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illym · 26 days ago

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“Nobody is allowed to touch my husband… Nobody but me can look at him…!” A.B.A heaved, clinging to Paracelsus like a lifeline.

“Okay. I’ve decided not to think too hard about this.” Sylv threw her arm out. “Let’s get our energy out, and then discuss your commission.”

“Let us fight…” With a guttural voice, the key shook in A.B.A’s hands. “Let us fight, and prove our—!”

“ARRRRRRGH!” A.B.A screamed, breaking into a dead sprint towards Sylv. “YOUR ANNIHILATION WILL BE PAINFUL! YOU'LL NEVER SEE THE SUN AGAIN!”

—

We meet A.B.A and Paracelsus.

Chapter Song: Intuition by Arbor

Flexing her hands, Sylv debated the best way to get a swingset at home. The obvious option was to order one. However, that led to the question of from where, along with if xe could find one she liked. Most swingsets were made for children, and while their weight limit wasn’t nearly restrictive enough to worry about, there also stood the fact that most things designed for children weren’t made to last. There was little point to buying a swing set that would break within a few years, or that required constant maintenance and upkeep.

There was the option of building one herself. That’d keep complications down, but xe’d have to look into how they were made. It’d be a time commitment, to be sure. On the other hand, she didn’t have any time commitments at the moment. All her commissions had finished up at once and she hadn’t gotten any meaningful work done on her personal projects in weeks. A new passion project could be the perfect thing.

The sting of her hands made xem add another mark under building her own: no pinching chains. The red marks littering xer palms were a major pain in the ass. It could be a necessary part of the design, or something xe could fix after ordering one, but it was something that would need to be fixed before the swingset was suitable for use.

“...” A tap on the shoulder from behind.

“Ah!?” Sylv whirled, heartrate spiking. The sight before xem only put her more on edge. Dressed in bloody rags and supporting themself on a metallic, golden… thing, the person in front of her was so pale it appeared as if this was the first time they’d seen sunlight in years.

The person behind her blinked slowly. “You… arrived when you said you would…”

“H….uh? Uh…” Sylv immediately set aside the strangeness of the situation to wrack xer brain. ‘Did I… Make a promise? This person is pretty distinctive… But I’ve forgotten worse.’

“Would you mind…” Xe broke herself off as she took in the other’s appearance. “Pardon. There’s a key sticking through your head. And you’re covered in blood. Is that intentional? Or do you need to see a doctor?” Faust had left a while ago, but he seemed to have a knack to show up whenever someone needed him.

Whether he’d actually stick around to help was, of course, another thing altogether.

They shook their head, chains rattling. “This… is normal…”

“Understood.” It wasn’t Sylv’s place to press; if the other said it was normal, it was their normal.

The person shifted closer, pulling themselves under the overhang of the dress shop and out of the sun. “You said that you could build Paracelsus a body… Or were you lying to me?” They shrunk back against the wall, pulling the golden thing between them and peering at Sylv through stringy bangs.

‘Ah.’ That cleared everything up. ‘I guess I made an appointment and forgot about it… Glad I thought to come by here anyway. How convenient.’

“Whether I can or not will depend on what Paracelsus is. Did you bring…” A pause. “Them? It? Here?”

“Paracelsus is my husband…” They stroked the piece of metal they clung to.

“Ah, erm, hello…” The metal— Paracelsus— spoke with a hesitant tone.

“Oh! They’re— a key? What do you open? Well, no, I doubt you open anything at that size. No, baseless assumption, there are some pretty big doors out there. Maybe not even a door. Did you build them?” Sylv stepped forward, eyes locked onto the key. Their partner drew back, mouth twisting.

“I’m a demon ax! Not a key!” They grew a fearsome scowl, chain rattling. At a hiss from their partner, Paracelsus’ head relaxed. “Though, ah, if you wouldn’t mind referring to me with male pronouns…”

“Understood. And when you say male pronouns, you mean he and him and all those?”

“Yes! Exactly so!” Metal to the sides of his head flapped out, curling back tight against his body. Sylv’s clenched her fists to keep from reaching out to pull at them and see what exactly was happening. The metal hadn’t crunched at all, as far as xe’d seen, and there wasn’t any creaking at all. Maybe a liquid metal holding its shape— but if it were that, he was holding his form remarkably well. Very intriguing. Xe had to learn more.

“Stop… Talking… To my husband…” His partner growled, yanking him behind them. “Can you build him a body… Or not?”

“Well, that depends on what his current body is like.” Taking no notice of their body language, Sylv walked around them to get a better look at Paracelsus. “How his consciousness connects to his body, of course. That’s the big one. And what kind of body he wants.” Xe clapped, a smile forming. “My interest is far beyond piqued.”

The growling intensified. Paracelsus whimpered, so quietly it went unheard.

“But I won’t get anywhere just talking about it! I can do a preliminary examination here, a—”

“Examination…” The word was barely a breath under their lips. Their head jerked up, eyes wild. “You want to examine him? You want to put your hands all over him?!”

“A.B.A, no, xe—”

“Dear, she needs to die!”

“Huh?!”

HEAVEN OR HELL.

Sylv summoned her hammer just in time to block the assault A.B.A threw xer way. A vicious swing of Paracelsus kicked her backwards, boots skidding across the cobblestones.

“I really don’t get what you’re so upset about…” Sylv shook out xer arms.

“Nobody is allowed to touch my husband… Nobody but me can look at him…!” A.B.A heaved, clinging to Paracelsus like a lifeline.

“Well…” Paracelsus mumbled. “I suppose if she gets like this, she won’t force me into a body…”

“What’d you say?” Sylv called.

“Nothing, nothing! Just thinking!”

“STOP TALKING TO EACH OTHER!” A.B.A’s voice cracked. “I’ll kill you… I’ll kill you, and then curse you, and then kill you again…!”

“Okay. I’ve decided not to think too hard about this.” Sylv threw her arm out. “Let’s get our energy out, and then discuss your commission.”

LET'S ROCK.

Pulling a blood bag from behind her, A.B.A sprayed the contents into Paracelsus’ mouth. Between one moment and the next the humongous key shifted shape, gaining a truly fearsome appearance.

“Let us fight…” With a guttural voice, the key shook in A.B.A’s hands. “Let us fight, and prove our—!”

“ARRRRRRGH!” A.B.A screamed, breaking into a dead sprint towards Sylv. “YOUR ANNIHILATION WILL BE PAINFUL! YOU'LL NEVER SEE THE SUN AGAIN!”

Sylv punched her in the nose, following with an elbow jab to the throat and a kick to the knee. “I'm not a huge fan of pain… So no thank you.” The circlets around xer wrist glowed brighter, as if in response.

Heaving Paracelsus over her head, A.B.A snarled. “HYAAGH!”

“Shi—” Sylv smashed into the ground, bouncing up again. A.B.A climbed Paracelsus, leaping off him to kick Sylv away. She heaved him over her head once more , destroying the pavement between them and sending stone flying everywhere.

Sylv rolled onto xer front, coughing. “Fuck. Fuck. Ugh. Ugh. Ughhhhh. My sto—” Paracelsus smashed into the pavement just next to her. “Argh!” Jumping to xer feet, she kicked a leg out, hitting A.B.A in the knee. Pressing the advantage as the woman stumbled, she landed more punches, ending with a kick and a wide swing of xer hammer.

Spinning into a tight circle with a grip on xer hammer, Sylv shoved off from the floor, flinging xemself towards A.B.A. The rag-bound woman dashed out of the way, stumbling on the broken cobblestone as she landed. Paracelsus wriggled in a manner unsettling for metal, returning to his prior appearance.

“Ah…!” A.B.A bit her nails, glancing between the two. “Uh… Without the blood recovery, I have…” She rubbed furiously at her arms, bandages loosening from the motion.

“A.B.A, we can't give up now!” Paracelsus bent, ears flapping. “We must claim victory!”

“Dear husband…” Her voice pitched low with a warble. “You're right… With the power of love…!”

“Erm, I never said anything about—”

A.B.A shoved another blood bag into his mouth, transforming the key once more.

In the next moment, Sylv’s leg smashed into her skull from above.

“Eay—!” A.B.A punched out on impulse, parraying Sylv’s next hit. Xe dropped to the floor in a crouch, pulling her hammer out to block A.B.A’s next key bash.

