#of sunny just completely abandoning him and even bullying him (??)

[aromanticannibal]

I really hate when people try to make characters in OMORI entirely bad or entirely good, or even just define one of their actions as Bad or Good. Because the whole point of the game is nuance!! There isn't a bad guy and there isn't a good guy. (I think this is pretty hilarious given the game is aesthetically very dichotomic).

Sunny pushed his sister down the stairs, and killed her (it was a murder, it was an accident, he regretted it, he forgot it, he didn't apologize for it).

Basil faked his friend's death as a suicide (to protect his best friend, it hurt his other friends, it hurt his best friend, Mari wouldn't have wanted that, he was twelve and it was the only solution then).

Mari pushed Sunny too hard for the recital (she just wanted it to be perfect, she didn't understand her brother, were there other things in her life making her such a perfectionist?).

Hero got mad at his brother (he was depressed, his brother just wanted to help, his brother failed to help, he apologized and never got mad again, he apologized and never got mad again).

Omori kills Basil in increasingly fucked up ways and forces Sunny to forget ("Basil" is a dream, a mere thought, the Truth is bad, the Truth has to be uncovered one day, it's unhealthy, he's just trying to protect Sunny, he's failing, he is Sunny).

Sunny's dad abandoned him (he might have known Sunny killed his sister, he was heartbroken, he has a duty to take care of his child as a father) and his mother left him alone for three days (it's been four years.)

Aubrey is a bully (she's so sure Basil hurt her and Mari's memory, she's so tired of Kel telling her to think about what Mari would think, she's so done with being ignored instead of cared for, she is a bully, she hurt others, she apologized).

Kel is quick to jump to conclusions and doesn't see nuance enough (he's 16, he's neglected, his brother's immediate reaction to lashing out was acting like he was a monster and changing completely, he's digging up past trauma, he's talking for the dead).

Basil hurt Sunny physically and in a way that can't be fixed (he was having a panic attack, he was probably either having hallucinations or was being profoundly delusional, he ripped his friend's eye out oh my god, he didn't mean to, he didn't mean to, he didn't mean to).

Etc. Even the apology at the end is nuanced : it's selfish of Sunny to want to get it out of his chest, and it's going get everyone's trauma out of their chests again, but don't they deserve to know? Don't Sunny and Basil deserve to be honest? It's not about being forgiven, it's about telling the Truth - from there, what happens doesn't matter.

Omori particularly gets a bad rep but he is Sunny. Sunny isn't Omori but Omori is Sunny, the same way everything in Headspace is Sunny in some way. And from there, can we define a defense mechanism as bad? A child's defense mechanism as bad? Is Sunny's desire to just forget about all this and be happy bad? It's not healthy, but most of the alternatives aren't very appealing.

Obviously there's darker shades of grey and lighter ones : Kel and Hero are some of the kindest characters in the game, their actions don't hold the same weight as Aubrey's, and Aubrey's actions don't hold the same weight as Basil's and Sunny's. Basil's and Sunny's actions also don't hold the same weight as each other, and Mari's perfectionism, despite being what jumpstarted everything in a way, doesn't hold the same weight as everything else. What Basil did wasn't right, what Sunny did wasn't right, but circumstances are important : two twelve years old boys (both likely pretty mentally ill) made two consecutive mistakes during increasingly stressful situations.

[4rainynite]

Welcome to Dreamworld oc Sunny pt 1

This is something I've been thinking since I joined the fandom; If there's a Star Light and a Night Light, is there a Sun/Day Light?

Think about it we have a star (Lewis/ Starlight), a moon (Night Light/ Sara's childhood female bully), but where's the sun animatronic?

Lewis never made a sun animatronic (as far as we know) and if it weren't for what happened in the series he would've made one.

Sara/Litho designed a sun animatronic

Wiatt's soul will inhabit it.

Story: During Dreamworld's infant stage the animatronics almost completed with Star Light and Night Light being the first.

When Lewis revealed Star Light and Night Light to Sara, Oliver, and Eric were impressed by their first working animatronics. But, Eric did wonder:

"If there's a Star Light and a Night Light, is there a Sun/Day Light?" 

Lewis openly admits he never thought of a sun animatronic. After a good group laugh Lewis decides to make a sun animatronic to go with the celestial theme. But after incident Night Light, the sun animatronic was scraped with only the frames being made and designs still in the concept art stage.

After, Sara killed Lewis she went to work on the sun animatronic as a 'sorry I killed you' apology gift. Unaware that it would come in handy.

Long story short - Litho kills Wiatt, Winnie finds out Wiatt is his granddaughter, and as a last resort to save Wiatt puts him in the sun animatronic!

Everybody meet Sunny:

I don't have her image inked or colored yet, but I'll have that done later.

[Image ID: A full body image of Sunny the sun animatronic with a mischievous smirk on her face. Sunny has hooded-brown-eyes with the left sclera being black with sky blue eyeshadow and right sclera is white with midnight blue eyeshadow. Her hooded eyes give her a sleepy/moody appearance. Her design is similar to Star Light and Night Light, with the split color bowtie, suit, and face, but instead of a coattail she had a split peplum. Sunny's left side is yellow and her right side orange fitting her sun design. On her suit she has the sun and two mini stars images on the chest part, on her shorts she has the sun with the three stripes colored yellow, light blue, and orange.  She has a round face similar to Cheer's, but except for seven (or five depending on who draws her in which episode) pink flower petals she has five sun rays three large ones on her right, left, and top of her head and two smaller ones between the left and right rays. /.End ID]

The new sun animatronic awoken in a dark room holding the bodies of Litho's latest victims all alone. Believing they're in a kill room tries to escape the facility only to be caught by Hazel, Cheer, Eric, Ribbon Dancer, Allison, and Morris.

Once, they return to the group, they realize they have a problem when the sun animatronic has none of Wiatt's memories. Not even mentioning Lewis triggers the sun animatronic's memories. This shocks and scares everyone as not only is their ace to stop Litho is gone, but so is their good friend who helped them this whole time is gone too.

The sun animatronic doesn't like being referred to as Wiatt due to not knowing him even though a part of his soul is the reason she's alive. And she hates being called Day Light or Sun Light; creating a new problem on what to name her.

Ribbon Dancer gives her the name Sunny due to her being a sun animatronic and her sun rays resembling sunflower petals. Sunny agrees, only because she couldn't think of any other names.

Unlike the other animatronics Sunny doesn't have a backstory, gender, or character bio so she's a blank state.

At first Sunny doesn't trust anybody in the murder factory masquerading as a children's facility where an evil demon is trying to open the gates of hell and wants the soul residing in her. Deep down she's scared and just wants answers to what's going on.

But she never refuses to abandon the others or their fight against Litho. Over time Sunny begins to trust them and sees why Wiatt despite the odds against him tried to fight Litho to save everyone.

Personality: Despite being a Sun, Sunny is not a happy person. She's very melancholy, jaded, and guarded due to her situation. Sunny bottles up her anger until she explodes only to feel guilty afterwards and will apologize for her actions. She is caring and doesn't want to see anyone down, after seeing how much Wiatt meant to them, she does her best to cheer them up and give them hope of them bringing him back and being human again.

She even has bits of Wiatt's personality such as being sarcastic, mischievous, quick-witted, swearing, and wanting to protect those close to them.

Design: While designing Sunny I had to pay attention to Star Light and Night Light's designs and I studied Cheer to help with facial design.

Another character I studied for Sunny's design was Sally Starlet from Welcome Home; I even got the idea for Sunny's eyeshadow from Sally.

I wanted Sunny's design to be similar to Star and Night's, but I gave her a peplum instead of a coattail to give her a feminine look. The similarities between the three are: split-colored faces, blush/cheek marks, bowties, suit, blush stickers, and celestial markings.

I had a hard time designing Sunny's face due to the sun rays, but each attempt was either ridiculous or would take too long to while looking over the other animatronics design I realized Cheer would be a good reference for Sunny's head and facial expressions.

Human disguise: Like Night Light and Lorenzo, Sunny will have a human disguise when she enters Dreamworld Facility. Unlike, the decommissioned animatronics who claim to be entertainment critics works as a mechanic and her alias is Sunny Nicolson, Wiatt's cousin covering for him after a bad car accident to help pay medical bills & pay for college.

She'll be covered head-to-toe like the others and wears a wig by created Morris, Astra, and Star that resembles Wiatt's hair but in a ponytail.

Traits: Curious, tomboy, sarcastic, uncertain, loyal, and brave.

Voice: Tough, sarcastic, tomboyish

Talent: Mechanical, filming, and singing.

Oddity finds one of Wiatt's other cameras and gives it to Sunny who starts filming and finds it oddly calming and familiar. She mainly uses it as a video diary and helps with the investigations.

Sunny has an amazing singing voice that ranges from soothing lullaby to hardcore rock!

Like Wiatt she's an excellent mechanic, in fact she can repair herself and the other animatronics. When she repairs herself it's similar to how Sally from TNBC sews herself back up.

Corrupt: Sunny will have a corrupt mode where she gains an attack mode similar to Mommy Long Legs from Poppy Playtime and Alice Liddel from American McGee's Alice.

Gender: Female

Sexuality: AROACE

Bonds : At first Sunny has a hard time bonding with the group and the workers of Dreamworld Facility due to just coming into existence and them being concern about her not having Wiatt's memories. Over time she bonds with them and finds out about their history. She is protective of the kids the same way Wiatt was.

I won't lie Star Light and her struggled at first due to the whole: she's technically Wiatt, but doesn't have his memories, and is her own person. They really need to sit down and talk things over and become close friends. 

I want Sunny and Ribbon Dancer's friendship to be similar to Polly and Scott's from the Monster Prom series.

Refs: Here are some refs of Sunny in Wiatt's place.

Take a picture, because Sunny rarely smiles.

[Image ID: 1st image of Wiatt smiling from episode 5. 2nd image is of Sunny with the same smiling expression. /.End ID]

[Image ID: 1st image of Ribbon Dancer and Wiatt smiling at each other from the music video 'Out of Sight'. 2nd. Image of Sunny in her human disguise (minus the face mask and sunglasses) with Ribbon Dancer (forgive me, I messed up his nose). /.End ID]

[Image ID: 1st image of Rex's hand while Wiatt grips onto his crow bar to protect himself and Night Light from the music video 'Out of Sight'. 2nd image is of Sunny protecting the kids from Winnie. Winnie's shadow looms over Sunny and the group in a menacing way aready to attack. Oddity, Masquerade, Mimic, Melody, Cheer, Lolli & Pop, Hazel, Night Light, Lorenzo, Gruff, and Millie have frightened expressions on their faces while Sunny has a furious expression yielding an axe ready to protect the kids from Winnie. 3rd image is of Sara, Winnie, Oliver, and Allison evilly looming over our heroes. /.End ID]

Gosh Darn It to Hey-Hey! I just realized I forgot to add Allison; I'll add him when I color this in, plus he's a tough little cookie. Like I said before Sunny is fiercely protective of the kids and doesn't care who or what the enemy is Sunny will fight to the end to keep her loved ones safe.

[Image ID: Sunny in keychain form with her signature mischievous smile./.End ID]

Yeah, I was in the zone when doing keychain Sunny, only to find out I didn't have enought room for her other leg (When, I ink and color the images later I'll add the other leg). At first, I was going to give Sunny an angry expression to go with Star's smile & Night's frown. But I like her little smirk better, it gave her an 'I know something you don't know'/mischief vibe.

I hope this gives you some information on Sunny. You can find out more about her in my fanfic: Stars, Night, and Sun Shine.

Okay, I'm gonna end this here. Bye!

