#shroud family spoilers

[toreii]

Chief: “After entering the magic area, the gear’s activity limit is about 20 minutes.”

Ortho: “20 minutes. Just that…!”

Director: “The purpose of this insertion mission is not to subdue Malleus Draconia.”

Director: “Once you have set up the analysis anchors in the area, you are to return to headquarters immediately.”

Ortho: “Okay.”

Chief: “Finally, let’s review the most important thing for this mission.”

Chief: “……Okay? Ortie.”

Chief: “You absolutely, absolutely, can’t be reckless. If you get scared or think it’s dangerous, be sure to turn back.”

Chief: “Understood?”

Ortho: “Yup, got it!”

Chief: “……That’s all you have to say?”

Chief: “Geez! Just because you understand. You don’t listen to what mama has to say at all!”

Chief: “Why are boys like this? Mama, no amount of heart is enough.”

Chief: “You’re just like your big brother. Once you decide to do something, there’s no stopping it.”

Ortho: “Mom…”

Chief: “See. Papa, say something!”

Director: “……Ortho. This is a problem that ‘S.T.Y.X. and the Magical Force should deal with.”

Director: “There is no need for you to go to that island, and put yourself in danger.”

Director: “It’s okay……you don’t have to go.”

Ortho: “Dad…”

Ortho: “Thanks. Treating me, a humanoid, like a real family member. I’m happy.”

Ortho: “But, I don’t want to see you lose your precious son anymore.”

Ortho: “It’s only something I can do. So, I’ll go.”

Ortho: “And, I will definitely save my brother.”

Ortho: “This is my……our ‘will’.”

Director ・Chief: “…………………”

Chief: “Ortie. You’re one of our precious sons.”

Chief: “Promise me. You’ll absolutely come back safely.”

Ortho: “……Yeah. I promise.”

Chief: “Then, let’s hug. A promise hug.”

Ortho: “Hehe. I’m fully charged! Well, I’ll depart early.”

Ortho: “Nii-san awaits, at Sage’s Island!”

[kenchann]

doodling the shrouds fam cause i love them

[dicenete]

I have only met them couple of minutes ago and I'm convinced that they would be like this. :) Mama and Papa Shroud are so precious. I love them. I did this doodle so fast just so I can ramble abour their helmet designs!!! Rambling begins after the cut! ^^

Okay first I just thought it was funny that we didn't get face reveals or anything like this, easy to do these like this, no need to do expressions and so on... But! Then I started to look a bit closer.... Mama Shroud has flowers in in her helmet. And that got me thinking........... Persephone?? In Greek mythology Persephone is the Queen of the Underworld and the wife of Hades. But she is also the goddess of the dead, the underworld, grain, and NATURE = Flowers. The quick overview of the myth of Persephone is that Hades fell in love with her and kidnapped her to be his bride in his domain, the underworld. Some myths say that Persephone hated the whole deal but some myths say that she fell in love with Hades after everything. (debatable topic and well ancient mythologies rarely were about roses and rainbows) But the point being: Mama Shroud is someone who isn't originally from the Shroud family, the bloodline that was cursed with the bloodcurse and the duty to look over the gate to the Underworld. And since we kinda get the idea that the Island of Woe is very guarded and rarely lets outsiders in (unless they modify their memories and send them off), if Mama Shroud came from somewhere else, she is tied to the Island of Woe now as the wife of Papa Shroud and her kids.

But I think, unless they state otherwise, I'm sure Mama Shroud can visit her relatives. Atleast for the spring to fall and then be winters in the island of woe : DDD Ya know... cause that's how Greek myths explained four seasons. :)

And when you look closer at Papa Shroud's helmet... IT TAKES SHAPES FROM HADES'S DESIGN FROM DISNEY'S HERCULES:

I just thought their helmet designs were very nice and I love the attention to detail :3

[sleepyorchidmonster]

Soo, remember in Glorious Masquerade, when Malleus came up with the story that the cause of the Crimson Lotus was unknown, and Rollo was actually trying to save everyone alongside the NRC students?

What if that's another bit of foreshadowing for the end of Book 7?

Briar Valley is in a really precarious position now, still recovering from the Silver Owls, with the Senate mostly taking over while Maleficia grieves, so Malleus overblotting is just another blow to the fae, even if students like Leona, Kalim, Vil and Idia manage to advocate on his behalf.

