#or birds who seem to be able to teleport

[mechawolfie]

omg i completely forgot to consider how animals in my world use magic........

[peachdues]

Bundle of Joy -- Part 2

Here it is!

I was not expecting Bundle of Joy to get as much love as it did, so thank you all for your kind words! It's a long one.

Read Part One here and the Prequel One-Shot here

CW: blood, some NSFW-esque content, swearing, angry Sanemi, soft Sanemi. Description of birth.

Tag list: @animeblog123 @fujochann @bonten-boys @tom01ka @theawkwardblackbee @stuckinthewrongworld @harpy-space

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Sanemi had been pissed when his crow had swooped over his head two days earlier, the little cretin squawking at him to head “Head East! Head East!” To kill a demon that had managed to evade capture by lower-ranked slayers.

Whether it had been by luck or divine intervention, Sanemi had not had a mission for nearly the entirety of Y/N’s final month of pregnancy, and he had been elated to devote every second of his days to her and her needs, as their child’s arrival drew nearer.

Truthfully, the Wind Pillar had never known bliss quite like what he felt when he woke up each morning with Y/N tucked securely in his arms, his hands resting on the generous swell of her pregnant belly as he eagerly awaited the powerful kick of their child that signaled all was well. He had never before experienced the utter ecstasy of feeling the silky warmth of his lover’s skin as he trailed his lips down from her neck to her breasts, heavy and tender, as she fought to quiet the breathy moans and sighs that left her throat under the ministrations of his tongue on her sensitive nipples. And it had been pure heaven to wrap his lips around that small bundle of nerves resting at the apex of her delicious thighs, as he lapped greedily from her core that seemed to perpetually drip with her honey thanks to the excess of pregnancy hormones. 

And as much as he loved the intimate mornings with Y/N, he had never felt more peaceful than when he sat beside her on his engawa, her back leaning against his chest and his arms circled around her, as they both sipped tea and watched the sunset after he finished training for the day.

But all of that had come crashing to a screeching halt when his crow had brought him orders to dispense of some lowly demon that the piss-poor excuse of lower-ranked slayers couldn’t handle on their own. Pathetic.

As he prepared to leave, he pressed a soft kiss to the generous curve of Y/N’s heavily pregnant belly, before rising to kiss her once, twice on the lips, and again on her forehead, his lover reveling in his embrace.

“Don’t you have this kid until I’m back,” Sanemi had murmured against her lips, brushing his callused thumb over her cheeks.

Y/N rolled her eyes. “Because I can control that,” but she nestled her face deeper into his palm. “How ‘bout you get back here before I go into labor?”

“I’ll be back before you know it, gorgeous.” Sanemi winked at her, imparting her with a final kiss before disappearing in a swirl of wind.

-------------------------------------------------------

It had taken Sanemi a day and a half to track the demon into a swamp in the East. Sanemi had found its lair, littered with human bones, just as the demon rose from the brackish water, and lunged for him. The demon had not been particularly strong, but it was able to manipulate shadow, which is how Sanemi supposed it had managed to kill a large group of lower-ranked slayers. The familiar heat of the excitement of battle flooded his veins, as Sanemi – who had not had the opportunity to fight for nearly a month – relished the chance to let out some pent-up aggression.

The demon had tried to teleport itself between the shadows of the tree to attack Sanemi from behind, but he deftly avoided the demon’s claws, swinging his sworn clean through the demon’s arm. Sanemi grinned, enjoying the chance to toy with his prey.

“CAW!” the familiar screech of a crow sounded overhead, briefly startling both slayer and demon. “LABOR!” The crow cried; Sanemi only able to just make out the dark shape of the bird against the night sky. “GET TO KOCHO’S!”

Sanemi’s stomach flipped. Now? Y/N chose to go into labor now?

“Sorry, demon!” Sanemi’s gravelly voice boomed, a wide grin forming on his face as he swung his sword again, this time amputating the demon’s other arm as it howled in pain. “Gotta run! My girl’s havin’ my baby!”

Sanemi rammed his blade through the demon’s neck and wrenched it harshly to the side, the demon’s head falling with a pathetic thump! on the forest floor. Sheathing his weapon, Sanemi launched himself through the trees, using his wind breathing to gain momentum as he hurtled his way toward the Butterfly Mansion.

Sanemi arrived at Kocho’s estate in record time, having only taken a few hours to speed as fast as the wind could carry him, to get to Y/N’s side. When Sanemi arrived, the grounds of Kocho’s estate were abuzz as Kakushi and Butterfly Mansion girls darted around, gathering supplies. As he made his way inside the medical wing of the Mansion, he wondered whether some incident with a demon had occurred, given the urgency with which people moved.  

“Lady Kocho said she needs more towels and fresh water, quickly!” A tiny, pigtailed girl dressed in the Mansion’s sterile linens cried to another, her small arms full of bloodied towels.

Shit, Sanemi thought, his eyebrows rising. Nasty battle.

“Y/L/N-san must be bleeding a whole lot!” The other girl tearfully responded, her voice trembling.

The pig-tailed girl nodded. “If the baby doesn’t come soon…” The girl’s mouth kept moving, but Sanemi could hear nothing over the ringing in his ears.

There had not been a battle – it was Y/N. Sanemi whirled around, looking at the towels the girl carted away.

They were saturated in blood. Y/N’s blood.

Sanemi’s legs began moving of their own accord, his arm reaching out to snag the young girl by the back of her collar as she choked out a tiny, terrified scream.

“Where.” Was all he said, his arms shaking, eyes wild.

The girl gulped, lifting a trembling hand to point to her right, towards the back wing of the hospital. “The last room around the corner!” She squeaked.

Sanemi set her down and stormed towards the Eastern Wing of the Manor, not caring whom he barreled over in his haste.

You’d better be okay, Y/N. Sanemi thought, his fists balled as he willed himself to move faster. You and that baby had better be healthy.

--------------------------------------------------------

Sanemi Shinazugawa never believed himself to be a good person.

He could not possibly be good, because his life was marked by his failure when it had mattered most. He had been unable to protect his mother from becoming a demon, or from her killing almost all of his siblings. He had been unable to save Masachika. He had failed to prevent Genya from joining the Demon Slayer Corps, a veritable death sentence for most.

So it had been easy for him to withdraw, to shut himself off from everything – and everyone -- else. Sanemi could not fail anyone if he cared for nothing. People would still die, but it would not be because of his failures. He had been content to live his life, forever disconnected from the world around him.

But then, everything changed because he met her, and she became everything. 

Y/N had been the most precious surprise of his life. He had not paid her much mind as she had worked her way up through the Demon Slayer Corps, only really becoming familiar with her once she became Kinoe. He had been impressed by her skill, having not seen Lunar Breathing in action before the pair had been sent on a mission together, and she had used her eighth form – Lunar Eclipse – to shield him from the backlash of a demon’s attack. The move had cost her a rather deep gash to her side, and at one point, Sanemi had feared her insides would end up on the ground before the Kakushi arrived and whisked her away to Kocho’s Manor. Rather than cry or moan, Y/N had instead cracked jokes, trying to goad him into comparing battle wounds. Sanemi, in between cursing Y/N for her recklessness (because why should she risk her skin to save his?), had been beside himself, knowing that he lacked the general first-aid skills to at least staunch Y/N’s bleeding. It was only later, as Sanemi watched Y/N pant and try to talk herself through the pain as the Kakushi stitched her back together, that he realized that she had done it for his benefit – to keep him calm.

That she showed care for him before herself – that she had wanted to make sure that he did not spiral – had cracked something in the armor he had built around his heart.

Because until Y/N, Sanemi had not been able to remember the last time anyone put him first.

After she recovered, Sanemi had insisted on training Y/N on decent defense techniques, so that she would never again have to struggle to keep her internal organs inside her body where they belonged. He had reasoned at the time that she was the first slayer in years he had seen show true potential – true gumption.

Seeing her beautiful smile more frequently hadn’t been a bad thing, either.

Then Y/N had become a Hashira – his equal – and still sought him out for training. Sanemi had not dared let himself hope that her continued presence on his estate’s training grounds had anything other to do than with her desire to get stronger.

Yet there she had been that day, the day he could no longer hold himself back, grinning like she had won their spar. She had looked so smug, so infuriatingly beautiful, that he had not been able to stop himself from tasting her, just once. And then she kissed him back, and the first swipe of her tongue against his had turned him into a man starved, a man who could not resist taking more from her that she had been only too willing to give.

How foolish he had been to believe his desire for her could ever be sated.

Before long, he found himself anxiously checking the minutes as they ticked down to their next rendezvous, found himself worrying about her well-being. When she cried on the anniversary of her family’s death, Sanemi had felt as though his heart would crack in two, and he had not stopped himself from reaching for her to comfort her, to whisper sweet nothings in her ear. It was then when he realized he would do anything to see her smile again, that Sanemi had known he was a goner.

By some miracle, she had chosen him, too. She had chosen to stay by him even when he tried to push her away when he thought he was so undeserving of any kindness from her. He had been convinced she could hear the cries of his loved ones as they echoed in his head after he would jolt awake, would hear them scream of his failures, but instead, she had stayed with him, offering him nothing but solace and warmth, and he had not been able to resist her.

And she loved him. She loved him, and though it went against everything in him, and contradicted every measure of self-preservation he had built up over the years, he loved her, too. He loved her so much, it hurt him for her to be away, when he could not feel the reassuring warmth of her body next to his, or when he could not smell the floral honey of her perfume. Sanemi knew that he could scarcely breathe when she was not near, knew that his soul had become inextricably bound to hers.

And though Sanemi had survived a great deal of loss in his life, he knew with certainty that he would not survive losing Y/N.

—————————————————————————

Sanemi’s teeth gnashed together as he sped up, finally rounding the final corner before the last room. His arm was outstretched, ready to punch the door to the birthing room open, but before he could do so, he smashed into something solid. He stepped back, sputtering, the instinct to destroy every obstacle, every threat that stood between himself and Y/N making his blood roar.

“Woah there, Shinazugawa.” It was Uzui, standing in front of the doorway, arms folded. “Sorry, you’re not allowed in there.”

Sanemi blinked, not understanding Uzui’s presence here, where his Y/N was giving birth to his child. “Who the fuck do you think you are?” He demanded, moving to shove the Sound Pillar aside.

Uzui stood firm. “Kocho said you’re not to be let in there, and I’m following her orders.” His tone patronizing.

Sanemi’s eyes narrowed as he glared at his fellow Hashira, his fists clenched. “You do know I’m the fuckin’ father, don’t you?” He snarled, his anger rising and mixing with the panic he felt the longer he was kept away from Y/N.

“We do now,” Uzui said coldly.

A hand wrapped itself around Sanemi’s forearm, clenching it tight. “And we were instructed to keep you out until we knew it was safe for you to be in there.” Tomioka’s monotonous voice came from beside him, causing Sanemi to tense as the Water Hashira wrenched him back from Uzui.

“Safe? Are you fucking kidding me?” Sanemi shook Tomioka’s grip from his arm with a sneer, as he looked between the two Hashira in disbelief. “What the fuck does she need protecting from? That’s my fuckin’ baby she’s having!”

Tomioka’s face remained infuriatingly impassive. “Look, Shinazugawa, Kocho just wants to make sure Y/N is comfortable having you in there, and until she says so, you need to stay out.” The Water Hashira’s hand drifted to the hilt of his sword, the threat clear. “We do not want this to turn violent.”

Sanemi was shaking with rage, in part because he could infer the accusation that neither of them had the stones to say to his face, but mostly because every second out there was another second he wasn’t with Y/N, who was bleeding, who needed him.

Before Sanemi could snap back, an agonized wail ripped through the walls.

“NE-MI.” Y/N cried out, her voice cracking from the strain.

The combination of the pain and desperation in Y/N’s voice, paired with the severity of the situation caused something in Sanemi’s chest to audibly snap, a strange calm flooding through him. Both Uzui and Tomioka exchanged a look at Y/N’s use of Shinazugawa’s nickname and turned to face the trembling Wind Pillar.

Sanemi’s hand fell to his own blade, the veins in his arms threatening to burst through his skin. “I’m going to give you one second to get the fuck out of my way, or I’ll turn this hall into fuckin’ rubble.” His voice was low but deadly, a murderous glint shining in his eyes.

Uzui opened his mouth to respond, but the hesitation gave Sanemi the opening he needed to slip past both Hashira and push through the entryway into the birthing room.

“Dammit!” Uzui snarled, stumbling to grab onto the back of Shinuzagawa’s collar to yank him back into the hall, but it was too late.

