#so finding out there's one in canon already works perfectly for me. I'll be taking that thank you :)

[eldritchships]

By learning more Transformers lore I've been able to expand on Flatline's life.

Fun fact of the day: He graduated with high marks from Protihex Medical Mechanical, and did his apprenticeship on Velocitron. (In non-TFA continuities, this is also how he first met Blurr)

[estro-gem]

Jax x Ragatha: The snake and the water spring

The Amazing Digital Circus AU: Oasis.

Author's note: I found this show by chance and I took a great liking to it! So now I did a thing, instead of studying for upcoming exams, because I love making things difficult for myself, apparently.

I have no idea what the fandom is like, but I'm playing it safe just to be... well... safe. I just loved the concept of this show so much that I couldn't help but be inspired by it! It got me thinking and I let it all out in this... thing.

I want to write more one-shot fics about the other characters and how they fit into this au too, but I don't know when I'll be able to.

WARNING! None of these characters are mine and everything mentioned and described is purely made-up fiction; inspired by works that are not my own. Nothing should be considered canon or taken seriously - we are all here to have some harmless fun! No age restrictions. I think this might be appropriate for all ages...?

Please show some love and support for Gooseworx; the creator of The Amazing Digital Circus!

I definitely butchered Gooseworx's characters by adding unnecessary 'relationship dynamics' and deviating from their original personalities. I promise that the actual show and characters are so much better than they are in my false portrayal of them.

SUMMARY:

A fanmade take on the events following Pomni's arrival and after the crew had dinner together. This is focused on Jax's point of view, but still written in the third person.

Jax confronts Ragatha after the pilot episode's 'dinner' and does his best to comfort her in a way that works for them. That's it.

Please enjoy!

THE SNAKE AND THE WATER SPRING

Jax was a desert snake.

Nothing but a cold-blooded pest that lived to find his next meal.

When one is left to die under the scorching sun, you can’t stomp on the sun for creating a desert, but you could stomp on the desert snake if it added to the pain of surviving in said desert. The Digital Realm was nothing but a desert sun – a cage with no exit and an evil with no target.

It was no secret why so many had lost their minds here.

Jax took on the role of being the snake. It was never announced or planned, but it was deemed necessary by all who came to know the realm. The inhabitants of The Amazing Digital Circus craved any sense of control; something they could hold accountable for their torment – something they could punish. A menace, parasite.

Evil with a target: Jax.

It was fun to act out while everybody went about their lives. He could unapologetically be the worst being known to man and thrive on the rage and hatred of all he had affected. If they hated him, he was fulfilling his role perfectly… and that meant they could stay sane and do their parts as he did his. Less people would be lost to insanity… and the group would grow stronger.

Everyone had a role in their system – an oasis was established, with Ragatha as the heart of the oasis; their very own water spring.

But when a new invading creature bursts into the oasis with no knowledge of this system, their system would be doomed. Pomni happened to be that invader. Everyone could collectively, yet silently agree that she was acting by her own careless devices since she arrived a few hours ago. She greedily soaked up their water source and left it barren, dry, and suffering.

Granted, Pomni didn’t know how their oasis worked, but it didn’t change the fact that she disrupted everything by showing up. She would have to catch on quickly and prove herself useful, before anyone else loses their minds.

They lost one of their own already… and they almost lost their beloved Ragatha; Jax’s equal and opposite.

Their precious water source.

Snakes offered venom, while water springs offered hope of life. They all desperately needed Ragatha to survive. While most would assume her to be fine after being fixed by Caine, Jax knew better than that. He saw her reluctantly stand aside Pomni to support her – beautifully acting within her role as she always would, but it was clear that Pomni still didn’t understand how scarce the water was by then. Rags was spread thin enough by handling the extra stress and enduring the continuous pain of being corrupted by the abstraction, but that didn’t stop Pomni from practically having a mental breakdown at the dinner table.

Jax saw that coming from a mile away. Thank goodness he silently took the open seat next to Pomni, silent in his insistence that the ragdoll should keep her distance for the time being. He’d give anything to destroy the little jester for abusing his doll. Ragatha was acting perfectly normal at the time – her masked smile perfectly set on her face – until it was time for them all to retire to their respective bedrooms.

Jax wished that he would’ve just dragged her after him when he booked it from the abstraction earlier today. Pomni would have been the perfect distraction for them to escape and get Caine.

He stood at Ragatha’s door after dinner.

Jax made a point to ring the doorbell this time. Usually, he’d just pluck out a key and saunter in like he owns the place, but with what happened today, he’d make an exception. Everyone has their limit – and someone has already reached their limit today. They couldn’t risk losing another one. Especially not Raggs. They all really needed her.

When she didn’t open, he tried the bell again. Nothing.

Well, time for the key, then.

He shoved his hand down his front pocket and fished out the doll’s room key. The bunny didn’t waste time opening the door. He wanted to see what state the girl was in, despite dreading the possibility of finding an abstracted amalgamation on the other side.

Silence.

Not even a creak was heard from the hallway. The room was lit up as it usually was, so that was a good sign, at least. Jax couldn’t see an obvious black body of eyes – another win. But where was Ragatha? He did see her walk into her room, so she had to be here.

He walked around, keeping his cool, casual composure fixed, despite no one being around. It was effortless at this point. It became a way for him to focus on what he could control in this crazy digital prison; himself.

He couldn’t, however, control his ability to spot a blasted ragdoll, it would seem. He scanned the room again, until his eyes fell on her ¾ bed. Could she-?

The bunny rolled his eyes at himself as he lowered himself onto his knees – maybe he could convince himself that he was not phased by the situation. Bending down, he peered beneath the bed frame.

Jax sighed in exasperation. Or was it relief? Both?

Ragatha was in the state she was in before retiring to her room. No gliching, no extra eyes.

Just Raggs.

She didn’t look good, though. The doll was curled up beneath her bed and blindly staring ahead of her. It didn’t look like she was breathing – not that they needed to anyway, but it was uncanny to see Rags like this. She was their voice of reason. She was a water spring in this desert.

If she dried up, their desert would be doomed.

Jax silently stood up and walked back to the open door again. No need to make a fuss over this. He took hold of the door handle and shut it from the inside. Key in hand, he locked the door and nodded to himself. Ragatha needed a raincloud… and he’d have to fill that role now. It’s the least he could do after leaving her to fend for herself when they found the abstraction today.

Why didn’t she run with him? Why did think she could fix someone whose mind was broken beyond repair? Why didn’t she just leave the rookie as bait?

Because that just wasn’t her role, was it?

If it weren’t for her nature – her role – none of them would have made it this far. It dawned on Jax, once again, how close they were to losing their beloved doll. How close they were to being stuck with an invader who knew nothing about what it took to survive in this hell hole.

Enough.

Back to the bed, crouched down and silent Jax positioned himself to lay down and simply look over the red head from a relative distance. There was enough space for the doll to crawl out of hiding without having to touch him. The bunny still hadn’t said a word. It’d be stupid to talk, and he didn’t feel like making the effort. He just wanted things back to normal again – well… as normal as it could have been.

Now Kaufmo is gone, a new creature was invading their home, tearing it up from the roots and tipping the delicate scales of the balance they worked very hard on creating. All because of a lunatic ringmaster having the bright idea of creating a fake exit-door. Someone better get that jester on a tight leash to get her to fall in line, like the rest of them were forced to.

He knew he, for one, wouldn’t mind roughing her up a bit. It was his specialty – his role. The parasite. The menace. The instigator.

Evil with an actual target.

The sound of shifting and movement had Jax blink out of his own head. Ragatha was slowly and dumbly making her way out from under her bed. Her eyes were still fogged over and her face still eerily blank, but at least she came out of hiding out of her own will. In a matter of seconds, the doll was out from her hiding place and settled on the floor beside Jax. She was staring him in the eyes now, waiting for the bunny, silently pleading.

Jax hadn’t had his aloof-douchebag persona engaged since he locked Ragatha’s door. She didn’t need a menace now – she needed to be grounded; revitalized. She needed a dark raincloud to fill up the water spring they all needed.

He didn’t look forward to what needed to be done, but he wouldn’t allow anyone else to do it.

He moved to stand up and held out a hand to help her up. He took note of the way her hand was shaking when she took his and gently guided her to the bed. The red head was the first to sit, then moved to lay down on her back and numbly stare at the ceiling. With a deep breath, Jax gathered himself mentally and cautiously crept onto the bed and positioned himself to briefly hover over her, before lowering his full weight onto Ragatha.

He had his head in the crook of her neck, on the left shoulder with his ears folding back to floppily droop to his upper back… with his left hand resting on the opposite shoulder. His body, although slim, enveloped hers and caused her to sink slightly into the mattress. His legs just loosely laid over and aside the ragdoll’s. It was more important to have his weight resting on her torso anyway.

For a long moment, they just motionlessly laid on the bed like this. To an outsider, it would look like they fell asleep atop each other or simply cuddled together very closely.

An outsider wouldn’t see that Jax was focused on the slow process of Ragatha’s body relaxing under his weight and her breathing slowing to a regular rhythm. An outsider wouldn’t have known that this was hardly the first time they’d done this – how long it took Jax to learn that this make-shift deep-pressure therapy was the most effective grounding technique for Ragatha to collect herself again.

They wouldn’t understand that Jax didn’t do this out of wanting to, but rather out of necessity.

Jax didn’t like to be touched. If anything, he was very capable of merely tolerating it. Everyone in the circus knew that he was touch-averse; some even used that as leverage to mess with him if the situation called for it. It was a necessity that he endured to keep his doll sane – to keep anyone of importance here in the circus, sane. Their whole lives revolved around mental strength. It was all just a matter of staying sane.

The laid there for what felt like a lifetime.

Slight shifting beside Jax alerted him that the doll was moving her arms – previously stiffly pinned to her sides. This was good, she felt comfortable enough to move around now!

Her left hand gently snaked up to the bunny’s head and slowly, softly petted his ears in a longitude motion. Her right hand wrapped loosely around his middle-to-lower back – motionless. This was bad, Jax did not like being touched like that!

While he was fine with the rhythmic touches of Ragatha’s left hand, he despised the idle position of the right hand resting on his back. He couldn’t prevent himself from tensing up in discomfort.

Bad touch, bad touch, bad-

This caused the ragdoll to tense up and rip her hands off him as if he burned her.

Oh no you don’t! We are not starting all over again.

He slowly pulls away and propped up unto his elbows, hearing Ragatha’s breathing pick up as she presumably spirals into her own thoughts on how he was going to leave her like this. Jax cast down a disapproving look. He broke his gaze to unceremoniously take her right hand – now clutched close to her chest – and intertwined their fingers, before resting his head on her left shoulder once again. He close eyes as he use his free hand to put her left hand on his head again, waiting for her to resume her petting.

Good touch; this was a good touch. Please understand.

Thankfully, Ragatha relaxed… and continued her previous slow, rhythmic motions. Slowly, Jax felt her relax once again and he indulged into her need for touch by stroking his thumb over hers occasionally.

Soon they fell into a rhythm; Ragatha would pet Jax’s ears 3 times, then it was his turn to stroke his thumb over hers. Then they would repeat the routine. This also helped Jax cope with the touching; the routine. The rhythm.

It felt like hours ticked by as the two just practiced their little unspoken routine. Jax grew used to it after a while, almost forgetting that his new mattress was now a sentient ragdoll and completely tuned into their rhythm of touches.

Pet… pet… pet… thumb. Pet… pet… pet… thumb.

Jax didn’t like touch, but he loved routine.

The doll and the bunny’s time together, once nothing but grounding techniques, grew to become an intimate exchange of touches and caresses – all wrapped in a routine, like a dance. Jax felt warm and fuzzy inside; for once he basked in the moment of enjoying his dolly. He lazily wondered if Ragatha felt the same. He shifted his head to look at her.

The doll looked down to meet his eyes when she felt him move. He could swear that she looked at peace, basking in the bliss of their closeness. For some reason, she looked like an angel. They all saw her as their angel. Had he successfully pinned a heavenly body beneath him?

Her gentle, longing gaze made a kaleidoscope of butterflies erupt from his core.

This wasn’t the first time this feeling invaded his being when they did this – as rare as these moments were. He wasn’t sure when he started experiencing such feelings during these rare encounters, but as months crawled by, he felt drawn to his dolly more and more. Based on how she looked at him, he could only assume that she felt it too.

Something so foreign, yet so familiar.

He didn’t fail to spot the warmth rushing to her cheeks when their eyes met. She looked so ethereal beneath him, especially when her breathing picked up under his firm gaze. Her lips were parted, and her eyes were lidded. This time, it wasn’t fear or overstimulation. It was anticipation. It was desire.

Jax internally flinched at the tingly sensation when he smoothly burrowed his face into Ragatha’s neck. She shivered at the breath he let out against her skin. He could tolerate the touching a little longer, as long as he could see her crumble again. He wanted to see her walls crumble again.

“Jax- ”

Oh… he had to hear her again. More clearly, next time. This was torture, but she made him into her own personal masochist. His skin crawled at the sensation of her skin shivering against him, but he needed more. He could take it. Just a little longer – he just had to stand these sensations a little longer. He looked at her again.

Ragatha was reverting to a helpless puddle. The doll’s arms were gripping at the covers beneath her, successfully eliminating the bother of excessive contact that he despised. Jax didn’t know if she did it with that intension or without thinking, but either way, he was thankful. He really wanted more.

Why couldn’t he just be normal?

He lifted onto his elbows again and – dare one say – lovingly looked at her face. She could only peek back at him, breathing slightly faster than usual. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her shaky hand rise from the covers and hover next to his cheek, while her eyes pleaded for his mercy. He hesitated but bit the bullet to comply; leaning into her touch while desperately trying to ignore the odd tingles. Jax convinced himself to kiss her wrist and drowned himself in the pleasure of hearing her softly call his name.

He only heard it because he was listening so closely for it.

Yes.

DING DONG

In a flash, Jax braced himself up into a crouch and slammed his foot down with a mighty THUMP upon hearing Ragatha startle into a fit when the doorbell chimed. His hair on his back stood on end and his claws ripped through his gloves, leaving gouges in the covers beside the doll’s head.

His precious doll was disturbed again!

He heard her soft cry of fear and his blood boiled with a thirst for vengeance. Only he can make her cry out. He’ll skin the soul that dared to-

“Ragatha…? Can we talk?”

That DAMN jester!

“Jax?” a quiet voice trembled in his ear from beneath him. Jax stopped glaring at the door to softly glance down and see what his little doll wanted.

“Don’t…” Raggs sounded like she was begging while being held at gunpoint, whispering despite their rooms being enchanted to not hear anything from the outside when the door is shut.

Jax wouldn’t dare let that thing inside. Raggs was upset enough as it is.

“Look, I know it probably wouldn’t make a difference…” Pomni’s voice came from the other side door again, “…but I’m so sorry for running off… Again… I saw that exit and I had to see if it was real. No one else believed me and I started to think that I was losing my mind. You understand that, right?”

Jax placed both his hands down on the mattress, blocking the doll’s view of the door as if it could block the sound of the voice from reaching the Raggs’s ears, still hovering over her. He knew that his dolly didn’t want to hear anything the harlequin had to say now – he had half the mind to get up and bash the newbie’s head in.

“I hope we can talk about this some time. You are probably tired after such a long, crazy day.” Pomni’s voice died down near the end, “It feels like you’re the only good person here.”

She really is, but she’s too good for you. Selfish leech.

Jax looks down to the girl, still stiff as a board beneath him. Her eye was shiny with the swell of tears. He melted at the sight – anger simmering down. She was just a sweet little rag dolly, she didn’t deserve any of this, but oh, he was so happy to see Ragatha finally emote something again. She was OK again. Their water source was filled once again, now threatening to spill over. He’d happily welcome the flood.

He needed her.

The sound of fading footsteps causes Jax to rip his eyes to the direction of the door. His hearing was better than the dolls, probably thanks to being a rabbit.

Good riddance.

Ragatha seemed to relax at the sight of Jax deflating his stance, reading that Pomni probably left her door. She hesitantly reached up to cup Jax’s cheek. Jax followed her hand’s motion and scoffed, cringing at the invasion. He’s had enough touching for a week. It sucked to leave his doll so soon after being distressed again, but he couldn’t bring himself stand any more of this. He quickly got up and smoothed out his clothes, but not without missing the flash of hurt in the doll’s eyes. He felt bad, but he had to be strong with the new girl around, so straining himself now would only make matters worse and mess up the whole system.

Still, seemingly bored, Jax stood in his spot while rocking on his heels and looking off to the side, only sparing her a glance. Raggs sat up by then. She looked a little worse for wear, but it’s an improvement from hiding under her bed. She rested her elbows on her knees with her chin in her hands. The hurt in her eyes was long gone, but she looked tired. Poor thing, Jax shared the sentiment.

He felt her eye bore into the side of his face and the bunny couldn’t stop himself before he rolled his eyes and looked to her again. He could’ve choked on air when he saw her face, but the years of steeling his demeanor left no trace of his inner turmoil.

Raggs sported that longing look in her eyes again.

They were so close this time – closer than they’ve ever been before. Each time they spent together on nights like this, although few and far between, they grew closer… and hungrier. Neither understood what it was, but they never had the chance to just collapse into it, tonight being the closest to that.

But there was always something, right?

Jax allowed gaze to soften. His doll offered a small smile that almost ripped his heart out if his chest. It was drenched with melancholy of something she knew they could never have.

Because their roles in their little ecosystem didn’t allow for it to ever be theirs. It would never work.

This was survival.

The rabbit steeled his demeanor once again, but this time, his doll’s face didn’t fall.

Good, as it should be.

Jax walked to the door and fished out the key from his front pocket. He didn’t bother looking back. If he did, he wouldn’t have the will to leave anymore. When he opened the door, though, he couldn’t help but mumble out teasingly.

“See yah later, Doll~!”

He wished that he could shout his affections for her out into the void instead.

“I’m not your doll.” Ragatha responded, voice still wobbly and tired, but perky regardless. She knew just how to indulge him.

Yes, she is… she always will be.

Fanart: Evil with a target

Oasis: TADC AU list

Masterlist

[livi-in-digital-circus]

Here are some songs that I think would match Ragatha/Miss Agatha and Jax/Jackson in your AU!!!

Ragatha/Miss Agatha:

- the grudge by Olivia Rodrigo would work with her and her terrible fiancé, especially after what he did to her baby. I think it could also work with her and Jax after she slapped him.

- Diet Mountain Dew by Lana Del Rey would work both Ragatha and Jax. It fits their will-they-won’t-they narrative.

- Bigger Than The Whole Sky by Taylor Swift. This song reminds me a lot of Agatha’s miscarriage and the horrible feelings that came with it. It’s the moment where everything in her world fell apart.

- Lose You To Love Me and Single Soon by Selena Gomez. The first one would work with Ragatha’s regrets over her past relationship with her ex, while the second one highlights a happier ending for her. It’s her new start with Jax, specifically her getting ready for the dance with him!

Jax/Jackson:

- Dancing With Our Hands Tied by Taylor Swift. I feel like this matches the dance scene, before everything fell apart of course.

- teenage dream by Olivia Rodrigo. This song would probably reflect the aftermath of Agatha’s coma and all the pain Jackson went through after finding out. Although this isn’t canon to the story, I feel like this would fit his 18th birthday party without her.

- Love You Down by Ready For The World. This song would resonate a lot with Jackson’s one-sided crush on his brother’s teacher and the dreams he had about her.

- Colors by Halsey would definitely work with Jax’s dreams about his past. It summarizes all the people and all the feelings he ignores to avoid feeling anything.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy these choices :D. Your AU has been one of my favorite TADC AUs I ever read. The amount of emotion, drama, and romance was captured perfectly without feeling OOC. Keep up the great work Livi!

AAAAAA THANK YOU SO SO MUCH 💕

I don't know why I didn't think of adding more Taylor and Olivia songs to my playlist, but I actually had those two Selena songs somewhere in the back of my head while making it!

