#sorry if it came off as rambly

[right-brain-left-brain]

A potential idea for Deltarune's chapter 3 secret boss

I think this post might get me some weird looks, but fuck it we ball.

I'll just stop beating around the bush and propose the idea (ramble): Chapter 3 will have a Sonic-like secret boss.

You have Woody Theory, now get ready for Sonic Theory.

Now please, hear me out.

The core idea here isn't to just rib at all the bad Sonic OCs in the internet (okay, maybe it was), but I wanted to reflect a theme that fits Chapter 3's take on a TV themed world well (a Hollywood-like setting); stardom, or the loss of it in this case.

For context, in the 90s, due to Sonic the Hedgehog's success, there was a trend where every mascot platformer tried to emulate Sonic (mainly his US portrayal at that time, an effort to make him appeal to the American market more) as much as they could; high speed/fast paced action, a mascot with a cool and snarky attitude, and advertising focused on just how fast the game could go and/or how cool and edgy the mascot is. As with all trends, it eventually died out, with a majority of the titles fading into obscurity (though the Sonic series it self is still very relevant and thriving) if not remembered for how tacky they were.

Basing a secret boss on this fits with the currently known secret bosses’ theme of forgotten and/or discarded objects (Jevil = jester card, Spamton = spam mail). In the context of Chapter 3's Hollywood-esque setting, this makes for a character that was once a star. They were the talk of the town, a household name until they suddenly fell from stardom, mimicking the fast but short lived success of the trend. Now, they wish to reclaim the fame and star power they once had, no matter what and how.

All the secret bosses are heavily tied to the theme of freedom and control. Jevil, believing that he's the only free person in the Card Kingdom, feels like he can do anything (as in being in full control). Spamton constantly seeks freedom and to release himself from his strings. Making the Chapter 3 secret boss an in-game game character also reflects the themes of freedom and control; game characters tend to be played (or controlled) by something beyond their world (players). As a game character, this secret boss's take on freedom and control could be interesting. Instead of wanting to no longer be controlled, they want to be controlled, to have a direction for them to go along with. Now abandoned, they have nobody to follow and be guided by. This mimics a game; playable characters only do something when you move them, let go of the controller and they just stand there, waiting to be moved again. This can also play with the theme of you, the player, and your dynamic with Kris, the character. Kris, someone who's haunted by the idea of all their actions not being in their control, being met with someone who wants to be controlled all the time, their antipode, can make for interesting encounters.

The Dreemurr household has a game console with two controllers; one official and the other a knockoff/off-brand one. Toriel mentions Asriel liking a character who is essentially the Deltarune universe's version of Yoshi in its version of Super Smash Bros. As 'Super Smashing Fighters' is a clear reference to Super Smash Bros, which as a series is played on consoles, this further confirms that there's a game console somewhere in the house. As the game console is something that Asriel have ties to, this gives Toby the chance to further explore Kris as a person, their thoughts and fears, and dynamics with others (especially family) even with Chapter 3's more lighter and gameplay focused take. The console is currently tucked under Asriel's bed which, while it looks like a problem, I'll get into a bit later.

Video games can still make sense in a TV World that puts emphasis on performance; they're entertainment played on television by connecting a device onto it (at least home console games). The secret boss being the main character of a game can be translated as an actor, someone who carries out the directions provided by a 'script' of sorts (the game itself or you/the player). In a way, video games are movies or shows that the player themselves have full control of; they share several elements with other forms of media, only this time with giving the consumer more liberty in enjoying.

The Deltarune status updates reveals what the OST calls a 'Green Room'. A Green Room is a "a room (as in a theater or studio) where performers can relax before or after appearances". Fitting for the direction that Chapter 3 takes for a world themed around TV entertainment. Not only does this reinforces the actor and performance theme that Chapter 3's direction goes for, which can especially be applied to the secret boss, but it confirms something; the Dreemurr house's second floor being involved. Before this sneak peek, a lot of fans assumed that only the living room will get Dark World-ified, but this single screenshot seems to be saying otherwise. We get a loose layout of the second floor's hallways, the potted cacti are the same in shape, the couches mimic Kris and Asriel's bed, the starry wallpaper comes from Asriel's side of the bedroom, and some even say the box of (prop?) swords represent Asriel's pencil box. This still gives the chance of the game console as a secret boss, or any other things in the second floor to be referenced as well.

