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pinksilvace · 1 year ago

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Hey fern, what if you dropped a top 10 favorite cats the musical characters list

omg 😳😳😳 maybe we could find out 😳😳😳

1: Alonzo

Surprise, surprise, I know. Silly little vain/uncertain/bravado guy. What is he doing. I just know he's so full of anxiety but he's also probably emotionally illiterate. He's SUCH a big bro figure in my brain in a number of ways, but mostly because I think he'd be the kind of guy to try and fix problems, fail, and dejectedly call for mom's help after the fact.

There's not much I can say about Alonzo that I haven't already said:

Here's where I ranted about his adjectives.

Here's where I ranted about his design for the Egg Cracker Bracket.

Goodness knows I've probably ranted across many many many tags as well. Idk man he's just so Gender to me and I think he's really funny and I love that he's a bit of a loser depending on how much the actor plays up the "uncertain" part of his character (the one that prominently comes to mind is here during Grizabella, the Mac scares, the end of M&R, and the IMMEDIATE change in demeanor during the Song of the Jellicles). I LOVEEEE that he's often shown to despise Tugger; it's such a funny dynamic. I love that different productions have him looking to Munkustrap, Skimbleshanks, and Cassandra for guidance. I love that fics make him a bit of an ass sometimes. For whatever gripes I have with Broadway revival choreo, I also love that it gave him some more character moments than he used to :D.

Every depiction of Alonzo I see gives me a new, interesting look at the character. I have yet to find one I dislike.

Aghhhh we've reached the point where this ranking gets really hard 😭😭😭 LMAO

2: Demeter

She was my favorite when I first got Really into cats circa 13 years old. I'll forever be bitter that she had no presence in 2019. She's LITERALLY the second most important character for the sake of the plot and they just LEFT HER OUT??? Just because she's hard to recognize after only a single watch or two??? hhhhhhhhhhhhh

The way actors portray her is ALWAYS entrancing. If cats is Subtext: The Musical, Demeter is Subtext: The Character. The Macavity number??? Come ON. The fact that she opens the show? Her reactions to literally everything??? Oughhhh sometimes she makes me want to chew on concrete.

Sometimes, there are portrayals of Demeter that I dislike, though. I guess it makes sense for a character whose words are skittish/cautious/paranoid, but sometimes, those traits seem to supercede her personality, which is always a shame. I particularly enjoy her interactions with Munkustrap and Bombalurina, of course, so when those are overshadowed by just how scared she is, I think it tends to weaken stuff overall. After all, those relationships thrive on how they interact and curb that fear.

I don't spend nearly enough time thinking about Demeter and it's an absolute travesty. Ma'am you are the heart and soul of the show to me. You keep everything thematically linked together. I love you

3: Munkustrap

I think that Munkustrap might be the definition of a comfort character for me. His mental health is rock solid. He's so dad-coded it's unreal. I desperately need to watch a production of Cats and only focus on Munkustrap, because his interactions with everybody are spectacular. There is so much character fit into this guy. He's also entertaining to me because I would NOT guess his adjectives, ever; they always come across as a characterization secondary to his role, and I like that quite a lot.

And oh my gosh, his DESIGN!!! I think Munkustrap has some of the prettiest makeup in the show, and his whole look is pleasingly cohesive. There's so much happening on his face, but when it's good, it's PHENOMENAL.

COME ONNNNNNNN, the HIGHLIGHTS on those WHISKERS??? The gradients on the cheeks and nose??? oooohhhhhhh it pleases me IMMENSELY. I also really like how the makeup blends into the wig, and the shape of the wig is also one of my favorites in the show - especially when it's a bit droopy, like Michael Gruber's in '98.

let's not forget about the collar

Anyway YEAH!!! He's one of my favorites to see actually moving onstage, consistently has a beautiful voice, and has some of my favorite relationships in the whole show :D

4: Admetus

This is a bit of a cheat listing. I really don't think about Admetus that much, but I would REALLY like to think about him more. I want to know what his deal is. Like Munkustrap, I think he has some fascinating relationships onstage that all present very differently - his time spent with Tumble/Pounce, Victoria, and Alonzo come to mind.

But also

THE MAKEUP

THIS LOOK WITH THE BIG LOWER LASHES??? GIRL HELP YOUR CAT IS GNC AS HELL. EASILY my favorite cats makeup look EVER. I know it's just because they have to slather on Mac's stuff later but I love that most of the face is left plain so they went absolutely ham with the eyes. It's the opposite of Munkustrap's. Brilliant.

anyway yeah he looks cool and I think his role in the tribe is in a really interesting flux stage

5&6: Pouncival and Tumblebrutus

They are a pair... do not separate

okay okay OKAY I know I often talk about my favorite characters in terms of how funny they are, and these guys??? Absolute clowns. The product is exactly what's written on the tin; they sure do pounce and tumble!!! Even a few weeks ago, they probably wouldn't have been so high on the list, but writing CFP and forcing myself to learn more about their characters as a result has skyrocketed the amount of love in my heart for them. If I had to choose, I'd probably say that I like Pouncival just a tiiiiny bit more since I think he's more memorable and I prefer his design, but the way they both look up to almost everybody else in the show is intoxicating to watch.

My favorite moments of these two are, of course, Pounce here (2:35 onward) and Tumble here (2:14:25 onward). I just think they're neat.

7: John Partridge The Rum Tum Tugger

(Okay, but, like, John Partridge is the ultimate here. My second favorite is probably Zach Bravo since his take on the character is so different, but there might never be a Tugger as suave as Partridge ever again.)

Going back to his antagonistic relationship with Alonzo, I think it's interesting that they share "vain" as a descriptor. I also think that Tugger's relationships are interesting in that a lot of them aren't necessarily dissimilar with one another (they're all quite teasing, whether romantic or platonic), but they are unique to him. The dynamism of his character is probably what makes me like him the most; I love how he code switches between his own number, Old Deuteronomy, and Mr. Mistoffelees.

Aside from all that, come on. The swagger is magnetic. (I'd write more but my fingers are starting to hurt)

8: Bombalurina

women <3

(I do have additional thoughts about her character! She's intelligent, generous, and flirtatious, and though she's always seeking romantic/sexual attention, those interactions are always secondary to her relationship with Demeter, which is something that I really like. Depending on the performer, she can easily come across as one of the strongest characters.

...but yeah. women <3)

9: Skimbleshanks

(swings microphone around) I am once again answering on the basis of "I just think they're funny"

Seriously though, at this point, there are so many characters that could make it onto this list. I think Skimble juuuuust made it here because EVERYBODY loves him, and that just makes me love him more. He and Mistoffelees definitely seem like the most popular choices for fanart from folks outside of the fandom, 2019 or otherwise.

Also, whenever I need an answer in Quiplash and can't think of anything, I put in Skimbleshanks, and without fail, somebody always votes for it, even if they have no idea who (or, in their mind, what) Skimbleshanks is.

There's not a single thing I dislike about this cat or his number; I couldn't possibly begin to list everything here. I just haven't thought particularly hard about him as a character yet.

10: Electra

I must admit that I've barely spent any time at all thinking about Electra. HOWEVER, her interactions with Munkustrap are adorable, and the single father alonzo fic has irreparably changed my brain chemistry, and for those reasons alone, she's earned her place here. I also think the unitard design is really unique and beautiful :D

Honorable Mention: Tantomile. She was my favorite when I watched Cats '98 as a young'in :).

#ask #thank you friend :D #I'm going to hold off on maintagging this for now haha. I dare not let my opinions seep into the void on the first page of the tag

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katz-cradle · 8 months ago

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‘ ———･❪ ✮ ❫ ･——— ’

HAHA NEXT GEN KNIGHT V3 >:33 , I decided 2 revamp my fankids 2 make them better in my opinion I also had to remove some ppl bc they didn't add anything,,, but we get a new person :D

Anyways their personalities are under the cut bc it's a lot, read if u wanna but I love them <33

Reize ; “Growing a lot from his younger years, Reize is an ambitious and kindhearted man who does his best to make everyone happy however he can, somebody you can go to for advice or a helping hand. He's very protective due to his past and will go to great lengths to not repeat any mistakes he or his family has made in the past.”

Illusion Knight ; “Growing up only with her mother, Illusion Knight doesn't understand others at all, being unnerving towards most along with her scarily familiar appearance. She's very curious and seems to stay in her own little world most of the time, despite that she's friendly to most folks in her own ways if only a little cautious with them.”

