#plus being outright encouraged to be an awful person would be so so bad for anyone's sense of morality. not to mention the self-loathing--

[total-drama-brainrot]

my total drama oc is a reversal of the show's pre-established "villain" archetype.

right off the bat, they're just the worst person; outright antagonistic towards everyone and constantly causing conflict amidst the cast, openly orchestrating people's eliminations, blatantly cheating but in such a way that technically they're not breaking any rules- without disguising themself behind a mask of geniality (like alejandro, heather and julia did).

and they're kept around well into the competition because their villainy? it's ratings gold. people love a good antagonist, especially one that's so productive. the audience loves to hate them, or hates that they love them, and everyone is gunning for their downfall- which only becomes more and more tempting with every elimination.

plus, chris is more than happy to enable them so long as they keep things interesting.

interestingly enough, they never seem to use the confessional. or at least, none of their confessions are aired. well, that's not exactly true. one confession is aired, and it's them boasting to the audience that they wouldn't understand the inner machinations of their mind, and that they don't deserve to hear their thoughts.

consequently, the audience has no idea what they're thinking at any given time, only seeing glimpses of their schemes throughout the episode until everything comes to fruition- like a puzzle finally being completed. it's a smart move for the network, because it means the audience gets to watch their plans play out in 'real time' without their insight/foreknowledge, making it just as impactful to the viewers as it is to the competitors. it helps with immersion, which is a boon for the ratings!

until their elimination, wherein their confessions are played out on the big screen, and it's heartbreaking.

they explain, in their first confession, that they were accosted by chris at the beginning of the competition to act as the main antagonistic force for the show, and that he's turn a blind eye to their antics so long as they kept the viewers watching, even paying them a decent salary if their act was good enough. because they're smart- smart enough to play the rest of the cast like a fiddle if they wanted to, and chris wants them to.

what a great deal, right? being given blanket permission to be as conniving as possible, and a pay check to boot- who wouldn't take the opportunity?

and they round it out by "getting into character" on camera, sneering haughtily at the lens and- you guessed it- boasting to the audience that they wouldn't understand the inner machinations of their mind, before giggling dorkily at the silliness of their statement, commenting that it'd we way too obvious they were faking if they acted that snooty. they're a theatre kid at heart, so the idea of "playing the villain" is exciting! it's going to be so fun!

but their second confession is sombre. they're visibly tired, wiping away at the concealer under their eyes to reveal some heavy bags, and they're curled up into a pitiful ball in front of the camera. they divulge that the pressure to constantly live up to the shows expectations of antagonism is crushing, and their status as a social pariah is more draining than they'd care to admit, and that- despite the apparent glee they've been committing these acts of villainy with- being so outwardly morally corrupt has left them with a constant churning of guilt in their gut. they only agreed to be the "bad guy" for the money, which would help their family's financial situation tremendously, but they're growing increasingly uncertain if the reward justifies the risks.

by the third confession, they're actively sickened by their actions, eventually devolving from airing their frustrations, lamenting their choice to method act as such an awful person, to throwing up into the confessional's toilet as they hold back guilt-leaden tears and repeat a mantra of "i'm sorry, i'm sorry,". they're drowning in the murky waters of their persona, and backing out now would only lead to more scrutiny and suspicion from the people who were supposed to be their friends, and they know they'd deserve the mistrust. plus, backtracking from their deal with chris would jeopardise everything- from the dirty money they've earned from their antagonism to their place in the competition itself; they'd be voted out in a heartbeat without the network's safety blanket of plot armour!

they don't know what to do. they barely even know who they are anymore.

and then the camera's focus cuts to the real-time them, who's sat ashen-faced and deathly still as their weakest moments are broadcast, not only to the people who rightfully hate them, but to the whole world.

[goodgrammaritan]

So my job forgot to submit my name to whatever program it is that gives raises. Months after the raise was supposed to have been implemented (after I wrote a detailed letter spelling out exactly how many hours I'd worked without being compensated, necessitating an in-person meeting with the district manager after months of asking my boss), they finally implemented my raise (50¢/hr). I asked if I could get retroactive pay and they said they would do their best.

I got retroactive pay on my latest paycheck, but only about half of what I was expecting. My boss told me that he was told they made a mistake and the raise should have only been 25¢/hr. He also encouraged me to email the district manager and "make a stink" about it. I sent an email detailing how disappointed and angry I was, having now been told four different things about how and when raises occur. I asked to see the company's official pay policy in writing, as word of mouth did not seem to be reliable.

Yesterday the district manager came by again, and told me that he had pushed through the 50 cent raise as a special favor to me because he felt bad, but the actual raise is only supposed to be 25 cents. However, he did not tell me at the time that he was giving me special treatment at the time, so from my point of view, I was still being denied the money I was owed.

He said he was disappointed to have gotten my email, and his language was designed to make me feel small and selfish and greedy. After all, hadn't he done me a favor? Wasn't I now being paid more than I actually should be? (Also, he said he had wanted to talk to me before the retroactive pay appeared on my paycheck, but "you were out so I couldn't." I was on a vacation that had been on the schedule for months. Also, he has my email address. He could have told me this that way.)

I thanked him for explaining in detail how raises work with the company (which is a shitty system, by the way), but also reiterated that, not having access to an employee handbook detailing the pay structure, and only having his word to go by, which was that he would push for the 50 cent raise, it still seemed like I was being shorted by the company. With the information available to me, I was completely in the right.

But he made me feel like an asshole, he seemed bewildered that I was displeased, and acted like I should be super grateful for the extra 25 cents.

And my boss was present at this meeting, and said nothing about how he'd encouraged me to email the district manager and make a big deal out of it, so along with getting a guilt trip and a dressing down, I was feeling betrayed by my boss.

So all in all, I cried three times at work, which is always embarrassing, I felt like an asshole, and I felt guilty even though I was in the right as far as I knew.

After the district manager left, I spoke to my boss and requested to work one less day a week. I'm not quitting outright, because I like having a job to get me out of the house, I like my schedule, I like the vast majority of my coworkers and I enjoy helping customers, plus the employee discount is extremely helpful. (It's a pet supply store and I have two cats and two dogs, all of whom for health reasons eat Science Diet and Wellness Signature, two expensive brands.)

But fuck. It was an awful day.

(Also, my boss is toxically positive and wants everybody to be happy all the time always, and if you respond "Okay" when he asks how you are, he'll inevitably say "Just okay?" Just fuck off with that. But the day I've removed from my schedule is one of the days he's always there, so I will be around him less going forward.)

I really don't want to go in today. My two most annoying coworkers will both be there, and that's exhausting. Fourth day in a row I'll be taking an anti-anxiety pill before going in.

[smellsfaintlyofvanilla]

sorrry for being a pain! here’s some more eheh and thank you.

laugh quite a lot and i like to read, i’m quite bubbly but i don’t trust people very easily. relationship wise id like my independence and my love language is acts of service. altho i do quite like hugs and forehead kisses PDA-wise. i’d like to date someone who after a bad day we could both talk about it and like comfort each other but could also go a few days without seeing each other and conversation would still flow like nothing has happened. i have a large family so they need to be good with kiddos and dogs!



Don't worry about being a pain! I just needed a little more info, that's all haha

Also, I got really carried away with the drabble part... it's a little long whoops

Okay, anyway, hear me out, I match you with...

YELENA

-----

OKAY I'M SERIOUS HEAR ME OUT

At first impressions, things would probably be a bit rocky between you two

She found you frankly kind of annoying, and you found her too mysterious and stoic

BUT as time passed between the two of you, she found herself slowly enjoying your presence more and more

Because, although your cheerfulness and optimism seemed annoying to her at first, it ended up becoming a source of comfort for her

Whenever everything seemed to be going South, she'd always turn to you, and your unbothered smile

It lifted her up every time she saw it

But she wouldn't tell you this outright

She had a job to do, and a relationship would only interfere

So, surprisingly, it was you that had to confess to her

You weren't exactly sure what drew you to Yelena, but maybe it was the way her demeanor started to look less cold and apathetic, and more so confident and relaxed

So, with Onyankopon's reluctant help, you managed to get some alone time with her, and confessed your feelings to her over some warm tea and pastries you bought from a local bakery

She admitted, very casually, that the feelings were mutual

Somehow, throughout the whole thing, the most reaction you got out of her was a light pink tint on her cheeks

But, considering Yelena, that was a big step

Following the start of your relationship, your dynamic didn't change all that much at first

Things were kept mostly private while she eased into things a little bit

Not only did she have a steel reputation to maintain, but she had also never been in a relationship before. It was a new level of vulnerability for her

During this time, though, she'd worry about her abilities as your girlfriend

She wasn't exactly extremely affectionate, and scarcely had free time to spend with you

So you'd always reassure her, during your rare times alone, that you loved her, and she had nothing to worry about whenever she'd forego your time together in favor of working late hours into the night

And once her confidence in your relationship began to flourish, she was a lot more open about it to other people

It wasn't uncommon to see Yelena walking around holding your hand as she went to and from meetings, or to have her brush her hand soothingly across your thigh whenever said meetings got tense

She was still a bit more affectionate behind doors, but that was to be expected

She especially enjoyed the height difference between you two, bending down to wrap her arms around your waist and stand up straight, pulling you into a hug

And trust me, she'll melt if you wrap your legs around her and lean on her shoulder

It's one of those rare times you can see her blush

But, throughout your relationship, you notice just how quickly Yelena is at your hand and foot

Getting Yelena to do anything for others is a bit of a... challenge... but when it comes to you, she does it all without another word

She treats you like a queen, always preparing food/drinks when you need it, giving you massages when you feel tense, helping you with your paperwork to lift stress off of your shoulders, even when she has her own work to finish long after you've gone to sleep

She also gets very protective over you after a few months of dating. Honestly, sometimes, it borders on possessiveness

Her work is dangerous, and she hates to drag you into it, but it seems mostly unavoidable

So, she often tries to stick by you in tense situations, steering you away from danger

Whether that be encouraging you not to get involved with people she knows will backstab you, to physically getting in between you and harms way

She just needs to make sure that you stay safe, she wouldn't be able to live knowing she let something awful happen to you

She does respect your space, though, and leaves you to your devices often

And it makes her so proud to see just how amazing you are, both on the battlefield, and in meetings, pretty much anywhere

She admires how strong and capable you are in so many ways, she loves to see you flourish like that

Plus, I can totally see Yelena being a huge family person

Once the war ends, she'll start with something simple, like a dog

And so, you lead her to a dog shelter, expecting to walk out with a doberman or an English mastiff

Nope.