I'll listen to all the songs when I get home from school in 10+ hours (it's past 1 AM here lol)

I would also like to take this opportunity to explain some of the Korean songs on the playlist:

Prologue by aespa is about feeling immature and not ready for adulthood, to me it fits Agatha perfectly because even though she has been an adult for some time, she still has the heart of a teenager and has trouble dealing with some adult issues

Checkmate by Xdinary Heroes is about feeling confident because of a won game, I relate this song to the moment when Jax's attack on Ragatha during their stage play was successful

The Ugly Duckling by YENA, well I interpreted the song's lyrics much differently than it should be interpreted, I relate it to Agatha's miscarriage due to the lyrics being about trying to move on after a horrible event and there is also a child mentioned so-

War of Hormone by BTS is a very controversial song which that has been accused of considering girls playthings for boys, basically Jax's attitude towards Ragatha before she almost abstracted

Doll by (G)I-DLE, the title says it all, it perfectly describes how Ragatha was treated by Jax and how she's fed up with it

Quarter Life by TOMORROW X TOGETHER is another song about finding adult life kind of hard and trying to go on despite you already screwed up a lot of things, every time I hear this song I think of Jax and how he feels after remembering his former life

Lonely Boy by TOMORROW X TOGETHER is a breakup song that in my opinion fits how Jackson felt after losing Agatha

Happily Ever After by TOMORROW X TOGETHER (yeah, it's my fav boysband lol) is the song I had in mind while writing the last chapter, even though it's upbeat it tells about how cruel life is and that there's actually no happy end, just like in the story :D

And thank you for enjoying my AU! At first I thought it would fail as it has no drawings (I'm really terrible at drawing + I can't do digital art) and focuses more on writing, but the amount of support and love my work has received in these few months makes me incredibly happy 🥺

[makeste]

do you perhap have bakugou whump fic recs?

I have many such recs! not all of them are "whump" in the purest sense of the word, but they've got angst and hurt/comfort in abundance, so yeah.

I also have an older rec post from like five years ago which has quite a few Bakugou whump fics as well, so I'll link that here.

and here are like 16 new ones lol.

some quick notes:

I'm just including links and summaries here, so please make sure to check the tags for each fic if you have certain squicks or triggers you're trying to avoid!

please be aware that I am not very nitpicky about grammar and style and spelling and the like, so long as I'm feeling the characterization and general vibes. so while I can't promise that all of these fics will read like Nobel Prize-winning lit, I can say that I personally enjoyed each one enough to go back and reread more than once.

although it tends to be one of the most common tropes in Bakugou angst fics, I do not vibe with the "abusive Mitsuki" angle, so you won't find any of that in the works below. same goes for Midnight-bashing (which is also surprisingly common).

I also did not include any fics with sad endings just because I didn't feel like depressing myself today lol.

I don't think there are manga spoilers in any of these fics except one (which I noted and marked with an asterisk), but definitely check the tags just to be safe.

lastly, though I'm by no means a prude when it comes to fanfic, all of these particular fics are SFW, just FYI.

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gen Bakuwhump:

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It's Already Tomorrow on the Other Side of the World by Nicole_Silverwolf

In the absolute immediate aftermath of his rescue at Kamino, Bakugou just wants to sleep. If he sleeps then this nightmare will be over. Except he's freezing in the mid August heat. And he can't stop shaking. A glimpse of two imperfect humans trying their best told in 3.5 parts.

post-Kamino Dadzawa and Katsuki. easily one of my all-time favorite BnHA fics. it's so sad and cozy.

Coming Up for Air by achievingelysium

Katsuki has nightmares. He doesn't think he deserves the comfort, but Aizawa-sensei sits with him anyway.

more Dadzawa dealing with nighttime Kacchan angst, since that's like my #1 BnHA fic aesthetic. this is so well-written. like, there are a couple of lines in here that just... guh. just hit right to the core of me.

Bakugou's "Super Fun" Three Day Vacation by Marvelless

Bakugou and his parents arrive home after the Kamino Ward incident for some much-needed recovery time.

post-Kamino Bakufam angst. lots of paranoia and dissociation. this is one of those fics that's sort of a guilty pleasure for me, because Katsuki definitely feels a lot more... fragile?... in this than I think he would have been in canon. but he's still enough of a grump during all of his spiralling that it still feels like him. and I do love me some Bakufam wholesomeness, and this fic has got that in spades.

the art of poor judgement by emelinelou

It's a Tuesday when Bakugou admits to himself that maybe, maybe he is sorta, kinda under the weather. Things go quickly downhill from there. . Alternatively: Bakugou's too stubborn to be "sick," Midoriya and Kirishima are in over their heads, Todoroki is the Most Useful in a pinch, and Aizawa is not paid nearly enough for this.

probably my favorite sickfic. chapter two especially. Bakugou's narration in this is fucking fantastic. he's so fucking done with life. meanwhile everyone around him is freaking out, and he himself is a complete mess even though he won't acknowledge it, and it's just great. it's equal parts funny, sad, and absolutely adorable.

(incidentally, even though this fic is marked as incomplete, it really doesn't feel that way and ends at a perfectly reasonable stopping point, so don't let that put you off.)

Solar Flare by TheQueen

Three weeks after Katsuki Bakugou receives his quirk, he takes a short tumble off a bridge and watches, dumbfounded, as stupid Deku extend a hand. Don’t take it, the universe commands. Don’t tell me what to do! Katsuki snaps.

this is a really cool AU in which Baby Katsuki accidentally starts defying the universe and ignoring his predestined path, which has a profound ripple effect on his life. sort of like a time-travel fix-it, minus the time travel. also just a heads up that Bakugou is like five years old in this so I guess it's technically a kidfic. and there is plenty of angst, a little bit of whump, more Bakufam, and plenty of baby Kacchan and Deku being cute like it's their job.

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BKDK/DKBK whump:

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lose it all (with eyes wide open) by ghostwriterofthemachine

Katsuki is blinded. Izuku is muted. Both of them are kidnapped. Things get worse.

this is one of those fics that just kind of leaves you stunned at how freaking good it is. featuring: psychological mindgames, hopelessly bleak situations, and codependency so utterly raw and desperate that it broke my heart roughly 17 times.

When Ice Doesn't Float by Ma_skee

A simple rescue exercise goes south when Izuku falls through the ice and it goes from a class assinment to an actual rescue and a race against time to keep him from freezing to death.

technically this is more Dekuwhump than Kacchanwhump (though we do get a bit of the latter toward the end), but I'd argue that few things could possibly stress Katsuki out more than being in a tense survival situation in which Deku is hurt and needs help. anyway so yeah. this is classic hurt/comfort and very good.

spinning out of control by mollE

Katsuki joins the 'I've Been Mind Controlled' Club. He wishes he hadn't.

please see above re: how all Dekuwhump scenarios are secretly Kacchanwhump scenarios in disguise. anyway so basically a mind-controlled Bakugou beats the shit out of Deku while being fully aware of it the entire time, and has a complete (and understandable) emotional breakdown afterwards.

all that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing by maxisnotokay

Izuku has had this thing about him that Katsuki has never been able to name, but he's been chasing it since he learned how to run. It takes a catastrophic building collapse during their third year and a severe concussion for him to realize what it is. Aizawa loses ten years off his life. When does he not.

gotta love a good building collapse fic. this one has a concussed Katsuki, a very worried Izuku, and the usual "thanks to this intimate life-or-death situation, I have belatedly realized some fundamental truths about the nature of our relationship" tropes. but it's good. a lot of really good banter and back-and-forth dialogue in this one too.

takes one to know one by Sour_Idealist

Deku has left UA. Ochako still looks for him in unguarded moments. Bakugo is, unsurprisingly, being a jerk.

some good emotional hurt/comfort post-Jakku. Ochako has a chat with Bakugou about Deku. specifically, Bakugou's feelings toward Deku. it's good shit.

*fear is the heart of love by nikkiRA

*please be advised this fic contains major manga spoilers!!

Bakugou gets hit by a quirk that amplifies his greatest fear for 24 hours.

losing Deku. the thing that scares him the most is losing Deku. this is a good fic. emotional hurt/comfort for days. though once again do keep in mind that there are a couple of major spoilers in this.

silence is what i do best by notreally

the one where both Izuku and Katsuki were hit with a truth serum sort of quirk, and things aren't going all too well.

not just a truth-telling quirk, but a truth-compulsion quirk, to the extent that (spoiler alert) the quirk causes them physical pain and distress if they don't speak the truth. which, as you can imagine, leads to all sorts of extremely vulnerable conversations and a lot of good h/c.

close by not quite by blossomshed

When Bakugou goes after a beacon during a class-wide rescue op, he doesn't expect to find Deku - or to find himself dealing with the fallout of a gift he doesn't want, and a side of himself he'd never bothered to examine. He deals with it nonetheless.

this fic is so dear to me. it's yet another "Deku transfers OFA to Bakugou fic", but it's just so fucking good. and it also features a (very much confused) ace Bakugou, which is such a rare find. there are lines from this fic which I still think about constantly. it's funny and profound and adorable and so wonderfully IC, please go read it.

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BONUS NON-ANGSTY FICS because I just felt like ending this list with some happy stories where Kacchan gets a lot of love:

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give me compliments (i said give me compliments) by wonhaebunny

“It’s just cute,” Ashido is telling them as she walks into the classroom. “Like, when you compliment someone and they get flustered so easily, don’t you think it’s endearing?” Kaminari blinks. “Like Bakugou?” he asks slowly. - 1-a realises that katsuki is really, really bad at receiving compliments. exposure therapy ensues.

he is bad at accepting compliments. this is a very, very cute fic.

The Friendship Ladder by nikkiRA

Bakugou and Kirishima tell their classmates they're dating, but everyone seems more interested in who gets to claim the newly vacated spot of Bakugou’s best friend.

as the summary implies this is technically KRBK, but the focus here is very much class 1-A as a whole. there's just something about seeing the entirety of the class squabbling over their Kacchan love that tickles me to no end. Deku is also fantastic in this lmao.

The Yoshida Trail by WinterSwallow

Mitsuki Bakugo returns with her gift to the mountain.

last but not least we have this gorgeous character study with a criminally low view count. Mitsuki climbs Mt. Fuji with an eight-year-old Katsuki in tow, as the fic explores his childhood and young adulthood through a series of vignettes. the insights in this really have no business being as profound as they are, given that they're voiced from the perspective of one of the most graceless characters in the series as she observes her equally graceless son through all the ups and downs and tumbles of his life. but somehow that just makes the whole thing even better. idk I just really love this a lot.

---

anyway that's it for now. hope at least a few of these are enjoyable. thanks for the ask!

[silver138]

Perfectly Flawed

Perfectly Flawed - Chapter 1

Starts in Season 1. Mostly canon compliant.

word count - 2k

warnings - cursing? not sure if there'd be anything else yet

Summary: Lina starts her internship and meets the BAU team.

"Come on, Lina! Get your ass in gear!" Val yells at me from the other side of the bathroom door.

"I'm trying, dammit! You know how long it takes me to get ready, why didn't you try getting up earlier this time?!" I yell back at her, trying not to burn myself on my freshly-straighted hair.

She snorts and opens the door while muttering, "I don't know why you even bother trying to straighten your hair, anyway. It's always at least wavy by the end of the day..."

I make a face at her and retort, "Yeah, well, we can't all have perfect hair, Vallie..."

Shit-eating grin on her face, she fluffs her hair with one hand while saying, "Not perfect, I just don't turn into a damned poodle the moment moisture hits the air." Rolling my eyes at her, I finish the last bit of hair and turn off my straightener, unplugging it and setting it somewhere it won't melt anything.

After checking to make sure my makeup didn't smudge while dealing with my hair, I start walking out while saying, "There, use the damned mirror already, Val..."

She laughs and says, "About time you moved your ass...isn't your meeting with the feds today?"

I sigh as I sit down to put my shoes on. "They're not...well, I'm going to be working alongside them, I don't know if I'd be cut out for all the physical shit they do...but no, I'm doing the tech side of it. I'll be working under a..." I quickly grabbed the folder with the documentation I needed for the internship. "A Ms. Penelope Garcia. Huh, hope she's nice..." I say, murmuring the last part to myself.

"Oh, you'll be fine, Lina. You're so bright and cheerful, the sun practically shines out your ass..." Val says from the bathroom, mouth open as she puts her mascara on.

"I'm not that damned perky, Valerie, and you know it..." I huffed out, checking to make sure I had everything I needed in my purse. "Shit, you know if we still have bandaids?" I ask her, rushing in to look under the sink for them.

"The hell do you need those for?! You plan on getting a ton of papercuts or something?" she yells at me as I lightly slap her legs to move out of the way.

"No, Val, but it's good to be prepared. You never know when weird shit'll happen..."

Finding the box in the little first-aid kit we have under the bathroom sink, I grab some and look up at her. She stops fixing her hair and gives me an amused, waiting glance, and says, "Like?"

I roll my eyes, putting the box back, stand up, and say, "Like...if I have garlic for lunch, I've got mints and gum." She scoffs and waits for me to continue. I walk over to put the newly acquired bandaids in my purse. I continue as I pull out the various things I have in there for 'just in case'. "Mini sewing kit for if a button pops off. Extra contact solution, contacts case, and my glasses in case my eyes decide to go all funky on me. Hand sanitizer in case I touch something gross and need something til I can wash my hands. And yes, bandaids, because you know my klutzy ass will get hurt!"

She chuckles and goes back to doing her hair. "Yeah, there is that. You are accident-prone..." I sigh as I finish putting everything away in my purse, setting it down as I grab my shoes.

"You're still giving me a ride in, right?" I ask nervously as I put my shoes on, looking up to see her in the mirror.

"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha. You gonna be able to find your way to work the rest of the time?" she replies, swiping away any lipstick that strays from her lipline.

"I...yeah, I'll figure out how to get there, I just...really wanna make a good impression for my first day, get there nice and early, ya know?" I explain, buttoning up the blazer I chose for today while smoothing out the fabric. She steps out of the bathroom and puts her shoes on. I nod and put on my coat.

Grabbing her coat and keys, Val turns to me and asks, "Ready?"

I grab my purse and reply, "About as ready as I'll ever be..."

*************

"Thank you again for taking me to work, Vallie," I say as she pulls up outside the building, idling as I get out of the car.

"Yeah, well, you're a pain in the ass, but you're my pain in the ass..." she says taking a bite of her doughnut.

"And the fact that you can be easily bribed with food has no bearing on anything, huh?" I tease as I grab my purse and the two boxes of doughnuts.

"Of course not," she replies. "You need me to pick you up?"

I shake my head. "Nah, I figure I can get the Metro back. I'll have to use it most of the time anyway, right?" I explain. She nods, giving me a serious look for once.

"Be careful, Lina. I mean it. Even if you don't end up applying for the profiler position, I'm still gonna teach you how to shoot, ok? Can't be too careful with all the crazy assholes around..." she says. She waves her hand at me. "Alright, go on, shoo, do your thing, I gotta go."

I shut the door with my hip, then yelled, "Bye, Val! See you at home!" She holds her hand up, then slowly drives away. Hiking my purse up on my shoulder, I carefully clutch the two boxes in my arms and walk up the stairs.

As I get to the door, it's quickly opened for me, and I walk in, throwing a quick, "Thank you!" behind me. Heading toward the directory to figure out which floor I need to head to, I hear the sound of clicking high heels rapidly approaching.

"Miss Rosalina Aschebrooke?" a breathless voice asks. I turn around to see a blonde woman in a vibrant dress, with matching heels and glasses. I nod, and she breaks into a wide smile and continues toward me while saying, "Hi! I'm Penelope Garcia, I'm the Tech Analyst you'll be interning with."

"Oh! Hi! I hope I'm not late..." I start nervously, slowly walking with her to the elevators.

"Nah, you're right on time. Did you really bring doughnuts for your first day?! Smart, food bribes work well here. That and caffeine." she says chuckling and offering to take a box as we step in.

"I...don't really think of it as a bribe, more like...edible reinforcements in my quest to get along with coworkers." I quip with a small smile.

"Ah, and she's funny, too! You're gonna fit in well here," she says.

The elevator doors open, and we walk through the bullpen and into the kitchen to set down the boxes. After snagging one of the glazed, Penelope leads me back out, calling people over as we enter. "Everyone, this is Rosalina Aschebrooke, she's gonna be interning here in Tech with me. Ms. Aschebrooke, let me introduce you to the BAU team." She walks over to a tall and stern-looking dark-haired man in a suit and says, "This here is our Unit Chief, Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner." He nods and shakes my hand.

She walks over to another tall man with dark hair, though he's dressed more casually and looks more approachable. "This is Senior Supervisory Special Agent Jason Gideon."

He leans over to shake my hand and says, "Nice to meet you, Miss Aschebrooke. Hopefully, this place agrees with you."

Penelope walks over in between two women, one brunette, and the other blonde, and says, "This is Supervisory Special Agent Elle Greenaway," I shake the brunette's hand. "And our Communications Liasion, Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer Jareau." I shake her hand and smile.

Finally, Penelope walks over to yet another tall man, though he's bald with a goatee. "And this," she continues while placing her hands on his shoulders, "Is my Chocolate Thunder, Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan."

As I shake his hand, he smiles and smoothly says, "Babygirl, you flatter me. A pleasure to meet you, Miss Aschebrooke."

Agent Hotchner looks between the two of them, sighing and saying, "Don't tell me I'm going to have to have another meeting from H.R. with you two..."

Penelope puts her hands up and innocently says, "No sir, Mr. Boss Man. I'll be good." and then flashes a smirk.

While everyone but Derek walks off to go back to what they're doing, Penelope yells out, "Oh! Also! There are doughnuts in the kitchen, courtesy of our new friend here!"

After she walks back to me, I quietly ask her, "Is everyone that works here ridiculously tall?"

"You'll have to see for yourself. There's still one more to meet. Hey, is Boy Genius here yet?" she asks.

"Come on, Reid, get over here!" Derek calls over to the cubicles.

Another tall man quickly makes his way over, tugging at his sweater sleeves and saying, "Oh, you finally decided to hear about the strategies there are for winning at poker? Well, one of them is...o-oh, h-hi."

Standing in front of me was a very slender and reserved man, light brown hair slicked back behind his ears. Penelope says, "Rosalina, this is Dr. Spencer Reid. Boy Wonder, this is Rosalina Aschebrooke. She's going to be here interning in Tech with me for a while."

Smiling and sticking my hand out, I say, "Nice to meet you, Dr. Reid. And you can call me Lina." I look over at Penelope and Derek, "Um, you all can call me Lina." I add quickly with a nervous laugh.

Looking from my hand back to my face, Spencer stammers out, "I-I don't shake hands, sorry. The number of pathogens passed during a handshake is staggering. It's actually safer to kiss."

Eyebrows shooting up at the last bit, I have to quickly shove away that thought as it pops into my head.

Taking a deep breath, I pull my hand away and reply, "OK, fair. It is cold and flu season, after all." I smile again and wave while saying, "How 'bout this? This should be ok, right?" A small smile grows on his face as he waves back.

"Y-yeah. Also, yo-you can call me Spencer," he says shyly.

"OK...Spencer." I say softly.

"Well, we'll leave you agents to it, I've got to start bringing Miss Lina up to speed, here," Penelope says, leading me to where she works.

I turn and say, "Nice meeting you all!" and then try to catch up with Penelope.

"So, what do you think of our team here, Lina?" she says as we walk down a hallway.

"Oh, everyone's really nice, Ms. Garcia. I think I'll like working here."

She looks at me with a smile and says, "While I'm happy to hear that, you don't have to call me 'Ms. Garcia'. You can call me Penelope or Penny, I don't mind."

I smile and say, "I can do that. I'm imagining you're going to teach me the systems you use here, right?"

"Well, that, and ask you a bunch of questions! Gotta get to know you! OH, if we don't get called in on a case, we should go out for drinks this weekend! Wait, how old are you Lina?" Penelope says.

"Oh, um, I'm 22, but I don't...I don't drink..." I start slowly. Penny waves her hand.

"That's fine, neither does Reid, when he actually decides to join us. It's more about getting to know you socially! Besides, there's dancing, and sometimes there's even karaoke!"

I grin and say, "Oh, I could be persuaded into going then, I love karaoke."

She squeals and says, "Perfect! Oh, this is going to be fun!"

Next Chapter

Story Masterlist

[50calmadeuce]

Ch. 6: Confession

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Top Gun: Maverick world, trademarked by Paramount Pictures Corporation. I do not claim ownership of the characters and the world that I am borrowing.

The story and situation I am creating are a work of my imagination and I do not ascribe them to official story canon. This work is for entertainment only and is not a part of the storyline.

I am not profiting financially from the creation and publication of this story, but I do hope it gives you happy thoughts.

These stories are my own, so please do not take them and use them for yourself without my permission. If you see them somewhere else, please let me know. :)

The drive to Hank's farm was quick. You focused on the road, Jake being quiet, allowing you to mentally prepare for what might await you. The silence between you was filled with an unspoken understanding of the task ahead.

Upon arriving, Hank was already waiting, anxiety clear in his posture as he led you both to where Mildred was. The cow was indeed in distress, her discomfort evident as she lay in the barn.

You reached into your bag and pulled out an examination glove, making your way towards Mildred. Carefully, you inserted your hand into the cow's birth canal to assess the situation.

"Jake, could you find the small set of chains in my bag and bring them over here, please?" you requested in a composed manner.

Jake nodded, quickly moving to your bag and rummaging through it to locate the small set of chains you requested. Finding them, he hurried back to your side, holding them out to you. "Got them," he said, his tone reflecting his eagerness to assist in any way he could.