In one of Spamton's QnA answers, we may have the elements of the next secret bosses revealed. Spamton himself have the Puppet/Cat element, sharing it with Tasque Manager according to the game's files. We can assume that Death/Scythe in this answer belongs to Jevil (though the game's files lists it as Chaos/Chaos, possibly as a joke), as the JevilsKnife is basically a scythe and Spamton dislikes him. This leaves us with Thunder/Light and Dark/Star. Thunder/Light fits well with the secret boss being a Sonic expy, as both are very fast things, while Dark/Star could refer to what this possible secret boss is; a star that fell from fame into obscurity (or darkness).

Now, onto fan theory territory.

1. Memoryhead: There's a theory suggesting that the Memoryheads represent the currently known and future secret bosses. Here's the Memoryhead itself, along with the circled parts showing Jevil (red) and Spamton (yellow):

Obviously these aren't the only faces on the Memoryhead as we also have this face:

Should look familiar right? Of course this isn't really definitive proof of the concept being plausible. I wanted to point out just how eerily similar one of the faces on the Memoryhead is to Sonic's conjoined eyes.

2. SOUL colors: A more common theory is that each secret boss would have their own SOUL color/modes based on the Undertale Genocide Route bosses in reverse order (Sans = Jevil = Red, Spamton = Mettaton = Yellow). On top of this theory, another theory from Reddit says that the secret bosses reflect an inversion of each color's virtues; in the case of the currently known secret bosses, Red for Determination, Yellow for Justice. Jevil accepts the truth with no resistance and deludes himself into believing he's free to do anything (the opposite of Determination) while Spamton is a crooked salesman who pressures Kris into making bad deals and scams his customers (the opposite of Justice). Following this pattern, the Chapter 3 secret boss's SOUL color/mode is either Purple or Green. Let's talk about how this could work for our Sonic ripoff.

Purple is the color of Perseverance. Inverting Perseverance could give us something along the lines of Apathy. To persevere is to stand tall even against the odds and the many trials of life. As the trend of Sonic-esque platformers lived for quite a short time, it can be said that it didn't persevere through the tests of time. Maybe we could have someone who's long gave up their dreams of returning to the spotlight, where they consider their current state as being eternally lost, until an opportunity (Kris and their SOUL; something to control them) presents itself. This sends them in a more frenzied and desperate state that makes them do whatever it takes to become famous again, no matter what they'll face in their path to have 'freedom' once more. This portrayal can both invert Perseverance as well as display a twisted version of it.

Instead of spiderwebs, the lines could be TV scan lines, tying the chapter's TV theme with the secret boss' basis of a video game character. The lines could also refer to game consoles and controllers, with both using wires to connect themselves onto the TV.

Alternatively, this secret boss uses the green SOUL, the color of Kindness. Inverting Kindness gives Selfishness or Meanness. This still lines up with the secret boss being a Sonic clone, as the games that tried to ride and capitalise on Sonic's success tend to forgo Sonic's kindness and heroism for being cool and edgy for the sake of being cool and edgy, ending up with a character whose only defining trait is 'being totally rad' even to the point of self-centeredness. With that interpretation, the secret boss can instead be selfish and shrewd, disregarding others and doing whatever they can no matter what to get their hands on Kris' SOUL. On the surface, they still try to keep a kind and heroic persona (but not without the snark) despite no one remembering them. All of this to reclaim the image that they once have, their stardom, and their life. Why should they matter? They're not the ones who have their lives and acclaim suddenly robbed from them right?

While it skips the Purple SOUL, the Green SOUL returning in Chapter 3 can be inferred from Seam saying that the "next opponent" (presumably the secret boss) is impossible to beat without the 'Shadow Mantle'. A mantle can mean many things, for one it could mean a cape of sorts or a covering. As Seam says that we need the Shadow Mantle to fight the next secret boss, it can be inferred that it acts as a second shield for the Green SOUL, covering the area not protected by it.

3. Heaven and Hell: So far, all the known secret bosses have made references to Heaven or Hell. Jevil, besides being a demonic jester, says “MY HEARTS GO OUT TO ALL YOU SINNERS!” before one of his attacks. Spamton have made several allusions to Heaven (“ARE YOU WATCHING, [Heaven]!? IT'S TIME FOR SPAMTON'S [Comeback Special]!”) and has an angel theming (the mini Spamtons that heal half your health, Spamton NEO). Making the Chapter 3 secret boss a star past their prime by basing it on a dead gaming trend still fits this theming. They’re a star that fell into obscurity. In other words, Lucifer, the morning star, a fallen angel.

Okay, all of this is cool and weird. But then, what about the flowers? The ones Asgore gave to Toriel? Wouldn't that, a discarded thing that sits fairly near to the living room, also be secret boss material?

