and Wukong both is def one of the things that makes it finally click. he so easily could have lost this by his own hand, he could've cost Wukong this. in that moment he not only gets over the whole dying thing completely in an instant, he almost feels glad that Wukong did whatever he had to to ensure little Yuebei's safety, even if it was Macaque himself Wukong had to keep her safe from.

Wukong def thinks Macaque's "dying squeaky toy" reaction to being asked about what he thinks of Yuebei is adorable.

[DBK holds it together until he has Yuebei in his palm. Smaller than even Red Son was as a baby. DBK does one deep breath... and quickly has to pass the baby to PIF cus his eyes have turned into waterfalls. She's so small!!] + [... but holding Yuebei is the first time in a long time she makes a joyful snotty sob. The baby monkey is confused by the bodhisattva's reaction, and tries kissing her tears away. This only makes her honorary aunt/grandmother cry even harder with pride and joy.] + [+Not to mention how hard MK cries when Wukong introduces him to Yuebei as "your honorary big brother". Mei has hundreds of timelapsed photos of MK as his face contorts into an ugly cry as he holds Yuebei for the first time.]

Wukong and Macaque as DBK's sworn brothers def joke that they always knew he was a big softy.

Wukong is laughing at Yuebei trying to kiss Guanyin's tears away whilst also giving Guanyin a big hug.

MK loves that he's being referred to as the big brother, even if only honorary. Mei def has hundreds of photos of everyone's reactions.

[He reminds himself to say sorry to Wukong for not checking if the Buddha's punishment was Stone Monkey friendly. Wukong and Mac laugh him off cus the Gold Star of Venus is currently having his beard nearly yanked off by the playful newborn cub.]

all in all, Gold Star is very happy that it all worked out for them in the end. they are too.

[Azure: "What do you think little cub? Am I not a fine Emperor and guardian? Do you think your mother will warm to being at my side?" Yuebei, hungry, frustrated, and bored: *glares and makes a distinctly "Macaque"-sound as her ears glow* The Brotherhood: "..." Peng: "She must be hard to impress. As any princess ought to be." Azure: *feels a little better* :'3 Yellowtusk the Wise, internally: "I'm telling Guanyin. I am not going to be held responsible for what nonsense Azure gets up to regarding Wukong and the infant."]

it would be even worse considering Yuebei likely has Azure as a "bad voice", so him talking about her Baba would not make her feel any better, even if she can't actually understand what is being said.

Yellowtusk looks at Azure talking about having Wukong at his side at last with an infant (that he was being neglectful of) that so very clearly belonged to Macaque, with Macaque and Wukong seeming to be on good terms these days if Macaque's anger at Azure for imprisoning Wukong in the scroll was anything to off of, and start seeing just how possessive and obsessive Azure really was and just goes "oh, you are a terrible person, actually" and decides that his brothers aren't actually the people he wants to associate himself with.

[If Azure still had a tail, Yuebei would have taken it as a chew toy long before the MKrew (love that name) got there. And Wukong would have let her keep it as a trophy.]

they'd have it like, preserved or something so they could keep letting her use it as a chew toy. if not that then they would have hung it only the mantle place where they've also been keeping LBD's skull for the time being.

Referencing this Slow Boiled Au post.

[considering he just finds out about the baby mere weeks before their born, and only actually starts the path to reconciliation the day before if not the day Wukong goes into labor depending on how long it is between the final battle ending and the campsite scene, he really didn't have a lot of time to get used to the idea of possibly being a dad (not even knowing if he wanted to rebuild his relationship with Wukong until he was un-possessed) until their was already a baby in his arms, but he is forever grateful he made the decision to stay.]

Once Mac learned that Wukong got possessed trying to take down LBD, the shadow monkey almost 99% decided that he wasn't going to lose his King to that bony biotch. And depeneding on how messy the Samadhi Fire ritual goes, the last thing Wukong says to Macaque is along the lines of "You ruined everything!", and Macaque doesn't want those to be the last words he hears his King say...

And ofc the protective Stone Monkey instincts kick in once he sees; 1: His pregnant mate being forced to fight, 2: LBD tossing her human-cub host aside like trash, 3: The kids almost dying trying to control the Samadhi Fire etc...

And soon Macaque started to remember how much him and Wukong discussed Having a family once the war on heaven was over, and how much they both wanted to be parents...

And soon there's a newborn monkey in his arms, and Macaque can't stop smiling and crying at the same time. He's so excited and overjoyed and scared that he isn't sure how to feel.

[that being said, I feel like with him feeling like he missed a lot causes Wukong to have to reassure him often that what really matters is that he's here now, and that as long as he makes the effort to be apart of Yuebei's life now Wukong wouldn't have it any other way. I think Macaque (even if a little wistfully) loves to listen to Wukong telling old pregnancy stories of funny or fond moments he missed. he probably likes hearing stories of bad moments too, so he gets a more full understanding of Wukong's pregnancy experience.]