You took the chains from him with a nod of thanks, then carefully attached them to the calf's legs, which you had found to be positioned awkwardly. "We need to correct the position and gently pull during the contractions," you explained to Jake, who watched your actions with focused attention, ready to follow your lead.

As you both waited for the next contraction, you positioned Jake so he could assist with the pulling. "When I say now, pull steadily and gently with me," you instructed, ensuring he understood the importance of timing and gentleness in this delicate procedure.

The next contraction began, and you both pulled in unison, guided by your expertise. It was a tense few minutes, filled with the sounds of Mildred's discomfort and the focused breathing of you and Jake. Finally, with a concerted effort, the calf began to emerge more fully.

"Keep going, just like that," you encouraged, as Jake's efforts synchronized perfectly with yours. The teamwork paid off when, moments later, the calf slid free, landing softly on the straw-covered barn floor.

Immediately, you checked the calf to ensure it was breathing and healthy, while Jake watched in a mixture of awe and relief. "You did great," you said to him, your eyes meeting his in a moment of shared triumph. Jake's smile was broad, his earlier concern replaced with the joy of the successful delivery.

"We did great," you corrected, your gaze warm.

"Much appreciated, Doc," Hank expressed.

"It's no trouble at all, Hank."

Then, Hank faced Jake, offering his hand in gratitude. "Thanks to you as well. Are you in training? The Doc here is top-notch."

"No, Hank, he's not in training. This is my husband, Lieutenant Jake Seresin."

Hank's eyes widened in surprise. "I knew you were married, Doc, I just hadn't met him before. And a Lieutenant?"

Jake extended his hand, shaking Hank's. "I'm a fighter pilot in the Navy."

Hank's handshake was firm, his expression shifting to one of respect and interest. "Well, I'll be. A fighter pilot, huh? That's impressive. We sure are glad to have you here today. Couldn't have done it without you both." He looked between you and Jake, a genuine smile creasing his weathered face.

Jake smiled back, his posture radiating pride. "Glad to be of assistance. It's been years since I last helped deliver a calf."

Hank regarded him with a curious expression.

Jake, noticing Hank's puzzled look, explained, "My family owns a ranch back in Texas."

"Ah, yes! I remember Doc mentioning that."

Securing the back of the truck, you announced, "Alright, I'm all set."

"Thanks again, Doc. I'll drop off that meat by week's end."

"You're welcome, Hank. I'm looking forward to it," you replied, the thought of the upcoming exchange sparking a bit of excitement. Turning to Jake, you asked, "Ready?"

"Yup," he confirmed.

Both of you climbed into the truck, ready to head out.

As you drove back, the silence between you was comfortable, reflective.

"You've done good, Y/N," Jake spoke up, shattering the quiet.

"Thank you," you replied, appreciating the acknowledgment. "It means a lot, coming from you," you added, the road unwinding ahead as you steered the truck back toward home. The early morning light played across Jake's face, highlighting the sincerity in his eyes.

"I mean it," Jake continued, turning to face you. "Seeing everything you've managed to do here, on your own... it's incredible. I'm proud of you, Y/N."

"Out with it, Jake," you said, recognizing the familiar signs of hesitance in him.

"Well, it's just… what if…"

"What if we didn't use protection this morning and I found out I was pregnant?"

Jake's question hung in the air, a palpable tension building as he awaited your response. The suddenness of the topic shift caught you off guard, leaving you momentarily speechless. His eyes searched yours for any sign of reaction, vulnerability etched into his expression.

Your mind raced, processing the enormity of his question. The thought of pregnancy, with its implications and responsibilities, was overwhelming, yet it wasn't without a sense of something profound, a potential new beginning that could redefine everything.

"Jake, that's… a lot to consider," you started cautiously, choosing your words carefully. "But if it should ever happen, I'm sure we'll figure it out."

You steered the truck down the driveway towards home.

"Maybe this means you'll consider moving to San Diego," Jake blurts out.

You brought the truck to a halt and turned to face him. "You're serious about this?"

"Yes, Y/N, I'm completely serious."

"Why? You want me to just sit at home barefoot and pregnant?"

Jake's expression softened, sensing the tension and concern in your voice. "No, no, that's not what I meant at all," he hastened to clarify. "I just thought… with a baby, it might be good for us to be together, and San Diego could offer us more opportunities, especially with the support system the base provides for families."

He paused, gauging your reaction, wanting to ensure he was communicating his thoughts clearly and without presumption. "I don't expect you to give up your dreams or career, Y/N. Far from it. I admire everything you've accomplished here, and I'd never want you to feel like you have to choose between your life here and a life with me."

Jake took a deep breath, his commitment evident in his eyes. "I want to find a solution that works for both of us, a way for us to be together without either of us losing a part of ourselves. Maybe you could continue your work from San Diego, or we could figure out something else. I'm just asking you to consider it, to consider us having a future together where we both can thrive."

Tightening your jaw, you diverted your gaze back to the road ahead and resumed driving towards the house, processing the conversation in silence.

The silence in the truck grew heavy, filled with unspoken thoughts and emotions as the landscape passed by. Jake respected your need for space to think, understanding the weight of the decision and the complexities it entailed. The journey back to the house seemed longer than usual.

Jake finally broke the silence, his voice gentle. "I know it's a lot to think about, and I didn't mean to spring this on you like this. I just... I can't bear the thought of being away from you again, not now when things are changing for us. But I also don't want to uproot you from a life you love. It's just... if there's any chance we could make it work, I want to explore that, together."

He reached for your hand, seeking a connection, but you pulled away.

You needed a moment to gather your thoughts, to navigate the surge of emotions his words had unleashed. The silence that followed was not cold, but rather filled with the weight of consideration, of futures yet to be decided.

You took a deep breath, then turned to face him, your expression a mix of determination and vulnerability. "Jake, I appreciate what you're saying, and I love you for wanting to find a way to make this work. But this isn't just about us anymore. There's so much at stake here, and any decision we make has to be right for everyone involved, not just us."

You stopped the truck again and looked at him, searching his face for understanding. "I've built a life here, a career that I can't just pack up. And it's not just about the farm or my practice; it's about the community, the bonds I've formed. It's about being a part of something bigger than myself."

Jake's expression softened, the depth of his feelings for you clear in his eyes. "I understand, and I'm not asking you to make a decision right now. All I'm asking is that we consider all our options, together. Maybe there's a solution we haven't thought of yet. I just... I need you to know that I'm willing to do whatever it takes. I can't be without you again, Y/N."

Your heart swelled with a mix of emotions—love, fear, hope—as Jake's words echoed in the quiet between you. The vulnerability and earnestness in his plea struck a chord deep within you, reminding you of the depth of your connection, the resilience of your bond despite the trials you'd faced.

"Jake. What happened on the last mission?"

Jake's voice held a heavy note of seriousness. "We almost lost Rooster and Maverick on the last mission. If I hadn't been there, they wouldn't have made it back."

The weight of Jake's words hung in the air, a palpable reminder of the risks and sacrifices inherent in his profession. The names Rooster and Maverick weren't just call signs; they were individuals, friends, who had come dangerously close to paying the ultimate price.

Your heart clenched at the thought, the reality of Jake's daily life as a fighter pilot crashing into you with renewed force. It wasn't just about the thrill of flying or the pride of serving his country; it was about the lives at stake, the comrades who relied on each other in the skies where the margin for error was nonexistent.

"I can't even imagine what that must have been like for you," you said softly, reaching out to touch his arm, a gesture of support and an attempt to bridge the gap his confession had laid bare. "You carry so much on your shoulders."

Jake looked at you, and in his gaze, you saw the toll it took on him, the blend of duty and burden. "It's part of the job, but yeah, it was close—too close. Makes you think about what's important, you know?"

A moment of silence lingered.

"That's where the second award came from, isn't it? You shot down another plane."

"I had no choice. But the truth is, Y/N, we're not getting any younger."

"Jake. Why didn't you reach out to me?"

"I wanted to. I actually had my cellphone ready, but I wasn't sure if you'd answer."

"Jake, seriously! Didn't you notice anything about the house? Everything I did was for you. Even after everything we lost. Every single day for four years, I was hoping you'd call or get in touch for something more than just financial matters."

Jake's expression shifted as the weight of your words settled over him, a mix of realization and regret washing across his features. It was as if he was seeing the house—and, by extension, the last four years—through a new lens, understanding for the first time the depth of your commitment and hope.

"I… I didn't see it," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. The remorse was palpable, not just for his oversight but for the years of missed connections and unspoken words. "I was so wrapped up in my own world, my own pain, I didn't see the life you were building for us, for me. I was blind to the signals you were sending, the effort you were putting in to keep a place for me in your life, in your heart."

Gently, you reached out and caressed his face. "Jake, after we lost the baby, you were all I longed for. Every day, I hoped you'd come back, take me into your arms, and just hold me while we both allowed ourselves to grieve together."

Jake's eyes closed momentarily at your touch, a shiver running through him as if the warmth of your hand was melting barriers long-held. When he opened them again, there was a rawness, a vulnerability that hadn't been there before. "I should have been there," he whispered, the pain of regret evident in his voice. "I should have come back to you. We should have faced that loss together, mourned together. I left you alone in your pain, and for that, I am deeply, profoundly sorry."

You redirected your focus to driving, pressed the garage door opener to lift the door, and steered the F-250 into the garage. Both you and Jake exited the vehicle, securely shutting the doors behind you.

Heading towards the back of the truck, you reached in to grab the bucket, only to feel Jake's arms encircle your waist. He gently pushed your hair aside and planted a kiss on the nape of your neck. You closed your eyes, savoring the warmth and tenderness of his touch.

Whatever had happened on that last mission, it really scared your husband. This wasn't the cocky and confident Jake you remembered.

The realization of his vulnerability, the depth of fear that last mission had instilled in him, made you see Jake in a new light. The man who had always seemed unshakeable, who flew into danger with a grin and a dare, was showing you his fears, his human side that few got to see. It made you love him even more, if that was possible, knowing that he trusted you enough to let those walls down around you.

"You don't have to carry it all by yourself, Jake," you whispered, leaning back into his embrace, feeling the steady beat of his heart against your back. "Whatever it is, whatever happened, we can face it together. You're not alone anymore."

His hold on you tightened just a fraction, a silent acknowledgment of your words, of the comfort and strength you offered simply by being there. "I know," he murmured into your hair. "That's what I'm starting to realize. Being strong doesn't mean you have to be alone." He brought his other hand around and started to unzip your jeans.

He slid his hand into your pants and started to rub your pussy.

"Oh the gods," you moaned as he started to finger you.

You could feel him smile into your hair as he continued to finger fuck you while kissing your neck. You felt his cock grow harder against your ass, and he slipped a second finger into your pussy, causing you to gasp in pleasure and drop the bucket back into the truck.

"I need you, Y/N," he begged.

"Jake," you gasped in pleasure as his fingers continued to fuck you.

"Tell me you need me, Y/N. I need to hear it."

"I need you, Jake," you barely whispered.

"What did you say?"

"I need you, Jake," you said gasping. "I need you. I've always needed you."

He took his fingers out of your pussy and pulled down your jeans and panties down to the floor. Pushing you up against the back end of the truck, he placed a leg in between yours. "I need you to spread your legs for me, darlin'."

You spread your legs further apart and felt his cock at the entrance of your pussy from behind.

"I need you to push back on me darlin'." You pushed back on him and felt his cock enter your pussy. You moaned as he slowly started to move in and out of you. He grabbed your hips and began to thrust into you harder.

"I'm going to cum soon, darlin'. I want you to cum with me." He brought a hand back around to the front of your pussy and started to rub your clit. "Cum for me darlin'."

You started to moan loader as he rubbed your clit faster. He brought his other hand around and started to play with one of your nipples.

"I want you to cum all over my cock, darlin'. I want to feel your pussy clench my cock." He kept rubbing your clit and pinching your nipple. "Cum for me darlin'."

You started to moan louder as you felt yourself closer to cumming. You could feel his cock twitching and getting bigger as he got closer to cumming too.

You couldn't hold it in anymore as you yelled out his name. He kept rubbing your clit and pinching your nipple as he started to cum inside of you. He let out a deep moan as he let out all of his cum.

He kept his cock inside of you as he slowly stopped cumming. When he was empty, he slowly pulled out of you and kissed your neck.

You heard him zip up his pants and then felt him pull up your pants and undies from the floor. He gently pulled them over your thighs and butt as you still held on to the truck to prevent yourself from falling. He then carefully turned you around to face him. Your breathing still fast and your face flushed. He gently zipped and buttoned your jeans.

Catching your breath, you turned to face him, the intensity of the moment still lingering. "I think we need to talk," you blurted out, the urgency and weight of your words hanging between you, signaling a need to address the underlying currents in your relationship.

Tags:

@buckysteveloki-me @bellyliveslife @tgmreader @callsign-barbell @86laura11 @dizzybee03 @kmc1989 @guacam011y @nerdgirljen @hookslove1592 @dempy @djs8891

[pikabysss]

I've thought of a concept of a mainly Resident Evil 4 AU like... similar to a vampire AU but not quite. Some kind of Castlevania-ish AU (in a similar setting with similar rules to the universe of Castlevania. With vampires, but also a lot of other kinds of monsters and fantastical races.) It'd be like some kind of Serennedy focused AU, so I decided to design them both first.

Here they are! There's colours for once :0.

Also, I've written down some of the worldbuilding for that AU if you want more context and information. It's a WIP still, so not everything is perfectly set in stone. But, if I had the mental energy, was better with time management, and was able to concentrate on my writing for more than ten minutes, I would have totally already started a fic about it. So, there's still a lot of stuff here:

Leon is a vampire/monster hunter (for obvious reason), and he is sent on a mission to save an important governor's daughter (Ashley Graham) who got captured by Lord Saddler (who is a vampire almost on the same importance of Dracula in this universe.) Luis is a dark chemist who has a lot of forbidden knowledge with science and magic. He wasn't liked in the village, but Lord Saddler admired him for his intellectual prowess, and, well, it pretty much follows canon. But it's more of a mix of fantasy and sci-fi, unlike og RE 4, which is mostly just sci-fi with the parasite stuff. Luis learns how to turn humans into monsters but also reanimate dead bodies (making Frankenstein or zombies), but he's obviously not pleased by the result. He's not capable of creating vampires, tho. Saddlers, being a vampire lord, can turn other people into vampires, and he turned Mendez and Salazar into ones. He doesn't turn too many people into vampires since they have more free wills than, like, zombies and can't control their darkened souls as well. But the fact that, if vampires go out of the village, they would most likely be killed by the hunters, Saddler can emotionally manipulate them to work for him.

Leon eventually gets bitten by Saddler and is about to become a vampire. Obviously, becoming a vampire means he'd lost everything all over again, but, most importantly, for him, his humanity. This happens before he finds Luis. Luis, at that point, wants to change his way of living and repents for his sins, so he decides to help Leon. When he discovers that Leon got bitten, he's enthralled to study him and try to find a cure... Leon accepts being his test subject, but Luis needs to help Leon get back the governor's daughter first. (Which he hasn't found yet.) And so, they go on their... horror adventure. By the way, Luis is not a vampire, and it's difficult for vampires to control their bloodthirsty impulse, so Luis must keep distances with them. He made a deal with Saddlers to help him, but to not get bitten in exchange. But, since he works so close with Leon and that the latter can't be really ordered around by Saddlers because of his rebellious nature and free will, well... if he turns into a vampire... It'd get dangerous for Luis... and Ada, because Ada is a huntress and it'd be more Leon that would be in trouble if she found out about him becoming a vampire. :/

I didn't think much of Wesker's and friends' role in the AU yet, but it's a work in progress.... The time period is between 1700 and 1900, but it's still a fantastical world, so some anachronistic elements or mixing of time period can be found. Sorry, history fanatics. *^*

I'm keeping this here so I won't lose the idea in the near future. (Unrelated, but now that I think of it, RE is a series that takes a lot of inspiration from old monsters (or horror, I guess) movies, just like Castlevania.... no wonders, I'm a fan of the two. And no wonders, both series are getting in Dead by Daylight. Jeebus Chris, the Dead by Daylight team it so wise on their IP choices. :/ I'll try not to get caught into their marketing, but I won't deny that they're wise and that they already almost caught me as if I was some kind of pokémon.)

[mirchloe]

i think i'll also use this blog as just a place to put down some headcanons or ideas because i just finished reading the final chapter of higu meguri, and boy, oh, boy, and i mad at how it just gutted itself and need to distract myself. (don't read it. just don't. it takes everything that was interesting from the anime and makes it ten morbillion times worse.)

so, before i was shadowbanned, i had an ask from around summer '22 asking for some camper headcanons! and i had a massive google doc for it, but i never ended up finishing it because of life stuff, so to not let it go to waste, here's a handful of them below the cut! it goes through each camper who i had written up to at that point, and i haven't touched the doc since spring '23 because of, you guessed it, life stuff.

well, hope you guys enjoy because i need to get my mind off this atrocious ending lol. i'm copying and pasting which ones stand out to me, and this might get a bit long. for context, i do consider key aspects from campster as part my personal headcanons such as the ranking system, comments the kids make to each other or about themselves, listed likes/favorite media, etc! campster might be considered non-canon, but it holds a wealth of knowledge about the kids that the game can't touch on, like benny's love of musicals and elka's entire family history! (please excuse any spelling mistakes - this is already long enough lol)

Benny

Although he is a Tender Brain, Benny doesn’t mind being one of the weaker psychics, so long as he’s safe. While he is concerned that makes him a target, especially when Maloof gains power with Mikhail, he’s more content to hide behind others or immediately latch on to the person with power (even if it means struggling to canoe himself to Thorney Towers to beg the coach for a job offer and coming back in shame when it doesn’t happen). 

He focuses so heavily on Bobby because Bobby is like a bodyguard. Benny is able to bully and demean others for the fun of it because he has Bobby’s protection (despite Bobby’s exasperation with his flunky’s excessive behavior).

But he isn’t exactly friends with Bobby. He clings to Bobby because Bobby is, at one point, the person with the most power. Bobby is brash and bold, and Benny enjoys his cruelty because it provides him the opportunity to mock the weaker kids. He’s quick to express his annoyance when Bobby begins showing an interest in Chloe, a kid who provided a genuine interest in Bobby, even if based on a misconception. If Bobby is away, then he has to find someone new to suck up to stay safe, hence why he’s sitting between Maloof and Mikhail at the end - they made him an offer he couldn’t refuse when he found himself isolated.

He’s very much a scared kid. He hates being alone. I like to think he found comfort in the extravagant world of musical theater. Not because his parents are neglectful - his parents are perfectly fine and provide for him and love him - but because musicals show this beautiful side of the world. Dancing, singing, colorful costumes, romance, and drama, it’s the likes of which that draw him in. He tries to write his own scripts as a kid, refining them as he gets older.

Benny grows up to be the Media Relations Officer for the Psychonauts. Although still a pretty weak psychic, he’s got a good head on his shoulders. He’s very persuasive and able to get in a good word about psychics in various types of media such as television and movies - though, he does try to squeak his own script edits in order to get credited, and it’s worked quite a few times! He’s dined with celebrities and socialites, and he wouldn’t change it for the world. Champagne is on him! Now, listen to him talk for two hours about his latest idea for a musical. He’ll be in the director’s chair one day! You can’t leave, of course, it’s just plain courteous to stay!

Although his lyrics could use work as a kid, he becomes a very skilled pianist. He found it a great hobby when he was growing up, and his mom enrolled him in after-school lessons. He prefers upbeat, high-energy songs, but he can appreciate a good melancholy vibe.

He is THE biggest Gloria Von Gouton fan. If Raz had mentioned he met her, Benny would have caught him by the shoulders and seethed, “You met Ms. Von Gouton, and you didn’t think to mention that first?” Raz would’ve been dumbfounded but replied, “Uh, yeah? She threatened me with her trophy.” “And you deserved it!” Benny would scream. Instead of fleeing to join Oleander, he would have jumped in a canoe and row all the way over there to get her autograph AND tell her that her critics were WRONG.

Bobby (content warning for child abuse and child neglect)

Drywell is a total dump. It’s not even on a map. It’s an area where no one should really live, and yet, this is Bobby’s home. Cruel people, hardly sustainable, trash everywhere. He’s learned how to protect himself by trying to be the toughest in this environment, but in the end, he’s the one burned. There’s no one in Drywell who respects him, making him the perfect target for other bullies and horrible kids. He’s the circus freak here. It’s also an area plagued with social issues. 

He’s been in and out of foster care and his mother’s care. No one seems to want him around, and he grows more violent because he’s miserable, and if he’s miserable, everyone else should be. He wants to laugh at their pain and ignore his own. It’s a terrible coping skill, one which he relishes at camp.