Sanemi did not announce himself when he breezed into the birthing room Shinobu and the girls had crafted. The smell of blood had been overwhelming, and it had sent every hair on Sanemi’s body standing as he took in the sight of the woman he loved, sweating and pale on the floor, covered in the sticky, dark substance, her chest rising and falling unevenly as she struggled to take even shallow breaths.

Shinobu stepped back from her place between Y/N’s legs, ready to throw the Wind Pillar out herself, or at the very least order him to stand back and let her do her job. She drew short, however, when she saw Y/N, who stretched out a trembling hand desperately towards the man, relief flooding her tired, pained eyes.

“‘Nemi,” she whimpered, tears of exhaustion spilling over her cheeks.

Nemi paid neither Shinobu nor the other girls on hand any mind, instead focusing solely on Y/N and her swollen belly. Shinobu watched in dumb silence as Shinuzagawa knelt behind Y/N’s head, positioning one leg at each of her shoulders. Wordlessly, he slid his arms under her, sliding down to grip gently around her lower rib cage so that he could lift her upper torso enough to work himself beneath her. He settled her upper body in between his legs, her back pressed against his front, and wrapped his arms around her, locking her against his chest.

Shinobu felt so foolish for having doubted the Wind Pillar, especially as she witnessed Y/N— who was no doubt in incomprehensible pain — visibly relax in his embrace.

Shinazugawa peppered Y/N’s forehead and the side of her neck in comforting kisses. “‘M sorry it took so long, sweetheart, but I’m here.” He cooed in a voice so gentle, Shinobu had wondered whether she was truly looking at the Wind Pillar at all, and not some strange doppelganger.

Y/N, panting and sweating from the toll of her labor, just nodded. “I waited, ‘Nemi. I waited for you. I love you.” Her head lolled back against Shinuzagawa’s scarred chest, seeming as though she was on the verge of falling unconscious.

Shinuzagawa squeezed her lightly. “I know. And you’re doing so fuckin’ well, baby. So fuckin’ well. You’ve just got to try for a little bit longer, sweetheart. You’re almost there.” He murmured into her ear, pressing more kisses onto her face and the top of her head. Shinazugawa finally looked up at Kocho, his eyes narrowed, and his face expectant.

Shinobu shook off the surprise she felt, kneeling back down at Y/N’s feet. “The baby has gotten turned around in the birthing canal,” she began to explain, checking once more between Y/N’s legs. “I can try to rotate the child, but at this point, I’m worried both Y/N and the child are in too much distress. She could bleed out before I have the chance." Shinobu’s face tightened. “Or else I’ll have cut her open to get the child out.”

Y/N moaned, her head rolling to slump at her other shoulder, and Sanemi’s grip around her tightened. “What’s the other option?” He demanded.

Shinobu thought for a moment. “If Y/N can use total concentration breathing to push right as I rotate the baby, then she might be able to deliver naturally.” Shinobu met Sanemi’s eyes. “That would also keep her from bleeding out.” Shinobu’s gaze dropped to her friend’s face. “But she hasn’t used Total Concentration in months – I told her not to, since there was a risk her body wouldn’t know if something went wrong during the pregnancy.”

Sanemi nodded once, focusing his gaze back down on his semi-conscious lover. He brushed his lips against her temple, and her ear, slightly jostling her into opening her eyes.

“Did you hear that, baby? You just need to use Total Concentration when Kocho says, and then our kid will be here.” Sanemi smiled gently at Y/N, kissing her head once more. “But you’ve gotta help Kocho out, sweet girl. Can you do that for me?”

The blood loss had made Y/N’s eyes bleary, and unfocused as she tried to force her eyelids back open. Slowly, Y/N lifted her gaze to Shinobu, her head twitching slightly downwards in a nod.

Kocho ordered Aoi to hand her a long, sinister-looking tool that she referred to as forceps. Sanemi’s stomach dropped, realizing how Kocho would be using the tool to turn the child stuck in Y/N’s womb. Y/N must have seen it too, for she began to tremble beneath Sanemi, whimpering slightly and shaking her head.

“Shh, shh Y/N, baby.” Sanemi soothed, pressing his lips to her sweaty temple. “Eyes on me, okay? We’ll use Total Concentration together.” He promised, moving so that Y/N could see him better. Her exhausted eyes drifted up to meet his own, and she nodded, her grip around Sanemi’s forearm tightening.

“We’re ready.” Kocho said, face determined as she waited for Y/N to begin using the breathing form.

Weakly, Y/N sat a little taller against Sanemi’s chest, shifting so that she could grip his forearms with both hands.

“If I hurt you… ‘M sorry.” She breathed, looking up at her lover so tenderly, so apologetic that Sanemi had to restrain himself from crumbling.

Of course she was more worried about him and his comfort when she was the one bleeding out on Kocho’s floor.

Sanemi shook his head. “Just breathe, baby. One…two…” He counted down.

Y/N took a deep breath, her lungs screaming as they expanded beyond their normal capacity for the first time in months. In tandem with her inhale, Kocho pushed the cold, silver instrument into Y/N, the latter wincing at the sensation of the foreign object.

“I’ve got it!” Kocho said, sweat beading on her forehead. “Push now, Y/N!”

Beneath his arms, Sanemi felt every muscle of Y/N’s body contract as she pushed with all her might, her body curling in with the force of her exhale. The grip Y/N had on Sanemi’s forearms threatened to crush his bones, but Sanemi grit his teeth, holding Y/N steady.

“Almost there, one more time!” Kocho panted.

Y/N repeated her breathing, but on the exhale, a scream tore from her throat as she forced herself to push harder than she ever had, her nails breaking the skin of Sanemi’s arms.

Y/N collapsed against Sanemi’s chest, too exhausted to move once more. All was quiet for a moment; the air was still.

Until a new cry filled the room, small, yet loud, and so, so strong.

A wide smile broke out across the Insect Pillar’s face. “You did it. You did it, Y/N.”

-------------------------------------------------------

There were two things that Sanemi Shinazugawa knew with certainty: first, he had never known what happiness was.

Not true happiness, anyways. He thought he had known it, when he was a boy and his old man had finally kicked it, leaving him and his siblings and mother free from his abuse.

He had thought he had reached peak happiness again the first time Y/N fell asleep on his chest after a particularly rigorous romp, as he folded his arms behind his head, fascinated to watch her sleep, content and safe against his scarred torso.

Hell, he even thought he had known true joy when the little man in the nearby village began making ohagi just the way he liked it and sold it to him at a fraction of the cost he charged civilians. civilians.

Those had no doubt been happy times, but nothing, nothing compared to this.

As he tentatively reached out a finger, Sanemi realized that happiness, true happiness, was his daughter’s sleeping face, her little cherub cheeks impossibly soft against the callused roughness of his touch. Happiness was Y/N’s teary smile as she nuzzled against the soft mop of downy hair on their daughter’s head, as she whispered how perfect she was.

Second, Sanemi knew he was not good. While Sanemi had always known Y/N was a good person — the best person he had ever known, really — he had never considered that he could be labeled as anything close to “good.” He was too scarred, too hardened to be capable of doing anything remotely good in the world.

Yet as he stared down at his daughter, sleeping soundly in her mother’s arms, Sanemi couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, there had been some good in him after all.

--------------------------------------------------------

By the time the Sound and Flame Hashira had been permitted back inside the birthing room (Rengoku having returned some hours earlier after realizing the futility of trying to catch up with Sanemi), both could only stand over the Lunar and Wind Pillars and gawk as they beheld the small bundle fitted snugly in Y/N’s arms.

They could only gawk at Shinazugawa, who was still on the floor with his arms wrapped around Y/N, resting between his legs, as he ran a hand over the sleeping infant’s head with such care that they felt as though they were hallucinating the scene all together. Because Sanemi Shinazugawa had never treated anything so gently in his time with the Demon Slayer Corps as he treated the woman and baby daughter in his arms.

“Let me get this straight,” Y/N said loftily from below them, her eyes not leaving her daughter’s face. “You thought Sanemi was, what? A danger? A threat?”

Uzui laughed, nervously. “Not at all! We just wanted to be sure that he… you know… was supposed to be here.”

Y/N finally looked up at the reddening Sound Hashira, a mix of annoyance and amusement dancing in her eyes. “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to interpret the insinuation that I could not hold my own against a man.” She smiled sweetly, but the threat was clear.

Kocho spoke up from the other side of the room. “I accept full responsibility for that decision, Y/N.” She said, only slightly sheepish in her admission. Kocho had remained in the room to monitor Y/N post-birth, to ensure that the Lunar Hashira maintained her Total Concentration Breathing so that her body could continue to heal itself after the trauma of her delivery. “I was…concerned based on some observations I had made earlier in the pregnancy, and I only meant to ensure your safety.”

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows. “Concerns?” she questioned.

Shinobu shifted her weight to her other leg, the only sign of her discomfort. “Both I and Aoi had observed some…marks on your body during your checkups, early on.” Light pink dusted the Insect Pillar’s cheeks. “I was concerned you had been harmed.”

Y/N paused for a moment, trying to imagine what it was Shinobu could have possibly seen during her first few appointments that would have indicated she had been in any kind of trouble.

The only marks Y/N ever had on her skin that did not come from her battles with demons had been those left behind after she and Sanemi-.

Oh.

Oh.

Y/N flushed deeply, ducking her head back down to look at her daughter, a curtain of hair concealing her face and her embarrassment. Behind her, Sanemi snorted as he too realized what Shinobu had implied.

Shinobu cleared her throat. “But I understand now that those were just marks…incidental to your everyday life.”

Y/N briefly wondered why the blood loss hadn’t killed her, why it hadn’t at least knocked her out, so she did not have to witness the details of hers and Sanemi’s intimate life be on display in front of not one, but three of their comrades.

Meanwhile, Sanemi remained behind her, content and at peace to be with his girl and their child, if not a little smug at the revelation.

Y/N’s embarrassment was saved by a sudden piercing cry.

“I think she might be hungry, Y/N.” Shinobu said, crossing the room to peer down at  the small bundle wrapped in Y/N’s arms.

“Of course she is, she’s a growing girl!” Y/N glowed, returning her gaze to her daughter, brushing her fingertip ever so lightly over her tiny nose.

Sanemi looked up, for the first time, at the Flame and Sound Hashira who were still gaping down at him and Y/N, his eyes half-lidded in bliss, a wide grin on his face.

“Fuck off.” was all he said, turning his attention back to his girls.

The other Hashira took their cue, and filed out of the birthing room, giving the new family some well-deserved privacy.

When he was sure they were alone, Sanemi brushed Y/N’s hair over one of her shoulders, helping her loosen her kimono to bare her full breasts.

Once their daughter had latched, Y//N rested her head back against her lover’s chest, content to just bask in the utter bliss she felt at having her child in her arms and her heart pressed against her.

Sanemi slid a hand across Y/N’s throat to to her jaw, tilting her head towards him so that he could press a long kiss to her forehead, thumb stroking her face. Y/N’s eyes fluttered shut, reveling in the comfort and warmth of the moment.

Sanemi pulled his lips away from Y/N’s head. “Hey,” he murmured, keeping his hands beneath her jaw to tilt her face up so she could meet his eyes, unfathomable tenderness and something else she couldn’t name reflected in the lavender pools she loved.

“Don’t ever fuckin’ scare me like that again.” He whispered, the grip on her jaw tightening ever so slightly.

Y/N looked at him, incredulously. “You’ve helped me hold my organs inside my body after a fight, but that’s what scared you?” She asked, teasingly.

Sanemi grimaced. “That’s different. This time, I couldn’t do anything to help — either of you.”

Y/N reached a hand up over her to gently cup Sanemi’s face. The Wind Hashira closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, his hands holding her tighter to him.

“I love you.” He murmured as he nuzzled her palm. “So fucking much.”

Y/N had known, of course, for a long time that he loved her. Sanemi was always a man of action rather than words, and he had shown her, on plenty of occasions, how he felt about her.

But hearing him say it still brought tears to her eyes. Y/N moved her hand from Sanemi’s face to grab around the back of his neck, pulling him down to her so that she could kiss him, soft and sweet.

When their lips finally broke apart, Sanemi huffed, slightly annoyed.

“So are you going to marry me now, or not?”

Y/N smiled against his skin. “Yes, you impatient man. I will marry you.”

--------------------------------------------------------

“I still don’t get it.” Uzui loudly complained. “How does that happen?”