Simple, they can still be a part of this potential secret boss, just not as the boss itself.

Instead, the flowers can be the stage for the boss fight. A lot of Classic Sonic games (read: Sonic games at the 90s) start off in places with a fair amount of vegetation, especially trees and flowers. I can see the flowers also acting as the trees. In short, the trash can itself will be the stage for the secret boss's fight.

And now, some personal ideas.

1. Speech quirk: As an embodiment of a long gone fad, this secret boss's speech quirk would be speaking in 90's slang frequently while putting certain letters in bubbles, as if they're buttons on a game controller, with T being replaced with a + to evoke a D-pad. Something like so:

2. Gaster design motif: It's heavily implied that Gaster have some involvements with the secret bosses. They also have design motifs that they share with Gaster; Jevil have Gaster's eye cracks (or is it just clown makeup?) while Spamton have Gaster's fashion sense. I think, for a character that plays into the theme of a former star that long for their fame to return, the Chapter 3 secret boss will have a hole on each hand, just like Gaster's hands. On top of rings being the main collectible of every Sonic game as well as loop-de-loops being a common feature in Sonic level design, hands with holes can symbolise grasping for something (in this case fame/stardom), only to fail.

3. Amusement park ride: Each secret boss so far seem to have an amusement park ride theme of sorts, with Jevil's fight being in a carousel (or at least similar to) and Spamton's fight taking you on [[a ride around town]] on a rollercoaster. As the rollercoaster is (unfortunately) taken, I'm gonna have to go with a pendulum ride. Besides being a very fast ride (some even swinging in a full circle, just like a loop-de-loop), it can symbolise this character's arc of wanting to reach their past stardom only to slip away.

Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if the entire cowboy thing ended up being a hint to the actual secret boss itself, but, knowing Toby Fox, I also wouldn't be surprised if it isn't. If this ends up being inevitably deconfirmed by Chapter 3's release, I can still claim him as an entirely original secret boss complete with an orange SOUL mode. All in all, I just needed to put this out somewhere, for some unfortunate souls to read.

TL;DR: The Chapter 3 secret boss is a Sonic expy as a riff on the Mascot with Attitude trend from the 90s and to parallel a movie star past their prime (according to Chapter 3's direction), desperate to be guided and to have fame once more.

[gentle-hero-blog]

Actually wait ok i'm not done. i'm actually so serious abt this. I think that a large part of the reason i got attached to metroid when i was younger is because it was the first media i discovered where the main female character was allowed to look like this:

and like. people thought she was cool. BOYS thought she was cool and I had never seen boys think a female character was cool before, much less want to be like one. she had all these interesting traits that I had only ever seen in male characters (person of few words, calm and ruthless bounty hunter persona, highly respected for skill, her appearance isn't mentioned Ever, etc etc). and that was formative for me and my relationship to gender i think

[starry-bi-sky]

i need to get this out of my head before i continue clone^2 but danny being the first batkid. Like, standard procedure stuff: his parents and sister die, danny ends up with Vlad Masters. He drags him along to stereotypical galas and stuff; Danny is not having a good time.

He ends up going to one of the Wayne Galas being hosted ever since elusive Bruce Wayne has returned to Gotham. Vlad is crowing about having this opportunity as he's been wanting to sink his claws into the company for a long while now. Danny is too busy grieving to care what he wants.

And like most Galas, once Vlad is done showing him off to the other socialites and the like, he disappears. Off to a dark corner, or to one of the many balconies; doesn't matter. There he runs into said star of the show, Bruce who is still young, has been Batman for at least a year at this point, but still getting used to all these damn people and socializing. He's stepped off to hide for a few minutes before stepping back into the shark tank.

And he runs into a kid with circles under his eyes and a dull gleam in them. Familiar, like looking into a mirror.

Danny tries to excuse himself, he hasn't stopped crying since his parents died and it's been months. He rubs his eyes and stands up, and stumbles over a half-hearted apology to Mister Wayne. Some of Vlad's etiquette lessons kicking in.

Bruce is awkward, but he softens. "That's alright, lad," he says, pulling up some of that Brucie Wayne confidence, "I was just coming out here to get some fresh air."

There's a little pressing; Bruce asks who he's here with, Danny says, voice quiet and grief-stricken, that he's with his godfather Vlad Masters. Bruce asks him if he knows where he is, and Danny tells him he does. Bruce offers to leave, Danny tells him to do whatever he wants.

