#the timelines would be running parallel to each other

[calamitoustide]

alright, hear me out jegulus amnesia au! james wakes up married to regulus with no memories of it ever happening in fact he doesn't even know who he is but he lives in a nice house where everything is sweet and kind and they spend their days together trying to get his memories back doing their normal routines trying to spark something and then he does remember but it comes back in flashes of war and hiding away in a room only they had access to. he has visions of them sitting in the astronomy tower but he doesn't recognize where they are, it looks so different.

no other memories come. he lives through losing regulus again, he swears he can feel the newspaper slipping from his hands and the screams turning his throat raw. he feels it still.

no one understands what's happening and all regulus wants to do is comfort him but he doesn't remember their previous life he lives in this sweet world with no understanding of the war james is living through. james looks at him and he looks like his regulus, the real thing, he is his regulus, but it's different, and james knows a completely different life from the one he's living. he doesn't want to break it to this regulus, he doesn't want to turn his kind eyes sad. so he keeps it to himself... until he can't anymore that is... because suddenly these new memories are coming back ones he didn't live... ones that are different...

because his regulus the one back in his old life is back, he's older and his eyes are colder but he's his regulus, and the james he's supposed to be is the one with him and james needs to get back to him... but he also needs to get this regulus' james back

[tothepointofinsanity]

Is there any actual way for sayaka to grow as a magical girl while still keeping her mental composure ... Even her abilities encourage her to act recklessly. Sayaka's peak state would probably just be her tanking every attack with her healing while constantly being in a state of dissociation to block the pain. Unless her pain tolerance starts growing the more she fights until only severe injuries actually impact her. Still, it's unfair :c

(love your art and how you interpret her btw!)

Hello, firstly, thank you for the kind words of support and assurance ^_^ And thank you for taking your time out to write this letter to me.

Second, to address the question, I think that the phrase “grow as a magical girl” and “keeping her mental composure” are two separate but intersecting issues. The issue perpetuated by being a magical girl in MadoMagi is that it is rather systemic. Putting aside the blessings granted by the Law of Cycles, magical girls grow in experience, but not necessarily in their strength or invincibility (i.e Homura rewinding time made her more familiar with fighting, but it didn’t make her powerful enough to take down Walpurgisnacht, rather, she set off different timelines that contributed to Madoka’s power[1]). Sure, running around fighting witches makes you more athletic, but that isn’t tied to how much magic you can or know how to use, due to how each magical girl’s powers (the elusive nature of magic itself) are tied to the nature of their wishes, so most of that potential power rests on pre-contract. The most upward growth we observe in magical girls terms of their proficiency is mostly reliant on how good they are at fighting each other, how quickly they dispatch witches, and how effectively they polish their soul gems.

Addressing that alone already lands Sayaka in an unpleasant spot. Using magic automatically clouds your soul gem overtime, requiring you to clean it using a grief seed. However, Sayaka obviously views grief seeds as a product born from exploiting innocents and thus rejects their usage, but the magic system is uncompromising — you have to clean your soul gem in order to use magic more effectively again, as well as having the taint absorbed away by the grief seed. This magic system generally corners magical girls to constantly witch-farm (depleting even more magic) or risk the end of their life cycle and begin as witches themselves, so it is the system itself that is exploitative regardless of how much Sayaka adjusts her mentality.

Sayaka is most effective when she turns her mind off and just goes against the river like some kind of machine, but that would still accelerate her despair and doesn’t remove the mechanism that she has to clean her soul gem, something she refused to do. Disassociating throughout the whole day to ignore the other problems simmering around her would still compound her down the line, as we’ve seen in the episodes. In fact, things went from Bad to Worse after she started disassociating more frequently. ＿|￣|○

In a way, it’s just reshuffling the equation instead of solving it, because she was never meant to grow in spite of learning to gather her strength. Not until a new component is added to the equation that allowed this, which is thematic to the overwhelmingly bleak outlook of the show’s set-up and how to go about from there.

[1] As a side note, I do wonder in some way if all that dial-back by Homura with Sayaka’s grief scattered in these timelines ultimately leaked into the present one to take her out as soon as possible since it would be a kind of negative debt parallel to Madoka’s, which tightens her fate more and more because her self-destruction has occurred so many times that it’s etched into her “destiny”. Narratively Assured.

And you’re right, her abilities do allow for riskier combat styles compared to other magical girls. When fighting Holy Mami, she doesn’t even flinch at the fact that she’s holding back a nuclear blast because her hand regenerates the second it becomes loose from her arm. She’s a berserker fighter for sure, but without a strong support, she goes down very quickly.

[hatchetfieldtheories]

Will We Ever Be Free of the Implications?

No, no I don't think so. And neither will Paul by the looks of it.

Ooof, its been a while since something has gotten my theory brain working, and Starkid are very good at peppering in just enough clues for us to all get excited. And for me to start trying to cobble together some theories.

I think I made the gif in about 2021, so its nice to know I'm making just as much sense 4 years later.

Its safe to say the main take away from the new TGWDLM Remount trailer is that Paul and Emma are aware they're living the same day again. Paul in particular knows what his colleagues are going to ask of him before they say anything and he very quickly becomes concerned with the implications.

Now. Do I think this is going to be as explicitly obvious in the remount. Not at all. The show is still the show at the end of the day, but as Paul exclaims, let's think about where the implications of what the trailer is telling us leads.

No Exits From the Broadway Venue

This remount is being described as a bigger and longer run, which is very exciting. It also leads me to believe there will be a bit more filling out of story and connections to the greater Hatchetfield lore.

As @ashtxeman has pointed out here, we're already getting this in this trailer. The Black Book, the reference to the Nighthawks and... well... the big flying Pokey rock in the sky, are all very explicit links. So I think its reasonable that they're going to use this as an opportunity to bring TGWDLM a bit more in line with the other Hatchetfield stories and make the link to the Tellytubbies of Terror more obvious.

Based on all these clues, we can presume for now that all the references to this being "done before" is true to the story they're intending to tell, and not just an easter egg referring to this being a second run of the show.

Ok, that's great Tazzy, but this isn't really a theory so far, I can hear you yelling at me. Well to that I firstly say, please yell a bit louder, all I can hear is Paul and Emma screaming into the blue void, and secondly, I say, this actually gives us the basis for a very interesting theory. For which we need to revisit some other parts of Hatchetfield lore, and our old friend, Tinky.

Time is a Precious Thread...

Since the dawn of time, otherwise known as around the time of the release of Black Friday, there has been quite a bit of discussion regarding whether the shows in the Hatchetfield Series are parallel universes, or if Hatchetfield is going through a time loop of some kind.

Then Time Bastard and Nightmare Time happened, and we learnt a few things. Firstly, that 2005 was a catalyst for the timelines of Hatchetfield splitting, and from that point on each of the shows we have watched have been in a different timeline. In Time Bastard, Ted travels back to before 2005, and this act is the reason why Ted as the Homeless Guy is de facto in every universe. Because it happened pre-split. If you would like to see the split timelines in a handy dandy diagram, @abiimaryy created a great one here.

And so, we rested, accepting the timeline theory.

And then the implications arrived.

Because now we are in a situation where both theories can exist simultaneously. Yes Hatchetfield has split, parallel timelines, but it seems that in this one - there is a time loop.

So how does Tinky come into this? Well he doesn't really. But the way he works, and affects Ted's life makes me look at this loop in a very specific way.

It's a Musical

I dont know about you, but when I go to the theatre and see an amazing show, I get so excited about it. So excited in fact that I wish I could go back and watch it again each night.

Well, I think Pokey has found a way to do just that.

Tinky traps Ted in his Bastard Box, which allows him to mess with Ted and affect his reality. Allows him to observe him.

Now let's look back to the Remount trailer.

We're told straight away, History doesn't repeat, it is - reprised.

We're watching old clips of the original run on a tv screen surrounded by black nothingness.

Look at Paul, sat there, in his little.. blue... box.. of a cubicle. Pokey doesn't have Paul and Emma trapped in a Box, but he does have them trapped. This is Pokey's equivalent. He gets to sit, and watch his favourite musical happen over and over and over.

Its a certainly a longer run.

And maybe, if that's the case. If Paul and Emma are acting this out every day, maybe the 2018 show, wasn't the first loop.

This would put the opening scene of TGWDLM 2018 into a more obvious context, especially in regards to the likes of Emma being involved with the opening song. That song takes place at the end of the previous loop, and is what brings the musical back into the new loop. It's Pokey's I Got You Babe.

[shmisky]

What do you think was Stan's fate in the Better World Timeline?

Ooh, very interesting question! Thanks for the ask and sorry in advance for the enormous answer you’re about to get, hahah ❤️

So, to begin answering that (I promise I will eventually!), I have to first point out that what always caught my attention in Ford’s Better World description in the journal is that not once he meets his parallel self. On that hangs my entire analysis.

Instead, he gives us a reason why they didn’t meet: parallel!Fiddleford explains that he had been leading a portal expedition to a certain dimension, but one of the security officers ran into his parallel self and as soon as they touched hands, the entire dimension started to warp and fizz with static. Fiddleford and his team barely escaped alive!

But that’s the thing: as soon as they touched hands, only! Not as soon as they saw each other, or as soon as they were in the same room together, or as soon as they talked to each other, like you sometimes see in fanfic! No, it very much required actual skin-to-skin contact. You would think that Professor Stanford Pines, celebrated star of the scientific community, founder of the International Institute of Oddology, and our Ford, 12 PhDs (or a few less PhDs at the time) would have enough sense and self-control to... just not try and touch each other? Or, for security reasons, stand at least a few meters away from each other? If they feared an accidental touch so much, they could have talked through a glass panel or some kind of physical divide. I do believe every Ford must be a deeply curious individual, and you’re telling me that parallel!Ford, known genius, wasn’t capable of creating a way to enable himself to interview his parallel selves safely? Wouldn’t you be very curious to meet your parallel self? I think it’s more likely than not that other versions of Ford would end up pushed through the portal, so our Ford might not even have been the first Ford to visit that dimension.

But instead Fiddleford goes so far as to detain our Ford and hold him captive without even attempting to explain things first! A bit overkill, no? You could say, “but Bunny, Fiddleford just didn’t want impulsive, reckless Ford to go and run to his parallel self upon seeing him for the first time!” But herein, my friend, lies the crux of the matter: even after Fiddleford explains things to our Ford, even after our Ford understands he couldn’t touch his parallel self... He still doesn’t meet or talk to parallel!Ford. Wasn’t he trusted enough/allowed to do so, even then?

My Doylist explanation (that considers what led the author to choose a certain path) to that is: the writers just didn’t want the two Fords to meet and wanted to leave it ambiguous. It’s really not that deep 😭

My favorite Watsonian explanation (in-universe headcanon) to that is: Fiddleford didn’t want them to meet 😏

Now, would Fiddleford ever lie to Ford? Yes. In fact, he already did, in our original timeline! Ford asked him to destroy the memory gun, Fiddleford apparently agreed. “He was crestfallen by my advice, but after some discussion he came to see the wisdom in it. He said that he didn’t want to risk forgetting his wife and son. I ordered him to destroy the gun, and he did.” (“Ordered”... Oh, Ford, never change...) Reality: Fiddleford hadn’t destroyed it at all, and in fact used it on Ford to erase his memories without Ford’s consent or knowledge.