Macaque says something like: "Sorry I wasn't here for alot of it.", and Wukong just replies like "Eh. You got plenty of time to make it up."

Macaque often asks Wukong "how it was" to be carrying the Stone Egg. especially for so long, and he's always glad to hear Wukong's rambling stories about his odd symptoms ("You couldn't eat peaches?! How did you survive?") and the tales of the many gods and demons that shrunk away nervously when they discovered his condition. Macaque is still shocked that Wukong managed to keep the Egg a secret from PIF and DBK (and most of Heaven) for so long too - and might give him the stinkeye for risking himself and the baby during the Samadhi Fire ritual.

Its also around the time Macaque really has it sink in that; "Oh sh-t. I attacked the Monk and fought Wukong when he was pregnant. No wonder he killed me." He isn't sure how to build himself up to discussing this fact with Wukong yet, but he'll get there.

[Yuebei describing a world ending fire that can tear apart the fabric of reality "spicy" in baby terms. as a baby she tries to chew on Red Son hair "because the spiciness has gone down."]

Red Son holds Yuebei for the first time (after a lot of encouragement from his parents and MK), and the first thing the baby does is tug Red's hair from his ponytail and try chewing it. Red's hair is ruined with baby monkey drool by the time someone gets Yuebei off of him.

Wukong, snorts out a laugh at the sight: "She must like hot food. She tried eating the Samadhi Fire the first time around." Nezha: "She what?!" Wukong: "Oh yeah... didn't tell you that part yet." Nezha, angry flames flaring up: "You mean to tell me that you were "with Stone Egg" during the ritual to separate the Samadhi Fire!? She could have suffered the same fate as Ao Lie!" Wukong, guilt-ridden: "Yeah. Don't remind me. She kicked me non-stop for days afterwards." Yuebei: *tries grabbing Nezha's skates to test the "spicyness"*

Red makes sure to keep his hair covered the next time he sees the cub.

[Wukong def doesn't leave Ao Lie's side for weeks after the ritual to make sure he's okay (I like to think that the fourth ring wasn't a problem at first, but as time passed symptoms started cropping up and then they started getting worse and worse).] + [Wukong apologies at least 200 times everytime they see each other, Ao Lie never blames him for anything. Wukong is there when he dies, Wukong's mental health obviously takes an even worse turn.]

Even being a dragon that could handle flame magic, Ao Lie was ultimately just *one* dragon. One that rarely used his fire magic at all save for the time he acted out at his father pre-Journey. He practiced great self-control in making sure that the Ring he held within didn't start a blaze that spread outwards to hurt his friends.

But in supressing his symptoms, Ao Lie inadvertently hid how much pain he was in from his dearest friends. Wukong knew something was wrong immediately when the infamous White Horse Dragon no longer had the strength nor will to carry even one of his pilgrim brothers. The weakness, the pain, the burning in his joints; it was all to obvious how hard the dragon tried to hide it.

Wukong cries for months after Ao Lie leaves them/passes away. And the dragon's last words to assure his friend that he never blamed him for the accident, nor his baby. Ao Lie was just sad that he'd never be able to meet the cub in this lifetime. He just wants Wukong to stop being so hard on himself for it. If only the dragon he tell him that in person.

[they are both all the more grateful when they finally learn, especially PIF who understands that putting his own baby at risk for hers must have been a difficult decision, so he also has more respect from her because of that. they also chastise him for putting his own baby at risk. but imagine how they (and Ne Zha) would feel upon learning the reason he slipped was his baby reacting badly to the fire, considering losing control and slipping was something he got a lot of flack for because of the danger it posed.]

OH the second PIF hears that Wukong put himself at risk of the Samadhi Fire whilst pregnant - she's flying straight over to shout how "stupid and reckless it is!". But she soon calms down and pulls him into a soft hug, whispering with a single tear (out of range of the kids); "Thank you for saving my baby. Now allow me to protect yours." Wukong was confused but very touched that the Princess recognised the risk he took in helping lil Red Son all those years ago. She knows it was a tough call to make.

When the lotus prince overhears that Sun Wukong has been pregnant "since at least the Journey", he just crumbles at the realisation that Wukong was in fact pregnant during the ritual. Nezha blames himself for not recognising that Wukong was carrying at the time, and even more so how he blamed him for "screwing up!" the ritual whilst distracted. He now realises that the baby was likely reacting to the sudden surge of fire magic and Wukong was in great pain. He def makes an awkward apology once they run into eachother at the start of S3. He refuses to let Wukong get into danger or exert himself tho - Nezha's a momma's boy at heart after all.