The other Hashira watched from afar as Shinazugawa and Y/L/N walked up the steps into the Master’s mansion, the Wind Pillar’s arm securely wrapped around the Lunar Hashira’s waist as she carried a small bundle bearing the small, wiggly, and loud infant that she had given birth to a few weeks prior.

“I thought the diagram Y/L/N drew for you was pretty instructive, Uzui.” Iguro said, teasing malice lighting his eyes.

“I would have thought that three wives would have made you more knowledgeable, Uzui!” Rengoku said, half seriously. “But to think, you did not know how babies were made!”

“That’s not what I meant.” Uzui sputtered, a vein throbbing in his forehead.

“I can’t believe none of you noticed that he practically tripped over himself to demand that he take the night shifts watching over her.” Kanroji giggled. “I thought he was going to tear Tomioka’s head off for even trying to volunteer!”

“I thought he was just some weird night-owl!” Uzui indignantly. “Or that he liked watching people sleep!”

Rengoku chortled. “I do not think there was a whole lot of sleeping going on between them, Uzui!”

Uzui groaned, and the other Hashira laughed. Only Kocho remained quiet, her eyes fixed on the backs of her comrades as they awaited entry into the Master’s mansion.

A few weeks ago, Kocho would never have used the word “gentle” to describe Sanemi Shinazugawa. She would have preferred to use “abrasive,” or even at times, “hostile.”

But all that changed the moment she had witnessed the Wind Pillar tend to his beloved Lunar Hashira and their small daughter, and Kocho had realized that Shinazugawa, deep down, was not as brash as his exterior.

None of the Hashira were whole; all of them were a little broken by their trauma. But Shinazugawa was also gentle and kind, and perhaps that was what had drawn him to Y/N in the first place. Perhaps that was all it took; someone to bring out that softness in him, to chip away at the tough facade.

But Kocho kept these musings to herself, and smiled, as the little family disappeared inside the Master’s mansion.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Mostly fluff, I know, but I hope it was worth it. Soft Sanemi is everything to me.

Thank you for reading!

[alwaysthefool]

my hope in hell (dazai x you)

warnings; drug usage

tags; fluff, crush, reader has an ability

Dazai had it all planned out-- the only issue was a certain bird with wings that spanned far and wide, i.e., your teleportation ability. He knew you'd try to use it when the bombing would take place, to save your client, but he couldn't have you doing that. It was just a tiny notch in the belt he brushed aside, underestimating the reason he was going through the trouble to keep you out, even though your presence wouldn't exactly prevent it.

It was to keep you safe.

But he wouldn't admit it to himself. You weren't a part of the Agency, you weren't a civilian in need of protection, you weren't a close friend, you were just someone he'd come to know. The plan was, Atsushi would use the stealth of his ability to chloroform you and deliver you to where Dazai was, overlooking the plan and controlling the strings, post which he'd keep an eye- and a touch- on you to prevent you from interfering. He'd have preferred to do it himself, but he knew you'd just teleport away if you saw him approach. 

"Teleportation... what a bothersome ability." He murmured, as he almost snatched your unconscious form from his coworker's shoulder, slightly irritated by the way you were being carried around like a sack of potatoes*, holding you in his arms instead. He closed the door with his foot as he sat down on the sofa, leaning against the arm to keep you on his lap. It's because I need to be touching them to use my ability. Yes, that's it.

But he found himself being severely distracted by that peaceful face, not being able to tear his eyes away. You were still in his arms, your shoulders being held up by his left and your knees by his right, which he removed to brush the hair off your face. You were so mesmerizing to him, the person who had resisted his plan, fought with him at every step, his anti-thesis, looking so delicate under him. He could feel his heart beat faster, but frowned as he realised he was not controlling it. A strange feeling crossed his stomach as his fingers ran slowly across your forehead. Time seemed to stop, and so did his racing thoughts. He didn't even deduce that the tickling sensation might wake you up as your eyes fluttered open.

"Osamu?" You spoke weakly without thinking.

My name. You said my first name.

The pacing of his heart seemed to get faster making him wonder what you did to him, as he gathered his thoughts again to respond. "You're awake." It wasn't like him to respond so stupidly. Of course you were awake. Was this love? He thought about the moments between you two, and in retrospect, the feeling they left him with. It wasn't the thrill of meeting an enemy, it was the giddyness of a crush. You were a mystery to him, the way you gave him a warm kindness despite him meaning nothing to you, politely rejecting his attempts of flirting, and most of all-- being genuinely concerned about him. What drove him to develop that affection for you, he realised, was your unconditional kindness to him hidden with a snarky attitude. It was at that moment, he realised he wanted you, and it was a little different from the way he 'wanted' anyone else he flirted with, he just... wanted your affections to save him, to pull him out of the wish to die, he wanted to feel whatever he felt when he was with you for longer. Your eyes were still droopy from the effects of the chloroform and you found it a little hard to move, finding the look on Dazai's face a little more confusing.

"Don't worry, you'll feel a bit out of it for a while till the drugs wear off."

That seemed to concern you. "You drugged me?" You spoke through struggled breaths. Not once did his eyes leave yours, making you even more uneasy.

"We can't have you teleporting to your client."

You sighed in relief. "Oh, so that's what this is about." You attempted to get up, being assisted by Dazai, who still kept you close, feeling a little disappointed as you shifted your legs off his.

He frowned, more disheartened you'd think that of him. He'd been an arguably respectful guy to most since his mafia days, ignoring all the official complaints against his flirting. "What kind of person do you take me for?"

"The worst kind." You shot him a look, feeling more and more awake by the second. "And you could keep me at physical contact at an arms length too."

"Oh, right. Sorry." He realised, allowing to you keep a little more distance, holding only your hand tightly, feeling himself lose his breath slightly like some sort of a schoolgirl when you lightly held it back.

"So, my client is in danger, huh?"

"Perhaps." He replied, keeping his usual cool smirk on his face, slightly faltering when you smiled back at him.

"Here I was thinking the Agency wouldn't just let people die."

"He's not going to die." He assured you, "but we need him slightly injured to set some things in motion."

"Slightly?" You caught on to his little white lie. Dazai seemed slightly impressed by you, his smirk turning into a genuine laugh.

"Well, I can't really tell my enemy all my secrets."

You didn't respond to that, simply looking away with a sigh. "I guess this time, I failed."

Part of him wanted to comfort you-- scratch that, an overwhelming majority of him felt compelled to comfort you, and so he did, scooting a little closer to you and still maintaining a respectful distance, just to put a hand on your shoulder. To his surprise, you returned the gesture by hugging him, shoving your face in his chest and holding his shoulders. He moved to wrap his arms around your waist, slightly embarrassed you could definitely hear his heart thumping. "I'm... sorry." He patted your head, wanting to kiss it as well, but he knew it would make the moment awkward if you didn't feel the same way. He was satisfied just comforting you, suppressing his feelings if he had to, for being around you took away his ability to strategize. He'd make plans to get you later, he just wanted to enjoy that moment.

"Can you get me a glass of water, please?" You asked softly, letting go of his shoulders, and looking up at him with tired eyes. Eyes just like his. 

"Of course." He said instinctively, getting up from the couch, suddenly realising what the hell he just did. You let out an incredulous laugh seeing his panicked face turn right back around, trying to grab a hold before you could get away. But you were much faster, teleporting to where your client would be before his touch could get you.

Dazai, for the first time in years, felt utterly and entirely thrilled, chuckling to himself as he realised the plan was ruined. He'd have to find another way to carry out the operation. He sat down on the couch, holding his head in his hands, not entirely out of frustration of being fooled by a beautiful tempter, but from how easily he let himself be tricked by you. 

"Atsushi." He spoke into his pager. "Call off the bomb."

"What?! What happened?"

"Change of plans."

*- sorry i laughed so hard

[thefirstknife]

Hi Bel,

I have a question related to the lore surrounding the Vex and the way they interact with time. There seems to be debate over if they can time travel vs their advanced simulation technology just makes it seem like they can time travel etc. Would you be able to explain definitely what their capabilities are regarding affecting time? Can they change the past?

They can time travel... sort of. If we're understanding it correctly. But also the way we view time travel and the way the Vex view time travel might not be entirely aligned.

They have to be able to move through time because that's the only way we can actually see Precursors and Descendants; past Vex and future Vex respectively. For example, now in Echoes, a lot of the Vex we fight are Precursors; really odd overall because they appear to be rare. There's some in the Vault of Glass and the Black Garden, but they were mostly located on Mercury. They're old Vex, from the past.

So how can they be here unless the Vex move through time? The same question applies to Descendants, Vex from the future. However, this raises a further question: if they can time travel, why didn't they already achieve their goals? This:

"If the Vex had achieved what we would call 'time travel,' surely none of us would now exist." —Sister Faora, "Theories on the Vex"

A good explanation of this problem is this lore tab from Aspect:

The Vex, they're the closest to understanding it. They've got distance from it. If time's a river, then we're fish and they're diving birds. What's wet mean to a fish? What's it mean to an osprey, who's never fooled by refraction on the water's surface?

+

The Vex understand time in a way we never will. Doesn't matter how long I spend here watching them. Doesn't matter how many jury-rigged portals Guardians fling themselves through. We live in time. They use it as a tool. Any moment that's ever happened, any moment that will ever happen, they can go back to it. Play it again till they get it right. Simulate it.

So why can't they change things fundamentally? Seems to be good old paracausality:

The Light's a counter to that. They come back, a Guardian comes back. They simulate an ending, a Guardian tears through it. Stalemate.

Some of their powers also appear to be just them using time as a tool; teleporting is described as essentially time travelling:

The Minotaur revises its place in history, appearing to teleport forward as it shifts to a more advantageous future.

Simulation allows them to explore possibilities and options at a larger scale, but I believe it's separate from the actual ability to move through time. They can do both, for different purposes, both of which are not entirely clear to us. Paracausality is yet again a problem for them, even for simulation.

There's some technology that was capable of actually making changes, most notably the Sundial. This wasn't made by the Vex, but it was using Vex technology and the whole deal with it was that the Psions were capable of rewriting history with it. The Sundial also allowed us to go into the past, into Saint's personal timeline, and save him, by changing it (and creating a paradox with it).

Another question is the Corridors of Time which the Vex were using to move through time, but it's unclear if they've created that space or not. And one more question are timelines and how does that affect the Vex and their unique relationship with time and other realities. We could also go into the Vault of Glass and Black Garden and other Vex spaces and all of their weirdness with time. There's something going on with it, on top of simulation technology.

In truth, we're not really sure about a lot of stuff with the Vex simply because they have this strange relationship to time that we can't really grasp. Even those that explored the Vex closely like Osiris and Elsie can't really answer some of these questions.

It's a very interesting discussion, so if anyone wants to add to it feel free! Time travel shenanigans are still mostly mysterious and so are the Vex.

[satancopilotsmytardis]

Drabble-A-Thon Prompt #11

Pairing: Shigadabi

Rating: General

Prompt: Shigadabi happy after the war, having a place of their own and being together in whatever dynamic works for them.

Contents: Mentioned character death (of side characters)

Winning the war was... anticlimactic. He realized that Hawks was planning something and going to hit their base while Shigaraki was away, so he burned the bird to a crisp and had his body teleported right in front of the HPSC building as the chairwoman was leaving. If she hadn't paused to answer something one of her lackies said, she would have gotten crushed as his corpse dropped out of the sky. That put them in overdrive and the heroes wanted to make their next moves too quickly. He went to Ujiko and told him to pause Shigaraki's treatments and wake him up, and got approval for their other hero moles to start killing whatever members of the HPSC and other heroes they could get to. It ended up more a coup than anything else, and when some overly ambitious hero students, some stragglers, his father, and All Might in a fucking mech suit came at them, the treatments that Shigaraki had gotten were enough to help him level them. The Paranormal Liberation Army rivaled the heroes who were left, and Twice alone was able to fully control the police force, so he didn't feel bad about leaving the others behind as he went to fight Endeavor. He won, technically. His dad is dead, but it definitely felt like more of a stalemate at the time as he felt his arm crumble into ashes and the ground rushed up to meet him as he collapsed. He didn't even want Enji Todoroki's blood in his veins anymore, it seemed like an extra cruelty that he would be saddled with an eternity of their ashes mixed together. 

And then he'd woken up. He was still alive, and the doctor was working on putting him back together using what he had learned from creating nomu. He woke up and when the others heard, they'd all come rushing into the hospital room to see him even though they had a war to fight-- and Shigaraki had crossed the room, put all ten fingers against his skin without hurting him, stunned him into silence, and then made his heart stop when he'd kissed him. He hadn't been able to say a word and the rest of the room was quiet enough to hear a pin drop when he'd pulled away and breathed, 

"Don't ever leave me again." 