[prodigal-explorer]

YESSSS I HAVE SO MANY

alphys from undertale. shes such a unique character and i’m obsessed with not only her growth, but the way she navigates the world, her guilt and her shame mixed with her strong desire to help others around her. the way she’s constantly battling severe social anxiety because she’s determined to use her gifts to make the world a better place, but she has a bit of a dark side because she’s willing to lie and cheat to get where she wants to go. but sometimes, things just go too far, and she loses control over the things she does. it’s so tragic and she’s just so fucking interesting. also she was the first openly gay character i’ve ever interacted with in my life and she’s the one who introduced me to the lgbtq+ community so uh thanks girl! for being the reason why i know i’m gay!

aubrey from omori. idk why the fuck y’all be hating on her cuz she’s the realest character in the whole damn game. she has such strong core values and she never backs down from them, even when they hurt her or put her in danger. aubrey would rather be hurt and true to herself than perfectly safe and a traitor to herself or others. she comes off as so strong and sure of herself but she’s just a little girl who was abandoned multiple times throughout her life, desperate for someone to just BE REAL with her. her life was ruined by what the two main male characters that get all the attention from the fandom did. she lost the one person who truly understood her. and everybody around her had a support system but she had none. she acted out of desperation, she wasn’t a bully like a lot of people like to say. i’m not saying she’s perfect (lowkey i am tho cuz fictional men get free passes all the time so i think she deserves one too) but everything she did was completely justified by the heartbreaking fact that she was ALONE. all alone. she’s my blorbo and i’m holding her in my arms. stop fucking attacking her and then defending those two guy main characters and calling them uwu baby gay boys AUBREY DESERVES SOME OF THAT TREATMENT CUZ SHES THE ACTUAL VICTIM HERE. but y’all won’t give it to her cuz she’s a fucking girl.

mari from omori. WE ARE BACK WITH MORE OMORI WOMEN CUZ THEY CANNOT CATCH A BREAK WITY YALL TOXIC BITCHES. first of all let’s get this out of the way she didn’t fucking abuse sunny. y’all just made that the fuck up because you can’t handle the idea of women being innocent victims who did nothing to earn their tragic ends. it ruins the whole fucking point of the game if she abused sunny. okay now that that’s out of the way MARI IS AN ANGEL. she’s such a beautiful character, the way she’s so fiesty but also so gentle and sweet. she cares so much about other people, and she just is so fun-loving. she goes out of her way to make life SPECIAL and meaningful. everywhere there’s beauty in the world, mari sees it. shes my blorbo too she’s so precious and wonderful and she deserves everything. and she’s not just an amazing big sister or an amazing girlfriend. she’s an amazing PERSON. she’s so beautiful and she spreads so much light in every room she walks in she MEANS SO MUCH TO ME.

nao egokoro from your turn to die. she is deadass the best character in the entire game and it’s CRIMINAL that she doesn’t get the attention she deserves. and don’t be telling me that it’s because she died early on cuz JOU DID TOO AND YALL HAVE NO PROBLEM GIVING HIM ATTENTION. anyway, her growth is AMAZING. her journey is beautiful and engaging and i am obsessed with the way she eventually started to find herself in her adulthood and discovers the strong, capable, amazing woman she had always been. she cares so much about her friends, sara and reko, and she works so hard to repay them for all the times they helped her. she tries to shoulder burdens so that sara doesn’t need to. she’s so protective over the people she loves, not letting people badmouth them. and she’s just SO PRECIOUS. a beautiful painter who’s so emotional that she sees the whole world in the most vibrant colors.

sara chidouin from your turn to die. idk why she gets so much hate (oh wait i do know. she’s a GIRL.) cuz she’s actually the perfect main character and i haven’t encountered a more perfect main character since link from legend of zelda. sara is so uniquely designed to the point where she’s completely iconic. she’s the perfect balance of self-insertable main character and individual with a personality and life of her own outside the whims of the player. her personality is so interesting too! she’s reliable and trustworthy and has an insurmountable charisma, which is typically a trait that’s given to male characters but sara wears it so well. she’s such an amazing main character and she’s definitely one of the biggest reasons why i think the game is so successful. and she’s just COOL AS FUCK.

all this to say: FICTIONAL WOMEN ON TOP. yeah i get it you guys want uwu little baby gay boys blah blah whatever but DO NOT DRAG WOMEN JUST SO MEN CAN BE ON TOP. we get enough of that irl so leave my baby girls alone please and thank you.

favorite character from any media BUT it has to be a woman. in the tags now go (pls talk to me about your favorite fictional women pls pls pls pls)

[reservoirreputation]

Dimples, Chapter Two

Holdaway

Holdaway sips at coffee that’s rapidly cooling off. The breakfast rush of people on their way to work, or coming off the nightshift, bustles all around him. His usual booth by the window, overlooking the parking lot, feels very lonely. He stares at the empty seat across from himself.

Freddy Newandyke’s car was found abandoned a half-mile away from the Golden Gate Bridge, this morning. No note, no sign of struggle, or suggestion his vehicle had been stolen. Two major life changes of which to note; he had moved out of LA, which Holdaway had flown back to only an hour before, and that the trial was to begin, tomorrow. He lingers on the latter, a frown etched onto his face.

He had thought the kid leaving town would be a good thing. Considering how the armed robbery trial went, skipping town, completely moving away, was probably best for Freddy Newandyke’s health. Holdaway thinks back to the empty car. If he’s honest with himself, he can see the mother’s point. She didn’t even know the half of it.

He takes another sip. A waitress graciously comes over and tops off his coffee with fresh heat. It’s welcome on a chilly Cali morning like today. He thinks of giving her a good tip, just on the drink, alone. He thinks back, to one of the times Freddy was really struggling in physical therapy, how he told Holdaway a story.

Freddy was doing crunches, face flushed. His core muscles were back to square one in terms of strength and endurance. He told bits and bobs of a story, gritting his teeth against the pain.

“So Pink goes on this rant-” one rep, “-about not tipping waitresses-” two reps “and everyone thinks he’s an asshole!” he laughs, “Joe comes over,” three “and looks at the receipt, and says” four “Who didn’t tip?” five, “Bullies the poor bastard in front of god and everyone.” he lies flat in a pool of his own sweat.

Holdaway hadn’t said anything then; he couldn’t imagine what it was like to recover from such injuries. But, the way Freddy talked about the crew of violent criminals, most of whom were now dead, disturbed him.

Still does. He’s halfway down the mug. It’s no wonder the rest of the department harassed him. Freddy’s mind was still in the field. He could only imagine what the water cooler talk was this morning; ‘Newandyke finally snapped and joined his buddies’ ‘Fairy couldn’t take the shame of a trial’ ‘Only good rat is a dead one’

He looks at the table, imagines, for just one second, that Freddy’s across from him, eyes alight with new info. Pity turns to frustration; why couldn’t the kid just tow the line? He downs his mug.

It’s a sunny day in LA. Holdaway is out of the office, heading to one of his favorite haunts, where he usually breaks in the newbies. Today’s student:

Officer Newandyke.

A fresh-faced thirty-one year old, his hair trendy, face round like it’s still full of baby fat. Holdaway could imagine his late grandmother reaching out and pinching the kid’s cheeks. He stifles a laugh, and looks at the kid’s attire; LA casual, functional. Clearly local. Might just survive.

The lot’s on the site of an old abandoned post office, the signs of old foundations now nothing more than bricks and rubble. He shakes Freddy’s hand, “The name’s Holdaway. I’m gonna make sure you don’t get killed.”

“You should know how much my Mom will appreciate that.”

“Real momma bear type, huh?”

“Anything happens to me, she’ll kill ya.” he laughs.

The rundown of the job, the targets, “Joe Cabot is a nasty piece of work. His son, Eddie, is a real chip off the old block.” He opens a file with some headshots, “When we take down Joe, the punk’s gonna be his successor. Catching them both at once is preferred. Thankfully, the PD’s a little more realistic than that.” he looks at Newandyke, trying to measure him up. “You ever do undercover before? Maybe at another department?”

“No.” he shakes his head.

“No one else more experienced could be spared?” Holdaway knew that might hit a nerve, but now wasn’t the time to pussyfoot around.

“I think I was picked for my boyish looks and charm.” The smirk is hollow, hinting at something more.

“You fuck up at the office?” he wonders if this is all to let an existing issue cool down.

“Nah. I don’t feel liked, exactly, but my record’s clean.”

Holdaway feels he is getting the picture now; cops could sus out when one of their own barked up certain trees. Without warning, they’d just ice you out. It made him a little sad, because this guy, a kid, honestly, probably hasn’t had enough time to mess up, or to catch on. Holdaway would have to see how Newandyke would do, how well he could take direction, and go from there.

Luckily for them both, Newandyke’s a natural.

Holdaway sits at the diner booth, twiddling his thumbs. He and Freddy agreed on a certain time, and the kid was five minutes late. He felt like a teacher, ready to scold a tardy student. But, those five minutes could mean anything.

Freddy comes in, a little breathless, and very guilty. Holdaway decides to give him a break, and ease the tension with a smile, “’Bout time you showed up!”

An uneasy grin, “Not a great first impression, huh?”

“Don’t need to impress me, man.” they embrace, sit down. “How’s your first week been?”

“Getting to know people. And by know, I mean get the silent treatment.” he sighs, waits for a waitress to set down a complimentary water. “No Joe, so far.”

“No shit.”

“It’s almost like they’re cautious or somethin’.” he takes a big gulp. “A lot of people I’ve come across are one and done, haven’t seen them again. Nice Guy Eddie explained that the people I could be working with, should I be cleared, won’t ever know my real name.” he frowns, “So, obviously, everyone I’m currently interacting with won’t be important, come trial.”

“Keep your eyes peeled, man. Every face, every identifying marker, it’s everything.”

Freddy pauses. A moment later, he says, somewhat shyly, “There was this one guy I saw leaving the big office. No Joe, but this guy was coming out.” he gulps more water. “Think I saw a tattoo, Navy. On the arm, real faded.“

“Great! What else?”

“White, maybe 50s, dark hair, youthful eyes. Smiles a lot.”

That hangs in the air a moment.

“He say anything to you?”

“Almost caught me staring.” the kids trying to hide his reddening face. “It always catches me off guard, when I see ex-military involved with this shit.”

A decent save, Holdaway thinks. He considers telling Freddy to lean into the infatuation part, but figures that could be a bad mistake. Fatal, even. “Guys like him likely get that all the time. Besides, you probably won’t see him again.”

Holdaway doesn’t often visit HQ, but when he does, it’s usually because of paperwork.

The office culture was always an aspect that Holdaway never cared for. Get any like-minded group of people in a room, fill that room to capacity. On top of this, it’s work, they’re your colleagues, and most of you have the same workplace hazards. You’re overworked, underpaid, and more than a little on-edge. Personal life, likely bad. Home life in general, likely a shitty apartment. Career prospects, depends on how long you can survive. Surrounded by mostly men, it’s like the most toxic locker room on steroids. Holdaway’s work allows him freedom, fresh air. Every time he’s brought back to HQ, he considers retirement.

One of the few benefits of the office, however, was its free coffee. Taking advantage, Holdaway pours himself a foam cup, and fixing it up, when a group of rookies wander into the little kitchen. Another joy about Holdaway’s work is that he’s not around enough to be recognized, so he feels no need to hightail it out of there. He listens as this group of boys, barely able to grow an even beard, are shooting the shit. It takes another second for Holdaway to realize what exactly it is they’re on about.

“Has he said anything?”

“Jack and shit. There’s word he won’t say fuck-all on the stand.”

“Why? Everyone will be watching.”

“When you’ve been around a certain type of animal,” one of them takes on a false sense of wisdom, “the only way to survive is to be their bitch.”

“So it’s true? He went native?”

“I hear he writes one of them love letters.” they giggle, “Takes pinup shots and everything.”

Holdaway looks over the selection of donuts. He picks one, and sits down at the big, and otherwise unoccupied, lunch table.

“What possesses someone to do that?”

“A guy who was strange to begin with. It’s no better than those women guards who fall in love with the inmates, have their babies, help them escape.”

Holdaway cuts in. He laughs, real casual like, “Man, I’d hate to have y’all in my department.” like they’re too much, too funny, too real.

The idiots take the bait, “And where’s that?” they’re matching his energy.

He lets them sit with it, finishes his food, throws away his half-empty cup of shitty free coffee, “Undercover training.” his smile falls.

The rookies pale and wither under his stare. One leaves, one grovels, and the other tries to make excuses, “We were only joking.”

“I hope you never go through a fraction of what he went through.”

“We didn’t say-”

“You didn’t have to.”

“It was just-”

“-a mistake. Now get the fuck out of my sight.”

Holdaway leaves the lunch room, and HQ, heading back to his car. It’s a week until the armed robbery trial begins, and the office gossip was already this bad. He feels a little for poor Newandyke. But, all the kid has to do is stick to the terms. Everything would be fine.

Holdaway considers Florida as the place to go. Buy a cheap place minutes from the coast, away from all mentions of LA.

The mood is dower, perfectly matching the bar they’re at. Sipping whiskeys, Holdaway and Newandyke drink in silence. It’s nearly midnight, and just hours ago the LAPD’s worst fears were confirmed.

“Jury sure taking their sweet time.” it makes Holdaway nervous. The verdict should’ve been obvious and swift. Every passing hour was a slap to the department’s face.

“You mad?”

“Their lawyer got you good.” a beat later, “That how you really feel? That backup failed you?”

“We’re not supposed to lie on the stand.”

Holdaway suppresses a laugh, “Work’s gonna be hell, tomorrow.”

“I turned in my badge, earlier.”

“Tonight?”

“A couple hours ago.” he nods.

“You’re not wrong to be angry.” Holdaway reasons, “I don’t know if the courtroom was the place to air your grievances, but you’re not wrong.”

“Made everyone look bad, huh?”

“Something along those lines.”

“Those terms are history, aren’t they?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

“So, it’s not the end.”

Holdaway watches as Freddy finishes his drink. It’s hard to be angry at the guy when you’re sitting next to him.

“Think I’ll take my Mom up on that offer.”

“And what’s that?”

“Moving back up to ‘Cisco.”

That is probably the smartest thing Freddy can do. “Don’t forget to write.”

“Send you a postcard.”

He dials up Freddy. It’s been a month since they’ve seen each other. His LA number still works, which is good. Pleasantries are exchanged. Obligatory small talk. Time to get down to business.

“DA’s changed his mind about the murder charge.” Holdaway says, “It’ll happen soon. I’m sorry.”

“Figures.”

“You gonna be there?”

“Prosecution won’t have me.” It’s both a prediction and a statement.