[Spider Queen's yelling falters as a shadow falls over her. she turns, looks up, and finds herself being stared down by a very angry Guanyin. SQ gets her ass handed to her.]

Spider Queen hears the sounds of a thousand knuckles cracking and realises that she's looking at the person who might as well be the Monkey King's Mama. SQ ain't even mad by the end of it. She would have done the same (she'd def the kinda mom to beat up her kids' bullies).

I love the imagery of the rest of the Spider Gang just... watching it unfold. They only need a single glare from Guanyin to not step in. LBD is hiding far away atm cus she knows the goddess would recognise her magic at a glance. Or recognise her host as being a possessed little girl and reverse-kidnap her for an exorcism.

LBD only comes out to heal SQ's injuries from the Divine butt-whooping once Quanyin has left. And although SQ kinda trusts the demon a little more, she's far more hesistant to step on the Monkey King's toes than before if his Mama's gonna respond. SQ is a lot more scheming for the rest of S2.

[so blatantly ignoring Wukong's presence while the bone demon is practically hovering over his shoulder would be too obvious. he fixes this by only seeming to attack when MK starts trying to talk about him.]

I can almost imagine Macaque's demeanor becoming especially cold towards the crew, particularly MK. He can't risk Wukong knowing that MK told Macaque about not only the baby, but also how Wukong was pregnant during the Journey. He just wants to grab the Kid, give him to LBD, fufill his contract, and maybe make up for it later when this all blows over.

Macaque from MK's perspective during S3;

But by ignoring Wukong and focusing solely on MK, he still draws Wukong's attention. His sunlight isn't a dumb monkey. He knows what Macaque ignoring somebody looks like (thinking back to the Brotherhood days when Macaque would pretend not to hear Peng's criticisms). And he's still protective over "his cub" whenever MK dodges a shadow attack.

Eventually it comes to a head when they meet just after Lantern City. Macaque is clearly in pain from an icy curse, and isn't saying anything to him. He's aknowledging Nezha sure, but it's like he's pretending Wukong doesn't even exist right now - even as he leaves the King untouched by the powers lended to him by LBD.

Wukong, shouting: "Why are you doing this!? Don't you know that Lady Bone Demon will kill everyone if she gets her hands on the Fire!? Macaque: *silently tries to fly past Wukong towards the ritual sight* Wukong, flying infront of him: "STOP! You've been like this, this whole road trip! Are you possessed? Or are you too much of a coward to look me in the eye!?" (*a small one-sided mid-air fight happens as Wukong beats the everloving crap out of Macaque, slamming him into the rocks below*) Wukong, crying: "C'mon! JUST TALK TO ME!!!" Macaque, sad frown as the ice spreads: "I don't... want to make you choose again." Wukong: "What!? That makes no sense!" Macaque: *goes silent again. Escapes Wukong's hold via shadow portal and books towards the ritual altar*

Odds are Macaque doesn't even force Tang to do the ritual, the ice on his body having spread so much that he can barely whisper "Do it." before the scholar catches on the severity of the situation. Wouldn't be surprised if the shadow monkey stayed with the group afterwards as a "my bad" once the curse was lifted.

Wukong only realises after he confronts LBD and gets her ultimatium what Macaque meant by "choose again"...

[the thought of losing the found family he's managed to gain after spending so long alone makes him falter, he pushed everyone away for centuries until now and he's just started relearning what it's like to have his loved ones around again, he doesn't want to lose them now. but on the other hand the thought of LBD targeting his egg and using their dao to fuel her mech makes him feel physically sick. he can't afford to lose his egg, not after this long. he'd never recover. funny, how it ends up being LBD who gets consumed by the egg. how the tables have turned. as concerning as the egg consuming her initially was, Wukong can't help but smirk and call it hubris.]

In the question of his new family vs his Egg; Wukong would always be left stalling. Wukong def sees LBD'a hubris as her downfall, but admits that she really threw him for a loop when she made the offer. He especially laughs at the fact that the Egg consumed LBD almost in the same fashion it tried absorbing the Samadhi Fire so many years ago - guess his baby found the ancient demoness "less spicy".

BTW I love the art you did for this scene!! Stone Egg had enough of LBD's nonsense and was Hangry, and Bama had spoken some sense into Baba, and now Nom NOM NOMNOM.

[egg was like "troop is here? mate is here now? food is sufficient? now these are prime birth conditions!" *sends Wukong into labor*]

Be post-battle Wukong thinking all his aches and pains are just from his injuries/possession, and not from his baby sending him into extended labor. >:3

Stone Egg knows when the Time is Right. And the troop is all here so... being born time.