Spear Knight ; “Spear Knight tries his best to be a successor to his parents, being a confident caring person towards those in the Valley. In reality that's a facade, he gets easily nervous and is constantly trying to one up everyone else for his own sake.”

Night Knight ; “Night Knight always seems to be tired, being slow and vacant most of the time; however that doesn't stop her from doing whatever she wants, being energetic when she wants. They're confident yet clumsy in their abilities and is a genuinely good fighter when they're not sleeping.”

Pegasus Knight ; “Pegasus Knight is an energetic performer enjoying being in the spotlight and entertaining the people in the valley, she loves being the joke of it all finding joy in laughing and being laughed at. She's naturally charming and flamboyant doing anything to get attention or else she'll die (not a exaggeration)”

Vamp Knight ; “Vamp Knight is melodramatic and gloomy fitting with his aesthetic he's anti social and likes to brood in public, however most of this is a obvious facade. While she enjoys the persona, in private she's as charming and chatty as her sister.”

Remedy Knight ; “Remedy Knight is a paranoid skittish mess not being made for battle, but due to their caring and gentle nature they try to help others by working on healing potions almost constantly. It keeps to itself and is very careful though that never works due to how easily it gets startled.”

Selkie Knight ; “Selkie Knight is an intimidating and ruthless pirate doing what she wants and when she wants being cold and calculated in everything she does, while she has stronger walls if you manage to break them down she's relatively sweet but protective of those she cares for. Most will never see that side of her.”

Sludge Knight ; “Sludge Knight is an adventurous person being timid but kind hearted, he’s very much a follower and is a quick thinker in most circumstances though his awkwardness can trip him up when it comes to helping people. Despite his hiccups he tries to be as friendly and helpful as possible.”

Ask me about them if u wanna,,, I promise 2 have some more 2 read about them soon!!

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greatpain · 10 months ago

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𝚂𝙴𝙲𝚄𝚁𝙸𝚃𝚈 𝚀 #𝟷 ... 𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙸𝚂 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙱𝙸𝙶𝙶𝙴𝚂𝚃 𝙵𝙴𝙰𝚁? 𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙰𝙽𝚂𝚆𝙴𝚁 ... **********

𝚂𝙴𝙲𝚄𝚁𝙸𝚃𝚈 𝚀 #𝟸 ... 𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝚆𝙰𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙻𝙰𝚂𝚃 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝚂𝙰𝙸𝙳 𝚃𝙾 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙼𝙾𝙼 𝙱𝙴𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙴 𝚂𝙷𝙴 𝙳𝙸𝙴𝙳? 𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙰𝙽𝚂𝚆𝙴𝚁 ... * **** ***** *** ***** *******

𝚂𝙴𝙲𝚄𝚁𝙸𝚃𝚈 𝚀 #𝟹 ... 𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙷𝙰𝚄𝙽𝚃𝚂 𝚈𝙾𝚄? 𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙰𝙽𝚂𝚆𝙴𝚁 ... ********** ** ***** **** *** ******

𝚆𝙴𝙻𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙴 𝚄𝚂𝙴𝚁 𝙰𝙶𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚅𝙸𝚃𝙰𝙻𝙸𝚂

𝟶𝟶𝟷. 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚃𝙸𝚂𝚃𝙸𝙲𝚂 ...

⋯⋯⋯ GENERAL DETAILS.

FULL NAME: maxime d'aureville. NICKNAME(S): max. ALIAS: agent vitalis. AGE: forty2. DATE OF BIRTH: november 23. PLACE OF BIRTH: a small little town in northern france. CURRENT LOCATION: apex city, washington. GENDER: trans man. PRONOUNS: he/him. ORIENTATION: who the fuck knows really. ROLE: head of biomedical, seventeen years with mercy. EDUCATION LEVEL: doctor of medcine and phd (in pharmaceutical sciences, specifically regarding solaris)

⋯⋯⋯ PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, ETC.

HEIGHT: 5'9. TATTOOS: none. PIERCINGS: none. SCARS: top surgery. STYLE: medical professional core. max and his patagonia jacket against the world. turtlenecks, cableknit sweaters, slacks, long jackets. still wears his wedding ring on a chain around his neck out of habit. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS: greyed early.

⋯⋯⋯ HEALTH.

ALLERGIES: none. SLEEPING HABITS: recently, due to situations, max has trouble sleeping through the night and will often forgo sleep all together. he sleeps at his office, not at home or in the on campus dorms. EATING HABITS: whenever he remembers. is a good cook though. SOCIABILITY: 2/10. will not speak to people if he doesn't absolutely have to. DRINKING / SMOKING / DRUGS: sometimes, enjoys wine / quit the habit when he started medical school, picked it up again since separating from his husband / solaris. RADIANT STATUS: pain manipulation. OTHER: unexplained and undisclosed hand tremor and slight memory loss, chronic pain (pre-existing before solaris).

⋯⋯⋯ PERSONALITY.

LABELS / TROPES: beware the quiet ones, byronic hero, cannot spit it out, child prodigy, full-name basis, the leader, perpetual frowner, properly paranoid, thousand-yard stare, feel no pain, mad scientist, self-made orphan. INSPIRATIONS: caleb widogast (cr2), victor vale (villains), lee seolhwa (orv). TRAITS: pragmatic, analytical, logical, perceptive, realistic, evasive, cautious, paranoid, contemplative, grim, forgetful (recent), ambitious (previously), skittish (somewhat recent). LIKES: rain, white noise, helping newer agents. DISLIKES: talking about himself, cold weather, people standing in the kitchen when he was there first. WEAKNESSES: strength-based combat, de-escalation, anything that involves talking to others for an extended period of time, persuasion, performance. STRENGTHS: medicine, dexterity-based combat, planning, readjusting upon complications, perception, endurance. FEARS: fire, abandonment. HABITS: cracking knuckles, keeping hands in pockets or otherwise hidden (recent), fiddling with lighter, clicking pen, calling people by either their agent name or full first name / doesn't often use nicknames. HOBBIES: journaling, caring after stray cats, reading medical journals.

⋯⋯⋯ FAMILY, RELATIONSHIPS, ETC.

MOTHER: anna d'aureville, deceased. FATHER: charles d'aureville, deceased. SIGNIFICANT OTHER: just divorced.... BEST FRIEND: tba. EXES: ex-spouse (name tba). SIBLING(S): none. CHILDREN: none. PET(S): none, but he feeds the stray cats that linger around the hq and his home.

𝟶𝟶𝟸. 𝙱𝙸𝙾𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙿𝙷𝚈 / 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙾𝙽𝚂 …

born and raised in a little town in france by a couple who were both teachers. very normal life, very normal things. max always held an interest in the human body, medicine, pharmaceuticals, etc and did what he could to learn more. the d'aurevilles were literally the perfect family... kind loving caring etc etc.

[ parental death tw, fire tw ] when he was a teenager, he left a space heater on when he went out with some friends. unfortunately the wiring / circuitry in the house was old and not up to code and the whole thing ended up burning down overnight with his parents still inside. unfortunately they didn't make it.

maxime moved across the world to live with his dad's younger brother, wife, and their three kids in washington, usa. became incredibly reserved and closed off during this time for obvious reasons. through himself into his studies further.

ended up graduating top of his class in highschool, worked as an EMT during college (during which he was forced to confront literal fires quite a few times and never really was able to deal with that considering the guilt he's been carrying, but he trudges on!), and went to a very well ranked medical school for an md/phd program. particularly he was interested in solaris and the true effects of it on the human body. eventually this + the past he ran away from + his time as an emt + some other stuff i can't think of right now caught the eyes of mercy, and he joined as a junior agent while he completed his medical degree & residency.

after being placed in the biomedical division, he felt that it would be unfair of him to be administrating solaris without having taken it himself. there was no way he could anticipate what would happen, and while at times he regrets the whole thing, he understands that what he did benefits everyone around him as he is able to help relax patients and relieve their pain when needed.

met his husband, an agent in another division, when he was around 35. they hit it off pretty instantly and got married a little over a year later (read: they went to the courthouse and signed papers and called it a day. no one has time to fuck around with all that when theyre mercy agents). they were married for five and a half years, and have been divorced for some months now. while they both claim it was a mutual decision, it probably wasn't, but max isn't gonna say shit about it.

part of the reason max brought up separation was that he noticed some strange memory loss effects & a hand tremor for himself which was... disconcerting. he's the head of the department for fuck's sake, he has to keep it together. overall, pretty selfish of a decision, but it wasn't made overnight. he weighed the pros/cons and made a list (it took up approximately a quarter of a new journal) and came to the conclusion that it is more valuable for him to figure out why this is happening while balancing his duties as head than it is for him to worry about his husband whenever there's a mission. stupidest doctor you will ever have the displeasure of meeting.

skittish, evades questions like its an olympic sport. can get a little emotional pretty easily which is Not fun for anyone within his vicinity (see below). cares for cats more than he cares for himself. having a terrible fucking time always and it's obvious. practically lives in his office. does not want to be head of the department but alas, he still has the ambition he had when he was younger and is somehow determined to not let teenage maxime down.

