#then theoretically they should have been able to get the other child

[echo-nt]

Man, it would be cool if there was a fallen banner and it was just Robin's other potential children to go with the Morgans.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

sebek and his big ol' heart

Y’all thought I would be writing an extensive analysis on [REDACTED] or Skully but JOKE’S ON YOU, I love my lame idiot child Sebek 😭

When I tell you I actually CRIED MULTIPLE TIMES reading his Nightmare Suit vignettes… because all the pieces fit together SO well…

Before reading this (long) post, I’d like to ask that you also take your time to read this analysis and this analysis. They will help you understand some of the points I made later regarding Sebek and his internalized racism + how he expresses himself.

Have your recommended reading done? Great, then let’s hop to it!

***Spoilers for Sebek's Nightmare Suit vignettes, book 7, and various other Sebek and Silver card vignettes.***

Sebek is one of those characters that lives in infamy for how much time he takes to get warmed up to. He presents himself as loud and brazen, with these traits often earning him the ire of both in-universe peers and irl fans alike. Worst case scenario, Sebek can be seen as someone who is outright hateful. He’s rude to most people (including Silver, his childhood friend, sometimes), denounces humans, acts like Malleus can do nothing wrong, and doesn’t seem to respect his own father.

Well, I’m here today to tell you those claims are false and that Sebek is actually capable of so, so much love. All you need to really do is look at his Nightmare Suit vignettes—and how well they connect with the rest of his lore—to understand what I mean.

The vignettes start with Jack Skellington finishing a bento that Sally made for him. Sebek tells Jack that he should now return the basket that the bento was delivered in to her and to let her know what he thinks of her meals, but Jack says he can’t because he’s busy with Halloween preparations. Jack asks Sebek and Azul to return the basket in his stead, which they do. (These vignettes appear to be following Trey’s Nightmare Suit vignettes, as those open with Sebek and Trey seeing Sally jump out of a window with food with Jack. Sebek points out to Trey that Sally wants to hand deliver that food and says he believes there is some other reason than just being nice to Jack.)

They aren't allowed to see Sally because Dr. Finkelstein has locked her up for misbehaving, so they leave the basket. Azul advises that they also pass along Jack's comments (he had called Sally smart, thoughtful, and kind; he often forgets to have meals when he's absorbed with his work, so it's generous for her to prepare a delicious meal like this for him). Sebek loudly refuses, as he believes that hearing these grateful words from Jack himself would be much more meaningful to Sally.

He later confronts Sally at Town Hall and asks to speak with her privately (in an ALLEYWAY lol). There, Sebek flat-out tells Sally that such roundabout tactics will never help her feelings reach Jack because he's way too dense. Of course, she reacts with denial which sends Sebek into a passionate speech about the lengths Sally will go to for love (short of actually speaking about it). She literally threw herself out of a window and put herself in bodily harm to get to Jack when Dr. Finkelstein locked her in her room. She deliberately disobeyed her guardian and brainstormed a way to get out when theoretically she should not have been able to move around freely. If that's not motivated by love, then what is? Sebek declares that it's really annoying to watch Sally dance around the issue and to see her devotion go to waste. IT'S LIKE HE'S WATCHING/READING A ROMCOM AND THE TWO MAIN CHARACTERS KEEP PLAYING THE "WILL THEY, WON'T THEY" CARD... She admits that she can't share her feelings because Sally thinks she's not worthy of someone as impressive as Jack... They're not compatible. And you know how Sebek responds??? BY TELLING SALLY ABOUT WHAT IS BASICALLY TWISTED ROMEO AND JULIET... Sebek reading tragic romance confirmed 😭 He describes the story as one of two lovers whose families do not approve of their union. In desperation, the lovers try to elope--but their plan fails and they return to their warring families. Instead of committing dying like in the original tale, the lovers live the rest of their lives lamenting the outcome and how they can no longer see the person they love most. Sebek shares his own interpretation of the story and its moral: because the lovers gave up hope that they could get their families to accept one another... because they never tried to get their families to get along... because they could not properly articulate their feelings to their families... the lovers could not be together. He is convinced that if they had communicated better, the story would have a happier ending. Sebek is of the firm belief that a story itself cannot come to be without the author wanting to share their own thoughts or feelings; he even suggests that maybe the author of Romeo and Juliet experienced something similar--a regret that resulted from neglecting to express deep-seated feelings. It's not just this book either, Sebek claims to have many stories with a similar theme or miscommunication leading to conflict.

Above all, Sebek stresses to Sally that she must believe in herself and take swift, decisive action. And why does Sebek whole-heartedly throw himself into this belief? Because his own family is living proof that a happy ending is possible if you try hard for it.

If you've paid attention to Sebek lore prior to this, you'll know that he has a human father and a fae mother. Their marriage faced opposition and scrutiny in Briar Valley, a country which is isolated from the rest of the world and suffered greatly from human invaders pilfering the fae lands for resources. One of these sources of opposition and scrutiny is Sebek's own grandfather and his mother's father, Baur. Apparently, Mrs. Zigvolt married Mr. Zigvolt against the wishes of her dad.

Sebek shares even more details with Sally in his Nightmare Suit vignettes. To this day, Baur does NOT approve of his daughter's marriage--but Mrs. Zigvolt doesn't let that get her down! No, she does everything in her power to prove to her father that she made the right choice and she's perfectly content with her life. She'll send letters enclosed with photographs of her family, take her children to visit Baur's home, and invites him to join family dinners. Sebek adds that he's sure his mom made other efforts too--all to try and get Baur to acknowledge her marriage. More recently, Baur seems to have lightened up a little... as in, he always used to turn Mr. Zigvolt away at the door, but now lets him in about once a year (though Baur still avoids eye contact with him and continues to frown). Mrs. Zigvolt stubbornly believes that if she keeps this up, her dad will one day change and bless her marriage with the man she truly loves. Sally commends Sebek and his mother's ability to speak their minds loudly and proudly, but then disparages herself again by saying she can't do the same. Sebek then confesses that he can relate to Sally's frustrations. He related her feelings to his own inadequacy in serving Malleus, the powerful and noble king-to-be of his country. That feeling... Sebek describes it as akin to heartache. But instead of wallowing in that heartache, he pushes himself to close that distance between himself and his idol. If he keeps hesitating, then there is absolutely no way he can catch up to where Malleus is! Sebek must dedicate himself to becoming someone worthy of serving him. He encourages Sally to do the same through both her words and her actions! At that moment, Jack walks in and Sally makes good on Sebek's advice. (This part isn't important to the analysis on Sebek's character, so I'm glossing over it.) The vignettes end with Epel complaining about Sebek being loud as per usual. Sally doesn't take issue with his volume though. She simply giggles and informs Epel that Sebek speaks so loudly and clearly so that his words can resonate with others--like how his words gave her courage.

We have learned new lore about Sebek's grandfather and mother. What does this tell us about Sebek? A lot, actually--if you slate it with all the other lore we have on hand.

We see just how strong of a woman his mother is. I suspect this is where Sebek picked up a lot of his hard-headedness, as well as the tendency to express himself very overtly, from. However, it also speaks to the loving environment he grew up in.

His mother seemingly never questioned her own life choices and never gave up fighting to prove her happiness to a father--and likely an entire community--that rejected her marriage, her husband, and maybe even her children. She fiercely loves and defends her family and the life they have made for themselves. Sebek states that he looks up to her for her magical strength, but that he also admires her principles and strong convictions. Indeed, it was her who ardently pursued Mr. Zigvolt and did not allow naysaying to deter her.

Then there is Mr. Zigvolt. In Sebek's Birthday Boy vignettes, he describes his father as "a strange man" who is "magically deficient" and "never lets his smile fade, no matter what I say to him [...] he defies comprehension." Though Sebek doesn't seem to hold the same amount of respect he has for his mother for his father, we don't hear Sebek openly insulting his dad, just expressing confusion about him. When asked about it, Sebek denies depending on his father--but it's clear there is a fondness there that he's not addressing. Mr. Zigvolt is impressed whenever his children use magic, buys them snacks they never asked for, and talks with them for long periods of time in a calm, patient manner. His father, too, has given Sebek so much compassion and understanding.

We don't know a lot about Sebek's siblings, but they seem to get along fine! He has mentioned going to parks with them. They've also gone fishing together and witnessed magic competitions, which they were all amazed by. The Zigvolts in general (or at least the parents) seem to be accepting too, as they volunteer to take Silver in whenever Lilia is unable to take care of him.

And you'd think that's where it ends, but NO. Baur ALSO has a lot of love to give. Despite not approving of his daughter's marriage, he doesn't actively despise his grandchildren. Quite the opposite, in fact! Though he's rough around the edges and looks scary, Baur doesn't fault any of his grandchildren for being born half fae and half human. He actually makes it a point to bond with them, and especially with Sebek. It was Baur who taught Sebek the language of nocturnal fae and instilled in Sebek his love for reading (as he bought many books for him and tells many stories himself). He also personally reached out to Lilia to train Sebek, as the young boy (at around age 7) expressed an interest in martial arts. Sebek has a love for salmon carpaccio because he and his siblings would fish at Baur's house and then prepare the dish for him--Baur was so happy about it. Additionally, Baur values getting a good education and was proud when Sebek shared with him that he was invited to attend Night Raven College.

Sebek grew up in a country that dislikes humans, but he was raised in an household where he was loved unconditionally and provided with all the resources he could need to get a good education and become someone who is physically strong. So of course he becomes frustrated when he sees Sally, who is so nervous to act on her feelings. What would have happened if Sebek’s mother had been like Sally, thinking she and her now-husband are incompatible? If she didn’t try pursuing her feelings at all? Sebek, as the youngest of three, might not event exist. His parents may not still be together… or maybe they wouldn’t have gotten together in the first place. It’s exactly because Sebek knows what love is supposed to be like--courtesy of his own family—that he can see it so well in others, and wants them to act on it. His very existence is proof that love is possible, and it transcends arbitrary labels like race that serve to divide people into categories.