“Why won't you just… Stop… Moving!” Climbing up Paracelsus, A.B.A shrieked as Sylv’s hammer sank into her legs, sending her flying. She recovered before hitting the floor, staking Paracelsus into the ground to steady herself. Whipping him up, his pin smashed right back into the street, sending stone flying.

“Ptew! Blegh!” Sylv batted at the air, hitting away shrapnel. “Ugh! Can you stop kicking up so much dust? It’s getting in my mouth!” Xe jumped back, pulling out xer hammer to block A.B.A’s next blow. “It has such an awful texture. How would you like it if I did it to you?” Xe tilted her head. “Wait. That might actually be a good id—”

Paracelsus’s pin smashed her in the face. A.B.A pressed forward furiously, bashing xem over and over until she thrusted Paracelsus into the other, converting him back to his regular state and sending Sylv flying in a burst of blood.

Sylv coughed, rolling onto her side to hack spit onto the street. Shifting to lean on an elbow, xer gaze tracked to A.B.A. “It's… Oddly interesting watching your veins flex.”

“Wh…What?” Her face twisted, fingers enlocking themselves within Paracelsus’s chain links.

“When you move your husband. You're so pale, I can see your veins. Watching them flex and pulse is interesting. Fascinating. Intriguing.”

“H…Huh…?” She gripped Paracelsus closer, shifting herself behind him.

“It's merely a comment. A thought.” Sylv slowly got to her feet, stretching xer arms above her head and leaning from side to side, wincing as xe reached the edge of her stretch.

“I… I won't let you distract me!” A.B.A pulled out another blood bag, shoving it into Paracelsus’s mouth. On the way out, her hand caught on his teeth, ripping into her skin. “No matter… The compliments you pay me..!”

“The wha—?” Sylv dropped to dodge A.B.A’s elbow jab, kicking her foot out. A.B.A stumbled and Sylv pressed the advantage, stopping her foot on the woman's foot, shooting to her feet to jab an elbow into A.B.A’s stomach. Swinging her other foot around to collapse A.B.A’s knee, Sylv hit her bracelets together, interlocking her fingers with the move.

“Don't clench your jaw.” Sylv slammed her hands down onto A.B.A’s head, forcing her to bow forward. Sylv separated her hands, and grabbed the woman’s shoulders, pulling herself up. For a brief moment, Sylv’s entire body was supported entirely by A.B.A. In the next moment, xe brutally kicked both feet out, directly into A.B.A’s chest, letting go immediately and landing with a flip.

A.B.A flew away, hitting the wall, Paracelsus landing on top of her.

SLASH!

“GYAAAAAAH!” A.B.A screamed. Blood oozed out of her, forming tiny streams within the cobblestones she laid on.

“Have you gotten your energy out?” Leaning forward on xer hammer, Sylv peered down at her.

A.B.A staggered to her feet, clinging to Paracelsus as if she would collapse without him. “I won’t let you touch my husband…” She panted. Her hands slipped, the blood making a solid connection impossible. “He’s mine… He’s mine…!”

“How do you expect me to build him a body without touching him?”

Readjusting her slipping grip, A.B.A shook her head wildly. “You—”

“There are limitations to what one can do, and what one can deal with!” Sylv threw her hands out, hammer falling. Gathering up xer hair behind her head, xe dropped it. “And if our limitations overlap, then I believe there’s nothing I can do for you.”

The slow dripping of blood was the only response.

“Feel free to get into contact with me if the both of you change your mind, but don’t get mad at me for doing what I need to do to do my job.” Sylv twisted to leave.

“W…”

Sylv continued on her way. She didn’t have any specific plans on where to go, but hanging around the couple for longer would just piss her off more and more. Maybe xe’d ride a few stops on the train to the next city over; Zepp was flying by that week, and their transit ports always had fascinating things to look at, not to mention the good prices.

On the other hand, xe didn’t exactly have the money to make it up to Zepp itself, which would land xem in the exact situation xe was in now: within a hair's breadth of something completely and utterly fascinating, and no way to get without breaking the law and popular morality.

“Wait!” Scraping noises sounded behind xem. Looking back, A.B.A was dragging the both of them forward.

“Yes?” Xe paused.

“I… How much… Would you need to touch him…?” A.B.A pressed her cheek to Paracelsus’ midsection.

“That will depend. Probably a lot.” Sylv turned a bit more. “Paracelsus, what are you comfortable with?”

“H-huh?” His ears clung to his head. “I rather don’t care, so long as you don’t make it strange…”

Nodding, xer eyes flicked to A.B.A. “There’s only so much I can do without examining him. So… Think about it.”

With that, Sylv made her escape, business card hastily pressed into A.B.A’s hand.

The blood had stopped dripping by now. The only sounds were distant chatter from more populated streets, carried over by noisy wind.

“You… Remember that I don’t actually want a body, right? I’m rather content with myself as I am… We really don’t need to see xem again.” The fight had been invigorating, but the risk of A.B.A pursuing this body thing was worrying. No, in Paracelsus’ opinion, the negatives of seeing Sylv again far outweighed the positives.

Though, the techniques xe’d used with her hammer… They were something he and A.B.A could use.

If she could bear to let go of him for long enough.

A.B.A didn’t move for a long moment, eyes trained on the bloodied card in her hand.

“Dear husband… Let’s go home.”

#guilty gear #aba #aba guilty gear #paracelsus #a.b.a guilty gear #a.b.a #sylv clayflower #illym writes

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finlands-beret · 3 months ago

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Sylvando Lore & Theory Masterpost

Sylvando is an international man of mystery, with him only giving us, the audience, so much of his backstory. Like every great magician, he never reveals his secrets. Soon after I got the game five years ago however, I started combing and filing through the game for all of those secrets, to bring them out into the open. Today, the fifth anniversary of me buying the game, I'd like to share my findings.

Please bear in mind the following is based mainly on my own research, as well as theories crafted from as much information as I could gather from the game itself and supplementary material.

So I'd like to begin strong out of the gate, with possibly the biggest piece of lore I have pieced together: Sylv's age. His father's from Puerto Valor, and his mother was from Zwaardsrust. This, coupled with the fact Sylv himself states he was born and raised in Puerto Valor, assures that he was born after Zwaardsrust's fall. That happened thirty years prior to the game - which brings Hendrik in to the equation. He states in a party talk during act two that "three decades have passed", putting him at six years old when the kingdom fell. This would put Sylv at being six years younger than Hendrik, but then factor-in the nine months his mother most likely carried him for, which puts Sylv at nearly seven years younger than Hendrik. Hendrik is stated to be thirty-six in-game; thus, Sylvando is twenty-nine during act one, and thirty in act two; a year is said to have passed between Yggdrasil's fall and the party reaching Gallopolis.

Next is something that seems simple at first, but has quite some backstory behind it: The casino in Puerto Valor was originally meant as a mansion for Norberto. Don Rodrigo had it changed it to a casino as a means to try and entice Sylv back home. This one stems from the fact Sylv self-admittedly was obsessed with collecting mini medals back in his training days. He had his first argument with the Don over him throwing them all away, and perhaps to make it up to Norberto, Rodrigo made him his own getaway in the form of his own house. It would have been completed before Sylv ran away from home however, leaving an empty, shiny new building behind (Sylv even mentions in a party talk that there wasn't anything like a casino when he was living in the city). Not wanting to let it go to waste, and presumably approaching L'Académie because he knew of their connection to the humble mini medal, the mansion was transformed into the combined casino and hotel. Once it was completed, it might have been Don Rodrigo's idea to make the casino tokens look like mini medals, and he might have sent people off to scatter them around Erdrea in hopes Sylv would have found at least one and gotten curious enough to find-out where they came from. He apparently never took the bait, especially not after hearing the rumours of the casino being built. Sylv was simply too smart to fall for it.

The next theory I dug around for was hidden in plain sight: Sylvando was almost blinded in his youth. In the ensuing healing, his eyes were OVER-healed somehow, and now he's got excellent eyesight. During act one, to find the Silver Orb the party are encouraged to look around L'Académie, where eventually it's suggested they look at a certain book in the library. Said book details the story of how a group of vicious bird monsters tore through the roof of a local manor house and stole away with the noble family's greatest treasure - the Silver Orb. On the party's excursion through the Eerie Eyrie, Sylv will mention how he's never been a fan of things with wings. In fact, during one party talk, he says "I don’t know why, but the naughty things always try to peck my eyes out. Perhaps they think they’re precious, glittering jewels…" This makes for quite a harrowing piece of Sylv's backstory; Sylv was present when the birds attacked the villa to get at the Silver Orb years ago, and in the ensuing chaos he was almost clawed-at. To further the next point, he was healed at the scene (assuming a family like the Don's would have at least one healer on-site), but then his eyesight became TOO good - as we see later in the game, when Sylv looks from the Stallion's deck all the way towards another boat to attempt to lip-read, just outside of Lonalulu, before the tentacular fight. Additionally, this attack is why the villa's roof has a lot of spiked points on it; to deter bird monsters from ever trying again.