“Enjoy San Francisco, man.”

“Thanks for everything, Holdaway.” a pause on the other end, and it sends chills down his spine, “I haven’t made it easy on you, but I’ve known for a long time… you were the only one who had my back.”

Holdaway hides his tears, despite being alone in a phone booth. “You’re worth it, man. I’m sorry things didn’t turn out differently.”

Holdaway gets ready for bed, his thoughts still plagued by Freddy’s disappearance. The murder trial is to begin tomorrow, and he needs to clear his head. He thinks back to Mrs. Newandyke’s words, ‘My son wouldn’t kill himself.’, ‘It’s Cabot’s men. All of the LAPD knows it.’

He doesn’t know what to think. Holdaway didn’t peg the guy for being that depressed, but could also see, because of their numerous conversations, that Freddy wasn’t fitting back in. He could also see Cabot’s men getting rid of the rat that got their boss and heir killed. He also thinks, though he’d never dare say it out loud-

-that the LAPD might have something to do with it.

{Next chapter}

https://www.tumblr.com/reservoirreputation/757452905482682368/dimples-chapter-three?source=share

{Previous chapter}

https://www.tumblr.com/reservoirreputation/757452458438066176/dimples-chapter-two?source=share

[random-basil-lover]

"Oh Basil acts so childish i hate him" "Oh Basil is so annoying" "ugh Basil is so scary he's crazy i hate him"

BASIL IS FUCKING TRAUMATISED. GUYS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, IF HE ACTS CHILDISH (which is something i don't agree with) MAYBE CONSIDER THAT HE IS 16??? WE TEENAGERS ARE CHILDISH AND STUPID ANYWAYS

BASIL HAS SEVERE PTSD AND POSSIBLE BPD, HE POSSIBLY HAS PSYCHOSIS OR ANOTHER MENTAL HEALTH CONDITION THAT MAKES IT HARD FOR HIM TO LIVE AND CONTROL HIMSELF. HE IS DEPRESSED. HE IS HURT. JUST BECAUSE HE CAN HAVE WHAT YOU COULD CONSIDER A "NORMAL LIFE" DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE GUY IS FUCKING SUFFERING.

"But he's a fictional character, why so mad?"

Fictional. characters. are. based. off. of. real. life. Basil's struggles are struggles people have IN REAL LIFE, illnesses PEOPLE HAVE, maybe even Omocat or someone of the team experienced that themselves, who knows.

If you don't understand mental illnesses, don't judge and hate. If you think you understand them but instead you are hating on the "oh, no so romantic and poetic" parts that ruin your perception of mental health being "poetic and cool", you should reflect on yourself.

Some mentally ill people hardly shower. Some mentally ill people don't brush their teeth. Some mentally ill people smell bad. Some mentally ill people live in fear, can't control themselves. It's not their fault. They didn't choose to suffer.

Also, about Basil attacking "Sunny" in 1 day left... Let me make you be in his shoes: You're sixteen, your parents weren't there for you during almost your whole life, you have abandonment issues, the only friend you truly connected with abandoned you out of nowhere after you saw your girl friend dead, had to carry her, you feared of what might happen to your best friend if they find out, and you tried to help him, which takes you to carry and hang the dead body of SOMEONE YOU LOVED, all this at 12, which is extremely traumatic by itself. One of your former friends started bullying you for something you didn't do, but you decided to not tell her you didn't do it to protect your best friend. She calls you a creep, and some other people join to keep calling you hurtful things, they even attack you physically. Your best friend came back after four years, but still wasn't there for you when you were hallucinating and panicking. It's night, and you are going to kill yourself. Your friend arrives. It's frustrating, because your dearest friend is going to leave the next day, and you needed their support so much... So, why the hell is he here? Why is he showing up and then leaving again? Does he even care about you, about what you had to sacrifice for him? You're going to commit suicide, you are in a very vulnerable moment, you are scared, angry at many things, filled with self-hatred, and guilt. You're having/almost having a panic attack. After seeing your friend, these feelings intensify, and you can no longer control yourself with all the things you're feeling at that moment, it's overwhelming, you're not thinking straight. You yell at him because he is going to leave you again, because you are hurt, and, as i said, can't think straight. You start hallucinating, but you think it is real. It is the way your brain has been coping, trying to take the blame away from your dear friend. You want to kill that hallucination, that "something" that did all the bad things (like killing your other friend Mari). You don't understand why is Sunny struggling and in front of you all the time, you want to protect him from the hallucination, you want him to be safe. Once again, you think the hallucination is real. Then, you manage to stab the hallucination in the eye... Only to realise you actually stabbed your dearest friend. You didn't mean to. You wanted to protect him. More guilt. You pass out.

Doesn't that sound like a completely terrfying thing to go through? Just because you haven't suffered it doesn't mean you have to judge and hate on someone, fictional or not. Because if you went through that, i assure you you would not be thinking straight either, and you would've done something similar, or maybe... you would be dead already. Because those are 4 years of psychological torture. Not everyone can go through 4 years of psychological torture.

Thank you.

[nougat-rockrozma]

pov: you're basil

heyyyyyyy y   im back from camp stuff and school stuff

here is a delinquent sunny (and kinda auby) by @taigataii and @mikkokomori! (but with a kinda... “headspace-y” spin on the design lol) 

started working on it last week but no access to it for awhile ;-;

[beevean]

The wait was worth it <3

When Sunny wakes up in the morning, Hero reveals that he completed all of the former's chores on the list his mom left for him even though Sunny himself never asked him to do that. For the record, Sunny's chores take him three days if he chooses to stay inside on the first day, yet Hero somehow finished them all before Sunny even woke up. Because Hero is just that perfect and awesomesauce, ig

Not only this, but the game has this tendency to show that friends should help each other... by having friends doing things for others without permission. Kel forces Sunny to stay at Basil's. Hero does Sunny's chores for him. The gang decides that Basil just needs his friends by his side while he's crying in the bathroom because his grandma died (which you've explained in detail why it's a horrid breach of agency). I don't like this. Friends helping friends in need is one thing, but this is barging into other people's privacy and boundaries, and we're meant to see it as cute and proof that they have such a strong bond. It doesn't help that these people haven't been close in four years, and evidence suggest that they don't even trust each other that much (Basil and Aubrey).

Due to the game's short three-day timespan, Aubrey's apology to Basil rings hollow. A verbal apology means nothing unless you can back it up with your actions, and Aubrey doesn't get the chance to prove that she's genuinely sorry for what she did before the game throws her and rest of Sunny's friends to the wayside to focus on the plot twist and the final boss in the last hour of the game

By all means, Aubrey should have been the one rescuing Basil from the lake. It would have shown, rather than told, that despite her abrasive behavior she's still the caring Aubrey they knew. But no, she and Kel keep arguing while their friend is drowining, forcing Sunny, the friend with a fear of water, to intervene.

I wish I could like Aubrey. I like the idea of this cute girl falling into a gang of delinquents because she felt abandoned by her old friends. But the game conveniently forgets its attempts to be realistic when it comes to her, her nail bat, and her severe bullying.

Before they all fall asleep, Hero commends Sunny for touching grass and thanks him for "everything" even though Sunny did absolutely nothing for his friends at any point of the story. Most of the scenes in Faraway Town could've had him cut and nothing of value would be lost

It's almost funny how passive Sunny is in the "touching grass" route. The plot of that route is that the gang got together again, right? And what did Sunny do to help? Sure, he saved Basil's life, but Aubrey and Kel could have done that. Kel is the instigator of the plot, because he decided to give Sunny a chance to hang out before he had to move. Kel is the one who spoke for Sunny at every opportunity. Aubrey is the antagonist who acted by stealing Basil's photo album. Then Hero showed up and stuck with his bro. Sunny's journey is entirely about himself, but when it comes to the actual events of the story, until you have the choice to check on Basil or leave him to kill himself, he might as well be a floating camera. something something he's just the baby of the group

Sunny never vocally fights back against the criticisms Omori levels at him, further depriving the former of characterization. Instead, he counters by cherry-picking quotes he heard from his friends (and Mari) over the course of the game to replenish his HP and calm down, twisting the supportive words of the people he hid the truth from to make himself feel better. Because, as Mari's last words to Sunny before Memory Lane show, only he and his feelings actually matter to this game. Why am I supposed to feel bad for this piece of shit again?

This is honestly awful. If I lied to my friends to paint myself as better than I am, and they proceeded to comfort me, I'd feel so ashamed of myself. Not Sunny, though! As long as he feels good about himself, he doesn't care.

The gang offered Sunny all those nice words under the assumption that he was grieving for the loss of his sister who killed himself, a terrible kind of pain. Who's to know if they'd be as charitable if they knew that Sunny not only caused Mari's death, but also let everyone believe she killed herself, making them feel guilty that they didn't do enough to help her?

He got that comfort with a lie by omission. And he's okay with it.

By all means, the climatic fight with Omori should have happened after Sunny confessed everything, and the only thing left was to battle his own self-loathing. Sure, it would still be farfetched if the friends all forgave him for such a cruel lie, but let's assume that they could at least sympathize with him. Now their words would have more weight, and be proof that "friends are supposed to be there for each other". If Sunny got told that he deserves to "find peace or some happiness" after he revealed the truth, it would have been more poignant.

But no. Sunny remembers Mari urging him to forgive himself, and that's all that matters. He's all that matters. He's willing to twist the words of the people closest to him to allievate his own deserved guilt.

May I recommend a show that tackles the topic of forgiveness in a much more mature way?

Sometimes, your actions have such drastic consequences that you do not have the right to demand that the people you hurt should forgive you. And you have to live with that. And masquerating a manslaughter as a suicide and then hiding from the world should absolutely warrant this kind of reaction.

Bojack Horseman was not shy in showing that the titular protagonist is a toxic person who does more harm than good, and while we may root for his happiness, it's perfectly understandable that the people around him don't. But I suppose that a cute sad boy deserves to feel good about himself :)

Edit to add: I forgot about this absolute fuckery in the datamined descriptions of the Mari photos:

Photo of a Lie - As you and BASIL step into the house, you look back towards the trees and see it. The light engulfs it as it sways in the wind… For a moment, you feel at peace. You hate yourself for feeling this way. Is that all, then? Is everything going to be okay now?

I don't know, man, if I saw the body of my recently dead beloved one swinging from a noose, I think I'd feel sick. Not Sunny, though! He's just happy that he might get away with manslaughter :)

I love when a protagonist is a complete blank slate until you analyze the text, and then they become a reprehensible monster <3

Currently replaying OMORI because I'm a masochist with my best friends @beevean and @the-crow-binary providing emotional support lmfao. Even despite how soul-crushingly boring it is, I think we're still having some sort of fun with this clusterfuck of a game

Highlights (and the misc. problems we've managed to spot) so far include:

I already knew that this game's length was detrimental to it during my first solo playthrough, but this playthrough is helping me put into perspective just how bloated OMORI is, even when it comes to an aspect like dialogue. For example, a single conversation between Space Boyfriend and the main cast took us approximately 5 minutes to get through, and it's not like the writing is gripping enough to make us give a shit about the characters or anything they're saying

Speaking of the dialogue, you can just see how hard it tries to be witty and Quirky™ the way Earthbound and indie RPGs like Undertale were. Needless to say, it fails horribly, and the end result of that was me having to fast-track some conversations because they were unfunny and weren't relevant at all

I got unintentionally (!) stuck in White Space for 15-20 minutes because I couldn't find the map the game needed me to find to let me open the door. Beev came to hate the repetitive 8-bit BGM the area had by the time I finally found the map lol. game_design.exe

Headspace's music is so ear-gratingly abysmal oh my god. I can only call it "dollar-store Kirby music" because that's the most appropriate description that comes to mind and I'm pretty sure Lost at a Sleepover gave Beev severe PTSD. Of course, the music of Faraway Town isn't any better: the "track" that plays in the first fight with Aubrey is less music than it is the result of an .exe file being put through an audio player. Sonic Chronicles might have some serious competition in the "worst video game soundtrack" category asdfghjkl

The plot of the Faraway Town segments is so cookie-cutter that it genuinely hurts to sit through. Character writing (or the lack thereof) aside, Sunny and Kel spend half a day loitering around the town and asking Aubrey's cronies where she is even though Kel could've easily gotten that information from Mikhael had he just indulged the latter's delusions of grandeur a little bit

Faraway Town's daytime sky is literally a scrolling JPEG of a cloudy sky. The battle backgrounds of the real world segments are edited JPEGs as well. Everyone's houses look exactly the same on the outside save for some of them being a different color. The developers spent six years and more than $200,000 on this game.

Sunny's fights against his fears are boring. You just need to wait until a particular turn when the game grants you a special skill you use to end the fight immediately. What was the point of designing these hallucinatory monsters if the player doesn't get to fight them at any point during the main route?

Aubrey (ostensibly) swinging a nail bat at Sunny is not treated with the same degree of realism as Sunny slashing her with a knife. Additionally, Aubrey rides away on her scooter just fine even though she's supposed to be bleeding

Mari's picnic baskets are inexplicably scattered all across the town and fulfill the exact same function as they do in Headspace. So much for realism!