It ends with Bruce staying, standing off to the side with Danny in silence. Neither of them say a word, and Danny eventually leaves first in that same silence.

Bruce looks into Vlad Masters after everything is over, his interest piqued. He finds news about him taking in Danny Fenton: he looks into Danny Fenton. He finds news articles about his parents' deaths, their occupations, everything he can get his hands on.

At the next gala, he sees Danny again. And he looks the same as ever: quiet like a ghost, just as pale, and full of grief. Bruce sits in silence with him again for nearly ten minutes before he strikes a conversation.

"Do you like to do anything?"

Nothing. Just silence.

Bruce isn't quite sure what to do: comfort is not his forte, and Danny doesn't know him. He's smart enough to know that. So he starts talking about other things; anything he can think of that Brucie Wayne might say, that also wasn't inappropriate for a kid to hear.

Danny says nothing the entire time, and is again the first to leave.

Bruce watches from a distance as he intercts with Vlad Masters; how Vlad Masters interacts with him. He doesn't like what he sees: Vlad Masters keeps a hand on Danny's shoulder like one would hold onto the collar of a dog. He parades him around like a trophy he won.

And there are moments, when someone gets too close or when someone tries to shake Danny's hand, of deep possessiveness that flints over Vlad Masters' eyes. Like a dragon guarding a horde.

He plays the act of doting godfather well: but Bruce knows a liar when he sees one. Like recognizes like.

Danny is dull-eyed and blank faced the entire time; he looks miserable.

So Bruce tries to host more parties; if only so that he can talk to Danny alone. Vlad seems all too happy to attend, toting Danny along like a ribbon, and on the dot every hour, Danny slips away to somewhere to hide. Bruce appears twenty minutes later.

"I was looking into your godfather's company," he says one night, trying to think of more things to say. Some nights all they do is sit in silence. "Some of my shareholders were thinking of partnering up--"

"Don't."

He stops. Danny hardly says a word to him, he doesn't even look at him -- he's sitting on the ground, his head in his knees. Like he's trying to hide from the world. But he's looking, blue eyes piercing up at Bruce.

Bruce tilts his head, practiced puppy-like. "Pardon?"

"Don't." Danny says, strongly. "Don't make any deals with Vlad."

It's the most words Danny's spoken to him, and there's a look in his eyes like a candle finding its spark. Something hard. Bruce presses further, "And why is that?"

The spark flutters, and flushes out. Danny blinks like he's coming out of a trance, and slumps back into himself. "Just don't."

Bruce stares at him, thoughtful, before looking away. "Alright. I won't."

And they fall back into silence.

Danny, when he leaves, turns to look at Bruce, "I mean it." He says; soft like he's telling a secret, "Don't make any deals with him. Don't be alone with him. Don't work with him."

He's scampered away before Bruce can question him further.

(He never planned on working with Vlad Masters and his company; he's done his research. He's seen the misfortune. But nothing ever leads back to him. There's no evidence of anything. But Danny knows something.)

At their next meeting, Danny starts the conversation. It's new, and it's welcomed. He says, cutting through their five minute quiet, that he likes stars. And he doesn't like that he can't see them in Gotham.

Bruce hums in interest, and Danny continues talking. It's as if floodgates had been opened, and as Bruce takes a sip of his wine, it tastes like victory.

("Tucker told me once--") ("Tucker?") ("Oh-- uh, one of my best friends. He's a tech geek. We haven't talked in a while.")

(Danny shut down in his grief -- his friends are worried, but can't reach him. When he goes back to the manor with Vlad, he fishes out his phone and sends them a message.)

(They are ecstatic to hear from him.)

It all culminates until one day, when Danny is leaving to go back inside, that Bruce speaks up. "You know," He says, leaning against the railing. "The manor has many rooms; plenty of space for a guest."

The implication there, hidden between the lines. And Danny is smart, he looks at Bruce with a sharp glean in his eyes, and he nods. "Good to know."

The next time they see each other, Danny has something in his hands. "Can you hold onto something for me?" He asks.

When Bruce agrees, Danny places a pearl into his palm. or, at least, it's something that looks like a pearl. Because it's cold to the touch; sinking into Bruce's white silk gloves with ease and shimmering like an opal. It moves a little as it settles into his hand, and the moves like its full of liquid.

Bruce has never seen anything like it before, but he does know this; it's not human. "What is it?" He asks, and Danny looks uncomfortable.

"I can't tell you that." He says, shifting on his foot like he's scared of someone seeing it. "But please be careful with it. Treat it like it's extremely fragile."