Instead, she ends up getting a tiny little chihuahua puppy, small enough to fit in her palm

The image almost makes you laugh, but the death glare she shoots you following her choice shuts you up right away

She'd name it Teacup or something

And god, she'd love that little dog to death

But even so, after years of living with you and the dog, she still felt a little lonely

So, she'd probably bring up the idea of adoption (since, of course, you're both women and can't just have a child)

Bonus points if Yelena has to dress up as a man to go to the adoption center because the employees were hesitant to let two women adopt

And that would lead you two to where you are now: a small little house in a big city, living within mere blocks of all your best friends, and your three adopted sons. And Teacup, of course

Yelena has no idea what she did in her life to deserve it all, but god, is she glad things worked out the way they did

-----

"Y/n?" A voice, unassuming to the unknowing ear, but easily recognizable to you, piped through the commotion. Soldiers and officers milled about left and right, chattering and laughing, filling the long hallway with loud echoes of banter.

You squeezed your way in between men in uniforms left and right, searching for the source of your voice. You didn't have to look far, though, since her impressive stature already stood her above almost everyone in sight.

Once you were in arms reach, Yelena reached out to intertwine your fingers in hers, filing through the crowd with much more ease than you had been granted, given her intimidating presence.

She pulled you down the hallway, further from where the soldiers had all gathered, and led you down to the hotel room you had shared for the time being. She whipped the keys out of her pocket, sliding them in and unlocking the door with a click.

You brought your hands to your head, rubbing small circles into your temple in an attempt to quell the dull ache already materializing.

"Geez, those guys are so noisy." You sighed, resigning to your headache as you collapsed on the sheets of the bed, tension leaving your body as the plush mattress engulfed you.

"It's unavoidable." She sighed, locking the door and stuffing her keys back into her front pocket.

A comfortable silence filled the space, Yelena shedding her suit jacket at the door and hanging it up on a nearby rack. You basked in the silence, the lack of chaos finally bringing you a moment of relief after nearly five days of non-stop obligations. A small smile formed on your lips as you felt your girlfriend gently drape a blanket over your still form, the warmth engulfing you immediately as she knelt down to remove your uncomfortably tight shoes from your feet.

The relaxed smile dissolved from your face almost immediately as a shrill ringing piped up in your ears, disturbing the silence. You were practically scowling by the time you opened your eyes, but they softened at the sight. It wasn't you, turns out, but a kettle of boiling water from the other side of the room. Yelena already had two cups laid out on the counter, and was digging through the cabinet containing all the teabags.

Your eyes fluttered shut once again, vision going black as you took in solely the sounds of the room. The piping quieted suddenly, replaced by the hollow sound of pouring water, then the clanging on the metal pot as Yelena sat it perhaps a little too carelessly back on the metal stove. If there had been any other noise, perhaps a thud of footsteps outside the door or a running air conditioner, you wouldn't have been able to pick up the quiet plop of Yelena dropping the teabags in, but it was surprisingly discernable through the quiet.

For the next few minutes, there wasn't much at all, save for the rhythmic taping of Yelena's foot, spurred by her rare moment of impatience. You could already feel sleep taking a hold of you, weeding the tenderness out of your muscles and numbing the pain in your head. Your breaths evened, preparing to drift into a short, sweet unconscious.

But, before sweet sweet sleep could engulf you, the old metal trashcan opened harshly, hitting the wall and startling you out of your tranquility. Yelena yawned, throwing out the teabags and bringing both steaming cups towards the bed.

She placed one on the nightstand, holding the other in her hand, steadying herself as to not spill the boiling water onto the sheets. Her large and slender hand found your back, rubbing up and down soothingly.

"How was the meeting?" She asked, taking a long sip from the cup.

"Tired..." You sigh into the sheets peeking your eyes open to gaze at your lover. She had her eyes transfixed on the steaming beverage in her hands.

"I figured it would be." She sighed, placing the cup onto the nightstand on the opposite side of the bed. "They've been working you to the bone recently. I know you still have more work to do before the day is over, but I prepared you some chamomile tea with honey."

You resigned from your comfortable position on your stomach, sitting up the lean against the head of the bed as you took the cup to your side. You took a long sip, enjoying the taste of the tea, warm and soothing, and not too bitter due to the honey mixed in.

"I can't wait 'til tomorrow." You sigh. "It's my day off, for once. There was this new restaurant in town that I wanted to try. I heard it's good."

Yelena hummed in response, making a mental note to set up a reservation.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"What do you mean?"

"You don't need to take so many hours." She responded dully.

"But I want to." You sigh, setting the cup down to your side. It was still too hot. "Stuff needs to be done, someone has to do it."

Yelena frowned, bringing the cup back up to her lips to distract yourself. "You overwork yourself too much. Seriously."

"Maybe."

A silence filled the room once again. Not awkward, like you expect, just content. You knew you had very little time before there was more work to be done.

After an amount of minutes, maybe five, maybe twenty, a knock sounded on the door.

"L/n?" The voice traveled through the door. "Your meeting is in five minutes, are you ready."

You sighed, kicking the blankets off your legs. "Yeah, I'll be there." You pick up your suit jacket off the floor, pulling it over your shoulders. Just as you are about to leave, a hand grasps around your risk, tightening quickly and forbidding you from leaving.

You turn around and soften at Yelena as she sits at the edge of the bed. She tugs you closer, and you put your hands on her thighs to stabilize yourself as you lean in to plant a kiss to her lips.

"Good luck at your meeting." She says, running a thumb over your wrist. "I'll be right here waiting for you when it's over. I'll have something nice prepared for dinner." You smile and thank her, pulling away to kick your shoes back on.

You reach the door, grabbing the knob and twisting it.

"I love you..." She calls from behind you. Her voice is muffled slightly, and if you turned around now, you were sure that her back would be turned to you, probably already busying herself with paperwork.

"Love you too." You echo back, opening the door and slipping out, hurrying to the meeting room while you try to smoothen out your tussled hair and rub the tiredness from your eyes.

Yelena hears the door click, turning around to stare longingly at the cup of tea you left at your nightstand. She saunters over to pick it up, now cold, and bring it to the sink. You hadn't taken more than a few sips, it seems.

She sighs, placing the dish into the counter. "Seriously," She exhales, “what am I gonna do with you..."

-----

[cosplayingwitch]

"Presentation is Everything"

Part two of "Finding My Way Home" series

Takes place 6-8 months after the last chapter

Prompt: flowers

Pairing: f!reader x Poe Dameron

Summary: Reader has graduated with their masters and had to leave their roommate/best friend/(crush?) behind as they go on to a doctoral program at a different university. Reader is about to present her work at a professional conference and an unexpected surprise calms her down.

Triggers: panic attack, slight stalker-ish behavior, these two being complete idiots, swearing

Tags: @make-me-imagine

It’d been over six months since you’d seen your best friend, Poe Dameron. You were successful enough with your thesis (even while practically teaching a field class for Professor Solo) and graduated with your Masters degree. And with the help of Professor Solo’s recommendation, you'd gotten into your dream school for your PhD.

Which meant moving two states away from your best friend/roommate. Not exactly something you’d wanted to do, but this wasn’t an opportunity you could turn down.

When you’d told Poe, he was very supportive, but still sad about the whole thing. You’d definitely stay in touch, you insisted. There was social media, zoom, all of that.

“Plus we could always meet up somewhere between us!” you told him. “It wouldn’t be more than a couple hours for each of us.”

That didn’t mean you didn’t miss him. His random breaking into song at what could be described as the worst possible times. What he always described as his ‘fact of the day’, which always dissolved into a random string of thoughts. (He still sent you his ‘fact of the day’ via text, but it wasn’t the same without his commentary.)

Remembering the night you spent stargazing, you also realized you missed your chance to tell him how you felt. To outright ask him out on a date. You always rationalized the urge away as not wanting to ruin your friendship, as him probably not feeling the same way as you. Who knows if he was even into girls (or anyone at all). In the many years you’d lived together, he’d never brought someone back to the apartment you shared.

(That’s because he wanted you, your heart shouted at you, you’re an idiot to let that go. But your brain insisted there had to be other reasons.)

Either way, the research you’d done with Professor Solo didn’t just get you into your doctoral program. You’d be presenting at a research conference soon. On your own. (That was a theme with Professor Solo. He’d help you start something, then insist you do the rest of the work.) This was your first time even attending this conference, let alone presenting at one. My god, you thought. How am I supposed to do this? Alone?

This will go down in flames, the voice in your head continued. You’ll fuck it up and ruin your academic reputation. And then never get your doctorate or a job.

When you get to your hotel the day before the conference was set to begin, every worry you’d ever had was spinning through your head. All the ways you could screw up nearly had you in a panic attack. Oh god, you thought, please let me get to my room before I start hyperventilating.

But then, you entered your room to find flowers. Yellow roses with a hint of red. Your favorite.