I won two of the fights against Aubrey's goons even though I was trying to lose. gameplay.exe

Sunny is even more unpleasant than I remember. He doesn't respond to Basil - who is supposedly his best friend - when the latter talks to him, stays silent while (and after) Kel vents to him about Hero yelling at him and barges into the church despite Kel advising him to wait until the sermon ends. Why should I feel bad for him again?

Kel generally seems to treat Sunny like an actual baby, spelling out incredibly obvious things to the latter (e.g. that Sunny shouldn't be carrying a knife or walking in the road because it's dangerous) and making all of Sunny's decisions for him, to the point of not allowing Sunny to return into his own house until nighttime under the pretense of "there's so much to do! it's a brand new day!"

Finally, the "fight" against Sunny's fear of spiders comes completely out of nowhere since nothing triggered said fear during Sunny's adventures outside

Peak game, everyone.

And it's going to get way worse down the line!

[melohax]

Why Basil isn’t “evil” or knowingly manipulative:

Warning: Major MAJOR Omori Spoilers Ahead

When people aren’t saying Sunny is a psychopath who deserves to be in jail, they’re saying Basil is an evil obsessive mastermind who tricked poor dissociating Sunny into defacing his sister’s corpse.

I’ve already explained before why I disagree with either interpretation but I haven’t gone in depth with Basil’s character. I’ll write about why I don’t think Basil is this dark yandere intentionally manipulating Sunny into dependance on him.

Basil is a tragic character with bad abandonment issues who legitimately wants to help the people he loves most. Unfortunately he also happens to have a broken “normalcy compass” (common in abused and/or neglected children). This means his well intentioned actions are often more harmful than helpful.

Aubrey says during a part of the real world segment that outside our main friend group, she’s always been an outcast. I think it’s no accident that we see in Sunny’s memories that she was the one who introduced Basil to the friend group, implying he’s also always been an outcast like her.

With Aubrey though, we can attribute her outcast status to things like living in the poorest neighborhood in Faraway town while also living in the visibly most worn-down house of said poor neighborhood.

Aubrey has a hoarding alcoholic mother that neglects her and a strict father (Aubrey casually mentions as a kid that her father is weirdly strict about her appearance) who ends up abandoning her anyway. Aubrey’s hot temper doesn’t help either and so even though she manages to be popular and well-loved among her hooligan friends, the rest of the town judges her harshly as if she’s at fault for her horrible life circumstances.

Then we have Basil. Basil’s economic circumstances are visibly better than Aubrey’s and he lives in a nice house surrounded by pretty flowers. Yet even with everything around him (even his appearance) looking so prim and cute, he’s still treated as an outcast.

We know that mentally ill children are way too often shunned by their peers and the adults surrounding them for being “weird” even though it’s not their fault that they have different brain chemistry. Without counting the bullying Aubrey carried out with her friends, Basil was already being ostracized by people outside the main friend group. In one of Sunny’s memories, Basil tells them that he’d always been alone before meeting them.

This lets us know that there’s always been “something” that’s made Basil unpopular with almost everyone. We see hints of why in the contrast between Dreamworld Basil and Real Basil. Whereas Dreamworld Basil is well-spoken, charismatic and cheerful, Real Basil is a nervous wreck that is prone to panic attacks and bouts of screaming. We could say he’s this way cus of what he did to Mari but from knowing Basil’s always been an unliked outcast, I get the feeling he’s not like this only from the Mari situation.

Then we have the probable root of his very obvious abandonment issues: Basil’s parents’ are completely absent save for some pictures in his home. Sunny himself has never seen Basil’s parents in person. Datamining apparently suggests his parents abandoned him when he was a toddler. To top it off, having a constantly ill and mostly unresponsive grandma as his only remaining family doesn’t help with his mental health issues at all, either. No wonder the kid’s clingy.

There’s also the caretaker at his house, who is introduced as Basil’s caretaker, not his sick grandmothers. Basil is at the age where he can legally emancipate himself yet we’re shown he still needs a caretaker to look after him. That Basil needs looking after kinda says to me that he has issues he can’t be left alone with.

So all these paragraphs were to explain the evidence that point to Basil likely being mentally ill since before Mari’s death. Now we get to the parts that make me think he’s been suffering from psychosis even as a kid.

12 year old Basil doesn’t seem capable of understanding the concept of Sunny being angry and accidentally shoving Mari down the stairs. He seems unable to consider the possibility that it was an argument between siblings just at the wrong place at the wrong time, as if that just can’t happen. To Basil, it HAS to be “Something” maliciously causing the incident and/or forcing Sunny to do it.

About the Mari incident and Basil’s fucked up idea: I think a lot of fans forget that first, not only was Basil a 12 year old kid back then (not even a teen yet) but also a lot of the reasoning behind many of Basil’s most important actions seems to be rooted in delusions he genuinely believes.

The same thing happens when the photo album was scribbled over: in his mind, there was no way any of his friends (*cough* Sunny) could have done this. It had to be the same “Something” attached both to him and Sunny that decided to ruin the photos. Basil doesn’t seem to remember doing anything to the album at all.

We could say all of this isn’t psychosis but metaphors for extreme denial instead, like the way Sunny decides things that remind him of The Truth don’t exist (like the closet door).

I don’t think this is all there is to it, tho.

Basil throughout the game tries to guide Sunny to the truth both in Headspace and that the time in his bathroom where he tries to talk to Sunny about the Something following them. Too afraid to hear him out, Sunny runs away instead while Basil screams for Sunny not to leave him again.

This shows imo that Basil’s brand of denial isn’t the same as Sunny’s. Sunny escapes into his own head and pretends everything involving the incident is either perpetually frozen in a time before anything bad happened or that it simply does not exist. He’s all about repression and suppression.

Basil on the other hand, acknowledges that the incident happened but he saw a Something committing the act instead of Sunny himself.

Then, the final battle against Basil confirms to me that Basil’s delusions and hallucinations go beyond denial of Sunny’s guilt.

Even when the truth is finally out in the open for the both of them, Basil still insists it’s “Something” that did everything. He attacks Sunny because he genuinely believes he is attacking Something evil and that this will protect Sunny from it. The most important detail to me: Basil slashes or gouges Sunny’s eye out specifically on the side where Somethings eye peeks out from Mari’s hair.

Saddest of all, we’re never shown if Basil ever managed to realize that there was never a monster doing everything. Although we are shown the burden of the secret is gone in that last scene between Sunny and Basil, we don’t know if Basil ever understood that Sunny wasn’t forced by any monster to kill Mari.

There’s more that can be said but this post already got long af lol. My conclusion is that Basil isn’t some evil yandere mastermind. He’s a sad wreck of a teenager who’s always struggled with mental illness, trying to do the best he can for those he loves while being plagued by nearly constant delusions and hallucinations.

Tricking his best friend/love interest isn’t part of Basil’s modus operandi when a lot of times he can barely tell what’s real and what isn’t.

[omorimewo]

How do you think the group reacted seeing the aftermath of the...fight? I'm not sure if I can say the spoilers

Hey there :) I’m gonna tag this for spoilers. I’ve actually been thinking about this so much, I think I’m gonna write it into a fully-fledged fic. I’ll make sure to link it on here! But here are a couple headcanons I have for it meanwhile!

I think Sunny is so apologetic and heartbroken from everything that’s happened, that their first instinct is to just hug him

At least, that’s the case for Kel and Aubrey

Hero can’t move 

Once the information really starts to process, they’re all in complete shock

More than anything, Aubrey feels horrible for Sunny and Basil and wants to be there for them

She knows how it feels to fuck up and almost hurt someone you care about

She just got lucky that, when she pushed Basil into the lake, the consequences weren’t irreparable 

She can only imagine the guilt and trauma that her two friends are feeling and all she wants to do is make up for the time that she had abandoned them

Although things don’t fully go back to normal between Sunny, Basil, and Aubrey, it’s clear that they still all care a lot about each other

Aubrey starts saying hi to Basil at school and telling everyone to stop bullying him or else they’ll have to go through her

Slowly but surely, she starts inviting Basil to hang out with her group and with Kel

As for her relationship with Sunny, they don’t keep in close touch daily but see each other often when Sunny visits Faraway Town

It doesn’t take long for them to become friends again

Kel also feels sympathy for Sunny and Basil, but feels really betrayed for being lied to

He thought that these were people he could trust and who understood all the pain he had been going through the last few years

He was so happy that they had all gotten close again, only for it to end in this betrayal

Similar to Aubrey, he would ultimately forgive them since he knows he has to be there for them in order to be friends again

He doesn’t want them to abandon each other

But he’s also really sensitive to Hero, who is absolutely heartbroken

I think Hero takes it the worst, at least at first

Hero loved Mari so much, he was convinced he was gonna marry her

When she died, it was like his world came crashing down. He had no sense of direction because so much of his life was planned around his future with Mari

When he first hears the news, he feels like he needs to get away and leaves the room to compose himself

It feels like the wound that he’d been attempting to heal for four years just reopened and became even deeper

It takes him a while to come back to the room. He needs to calm down and breath since it feels like his world got destroyed again

At first he’s so mad at Sunny and Basil that he’s convinced he won’t hold back punching them if he goes back in there

He’s literally shaking with anger and he’s scared he won’t be able to control himself

He doesn’t understand how someone could do that to his Mari, and he feels like the rest of the group doesn’t understand because they didn’t love her nearly as much as he does

But after Kel comes to get him a while later and calms him down, he realizes it’s just not true

And he also realizes that what Sunny and Basil did was nothing more than an accident, a mistake that anyone could make at the age of 12 

He remembers what he said the night before when they were sleeping over at Basil’s house-- that abandoning each other was the worst thing they could have done after Mari died, and that they couldn’t do it again

He realizes that, as hurt as he is, he still feels that way

He also remembers how much Mari adored Sunny, and because of that how much he himself adored Sunny

Sunny was probably in the most pain right now, knowing that he was the cause for his sister’s death

And Basil was hurt too, constantly regretting a mistake that he made as a complete child 

After wiping away his tears, he and Kel go back inside and decide to make amends the best they can

By no means does the dynamic go back to normal though

They forgive Sunny and Basil, but letting it go is too painful to do right away

Especially after Sunny moves and the distance between him and everyone increases again

Sunny and Basil keep in close contact, talking almost every day since they’re basically the only people who can understand one another

Sunny’s relationship with Kel and Aubrey improves each time he’s able to come back and visit Faraway Town, since seeing each other in person almost feels like old times again

After a few times of seeing each other, Kel and Aubrey have forgiven Sunny and Basil (but haven’t forgotten)

The relationship could never go back to how it was, but they still care about each other so much and want to protect each other from all the pain they’ve been carrying for four years

Hero is the hardest to get close to again, especially because he is home so rarely

Sunny makes a point of visiting town whenever Hero comes home from college, but even then there’s a distance

Hero tries to force himself to make it go away, since he knows how much Mari would have wanted him to take care of Sunny

But it definitely takes time

Sunny ends up willing himself to call Hero one day while he’s at college and the two talk on the phone for hours about everything they’d gone through

After this, their relationship improves significantly

Hero realizes that Sunny is all that is left of Mari and that they need to be there for each other in order to move on from this trauma 

[peppermintbee]

OMORI has poor writing (Part 1)

OMORI stans, just block the #omori hate tag now because I’m going to use it to vent my frustrations with this game. If you love this game, I am not going to try to convince you otherwise. I am glad you enjoyed it so much. I am glad it means a lot to you. I’m not here to take that away from you. I honestly wish I felt the same way!

However, if you are like me and finished the game feeling disappointed, underwhelmed, and maybe a little frustrated, then I am here to say you are not alone. OMORI--while having the right set pieces for an interesting game--is a narrative mess.

I’m splitting this into two posts. This first post is about problems with the plot. The second is about problems with the message/moral. 

(Note: I use “OMORI” in all-caps for the game title, and “Omori” in title case for the character name.)

Spoilers and criticism below.

Part 1: Plot Writing Lies

There’s a book by Brian McDonald called Invisible Ink which is about how to write a compelling story (you can read this great book online for free here). There’s an explanation of the writing “lie” that I find myself frequently thinking of. A “lie” in this context does not mean something is literally untrue, it means something FEELS untrue, unrealistic, improbable, or unlikely. For example, if a character gets shot in the leg but manages to do parkour, this is a “lie” since it seems unrealistic for that to happen. If a character witnesses their beloved parent’s death and shrugs it off, it’s a “lie” because that reaction seems highly unlikely.

In OMORI, the plot is held together by multiple little lies that--try as I might--I just couldn’t bring myself to believe.

1. Sunny’s friends care about him, and vice versa

A major theme of the game is how friendship can overcome any obstacle. Friendship gets Sunny over his fear of heights, spiders, and water. Friendship is what Sunny remembers before the final boss fight, and allows him to face his guilt and defeat it (and prevent him from committing suicide). With the photobook and dialogue you are reminded over and over and over and over and over again that Sunny’s friends love him unconditionally.