One quirk of Sebek's is how he's always dishing out back-handed compliments or making comments that come off as rude but aren't at their core. He can't seem to help but say a good thing that sounds like something bad. His Diasomnia classmates, usually Silver, have to translate these Sebek-isms for others, who misunderstand him or interpret his words in the worst possible way. For example, from one of Silver’s Fairy Gala lines; “Sebek said to me that no self-respecting disciple of Lilia’s would dare get a single stain on this clothing. That's his way of encouraging me.” In Silver's Dorm Uniform vignettes, Sebek tries to reassure his friend and tell him to not let other people's opinions hurt him--but he phrases it as, "Hmph, ridiculous! I see no reason for you to heed a few random comments from some humans." The duo is also shown to be competitive with one another in training; it's never malicious, they both want to prove themselves as the superior knight, and the other serves as motivation to improve and/or a means of measuring one's own growth against a fellow disciple. When the mostly elderly population of Harveston is in need of physical labor, Sebek comments "[...] the humans in Harveston are woefully out of shape," yet he insists he "still [has] energy to burn" (as if to volunteer himself to do more work) and calls such tasks "simple" (as if to point out how easy it is for him to do, so don't worry about troubling him). He hauls apples and helps the villagers with whatever they need, declaring that they should "be grateful"--but if he truly did not care, he could have stopped at any time or settled for just making fun of them. But Sebek doesn't, because he DOES care deep down. This aspect of Sebek is made even more obvious in Fairy Gala: What If. He appears at Ramshackle and opens by declaring, "NO! I am by no means worried about anyone! [...] Don't mistake my intentions. I am NOT here to help! If your mission doesn't succeed, the repercussions will definitely affect Malleus and Lilia. Hence... I shall lend you uneducated humans my aid! [...] You're welcome to weep with joy at my magnanimity..." Time and time again, we see Sebek demonstrating a lot of kindness, but deflecting or not being totally transparent with his intentions due to pride or embarrassment. This behavior is very reminiscent of Baur, the grandfather that Sebek loves dearly and spent so much time with. Baur, too, can be very passionate and loving, but struggles to speak of those feelings openly. Just look at how the man deals with Mr. Zigvolt. The behaviors of the family, then, imprint on Sebek and influence his behaviors--and being that Sebek is from such a loving group, it follows that Sebek puts out a lot of love into the world too.

A lot of times when the fandom discusses Sebek's attitude, I feel it's from the context of him being hateful towards humans. I'm not going to deny that Sebek has said some pretty nasty things about half of his own identity. The point I would like to make here is that Sebek can love just as strongly.

The most obvious thing that supports the claim that Sebek is capable of strong love is how he views Malleus. It's no great secret that Sebek practically worships the ground his dorm leader walks on. That's essentially Sebek's key defining character trait. What I'll ask you to consider instead is the nature of Sebek's love--not the obsessiveness of it, but rather the unconditional nature of it.

In Lost in the Book with Nightmare Before Christmas, Skully laments that Sebek has not been disappointed by his idol, Malleus. Sebek actually corrects him by saying that love isn't imposing your own views on your idol, it means preparing to accept them, flaws and all. He says the same of Malleus; should the time ever come where Sebek's expectations of Malleus falter or their paths have to diverge, then he will still embrace his young master, never once turning his back on him. And where does Sebek gets this from? His parents. The father who loves his children no matter how critical Sebek may be of him. The mother who remained so strong in the face of her friends and family being against her life choices.

A common fandom sentiment regarding Sebek is that he blindly follows Malleus--and to be fair, he does for a large part of the main story. But when speaking about his idol to Skully, Sebek says that agreeing with someone and continuing to love them are different things. You can disagree with someone's actions and still continue to love them and accept them. This follows what Sebek does in book 7 and likely alludes to the character development he goes through during + following book 7; though he is betrayed and hurt by Malleus turning his powers against the world, Sebek does not let up on the hope that he can bring his young master back. He even sillily calls the yet-to-be-hatched Malleus tamago/egg-sama, showing even an infant form of Malleus great respect after witnessing his OB. Skully took the opposite path that Sebek did; when he realized that his own idol, Jack Skellington, was not as he imagined him to be, Skully became enraged and lashed out over it. Sebek points out Skully's inadequacies as well, which ties back to how he spoke of his own drive to improve in his Nightmare Suit vignettes. Skully confesses to trying desperately to emulate Jack--so much so that he breaks down when Sebek's UM destroys his iconic shades. He wallows in his current state and doesn't make efforts to change or to be better; the past and his own vision is where he's comfortable. It's a strong contrast to Sebek, who has made it clear he will continue to train and work hard to prove his merits and to be someone worthy of protecting the great Malleus Draconia.

It is Sebek's passion and boundless love that makes him a hero both in Lost in the Book with Nightmare Before Christmas AND in the main story's book 7. He serves as a foil to Skully in the former and actively saves Silver when he's on the brink of despair in the latter. After learning that his biological father is the man responsible for killing Malleus's mother and leading the Silver Owls' onslaught on Briar Valley, Silver despairs and comes to the conclusion that his father must loathe him. "He could never love the son of the man he despised! He has to hate me! He has to!" Sebek rushes to Silver's side using Living Bolt, a UM he has yet to master (thus causing residual damage to him when he casts it), to correct him:

"You have this much strength... and you dare to say you weren't loved?! That you were hated?! [...] If [Lilia] hated you, he didn't have to give or teach you anything. He could've just raised you into a dimwitted coward and made you a servant. But he didn't--and look at you now. Even alone and helpless, you stood firm. You spoke up, unfaltering in the face of our liege's madness. Even trapped in the darkest despair, you kept on fighting! Who raised you to be so strong? LILIA DID! Why don't you see? Why do you doubt? You should have understood years ago! What can you call your strength, if not the direct result of Lilia's love?!"

WHETHER SEBEK REALIZES IT OR NOT, A LOT OF WHAT HE TELLS SILVER HITS HOME FOR HIM TOO... Like, thinking about it... Sebek must have faced a lot of prejudice from his community because of who his father is. He might have grown up thinking he, too, was hated, had he not been protected by his loving mother, father, and, yes, even grandfather, who is still struggling to accept the human in their family. Baur must have been feeling very complicated emotions upon meeting his half human grandchildren for the first time... but even though he dislikes humans, he could never find it in himself to dislike his grandkids. If he had hated Sebek, he wouldn't have wanted him to get a good education. Baur wouldn't be happy that he got into NRC. He wouldn't personally ask Lilia to train the grandson who expressed an interest in combat. He wouldn't buy so many books for Sebek or read with him or tell him stories or teach him his language. He wouldn’t spoil Sebek by giving him sweets (which, by the way, Baur himself dislikes). But Baur DOES do all of these things, because deep down he loves Sebek no matter what he is. You can hear it in the hurt of Sebek’s voice when dream!Baur reacts to him coldly. That isn’t the grandfather he is used to. Though it’s said that Baur doesn’t exactly welcome his grandchildren with open arms, he definitely loves them and cares for them in his own way. If it was anything less than love Baur felt for his grandson, if he decided to neglect his grandkids, then Sebek would have grown up as some "dimwitted coward". IT'S ALL CONNECTED.

And now here Sebek stands, able to tell others that they are loved and should be cognizant of that love. He reminds Silver that Lilia loves him. He advises Skully to reevaluate how he sees his idol. He tells Sally to speak honestly about her feelings, because it was his own mother speaking honestly about hers that led to Sebek and his entire family being as happy as they are now. He shouts at people to act and to speak their minds because he doesn't want them to live with regrets, because he doesn't want to see them be weak and timid--a version of himself that could have resulted if he hadn't been loved so strongly.

You can say many things about Sebek: that he's loud, that he's rude, that he's a fanboy, that he has big muscles. But of all those muscles, Sebek has a very big heart too. And what made him so strong? All the love he received from his family, despite growing up an environment that surely invited hatred for humans.

[lets-try-some-writing]

Considering family for Cybertronians is important stuff like child support, daddy/mommy issues and whatnot would be confusing to them

Cons: We have your husband

June: You can keep him.

Bots: June??

June: And if you could would you please scare him into paying child support?

Bots,cons: ???

Oh yeah it would be confusing. Cybertronians have convoluted and complicated relationships, but let it not be said that they fail to be organized. A family on Cybertron can be anything from the Conjunxed couple and their wards to a collection of mecha related purely through paperwork, or perhaps not even through offical means. Whatever the case, Cybertronians make it a point to know their relatives when possible and to support one another if able. Regardless of the situation, if you are family, you are obliged to follow certain standards.

Any Cybertronian involved in the forging, raising, or mentoring of a newspark must be there in some capacity. Unlike humans, simple caste sharing and funding is more than enough in most circumstances. Strictly speaking, a Cybertronian doesn't even need parents, just a familial unit of some sort and a sponsor to ensure that newsparks are taken care of. Family units are loose, but the rules are not. Even Whirl would be morally obliged to at least turn up once and a while with either payment or wisdom to share with any newspark he helped create or got himself involved with as a mentor. It is not even a question on Cybertron. The scummiest mechs still know the rules, and generally speaking, it is in the best interest of all parties to follow the rules of sponsorship.

The larger the family, the more resources one theoretically has to call upon. Hence the interest in taking care of one's line. Humans though? Considering they are not functionally immortal and are not given the great equalizer that is in built weaponry, the rules are all but nonexistent. Children do not always have the power to get back at parents, and parents generally do not have as great an investment in their offspring since any offspring are not likely to bring back investment in a reasonable time frame, at least by Cybertronian standards.

The Cybertronians on Earth simply do not understand the plethora of broken homes amongst humanity. Even Megatron, while largely uncaring of the fleshies, is a tad confused when it comes to the lack of fathers or mothers in homes. Children murdering parents isn't anything new. Cybertron wasn't much better once one got into the higher castes. But parents abandoning their young? That's new. It was a code of honor on Cybertron for a mentor or caretaker to do everything their power to at least make an attempt to provide.

Jack's situation in particular gained the collective confusion of Bots and Cons alike. How could a Sire abandon his creation? Entirely too. It was strange. So strange in fact that Shockwave was momentarily interested in possibly testing the resiliance of the human family structure since, according to his assessment, some family units matched Cybertronian ones in strength where others were all but nonexistent.

It was nigh on culturally impossible to fully comprehend. The Cybertronian family is a messy thing, but even for the functionally immortal, there are rules.

Optimus: Your Sire left you? Without a word?

Jack: Yeah. Dad left when I was young and hasn't come home since.

Arcee: No financial aid? No instructional holovids? Nothing?

Jack: Nope. Haven't heard from him since I was little.

Ratchet: That's ridiculous! Your Sire should not have been given a warrant to engage in any mentorship, much less creation!

June: You can say that again.

[meanbossart]

some questions about du drow and his blood magic sorcerer stuff (because i'm so damn curious about lore and sorcerer is one of my favourite classes haha). how did he become a sorcerer? did bhall create him that way and only grant him access to those powers later? did du drow just... not realise he had them until he joined the cult of bhall? did he suddenly stop being a sorcerer after he was infected with the tadpole? does he still have access to those powers but he just doesn't use them? does he still use them but not to the same caliber as before? i can understand not having them after being killed by bhaal and subsequently resurrected by withers, but if they are cut off at a different point, what causes that?

i think that's all the questions i have... sorry if they're too many 😅

(Technically there are indirect spoilers for A Novel Experience in this answer but I don't think its particularly egregious. EITHER WAY I figured I'd mention it.)