And Dabi never did. 

///

The warm sun is falling across their bed and Dabi wakes to Tomura's lips pressing against his head, and his arm tightening around his back. He nuzzles in closer to his chest, hanging onto this moment even though they've had the privilege of hundreds of them at this point, because the black skin of the arm he had grafted onto his body after losing his own was a reminder every day that they might not have. He could have died not knowing how much Tomura loved him. He nearly died not knowing that he could fall in love right back. 

They stay cuddled up in bed for a few minutes before Dabi presses a kiss to the scars on his lover's neck and they both decide it's time to get up. Japan is theirs, Tomura is the king, but they don't live in a palace-- at least not anymore. They'd tried that for the first three years after the war, and it was mainly good because it was a place for them to conduct their work and restructuring of the country more efficiently, but the war ended seven years ago. Their control over the country is firm. They don't need that kind of status symbol when they are so much more comfortable living secretly in this apartment building. 

They shower together most mornings, only abstaining if they actually have somewhere else to be, because they can never stop their hands from wandering otherwise. Some days they have a lot to do, but today isn't one of them, so Dabi makes them breakfast while Tomura reads out any reports they received overnight that may change their plans for the day. But having gotten the PLF behind them helped them so much when it came to changing the way the country worked. They have people who have led before, they have the experience to delegate, and they have the sheer power of their quirks to keep any potential uprisings at bay. Especially now that his quirk isn't killing him anymore. Now that it has awakened for the second time and he can chill his skin low enough to keep himself from burning even at his highest heat. 

Getting to sit down together and have a quiet meal never stops feeling like a novelty. The fact that they never thought they could get to this point, that Tomura can reach over to hold his hand in his own without it hurting before they start to clean up, makes Dabi wonder what the fuck they were living for before this. He didn't think that he would get a reward after all of the bad he'd spent his life becoming. He didn't think that people like them got to have happy endings, but he finds himself living through one every day. 

Some days they have things to do, meetings, going out and seeing the others as they pursue their own happiness. Sometimes Dabi goes to the place where the rest of his family is held. He still hasn't ever gone inside, and when he comes home looking for a fight to try and escape the way that just going there makes him feel, Tomura knows when to give it to him, and when he just needs to pull him close and let him burn himself out. Most days they work just because neither of them like to be without anything to do. They go to the palace where they're supposed to be living, making it seem like that's where they are now that Tomura has a teleportation quirk of his own. Only the League knows they're not there every day. They have separate offices there, having been told by everyone who has more relationship experience than them-- namely literally anyone who has ever been in a relationship since they were both batting zero for that before they got together-- that they'll need their space or they'll fight. That being together all the time wasn't going to be healthy for the longevity of their relationship. Dabi thinks that they can't possibly understand what he and Tomura have together. Dabi spent all of the time they were starting to get to know each other running away as far as possible from the faint flicker of emotion that was starting to kindle itself behind his ribs. He spent so much of his life knowing he was going to die for his revenge. The fact that Tomura could fall in love with him anyway, the fact that he knows Dabi's emotions better than he knows himself, is the only thing that matters to him. They don't need to be rooms away to give each other their space. They could stay by each other's side forever and never lose or let the love in their chests dim for one another. 

So they stay together throughout the day. They eat, they work, they talk about anything and everything that crosses their minds. Sometimes they bicker just for the hell of it. They spend time with their friends in a world they remade to be perfect for them. And every second spent together echoes one lingering declaration. 

I won't ever leave your side. 

Thank you so much for participating! If you'd like to join in consider checking out my Ko-Fi here! The Drabble-A-Thon ends on 9/15, so don't miss out!

[autumnslance]

FFXIV Write 2024: 23 On Cloud Nine

(730ish words of Shadowbringers and a Good Girl)

The stables in their stone home were very comfortable. The stablehands were friendly, there were plenty of adventurers and their mounts to meet—not always chocobos, but no accounting for taste. Great care was taken with the food and water, and there was no shortage of gysahl greens, krakka, or curiel roots. There were toys of all kinds, and a nice little meadow cleared out and reclaimed from the Gloomy Place’s blasted grounds for playtime.

Snowlight was at least content for the moment.

Some of the Scions would come to visit. The small ladies when they could, though they were Very Important And Busy. But the Bow Lady took Snowlight on rides around the lake, or up into the foothills leading toward the Frozen Place. She would let Snowlight gallop as fast as she could while the Bow Lady practiced firing from Snowlight’s back, and that was a lot of fun! They even tried flying a little when she did it, and Snowlight was very careful to not drop her person’s comrade.

Her person had asked Snowlight to wait patiently and be helpful to her friends. She had called Snowlight a good girl and kissed her beak and promised she wouldn’t be long, but wouldn’t be able to call to Snowlight where she had to go.

Snowlight had kweh’d and cuddled her person, who was worried about her friends, sleeping too still. Especially the Sneaky Man; her person liked him the most. And that was all right; he knew how to give proper scritches and what treats were best, and made her person happy. So Snowlight wanted him to wake up, along with the rest of the sleepers. They were all very nice and friends with Snowlight, too.

Her person had left some time ago, and the days turned to weeks turned to moons. Snowlight would have been more concerned, except for the pixie that visited her dreams, crooning about what a pretty bird she was and that her person was just fine.

It had been awhile since the pixie's last visit, though.

The day was like any other; gloomy aether filling the air and obscuring the sun. The stablehands stumbled in early regardless, yawning and joking, making sure everyone had breakfast and water. They took turns letting out some of the long term residents to muck out their stalls, a few adventurers coming to claim their companions. The small friend with the cat-ear hood came to visit Snowlight. She seemed very tired, and Snowlight wished she would get more rest. But she offered treats, and helped the stablehands lead Snowlight out with some others to the meadow to play. She had to leave after that, but that was fine, Snowlight was busy asserting her dominance at kickball against some sprout adventuring birds.

She had almost won when she stopped still on the field, the other chocobos cheering and fluttering as they scored. But the familiar pressure had suddenly returned, like one’s ears popping during a change in altitude.

She trembled, talons flexing into the dirt. Could it be…?

The whistle called to her, and she kweh’d joyously, using its signal and bit of crystal, joined to her own aether, to teleport.

Snowlight was hardly in the River at all when she popped back into the world, in the shadow of the Tower on the other side of the lake. Her person smiled brightly—and then oofed as Snowlight headbutt her in excitement, wings flapping wildly.

“I missed you, too!” her person laughed, burying her face in Snowlight’s feathery neck. There were strange scents and sensations from her person, indicating Things Had Happened. It was very odd that there was a whiff of the Sneaky Man among the new smells, when Snowlight was certain he still slept in the stone house, but she could figure that out later, what mattered now was that Snowlight’s person had returned!

Not like last time. This person had kept her promise.

“Let’s go, Snowlight. I’ve much to tell the others,” her person said, swinging up onto Snowlight’s back, even without a saddle or bridle. She scritched Snowlight’s neck in just the perfect way.

Snowlight kweh’d an agreement and took off—carefully!—for the stone home on the other shore. Her person hugged onto her back and it was the best thing ever, this was the best day ever.

Her person was home!

[yourheart-inmyhands]

I just thought of something I have to say before I forget it

Yanderes with a zoro like reader (always getting lost) who's also a wolf hybrid

So the reader either wears a shirt that says if lost return to owner or yan just.puts them on a leash-

If you could do this with your top 2 guys and grils in genshin

-🌮annon

-p.s If you ever do have to take a week break, we all understand

so i only did one of each because i'm trying to cut back on characters a bit as a lot of people seem to request the four archons constantly and while i love them, it can be tough writing for four people, i hope this doesn't bother you and that you still enjoy what i wrote anyways :D <3

Warning: this post contains yandere-themes, including mentions of leash, mentions of violence, and other potential topics. Please read at your own risk!

Yandere!Diluc with a wolf hybrid reader that is constantly getting lost and uses way more swords than necessary? You are asking to give this poor man a stroke. Not only is he trying to manage the winery but also keep track of you and make sure you aren’t getting lost, getting into trouble, or breaking any more expensive swords. He’s genuinely going to have a heart attack one day.

Diluc sighed for the nth time that day, hands rubbing tiredly at his temples as he responded to the patient townsfolk in front of him. He had spent the past hour wandering round Mondstat alone looking for you, having turned away for only a moment to pay for something. He had considered all the possibilities of how to keep you from wandering off, and with a nose like yours he’d figure it wouldn’t be hard to find him again but apparently you’d never thought to use it. A bracelet or necklace would be too small and probably fall off as you fought with your swords, a shirt would simply get dirty or damaged, and pants would simply look ridiculous. At this point he was contemplating just getting you an adult sized version of the leash backpack he often used for Diona. 

Yandere!Rosaria would be strangely ok with you wandering off on your own and getting in trouble. This is largely because there isn’t anywhere you can go that she can’t follow or send someone to follow. She’s not overly worried about you, knowing that you’re a capable fighter and handling yourself isn’t something that’s difficult. Though you can be a bit reckless. She does speak to Draff and Timmy about pigeons and trains one of her own to follow you around and report to her if you get into something you shouldn’t have.

It was no surprise to Rosaria when a familiar bird came fluttering through the open church windows, gliding over to her and landing gently on her shoulder. With a quick nudge of its head, a trained signal, it was able to tell Rosaria where you were and what you had gotten into. It would be quick work getting to you, with Rosaria keeping a small stash of teleportation crystals since having met you. Thanking the bird, she rushed out of the church, heading to where you were at. Rosaria wasn’t sure how, but somehow despite having hearing, sight, and a sense of smell all stronger than hers, advanced due to your wolf hybridity, you managed to get lost anyways. It didn’t matter much to her in the end anyway, your little spontaneous adventures had always been enough to pull her away from boring church duties.

[glitteringcrab]

It's complicated

Okay, I'm trying to construct a timeline of what happened with the creation of the Citadel in relation to the use of Mortys by Ricks.

1. The first time we've seen a Morty appear in Rick's crybaby backstory is after his breaking up with Bird Person, when Rick C-137 resumes his hunt of Rick Prime.

We don't know Morty's age in this, but it appears the Rick who is being spied on has nearly the same age as our "current" Rick. Some time shenanigans might have taken place (did Rick C-137 move forward in time???), BUT when our current Rick mentioned having a grandson, Memory Younger Rick (unclear how young) recognizes there is a pattern of "creep Ricks" moving in with abandoned adult Beths for non-benign reasons...!

2. In the spied Rick's garage, Rick C-137 finds a location that could be traced to Rick Prime:

3. And he begins trying to follow a trace of Prime-follower Ricks back to Rick Prime (what a weird phrase to say lol)

(interesting thing: who the heck are the people whose photos are pinned on the background? One of them looks kiiiiinda like Morty)

4. Eventually, Rick C-137 discovers this... network of Ricks, who I assume were Rick Prime Fans, and begins hunting them down one by one.

I suppose he did it half-hoping one of them would be Rick Prime, half-hoping one of them would be able to lead him to Rick Prime.

5. It seems Rick Prime was leaving behind clues, building elaborate mazes and traps, I assume to give his followers an opportunity to reach him, but with no one ever actually succeeding.

6. Rick C-137 went on with his increasingly desperate Rick Prime hunt, to the point where he became infamous to other Ricks and they just tried to off him:

7. All those Ricks banded together in some sort of headquarters (which at first, appears to be the Citadel. The guy talking wears Council-of-Ricks-like clothes). Notice the suspicious absence of Mortys:

Also notice the red color motif, which is a Rick Prime thing.

Also notice the insignia on this dude's clothes is identical to the Rick Prime insignia we've seen up to now (one big, fat, narcissistic R surrounded by three tiny stars)?

8. Rick C-137 kills all the Ricks gathered there, which... makes sense only up to a point.

From what we know of Rick Prime now, we can safely say there was exactly ZERO chance he was among those Ricks gathered there. So what would killing them achieve, exactly? Was Rick C-137 simply throwing a tantrum, destroying Rick Prime's fan club in a fit of pettiness? Was he retaliating, pre-emptively killing as many Ricks as he could before they had a chance to attack him (as they inevitably would)? Was he acting mindlessly? Was he simply wayyyy too drunk?

9. Anyway, it appears he recognizes the futility of his actions, because he eventually stops:

10. And what happens next is interesting, and is what prompted me to write this post.

The precursors of the council of Ricks show Rick C-137 the Citadel design...

...and Rick C-137 looks surprised. Shocked, even.

Like, why?!

Isn't that their current location (that red place Rick C-137 burnt down)? Didn't he know where he teleported himself to?

