#this is also not anything confirmed by respawn.

[face-breaker]

what if we talked more about elliott's language / speech impediment ?

( aka: copy & pasted old hc posts with broken links. ) we have A LOT to unpack here, and if we’re bein’ honest — i’m not sure i even know where to start ! but i guess we can first lay down some ( headcanon ) facts:      elliott displays several different speech and language impediments when speaking. some are more prominent than others, some he’s gotten pretty good at ‘ masking ’ or controlling.           in this post, we’ll talk about the main and most conspicuous of them all: his APHASIA.

     it’s the one that’s got him forgetting certain words and how to properly pronounce them, sometimes even replacing them with other words. there’s a few things to note about this condition in elliott’s case specifically: for starters, he IS properly diagnosed, and has been since he was twenty-eight. however, due to the nature of the condition and how he developed it, IT IS UNTREATABLE. it will also only WORSEN with time.

     the specific type of aphasia elliott was diagnosed with is called primary progressive aphasia ( or PPA ), which is a neurological syndrome in which language capabilities become slowly and progressively impaired. unlike other forms of aphasia that typically result from a stroke or brain injury, PPA is caused by neurodegenerative diseases, such as EARLY-ONSET ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE — which he was also diagnosed with at the same time. it does run on his mother’s side of the family. there’s three sub-categories of PPA, elliott’s diagnosis being logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia, or lvPPA. persons with lvPPA have increasing trouble thinking of the words they want to say and, as time goes on, have more trouble getting the words out and pronounced properly. they eventually begin to speak slower and slower in an attempt to process language, and sometimes find such difficulty in finding words that they might stop speaking all together. difficulties with memory typically get worse over time, and reading and writing may become harder. eventually, they may even start to get lost or have trouble recognizing people.

          and that absolutely TERRIFIES elliott.

     ever since his diagnosis, he attends speech therapy every other week and has regular doctor’s appointments to keep up with the development of his alzheimer’s. it’s something he doesn’t like talking about, and will hardly mention it to even his close friends. the worst part about it being: having to watch his mother live through it and seeing what it’s done and continues to do to her every day. he hates the idea of living like that, HATES the idea of dying like that; alone, confused and SCARED...

     he fights to keep her every day — he wonders if he’ll ever get that bad...when he’ll get that bad. and if there will be anyone there to fight for HIM the way he does for her — and if he’ll even remember who they are when they do.

     there’s times where these thoughts keep him up at night; long, dark hours of just WONDERING — but he always manages to get up and put a smile on other’s faces.

     he’d argue that it’s because he just enjoys other’s happiness — which, he wouldn’t be wrong — but, maybe it does have a little bit to do with, giving them something GOOD to remember him by. because he knows that, at some point, he won’t be enough of HIMSELF to share that with the world anymore.

[xalygatorx]

Request: hey could you zestial x reader who is known to take care of hells carnivorous plants who are dangerous to everybody but to the reader and zestial finds it fascinating.

A Budding Interest | Zestial x Botanist!Reader

AO3 ✍️ | Ko-Fi ☕

Summary: You were a botanist in life and now you're a botanist in Hell, too. As a dryadic demon composed entirely of plant material, yourself, you're the only one who can nurture the Pentagram's most volatile carnivorous species without losing a limb.

When you cross paths with Hell's most ancient overlord via your new working relationship with Carmilla Carmine, he shows an interest in you and your studies.

Word Count: ~6k

Warnings: More of a meetcute than anything. :') One onscreen violent plant incident that results in some first-aid (and another violent plant incident offscreen for a giggle). 🤷‍♀️

A/N: Hope this was somewhat what you were looking for, @jellyfishearthquake! Sorry for the word count, I struggled a little and I also can't seem to oneshot without at least some exposition. lol

You'd always favored plants over people in life. It was almost funny how little that had changed after you died.

Especially since you were now more plant than person, yourself.

Initially, you'd been horrified by your reflection, as most demons were the first time they caught the sight of themselves in a window, mirror, or questionable puddle on the street.

You were green, for starters, with an ombre of deep plum extending up from your hands to your elbows, where it faded into a variegation that followed the branching paths of your veins. Your hair had become a dark green as well with the texture and growth patterns of vines—you often had to prune the leaves that would fray the tendrils like split ends. The only parts of you that weren't some shade of green or purple were your eyes, which were as golden as honey.