𝟶𝟶𝟹. 𝚁𝙰𝙳𝙸𝙰𝙽𝚃 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚃𝚄𝚂 ...

max can freely manipulate prexisting pain by increasing or decreasing how much pain he, or someone else, is feeling. through practice, he has learned how to induce pain from nothing, but it's much more difficult, energy draining, and often overwhelms him with pain as well. it is much more effective to amplify preexisting pain. no physical contact is required, as long as he has eyesight with the person / people he is effecting. can transfer his own existing pain to others, but it's an unstable process. is able to create a subconcious aversion to his presence, if he really wants to, by inducing very subtle amounts of pain within people around him.

unable to control this while asleep or uncious, and nightmares or other such strong dreams can cause him to unintentionally induce a level of pain within anyone in his vicinity.

can't permanently remove pain, but he can temporarily alleviate pain that a person is feeling. often, he has to take that pain on himself.

hair went grey shortly after taking solaris because of the stress of the pain he was feeling as he wasn't able to properly control or understand his ability.

max attributes his hand tremor and moments of memory loss to his solaris intake / radiant status, though he's told no one else about this and intends to keep it this way.

𝟶𝟶𝟺. 𝙲𝙾𝙽𝙽𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂 ...

updated soon... prommy

#quick and messy background i am so sorry im half asleep #will be updated properly when i have brain #mercyorg:intro

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lightingelectratwo · 10 months ago

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Demeter for the character asks maybe?

Why I like them.

She's just such an interesting character, and in the 1998 film she's the first character you see.

Why I don't

This wig. Everything else about this design is amazing, but the wig.

Favorite episode (scene if movie)

There's a lot, but I like when she almost touches Grizabella but doesn't.

Favorite line

Who would ever suppose that cat was Grizabella, the glamor cat, or He's outwardly respectable

favorite outfit

I forgot the name of this production , 1998 and Gothenburg/Stockholm

They are just so good

OTP

Demestrap

BROTP

Bombaluriena. I think they're cute in some production, but I headcanon them as sisters. Except for kilworth house they are girlfriends in that production.

A headcanon

She is jemima and Electra's mother.

Unpopular opinion

Idk, maybe not shipping her with Bombaluriena?

A wish

For her to not have to see macavity ever

An-owh-god-please-don't-ever-happen

To be kidnapped by macavity

5 words to describe them

Skittish, cautious, paranoid, caring, strong

My nickname for them

Deme

#cats the musical #jellicle cats #cats demeter

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windsfavored · 3 months ago

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@poswiecenia &&. said... cue teucer just staring up pointedly at wanderer's hat. can he try the hat on ? pretty pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase ? \ woe be upon thee. a child

the wanderer is quite the cautious sort — to a degree that some might even consider PARANOID. skittish, not in personality but mannerisms, like a particularly unfriendly stray cat. he can feel the eyes on him, almost like a sixth sense — though his guarded nature leads him to assume they carry with them ILL INTENT. at least until he actually figures out who is doing the staring. large eyes, a mess of fluffy, orange hair. a human. a child — though not just any sort. isn't this one of tartaglia's siblings? ( he hopes this doesn't mean his former coworker is lurking somewhere in the vicinity. ) ren doubts he will be recognized; if irminsul was capable of wiping clean even the minds of gods themselves, it's laughably unlikely childe's kid brother would be able to remember him. though that does raise the question of what he's actually done to attract such attention. is there something on his face? no — it's been a while since he's actually eaten anything at all ...

soon enough, it clicks. his hat. of course it's his hat — seems like it's ALWAYS such a point of fascination. or perhaps humans are simply that easily amused ...

❝ ... ❞ for a moment, it feels like he's been pulled into a battle of wills. ren meets the child's gaze — brow furrowing, disapproving frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. a slightly gentler scowl than he would direct towards his peers, but a scowl nonetheless. unfortunately, it seems even a creature gifted with IMPOSSIBLE DURABILITY such as himself is still capable of meeting his breaking point — and the wanderer sighs, as if to vocalize his defeat. ❝ okay. ❞ okay. ❝ okay ... fine. ❞ he lifts the hat from his head, movement accentuated by the melodic clicking of its tassels. ( not unlike the sound of wind chimes in the breeze. ) holding it out to teucer, he says, ❝ just be careful. it's HEAVIER than it looks. ❞ it has to be in order to stay upright. ❝ and don't trip. ❞

#poswiecenia #( he tries so hard to act aloof but he can't be mean to kids )

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catsheadcanons · 2 months ago

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I’m going to complain just a little about both Demeter and Cassandra and the fact that their three words are basically synonyms for each other. Demeter is “skittish, cautious, paranoid”. She is “the scared cat” and that is her entire personality. Cassandra is “haughty, disdainful, aloof”. She is “the snobbish cat” and that is also her entire personality. But Demeter is also brave and self-sacrificing (lest anyone forget, she jumped on Macavity’s back to reveal his ploy even though she was risking more than anyone else to do it), and she is also compassionate and forgiving (while yes, cautious around Grizabella, she clearly has some level of care for her, and once the Tribe forgives her, she is quick to welcome her back). And Cassandra is also incredibly graceful and, given her role as Mistoffelees’ assistant and her knowledge of ancient cat history, probably some kind of magical too. Maybe I’m going a little further into the corners of these characters than I need to. But consider, for example, Bombalurina: Generous, Voluptuous, Frank. I could take issue with one word being dedicated entirely to her body, but the other two words give us two other, clearly differentiated characteristics that show that yes, she is beautiful and sexy, but she is also kind and honest. Each of these words tells us something different about her, and each of those things contribute to make up a whole person. Why not have just one word, if they all mean the same thing? Three words are three for a reason.

Update: Demeter and Cassandra were the first two I saw with synonymous words; there are also others. Two other completely synonymous cats are Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer; other completely differentiated cats whose words I really like are Macavity, Mistoffelees, Jemima, Electra, Pouncival, Tumblebrutus, Jennyanydots, Jellylorum, and Munkustrap. All the other cats fall somewhere in the middle.

have you ever looked at a cat's three words and had a different impression of them? or like, have you ever thought some other word or two might fit them better?

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rcvivalfan · 5 years ago

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golden core, aptitude, demonic cultivation & trauma

This is going to be a bit of a rambling post because it’s been sitting in my drafts for a while and I’m sick of seeing it so we’re getting right down to it.

Lia Ruan’s initial turn to demonic cultivation isn’t something he does while in good health, it’s actually in a time of severe mental anguish.

Upon development, his golden core was never particularly strong and despite being surrounded by more powerful peers he never really found the motivation to cultivate harder to catch up. Throughout his child and teen years he’s lackadaisical, uncommitted and while he cares a lot for the two he took on as (unofficially) sworn siblings, he never really strove to be anything more than average.

This lack of commitment led to his poor skill in wielding his sword Qianqiu and more than once Lan Xianhua would have to save him from a monster that caught him off guard.

Despite all this, he’s actually a fairly intelligent person -- but he never put effort into anything until the sects were each forced to send away twenty of their own disciples each to the Wen sect. It’s this time that he realizes the world isn’t all that easy-going and he has to step up his game. He begins to learn the basics of medicine because he worries about Xianhua and Jin Yang becoming injured (and the Wens most certainly wouldn’t care), and carries this study on into the sunshot campaign.

In the aftermath of the Sunshot Campaign he witnesses the death of Jin Yang and the trauma as well as sense of failure and powerlessness is what drives him to pursue demonic cultivation.

He remembers how Wei Wuxian used resentful energies and , knowing his golden core was weak, decided to copy that idea. Energy is energy, and once he put his mind to it he was able to (with a lot of trial and error) make up for his short comings.