I would like to thank and credit @captainbobbin for this next piece, which came-about more recently than all of the others: Sylv's charm-based magic is based on the emotional aspects of charm i.e. romance. Knowing that Sylv's eyes turn to hearts when he uses Pink Pirouette, I enquired to Bobbin about if the same were true about Jade and Pink Typhoon/Tornado, and using excellent camera trickery, he confirmed that her eyes do not change. Captainbobbin then put forth the suggestion that due to this, and given the naming of one move the two share being different -"That's Amore" vs "Sexy Beam"- as well as Jade's differing way of using her own charms, the Princess of Heliodor embodies the more physical side of charm, whilst Sylv embodies the more emotional side.

Speaking of romance… Sylv spent years living in Gondolia with the master mechanic, Gismo Mecánico, in order to design and build the Salty Stallion. However, where the loading screen tip for the Salty Stallion calls Gismo "an old associate of Sylvando's", and the red book " The Astonishing Inventions of Gismo Mecánico' " describes Sylv as "a close personal friend of the ship's designer", I believe that Sylv was indeed in love with Gismo, but it ended tragically. During the Briscoletti quest in Tickington, when choosing a partner you can talk to Sylv and he will say: "Before I get too carried away, though, I'd better check—because heaven knows I've been burnt before—you do actually mean it, don't you, honey?" It's such a small line, but given the aforementioned references… I would wager Sylv made a proposal to Gismo, who turned him down - and some time after, they passed away - potentially in a horrific accident, given the rocky terrain-look of the far side of the Gondolian dock entrance. There is a whole estate of houses on the far side of the docks, which I assume belonged to Gismo.

For my next piece of lore, I'd like to turn to my favourite of the bunch: Given DQXI's heavy theme of reincarnation, and given the following evidence pointing towards it, Sylv may well be the reincarnation of the very first Don of Puerto Valor. In Jasper's quarters in Heliodor Castle, there's a red book Eleven can read about the story of the Shield of Heliodor (aptly titled "National Treasures, No. 106 – The Shield of Heliodor"). In it, it tells the tale of a legendary Heliodorian knight who saved the life of the first King of Zwaardsrust, which was Drustan - whom Hendrik is a probable reincarnation of. Said knight was the same knight who was sent to Puerto Valor to oversee the sea gates, as he is the direct ancestor of Don Rodrigo - thus, Sylvando as well. There's also the fact as well that Sylv receives the Coraza de Caballero from Servantes after the Kingsbarrow Trial; its description says it once belonged to a knight known for his godlike skill with a sword. This suit may very well have been that Heliodorian knight's own suit, handed down through the generations until it ends-up (back) with Sylv. Additionally, it's often stated that Don Rodrigo is a knight unparalleled with his own skill with the sword; most likely inherited from the first Don and passed down to Sylv. This could explain why Sylv still retains a strong sense of justice and sticks to everything the knighthood stands for, even long-after becoming an entertainer; it's ingrained very deeply within him. As for why the Shield of Heliodor stayed in Heliodor… It's most likely the original knight simply didn't want to carry it all the way to Puerto Valor, given it's a heavy greatshield. Considering the above, this also brings about the possibility that Sylv and Jade are very, very, distantly related - cousins many times removed, most likely. Additionally, there is a book in Heliodor titled "A Brief History of Heliodor" that chronicles the two brothers who founded Heliodor; I have reason to believe that the legendary knight was one of those two brothers (who went on to found the lineage of the Don), and the other brother went on to continue the royal line that led to King Carnelian, then to Jade.

Next I'd like to turn to Sylv's longest-held companion, Margarita; she was born in Cobblestone. When Eleven has his vision-flashback after returning to Cobblestone, there's a horse there who had just given birth. Speaking to her owner, he says "This is the fastest filly in the village! But she won't be doing much running for a while—she's about to become a mother! I'll bet her foal will be even quicker on its feet than she is!" Given that the flashback is set ten years prior, that would mean the foal would be ten years old in the present day - which is in-line with Margarita, being an adult horse. As for her bring the fastest filly's foal, Margarita's performance in the Sand National should be the first piece of proof; if the Luminary wins the race, Sylv is always a close second. Likewise, in the Black Cup horse races, particularly the Difficult race, Margarita will always race-off ahead. If Eleven fails to catch her or he hits too many obstacles, she will always win those races.

As an entertainer, Sylv is also a skilled musician - so much so that much of his moveset incorporates references to numerous real-world songs. Here is a list of everything I found, after extensively looking into every ability and pep power Sylv has:

That's Amore - Dean Martin song Have a Ball - album by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Ultra Violet - Bananarama song Hit Parade - BRADIO song Kiss Me Deadly, Gold Rush - several songs of the same name The Fight Fantastic - multiple albums, also an idiom meaning to dance nimbly Kiss of Death - several songs/albums of the same name Love Hurts - Everly Brothers song Shooting Stars - numerous songs/albums; also the name of a 1990s British comedy panel show which heavily featured music Rough 'n' Tumble - jazz album by Stanley Turrentine "Dressed to Kill" accolade - 10cc and The Jetzons songs of the same name

Sylv will also say "Hit me with your best shot!" when defending in battle, which is a reference to the Pat Benatar song of the same name. As a bonus, Golden Boy's dialogue while giving the recipe book for the Dapper Doublet, makes references to Robbie Williams' song "Angels" and Take That's song "Shine".

For the penultimate piece of lore, I'd like to turn to something that had my attention a while ago, and that has come back to me recently; there is a curse within the line of the Don, that prevents those in rule from holding happy or long marriages. This one is based on the potential that Puerto Valor is partly-based on Monte Carlo, the ward within Monaco famed for its casinos - and of the legendary curse surrounding Monaco's royal family, the House of Grimaldi. The legend states that a woman -be she a witch or a hag- cursed the first Grimaldi ruler of Monaco and his line to never have happy marriages. Where we only ever hear of Don Rodrigo's marriage, while he and Gerbera were happy their time together was a short one as she passed away shortly after Sylv was born. It could be assumed that previous Dons all suffered similar fates with their spouses, and assuming Sylv knows about this curse, could be why he has yet to marry.

To end with, I'd like to present something perhaps more out-there than some of the others put forth here: Sylvando was a prototype Luminary for Yggdrasil. For a start, there is the fact he has a character-exclusive, Sword of Light-analogous sword in the Shamshir of Light, which deals light-elemental damage when attacking. There is also the fact he seems to know how to use light magic (in contrast to the actual Luminary's lightNING magic), with his abilities Sobering Slap and Sudden Death. Much like the Shamshir, Sudden Death deals light-elemental damage - the only ability to do so. There may be some irony in that he's the only person who joins the party who DOESN'T join because Eleven is the Luminary (he joins to stop the Lord of Shadows, so he can travel and bring smiles to everyone). Sylv could be considered the guid(ing light, given his magic) to the Luminary proper, assuming of course he was a prototype to begin with.

With all of the above, I'd like to thank anyone and everyone who took the time to read through, and I hope you enjoyed this rather deep dive into the onion of a character that is Sylvando. This has been an undertaking of the past half-decade, and I'm glad to finally be able to put all of my research together like this.

#DQXI S #DQXI Sylvando #VERY VERY LONG POST #In honour of five long years #I would like to thank anyone and everyone who takes the time to read any or all of this

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rumble-aint-a-rumble-without-me · 22 days ago

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Circa June, 1967

“I-, fuck, I missed him?”

“He just left. Heading out with Soda and the rest of the guys. Why’re you lookin’ for him, anyhow?”

Sylvia readjusts the baby. “I don’t know, Darry,” she admits. “Wanted to say congratulations, I guess. Saw it in the paper yesterday.”

The last time Sylvia Merrill spoke to Darry Curtis, he was standing on her doorstep telling her Dallas was dead. That was nearly three years now. Before she graduated. Before she met Billy. Before she had the little girl snuggled against her chest. Darry’s stature sinks, just a little, he leans against the doorframe and keeps the screen propped open.