There was only one person on the planet who knew that. Poe Dameron. But how did he know where to send the flowers? Was he stalking you? The card read:

‘For my friend who I haven’t seen in forever,

My friend who is likely in a panic attack,

My friend who will kill it with her presentation.

You don’t need it, but good luck.’

God, he could write. And it’d been six months and hundreds of miles, but he still knew you well enough to anticipate what you were feeling right now.

In an instant you had your phone out and were calling him.

“Well look who finally called. I guess the flowers did the trick?” Poe answered.

“How did you even know where to send them? I never told you where I was staying! Are you stalking me or something?”

Poe explained, “Well, while you didn’t tell me the hotel you were in, you did tell me every other detail about the conference. And their website had the ‘official hotel’ of the conference, so I figured you’d stay there. The office there wouldn’t say if you were, but did tell me I could get flowers delivered there and he’d make sure they went where they needed to go. I took the chance. Obviously it worked, you called me and I didn’t even leave my name on the card.”

“You could say that. Thanks, by the way. You were right, I’m starting to freak out. I’m presenting my research tomorrow. The stuff I did for my masters. All these other presenters already have their doctorates.” you reason with him. “Maybe I’ll get there someday.”

Poe about exploded through the phone. “MAYBE? MAYBE you’ll get that degree ‘some day’? I did NOT lose my best friend to another university three states away to ‘maybe’ get a degree. You WILL get it. Not tomorrow, but eventually.”

You couldn’t tell if he was angry, joking, or trying to encourage you. A mix of the three? Somehow it did feel like he was trying to give you a pep talk. Break you out of the panic setting in and focus you back on the goal. He knew how much you wanted this and he would never discourage you from going after it.

“Okay then. How about you tell me about what’s going on back home and take my mind off this whole thing.”

Oh god, you thought. You referred to where he was as home. I mean the university, you rationalize, the place where I just lived and studied for six years. Poe’ll probably think that’s the case anyway. You certainly did not mean him.

“Well, you know while you’ve been gone, I went and knocked off another thing on my bucket list. I’m a few weeks away from having my pilot’s license!” Poe stated, which sent you into a small laughing fit. You knew he’d always wanted to, but with his awful driving skills you never thought it’d actually happen.

“Good for you, I guess. Just be careful- I definitely don’t need my best friend dying in a plane crash.”

When you finally got off the phone with Poe, it was late. You’d had room service delivered while you were still talking, him likewise with delivery. In some ways, it was like you were back together again, having dinner on the coffee table while gossiping about the faculty and staff at the university. Who was having an affair, who was being suspected of plagiarism, whatever the next big scandal would be and how the university would cover it up this time.

It was just the thing you needed to make you relax. Your boyfriend best friend supporting you.

You stopped yourself. Not again. Poe was not your boyfriend. He was a friend and nothing more. And you certainly weren’t screwing that up.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, or maybe the bottom of your heart, you couldn’t help but think of him in a romantic way. That maybe your relationship with Poe could evolve into something more. Maybe even hope for that happy ending. After all, he could have just texted you good luck, but he chose to send your favorite flowers and a beautifully written card.

That would count as a romantic overture in your mind. If you were in some kind of cheesy rom-com with him, that is.

Friends. Nothing more. Nothing less. Friends. You remind yourself.

Friends.

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

Poe kept running that conversation over in his mind for days. I was a fucking idiot for sending her flowers, he thought. The note was even worse. Both were definitely something romantic, but he didn’t want you to know that he felt that way about you.

Then you asked about ‘what was going on back home’. Home. Poe asked himself if you meant the university as home, you’d been there for more than six years. Or did you mean him? Your formerly-shared apartment? Was your intention to say you considered the apartment, and him as an extension, as your home?

God, Poe thought. I’m way over thinking it.

But what if she meant that in the same way I meant the flowers? He asked himself. Some kind of idiotic slip of the mind that was only there because of underlying feelings?

Her slip of the tongue wasn’t as bad as his flowers, but it gave him some kind of hope that someday you might actually be a couple, growing your friendship into something more. But he pushed this hope out of his mind as best he could.

After all, they were only friends. Friends only. Nothing more. Nothing less. Just really good friends who know each other's favorite flowers and things that could send them into panic attacks. Friends who lived and studied together for long enough to practically be family.

Home? Just the university they went to. And where he just happened to live, too.

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

Author's Note: So I used this type of flower because they are my personal favorite, but then I decided to look up the 'meaning' behind them... I suggest you do the same... (not intentional, but a really nice coincidence for this)

Also, I'll be updating this again next weekend with posts on Saturday and Sunday. Let me know if you want to be tagged in future chapters!

[oumakokichi]

fave dr ships and why?? :0

Hmm, that’s a pretty fun question! There are so many fun character interactions in each game that there’s a lot of ships I really like, so I’ll try to briefly just touch on some of my favorites in each game!

There aren’t really any spoilers in my reply, but I’m going to include a read-more anyway because even trying to keep it brief, there were a lot of ships to cover, so it still got pretty long.

In dr1, I honestly really love naegiri. Naegi gets a lot of flack for “not being interesting enough” or “not bringing anything to the table,” but I think he worked really well as the protagonist for the first installment of the series, and I absolutely think he and Kirigiri have a lot of great chemistry. Kirigiri and Naegi’s relationship is all about finding a balance between doubt and belief, and both of them really help each other grow as people. I think their dynamic is at its best in the first game, since Kirigiri gets so much time to shine and really feels more like the deuteragonist of the series than anyone else. Plus watching Naegi try to learn how to read her stoic façade when she’s really quite emotional under the  surface is so much fun.

I’m also a huge fan of aoisakura. I love everything about their interaction, and chapter 4 of dr1 is still one of the best in the whole series in my opinion. Both of them care so much about each other even from early on, and Aoi’s anger at how the others treat Sakura or talk about her like she’s hardly even a person comes across as so legitimate. It’s such a great and largely underrated ship, so I always love to see it.

I also have to say that I like kirizono quite a lot! They don’t have much in the way of interaction in canon, considering how early Maizono dies, but it’s one of those ships where I’m much more interested in the overall potential. Kirigiri seems to have a very good grasp of what Maizono was actually like as a person and what she might have been thinking in her final moments. While she uncovers the truth of the events of chapter 1, she doesn’t see Maizono as irredeemable for tricking Naegi, but merely as someone who was scared and who ultimately couldn’t go through with her own plan. She knew that Maizono was trying to help Naegi in her own way by leaving him a dying message, and I would have loved to see a detective-and-assistant duo with Kirigiri and Maizono in some alternate universe.

Other ships from dr1 that I enjoy even if I’m not super invested in them from an analysis standpoint are celesgiri (how could I not ship the original liar and detective), naekusaba (DR IF really sold me on this one), ishimondo (all around a solid, great ship), and naegami (honestly I just think the idea of Kirigiri and Togami both dating Naegi but barely tolerating each other as friends is really funny).

Sdr2 is probably the game where I wound up the least invested in shipping, but there are still a few that I like!

Hinanami isn’t quite as appealing to me as naegiri, mostly due to Nanami being used twice for Hinata’s character development, but they have some really cute moments that I do enjoy a lot, and I really love any interaction between the two of them as gamer friends. Nanami is so much more mischievous than most people give her credit for; I still can’t help remembering when I replayed sdr2 a year or two ago and got to the part with her threatening to poke Hinata’s eyes out during an investigation, and I nearly lost my shit because I didn’t remember it at all from previous playthroughs.

I’m not quite as invested in komahina as I thought I would be when I first got into DR, but I definitely don’t mind it either! I think Komaeda’s feelings for Hinata are pretty textual and undeniable; lines like “I’m in love with the hope that’s sleeping inside you” are impossible, in my opinion, to handwave as “just a friend thing,” and Megumi Ogata has all but stated outright that her character song for Komaeda is specifically about Hinata.

Of course, I definitely think Komaeda would need to work on a lot of his internalized ideas about talent and self-worth, and that he and Hinata would have to start as friends first before carrying their relationship into anything romantic, but if their really cute interation in ndrv3’s talent development plan is anything to go off of, I think Hinata definitely does want to help Komaeda value himself more and wants to be friends with him.

As for other ships that I enjoy more casually, I like twobuki (if that’s even what people are still calling Twogami/Impostor and Ibuki as a ship), sondam (all of Sonia’s nerding out about Gundam’s chuunibyou interests is honestly super adorable), nanamiki (I feel like Nanami and Mikan could honestly have a cute dynamic if Mikan weren’t under Junko’s influence), and… I actually have no idea for this ship name, but Impostor/Hinata is really sweet. This is more related to dr3, but one of the few things I did come out feeling positively about was Impostor/Mitarai, despite everything else about how the story turned out.

Finally, there’s ndrv3! There’s quite a lot of ships I really love here, so it’s actually a little hard to narrow it down.

I hardly think I need to mention saiouma at this point, since it’s the ship I talk about the most on this blog, but it’s still my favorite ship from pretty much anything ever. I love their dynamic so much: the way they both embody the themes of “truth” and “lies” within the game respectively, the way they constantly want to know more about each other while being afraid to open up or trust each other completely, and the fact that they so perfectly manage to capture the chase of the “phantom thief vs. detective” trope to the point that it was even lampshaded in Ouma’s love hotel... all of these things just make it so much fun.

It’s another ship where I just love thinking about the potential, whether in an AU where Ouma might have lived or else where the killing game never took place at all. I honestly really love ships that deal with a lot of slow-burn and both characters thinking their affections are unrequited when it turns out they’re actually both just idiots with a bad case of pining. I also really love the fact that, in my opinion, it’s a ship where Saihara would have to really take the initiative in the end—otherwise, Ouma is just going to keep trying to run away every time he drops an “I love you,” or “you’re my favorite.”