Many months were spent in near total isolation in an old, broken down temple while he worked on solidifying this new cultivation base, often working in things he heard in rumors about other demonic cultivators -- even if he had no proof of them actually being real. After WWX’s rise as the Yiling Patriarch rumors and copycats began to crop up everywhere, and many were incredibly far from the truth.

As a demonic cultivator Ruan is actually incredibly talented, but his paranoia around others and the fear of watching the people he loves die leads him to being rather detached. He’s flighty and if he senses doing something will result in immediate risk/the inability to flee he often won’t engage in it.

This is what leads him to flee the Jin Sect the second time; he knew well enough the lengths Jin Guangshan would go to in order to silence someone who knew too much. He was not getting involved with the stygian tiger seal if he could help it.

#i wanted to be reliable [headcanon]#tldr: he is rather talented with demonic cultivation #but he's also very paranoid and cautious to the point of being downright skittish sometimes

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ink-on-the-brink · 3 years ago

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Yandere Merc Dads (Imagine)

[Engie, Pyro, Scout]

A/n: I had to re-edit this since the voids of the internet decided my fully edited versions were a nice snack ;-;

Anyway! Sorry it took so long to come out but here's part two for yandere merc dads(and Pyro)!

Engie

Engies acquiring of you was...complicated. See he had resigned himself to a life with no kids. Despite the pressure from his family to get a wife and kids so that the family legacy could go on, some part of him knew that the cycle of Conager's wasn't healthy. A deep morality in him knew that he really shouldn't, that stopping the cycle of neglect and Mann Co puppets was something he needed to take on. However, when Pauling came by his workshop with a baby in hand that she was trying to convince him to take?...well a long forgotten instinct snapped once he saw your wide innocent eyes and how they looked at him with such great unknowing of the world. Engie had tried to push Pauling and you away at first, trying to stick to his own set of rules, but he didn't hold that resolve for long. Not when every other part of his mind was screaming to just allow this to happen.

"Paulin this- this really ain't a good idea-"

"You think I don't know that? I understand what I'm doing Mr Conager. I know what I'm asking you to do and I know it's batshit. Now, can you do it or not?"

He was very cautious of you at first. He took care of you, but he tried to distance himself from it. He couldn't grow attached. He knew he'd have to give you away the moment he had a chance to save you from this life. However, he couldn't fight his own programming, not when you sought him for comfort, for guidance, for care. Not when you relied on him, needed him. And so, when the opportunity had presented itself to give you away...he couldn't.

"Dell! I talked to the admin and I think I'm getting closer to getting a yes! I might be able to find an orphanage to give them to-"

"An orphanage? Ah don't know Paulin, that don't sound rahght. Never heard nothin good come from those places. Look, Ah appreciate the effort, but at this point we best leave the admin alone. Ah don't need her upset with me."

"...oh...are you sure? This could be your only chance-"

"Ah'm sure"

From that point on you become his child and by god does he treat you as such. He came from a cold home, one mostly of neglect; a machine of genius makers. So he knew that if he was going to drag you into this that he'd at least have to be the best father he could. And with that came a need to keep you safe and keep you as his own. Despite his growing overprotective nature, he made sure to keep it hidden well. To everyone else, he was just a good dad there for his kid. Behind closed doors though, he felt growing violence in his mind.

"Well now sweetpea, what's on your mahnd?"

"...Scout was being mean to me"

"Well that ain't no good. What he say?"

"He said you're not my real dad. Th-That you didn't want me! He's such a liar! A-And so- so mean!"

"Oh...did he now..."

He always has tabs on you. Cameras are set watching your every move and god forbid you somehow leave their sights. He knows it isn't healthy to need to know where you are always, but whenever he doesn't know he gets extremely paranoid and skittish as he thinks about every terrible possibility of what could happen to you. It's only soothed when he's able to stare through a camera and see you.

Crash- Bang!

"Ow..."

"Oh Mary mother in heaven Y/n. *sigh*...guess Ah gotta go help..."

If he can't see you though?

Oh no oh god oh shit.

Everything's going wrong. He's immediately on the search for you. He looks in every crevice and crack and he won't stop until he finds you. Despite his full-blown panic on the inside, his face holds a stone-cold expression. It was a skill he learned young and you can be sure that it hides his only further growing obsession towards you. When he finds you he's not fully relieved of this panic, in fact depending on your state it can get worse. If you're perfectly unharmed he's able to breathe again and he'll quickly pick you up, carrying you away so that he can be with you for the rest of the day. If you're even remotely hurt though? His stone face stays as he picks you up, immediately taking you to Medic. Self-hating thoughts and repeated words of failure are all that run through his mind all while he's speaking comforting words.

"Ow! I-It hurts!"

"Ah know sweetheart, Ah know. We're gonna get ya ta Medic alrahght? Everythins okay"

He will not make this same mistake twice. Whether you're fine or harmed, he will be putting hidden cameras in anything and everything you own.

"Aaaaaand that should do it. Hm...hey it works! Bout damn tahme!...Y/n!"

"Yeah?"

"C'mere. Got ya somethin"

"What is it- TEDDY BEAR!"

"Yep. Just for you!"

"Thank you thank you thank you!"

Despite his upbringing- well, more so in spite of it, he is an amazing father. He's kind, encouraging, and thoughtful. He gives you great advice and is always your shoulder to lean on. He's very good with talking through things and is always around and ready to talk to you. He'll drop whatever project he's working on just to be with you, which is something most other people can't say.

"...Dad?"

"Hm-?...oh sweetheart-"

"I-I...I broke your present- I didn't mean too! It w-was an accident and-"

"Hey hey, calm down. S'alright. Take a seat, just let me clean mah hands off and we'll see what's the problem"

Engie is absolutely in love with every small moment the two of you have together, be that homemade hot cocoa during a cold night or having him indulge in your hobbies. However, the activity that trumps all is when he teaches you guitar. He'd play it for you when you were little and his heart would nearly explode if you ever asked for lessons. It seems like such an insignificant activity for you two to share, but he loves seeing you get better. It makes him so proud to see you rock a guitar and you can bet that every time you do he's going to loudly claim you as his kid.

"And this *strum* is C major. Here, you try"

"Uh, okay!"

He has about a thousand nicknames for you. Honeybee, sunflower, sweetpea, buttercup, little lamb, the list goes on.

"Daaaad. Can you stop with all the nicknames?"

"Oh now why would Ah ever do that mah honey bee sunflower, little sugary sweet-"

"Dad!"

All your schooling is under him. He just finds it easier, especially since it allows for more bonding time along with a quicker education so that he can get into the more complicated stuff easier. He tries not to center your education around his own skills though and allows many different things to learn. Once you're near your teen years he gives you more of a hand in what you learn and helps you explore what you might want to do. If you, however, want to head into the engineering field he gets very visibly excited. He tries to hide it since he doesn't want to pressure you into anything but it's not hidden very well.

"How you holdin up on that project sweetpea?"

"Fine. Almost finished actually"

"Good. Cause we're startin a new subject when you're done"

"Really? No break?"

"Course ya get one! You're a bit behahnd though-"

"Behind?!?!"

For the most part, Engie doesn't mind you being around other people. As long as they aren't going to get you into trouble he can't get you out of and care about your safety then he doesn't mind. However, if he finds you with someone he doesn't trust or if someone heavens forbid hurts you? Well, Engie can get very scary very quickly. He's smart, maybe a bit too smart for his own good. He can play along, he can act and he sure as hell can gain people's trust before stabbing them in the back. He has no problem getting rid of those he finds harmful and he's even better at not getting caught. You are the most important person to him and anyone who dares to take you away isn't going to last very long.

"Heard ya hangin out with Danny earlier"

"...I-"

"Don't. Ah get it. Just don't do it again. Last thing ya need is ta mess around with those types'a people. Not healthy"

"Yeah yeah, okay got it-"

"Y/n..."

"...yeah?"

"Ah'm serious"

Engies rules are pretty simple parental procedures. After all, to everyone who hasn't ever pissed him off, he's just your typical amazing dad. All punishments fit your crimes and he's always calm about it, no matter how many rules you might break. Getting him to be angry with you is a hard- well more so near impossible task. However there is one rule he makes very clear that you shouldn't break, and that's sneaking off without telling him.

"Take a seat"

"C'mon dad it's not that serious-"

"You're not gettin outta this one Y/n. Sit"

"...you're that mad?"