So why not spin the tale of how there was an unnamed threat on the island that was so Dire (pun intended for Crowley) and all-encompassing that Malleus had to go all out?

To avoid collateral damage and prevent the issue from reaching the rest of the globe, he had no choice but to use his UM to cover the whole island, keeping everyone safe in a peaceful slumber while the threat was dealt with. Luckily, STYX coordinated efforts with the rest of Briar Valley and they managed to subdue the threat both inside and outside the barrier, and everyone is safe now!

That way, the world can see Malleus not as an uncontrollable monster, but as a fierce protector who might go a bit overboard, but means well (also he's a dragon and his remaining family was on the island, so his protectiveness is understandable). Therefore, it's best to befriend the fae and Briar Valley than make enemies out of them!

The only problem is the rest of the student body and staff that saw the overblot at Lillia's farewell party, but I'm pretty sure STYX's Lethe program is back on to deal with the mobs, while the rest of the cast can be sworn to secrecy in exchange for having Malleus owe them a favour (they can use Azul's UM for the NDA).

As for the problem, NRC has been dealing with overblots at least once a month, not to mention the STYX invasion, and the Phantom Dwarves back in the mines, and how Book 7 might introduce the true mastermind and that's what we have to deal with in Book 8... They just have to pick ONE of the options above.

As a sidenote, having Sunset Savanna become Briar Valley's fiercest allies because Leona told his brother that Malleus is his friend would be so funny. Falena sees his depressed brother going to the trouble of making a whole Power Point presentation to convince the council on the benefits of allying to Briar Valley, all to save a school friend, and just decides that Malleus Draconia will have his unending support. Kifaji too.

(Leona has been ignored and belittled so many times that he prepared for the worst and made a whole slide presentation in hopes of defending his point well enough. Shoud've just led with "Malleus Draconia is a friend of mine who just went through a very traumatic experience and I want to help him" Kifaji and Falena would accept in a heartbeat).

BONUS:

Leona: *Practicing his Power Point presentation at 2AM*

Cheka: Unca, what are you doing in the middle of the night?

Leona: I'm just practicing, no one (my dormmates aside) ever likes my ideas and I have to make sure this works...

Cheka: Why?

Leona: Well you see... [starts explaining the inportance of supporting Briar Valley at theur moment of need and the benefits an alliance may bring to the table] ... also the Lizard would love if-

Cheka: Why do you keep calling Malleus Draconia "Lizard"? Is he your friend? Do you want to help him?

Leona, sighing: Yeah kiddo, he is my friend. He's been going though some tough times, almost lost his father and brother, and as much as we butt heads, well, no one deserves that...

Cheka: So why don't you just say that he's your friend and you wanna help him instead of talking about those "tweatwies"?

Leona: First of all, it's "treaties", and second, well, Briar Valley is in trouble, and helping them might get us in trouble too. Also I'm just the accursed second prince, people never listen to me, I need to back up my proposal with facts.

*random noise that sounds like a mix between a growl and a sob (Falena and Kifaji are eavesdropping lol)*

Leona: What's that?!

Cheka, panicking: Probably the wind....

*THE NEXT DAY*

Leona, finishing the presentation: And that's my proposal, any questions?

Random councilman: Well I-

Kijaji, smiling menacingly: I think it's a splendid idea, Leona. Briar Valley has been a longtime friend of ours, so it's only right that we help them in their time of need.

Falena, also smiling menacingly: Agreed! I'm so proud of you, my brother!

Leona: Wait, seriously!?

Falena's wife, smiling and sharpening a knife while subtly observing the other councilmen, marking targets: Of course, Leona! You have a sharp mind and this is a good plan. Briar Valley will have Sunset Savanna's full support for the coming criais, isn't that right, councillors?