I also really, really love himiten. It’s a ship that gets a lot more flack than it deserves, in my opinion, and it’s sad to see that it’s a little underappreciated these days. There are flaws and problems within the ship, of course, but these are things that are actually addressed within the game itself. Himiko’s apathy and disregard towards Tenko’s feelings is called out pretty bluntly in the later parts of chapter 3, and she winds up mourning Tenko’s death and taking her last advice to heart more than anyone else.

Meanwhile, while Tenko certainly meant well and always had Himiko’s best interests at heart, it’s true that she came across as somewhat condescending sometimes (albeit unintentionally) by treating Himiko like a cute animal instead of a person.  I think that she understood Himiko’s feelings a lot better by chapter 3, which is why she prioritized trying to let Himiko talk to Angie one more time despite her own misgivings about Angie. Tenko grew a lot more as a character than a lot of people give her credit for, and I would have loved to see any post-game scenario where Himiko and Tenko could’ve finally started a relationship on equal footing outside of the game.

I actually have two entire ships for Miu that I am equally fond of. Both kiiruma and irumatsu are really great in my opinion, in totally different ways. The sheer chaotic potential of kiiruma gets overlooked a lot of times, I think, but both of them are complete disasters. They have so much fun together and it really shows, both in canon and in the talent development plan as well. Kiibo is so wonderful and I love him so much, because you’d think he’d be the voice of reason as a “cold, logical robot”—but honestly, he’s just as messed-up and over the top as Miu. I mean, he did photograph her poop on what turned out to be a live audience national broadcast and he didn’t see anything wrong with this.

Kiibo is one of the few characters who vocally talks about missing Miu after her death in chapter 4, and he repeatedly tells her how much he appreciates her maintenance work on him both in canon and in one of their talent development scenes. In one such scene, he even mentions wanting to continue their ongoing relationship after they graduate, which I think is surprisingly sweet and adorable for the two of them. Honestly, Miu is about as wild as a DR character ever gets, and I love the idea of her and Kiibo just having fun with each other.

Meanwhile, Kaede and Miu’s dynamic is a lot more back-and-forth. Kaede spends a good part of her FTEs absolutely frustrated and fed up with Miu, but also decidedly worried for her well-being and wondering how she might get her to be more of a team player. She’s not afraid to put her foot down when Miu crosses the line, but she’s also one of the few people who’s ever been willing to stand by Miu and encourage her or actually be her friend in spite of how awful Miu is at interacting with others.

Even in the talent development plan, Kaede’s often seen together with Miu a lot, which I think is super cute and confirms that even at Hope’s Peak, she’d still be trying to make sure Miu had a friend around. And she was able to tell that, despite what a disaster Miu’s idea with the Christmas lights was, it was Miu’s own way of trying to add to the festivities and do something nice for other people. All in all, it’s one of my favorite wlw DR ships, and I really love when fanworks capture just how shy or flustered Miu got around Kaede sometimes.

Of course, I like momoharu a lot as well! It’s one of the ships that has grown on me quite a bit in my absence, mostly just because despite all of Momota’s flaws, he really does want Maki to love herself first and foremost. Maki’s own feelings for Momota are so important to her character growth and really represent her feeling as though she’s finally made a choice for the first time in her life, and it’s really heartwarming to see. Also, any ship where the girl could lift a guy up with one arm without breaking a sweat is a pretty good ship in my opinion.

As for other ndrv3 ships that I enjoy a lot, there’s saihoshi (Hoshi is extremely underrated as a character, and I adore how sweet his FTEs and salmon mode with Saihara were; it’s also another ship where I feel Saihara would have to really take the initiative to make Hoshi fully open up, which I like), amamatsu (Kaede and Amami had a lot of really funny, great interaction in chapter 1 and some fun banter in their FTEs, so I would’ve loved to see more of it), and harumatsu/kaemaki (again, they have a lot of potential and it would have been extremely interesting to see them interact more).

I also like saiibo, not so much in the way that most people ship it (their love hotel is cute, don’t get me wrong!), but mostly because Kiibo’s FTEs are the funniest set of FTEs in the whole game in my opinion, and the twist where they were both looking down on each other without the other one knowing just made my jaw drop before I started laughing my ass off. They’re almost as much of a disaster together as Kiibo and Miu are, and I think the humor in their dynamic sometimes gets overlooked.

There are even more ships that I like, and I could keep going on and on, but I should probably leave things off here. Character interactions are so much fun in DR, both because of the genuine growth and character development from a lot of the cast, but also because so many of them are so whacky and borderline cartoonish that it’s just really fun imagining further interactions between them. Thank you for the fun ask, anon!

[cyanidas]

if you don’t mind me asking, what’s your story/headcanons on Smiffy? Was he born slime or was he cursed? How does he keep his suit from not getting wet? Sorry for the questions, I love your design for him, along with all the characters (especially CyQuest) and was wondering what headcanons you had for him.

Aw I really appreciate you asking! Plus the additional favor to my OCs was really nice of you to say ;]

In my usual setting, Smith was a human boy who lived while stationed on a fixed-orbit asteroid laboratory with his parents and uncle, who are all scientists. He had everything, his parents loved him, and the lab - though highly sought after by nearly anyone looking for power - was incredibly well hidden. His parents co-owned the company together, making him its heir.

But, suddenly (when he was 10) everything just fell apart. His parents were just found dead on the research floor, and the company had to find someone to maintain station until Smith grew up. That person was his uncle, who was his father's twin. He was also given custody.

Even quicker did his kind facade fall short. When the dust settled with the station's executives, he took every chance to hide Smith away, to hurt and mistreat him, and when that wasn't enough, he began to test on him. The uncle didn't really have a goal in mind, but DNA splicing was in its alpha stages, so he gave that a go with a handful of things he'd had on hand.

Let's just say, it was traumatizing to go through.

Smith managed to stay solid enough to get outside and temporarily lock his uncle in the lab. He ran away from him "Mad Father"-style and finally made it to the escape pods. He collapsed, however, failing to maintain form. With the help of a passing scientist who acted first with no questions asked, he was stuffed into a pod and launched at the closest planet - Craftia.

Littlewood - a faerie prince - was roaming a forest for food and wood one day when he noticed something sparking across the sky. It landed neatly in a field nearby, and he was unsure. Something felt off. Technically he was right, because a whole pile of slime fell out of it. Upon closer inspection, he sensed the soul of this slime - this was supposed to be a human child!! He had to act fast, because this child was not going to survive for very long!

Quickly, he gathered some things around him for a potion to hold him together until he could get him to his base, where he would spend months performing healing spells, giving him medicine to retain his strength, plus food and water, and a therapy measure where he would connect with this soul to try and heal his mind.

After weeks of this, Smith took form little by little, and then he could move. Then articulate. Then see. Then speak. Finally, he could get up from where he had stayed for so long. Because of all Littlewood had done for him, he stayed with him and gained an affinity for magic. Littlewood built him a special room in his tiny base, as well. He essentially raised him after that.

Smith got out of the house more often to make friends, though the local humans were not kind to him about his condition. Some were very sweet on the other hand, and he was able to encourage himself to get into the merchant business when he was around 18.

Smith takes fae medicine every day to maintain his form and not leak all over everything. If he skips even a day, it leaves him a little slippery like jello. If he skips a week or more, he cannot maintain form at all. On a strict schedule, though, i imagine if you touched him he would feel like solidified epoxy resin. Though since he's gooey by nature, he's much softer.

Not being human has given him a lot of body dismorphia, and in the beginning days of meeting Trott and Ross, he outright refused to acknowledge his being a slime man entirely. It took many years of being alone with his partners, who love him for who he is and what he's done for them, to trust that maybe he's not so bad this way. Through them, he was able to overcome his false ego and actually get a real one and I think that's beautiful 😭

Thank you so much for asking!!! And for reading!!!

[commentaryvorg]

Danganronpa V3 Commentary: Part 3.2

Be aware that this is not a blind playthrough! This will contain spoilers for the entire game, regardless of the part of the game I’m commenting on. A major focus of this commentary is to talk about all of the hints and foreshadowing of events that are going to happen and facts that are going to be revealed in the future of the story. It is emphatically not intended for someone experiencing the game for their first time.

Last time, as we started off chapter 3, everyone was a dick about Maki except for Kaito and Shuichi, not one but two Obvious Future Murder Scenes opened up, Tenko finally started being good less than a chapter before she kicks the bucket, and Kaito already began to deliver on his promise to take down Maki’s mask.

With all that opening stuff done, it’s free time.

Shuichi:  (Maki… This is probably her room. …I can’t just ignore what she said. She sounded really upset.)

You can attempt to hang out with Maki – Shuichi seems genuinely worried about her, which is lovely.

Maki:  “Didn’t I tell you to stay away from me? I’m staying away from you and the others. So just… pretend I’m not even here.”

Emphasis on “attempt”. She’s still too convinced that everyone should hate her to even try and engage with anyone. Needs a bit more of Kaito’s persistence before she’s ready to open up.

Tenko:  “Do you think it’ll be okay if we don’t do anything about Maki? She told us to stay away from her, but… I still think it’s dangerous to leave a killer like her unattended!”

It’s a shame Tenko isn’t able to understand the fact that Maki is obviously not going to kill anyone unless provoked. I’d have thought she might have been able to pick up on that, since she has a similar kind of mentality to Kaito. Maybe it’s that she needs to Aikido-throw Maki before she understands what’s going on in her head. Which… might get interpreted by Maki as an attempt to kill her, so it’s probably best not to, ha.

(Also I want to mention that Tenko is in her dojo and standing on one of the pillars like it’s no big deal, which is pretty cute.)