"Ah'm very disappointed. So we're gonna sit and we're gonna talk about just what in the hell you were thinking"

He finds you rather quickly (totally not because you have a tracking device on you no sir-) and his first thought is that someone had taken you. He's sputtering worried words and asking you what had happened only for you to say that you had chosen to run away. That you did this on purpose. And oh boy, you knew you fucked up bad the moment you saw the fury take over his features. It'll be the first time he's ever yelled at you and it's honestly terrifying. You can expect to be grounded and if you ran off with anyone else that they'll never see you (or anyone else) ever again. When he does eventually calm there will be a long, agonizing conversation between the two of you where you will be forced to explain yourself. Just the pure mix of disappointment, confusion, and guilt that's on his face will convince you to never do that again.

"What happened?!? Did someone take ya?!? Are you hurt?!? Y/n talk ta me-"

"Stop! Just stop! I'm done with the worry! I'm tired of being babied! I left! I ran! No one else did any-"

"You what"

"...I...I left-"

"JUST WHAT IN THE HELL WERE YOU THINKIN!?!?"

You'll never notice his obsession, even as you grow up. No one will. He's a master of two faces, one seen by others and one only seen by people ten feet under. His more protective and paranoid behaviors will go unnoticed, especially with how perfect of a parent he seems from every other angle. And if anyone were to question it there's no way anyone else would take them seriously.

"You're all idiots! He's a fucking killer! He hides cameras- and have you seen his kid?! What type of kid knows how to build a gun at thirteen?!?!"

"Geeze, someone's rather paranoid. Do you hear yourself? Dell Conager? A stalker, killer and a bad parent? Have you ever actually met him? I don't think he's even capable of getting angry"

Engie will forever and always be your father and you will always love him. He lets you live your life, to explore what the world has to offer, but you always come back. You'd never even consider the possibility of leaving him. Sure you might move out, you might start your own family or simply bask in what life had to offer, but there isn't a week that goes by where you don't visit and there isn't a secret you would keep from him.

"Ya grew up so fast...Ah didn't expect ya ta be leavin so soon"

"Aww dad, I'm not leaving leaving! I'll be like, a street down!"

"Ah know Ah know. Ah'm just not gonna see ya everyday!"

Dell feels so proud of you. Watching you grow up was the blessing he didn't know he needed and seeing you leave is genuinely painful to him. But he'll let you go. He'll let you live. Because you're his kid and he knows you wouldn't ever fail to visit. That no matter what he was always your father and nothing would change that. That said, it's not like you're ever too far.

After all, it only takes a glance at a screen to know that you're safe.

Pyro

No one knows how Pyro managed to get a kid. Not even they know. They just showed up with one and everyone, either too afraid to push against the Pyromaniacs' decisions or not wanting to know how or why they'd come in possession of a child, let them be. The only one who did question it was Engie and even he found it better just to let them keep you.

"Hey uh, Py...what's with the kid?"

"...hy hut hu. Hy hust hud hum! (I don't know. I just found them!)"

They were obsessed the literal second they saw you. Their mind went into a spiral with how utterly adorable you were and they just up and yoinked you. You were theirs now, no one could say otherwise.

"....HUUUUUUT! (...CUUUUTE!)"

Pyro is entirely too obsessed to let anyone else hang out with you at first. They wanted all of your attention all of the time. Eventually they would feel comfortable enough to let Engie around you as well, though they were still around you at all times. You were never allowed a second alone.

"Huk! Hy hud hu huyhuy hur hu! Hu hu huk hut?"

"Yay! Pretty!"

"Huy hu hud huk hut!"

Due to this clinginess when they don't know where you are they become frantic. They'll burn everything in sight until they find you, they'll flip furniture and scream down the halls until they know where you are. However, the moment they see you they lose all other emotions and become extremely giddy. They'll run up to you, pulling you in a tight hug while swinging you around, completely ignoring the trail of destruction behind them. All emotions are quelled when they're with you.

CRASH! SLAM!

"HUR HUR HUY! HURS HUY-"

"Pyro! Pyro!"

"HUY HUBHUY!"

That being said, if you're hurt in absolutely any way their happiness disappears. They'll find the source of whatever harmed you and they'll ax it. Doesn't matter what it is, person or object, they'll destroy it (with love and bubbles) until they're sure it will never hurt you again.

"Ow! Ow ow ow!"

"...huh hut hum (who hurt them)"

"Now Pahro, why don't we calm down buddy. They just went and scraped their knee. Ain't nothin-"

CRASH!

"Pahro! Don't go destroyin the floor! We need that!"

Pyro is good with entertaining kids, that's just a given. They're bubbly with energy to spare, they want nothing more than to have fun. What is surprising though is that they're not just good with the entertainment part. They have bedtimes and nutrition plans. Sure you can have candy, but only after your vegetables. You want to go play? Sure! Just make sure you get your chores done first. They picked up these things from Engie since he treats them like his own kid, so they do the same with you.

"Oh cool! Cupcakes! Can I have one?"

"Hufthr hudhr (After dinner)"

"Oh come on just one-"

"Hu (no)"

Pyro absolutely LOVES when the two of you draw together. Something about sharing the hobby with someone else brings out a sense of pure joy. The two of you do so together so often that you're practically guaranteed to end up making amazing art pieces when you get older. Also, if you were to ever draw them they'd be so incredibly happy. They would literally keep that drawing forever.

"Huchhu huwhin? (Whatcha drawin?)"

"You"

"...HULHY??? hut huy hee! hut huy hee! (REALLY??? Let me see! Let me see!)"

"No! I'm not done yet!"

Would 10000% call you their firefly. Though no one but you and Engie actually know that.

"Hu Huttle huryhuy~ Huy hur hu...hutcha! (Oh little firefly~ Where are you~...gotcha!)"

"Dang it!"

You won't go to any traditional school. Not necessarily because they're against the idea but more so that they just didn't know it was an option. Instead, you'll likely be taught through the team as Pyro sees fit. You will most definitely have near daily sessions with Engie on math and other subjects he has spread throughout his eleven degrees. But some of the others help in their own ways too. Pyro will supervise these study sessions (and possibly scare them into helping teach you...on accident of course)

"I don't deal wiz children-..."

"..."

"...fine..."

Pyro is a bit of an attention hog when it comes to you. They want your eyes on them as often as possible and the only times they let you interact with others is when they have control over the situation. So, when someone tries to steal that attention away, or fire gods forbid steal or harm you, well...

It does not go very well.

If it's just someone earning your attention they'll straight up just bring you somewhere else. Doesn't matter if it's mid-conversation, they'll just yoink you and bring you somewhere else. When you get older though and they can no longer move you places they just annoy or interrupt whatever is happening until you're no longer focused on the other person. They don't care if you're upset as long as no one else is stealing your attention.

"Pyro! Put me down! I was so close to getting Scout to admit that I was better than him-!"

"Hu (no)"

If someone were hurting you though? That's when things get messy. They'll save you immediately, with absolutely no thought of self-preservation, before killing whoever hurt you. Burn them alive, ax them or simply tear them to shreds with their bare hands. It doesn't matter. Absolutely nobody touches their little firefly.

"Woah woah hey dere bud! We- We can talk about dis! I didn't mean-"

FWOOSH!

"AUUUUGGGGG"

Just the same as their normal rules they also have normal punishments. Time outs and more chores are their go-to and though they don't explicitly say you're not allowed to be around other people they really don't like it. They don't ever tell you not to do it, but the other's fear when you're around along with Pyros panicked rampages sort of instilled a sense of anxiety when not around Pyro.

"Pyro! Where-"

*distant sounds of breaking furniture*

"...oh no"

Due to the environment you grew up in, you're very unlikely to notice anything strange. I mean, you're on a mercenary base with an overprotective and semi-mute pyromaniac as a parent. To say your sense of normal is different is an understatement. It's unlikely you'd ever question it because to do so would be to question your entire life.

"Huy hueet huttl huyhrhy! Huy hussd huh (My sweet little firefly! I missed you!)"

"I was gone for like, five minutes"

"Huy huw! Hut hus hufhul (I know! It was awful!)"

If however, you noticed the strangeness of your life, or that Pyro's care is a bit overbearing, you would never leave. You know nothing else besides this. It was your normal, you couldn't even begin to imagine a different life, even if you didn't entirely like this one.

"Can I be alone? Just for a little bit?"

"Huy hud hu hunt hu hu hut? (Why would you want to do that?)"

No matter how old you get Pyro will always treat you the same. You were their play buddy after all! Their little firefly! So what you're older? That doesn't mean you two can't play together!

'We'll be best friends forever!'

And that's really all Pyro had ever wanted...