So even though I don’t think this was, necessarily, either Alex’s or Rob Renzetti’s intentions, I like to think parallel!Fiddleford was bullshitting our Ford a bit. To which extent, I don’t know. The thing about the parallel selves touching and causing a dimension to end might very well be true (in fact, according to Alex’s Word of God, it is! he has said on Twitter that parallel selves really can’t meet in their home dimensions, but can meet in the in-between spaces!) BUT because of the reasons I explained above, it’s my headcanon that it wasn’t the main reason why Fiddleford didn’t want the two Fords meeting.

I just love, love the vibes of A Better World. I love how utterly smitten with that world our Ford is. He describes himself as “drawn” towards the Institute “like a moth to a flame,” and mentions his desire to “revel in [his] parallel self’s success.” He’s utterly smitten it with it despite never once meeting his parallel self. He imagines his parallel self as the happiest man on Earth despite never once meeting his parallel self. He leaves that dimension sighing wistfully despite never once meeting his parallel self. I love how parallel!Ford is just... shrouded in this very ambiguous mystery. It all sounds a little bit ominous to me. Is he happy? Is he satisfied? Does he like what he accomplished?

Our Ford, of course, imagines that he is. Our Ford doesn’t even wonder about parallel!Stan, because that’s who Stanford Pines is: self-centered as all hell, hahah. His brother doesn’t even cross his mind, since he’s too busy being dazzled by his apparent great success and the fulfillment of his dreams! I think he subconsciously assumed parallel!Stan must have been fine.

What do I think happened to parallel!Stan? Oh, well, he’s very much dead 🪦💐 And parallel!Ford, the man Ford believes to be so lucky, is actually miserable. Fiddleford was merely protecting our Ford from the truth.

If you want to get a bit darker, just look at this excerpt from the Not What He Seems script:

Meanwhile, in the Lost Legends comics, Ford is saying shit like this:

We stan an insensitive king who is utterly and blissfully oblivious to his brother’s dangerously low self-esteem and borderline suicidal thoughts ❤️

Before TBoB, I might have been reluctant to think something so dark could happen in GF, since it still is, after all, a cartoon for kids, and Stan’s a main character! But then TBoB went and revealed to us that Dipper and Mabel died horrible deaths in all the other timelines! 😭 And while I do take that with a grain of salt because it was revealed to us by Bill Cipher and Bill is not trustworthy but a professional liar, just the fact Alex acknowledged and played with the possibility of the two protagonists dying horribly is already pretty telling in and of itself...

I think that once parallel!Ford called Stan after a decade, unwittingly gave him hope, and then ripped it out from his hands... Yeah. We know how Ford is important to Stan. Reconciliation with Ford might very well have been what was pushing Stan forward. Stan can be very, very stubborn—working on a portal for 30 years—when Ford is involved. But having no Ford at all...

Parallel!Ford might have planned to call Stan back, but by then it was probably too late. So yeah. I like to imagine that parallel!Ford would be, ironically, so, so jealous of our Ford’s happy ending with Stan.

Actually, as I type this, the funniest idea occurred to me. The real reason Fiddleford didn’t allow the two Fords to meet is that parallel!Ford, upon listening our Ford praise his accomplishments and shit-talk Stan (“I can’t believe Stanley listen to you! He’s so stubborn, so selfish, he never listens!”) would disregard all reason, all training, and all self-control just for the precious chance to punch himself in the face. Dimension ending catastrophe? A minor detail.

[starry-bi-sky]

I am procrastinating homework and finals studying so I'm making another DPxDC au -- or more accurately, I am making an au of an au. or combining two aus to make a third one, because I am Procastinating And thinking about it.

(the part two for my Danny is Jason Todd au is like,,, half-made and I will get around to finishing it, promiiissse)

So the two aus I had in mind were combining, of course, the two clone aus - the Danny Clone and the Damian Clone au. For folks who haven't seen either posts (or saw one but not the other) here are summaries of both:

Damian Clone Au: The LoA make a clone of Damian Wayne specifically to either kill Damian Wayne and have the clone take his place as the heir to the LoA, or to bring him back. At 6 years old though and through magical teleportation mishaps, Baby Damian ends up in the warehouse district of Amity Park and picked up (and later adopted) by Danny Fenton. They develop a brotherly dynamic with one another.

Danny Clone Au: Danny is straight up a clone of Bruce Wayne, doesn't find out until a year after he has his accident. And, for the fun of it, is also mostly-powerless (he retains his ghost sense and a semblance of a ghost core and signature, but no ghost form). His reasoning for becoming Phantom is because he has walked into the lab watching his parents dissecting ghosts post-portal working more times than he can count. And due to this, changes his beliefs from "ghosts are evil" to "ghosts are sentient and sapient beings who don't deserve this treatment". (masterpost pinned on my blog, its currently incomplete) He is also a little GNC, as a treat. Long-haired Danny ftw. Ellie is a halfa because of the ectoplasm that Vlad used, and also the same age as Danny. They call each other twins and she is viciously protective of him. He uses a baseball bat and brass knuckles that I call 'jawbreakers' to fight ghosts.

Now admittedly, not much probably changes with the combination of these aus other than the potential parallels between Damian and Danny, and Bruce and Damian - and of course, I am always a sucker for parallels. Plus Damian's running off would take Danny finding him much longer, since he can no longer fly, but all the more meaningful because he still took so much time to find him.

(It probably also makes their first meeting different as well - Danny wears a ROTTMNT Casey Jones Jr. esq. mask when he goes out, but Damian would recognize lazarus green anywhere. He'd probably try harder to kill him though once he sees his face, since he knows that its not his father but an imposter.)

It also includes what I consider a hilarious conversation: "Since I'm a clone of Bruce Wayne, does this make me your dad or your brother?" "Don't be an idiot, laeazir." "You didn't answer my question."

The biggest change that comes from this is, of course, the fact that Danny now no longer has a leg to stand on with the "you're a human, I am a ghost" excuse in order to prevent Damian to help him with ghost-fighting, because now Danny is also a squishy, fleshy and fragile human just like Damian. And a human who, arguably, has less combat training than Damian and no powers to make up for it.

Now, Danny in both aus are about 16-17-ish in age, so they've had time to adapt to their new vigilante-hero lifestyle, but its still not the same as Damian's training as an assassin. Damian, unlike in the original clone au, remains insistent on his want to help Danny.

And,,, eventually wears him down after weeks or months of sneaking out after him, helping in fights, interfering, arguing, etc. Danny eventually agrees, exhausted, but he makes Damian promise, promise, that he will be careful and to focus on dodging and distraction. At least until Danny can figure out a safer alternative. He wants him as far removed from the fight as he can, he's a child for ancient's sake, after all.

Which is another issue too - if we follow Damian Clone timeline, then Damian is six years old when this happens. I'll be point blank, I do not see Danny ever actually agreeing to let a literal 6 year old go with him. SO, solution, I bump Damian's age to 7 when he arrives in the Fenton Family, and make him freshly eight years old when he finally gets Danny to agree.

It still SUCKS. He is still very much an itty bitty child, but as someone who has seen the difference between a six year old and an eight year old due to working at a daycare, an eight year old is still... slightly feasible. And an 8 year old assassin even more so (even if he hasn't trained properly in nearly a year or so)

So Danny, reluctantly, agrees to let Damian come with him on patrols.

He ghost-proofs Damian's sword (as he has since learned to do with his bat and jawbreakers), makes him a grappling hook and a Fenton thermos, and reluctantly lets Damian come with in his old LoA uniform that he appeared in (with some tailoring and ghost-proofing, because he has since begun to grow out of the uniform).

(and Danny himself also finally starts looking into alternatives to improve his own "suit" - which is all but a hoodie and reinforced jeans and a hockey mask. He needs to set an example to his little brother, goddammit.)

Then, as they're planning for Damian's eventual (dreaded on Danny's part) debut, they sit in their shared room and brainstorm for what to call Damian. "Ellie already uses the name Spirit." Danny says, sitting criss-cross at his desk with the eraser nub of a pencil chewed between his teeth.

(Behind him he has an investigative corkboard set up -- his accident left him with the ability to see ghosts not capable of being seen on the visible plane. 'Stereotypical' ghosts. Between school work, his social life, and ghost fighting, some of his downtime is spent figuring out ways to help them move on. His most recent is a cold case.)

(Bc with Danny, I loove to have him have some sort of trait that ties him in with his original counterpart. Nature vs Nurture and all that. Investigative work can be part of that.)

"What about Wraith?" Damian suggests from the floor, leaning against the bed frame while he goes over one of his english books. They've been practicing his reading and writing.

Danny furrows his brows. "A ghost seen typically shortly after or before someone's death?"

Damian nods. "Yes, it's of a similar cadence to 'Batman and Robin'."

"What's with you and your thing with Batman and Robin?" Danny asks with a playful half-smile, Damian shrugs and looks at his books. Danny sticks the eraser back between his incisors. "Phantom and Wraith... that works, though."

The first night out together, Danny fusses over Damian, making sure every bit of uniform was secured and in place -- something Damian took mild offense over. His outfit was far more reinforced than the juvenile get-up that his older brother wore.

But he let him fuss anyways. It made him loved.

"Now remember, Wraith--"

Damian interrupts him: "Yes, I know, Dany. Avoid and distract. Stay situationally aware. I fear that is something I should be telling you, however. Mother would have your head if she ever saw what your training was like."

(It was, not for the first time, that Damian wondered how his,,, "mother",,, would react if she ever met Danyal. Not good, he knows.)

Danny's shoulders sag, and he sighs. "I believe that, what with that super-secret spy--"

"Assassin."

Danny sends him a half-hearted chagrined look, "Assassin," he corrects, "organization that made you. I'm sure I'd give your mother an aneurysm." When he's finally okay with whatever make-believe issues he found with his suit, Danny reaches for the nearby side table and carefully slips on a black domino mask over Damian's eyes. It was thin, flexible, and made with some kind of material that Danny reassured was environmentally safe.

("Some kind of matieral that Wayne Industries invented awhile ago, Sam bought it for me." Danny told him when he first showed it to him.)

It was also cold. But the chill was made up for, slightly, with Danny's warmer hands smoothing it out over his skin, and ridding of any ridges that could form. Damian isn't sure entirely what Danyal did to keep it stuck onto his face, but when he touches it with his fingers he feels a very faint seam at the edge, and it doesn't budge against his hands. It felt like a second skin.

"There we go." Danny smiles, pulling his hands back. He still looks nervous. "It's not the same as my hockey mask," which sat atop his head, ready to be pulled down, "but I think a domino mask will work better for you considering your background."

He was right, a hockey mask would only hurt Damian's peripheral vision. This mask was thin enough that it didn't.

"Ready to go, Wraith?"

"After you, Phantom."