Neglect from his mother has caused significant dental erosion, no haircuts, poor clothing, malnutrition, poor eating habits/not having enough to eat etc. Neglect from his foster families has left him jaded. There are too many people who came into his life with the name “Dad,” and almost just as many with the name “Mom,” but they’ve all since blurred together.

He was friends with Lili for a time when she first came to camp. He thought she was really cool, and he liked making her laugh, but they’d grown apart after an incident with Sasha’s training.

Chloe shows a genuine interest in him, even if it’s based on the misconception that his appearance stems from an alien heritage. He’s never had someone show such kindness to him, although it’s based on a firm agreement that she will be his friend so long as he stops hurting kids. This does work because he really begins to care for Chloe and manage his temper. In return, she grows fond of him because Bobby truly believes she’s an alien and listens to her. He even starts making up information about his life as an ambassador from Fath 703 because he sees how happy it makes her. They have fun together talking about space, working together in class, and he helps drawing her star maps because he’s a really good artist! (The artist headcanon stems from a discussion in the Psychowhatsis discord btw!)

He tends to cling to her. Trauma victims may latch onto someone who they believe is important in their lives. For Bobby, this is Chloe. Despite the short span of time they’ve known each other, she’s become an integral figure. He doesn’t want to lose her friendship, so he walks on eggshells around her. His jealousy and anger issues do exasperate Chloe, but he does try curbing them like when Raz punches him, he doesn’t punch back, sighs, and says he’ll kill Raz later. If she thinks he can be a better person, he really wants to try for her because she’s his best friend.

When he and Chloe are both Psychonauts, they go on missions together! Lots of fun times to be had there. They work closely on experiments with Bobby being more of an all-around agent and Chloe specializing in science, astrophysics, etc. Sometimes, he’s her guinea pig for whatever she’s cooking and occasionally lands in the ER because of it. She is so very sorry for messing up the cloning process with him a la The Fly, and he didn’t talk to her for days.

While he is also a solo field agent, mostly working undercover in the psychic underbelly of society, he really likes working with teens who were in the same boat as him. He knows exactly what it’s like to feel like it’s the end of the world, so he wants to use his position as a way to lift up those hopeless teens.

He noogied Chloe the millisecond he saw that she finally joined the intern program. An omg bestie moment.

He loves football. He’s the type who will stand in the doorway and watch if his team is losing. “Chloe, did the Raiders do it?” “Unfortunately, they didn’t make the touchdown.” (He screams.) “We have neighbors please stop yelling.” “Sorry.”

That video where the two guys are shocked when the girl takes off her fake eyelashes are him, Benny, and Chloe. “Do they hurt??” he asks, and she’s laughing.

oh fuck uhhh bobbyraz uhhhh he has internalized homophobia, but mostly deals with it, and when he's an adult, he finally comes out of the closet. too bad kitty is trying to shove him back in but raz has already grabbed his hand to welcome him to the bi boys club, and now they're doing the magnet post and kitty hates it because that's for gay girls only!!!!! (i'm /j but also /srs but also /j)

and MIRTALA that's her boo-boo right there. her metamour. they're both dating chloe, so they have metamour outings like sneaking into the movies lol.

Chloe

Specifically, Chloe believes she’s from Cygnus A, a radio galaxy. It’s why she’s using the coach’s radio in hopes of reaching her people. She refers to herself as a Cygnan and created her own language (believing the words, letters, etc, came from her people). She’s taught it to a few other people, but Bobby is the one who memorized everything. This also becomes a great secret way for them to communicate at camp for privacy or on missions. (When they argue, they sound like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZdwSugMuO4) (also adding mirtala to this in general because chloetala realness etc etc)

Chloe’s parents really do love her. While they are sometimes hurt that Chloe rejects them, citing that they’re not her “real” parents, they try as much as they can to support her. They’re possibly the oldest parents out of the cadets’ families, but that certainly doesn’t lessen the love they have for her. They try to get her as many books, research materials, etc, as they can because they treasure seeing her smile and reaching her goals.

Eventually, when Chloe comes to terms that she isn’t an alien as a teen, she fears that she has hurt her parents by shunning them throughout her childhood. They reassure her this isn’t the case, and she’s able to form a much stronger bond with them.

Chloe’s built her identity around being an alien. While she is studious and interested in all aspects of culture, both human and alien, she finds the cracks forming in herself when she’s made to realize that she made up an elaborate lie for herself. She briefly tries then to be someone she’s not - a “human” without her various quirks or interests, but quickly realizes through the help of her friends that she’s always been Chloe no matter what, alien interests and all.

Relationships astound and fascinate her. She wants to examine them, which is why she loves reality tv. The trashier, the better! Girls yelling over a man who really isn’t shit? Fascinating! She’s crushed when Lili explains that reality tv isn’t a real emulation of reality.

She believed she’d be very tall as an adult because “my people are naturally taller than humans.” She’s average height, and she’s pissed. She will seek areas to be taller. Bobby’s shoulders. A chair. Blasting herself into space to be taller than all of humanity (though she’s also in a rocket because her dream has been and will always be to get to space!)

While she’s so delighted to be in space as an adult, being up there for long stretches of time can bum her out if she doesn’t have her friends. It’s still her dream to bring her friends up there! (And she sometimes is up there for too long that she forgets how to be human when she returns to orbit i.e. holding up objects in the air, letting them go, and forgetting gravity is a thing.)

Chloe is very confident and eager. She’ll talk someone’s ear off with her passion projects, but this is done on *her* time. Distractions or irritants earn her ire, and she’ll dismiss the person in a way that can be construed as rude. Although she doesn’t mean to be, her sometimes blunt personality can make her unlikeable among different kids.

But Lili appreciates this fact in her. Chloe doesn’t try to hide information or secrets. She isn’t one to let bygones be bygones. She’ll seek out the answer, move forward with her research, or just happily pursue her current interest like trying out different things such as painting nails or learning about the “human make-up industry that seems to ensnare girls as young as ten to cover their faces with colorful products!” (This is a nod to sincerelymendacious’ fic Painting Stars on Your Thumb! It’s an excellent Lili & Chloe piece.)

She’s a little engineer! I like to think she’s made a ton of machines at home. Her parents are super impressed! She’s been building, crafting, and making blueprints as soon as she could. Her room is covered wall to wall with her star maps and invention ideas, and her shelves are filled with (safe) tools and (also safe) mechanisms she’s made under her parents’ supervision. She’s on the neighborhood watch list because sometimes when she goes out and tests them, things do not go to plan, and she miiight have to apologize for sending a bottle rocket into Mrs. Thompson’s window (again).

But when she’s too engrossed in her work, she tends to lose track of time. It’s more of a prominent issue when she’s an adult. She’ll develop tunnel vision when focusing too heavily on a project, mission, etc. She might go a little…stir crazy. One time, she lost track of time so badly that two days had gone by without a wink of sleep, and when Milka pointed it out, she fell asleep on the spot in the Yamcha death pose.

On a sillier note, this makes her a bit of an energy drink guzzler. Bobby has come across her in a Mountain Dew haze while making what can only be described as a pseudo-time-splitter atom-crasher, and she crashed five seconds after offering to let him try it. While she once used a spray bottle to make him stop bullying kids, it was his turn to use it on her.

https://twitter.com/KibaSniper/status/1479028936105361408 ngl i just really like this thread i wrote about the negative aspects she causes with her friendship with bobby.

Chops

For starters, he and Lili used to be an item! Last year (one year before the events of PN1), they dated but decided to stay as friends. They’re really firm in that regard, and they’re also pen pals. He still flirts with her a little, but it’s in good nature. Lili thinks he’s fun and charming, and he cracks great jokes! (Again, I recommend the works of sincerelymendacious and the art of the-laughing-lunatic on dA, who has other nice PN artwork!)

He has a talent for psychic boxing, but he is strictly a pacifist. He isn’t afraid of arguing, and he hates when someone (like Elka) tries to talk down to him, but physically fighting isn’t for him. Chops’ talent for psychic boxing comes from his own physicality and his psychic specialty of PSI punches improving to where he can attack with a flurry of PSI punches while standing still. Yes, just like in JJBA. He thinks he looks so cool doing it.

He loves hockey! He’s a super-talented goalie. Nothing gets by him! If he has to get physical, it’s in the hockey rink! He loves ice skating, too. He even taught JT how to do it during the winter session at Whispering Rock.

His parents are divorced, and he lives with his father. His parents have a good friendship and joint custody. Chops would say they’re probably closer that way, too, since they split really amicably. (Just fell out of love, nothing bad!) He has a few older siblings and gets along really well with them. He’s the baby of the bunch tho! (He also gets along well with his step-parents.)

Music is also one of his many passions. When he sets his mind on learning something, he focuses on it. Playing his acoustic is so calming to him, especially when he’s with JT. The quieter, calmer moments are what he strives for when he can listen and enjoy the time with his friend and their song.

At the same time, he really does not like Phoebe and Quentin’s music. He claims it has no rhythm. This has led to a little bit of a playful, non-harmful rivalry with Quentin. He did try to play with the Levitators, but Phoebe had a flare-up when JT skipped again, so he decided to ditch the band when she almost ignited him. This headcanon comes from the PN strategy guide which states twice the Whispering Rockers have bad music lol.

His negative traits are issues of jealousy brought on by feeling ignored or ghosted. He isn’t one to hate someone - only when they’ve shown their nasty colors. When Elka dragged him aside and flatly told him that he couldn’t be friends with JT, it was too much for him, and he let his anger show quietly. He doesn’t raise his voice (but he will online!) because he doesn’t like arguing, but he will make his point known.

In general, he loves sports! He loves watching big games, especially hockey. His dad made sure he was athletic - a trait he shares with Mikhail! If only Mikhail would stop asking him to wrestle, they’d get along way better. He does like chilling while Mikhail wrestles bears. He provides great background music (or backup if Mikhail gets overwhelmed with his boxing skills!)

Separately, he and his dad go on a ton of hikes together. His dad works as an advisor for college teams, but he always prioritizes his son. Through that, he was able to meet a few hockey idols! Alternatively, his mom is a conservationist. She’s usually on the move, so while she doesn’t see him as often as she’d like, she loves her son so much! She always goes to his hockey games!

She was also the one who encouraged him to pick up the guitar! She’d play for him when he was little, and he picked it up so easily. When they’re together, they have little jam sessions.

As for his future, I like to imagine he tried the intern program and decided it wasn’t for him. It’s a lot of cerebral work, and he decided the life of a Psychonaut wasn’t in him, but he honed his skills to a near-professional level. He wants a creative path for adulthood, so his teenage years are spent kind of like how he spent his youth, just with more dating and mingling - maybe even reconnecting with Lili?

Clem (content warning for child abuse)

Clem’s relationship with both of his parents is incredibly strained. While his father is much crueler, preferring insults whenever Clem messes up, his mother will passively observe, not stepping in unless she needs something from her husband. Sometimes, she regards Clem negatively if her husband is stressing her. Because of their distance, Clem tends to give everyone a wide berth and stays secretive for his own protection. His mother is a victim, too, but she’s been verbally beaten down by her husband, and divorce is not an option.

He masks his true emotions under layers of false happiness. While he is kind - to a degree - his mask sometimes slips. He is easily annoyed by bullies or weaker kids. His smile will drop, and he’ll remark rather bitingly, especially toward those who don’t physically harm him such as Kitty extracting arrowheads or Maloof trying to strongarm him into accepting his protection services.

Like Bobby and Crystal, he has insomnia. For him, his thoughts keep him awake at night. He’ll think himself into circles until he can’t get out of them or he’s so exhausted, his brain mercifully shuts off.

But he isn’t always doom and gloom. He does want to try to make friends, and he does have a few good companions. He does like listening to JT and Chops play their music, preferring it over the music from Phoebe and Quentin. It’s something Chops certainly agrees with! Clem wishes he could learn harmonica but can’t because of his teeth.

I think what people forget about Clem is that he is very analytical. Unlike Crystal, he sees the world as half-empty. Although coping with humor and sarcasm, if his buttons are pushed too far, he will say the intentions of the other person in rather sharp detail. An incident that I wanted to explore was Bobby attempting to apologize for his previous bullying when they’re older, which Clem initially takes as another chance of bullying. To that, he bluntly surmises that Bobby is trying to find some absolution from “the kid you used to kick when he was down,” a way to soothe other the guilt in his mind, and Clem will not grant it. He is bitter. He isn’t one to forgive as easily as many would believe when he’s sixteen and digging himself into a deeper isolated hole.

But back to how he is as a kid! As the oldest Tender Brain, his psychic abilities are stunted due to the negativity he endures at home. When he was younger, he explored them in secret, but his father was horrified to find out he was psychic. He didn’t want a damn psychic for a kid, and he makes that fact known. His mother is too worn down to defend him, and Clem understands why. He’s wise for his age, and it startles her when he says something that sounds so grown up. Clem has learned to keep those thoughts to himself to not upset her.

He’s also decently athletic. He can run fast, and if he had control over his levitation ball, he’d probably win Milla’s race all the time. Clem’s energy is surprising despite his insomnia, but it’s because he’s so used to staying up late.

He was pretty surprised when Maloof said all jocks will pay. He decided to stay far, far away from him when he teamed up with Mikhail because hoo boy! He doesn’t want to touch that can of worms! Good thing he’s pretty good at hiding because Maloof remembered how Clem said he was a wuss.

His bond with Crystal is incredibly close, bordering on codependent. From afar, they can sense what the other is feeling. He can tell when her mother is being awful to her. But his telepathy isn’t as skilled, so he can’t reach out to her, and sometimes, there are days when he isn’t allowed to use the phone. He treasures the days they’re at camp and later the intern program because they can be there for each other…even if his mental health declines at the intern program, too. His pessimism, blunt outlook, and his inability to forgive as easily as Crystal begins wearing heavily on both of them. I can see it leading to an argument and mutual exasperation about how the other is handling it. Crystal still tries so hard to please, and he isn’t one for platitudes as a teenager.

For him, overcoming his depression and passive suicidal ideation is a big deal. They’ve been a part of his identity for years. A simple trip into his mind to clean up mental cobwebs isn’t it. It’s months of trying to cope or even finally cry, about the lot in life he had been given. There are people to blame, and he deals with his spite, but for Clem, he really, really just wants to live happily deep down.

Crystal (cw for child abuse)

Regarding her insomnia, her anxiety keeps her awake. She worries about social situations or what tomorrow will bring. She wants to make friends but holds herself back when she’s alone thinking she had presented herself in a way that let herself be mocked like not getting she was being tricked by Bobby.

She’s a people pleaser. She wants to make everyone happy! Because if others are happy, she’s happy, too! It makes her feel connected. Being a member of a group provides a sense of self that she doesn’t get home.

She lives with her mother, older sister, and two younger brothers in a cramped apartment located in a brick building. There is no father. Her mother fawns over her brothers. Her sister often fights with her mother. It’s a chaotic environment with her mother enforcing strict regulations, which her sister tries to break, and her sister also takes her frustration out on Crystal.

In return, Crystal tries to be on her A game at home! All with a smile! (An incredibly strained smile,) She does her homework on time. She does her chores, sometimes without being asked. She keeps out of her mother’s way when she’s ranting and stays in her room, knowing when it’s too much. She just wishes they would stop fighting, just wishes she was anywhere else in the world.

During a moment of high stress, she PSI blasted the couch, her first realization that she is psychic. Her mother is stunned, and her sister remarks she’s like their father (who her mother and sister don’t speak of). Crystal was promptly shipped off to camp at age 8.

Coming off that was one of her happiest memories. She met Clem that summer, bonding with him after a few attempts to coax a kinder response. Clem was surprised by her sincerity, considering he hardly knows anyone genuine at home. They bond over their desire to spread cheer and goodwill, something they lack in their lives. She makes up the routines while he writes the cheers!

She’s very self-critical, but that’s obvious. It stems again from her home life but also because she desperately wants friends. She wants to be included and treated well by her peers. This doesn’t go well either at camp, but to a much worse extent at school. She’s kept at arm's length by popular girls who seek to have her around for a laugh. While she does have friends, she is always putting their needs ahead of her own. Because of that, she fears losing them and cries when she perceives any social faux pas or inadvertently hurting anyone. With emotions in flux, crying is how she copes to release that energy that has been building.

At the same time, she’s very forgiving to a fault. She forgives her bullies time and time again because at least she’ll be close to them again, right? She just has to adjust herself to suit their needs - even if they continue taking advantage of her. This is something that follows her through her teenage years until she learns to make a stand for herself.

To cope with that, I like to imagine she takes to working out. She finds that strengthening her body really does help her mind. It lets her work through her struggles by moving her body, just as cheerleading once did. When she’s active, she’s happy, and through it, she starts to really like herself but also creates boundaries by asserting herself. Getting out in the sunshine is also a way she helps Clem with his bad moods.

She beat Mikhail in arm wrestling at camp, and it confounds him well into adulthood because It Keeps Happening. She keeps winning. The Common Crystal W.

She has a lot of good friends when she’s in her older teens! Chops, Phoebe, Quentin, JT, Elka, and Franke especially! (I see her friendship with Clem on the rocks, but they *do* become good friends again since they’re both at a crossroads in life, and she wants to help him get some good coping skills!)

Crystal/Lili also real. I think Crystal develops a one-sided crush on Lili during her time at camp. She thinks Lili is so cool! She stands up to the bullies with such confidence! She wishes she could be like Lili. Lili can tell Crystal is going through heavy stuff, so she allows herself to be an open source of comfort for Crystal, knowing what it’s like to feel alone. Lili teaches Crystal herbaphony, too.

Dogen

Oh, Dogen, poor Dogen. He doesn’t like to be seen as someone to be pitied. He doesn’t like it when people eye him strangely for his hat or when he mentions blowing up heads. He tries to ignore them when it happens because when he stands up and the situation escalates, heads start to roll.

Puppies and kitties are his favorite. They’re too cute! I like to think his parents kept their end of the deal and got him an adorable cat when he returned from camp. They also had choice words for HQ when Dogen explained to them Oleander’s plot and how he was kidnapped. His mother was NOT happy!!

He’s been friends with Lili since he was really young. Truman and Compton were worried about any trouble, but Lili got along very well with him. She could tell he was a nervous kid, a bit withdrawn, too, so they took things slow in their conversations. Dogen was able to open up to her without feeling like he was being mocked, even though he did believe he was at first. Lili is a very comforting presence in his life, and he’d defend her from anyone saying she’s mean.

But regarding closeness, in addition to Lili, his first friend who makes on his own accord is Raz. Raz isn’t afraid of him, which surprises him. Most of the other camp kids are nice to him, and Quentin is definitely down to do the scavenger hunt together, Raz makes an effort to get to him. For Dogen, it’s a very nice feeling to be wanted, to be acknowledged, not for the fright that he instills.

While Raz and Lili binge True Psychic Tales, he doesn’t care much for them. Sam already told him they’re a bunch of misinformed hoo-hah, so he can’t find it in him to like them. But he *does* like being read to, so when they’re doing their dramatic readings, he’s all ears.

As an adult, he has more control over his emotional outbursts because he’s more aware of what harm he can cause if that anger builds and releases. He’s always wearing a handsome hat, too! Gets the style from gramps (and fashion advice from Elka).

He can nap in the weirdest places. You can find him curled up in a chair in his office or on a nice sofa, but there’s also the off chance he’ll be in a tree among the squirrels. You might even locate him in a cave at camp, its ambiance dark, and you might even trip over him and fall face first in a puddle. Raz knows he has.

Absolutely a sucker for being told stories. Loves Milla’s puppet shows. Love when his sister tells him fairy tales that definitely stray from the original source. He grows up to be a pretty good storyteller in his own right and exchanges stories with Vernon, who I’ll discuss in a bit! (note - i never finished vernon's section. sorry vernon.)

He needed braces since he was a thumb-sucker. He hated wearing them. Sensory nightmare!!

Elka

Elka is the tallest girl when she’s an adult, a headcanon I credit to basic-braining, which made me baffled and laugh the moment I heard about it. She’s putting her hand in the middle, and Clem, Bobby, and Mikhail are putting their hands over hers. Tall Psychics Solidarity. (Bobby and Mikhail are trying so so so sooo hard to claw each other tho, and it doesn’t matter how old they are because they are trying to fucking GET each other!!!!)

She rarely has a bad hair day. She makes sure her hair is always styled to how she wants it, even if she’s feeling lethargic or miserable. But if her hair is bad, then the mental health demons won.

Elka’s backstory was fleshed out in that leaked PN document a few years back, and I subscribe to it. Mabel loves it when Elka starts telling her the awful things that will happen to others. She lives off it. When Elka is much younger, she doesn’t fully get the impact of her words, like, “Their dog will die tomorrow” or “Mrs. Burkowitz will learn she has cancer in three months from now.” But her mother will drum her fingers together and smile in a way that makes Elka think it’s okay to say, and her mother does love her dear Elka so much. They’re like twins in how she dresses Elka.