“Winnin’ an award,” she says softly. “Now that’s somethin’ you outta be proud of.”

“It’s not much of a suprise,” Darry chuckles, “we all knew Pony would pull it off.”

“Still. S’not like many eastsiders can write like that kid can.”

The conversation could have ended there. With Sylvia saying goodbye and heading back to the station wagon Ms. R had so kindly leant her while Billy was away, but it didn’t.

“Haven’t seen you around much,” he mentions casually. “You still on the east side?”

She almost laughs. Where else would she go? Where else would she be able to afford when keeping the lights on is already a struggle? She doesn’t say that, though. Instead, Sylvia looks down, brushes the blanket away from her daughter’s sleeping face, and answers. “Got a little apartment on the south side-,”

Darry grimaces. Back in their time, no good came from the south side of Tulsa. Three years later, that much hasn’t changed.

“-it’s alright. Good as it can be.”

Darry’s eyes follow her’s.

“Look’s like you have something of your own you must be mighty proud of.”

As much as she wants to deny it, Sylvia can’t squash the pride that blooms in her chest. It’s like she’s a little girl again, showing off her brand new dolly to her cousin on Christmas Day. When Sylvia looks up again, Darry’s eyes are still on the baby, his head cocked to the side. “Loretta, Lori for short. Had her back in… back in April.”

The timeline still makes her cringe. Knocked up the night of her graduation, holed up in a shitty little apartment on a shitty side of town with a shitty boyfriend all before the fine age of twenty. Yet Ponyboy Curtis was all of sixteen, talk of academic scholarships based on that essay already paving his way out of this godforsaken shitty town. Loretta stirs amid the blankets, Sylvia coos softly. The porch creaks as Darry leans forward ever so slightly.

“She’s still a little small, but I’m workin’ on it. Been readin’ ‘bout formula ‘n’ all that other shit. I just want ‘er to be healthy, y’know?”

Darry nods along, lips set in a small smile when Loretta’s face finally pokes through. “It’s hard, isn’t it? All those parenting books, ‘n’ you still don’t have a damn clue what you’re doing.”

She really does laugh this time. “It’s so hard. Honestly, I-, I don’t know how our parents did it. Jesus, Darry, I don’t know how you did it.”

“I look at Pony,” he chuckles, “‘n’ I’m not even too sure myself. Was sure I messed something up, ‘specially during those ‘developmental years’.”

Sylvia sighs. “You did a damn good job, man.”

Darry smiles. “You’re doing a great job, Sylv. She looks like a sweetheart.”

The words fall over her lips before she can even think them through. “You can hold ‘er, if you want. Just not like a football.”

Even more shocking still, is when Darry accepts the offer. Lori looks even more petite cradled in his large, calloused hands, readjusting against his broad chest. He’s smiling down at the baby in his arms, watching her eyelashes flutter. “You wanna come in, Sylv?” He offers. “Can put some coffee on if you’d like. Pony’s essay is just on the table if you wanna read that, too.”

The two are already stepping over the threshold, Darry’s hand extended to dampen the sound of the screen door snapping back into place. “Might take me a minute to sound out all those big words your brother uses,” she chides.

“It ain’t that bad,” Darry laughs, gesturing to the kitchen table, “the kid knows his audience.”

i need to print all of your words on the back of my eyelids so i can read them at every moment of the day because you really have a way with language and making me feel things-

#dillo’s replies #sophie i guess13

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sylviareviar · 1 year ago

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"Ohhh, my gosh, what did he do, yank poor Morgana's tail? Yikes... W-well, don't worry, Senpai. We'll find him, I promise." Making promises like that was a bit dangerous, of course, especially since she couldn't guarantee Morgana's safety. But for all she'd known him, Morgana was such a smart cat. He'd always listen to what she had to say, and he'd purr up a storm when she was upset. Even though she wasn't his human, she still felt like Morgana was a good friend to her, and he deserved that much respect for being such a good boy.

As they spoke, her eyes remained vigilant, her gaze sweeping across the park with full seriousness. On the way out from the train, she had stopped by a convenience store she often went to and bought a can of wet cat food. The cats in the pet shelter she worked at always made a fuss whenever she had it in her hands, knowing it was time to eat, and they flocked around her so much it was hard to even take one more step without accidentally hurting one of them. If the cats at her shelter liked it that much, she hoped Morgana would, too. Perhaps the combined familiar smell of Kurusu, herself, and the cat food would be enough to draw him out.

When she pulled the cat food out of her purse, she caught the attention of several strays, but she knew Morgana's fur pattern too well to know it wasn't him. They just had to be patient.

"What other places does Morgana tend to frequent? I know he separates from you quite often, but if he hasn't returned home by now, something might've happened. He's very smart. He doesn't normally get endangered like this, right? I've even seen him looking both ways before crossing the street." It wasn't uncommon nowadays for animals to do that, especially if they lived in a place with frequent traffic. But it was still considered a feat of great intelligence for an animal to do that regardless, even if it was common sense to a human.

Sylvia knew Morgana wasn't the type to get flattened by a truck because he accidentally stepped out on the road too early. Morgana was cautious like that. He also tended to be very slippery when someone wanted to snatch him up and he didn't consent to it. He was lithe, agile, and quick-witted. The kind of cat that you could trust to do errands for you, if he was willing. A simple fight with one of his friends shouldn't have bothered him this much, as long as the friend apologized with some kind of peace offering. Then again, it seems it was too soon for them to apologize...

Where would Morgana go if he was this upset? Surely he had to be somewhere in the vicinity. He'd never stray so far from Kurusu for so long... right?

@sylviareviar | X

She was so kind to someone like him. Most people didn't bat an eye unless it was their cat that went missing or his own group of friends who were just as worried about Morgana's whereabouts. The pink-haired girl wasn't wrong about something setting him off, but explaining everything would take way too long or rise suspicion. Their activities had to be kept secret.

But Ryuji loved the fame and thrill of it, foolishly so, if he could judge him.

A little sigh was let out before he spoke. "You know how my friend Ryuji likes teasing him? This time it got a little too far, and Morgana took off to...who knows where. I don't know where he is. I've looked everywhere for him. It's like... I can't function without him." His hands were shaking too. He hated showing his weaknesses to other people, especially to a kouhai he barely knew.

#🌸 ~ in character ~ 🌸#🌸 ~ Akira Kurusu (phantomuheist) ~ 🌸#🌸 ~ persona 5 verse ~ 🌸#sylv's really putting in her all with this lol #she doesn't know morgana nearly as well as akira does but #i like to think mona's hung out with her and purred to help her stop crying lots of times #probably while akira was out with confidants #he even knows how to climb up onto her dorm balcony #and she feeds him lots of fishy snacks <3 #if you need me to change something tho lmk

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octahyde · 1 month ago

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Do you have any original characters for TWST?

(As a preface I do have another OC I ship with Chenya, Beau Rhodes, but… I haven’t done much with him besides conceptualizing him. Maybe I should do more since I don’t talk about it enough but TreyRid really really is my romantic canonxcanon TWST OTP and I love it desperately even if I never talk about it. I’ve also been fucking around lately with middle freak Ortho having a form he can use on the surface but ehhh that’s not really an OC thing.)

Ok here it is… The #yumeshit lore post. I actually wanna start getting into like the yume community on BlueSky or something because it has a lot more male yumes than tumb (or rather twit does but my main is a permalocked personal and they’re all slowly but surely jumping ship to BlueSky LMAO), so I might as well explain The Lore in detail.

As a preface I spend a LOT more time thinking about them when they’re older, because 1) self actualization and 2) why would I EVER want to willingly think about being a teenager again. I literally describe high school as “a haze of undiagnosed mental illness, and also drama club”. no thanx. It’s just not like… too lore noteworthy vs the stuff that actually happens in canon lol. Here’s what they look like as adults. I’ve mentioned working on a Shrouds piece that took 2 months I finally finished last week, and this is it:

(Side note- along with being a tgirl I hc Idia is a double below the knee amputee after the incident that killed Ortho)

also feel like I should say… Trix’s views on Rook don’t reflect mine LMAO. I have mixed feelings on Rook, but overall my feelings lean positive towards him. He’s a total freak and it’s funny as fuck and I love it. So if you like him don’t try to take the dynamic too personally, it’s the way it is for a laff more than anything.