Kokichi:  “I am soooo disappointed in Kaito! Why does he care so much about killer girl!? …Oh, maybe he’s trying to suck up to Maki, so she doesn’t kill him.”

Apparently that idea makes more sense in Kokichi’s mind than even vaguely considering the possibility that Maki isn’t an awful terrifying person and Kaito has realised that. Or that Kaito could possibly be doing this entirely for Maki’s sake and not just to selfishly protect himself by manipulating her feelings. That’s the only reason Kokichi would ever engage with Maki, so obviously that’s got to be why Kaito’s doing it too, right.

Anyway, it shouldn’t be too hard to guess who I want to hang out with right now. He’s in Maki’s lab.

Kaito:  “Geez… Everyone’s saying the same thing. It’s not okay to lump them together just because they’ve both killed someone.”

Shuichi:  (Should I hang out with Kaito for a while?) [Yes]

Kaito:  “Kaede and Kirumi… did both kill someone… But that doesn’t make them murderous fiends…”

Shuichi:  (I spent some quiet time alone with Kaito…)

He doesn’t mention Maki, but he’s obviously thinking about her too. It’s a very good point that, since Kaede and Kirumi had understandable reasons for their crimes and weren’t terrible people just because they’d committed murder, everyone shouldn’t be immediately writing Maki off as a terrible person just because she’s killed people and should be trying to understand her reasons too.

It’s also rare to see Kaito spend the whole hangout session being quiet and thoughtful rather than finding something else to talk about to distract him. Not only is he bothered by the way everyone’s treating Maki, but, despite him being just as strongly opposed to murder as anyone, this killing game is probably the first time he’s ever had to confront the idea that having committed murder doesn’t necessarily make someone a bad person. Kaito’s the kind of person who prefers things to be black and white and have a very clear right and wrong, and this… doesn’t.

It’s nice that he and Shuichi can find comfort in each other’s company while they sort out their thoughts about this. They are friends.

Presumably after a certain amount of quiet thinking, Kaito decides he’s done brooding for now and starts talking to Shuichi about something completely unrelated, leading to the actual event.

(Or it’s because Shuichi broke the silence by giving him a present. But honestly I feel like the presents shouldn’t quite be considered properly canon, because it’s a very forced way to make someone like you more. Would Kaito really have not wanted to tell Shuichi all these things about himself if Shuichi hadn’t given him presents?)

Kaito:  “But since we’re here, aren’t you glad you met me?”

Shuichi:  “Glad I met you?” (Well… I guess Kaito has saved me before…)

One of the reasons I didn’t hang out with Kaito at every single opportunity during chapter 2 is that this FTE clearly canonically takes place after chapter 2 as evidenced by this part here. Shuichi would have no reason to think that Kaito has “saved” him during chapter 2’s free time, but after his training and his support of Shuichi during the trial? That makes a lot more sense, and it’s adorable that Shuichi thinks of it that way. Even if he might be a bit embarrassed to say that out loud.

Kaito:  “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about! Just be proud that you’re my sidekick!”

This, too, is proof this should be happening after the chapter 2 investigation in which Kaito first officially declared Shuichi his sidekick.

Shuichi:  (…A sidekick.)

Don’t think of it as a bad thing, Shuichi! You’re about to hear just how much it means for Kaito to see you that way.

Kaito:  “I’ve got quite the record. I could even be called the Ultimate Hero!”

Shuichi:  “Your ‘record’? What do you mean?”

Kaito:  “Heh, to tell the truth… I’ve had a number of sidekicks in the past.”

And now we learn the fact that Kaito very explicitly does this kind of thing all the time. It’s also interesting when you consider that his memories are actually fake and therefore he was deliberately written as someone with a natural inclination to do this for people. It’s very likely that Tsumugi specifically wanted him to do this for Shuichi as part of Shuichi’s “character arc” that she had planned. (That doesn’t make the fact that Kaito is doing this any less meaningful, though, since it’s all real to him.)

Kaito:  “That star rookie in the major league? He used to be my sidekick!”

Shuichi:  “What!?”

Kaito:  “That engineer who won a Nobel Prize? He also used to be my sidekick.”

Something very relevant to note is the way Kaito says these people used to be his sidekicks and therefore doesn’t consider them as such any more.

Kaito:  “I even showed our current prime minister the ropes of politics.”

…This might explain why the prime minister passed over all his authority to Kirumi.

Kaito:  “And that pop sensation? I taught her to sing and dance!”

Shuichi:  “Ah, I-I see…” (I don’t know about this… Some of those people are older than Kaito.)

Shuichi is right to be sceptical about this, but I believe Kaito is only exaggerating here about how great his sidekicks became or how much influence he really had on them. (Like, I doubt he actually taught the prime minister how politics works or the idol how to sing and dance, but I can believe that he could have given them the confidence to pursue those careers in the first place.) I don’t think he’s outright lying. He’s not the type to tell lies this elaborate when it’s not obvious that he’s really just pretending, especially for no good reason. Plus, his backstory is all made up, so anything’s possible – it’s still way more plausible than Gonta’s.

Kaito:  “That said… I only nudged them in the right direction.”

This part is very good and important! Kaito is willing to admit that his influence on all of his sidekicks is really relatively small, and it’s all their own potential that let them reach greatness. All Kaito did was recognise that potential in them and give them the right push to help them realise it. He’s admitting that all of these people are greater than him, even though he once called them his “sidekicks”.

Really, we need to talk about Kaito’s definition of the word “sidekick”, and now’s the perfect time to do it. It’s nothing like the regular definition of the word. Kaito means it as someone whom he, as the “hero”, is supporting and mentoring through their problems in order to help them reach their full potential that he already knew they had from the start. They start out emotionally weaker than him and therefore in need of his support, but that doesn’t for a moment mean that he sees them as lesser people. His choice of word might make it sound like he thinks they exist to be helping him out and making him look good, but that’s actually the complete opposite of what “sidekick” means to Kaito.

Kaito says that these people he just talked about only used to be his sidekicks because, now that they’ve reached their full potential, now that they’re strong enough that they don’t need his support and guidance any more, they no longer fit that definition.

And by saying this here, Kaito’s implying that he sees the same potential in Shuichi as he did in all these other former sidekicks of his who achieved greatness. Although, while this is what he’s implying, Kaito doesn’t go so far as to directly say that he thinks Shuichi has the potential to be greater than him or that he imagines Shuichi will one day not need him any more, which is… probably quite relevant.

Kaito: “With just a nudge, a person can change. They can break outta their shell. And it’s a real man who gives them the encouragement they need!”

Still, at least under normal circumstances, Kaito is able to be cool with the fact that his sidekicks might reach even greater heights than him and no longer be his sidekicks any more, because his role in giving them that nudge is still an important part of their development. He still gets to be the “hero” who inspired them to do great things.

…It’s interesting that he connects this to his concept of manliness here. This isn’t that related to what he’s usually meant by “manliness” up to this point, about being true to yourself. But still, being someone who can give that encouragement to others is something that’s very personally important to Kaito too, so I guess that’s why he considers this another “manly” thing. Yet again, it’s something that is not specifically connected to gender at all. If anything, giving people emotional support and cheering them on is something that’s usually considered more traditionally feminine.

Kaito:  “If you wanna talk about something, don’t hesitate! We’ll talk it out! Your worry is my worry! My worry is your worry!”

This is adorable and so very Kaito, but also, rewind a sentence, what was that last part again?

Kaito:  “My worry is your worry!”

Is it really, Kaito?

Kaito:  “And there’s nothing wrong with that!”

There sure isn’t!!! If only you would realise that for yourself—

Kaito is so delightfully hypocritical when it comes to dealing with his own issues and I love it. He stresses that there’s nothing wrong with the idea of sharing your worries, but even as he’s saying that, he’s only thinking about Shuichi sharing worries with him and definitely not ever the other way around. That wouldn’t make him a very inspiring hero to his sidekick, after all, would it?

There is a way in which “My worry is your worry” can technically be seen to be true for Kaito, in that he sees Shuichi’s problems as his biggest priority and therefore the first thing he worries about is whatever Shuichi is worrying about, and not anything that might be wrong with himself. When Kaito gives this line, he could be just thinking of it as essentially saying “Your worry is my worry” twice over with different phrasing, rather than that he’s ever claiming the opposite is also true when he knows it isn’t.

Shuichi:  (Kaito is always so honest and approachable. He’s willing to help you with anything. …Only someone like Kaito could help me. Only someone like him could tell me what I need to hear.)

I like Shuichi observing that not everyone could do what Kaito can do for people and he has a particular talent for this. Maybe he’s right to call himself the “Ultimate Hero”, in that very specific and unusual definition of the word “hero”.

Shuichi:  (…Ah, n-never mind. I shouldn’t be talking about another boy like that…)

This line is annoying. The thoughts that this follows are not something that should be giving Shuichi any reason to be going “oh no were those romantic feelings???”. Having someone who’s always there to help you and tell you what you need to hear is not inherently romantic in and of itself. The fact that Shuichi apparently thinks it is is a sign that he’s been affected by amatonormativity – or rather, let’s be real here, that the writing has. People can ship whatever they want if it makes them happy, that’s cool, but the narrative’s behaviour here of pointing at platonic concepts like the ones Shuichi just thought about and trying to claim that they’re obviously proof of romantic feelings is frustratingly amatonormative. Anyone can perfectly well have incredibly close friends whom they rely on for support without it necessarily having to be romantic.

Shuichi’s report card summary of this event has an interesting observation:

“Although, to be fair, his words do carry a lot of conviction, despite being a little strange.”

He appears to be remarking that, while Kaito’s claims are a bit difficult to believe, it doesn’t sound like he’s lying. Much like Gonta wasn’t lying about his ridiculous videogame crossover backstory, either.