Scout

The only conceivable way I think Scout could end up in possession of a child is if his mother had one last kid and either died during the delivery or not long after. And considering Spy lives in the same base as Scout it was elected that Scout would take you, though everyone else was aware that the kid was only under his care because Spy is the dad. But, not knowing Spy is the dad, Scout raises you mostly on his own.

"Look I don't dink dat's really a good idea I...I just learned my ma was dead two days ago, I can't-"

"Ma said she wanted 'em with you. Something about you finally being able to be a big brother."

"Oh...den...den I guess I gotta"

Now it isn't debatable how much Scout cared for his mom. She was probably one of is not the most important people in his life. So seeing as you're the last remnant of her, Scout is immediately obsessed with you. The moment he hears the news he's devastated and with his swirling emotions he takes them all out by taking care of you. You're like a distraction from the reality of his grief.

"Well uh, hey dere little...baby...I guess I'm gonna be taken care'a you huh?"

"..."

"...ya know ya look a lot like ma. Got her eyes anyway..."

Despite his care Scout is still ultimately very immature. So he loses you...a lot...it isn't very uncommon to see him running around panicking about having lost track of you. Most times it's because Spy scooped you away for a moment though Spy won't ever admit that and will say that he found you rather than took you. Even as you grow older Spy makes you keep it a secret so Scout is just constantly being annoyed by Spys antics.

"Y/n! C'mon man dis isn't funny! You win okay! Just come out-"

"Well well, off to find ze lost child again I see"

"Oh screw you! is aint none'a your problem!"

"..."

"He's gone. You can come out now"

"Thanks Mr. Spy"

"But of course"

Being practically still a child himself he's pretty good at understanding kids and can help with the small things most adults won't give you two extra seconds for. He's good at getting you out of bad moods and is better at reading when something isn't quite right. But he's not very good with actually taking care of you. Don't get me wrong, he tries. He might even learn a few things along the way but, in your younger years, you can find most of your non-emotional needs being met by anyone other than Scout.

"Mon dieu, when is ze last time you gave zem a baz"

"...uh..."

"...Scout-"

"It's not as easy as it looks! Just watch! Y/n!"

"Huh?"

"It's bath ti-"

"NOOOOOOOO"

The moment you're old enough to run around and talk in full sentences he immediately starts teaching you about baseball. The game sort of takes the role of what better parents might call 'talking through things'. You two play in a way that's more about letting out emotions and coming to an understanding. Any time something goes wrong and one of you doesn't want to talk about it you'll just go play baseball until either the emotions are out or the two of you start talking.

"Don't wanna talk about it do ya?"

"..."

"...wanna head out for a game then?"

"...fine"

Would mostly refer to you by baseball terms like "runner" or "fast ball" since he strives to get you running at speeds at least a little close to his. However, he also likes to tease you a lot, so 'pipsqueek' isn't uncommon either.

"Alright runner, let's see whatcha got! Ready...set...go!"

Scout is hesitant to let you go to any type of school. He's never really had any good memories with education and mostly doesn't want you away from him. But Spy eventually manages to convince (or force) him to let you go. In doing so Spy will have to settle for letting you go to a public school rather than a prestigious private school.

"Fine! But dey ain't goin to any of dose preppy schools! I hate da types a kids dere"

"Scout, you and I boz know zat zey deserve a proper education-"

"Nope! Nadda! Uh-uh, ain't happenin! If dey’re goin to a school den it's gonna be what one I choose!"

When it comes to protecting you Scout is more of an isolationist. He likes spending time with you and will actively try to keep you away from others. He won't let friends over, though everyone else agrees considering you live in a military base. But he'll also keep you away from the others on the team, Spy especially. If anyone pushes back against it he only gets more suspicious of them. This will inevitably rub off on you and you will be extremely distrusting of other people due to this.

"Bonsoir Y/n"

"Oh! Hi Mr. Spy! You need something?"

"Yes actually. Why is Scout hiding you here?"

"He says it's so he can keep track of me"

"Mm-hm, right, of course. I'm assuming you want to leave?"

"Yeah, kinda. It's boring in here"

"Well zen, go ahead"

"Yay! Thanks Mr. Spy!"

Surprisingly Scout has a lot of rules. Most are just about staying away from others and restrictions on the types of friends you can have. Others have to do with hanging out with him. He has rules against you being alone for too long (more so leaving him alone for too long) so you will never have more than an hour without him. He also gets antsy when you talk to others and has outright told you to stay away from them on multiple occasions.

"Hey kiddo! Been a while since Ah've seen ya 'round. How ya been?"

"...uh...um-"

"Y/n! Get over here! I got somethin ta show ya!"

"Coming!"

Enforcing these rules is where Scout lacks. He gets really confused and frustrated when you don't listen to him so he doesn't really know how to get you to listen or how exactly to punish you. They range from extreme punishments, such as taking away food or locking you in your room for days, to extremely light punishments by simply telling you never to do that again. These wildly swinging changes grow a sense of fear in you considering the punishment for certain offenses are always changing. So you learn to not break any rules, no matter how small.

"Um...Mr uh, Mr. Engie? Could you uh...could you grab that for me?"

"Huh? Oh! Sure thing! Here"

"Thank you-"

"Y/n!"

"uh oh"

Spy most definitely sees this problem and often tries to step in and help talk his son down or help you when he goes overboard. If Scout ever notices this happen he'll get extremely paranoid of Spy and won't let him anywhere near you. Not that Spy ever actually allows this to happen though.

"Hey! Just what do you dink you're doing ya shapeshiftin rat!"

"Letting ze child out. Zere is no reason to have kept zem locked up zis long-"

"You tellin me what ta do? With my own family? Look, you ain't got no right actin betta dan me. You probably got loads'a knocked up chicks askin for child support, you don't get ta go around tellin me how ta parent!"

If, however, Spy or any others on the team were to push too hard against Scout's rules he would straight up leave. He'd take you with him and just go. And, despite his horrible record with hiding and keeping quiet, he'd try to do just that. He'd likely be found very quickly by Spy but, considering Spy has to keep his care hidden, he'll likely just keep track of the two of you and keep you both hidden from the Admin, since she would most definitely have Pauling hunting the two of you down.

"C'mon Y/n, we're leavin"

"Huh?"

"Get on da scooter, we don't need dis place, we'll find somewhere betta"

Noticing Scout's behavior while growing up will likely never happen. He practically makes you dependent on him for every decision in your life so you won't really have a chance to notice it. That is if Spy never truly steps in. If Spy was a constant throughout your life then you might be a little more aware of what Scout is doing though still ignorant of the true severity.

"Jer, what's this?"

"Woah! Hold on dere runner, dat ain't nothin ta mess with. Here, hand it over"

"Okay...but why do you have it?"

"Don't worry 'bout it, it's just ta keep us safe"

You will have undying care for your brother. He's the source of 99% of all your joys throughout life and while that did come with the bad you often overlooked that for the good he gave you.

"Can we go to the fair tomorrow? I haven't been to one and it looks so cool!"

"Course pipsqueek! Wouldn't miss a chance ta beat ya in every game imaginable"

"As if!"

That being said, if you ever tried to leave him, your opinion might change. And so would your life status because he is entirely unstable and fully unable to process abandonment for the hundredth time. It'll be a quick but brutal death at the hands of your own brother, likely inflicted through rageful bat swinging or pistol shots. He will feel immediate and immense grief afterward and will likely be unable to live with himself. He only ever wanted to keep you safe. In the end he was the thing that hurt you, killed you.

"Traiter! You- You traiter! How dare you leave me!?! ME! I took care'a you! I raised you! You ungrateful, stupid, worthless ch-..."

'...what have I done"

He was the danger he should have protected you from.

#tf2 #tf2 x reader #reader x tf2 #tf2 engie #engie #tf2 yandere #tf2 pyro #pyro #tf2 scout #tf2 engie x child reader #tf2 engie x reader #tf2 pyro x reader #tf2 pyro x child reader #tf2 scout x reader #tf2 scout x child reader #tf2 yandere x reader #tf2 yandere x child reader

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altocat · 2 years ago

Note

Somehow Midgar CPS gets enough power and takes Sephiroth and puts him with a loving family at... eight years old. Does he have a chance of recovery you think?

Prospects are mostly good overall, assuming his adopted parents are genuine.