When Bruce gets home, he puts it in an empty ring box and hides the box in the cave. He tries researching into what it is. he can't find anything concrete.

Everything comes to a head one day when Danny appears at the manor's doorstep one evening, soaking wet in the rain, and bleeding from the side.

[crazymecjc]

✨daniil dankovsky’s fun steppe vacation✨

[pupkinpumpkin]

Aight, don't get me wrong, I have and will read about almost every Rookanis fanfic there is, and I enjoy almost every version of Spite I see, but I think I see Spite's development and role in Rook and Lucanis' relationship in a certain way, but, suffice to say, Spite's relationship with Rook is just as much of a slow burn as Lucanis' relationship is

Just my personal opinion under the cut, you're free to believe whatever you wish

Spite is interested in Rook from the start, not romantically or sexually, but as a new person to learn about/annoy the fuck out of

As Rook gets closer to Lucanis, they also begin to tolerate and like Spite, which is new to him since everyone he meets kinda hates him, so, since acceptance is a very nice feeling, he wants to spend time with them. He's also realizing that Lucanis is developing feelings for them, feelings that are rare for Lucanis and completely new, and therefore, weird, to Spite

All Spite really knows is that Rook is nice, Lucanis trusts them, and Lucanis has certain feelings for them that Spite doesn't really understand, but he wants to (he's very curious for a Spite demon), so he wants Lucanis to hang out with Rook more so he can potentially talk with them more himself so he can understand these odd new feelings better

Here's where I may start getting a tad bit far fetched in my beliefs when it comes to how Spite, and possession in general, works

I'll keep it short, but just know I have a lot of feelings about Justice (all good, I love him dearly)

So, Justice in Awakening takes over Kristoff's dead body, and, when he does that, he gets these memories of him and his wife. He tells The Warden that he longs for the connection that they had and when he was just a spirit, he used to pity mortals, but now he finds beauty in their world and wants to experience all of it for himself.

I personally believe that when Justice takes over Kristoff's body, he is now able to feel different kinds of love more than the average spirit can because of this new form, and I believe that applies to Spite

When Spite possesses Lucanis, he is able to feel more than he can when he's just a spirit, feelings he's not used to and has never even thought of before. The feelings equivalent of seeing shrimp colors. New and confusing, but still exciting and worth investigating

It's in these moments that Spite's interest and fascination with Rook becomes more defined and intense, especially since Lucanis feels it as well, but because Lucanis doesn't let go of control often, these moments are few and far between, which kinda pisses Spite off, since it's another thing that he doesn't get to experience because Lucanis won't let him, so Rook becomes this forbidden thing that he wants to learn about, but has little to no access to, and, as a Spite demon, this only makes him want them more, but not in the way you're thinking of just yet

Lucanis is demisexual, we've learned that from God herself, so on top of Spite being interested in Rook, which is only intensified by Lucanis' feelings and Lucanis refusing to let Spite talk to them, Lucanis starts developing more intimate thoughts of Rook (which I personally think is around the time of the almost kiss), adding to the disaster of this overly caffeinated bisexual (well, biromantic)

Spite does not understand this. He's already trying to untangle the weird feelings he has for Rook, but now Lucanis is adding even more weird feelings that Spite can't possibly understand. He could understand, at least a little better, if he possessed Lucanis (which would give him deeper access to those feelings according to my little headcanon) and unpacked that with him, but Lucanis does not allow this, so the whole thing frustrates Spite and Lucanis, who is constantly being asked why he thinks Rook being in certain positions is so interesting all of a sudden

So, stretching my headcanon even further, I think that after Inner Demons, when Lucanis and Spite finally accept each other, Spite is given greater access to all of Lucanis' feelings for Rook, romantic and otherwise

He still needs time to truly get what all of that means, but I think those wings unfurling during the last romance scene is him beginning to understand exactly what he's feeling and being able to fully explore his new emotions, desires, etc without the previous constraints that were holding him back

I don't think Spite is by any means going between Rook's thighs and that he has any idea what he's doing by the end of Veilguard, but he's at a place where he is trusted, loved, and wanted, which is new, and he is a very curious demon who may or may not want to see what the fun's all about now that he understands people and their complexities more

Or maybe he's asexual and he just really loves cuddling, that's up to you, I'll read it either way

TLDR: I don't think Spite was begging Lucanis to pin Rook to a wall and have them scream his name from the beginning, but after Veilguard, who's to say?