I guess sorcery is something bestowed upon him by matter of being a God's spawn, but there's no solid answer here and in truth, it's anyone's guess! He was born with these powers and had a vague but progressive knowledge of their existence as he developed. As I've mentioned before, DU drow killed his foster mother and partner at the age of 10 or 11 - he is not supernaturally strong now (well, I mean that he's only as strong as you would expect a 6'5", 250lbs man to be), and he certainly wasn't back then, either - It was thanks to his sorcery streak that he could take them out at all and swiftly. From that point on, he also had to escape the Underdark all by himself, where said powers probably came in clutch.

I believe that as DU drow grew older, a mixture of forgetfulness and aversion played a role in him pushing the thought of it out of his mind. He did not practice his powers at all as a teenager and focused entirely in what his body was physically capable of doing and enduring - he was often hungry, hurting and lonely, whatever weird blood magic he spurred up as a child, bore no relevance now. In truth, his powers are pretty useless for any purpose besides quickly killing something or healing himself.

It's worth noting too that this sorcery thing is purely in service of lore; DU drow is not a character that I play table-top with and so, his sorcery isn't supposed to function exactly like it would in a game. He has a blood magnetism/molding type power based closely off the Blood Magic's homebrew additional spells. He doesn't have cantrips or domain over any other type of magic like a caster character normally would.

DU drow can only do the following: Hemorrhagia: An AoE spell that draws blood out of a creature's orifices by forceful, magical means until either the caster's concentration is broken or all affected creatures perish. Ineffective against undead or constructs. (Based on the 6th level spell Haemorrhage from the aforementioned homebrew)

Universal Recipient: The human body is like a balm, and DU drow is but a pile of meat-putty; The blood and flesh of others can be absorbed to quicken the healing of small wounds, retain the vitality of the caster, and even regenerate the function of body parts. This also makes him immune to all blood diseases, but not to all blood conditions. This is actually a passive. (Based off of "Theft Of Life".)

(I have a desire to expand upon this but my other ideas are currently irrelevant and/or undercooked. So I'll leave at that for now.)

This is based on his theoretic conception (literally a piece of meat slabbed off of a dead god), and should also explain how he would have been able to survive infancy, childhood, and later, Kressas's experiments.

Upon joining the Bhaalist temple, DU drow would come to better understand and utilize his powers, but it was often more of a threat/punishment used against his own followers rather than something ever employed against victims. He always preferred getting up-and-personal with targets and sacrifices rather than resorting to sorcery, though naturally he still enjoyed the benefits of being Universal Recipient at all times.

DU drow does not recall ever possessing these powers following his brain being scrambled and the tadpole inserted. I can also tell you right now that triggering them by accident is impossible - his rejection of Bhaal as well as his death at the temple, however, did not nullify them. Once again, Universal Recipient does remain in-effect, but the benefits enjoyed by someone who's unaware of how that power functions is far too subtle for DU drow to chuck it up to anything outside the normal range of weirdness that surrounds him. As far as his friends and himself are concerned, he just heals really well sometimes.

Thanks for being curious about it! I had been holding onto this for so long, LOL. I'm glad to finally have a reason to get into it.

[iliketangerines]

Do you write for Havik or Rain? I just barely see any fanfics of them and since ur an MK writer, I am taking the chance.

Could you write Earthrealm Champion! Reader with either Havik or Rain? Like some enemies to lovers tension going on... You don't have to write them if you don't want to though, I just wish they had more content.

sweet as wine

a/n: god knows i need more content for the both of them as well.

pairing: rain x afab!reader

warnings: nsfw (MDNI), creampies

Rain didn’t like you all too much

you also had water magic and when you had bested him in kombat because he foolishly believed that a human wouldn’t be able to beat the high mage of outworld…

well, safe to say, he felt humiliated

even more so when you had stuck your tongue out at him like som petty child and then put your hand up and flipped up your middle finger

he wasn’t sure what it meant but judging by Raiden’s disappointed glare, he knew it was some sort of insult

he sits across from you in the dining hall while you chat with the others about something on Earthrealm, and he scoffs at you when you say you had learned some water tricks when you were younger

you glance at him at his sound, but you just shoot him a glare before continuing with how you first learned flashy tricks as a dancer before switching to kombat

the next few days are torture having to sit next to you and listen to your stories

he tries to one-up you with his own stories about the decades he spent learning mastering the art of water magic, and yet you always seem to do better than him

you wielded magic younger, you learned it faster, you fought better with the water than he did, and it infuriated Rain to no end

even worse, he was always stuck next to you because two water magic users theoretically should get along with each other, but Rain held nothing but envy towards you

and yet, despite all that, you were always somewhat cordial with him, letting the smallest hints of frustration shine through when he grumbled something derogatory about Earthrealmers

but, you still stuck by him closely and traveled with him around the palaces and the village outside, and he eventually stopped mumbling insults at you and started seeing who you really were

he couldn’t deny that you were beautiful, especially in the soft glow of the lanterns while smiling at him

you bought him food and desserts from the vendors and asked him to explain it all to you about the food, and he found himself day after day finding joy in watching your face light up when he explained the cultural treats and snacked on them

and then he had gone and betrayed the empire and flooded Seido with water, too blinded by his ambition, and he had come back to court begging for forgiveness and to be punished for his actions

and then you were there, defending him to try and better himself as a person rather than be locked up to rot for the rest of his life

Rain felt his heart thump at the sight of you fighting for him, and he knew he was a goner

he spent his days bettering himself with you by his side, teaching him all the tricks you had learned, and he did the same for you

sometimes, some of the old banter would come back, insults flying at each other, but now it was underlined with a hint of playfulness, a hint of flirting

or maybe it was all in his head

and now, he sat with you on the balcony of the training pits, moon high in the sky, as you both drank some sweet outworld alcohol and regaled each other with tales of learning and failing certain water magic

you laugh as he tells you he had been trying to make a ball of water float over to him when he first learned magic but it had ended with puddles on the floor and a mop to clean it all up

you slap his shoulder and lean in close, not quite believing that the high mage of outworld couldn’t even manage to float a simple ball of water

Rain rolls his eyes, but he can’t help but focus on the way your hand is so warm on his shoulder

he takes another sip of his drink and tells you that you couldn’t have been perfect at wielding magic at first as well, and you smile and giggle

you tell him about how the first time you had wielded water magic, you had gotten mad at your mom for something frivolous and the sink in the kitchen had exploded during your tantrum

Rain doubles over in laughter, and he doesn’t realize how close he is to you until he opens his eyes and finds your face just a few inches from his

your eyes flicker from his eyes to his lips, and his heart thumps in his chest

if he just leaned in a little closer, he would be kissing you

he whispers at you to tell him to stop if you get uncomfortable, and he raises a hand up to cup your face

you lean into the touch, and he dips his head down low to press a soft and quick kiss to your lips

you smile at him when he pulls back and ask with a smirk if that’s all he can do, you would’ve thought a mage with decades more experience would be more bold

Rain rolls his eyes and grabs onto the lapels of your shirt and smashes your lips together

you groan into the kiss and slide into his lap to try and get closer, and Rain presses his tongue into your mouth, desperate to taste all of you

you let him in, and you cup the back of his neck as your hips slowly grind into him

Rain can feel himself getting hard underneath you, and you seem to know it to because your other hand comes down and palms at his dick

he groans and pulls away to admire you

your chest is heaving, your lips are glossy, and your cheeks are flushed from the alcohol and the kiss earlier

Rain asks if you want to go further, and you jump up and drag him to his feet and tell him to take you to his bedroom

he smiles and quickly whisks you away to his bedroom, but it’s not quite so subtle with the way your giggles and his laughs echo in the high palace hallways and how your footsteps stumble all about the marbled floors

but finally, the two of you reach his bedroom, and he leads you to his humble bed

you fall onto the bed on your back, and Rain crawls onto the bed and kisses you again, weight atop of you and pressing his clothed cock into your hips

Rain grinds into you and moans into your mouth while his hands paw at your clothing clumsily, fingers not quite as deft with the alcohol running in his veins

you taste so sweet for him, and you can’t seem to get enough of him either with the way your hands claw at his clothes

the two of you pull apart, and Rain’s not quite sure what to do next honestly

but it seems you’re not too sure either because the two of you just lay on the bed, breaths mingling as your chests heave

Rain asks if you’ve ever done this before, and you let out a sigh of relief and say that you thought you were the only one

you then prop yourself up on your elbows and say you would’ve thought that since he’s so old that he would’ve had at least some experience

he ducks his head as his cheeks warm and says he was too busy focused on his studies to try and get with anyone

you laugh at him and call him a nerd, and he scowls at you

but you stop laughing eventually and wipe away a tear and say let’s take it slow

Rain nods and kisses you sweetly, before you pull away and say to get those damn robes off him, you want to see him in all his glory

he blushes at your lewd words, but when you start undressing as well, revealing your plush chest and toned legs underneath the uniform, Rain hurries to undress as well

the two of you throw your clothes onto the floor, and the both of you trace each other’s bodies with your fingertips

Rain can feel himself getting harder as your hands lightly brush over his arms, his chest, his stomach

and he can feel your impatience as well with the way you squirm underneath his warm hands squeezing your chest and your thighs

he kisses you again, leaning overtop of you, and you wrap your legs around his waist and grind your pussy against his cock

he moans into your mouth at the feeling of your wet pussy sliding against his, and he reaches a hand down to line himself up and push into you

you whine at the stretch and tell him to slow down, you need to adjust

little tears well at the edges of your eyes as you pant, and Rain peppers light little kisses over your face as he stays buried inside of you

he moans into your skin at the feeling of your warm wet cunt around his cock, but he keeps his hips still as he lets you adjust to the stretch

finally, you let out a whimper for him to move, and he gives an experimental thrust

you let out a little whine and throw your head back as you dig your nails into his back, and Rain groans at the feeling of your pussy tightening around him

his thrusts are slow and shallow at first, but as your whine grow needier, Rain’s thrusts gets faster and rougher until he’s fucking into you roughly

his hips make a wet slapping sound as they meet yours and bumps into your clit, sending little stars bursting through your vision

you moan as Rain re-angles his hips and his tip bullies against your sweet spot

your whimpers grow louder, and you scratch angry red lines into Rain’s back as he groans into your ear

you’re so tight and warm for him, and the little pleas you let out as he fucks into you has his mind spinning with pleasure

he captures your lips in a kiss, and you moan into his mouth as your cunt clamps down on him and you cum

Rain whines into your mouth, and his hips stutter as he cums inside of you

he lets his seed empty into your wet pussy and kisses you until you’re both breathless again

finally, he pulls out, and he lays down beside you

you can feel his cum dripping out of you, but you can’t really find it in yourself to care as Rain brings you close to his plush chest

you look up at him, and you can’t help yourself as you tell him that he didn’t do so bad for a old man

Rain scowls down at you and reaches his hand down to give a playful smack to your ass, and you wiggle your eyebrows at him, telling him jokes on him you liked that

Rain smiles and tells you next time, and you laugh and cuddle up next to him

the both of you fall asleep quickly, close together and in each other’s warmth

[greatwyrmgold]

i feel like everyone has their own vision for this in their head, so what do YOU think an Ai Lives version of OnK would be like? both in terms of what you think the manga itself would have been like and what you, as a fan, would like to see for the characters in that kind of scenario

So, the fun thing is, I've had a few Ai Lives AU fanfics kinda outlined and semi-scripted in the back of my head. I'll try to keep "what I think makes sense for the AU" separate from "what I thought I could justify in that fanfic," but no promises.