Shuichi:  (Nighttime… I have training with Kaito.)

Even though they’ve only done it once so far and didn’t get a chance to for the past two nights, Shuichi still immediately assumes that they’ll be training again tonight. He’s really invested in it already!

Kaito:  “Hey, sorry I was late. I had trouble bringing her.”

I love how Kaito doesn’t even preface this by telling Shuichi “oh by the way I’m inviting Maki to training too”. He just says this like it’s obvious that he’d have wanted to bring her. Because it is, really.

Maki:  “Someone kept buzzing my intercom and I got so fed up, I finally opened the door.”

Kaito has been using his usual doorbell habits on Maki too, I see. That kind of persistence is actually necessary to get her to answer.

Kaito:  “Listen up! When a hero has to fight with a big enemy, they train, train, then train some more! That’s what this training is! It’s important for a hero like me.”

As ridiculous as this sounds, it actually does make a certain amount of sense in Kaito’s logic, if you assume he’s using the word “enemy” in the same sense he meant it when he was referring to Shuichi’s emotional weaknesses. Although then that does make it a little questionable that he’s mostly talking about his own training here, because obviously he doesn’t have any emotional weaknesses at all (right?). So I guess when he’s referring to himself, he does just want to mean a literal “enemy” like in a hero story, like all his heroic totally-true adventures when he was a kid.

Still, Maki doesn’t know what he ever means by that word and Kaito is being a huge dork to assume that she’s actually going to buy into this way of putting it.

Kaito:  “So you guys can be like the super dog, cat or horse by my side to help me be the hero!”

This: less helpful. Kaito’s strategy of making himself out to be the more important one to take the pressure off really isn’t what Maki needs, even if it helps Shuichi.

Maki:  “Did you really think that crazy explanation would convince me to stay?”

A good question. I guess Kaito was hoping he could convince her with a more light-hearted speech and not have to talk more directly about her issues, but, come on, Kaito, she was clearly never going to buy into this kind of ridiculousness.

Kaito:  “When I said I was the hero, that’s just from my perspective. Even super pets think of themselves as heroes. The same goes to both of you! Each of you are the heroes of your own stories! So act more like it!”

This part is great, though! Even though Kaito loves to make himself look like a hero, it’s not to make himself look better than other people. Everyone else’s stories are just as important as his! Kaito talks about himself the way he does largely to try and inspire other people to think of themselves with the same optimism and confidence that he has.

Maki:  “I don’t know what you’re up to… but I told you both to stay away from me. You know this will end badly if you don’t, so why are you being so difficult?”

It won’t, though, Maki! You made it clear that you’ll only kill people who try and kill you, and both Kaito and Shuichi obviously don’t want to kill you, so what’s wrong with you training with them?

Really, she’s saying this because Kaito has begun to get through to her. His previous, more ridiculous lines, she wrote off as stupid, but this one she’s not calling stupid, because he’s actually made it clear, in a roundabout way, that this is about her and he’s trying to help her. She’s trying to make an actual logical argument for why she shouldn’t be here (even though the argument isn’t logical at all) because she’s afraid of facing her issues like he wants her to.

Kaito:  “How long are you going to run away?”

…and Kaito, naturally, immediately identifies that that’s what she’s doing.

Kaito:  “Your mask is coming down… I could tell just by looking at you today. You’re not the terrifying person the others think you are… You’re just a coward.”

He’s picked up on the fact that she acts like a cold-blooded killer not because she is one, but because that’s her way of running away from the normal person she is inside who hates killing people and hates herself for it and hates that she was forced into this awful lifestyle. She is being a coward, because she’s afraid of facing up to all those horrible feelings and it’s easier for her to just pretend that she’s a cold-blooded killer who doesn’t feel anything at all.

Kaito:  “Hey, what’s your enemy?”

Maki:  “…Huh? My enemy?”

Kaito:  “You don’t need to tell me what it is, so long as you know it yourself.”

At this point, with the context he’s given, it should be fairly clear to Maki what Kaito really means by the word “enemy”. I really like how Kaito makes a point that she doesn’t need to tell him what her enemy is and is just encouraging her to look inside herself and figure it out for her own sake. Shuichi told Kaito what his “enemy” was, but that was because his problem was more how to overcome the fear that he’s already accepted that he has. However, Maki’s problem at the moment is accepting that she has this fear and self-loathing and loneliness in the first place, so Kaito doesn’t want to make that any more difficult for her by forcing her to admit that to anyone but herself if she’s not ready to yet.

Kaito:  “So, how long are you going to run away from your enemy?”

Maki:  “…Run away?”

Kaito:  “Yeah, you’ve been running away. It’s pretty pathetic. But… if you want to stand against it, even a little… I’ll train with you! So you can be strong!”

Again, Kaito is telling someone they’re weak, but then immediately following it up by assuring them that they can get stronger and that he’s here to help them with that. Weakness in and of itself is not a bad thing! Only running away from it and not trying to get stronger is.

Shuichi:  (…What?)

I don’t know why you’re so surprised, Shuichi. This is exactly what Kaito did for you, so it should be no wonder he wants to do the same for Maki.

Shuichi:  (Maki is getting angry… Kaito is just provoking her. Is he going to be okay? He’s antagonizing the Ultimate Assassin…)

He is going to be fine, Shuichi; you know full well she won’t kill him unless he’s trying to kill her. I don’t think Maki’s really getting angry; she’s just putting on a threatening face because that’s her instinctive defence mechanism for anything that jabs at her real emotions. Kaito’s not provoking her – he’s getting through to her.

Shuichi:  “Hey, Kaito… It’s okay, you don’t have to—”

It’s not okay and he does have to. Shuichi’s basically telling him to just give up on her, but there’s no way Kaito's about to do that. He’s going to keep trying until he convinces her to make an effort to change. Kaito can’t do anything for someone who doesn’t want to help themselves, and it might seem on the surface like Maki is one such person, but Kaito can clearly tell that deep down she does want to change and it’ll just take a certain amount of persistence from him to get her to admit that.

Maki:  “…Fine, I’ll do it.”

And he’s succeeded!

Maki:  “Don’t get the wrong idea. He’ll just bug me about it later if I refuse.”

Kaito:  “Heh, so you do get it!”

Maki:  “…The only way to deal with idiots like him is to give up and just keep nodding.”

Kaito:  “Y-You don’t get it at all!”

After everything Kaito just told her about what it would mean for her emotional growth to start training with him, she knows that by agreeing to the training she’s accepting that she wants to try and change. She’s only claiming that this is merely about getting Kaito to stop bugging her because she’s still hesitant to admit to herself that she really has made that decision.

(Also of note is that this is the first time Kaito has been called an idiot and not got riled up about it. Apparently he doesn’t mind if it’s from a Maki who knows he’s trying to help her.)

Kaito:  “Whatever… you just better get ready. I won’t hold back just cuz you’re a girl.”

Aaaand here’s a vaguely misogynistic Kaito line that probably shouldn’t exist. Kaito has fully accepted at this point that she’s a trained assassin and is not stupid enough to think she wouldn’t therefore be at least as physically fit as him, if not more. Even aside from that, there was the part back in chapter 1, long before he knew she was an assassin, where he took one look at her and immediately determined that she probably knew how to fight. He does not think she’s physically weak at all.

I can partially put this comment here down to Kaito not wanting to treat her like she’s a trained assassin for the sake of helping with her issues and making a conscious decision to treat her like he would any normal girl. And yes, even then it is still a little misogynistic of him to treat an ordinary girl this way – but even if you take that at face value and don’t write it off as a rare instance of Kaito being grazed by one of those temporary Misogyny Bullets, which it almost certainly is, I think it’s important to remember that this comment is entirely about physical strength. It doesn’t have any bearing on how Kaito feels about girls as people in terms of their emotional resilience, which, as should be abundantly clear by now in part thanks to everything else he’s said to Maki during this scene, has nothing to do with gender in his eyes.

Shuichi:  “H-Hey, Kaito… no slacking today, yeah? I’m counting your reps!”

Kaito:  “Heh, I’m on fire today. I can easily do 50 push-ups!”

Shuichi:  “I thought we were doing a hundred!”

Looks like Kaito is still trying to subtly draw attention away from the fact that he’s not as strong as he was expecting to be, with… limited success.

Of course, Maki makes it to a hundred in record time.

Kaito:  “Y-You’re not even out of breath… I guess you’ve trained before, huh?”

Kaito should know perfectly well that she would have gone through a lot of training as an assassin – so I’m also putting this one down to him again trying to treat her like a normal person and deliberately ignore the fact that he knows she’s a trained killer.

Maki:  “Aren’t you breathing a little too hard? It’s not like we really pushed ourselves.”

Kaito:  “B-Before coming here, I did some warm ups… I already did 500 push-ups, so…”

Kaito is trying – rather terribly – to continue to seem like the hero who can inspire others to reach his standards. His words inspiring Maki to become emotionally stronger lose a bit of their oomph if the way for her to supposedly do so is through an activity that she is clearly way better at than him. (Even though the exercise isn’t really the main point, and especially not for Maki who is already more than physically fit enough already.)

Maki:  “Anyway, I’m done and you can’t say I didn’t train with you. I’m going back to my room.”

Kaito:  “Okay, we’re doing training tomorrow, too! You better be there!”

(Maki ignored Kaito and left without a word.)

Kaito:  “Geez, why’s she gotta be so difficult?”

I dunno, Kaito, I think she’s already made some good progress for today. It was always going to take a lot for her to admit to herself that she wanted to change, and that’s what she did when she agreed to train. That’s enough for now.

Shuichi:  “Hey, Kaito… why did you do all this? To help her?”

Of course that’s why, Shuichi! Just like he’s been doing for you!