However, I just couldn’t bring myself to believe it. The childhood memories are cute but shallow, boiling down to simply hanging out and eating treats. Plus, Kel and Aubrey fight constantly, with Aubrey even physically hitting Kel when he steps out of line. Hero and Mari behave more like babysitters than true friends to the younger kids. 

But at least the other kids interact with each other. Sunny, on the other hand, showed nearly no affection or consideration towards his friends. He floats through the memories like a ghost--he could have been completely absent from all the photos and it would have made little difference. I was ready to accept this as Sunny being an unreliable narrator and not thinking he was a good enough for his friends, but this never contradicted. Instead we are given even more memories where Sunny just silently exists there being “cute.”

[Sunny enriching the lives of his friends by LARPING as a cat.]

Because of the lack of meaningful interactions between them, there was nothing in the game that made me think that these 12-15 year olds would have a strong enough bond that would survive 3-4 years of no contact after finding their friend hanged. In fact, that discovery only drove them farther apart. The only person who I could believe actually had a close bond was Basil, who almost literally filled that trope of being the friend who would help you bury a body (or in this case, help Sunny cover up the accidental manslaughter).

The writing fix for this would be simple: instead of showing us the same boring birthday and beach scenes over again, give the kids memories of overcoming some age-appropriate adversity together: heartbreak over an unrequited crush, anxiety over homework, sports injury, lost dogs, divorced parents, running away from home, bullying, etc. Set a precedent of the friends supporting each other through good times AND bad times. Without such backstory, Sunny’s friendships allegedly giving him the courage to overcome his guilt feels like a lie.

2. Sunny abandoning Basil in the bathroom scene

One of the most confusing moments in the game was Sunny’s negligence when Basil has his first breakdown in his bathroom. This part of the game is player-controlled, which is a strange writing decision because all you can do is click on Basil and various bathroom amenities over and over which completely saps the urgency out of the scene. When you try to leave, Basil begs Sunny to stay, but (due to a lack of player options) Sunny walks out without a word. With no option to talk to him OR get help for him, it makes Sunny seem exceptionally cruel to Basil. In fact, I was starting to wonder if the game was setting up for some sort of twist that Sunny DIDN’T care about his friends, which would fix some of the confusion in point #1. However, as we know, that is not the case. Therefore, Sunny’s negligence/apathy towards Basil’s pain feels like a lie.

The writing fix would be to make it MORE clear that Sunny is intentionally running away from Basil. Make it a cutscene, or, give a false choice such as “Leave Basil? Yes / Yes”. After Sunny leaves, Kel should make some remark about Sunny looking odd, “You look sort of shaken up, is there something you want to tell me?” then hit it home with Sunny shaking his head. This would make it more clear that Sunny is intentionally hiding Basil’s state, as opposed to just being a bad friend. As it stands, it just felt like a writing mistake.

3. Basil and Sunny working together to stage Mari’s death as a suicide

This is the plot hole that I see the most complaints over, but it’s so big I have to address it. Accidentally pushing Mari down the stairs I understand, but the rest is too absurd. Below are some of the “lies” that the writing tries to get away with:

That Sunny and Basil wouldn’t just claim she slipped and fell.

That either boy would even come up with this sick plan.

That they wouldn’t back out of this idea during the multi-step process (carrying her downstairs, outside, getting the jump rope, tying a noose, putting it around her neck, stringing her up, hiding the evidence... This is a series of multiple decisions, not one quick accident like the initial push.)

That it’s not the image of Mari’s death that traumatized Sunny, but the image of what they chose to do to her body that traumatized them. I understand the image of Mari hanging is more dramatic, but they literally did it themselves so why is that more haunting than Sunny killing her?

That Mari’s true cause of death wouldn’t be immediately obvious to the parents, the police, the friends, EVERYONE. (I’ve seen fans try to get rid of this plot hole by hypothesizing that the parents knew and covered it up, but the evidence of this is circumstantial at best. The father saying, “You’re not my son,” is unreliable since it happens in Sunny’s headspace. Divorce is common after the death of a child, and, at the very least, Sunny’s mom doesn’t show any evidence of knowing what happened. The way it is written, only Sunny and Basil know the truth.)

The ridiculousness of this twist is so extreme that it completely broke any immersion I had left. Frankly, the reveal that the happy, loveable Mari committed suicide is a far heavier and more realistic twist than a crazy murder-cover-up story is.

Additionally, it seems like Basil was only written into this scene in order to make Sunny the true victim of what happened. After all, Sunny may have pushed her, but it was Basil who came up with the demented cover up. (This is apparent from just the photos but the datamined Truth Album confirms it.) By having Basil come up with the plan, the game splits the guilt between the two of them to make the kids easier to sympathize with. It’s problematic because if Basil was not in the scene, there would be no way to justify what Sunny did to Mari. So why is what they did easier to accept when they worked together?

Fixing the writing lie: Sunny lies and says that Mari slipped. Remove Basil from the scene, and instead have Sunny confide in Basil which forces Basil to become a co-conspirator and burdens him with the terrible truth.

4. Sunny’s friends forgiving him and Basil for what they did to Mari

Last but not least, the story heavily implies that Hero, Kel, and Aubrey will forgive Basil and Sunny for what they did to Mari. I found this to be almost as unbelievable as the staged-suicide stunt.

It feels like a lie since the group’s friendship is never established as anything beyond shallow hang outs from 3+ years ago (see point #1).

It feels like a lie because this is hot off the heels of Aubrey being so distraught over Mari and the following fall out that in the last three days she 1.) attacked Sunny and Kel with a nail bat TWICE, 2.) Stole Basil’s photobook, and 3.) Shoved Basil in the lake. This trauma is still very fresh for her.

It feels like a lie because the complexity of the staged-suicide is so extreme, one would be hard pressed to forgive ANYONE for doing that, be it friend, foe, parent, sibling, lover, etc.

I’ve seen fans argue that the ending is not about forgiveness, it’s about telling the truth, and I want to believe that. Really. If the ending was about Sunny starting his redemption arc by telling the truth no matter what the consequences are, that would be a meaningful lesson. But the writing does not support that. The ending headspace segments are focused on assuring Sunny that his friends will support/forgive him no matter what. To do this, the game shows us the shallow photobook memories (again) to show how much they allegedly care about each other. Then, when fighting Omori, Sunny remembers these quotes from his friends, which directly correlate to their unconditional support:

KEL: Friends... Friends are supposed to be there for each other.

AUBREY: I hope you can find some peace... or you know... some happiness.

HERO: We made the mistake of leaving each other when we needed each other the most. This time... we’ll stay together.

BASIL: Maybe one day... things can go back to the way they were before.

The really direct evidence that this ending is about getting forgiveness is this quote from Basil in Sunny’s headspace:

[BASIL: “AUBREY, KEL and HERO are good friends. You have to trust that they’ll forgive us.”]

This is one of the last scenes before Sunny tells his friends the truth, proving that obtaining forgiveness from his FRIENDS is in fact the leading motivation for Sunny’s actions.

Fixing this writing lie is easy. Instead, adjust the writing to be about telling the truth, not about how much the friends will still love Sunny. Have headspace Basil say, “Even if they don’t forgive us, Aubrey, Kel, and Hero deserve to know the truth. It’s the only way to make things right... or close to it.”

Conclusion

OMORI is undeniably a cute game with a strong visual identity, and has a premise that could make for a very compelling experience. However, the sloppy plot and weak character writing cause the potential of this game to be squandered. There are other issues as well that I chose not to cover for the sake of time, such as the poor pacing of the dragged out dungeons and the bizarre, unrealistic behavior of characters in the “real” world. 

However, there are a few more glaring problems with OMORI that I have to address: In part 2 of my critique, I break down what may be the biggest problem with OMORI’s writing: the message.

[ Link to Part 2: OMORI’s Message is Mishandled and Distasteful ]

[goodlucktai]

Prompt 33 just screams protective nishimura so could you write that please and thankyou 🌸

PROMPTS LIST

33. “Are you SURE I can’t punch him in the face?” “Yes.” “What if I just break his nose a little?”

i got several requests for this one, specifically with nishimura (and a few, even more specifically, with nishinatsu). you guys really know my brand 😌🌼

x

Kitamoto warned him, but Tanuma was still unprepared.

He's got one arm looped around Natsume's shoulders, something that happened almost entirely involuntarily, and the other is clutching Nyanko-sensei against his chest because the cat's ears are lying back and his claws are pricking through Tanuma's sleeve in an alarming way.

This leaves no hands free to corral Nishimura, and Tanuma thinks he's going to need about three more to do that anyway.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Nishimura is raging, too loud, attracting eyes from all directions. "Who the-- who do you-- who are you? The prime minister? Is this your private property? Do you own this park?"

The unfamiliar boy they bumped into is nearly a head taller than Nishimura but he seems almost cowed by him-- appropriately so, Tanuma thinks fairly, because if he were on the receiving end of this tirade, in a public space, he probably would have started crying by now. An honest assessment.

"I'm asking who you are," Nishimura all but shouts, when the boy in front of him takes more than one second to respond. "What is your name? Do you have an identity?"

"I'm-- my name is Yoshida. I know the fr-- the guy behind you. We were classmates. That's all."

"Oh, is that all," Nishimura says. It's clearly not all.

Yoshida's eyes flick past Nishimura, just for a second, but it's enough to make Natsume twitch. Tanuma doesn't miss it, since Natsume is still tucked snugly beneath his arm. Nishimura doesn't miss it either, because Nishimura is in this heightened state of pissed off that Tanuma has never witnessed before.

He snaps his fingers, says, "What's wrong with you? Don't you know it's rude not to look at someone when they're talking to you?"

It's amazing he doesn't choke on that piece of hypocrisy.

"So you used to know Natsume or whatever, and somehow, in your mind, that translates to... literally attacking him out of nowhere?"

"Nishimura," Natsume says. It's the tone of someone burdened with an impossible task, like stopping a runaway train before it crashes with nothing but his bare hands and hopeful intentions. "He didn't attack me."

Nishimura whirls around and points at him (rudely). "You be quiet! He attacked you!"

"He pushed me. I fell down. That's not an attack."

"That's literally assault! That's-- " He pats at his pockets, clearly looking for the cellphone that he shoved into Tanuma's bag two hours ago, after it died taking roughly one million pictures of the cat at the train station. "Tanuma, Google the Penal Code!"

"I'm not going to do that," Tanuma says gently.

Kitamoto did warn him. He wanted to stay home with his dad this weekend, and urged them to go visit Yuuki without him, but the second the others were distracted, he snagged Tanuma by the sleeve and drew him aside.

"I won't be there, so if something happens, it's up to you," he said. His tone was so serious and grave that for a second Tanuma thought they were talking about the yokai situation and he had absolutely no idea how to process that. And then Kitamoto added, "Nishimura tends to go off the rails a bit when someone's mean to one of his friends. I mean, you've seen it. I just really don't want my best friend getting arrested for disturbing the peace while I'm not around."

So, that was a warning. Looking back, Tanuma should have taken it to heart.

Nishimura is Tanuma's smallest friend, an inch or so shorter than Taki now, but only in stature. If he were as big as all his caring, he would tower over cities. He's right now shouting down someone much larger than he is, without an ounce of sense or self-preservation.

This is the same boy who steals out of Natsume's bento at lunch, and makes faces behind Tsuji's back when he's lecturing them about passing notes during class, and gets into heated arguments with Isamu over the TV Guide literally every time they have a sleepover at Taki's house.

And it's the same boy who taught Natsume how to swim, one sunny August day almost two years ago now, at the river because Natsume was afraid to go into the pool. The same boy who has coaxed Tanuma through more than one panic attack, his hands a familiar shape around Tanuma's own at this point.

His caring is loud, Tanuma thinks. Even when it's quiet.

A few passersby have stopped, lingering nearby like they're going to get involved, and clearly it's making Yoshida feel outnumbered. The fight went out of him about three seconds after Nishimura started yelling in the first place, so all the rest of it has maybe been a bit overkill.

"So, is he just going to keep going? Like, until he runs out of breath?" Yoshida's friend asks.

She's been standing quietly to one side this entire time. Her face had folded with disapproval when Yoshida initially pushed Natsume down, but no one had a second to get a word in edgewise before Nishimura exploded about it, and now she simply looks as though this is the best punishment for her friend that she could have hoped for.

"Um, probably," Natsume says. He's unfamiliar with her, but she smiles at him.

"I only transferred here last year," she says. "And I don't listen to gossip. And anyway, with friends like these, those rumors about you couldn't possibly be true."

Her whole demeanor is calm and self-assured. She reminds Tanuma of Tsuji, and similarly, Natsume's guard seems to relent. He smiles back at her.

This leaves Tanuma free to step away without feeling as though he's abandoning him. With Nyanko-sensei in the crook of his arm, he reaches out and draws Nishimura back by the hood of his jacket, the way he's seen Taki and Kitamoto do one hundred times a day since they were fourteen.

Nishimura squawks in outrage, and struggles against Tanuma's grip, but... well, he's little. And Tanuma has been back in karate for the past year, give or take, so his core strength is fairly solid. It only takes a small amount of effort to reel Nishimura back and tuck him under his arm.

This is better. He feels his heart start to settle. Right here, Nishimura can't fly off the handle any more than he already has, and Tanuma can keep him from getting hurt.