Other councillors: Yes Ma'am!! Don't kill us pls

[anistarrose]

pajama headcanons that I (mostly) couldn't fit into this nightmare fic:

taako: mongoose onesie

lup: owns a matching onesie but usually just falls asleep in a t-shirt and sweatpants

barry: exclusively t-shirt and jeans. has the "only one acceptable type of clothing to put on your legs and it's jeans" kind of autism, and that doesn't go away at night

kravitz: black satin nightgown that looks like a burial shroud, and a matching sleep cap

[karmicpunishment]

[playful land sailing away from land and cutting everyone off from internet contact] idia, miles away back at NRC, seeing ortho's tracker go offline:

[ocean-candy-fish]

[BOOK 7 SPOILERS]

Papa and Mama Shroud....❤️‍🔥💀

[cereal-abyss-mage]

robin's position in the Family is so interesting to me

she seems to kind of be representing the family publically through her career, and yet she holds basically no direct political power in penacony. she was raised by the oak family but only sunday was fully informed about the stuff going on internally. the line in the 2.3 quest that she is "as good as her brother" (or something similar) implies that the high-ranking family members didn't really value her all that much prior to the trailblaze mission's events

but she is so recognizable and such a big public figure that she still generates penacony good publicity and exposure, which, for the family, means more profit and an easier time covering up their asses about any corruption happening behind the scenes. and that makes her very valuable in the family.

and for that reason, I feel like robin being this shining beacon of harmony was also very appreciated by followers of the order because of her personal connection to both gopher wood and sunday, who were both very involved with all that. and in a way she just increases their trustworthiness by simply existing

her having no political power and limited information also works to prevent her from distancing herself from the family because of its corruption. she would not stand for things like the order, so the only way to keep her involved is to just not tell her shit

basically my point is that robin and sunday were both kind of taken advantage of by the family and raised to be their figureheads

and it's really interesting to think about

[storybrook-and-fruitsbaskets]

Mama Shroud says "your brothers"

As in, the Shroud parents think of A.I. ORTHO as their third child and his big brothers are Idia and (rip) Ortho!!! 😭

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Brief history of this request! 🤡 I originally wrote this as a response to it; the original interaction went up a little while before the book 7 part 3 update was released… and that update happened to give us a lot more information about the Shroud family dynamics. It was unfortunately bad timing!

This post is a rewrite which incorporates the new Shroud family canon from the update.

***Contains major plot spoilers for book 6 of the main story!***

Family means Nobody is Left Behind or Forgotten.

The students of Night Raven College had become accustomed to rather odd sightings—so when young Ortho Shroud sailed by them with two floating tablets in tow, no one batted an eye at it. That shut-in brother of his, the rumor was, maybe he multiplied. In a sense, there was truth to that theory.

“It’s so nice to have the whole family together!” gushed a woman’s squeaky voice from one device. “Isn’t it, Papa? Everyone’s so busy, we hardly get to do these kinds of things anymore.”

Beside her, her husband cleared his throat. He replied with a blunt, somewhat stiff, “Mmm, quite. It is… certainly a different environment than the laboratory.”

Idia didn’t know which was worse—his mother’s smothering cuteness, or his father’s calculating aloofness. The love and the logic. In anime and manga, they were amusing enough archetypes. But in reality? Cringe with a capital C, especially when they were acting as a unit in public.

He could feel the heat of his peers’ gazes directed at him as they passed like phantoms trailing over a graveyard. The curiosity, the whispers, the stares. The only thing that was keeping Idia sane was the safety offered by his tablet’s screen.

Hunkered down in his Ignihyde bedroom, he was safe from direct judgment—but not free of the embarrassment his parents provided. No, that was always eternal.

“Wh-Why did you guys even bothering showing up on the NRC Family Day banner…” Idia grumbled under his breath. Man, the one time I didn’t want to pull the SSRs… and they came home anyway!

There was an appalled gasp from the end of the line. “Of course Mama and Papa came! It’s Family Day. It’s a time us parents to see what mischief our genius little boys have gotten up to while they’re away!”

Idia couldn’t see his mother’s image on her screen, but he could only imagine she was winking in a conspiring manner to Mr. Shroud. He would give an awkward smile beneath his helmet and probably say something in agreement with her.

“Ideally, we’ve have liked to come in person,” his mother continued.

Mr. Shroud cleared his voice and neatly cut in. “However, with the recent incident… well, let’s just say we’ve had to lay low and wait for the dust to settle. My staff are working overtime moderating the metrics of this situation.”

“Quite right, dear! We can’t exactly waltz into Night Raven College! It would put us at risk of being scrutinized, especially with all the viral internet rumors swirling around.”