I will divide this into two sections. First, I'll discuss how I expect the Hoshino family dynamic would shift over time if nothing disrupted it. Second, I'll discuss a disruption that I expect/hope would happen sooner or later.

The Hoshino Family

Much like HikAi, the Hoshino family is a bunch of people with complimentary unresolved traumas. Like HikAi, there's theoretically a way where these mesh together cleanly and let everyone involved heal without complication, like a broken bone that sets itself.

Like HikAi, that would require implausible serendipity. Unlike HikAi, I don't see that devolving into violence. But the idyllic Hoshino would devolve into a normal, mildly dysfunctional family, composed of people who have minimal experience with anything except the idyllic Hoshino family and idiosyncratic forms of filial abuse.

Aqua has the least baggage. But depending on how his slide from Goro to Aqua turns out, as Ai and Ruby's baggage comes up, I can imagine him appointing himself as the Family Adult without even realizing it. The part of him that's still Goro still sees Ai as his patient, someone who needs his help.

Of course, Ai doesn't know Aqua remembers being his mother's doctor. To her, this just feels like the child/parent relationship being inverted. And I don't think she'd like that much! She'd probably blame herself before Aqua, thinking that this is all because she's a terrible childish mother, but still.

As for Ruby...she'd react basically how you'd expect a little sister to react to her big brother telling her what to do.

There'd be more tension between Ruby and Ai. Ruby wants the unconditional love a mother is supposed to give her child, Ai wants to feel like she can give someone that love; they should mesh like puzzle pieces designed for each other. But that's conditional on Ai being able to express that love.

One of the AU fics I've outlined is the first time Ai has to spend several weeks away from home. She stars in a move with a bunch of scenes shot in Hokkaido or somewhere, and a week or two later B-Komachi has its first world tour scheduled, and then that gap gets unexpectedly filled when Ai gets hospitalized away from Tokyo. (Maybe she broke her leg in a skiing accident or caught an infectious disease or something.)

Anyways, the end result is that for a couple of months, Ruby doesn't see her mama. All she has are occasional phone calls. Even if the rational part of Ruby realizes that her mama isn't intentionally abandoning her, she feels abandoned, and doesn't appreciate Aqua's appeals to her rationality. She needs Mama and mama isn't here! And Ruby's lonely and scared and mad and explodes when Mama finally shows up again. And Ai is dying inside because she feels like she's failed her kids on a fundamental level.

If there's a single moment where the "idyllic Hoshino family" phase ends, it's that. Maybe not that exact scenario, but whatever moment where Ai's work means she can't maintain that intense positive affection. After that, no matter how real Ai's love for Ruby is, it's not going to feel real the way it used to.

Crucially: The actual Hoshino family experience is, objectively, not that bad. But to Ai and Ruby, it feels like they stepped off the slippery slope. Ai worries that she's going to keep slipping until she's as bad as Ayumi, while Ruby worries that Mama's going to keep growing more and more distant until she's abandoned, like everyone except Sensei abandoned her.

Part of the problem is that the Hoshino family is kinda left to stew by itself. As long as Ai of B-Komachi is a public figure, she has to keep lying. She can't admit that she's the mother of her children to anyone she doesn't trust absolutely. That means they can't give her advice, or comfort, or even point out that from their perspective the family is still okay. It's fine. They're fine. It's fine.

(I guess there's Ichigo and Miyako. But they're not exactly an ideal nuclear family themselves.)

Odds are, the Hoshinos will stew in the fear and paranoia about becoming a Bad Family until something disrupts their status quo.

The Hoshino Disruption

The argument that Ai of B-Komachi needs to hide her family for her whole life, or at least her whole career, is contingent on Ai Hoshino being able to hide her family for her whole career. When she's just a semi-famous idol with a couple kid-kittens at home, that's not unreasonable.

But as Ai of B-Komachi's fame grows, more and more people will poke around, looking for a lead that could make their carer, or at least a tidbit that could let them pay rent. And as Ai Hoshino's kids grow, it will be harder and harder for her to balance their needs and desires against her career.

In one of the AU fics I outlined in my head, the dominoes fall like this: The Saitous set up a livestream so Ai can watch her kids' first sports festival, a paparazzi catches her watching it, he recognizes one of the kids as that boy from That Was the Start, then does a little digging to find out that that boy and his sister are legally the kids of Ai's boss, then does a little more digging to find some circumstantial evidence suggesting that Ichigo Saitou's wife was not actually pregnant when the twins were born and also they seem suspiciously close to Ai of B-Komachi.

Nothing definitive, but enough suggestions and raised questions to catch the world's attention. Because by this point, Ai of B-Komachi is the global face of J-Pop. However these suspicions accumulated into circumstantial evidence, finding out that this perfect, pure idol might have had a secret boyfriend and two children is a major story in Entertainment News.

And then there's Kamiki.

Maybe Strawberry Productions could have answered those suspicions and provided something more (seemingly) concrete than all that circumstantial evidence. But as indicated by the Ai Dies primary universe, Kamiki is still emotionally clinging to Ai and prone to doing impulsive things at her.

In my fic outline, Kamiki crashes a press release where Ai and the Saitous are answering questions about these allegations. He basically says "Yes, it's all true, Ai had children and I'm the father! Ai, will you marry me???" And Ai panics and agrees on live TV and there's no walking that back, even though she realizes it was a mistake.

Whatever the details, Kamiki is gonna do something that makes it impossible for Strawberry Productions to just dismiss the rumors out of hand. If they don't admit that they hid their idol's pregnancy, there are gonna be investigations. And those kids are Ai's children; if Kamiki elevates this story from top-tier celebrity gossip to an evening-news controversy, the truth will come out sooner or later.

The Fallout

Whatever ends up happening to Kamiki, whether he gets to marry the love of his life or gets murdered by Ryosuke for defiling history's most perfect idol, the Hoshino family is free of the burdens of secrecy. Ai can go to PTA meetings and take her kids to the movie theater and show baby pictures to her colleagues. She has so many baby pictures she never got to show anyone, it'll be years before she shows anyone pictures of what they look like now.

Of course, they'll have new burdens. Ai is probably too famous and skilled to go completely without work, but her reputation and income will probably never recover. And Ai of B-Komachi's ex-fans are going to exert as much pressure as they can. Ruby, who has been flaming the haters since she was a toddler, is going to give them more clickbait than they know what to do with.

But at least Ai Hoshino can stop lying. And whatever tribulations she must face, I don't think the Hoshino Family can know peace until that happens.

[socra-time]

Socra’s Naruto Liveblog, Ep 71-80

Ep 71:

-Temari is so cool

-so like I feel like the show is really glossing over Orochimaru bringing people’s souls back from the dead

-I get that they have to have a super cool all-out Hokage vs Hokages fight, but wouldn’t the first and second Hokages be limited by the chakra reserves of their “hosts”? (Since it’s explained that their souls are in other people’s bodies)

- I like that the three Hokages have different elemental styles that they use

-so like what even is Orochimaru’s deal. Like apparently he was/is human, but also he’s kinda not??? I need some backstory for him or something right about now

Ep 72:

-I wonder how much Temari’s fan weighs

-with how often substitutions and clones are used, I really feel like people need to be WAY more wary of the possibility that the person they’re fighting isn’t the real one

-the show heard my call for more Orochimaru lore and answered it and WOW is it fucked up

-not the Hokage summoning fucking DEATH

-ngl that montage and monologue at the end of the episode showing the people of Konoha got me emotional (the music was also really good), that’s definitely one of my favorite moments from the show so far

Ep 73:

-good on Jiraiya for helping to defend the village but also I find it hilarious that his way of fighting so far has just been summoning giant toads

-damn so the Hokage basically made a deal with the devil, huh

-yay I want to see Kankuro fight more

-YEAH SHINO GET YOUR SCREENTIME

-I like that we can’t see Shino’s eyes, even at angles where we theoretically should be able to

-I’m hyped for this Shino vs Kankuro fight ngl

Ep 74:

-it’s hard to make Sasuke look completely normal and well-adjusted, but Gaara is so incredibly edgy that he somehow does it

-Shino made a clone out of bugs instead of using a clone jutsu or substitution? Call that “bugstitution” (I’m so funny I know)

-I feel so bad for saying this but I really don’t care about how Konohamaru is doing right now

-ugh Iruka my king I missed you

-Orochimaru and the Hokage are basically playing tug of war with Orochimaru’s soul lol

-JESUS CHRIST GAARA

-Shino hanging upside-down from bug tendrils was really cool actually

-welp Kankuro’s definitely gonna develop a fear of bugs after this

-Shino is such a badass, I know Kankuro’s poison knocked him out but he definitely won that battle

-it’s monumentally funny to me that Gaara is this raging monster but he’s also still a tiny kid. Just a lil guy.

Ep 75:

-someone get Gaara a Tylenol asap

-every time Sasuke calls himself an “avenger” I die inside a little from secondhand embarrassment

-NARUTO TO THE RESCUE!!!

Ep 76:

-I feel bad for Sasuke but also I couldn’t look at him being hunched over in pain without thinking of that one meme about people projecting period pain onto characters

-again, Gaara needs some Tylenol

-baby Gaara with his giant raccoon eyes was so cute

-I was feeling depressed over Gaara and then Gai came on screen and I just started grinning, I love him so much

-I already knew almost all of Gaara’s backstory that was shown in this episode but god is it still putting me through the emotional wringer. He was just a hurt little kid and he wanted loveeeeeee

Ep 77:

-okay so I do know that Yashamaru lied to Gaara about hating him but I don’t remember why and I really can’t figure it out. Like sir why are you telling this very emotionally damaged child something that will just make his mental state worse????