Barney is wary of his wife’s behavior when Elka gets closer to her canon age. He knows firsthand the exhaustion and depression foresight causes. It wears him down. Only seeing horrible tragedies has left him sullen, a bit cynical, but he makes an effort to appear happy for Elka. Sometimes, it slips, but he loves his daughter tremendously and tries to prepare her for the depths of anguish that will follow when a Doom sees only sorrow.

Her parents are working-class people. Elka’s mom has had a few jobs here and there, and Barney is one of those office worker types. Nothing really interesting happens in their lives except when a vision occurs, and Elka’s foresight is seemingly much stronger than her father’s was when he was a child. This elates her mother, who sees Elka’s visions as gossip and ways to bond with her (and as a way to brighten up her own life), while Barney is fearful of how worse Elka’s visions will get. Mabel is concerned, too, especially when Elka starts feeling the physical attributes (weariness/exhaustion, needing to rest right away, collapsing, falling unconscious, or sitting in a fit of shock), so she does put Elka’s needs above her own when it happens.

But it all culminates to a point when Elka reveals one of them will have an affair. She likes her secrets, but this was too extreme to not say. And when her mother goaded her for it as usual, the color drained from her face when she heard it. Barney was just as shocked, sweating, and they reacted exactly as Elka expected.

This incident is the primary reason why she is obsessed with the idea of her life with Nils. Mabel encouraged her pursuit of Nils when she saw a rare vision of herself being “happy” with him. Although Barney thought it was another omen, Mabel wanted to believe it was nice that Elka saw something fortunate, and Elka clung to it, believing her future is with Nils. Fleeting happiness can be forever. She knows her parents are destined to divorce, but she doesn’t have to repeat their misery.

They divorce when Elka returns from camp. As expected, it comes true. She lives with Mabel and has visitations with Barney. Subsequently, her visions continue to worsen, feeling their effects on a far more physical level that leaves her with, at times, chronic pain and exhaustion. She takes medication to cope with the headaches, ailments, and psychic fatigue, but her prescriptions increase until she’s an adult when her abilities stabilize. Still, she needs them and always will.

Dogen has a cat. Elka has a cat. They bring their cats together when they go on brunch.

oh fuck uhhh elka/kitty/franke uhhhhh they're yuri baby!!!!!!!! i think she still hates kitty's toxic slutch hair dye jobs but puts on a brave face when franke thinks it looks nice.

She likes to go hat shopping with him! He picks out the best ones! “Excuse me, Dogen asked for the discount,” she says, and she will make problems for the retail employee.

Elton

Definitely has an anxiety disorder. He’s skittish to a fault as a kid, but through Milka, he gains a lot of confidence. His connection with her strengthens him, and he’s able to stand up for himself a lot easier through his teen and adult years.

Although anxious, he can be quite blunt. If he doesn’t like something, he’s says it in a way that clearly conveys his annoyance. He might avoid conflict, but he will complain if something keeps agitating him. It does border on passive-aggressive if it really bothers him.

He doesn’t have many memories of his father. He died when Elton was around five, so the few memories are the ones he cherishes. In particular, he remembers that his father gifted him his treasured hat for his fifth birthday. His father took it off his own head and placed it gently on Elton, who never took it off because it smells like the sea he loves and fears.

When his father died, and he learned he drowned at sea, he quickly developed a fear of drowning and hydrophobia. He loves the sea and the creatures within, and he loves calm, lapping waves on the shore. But he definitely doesn’t want to end up like his father, his body never recovered, more likely than not having turned to fish paste.

It’s not a fandom secret anymore that he lives in a brothel. The other women working alongside his mother are incredibly kind to Elton. They treat him with little gifts and trinkets, and through one of them, he learned how to play the accordion. His mother does love it when Elton plays for the girls, clapping along with them while Elton beams. One of the memories he has with his father also was a musical one, in which is father sang a sea shanty to go along with his son’s melody. He remembers his mother was very happy, too.

Because of his circumstances, he really does try to treat girls with respect. He knows his father loved and respected his mom, so the girl he likes deserves that, too. He first fell in love with Lili because of her rebellious, cool attitude, but he never got to know what was under the surface. He tried, but he came off as off-putting. He did her homework, sure, but there wasn’t much of a connection between them. She didn’t want to hang out with him because Elton was awkward, and without meaning to be, kind of clingy. He tried inserting himself in her life way too often without realizing Lili needed her time alone. He took her silent treatment pretty hard, blaming himself for not being good enough and worrying that he hurt her feelings constantly.

The girls cabin is up in arms whenever Elton tried fawning over Lili. Kitty, Franke, and Elka always had a good laugh at Lili and Elton’s expense when he tried “wooing” her. Franke will not let him live down the sexy plant article.

But then there’s Milka! He can’t believe he “reeled in a catch” like her! He was lost at sea, and now he’s found in her arms! Elton is incredibly dramatic about Milka. He wants her to know that she’s the apple of his eye, the brightest star in the sky, the most purple of prose! While they do kiss (a lot), he loves being around her in general. Gossiping with fish, exploring for scavenger hunt items, and even learning invisibility from her, Milka is the best thing to ever happened to him, he’ll say!

He argues with Chloe over whether sea creatures or aliens are better to explore. He insists the sea is better because there’s so much unexplored while humans will never breach alien life. Milka had to physically restrain Chloe. Elton is also not sad that Chloe kicked him out of the spaceship because he never wanted to go.

they never fucking break up. they are at each other's hips all the times as adults. what's weird is that it's not even unhealthy.

Franke

Not initially a bully! She was a shy, clumsy kid before Kitty took an interest in her. Kitty loved her full hair and wanted to help mold her into being someone better than the teased girl wearing pediatric shoes. She might not be the best at insults, but her relationship with Kitty is extremely genuine. She might no longer be shy, but she’s definitely clumsy in both movement and insults.

Based on the cut concept of certain kids roaming around the sanctuary after re-braining, Franke’s identity is currently based on Kitty’s perceptions. She feels lost without Kitty. She’s way different outside of camp, being considerably nicer and less antagonistic but still a bit mean. But at Whispering Rock, she revolves around Kitty, so when Kitty is brainless, she’s in a panic, crying, and really hoping Benny will go the hell away. She is sort of lost without Kitty and unsure of her place in Whispering Rock, so she holds onto Kitty, and Kitty will hold her back because Kitty does cares about her. It is something I wish was kept in the final game since it would’ve shown a really nice difference in how they view their relationship. (Kitty was intended to kind of poke brainless!Franke and meander all, ‘Okay, girlfriend, wake up…’ while Franke was really sad about it.)

While Kitty is a makeup expert, Franke is great with hair! She loves doing all sorts of crazy things to it with Kitty, and Kitty likes styling Franke. Low pigtails, a deep side part, or even a mohawk just for fun!

She lets Kitty do her makeup. She has to wake up early, but it’s worth it to have Kitty’s attention.

I’m not sure if I see Franke as a Psychonaut. I think she’d much prefer a job where she can be creative. I like the idea of a hairstylist for Franke’s occupation. Going to college for a degree in cosmetology, working in the city, going steady with Crystal, etc. She also hangs out a lot with Chops, and they double as wingmen for each other!

And speaking of Chops, he taught her how to play bass! It gets the girls’ attention at house parties. Anyway, here’s Lesbian Wanderwall.

As for her future relationship with Kitty, I do like thinking they end up together. I also like thinking of how they’d stay in contact. If they stay together over the years, Kitty is definitely having her dad fly Franke out for parties and homecomings, etc. Franke and Kitty just want to spend as much time as they can together! And also go shopping and get their nails done.

“You’re telling me a shrimp fried this rice???” she shouts. (Kitty is fumbling for the engagement ring at the restaurant - Elka beats her to it and wins Franke’s hand)

okay i had a bunch of sadder franke headcanons that i don't like anymore so sorry her section is shorter, so here's a few ones off the cuff

she has two gay dads, and she's the number one weed smoker when she's an adult. good for her. good for her. i do think she gets other girlfriends, like if she and kitty are on a break, or they have period where they can't be in contact

the open marriage is very important to her! franke is the one kitty trusts the most, which really touches her. if they ever actually get 'married,' it's mostly because kitty wants a big celebration and throw a party to show off franke, and franke is just awww baaaabe!!!!

JT

I mean this in the kindest way possible, but he’s a doormat of a kid. He prefers to avoid conflict, or if he’s in the thick of it, find the most peaceful solution possible. This, however, leads him to avoid his problems if he can’t find an immediate answer, which is what he did when he was dating Elka. It was better to appease her or hide rather than tell Elka he didn’t want to be in a relationship.

His parents are hardworking cowpokes. They instilled a deep meaning to that term when he was young, so he’s constantly working on the farm at home. He can lasso and hogtie the best farm animals. Handling animals is much easier than people.

He learned he was psychic at a very young age when he was PSI blasting in his crib while throwing a fit. His psychic powers come from his grandmother, who was an outlaw before her untimely death. Before she passed, however, she taught JT how to control his PSI blasts and help curb his temper with target practice on hay, which when JT does at camp, makes him feel closer to Granny Hoofburger.

His ten gallon hat is a family heirloom passed down from Hoofburger family head to their eldest child. JT’s father gvae it to him right before he started camp, tho it was a bit too big for him.

Speaking of camp, he started attending at age 7 before Chops, who came a year after. He mostly kept to himself, rather soft-spoken, which made him a bullying target for Bobby. He did PSI blast him near his feet as a warning shot, so Bobby steered clear of him.

When Chops came, they connected pretty casually. It was nice to connect with him through music, and soon enough, they were fast friends! They opened up new worlds to each other (JT taught him how to lasso a pig, and Chops spent a whole day (accidentally) hitting him with hockey pucks to teach him how to be a better goalie, among other activities).

Chops stays over with JT when it’s time to depart for camp. His mom or dad ships him down to the Hoofburgers a few days in advance, so JT and him have time to horseback ride and herd caddle before it’s time to shove off! JT really treasures these personal moments with his best friend.

He’s polite and kind to a fault, tho excessive compliments will annoy him. If he sees someone sad, it tugs at his heartstrings, and he has to help. When he saw Elka weeping on the bus ride to camp, he sat next to her and offered a friendly ear. His ear was promptly talked off by Elka lamenting her woes, and in the middle of it all, JT was somehow her boyfriend by the end of it.

Like a few other kids, JT was a curious subject in the eyes of Sasha. But he declined on account of the rumors. He saw the results of Bobby’s experience within the walls of the GPC, and he doesn’t want it to happen to him. Sasha tries a few times to convince him, viewing his PSI blast skill particularly keen due to JT being a nonviolent individual, but he ends up shrugging his shoulders. Just another kid wary of him. He’ll try when JT is older and wisened up to the rumors, but he’ll still look after him.

And indeed it happens! When JT goes through the intern program, his mentor is Sasha. JT is flatly smiling at Hollis, and she’s not granting him a mentor swap. But the training is actually far different from he expected - instead of child experimentation, it’s further control over his blasting abilities. And poking around in JT’s mental world via the Brain Tumbler because of course Sasha will do that. It’s invaluable research while also helping JT sort through some mental cobwebs and self-confidence and conflict resolution issues!

Although I see him struggling with internalized homophobia through his youth and teenage years, I think he’d come around to accepting his sexuality after seeing how normalized it is at the Motherlobe. 

As for his future, I think a Psychonaut or a settled down cowpoke works for him. While the Psychonauts have experience in therapeutic fields, JT is strictly a field agent. In particular, he uses his cowboy skills to wrangle entities that don’t belong in minds, so he’s commonly placed on teams. But the life of a cowboy with Chops is also fun to imagine, especially with how down-to-earth he is.

His mother taught him how to play the harmonica! It was passed down to her by her mother, and she wanted to teach it to JT the moment he started babbling as a baby. There’s a cute video she keeps showing his friends about tiny tyke JT playing the harmonica (poorly and happily) on his own! He buries his face in his hat when his friends start going “Awww!”

He sometimes spots Milka in the strangest places. It’s surprising, and he’s not sure if it’s a trick of the light. But they live in the same state, and occasionally, he’ll come across her in different towns. There are times when she looks beat, and he tries to be as compassionate as he can since Milka’s been through some hard stuff. (When she had her seizure in the lodge just before canon, it terrified him to bits.) If it’s a friend to just relax with at the local park or supermarket or whatever, he’s fine with looking strange talking to no one there.

He and Milka take care of stray cats when she’s over! Milka has a natural affinity for them, and it rubs off on JT.

Kitty

Kitty is the daughter of a man kicked out of the Navy, who subsequently made it big as a defense lawyer in high-stakes cases. But before his time in the courtroom, she was a Navy brat living from base to base across the world. This was a detriment to her social life as she couldn’t make long-lasting friends nor understand the depths of a solid, strong friendship or relationship.

But the friends (and partners) she made were good during the periods of time when she lived in those different places. She always wanted to be the star of the show, and she was influenced by her father, who rose through the ranks of the Navy (before getting the axe). She saw how he acted, taking charge and ensuring he knew information on others, and took that to heart, so she emulated him to always stay the most stunning, most powerful girl in the room.

Her father showers her with gifts. Expensive jewelry, clothing, perfumes, accessories, limited editions, one of a kind products. You name it; he’s gotten it for his darling daughter. She really is the apple of his eye when he pays attention to her and not his work ventures.

Because of Kitty constantly moving as a kid, her father would have various girlfriends. These relationships weren’t anything special, and the women would try to appeal to Kitty with the same affection her father shows. Kitty just takes their “offerings” and smiles charmingly and promises to chip in with a nice word about the current girl to her father. She never does. Relationships are a lot of work, and she needs to stay on top.

She learned she was psychic purely by accident. She had mistakenly hypnotized a bunch of susceptible kids in her class into doing her bidding when she was seven without realizing it. Her father is also psychic but not as powerful as Kitty. So, when he hears about Whispering Rock, he ships her off to help Kitty control her powers. She, like Bobby, attends Whispering Rock in its opening years five years before canon.

She and Bobby loathe each other. They both hail from vastly different worlds. Kitty knows he’s violent, even as a seven-year-old, so she tries to manipulate him only when necessary. Bobby is quick to her game as they grow up, and his mental walls are far too strong for her to penetrate. However, his expressions show so freely on his face, and she’s already made more friends with the Tender Brains and Psychic Scouts while he has no one in his corner, so he isn’t a threat.

But her first genuine friend came in the form of none other than Lili Zanotto two years later (at this point, Kitty is nine). Lili was far different from the other girls. She was fun and dynamic and bonus points for being the daughter of the Grand Head. Kitty knew she wanted Lili in her court, and she made quick work trying to befriend her…only to see she had already made friends with Bobby. This would start a tumultuous back and forth between Kitty and Bobby over Lili over the summer (who wasn’t having it), and by the end of the summer, after an incident in Sasha’s lab, Lili and Bobby were no longer friends much to Kitty’s delight.

She swooped in and took Lili under her wing after that incident, and she grew to truly care for Lili. She even learned a little herbaphony from Lili. They’d call even after camp, and Kitty would tell her dad to buy her a plane ticket to visit Lili in the west coast from whatever Navy base she was staying at. It was a close, tight friendship…until it wasn’t.

Lili is not a bully. She hates seeing other kids hurt, even if she acts aloof. She didn’t like it when Bobby was picking on kids, and she hates it when Kitty picks on kids. It’s that sense of self-righteousness that earned Kitty’s ire after some time, and realizing she was not making much leeway with Lili and that their friendship had stalled, she cut Lili out suddenly. She stopped talking to her, stopped answering the phone, etc. She dropped Lili like a fly. It hurt Lili, she knows it did, but she’s replaceable.

But the girl who came into Kitty’s life could never be replaceable. Franke was a shy, sweet girl when she came to camp at age nine. Kitty was so charmed by her that she had to take her under her wing just like she did for Lili, but Franke was much more accepting of Kitty. Kitty could tell Franke wanted to impress her, and that earnest behavior, coupled with her genuine kindness and affection, started having Kitty doubt her own ways. She really wanted to make her relationship with Franke work because she saw just how much Franke adored her, and in return, Kitty adored her as well. (Her face is also perfect for kissing, a compliment that would always make Franke blush!)

Lili (this one is long lol)

Child of a recent divorce!! Abandonment issues!! Self-worth issues!! Wants to make friends but feels distanced!! She’s got it all!!

On a serious note, Lili is a fascinating kid. In the first game, we see as far more aloof than she really is. She only starts opening up because Raz has brought a spark back to her life. From the Li-Po doc, there was a lot of pressure seemingly on her to follow in the footsteps of her father, but she would rather garden or talk with the plants. There’s an expectation of greatness placed on Lili because of her lineage, and it’s a deep issue for her. Her name follows her. She’s the daughter of the Grand Head, the grand-neice of a founding member of the Psychonauts. It’s pressure on her to be seen as perfect from certain people like those counselors and teachers at her school or even other agents.

But Lili just wants to be herself. When her father campaigned for the position of Grand Head, Lili was in the limelight. Her family was scrutinized. She was scrutinized. I’d say she was around five, so her earliest memories are feelings of uncertainty and confusion and a little resentment toward these strangers coming after her father and the great-uncle she never knew but kept believing was truly great. It made the Psychonauts feel far more political than it really was because of that mounting pressure faced by her father until he won the election.

As for Lili, she wants to be herself. She doesn’t want to live in her father’s shadow, but she also doesn’t want to disappoint him. She has so many conflicting feelings wrapped up in her head because she loves Truman, but she also wants to explore different possibilities outside of the Psychonauts, feeling as if her life is being planned for her, possibly to even take on the role of Grand Head. She has so many muddled feelings, but she’ll always, always, always love her father and the peaceful times they share together.

Psychic parents trying to win favor with her dad would often offer play dates with their kids. It worked for a bit until Lili realized they didn’t want to be real friends with her. Truman quickly shut that down when he noticed how unhappy was with these “friends” over. It made her wary about new kids in her life in case they or their parents wanted something to do with her dad. 

It’s why Whispering Rock was such a haven for her at first. Truman thought it would be the best place to make real connections, choosing that camp personally out of the others due to the counselors present. He believed she’d be safe to meet new kids. Initially, she thought the kids would try to warm up to her to get access to her dad or some “power” of some sorts, but the campers are just very normal, regular kids. Most of them didn’t know she was the daughter of the Grand Head and treated her as average as possible (except Kitty). It was really refreshing at first, and she began opening up.

“Are you talking to me because you want to get my dad?” “Um, no, sorry, miss. I was just wonderin’ if ya wanted to kick around the hackeysack.” Lili quickly realizes making blunt accusations around these kids isn’t the best way to go about it during her first week, and she does apologize to JT for it. She did have fun kicking around that hackeysack with him and Phoebe!

But her first friend would be Bobby. He was a loner, didn’t have friends either, and they hung back in the coach’s class enough together for Lili to start talking to him. He was surprised at first, but hey, someone wants to be his friend? He’s game. For Lili, it’s nice to have someone to talk to and learn more about the silly rumors around camp (like the lake monster).

There’s also Kitty, who really does like Lili, too, and she’s great at applying Lili’s eyeshadow. Shocked the hell out of her dad on parent’s day, but he kept his mouth shut because Lili was beaming as she introduced her two new friends. And she’s slowly making more friends, not as close, but it’s very pleasant to be around these kids (even if she gets annoyed when it’s obvious Kitty and Bobby are bickering over who gets to hang out with her).

Sasha had set up his lab this year, making it also his first time in camp. He tends to look out for Lili, all while offering advanced training to the kids who show exceptional promise. She hides out in his lab when she wants a break, always denying his chance to use the Brain Tumbler on her because “Dad would kill you if anything happened to me.” Sasha keeps claiming it’s safe, and that’s what helps convince Lili to encourage Bobby to try out the advanced training. (Unfortunately, Bobby would blame Lili for the machine going haywire and hurting him, severing their friendship in a very public, very hurtful way. It was a total accident out of Lili’s hands, but Bobby couldn’t see it that way at the time.)

She is able to find comfort in Kitty, who is able to cheer her up. Though, she is able to use a bit of “influence” on Lili when she gets tired of Kitty sneering at the other kids. Soon enough, though, Lili finds herself alone. Kitty has moved on, and Bobby is still pissed at her summers later, and camp leaves a bad taste in her mouth. There are other kids who are nice to her, and she’s friends with them, but Whispering Rock doesn’t have the same charm.

But it isn’t all bad! She does have great friends with Chops and Quentin. Chops was her first boyfriend, and she really liked his humor and music. Quentin was also fun, even if his singing needed so much work. Phoebe was also cool until she started insisting she help with Lili’s “isolation issues.” Lili is sensitive, but she hides it under layers of controlled confidence.