Beatrice “Trixie” “Trix” Hart is a catch all self insert of mine; mostly for platonic yume. (She was made as a self insert assistant for Klavier Gavin, hence the name, and is also platonic with syl(gags) sylv(throws up in my mouth a little) Sylvain Jose Gautier. If you wanna know about those you can ask ig, I don’t have a ref for 3H Beatrice but I did draw AA Trixie when I came up with her.) She started out as a girl (and I still view her as such in those universes) but for TWST he’s specifically a guy because. Well. This game made me realize I was a transhet man and especially yume helped me sort that out along with being st4t exclusive LOL

Trix is a Pomefiore second year bnuuy beastman from the Shaftlands, Class C (same class as Azul and Jamil). It just kind of really conveniently worked out that my sonas usually have upright brown bnuuy years like the Snow White bunnies and I’m so artistic Pomefiore was the only dorm that makes sense LOL. His Book 7 cameo on Rook’s shelf…

He’s in Film Research Club, and is unique because he joined specifically for crew work, not acting. He’s very extroverted in club and with people he’s close to, but he can be surprisingly introverted when he’s not comfortable. (Ambivert moment). He specializes in practical magic with his sewing and art, and Hates PE. (He likes flying, though.)

His unique magic is My Sweet Heart, which lets him see memories and emotions from people if he grasps their right hand and puts his hand over their heart.

Caycay is his Number One BFF. I don’t know how they met his first year, but it was basically an immediate click (#trans recognizes #trans. #real #recognizes #real.). Trix walks to class with him every morning, and they frequently go to cafe collabs on the weekend and after class, being sure to leave some of their food out of their magicam posts lest they earn the wrath of their wardens LMAO. If Trix needs someone, Caycay is There for him.

Him and Vil are also VERY close. During his first year, there was an incident that lead to him being roommates with Vil, despite her being a second year and him being first. Trix Really does not like to talk about it, and while Vil would be fine telling people, she doesn’t out of respect for him. She also appreciates someone around club that’s enthusiastic about crew work, and tends to let him lead costume and prop work.

It’s Very clear he has a huge crush on her and that she doesn’t reciprocate. Sometimes she might throw him a bone and give him a little extra praise though LMAO. They do have a very bad fight toward the end of Vil’s third year though, and they go years without talking after.

His closeness with Vil leaves him some leverage for defending Epel. (#nonpassing recognizes #nonpassing. #real recognizes #real.) It’s mostly in vain, though, but Epel appreciates being looked out for a LOT. Especially because, despite how artistic and fashionable Trix is, his personality is MUCH more down to earth than other Pomefiore students. He’s the biggest advocate for Epel transferring to Savanaclaw his second year and someone who Epel confides a lot into.

Rook’s nickname for him is Monsieur Lapin (Floyd’s is Sea Bunny. Floyd doesn’t come up so I figure I might as well say it heh.). He hates Rook. He thinks Rook is a freak. Especially as a beastman he thinks Rook is super fucking weird. Rook loves Trix’s artwork and his personal journey with beauty and adores him a lot as his beloved underclassman. He knows Trix hates him. He doesn’t care. Trix hates him So Much.

He doesn’t know Ortho much minus the guy who sits next to Caycay’s companion pre Book 6, but once Ortho joins Film Research Trix gets attached REALLY fast. He’s always wanted a younger sibling so he dotes on Ortho constantly, and they rec each other anime and games all the time. (Trix gets him into Professor Layton and he LOVES it.) He learns… a lot about Idia and Ortho’s relationship through this.

Lilia also got asked to tutor him for history once because Trix can’t do homework For Shit and needs help finishing assignments despite his test scores. This backfires because they don’t get anything done ever, but most importantly for The Lore they trade socials and thus Trix is friends with Muscle Red and knows who he is.

Ok. Now the meat of it. The #yumeshit.

I think it’s probably obvious, but Trix is a nonpassing trans guy. NRC being an all boys school makes him feel safer, but… when he’s not at NRC, even if it’s just in the foothill town, he girlmodes. Being misgendered hurts a lot less that way. (No this is not projecting. Just kidding it is. Please help me.)

As a way of getting respite from this, he VTubes as a magical boy with a voice changer. I don’t have a proper ref but his sona is like the best design I’ve ever done and I’m lowkey mad about it. Anyways. While his interests aren’t really a secret irl it’s always kind of surprising when someone that doesn’t know him finds out he’s into nerdy things, but he gets REALLY invested in the games he’s playing and he has A Lot of info and interpretations to share. And despite his bright design, he gets most excited from horror. He’s not a huge indie by any means but he has a solid following.

And when Muscle Red sees there’s a well known horror game Gloomurai likes on the docket, well, he HAS to invite them to watch his friend with him! They’ve been telling him how their favorite speedrunner retired and they need someone new to watch, anyways.

Idia’s very pensive at first, seeing such a bright and sparkly character playing Resident Evil 7, a horror game with a very disgusting atmosphere and themes to match. Probably going to overreact to everything and pretend to be super scared and upset to look cute for views. But he’s watching with Muscle Red, and he wouldn’t make her watch something cringey like that, would he…?

As the game starts up, he starts gushing about what an amazing atmosphere the game has. The entire thing is filthy, and that leads to an overwhelming feeling of dread and disgust- even moreso with the family. His eyes light up when he points out an early scene is referencing The Blair Witch Project.

When it comes to things outside of gameplay itself, he really knows his stuff. Despite how mad him dying for the hundredth time on an extremely easy stealth section makes her, it’s nice to see such a passionate horror otaku. She almost doesn’t mind it because she likes listening to him talk. (Almost.)

Idia starts watching him with Muscle Red regularly. She’s too shy to talk in chat, so she just gives a lot of questionably large donos when he does things.

He gives a lot of half joking “thank you for funding my doll collection” responses at first, but then says Gloom should chat if they’re comfortable. He’d love to get to know someone who is giving him all this money, and they’re considered a legend in chat for it. She’s nervous (she has no idea why), but she does slowly start chatting and attaching messages to her donos. Soon, she’s a regular in the chat and community.

So active, in fact, she finds herself with a dm asking for her discord one day. A message follows shortly after about how he appreciates her involvement and wants to get to know her better- now that she’s more talkative, he thinks she’s really funny.

From there starts a quickly blooming online friendship. They talk whenever they get the chance, though he strictly has to go to bed early or he’ll get chewed out by his housewarden. (A female housewarden…? Is he even forced into the girl dorms at his school?) Idia’s never forthcoming with private info, though, and he seems pretty hesitant with how feminine he is irl to give much past vague detail, either.

Meanwhile, Trix has to be incredibly careful when lights out and Rook makes the rounds with how late he’s staying up. He is the number one person Trix would rather Die than see his conversation history when confiscating his phone. Gloom’s rude but funny and he loves hearing about X Obscure Game Yaoi Ship. (Sometimes he becomes a casual fan of the series and ship in question- he has been commissioned a LOT to draw her Star Rogue OTP by her.) (He also gets converted to Luisley probably.)

Offline, though, Idia and Trix’s relationship is… awkward. One time during remedial gym lessons when both of them had to run laps in his first year, Trix started complaining about missing club and how he needed to fix his make up, and Idia, being Idia, made a really snide comment about it. Trix snapped at her, and while to him it was just having a bad day, Idia… never really recovered from it.

In the next year her only exposure was daily convos that were way too peppy for so early in the morning with the extrovert that sat next to her. (I’ve always hced Idia and Caycay sit next to each other in class and straight up forget this isn’t actually canon on a regular basis.) At some point, he started taking curious glances at Idia, which didn’t help at all.

Trix starts getting suspicions about Idia from the few times he does hear her talk, and how similar it sounds. Has he met her before…? But surely he would remember knowing someone as distinctive as Idia, right?

He has absolutely zero involvement in Book 6 also. With everything going on (because their vice warden ROOK LITERALLY LEFT WITH NO WARNING OR BACKUP PLAN, BECAUSE OF COURSE HE DID, HE IS THE WORST PERSON ALIVE WHO HAS EVER BEEN BORN), him and his roommate end up being the ones to take charge and keep Pomefiore in order. I feel like with Idia yumes in particular Book 6 is a Big Thing because like, Book 6, so I feel like this is important info.

(He IS in Book 7 though. His dream is in between Epel and Rook’s. It’s about being amab :’( He doesn’t take waking up and being back in his actual body well.)