“Are you sure I can’t punch him in the face?” Nishimura seethes. 

“Yes,” Natsume says quickly.

“What if I just break his nose a little?”

“Satchan,” Tanuma tries, and that, at least, gets Nishimura to stew quietly for a moment instead. “You’ve made your point. I’m sure Yashido is sorry.”

"He is very sorry," Yoshida's friend says peacefully. "He'll be especially sorry once I tell his mom that her only son acted like a stupid bully. Let's go, Hiroo, before you get beat up."

She bows politely, and then carts Yoshida away. Yoshida, if anything, looks relieved to have an out, and retreats without so much as a backwards glance.

"Ugh," Nishimura says. He isn't even winded. "Ugh! Just wait till I tell Kitamoto about that creep! He'll wish he'd been here!"

Kitamoto, who is basically a modern-day prophet, will definitely wish he had been here, though not for the same reasons Nishimura seems to be thinking of. Tanuma needs to reevaluate a lot of the conversations they've had in the past. How many times has Kitamoto said something like "they almost called the cops on us" totally offhand and actually meant it?

"You're insane," Natsume says the second they're alone again. There's a mark on his cheek from where he hit the ground that will be a bruise tomorrow. When their friends see that, they'll all be quick to side with Nishimura over this, so it's important that they get as much scolding in now as possible. "I don't want you picking fights like that, okay? What if it had gone differently, and he'd hit you or something?"

"Good," Nishimura says hotly. "Then our faces would match."

This remark disarms Natsume completely, and his expression turns warm and affectionate. Nyanko-sensei makes a noise that is almost a laugh. His eyes are slitted in something like approval. Kitamoto's warning of "it's up to you" rings loudly in Tanuma's ears. Okay.

He gives Nishimura a gentle shake with the arm still curled around his shoulders, and stands firm when Nishimura looks up at him.

Or, well. Almost stands firm. He does try. He'll tell Kitamoto he tried.

"Come to karate with me next week," he says. "If you're going to pick fights with people twice your size, at least be able to back it up."

Nishimura's face lights up. If he hadn’t been there to see it for himself, Tanuma never would have guessed what he'd been doing one minute ago. This is the boy who dozes off on Natsume’s shoulder during long train rides, who complains about Nyanko-sensei stealing his food but still slips him treats beneath the table anyway, who is delighted just by the idea of spending extra time with Tanuma after school.

"Definitely! No take-backs!" he announces, thrilled. "Just wait till I tell Acchan!"

Natsume gives Tanuma a sympathetic look. Tanuma decides then and there that the next time Kitamoto stays home, he's staying home, too.

[sumsebien]

Idk if you take requests but could you do an imagine with matthias? I dont really have much of an idea but maybe much like the show. I thought him and nina were adorable and the reader is an inferni or maybe a heartrender? I’m not sure. I just want to see a story with the progression shown in the show. I thought the scene where they were messing with each other and then he saved nina was so flipping cute.

hi! so i tried writing this 🥲i actually got great ideas for it but i’m getting a bad case of writer’s block. so for now, here are the headcanons for it. i’ll come back to writing it when i feel like myself again 🥺

i put my own spin to this. i hope it’s alright 🥲

(also yall, i am thinking about doing a blurb night aka a night of just writing short requests. should i do it???)

So I was thinking what if that day, Fedyor had brought Matthias back as captive???

And he was getting beaten up while being dragged through the camps to his cells when you saw him.

The soldiers were throwing rocks, shoving Matthias around.

And he couldn’t fight back because he was unconscious from before.

You stepped in like the badass you were.

“What are you doing?”

“Fighting for our country, darling. So one day, I may come home to you,” one of them said.

The rest began laughing, praising their friend for the “smart” comeback.

Yeah, they ain’t laughing for long though.

You threw a punch, knocking the soldier to the ground.

No one could have another word.

Then, you brought Matthias back to your tent to heal him.

Even though you knew fully well how Aleksander would react once he found out.

And he did just before you finished healing him.

You were immediately summoned to his tent where you saw the soldier from before again.

His nose was badly bent, positively broken from the blow.

You were proud.

When he saw you, he tried to lie, “That’s her! There she is, sir! The traitor! She pushed me.”

You snickered.

Coward.

Aleksander was having none of it.

You were his trusted Healer and he was not about to stand there and have this idiot slander you.

“Miss Y/N Y/L/N is a Healer, my Healer. So, I would suggest you watch your tongue.”

The soldier shut up

“Is it true? Did you-push him?” he asked, eyebrow raised.

“No. I punched him.”

Now it’s important to note that Aleksander had always had a soft spot for you.

He was almost a brother to you, swore to protect you and all.

So for your punishment, you got a warning.

Of course that was before he found out that the rumors were true.

About you saving a Drüskelle.

He ran a hand down his face. “Why?”

“Because! They were bullying him. He was already in handcuffs in transit to his cell. Don’t you care that your prisoner-”

“Are you so naive to believe that if he had the chance, he wouldn’t hang you on a pyre and burn you alive?”

“He was unconscious! He couldn’t have-“

It pained him, almost, to look at you and hear all these words you were saying right now.

“I didn’t want to do this,” he said, shaking his head. “Ivan, make sure Y/N doesn’t leave her tent.”

“You want to lock me up?”

“I can’t have you in danger.”

You were brought back to your tent.

But of course you had no plans on staying still.

Not until you had finished healing him.

When Ivan was distracted by Fedyor at dinner time, you sneaked out to the makeshift prison, the keys in your hand.

You found your heart beating twice as fast when you got there, sneaking in and essentially putting yourself in the same room as a Drüskelle.

There, you found Matthias on a bed of straws in the far back, slumped against the moldy walls.

Even in the horrible lighting, he was still gorgeous.

You slowly made your way over before crouching down by his side.

He was asleep, chest moving up and down with each breath he took.

You quickly healed the bruises by his cheeks, watching them fade underneath your fingertips.

And then after they had completely disappeared, you had to fight the urge not to caress his cheeks.

They looked so soft.

Almost kissable.

You finally ended your internal debate by brushing your thumb over his cheekbone.

You had fully expected him to still be asleep.

It had been a long day after all.

But his russet lashes fluttered open, revealing a pair of clear blue eyes.

You almost jumped out of your skin, falling back, slamming your hand against the cold floors.

If he jumped forward, he would be able to strangle you easily. And you’d be dead in minutes.

“I am not trying to hurt you! I swear!” you threw your hands up, keeping them apart. “i’m a healer!”

“Are you alright?” he asked, sitting up.

You were too shocked to be able to say anything. Instead, you blinked in silence, scanning his face. What?

Matthias thought you didn’t understand so he held up his chained hand and gestured to it with the other one.

“... I am okay.”

He grinned weakly, “Good.”

He had the most endearing lilt in his voice when he spoke. It scared you, almost. It was not your intention. You were here to heal him. Not swoon over him.

What was this madness?

He held out his hand, “Thank you.”

“What for?”

“For saving my life.”

You decided to take his hand in that moment, abandoning all the things Aleksander had taught you about Fjerdans.

“Matthias. My name’s Matthias Helvar,” he said, looking straight into your eyes.

His eyes were the color of the sky on a sunny summer day, the color of the calm True Sea.

“Y/N.”

He nodded, squeezing your hand gently before letting go and leaned back against the block of straws.

“So you don’t want to kill me...?” you asked after a pause.

He looked at you as if you just asked the oddest, stupidest question ever. “You saved me. Even though, I may not be alive for much longer. Thank you anyways. You should leave soon though. They’ll come looking.”

You looked at the entrance. The guards were too busy with their dinners right now to care about a prisoner.

Matthias had his face turned away into the shadows, his chained hand hanging limply on the ground.

He had accepted his fate as a prisoner in Ravka.

Death.

But you hadn’t accepted that.

You stuffed the key into the lock, your hands trembling as you watched it fall apart.

“Y-“

“Run!”

[yelenasdog]

school girl skirts and metallica (warren worthington x fem reader (kinda) nsfw head canons)

genre: lemón if u catch my drift. like nothing explicit tho

summary: warren’s a spicy (yet somehow shy) mf w a thing for skirts and tights. that’s literally it

words: 845

warnings: i am a minor, and if that makes u uncomfy, don’t read :), cursing, themes of warren being sub-ish?? very heavy implications of sex, hank being nosy, idk, just warren being a horny fucker, that’s it.

a/n: yeah uhhhh my blog was previously nsfw free, but this has been sitting in my drafts for awhile and i want it oUT. also i put the keep reading in a weird place so that ppl could ignore this if they wanted lols.  k enjoy mwah

⚔⚔⚔

to put it plainly, warren worthington has the hots for girls that wear short school girl skirts.

stop what ur doing and say that 10 times fast

u prolly couldn’t HA ok sorry for bullying u, back to warren

now, he found this out after beginning to attend xaviers, which has no dress code.

but for some reason

you enjoyed wearing this evergreen and navy colored skirt, rolled up. u paired it with a collared shirt, a jumper, and a worn leather jacket that went to your knees.

but what really got him, was the white knee highs you wore with your docs.

drove him absolutely crazy

so when he finally got the nerve to ask you out, he was ecstatic when you (obviously) said yes.

the two of you were known as a sort of punky couple around school

often found sitting together on sunny days underneath an oak tree, leather jackets abandoned in the heat.

the pair would share their earbuds, listening to metallica just loud enough that it would do no harm to your ears (for your sake, he couldn’t care less about his own)

after some time together, he simply couldn’t take it anymore.

it was another normal day, both of you sitting under your favorite spot, watching as the few students walked about, minding their business

it was sparse on the courtyard, though, as it was rather chilly that day, so most opted to stay in, comforted by the fire xavier always had on inside.

and warren’s mind immediately went to how you were still wearing that blessed skirt despite the weather, a pair of tights in addition to the high socks resting under the fabric.

he seemed on edge, which you picked up on immediately.

worried that maybe the cold had gotten to him, you placed a concerned hand on his neck.

“warr? are you alright?”

given his current state, at the brief contact, his large hand immediately formed a fist.

you moved the hand to run itself through his golden curls, and he nuzzled further into your palm.

you smiled sympathetically, allowing him to close his eyes, finding a momentary bliss in your warmth.

“what’s wrong, golden boy?” you barely whispered, hoping to ease whatever illness he might have been feeling.

he opened his eyes, tentatively moving his own hand to your thigh, snapping the elastic of your tights.

“i need’ya.” he muttered, closing his eyes again.

oh.

oh

you tilted your head, heart beating much faster now.

you ran your thumb across his stark cheekbone, feeling a shiver run down his spine, his wings also vibrating lowly.

“what was that, warr?”

he all but whined, “you’re driving me mad in that skirt, ‘s all i can think ‘bout.”

a wide smile spread across your features, still not completely sure where this was going, although you may have had an idea or two.

you can probably guess what happened next.

and no, you heathen

you didn’t do it right there.

did he want to?

oh, no doubt, that cheeky little bastard. (lmao) you had to basically pull him to his dorm.

once you did make it there, though

it was hot and heavy behind closed doors

he was a brat fs, but he was ur good boy or whateva

😳🗿🌝

anywayyy

when he finally, hehhem, ya know

does it

his wings spread out and scratch at the sheets, ripping them basically to shreds LOLS

after that, he has to get new ones every week after you, uh, visit

and of course some of the staff wonder why his door is often closed

and some even begin to notice how he always seems to be visited by you each week with a pack of new linen

(which was strictly for the reason that you get annoyed when ur foot gets stuck in the rips when cuddling, by the way)

and he hates making u upset

so he gives u the cash and u go buy them, as a compromise

(which also confuses the staff bc its a literal boarding school so everything u need is there, but you think it would be too suspicious to go and get new sheets every week at abt the same time)

buttttt back to the store

u would get the linen ofc but not w/ out coming back with some snacks and movies

which usually would lead to needing more sheets AGAIN (if u catch my drift rejkbgr)

but anywho

nobody ever says anything

xavier doesn’t even begin to pick up on it, that poor man

hank kinda thinks something fishy is going on, but chooses to ignore it completely

avoiding any convo of that nature at all costs

(but he does make sure to loudly tell charles about how important it is for the youth to practice safe sex when he sees the two of you near, much to charles’ confusion.)

not to mention relentless teasing from jubilee, who told jean, who then of course told scott, leading to being teased by all of them!

(minus peter, he would just occasionally nudge warren on the shoulder and smirk, but that was it)

but in the end, nothing could put a damper on the relationship of you two, truly.

he loved you (not that he would say it yet)

and you loved him (ditto! fun!)

but let’s be real here

the real savior of your relationship? the real matchmaker, if u will?

that damned school girl skirt.

[politicaltheatre]

A Perfect Storm

Wednesday, February 17th, 2021 was a big day in the history of so-called “conservative” America. It may not be a day they want to remember.

It started with the long overdue demolition of Donald Trump’s long since failed and abandoned Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, as perfect an emblem of him and his presidency as could be found anywhere.