-At first, it would take a very long time for Sephiroth to trust them. He'd be extremely cautious and doesn't want to be touched. And would be constantly questioning their motives. He's too shy and timid to be outright hostile, but he's also too skittish to try connecting with them out of fear of some sort of test or trick. He's VERY paranoid.

-Over time, however, he'd get used to them and come out of his shell. If they engage his curiosity and give him plenty of praise and patience, he begins to actually care for them. And, in time, allows them to touch him, finding that he enjoys the comfort of being held or hugged or treated like something treasured and not just a slab of cells they can inject and cart around for observation.

-He'll always be slightly "off" in that he's a lot more world-weary and serious than other kids his age, but they can work with him to show him that it's okay to play and be silly and appreciate the more imaginative, idealistic aspects of childhood. He's rather fond of exploring the outdoors and reading and absolutely LOSES IT when they get him a big telescope for his birthday.

-Over time, he'd come to love them terribly and would be balls to the walls berserk if someone tried to take them away, especially his adopted mother. He'd happily run errands for them, and dote on them when he's older. He'd always be curious about his background, but he wouldn't involve them in that. And he's partially accepted the fact that they're his real parents, regardless of whether or not he ever learns who his biological parents are. He has a lot of soft, sappy feelings for them and was initially worried when he told them about how he feels about other boys. Having them readily embrace and accept him a second time just proved to him that this is real. It was ALWAYS real.

-Sephiroth is not raised to fight, though he likes competition. He'd always be incredibly strong due to the Jenova cells, but would probably follow in his adopted father's line of work out of respect. He's well aware of his prowess and talents and is pretty confident in them, though still occasionally kind of awkward in crowds. He is a bit more emotive as he was never taught to restrict his feelings, but he'd always be an introvert.

-As an adult, he'd just be a bit withdrawn and quiet. But moderately less so. He's cautious around people, but not outright distrustful anymore. His anxiety and general identity issues are present but are considerably lessened now that he's grown up with more breathing room. He still has that dry sense of humor and now is a lot easier to frustrate and fluster. But he's also still got that slight smugness to him as well.

-Is fiercely protective of his family and since he's still a huge fucking tank despite not being in SOLDIER, he will very readily tear you to pieces if you look at them funny. He still lives with them, not because he can't support himself, but because he wants to contribute on their behalf like they did for him. Mister big tall and grumpy is a dorky sweetheart when it comes to them.

-Of course, learning about Jenova might prove to be an issue. And throw everything off balance slightly. The hate for humanity would return, along with a brutal wave of childhood trauma. But it wouldn't be directed at them, nor would it have been compounded by the loss of his friends and having spent years being Shinra's attack dog. But it would be interesting. Sephiroth would find himself torn between embracing his second chance and accepting his past, or going about revenge in the sanest way possible. An interesting crossroads.

#Sephiroth #Sephcanons #ff7 #crisis core #ffvii #asks #final fantasy 7 #Jenova

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xnecromantia · 2 months ago

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"Keep it down, Ambrose." The Wytch retorted, whipping around to stand in front of the other with a face like thunder. It was like dealing with a petulant child, not somebody pushing three millennia. But his warning was given due to where they were; a place full of witnesses. There was already a sense of unrest once he stepped through the gates, alerting him to the various ghosts hovering between the headstones; they did nothing but observe them for now. It was an unnerving sight, nevertheless. Some of them were flickers of their former selves - merely shapeless mists - but others could almost be mistaken for human with how solid they were. They were relatively harmless, but that could all change once they decided that their unexpected guests were no longer welcome. This was their final resting place, after all, and they were more than ready to defend it.

Eight months ago, a bunch of teenagers found out what they were capable of when they graffitied multiple headstones with lewd language and imagery. Judging by the empty bottles of beer besides their battered and bruised bodies, it was clear they were intoxicated -- but that was no excuse for their disrespect. When the groundskeeper found them in the morning, they were somehow still alive and spent the following week in hospital where none of them spoke, skittish and paranoid about everyone. In response, the local council was cautious and introduced opening times for the cemetery, locking the gates at night for good measure. The police declared it an isolated incident in a bid to reassure the community, but that failed when another individual was badly injured two weeks later. This time, the gentleman decided to use a headstone as his personal ashtray, crushing the cigarettes against it and littering the soil below with their remnants. He was found by a late-night jogger at the bottom of an empty grave with a broken leg, unable to contact the emergency services after his fully charged mobile suddenly lost its power.

As a final deterrent, cameras were installed near the north and south gates, but they were soon taken down when they kept malfunctioning; it eventually became too expensive to repair and maintain them. It was the last action taken by the council and police before their response was simply: stay out of the cemetery at night. Oddly enough, that piece of advice worked. Nobody was ever caught for the attacks, and they were never explained, which divided opinion between the locals; was it a supernatural cause or the act of one twisted individual? No humans risked visiting the cemetery towards closing time, and none decided to tempt fate by trespassing; both the superstitious and streetwise. Wytches and Gods, however -- they were the exception. But one of them needed convincing more than the other. Mylo could feel the irritation building inside him, knowing how close he was to finding the cauldron but getting nowhere with this resistance. Three desires; it was a way of forcing Ambrose to commit. No ifs, no buts. He watched as the other tensed up once the Wytch opened his mouth to speak, appearing to finally use what was given to him upon opening that box.

"...You're right." Mylo paused as he stared at the other, expression no longer vexed. It was full of shame. "I can't make you." Despite his strong choice of words before, he was anything but selfish. There were plenty of self-centred people out there who would jump at the chance to control a metaphorically shackled God for personal gain, but not him. He was once manipulated for five years by somebody who he thought loved him, so he knew what it was like to have his hands tied. Even with his ability to control others - mind and body - he never used it for nefarious means. Not everything could simply be handed over to him; sometimes it needed to be earned. And he seemed to forget that when he brought Ambrose with him, thinking that they would readily agree to this. He never stopped to ask how they felt about all this. They may be of the belief that the contract prevented them from having a say in things, but Mylo thought otherwise. With a sigh, the Wytch shouldered his backpack off and opened it, retrieving the ornate box and holding it up for the other to see.

"I'll teleport you back home, okay?" He explained, trying to hide the dejection in his voice. "I was that caught up in finally finding the cauldron that I never stopped to think about you." He would find another way to destroy the sigil -- somehow. It took him nearly three centuries to reach this point; what was another? He might meet an open-minded human in that time who could help him; the thought was a hilarious one. "I could never force somebody to do something against their will, so stuff those three desires. I'm sorry for putting you in this situation, Ambrose."

Silence falls as Mylo explains his predicament a little bit further—what that cauldron truly meant to him. Although Ambrose didn’t fully understand sentimentality attached to family, he knew how mortals behaved with their valuables. Sure, Mylo wasn’t exactly a mortal, but he was a little closer to one than Ambrose, it seemed. Shared some of the more human traits.

Lips press into a tight line and Ambrose's gaze falls to the ground after a moment, the more Mylo rants over it. Trust. They can't help but scoff at that idea. They'd lost a concept of trust for anyone other than themselves long ago. And even then, they weren't always sure they trusted themselves either...

The young god rubs idly at their eyes, huffing out a sigh as Mylo begins to waltz on ahead. As if they'd follow willingly. They could only stay so far away without Mylo's explicit permission. No matter how much they fought it, in the end Mylo had the power here, whether he entirely understood that or not. They shift uncomfortably where they stand, arms folding over their chest as they scowl at the other's back.

"What do I-- it's not about what I want, you know that," he chuckles without amusement. "It's never been about what I want, if 'twas I wouldn't be stuck in t'is situation in th' first place!" A few steps forward, though he's teetering at the edge of the threshold to the hollowed grounds like his life depends on staying out.

"Mylo! C'mon! Let's talk about this," he calls after him. Hands tossed in the air fall at his sides with an exasperated groan. "If ya wan' it so bad, y'know what yer gonna hafta do..." What the contract required. Because Ambrose certainly wasn't going to do it without the force of the unbreakable contract that tied him to that box--and, subsequently now, to Mylo--in the first place.

"'m not goin' in there if ye don't say it. It's not fucking happenin;, Mylo, I mean it!! Ya can't make me!!"

Well, actually, he most certainly could, but that's exactly what Ambrose was implying to begin with. Using up one of the 3 desires he'd promised when Mylo had first opened the box would mean they would have to do it, no matter how much suffering it may cause him...Slavery was a cruel advantage, but they weren't so sure Mylo liked them enough to entirely avoid using it. Standing there, waiting, with every muscle in their body clenched.