+++

Damian has much issue with Danny's suit. He can think of a million ways to make it better. It is one of the things he and Samantha Manson can get along with, and the few times they have spent time together they have brainstormed suit ideas. He knows that since Danny took him on as Wraith, he has started to look into better suit alternatives.

However. They are both aware of the same thing:

Danny is not Batman, nor Superman, nor Wonder Woman, nor Aquaman, or the Flash, or Green Arrow, or Nightwing, or any single hero on the public roster. He is also not rich like Lex Luthor or Vlad Masters or Bruce Wayne himself.

He has no money and no contacts, and thus, no way of properly improving his suit to be something even half as safe as the other supers.

And he refuses to let Samantha Manson help him find a way to fix that - even with all that money, Samantha Manson is on an allowance from her parents, and also, despite her other range of abilities, not capable of getting those materials without putting herself on a list of some sort. They are at a standstill.

Damian knows this, because he has asked.

Until one day when Danny is talking about a case he is working on and telling Damian about old adventures he had in the Ghost Zone, does he see his brother get hit with a lightbulb.

He slaps a hand against his forehead and straightens up from his swivel seat. He huffs a laugh, "Of course! Why didn't I think of it sooner?" And he turns on his heel and hurries to his bookshelf, pulling down a notebook and flipping open to an empty page.

Damian frowns, "Laeazir?"

"I know you don't like my suit, Damian," Danny says, striding over to his desk and snatching a pencil out of a cup. He begins jotting something down on the notebook. "And there's nothing I can really do about it because, well, I'm poor in comparison to my facesake, and I don't have the resources to get my hands on someone who would make me a new suit."

"Yes, we have talked about this..." Damian nods slowly, still frowning, and trying to follow his brother's line of reasoning.

Danny shoots him a megawatt, half-tilt smile, his hair tied up into a half-bun. "But! I was thinking about it from the wrong angle. I don't have the living resources to help me get a suit, but..." he trails off, staring at Damian intently.

It dinged in Damian's brain to where he was going, "But you have the undead resources instead." He says, his eyes widening slowly. Of course, of course! Danyal was ridiculously charismatic by accident, and Damian has seen plenty of times where his heart-of-gold had one or two non-hostile ghosts be incredibly grateful to him.

His brother makes a loud, 'ding-ding-ding!' sound, pointing his pencil at Damian as his smile stretches further across his face. In a few quick strides, he was sat down next to Damian and showing him his notebook. "Correct! When I first started out as Phantom a few years ago, I managed to help a ghost who called herself Taylor, and apparently she was a seamstress both in and out of life."

Damian watches as Danny writes the name at the top of the paper, and creates bullet-points down the page. "She said that in return for saving her, I should come find her in the Ghost Zone if I ever need clothes made for me. It's a one-time thing, but I was thinking that she could perhaps help make me a new suit."

Danny turns a bit pink at the ears, and rubs his neck, "I never thought much of it because I didn't think I'd ever go into the Ghost Zone, or ever need ghost clothes, so I forgot about it up until now."

A scoff forces itself out of Damian's mouth, but he is smiling. "Danyal, you are the smartest idiot I have ever met."

For the next hour, both he and Danny make a bullet point list of what both of their suits would need. Reinforcement in certain areas, gauntlets with reinforced knuckles to replace Danyal's jawbreakers. A different weapon than a bat.... a utility belt, reinforced boots. Anything they could think of.

It was Damian's idea to add a cloak to both of their suits, asymmetrical and torn at the edges for a more 'ghostly' look. They have a theme, after all. It's quite fun.

Then Danyal calls up Sam for help in drafting up design ideas. And while Danyal steps mostly to the side when it comes to the design itself, Damian and Sam fill pages with designs until coming up with one they both agreed on and like.

"What about a lightning bolt on the chest?" "Why are we using my traumatic accident as a symbol of my identity?" "Ghosts do it all the time, Danny. Ember sings about her death." "I'm not dead?" "No that won't work, Manson. Shazam already has a giant lighting bolt emblem." "Okay, but I still want to use it somewhere." "How about this?" "...That could work. Okay, now onto your emblem--"

Last was the hard part: getting into the Ghost Zone without the Fenton parents noticing the disappearance of their precious Fenton Specter Speeder. They employed Jazz's help with that. She would get the Fentons out of the house long enough for him and Danny to get into the ghost zone, hopefully find the seamstress, and cash in that favor.

They went through with their plan that following weekend. Danny tossed Damian a small jumpsuit as they both climbed into the specter speeder, but did not grab his own. He had a small duffle bag on him that he threw under the seat.

"What is this?" Damian asks, nose scrunching up at the gaudy picture of Jack Fenton's face square at the center of the chest. He held it far away from it, as if it had a disease.

"Your hazmat suit." Danny replies, settling himself into the driver's seat as the door hissed shut and he began turning it on. He had some sort of gas mask on in his lap, too small to fit Danny's head, but certainly the right size to fit Damian's. "Normally you wouldn't need it since you'd stay in the speeder, but we're both getting out once we find Taylor. It's to protect you from the ectoplasm."

A scowl forces itself across Damian's face, "You don't have one." He points out, finding seat in the passenger chair next to Danny. His arms cross over his chest, and he was not pouting.

Danny looks at him amusedly, "I have enough ectoplasm in my body that I don't need one, you however, do not." He retorts, poking a finger into Damian's ribcage pointedly. "If you don't put it on now, you'll put it on when we find Taylor."

Damian's scowl deepens, feeling petulant as he sunk into his chair. Danny turns back to the console and flips a few more switches. "I will not, it looks ridiculous." He turns it around to show Danny the Jack Fenton Face.

The Specter Speeder hums to life, and there's a moment of turbulence as it lifts off the ground. While it does, Danny turns back to him blankly, stares at the emblem, and then reaches forward and yanks it off with a scriiiiich of the emblem. He crumples it up with one hand, and throws it into a small bin at his feet.

"There, fixed." He smiles. Then turns back to the controls, taking the yoke with both hands. "And I'm calling Dad Rights; you will put it on when we find Taylor or you'll stay in the speeder."

Damian sputters, sitting up incredulously. "You are not my father." He argues.

"Teeechnically, I am." Danny says, "I'm a clone of your father, and since I am fully his clone, that makes you my son by a technicality." He says cheerfully, pushing the specter speeder forward and into the swirling green portal.

Before Damian can retort, they're passing through the portal. This was his first time going into the Ghost Zone, and for a few seconds there was nothing but bright, swirling green filling his vision. His body felt like it was being twisted and pulled, his up and down reversing and returning. It was painless, but dizzying.

It only lasts for a few seconds, but it feels like a minute, and when they exit out the other side, Damian is holding his head while his vision spots and swims. Internally, he felt like those cartoon characters when their eyeballs rolled around in their head.

The dizziness fades away slowly, and as Damian regains his sight, he notices Danny's hand splayed over his sternum, gently keeping him pressed against his seat. It fell away when Danny saw that he was alright.

"Put your seatbelt on," Danny orders, nodding to his chair. Damian listens absently, before remembering their conversation before they went through the portal.

"That is not how it works." He scowls, and, annoyingly, only gets a challenged eyebrow raise from Danny. He could see the words written on his face without Danyal ever having to say it.

Because, dangit, he was technically right. Damian refuses to say this aloud. He screws his jaw shut, and crosses his arms back across his chest.

Danny chuckles under his breath, and turns his eyes back to the ghost zone. "My point still stands, either you wear the suit, or you don't leave the speeder."

"Fine."

+++

They eventually find where the seamstress is. Through quite a lot of Danny stopping to ask questions with any friendly ghost he came across, they eventually locate an island with a strange, urban city bustling with life on it. Massive, rocky stalagmites grew from the ground, and buildings were built on top of it or around it, with strange, warping architecture.

It was oddly beautiful.

Danny parked the speeder on the side of the street with a two hour parking sign on a nearby post. As he turned off the engine, he flipped a switch on the console that darkened the windows. He unbuckles his seat, and stood up, stretching out his back with a deep groan.

"Alright, put your suit on. The windows are tinted, so nobody should be able to see into the speeder." He orders, pulling out the duffle he brought in earlier and unzipping it. He pulls out his hockey mask and the hoodie he wore out for patrol, and the notebook they'd been using to jot down ideas for their suit.

Danny even had the hindsight to write in their respective heights, and with Tucker's help, some of their measurements. While he did that, Damian sourly pulled on his hazmat suit, irritated by the need to wear it.

Unfortunately, he also had to wear the boots and gloves for 'extra precaution'. Damian nearly bites out a grumpy 'you're as paranoid as father', but holds his tongue. He wasn't going to tell Danyal that secret.

Once he was done and Danny has his hockey mask and hoodie on, Danny grabs the gas mask and helps fit it over Damian's face. It was a sleek, simple design, shaped similarly to a regular face mask, with little filters on both sides of the mouth and a clear, protective covering around the eyes and forehead. Danyal improved it from the original his parents made.

He was smarter than he gave himself credit for.

Danny checks, then double checks that it the mask is tight, then smiles. Patting Damian's shoulders before standing up fully. "Taylor's shop should be somewhere nearby." He says, grabbing the notebook and tucking it under his arm.

Damian nods, and follows him out the door and onto the busy streets.

Finding Taylor becomes remarkably quick now that they were inside her city - something that Damian silently wondered was based loosely off NYC. Danny kept a firm arm around Damian's shoulders the entire time they walked down the street, keeping the both of them on the inside sidewalk.

Barely anyone passed them a second glance, spare the few odd looks shot at Damian. Danny whispers to him the first time it happens that it's because he has no ghost core, those more attune to their signatures might've been picking up on it.

They didn't notice Danny, because he had one, albeit a weak one.

Taylor's shop has a big sign on it in logographic writing that Damian has no idea how to read. The text shifts slowly, a jambled squiggle of lines, dots, and connected curves that look like a mix of messy cursive, gibberish, and logographic alphabets. He only knows its Taylor's shop because Danny pulls them towards it, stating that it was the place.

"You can read that?" He asks, incredulous as they draw closer to the door. Danny moves his arm off his shoulder, and wraps his fingers around Damian's instead.

"Yep," He replies, then scrunches his nose up, "sort of. It's - uh--" he stumbles over a word that Damian's ears cannot comprehend, but fills his head with slight static regardless. Danny winces. "It's the written form of ghostspeak, but since I'm not a ghost, I can only read some of it. Like uh, dyslexia."

"...I see." Damian says after a moment of silence, trying to replay the word in his head. His mind can't grasp the sound.

When they enter, the door doesn't ding with the sound of a bell, but rather it makes a low scream. Nobody bats an eye to the sound, keeping to their slow search through the racks of clothes.

At the counter was a woman talking quietly to another woman, one of whom Danny recognizes, as he walks over to her.

He doesn't need to say anything, because the woman behind the counter sees him coming, and her face positively lights up with delight. "Phantom!" She cries, and gestures to come over. "I was wondering when in the high ancients you were going to come see me!"