...Well, afterwards we see him passing by the Citadel-under-construction as he leaves this meeting:

He passes by it. So, no. This meeting did not take place in the Citadel. Rick C-137 was leaving another place (the red place he trashed). And is not happy about the Citadel being there. Even though it was his idea.

11. Okay, the Citadel wasn't the location of their meeting and Rick C-137 was obviously aware of his own location, but why seem surprised when they showed him the schematics? He's the one who designed the Citadel!

He remembers its schematics (and notice how the Citadel insignia is similar to the Rick Prime symbol, only the "stars" are now connected to the R? I read this as Rick C-137 impersonating Rick Prime when he made sure the Rick Prime Fan Club got the schematics). Why design it if the didn't want to make sure they got it?

And when the pre-council of Ricks offers him to lead (apparently), he trashes the table in distaste (at the time I assumed it was because he hates Ricks and wants nothing to do with the Citadel, but... well...).

12. We've already seen Rick C-137 go into complete black out when severely drunk, to the point where he not only performs cruel, poorly-thought out plans but also completely forgets his actions, which he later regrets:

(see also the whole Vindicators fiasco, where he presents his black-out self as a different person.)

13. My take on this is that Rick C-137 either came up with or designed the Citadel of Ricks idea when drunk drunk, and that it was a poorly thought-out, morally dubious plan (and might I say, it's interesting that we have no confirmation yet about what the Citadel was for, exactly). He drunkenly executed his plan, sent the schematics to the Rick Prime Fan Club, and then drank some more. (Interesting note: in Rick's crybaby backstory there is no flashback of him actually designing the Citadel. Evil Morty just got a flashback of him looking at the end design. Was it to conserve storytelling time, or was it a hint that he was blackout drunk and had no memory of the designing process?)

Once sober he seems to realize (and regret) the consequences of his actions, but it's too late by then. The Citadel is under construction.

14. Given that:

Eyepatch Morty said "[they] built a wall around infinity" (they! Plural! Ricks! He blames Rick C-137 for building the Citadel, but he recognizes that the Central Finite Curve was a collective effort of many Ricks)

it appears once the Citadel is down the Central Finite Curve is more easily breach-able

it was possible, with modifications, to use the Citadel's dimensional drive to bring down the Curve

...the conclusion we reach is that the Citadel was used to build the Central Finite Curve in an attempt to trap Rick Prime... But given Rick C-137's distaste towards his own plan, it seems that this is not the whole picture.

I mean, the Central Finite Curve does not seem that bad... by itself... Only when combined with the abusive Rick-Morty dynamic did it become a horrible prison for countless Mortys.

15. After leaving that unsettling meeting, Rick C-137 crashes on the Prime dimension (so he has known where Prime's original reality was, at least for a while...!)

And he begins bonding with Morty Prime, his enemy's grandson.

It's also unclear why he decided to squat in the Prime dimension. Did he really hope Rick Prime would return home?

Or was it an action of possessiveness, of stealing, of sullying everything of Rick Prime's? (in a "you took my family, I'm taking yours" fashion?) Was it a taunt?

16. And when we next see the Citadel, it's full of Mortys.

A stark difference from the previous Rick Prime Fan Club Headquarters.

...

A) Hadn't all those Rick Prime fans at the Rick Prime Fanclub Headquarters known about the brainwaves thing back then?

I mean, we know that occasionally some "creepy Rick" would move in with an abandoned adult Beth, yet it seems that the brainwaves thing was not widespread knowledge.

Who told everyone?

B) Rick C-137 said that if you create a matrix of Mortys and put them in agonizing pain, it creates a pattern that can hide Ricks not only from the government, but from other Ricks.

He said that he fiddled with a concept like this once, on paper, and that five Mortys and a jumper cable would yield adequate results.

Yes. Totally on paper.

C) And why was Rick and Morty DNA necessary to bring down a wall that was designed specifically to separate universes where "Rick is the smartest man in the universe"?

D) And why did Rick C-137 claim that the Morty Market, as presented by Eyepatch Morty, wasn't "the whole truth" and was "complicated" (as if there was a misunderstood, positive aspect to the Morty Market) and yet refused to elaborate further?

E) And which Morty is this one, whose DNA is being taken without his knowledge???

Is it a nobody Morty chosen completely at random, or a specific Morty chosen among the infinite Mortys for a very specific reason?

F) Why, oh why were the Cult Mortys so quick to title Morty Prime as "the one true Morty" right after he introduced himself as "Morty from earth dimension C-137"???

G) If the spectrum of all Ricks is real (and if my theories are correct), what on earth is our Rick C-137 doing up there right next to the likes of "super weird Rick" and "Evil Rick"?

What are Rick C-137's crimes? Sure, he's a jerk, but up till now we haven't really seen him do anything worse than the average Rick, quite the opposite really.

There are still puzzles pieces missing, but I don't like the picture that is being painted.

I can think of two scenarios, which can complement each other.

Scenario 1: The purpose of the Citadel was not simply to wall in the universe where Rick Prime was, but to cancel out as many Ricks as possible if one were to scan the multiverse for Rick brainwaves (well, we do know Rick Prime operates alone. No chance he'd have a grandson around). This "function" of Mortys' brainwaves was advertised and the use of Mortys was deliberately promoted to the Ricks arriving in the Citadel. The Morty Market was not a naturally occurring conclusion of Ricks' discovering Mortys' complementary brainwaves; it was a designed, pre-determined goal in-built with the Citadel's very reason of existence.

Or, well, something sorta along this lines, because the above scenario doesn't really explain why Morty DNA was necessary to bring down the Curve (i.e. were Mortys used to calibrate what consists as "smartest" by Rick C-137 and therefore Eyepatch Morty had to use them too?). And given that there are infinite Ricks, "using Mortys to aid the search for Rick Prime" seems kinda doomed to fail no matter how many Ricks you cloak (but, well, following the timeline presented above, it appears that Rick was drunk when he designed the Citadel. He even criticized his own craftmanship at S3E1, where he says that "it's a bad idea to have [the Citadel] designed [with an area for teleporting the whole Citadel with only buttons and dials]").

There is also the "hundred years" thing to consider, which unnerves me a lot now.

Anyway, in this scenario using Mortys was an inseparable part of Rick C-137's "Citadel Plan", the suffering of countless Mortys (clones in body and essence of some one Morty) only a predicted, unfortunate (but ultimately deemed acceptable by drunk drunk Rick C-137) byproduct of Rick C-137's plan, not the goal of it.

Scenario 2: A specific phrase told by an angry, bitter old man. A very chilling phrase, so extreme in its magnitude that it sorta passes right under our radars...

...but which I now find unsettling in how easily, thoughtlessly came out of Rick's mouth. Almost like he already knew the WORLD would know when he tries to hurt Morty.

Why would he say that? Why would he even think that...?

...Rick, what have you done?

[writingpencil]

The Rift

From the forming rips in the earth’s beautiful skin glowed purple; brilliant rays of lavender and magenta combined, with beams of light matching the stars, created wounds that expanded across all of the horizons. Buildings were cracked in half, shattered like feeble glass, and others disappeared entirely, neverminding who or what was inside. Villagers and animals ran from the purple, many unable to escape, crying out for the guardians of the continent.

The Hermit of the mines, TFC, had felt the earthquakes long before they arrived. He noticed the way the monsters began to cower, even ran past him, and how the bats flocked to him for protection. The older man was the first to encounter a rip in the underneath. It had nearly swallowed him whole if not for his quick thinking. TFC gathered up everything he could as the earth rumbled - including the bats - and scrambled out of his mines. Thankfully, the miner sustained few injuries. It was TFC, accompanied by a bird, who reported the strange phenomenon that allowed the other Hermits - the supposed guardians - to act.

Several Hermits had spread out, saving who and what they could. False had led the recovery charge, commanding her fellow Hermits with the grace of a true warrior. However, even with her leadership on the surface, many were unable to be helped. For every shulker of valuables Etho gathered, Beef lost several cattle. For every villager Stress saved, Tango wasn’t able to save entire farms - losing pounds upon pounds of redstone. It was a game of balance, an ability to win but with cost, and no Hermit knew how long they had.

In the meanwhile, the Admin had the rest of the Hermits at the source - as close as they could be, housed in the Entity that seemed unaffected. The Rift had grown significantly bigger, swallowing Grian’s base whole without thought, creating a massive crater. As if it couldn’t get any worse; Xisuma had started looking through code hours ago, but what was dubbed the Rift left no error in the code. There was nothing he could trace, nothing he could find, and nothing he could do. Xisuma looked at the Hermits who were’t on recovery. Iskall and Mumbo were some of the best redstoners, Doc was immaculate at breaking the established universe, Grian caused the entire mess, and Scar was leaning out of the Entity, trying to touch the Rift.

“Scar, no!” Grian grabbed Scar and pulled him back. 

“Get a hold of yourself, Scar!” Doc yelled, pausing his pacing to do so.

Scar blinked. “But it reacts!-”

Xisuma shushed them. “We can’t lose a Hermit. Scar, stay away from any exits.”

“Why am I here then?!” Scar asked, confusion painted in his face.

“You’re-...” Xisuma stuttered. “You’re a terraformer! The Rift is terraforming the earth! We might- we might need you…”

“It reacts…?” Iskall mumbled, grabbing a piece of wood from a chest. The redstoner knelt by the entrance and threw the wood toward the edge of a deep chasm. He jumped back in surprise when a wave of purple snatched the piece of wood, pulling it into purple. “You guys saw that, right?”

Mumbo nodded, kneeling beside Iskall while Doc stood over them. “Why isn’t it doing that to the Entity?”

“It’s the Entity.” Grian answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“It could… be a safe space.” Doc said, moving the two redstoners aside to stick his hand out, only to pull it back when part of the Rift extended toward him. “It’s a safe space, oh dear malarky- Grian, how did you do this?!”

Grian scrambled. “I-I built it! It’s just colored glass and ender rods!”

“Ender rods…” Iskall tapped the side of his index to his lips. “Ender rods don’t have a history of teleporting items or people… but maybe there’s something in the glass its reacting to?”

“Glass is just sand-” Mumbo pointed out. 

Doc let out a frustrated hiss .”Sand heated at one thousand degrees celsius -  four thousand at fahrenheit… All of that done in furnace without us interfering. Nothing should’ve gotten into the glass-”

“Well, something did.” Mumbo said.

Xisuma checked the coding once more. “I still can’t find anything wrong with the code. We’re gonna have to go with the natural world explanation - as much as we hate it.”

“Or the unnatural.” 

The Admit and Hermits looked at Grian, who approached the entrance with hesitation. His eyes of lack coal stared at his creation, his wings and body tense. 

“Grian…?” It was Scar who called out his name. 

With a sigh, Grian rapped his knuckles against the stony walls of the Entity.

“Get us down there.” Grian commanded, a faint purple glow appearing on his forehead, under his mess of curled bangs.

The Entity slowly began to move, its heartbeat becoming more alive, surprising the Admin and other Hermits. While the others grabbed on for dear life, Grian stayed standing at the entrance. Once the Entity stretched its legs, it began to crawl toward the crater, walking on the Rift as if it was another floor. Several chests slide around, but never went far, unlike the panicked screaming of the others.

Finally, the Entity stood at the bottom of the rift crater, where the living galaxy’s stars were most intense and clear. 

Grian patted the Entity with a smile. “Good interdimensional being, good Entity.”

There was rumbling in the walls of the Entity, mimicking that of a purr.

“G-Grian… what the heck?!” Xisuma was panicking, more than he should. He witness the entire moon crashing onto a continent, yet a moving rock with legs is what scared him most.

“One problem at a time?” Grian looked down at the portal-esque galaxy. “This is as close to the source as we can get without getting absorbed.”

“As close, he says.” Iskall rubbed the stress away from his eyes.

“Yeah,” Mumbo followed. “As if we aren’t standing on it!”

Doc went by Grian’s side. “Wow… it’s kinda pretty…”

“Don’t get pulled in.” Grian warned, sending a glare Scar’s way. “This should help, right?”

“Grian…” Xisuma said, slowly, as if a warning. “Come here.”

Confused, the avian approached. “What is iiiiiiit- oh my Void-”

On the screen of code, the code had switched from the common tongue the hermits agreed on using, to one of ancient history. Grian’s eyes grew wide seeing it.

“Why would it…”

“And,” Xisuma added. “Yours and the Rift’s coding is the exact same.”

There was a moment of silence.

“What?” Mumbo was the first one to speak.