[fuzzbuns]

Stupid joke based on birds i saw at my bird feeder

[wheatormeat]

Rereading old haikyuu chapters, here's a bunch of silly Akaashis

[crow-with-a-pencil]

One year anniversary of the kelp blorbo who changed my brain chemistry forever

Happy birthday Beetle :)

[wereh0gz]

I HATE how ppl treat the werehog as if he was some feral werewolf monster that needs to be tamed when he isn't

Like he's literally a subversion of the trope where a character becomes a completely uncontrollable beast that must either be controlled or killed

Like I love the idea of him having his feral freaky animal moments but he does not need to be tamed or controlled. Like his ENTIRE arc in Unleashed and more prominently in post-sgw Archie was that he needed to accept and learn how to live with his new form so that he can save the world. Literally the exact opposite of control

Nearing the endgame of Unleashed Chip literally TELLS him that his will is too strong for him to be consumed by the dark energy inside him like others have. And like when Dark Gaia took its energy back it HURT Sonic bc he'd ACCEPTED the werehog as a part of himself. He was willing to live with it!! And I'd even go as far as to say he WANTED to keep it bc of how much it hurt having it taken away!!

Like. Tell me you don't actually know the werehog without telling me

[good-beanswrites]

john x fuuta ?👉👈 or 090309

I love the dynamic between them all, thank you for the request! I went with an earlier meeting for them (well, one of the first times Fuuta's aware of speaking with John, at least). As much as I joke about Fuuta being starstruck by his strength in the attack, I tried to take a more serious route for the "something to rely on" vibe.

John’s eyes flicked over Fuuta, sprawled out on his bedding and looking up expectantly.

“Man, you look like shit.”

Fuuta scowled deeper. “I asked for the reason you’re here in the middle of the fucking night, not your opinion.”

“That is the reason I came.”

Somehow, amid all the other things he had to worry about given the horror of the past few days and exile that followed, Mikoto had still found the time to lose sleep over Fuuta’s condition. John had always liked the guy, but he wasn’t in the business of watching over people he didn’t truly care about. He didn’t know what Mikoto saw in him to cause such an overreaction.

Though, with the futon dragged to the bars of the cell, and bathing him in the dim light of the guard’s tower, it was becoming clear that Mikoto’s concern was indeed warranted. Fuuta appeared deathly. The fresh injuries had been bandaged, but there were stains where blood was beginning to seep through. His eye – the one that had survived the ordeal – was bloodshot and rimmed with dark bags. His hair was as tangled as the rumpled hoodie it poked out of.

Fuuta was still staring in anticipation. It took John a moment to understand why. 

“You recognize me.”

“No shit. Mikoto came in here like a fumbling idiot earlier today. He wanted to make sure I was okay or whatever. Like I’d be okay after what happened!” He paused, a clanging from someone else’s cell briefly distracting him. “But you… the way you carry yourself… it’s different.”

“Not that different. I’m here for the same reason.”

The plan was simple. Once Fuuta slept, Mikoto would relax, and everyone would be happy. If it turned out to be his injuries keeping him awake, John didn’t mind crushing Fuuta’s pride and explaining his weakness to the doctor to get more painkillers. If it was noisy neighbors, he’d teach one of those girls a lesson the following day. If the problem was just plain insomnia, well, John’s swinging arm was still completely functional...

“I just want to make sure you’re sleeping.”

“Don’t tell me you’re as disgustingly sentimental as him.”

John’s expression twitched. He didn’t appreciate the condescension. That was Mikoto’s most admirable trait, after all – offering help to others even when he was falling apart himself. He was so selfless, so self-sacrificial. It was no wonder John felt compelled to do the same for him. But Fuuta…

“Ugh, he’s always trying to be buddy-buddy with everyone around here, it makes me sick. Nice words don’t do shit. Look where his friendship with Kotoko got him, eh? That’s what these fools still don’t understand – you need to face these things head-on.”

“Oi, don’t be hard on me just for caring.” He didn’t say it as any sort of gentle encouragement; it was a command, and Fuuta understood. He snapped his attention away from where he’d been peering around the bars. “The world needs more people with that kindness. That optimistic view of life, of others, no matter what – it’s why I’ll do everything I can to save me.”

Silence stretched after the intense comment. Fuuta was looking away again, and John couldn’t read him. When he did speak, his voice came out more defeated than expected.

“Tch. Well. Not all of us have that luxury.”

“Of what?”

“Of you.”

His eyebrows raised.

Cheeks reddening, Fuuta hurried to add, “I mean someone to have your back like that. I wish I could be half as relaxed as that, but I can’t afford to let my guard down. I need to be strong myself, I don’t have anyone else to take care of my problems for me.”