-I feel like Gaara’s advanced fox form could have looked a lot cooler than it does, it looks super awkward and clunky in a lot of shots

-I hate how we keep having little interludes of Orochimaru and the Hokage having their standoff. Like nothing has actually happened with them in a while but the show has to remind us that they exist I guess

-me @ Naruto: don’t you just wanna go apeshit?

Ep 78:

-Naruto PLEASE stop sticking stuff up people’s butts

-awww Sasuke actually cares

-it’s funny how shook Sasuke is by Naruto’s fighting

-I fully did not expect the giant toad to fight using a fucking SWORD

-why does Shukaku sound so goofy lmao

-FOX FIGHT

Ep 79:

-it cut away from Naruto and Gaara and I thought it was going to cut to Orochimaru and the Hokage for the fiftieth time and I was about to be so annoyed, but then it cut to Gai and Kakashi and I was like aw hell yeah

-…and then it cut to Orochimaru and the Hokage afterwards anyways (although given what happens at the end of this episode it was actually completely justified this time)

-I completely forgot Hayate died ngl

-YO WE GET TO SEE THE PARENTS FIGHTING HELL YEAH

-holy shit Shadow Strangle jutsu is cool

-shoutout to Kiba’s mom. Why is she the only ninja parent who’s not a man

-also random thought: Kiba’s mom’s dog talks but I’m pretty sure Akamaru never does, so is there a reason for that or is it just random?

-anyways I don’t know if we ever get to see people’s non-ninja parents but it’s a little funny that almost all the kids with known ninja parents (Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Kiba, Neji) look extremely similar to said ninja parents. Like the non-ninja parents’ genes really didn’t try

-Hinata is kinda the exception, which makes sense for her character. And with Shino and his dad it’s obviously a little hard to tell

-aww Shino’s dad saved him <3

-wow Naruto really won that fight with a headbutt lmao

-rip Lord Hokage, I’m still not sure what I think of you but I guess you were cool????

-the last thing the Hokage saw before he died being young Orochimaru was interesting. Like he still desperately wanted to see the humanity in him or something

Ep 80:

-it was right before a serious moment but seeing Naruto wiggle his way over to Gaara made me chuckle

-I like that Naruto flashes back to Haku even though that part of the story is long over, it gives the sense that the story is one continuous arc rather than multiple different arcs

-aw Gaara apologized to his siblings😭

-so uhhh is Sasuke just fine after overusing his chidori and dealing with the curse mark flaring up again??? I feel like there was a lack of proper consequences there

-I know I was supposed to be sad during the funeral scene but Iruka hugging Konohamaru made me soft, I love him so much he’s so full of care and good and hchdhshsjsjaka

-I really liked seeing a montage of all the kids having moments with the Hokage, it really added to the whole “the village is a family” thing

-OH SHIT ITACHI’S HERE

[lazaruswitch]

Thinking about that take that's basically "if Jason gives up on killing it should have nothing to do with batman and co, and do little to improve their relationship because Bruce doesn't understand that other reason why Jason stopped"

(Fully agree with and love this for the record)

I always figured that if I ever decide to have Lily and Bruce meet in The Lily Pot au, it will not go well and absolutely not end in reconciliation

But I realized furthermore that Lily would definitely have killed many people some time during their post resurrection youth, and then decided to stop (excluding certain extreme cases that mostly don't involve humans anyway) and been satisfied not killing for several years before the theoretical reunion with Bruce even happens

But she also wouldn't regret what she had done, not in a way Bruce could accept, because ultimately her reasons for killing and for not killing have nothing to do with Bruce or his code and is entirely about herself and her beliefs and her growth, and Bruce in turn isn't able to really understand where she's coming from

It would be a source of strife between them (presuming Lily didn't pack her bags and go off the grid the second the bats got distracted)

Bruce wouldn't be able to understand or accept Lily or her thinking and beliefs,

and Lily would not in the slightest care about compromise or sympathy or reconciliation or being in his good graces (in fact her entire aim was to live long and well without ever having anything to do with bat and co or having them know she existed)

So she's antagonistic and angry and high-key a megabitch but in like very normal humany ways that don't entail any killing or criminal activity

Like oh this lady doesn't get along with her estranged father and says really mean things to him. Genuinely no one around (as in civilian neighbors etc) cares about it, to them it's another bitter parent-child relationship and thus unremarkable

Whenever Bruce gets all bat broody about Lily, others get confused because "you're mad that she's... Not killing anymore??"

So to outsiders this situation and the animosity just doesn't make sense because it's Batman having personal familial beef with a random lady who is as good as a civilian to them

And to Bruce it's like "you wouldn't get it it's more complicated than that it's personal with lots of layers and nuance stay out of it" but to everyone else they're just confused why it's a bad thing a teenage assassin reformed and settled down peacefully and hasn't killed in years. Like who cares the specific how's and why's so long as nothing insidious is going on

Lily quite frankly is mostly deeply normal compared to the bats or other capes, it's like she's just a mom in a small city who very very occasionally will help with certain missions if absolutely necessary and more often than not it's only of the intel kind

[lesson-in-ruthlessness]

ranking the sophie biological father theories

This is just regarding the six i have seen (Gethen, random elf, Fintan, Grady, Cassius, and Elwin)

Taking everything we have been told about the father at face value. No lies here, everything was 100% factual.

Fintan - Overall, this one makes the most sense. It would be earth-shattering, the abilities of Inflicting and Pyrokinesis line up enough, it's very sound. There's no strong contradiction like in most of the others.

Gethen - This one makes the most sense on the surface, until you realize there is a MAJOR issue. The parents won't have an ability Sophie has. And he's a Telepath. so that doesn't line up.

Random Elf McGee - THIS IS A COPOUT. but theoretically, you could make it work. you could give him an ability that fits your agenda (i make a case on which it should be). but giving him a world-shattering influence would be difficult- especially if he's never been mentioned. and its too late to introduce a new neverseen member for it to really stick imo

Grady - There are two massive plotholes enough: it's not world-shattering enough, just a gutpunch to the reader and 2. he wouldn't be able to know. and unless it took 100ish years to develop sophie, he wouldnt go behind edaline's back to father another child. However- there is a massive advantage on the other caniDADtes- Mesmerizing and Inflicting line up WAYYYYYYYYYYYYY better than literally any other on this list. the only one that would make more sense is charger (which you could make the rando elf)

Elwin - Nope! @the-way-astray has an AMAZING post on why this is a no. I'll direct you there for this!

Cassius - ONLY worse than elwin because of the reverse arrested-developmenting. having two kids kiss then revealing them to be half-siblings is weirddddd. plus why get two empaths????

[parentsday]

I once saw someone say that after Parents Day (the episode, not you), they never really touched on Max’s familial situation again. And while I agree that episodes like With Friends Like These could have paid a little lip service to it (why David just sent Max back home to what he knew were neglectful parents is beyond me, maybe he didn’t think there was anything he could do about it?), it feels to me like one of those things where once you know about it, you start seeing the character in a whole new light. Like you see what Max does in older and newer episodes and you rationalize it as “Oh, I see, he acts that way because his parents neglect him. Stuff like him not knowing how to swim or having a teddy bear when he’s theoretically too old for one.

i agree with you on many of your points and disagree heavily on the use of them you make later on. to start off max is an incredibly dear character to me, like painfully so. if i had the chance to i would love to dissect his head like one of a frog in a lab and see what makes his brain tick in ways it does, and of course one of the reasons is the abstract emotional state of mind any victim like him would have. one that sometimes gets more kafkaesque the longer i stare at him. so please bear in mind that i love the subtext his character possesses, i just can’t always rely on it to explain anything.

if you know me you know i like to complain about this shows writing, not out of hate for it but rather out of love for the material and what it started off as and has ability to be still (stuff like heavier writing that holds narrative weight, david being an asshole, the whole harrison thing that is lost to time now etc etc). whenever i watch this show with someone i usually opt to rewatch several earlier episodes after we finish parents day. it gets praised a lot but i don’t often see people mention how well it recontextualizes a lot of stuff previously shown to us, not only for max but other cast members too. a lot of the problems that stem from this is the fact that most other characters whose issues were presented to us in this episode are strawman connected to their family by the writers in a way that laters on allows for progress without relying on mention or presence of their parental figures (proper examples of this are preston, ered, nerris, somewhat harrison). max doesn’t get that simply by the virtue of the fact that his issues cannot exist in a vacuum and are inherently connected to his family. max’s parents haunting all of the narrative surrounding him has enough psychoanalytical subtext for it to traumatize several men and leave freud rolling in his grave, so i believe that you cannot in good faith progress his character without mentioning them or their actions or lack thereof towards him once or twice. that’s pretty much why i think that the topic of his abuse has not been brought up in a meaningful way since parents day. from where i stand i view abuse as one of the focus themes in this show, so poor treatment of it is very obvious to pin point to me as it usually drags most characters down with it the less it is respected in a way it should be.

like i said, the way the show recontextualizes max’s behavior leaves way for interpretation of the viewer on the way why he is the way he is, it’s easy for us to understand why he can’t swim or why he can’t fathom the idea of moving on and letting go on several occasions. the thing is in a perfect world we don’t have to do all of this. it can be attributed to good writing for making the audience be able to perceive any part of the characters psyche without the authors help, but in reality it’s lazy to expect everyone to treat the characters from a watsonian perspective and view their every move as a meta reference towards their trauma when not everyone cares enough to do so. the writer referencing child abuse and not adding onto it aside from the mention of its existence is exploitative of the viewers personal care for the character, it’s bad writing. you obviously can interpret what max does as a result of neglect (and you should!) with the power of subtext, implications and critical thinking, but what you also should think about is what does it tell you about his character aside from the fact that he is neglected. do we ever find out something new about his home situation or do scenes like these give us any discussion inside the show about the fact that he is still actively a victim of neglect? (the answer is most always gonna be no, maybe just always)

tldr; stuff like child abuse is heavy, writing it is hard and treating it the way rooster teeth does is not only poor writing but also disrespectful to the very real human trauma they are inserting into their show on more than one occasion

i would also love to discuss the david stuff you brought up and why him acting towards max and others in a way that he does in recent seasons is a long standing issue rather than a new problem but thats genuinely a conversation for another day as this post is already long enough as it is. thank you for the ask :3c

[proteovaldez]

Im gonna talk Jason, Reyna and Octavian. Reminder I haven’t read these books in like five or more years. Are these headcannons? Let’s call it that.