Xisuma nodded. “Furthermore… only a section of the Rift is present. The rest of the Rift - all the chasms and holes - are not showing up. Does this symbol look familiar?”

Grian tared at the screen, slowly nodding. “That was the original Rift…”

“As much I don’t want to say it… G, the Rift is connected to you-”

“I know.” Grian cut Xisuma off. “I know what I have to do.”

“What do you have to do?” Iskall asked. 

Grian went back to the entrance then tapped on the Entity’s walls. “Let me leave. Get them home.”

“G?” Scar took a hold of Grian’s arm, pulling him back. “What are you doing?”

Grian paused, avoiding looking Scar in the eyes. “S-... say hi to Jellie for me, okay?”

“Wh- Grian, what are you talking about? What are you planning?” Scar cupped both of Grian’s cheek, forcing the avian to look at him. “What are you doing…?”

“I-...” Grian closed his eyes, sighing out a deep breath. He took Scar’s hands and set a small, rectangle shaped device in them, not allowing Scar to see. “You and Mumbo take care of him, hear me?”

“Grian?-” Before Scar could utter another word, Grian jumped out of the Entity. “Grian!”

A chorus of Grian’s name could be heard following Scar, all in vain. At once, the Entity scrambled out of the crater. Xisuma and Doc held back Scar, not allowing the terraformer to join Grian. The sudden sound of infinite glass shattering echoed in the Admin and Hermits’ ears, mixing with the quickening thump thump thump of the Entity’s heart.

The entire world shook at its core, sending waves of pulsing energy, rattling the ground and knocking down all, even the birds and Hermits who were using elytras. Even the Entity lost its footing, causing the few inside to spiral. It seemed to last hours until, finally, everything stopped. The earthquakes ceased, the wounds had healed themselves, leaving no trace of the Rift. 

“Ow…” Scar shoved a dazzed Mumbo off of him. He attempted to stand, but a rush of nausea hit him like a bullet train. His head spun in the worst of ways, so Scar remained lying on the floor of the Entity.

“Is… everyone okay…?” Xisuma sat up, shutting his eyes tightly.

“I’m alive, if that counts…” Mumbo groaned. “I might need to go on another vacation…”

Iskall held up a thumb and Doc hissed lowly.

“Grian…” Scar tried once more to get up. “Where’s Grian…?”

“I don’t know-” Xisuma was the first to stand, stumbling toward the entrance. “... everything looks normal. I think we’re at Mumbo’s vault?”

“Impossible…” Mumbo was second to stand, peaking his head out of the entrance. “I don’t see Grian’s base.”

Doc pulled up Iskall, allowing the shorter man to lean on him. “Wasn’t it swallowed up?”

“I-... excuse me, Mx. Entity?” Mumbo wasn’t entirely sure who - or what - he was speaking to. Or if it would listen. “Can you move? We want to see the bridge.”

Slowly, the Entity hopped down from Mumbo’s vault and turned toward the bridge. The Admin and Hermits felt collective sorrow. Grian’s base wasn’t there, nor was the bridge. Any trace of it was left in the moon shaped portal, more damaged than it was previously.

Xisuma hopped out of the Entity, making sure it was safe before helping the others out. He pulled up the code, finding nothing. “No sign of Grian…”

“Nether?” Iskall asked.

“Where’s the nearest portal?” Xisuma glanced at the moon portal.

Even in the Nether there was no trace of Grian or his influence on the continent. Everything he has built, apart from the Entity, were erased, while every other building was repaired with subtle cracks - like scars. However, all the villagers and animals lost did not return. No amount of searching gave results.

“The only thing left to do is… rebuild.” Xisuma said, once every Hermit was in attendance for the gathering.

They were not about to abandon this continent. Not like the last one. 

This time they all could do something. 

“Hey, Scar?” Bdubs approached the unusually quiet terraformer. “Guess who I found!”

Scar looked at Bdubs, expecting nothing, but being filled with painful joy. “Jellie!”

“Yeah!” Bdubs handed the beautiful cat over, holding back giggles as Scar held her close. “I found her on a tiny island surrounded by the purple stuff before it poofed! She was totally unbothered! She has the luckiest nine lives ever!”

“Thanks, Bdubs…” Scar felt a lump swell in his throat. Cool tears rained down his heated cheeks, falling onto Jellie’s fur. “You… you didn’t see Grian anywhere, did you?”

Bdubs pouted his lips. “No… I didn’t… I’m sorry, Scar.”

“It’s fine.” With a small sniffle, a wipe of his eyes, Scar forced a smile. “He’ll show up, I’m sure of it. Hey, I’ll catch up with you later to help with rebuilding. I gotta do something.”

Bdubs didn’t look convinced, but he nodded anyways. “Okay, dude…”

Scar carried Jellie away, chewing on his lip and peeling the skin off. Jellie mewled in protest, shoving herself against Scar’s mouth to get him to stop. It worked, mostly. At least his hand her occupied. He never opened his other hand, where Grian’s strange rectangle was still waiting to be revealed. Scar wasn’t sure if he should look at it.

It was Grian’s. He said to take care of it- him. Take care of him.

Slowly, hesitantly, Scar unraveled his fist.

“A… tomogatchi?” Scar furrowed his brows in confusion, turning on the rectangular tomogatchi to see if there was anything else. The screen flickered blue, then three lighter blue dots appeared, doing the wave for a few seconds. “What in the Vex- OHMYELVENKISSES-”

Square eyes opened on the device, blinking at Scar as its mustache appeared. Scar nearly dropped the poor thing as text appeared.

Hello!

“Oh my Vex, it talks-”

My name is Grumbot! Of course I talk! He/They please!

“Grumbot…?” Scar could physically feel the buffering circle in his brain. “Oh, from the mayoral campaign! That was a long time ago, oh my Vex-”

Hello, Mr. Scar! Hello, jelly kitty!

“Hi, Grumbot, how- why- I thought you were left in your box?”

No, sir! Not for long! Fathers brought me with them!

“Fathers- right, Mumbo and Gr…Grian…” Scar couldn’t help but frown.

Yes! Where are my fathers, sir? I want to see them!

Scar looked around at the remaining Hermits, seeing if Mumbo was around. It wasn’t hard finding the tall, lanky man of black and red, and Scar nearly sprinted over. “Mumbo! Mumbo, hi!”

“Hi, Scar, I was looking for you-” 

“What a coincidence! I was looking for you!” Scar held up Grumbot. “I think- I think Grian meant to give him to you.”

Mumbo took Grumbot-gatchi and gave the little device a gentle kiss. “Hi, buddy…”

Scar watched Mumbo talk to Grumbot, unable to see the text.

“I’m, uh, I’m alive, Grumbot… Yes, I’ve been eating- no, no projects have been keeping me up. Grumbot-...” Mumbo was silent for a long time. “Grian is gone, Grumbot… we don’t know where he is. And… Grumbot, don’t overheat, we are still looking… Of course I’m not going to abandon you- Scar is gonna help me take care of you, okay?”

“I am-?”

Mumbo looked at Scar with an unreadable look - a mix of glaring and desperation. “Yes. You are. Grian asked you to.”

[whentvsfly]

S.E.E.S, but Pokemon. (Kudos to those who can tell who's who without the readmore)

More info after the cut!

Tried to make everyone look like themselves without adding clothing/accessories. More difficult than expected, but a nice challenge!

I imagine either only persona users can use their moves (at all, or effectively, not entirely sure which) or when they use their personas (personamon?) they appear as an altered version of their fully evolved forms. Kinda like the second one better, as a way to use more powerful attacks and keep in theme with Persona games

Tried to keep them with their elemental affinities:

Mitsuru Kirijo: Sneasel. It just had the right vibe for her, and I curled the tail (feathers?) to make it look like her hair (although Akihiko is standing in front of most of them).

Akihiko Sanada: Pawmo. I needed electric type, and with his affinity for boxing and being fit, I figured an electric/fighting type would work well for him! Didn't want to do Pawmi because it wasn't yet fighting type (maybe he evolves sometime after The Fire) and didn't want to do Pawmot because no one else is evolved, so having him be max evolution would feel *weird*.

Shinjiro Arakgaki: Scraggy. A solely phys skill user HAS to be fighting type. There were several choices for him - Mankey was one, I believe - though something about Scraggy's appearance made me go with it.

Minato Arisato / Makoto Yuki: Castform (Sunny). I like to make the wild cards pokemon with several forms, or the ability to transform in some way. His 'base' form in Tartarus is Sunny, since Orpheus has fire attacks, but he shifts with whatever element he's using.

Yukari: Ducklett (Shiny). She was just going to be normal ducklett, but then I remembered the shiny was pink, and it makes her more 'special' and talk of the school, so I decided that's fine haha. Flying is the wind equivalent, here, so it was hard to Not make her some sort of bird. It works though, I think!

Junpei Iori: Charcadet. Needed a fire type, and charcadet seemed spunky enough to be him, out of the ones available. After Chidori [redacted], his personamon changes from an Armarouge-equivalent to a Ceruledge-equivalent.

Fuuka Yamagishi: Psy attacks don't exist in p3, though they do in p5, who I also already pokemoned, but Psychic still fits both psy attacks and navi abilities, so I'll let them overlap. She was able to avoid being killed in Tartarus for 10 hours, so she would have been using teleport to keep herself safe, as well as other psychic moves to detect where shadows lurked. Wanted a pokemon not usually known for attacking, to fit more with the navi role.

Aigis: Iron Valiant. Another phys-heavy user, so I wanted fighting type, and Iron Valiant happened to be just that. Looks like Gallade/Gardevoir (*is* Gallade/Gardevoir but in the future/ an alternate dimension?) but is also distinctly Robotic. Luckily most people pin the oddness about her as 'why is she fully evolved and in highschool' rather than 'hey, that's not a pokemon I know, what the hell'.

Koromaru: Houndour (Albino). There are not too many fire/dark pokemon, to go along with Koro's fire/curse attacks, and one of them just Happened to be a dog. I had to. I also made up an 'albino' coloration, based off of real albino dogs. If shiny, as a genetic mutation exists, then others can as well!

Ken Amada: Dedenne. Very similar to Koro, there are exactly two (2) pokemon that are electric/fairy, as I equate bless to fairy type, and one of those was a legendary. So Ken is Dedenne. It oddly works out, since he looks up to Akihiko, and they're both small, rodent pokemon (who happen to be their pkmn generation's equivalent of pikachu :P)

I have Many more thoughts on this crossover, if anyone wants to talk about it! I have a few more P3 characters planned out (Strega, pharos, ryoji, nyx avatar), P4's Investigation team, and P5's Phantom Thieves, though I need to actually Draw them all.

[froppy-butterflyfan2000]

Hannibal turn to faces the alumni of the summer camp for heroes of tomorrow, Camp Synoymous: First Summer Program, Lucius Vreedle. He suggests that Pakmar would fund her small business. Like as her sponsor? Or partnership? Or hire her to works in one of his businesses, that involves fashion.

“As her boss, sponsor, or business partner?” Hannibal asked. Lucius stared at the staryummy/lummy in Hannibal’s hands, scratching his head. “For now a partnership and then he will sponsor her as she gets older.” Said Lucius. “Although, let me warn you, Pakmar is known to be a tough negotiator and a cheap son of a bitch to a boot. It is a take it or leave it situation you will be in. I am not an expert in business, so it is better off for you come prepare with a file that hold pricing, rates, and requests,”

Hannibal looks at Velvet, who is still sobbing from being bald. He does not know if Velvet read or write. Her brother, Dan knows how to read. Pakmar could used her illiterate to his advantage and exploit her like how Stella exploit Emo Junior to be a mascot of her recent line of clothings and other products such as books.

“I see. Thanks you, for the advices, Miss Sceles Vreedle and Mr. Lucius Vreedle.” Said Hannibal. He takes out his wallet to pulls out ten Taydens to give to Lucius. “It is not much, but I promise to pays the rest for the informations you two gave me, once I settle down the situation for Velvet.”

Lucius looks surprised by this taydens in his hands. “We can’t take this, you should have it since you are ‘fostering’ a kid.” Said Lucius, trying to decline this.

“No, no, no. It is fine,” he said. Then his eyes widen and it looks like he is at a verge of panicking, as if he is running late. “Bye.”

Hannibal teleports, leaving Lucius to sigh with the taydens in his hands. “You are really something Zomboni.” Said Lucius. Sceles looks at her son and then at Zombozo’s son. In comparison to his past actions, The Mad Wolfhound, a villain mercenary/minion-for-hire and running Nuevo Circus Freaks with Frightwig and his present actions in being the Camp Counsellor of Camp Synonymous, he still seem to be acting like he is working poor due to his new spending habit of being a father. She hope he be able to opens up to getting support from others who have experiences in parenting.