“Shadowy secret organization puppeteers Twisted Wonderland,” Mr. Shroud recited, shaking his head in disapproval, “Lizard people real, global warming is a hoax, tap water turning the frogs gay… Where do the youths come up with such preposterous claims?”

They’re covering their bases, Idia told himself. After that incident… We never wiped the subjects’ memories with the River Lethe. It exposes a chink in our armor—they could talk, spread what they know.

Then… Th-There’s no way people wouldn’t be curious. Internet sleuths with nothing better to do will dig up dirt from the most obscure corners of the web and tout it as truth!! That’s why even STYX has been having such a hard time containing it.

“What are you gonna do? Haters gonna hate.” Idia shrugged. “… I get it. You don’t have to go explaining yourselves to us. It’s a waste of breath.”

Cynicism slipped in at the last second. A habit, hard to squash.

Ortho chimed in, clearing the air with his cheer. “Nii-san’s right! What’s important is that we get to spend time together, bonding like any other family does.”

He extended his arms to them, as if reaching for hands to hold. Bur though there was nothing for the android to grasp, there was no hiding his effervescent smile. “I’m really happy that we can do this!”

Idia’s heart, so familiar with the ice that encased the Phantoms and the chill of Tartarus, melted. “Ortho…”

An ear-splitting squeal came from one of the tablets. “Kyaaaah! You’re so cute, Or-kun!! Mama wishes she was right there on Sage’s Island to squish your little face!! You too, Idia-kun! Don’t think you can escape from your mother!”

Mr. Shroud’s voice dragged into a patient sigh. “We discussed keeping a low profile.”

“Aww, but papa!” (Idia could practically hear the pout in her tone.) “It’s a parent’s instinct to want to hug and shower her children with love~”

“Y-You’re going to attract unwanted attention though…” Idia nervously pointed out—one thing he could see eye-to-eye with his father on. They were split down the middle.

Through his camera, he could already spot passerbys slowing and staring. Sweat collected on his palms, on his forehead.

“What’s going on over there…?”

“There’s a boy with blue flames for hair.”

“Is he a Shroud?”

“He has weird things floating around him.”

Unperturbed, Ortho waved at the curious gawkers. “Hello!! I’m spending time with my family today!” he announced with his full chest out.

“Aw, what an adorable kid.”

“Are they phoning in? Gosh, they must be busy—but they still care enough to attend. That’s great!”

“Have fun with your family, champ!!”

Eh? Ehhhhh?! What’s what this after-school special I’m seeing play out?! Everyone’s so upbeat and sparkling… a-almost like one of Cater-shi’s impossible Magicam filters was just applied to the whole campus!!

Something in Idia wanted to scoff at the sight, to dismiss it outright. For as long as he could remember, the Shrouds had been shunned by the sunlight. A bloodline cursed by the gods. Never to be heroes, never normal.

But if Ortho is happy, then… this was all worth it, wasn’t it?

Yet something else, too, called out. Some small, almost forgotten, fragmented part of him. A small flower growing in the darkest pits of the Underworld.

Hope.

A zero that had suddenly turned into 0.001%. Connected again, heart to heart—even if only for a single fleeting moment.

“… Dad, mom, Ortho,” Idia said slowly, “we can’t stand around like NPCs waiting to be talked to. We’ll miss out on the limited time event. Let’s go, the whole party.”

“Nii-san…!!”

Ortho’s whole face lit up, his joy turning absolutely electric. He nearly tackled Idia’s device as he seized it and spun in a giddy circle. There was laughter from the younger Shroud, and confused sputtering from the elder one.

“Would you look at that, Papa?” Mrs. Shroud giggled softly to herself. “It looks like our boys have become such good friends.”

“… That’s good,” her husband replied. “I was concerned that Idia was still beside himself with grief—but thankfully, he’s made tremendous progress.”

“Ehehehe. It’s all thanks to Or-kun coming into our lives. He ended up being the password to unlocking Idia’s almost impenetrable fire walls.”

“Indeed. Our children have come a long way.” The corners of Mr. Shroud’s lips threatened to pull up and back. “No longer boys, but young men.”

[toreii]

⚠️MAJOR EPISODE 7 SPOILER!⚠️

Im debating if I should translate this chapter, but in the meantime, let me scream😆

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!!!!! I AM BESIDE MYSELF RIGHT NOW!!! I made it to 7-47 AND WHO JUST HAPPENS TO SPEAK UP WITH A SMOOTH AND VELVET VOICE!?!!?