Wolf boy Jason should be talked about more. Also I like Octavian as a character cause he’s a little freak. And Reyna is my personal Ace/Aro representation. My sister and I have made little phrases to help others understand how we’ve characterized them. Octavian is “Dog eat Dog.” Reyna is “Dog and Dog.” Jason is “Doggie Dog.”

Now to explain how I think pre Hera/Juno Camp Jupiter was like. So in my mind time works differently at the wolf house. Reasoning, no way a two year old in just a year is Roman ready. So Jason spends a lot of time there. He’s a baby, so obviously he picks up on the wolf stuff and as a result he’s more animalistic. The only explanation why he was able to succeed at being a soldier at age three for fifteen years is because he is not the usual soldier. He’s a wolf first and a Roman soldier second. No matter how much training you have, it’s kind of hard to beat someone who is not afraid to bite and theoretically tear out your throat. I like to think he had longish hair. I mean I fully believe he refused shoes and his cohorts would brush his hair or give him head scratches. He has definitely bit an adult.

Now Reyna is just trying to do her job. I mean you’re telling me that Jason wouldn’t immediately investigate the new girl. He does and she’s cool. When did she get the metal dogs? Doesn’t matter she’s clearly good with dogs. Also both of them are great fighters and intelligent. I’m confident they bonded even before he became praetor. I fully believe they are in love. I mean like queer platonic love. Like the most they’ve done is holding pinkies when slightly stressed or doing each other’s hair. She cringes when he tried to hug her once. So when they both are praetors it’s her just silently begging for him to wear shoes at meetings.

Now Octavian, our favorite little freak of a teen. Octavian is a legacy, I’m assuming his parents live in New Rome. I like your think Jason went to a school and had classes with Octavian. Octavian has always been weird. Also he can read. I don’t remember if legacies are also dyslexic, but you’re telling me Octavian wouldn’t know how to read with no struggle. He would and he’d lord it over everyone. I just know he’s always been a little ambitious and power hungry. I mean what child with prophetic tendencies wouldn’t crave power? He definitely notices Jason is powerful and useful. He knows it’s better to be on the possible feral child’s side. Also he’s incredibly patriotic like most Roman’s are historically at least. He knows Jason is good for Rome and I bet he’s one of the many who thought Jason fumbled choosing the fifth cohort. Like he’s known of Jason forever and knows that Jason is all for the Roman cause he’s a child soldier. He can rely on Jason to be on the side of Rome. Now Reyna he definitely was wary until he actually met her. He’s a smart kid, so obviously he likes Reyna. He respects her greatly until she becomes Praetor. After that he has two separate Reyna’s in his mind. There’s smart, intelligent Reyna, and then there’s Praetor Reyna. The second one is an implied sneer. Cause I bet she’s had to alter her original ideas and plans to appeal to the council. Octavian has heard Reyna’s original plans and thinks they’re genius, but Praetor Reyna is a sellout.

The three of them are literally the most recognized campers at Camp Jupiter. It’s kind of hard to not at least respect your coworkers when they’re useful and technically are working towards the same goal. Like Reyna wasn’t there long so she probably was just pleased she had people to talk to. Maybe not friends exactly but acquaintances. And Jason likes people. Then Octavian likes useful people. Also they’re teenagers. I just know the three of them hung out and have stupid jokes, but only do so in private as they’re kind of serious people.

[fragileizy]

family and i just played a game that took about thirty minutes.

here's the deal: my dad and i really want to get into snorkeling. my dad used to have a scuba license way back in the day but he hasn't been able to go scuba-ing since we moved to the states, which at this point is a very long time ago. he misses scuba-ing. but my mom would rather kill me than let me attempt to get a scuba license, and would rather kill him than allow him to regain his scuba license, because she's afraid that we will both drown, so that whole world is completely off limits to us (for now.) so we're going to snorkel instead. fun. soft. easy. a kit on amazon costs $35 a pop, which is pretty cheap comparatively. it's a first-time hobby, so we don't need anything fancy, and the kit comes with two flippers (duck feet), one snorkel tube, and one mask each.

my dad buys two, one for me and one for him. one size small (for me) because i have small feet, one size medium (for him) because he is a grown man.

my dad, for whatever reason, misclicks and orders two orders of the exact same thing.

four packages arrive at our house a few days later. he's aware that he needs to return two of these packages because we don't need four snorkel gears.

now, the game begins: how do you ensure that you open one small and one medium, without having to unnecessarily open an extra bag?

my dad takes a chance, and opens one at random: a small, for me, leaving three packages behind. 66.6% chance of getting a medium when he opens another package, a 33.3% of getting another small. but this family has a curse. 33.3% of getting something wrong always indicates that he has a 100% chance of getting it wrong. it's just always like this. (i unfortunately used all of our luck at a hotel resort bingo in the summer 2009, where i proceeded to win every single bingo game that night for four hours straight. i was then banned from participating in that hotel's bingo night ever again, as they were convinced— somehow, someway— that an 11 year old Child was cheating. at bingo.)

this is our predicament.

three giant plastic bags line our dining table. in one corner, a seniored more-salt-than-pepper-haired man, chewing on a cuticle (bad habit of his), looking over his glasses, attempting to figure out which one to open. in the other corner, me, tapping my nails on the wooden table (bad habit of mine, always stimming, annoying everyone around me with how much noise i make), trying to decipher the hieroglyphics both usps and amazon stamp across the surface of each package.

the game, of course, is not this serious; amazon won't kill us if we try to return a package that we've resealed. but it's a game. and my dad likes probability. he's always said he'd love to blackjack and poker if it wasn't so upsetting that you actually have to lose money in the process. i like probability, too, and why not make something as mundane as easy into something so difficult?

my dad and i, on opposite corners of the dining table.

"shouldn't each package have a transit ID?" i ask. "look at the order on amazon and we can match the number to the serial code."

an idea. a good one. my dad is rushing for his phone. it's under my mother's account on amazon; she pulls up the receipt. a number. a path. we grab the bags and search for this tracking number. there are no less than four individual serial codes on each tag, all in an attempt to dissuade us.

none of them match any of the tracking IDs. i'm grateful, even for a moment, to not be a bar-scanner machine at the amazon facility. i would be fired immediately.

my mom looks a little unimpressed with our lack of motion. it's been thirteen minutes. she's given up on trying to convince us to just open it, because she's seen the sparkle of good fun shining in our eyes. "theoretically, your dad's kit should be heavier because his flippers should be a size bigger so there's more plastic. we should go get the bathroom scale."

"it would, yeah. but the difference wouldn't be in kilograms," my dad tells her. "it would be grams. the bathroom scale isn't precise enough."

"the kitchen scale is in grams," i offer.

"the kitchen scale is too small for this," he counters. "we can't weigh these."

so, how do we win?

the solution, in theory, is simple: ask someone who wasn't born into the family name to open the second bag, meaning that the family curse isn't used to open it.

we both turn to my mom. pleading. asking for help. a family curse is one you can't break just because it's inconvenient, after all.

my mom looks. the packages are identical. she stares. the bags do not move, and offer no solace. she picks up the unwrapped kit that we already know is mine, and tests the weight in her hands. she moves to the next, scrutinizing, in the same way i've always seen her calculate something imaginary to me while she weighs her options on potatoes and cherry-tomatoes at the grocery store.

then, she settles: "this one weighs more."

we scramble to tear the plastic off, a pack of wolves descending on prey, something akin to the fervor of a delicious black-friday sale picked apart for scraps. the plastic bag is ripped, out the kit goes, and we search the surface for the size number on the front of the nylon mesh that incases the flippers, horrified for a brief moment that we might be wrong. our fingers trace the surface, fingertips against the plastic cover as if searching for braille.

medium, the bag states. bold letters, made tiny along the surface, but clear enough to read.

my mom has gotten it right.

all is right in the world. my father and i can sleep easy. it is time for rest. and to return the other two back to amazon and make sure my dad doesn't miss-click again. the family curse still stays, but we have mitigated around it for now.

[thebardostate]

Children's Memories of Past Lives

It began with a toy.

When I was seven years old my Uncle Charles gave me a "Sands of Iwo Jima" toy soldiers playset. For me, it triggered a flash memory of having been a young sailor killed during an amphibious landing in the South Pacific during World War II. But did I really remember that? Or was it just my childhood imagination? But I had lots of other toys - why would I fixate on this one?

So I began my lifelong search for an answer to that question: was my memory of being killed real? Or did I just imagine it? I realized early the best I would be able to do was to say whether it could have been true. My curiousity eventually led me to get my Ph.D. in Systems Science.

One day in a used bookstore I stumbled across the research of Dr. Ian Stevenson and his colleagues from countries all over the world, who scientifically studied children claiming to have lived before. In a flash I realized that might be what happened to me. Even better, this was research that used methodologies I was an expert with from my Ph.D. dissertation, so I could tell at once that these were rigorous, high quality studies.

For some children the evidence is far stronger than it was in my case. Those that feature verifiable details are termed Cases of the Reincarnation Type (CORTs.) For a CORT to be strong enough to merit investigation it must include at least two of the following:

A specific prediction of rebirth by the previous personality. Not merely, "I will be reborn" but with verifiable details (e.g., I will be reborn with so-and-so as my next parents.)

An announcing dream. This is a dream by the pregnant mother in which the previous personality asks or announces their rebirth as the subject.

Birthmarks or birth defects related to the previous life, either due to the circumstances of death or else markings deliberately made on the corpse of the previous personality to aid recognition of their rebirth. These are not just any normal blemishes, they are unusual birthmarks. The birthmark or birth defect should be noticed right after birth or within the first few weeks of life.

Statements made by the subject, as a child, about a previous life. The record of these statements should not depend on the subject alone, they should depend on at least one other older witness (e.g., a parent or older sibling) to corroborate that the subject spoke about a previous life as a child.

Recognition by the subject of persons or objects with which the previous personality was familiar. In the ideal case these should be correctly picked out by the subject without leading or prompting from a group of several other unrelated persons or objects.

Unusual behavior on the part of the subject - that is, unusual in the subject's family but similar to behavior shown by the presumed previous personality, or behavior that could reasonably be conjectured for him/her (e.g., a phobia about firearms if the previous personality was fatally shot.)

So to continue the Consolation of Philosophy dialogue with @mainaccount1983, CORTs are an important line of empirical evidence suggesting that consciousness can and does survive physical death of its host body. CORTs can be divided into two overlapping categories:

Strong cases, which bolster the validity of the CORT while ruling out alternative explanations; and

Theoretically significant cases, which include interesting details about the period between lives or the prenatal environment.