~~

Hannibal is slumping down in his seat of the dining car. Both Velvet and Hannibal are in a train, heading to the next district in Undertown. Hannibal sigh, killing two birds with one stone - scouting anyone, ranging from teenagers to young adults who want to become heroes and helping Velvet on her dream all while finding, all while having her enrolls in Ultimos’ school, and looking for someone to look after her, after establishing a citizenship is done making her an official American citizen, for her at the same time is exhausting. The waiter arrives in their table, placing a plate of Gloppenbeef and a meatball sub. He looks at Velvet who is still crying. “It tastes good,” said Hannibal, persuading the staryummy/lummy to eat. Eating delicious foods comforts him, so why not have her eat something that she can enjoy. Hot dogs are his and her cousin, Elizabeth’s comfort food. Maybe a Gloppenbeef can be her comfort food. Hannibal picks up the meatball sub, ready to eat it, but the taste of a delicious sandwich got interrupted by a superheroine, who just happens to be in the same dining car as them.

“Zomboni!”. Hannibal stop himself from taking a bite out of the meatball sub. Hannibal could see people are watching them, confused. “What are you doing with this child?”

Hannibal did not look at the person who called out his name and interrogated him. “Relax Ms. Orange,” said Hannibal, trying to ease the tension. “I am babysitting this ‘disowned’ kid.” He explained bluntly. “DISOWNED?!” Mitzi exclaimed, shock by Hannibal’s answer, causing more people notice them. She looks at the Lummy wearing a bucket hat. Velvet stop crying. “Because I’m bald…” Velvet explained Hannibal’s explanation, then let out an ugly cry. Hannibal let out a tired sigh. He cradled Velvet like a baby, and goes far to feed her his meatball sub. “Keeping the stars safe is such a hard task.” He said with another sigh. Hannibal looks at Velvet with the expression of a tired parent “Stars?” Mitzi asked, even more confused.

Hannibal decide to explained the situation to her, instead of dodging the questions in her interrogation. The sounds of the wheels squeaking on the tracks and the occasional bumps that shift the car back and forth hopefully obscures the conversation. Mitzi’s pupils shrunk and feel sympathetic towards this alien. He continues to vent to the Rebel Rainbow after coming to his stop. Those who are eavesdropping, the passengers are proceeding to spread this information to others, creating gossips/rumors for Undertown about the staryummies, Lumenian co-monarchs, and the Solarian monarch that will one day reach Plumbers’ ears. Now they are sitting down on bench in the train station, with Mitzi holding a sleeping Velvet, passed out from crying.

“I cannot believe that the Plumber, tasked in looking after princesses from the outer space of sort-of-another dimension would let this happened.” Said Mitzi. “They are exiled from draining stars there and now dangerous to the stars in the Milky Way System.”

"Exactly! All because this deadbeat is a close associate to their parents from his parents," said Hannibal. "This princess, Dorana Junior was being unreasonable. Her action caused Townsfolks to suffer. Businesses pummeled as Staryummies stolen sweets and sodas as their alternative to starlight, and people becoming were-staryummies just by being bitten, even goes far to invite their extended family and friends to make the situation worst. I hope Alice notice this, but she never did. Dora and Astra thought they are well behaved when at home, but when they in kindergarten and daycare, that when trouble started that it lead to round up of the staryummies being send to the sanctuary in Paris, where they are leech off to the staffs and Keith. While Travis is working on the cure for staryummythropy. Speaking of Dorana Junior, one time she attacked me when she eavesdropped on me having a talk with Mrs. Solaria, whose child will be joining Camp Synonymous next summer. Like this six years old literally wanted me disintegrated. All because I was giving her a stern talking to Stella about her parenting and how her favouritism is affecting her kid."

Hannibal’s nostril flares up and he is now gouging down at the Gloppenbeef, now crushed by his hands, causing purple sauce to spill on his pants.

Mitzi, listening to him venting that this is definiety good informations. Poor Keith, the last time he saw him was when he helped her and Leona capture and contain Polly Roses from devouring Bellwood. He must be dealing with them back at the sanctuary he has run in Paris, France. And if Hannibal, now tired from the bullshits he went through, says is true that the staryummies/lummies are leeching off there.

“I’m so sorry that you and your colleagues have been through. I wish me and The Rebel Rainbow could help. Screw her parents for neglecting her to the point of child endangerment. They don’t deserve to be her parents, and any of her 100+ siblings! I can’t believe Niko would pull off all her furs and left her in some cold environment.” Said Mitzi.

“Well that is Niko for you, if you mess with her brothers or anyone or anyplace he cherish. She will pays you back full.” He explained in a lukewarmly. “Same goes for her brothers. He went above and beyond to get his sister back after Velvet kidnapped her for her little show.”

Hannibal looks at a sleeping Velvet in Mitzi’s arms. “It could have been her parents’ fault for not giving her the attention she needs. All she wanted ever wanted was their validation.”

“Oh….” Said Mitzi, looking at Velvet in sincere sympathy, that she know what it like to have a parent who failed to attend to her emotional needs. But not like this!

Mitzi pat Hannibal’s back for comfort.

“Don’t worry, I am sure Pakmar will help out in her business,” said Mitzi. Hannibal looks skeptical when she said it.

“I know, I know, you don’t trust the words of a superhero, whose happened to be the daughter, whose dad went from being a con-man/black market arm dealer to a founder of his own security company to anti-hero to the mayor of Undertown, and now President of Earth, it is possible,” said Mitzi. “Look. If you play your cards right for her, Pakmar will provide the money for her, or be a successor in one of his businesses, as long as Tennyson does not destroy them. I don’t blamed Pakmar for becoming the way he, but he needs to loosen up a bit for once. He is getting old. Plus he is now a grandpa since his 487 children are now all grow up and some of them have family of their own.” Mitzi continued to advise Hannibal, searching for signs that he would see hopes beneath the pessimism. “I can even come with you to negotiate if you want.”

Hannibal looks at Mitzi. There is determination in her big yellow eyes. The same sparks he see in Sandra, that he wants to extinguish so badly. But he couldn’t. She is using her time to help Velvet in her time of need. All because she is consider a downtrodden because she is a corrupted lumen, and she is on to something. She doesn’t need to use her privilege for her own selfish desire, but just to make Undertown better. Not to mention, she has her own ways of making a better life for the downtroddens, whether they are aliens and humans, both cybernetic, mutated/altered, or ‘normal’ with her friends from the Rebel Rainbow. Her words, actions, power, and connections.

Hannibal’s expression turns from a deadpan to a twisted smile. Mitzi shudder and her quills to go up and get goosebumps. Hannibal gets up and turns to Mitzi, smiling at her. He put his hands in his pockets.

“D-Don’t do any silly business,” she said. “I am warning you!”

She imagine what kind of horrors Hannibal have inside the pockets of The Mad Wolfhound. She pull out her quill ready to defend her and Velvet from this twisted man.

“Thanks you for helping me with my dilemma in managing to give Velvet a better future.” Said Hannibal. “I don’t like being indebted to people. So here.”

He pulls out folded papers that he dug out from his pocket of his long forest punk aesthetic jacket. “You earns my recommendation to you going to Camp Synonymous, and a potential ally in your team’s goal.”

Mitzi glued her eyes at what it is revealed to her Camp Synonymous pamphlet and the LPI poster. Mitzi is relax. “Oh. You want me to be in the summer camp Leona been to and… how could a community service from another city can help?”

“I cannot tell you, it is better you find out yourself Spider-Mousekey.” He said.

“Ugh,” said Mitzi, disliking the nickname he gave her. She thinks for a minute or two. She needs to get a renewal of her hero license, which her dad have given to her and her friends, plus she could really need to hone her skills and powers and it can really boost her team’s popularity more. Leona has done a lot for them, maybe it is time to repay the favour. “Can the rest of the Rebel Rainbow sign up too?”

Hannibal nod. Mitzi smiles.

“……Where should we sign up?” She said.

Mitzi aka Ms. Orange and Lucius Vreedle belong to @aprilbrowines

Velvet, Dan (mentioned), Elizabeth (mentioned), Plumber Alice (mentioned), Dorana Jr. Starling Lumenia (mentioned), and Astra Nova Lumenia (mentioned) belong to @gloriousdreamunknown

Niko Corduroy (mentioned), Leona Torasdottir da Costa (mentioned), and Hannibal Zomboni belong to @froppy-butterflyfan2000 (me)

Sandra Stoppable (mentioned) and Travis Mystery (mentioned) belong to @ej-cappy-universe

Keith Mystery (mentioned) belongs to @cooltmoney95

The design of Sceles Vreedle belongs to @princess-lunalu

[besiegedhunter]

Why Lupos fear Projekt Red. Il Siracusano lore

So personally speaking Red has always been one of the more mysterious characters in Arknights to me and chief amongst the reasons is how she scares other Lupos. A thing that even theorizing why never made total sense.

But then Il Siracusano came out with so much Beast Lord lore and somehow made it more confusing.

(It's quite a long post so)

What I'm referring to is the last moments of the story before the Zarro boss fight in IS-10:

This. This is effectively the same effect that Red has one other Lupos which it draws attention to by referring to it as a 'chill' such as Red's talent name as well as when later in the event Crownslayer meets Red again

Now on the surface this makes sense. Red is Grandma's Fang and Grandma is a Beast Lord who'd be able to do the same thing. We also know that Crownslayer's mentor taught her a bite so there's techniques that Beast Lords pass onto their Fang.

Except it's not as clean cut as that because we don't see any sort of ability like this outside of Red. Neither Bernado or Lunacub exhibit this ability. There's also no accounts of any other character, playable or not, showing anything similar outside of the Nightmare Knight.

Then you take into account this from Lunacub's files on the Beast Lords:

"Polar opposite of Originium"

We know that like them there are also Feranmuts like Nian and her siblings who have no connection to Originium at all and don't use Originium arts wherein lies the problem.

It's not an Originium Art, it's inherit to Beast Lords and yet Red seems to be capable of it also.

So two options:

One is read the end of that screenshot. "Researchers struggle to find the profound differences between them and us." and we know thanks to Mephisto that if an Ancient goes into the Sarcophagus that they revert into an animal.

Not only that however. This is speculation but between both of Mephisto's boss fights we see that he's capable of healing and making husks out of corpses that he controls however in his second one after going into the sarcophagus he gains the ability to teleport.

I can't say whether this is a Feranmut ability but between the abnormal size as well as this, it's a possibility that it's between a regular bird and a Beast Lord.

But pushing that aside, it's possible that Ancients have abilities deep inside of them that they share with Beast Lords that they can bring out but that it's rare that they do.

Maybe this is the explanation for this part of Horn's files though it, like other aspects of some characters, isn't a 1 for 1 thing like Zarro and Red.

Second option is that it is "functionally the same" but actually has a different origin. I'd rationalize it as Grandma seeing how useful this ability is (assuming Zarro even used it consciously and other Beast Lords do too) and so tried creating something identical.

Maybe it's Red getting drenched in presumably wolf blood, with it lingering on her that other Lupos can smell and that sets off a fear response? This being my original theory based off Red's tendency to identify Fangs through scent as well as this pit from Executor and Vermail's vignette in Operational Intelligence.

Now the thing I would say about this one in particular is that, if killing enough of a certain animal/race makes said race terrified of you then why do we not see that from people such as Hellagur or Lappland or long lived characters?

But that's all I'll say on that because I do have a secret third option which is only secret because it is the worst and if true then wow that's cruel.

And that is that Red isn't the one who has these effects on Lupos but instead it's Grandma who can't be seen but is with Red, possibly intentionally doing this as to stop Red from staying from her mission OR and perhaps more interestingly (and ooc) is Grandma permanently gives off this effect.

Is there evidence? Well sadly there may be.

Here we see another Wolf Beast Lord making herself imperceptible to Rhode Island's personnel and in the second screenshot it's possible that she's hiding herself from even Lunacub, though it may also be that she left to somewhere.

Then there's Red's dialogue after her first promotion where she says she can hear Grandma. I repeat "heard" aka she didn't see her.

Now consider this: Zarro and Grandma are the same being with the same abilities and he went to Lungmen just to tell Texas he needs her for something and also that he raced across Il Siracusano to meet Bernado after he put his plan to detach the new city from Volsinii into action

The fact he doesn't use any sort of long distance communication implies to me that Wolf Beast Lords aren't capable of it, meaning it's improbable that Grandma wasn't there

So if Grandma has probably visited Rhodes Island, wasn't even seen by Red and would naturally have the same ability as Zarro while Red having it opens a billion questions,

It's arguably the most likely one.