It was a poor investment paid for with other people’s money. Poorly run, it ran up huge debts and a seemingly endless list of unpaid contractors and vendors before finally going out of business, dragging down the economy around it and costing taxpayers millions. It leaves behind a pile of rubble, poor air quality, unpaid bills, bitter memories, and the utter lack of accountability that led to all of it.

Later that morning came news of the death of Rush Limbaugh, a talk radio “personality” who perfectly embodied everything toxic in our culture and everything corrupt in our politics. He was a bully - a bully’s bully, in fact - one who made a mountain of cash filling America’s airwaves with racist, sexist, fear mongering bile.

He succeeded for the same reason any bully succeeds: he appealed to short term thinking, offering people looking for an excuse not to have to be accountable to others an excuse and people looking for justification to hurt others that justification. In doing this, by offering victims to pick on and humiliate, he made people who felt bad about themselves laugh and maybe even forget why they felt so bad about themselves in the first place, the powerlessness and loneliness that we all feel when things have gone wrong.

Back in his formative years, his childish behavior might well have been waved away as “looking for attention”, “boys being boys”, or “locker room talk”, but those were just excuses, as much for those saying them as they would have been for him. It would have been easier that way, for them. The price paid for that is something so much worse, a full grown man not only acting like a spoiled, bullying child but preaching it as a virtue, as what it is to be a man.

The one thing to understand about Limbaugh is that he loved it. He loved it. He knew what he was doing and he knew that his actions hurt people. He loved the sense of power that hurting people gave him. He loved that he could do that and get away with it and make millions. And, god, did he love that so many people loved him for it. He loved every minute of it and he was a monster.

He may be gone, but like Trump’s boondoggle in Atlantic City his effect on our lives will long outlive him, and in the long term it will cost those who placed their faith in him as much as it cost everyone he scapegoated on his way to the bank.

The afternoon of the 17th brought more, with Texas Governor Greg Abbott joining right wing scapegoaters filling Limbaugh’s sizable void by blaming statewide blackouts on “frozen wind turbines” and the Green New Deal. 

As anyone living in Texas knows, or should, the Texas power grid isn’t connected to the rest of the country and isn’t part of any Green New Deal. As Abbott’s own Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) helpfully pointed out, the loss of wind and solar power during the rare winter storm only accounted for about 13% of the lost power.

If a 13% loss of power is enough to blackout an entire state, that state is run by morons.

Abbott and one or two of his immediate predecessors notwithstanding, Texas isn’t run by morons. They have, however, made decades of mistakes that led to the problems they’re facing right now, from a failure to anticipate or prepare for winter storms, including insulating natural gas supplies and distribution, to the loss of power feeding gas and oil pumps, to Texas’ incompatibility with neighboring states’ power grids, to a culture in the state of corporate deregulation and lack of accountability going back well past the Enron scandal.

Abbott doesn’t want anyone talking about any of that, or the Enron-like price gouging now imported back home for use on Texans. Nor does his and Trump’s Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, whose praise of the dead Limbaugh betrays his all too recent, post-Trump public rehabilitation. These failures date back to Bush’s tenure in Texas and before. This was very much a crisis waiting to happen.

What makes it worse is that the warnings were there all along, from previous winter storms to decades of climate scientists making rational arguments none of those listening to the Trumps, Limbaughs, and Abbotts of this world want to hear. They want easy answers, and what’s easier than it being somebody else’s fault, somebody trying to tell people how to live their lives, somebody telling them they have to be accountable for their own mistakes.

Right now, as millions suffer through bitter cold without drinkable water either because their pipes burst or the utilities shut down output to try to prevent more damage, they’re all looking for somebody to fix it. If somebody else could pay for it, as well as those Shock Doctrine $17,000 energy bills, they would be very happy. In the absence of that, their short term thinking will gladly accept Abbott and friends’ scapegoating.

Maybe. Maybe not.

The good news is that a lot of Texans think Abbott’s claims were just as stupid as the rest of America did. The bad news is that Abbott’s performance was played as much for out of state audiences as his own. Knowing how he could do very little for Texans, and thinking about his own needs, Abbott played for a friendlier audience that might help him with his own future prospects out of office, which will come sooner than later.

Texas will recover, just as we all will from the pandemic, battered, exhausted, and hopefully with an understanding of what they need to change to make sure they don’t go through that again. Mistakes don’t have to be bad. They don’t have to fill us with shame. We can learn. We do. In truth, making mistakes is how our species has learned most of what now keeps us alive, and we’ll go on making more.

The Republican Party doesn’t look like it will learn those same lessons, at least, not easily and not any time soon. It is suffering its own perfect storm: personalities overwhelming reason and emotional maturity; decades of deregulation and failures to hold corporations accountable have left Americans paying for them both literally and figuratively; and a growing number of Americans are realizing, at long last, that a party representing the extremes of selfish behavior cannot and should not represent them.

Which brings us to last Wednesday’s final event, which was Texas Senator Ted Cruz flying his family to a luxury vacation in warm and sunny Cancun while many of his constituents suffered, froze, and died.

The memes may make us feel a little better for how little we know we can do for Texans right now, but they also point to a deep, systemic problem in both this country and the present day Republican Party, both of which Ted Cruz sadly represents. Like Trump, Limbaugh, Abbott, and the right wing social media industries they have fed with lies and scapegoating, Cruz is aggressively selfish, an extremist cloaked behind a term that hasn’t represented the Republican Party in generations: “conservative”.

To be conservative, properly conservative, is to be cautious. It is to avoid going too far, too fast in any direction. It is to protect what exists, and not merely because it represents where we came from but because we should not go forward blindly abandoning the safety of our society for the benefit of a few. This is important to us, as important as the ability to make and learn from mistakes, because it is part of the same process.

This Wednesday, February 24th, 2021, with Texas still struggling to recover from its literal and figurative storms, and the country having passed 500,000 mostly avoidable, confirmed deaths from Covid-19, the America Conservative Union will hold its annual conference, CPAC. Like its star attraction, Donald Trump, and those, like Abbott and Cruz, seeking its attendees’ approval, donations, and votes, it is “conservative” in name only.

If you tune in, you’ll hear a lot of speakers at CPAC eulogizing Rush Limbaugh for “popularizing conservative values”, for literally giving them a voice, but the values he preached and profited from were anything but conservative, not in any meaning of the word.

The themes of the conference will be those pushed by Rush Limbaugh in his life right up through those last, failing months: that the perfect world is one in which you need not be accountable to anyone but everyone must still be accountable to you; that the values that make America great, such as creating and exploiting imbalances of power and not having to give a damn about people weak enough to be struggling to survive a winter storm, should be shared openly and loudly and without shame; and that those beliefs are a god-given right that should be protected by any means, including violence, because to win is to be in a constant state of war.

You won’t hear talk of failure in any of these speeches, not of the failures in Texas, not of the failures in the White House or in Congress, not of failures in Covid deaths, not of failures that led to the attack on the Capitol and its police, and certainly not of failures in the 2020 election. That, you will be reminded again and again and again, was stolen. 

The closest they’ll get to it is talk of disloyalty and the scapegoating of representatives and senators who voted for Trump’s impeachment and conviction. Don’t worry, the hypocrisy of people decrying “cancel culture” urging people to cancel people disloyal to Trump will be completely lost on them.

That would be denial blending with bargaining and anger, cycling through them again and again and again. Like a movie studio, they will attempt to repeat the success of their surprise hit without understanding why it actually succeeded, going for the big and loud bits, with failure after failure after failure only making them try harder the same way. They can’t learn if they can’t see the mistake.

No, the great irony of failure is how it can often stem from success. The right wing has succeeded over the past half century in pulling this country into its toxic, increasingly unsustainable world view.

Industries that once held memories of the dangers of instability and speculation now once again function around denying those dangers. Politicians who courted fascism and white supremacists were once shamed and ostracized by those who remembered fighting against them, but now they flaunt their support openly because those have become their most rabid fans and campaign donors. Fear mongers and grifters, once expelled for their crimes to wander the political wilderness, have now won so many elections under the Republican banner that it’s hard to remember when they weren’t its brand.

Is this merely a return to form? A week ago, a group of anti-Trump Republicans, some who have left the party and some who keep threatening to, got together to discuss the possibility of starting a rival party for disaffected political moderates. Don’t hold your breath.

This isn’t a new discussion. They come back every few years to blow off steam and then do nothing. This time, they seemed more concerned with coming up with a good party name than anything else. Perhaps they’re waiting for more than a few thousand voters to leave the Republican Party to make theirs viable. They can’t count on Democrats leaving theirs, not when they’ve finally gotten Congress back and with such narrow margins. Such are the calculations of these honor-bound political moderates.

If they have any intention of reclaiming the Republican Party of their youth, they’ll have to start by trying to reclaim that word, “conservative”. To do that, they’ll have to acknowledge their complicity in allowing the right wing to gain so much power and influence in our country. They’ll also have to rid themselves of grifters and abusers of power, because to be properly conservative you must be neither.

Again, that’s unlikely. More likely is that they, like someone who has literally just lost power on a cold, winter night, will try to deny their newfound lack of power by finding someone else to blame, choosing to live in the fantasy of overcoming that scapegoat rather than the reality they face.

That’s certainly what Trump and Limbaugh’s fanbase at CPAC will be doing, huddled together in their auditorium, proudly not wearing masks, sharing crackpot conspiracy theories, and making fun of the same “liberal elites” and “socialists” now raising money and gathering supplies for the people of Texas.

And why not? It’s worked for them for years.

- Daniel Ward

[mchalowitz]

the woman is the king, part three

summary: a throughline of the matriarchal scullys; be they ethereal, sharp-witted, and ill-omened.

i’m very excited to finally share this! definitely the most difficult part to write so far and i hope everyone enjoys it!

part 1: melissa / part 2: dana

part 3: emily

read on ao3

@today-in-fic

———

Two years on, sometimes Scully believes she will be able to survive without her other. A forgotten voice travels from immortal nirvana to her brother’s residential line. She wonders if what she tells herself is true. 

1994; the lost year that exists between them. On an evening in March, returning from a field assignment with Mulder, Melissa leaves a message on her answering machine that Scully can still easily recite. 

Things are too hard right now, Dana. I’m safe, I’m with friends in California. I’ll call soon. I love you.

Dana would never have been the golden child. No one surpasses a squid, especially not a fed with some shifty assignment. A shifty fed fares better than a filthy sinner. Charlie wears excommunication with unsweetened pride. And Melissa, the silly new ager, well, she could take no more.

No one thrives at the center of a Scully family scandal. Scully tries to create a rational narrative. It is 1994. Melissa is pregnant; she doesn’t want the baby. She knows plenty of people on the west coast. It was believable. 

Her beloved sister, Dana, is abducted, and in the four weeks she is missing, Melissa gives birth, and the baby is adopted. Dana resurfaces in a hospital; left practically for dead. Her sister returns to stand vigil at her bedside. 

It becomes a question of mindset. Maggie believes Melissa would have told her; Dana disagrees. Subversion of expectations was the ultimate sin for a Scully child as it was a denouncement of the parenting of William and Margaret. She can attest to her mother’s softening on certain expectations since the death of her father. She still disagrees. 

No time for sulking, only pushing through. Working the case through Christmas clearly infuriates Bill. He keeps it to hushed whispers and snide remarks out of Tara’s earshot. Scully often wonders how privy Tara is to anything going on in the Scully family. 

Her infertility stings when she looks at her sister-in-law. With her cancer now in remission, the other medicals horrors Scully faced start coming back to the surface. It is another slap; the thought that her sister gave away such a sweet little girl while she will never carry a child. 

Scully is a mother. She struggles to quantify what Emily is. 

Emily, a living and breathing child, with the face of a Scully, is a violation of her body that someone stole from her, and yet must be fiercely protected. Perhaps Emily is the missing piece. 

Scully hurriedly fills out the application for temporary custody. It consists of the normal, straightforward questions found on any application, until her hand is hovering over that box. Single or married. 

The only thing happening in sunny San Diego is a completely mundane family Christmas, as far as Mulder is aware. Her words froze during her singular phone call. It seems like reaching out now is more of a bombardment than a simple debrief.

Scully is not in a position to presuppose the enigmatic thoughts of Fox Mulder. Yes, it was by his own volition to marry her and she can even believe that Mulder does love her. It is a mutual respect and a fond devotion. It is not spousal love; not a man that loves his wife. 

If she checks the box, Mulder would have to be a father figure to Emily, and it is not her place to make that decision for him. Their marriage was playing house because she was destined to die and Emily does not deserve to be a flour-sack baby in their labyrinthian game. 

Her pen swipes across the paper. Single. 

--

Mulder starts with M. Mmm. Emily tells him so.

Emily leaves the crayons and paper to go to the bookshelf. Mulder is sitting in the chair by the window and she gives him the book. She points to the yellow bird on the cover.

“What’s his name?”

“I think that’s Big Bird,” Mulder tells her. 

Her Daddy only reads her one book at a time, Mulder reads her three. She goes to the bookshelf for more when Dana comes up close to her. “Emily, Mulder and I have to leave now, but we’ll come back tomorrow.” 

Emily looks at Mulder, holding the book, and he says, “I bet you can find a good spot to keep it safe.” 