For brevity I am only posting a couple of these case studies on the Consolation of Philosophy community; I have posted many more cases to another Tumblr community I administer, Near Death Experiences and Related Phenomena. But tens of thousands of CORTs have been recorded in a database at the University of Virginia, some of which are stronger cases than the ones I've posted here on Tumblr. If you want more empirical evidence I can certainly provide it, you have only to ask.

The other lines of evidence in favor of the survival of consciousness hypothesis involve deathbed phenomena, which I discussed in another post.

So to recap, at the beginning of my exchange with @mainaccount1983 I said I would provide:

An evaluation of physicalism with respect to its rivals,

A response as to why metaphysics cannot be subsumed under physics, and

An evaluation of information vs matter as candidates for the building blocks of reality.

Now that I've laid the groundwork, I can respond to 2) - look for that post soon. My response to 3) will come later, as an empirically grounded framework for dualism.

[paradife-loft]

random khisit characterization/personal history tidbits, because I've been Thinking About Them 🥺 and I feel like it

most of the time if you'd asked them whether they were angry about something, or whether they were an angry person in general, they would say no with 100% genuinely sincere belief that they were telling the truth. (they're not angry, they're just annoyed by something that's rightfully and inherently annoying. or somebody is being obviously fundamentally wrong about something and you can't just let people go around being that wrong and stupid. anyway, alexithymia's a hell of a drug.)

on a pretty fundamental emotional-regulation level, they associate "having and exercising autonomy" with "getting in trouble and being punished". .........as in, "pissing people off and making life harder for yourself is/ought to be standard background noise, otherwise things get stifling and twitchy and you're probably being a doormat".

(regarding the above... they get better about it, to an extent. eventually. their relationship with Rivka is a pretty big contributing factor as to why & how.)

they have a lot of conflicted feelings and uncertainty around the idea of their biological family, and about being sith in general. "I would've had this entire heritage and culture that I refuse to believe isn't worthwhile, but it's been taken from me by other people's decisions" vs "if biology doesn't dictate who you are then why should I have to care about being sith in the first place? it matters more to the people around me than it does to me personally" vs "theoretically there's people out there who know more about where I came from, who I could find and contact if I wanted" vs "my parents - let alone any more extended family - clearly didn't give enough of a shit about my being raised by the Jedi to actually prevent it happening," fight!

relatedly: I genuinely cannot remember if I've explained it on here before or not, but so. the deal with their surname. the Savrow family is a long Red Sith lineage with a bunch of different offshoots, and given the significance of social status, positional relationships, and naming in sith culture, familial sub-branches will often end up distinguishing themselves from others by adding elements or modifying parts of the family name to reference a significant "founding member" or famous ancestor/close relative. "Ffosavrow" is likewise a fairly old modification of this sort, referring to a (quite distant) ancestor who was the second child of their house - not the heir, but one who nonetheless cultivated a significant power base worth its own distinction. when Khisit's parents fled to the Republic for political asylum, the interaction between sith cultural-linguistic touchpoints and Republic bureaucratic record-keeping got their legal surname listed as just "Savrow". Khisit learns this history as a ~preteen-equivalent, from old holo records and from badgering their elder cousin about memories from before they came to the Republic & Jedi.

speaking of said cousin - Khisit and Tryse never really had an amazing relationship, but that was also pretty structurally hamstrung by the whole "no attachments" deal. through Khisit's childhood, they just straight-up didn't interact with one another very often (Tryse being kept quite busy with an accelerated training montage of crash-course-assimilation-into-Jedi-and-Republic-culture). Tryse I think still felt responsible for Khisit in a way, and wanted to be able to have some sort of mentorship relationship, but by the time that would've been logistically feasible, Khisit had become kind of a difficult child who did not respond well at all to the angle Tryse tried to get to know them with, and it just resulted in a lot of frustration and hissing on both sides. (also, not that anybody was remotely in a position to understand/identify this back at that point, but by the time Khisit had gotten the basic rundown on how they and Tryse were related, that knowledge flared up real quickly into resentment/envy/anger at Tryse for a) having memories of family and growing up in the Empire, b) completely turning her back on anything from that life, and c) both of the above while also being human on top of it. obv from Tryse's pov it's more complicated than that and she's got a boatload of her own trauma shit going on, but. yeah.)

one of their hobbies as a kid/teenager was absolutely just causing tons of IT chaos on purpose throughout the entire Jedi temple.

also as a teenager: figured out they were not particularly into pain during the process of getting six piercings done on their face in a single session. no regrets though!!! even though ow.

(....on the other hand, discovered several years later via the club a friend held a birthday celebration at, that they were particularly into other people's pain. they uhh. they feel a whole entire Way about that. and almost certainly aren't letting anyone know about it unless said person has max approval and just got a critical success on their persuasion check.)

they genuinely really love the outside environment of Balmorra; ironically enough it's probably the first place they ever resonate with as somewhere beautiful and restorative and peaceful. something about it lets them feel... insignificant, less trapped in their body, in a way that doesn't demand anything of them. they do really miss it sometimes after they leave, and I do think they probably come back somewhat regularly after all the big galaxy-shattering nonsense is dealt with.

[auxiliarydetective]

AP-01: Project Apocalypse

ch. 03: I Think We're Alone Now

AP-01 Masterlist

This fic is part of the Academy Projects series, a full rewrite of The Umbrella Academy with the addition of an original character, Kassandra Hargreeves. Throughout the story, you'll stumble across a few songs. This is supposed to make the fic feel as much like the show as possible, so I recommend you don't skip them.

Warnings: Canon-typical issues, death, murder, child abuse

It was almost comical. Six adult siblings sitting in the drawing room, keeping as much distance from each other as possible like petty kids. Only Klaus seemed to be having a good time, mixing himself a drink at the bar a little further off.

“I, uh, guess we should get this started,” Luther finally said.

Kassandra almost hadn’t recognized him when she had seen him. He had grown even taller, towering over all of his siblings, but that much wasn’t surprising. What had taken her out of it was just how muscular he had become. To Kassandra’s knowledge, being in low-gravity environments meant losing muscle mass, not gaining it, and she even doubted a normal human would be able to get beefy like that. But, then again, Luther was no normal human. None of the siblings were. It was probably his super strength that made him grow like that. Puberty must have given him a little boost to his powers – or at least that was how it had been for Kassandra.

“So, I figured we could have a sort of memorial service in the courtyard at sundown,” Luther continued. “Say a few words, just at Dad’s favourite spot.”

“Dad had a favourite spot?” Allison mumbled.

“Yeah, you know, under the oak tree. We used to sit out there all the time. None of you ever did that?”

“Will there be refreshments?” Klaus asked, cigarette in one hand, drink in the other. “Tea? Scones? Cucumber sandwiches are always a winner.”

“What? No. And put that out, you know Dad didn’t allow smoking in here.”

“Is that my skirt?!” Allison cut in.

“What? Oh, yeah!” Klaus confirmed, gesturing at his new attire. A black sort of jacket-coat-blouse combo, silver skirt, funky necklaces. Classic Klaus. “I found this in your room. It’s a little dated, I know, but it’s very breathy on the… bits.”

“Listen up,” Luther said, pulling the attention back to him. “Still some important things we need to discuss, alright?”

“Like what?” Diego questioned.

“Like the way he died.”

“And here we go.”

Yeah, Diego… Here we go…

Kassandra locked eyes with her deal partner as Klaus plopped down on the couch between her and Vanya, throwing his arm around her shoulders.

“I don’t understand,” Vanya muttered, “I thought they said it was a heart attack.”

“Yeah, according to the coroner?”

“Well, wouldn’t they know?”

“Theoretically.”

“Theoretically?” Allison echoed.

“Look, I’m just saying,” Luther defended himself, “at the very least something happened. The last time that I talked to Dad, he sounded strange.”

“Oh! Quelle surprise!” Klaus called, gurgling his liquor.

“Strange how?” Allison asked sharply.

“He sounded on edge,” Luther explained. “Told me I should be careful who to trust.”

“Luther,” Kassandra finally said, keeping her voice firm yet soft. “Dad was always on edge. He had a habit of getting suspicious at the tiniest notion and he was a perfectionist. To top it all off, aging usually makes those things worse. Don’t read too much into it. It was probably just another of his valuable life lessons.”

“You haven’t seen him in fourteen years and you couldn’t ever read him in the first place. – You don’t know anything about him.”

“Woah, woah, hang on—”

“Klaus, I know you don’t like to do it, but I need you to talk to Dad.”

That sentence caused Allison to scoff. Kassandra was about to raise her voice again, but Klaus was faster:

“I can’t just… call Dad in the afterlife,” he complained, “and be like, ‘Hey, Dad, could you just… stop playing tennis with Hitler for a moment and take a quick call?’”

“Since when?” Luther threw back. “That’s your thing.”

“I’m not in the right… frame of mind.”

“You’re high?!” Allison almost shouted, her voice rising a fifth.

“Yeah, yeah!” Klaus giggled. “I mean, how are you not, listening to this nonsense?”

“Well, sober up,” Luther barked. “This is important.”

Kassandra huffed. “Okay—”

“Then there’s the issue of the missing monocle,” Luther continued without paying attention to her.

At this point, Kassandra was fully pissed, but trying her very hardest to hide it. Her joints were growing stiff, her muscles tensed up, and she wasn’t sure if the wave of intoxication swimming over from Klaus’s mind to hers was helping or making it worse.

“Who gives a shit about a stupid monocle,” Diego grumbled.

“Exactly,” Luther agreed. “It’s worthless. So whoever took it, it was personal.”

Kassandra tried again. “Luther—”

“Someone close to him, someone with a grudge.”

“Wait, Luther—”

“Where are you going with this?” Klaus chirped.

“Oh, isn’t it obvious, Klaus?” Diego huffed. “He thinks one of us killed Dad.”

Silence. Deafening silence.

“Kass, is that true?!” Allison hissed.

“Yeah, it’s true,” Kassandra stated. “Open secret, clearly. And now that I’ve finally got your attention: How dare you, Luther? You’re accusing all of us of patricide over a freaking monocle? Do you know how tiny that thing is? It could’ve fallen off and slipped through the cracks. Maybe it’s in the bedsheets, between the mattress and the bedframe, under a cabinet… And even if it’s not – who cares?! It’s the day of Dad’s funeral, we’re all together in one place again, and the only thing you can think of is that someone of us must’ve murdered Dad? You’re a great brother, Luther. Really. Great work, Number One.”