Now that's all on the brain storming but if I can have a little more of your time, please read this:

Red's Trust 2. The one after her questioning the importance of family and preceding wondering if her life would be different if she wasn't a wolf hunter (aka groomed by a evil wolf to win a murder game so said wolf can become the leader of their pack off her efforts)

Now consider that the reason why they're afraid of her, why she can't befriend her fellow Lupos is because the person who has controlled her her whole life is still there, warding them off

Think about that the next time you see one of those tail hunter memes

[rainworld-oc-showdown]

Specks of Feathers by @soaricarus VERSUS Echo by @beetled-juicer - Round 2 Set 2

Specks of Feathers- description:

miros birds are neutral to specks unless around them for an extended amount of time; they're extremely quick and quiet in order to avoid miros birds.

Story:

specks of feathers is a small, not purposed slugcat that somehow managed to live in the structure of shattered omens [an iterator oc owned by @/pinkavtomation] alongside endless, a 17 year old ancient who... got echoed and holds bitter resentment towards omens for what she did to them. specks is their friend that kept them company all through that time of not going near omens. specks themself is wary of omens; and even moreso of the miros bird she keeps.

Fun Facts:

specks of feathers is connected to two ocs [shattered omens, an iterator owned by @/pinkavtomation and endless sky, looping sea, an ancient/echo owned by me] who already have a bunch of lore and they're two friends - one bitter over [what they perceive as] the other's betrayal and neglect of them as their parents had, the other preaching ascension being salvation... at least until their old friend seems to reappear! :]

Echo - Description:

Stats aren't much different from survivor, requires more food, vegetarian Projects warnings and tips to think / organise thoughts and stay safe + Critical thinking Too much physical labour can cause their back compartment to overheat and start to burn them, rest or find water to cool down quickly. (A rare occurance, it takes a lot of exercise to get to this point. Water will hiss and boil around them if it gets too bad) If their compartment gets damaged via lizard bite, salvage small pieces of metal to fix yourself. Projections become audibly loud and unreadable, more likely to exhaust yourself like this. 10% probability after escaping a lizard bite

Story:

They're an early version of an overseer, a prototype or some kind of experiment cast out when a more efficient design was discovered. They search for a purpose (an iterator to belong to). They may not be able to move as efficiently or teleport but they can interact with the world around them unlike regular overseers

Fun Facts:

As a prototype, their projections/holograms are slightly different from overseers, they always have a border around them :)

[aliensupersyn]

258 Fight Choreography PbP and Explanation by Lightning

A play by play of the fighting in this chapter, as well as Lightning's clarification of Sukuna's barrier technique being used here!

JJ-High vs Sukuna

After the last black flash in 257, Yuji launched Sukuna into the wall above them both!

The narrator explains that Sukuna should have been able to recover his reversed cursed technique after the black flash he landed on Larue, who seems to be dying after the experience. In the last panel, Miguel notices Sukuna's menacing aura spike in the distance.

Gege used this same visual to depict 200% Hollow Purple, and Sukuna's first appearance after the bath.

Please check notes for a disclaimer concerning everything after this page!

Sukuna's domain possesses eyes like his mask, and two hands cradle the underside of it. Black texture can be seen upon its summoning, like that of a usual closed-barrier domain.

Sukuna's domain expansion destroys a wide area within Shinjuku, seemingly just with its initial summoning. More black texture of closed-barrier domains can be seen here in the bottom panel. Mei Mei's birds fly away to escape Sukuna's brewing storm.

Yuji casts Simple Domain to avoid Sukuna's Malevolent Shrine!

Sukuna and the cast rest at the eye of the storm that Sukuna's created. The eyes in Sukuna's shrine bleed, like the bottom eye on his mask that Yuji punched last chapter.

EDIT: Lightning made updates and I have added them in place of the outdated information.

By Lightning on Twitter:

"Essentially, this narration has two independent, separate clauses:

What Sukuna did, the open-barrier Domain (with no drop in output or range) that doesn’t separate its barrier from real space

Why a closed-barrier Domain wouldn’t work against capturing Maki In the official, it assumes Sukuna is doing not only (1) but also (2). It assumes he’s doing open-barrier, then closing his Domain. This is what I also wrongfully assumed btw"

Specific Clarifications:

"In summary, what Sukuna used is his high-level, open-barrier Domain; no closed-barrier traits involved

A closed Domain cannot capture Maki bc it “pushes” out inanimate objects from its mental landscape; an open-barrier Domain keeps Maki in bc it acts directly on the real world.” 1

This in no way diminishes either of them btw

The reason why Sukuna opted to expand his divine open-barrier is exactly bc Maki could potentially break it from outside or sneak attack him. He risked it all to give no chances to the “monkey” who could fk with his game 2

Yuji, Miwa, Ino, and Choso all cast simple domain and prepare to withstand Sukuna's final domain expansion!

Notice the tornado.

Ui Ui likely teleported Miwa into range to help Maki.

Yuji's SD breaks and he suffers Sukuna's slashes.

When Yuji loses his leg from the slashes, the attacks stop, and he recovers the limb by reconnecting it with blood manipulation!

Sukuna finally uses "fuga," or Furnace - Open!!

Notes:

A little more late than I'd like to have uploaded, so I apologize. I reached out to Lightning for confirmation she'd provide her own translation, and thankfully she was already working on it. I, and many others, trust her translations and linguistic analyses more than anyone else. I wanted to make sure I was providing as much accuracy as I could.

Further analysis by Lightning, and she echoes my own!

Do note, Ui Ui has the soul swapping ability, not Yuji.

Yuji literally saved everyone's lives last chapter by making it so Sukuna could only recover one arm lol.

[sonicasura]

Tachikawa Base was quiet, a rare occurence for all the Troops who worked at the base. Everyone had either fallen asleep or began getting ready to go to bed. Well almost everyone, cause if anyone passed by the Famed Commander of the 3rd Division, they see a soft glow leaking from the door.

Mina should have gone to bed hours ago, she knows that. Hell she's scolded plenty of rookies she found wandering the late hours of the night, emphazing the importance of rest for a Defense Force Soldier.

Heh, She couldn't even follow her own advice.

Letting out a heavy sigh, her attention went back to the reports she had asked for. All the information the Defense Force had on those strange Kaiju that had made there appearence over the past months. Her attention on 3 imparticular ones, ones she had come into contact with.

7# Trick-Djinn: Hoopa: A small and other wise unassuming Kaiju. Sporting three golden rings 2 on her horns and 1 around the waist, along with a seemingly perpetual grin. The body is almost wisp like as there always floating and have no legs, and even have what resembles a small pony tail hairstyle. The bodies color scheme is primarly grey with pinkish-purple highlights. The Kaiju while small has shown itself to boast great power, as their rings seemingly act as a way for them to teleport themselves or about anything else. This has been used too strangely enough move objects or other Kaiju that get in there way or civilians way. The reason is unknown, further more no new information on there abilities has been recorded. Fortitude reading currently unavalible, and due to the little information recorded on the small Kaiju a Fortitude estimate can not be given. All Troops are under orders not to engage due to the Kaiju not showing more of what there capable of.

8# Scarlet Ruler- Koraidon: This Kaiju is another anamoly as they seem exteremly docile, and even let a human child ride on their back for transportation * See report Kaiju Trainer for more details*. This Kaiju sports a reptilian look similar to the dinosaur of the prehistoric-era. Having bright scarlet scales, bright white feathers which at there base have blue and pink adorning the feathers base. A long tail which sports a white streak, running along their neck and tail the Kaiju sports a neck sac which fills with air, same with the one located on the tail. Abilities are still largely unknown and what is known isn't enough to fully gauge it's power. Extreme running speed, swimming capibilities, expert climber, and the most pecuiliar ability using the feathers that adorn there crown, by streching them out to glide for long distances. It should also be noted that this Kaiju posses some form of pyrokinesis, though to what degree is unknown. Fortitude reading currently unavalible, estimated fortitude can not be give due to lack of recorded combat aganist foes.

9# Jetstream Aviator- Pidgeot: An bird-like Kaiju that is big enough to carry a human upon there backs. There feathers are a light brown and cream colored, along with sporting black highlights over there eyes. The most eyecatching thing is the bright sun colored feathers that flow backwards, and have huge bright red tail feathers. It's abilities are very powerful, being able to whip up winds in seconds that would easily match a category 4 Hurricane, along with insane speed as a report detailed the bird Kaiju creating a sonic boom. This alone would put it just shy of being a Daikaiju class, but that combined with everything paints an insane strength and masterful control of Aerokinesis. Fortitude reading currently unavaliable, estimated fortitude is just shy of 9.0. DO NOT ENGAGE UNLESS YOU HAVE A NUMBERED WEAPON!!!

Letting out a sigh Mina put down the report and closed her eyes. Mina was worried, extremely worried for multiple reasons. First the appearence of No.8, now these strange Kaiju, and that kid. It made her afraid, not for herself, but for the young trainer, who had no armor, no training, no way to defend themselves....

Who had some how takin' to hanging around these powerful Kaiju. It made her fuss over the kid to no end, every sighting or update the Defense Force got, her fear raised spiked, always dreading they tell her words she didn't want to here.

The kid was found killed

That kid got crushed by a Honju

That kid was ripped in half and eaten by a swarm of Youju

ThAT KID WAs AnoTHEr LIfe yOU FAILed tO SaVE MiNa

A small nudge broke her out of her rapidly spiraling axiety, as she turned to face Bakko who looked concerned for there friend. Letting a small smile a grace her face as she pet Bakko.

She wouldn't let anyone die on her watch, especially not that strange kid

Poor Mina is ready to just duck tape Trainer to a wall. She probably gonna have a heart attack learning this isn't exactly their first rodeo with danger. I'm ain't talking just about jumping into Dynamax Dens, collecting Herb Mystica, using PokeSpeak or special music like Oracion to ease enraged Pokemon such as Gyrados.

Wonder if the latter will be brought up during a certain incident in the latest episode of KN8.

[shadowmaat]

Void Crows

Something positive to balance all the negativity.

Void crows are a species I made up for a non-serious Star Wars idea, though they'd probably work in D&D and other settings like that.

No one is sure of the origin of void crows, or even if they're a true part of the corvid family, but scholars agree that they almost definitely exist. Or existed. Or possibly will exist.

Void crows are approximately the same size as Alderaani Fish Crows. They have black, matte feathers that seem to drink up the light. Up close, if you're lucky enough, you can see what looks like starlight gleaming in the black.

Void crows, like other corvids, are highly intelligent, although attempts to figure out just how smart they are have failed. It's almost as if the crows know scientists are testing them and deliberately mess with the results. Some claim they're sapient, others say that's wishful thinking. The crows themselves haven't weighed in on the matter.

Void crows are named such because, in addition to their eye-catching black feathers, they have an ability to shift in and out of existence. Whether this is similar to how purrgils can move through hyperspace, or if it's its own unique dimension-folding capability (such as teleportation) remains undetermined. Any trackers attached to the crows vanish during a "jump," and no one has been able to perform a necropsy on a dead crow since the bodies vanish upon death.

Sightings of void crows are incredibly rare. They remain an elusive species, perhaps deliberately so. If someone manages to befriend a void crow, they have a friend for life. If they're particularly lucky, they might be introduced to the rest of the flock, and perhaps even considered part of it.

Anyone who crosses a flock is in for a bad time. While not known for their violence, void crows have a sharp beak and claws, and enough strength in their wings to cause bruising. Victims of a void crow mobbing have also reported hallucinations and a sense of disorientation, although some scholars attribute that to head trauma.

When not angered, the crows are considered a friendly, if mischievous species. Not that different from other corvids, really. There are stories of them leading lost children home, or of luring hunters off the trail, but nothing has ever been confirmed. The stories about them seem to be more common than the birds themselves.

The best advice for anyone who thinks they've seen a void crow is to be polite. Whatever you do, don't throw things at them or try to shoot them. What one crow sees, the whole flock will remember. It's better to part on good terms than bad ones. And remember that like so many of us, they are easily bribed with food. Their diet is varied, and seems to include whatever a particular crow happens to like. Carrion definitely figures into most diets, though fruits and nuts are also common. There are several anecdotes from Takodana of a void crow who liked to steal Keshian spice rolls from patrons of Kanata's Castle.

Maybe, if the bird is feeling generous, it will even give you a shiny trinket in exchange for a few morsels of food.