It hit him suddenly, that everything came down to that. Relief washed over him, now that a clear, easy, (and nonviolent) solution had presented itself.

“What if you did? I could take over your little sentry duty for the night.”

“W-what do you –?”

He gestured to where Fuuta was laying. “No need to play dumb. You’ve been keeping an eye on everything, even the other side of the guard’s tower. The sounds from around cell eight have caught your attention. You’re positioned so you can see cell six, but haven’t moved all the way over, because cell ten has easiest access from the right.”

“The others would say it’s pointless, or that they’re handling it. I’m not buying it, though. I don’t care if they say it’s crazy of me to do.”

“I think…” John’s posture softened. “I think it’s very selfless of you.”

He was constantly amazed at Fuuta’s tendency to react to everything as if it were some world-shattering statement just told to him.

“So?” He prodded before Fuuta’s expression could grow any more wide-eyed. “How about it?”

 “I mean… they told me about the attacks… what you did…”

John set his jaw. No matter how many times it had happened in the past few days, it still stung to see how quickly people turned against him because of the fight. He thought they all had come to terms with each other’s capabilities for violence, but as usual, the moment he showed his true face, the world turned against him.

Of course Fuuta could never relax knowing such a violent and unpredictable person was sitting right beside him through the night. It was a miracle he hadn’t panicked immediately at the sight of yet another cold, towering figure appearing at his door in the middle of the night.

John stretched his right arm across his chest. It looked like his original solution still stood. Fuuta said problems should be faced head-on. Surely he’d understand this was for his own good.

“…Yeah, okay.” Fuuta gave a decisive nod. He beckoned with a jerk of his head. “I trust you.”

“I –” John blinked. “What?”

“You understand me. You understand what it takes to be in a place like this.” His gaze flit away momentarily. “You’re incredibly strong. You’re prepared, and have good instincts, and your confidence is –" Noticing how intently John was listening, he interrupted himself to bark, “but don’t think I couldn’t handle this on my own! It’s only because you offered, and it’s a smart move. I’ll just sleep for a bit, we can take shifts. Wake me in three hours, okay?”

“Fine by me.” A little lying was definitely better than what else he’d had in mind.

Fuuta moved his futon over a few feet so John could settle into his carefully chosen spot on the ground. Everything was all set to begin keeping watch, until a new sound rose up to drown out the other noises in the panopticon – soft snoring from beside him.

He glanced over in disbelief at the instantaneous security Fuuta had sunk into. All the tension had melted away from his face and shoulders. He lay completely at peace.

John had achieved his goal. He should be celebrating. Instead, he couldn’t help heaving a heavy sigh.

How did he end up with two self-destructive idiots to watch over?

[evil-mcytblrconfessions]

tumblr kww fandom was formed seperately from most other social media corners of the fandom. and that leads to silly things like the commonly used name "kww collab" and kenfies vs kenifies. and probably more. cedar if theres any more im forgetting that u know of say them pls

(in response to this confession)

[rambunctioustoons]

I am ill with longing (thinking about friendships again).

[mothsakura]

Hi. I saw ur iterators and they look cool i wanna know the lore(tm)

OOO YES YES! Imma ramble about off the string au too, so putting the explanation of the au before oc lore, if you want to hear just about the oc, feel free to skip the off the string hcs! (note: a lot of my oc lore is rather long, and hard to type out in one go, i will most likely be typing up about an oc with shorter lore)

So first; how does off-the-string work in my au/hcs:

The consciousness and subconsciousness are evenly spread out throughout all of the iterator's systems and mechanisms! Usually the puppet is just used for communication, and to express the iterator's personality. Without the puppet it would be rather difficult to communicate. Now you see: the puppet can be detached from it's mechanical arm, this is most often done in maintenance or during really fancy ceremonies. To go off the string, you need to put your whole consciousness into your puppet, and then detach it from the mechanical arm. The structure would still be up and performing vital functions, however would be in a "sleep" state. You can still vaguely feel your structure if you are off the string.