Danny's face is obscured by his mask, but Damian knows he's smiling sheepishly with the way he tilts his head and the way he tenses his shoulders. "My bad, Miss Taylor," he says, reaching the counter and standing beside the woman she was talking to, "It kinda... slipped my mind."

Taylor waves her hand dismissively, "Well you are here now!" She replies, grinning wide. Then her eyes pop open - literally - and she puts a hand over her chest. "Oh, how rude of me!" She turns and gestures between Phantom and the lady next to him, "Miss Mabam, this is Phantom. I told you about him a couple of years ago. He saved me from humans. Phantom, this is Gigi Mabam, she funds my shop. In return I make clothes for her and her staff."

The 'Gigi' woman turns just as Danny does, and smiles wide at him. Damian narrows his eyes at her, shuffling behind Danny legs as he looked her up and down. She had silvery-white hair and purple skin, and wore a darker purple business suit, a red gem cravat at her collar, and teal cat-eye glasses.

There was a lot of purple.

"So this is the ghost-touched you were telling me about, dear!" The woman, Mabam, said. Her voice was rich and low but she spoke in a whimsical cadence. It made Damian's skin crawl, and his narrowed eyes turned into a glare. "I must thank you for saving my seamstress, it would've been quite a fizzy-wink if she had been lost to those ghosty hunters."

What were those nonsense words? Damian hated it.

"Miss Mabam here runs a five-star hotel nearby," Taylor explains, her body turned to Danny, "she also is in charge of the city's Battle Nexus."

Danny is silent for a moment, and his free hand lifts and places itself on the back of Damian's head, keeping him close. "Battle Nexus...?"

Mabam claps cheerfully, laughing low, "Oh yes! Ghosts from all around the zone come to attend and watch as their fellow haunties are ripped from limbity-limb in a blood-curdling battle!"

Danny is still as stone. "I see." He says, careful. Damian wraps his fingers around his pant leg. "Well, I hate to interrupt your conversation, but I was hoping to cash in that favor, Miss Taylor?"

"Of course! What do you need?"

Danny looks down at Damian, and he looks up at him, locking eyes with the ominous green glowing from the eyeslits of his mask. He nods, and Danny looks back up. "Do you know how to make suits? Of the protective kind?"

+++

The seamstress it turns out, is capable of such a thing. And she ushers the both of them into one of the backrooms, sending off Mabam with a farewell and a promise to continue their conversation soon.

She flips through their design book, and immediately gets to work making their suits. In the end, with the help of her powers, she gets both done over the span of four hours. It's longer than both Danny and Damian want, but neither rush her.

Damian just hopes that Jasmine can keep the Fenton parents distracted for that long. She will have to.

The suits are better in real life than on paper, and Damian preens from the side in his own custom suit as Danny examines his own in front of the three mirrors. They were both dressed in all black, but whatever fabric Taylor used was of a blackest-black, turning Danyal - and Damian's - bodies into a black hole to look at. Both of them were fitted for agility, with reinforced padding around their shoulders and chests, as well as around the joints of their legs. Their boots were reinforced as well.

("It was hard to make your boots shock absorbent," Taylor explains, "since we all fly, but I applied similar stuff to what I did with your shoulders and chestplate.")

On the side of Danyal's legs were raised, black, lichtenberg-like figures that were contained to the seams and disappeared under his boots. There were similar designs going up his sleeves, with spiked gauntlets wrapped around his lower arm and hands. The knuckles were reinforced, just like he wanted.

Damian's favorite parts were their capes, however. Black like the rest of the outfit, but "wrapped" around their shoulders like an apocalyptic shawl with a back that went down to their knees, and at the hems the capes were torn and ripped like a wraith. Danyal's mask had gone through very little change. It was made of a stronger material, and Taylor had gone and made it more skull-like in its shape, with three large grills at the front, and the sides curving inward below the 'cheekbones' of the skull to better fit his face. It was still shock white, the only white part of Danyal's entire costume.

Damian's suit was almost identical. However, rather than having the seams of his suit resemble lichtenberg figures, the seams of his sleeves and upper torso were that of a black skeleton, with bone-y designs over his gauntlets and the fingers an ombre of dark red-to-black. And around his torso were raised lines that looked similar to a ribcage. The edge of his cloak was splatter a dark red as well. And he had a new domino mask that looked similar to the upper half of Danyal's mask, with the outer edges curved downward over his cheekbones. He was briefly allowed to take off the upper part of his gas mask to try on the mask.

The best part however, was that since the suits were made of material native to the ghost zone, they could also be taken off quickly and hidden in a small artifact. It was magic, is what it was. Danyal chose earrings, and Damian chose a ring.

When they got back to the Fenton house, Jazz demands a box of chocolate for her hard work. Damian thinks that's only fair as Danny takes them both out to get candy for Jazz.

+++

But other than vigilante stuff, not else much changes. Danny gets to pull a "Dad By Technicality Rule" card over Damian when he's being a brat. Danny doesn't have his run in with Rift (a ghost who portals him into Gotham) until after he meets Damian/lets Damian join him on patrol and when they get new suits.

My reason? Because I want it to happen after that point in time lol. It also makes the eventual "heyyyyy you have a clone" @ bruce much funnier to me because not only does he have a clone of HIMSELF but also THAT clone has a clone of Damian living with him.

Also when Danny destabilizes for the first time Damian is terrified for his safety. The fentons are surprisingly good at cloning, Danny hasn't had any issues up until this point in time, and that's only because he got hit with a new gun from Skulker that messed up the ectoplasm he had in his dna, which in term fucked with his own DNA.

Danny's destabilization, imo, is not "I cast you with Melt" he's not Ellie, he's not made of 50% ectoplasm. His parents surprisingly knew what they were doing, and he was human. So his destabilization should be unique to himself and different. Thus his destabilization is "I cast you with Compromised Immune System" his body slowly weakens over time as his cells destabilize. He becomes unnaturally frail and sick. Damian calls Ellie for help when Danny doesn't get up after being hit in a fight that he normally, and Ellie helps figure out that he's destabilizing. This is whats gonna happen in OG clone au too, but Ellie is going to be there rather than Damian.

It makes going to Wayne Manor after that slightly more interesting,,,

[fivelasanctum]

Everything is real

S03 ep.07 and S04 ep.06 parallel: Been doing my rewatch of the series and noticed this gem inside Lila's psyche when she was talking to Allison being reminiscent of her yelling that her and five's life in the alternate timelines wasn't real. A blatant contradiction to what she mentioned here. "This isn't real Five! None of this is real!" -Lila S04 ep.05 Events when time travelling are real and still impact you, just can happen quickly and feel like a whirlwind. She also goes to mention to have something or someone to focus on to essentially keep you sane and grounded.

Five comes in right after they have this conversation, zooming in on him as he came to fetch them for the plan. Hmmmm...xD When Five and her get lost in the subway time travelling system, her focus point is her kids. Just as Lila became Five's purpose for surviving. To protect her and try to get her back home to them. Five also became her focus point. Just secondary to their shared goal. Being together, relying on the other for survival (initially), comfort and affection. Eventually falling for each other since they can sit down and have time to see how they are mirrors of each other in many ways. Lila has shown she has mental barriers both around her heart and mind. Self preservation. Much like Five with his own control over his emotions and keeping others at a distance from all his years alone and serving as an assassin. Lila has the same trauma... with being brought up by the handler and living in the same life. She lied about Stanley to Diego as a way to test him if he would be a good father because she was scared and didn't want to be rejected. Possibly lying about being with many people to make him jealous. Mind games that she probably was taught by the Handler.

In the above images you can see that lila is a very human character with inexplicable flaws. Seeing herself far too broken to have a family and cowardly. She tends to go for the jugular to hurt when she has been harmed or upset emotionally. She goes into denial and tries to run away from her problems to a certain extent. Whereas Five has always cut to the quick with his brutal honesty. Telling her Diego loves her but also the cold truth of how her mother never did. Making her almost cry so she lashed out by diminishing his experience by calling Dolores out for what she actually was. Something to note from their argument in season 4 leading up to their return to their present timeline. He confronted her about what they shared in all those years and that the marriage was broken. Lila lies to herself sometimes and wanted to run away from having to think about anything outside of seeing her kids.

I strongly feel she said those words to Five about it being all about survival and it not being real because she felt betrayed with his lies. Even though his words weren't wrong. She couldn't say anything to his reasoning for doing it. "You know why." Still - it's true to her character. When she saw the hurt on her lovers face...think that's when most of the anger faded from her. Replaced with a sense of powerlessness, sadness and resignment. Yearning to stay there in their happiness bubble (it was still their Anniversary when all this went down) but needing to have her kids back. She appeared as though she was ready to cry because in her heart she didn't want anything to change regarding the two of them. Just trying to push him away yet can't stand hurting him. Perhaps it's difficult for her to hold herself back from that defense mechanism.

This is the look of someone eager to get back to her old married life with the kids right? Again, ready to cry with the situation weighing heavy on her heart. Think why she had tunnel vision to focus on just seeing her kids again was because she didn't want to ponder what happens next with her relationship with Five, talking to Diego...figuring everything out. Damn. This was suppose to be a short post but turned into a mini essay. In short...she was lying about what they have not being real. Just tried to push it away due to in the moment anger with the reveal.

[op-dumpstertruck]

Ahh I sent that before I was done!!! Do you also have a timeline of events? I love that you jump around but it is a little confusing >~<

Oh yeah, I know, oopsie! Since I had that question a few times I'll try to give you a timeline under the cut, but I'm really not a writer:

Sanji leaves Germa as a kid, deeply insecure about being an omega. Sora tried to hide it first, but when it came out Judge was furious. It adds an extra layer of disdain he has for Sanji in this AU; but it was also the only thing that increased his value somehow, in Judges eyes. I think even as young as he was, Sanji did realise that whatever the plans were Judge might have had for him, they were.. not good at all. Omegas don't really exist on Germa, but if they do, they are seen, not heard. Even as a kid Sanji heard some really degrading, overtly sexist comments from his brothers. When he ran away, Sanji learned to hide that part of himself.

Zeff definitely knows, but he's the only one that does. Sanji is a extremly skittish kid when it comes to that, that alone has cost Zeff years of his life (he worries all the time, but they also never talk properly). Worldbuilding wise, I think male omegas are very, very rare. In the context of how the cooks talk to each other, Sanji definitely has heard a lot of very crude jokes about himself.

As old habits die hard, Sanji didn't tell the crew when he joined. With scent suppressants he easily seems like a beta - and even if they run out here and there (which he desperately tries to avoid) with all the smoking he does you can barely smell him anyway.

Zoro and Sanji happened. Neither of them expected that.

Zoro knows Sanji is an omega, probably even long before they got together, I'm not completely sure yet. He's the first one to know and is the only one that does for a long time - Kureha didn't tell Chopper on Drum Island, but he'll eventually be the next one to know.