[seeing Yuebei look like him and the joy that brings him and Wukong both is def one of the things that makes it finally click. he so easily could have lost this by his own hand, he could've cost Wukong this. in that moment he not only gets over the whole dying thing completely in an instant, he almost feels glad that Wukong did whatever he had to to ensure little Yuebei's safety, even if it was Macaque himself Wukong had to keep her safe from. Wukong def thinks Macaque's "dying squeaky toy" reaction to being asked about what he thinks of Yuebei is adorable.]

Oh gosh Macaque realising that the baby looking like him brings Wukong joy too would make him cry even harder. He almost cost his mate everything by risking the world over his own debt to the Bone demon. Mac would gladly have died all over again if it kept the baby safe.

Wukong, petting Yuebei's big fluffy *glowing* ears: "So cute. What do you think, Plums?" Macaque: *blubbering, dying squeaky toy sound* Wukong, laughing softly: "Me too." *kisses Yuebei's face* Yuebei: *grumpy sleepy coo*

Its a very sappy moment between the pair.

[Wukong and Macaque as DBK's sworn brothers def joke that they always knew he was a big softy. Wukong is laughing at Yuebei trying to kiss Guanyin's tears away whilst also giving Guanyin a big hug. MK loves that he's being referred to as the big brother, even if only honorary. Mei def has hundreds of photos of everyone's reactions.]

PIF isn't far behind her husband either. The tiny precious thing in her arms nearly died in a bid to save her own baby. She plants a big kiss on Yuebei's forehead, forgetting that her lipstick stains. Her husband chuckles, still teary-eyed, at his wife's embarassment at planting a big kiss mark on the baby's head.

Guanyin is at Wukong's bedside, still crying at how beautiful and healthy the long-awaited baby is. And Yuebei is just "why you crying? lemme do the thing everyone did to me when I was crying" and tries planting big wet kisses below Guanyin's eyes. Wukong is just beaming with how sweet the sight is.

MK is having unknown instinctual urge to curl up with Yuebei (his honorary sister) next to the other monkeys. Pigsy laughs that MK did the same with his fave plushie for years.

[it would be even worse considering Yuebei likely has Azure as a "bad voice", so him talking about her Baba would not make her feel any better, even if she can't actually understand what is being said.]

Yuebei has very vague memories of Bad Sounds, like the three Brotherhood hurting her Baba a long time ago. The birdy (Peng, who captured Wukong in the Yin-Yang vase that nearly killed him) gets the fastest response of anger - which only proves to the trio that Macaque is the baby's other parent.

Peng: "Hmph. With these ears, we don't need any guesses on who the other-" Yuebei: *screeches like a banshee when Peng comes closer!* >:O! The Brotherhood: "..." Peng, amused smile: "Though, she's certainly braver than he was." Yuebei: *most intimidating hiss she can muster* Azure, thinking it's like a kitten spitting: "Aww."

Also, Mac is def the kinda guy to use exaggerated versions of the Brotherhood's voices when narrating villain characters in Yuebei's books. The little raspberry noises (or "Boos" as Mac likens them to) she makes at the voices encourages him even further.

With the Brotherhood, Yuebei keeps hearing them talking about her Baba and Bama, and the rest of her troop, but its all in tones that sound super negative and she *hates* it. She just wants her parents!

[Yellowtusk looks at Azure talking about having Wukong at his side at last with an infant (that he was being neglectful of) that so very clearly belonged to Macaque, with Macaque and Wukong seeming to be on good terms these days if Macaque's anger at Azure for imprisoning Wukong in the scroll was anything to off of, and start seeing just how possessive and obsessive Azure really was and just goes "oh, you are a terrible person, actually" and decides that his brothers aren't actually the people he wants to associate himself with.]

By this point Azure is also corrupted by the Emperor's power, so a lot of what he's saying is a mix of geniune yearning, and maddened desire. In the old days, Azure would at least keep these thoughts hidden and focus on the bigger picture. Now he's spiralling down a Caligulan rabbit-hole with Wukong's increasingly-distressed infant in his grasp.

Yellowtusk immediately catches on that this Azure Lion is not the man he called brother anymore. He makes the quick decision to alert someone outside the Celestial Realm for assistance, even if it compromises their successful coup. And considering Yellowtusk is the only one with the sense to feed and bathe the hostage infant, he's not surprised when she turns on Azure and Peng specifically.

[they'd have it like, preserved or something so they could keep letting her use it as a chew toy. if not that then they would have hung it only the mantle place where they've also been keeping LBD's skull for the time being.]

Oh they would have. Wukong def would preserve Azure's tail like a dog's chew toy if Yuebei wanted to keep it. But I think Azure canonically doesn't have a tail - it's not in his design, though in Jttw its's described as "long as a broom". If it were I def see Yuebei throwing Azure around by it like plush toy.

Some of Peng's feathers are stolen too (Yuebei had a mouthful of them) and Macaque and Sandy turned the feathers into a cat toy. Mo and Yuebei both adore it.