Although this sounds easy, it really isn't. Since the iterator as a whole is HUGE, they'd need some time to adapt to the limitations of the puppet. They are now on the same level as an ancient, or the animals that walk beneath their structure, which can be rather difficult to adjust to if you're used to being a mechanical god. (think of it like putting all your consciousness into the tip of your finger, you're so so much smaller and vulnerable now) Note: the iterator is also now hyper-aware of their puppet since all of their consciousness, and thus attention, is in their puppet (instead of being spread out like in the structure). (Also another small note I am unsure of where to put: in my hcs, the iterators sort of have a connection to their neurons similar to bluetooth, which means that if the structure is still standing, they do not need to take their neurons along while going off the string, as they'd already have that long distance connection to the neurons) If a disconnection is done right, it is 100% reversible! Just attach the puppet back to it's mechanical arm, and everything would be just like before the iterator detached it's puppet. However if an iterator disconnected improperly, it will be rather difficult to spread their consciousness back through their structure. Also if you die off the string, your consciousness will simply go back to your structure, and you'd need to make yourself a new puppet.

As for why an iterator would need to go off the string:

Many many reasons, some iterators are just curious, others want to see if they can ascend (any void related death will cause ascension for ancients and biological organisms. Several iterators have tried to test if they'd ascend by losing their puppet to the void sea.), and some have been falsely advertised to. Not too long after Sliver's ascension, there was an event labeled the "Disconnection Obsession", where iterators would go off the string to test the aforementioned theory. However there was also a rise of false advertising, with off the string being painted as a vacation or a new solution, and of course you'd want a vacation after some real boring work. Unfortunately off the string is far from a vacation...

Onto OC lore:

I'll be talking about CV! As it's lore is currently one of the only things thats on my mind, and that I can coherently tell through one ramble. Following the disconnection obsession event, CV had gone off the string to test out if the theory of losing your puppet to the void sea will ascend an iterator (probably not be at least CV is being hopeful). Or well, it more so thought it needed to test out this theory. Unfortunately CV was brainwashed by it's council to have the extremist ascensionist views of the world. Deep down it never really had any interest in ascension, it had more interest in archiving religious history to be honest. So CV went off the string with it's neighbors (Visions of Issues Unforeseen, Grim Speculations), and originally it planned to go to the void sea, but overtime it wanted to stay with it's neighbors more (who it became rather good friends with). I nicknamed the trio "The half-group", since originally they were a separate group from DAWNS_ABOUND, before the two groups merged for political allyship back when the ancients were around. Putting this map here as well! The two collapsed iterators near the half-group are early prototypes, who collapsed even before GS (oldest of the half-group, the second model of gen 2 ever made) was built. Early prototypes never really have a long lifespan unfortunately.

Thats about it for now!

[rechicken-and-waffles]

Now that the Phantom riders arc has been finished, what did you think of it?

It was really good I'd say. Not Metal Virus or Scrapnik Island levels of good for me, but still good. I have some problems with it that prevent me of calling it the best of the bunch, mainly in regards to pacing and how many things they crammed in into a single story, but it's still a vast improvement over past arcs.

I'm honestly most interested to see what is going to be of Lanolin after this. She's my favorite IDW character by far, and with each issue I just get more invested in her character. Her realizing her mistakes and wanting to be a better person going forward was just so beautiful to see. And hopefully, this will be an experience that helps everyone in the Diamond Cutters, not just Lanolin, see the errors of their ways and make the team become the best it can be. (Because omg 90% of the problems with the DC is lack of communication from all parties and if they don't solve that then it's over dfghjhgfds)

I could go on about how much I love Lano's character but I might do a full analysis later on, there's just so much to say about her. (I'm probably gonna wait till the hate dies down to do that tho, this fandom still treats that woman like the devil and I'm not risking getting hate for expressing my thoughts on a character I care about deeply ;v;)

I do wish the Chaotix got to do a little bit more (I'm still kinda pissed that they didn't show the cool detective work and instead told us what they did in 73), but at least they were not useless. And Charmy was at his best in 74 so I cannot be(e) too angry dfghjhgfd (and we're getting more Chaotix next arc so yayyyyy)

Overall a great story. And I am very much looking forward to what comes next :)

[hiraethwrote]

what is it with men, that when i tell them “you did this thing, and it made this other thing harder for me” and they have to go “hm? that’s weird, i never struggle with it 🤷🏻‍♀️” instead of just apologising and telling me the won’t do it again

[ieatwalls246]

People need to talk about Harold Halibut more. I was playing it for a couple hours today and got to like chapter four I think. All I have to say is the art and music are literally some of the most beautiful things I've seen. It's such an underrated game and I've barely seen anyone talk about it, and that makes me kinda sad because it's such a wonderful game and it had a huge impact on my life so far and it makes me want to get back into doing more art. Plus the characters have made me feel so many emotions, I've literally almost cried so many times so far. Anyways I need to go to bed lol.