Her and Ortho coming back clear any doubts in his mind: Gloom suddenly leaving on the night of the incident, with zero word since, only to long back on with a “sry, irl stuff happened,” the day after the Shrouds come back? She’s Gloom. Especially getting to know Ortho in club and listening to him talk about her, there is literally no other option.

He was planning on confronting her about it… then Book 7 happened. Obviously how it ends could change this, but for now once everything’s settled Idia gets a discord notif saying he has to talk to her, and he wants to in person. She tries to say it would be too hard to arrange, only to get a simple response: “Ignihyde Lounge. One hour. You’ll know when you see me.”

She is, unsurprisingly, horrified. How did he figure out? Does he hate her now that he knows she’s a freak? Is he coming to tell her how he can’t believe he befriended someone so pathetic? He’s going to tell everyone all the things she said in confidence. “Lol, you guys thought Shroud was a freak before? Get a load of this!”

Luckily, Trix told Ortho about it. He’s able to coax Idia out and helps her to the dorm lounge, holding her hand along the way.

And indeed, the one Pomefiore uniform in Ignihyde’s dorm lounge sticks out like a sore thumb. Her heart rate explodes. He’s who she’s been talking to this entire time?! No. No. Absolutely no way. She’s not doing this. She tries to turn and run away, but her brother’s death grip (why did she give him all that strength?) keeps her in place.

He looks around awkwardly as he walks up. “Hey, uh… sorry about that time I snapped at you. Ortho told me it really freaked you out.” Trying to calm her down would hopefully make this easier.. “Do… you want to go somewhere more private? You’re even paler than normal.”

Yes. I do. Alone. And I want to forget this even happened. Unfortunately for her, the look on her bother’s face told her it was a mandatory quest. Defeated, she leads him back to her room.

He sits uncomfortably stiff on her bed. Idia hides in her chair, turned away from him. He tells her that he doesn’t hate her, that he doesn’t think she’s pathetic. No response. Luckily, he invited Ortho for backup.

“He really wants to be your friend, Idia! He’s the still same person you’ve been talking to online. And he’s really nice. He’s the one who recommended those games to me!”

Taking a cue on how exhausted she is mentally, Trix gets up and walks to the door. “Just… think about it, okay?”

Think about what? The fact that this person she got close to was actually a loud extrovert who hung around a bunch of normies? That he knows all of the rumors about her? Forget real life- he could go online and tell everyone what a freak Gloomurai was irl, too.

They don’t talk anywhere for like a week and Trix doesn’t walk to class with Caycay, but then they do talk it out. It’s really hard and REALLY scary for Idia, but she’s able to accept him into her life as a friend. He ends up being a really big pillar of stability for her, and he already knows about her own transness and boymoding which makes him even safer.

And… that’s how they are to the end of her third year! Friends. And really, not looking for anything past that.

Idia gets a really REALLY nice condo in the Kingdom of Heroes for her internship. (Which she mostly even only uses the upper half of. Smfh) She also gets two cats; a white one, Clear, and a gray one, Ryoji. I’m sure you can guess who they’re named after. Reminder that Idia is canonically a fujoshi. Anyways.

Trix visits during school breaks with Ortho… he also stays in Ortho’s room with him while he’s there. For the most part it’s a lot of just comfy stuff like gaming and watching movies, Ortho taking Trix out to see things and such. Over Winter break while visiting Trix edits one of the Film Research pieces for the culture fair bc he’s club president now… By the time of said fair with 4th years presentations it’s very obvious to like Everyone how they feel. (And they probably know it themselves but try to ignore it because neither feels ready for a relationship).

A really REALLY big point worth noting during this time period (and this is all I’ll say bc I know it’s a difficult topic) is that they see each others cutting scars for the first time. They never really comment on or talk about it, but there’s a wordless understanding and comfort between them afterwards.

Idia’s staying on the surface for at least a few years to see if researching with Olympos resources can give any new perspectives on blot or her curse. If Trix wants to stay for his internship, there’s plenty of room. She doesn’t admit it, but she really wants him to stay. Unfortunately, though, he’s always been interested in the Queendom of Roses and opts for an editing internship with a publisher there.

It’s more of the same; he visits her more regularly because he’s not limited to NRC’s schedule, and he still streams and she still watches and talks to him. He also adopts Chunky who LIVES FOREVER AND NEVER DIES, EVER. There’s an undeniable closeness between them but neither are still ready to actually act, even if it’s clear they may as well already be together lol.

During this time she also starts getting him transformation potions to help with dysphoria from STYX while he transitions.

After his internship, he’s able to get a job at the Kingdom of Heroes office of the publisher he interned for. He may or may not have chosen to transfer on purpose- there’s plenty of space there, anyways, so much so he can have his own room big enough to both sleep and work in. Ortho’s out on his own acting internship with Vil’s agency, so for the most part it’s just them and their cats in this huge place lmao. It’s really easy to coexist because there’s space when they need it and Idia’s like entire gamer zone on the upper level when they wanna do stuff together. It works out really well.

There are a whole bunch of headcanons of mine about STYX and the Shrouds and their relationships that I’m not really comfortable going into. However, when they overblotted together, Idia and Ortho did something… really traumatic unrelated to Middle Freak Ortho’s death that Idia blames herself for. She still has regular nightmares about it, and while Trix usually isn’t around from the breakdowns because he’s in his room when they happen, this time he fell asleep upstairs and heard all of it.

He goes in to check on her, and she’s really closed off. He’s eventually able to get her to tell him what happened and her guilt, but… He already knew. Ortho told him years ago when they were all still at NRC. He was waiting for her to tell him on her own terms.

Idia does uhh not take this being hidden from her well! He rationalizes that knowing it and never judging her and standing by her side this entire time means he truly does care and doesn’t blame her. He holds her hand and for the first time says it:

“I love you.”

Idia looks at him wide eyed for a second before turning away.

“You need to leave.”

He’s allowed to stay- she’s not going to just throw him on the street- but he is not allowed upstairs near her. She needs time to process everything. Especially how he hurt her trust.

Eventually they are able to talk it out though and end up in a relationship. YIPEE!!!!!! Ortho moves in permanently around this time with his internship over with his 2 dogs to add to the family. :)

There’s a lot of stuff with STYX and Woe I haven’t fuuuuuully sorted out the details of, but Idia does eventually have to go back for a while to put her research to use and put an end to things. I think this period is really tough because she does Not want Trix to see what a horrible place it is and how it’s the source of so many awful things it was so she tries to leave him. She doesn’t obv and she’s able to successfully find a solution to the Phantom problem.

Once she’s back, though, she does have a near immediate breakdown- with it all over, her brain can actually like. Process what her life was up to that point and she just kind of snaps. She ends up hospitalized for a few months to keep her safe from a HORRIFIC schizophrenic break. Trix uses STYX Bux for a place to stay so he can visit her near daily and help her through it. There’s also a REALLY bad incident with Ortho.

Minus that though from there it’s… really just them being happy, healing, and transitioning with each other. Idia becomes an indie game dev and Trix becomes a horror writer. He still streams (she started vtubing somewhere along the way too), but they’ve never publicly posted about their relationship. It’s really funny because it’s like blatant but they just try to act like it isn’t LMAO.

As they get older, they move to a small, quiet place in the Queendom of Roses. They have 3 kids (who I also have ocs for but that’s WAY too cringe) who are very well loved. Ortho also lives with them and they have a very happy family. :)

TL;DR: Idia wins the VTuber Fuck A Fan contest.

#twst #twisted wonderland #disney twst #twst oc #twst ocs #oc x canon #twisted wonderland oc #yumeship #yumedanshi #selfship #idia shroud #twst idia #beautiful transgender wife #yumeshit #m #ask #oc talk

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capricioussun · 9 months ago

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How do you interpret US Papyrus? I'm always curious how others interpret him because there's a good range of them!

Ooh, in general?? Hm, I guess mostly the way I try to interpret him is sort of like if you gave UT Papyrus chronic fatigue and issues tied to having to act as the judge in his world! Which, to me, basically makes him very silly, kind, sassy, but also very insecure and very lonely.

I should explain- ough this is gunna be an essay so there'll need to be a readmore soon aha, but I should explain how the whole "judge" thing usually works in my interps!

It's not an inherent thing, or some "angel given" power, there has always been an acting Royal Judge, someone the crown had appointed that they felt they could, well, trust the judgement of, who they could consult about crimes and justice and whatnot. The prior judge Fell some years ago, but since Toriel/Asgore had already left, Asgore/Toriel never appointed another, as a sort of self punishment as well as a promise they would continue with their task of collecting the human souls without the assistance (or interference) of someone else.