Sanji gets pregnant (to his own horror) and has to deal with that. Because they are actually functioning quite well at this point as a couple (who would have thought) Sanji tells Zoro as soon as he suspects what's up. They find out together, but don't immediately tell the crew, since they are unsure how to proceed.

thriller bark happens and Sanji looses his mind in the aftermath for a hot minute. (he'll eventually tell the crew in the aftermath.)

close to sabody and marineford (or parallel to it) Sanji gets kidnapped. Omegas are often sold into slavery there, so the crew is on the wrong track for quite a while. As other things are happening simultaneously, and plot happens, the strawhats are sweeped up in chaos. (I might come back to those details later)

the world is made to believe that Sanji died. It is Judges doing, but the timeline plays into his hands: it fits the narrative of the navy retaliating and punishing the strawhats for both what happened at Enies-Lobby and marineford perfectly. Since the strawhats don't know about Sanjis family, they fall for it.

Kuina is born in Germas prison. Sanji does everything he can to convince Judge to keep her alive. He knows Judge has plans for him and threatens to kill himself, should Judge do anything to her. She continues to be the bargain chip through the next few years, to make Sanji to comply to do things. They don't even need to threaten Zeff here.

Sanji gets married off. It's not a happy marriage, but of big political interest for Judge. (This time, there is no one to stop the wedding.)

Kid two and three are born (I don't know their names yet).

It takes them nearly nine years, but Reiju and Sanji get Kuina out and send her on a journey to find the crew. Sanji doesn't see her for more than a year, before the strawhats are back and all hell breaks loose.

[driftwithme]

I love that Guillermo del Toro didn't want Pacific Rim to be all about the military, so he ended up giving the PPDC ranks based on cowboy imagery: ranger, marshall, etc.

It makes me think about some of the most beloved characters by the narrative are the ones who rebel agonist the military way of doing stuff: characters like Newt and Raleigh for example. Because well, characters like Mako and Hermann are rebellious but only due the influence of Newt and Raleigh -- and characters like Herc and Chuck seem to be rebellious in parallel to Raleigh too, like some contagious virtue on the loose.

It's palpable in two of their most famous lines on the movie: when Newton talks about how fortune favors the brave and when Raleigh tells Mako that in real life you make decisions and you have to learn to keep living with the consequences. Everyone around them looks down at them at some point for being what they'd call reckless, but Raleigh and Newt are aware of the risks, they are not kids. Which is funny because in contrast, they even do that to each other: the perception of the other as a fool of some sort.

And yet, without Newt and Raleigh tendency of disobeying, they'd all be dead and gone.

Without Raleigh insitance on having Mako as his co-pilot and his demand to get G. Danger deployed, the Double Event would had been the catastrophe that ended their last run to the Breach before it started. Without Newt's crazy plan of drifting with a kaiju, they would had perish due the lack or information.

Twice Raleigh piloted solo and twice Newt drifted with a kaiju. In one of those ocassion they had to give a part of themselves that they would never get back (a part of Newt's sanity, Yancy's life). After the first time, both emphasize to Pentecost that they can't do it again. They can, technically, but now they've done it once and it hurt.

Still they do it and it saves the world.

The man who was good for nothing except to hold his own on a fight and the guy who was destined to love fictitious monsters in every universe except that one. In any other world or timeline, Newtom and Raleigh would have been the losers. They were still somehow the losers on Pacrim, a has-been pilot turnes into a builder and a scientist perceive as another sick kaiju groupie. They weren't disciplined like the others yet they were a bit obsessive, they were the sort of ambitious that makes people doubt, stubborn and arrogant in their convictions, totally unapologetic in knowing themselves.

Sure, they have to pay the price in double, but at the end of the day, they are champs of fortune: they do the impossible and survive to tell their stories, breaking every rule and winning the faith of those around them.

[holyrunawaychild]

Wereworld What Ifs

What if Tilly wasn’t the one to Amelie entrusted with Drew?

Following up the poll I had posted, I wanted to break down how I think this what if would go in each of it's possible situations.

I should note, as much as there is a possibility for others beyond Tilly, Bergan, Manfred and Vega to have been entrusted with a baby Drew, the named characters that could be are few and questionable if possible given the time line.

This post will contain and discuss spoilers for future books/seasons

As much as I would be interested to explore Drew being raised by Huth in Redmire or by Griffyn (or even Shah) on the run, these have a few too many asterisks attached for me to explore in this post.

For this hypothetical, I'm only exploring three possibilities. If Bergan raised Drew. If Manfred raised Drew. And if Vega raised Drew.

First, I want to set ground rules of how I'll treat the possibilities for each potential timeline. I want to be as logical as possible while

Unless there's ample reasoning to assume otherwise, events that transpire in the canon timeline (book or series) will happen. Ie Lucas (if born) being betrothed to Gretchen, Whitley becoming a scout of the green cloaks, Hector training to be a magister, etc.

If there are competing pieces of canon across Wereworld and Wolf King, I'll defer to Wereworld as canon.

If details from Wereworld and Wolf King don't contradict each other, then they are treated as canon to both.

I’ll only cover the ‘certainties’ of the what if. Feel free to explore and expand on any of these as you like.

In any situation that Leopold is killed, defeated or otherwise removed from the throne, word will find its way to Bast.

Whomever Amelie entrusts Drew to swears an oath to raise and protect him. They can't abandon him or sell him out (*cough* *cough* Vega), they have to raise him as their own.

Leopold finds out about Drew and sends Vanmorten to kill him on the Hunter's Moon. This feels like an event that will happen regardless of with Dad Drew has, setting off his journey but it will play out differently each time.

I'll also try to theorize what could change about Drew's character if he didn't grow up with the Ferrans.

Timeline 1: Manfred raised Drew (Stagdad!Drew)

Stagdad!Drew is probably the variant of Drew that is the most incognito amongst his new family. As he could arguably pass as one of Manfred's children or as Mikkel's son.

Growing up alongside Reinhardt, Milo and Mia, Drew likely would be trained as a knight. Being a much more refined fighter than he is in the main timeline. His personality would likely be similarly effected, more honor and duty-bound. Acts like a werelord noble, not a farm boy of the Cold Coast. More willing and prepared to take up his destiny of being King.

As pointed out by @jgvfhl, Drew growing up in Stormdale would likely be one of the safer options for him. Far away from Highcliff and, if push comes to shove, he could be sent to Omir for safety from the Lions.

Stormdale also has its close proximity to Tor Raptor, the Screaming Peak. The resting place of Wergar's sword, Moonbrand, and the way to call the return of the Hawklords. The only wrinkle in that being that only Griffyn knows Moonbrand is there, as he put it there before Leopold took his wings. And his opinion of the other allies of Wergar would make him not inclined to share that secret.

But in the Stagdad timeline, likely during the tour the Lions did of Griffyn and his wings through the Barebones, while at Stormdale Manfred would earn his trust back in revealing he's taking care of Drew.

So, when Drew comes of age (on the night of the Hunter's Moon), Manfred takes him to Tor Raptor in preparation for retaking the throne from Leopold.

Paralleling what happens to canon Drew in SotH, Stagdad!Drew and Manfred are attacked by Vanmorten. Who likely brought a few crowlords with him.

Though Drew is able to make it to the tombs to retrieve Moonbrand, Manfred wouldn’t. Vankaskan sticking him with a silvered dagger. But not before the Duke of Stormdale took the rat bastard with him.

I like to think the last thing Drew sees of Manfred is the only father looking proud one final time. And for Manfred, maybe he sees a shadow of his former friend in Drew.

With Moonbrand in hand and the Hawklords returning to the Barebones, there’s not much else for Drew to collect allies and storm Highcliff keep.

[dangermousie]

I loved what the drama did with Ming and her husband.

Because the stepmom - she is made human but she's clearly a villain. And Song Mo's father or Dou Zhao's uncle are evil with not even much humanity.

So when they get (or will get) their bad endings, it feels just and clear cut but it's not like that with Ming and WTY.

Ming was a sweet, innocent, loving young woman in this life. She was naive but that is not a deathly sin. And WTY was useless and weak but he was not evil or malicious. They truly loved each other.

And yet...

What this storyline really shows is pitfalls of period marriage and how razor thin the margins of survivability are in that society.

WTY was not abusive but he was feckless. And in that society, that is as much a horror show for a wife as if he were running around beating her.

Stepmom was happy that Ming got to marry a man who adored her unlike she herself but it's so clear that in that world love without capability to protect is worthless.

Was it always destined to end in disaster? Yes. Unless WTY grew up or Ming left him and married someone more with it, both of them were gonna end badly at some point. Perhaps if WTY was a second son offspring of powerful and wealthy family that cosseted him, he could have lived to foolish old age in peace together with his spouse. But he was not. And this is a cutthroat society with terrible stakes. In modern day, this would have been yet another unsatisfying marriage where Ming has to do everything at home and her husband barely brings in any money at a dead end job as he talks about the world not understanding his genius. But this is not a safe modern world.

It also shows the dangers of a woman being too sheltered. Ming in life 1 brought up from the cradle by scheming stepmom was a bad bad seed but she was clearly gonna do well in life. Ultimately, if time didn't reset, she'd have married WTY as his legitimate wife and the fam had money thanks the DZ management. I mean sure they all could have died in the insane free for all that was going to ensue since both of emperor's sons are dead at the end of the OG timeline but barring a dynasty-ending disaster, she'd have been fine. This Ming is loving and sweet and as equipped for real life as a kitten. WTY was particularly useless but she'd have had a tough time in any noble household because she'd be oppressed by concubines, elders, whoever. Unless she married a husband who both doted on her AND wanted to meddle in inner household affairs (and that's a unicorn) she was destined either for misery or a brutal and quick growing up experience. (Ironically, stepmom knew what she was about when she wanted to marry her to WS, the ray of sunshine that he was. He was so decent and even if he didn't love her, he'd treated her well, and he was capable enough to at least not to get into messes, and he had spine. But man WAS a unicorn)

Anyway, I found WTY's death so fitting - in a happy dream as he's freezing and bleeding to death - the man was utterly unequipped for real world. And the same for Ming - she was sweet and fragile and the fact that she ended tragically just shows that this is not a kind gentle universe at all. It's an interesting parallel with DZ's mom - who also died for a man who did not deserve it.

[scarlethoodi]

If I could rewrite Yellowjackets in a way that allowed the statement “all 5 seasons were planned out” to hold up I simply wouldn’t start killing characters until late season 3/early season 4. The teen timeline can mostly stay the same but I’d rewrite season 1 to mainly focus on Tai’s campaign and the blackmail storyline. Shauna would still be the main character, we’d actually meet her because while Tai is campaigning people are trying to dig through her past and former teammates which leads reporters to Shauna. She stands out as a plain Jane SAH mom so the possibility of her being a Yellowjackets is an intriguing lead to follow. I think I’d keep the Jeff blackmail plot but there’d be a second one from a mystery person, so when Jeff admits to what he does to Shauna some of the things she accuses him of doesn’t ring a bell. I do like the idea of Callie being roped into her parents drama and learning about her mom’s history with the Yellowjackets.