#cursedvessels

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sylver-drawer · 3 years ago

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Hfjkfngokumdbud I am happy to entertain!! So um, here. Have some more:

Exactly. Her life in Korea was only used as a deux ex machina for her to stick by Claude. If she truly yearned for parental figures she would've, should've, yearned for Diana too. Should've longed for Diana more than Claude. One died for her, and the other... well.

Give me Athy's survival instincts. Give me a skittish and cautious Athy. Give me Athy who collects and saves money because you never know, never know when shit will hit the fan. Have her be unwilling to use up her secret savings. Let only Lily into her heart and absolutely nobody else. Let her not trust Claude o n e b i t. Having Lily and Athy planning together for an escape just in case could've been a great way to show them bonding, to show them as accomplices, as family. But WMMAP doesn't do Found Family, it seems :')

We have nothing to go off of regarding Duchess Alpheus. Except what you mentioned. Not even a name. And I am MAD.

Now that you talk about it... Villainesses are never given the same narrative weight as male villains and honestly that's just misogyny. Rosalia would've made a fine villain (look, her stirring up shit against Athy, and Jenny is torn and conflicted because she loves Athy, she really does, but Rosalia... Rosalia looks like her mother and Jenny yearns for Penelope, the woman she could've loved. Would make a fine parallel with Athy who also yearns for Diana, the woman she could've loved. Just... COME ON) Also like, many manhwas feature a female MC acting cute to gain the approval of her male relatives (father, brother, etc) and it's honestly... I don't jive with it -_-

Claude is... he just lacks any rhyme or reason. He only has one (1) thought and that's murder. Seriously dude, couldn't you have more depth?? How can people love him when he's such a blatant tyrant??? Have him kill people because he's paranoid. Have him be standoffish and stricter and harsher with higher nobles but have him be more lenient towards lower nobles and maybe the common folk. Now that could be a way to make lowborn folk love him.

He absolutely has no rights and justification for being shitty towards kids.

And YES YES YES HAVE HIM BE RELUCTANT TO SPEND. He shouldn't be carting off all the riches in the world to Athy. Have him scoff at and look down upon grandiose display of riches. And him not giving all that much to Athy just makes her all the more paranoid and save up more and more because she obviously can't count on him for money. Have her study vigorously and try to start a side hustle or something. Have her connect more to the common folk! Trade! Business! She could've been a banger of a businesswoman!

And Jenny... Oh poor Jenny she deserved so much better than what the narrative gave her. Have her and Athy choose each other in the end, over everyone else. “Fuck this, fuck the world, fuck you, we're together forever now” and have Athy teach Jenny or sumn. Girl was raised to be naive! (Presumably so that she'd be easier to control as a puppet monarch) Let Athy believe in Jenny's potential!

And oh yeah we know jack shit about Felix. He's just there to be Claude's loyal knight. That's it. And absolutely nothing else. Where's his father? Is he the Duke's son? What does the Duke think about his (son?) serving a tyrant who's especially harsh with higher nobility? Like, there's zero interaction between Felix the Duke, if I remember correctly. Just... ?????

ALSO YES ABOUT LILY'S PARENTS. DO THEY LITERALLY NOT EXIST??? Like, I could think of an explanation to integrate into the story right away and they (Spoon and Plutus?) didn't???? Like, have her work in the Ruby Palace without her parents' consent, have them constantly write her angry letters to come home and have her refuse to comply, have a small Athy find the letters and she and Lily have a heartfelt moment or sumn because Lily chose Athy. Have Athy love Lily all the more for it because guess what, it's not easy for you to stand alone against a hostile world. It's not like having these details can be that hard.

(I'm the one who came up with the Athy-runs-away-to-Siodonna AU because I wanted Diana to have an impact... I did it with LP!Athy but it could very easily work with WMMAP!Athy too. Like, after Claude lets and watches her drown Athy could just go “oh god oh fuck he doesn't care he might've saved me this time but there's no guarantee that he'd do so next time” and just... bolt. Ditch the Ruby Palace, ditch Obelia and go where her mother lived...

For the record though— what do you think about Empress!Jenny and magician/advisor!Siodonnan!Athy in the Siodonnan LP!Athy AU? It's... highly underdeveloped as of yet but maybe I could make posts about it...)

Sobbing at the fact that you’ve reminded me how terrible the world building of WMMAP is.

Remember when Athy ran away and was looking into a magician’s guild or something like that? Or that she had to get a magician’s license to be legally allowed to use magic? Where did that go???

Also remembering how terrible Plutus is with family dynamics. Not even talking about SBAPOD, but the example being Beware of the Brothers, and we already know how that went.

I swear, manwha authors don’t know how to write healthy family dynamics,,, it’s just the father (and ALWAYS the father) spoiling the main character with riches effortlessly and the main character protesting once before going “this is fine”. We’ve never, never, seen Claude and Athy actually bond emotionally. It really took Claude falling into a coma and nearly dying before he could accept the fact that he hurt Athy so bad and had to apologize for it (and she had to pressure him into apologizing essentially too? “And?!”)

On that topic, a I will never shut up about how Claude is never the one to initiate father-daughter time. Think about it—all the times we’ve seen them bond, Athy is always the one who goes to him. She enters his study, annoys him in his room, lazes there before one of them eventually brings up a tea party for a break; we never see Claude ever seek her out himself. The only time we did? Was when he almost killed her (which is hella sad and dark now that I think about it more).

Why is it that in these stories, it’s always the child who has to initiate reconciliation and bonding time? I’m so tired of adults who can’t adult for once to the point the child has to adult for them.

Also, I would love that AU. Athy really since the beginning never felt like she wanted to be empress exactly. Even in the climax arc, she was forced to because her dad was out of commission and her uncle was evil. She’s already worked herself to death in her second life, why for the life of her would she ever want to work again in her third? (now including the fact that she realized her first life was LP and that she worked hard to get her father’s love and attention only to fail)

LP Athy didn’t get attention. She didnt stand out, but that makes her strong suit of an adviser being so much more interesting. Reminds me of Kyesook from Akayona—he’s hella shady, doesn’t stand out and blends in with the crowd, but he’s intelligent and consults with Soowon about various things. Athy, who’s lived in the palace her whole life and knows her way around the boundaries within the castle walls added to her knowledge of being a Siodonnan diplomat? It would be so powerful.

Learning magic in Siodonna would be so cool too, and builds world lore. How do other countries use magic? WMMAP really fails to implement an exact magic system other than Lucas’, “Everyone has magic but just doesn’t know how to use it lol”. Again, what of the magician licenses? How do other countries use magic to improve their kingdom? We know different colors means different intentions of using magic, explore that more. Could there actually be a country that uses black magic to improve their kingdom? How would Jennette’s existence, a child imbued with black magic, be referred there? Obelia’s existence, how they seem to use magicians for such trivial things when it can be used for so much more.

One thing I missed from the novel was Cabel existence. Not because it would introduce another love interest, god no, but rather it would introduce citizens from other countries interacting with the main cast.

How would Cabel interact with Claude, a tyrant emperor who she’d blood nearly every week like it’s an episode of his new TV Show? Compared to the royal family of Alberta who, iirc, their family is on good terms with? Seeing as Cabel was the only one even the slightest bit disgusted with Hari and Eugene’s relationship, he’d probably be the ONLY voice of reason within the cast honestly. I dislike how in the novel, his presence only existed as “Ijekiel’s friend from another country who fell for Athy and he had a fight with Lucas over her”.

On the topic of Lucas actually. He’s a horrible teacher, and he’s embraced that fact. He may be all powerful, but he sucks at teaching. The only reason why Lucas is the main love interest is because he has no existence otherwise it seems. He can’t be ‘just a friend’ because the fans will rage, and he can’t be a mentor figure because he sucks at actually teaching the girl.

Siodonnan Magician Mentor Athy would put Lucas in his place so fast. Athy and him fighting over diplomatic issues and asking for Jen’s opinion while they’re fighting because she’s the empress. We need more Lucas and Jen interactions too, without him dehumanizing her. They could actually have a good dynamic. Lucas knows all magic, but most likely knows black magic the least so he spends time with Jen to study more about it. His bluntness would actually help expand Jen’s knowledge without coddling her like Ijekiel (I believe in the novel Jen actually expressed her likeness to Lucas because of his unfiltered honesty toward her, even if his words were a bit cruel?).

#who made me a princess #wmmap #wmmap claude #wmmap jennette #wmmap athy #wmmap au

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