That was until Sans/Papyrus came along. The "judging" effect was caused by one of the many methods Gaster used to make the brothers, involving the justice soul trait. This is where the KR came from, as well as the unique ability to "see" the sins in others' souls. After discovering this unique ability, eventually the king/queen asks Sans/Papyrus to act as the new judge (as well as some other reasons that vary depending on AU).

Now, the kr and "judge" ability manifested in Stretch much later than the sanses in non-swapped AUs, which made it a much more difficult transition that only made it much harder for him to socialize with others. He basically couldn't "turn it off", which, on top of feeling incredibly guilty about the invasion of privacy, made him feel anxious and stressed out and couldn't help but put the negative thoughts front and center in his attention, making him also feel like those were the most prominent thoughts and feelings of those around him.

So like, you know how anxiety and self image issues make you feel like everyone secretly hates you or finds you annoying or etc etc etc, basically, he had "proof" that was true, and despite trying his best to ignore it, things are already hard enough for a pre-teen/teen, on top of his physical health taking such the dip it did around that time, too, he quickly became anxiety riddled, isolated, and miserable.

Before then, he was actually a lot like Rus (UT) when he was a kid! And it was hard on Blue, too, since he was practically just a teen himself, so for all of that to land on his brother as well as needing to work harder to take care of him when he had bad health flares, things were rough for a while there.

That being said, Blue did help in keeping Stretch's mental health from completely plummeting, always trying to keep his mood up, encouraging him, trying to find him friends (how he met Undyne aka Sylv!), etc etc, and the brothers grew a lot closer in that time, as Stretch had always admired Blue, and it meant a lot to him.

That was until, of course, things never got any better. His health continued to decline into older teendom/young adulthood, and there was some personal drama here and there, especially involving Sylv, and when Blue joined the guard, that was the last straw. Stretch was sick of feeling like such a burden on everyone, so even though he'd initially turned Toriel down to act as judge (knowing his brother absolutely hated that she'd even asked him in the first place), he went back to her and accepted. That was really when the distance between the brothers started, which wasn't helped by the resets starting up soon thereafter.

(Quick aside, as he got older, he did get the hang of controlling his "judging" ability, and "turning it off" is no longer an issue for him later on)

So in his efforts to become more independent, he worked a lot on his social life and how to interact with others and make himself well liked. Sure, maybe he doesn't really have any real friends, and people forget his name all the time, but he'd finally learned how to utilize his heightened intuition to get along with people, rather than weird them out.

He’s still riddled with anxiety and self worth issues, but he’s gotten incredibly good at masking, and typically comes off as very relaxed and friendly. He’s a big fan of wordplay and very mild practical jokes (like those types of gags where you put on Groucho Marx glasses and pretend to be someone else. Blue always plays along for the bit), but he has a tendency to hold people at arms length, and tries to avoid others actually getting to know him.

Very few people know he’s the judge, and he prefers it that way, he'd rather everyone underestimate him so he never disappoints. That being said, he does still make quite an effort to help those around him without their knowledge, and he’s still lowkey very interested in engineering and computer science. Him and Rus are definitely two peas in a pod when it comes to interests, they could talk about comics for hours on end, but the primary difference is that Stretch tries much harder to hide how much he cares, where as Rus will shout it from the rooftops.

I'm not a big fan of the characterizations that make him a huge brat, sometimes even an outright jerk, I don't really understand them since neither Sans nor Papyrus are like that, but w/ my guy, he’s definitely a huge dork and sweetheart, who just also happens to be very sassy at times ahdjfjsksk

He also still holds on to his belief in others, like Rus. Even despite literally knowing better, he’s also been proven right too many times to lose that hope, which is why, in his fight, as opposed to UT Sans, he gets very quiet and looks miserable. He genuinely doesn't want to hurt them, but he knows he’s out of options. When he offers an out before the fight, he won't spring a surprise attack, and just offers a genuine hug. The player doesn't get a choice after accepting, they kill him, and his final words are pretty similar to Rus' about knowing they can do better, and he believes in them anyway, though he makes a comment about that sounding pretty stupid with a laugh before he collapses off screen.

WOW this got longer than I meant it to I'm sorry huge lore drop instead of just general facts ough BUT ! Idk, hopefully this gives a half decent feel for how I interpret him! I love him a lot I'm mixing him into a salad like a crouton <3

#ty for the ask I'm so sorry I've done this otl #but also I will say I really like the way u interpret him from what I've seen!! he still feels very Papyrus which I feel is super important #w/ the aus 👏💗#I need to draw stretch more I need to finish that sketch page of him my believe nerd boy <3 #🧡🧡🧡❕❕❕#us stretch #underswap papyrus #sun spots #op has never stops talking disorder fr ✌️😔#kiok0r0 #clear sky sunset #underswap

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vampieri · 1 year ago

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What kind of relationship does Chandler and Sylvester have? They're so cute

eee wel i don't know how to put it into words but.

i woukdnt exactly say they're dating or anything (sylvester doesn't even know what dating means properly) ....i guess a way to put it is that sylvester makes chandler feel "alive" ...LOL as cheesy as it is it's literally because almost no one else from the workers really shows much emotion or have feelings like sylv.

sylvester took a liking of chandler ever since chandler got there, he just felt connected to him and chandler himself eventually warmed up to sylv as well. (there's maybe something deeper in that but i can't write it out yet teehe)

they pretty much just look after each other and enjoy each others company a lot to give a lil kissy to one another from time to time....

note half of the stuff i draw with them is just self indulgence because they make me happy guh buh

#vampik asks

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organizationhimself · 5 months ago

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my scarlet hollow playthroughs so far (SPOILERS OBVIOUSLY):

SYLV -hot + street smart -he tries to be nice in general but always says the funny thing -okay relationship to tabitha and tends to invite her (tabitha probably regrets this now oops) -often private about his feelings and leaves a lot of dialogue options on the table, but will call out bs (cops and reese's mom this is you) -skeeved by wayne and sybil (no tea for him) -initially kept his options open but zeroed in on reese immediately (locked in)

LUNE -talks to animals + keen eye -generally polite but she'll definitely ignore you to talk to your cat -empathetic to tabitha but not especially sympathetic about her work -befriended the possums in her dresser (they had some extremely interesting opinions i am still experiencing fridge horror about black tabby games you goddam geniuses) -peanut allergy -ghost made her old -suspicious of wayne but reluctantly regards him as an ally -bad track record for keeping people's parents alive so far -glommed onto stella (fellow streamer) and angled for every choice that would get closer to her (locked in)

CHAD -hot + powerful build -a totally selfish asshole who says the meanest possible thing UNLESS he can flirt with someone -what he can't punch he will fuck (that means you, wayne!) -has already proven that tabitha is actually some sort of saint for not hurling him off the cliff on monday (if there's the remotest chance of her killing you in later chapters he is as good as deceased) -could have saved both geezers but didn't (was an asshole about it) -made enemies with rosalina but her dad was still interested -no showers for chad -no tea for chad either fuck off -the contrarian in action; people are very unclear about whether or not he believes in ghosts since he seems to change his mind multiple times during the same conversation (and people call him out for it i love this game so much?? i love it SO MUCH) -for that matter he will switch sides mid-fight or mid-argument according to unknown logic; his loyalties are a mystery even to him -somehow still managed to help reese?? (HOW) -i want to add that when i let him do the thing and reach out empathetically to reese (immediately after stabbing reese with an axe ofc), and then reese GOT SHOT BY TABITHA, who i'd finally called for the very first time, my JAW DROPPED and i stared at the screen in disbelieving fucking glee because HOLY SHIT THAT GOT ME. i am unbelievably lucky that didn't happen with sylv (because i loved that moment so, so much). -swerved every romance so far; if anyone can put up with him it's probably wayne

JADE -mystical + book smart -tends to greet people with either uncanny silence or an offer of boiled peanuts -leans hardest into her mystical side and talks extensively to people while avoiding being rude but if she can be weird she'll do that -kaneeka stalker but it seems tricky to do that while being weird + not sidelining tabby -first playthrough to recruit avery (i feel like a CHUMP for not realizing there was an opt-in party member the whole time) -doesn't entirely give tabitha a pass for being a coal baron but brings her everywhere and has managed to eat ice cream?? with tabitha?? (did i mention i LOVE this game guess who my fave is besides reese go on guess as if my pfp isn't a damaged prickly blond with a gooey vulnerable center and Responsibilities) -jade does not talk to cops -in soviet russia jade makes ghost old -managed to talk to stella WITH tabitha (!!!!!!!) -jade's definitely going to save everyone!! besides. maybe duke. and rosalina. and reese. and... -angled for kaneeka romance but failed to escape the tea