And of course, there’s Dogen! Being that they’re both descendants of founding Psychonauts, she knows Dogen has a different kind of pressure on his shoulders. She thinks he’s a sweet kid, a bit naive, but very genuine in his own way. She might act aloof about him, but she’s still protective of Dogen. (Also, Sam was her babysitter when she was younger! She let Lili watch PG-13 movies.)

She’s aware that Crystal looks up to her, and that Crystal has issues of her own, so she is ready to stand up for her whenever Bobby and Benny try tormenting her. She’d help Clem, too, but she gets the feeling he’d rather be left alone when his smile slips.

So, it’s kind of drab for Lili for a couple of years. Flowers are much preferable than people. And she can’t pick a favorite flower! That’d be far too mean! Different fauna has different feelings, after all.

Which is why Raz was such a spark of life! A breath of fresh air! He brought excitement back to her life, jarring Lili out of a funk that she stewed in for so long. He made her see how fun being a Psychonaut could be, how fun being a psychic can be in general. That adventure in Whispering Rock helped change her worldview, especially now that she had a friend (and boyfriend! Because she’s tough like that, and she wants what she wants, and she looked at Raz and asked, “Is anyone gonna be his girlfriend?” and didn’t wait for an answer.)

But back to Truman, she regrets that their relationship dwindled. She’ll always be his little girl, even if Truman wishes he could always do more for her. But Lili loves him so much! He’s her hero! Just how she looked at him during Hollis’ speech, she adores her father and wants to do right by him after years of blowing off the Psychonauts. I think the end of PN2 really allows them to connect and be together in a way that they hadn’t had for quite some time. I like imagining them taking up gardening in Lili’s private area, especially with Uncle Bob joining them, really giving Lili this feeling that the Zanottos are a family again.

But let’s get some happier headcanons! Chloe and Lili are really tight friends!! When Chloe told Lili that she would want to dissect her least, Lili was very touched. She knows Chloe is human, but she goes along with Chloe’s alien heritage to make her happy. They’re friends over the years, and she appreciates Chloe’s honest, blunt nature, AND Chloe picks out the best eye shadow and nail polish.

Huge Sonic the Hedgehog fan. “But it takes place in the 80s?” Irrelevant. She has the Shadow the Hedgehog gun statue AND the massive Shadow poster from E3 from circa 2000. Never forgave Bobby for erasing her Sonic Adventure Dreamcast data in favor of starting up a new save file for Mortal Kombat Gold. Lili had a level 100 Chao, stats MAXED OUT, and she had never known a harsher loss. She bit him on the shoulder for it, and Milla had to break them up.

She’s able to become friends with Milka, too. She’s dumbfounded when Milka left that scathing message on the bulletin board because she was trying to ignore Elton’s advances. She didn’t want to get involved with someone really clingy (even if Elton didn’t mean to come off that way - he thought he was being nice). She gives Milka a few of her old skirts the next time they’re both in camp because she remembers the one compliment Milka left in that note. Milka thought it was a trick, but after coming to know Raz, Lili opens up more, and in turn, Milka does as well - the girls are gossiping!!!! And sharing hair tips!! I think they’d smugly parade their guys around each other in good fun all “My Elton can navigate several vessels.” “Well, my Raz can part the seas those vessels are on.” “That’s cute. Elton could kill him. “Whoa, uh…” (Elton shocked but enamored face goes here)

I’m of the belief she looks more like her father when she grows up. A stockier frame, a bit on the shorter side, etc. Though, one year for Halloween, she dressed up like her dad, and there were agents genuinely confusing her for him. Truman tried to nudge his paperwork her way, and she was just, “No, Dad.”

When she’s working on her own paperwork as an agent, however, she’s blasting her dark ambient tunes. She focuses better with background noise and lyricless music, something that’s been happening when she was a kid.

Maloof

Karaoke junkie as an adult. He thinks he’s a great singer, and he has a lot of power to make his men clap even when he’s off-key. Only Mikhail has the guts to tell him when his pitch was off.

Still loves cartoons well into his adulthood. He’ll be in his private limo on his way to a meeting, and he’ll have a portable DVD player with the box set of seasons one through three of Spongebob with him. (He will absolutely criticize the newer art style and how bright it is compared to the earliest seasons. Not a fan of plot-driven cartoons btw. They get too preachy for his liking such as when a character goes on a deep, emotional journey to become a better person. Boring! Instead, he prefers a good gag.)

His mother and father were shocked to realize he was psychic. While they aren’t psychic, through their lineage, they realized it was a recessive gene in both of their families. They’ve employed private psychic tutors to help Maloof master his powers, but it wasn’t successful, so they contended to send him to Whispering Rock. It was against his mother’s better judgment, but his father insisted, believing the Psychonauts would be a good fit for him. If anything happened, all Maloof needed to do was call him, and he’d send over a goon to pick him up (and also collect the name of anyone who bothered him.)

With the way his parents raise him - Maloof’s environment is very upper class considering his father is the don of a familial syndicate - Maloof is sheltered. He’s an only child, and his parents don’t plan on having more kids. His extended family is large, and there are many people employed by his parents (whether they’re butlers or hitmen are different matters). He’s shy around new kids, and he’s very comfortable at home. He’s a mama’s boy and the apple of his father’s eye. They simply adore Maloof, who can do no wrong.

In turn, this makes him a crybaby. He’s used to getting what he wants, so in Whispering Rock, where he’s easy pickings, it terrifies him. He doesn’t want to go to Whispering Rock. It’s scary. It’s dark. He heard there’s a lake monster. The kids are mean to him online. But his father reassures him that he’s just a call away, which is what makes Maloof agree. His pop knows Maloof is a smart boy, and Maloof believes that, too.

Maloof is very aware. He knows what his parents do, and he knows about the mafia. His father wanted to prepare him in case anything happened, so he makes sure to never lie to Maloof. He even brings Maloof to meetings with other mafiosos, letting him see how it’s done (but only in places where nothing bad can happen. Neutral zones, that is.) Watching the Godfather with his dad is a fun pastime for them!

He looks up to his parents and emulates his pop. He wants to follow in his footsteps, admiring what he does and how he expands his control. Maloof listens to what he says and repeats them until he understand the depths of their meaning. He also has a pocket dictionary on him, wanting to learn more as well. (The Canolas are experts in extortion, blackmail, and ‘protection services.’)

If there is another camper who he likes aside from Mikhail, it’s Crystal. She was always nice to him, She never picked on him. She let him cry on her shoulder, and sometimes, when he accidentally stumbled upon her crying, he felt terrible because he couldn’t say what she needed to hear. He knows what it’s like to be weak, and he’s aware she has certain issues, so he has Mikhail look after her from a distance to make sure Kitty and Franke leave her alone.

Though, he was frustrated when Crystal gently refused his offer of “self-protection.” He thought it was the perfect plan for her, and it dumbfounded him throughout the rest of camp because he really thought he was about to help her through her problems.

He is one to hold a grudge. He remembers all the times Bobby and Benny punched and kicked and pushed him in the creek. He remembers all the times Kitty and Franke pulled him into the girls’ cabin to dress him up in tutus and force him to wear lipstick. But if there is someone interesting he holds a grudge against, it’s Clem. He thinks Clem is dragging a nice girl like Crystal down. Making matters worse, Clem is a jock, and Maloof isn’t one for sports, being picked last during gym class. It’s a matter of jealousy.

With Mikhail on his side, he has a much, MUCH more enjoyable time at camp. He might only go for the first summer session, but during that month, he’s in charge. He feels so powerful, and there are other kids coming to him for protection or requests. He receives their Dream Fluffs (he has no use for psitanium), and he and Mikhail go out and finish the job.

Per Mikhail’s request, Maloof uses a camcorder and films Mikhail while he wrestles bears. He is sometimes downright petrified to watch him and the bears maul the hell out of each other for sport, and it doesn’t matter how old Maloof is when he’s doing it.

And per Maloof’s request, at camp, Mikhail would read him Russian bedtime stories via their telepathic connection (that Mikhail focuses on; Maloof is as adept yet).

His psychic speciality turns out to be using his shield. I was initially going to say PSI blast, but he has ways to express his frustration through much more expository manners (ordering a goon, giving a deal someone can’t refuse, etc). He has to protect himself, so shielding felt perfect to me.

He grew up in luxury, and he joins in the family business. Though, I also like imagining him at the Psychonauts pulling double duty in an office job to keep his Canola family affairs away from their suspicion. While his father is still calling the shots, he’s trusted Maloof to do the same work as he does, and Maloof is very efficient at it, managing the goons and other associates while expanding their profits.

He and Mikhail are close friends over the years. There have been many partners in Maloof’s life, but Mikhail stayed the longest. Although I also like Mikhail being a Psychonaut (or a professional wrestler), if he stays at Maloof’s righthand man, he’s the only one Maloof fully trusts as his confidante. He can tell Mikhail anything, even if it sometimes earns a hearty laugh if he’s embarrassing himself.

Maloof has great taste in wine and is an excellent cook. There might be people who make his meals, and he can afford the best restaurants, but he likes the smells of the kitchen and preparing his own dishes. It helps him stay grounded.

Somehow, he’s become friends with Benny. At the end of PN, when Benny returned, shunned by Oleander, Maloof made him a deal he can’t refuse: be his “ears” in the camp. Benny quickly accepted, and for that short period of time, even if Benny grated his nerves after a while with his excessive flattery, they bonded over their mutual enjoyment of power. And occasionally, Benny would make him laugh. Mikhail does graduate out of camp soon after, but with Bobby stuck like glue to Chloe, Benny found himself around Maloof, and Maloof had to admit his company was not terrible.

They’re better friends as adults. They’ve both made something for themselves, and Maloof can’t have a karaoke night without Benny, even if they’re making Mikhail’s ears bleed. “Awful. Horrible. I’m calling the cab to go home,” he says during their rendition of Luck Be a Lady.

Mikhail

Misha!! What a fun kid!! A lot of people deem him very serious or lacking depth, but Mikhail has a strong sense of humor and a nobility to him. He dislikes those who pick on the weak, but he hams it up a lot when it comes to making friends. He says how he’s going to wrestle them as a way to befriend people to stay in character as a “villain.” He was really looking forward to that fight with Bobby! He thought it’d be a great challenge!

He was born to a psychic father and a non-psychic mother. He has a few other siblings (an older sister, two younger brothers, and a youngest/toddler sister), and almost all of them are psychic, too, except for the youngest brother and toddler sister. His big sister is in college during canon, but Mikhail gets to wrestle his little bros and lift his baby sister as a form of training his telekinesis.

His father is a carpenter, and his mother is a former politician. She was a local community organizer and stayed that way until the birth of her third child. She wanted more time with her family, so she stepped out of the public spotlight. His oldest sister is following in their mom’s footsteps, so Mikhail doesn’t see much of her since she’s focused heavily on her education.

Because of his parents’ occupations, they instilled a sense of hard work in Mikhail. He believes that hard work will bring about good results. They also want Mikhail to focus on his goals in life. When he became enamored with the world of professional wrestling, his dad laughed and ruffled his hair and said they’d get him the best training out there. His mom likes to drive him to practices and tournaments and support him! (There is a bit of generational wealth in the Bulgakov family, so money isn’t a concern for them.)

His family travels a lot, so Mikhail is very worldly. He has a decent grasp on a few languages. He’s also invested in many sports like hockey, basketball, tetherball, etc, but wrestling will always be his favorite. He loves the idea of building a persona, hyping up a crowd, and going wild in the ring! He hopes to sign autographs one day.

Mikhail loves nature. He is taking pictures of snails and captioning them effervescent. There is so much beauty in the world. Sending dozens of nature photos to his friends. Phoebe scrolls through them, and there is Mikhail in the far distance looking like a mirage in the desert, but he is very distinctively giving a peace sign. (Shout out to Rem for putting the thought of Phoebe waking up to Mikhail’s snail photos in my head)

He loved bears since he was a tiny tot. His mom thought she lost four-year-old Mikhail at the zoo only to SHRIEK when she found him VERY HAPPILY running into the bear exhibit to tussle with some cubs. (“MY MISHA!!! NO!!!”) But they were happy to see him, too!! He feels a kinship with them in how they wrestle and communicate. He forms a zoolingualist bond with them, tho it’s really the only animal he can speak with, not that he minds. The bears back home are always eager to wrestle! Also, they’re chill. He’s taking naps on them. He’s at Whispering Rock, thinking, “Patricia, I’m weary. Mind if I nap?” And Patricia the PSI bear flops over to rest, too, and he’s asleep on top of her back. Ranger Cruller doesn’t know what the hell he’s looking at. He’s also too wary to tell Mikhail to leave the woods because the bears gang up on him.

But when he’s nearing adulthood, he finds himself at a crossroads. There’s so much he wants to do, but he feels suddenly limited. His parents support his choices, and yet, Mikhail doesn’t know which path to take. He wants to be a wrestler. He wants to be a Psychonaut, but the Psychonauts aren’t what he expected throughout his internship. He excels in field missions, but he isn’t the best at the therapeutical angle. I see him pulling double duty as a compromise - being a field agent in addition to a professional wrestler. Sasha and Milla are celebrities, so for me, it makes sense for Mikhail to be one, too, in a very unique way.

As a Whispering Rock camp counselor (he got shipped there because he kept forgetting to fill out his paperwork), Mikhail ran a fight club for the Astal Warriors at Whispering Rock with Bobby when they were both assigned there. Do NOT tell Phoebe, or she’ll make them disband it. Crystal happens upon it, and they freak out (because they’re also drinking a little while supervising the kids duking it out), but she isn’t a narc, and the kids want her to keep it a secret, too

Mikhail, standing tall and proud. “GG.” (Bobby coughing and sputtering) He crouches. “No RE.” (Bobby groaning and struggling to kneel) He grins wide and holds out his hand. “Shake my hand.” (Bobby collapses in the Yamcha pose with a loud OUGH.)

He’s weak to confusion. He knows he’s susceptible to it, so Hollis’ training was modified for him to help strengthen his mental defenses. I think Kitty would try to manipulate him (like doing part of her intern assignments), and it works for a bit, until he’s able to keep her out of his head. He’s not one to rat someone out, but Phoebe was not happy to hear about Kitty’s dealings! He was also disappointed in himself for being such an easy target.

Milka

Milka was born to a mother alone. The father is not in the picture. She does not know the identity of her father, and she doesn’t care to find out. All she knows is that when she asked her mother about her father when she was younger, she started crying. With her face in her hands, she glared at Milka through her fingers, and Milka quickly went invisible. For that, Milka chose to stay quiet and forget he ever existed. 

It wasn’t always bad with her mother. Milka remembers times when she could be visible around her. There was her fourth birthday party. There was a small group of kids, and her mom didn’t seem upset. She even smiled. That’s the year Milka got her cat, who, much to Milka’s delight, can see her when she’s invisible, and Milka is later adept at turning her pet invisible.

Definitely a cat person. Has multiple cats over the course of her life. She grieves the passing of each one because she had a close connection with all of them.

 I think she crushes hard and fast. This first happened with Quentin, who’s nice to everyone, but he went out of his way to make her feel included. This evoked a special feeling in Milka, the feeling of being wanted, so she started following Quentin via invisibility, hoping to get closer to him (as she would for her mother). But Quentin isn’t interested in romance, already crushing on Kitty, and he’d rather stay as friends. (He was also a bit weirded out by Milka constantly staring at him or lingering without saying a word.) This did upset Milka, fully aware that Kitty was using him, and she set out to use her ability to dump Kitty’s expensive makeup in the lake. And Kitty can’t sue her because there’s no proof she did it.

MIlka isn’t as shy or anxious as she appears. She knows what she wants. She also knows who she wants to be seen by. If she doesn’t want to listen to Vernon’s stories or be caught by him, she’s turning invisible and rushing away. If she wants to eavesdrop, she’ll stand still and be invisible to Elka as she rants about Nils to Crystal, Phoebe, or Dogen. She’s a great lurker, and she likes having control by suddenly reappearing when no one is anticipating her.

Sometimes, it isn’t out of malice. She does prefer staying invisible. It makes her feel comfortable and even wanted. Chloe especially doesn’t mind, believing it’s just part of who Milka is. Milka really appreciates Chloe’s friendship, and they have a strong trust in each other. They can also climb trees really together, with Milka challenging Chloe to contests over who can climb faster or higher, and Chloe isn’t one to say no! (They’re both shocked when Mirtala effortlessly beats them when she comes to camp.)

Milka helped Mirtala see if she was psychic during her time at camp. (Milka did not return to camp a week after PN2, and she met her next year during the first summer session.) While Chloe theorized upon Mirtala’s hidden potential, Milka has more practical solutions such as concentrating really hard on an acorn and trying to move it. She had to stop Mirtala before she could give herself a bad headache when she concentrated way too hard. Mirtala suspects she’s psychic on account that Mirtala always seems to be able to find her general location when she is invisible. 

She has the power of foresight, but it’s unstable. They happen very rarely, unlike Elka’s persistent visions (which still come on at random, but at least Elka knows that they are a possibility). When they happen, she has terrible seizures. Her body will flail, and she’ll begin speaking out what is happening (i.e. stating the words that are being said by the person involved in the vision), which sometimes means she’s speaking a different language. She’s later prescribed anticonvulsants.

Her true love really, really, REALLY is Elton. She was convinced it was Quentin, but that fateful vision changed her life. What she saw was pure delight, a future filled with happiness. They were on the sea enacting out Jack and Rose’s moment on the bow. The sea was wide and blue, melting into the sky. It was in that moment Milka understood freedom, the vastness of the world, and joy bursting in her chest. With Elton, she had fallen in love.

And she stated it so bluntly to him. She skipped the dating stage and went right with her loving proclamation. Elton was fast to accept her, too, so they jumped into their relationship with their heads in the clouds, and their eyes set on each other, and they never left.

She has a really gentle relationship with Elton’s mom. She’s a very keen woman, and she can tell that Milka’s home life has been rough. So, she always treats her sweetly. She gifts her things her mother never would. She takes her shopping when she’s come to visit, sometimes across the country. And she never mistreats her, never wants her gone, and Milka feels at home with her and Elton.

MIlka grows up to be one of the best spies for the Psychonauts. Her exterior might seem reserved and shy, but she’s a firecracker. She can trail an enemy for days without them ever realizing she’s right next to him. Milka’s never suffered a single scar with her talent in invisibility. She goes in, stealths about, and returns to the Motherlobe with the needed information. (And then she stalks off to ignore her paperwork or foist it upon a poor intern).

JT helps her out when he can as a kid, but sometimes, she shows up in his family’s barn to chill out. She chats with the stray cats who hang out there, too. The Hoofburgers are aware Milka is around and give her dinner if she wants to stay the night, but sometimes, she leaves without telling them to make it back home. It is worrying for JT, but she insists she’s fine, and they remain good friends.

She keeps her “Jennifer Aniston” hairstyle when she’s older lol.

Mirtala

“But Rose she’s not a camper-” YET!! Right after PN2, my belief is that she wants to go to Whispering Rock. Problem is, she isn’t psychic. While Frazie joins the intern program, Mirtala pleads her case to Oleander of all people. She really wants to meet new kids, especially psychics, having grown up mostly in the shadows of her siblings. While they’re able to connect with others so easily, she isn’t. She’s a bundle of sunshine and energy, but she’s had trouble maintaining friendships because her family is always on the move, so her longest “friends” are her siblings. Oleander sees how camp can help her, deciding it’d also be in her best interest to attend to see if she has any psychic potential laying dormant. Augustus and Donatella agree, though Donatella is more reluctant as she’s worried about the many miles that will be between her and her little Tala. (in addition to this, hollis would like to make amends with donatella for threatening to burn their caravan, so she personally approves of mirtala attending camp for one summer session whenever she can - free of charge! it's an olive branch that donatella does appreciate.)

So, she joins Sasha, Milla, Oleander, Ford, and Lucy to camp the following week after PN2. Mirtala is less than happy to know Ford will be with her Nona, so she made a show of sticking close to her and glaring at "the bacon man” whenever he tried coming close. She hasn’t forgiven Ford for what he did to her family (and she still has a little trouble understanding it all), and it’s going to take a long time for her to warm up to him. In the meantime, she’s glaring at him when Lucy isn’t looking (but Lucy is aware and simply smiles because MIrtala is her sweet little turnip who can do no wrong!)

Mirtala isn’t psychic as a child. To attend classes, the counselors pulled her into their minds using their own abilities. Mirtala, however, breezed through Basic Braining using her acrobatics. She even finished before a few other Tender Brains, much to Oleander’s pleasant shock. She wears her Basic Braining merit badge with pride! He thinks she’s a real promising agent!!