Kaito:  “Hm? If someone’s weak, you help them out. Teamwork’s important for astronauts.”

I like how Kaito says this like it should be obvious to everyone, because it really is that obvious to him. And I still really love how Kaito’s talent is intrinsically connected to the kind of person he is in ways that have nothing to do with space.

Kaito:  “If someone’s weak and suffering, there’s no way you can just leave them!”

Shuichi:  “Weak and suffering? *Maki*!?”

I guess maybe what Shuichi found hard to grasp about the idea that Kaito wanted to help Maki is the idea that Maki needed help in the first place. It didn’t occur to Shuichi that Maki could be weak, since he thinks of “weakness” only in a way which is specific to how he is weak, and Maki’s weakness is of a very different kind.

That… would also explain quite a few things about the way Shuichi continues to view Kaito in upcoming chapters, huh.

Kaito:  “Well, in that sense, you’re— No, your case is a little different.”

Shuichi:  “What do you mean?”

Kaito:  “N-Nothing! Anyway, let’s keep going.”

Kaito was about to use Shuichi’s weakness as an example to explain how Maki also has weaknesses, but he cut himself off when he realised that he no longer thinks Shuichi is weak. Not after Kirumi’s trial in which Shuichi heroically faced the truth and saved everyone. But he’s not willing to admit that – not to Shuichi or to himself – so he avoids the question and changes the subject. This is another early subtle hint at Kaito’s jealousy of Shuichi and I love it.

Shuichi:  (Kaito ended up saying he ‘didn’t remember’ how many push-ups he did… We agreed to just start over, and we were exhausted by the time we reached 100.)

Seems like Kaito wasn’t keen to come across as lazier than Shuichi again and actually put in the effort to do the same amount as him this time. Which really shouldn’t have left him as equally exhausted as someone who’s only doing push-ups for the second time ever, now, should it.

Shuichi:  (Kaito bringing Maki… he really is crazy. But maybe it’s because he’s crazy that Maki came in the first place. … Kaito… you really are something else.)

Hee, Shuichi realising that Kaito’s unique brand of stubborn ridiculousness is exactly what allows him to have such an effect on people.

---

[Next post]

[imagine-shenanigans]

Matchup for :> anon!

Can I have a matchup for Awakening/Fates? I'm a girl whos willing to date anyone that i get along with. I usually try to be cheerful when I'm with other people and I like to pull some small pranks my friends as well. I do tend to get more grumpy and pessimistic when i'm alone since I end up overthinking alot of things, and I also have low self esteem since I constantly compare myself to my friends. I have a tendency to hoard small things that just pile up in my room or workspace. (1/2)

I also tend to wear a jacket everywhere since I get cold really easily. Also, the jacket usually has at least 4 pockets that I can store items in until I drop them into my hoard. I'm also not the most expressive so I tend to bottle up my emotions that I don't like. Around my s/o I'd probably be kinda awkward since I'm not really used to giving any type of affection. The most I would do is try to draw or handmake a gift for them. I also like to spend quiet time with them relaxing. (2/2)

I just did awakening for this one, sorry! I was having trouble with the fates one so...

Awakening: Lissa, Gangrel, Vaike

For you, I picked Lissa as my top choice. This is because I feel like the two of you would just click on a base level, and possibly bond over pranking the shit out of Chrom and others. (Lissa takes the heat for the Chrom pranks, even if it was your idea. And the Frederick ones. Neither of them believe it but they just don’t have enough evidence to disprove it.) She has her own insecurities as well, so she knows where you’re coming from, and she’s very helpful! She just sort of naturally has this way of making you feel better, without even knowing because she just happens to say a lot of the right stuff. She speaks from the heart, so when she says she understands and starts saying all the things she loves about you and stuff? You know she means it. I’m one hundred percent convinced Lissa adores handmade gifts. I mean, she likes ones that have been bought too, but she prefers the homemade stuff, since it shows that you put the time and effort into doing something with her in mind, and it’s got much more sentimental value than if you’d just bought her somehting. I mean, she is kinda a princess, and while she appreciates the thought behind gifts more than the gifts themselves, she CAN sorta just buy stuff when she’d like. So, yknow, she likes the homemde stuff because she can’t buy the time and effort and thought you put into something for her. 

Also, she totally thinks the hoard is adorable, and definitely will help get you shelves or something to show off all your items. She loves seeing the things you like.

She’d also not mind the affection being awkward, and would encourage you to show affection. She’d be patient though, and more than willing to initiate touches and such, as long as she knows that you’re awkward about it simply because you aren’t used to it, and not because you don’t like her. On that note, an issue I could very much see becoming a semi-to-pretty-big-problem is the matter of your insecurities. Lissa has quite a bit of her own, considering her brand never appeared, and she’s constantly comparing herself to her siblings and others, and she really just wants to do her best. I could see the two of you getting lost in your own problems, and possibly hurting each other, but, yknow, no relationship is perfect, and it’s simply part of being in one. You’re going to have fights, and you’re going to argue, and you’re going to be upset at each other, and that’s okay! It’s perfectly normal to do that (just.. not constant fighting of course) and healthy, so as long as the two of you take a breath, realize what’s going on, and actively repair it... things will be okay. 

Okay onto the next ship, because I had a LOT of thoughts about Lissa.

If you’re okay with villains, I picked Gangrel for you. I feel like he would be a good match, considering he genuinely feels bad for the things he did while he let power go to his head, and abused it. He has his own insecurities, and although he’s not the best at it, he genuinely can’t fathom why someone as amazing as you would be insecure, when he’s such a big fuckup - like, it’s a miracle you’re even with him??? It’s going to be a point in the relationship that becomes an issue at some time, but the two of you will learn healthier ways to cope with your issues and come back stronger. 

He’s the type who thinks pranks are great. He loves watching your handiwork play out, and will join in on the particularly harmless ones that won’t have people upset at him because it’s, well, him. (He’d totally join in on all of them, but he also doesn’t want to get in trouble...) He definitely loves to join in on the pranks when he can, and loves laughing at them with you, watching your teamwork come to life. He’s totally enamored with you, ngl. Speaking of, he’s totally in love with your hoard, and constantly tries to find things he thinks you’ll like (even if you don’t add it) and he’s almost always thinking of you. And while he’s definitely still just a touuuuch materialistic, he genuinely loves anything you get, or make him, because it means you like him! It means you were thinking of something he would want or like! And that means a lot.

He would probably be upset with your awkward affection (the hypocrite) because he wonders if you’re disgusted at the sight of him and don’t want to touch him (goddamn gangrel get it together man) but when you explain to him that you just... aren’t used to giving affection (and possibly receiving?) he has like, a lightbulb moment, and ends up hugging you and decides that from then on he’s going to give you SO much affection that you burst. You’ll have to tell him to back off a touch, but he just... loves you too much to let you go without receiving affection and even if you’re still awkward about it, he wants you to be comfortable around him.

I also picked Vaike as an option for you, on the chance you aren’t okay with villains, because he’s a decent fit in my opinion. He’d be half and half on the pranks you play on people, but he’d think they’re fucking great tbh. He laughs at them as long as they aren’t on him (which he’ll laugh about later, don’t worry) and he’d love the fact that you always have pockets. Man he’ll never forget anything now, because he can just ask you to carry it for him! Except his axe, that is....

He’s not without insecurites either, but they’re not too terribly bad. He’s awfully confident in himself, but he completely understands comparing yourself to others - I mean, look at his relationshp with Chrom. He’s trying his best to be the best, and he’s not one for words, but he hopes that he can help you, either by helping you by showing you how much he cares, or just by sorta saying whatever comes to mind. He’s a bit of a blockhead, so uh, just know he means the best. despite that fact he’s a dumbass.

With affection, he’s really big on it, so just tell him outright that you’re not used to it, and he’ll be more understanding! Not that he’s going to stop on his end, unless you explicitly tell him to (even then he’s just a big teddy bear... he cant stop hugging you when he sees you or throwing an arm over your shoulder with the biggest, dumbest grin)

Honorable Mentions: Cordelia, Cherche, Noire, Owain

I picked Cordelia fleetingly and on a whim, because it felt sorta cute, but her perfectionism just.. would not end well with you. The two of you would probably not click because despite her own insecurities, she’d probably jsut make you feel worse about yourself on accident, or unintentionally, while trying to help, or just by being her. I mean, look what happened with Severa... but that doesn’t mean she’s awful, it’s just I feel like you two would just end up not being good for each other.

I picked Cherche because she’s very caring, but... I felt she might suffocate you. She’s a very strong person, and although she’s not without some sort of insecurities, she’s very confident and I feel like you might be constantly comparing yourself to her. I mean, she’s strong, and brave, and she’s kind, and she’s incredibly skilled in the domestic arts, plus she has a dragon? You would probably end up seeing most of her good sides, and not her flaws, and it wouldn’t be very good. Cherche is also pretty confident, so despite any insecurites she may have, she might have trouble trying to connect with you on that level. 

Noire is someone who has insecurities she knows about, and that she could connect with you on, but I felt like she might just end up too enveloped in how cool you are and how not she is, and vice versa. It’s just one of those ones where both of you are just insecure enough that you can’t really help each other. Which isn’t a bad thing! That happens and there’s no need to be ashamed of it. If you don’t click with someone, you don’t click with someone, yknow? I think the two of you could certainly be friends, once you’re in a little better place (both of you that is) or you jsut won’t. I feel like it’s one of those where you’ll either click instantly or just turn up with nothing tbh

For Owain, I picked him because he’s going to be able to connect with you over insecurities, and your pranks remind him of the times he and his mom would play pranks on family members when he was younger, so it’s really fun to have fun with you! He’s pretty loud though, and dramatic, and I wasn’t sure how you’d take that, but I think, just base personalities, you and Owain could really connect! But I also ship you with Lissa, so I could see this going either friends or you’re his parent sorta route, more than relationships, which is why I put him in honorable mentions. He’s very good, it’s just that I wasn’t sure about it yknow

[ruffoverthinksthings]

God Help The Outcasts (Part 2): The Monster

“Jesus Christ, you’re an even uglier motherfucker in person than you are on TV!” is Claudine’s first reaction to meeting Quasimodo in person.