“Yeah, Luther, way to lead,” Diego mumbled, then walked out of the room.

Luther muttered something, but it was too late.

“You’re crazy, man,” Klaus called, untangling his limbs and slipping off the couch, gesturing with his cigarette. “You’re crazy. Crazy.”

“I’m not finished,” Luther declared, trying to take back control.

But, by now, everyone was getting up and walking out, Klaus loudly proclaiming that he’d murder Mom next… Well… Almost everyone. After even Allison had left despite Luther’s attempt at pleading, Kassandra was still sitting there, looking up at him with large, angry eyes.

“Thanks, Kassandra,” Luther sighed.

“You know that if you had decided to keep this a secret, I wouldn’t have been able to say anything, right?” Kassandra replied. “You can’t have forgotten that.” She sighed, stretching her fingers. “Really, Luther, what happened to you while I was gone?”

“Can’t you see things from my perspective for once?”

“No. But I’ll try. Why do you think one of us killed Dad? – Besides the thing with the monocle.”

“You know just as well as I do that none of you had a good relationship with Dad.”

“That’s true. I know that even better than you because god knows I couldn’t block it out. But that’s not enough for us to kill him. Read the room, Luther. Did that just now really sound like any one of us could’ve murdered him?”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Luther scoffed. “You always know what everyone thinks.”

“It doesn’t take my telepathy to figure that out or to know that what you’ve been implying wasn't acceptable in the slightest.”

“Oh, so now you’re the saint here, huh? After what you did?”

“Not this again,” Kassandra sighed, closer to a hiss than anything. She finally picked herself up from the couch and fixed the folds in her skirt. “Listening to you now, I think you should’ve run away too. It would’ve been better for you than being stuck here for years, with no idea of how the world works.” She paused, looking up into his eyes, trying not to feel like an infant. “And for the record: I miss when we were a team. When you listened to me. When our worst problem was Dad locking Klaus in the mausoleum again and not letting him back out, so we had to sneak out in the middle of the night to get him, hoping we wouldn’t get caught. I miss being siblings.”

With those words, she walked back to her room, the clacking of her heels on the stairs nearly driving her insane. She closed the door behind her and plopped down onto her bed, letting her thoughts wander. That was one thing about her, brought on by her powers: A vivid imagination and memory. It was one of the few blessings she’d been given, allowing her to escape into the past – to the Umbrella Academy’s first mission, when everything had still been child’s play.

“Do you have the plans memorized, Number Eight?” Sir Reginald asked, eyeing Kassandra through the rearview mirror of the family limousine.

“Yes, Dad,” Kassandra replied. “Blueprints, electrical, piping, fire exits…”

“Sketchpad ready?

“Ready.”

“Start as soon as you’re in reach. – Number Six, stop hanging on to her arm and give her space to draw.”

“Yes, Dad,” Ben muttered.

Kassandra and Ben were bunched in the back with the rest of their siblings, wearing their newly finished domino masks. Well, except for Vanya, who was maskless and had been relegated to the passenger’s seat. They were all in numbered order with Luther closest to the door and opposite Kassandra. That way he could get out first to keep order and still look at Kassandra’s drawings to take the reins. To Kassandra’s left, Ben was fidgeting with the hem of his jacket sleeve, and Five was grinning widely, looking out of the window. Klaus, meanwhile, was sprawled out across where the car bent, his legs tangled with Allison’s as he looked out of the window alongside Five. Allison herself was busy fixing her hair, Diego was polishing his knives, and Luther was cracking his knuckles, watching Kassandra’s hand and pen slide over the paper to draw a perfect replica of their target building’s floor plan.

As soon as she could get a glimpse into anyone near the Capital West Bank, Kassandra started scribbling, noting down symbols and icons that looked cryptic at best, but Luther followed her sketch with interest. It was a mess of arrows and stars and squares and whatnot, the steady clicking of Kassandra changing her pen’s color like a metronome. Despite the chaos of colored lines on her sketchpad, her expression was calm and steady, her eyes fleeting across the page and covered in a slight milky haze. Finally, her pen clicked shut and she put it in its receptacle to her right.

“Alright, done,” she announced, angling herself towards her siblings and laying the sketchpad flat on her knees. She held her hands out for them. “Here we go. Your turn.”

A little awkwardly and with plenty of bickering, the siblings all moved closer together, sliding their hands under her sleeves, taking hold of her fingers, Ben being close enough to put his hand over her carotid artery, all of them just looking for enough space that all of them could get skin contact. Finally, everyone was settled, and phantom images of the bank’s insides travelled from Kassandra’s mind to theirs, helping the sketches make sense.

“Awesome, good plan,” Luther smirked. “Four outside, six in the vault, about twenty hostages. We stagger our entrance points, take the robbers by surprise.”

Kassandra nodded.

“Allison, you go first, through this ventilation shaft here. Rumor one of the thugs to shoot another, that’s our sign. I’ll go in through the glass roof above the counter. Diego, you, Klaus, Ben and Kass crack open the fire exit towards Main Street, enter through there. Diego is on attack, Klaus and Kassandra free the hostages. Ben, go into the vault.”

“Can you handle it?” Kassandra asked.

A little shakily, Ben nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Good,” Luther continued. “Five, blink in a bit after the shots, we want that shock value.”

“We’ve arrived,” Sir Reginald announced from the driver’s seat.

“Alright, let’s roll. Kass, signal if anything changes.”

Easily said, easier done. Not even fifteen minutes later, the bank was robber-free (well, free of live ones anyway) and the hostages were running out screaming because of Ben’s powers. Oh well, that meant they were safe now, right? With glee in their masked eyes and proud smiles, the siblings emerged from the bank, lining up in order, looking over the crowd and basking in camera lights.

A little later, Vanya and Sir Reginald came to the scene, carrying coats, gloves and scarves to protect the victorious siblings from the cold air. Keeping back their urge to chatter, Kassandra and the others put on their winter gear, Vanya taking the time to clean the worst of the blood off Ben's face. Then, she was shooed away and Sir Reginald arranged the remaining children in two rows for official pictures, like they had practiced before.

“Our world is changing,” he announced to the waiting crowd. “Has changed. There are some among us, gifted with abilities far beyond the ordinary. I have adopted seven such children.”

Kassandra gulped.“I give you the inaugural class of the Umbrella Academy.”

Kassandra was pulled out of her thoughts by loud music blaring through the walls of her room. Of course. Of course. The walls had always been paper-thin. Judging by the waves of thoughts she was getting, Kassandra deduced that the music was coming from Luther’s room. At least the song was good.

She just sat there for a bit, quietly singing along to the tune, until she decided she might as well practice her cha cha cha steps. It wasn’t the perfect song for that kind of dance, but she’d manage, right? Her dancing was careful at first, only lightly tapping her feet on the floor, trying not to make a sound… But then she remembered how much she loved dancing, how fun it was – and if the music was this loud, she didn’t have to worry about her heels clacking on the ground, right? Absolutely. She could at least have this.

Bit by bit, she forgot about her routines, just inventing whatever steps she thought would fit, letting her body take control, the music flowing through her veins.

General Taglist: @starcrossedjedis @oneirataxia-girl @daughter-of-melpomene @bravelittleflower @box-of-bats

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[saskiavalentineapologist]

on the subject of "exploring horrifying implications" i have something i've recently come to appreciate re: characters / worldbuilding but because it's not solely about horror, i wanted to make my own post

my friend jennie has been talking about this a lot but it basically comes down to "push your stupid idea so hard that it wraps back around to emotional resonance" but i think it can apply to "push it so hard that it wraps around to horrifying implications"

I'm struggling to think of an example from my own writing.

i might circle back around but let me give you the basic thought process:

"stupid name/concept" and then repeatedly diving into the "why" and the "what do they think about this" and "what does the world think about them" and pushing that until you find emotional resonance or perhaps horror. never done horror, but i imagine it could be done.

what does it mean to be so beautiful it hurts people to look at you? it means you have to hide your true self, it means being afraid of people seeing you as you are, it means shame. it means that even if you make yourself beautiful to compensate for hiding yourself, you know you're not what you should be. not mine, but my favorite example of this.

i dont have many pure chucklefuck or even chucklefuck-leaning characters but we'll go into Pander. long post under the cut, but the top part is the gist

pander is a character for a campaign an irl friend is planning and eventually running. the concept of the campaign is "all the pcs are married to the same bard and while they all know each other exists, they've never met. now that Chaddeus Thaddeus the Third has gone missing, they all have to band together and find out where he went"

enter Pander. hundreds of years old satyr who's the embodiment of fey revelry. The slutty bard archetype pushed to the max. she's got an 8 int and a 5 wis but a 20 charisma. she's ditzy, she's bubbly, she's an extrovert, and she loves having and talking about sex and she loves games and bets and wagers. She's so beautiful that it's otherworldly and knows it, and uses it to bewitch and dazzle. she doesn't understand a lot of mortal customs, and

through asking myself "why" and digging into possibilities, i have pushed it back around to emotional resonance.

what do people think about pander? they think she's an airhead who doesn't have anything interesting to say. what does pander think about this? she kinda embraces the ditzy thing and pretends it doesn't bother her, but even though she would never show it, it really does bother her. why? because she doesn't feel heard. she doesn't feel listened to.

okay, so she's married to Chaddeus Thaddeus. why? she could have any person in the world with her beauty and charm, theoretically. why him? because he makes her feel heard. there's no stipulations or conditions, he loves her as she is. she doesn't have to pander to him to get him to love her.

why does she feel the need to pander to people? why did she go so far as to take it as her name? because she was in a survival situation that required her to. well what was the survival situation? she was kidnapped from the feywild as a small child (4-5 year-old equivalent in fey terms) and taken to a circus. her purpose was to be dazzling and charming and otherworldly and to be a fey giving a performance to draw people in and get money.

well, what does she think about this? she's bitter she wasn't able to grow up in the feywild. why? because the fey in the feywild are more beautiful for growing up there. she wasn't able to be exposed to the magic as much as the rest of them. what do the fey think? she's to mortal-touched to be fey and she's too fey to be mortal. she doesn't belong anywhere, and is so desperately craving attention and validation and the only way she thinks she can get it is by being beautiful and dazzling and over the top and showy all the time.

chaddeus is the only person she's let in enough to see her true self. why is she going on this journey? because she's so scared of losing him.

y'know? its not "angst for angst's sake" its finding logical conclusions that have led to "x stupid concept"

why are they this way? how can we find resonance?

for pander, it's through making bonds with people she feels comfortable enough with to let in.

i really like stuff like this idk thank you goodbye