She has a very keen intuition. She seems to know where everyone is just by her gut feeling. Oleander had speculated that she is psychic, setting up with Sasha a secret test to find out if she could sense them, which after a few bits of trial and error, she was able to look in the direction where Oleander was using invisibility. Later findings would note that Mirtala was able to detect Milka, when none of the other kids could. (This is based on how Raz said sibling detection could be a psychic power and on the cut dialogue where Augustus and Donatella send her out to find Nona)

Though, intuition isn’t a psychic ability. Mirtala would later find out she is psychic when she’s an adult, but she’s an incredibly weak one. As in, she can barely levitate, barely lift anything, can only set small things on fire, etc. She has strong headaches if focusing for too long and nosebleeds if she goes overboard. But she uses brief pushes of her powers to help with her acrobatics, such as controlling ribbons of water, as she decides to stay with the circus as the new Prima Donna - though, her mom is still around. (She can go into a state of subconscious control if over-exerted where she has much more technical prowess based on instinct, though this last a short period and only activates if in a flight-or-fight situation.)

At home, she was the peacekeeper among her siblings. She often tried to soothe fights between her older siblings, sometimes utilizing her tears if things were going south. She’s incredibly close with Raz, so it hurt her very hard when he ran away. She blamed herself for getting mad when he fiddled with her tiara during that fateful performance. She puts her feelings secondary when trouble brews among the Aquatos (sibling spats, arguments between Augustus and Raz over psychics, etc), so she keeps practicing her acrobatics to bring smiles to their faces, especially Nona, and keep everyone together.

But at camp, she gains a sense of freedom. She always put her family first. She might’ve been the star, but she stayed quiet and to herself, often overshadowed by the others. (This isn’t meant to come out as neglectful - the Aquatos love Mirtala, but she put them first over herself). At camp, she doesn’t need to worry about anything, and she can be herself and FINALLY make long-lasting friends!!

And speaking of friends, she wants to be everyone’s pal! It makes her an oddball at the camp with cliques. The first kid she met was Bobby, who stayed at camp during the break period (his foster family didn’t want him anymore). He wasn’t nice at first, but Mirtala made it her mission to befriend him…by following him around. She wouldn’t leave! They were the only kids for that weekend, so Mirtala bounced after him and even got to have a tea party with him…after she eagerly went through what happened at the Motherlobe, in which Bobby learned Maligula was her great-aunt (and also she’s that stupid gogglehead’s sister!! Which means he’s also related to Maligula!! Awful!! They even have a powerful psychic in their lineage, so he’s a little jealous and a little fearful because Lucy gives him this knowing smile all, ‘I know you want to be mean to my little turnip, but my sea serpents will SEIZE you if you so much as pinch her.’)

They end up having a tea party together. He’s so thankful no one was at camp while Princess Prima Donna and Boo-Boo the Clown had scones, but he was willing to gossip about the upcoming kids with her, so Mirtala had a good idea of who she’d be dealing with by the time they showed up. She followed after him a lot during their time alone because she wanted him to play with her, and he kept giving in because “FINE!! FINE. just stop JINGLING.” She purposefully jingled her bells more afterward.

“Oh! Boo-Boo! You have that eye condition! It’s, ummmm…heterophobia!” “Yeah, I got heterophobia. What of it?” “I think it’s neat!” (He thinks that’s the actual world until he tells Chloe his condition, and she drops her telescope, wide-eyed.)

As for the other kids, she made an enemy out of Kitty but simultaneously ended her legal reign over the camp. She bumped into her and spilled orange juice all over Kitty’s white cashmere jacket in front of everyone in the lodge during lunch. She was so furious that she SCREAMED, “My dad is going to sue your family until they’re six feet under!” The other kids tried to intervene, but Mirtala wasn’t deterred in the slightest. In fact, she calls Kitty stupid to her face, and the campers lapse into silence.

“You’re stupid! Your dad can’t sue me. I’m a kid. He’d have to sue my parents, but the lawsuit would be thrown ‘cause it’s frivolous. Also, we weren’t looking at each other when we collided ‘cause we were both distracted. That’s negligent on your part, Kitty. The court would throw this case out in a jiffy.”

Kitty is stunned. Franke is stunned. Everyone is stunned. Mirtala frequently listens when Donatella works on any legal paperwork when the Aquatos are sued for mishaps at the circus, so she filed away the lessons her mom imparted. She might not fully get the history with her family, but she learned a lot from Donatella and the legal world. She’ll inherit the circus one day, so it’s on her shoulders to keep it in tiptop legal shape!

This was a catastrophic event for Kitty because it made everyone realize ‘hey, she can’t actually sue us into oblivion no matter what legal jargon she says’ so her arrowhead scalping scheme is tarnished, and no one takes her seriously anymore (unless she’s trying to hypnotize them). And she can’t do ANYTHING about it because Lucy has made it very clear, VERY CLEAR that no harm shall befall her little turnip. (She calls Mirtala ‘Dirty Mirty’ because of the former ‘water curse’ but Mirtala doesn’t take her seriously at all. She calls her smelly right back because “You’re using perfume to hide your BO!”) 

Aside from making enemies out of Kitty and Franke, she tried to make tons of friends! Dogen was an obvious friend! He told her what the squirrels were thinking, and she’d use him as a jumping board until he told her to stop messing with his special hat. Sometimes, she’d get bored with him because he isn’t the best conversationalist. Dogen often wandered offin the middle of her performance, and she’d stare at the spot where he stood all >:/. They’re better friends as teens because Dogen is able to come out of his shell a little more.

Mikhail thought she’d be a fun challenge until she said he had really skinny arms all innocently. She crushed his spirit that day, but it was back the next day when he tried sneak attacking her…only for Lucy to get involved. Mikhail was like, “Oh?? Well, I accept your challenge-!” He gets snapped up by a sea serpent. He was left staring gobsmacked at the sky while Mirtala giggled.

As for JT, she thinks he’s cool, which is just as Raz saw him! She kept complimenting him as he practiced his PSI blasts and played his harmonica. I think she’d have a tiny little crush on him, but JT is NOT interested in a relationship, so it fades pretty quickly.

Phoebe was a curious case! Phoebe saw this new kid and wanted to give her therapy. Much to her pleasant surprise, Mirtala accepted! No one accepts because her advice is, hm, decent at the best. When Mirtala goes in-depth about her past, she starts tearing up because it’s been a lot on her shoulders, and Phoebe really tries her best to help Mirtala understand what she’s feeling.

But her most special friend at camp is Chloe! She was so excited to meet her the most because of how Bobby described her. She’s going into the friendship truly believing Chloe is this super smart, super cool alien from another galaxy.

“You’re Chloe!” “I am” “Boo-Boo told me so much about you! Like how you make stuff! And how you’re an alien! That’s so cool!” And Chloe immediately looks at him. He’s stammering something, but she gives her attention back to Mirtala because it seems this creature accepts that she;s an alien, which must mean that Mirtala is also an alien due to her enormous eyes, tiny hands, and characteristics belonging to the Zwickians

They become very good friends!! Mirtala is invested in helping Chloe reach her people, and Chloe wants to learn everything she can about Zwickians, so they spend a ton of time together. Mirtala’s support is something that’s different from Bobby’s. While he’s more passive and accepting to anything Chloe says, Mirtala is quick to offer her own solutions, and her perspective is something Chloe enjoys because it’s a new form of knowledge.

She teaches Chloe acrobatics! Her helmet kind of gets in the way, but Chloe concedes that the earth toxins won’t hurt her if it’s only momentarily, so Mirtala is the first camper to see Chloe’s face up close. Mirtala calls her cute reflexively, and Chloe is pleasantly surprised. They also share hair accessories!!

They’re involved when they’re teens, but it’s mostly casual, kind of like what Franke and Kitty have at camp. Hand-holding, not trying to be serious, like a romantic friendship. The distance is an issue, and sometimes, they have dramatic break-ups because of misunderstanding (Mirtala was so upset when Chloe said she wouldn’t love her if she was a worm!!), but they support each other through thick and thin. Mirtala and Chloe have done the MadoHomu head nuzzling gif. Milka is doesn’t see it because she’s currently doing the MadoHomu head nuzzling gif with Elton.

And speaking of Milka, she, Chloe, and Milka are the weird little girls of Whispering Rock! Causing trouble! Making Kitty mad! Throwing her stuff in the lake while Chloe stands guard!!

Also, she’s friends with Linda! Linda has a special bond with most of the kids who returned to camp. But with Mirtala (and Chloe and Bobby, who she’s deemed powerful alien children), Linda takes them down to explore the depths of Lake Oblongata.

She can roll her r’s really well! She and Benny are experts at it.

She and Chloe have The Bachelor/The Bachelorette nights when they’re grown and living together. Bobby does everything in his power to not be home when they’re watching it because they get intense about the show. Milka occasionally joins!

She might not be a Psychonaut as an adult, but she sometimes tags along to be a distraction with Chloe and Bobby! She has her own circus act with Bobby as her “assistant” (unwilling, help him) while Chloe does her spy stuff.

she and raz are EXTREMELY CLOSE!!!!! do not separate. "i'm raz!" "and i'm tala!" THE BOBBY BOTHERERS.

Ni

Oh, Nils, what is there to say about you? Most consider him to be the worst camper due to his “less than savory” ways toward the girls, which is completely understandable. I headcanon him as having grown up in a pretty upper-middle class way. He’s living a very comfortable life, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect.

His parents had Nils very young, and they married shortly after. They’re in a perpetual honeymoon state, so sometimes, Nils is a bit secondary to them when they want to have fun, BUT that doesn’t mean they don’t love him. They just want to have a lot of date nights, so sometimes, they just aren’t home and leave him with a babysitter.

Nils’ mom can be described as the one meme where the woman says “not now sweatie mommy is cyberbullying.” She likes to have time for herself and go out with her gal pals. As for his dad, he’s very much a Silicon Valley type of guy. He wants Nils to be the best he can be and also try to not get in trouble because he doesn’t want their family to have a bad connotation. It’s a little bit of pressure on Nils, but his dad hopes it will give Nils a greater sense of purpose.

It does not. In fact, it kind of has the opposite effect. Nils’ needs really aren’t met by his parents. It’s not a huge case of neglect compared to Bobby or Milka, but Nils isn’t really getting what he feels he needs, and there’s a rift between himself and his parents. It’s not an unlovable rift, as his parents really are trying to give Nils what they think is best for him, but again, it’s not what he really needs. (To clarify, they do spend time with Nils. They go on vacations and shower Nils with gifts. His mom is involved at his school. His dad brings Nils to his job, but there’s an emptiness inside Nils.)

So, Nils seeks affection outside of his parents. Hence, where his flirtations with girls starts to become more prevalent. He thinks being in a relationship will be great. He’s definitely seen too many R-rated movies, and he has, unfortunately, been influenced by those films. It’s a classic case of “way too young to be seeing this.”

Around the same time, his psychic powers developed. It happened one year before canon, with his power of clairvoyance being a staple of who he is. Seeing how others saw him was a way for Nils to examine himself. He first checked himself through the eyes of his parents, and while he saw himself, he was dressed differently. For his dad, he was in his father’s clothes. For his mom, he was a wealthy businessman, ready to take on the world. They were thinking of his future, instead of his present.

That brings us back to how he seeks affection from others. He isn’t attracted to boys at all, and his feelings for girls are…extensive. He thinks he has to be a casanova to win their heart. He doesn’t want to trample on their feelings, so he goes at them one at a time, hoping to impress them. Most, however, are uninterested or are unaware he wants to date them. Lili and Phoebe rolls their eyes at him. Kitty takes Franke away, etc.

But then, there’s Elka Doom. He thought he hit the jackpot. To Nils, Elka was beautiful. She was sweet, and she liked being around him. She liked holding his hand and giving him kisses. It was the affection he wanted, and he found himself suddenly thrust in the middle of it. It boosted his confidence, thinking this was the way to win over girls (or at least, keep Elka as his summer fling because hey, she might be bossy and snooty, but she’s always giving him a meaningful look.)

So, when Elka hit him with a “so, I’ve seen us married in the future, and we’re destined to be together forever,” it scared the HELL out of him. First of all, Nils was way too young to hear that. He, after all, was only eight. He didn’t want commitment. He wanted fun! He wanted a girlfriend! Not a wife! He broke up with her in a messy way, leading him to realize Elka hadn’t really taken care of his needs. He figured another girlfriend would, leading him to pursue others while she blamed him for the break-up, her cryptic warnings that they would meet constantly still in his head. 

Nils doesn’t exactly change his ways as he grows up. His relationships with women are superficial as a teen, but he does have a few good friends. Crystal is always nice to him, and he doesn’t really want to date her after a few years. Clem is chill with him, and his poker face gets so much better as the years go on. Nils ends up losing to him more often than it’s worth to play cards with him. He doesn’t have many close friendships with the teen!campers, but he has friends outside of the Motherlobe and the Psychonauts.

He’s a great surfer! He’s grown up by the beach, so he really likes getting out in the sunshine and hitting the waves.

Like Kitty, he does want to be presentable, so he indulges in high-end clothing. He tries wearing suits as a teen, but people just made fun of him at HQ, so he ditched them for his surfer-esque clothes. Not the best choice in attire to wear in a colder climate!

and i just didn't get to the rest! but i jotted down soe tidbits about them!

Phoebe’s mentor is Morris. She knew him from when she reached out to him to premiere the Firestarters on KLOB a week after PN2.

Both Phoebe and Quentin are DBZ fans are kids. She likes Gohan. She wants to give him therapy so, so, sooo bad.

Phebe takes anti-anxiety medication whenshe's older.

quentin isn't a psychonaut, but he a traveling dj! phoebe joins him for gigs as she chose to become a therapist for the psychonauts

quentin smokes weed as an older teen like that one image of ralsei

d'art is still in that damn outhouse (jk - he's friend with clem and crystal when they happen upon him scurrying through camp, and they all make the mgs ! noise when they see each other)

vernon is a master storyteller, and he's a published author! it's given him a pretty big chip on his shoulder since he proved them all wrong.

[skibasyndrome]

🦉Positivity owl reporting for duty! This was sent by a friend who wants you to smile as much as your posts make them smile. Please list five things that make you unique, four things you are super passionate about and why, OR three of your favorite memories. Feel free to send the owl to those who you feel deserve to smile🦉

Sweetest anon 💜💜💜 sorry for holding the positivity owl hostage for so long, but I'll have you know that i've been smiling at this message whenever I read it again :)

I'm going with four things I'm super passionate about

wilmon and writing silly little stories about them 💜 idk, they just mean the fucking world to me!!! the way they overcame their obstacles together and individually, the fact that their love for each other is so fucking strong, the way that they make each other better people ist just so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Reading (even though stress makes it difficult to read a lot these days) and writing (same thing tbh. except that I sometimes very selfishly opt for writing instead of reading because it gives me more happy chemicals) about these two beautiful souls is an amazing experience every time, i love imagining them in different scenarios and seeing where it goes

is it cheating if I make she/her Wille a separate point???? idk but I'm just gonna do it because boy oh boy do i love her dearly. i mean, it's not a secret that Wille is my baby and that I connect a lot to that character but what i like most about canon Wille is the potential for change and the aspect of breaking free from all sorts of expectations,, especially from family and society. and... idk, that just goes BEAUTIFULLY with a trans headcanon i feel like. There's just so much there in canon that you can expand upon, there are, as my besties with the she/her wille brainrot who i've shared this with know, whole scenes that just!!!!! read perfectly with a closeted trans wille headcanon and just!!!! I love imagining her finding herself and navigating yet another revelation about herself that's difficult to deal with, except this time she's got a proper support system in place. i also love the idea of examining what it would mean for Simon to have Wille come out to him, what that would change and what it wouldn't change (in my mind, Simon's love for Wille never ever wavers), in which ways Simon would support her, even before she finds the words for what it is she's feeling, just...... aaaaaaaaaahhhhh. idk. that's just one of my favorite headcanons and/or fic scenarios recently

literature!!!!!! getting to read it!!!!! getting to analyze it!!!!!!! oh my GOD isn't art amazing? the fact that human beings at all times in history have told each other stories? that there's something so fucking inherently human and beautifully social in creating art to share with others? what does literature tell us about the individual? what can it tell us about the human condition as a whole? how do politics influence art, how does art influence politics??? SO many amazing questions you can ask, and i get to think about some of them??? incredible. i will never ever take my studies for granted because I love doing what i'm doing, even in times when doing the actual work is very hard

................ yeah I'm already blanking again lmfao, but uh..... do you know what's amazing??? when it's cold and gloomy and foggy outside but you're sitting with a hot drink and a candle on and your sweater is big and cuddly. I don't think that's something to be passionate about, but it's me rn and so I'm very happy about it.

thank you so much for sending this in 💜💜💜 very sorry for making you wait for a reply for so long but

[batbirdies]

Hi! Love your stories but I was wondering what is your writing process? I want to start writing Batfam but it's so intimidating with making creators like you, I just feel like I'll never measure up! What do you do for inspo? Do you plan out every chapter? How long does it take you to write? Do you already know how the stories will end?? Sorry if this is to invasive!

Aw thank you so much that’s very flattering!!

I would try not worry about “measuring up” to anyone as much as that’s easier said than done 😅. Just remember there will always be readers who like your work even if you think it could be better.

As far as your questions no worries! I’m happy to answer questions like this :)

I get inspo from lots of things! Mainly reading really good fic inspires me to write. As far as ideas they come from everywhere! Sparked by other fic often where I think “this is a cool idea but what if this part was different?”

Or sometimes by reading fic I didn’t love lol because I like the idea but want to execute it in a way I prefer.

Otherwise I think discussing ideas and head canons with others is one of the best ways to flesh out and get new ideas. Discord is the way to go. (As far as finding discord servers to join, this can be hard, but if you ask around there are usually some open to inviting new people)

Do I plan out every chapter? I’m inclined to say yes. Usually I write a first draft of the entire fic, then I start a rewrite and post each chapter as I finish the second draft of it. This usually leads to big changes and deviations from the original draft as I go, so I don’t always stick to the plan and often have to go back to the drawing board but yes, I do have a plan.

For me trying to write a publishable draft without a rough draft feels like trying to draw perfect line art without a sketch. It’s just doesn’t work for me.

How long does it take me to write? Honestly impossible to answer 😂 it varies drastically. I wrote CCAKT in about year including first and second draft, the second draft reaching 250k words. I also wrote Live While Breathe and I’ll Come Out Right on the Other Side that same year. Which amounts to roughly 340k words of second draft in one year. The 23k of LWIB was done in about 3 days. So I wrote a LOT that year and fast.

This has since not been the case lol. Took me about a year and half to finish the 31k of overcoming our antecedents. Then theres Penny drops.

I’ve been working on it for like 2 and a half years at this point and I’ve been incredibly slow trying to get the next few chapters out because I keep being unhappy with them. And also because I’ve had some health issues and it’s been hard to have the energy to work on it. I have taken significantly long breaks from writing all together at different times because of fatigue and burnout. But I try to stick with things and eventually finish long projects.

Do I already know how a story will end? Again, yes and no lol. I always have a plan of how it will end from the beginning, but with long fics i inevitably hate my original plan by the time i get there and have to totally rework what i previously had in mind. (This is really the reason i do a first and second draft, my rewrite is always SO much better in my mind than my original ideas)

Short fics are less that way and I usually stick with the plan.

Having said all of that I definitely want to emphasize that everyone is going to have a different process that works for them! Best thing to do is try different methods. I know I’m rare for fully drafting stuff and rewriting it so that might not work for you, but I know @cdelphiki does the same thing. She’s the only other fic writer I know that does it tho lol.

@coyote-nebula plots more with timelines and lists and then writes her scenes out of order but in perfectly publishable prose from the beginning, then does heavy editing run throughs and keeps notes on points to remember when she’s continuing long fics. (I am not nearly so organized)

And of course there’s many other methods! Best thing to do is jump in and try some stuff!