Quasimodo’s reply to that is to smile, and say, “Yeah, the make-up artists here in Auradon are real miracle workers.”

Claudine is initially incredibly distrustful of Quasimodo, both for his physical appearance (“the uglier the mug, the meaner the motherfucker” is a very reliable rule of thumb on the Isle), and how Frollo framed him as someone who would “betray those who cared and loved him for years, all for the sake of a demonic temptress who poisoned his mind, clouding it with lust and sweet lies.”

(“Did you even understand all the claims he was making? As in, knew the meaning of all the words he was throwing about?” Esmeralda thought of asking once.

“Hell no, but it sounded confusing and terrifying, a combination you learn to fear pretty quick,” Claudine replied.)

It doesn’t help that, as a break from his usual work of being a paid public speaker and a frequent accomplice of Esmeralda in all her political activities, he’s taking the time to help Claudine and the “Third Wave” VKs adjust to life in Auradon.

This entails both being their Remedial Goodness Teacher (filling all the desks in a class with only one teacher is a never-fail recipe for trouble), and being their legal guardian, as Ben already has his hands full being legally responsible for the Rotten Four, plus Freddie, CJ, and Zevon.

(In the case of the latter two, they’re on parole, or under a special manhunt lead by Ben.)

Because of the prior successes of the first two waves of VKs brought over to Auradon, the Third Wave is a LOT more expansive, requiring both good attendance, keeping up a certain grade point average, and “(Relatively) Good Behaviour” in Auradon Prep, alongside participating in at least one after-school activity that forces them to interact with, help, and try to integrate with the larger community outside the walls of the school.

Because she has experience talking to people, is one of the most well-spoken and literate of the VKs, and is one of the most conventionally attractive next to Evie, Claudine often ends up as the representative of the VKs alongside Quasimodo, being the one to shake hands and smile for the camera, sit in at meetings beside him, and be the speaker for all of her fellow VKs.

This all actually goes well and good for the first two weeks, when the media has eyes, interest, and most importantly, cameras and live feeds on the various programs, everyone doing their damndest to give the best shots they can and show that the VKs and the residents of Auradon ARE playing nice with each other, and can get along.

It all steadily starts to collapse as the media moves back to adorable puppies and kittens, the exploits of romantic couples from the non-royal classes going through their respective movie-esque adventures as their relationships develop, and the less serious and very topical, frivolous political scandals going on about Auradon.

(“Breaking News: The Quarterly Lace and Silk Union’s Meeting In Jeopardy as Organizers Unable to Decide What Colour the Linens Should Be!”)

Claudine steadily starts to see the ugliness and the plasticity behind Auradon’s sunny, happy facade, realizes that so many of these people are suffering just as much as the people on the Isle just in completely different ways, and gets absolutely disgusted by how willfully ignorant they are or how even they, the oppressed and suffering, decide to play it off as “complaining too much about nothing,” to outright encouraging them to just accept it as a part of their life, and that they should even be thankful for the fact that it is incredibly difficult for them and their children to get off the farm and into higher education.

“Just think of what Auradon would be like if we didn’t have you and our families tilling the fields, pouring all our love and hard work into growing the food on everyone’s tables!”

It doesn’t disgust her just yet to positive action, as it just reinforces her belief that the world is a completely shallow, awful, judgmental place where everyone’s lying to everyone, sunny smiles and good behaviour are only for not getting thrown onto the Isle or suffering Maleficent’s wrath; people talk bad about you behind your back all the time; and beauty really is only skin deep as she meets plenty of attractive people just as petty and ugly as she is on the inside.

“The only difference between us is, I’ll happily admit I’m a bitch, they keep on believing they’re perfect little angels who can do no wrong.”

It bothers her even more that Quasimodo is still so incredibly nice and kind in the face of all this plasticity and insults, the odd mean-spirited joke or unintentional insensitivity as these past two decades have done him no favours.

He never gets angry, he ignores them, and like with Claudine’s first meeting, he joins in with the joking at his expense.

Meanwhile, Claudine is constantly firing jabs back, spends quite a lot of time on her new phone thinking up the worst and most vicious burns to her various “Pharisees” both online and offline, and happily “flies her bitch flag high” because it means she’s not hypocritical like they are.

It all comes to a head when during a speech at a big community event at a Christian church, an ill-timed joke from the MC and a sleepless night spent in Flitter wars combine, and Claudine explodes in a flood of vitriol and hatred, teaching many young children and AKs an entire dictionary’s worth of “colourful language” before giving them a handful of visual references for rude gestures before the Royal Guard finally succeed in hauling her off the stage.

(As with my fanfic Reunions, hauling away an actor, and hauling away an actual violent, angry, and dangerous individual are two VERY different things.)

Fittingly enough, Claudine and Quasimodo end up locked together in the office of the priest.

“I’m not apologizing for anything I said back there, if that’s what you’re going to ask me to do,” Claudine asks as she perches on the desk.

“Is this the kind of person you want to be, Claudine?” Quasimodo asks quietly.

“No, as a matter of fact, I didn’t want to be the daughter of holier than thou horndog, only here because your new king wanted to do something different,” Claudine snaps.

“I don’t mean your past, Claudine,” Quasimodo said. “I mean now, and your future—do you always want to be like what other people think you are, a ‘bitch’?”

“To be fair, it seems to be as set in stone for them as the original Ten Commandments! Don’t want to make so many people look stupid by proving their stupid-ass biases dead wrong, wouldn’t I? That’d be mean!”

“This is your chance to turn to ‘Good,’ Claudine!” Quasimodo cries. Quietly, he adds, “Please, don’t waste it—you may not ever get another chance.”

Claudine scowls as her hands ball into fists and shake once more. “I have tried ‘Good’ before, alright? I spent the first ten years of my life, doing everything I could to be the most saintly person I could be on that hellhole on the Isle.

“And what did it get me?

“A father that stopped loving me the moment Mother Nature signed me up for a monthly subscription to Satan’s Waterfall. Getting humiliated, bullied, and shunned by pretty much everyone but the crazies in my father’s congregation. Did what every ‘Good Christian’ should and tried to turn someone to the light, and ended up almost getting burned alive for it.

“And I only got out of that fire because of all the exercise I had climbing up and back down those fucking bell towers, each and every single day, like a Good Little Christian Girl.”

“I am done, trying to be good, alright…?” Claudine said, raising a shaking finger at Quasimodo. “All the ‘good’ trying to be ‘good for goodness sake’ has brought me is a super-sized personal hell in a handbasket.”

“Auradon is different,” Quasimodo said. “Believe me: they’ll come around, you just have to try.”

“And what in the hell am I supposed do to try and change these people’s minds?!”

“You act good, and you try not to do evil, until they realize they were wrong.”

“So what, I’m just supposed not deck someone for talking smack about me right in front of my face, let them humiliate me like the Pharisees did JC, before they rile everyone up, put me through a phony trial, and convince the masses to nail me to a fucking cross?!”

Quasimodo nodded. “Yes. But without the crucifixion part.”

“This fucking sucks!” Claudine cries as she throws her hands up in the air. “I’m the victim here, they’re the ones at fault for letting the Isle exist in the first place—hell, they were probably the people that probably voted ‘Aye’ as soon as the question came up!

“How come I have to bust my ass trying to prove I’m not a hell-raising, home-wrecking, 2nd-Deadly-Sin-Tempting succubus when they’re the ones that made me who I was in the first place?!”

Quasimodo shrugged. “I’m sorry, Claudine, that’s just how the world works,” he says sadly. “But, if it worked for someone like me”--he gestured to his face--”it’ll work for you, right…?”

Claudine stared at him, before she dropped her hands, and a look of pure, absolute hopelessness coming over her face. “You know what? Fuck it,” she says, all the bite and the sarcasm gone from her voice—now, she just sounds tired. “Fuck it, fuck this whole ‘Villain Kid Rescue and Reformation’ Program, send my apologies to Big Ben, I’m fucking done.”

Quasimodo got up and walked over to her. “Claudine, you can’t just quit now--”

“And why shouldn’t I?!” Claudine cries, her voice choked, her eyes watering. “Why shouldn’t I quit when there isn’t a light at the end of this fucking tunnel, it’s just a giant ‘Maybe’?! What’s gonna happen if no one changes their mind, huh? What’s gonna happen to me, when I bust my ass and give everything I have trying to be ‘Good’ again, but it just turns out once more that my all just wasn’t good enough?!”

Tears started streaming down her cheeks. “What will I have, when I have nothing left to give, I have nowhere to turn to, and have no one but myself…?” she whispered.

Quasimodo smiled and opened his arms. “You’ll have me,” he said softly. “And Esmeralda. And Madellaine, and Phoebus, and Zephyr, and Ben, and all the other people here in Auradon who want you to stay, who will stand by your side, who believe—no, who know you’re not like your father, at all!

“Claudine… you’re not a monster… you’re a person, just like me.”

Claudine just stares at him, eyes blurred and red from crying, hiccuping and sniffling from the snot clogging her nose.

“Do you need a hug?” Quasimodo asked.

Claudine lunges for him and wraps her arms tight around him. As she buries her face into his shoulder, she shouts, “Don’t tell anyone about this, or you’re dead, you hear me? Dead!”

Quasimodo just smiles and hugs her right back.

“I won’t,” he says. “I promise.”