#scarlet hollow #scarlet hollow spoilers #having the most fun when i go into each playthrough with a specific goal that isn't necessarily 'be nice to and/or save everyone'#you can kind of see my switch from 'let's play the game normally' to 'let's kill every npc and run into every invisible wall on purpose'#still planning to try a 'silence is also [usually] an option' playthrough and just say the most unhinged bs if i can't be silent #this is not actually an exhaustive list but Oscar's hot nerd was not different enough to be interesting #and the compulsive liar didn't really pan out #still have plenty of avenues to explore though

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kendsleyauthor · 1 year ago

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💙Cherish + Soothe + Glimpse💙

Promptober 2023

Shot in the Dark - Dark Future AU (Cliff, Sylvia, Zia, Oliver)

~1400 words

Life got in the way, and I had to put off Promptober for a bit! But I'm determined to finish the rest of my planned ideas with the prompts. 💕 Enjoy this lovely angst fest 🥰

@marydublinauthor 🌸

Sylvia was still new to hunting. Although Cliff hid his worry behind quips and teasing, it tore him up inside each time she experienced a new horror. Not only was she improving as a hunter, but she was also improving at hiding how distraught she was.

Or maybe she was becoming as numb to it as he and Jon were. Somehow, that was worse.

Even still, she hadn’t learned every trick of the trade.

Some monsters, like ghouls, were as stupid as they were hungry. Since they preferred living meat, they would shuffle right past a corpse—even a freshly killed one. Play dead well enough, and a ghoul would ignore you in favor of chasing someone who was still moving.

There was no time for Cliff to give her a heads-up. Hey Sylv, don’t worry, I’m not actually dead. Just pretending.

He and Jon had gone for the divide-and-conquer method in the abandoned factory, which was overrun with ghouls. The only ones left were the strongest—and a surprise attack was the best way to take them out. Jon was approaching fast through one of the branching halls that led to the main floor of the factory.

Cliff didn’t hesitate. Nasty as he was, he dropped beside a few of the other corpses and held still. He shut his eyes, listening closely for the right moment to spring up.

Jon hurried past him, aware of the impromptu plan.

Sylvia screamed. To her, it was real.

The moment the last three ghouls moved past him, Cliff had no trouble springing up and shooting them all in the back of the head in quick succession. From there, it was all too easy for Jon to finish the job.

“Fucking stars, Cliff!” Sylvia’s voice was thick with tears as she flew to him. “I thought you were dead!”

For a second, she looked like she might send him a blast of ice in her rage. But her anger flickered out, and she flew into his chest. She gripped fistfuls of his shirt, burying herself against him as though to check if his heart was still beating.

He chuckled softly, cupping a hand beneath her. “Get a hold of yourself, sweetheart. I’m fine.”

She sniffled, but when she looked up, her expression was oddly blank. “Help me,” she whispered, voice cracking.

Fire reflected in her green eyes. Searing flames burst in every direction—an explosion that took his breath away.

Cliff held her close, looking around in alarm. The factory was gone. There was only fire. When she looked back down at his hands, Sylvia was limp.

“Sylv?” he breathed. “Sylv!”

She stared up at him with glassy eyes. Empty.

Dead.

~~~~~

A sharp sting attacked the back of his neck.

Cliff jolted and sat up, eyes flying open to entirely new surroundings. His room at the safe house—mostly dark, save for faint glowing lights nearby. He caught his breath. A nightmare, he told himself. Just another nightmare.

“Did you have to be so harsh?” Zia demanded from the nightstand. She was the source of one of the glows, and her annoyance was directed at the other light.

A slight weight settled on Cliff’s shoulder, accompanied by Oliver’s voice. “You realize there’s no way to gently shock someone awake, right?”

Steadying himself, Cliff gruffly shooed Oliver off and rubbed the back of his neck. The sting faded, but his heart still pounded wildly as his racing mind caught up with the reality that he wasn’t in any danger.

As Oliver fluttered up closer, his teasing smirk dropped, eyes widening like he couldn’t figure out what to say.

Faintly embarrassed, Cliff realized his face was wet with tears. “Shit,” he muttered, rubbing his eyes. “How bad was I?”

“You were talking in your sleep,” Zia said delicately. “When it started getting worse, we called your name, but you were sound asleep.” She fluttered up from the nightstand and approached him, laying a tiny hand on his forehead. “Are you alright?”

Judging by her tone, she already knew the answer.

“M’fine,” he muttered. He pulled away from them both and started to get up. “I’m going on a walk.”

“No!” Zia and Oliver said as one.

“You’re exhausted,” Zia said. “You need sleep.”

Cliff rolled his eyes, avoiding their concerned gazes. “What I need is to walk it off and get my mind away from it.”

But the moment he stood, Cliff wavered. His head spun with exhaustion. The past three days had been nonstop with minimal time for sleep in between his drives to and from the safe house. He had little to show for it, too—only a handful of fairies rescued. Of course the first time in days he tried to get a full night’s sleep, he was plagued with nightmares.

“You look like you’re about to collapse,” Oliver said. “And besides, if you head out, I’ll follow, just out of reach, and talk nonstop. You know I will.” He would.

Cliff hesitated. Zia and Oliver took the opportunity to share a look and nod in agreement. They flew up to Cliff, each of them choosing a shoulder to push against and urge him back to bed. He could barely feel them, but he complied anyway. Laying back down with a sigh, he glared at the ceiling and tried to rid his mind of fiery images.

He felt a slight weight occupy the pillow beside his head. Zia’s soft voice was close to his ear. “Do you want me to do the calming spell?”

She had suggested it many times, but he rarely accepted the offer. It was a mixture of glamour and healing—the kind of spell that any fairy catcher and scientist would kill for. She decided he was worthy of that magic at every slight inconvenience.

Sylvia’s corpse flashed through his mind. Then Jon’s.

Swallowing hard, he nodded. Not even a beat of silence passed before she started chanting in Fae.

Not too long ago, he was unfortunate enough to get sucked into one of the many news broadcasts that explained the understood science behind fairy’s healing abilities—about every affinity, really. Healers sped up the blood-clotting process and turned off pain receptors. Glamour had the same mind-altering hallucinogenic effects as hard drugs. Lightning magic was the result of a drastic reconfiguration of the electrons in the air.

Strangely, Oliver kept his distance, choosing a perch on the bed’s headboard post. He stared at Cliff with a strange, knowing look as though he’d worked out what Cliff may have been dreaming about.

After all, Oliver could say he had similar dreams regularly—sometimes when he wasn’t even asleep.

While Zia worked her magic, Cliff raised his eyebrows at Oliver. “What’s got you shy all the sudden?”

Oliver cracked a smile. “I’m not much use for this part.”

“Who says you’ve got to be useful?”

“Who says you do?” Oliver challenged, gesturing grandly at Cliff’s dog-tired form.

There was little Cliff could do to argue against that, so he offered a soft, meltworthy smile and tapped his chest in invitation. “Fine. You wanna be useful? C’mere.”

Oliver gave him a flat look, but his forced indifference lasted for all of three seconds. His wings buzzed, and he landed softly on Cliff’s chest. Cliff’s muscles relaxed as Zia’s magic began to take effect. He felt Oliver crawl under his hand. He closed his fingers slightly, embracing him in a loose fist. He swore he could feel Oliver grip a handful of his shirt, though the gesture was so slight.

“How do you feel?” Zia asked. “Is it too much?”

Cliff turned his head and caught a glimpse of her again. Her gaze searched his face in the dark, eyelids heavy.

“It’s perfect,” he murmured. She knew him well enough by then—the pain was dulled, but not completely erased. It was just enough to lull him back to sleep without feeling that he was taking the easy way out or abusing her abilities. Not that she would ever call it that.

He brought his other hand to her and scooted her closer to his face before letting his grip relax over her. She nestled against him, a tiny exhalation of her breath brushing against his cheek. He had a feeling she’d allowed the net of the spell to wash over her and Oliver too.

With both of them clinging to him, Cliff fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

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