[corcnaiism]

;-- considering some stuff has been going on concerning the rp community and whatnot, i wanted to throw my two cents :

rping isn't a job. there are no deadlines, you're not getting paid to interact with a certain amount of people or do a certain amount of replies. you also are not required to interact with "coworkers" on a daily basis that you don't want to. this is your realm, you get to do things your way as long as it isn't hurting others. no one should dictate how you write your characters, canon and oc, period. if people don't like it, they can very easily block and move away and vice versa.

which brings me to my next point. i severely struggle with "people pleaser" syndrome. i want to do whatever i can to make others like me at the cost of my own mental health. i've been slowly working on not letting it consume my daily life, and it has helped me get out of damaging situations.

so in my case, once people start to make me feel uncomfortable while doing something that i enjoy doing out of as a hobby like rping, i'll block without telling them why. yes, i will give a warning because i like to believe people get excited to write and forget some of my rules/boundaries which is perfectly fine as long as they learn and don't purposely do it again. i know i'm not perfect either, and i'm not going to be liked by everyone, so if i get soft/hard blocked, i'm just going to assume i did something wrong, accept that i was in the wrong, and move on. it'll suck, very much, but i'm not going to go stalking people and force them to tell me why they did it. people have their own reasons, they have their own struggles, their own problems, their own real lives, and i'm just an insignificant part of their everything. i'm okay with that. i'm too old to be dealing with online drama as i have enough irl drama as it is.

i know some people like having a reason why they were removed, but i have dealt with situations like these before where i get guilt-tripped immensely, and i rather not go through that every time i want to move myself away from someone making me feel unsafe. so unfortunately, i will unfollow and/or block and that's that. this might sound weird idk but i much prefer not to be a part of a huge rp community due to past experiences of people not able to take "no" and keep pursuing my attention for one reason or another. im a very paranoid individual, so stalking is a massive red flag, and it has lead to me leaving tumblr for up to a year or more until i felt safe to come back.

so yeah, for my own well being, i would much rather just remove myself from situations and move on. it might sound insensitive to not want to give a reason, but ive already stated my reasoning behind it, and i just hope things don't go down the shitter during my time on here. bc ive genuinely been enjoying my time writing with people on here and want to keep doing what i love doing. writing has been a passion of mine since my childhood, and to find others with similar interests is so much fun and it makes me happy.

but yeah that's all i got.

[laismoura-art]

Hi @rasta-bot I hope you don't mind me continuing our conversation here, the reblogs were lagging my phone💀

Picking up exactly from where we stopped:

Deter me? Oh no, dear, you actually just invited me to sit down and play doll with you, and I'm taking that invitation!

---

Of course! I loved that rewrite! Delia being secretly in love with Amara and Amara loving her back, but neither of them can act on their mutual feelings fiven their current positions?? And Argus luring Delia's friend and love only to toss her aside afterwards AAA! NOT THE DOOMED LOVE!!! HAVE YOU. NO. MERCY???

On another note, is that right? Are you saying you're writing for more girls? My most special girl, Harumi, included?👀👀 count me as intrigued!

---

Aww, thank you! I'm so happy my AU is appreciated! I loved to work on it, and I take much pride in the results, and it makes my day to know other people enjoyed it!!🥹🩷🩵🩷🩵🩷

---

Now, yes, back to the main point!

(First of all, let's refrain from the "They are fictional" argument cause... let's be real, it's annoying, and we are both exchanging walls of texts about said fictional characters. We are WAY PAST the "they are fictional" arguments. Just be as passionate as you like, and I'll do the same. One passionate fan from another.)

And just to clear the air once and for all: I do understand you didn't mean to attack/offent/hate on MK1 Tanya.

Yes, the wording bothered me (mostly because I've heard them on worse contexts by far less well intentioned ppl), but I don't think you hate her because of it (never did, honestly).

My reply was mainly due to the "they gave Tanya what was supposed to be Jade's" cause that's an argument I find flawed.

It does cause (non intentional) damage to people's view of the character (I've seen it before with both Kuai and Harumi) and in Tanya's case specifically, it IS an argument that lacks evidence to base itself.

I already explained why, no need to keep repeating myself, it will only bore us both. So let's move on from that!

You said you don't like Tanya's change of alignment, and I take that this is tied to your dislike of Multiverse. You're not a fan of Status Quo changes (at least not drastically), that's a fact and that's perfectly fine!

I personally find her change of alignment intriguing, but that comes from my liking of Multiverse. I do enjoy a vast change of Status Quo (probably why I've been avoiding comics recently, their resistance to change has deeply annoyed me and it really makes me feel like the character are just stuck because they are unable to learn cause learning leads to change and GOD FORBID CHANGES! Sorry, for the vent)

In the end MK1 Tanya is a product of Multiverse and I if you don't like Multiverse and already liked her previous self, there ain't much to be done here, sadly.

All I can do is insist this version of Tanya will NOT get in the way of Jade and her development! They can co-exist and their stories will not contradict or disturb each other.

You know what? I BET you can create an amazing story about Jade and her connection with Delia without ONCE contradict canon!

---

Ok, I see now why she appeals to you... And that's the only thing I can think of is:

This is you:

And I can respect the commitment to the evil women. Support women's wrongs!✊🏾

---

Now, I actually want to go back to the MKX Tanya, you got me wondering here:

You said you don't like her being a Rebel like Jade, but this take popped in my brain and I'd like to share:

You say Tanya works as a perfect Anti-Jade, right?

And it's interesting to have them contrast each other and having Tanya being a Rebel takes that away.

BUT hear me out: couldn't that ADD to your point instead?

See, I believe a good way to show how different a character is from another is to put them in similar situations and see how they react to them!

They both want the same thing, right? A free Edenia, but the way both fight to achieve that same goal is vastly different! I mean, just look at the princesses each of them chooses to follow, I think that alone already speaks volumes about each of these characters!

I think showing their different reactions and approaches on a similar subject would be a perfect way to emphasise your point!

But that's me, do as you wish with this take, it's for you <3

---

I already tapped on the Multiverse part, I just find it quite funny how we experienced pretty similar interactions with the Multiverse and yet we have ENTIRELY opposite views on it, lol!

Like, I definitely went down that rabbit hole with your brother! And girl! Don't I love this absolute mess WHOLEHEARTEDLY!😂

And I gotta say, I DID read your linked post before we got here!

And I know this cause though I didn't fully agree, this part:

This part really, really resonated with me! DEEPLY!

Cause let me tell you, that's EXACTLY how I feel about Invasions Season 1!

Like, I HATE that shit! Screw that overly inflammable incel! That was NO Hanzo Hasashi!

And as creator of Scorpion!Harumi, SCREW THAT ENDING!! The only acceptable ending for that season would've been Harumi OBLITERATING fake Hanzo (Zanho, if you will)!

With that being said, I am actually glad it exists because being utterly furious about it was what led me to create the Scorpion!Harumi AU, and from it grew my interest in obscure characters and my frustration with how they were treated and ultimately came my mission to bring them all to the center stage!

Seriously, when I read that part in your post, I was literally like: YES!! YES!! SHE GETS IT!!!

---

But, I also have to confess, another thing you said that resonated with me was this:

And it pains me to say that reflects perfectly how I feel about Hanrumi😭

Like... they are cute! And the fanon work made from them is adorable!

But you know... I love Harumi. And I love Hanzo. And GOD! Never ONCE their relationship brought them anything good!

I mean, either she's dead, or he's dead, or this:

And like I said. I DESPISE this ending.

Scorpion!Harumi is literally trapped with a guy who looks like her dead husband and who will attack her have her not reciprocate his affections (as he has done before with another Harumi)

So that's why I don't mind the context Harumi was brought to MK1. I don't mind Kuairumi. Kuai is a nice guy, he is in love with her and being with him doesn't mean death penalty to her.

Plus! Being "the clan leader who will mentor her childhood friend/crush into becoming a clan leader himself" as is a much, MUCH cooler character description than "dead wife".

Soooo, yeah. When it comes to canon Harumi partners, I'm team Kuairumi ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

With that out of the way:

YES! it's so good to have these girls around! And we can only hope they finally receive the love they deserve!!🥹🩷

In the meantime, HECK YEAH! LET'S HAVE FUN!!!

[madameoni]

My current fave bg3 take is that you can't possibly justify playing durge as a cleric. Specially a good one.

My sweet bhaalbabe, maybe what you're missing is creativity- and reading comprehension.

Bc I ran into that dumb take while looking for inspiration to build Scipio's lore, I'll rant a lil bit down here, might help if you're building your own cleric durge.

From the idea of your durge being a cleric before the crash, not as a whim after losing their memory:

• If you rest right away after the crash you can ask yourself about your race and class. Both hint to a life before the urge, almost forgotten but there. The dragonborn remembers his people (you know their customs and even speak draconic in game), but haven't lived near them in a long time. The cleric feels foolish for praying, it's something done out of habit and it feels ancient. Note that you feel foolish bc your God doesn't answer but:

•God's can't interfere with durge's story. Withers just watches you stumble around, not even the butler can tell you your past bc the higher-ups told him not to. It is very probable that your chosen deity is giving you powers, but not directly answering your calls, because they can't interfere. So you can cast spells in their name, but papa bahamut isn't answering the phone. Your deity would probably hope for your redemption (if good) or your devotion (if evil) and give you power while you find yourself. If you go back to Bhaal- then he is giving you the powers.

•Haven't played but the Paladin storyline hints that it isn't the first time you take and break your oath.

•The butler hints heavily that durge needed guidance often. The worse thing you ever did, for him, was giving a beggar money for no reason. Any hint of mercy was scolded- but they were there. It is perfectly possible that teachings of another God remained either from your past or in search of getting rid of your urges.

•Durge didn't grew up in Bhaals temple, you had a foster family and nice childhood at some point, and you murdered said foster family at a young ("adolescent") age. That leaves your "biological" family, where you learned about your race, and a nice chunk of time to learn your religion. Most clerics start at a very young age, it is perfectly possible you had your teachings at a very young age and they just stuck. Maybe you tried to reconnect during the years as the Urge, but failed spectacularly.

•What I DO wonder is after your super lovely redemption arc, and daddy Withers pulls a fuck you to Bhaal, where you lie there. Because you're referred as faithless, because your father God forsake you. I wonder if that is meant as a you're now in a clean slate. Or you're liberally condemned as a faithless regardless of who you choose to worship afterwards (after all, you don't need to be a cleric to be a worshiper of any god).

Overall- the plot hole of the "ending" applies pretty much to every character that believes in any God, so it isn't a big enough plot hole for me.

Anyway, after coming from DA where we disregard half of the canon to make it work better, having so much canon to work with is a delight.

I think BG3 does a good job of giving you a nice skeleton to build the missing pieces of your durge to your pleasure. Were you a tortured child, lead astray from your path by your evil father? Were you always a monster and your urges simply exploited what already was there? Your choice.

Btw writing your durge to have a good deity and a good past doesn't mean you're erasing the Urge nature. Bitch is a murderer. But let them have an extra layer of tragedy.

It's crazy people seem to not understand this logic when SHADOWHEART is right there. You can drive parallels from her lore easily.

[meimi-haneoka]

To continue the topic of Kaito and Akiho's age gap, sometimes I wonder whether the fandom would be less harsh on him and more accepting of this potential relationship if Kaito is only a few years older. He could be in the 3rd grade of middle school and enroll in Tomoeda middle school, or he could be a HS student enrolling in Seijo high school. Either way, we would see him in school uniform and people would not mistake him as an adult in his 30s. He could still work as her butler, making up reasons such as he is saving money for college and his father is the butler of Akiho's family in England. 

However, their age gap is actually crucial to the story, because Kaito needs to be older enough to meet and talk with Lilie before Akiho was born. Kaito was a small child when he met Lilie (he looked around 6 years old in that flashback chapter?), so the age gap is already the minimum to make the story works.       

My dear friend, I know. I perfectly know that, if their age gap was reduced to 2/3 years maybe they would've received less backlash and side-eye from the western fandom (I always need to specify this because the JP fans are always pretty relaxed, since it's a trope and it's even depicted in the most respectful way possible). Or maybe not. Akiho and Kaito's age gap for some is just an excuse to hate on them for the most varied reasons (like, they wished one of them was crushing on someone else, or they wished they weren't introduced in the story at all), so even without it, they'd still receive their amount of criticism. The mere fact that Kaito is taking care of Akiho (which, if you think about it, in this story literally means to help her surviving, since the bastards basically sent her away alone, and she didn't know how to cook, clean or taking care of those things, as opposed to Syaoran for example) would still be enough for people to consider him on par with a familiar figure for her, like a brother, and so their eventual relationship would still be frowned upon (no matter if none of the two characters show signs that they consider themselves as siblings).

But as you said, their age gap is truly functional to the story. I try to imagine this story with them having a smaller age gap and somehow it doesn't make much sense to me. Like, having a guy only 2/3 years older than Akiho working for her as a butler doesn't convince me, it's like having a kid working for another kid. I don't find it would make much sense, to me. Also, as you said, Kaito needed to be older enough in order to meet Lilie at an age when he would remember what she told him and would've had enough of an impact on him to push him to raise that hand and say "I'll go" some years later. I also think that Kaito was 5/6 years old back then, and Lilie was about to marry her love, so it wouldn't be long before Akiho herself was born (I remember a phrasing in the JP text of chapter 61, while Akiho was recounting the story of her parents, that put the doubt on me about whether Lilie was already pregnant with Akiho when she got married - but it's just a feeling I had from a present tense of a verb).

And then, come on, we know CLAMP love their couples with a difference in age, this is the typical case of "CLAMP being CLAMP", take it or leave it. In this story, the age gap is functional. But that's also why AUs fanfictions are out there to be experimented with, and I invite anyone to write one if they feel uncomfortable about the canon gap, I'd happily read it! 😂 As long as the souls are always the same and IC, and the story makes sense, I'm sure I'd love it all the same.

[chemicalbrew]

for the character thing u know i gotta ask zero

obsessed with how you specified with a sprite. it's gonna look so awkward, I love it.

send me a character and i’ll list:

favorite thing about them

The weirder answer: the specific tone of voice I have developed for him in my head that I can never explain to people, but it just Is. Lately it's been getting more muddy and vague (Gotta go replay!!! Yearning...), but in general, holy shit, it's so good.

The normaler answer: the way his whole character is on the undefinable fringe between right and wrong, life or death, being perfect and just being, etc etc. You get it, it's on the ceiling.

least favorite thing about them

THE WAY HE JUST WON'T LEAVE MY HEAD.

Seriously, though, I don't know... there are plenty of parts to him you're supposed to dislike and question, but at this point I have stewed and pondered on them enough to actually adore how well they fit together.

There's at least some sort of inferable reason to just about everything he does or can do, so it's genuinely hard to find a reason to hate him, despite it all. When the character is complex... bottom text...

favorite line

Off the top of my head, probably "You honestly thought you were in my league." I feel like I talked about that moment plenty (with some people, or maybe with myself), and also not enough, but it really feels like the first (or one of the first) times his core character really shines on its own.

And due to how it's all constructed, in the moment all you can really think about is how much you agree. You just sit there, somewhere between utterly fascinated and deeply... immersed, for lack of a better word, and it's the exact way they want you to feel. They want this to stick, so it does. It's just a good scene.

Shout-out to "You are wise and virtuous." in HERO as well, because that is probably my single favorite bit in the whole thing. Help.

brOTP

The little girl, obviously :3 + Fifteen, but it's too complicated to just call it that. I'm not in the mood\shape to try explain it exactly, especially since you already know

OTP

The receptionist. <3 <3 <3

It's the kinda shit that realistically shouldn't work out, which is why I'd love to see it actually get pulled off in canon, LMFAO. But I'm not too hung up on it, obviously.

nOTP

Literally everything and everyone else (aside from the two crossover crack ships I now have, but that's entirely out of this ask's scope and I don't want to elaborate), including 150 seen through any other lens than mine, to be honest.

Lea him alone.

random headcanon

He really wants to have a cat, but doesn't act on it for multiple reasons, from stray cats just generally being nasty on top of how The Everything in the district is horrible, to the crushing knowledge of never being able to take care of it perfectly.

unpopular opinion

Probably every single opinion I have. I don't like answering questions like these because I hate knowing what is popular no matter what fandom. The very concept of such a question consistently stumps me, because I am permanently off in the corner, just doing my own thing.

song i associate with them

You've seen my playlist, and I don't like going off about it unless prompted, so I'll simplify and say Overdose. :3

favorite picture of them

[scrolls through 💿 tag and my silly art stash rapidly] uh... I'm gonna pick three... if there's anything KZ fandom always does right, it's the art, ugh.

The second one in this tweet. There's something about the framing and the texture that just gets me so bad...

This post. I keep saying it, but Scary is one of my fav artists in general, and I continue projecting stuff onto this piece specifically, so it just means so much to me, oh my god. That and the song it's coupled with. Help me.

This post. The expression and pose, the colors, literally everything about the linework, and to top it all off, the gem that is the fucking caption. I think about it weekly.

[ask-that-weird-dog]

THE ARCHIVE:

??? // INTRO // 1 // TO BE CONTINUED...

THE (DOG) HOUSE RULES!

Read the following before you ask...

and don't make me tap the sign!

* no NSFW! this blog is intended to be 13+ so please don't send anything sexually explicit or excessively gory, thank you!

* please be patient! I draw all the responses, and that can take some time. I also may hold onto some asks for future pieces, too.

* the Kris of this blog goes by they/them only! please do not misgender them in asks or they will be eaten... I mean deleted.

* interactions with other ask blogs are perfectly welcome and encouraged! I'm always happy to meet another kindred spirit.

* this isn't a roleplay blog! I won't be doing threads here, just silly one-off doodles. I will, however, be making an ask-driven comic!

* treat the mod with respect! please don't come here stirring up drama or sending hate/harassment etc. you get the idea.

* the mod is an adult! please remember this when interacting.

EXTRA ASK INFO AND FAQ BELOW:

Please do:

* send asks directed to Kris! they can hear your text as a disembodied voice and will respond to you accordingly.

* offer Kris objects, either by text or as a submitted picture! accepted items will be added to their inventory.

* use asks to suggest ideas to Kris! if you want them to actually do it though, you'll have to be convincing!

* interact with Kris directly, to a degree! any physical contact will be experienced as a 'hand' that only they can see.

* send IC asks from other character blogs! they're just for fun and games though, and may not be considered canon.

* send asks to the mod if you have questions or concerns! I'll happily tag triggers, explain bits of the AU, or clarify rules as needed.

* send joke m!as for special events! I may be selective on them though, and they likely won't be canon to the main story here.

* tag this blog in any posts you'd like me to see! I'll happily check out anything you'd like to send my way, within reason.

Please do not:

* send asks to characters other than Kris! they can't hear you; if you want to send a message, you'll need to convince Kris to do it for you.

* send asks that alter their world, or force Kris or other characters to do something! you just don't have that much power in this world.

* send asks containing explicit 18+ language, slurs, gore, or sexual content. anything like that is getting deleted on sight, sorry folks.

* misgender Kris in asks; those are getting deleted too. also please don't interact IC if you're an RP/ask blog that genders the kids.

* try to rush the mod on replies. drawing takes time, and I might not get to every reply. you can ask off anon if it was deleted, though!

* send stuff unrelated to the AU to this blog. if you'd like to chatter about other stuff, I've got a main blog and I'd love to see you there!

* repost any of my art without permission! please ask before using my work elsewhere. reblogs, however, are always encouraged!

THE FAQ I'D HAVE IF THIS BLOG WASN'T LITERALLY BRAND NEW

Q: So, what AU is this for anyway? A: I've been calling it 'Deltarune Monsterswap,' mainly since there isn't already an AU named that as far as I can find, and it describes the concept fairly well! Basically; everyone who's a human is now a monster, and everyone who's a monster is now human. Think Overtale but for Deltarune, basically! There are some definite personality differences as a result, though Kris will be the most obvious upfront.

Q: What sort of monster is Kris? A: Kris is a monster based on el cadejo, a mythical dog spirit from Central America! Their dual nature of devil dog vs angel dog seemed like an interesting concept to work with, especially since I personally headcanon Kris to have some Central American ancestry and wanted to pick something local to the region. Plus, I dunno, they've always given me scruffy stray dog vibes. This kid absolutely eats food off the floor when nobody's looking and you can't tell me otherwise.

Q: My ask wasn't answered! What happened to it? A: If it didn't break any of the rules I've listed off and hasn't been answered yet, it's probably still in my inbox! I'm liable to hold onto asks that I find fun but haven't found a place for so that I can use them in the future, so don't give up hope. They still might appear in the future! I promise I appreciate every one, even if it can take me a bit to get some of them done.

Q: Can I ask about future events or for hints? A: You can try! If something is TOO spoilery I might keep my lips sealed, but I'm willing to give hints and ideas on occasion. If push comes to shove, the worst case scenario is me posting it with a little :)c to mildly menace you a bit. I mean hey, lots of 'Players' look up guides to find secrets, too. It's on theme.

Q: Will there be any ships involved? What ones? A: I'll be sticking to canon for the most part on these; characters that have crushes will still have them, but we're generally sticking to canon-compliant territory here and they won't be a major focus. The farthest I get out of the box is that the Kris of this blog BRIEFLY had a crush on Noelle when they were younger, but it went unnoticed and has long since faded. The most you'll really see of that is a bit of awkwardness on Kris's part. Noelle will still have a crush on Susie, but at least for now it's unrequited.

Q: So, who's the mod behind this thing anyway? A: I don't really talk about myself; I grew up in the era of 'don't share personal info online' and still kinda live by that in public! The most you'll get is: I go by Timey, use she/her pronouns, I'm 28, and my left thumb is hypermobile. That's about as personal as I get, sorry!

AND THAT'S IT! Thanks for reading, and here's hoping you'll enjoy bothering this ridiculous critter as much as I do.