She nods and sets the book against the bed, fixing it when it slides down. Dana and Mulder leave. A lady makes her pick up her crayons before dinner.

“I’m tired,” she insists, holding the lady’s hand on the way to eat. 

“First dinner, then bed, Emily.”

--

A duality develops in relation to another atrocity to her body. It is a swift punch to the throat; knocking the breath so deeply out of her lungs. It is also as mundane as adding milk to the shopping list; it is only another thing. 

Her brother’s phone line carries mysteries from one location to another. Landline abandoned, traveling well above the speed limit, Mulder drives toward the children’s home. 

“I could have handled it,” she asserts simply. 

“I know.”

Mulder, with his complexity of a hero, and innate ability to act so hoggish. Scully wonders if he really believes that. 

--

Her blanket at home is pink sparkles and has Barbie on the pillows. Emily doesn’t like her new blanket nearly as much. It’s just plain pink.

The lady from dinner tucks her in. “I met Mr. Potato Head,” Emily informs her. 

Emily doesn’t like the other kids in the new place, especially the boy that calls, “That’s not true! Mr. Potato Head isn’t real.” 

“Yes, he is!” she argues. She struggles to sit up with the blanket holding her back. “I met him and he looks like this!” She puffs out her cheeks, making the same face. 

“That must have been very exciting, Emily,” the lady adds softly, tucking her in again. 

The lights turn off. Emily closes her eyes. She feels cold. 

--

In the work Mulder does with Scully, it is often based more on speculation than he would ever like to admit to anyone. It disgusts him to know that if Emily were any other file in his cabinet, it would bring him joy to map out theories and spar with his partner over them. With the empty coffin staring back at them, Mulder can easily assume a thought is something neither of them want to enter their minds ever again. No hypothesizing to be done here. 

Following the funeral, the San Diego bureau fares slightly kinder than their city’s court system. Their California contact, while deeply apologetic for the tragedy that has occurred here, informs them the field office won’t be actively pursuing the case. Aside from following up on a few leads pertaining to the deaths of Roberta and Marshall Sim, it will likely be deemed a cold case. 

“I’m very sorry, Agent Scully,” the agent says, padding his final blow. Emily’s case will not be investigated either. Both Mulder and Scully understand the algorithm that goes into the decision of pursuing an investigation. If the case fell into the FBI mainstream, Emily’s chronic health issues, use of experimental treatments, and her parents’ full cognizance to the risks wouldn’t stand a chance against the process. 

And if there was anything to investigate, it has already been destroyed by powers far outside the reach of some dinky field office anyway. Whatever the reasoning may be, another Scully woman is still failed by the United States government. 

Scully wants the first flight out of San Diego back to Washington and he is more than quick to oblige her. While she very clearly loves the new addition to her family, the sting is just as obvious. 

Two hours down in the air, three more to go, and they have barely said a word to each other since take-off. Scully’s head is turned toward the window when he reaches for her hand. “Scully,” he speaks, very quietly. 

“No,” she responds with a shake of her head, her voice tight. 

Another long stretch of silence and Mulder thinks she maybe falls asleep, which would be a welcome cause for silence, because he isn’t convinced she’s slept more than an hour or two in days. He is about to request a blanket when her forehead presses into his shoulder and the contact reveals her body shaking with the exertion of holding everything inside yet again. 

It’s his fierce need to protect her always that causes him to envelope her body with his. Her arms wind tightly around his neck. Her attempts to muffle her sobs in his jacket is only partially successful. 

A flight attendant taps him on the shoulder and asks him, “Is everything alright?” 

“Everything’s fine,” Mulder blatantly lies. “But maybe we could get a glass of water for my wife.” 

It's a rare euphoria to speak those words; his wife. Dana Scully is his wife. A mostly unmentioned fact that gives him a childishly nervous feeling in his stomach. While it never retreated in his mind, it appears to be returning to the forefront of hers. 

In the winding process of applying for custody, a second application exists. Scully’s final plea to unite her with her own flesh and blood. Another document that states definitively that they are married. Mulder underwent a grilling from the judge; a practical bullying on the semantics of their marriage. 

One’s subconscious works powerfully, in his experience, and when he sat in this same position on Scully’s couch six months ago, the answer came to him so clearly. It wasn’t only for her benefit as a life experience that everyone should have the opportunity to have if they so choose; cancer only sped up the timeline of an inevitably. Mulder has never taken a mightier leap with her and she accepted. A singular score for Fox Mulder. 

It’s treated as though it never even existed; his presence in that way completely reverted. He wishes he had more of a chance to prove himself worthy. He wishes he was a less of pussy to actually do it. He will, he’s going to. If she is ever willing to forgive him for all of his transgressions. 

Mulder carried the knowledge of her ova and of what was likely (and now, very clearly) done with it with a heaviness that rivaled the many other weights he lugs around inside him. Scully’s hope for recovery was dwindling then and it was only another way to hurt her. 

It felt criminal to hijack her happiness when she went into remission and her bliss honestly fed his soul. Now, he only piles onto her pain. And if he was any kind of man, if he was someone deserving of someday being a person she would maybe, eventually, love for real, he would have been a lot fucking better. 

The flight attendant delivers a glass of water and a box of tissues on a plastic tray. He takes both and offers the glass to Scully. She scoots forward to the edge of her seat, her back straightened, and it reminds him of Bellefleur, and of that young agent in her red robe, and the fear of simple bug bites. It was the moment of cosmiticity bursting into existence between them. 

Scully sips water, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. His eyes never leave her for the rest of the flight. He drives her home under the glow of streetlights. 

“I can keep you company, if you want,” he offers after insisting he carry her suitcase inside for her. “Might even be able to catch a replay of the Rose Bowl if we’re lucky.”

“That won’t be necessary,” she replies. One hand holds the door and the other is braced on the frame; a universal sign to get lost told through her body language. “I’m going to take a few days. I already let Skinner know.” 

“I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she agrees. “Goodnight, Mulder.” 

“Goodnight, Scully.” 

Once the door is shut, he hears the lock click into place. It pains him to walk away. 

Mulder calls Scully in the morning as promised. He calls every morning after. It just rings and rings. 

--

No one is expecting her back in the office until Monday, but by Thursday it becomes increasingly clear that a return to normalcy is what she requires. Scully can only stare at California girls immortalized by ages in threes on her mantel for so long. 

She trades in her bathrobe for a beige skirt with matching jacket and she slugs down the last of a cup of coffee while she packs her briefcase. The landline rings in its cradle next to her hand. Her stockinged feet slide against the kitchen tile as she turns to answer.

“Hello?”

An unfamiliar female voice carries cheerily into her ear. “Hi there, this is Amanda over at Liberty Fertility Center. I’m looking for Fox Mulder?” 

"This is...” Scully starts, and then she pauses, staring up at the ceiling before answering with a restrained sigh. “This is his wife.” 

“I’m following up on a call we received from your husband earlier this week about a sample being stored at our facility and possible ova analysis. He left this as the call back number.” 

Scully clicks her tongue against her teeth, nodding slowly. She barely focuses on the conversation and when it ends, she retrieves the phone book, slamming it down on the table in place of her briefcase. She dials the first promising number in the correct category. 

Heat overtakes her melancholy. Scully is so, so tired of Mulder blanketing his wrongdoings under the guise of protecting her. It has always, ultimately, been her choice to walk alongside him; it was his choice to marry her. He still fills their partnership, their marriage, with secrets. He still withholds. 

She can only imagine what is being done to her ova sitting in some facility.  Mulder didn’t even have the decency to tell her any even remained.

Scully arrives at the office on Friday and Mulder is immersed in a sea of paperwork and photographs. It is only eight in the morning and he already has his jacket slung over the back of his chair, his sleeves rolled up over his forearms. 

“Hey, I wasn’t expecting you until Monday,” he grins with surprised delight. 

Mulder follows her with his eyes as she steps up to his desk. She leans down, kissing him soundly on the mouth, and she observes his dreamy stare when they part.

“I need my ova, Mulder,” she states. Scully pulls a business card out of her pocket; the law firm she called the morning before. “And I want a divorce.” 

[avengerscompound]

The Kittens

The Kittens: A Captain America Fanfic

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Word Count:  1085

Warnings:  fluff, some abandoned kittens.

Synopsis: On a morning walk through Central Park, Steve finds some kittens and then a woman who’s very protective of them.

A/N:  This was a birthday gift for @mewsiex.  The ending is open so that she could fill in what happens next herself.  I will not write more, do not ask me to.

The Kittens

Steve wandered through the park, ball cap pulled low so the brim touched on the aviators he’s wearing.  He hunched over trying to make himself look smaller, his hands shoved in the pockets of his jacket.  He knew that people were still going to recognize him, but hoped that maybe by making himself look closed off everyone would leave him alone.

Not that he minded his fans.  They meant well.  They were usually polite and complimentary.  It was just the concept of having them at all that made him feel other.  He was not just Steve Rogers anymore.  He was Captain America.  Captain America didn’t belong to himself, he belongs to everyone, and everyone wanted to have their part.  Sometimes he just wanted to be Steve.

Despite the way he might look he was actually enjoying the day.  It was warm and sunny.  His ‘close himself off technique’ meant people were looking but leaving him alone.  He was enjoying the sounds of the park.  The way it muted the noise of the traffic.  The birdlife chattering.  The people going about enjoying each other’s company.

When he left the tower this morning he had wanted space, now he sort of wished he had brought one of the others with him.  Maybe he could have grabbed a coffee with Clint, or fed some ducks with Nat.  Or maybe Bucky might have liked checking out the Zoo with him.  They could reminisce about when they were kids.

He was just considering stopping and getting a hot pretzel and a cold soda from the next vendor he saw when he heard the sounds of distressed mewing.  He cocked his head to the side and trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from.  He followed the sound to a shrub and dug out what appeared to be a seriously soiled pillowcase.  He slowly worked open the knot and pulled out two small, slightly emaciated kittens.  Their meowing increased in both volume and desperation.

That was when you appeared.  The sound of the kittens in distress calling you like a beacon.  When you saw the extremely large man holding the kittens and what looks like a sack and you saw red.  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”  You yelled completely lost in the fury you felt in the moment.

Steve looked up at you startled.  Also quite impressed.  It wasn’t often he saw someone so furious over an injustice that they’re willing to fight him.  He looked you over trying not to laugh as he remembered his youth spent trying to take on all the world’s bullies, even if he didn’t stand a chance against even one of them.  You reminded him of himself.  So much so that he half expected a young Bucky to step out of the shadows behind you to kick his ass in your place.

“I just found them like this, I swear.”  He said quickly, trying to calm you.  “I heard them meowing and found them in a bush in this bag.”

He watches as you visibly relax.  “People are assholes.  Worse than assholes.”  You grumbled crouching down to look the kittens over.  They were very young.  Too young to be away from their mother, but not too young that they’ll be doomed.  As long as you get them help.  There are a boy and a girl.  The boy is mostly white with gingers ears and a little ginger tail that even now sticks up in the air like a pyramid.  The girl is pitch black with bright green eyes.  “They need to see a vet.”

“Do you know where one is?”  He asked looking up at you and actually feeling completely helpless for the first time in a long time.

You pulled out your phone and did a quick google search.  “There’s one on Columbus Circle.  Come on.”  You said picking up the little black kitten and immediately marching off in the direction of Columbus Circle.  Steve blinked up at you, smiling at your tenacity.  He loved how you were just sure he’d come after you.  That he wasn’t about to leave the kitten here where he found it.  He got up off the ground, kitten held awkwardly in his large hand and he jogged up after you.

“You need to support his butt.”  You said as you walked along.

He adjusted how he was holding the baby so he now had both hands around it so it was almost just sitting in a large cup.  “You know a lot about cats?”

You nodded.  “I just really liked them.  I have two.”

The two of you talked as you walked, taking long, fast strides.  Talking about your cats and how you liked animals in general.  Then talking about yourself and what you did and where you were from.  The subject changed to him and it was just as you got to the vet you realized that you had been talking to Captain America the whole time.  He noticed the point where you realized but you didn’t make a big deal just kept talking like he was anyone else.  In that moment he wanted to hug you and thank you for just treating him like a human being and not something to collect.

The vet looked the kittens over.  They were treated for dehydration and given wormers and flea treatments along with some vaccinations.  He then handed them over in a carrier box and Steve happily paid for heating pads, kitten milk replacer, kitten food, more worming tablets and a schedule for when they needed to come in again.  You went outside and Steve looked at you smiling.

“Do you need help taking this stuff home?”  He asked.

You blinked up at him.  “Oh… Oh, I can’t take them.  I’m only allowed to have two cats in my apartment.”  You explained.

Steve faltered for a moment.  “I don’t know anything about looking after kittens.”

“I can help you if you want.  Give you my number?  Come check on them until you get the hang of it?”  You offered.  “Or… or I know a shelter that might take them.”

Steve shook his head.  “No.  No, I’ll take them.  I’d be really grateful for your help though.  I think my friend would really like having some kittens around.”

Steve offered you his phone and you programmed your number in it and then the two of you set off to the tower, Steve feeling much lighter and more hopeful than when he set off this morning.