Travis wouldn’t be dead in the adult timeline instead we would follow him to Lottie. All the blackmail and reporters will lead them all the Lottie and season 2 will still largely be at the wellness center but it’s there where the wilderness starts to call. If season 1 is an introduction to all the survivors then season 2 will bring them together. And with the teen timeline largely remaining the same we’ll be able to explore the parallels between the original team in the woods and their adult counterparts after time has forced them apart. I think this would benefit TaiVan the most because we could contrast the young love of their teens to the messy reunion they have, but this time around Van will have more character. With them all in the same space and not dead we would be able to confront some of the actions they took in the woods. Certain things would be hinted at before their reveal in the teen timeline, so they do get that tape but again it’s not attached to Lottie’s (unnecessary) death. As viewers we get to see the lasting impact of their time in the woods and exactly what haunts them. Only after this will the deaths start to feel earned and we can cut the wild goose chase searching for the killer out. If they’re on the run it’s from people digging to deep into their past and maybe from themselves each other.

Now this is just other things I wish were explored or done in the show

Lottie should’ve been Callie’s connection to the woods since Shauna wasn’t going to be answering her questions. I just overall think this current season just dropped the ball on any potential Callie development by removing Lottie so soon and just having her and Jeff doing nothing.

Certain secrets would have been revealed specifically Misty destroying the black box. Not that anything would come of it but if they’re forced to reconcile the reality of that DAT tape then let’s get messy. It’s all too little too late now anyways.

Bring back the reporters looking into them. I know it’s a small town so everyone knows but no one knows what happened in the woods and since it’s still probably the biggest event to every happen there, the truth would be a big deal.

Shauna can go insane but I want her to know her daughter is judging her and picking Lottie over her simply because it’d make for a good dynamic. They’ll make up because they do care about each other in their own shaky way, mother-daughter relationships and all that. Jeff is there when he needs to be or whatever.

Tai and Van don’t just get together after Tai’s wife gets hospitalized. She has to face that woman like an adult and apologize to her son instead of standing there like the first female deadbeat father. Then Tai and Van can come back to each other slowly and on equal footing.

Van will still have cancer and the death of others does heal her symptoms (we can have a little bit of supernatural as a treat) but she gets to have more agency over her life and illness.

Natalie and Travis will force them to defend their teen decisions to prolong their stay. Whether this is before or after they receive the tape is up to chance.

[eeriepromis]

TRAGIC & ANGSTY ONE-LINERS FOR CALEB'S MYTH

“My star has left me.” “My dragon is gone.” “I hope we do not meet again.” “... Goodbye, my beloved bride.” 

We all know them and we all love them; The tragic and heart wrenching myth one-liners. Today I wanted to share the sentences with you I came up with. Have fun angst-ing with me! :3

Since all their Chinese names kinda foreshadowed/spoilered their myths:

夏 (Xia) means "summer." It symbolizes warmth, brightness, life, and passion. It could suggest Caleb’s protective warmth or an era of prosperity and vitality that's ultimately fleeting and destined to end.

弈 (Yi) refers explicitly to the game "Go" (Weiqi), a complex strategy game symbolizing warfare, fate, and the interplay of black and white pieces (mirroring Yin and Yang). It strongly hints at Caleb’s dual nature, the constant struggle, tactical thinking, and his calculated moves in life and love.

舟 (Zhou) means "boat" or "ship," implying journeys, crossing boundaries, separations, or the inevitability of drifting apart. It could foreshadow Caleb's repeated cycles of separation, betrayal, or tragic goodbyes across lives.

Caleb/Xia Yizhou, might have once been a legendary strategist or general - someone who played metaphorical (or literal) games of Go with fate itself. In myths, he could have been a master of strategy who tried desperately to outmaneuver destiny to save his beloved, only to learn that certain losses are inevitable. The "ship" implies perpetual drifting from harbor to harbor, lifetime to lifetime, doomed to lose his loved one each time he's closest to victory.

"My ship sails endlessly, but you remain the only shore I can't reach."

"Even the brightest summer couldn't melt the ice between our fates."

"We were but two stones on destiny's board - always close, never touching."

(Though his name is written wrong in this version. The actual writing would be 夏以昼, but I think it still fits?! XD His original name means Summer / through / daylight (or fleeting clarity?) or something. (see footnotes) But it is also entirely possible that the current timeline is their first myth.)

Soo given Caleb’s current status as a Farspace Fleet Colonel, controlled and weaponized by the Toring Chip, this COULD indeed represent their first life. In this original life, Caleb and MC become the "optimal weapons" - fated adversaries whose meeting triggers cosmic-scale destruction. (Chronorift Catastrophe, the Deepspace Tunnel)

In their next myth (set in a far future), the tragedy repeats itself. Perhaps each reincarnation or future myth is Caleb’s desperate attempt to prevent the catastrophe that always occurs whenever they collide. In every future timeline or parallel world, the universe orchestrates events to pit them against each other, forcing them into opposing roles as heroes, villains, rulers, rebels, or weapons of mass destruction.

So anyway: 夏以昼 =  brief moments of clarity (昼) within an endless summer (夏) of repeated suffering(?) 🥲 

"Summer never lasts; neither does peace between us."

"I have seen our ending, yet I still run towards you."

"The universe chose us to be each other's destruction."

"My daylight, forgive me for the darkness I bring."

"If destruction is the only way to reach you, I'll set the universe ablaze.”

BONUS CONTENT BECAUSE I LOVE ANGST

Pirate Caleb - The Cursed Sea Captain

"You're the only treasure I regret finding."

"The ocean took my ship, but you took my soul."

"I'll wait for you beneath the waves, where even death fears to tread."

More (Adam & Eve, Yin-Yang, Fallen Angel etc.)

"Even eternity was not enough to keep you mine." (Reflecting his possessive yet tragic inability to hold onto her.)

"Our paradise was a lie the moment I chose you." (Echoing the forbidden love/forbidden fruit symbolism.)

"This time, let the serpent win - if it means you're safe." (Adam and Eve parallel with the serpent, indicating surrender.)

"Your heart was my greatest temptation - and my deepest regret." (Apple symbolism and sinful longing.)

"I loved you until love itself became a curse." (Fated yet cursed lovers, hinting at their tragic cycle.)

"I'll follow you even if it means falling again and again." (Fallen angel and forbidden romance motif.)

"We were never meant to survive each other." (Yin-Yang and destructive duality themes.)

"Forgive me for holding on too tight; it's the only way I knew to keep you." (Possessiveness stemming from trauma of loss.)

"I destroyed worlds to save you - yet I couldn't save us." (Tragic powerlessness despite immense strength.)

"If losing you is my punishment, then loving you was my greatest sin." (Emphasizing taboo love and moral ambiguity.)

More Name Analyses Content

- The Meaning Behind Their Names (Tumblr) - The English Surname Variations (+ MC's Headcanon name) (Reddit)

(header image source)

[deadlysoupy]

Soo I see you as a fellow mikey and bee fan (me too I love these little creatures that have some ıdentity problems ;>) . I have a little crossover thing in my head. When bee has some problems with cybertron and politics with a quick anger he takes a niiice vacation on earth. He absolutely has a little mental breakdown in some bar thinking and waiting to strascream to arrive he sees a little boy chased by some strange man. Now he has to save the boy from some strange man (ofc rubble trauma). While poor mikey is separated from his brothers and now try to run away from some strange man.

I just want them to explore emotional traumas and being sassy little shits while making everybodys problem

(Im sorry for this long thing I just have been thinking about them over a 2 weeks now)

⚘️

okay okay there's a lot to unpack here so it will get long, i didn't write anything but i have some thoughts

first of all thank you so much for this bc when i first got into transformers i saw bumblebee and, me being a life-long tmnt fan, spotted the mikey parallels right away, since my first tf show was tfa. it is disturbingly scary how many similarities these franchises have and its kinda sad no one considered a crossover yet, especially with the same publishing house at one point (idw). its a tragedy we never got anything with both of them, they're even both sci-fi genre with some environmental messaging - that said i don't want tmnt to be involved in a war so. uh. maybe not a great idea lmao

on the topic of mikey and bee - yes, they're absolutely very much similar! even when taking into consideration their different interpretations (like rise mikey being different from 2012 mikey, and tfa bee being different from tfone bee etc) i still think they both carry the same kind of attitude across their franchises. both are the "kid-friendly" appeal, their characteristics more upbeat and cheery to be a contrast to other more serious characters. BUT ALSO they get the LEAST amount of character growth out of any central characters (at least it's very prominent in mikey which i've always stated, you can quote me on that, he gets such "background character" energy it drives me up the wall sometimes; for bee its different with each iteration since he does get the central role more often than not), and they usually have to keep up an aloof persona everyone expects them to have (i drift to these characters all the time unfortunately) (AND THEY'RE BOTH THE YELLOW COLOUR TONE KINDA A LITTLE BIT)

so how would they interact with each other? it really really depends on the continuity and the timeline, but i'm gonna keep it brief and general enough as to not overthink it

i still think bumblebee would act like a sort of older brother figure no matter the situation - even if he fails at it bc he secretly just wants to have fun - and mikey is having none of it, he has enough brothers already. everyone knows michelangelo is a hazard to society and he's not gonna let anyone forget that, so he ropes bee into some weird shenanigans when he "could use the help of a cool giant alien robot". they break into a government facility or a decepticon base and try to get important info, and while bee feels bad about going in unsupervised ("goody-two-hoes over here"), mikey is having the time of his life, and seeing that uncontrollable chaos just sparks something in bee, too, so he starts enjoying it too a little bit

they both get scolded for sneaking out and doing dangerous stunts even if they got the intel, but ultimately get out scot-free with the power of ✨puppy eyes✨ and hang out for a while

i think bee would be very sad to see someone so young already experience so much hardship and still keep up a brave face... like sure he's been through war already but he's hundreds of thousands of years old, and this kid is fifteen and he's been trying to survive his whole life

mikey in turn being the sentimental and empathetic guy would try to help bee around his ptsd, reminding him a little bit of leo that way, and he'd try to share his love of humans and culture with him, maybe get them both out on a little nature walk, dance to music, teach bee how to skateboard (it does not go well lmao)

anyway bee gets a little stinky friend and he shows mikey off to every autobot in sight just holding him like "this is my best friend michelangelo :)"

made this just for fun as a reward for you guys having to bear my incoherent yapping (chose tfe bee bc hes the default to me) (AND THANK YOU ANON FOR SENDING THIS i actually had a lot of fun and got way too indulgent lmao)

[waywardsou2]

Im listening to Marcus Skeens new album and I'm going to give my thoughts in each song

Strangers

Ok but seriously? It took me a second to pick who's perspective this was. But when I twigged it was Viktor's. Gods ok I almost cried listening to that line

Because it shows how much Viktor really did want Jayce. How clear as day it was and yet he was so sure he couldn't have it. He was so sure it was unconditional. And tbh the way Jayce looked at Mel (talking from the perspective of Infinity End) I can't blame him. Wow that's really sad but it was really beautiful. I liked how clear the guitar was as well. The scratch of the strings was a nice touch

Event Horizon

Oh I'm excited for this one based on title alone

Ok fuck I know a lot of people say things like "I'm literally crying omg" and usually I don't believe them so I get it if you think the same. But the way I tell you I burst into tears when I heard these two lines. Like instantly tears in my eyes and then running down my face...