ASK AND WE SHALL RECEIVE!!! SHROUD PAPA!!!!!

He sounds like a very mature Idia to me.😂 I wish we could see what he really looks like. I mean, I know the genetic features run in the family, but I would have still loved to have seen his face.

And, as if this wasn’t enough:

SHROUD MAMA IS ALSO HERE!!!! THE FLOWERS ON HER HELMET ARE SO PRETTY✨

Idia’s mom sounds so young to me. And, in a sense, gave me Rika from Mystic Messenger vibes. Is it me or is there a calculating chill on this woman?😂

Oh god, I’m just so floored right now. I know your son and everyone else is pretty much in danger right now, but I just…I need more time with the parents. Im loving the helmets, but at the same time I want to see them.😭 I want these crumbs I couldn’t get in episode 6🥹

Edit:

Now that I’ve had a nap, I proceeded to the next part. First off, their parents don’t have names. They are merely referred to as Director for Shroud papa, and Chief for Shroud mama. Their mom is basically the head of technology.

I know Idia has expressed before that his parents don’t seem to care for them. And, they do come off as all work and no play. I feel like it’s mostly because they are at the front of STYX. This is, in a way, the family business. They have to run it.

The more I hear the director, the more I do feel like he’s obviously older, but a more mature sounding Idia. He tends to be more level headed, as he’s assessing the situation on Sage’s Island, and speculating all sorts of possibilities. He’s also quick to delegate STYX, and start getting things done just like Idia is quick to formulate plans in a pinch. It’s why I say he’s like a mature Idia.

The chief, however, I feel like she has two sides to her. As Chief, she’s very business-like. Shroud papa also mentioned that she’s a genius! I guess it makes sense because she is an engineer. She also predicted Ortho would reach out to them via the STYX satellite because Idia hacked into it since “he can’t live without internet”. Anything involving technology is her thing. That being said, this is a woman who knows her boys all too well.

While their dad wondered if his sons were already gone, mama was like “They’re alive.” Shroud papa asked how she knew, and her response is “A mother’s ‘intuition’.” Even when Ortho finally managed to reach STYX, it’s like a switch flipped and she went into mama mode.😂 It’s a little jarring hearing her have such a youthful voice like that of a teenage girl. She sounds waaaay too young.🤣

And, she definitely doesn’t treat Ortho like that isn’t her irl son. She calls him “Orth-kun”, but it’d be more like “Orthie”? She asks Ortho if ���Onii-chan” is okay. She asks if he has any injuries, too. In a baby voice, tells him it must’ve been so scawwy😆 Ortho definitely inherited her optimistic attitude.

[kenchann]

im obsessed with them actually

[tinyfantasminha]

twst ch 7 spoilers

IDIA HAS A HENTAI FOLDER CONFIRMED ?????????????!!!1

[king-idia-shroud]

idia:

me, trying to figure out if this was somehow early foreshadowing for idia and the shroud family's backstory in book 6:

of course HE knows about the history of blot...

[yeahbumbleby]

nothing broke me more in yesterday's episode than realizing that the only reason why ruby doesn't describe weiss to little when looking for blake and yang simply is because she thinks weiss made it to vacuo. girlie already racking up seven different kinds of breakdowns and she doesn't even know her best friend's presence on the island is going to introduce a brand new one... please pray for ruby rose because she's about to eat dust this volume

[riddlerosehearts]

saw a theory on twitter that malleus's magic is actually so powerful that it CAN put a robot to sleep and that when we saw STYX in the newest update it was really just ortho's dream, so that's why his parents a) wear daft punk helmets, so that they're more robotic like him and he can be their "real" son and b) are so warm and loving in contrast to what we saw in book 6. and i think i believe it tbh because the way they were characterized was just SO odd to me like seriously why were they seemingly never there for their sons before or after ortho's death, why did they not stop the researchers from blaming the accident on idia and calling the new ortho an unethical experiement, why is idia so convinced that they don't care about him and just want to get rid of him (though i guess that could just be a typical teenager thing if not for everything else), if they are soooo warm and loving and sweet? 😭 if this isn't ortho's dream then it's just some bizarre writing to me.