Again took me a little while to understand who's perspective that was. But I think these are all from Viktor's perspective. Which is really interesting, but I would love to see him make a parallel album answering these songs from Jayce's perspective.

But holy fucking shit. The turn from "I wish you would lie to me and tell me you love me" to "Shit wait you might be serious and now I have no clue what to do because I've been pining for so long"

This honestly hit me like a slap in the face

This has to be my favourite by far. I do still have three others to go thought

Better

Just end me now. That one may be my second favourite but holy fuck.

The way I wanted to scream like Vi did in Jinx's final scene. Because that was fucking brutal

This...this is just Viktor all over. He thinks he's broken, he fully believes it. Jayce doesn't want him to say that he is because Jayce doesn't see him that way.

Him saying he wants to be better deeply parallels Jayce telling Viktor he's perfect the way he is. As well as hinting to the previous song. Now that Jayce's eyes are on him he feels unworthy because he is so broken.

Oh that really fucking hurts.

Changes

Shit omg ok. Not as gut wrenching but still powerful. Not my favourite music but it's the message for me

Viktor is clearly very closed off, very reserved and as far as we know he doesn't have any friend apart from Viktor and we don't know about his family either. The idea that he's been hurt and has to learn to love again is heartbreaking but the fact that he wants to do it for Jayce is so powerful.

He's willing to risk getting hurt again because of how much he loves Jayce

The idea that Viktor feels like he darkens Jayce's shine. That because he is less standing next to Jayce he makes him look like less. As if he is a stain of some kind. That was fucking brutal. Just brutal.

Also calling Jayce lover?! Excuse me?!

Also comparing Jayce to a Renaissance painting? Hello? How gay can you be?

Oh love it

Until Next Time

Top 3. Fuck!

The fucking idea that Viktor had lost sleep, crying over the unrequited feelings he has for Jayce that he realised aren't unrequited...that hurts so much to think about

And and and I think this is from Mage Viktor's peresotivs. This feels very him. Especially with the "timelines" and "possibilities" lines. That has to be him.

It really is just song form of what he said to Jayce. No matter what they will do whatever they can do to pull themselves together. Jayce will always choose Viktor and Viktor can't stand the idea of letting Jayce go. They just can't.

But the fact that he says "you don't need to say it back" makes me think that maybe. Just maybe. Mage Viktor's Jayce never got the chance. Viktor turned him before he realised what he had done and Jayce never got to say it back...

And the emphasis on Viktor saying I love you makes me think he didn't either.

Oh this is so damn tragic. But it's amazing story telling

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please go listen to these songs for yourself. It's Marcus Skeens' Infinity End album on Spotify. I need to go kiss this man and then cry.

[matchadobo]

FIRST FOLLOWER EVENT LETSGOOOOOOOOO can i request the 2nd dialogue in hurt to comfort for kidd and reader? heavily inspired by the massive multiplayer online lores that love and deepspace gave birth to, it could be a reincarnation au too. like 1st life is them meeting, 2nd is them being tragic or the alternate fuck ass ending, 3rd is one of them not in the same timeline, and 4this them meeting in the grandline or smth. i want one of them to be the one who always remembers, so it felt like theyve been waiting for a long, long time. so like when they meet again in the most recent life, the one who always forgets finally remembers and say smth like sorry for making u wait and shit then the one who remembers is always took you long enough. the 2nd dialogue could be in a written letter in their 1st life or smth BUT it will always make its appearance all throughout their 4 lives or smth. (i know it says 3 u can alter this however u wantttt)

KIDD; three lives

🌷matchadobo's 500 followers event🌷

wc: 3496

warning/s: fem reader, no nsfw very fluff/angst, parallel universes, more on introspection, not much dialogues, hurt to comfort, happy ending!

dialogue: "if i had three lives, i'd marry you in two. the other life, i would be an artist trying to mold you into existence."

eustass kidd was a normal guy. has a stable job at his own mechanic shop, slept around a little too cool off some stress, has good people around him—but it was all mundane. he felt like it lacked. until he started dreaming about you. not just one, but consecutive and connected ones. it was like a whole fucking series in his head.

kidd keeps having dreams that are so incessant, it's almost haunting him. it creeps him out because it's always something about one person. it's not the repetitive dreams where the same thing happens all the time. it's always something new but it's always you who stands in the middle of it all.

at first it puzzled him, pissed him off why he always wakes up with his heart racing and feels disappointed because it ended. he's annoyed at himself because he wants more, it's what he always looked forward to for the day. he knows damn well he'd be dreaming about you.

it felt real, too damn real it's fucking him up to his very core. with every night and every dream, it's felt like he's always learning something about you. night by night, he experiences something special with you.

from the very first moment he met you when he first dreamed about you, on that field of tulips where your hair danced with the wind and drew his attention more to your face. and you donned that flowy red dress that matched the same red in his hair and cheeks. up until the moment he confessed under the stars.

he was delusional really. waking up everyday just to sculpt you into his metal works, welding all day and shaping up scraps of metal in the thought of you. how you look like, your favorite things, the jewelry you wear, how you feel under his fingertips, the shape of you, and even the littlest things he remembers about you. he does it just so he wouldn't forget.

and for a moment there, his life somewhat meant something. you felt so real and if he were to be branded as a freak, he wouldn't give a shit.

but deep within him, he felt like that's all there is to it. the life he has with you is confined within the walls of his mind. in the dreams he experiences each night, he'd be secure enough to think he'd see you again when the day ends.

he only realized that time was running when the dreams stopped. when he woke up with tears streaming down his eyes and the last thing you told him was goodbye as life slowly drew out of you in the hospital bed. and he realized it was the end of it all, the end of you.

it was too late to realize that kidd grew old and complacent with the thought of you keeping him happy. never had he thought of keeping someone with him in his life other than you.

so when he still felt that fire in him, still had the vitality in him that had been fueled with your memories with him. he made it his mission until his hands give out and let his fingers curse him out from the amount of scars, bruises, and grazes that metalmaking induced upon his body. kidd was determined to make you real, even if he was to be called crazy. you deserve a large scale statue as his most revered.

"if i had three lives, i'd marry you in two. the other life, i would be an artist trying to mold you into existence." he said in his last breath, glancing at the statue as the last thing he saw before dying.

eustass kidd made a name for himself as a renowned metal sculptor of his era. an artist so foul with his crude attitude yet his works symbolized a most delicate muse, a theme that revolved in his single most cherished treasure that is you. even keeping a ring with your initials in his finger until he got buried six feet under.

but he's damned enough to be the only one to remember. after all, you were just a figment of his dreams. as you stood above the damp soil with the rain dripping down your frames, a blade begging to cut his throat as it lie precarious below his chin.

you donned the coat in white stained with the massive letters of justice on its back, the red tulips brushing by your shins. kidd remained unfazed, a soft grin on his tinted lips as he fought the tears threatening to fall down when you finally stand in front of him. the fire in your eyes not losing its embers.

"found you." he mumbled in mischief, snatching the blade off of your grip with his devil fruit when he caught you off guard with his statement.

you were quick to evade his advances, kicking off your feet in the ground so you could increase the distance between you and him. but it seemed like he wasn't trying to land a hit on you, it seemed as if he wanted to just get his hand on you, restrain you or something.

"fine by me, i can subdue you perfectly well without my sword." you situated a fighting position, fists on your eye level as you try and predict his movements.

kidd chuckled, twisting your blade by his hands and using it instead as he pointed it at you. "i guess i'll indulge you for now, bonnie. i'll think about gettin' ya later."

there was a long while where you two fought, you held yourself well enough with him almost playing with you with your sword and his ability. it pissed you off so much that he somehow maneuvered a way for you to now be under him, overwhelmed by the other weapons he magneted which were precarious on your neck.

"now the tulips are all ruined." he looked around in the earlier vibrant yet now desolate place as some flowers were stepped on and sliced. "bummer, aye? ain't these your favorite, name?"

your eyes widened. why is he acting so coy and friendly?! how did he know tulips were your favorite?! he's been acting so relaxed even when you're in full intent of subduing him, killing him if worse comes to worst.

"have we met before?" you had to ask, you weren't familiar with him because he was a pirate from the emerging worst generation and you had just got your position as a captain.

kidd bursted into laughter yet he looked at you with pained eyes. "if i said yes, would you believe me?"

you shook your head, finding the leverage to flip your positions so you were now on top of him and you had finally yanked your blade back from him. you didn't hesitate to leave a scar on the side of his neck as you stabbed your blade by the ground next to his neck; and with one twist and slash, his head will be rolling. "i'm not playing around, pirate. you're done for."

kidd smiled, his eyes observing you and that passion in your eyes. "too soon to say that, bonnie. don't you wanna play around some more? see where this takes us?" he tilted his head mockingly, raising a brow as his yellows teased you. "although i already know where you'll end up." he propelled himself up with his agile body, using his devil fruit to replace his position with a big metal scrap that almost killed you.

and he slipped off your grasp just like that, such power and deviance; you hated it. you were this strong and he managed to overwhelm you. you see him back on his ship, standing tall and arrogant on the bow of his ship as he grinned at you before turning his back away as if to tell you to catch him if you can.

and you did. you had your eyes set on him as your prey. it was safe to say that he left an impression on you. he was your motivation to become stronger, training everyday so you don't become the same sorry marine who couldn't catch him.

it was around the same time that you see his name so frequently plastered on the bounty walls. as you rose up the ranks, you noticed how his bounty also grew gradually. until his bounty reached three billion and you were promoted as a vice admiral.

kidd deemed it the perfect time to finally tell you everything. he seemed to have orchestrated everything for you two to meet again on those once desolated tulip fields in the south blue, which were now in full bloom during spring.

the wind blowing through your hair with the sun illuminating your face clearly. you also saw him perfectly close that time. and this time, you weren't at each other's throats. you were crying before the damn pirate you had set your eyes on as your prey, to whom you vowed on to put behind bars and promised to grow stronger than.

but you still didn't know why you were crying. maybe it's because with the way he narrated everything from the beginning, it made sense. even though you couldn't remember. there was a faint familiarity that it did happen.

"why are you cryin'? come on now, vice admiral." he pulled you into his embrace, a hand on your head as he stroked your hair. "thought you got strong enough not to be sobbing on my chest, aye?"

"f-fuck off." you drummed in his chest, hicupping as you sobbed before his story. "i-i worked my ass off for what?! just to end up back with you?! fucking damn it."

but it was true. you felt like you've met before. just a little differently. it must be why you felt so damn close to him even at the first time you two met. like you've uttered his name before and you were meant to do so.

but you latched yourself off of him and held your blade against him once more, wiping off your tears and gripping the handle of your sword firmly. "if i lose, i'll let you go."

"aw shucks, gettin' soft on me, bonnie?"

and your blades clash once more. but this time, it was too hard for you for some reason. knowing the fact that you and kidd were somehow fated and that he knew how everything will end up. that kidd loved you and you loved him at some point in time. it wavered your conscience. what shakes you more is how kidd had maintained his front back then, going toe to toe with you despite being the same strength as you back then with the thought that you and him had gone through such a life back then. maybe that's why you lost and kidd gave you a parting kiss on the forehead before completely disappearing as you stayed true to your promise, kneeling down the floor in defeat with your blade broken. but it was not long before you completely lost it.

the kidd pirates was completely eradicated.

written in bold, capital letters in red as the main headliner of the newspaper. your heart sank and you started going lightheaded. your fellow navy checked up on you but you couldn't hear them. your chest was so tight you had to loosen your tie and take off your coat from feeling way too hot and cold at the same time. it can't fucking be! he's not fucking dead, is he?! not when you haven't told him how you feel yet.

so you set sail on your own, desperate to get to elbaf. a part of you speaks that you will never find him there. elbaf is a dangerous place and if akagami got him, well it's fucking over. but it was at that moment when you started believing in fate. when you saw victoria punk shipwrecked on the shore on a desolate island with a meager amount of trees near elbaf. you hurriedly hopped off your ship to search for him in the ship. it was starting to scare you, seeing how dilapidated the ship was and with how it's looking, there was no signs of life.

"think i died, bonnie?" a hoarse voice resounded from a far, emerging from the small spot of abutting trees. he looked fucked up, his only arm in a bandage sling as he suffered a few scars in his torso. you caught him when he lost balance of himself.

"what the fuck are you doing?!" you broke into tears, hitting his chest despite his protests of an injury there. but he honestly didn't mind, the joy he was feeling was unparalleled with the pain you're inflicting. it was numb at this point, because all that remained was the torrent of endorphins in his system with your touch and the sight of you all over him. "i thought you died, kidd! jesus christ!"

he leaned in your touch. "i'm plenty strong, bonnie. won't go down that easily, aye?"

you lost touch with the navy since then. you had a bounty almost on par with kidd, since you're a high ranking officer who possesses knowledge only the navy has and a pirate with a caliber and ferocity of a vice admiral. you both were a damn force of nature. it was unknown to the navy that your connection with kidd will turn into something so grand, let alone the manifestation of the connection itself. you two made a name for yourselves in the great pirate era, standing alongside the pirate king as his other half up until your very last breath.

and even after all that, you would still be clueless on how it will happen all over again. as the notorious eustass kidd made his way to detention languidly, his once weary self stopped on his tracks and almost tripped over himself when he caught glimpse of you introducing yourself to the class next to his as a new student.

you two locked eyes because his sudden movements got caught in your periphery. you stuttered in your words when you locked eyes. you were first to look away because you realized the silence you left in class upon fumbling.

kidd remembered once more and faintly smiled to himself, his fists in his pockets grew tighter as the birthday party in his heart rejoiced. so you really were meant to be even after two lifetimes.

the following days were the same. when either of you walks by the classroom of each other, there would be a time where the world will somewhat stop as you two stomach the fact that you were indeed making eye contact. and the flurry comes after when the one of you breaks tit and the butteflies goes crazy.

that went on for a while—a harmless little crush, a little something to look forward to everyday for school. until the annual school trip came where each year visits historical places for their finals.

"hey, hey! isn't it crazy how these statues look so much like name?"

"that's impossible! these were ancient, right?!"

some of your friends call out, nudging you to have a look. it was uncanny. it was almost as if it predicted how you'd look like when you grow older. but you just brushed it off from the mere fact of getting creeped out at how accurate it was.

you couldn't see it but kidd was closely watching your group, you especially who was engrossed in it. he was keen on observing how you were so curious by it—how you tried to look at it on different angles, peeking on the sides as if you'd find something hidden in it, or how you narrow your eyes at it to see some unveiled details. he chuckled to himself, shaking off his head at how adorable you look. if it weren't for him interfering you would've reached over to touch the statues and caused a goddamn alarm to blare across the whole museum.

"it does look like you, ain't it?"

"n-nah, that's just a coincidence." you got embarrassed, realizing how much you've been gawking at it and how the guy you've been eyeing is now talking to you.

"mm-mm, says the artist had a muse." he turned to you, as if implying it was you, waiting for you to face him.

"what are you... talking about? i'm the artist's muse or something?" you said after laughing dryly, sarcastic even as you look at him in disbelief. "are you for fucking real?"

but he only had an amused smile, hands in his pockets as he turned to look at the statue once more, eyeing every detail then back at you.

"seems real enough to me."

kidd shrugged and walked away as he let you internalize the mystery before you. he headed to the outside portion of the museum where several installations await, leaving you dumbfounded as you looked at the mirror-image of the statue. it can't be, right?

but it seems kidd was the only one initiating a damn conversation about this, so you followed him. plus, he smells good and is definitely your type.

"hey! have we met before?" you called out, panting as you tried catching up to him from the flights of cobble stairs that lead to a garden of tulips.

in the span of time where you two met, had your eye out for each other, branding the other as your "crush"—you two are well aware of each other's names, classes, and demeanor. but never had you thought that that familiarity would be so powerful for you to be feeling this mad when you saw him under the sunset like it's fucking deja vu. he only donned his school uniform but he looked so special in your eyes, you might be the only one seeing this troublemaker that way.

"beats me." he replied, gazing out the field and bending down to grasp a flower, picking it up afterward.

"kidd! you're not allowed to do that!" you ran up to him, his name somehow rolling off your tongue so naturally. he ignored you and continued with his heinous act, he glanced at it a little before giving it to you. "we finally met again, bonnie."

time had stopped and the wind blew a little too hard, even your tears got swept away which had unknowingly started falling.

"e-eh? why am i crying?" you felt your eyes stung and your cheeks damp. you laughed, feeling silly as you wipe them off with your hands clutching the flower he gave you.

"so you remember some of it. it just ain't so obvious, aye?" he ruffled your hair and it felt nice, his touch felt warm and it felt right.

when the trip was over and you guys were taken home, kidd took you out for yakiniku and you aren't stupid to not agree.

"you're kidding."

"i'm not, brat."

"don't call me a brat."

"then fuckin' believe me, why else would i kid around? to sound goddamn insane?"

he does have a point. why else would he be spouting off nonsense? that you two always met in the three lives he lived. like a sappy plot out of a romance novel, you two are fated by destiny.

"only three lives though?"

"aye. what? still not enough for you?" kidd chuckled, reaching over to wipe off residual food on the corner of your mouth. you seem to have been so invested in eating.

"so all the other universes perished and only these three universes are the only ones that survived?"

for a moment, kidd got lost in you. your words resonated with him the most despite the fact of you being in the dark. you tilted your head, growing conscious at the fact that he was just staring at you or maybe if it was something you said.

"now i'm saying silly things, forget what i said-" you nervously laughed, stuffing yourself with more yakiniku.

"nae, nae. hold it." he held your wrist, preventing you from choking. "so you think this whole shit is silly, huh?" his grip on you tightened, but he was just teasing you, a pretend front that you got him a little angry. yet you were too flustered with his touch and gaze to realize that he was just fucking with you.

"n-no! of course not! i-i like it, it's romantic! k-kinda magical, you know?" you waved your hands as a convincing way to tell him that you don't think it's all a sham. "it's a nice way to say we're meant to be." you looked away to avoid his gaze because you can't look at him with the embarrassing red in your cheeks as you squeezed onto the hem of your school skirt.

"got your heart racing, aye? leaves me wonderin' how i'll meet you again in the next one."

HOOOOOOOOOO 🥺☹️🥰 this was so good for my heart omg please thank you so much @tokwatbababooey for requesting 😍

this is such an amazing concept! i had so much fun conceptualizing reallyyyy 😙 finally done with my exams! so i hope i could finally make time for my backlogs here 😝 i'm not very good with angst so i hope this is ok ><

if you guys are interested in requesting a fic for my 500 followers event, my askbox is open! click here for the main event post for more info :DD i have slots for forced proximity, hurt to comfort, fantasy, he puts you in your place (smut), and modern aus!

[voxmilia]

Do you have any HCs with inkblade and Ivy

YOU MEAN OISIN AND HIS TWO FAVORITE GIRLS? THREE OF MY FAVORITE KIDDOS? ONLY ALWAYS

I latched on so hard to "mean girl with the Garthy O'Brien accent" so I've adopted Ivy, she's one of my favorites, I literally write her on my rp blog, I have a character/timeline study for her in the works so I have many headcanons. Some of these are, as usual, created in conjunction with my friend Nick @starlingcity !!

I've had to cut this down like 3 times because I have so many thoughts about all three of them so literally ask me for more anytime!

Ivy was born in Leviathan. She doesn't remember it much; she and her bio mother (her mama, bc Fabian parallel) emigrated to Solace when Ivy was around 2 or 3. Her accent is sort of a mix of Leviathan and Fallinel, as her second mother (her mum) is a high elf.

She meets Oisin at Oakshield Middle School. He's sitting by himself, reading a spellbook and Ivy, who even before the rage never really knew how to express herself right the first time, tells him it's "too sad" to watch him all alone and insists she has to join him from now on. She does. They're inseparable from then on.

They develop minor separation anxiety after their first death in the Mountains of Chaos; it's tenfold by their revivication in junior year. Jawbone helps them both and also helps them find accredited private therapists.

Oisin has a panic attack for the first time ever during his first appointment with Jawbone, because Ivy isn't there and he's terrified she'll be dead when he comes out.

He has another one when Lucy's out for a summer trip, reconnecting with her family after a year dead, and he hasn't heard back from her in almost a day. Adaine finds him, knees tucked to his chest, arms and tail wrapped around them, just outside of Jawbone's office. It's their first real conversation beyond his initial apology to her.

He laments that he should be stronger than this, should know better. Adaine still doesn't trust him but she understands so she huffs and assures him that anxiety doesn't mean he isn't strong. She has anxiety and she's been in so many battles., defeated so many foes

"I punched a dragon in the face and I have anxiety!" (It makes him laugh. She hates that she likes the sound of it.)

Ivy, as bad as she is with words, is the first to apologize of all the Rat Grinders. Mazey is kind, too kind. Ivy sort of rambles. She isn't even sure why was she so unkind in the first place; she apologizes, says Mazey deserved better. They're not friends but they've buried the hatchet at least. (Years later, they run into each other at a Fig and the Cig Figs concert and smile at each other but say nothing.)

Oisin and Ivy kissed exactly once, at 14, the summer before their freshman year. They were two confused, curious kids who wondered if the warmth in their chests when they were together was meant to be romance. They hated it immediately and never attempted it again. Ruben is still convinced they're exes, though.

Oisin, Adaine, and Ivy end up in the first Bad Kid/Rat Grinder mixed group chat, beyond their initial mega chat with both parties. Oisin kept sharing memes Ivy sent him to Adaine, who would tell him to send Ivy one from Adaine in turn. He got tired of being the middle man eventually and makes them a group thread.

Ivy texts the chat one night that she feels sorry for Adaine, because Oisin is an awful kisser. Adaine tells Ivy to speak for herself. Oisin is too embarrassed to reply for almost an hour, to Ivy's joy