Despite maintaining a more or less humanoid form, you'd noticed early on that your body behaved more like that of a plant's—it wasn't just your hair that resembled the specimens you'd tended during your living career as a botanist. You felt better when Heaven's light shone brightly in the sky and you could catch a few rays on your daily errands, you leaked sap rather than blood when cut, and you (conveniently) gave off a naturally floral smell that leaned more toward the sting of mint when you were sweaty.

Your "plant-ness" had been confirmed definitively when you'd ventured into the vicinity of Hell's version of Venus flytraps while doing some field research. One had lunged at you—a fully grown specimen that towered over your smaller form—only to pause mid-rear and unhinge its fleshy jaws to absorb your scent.

You'd expected to die your second death—or at least have an unpleasant time respawning—but it had dismissively snapped its jaws shut again and leaned back into place to await real prey. That "real prey" had unfortunately become your former research assistant, which was all the confirmation you'd needed to know that you were, in fact, not a meat-based demon.

It gave you the perfect advantage when it came to being the leading scientist studying the rare, volatile plant species Hell had to offer and making new discoveries all the while on what they could be used for. It'd taken your established business of supplying the Pride Circle's florist, grocers, and garden-equipped event venues and raised it to the next level. It allowed you to perform actual research with funding the way you'd never been able to while alive.

It was an odd thing, to be more fulfilled after death.

You were mulling this all over while waiting at the front counter of Rosie's Emporium for an emergency batch of sinner meat for some hungry little seedlings back home.

You regularly received shipments of the stuff for your meat-eaters out in the greenhouse, but the little propagations you'd been raising from seeds had reached their munching age sooner than you'd expected. After one had taken a daring nip at your fingertip despite being able to smell that you weren't the sort of menu it craved, you'd made your viny locks presentable and then walked straight to Cannibal Town.

"Here we are, dear~!" Rosie trilled as she brought your wrapped slab of sinner flesh out from her refrigerated storage. She plonked it down on the counter and you gave her your card to ring up while she hummed a jaunty tune. "I had somethin' to tell ya next time I saw you… OH! I'm supposed to see if it's alright to give your contact info to Carmilla."

Your eyes widened a touch. "Carmilla Carmine?" you wondered, accepting your card back once the payment had been processed.

"Uh-huh! The very one!" Rosie said with her signature toothy grin. "We were talkin' about ya work after it came up that you were a regular customer of mine 'n' she's interested in somethin' for her hospital. Would ya mind if I share your number with her so she can get in touch?"

When it came to botanical research, as you well knew from life, scientific or medical inquiries often meant funding. And Carmilla Carmine was loaded. Plus, what if whatever she wanted you to look into would bring new medicinal discoveries to the Pentagram? The thought alone thrilled you.

Despite being in Hell, you still recognized the opportunity to help others with your unique talents and those were your favorite projects to take on.

"Absolutely," you said, an eager smile curling your emerald lips.

Carmilla ended up wishing after the next overlord meeting that she hadn't stacked her morning with subsequent meetings. Velvette's attitude had taken it right out of her, but she supposed she could manage if it meant successfully securing the free time she intended to block out more often each week to spend time with Clara and Odette.

Speaking of…

"Mijas, why don't you find something to amuse yourselves for the next couple of hours," she suggested from her seat at her desk, offering a small, gentle smile to her daughters. "Then perhaps we can do what we please with the rest of the day ahead?"

Clara's eyes lit up. "Oh, can we try that new bakery down on Mayberry?!" Odette gave her less reserved sister a chiding glance, to which Clara wilted just the slightest bit. "What? You like coffee, too!"

"Black," Odette murmured simply, indicating with one word that she wasn't interested in whatever fancy coffee concoction her sister was eager to pour down her gullet.

Zestial, still lingering following Carmilla's explanation of what exactly had gone on with the severed angel head in the meeting they'd just left, smiled at the girls with an affectionate glint in his green eyes. "Forsooth, young one," he intoned to Odette, "the adventure alone may be just as satisfying as the treats thy sister seeks…"

Odette faltered a little—she looked up to Zestial and he had some notion of that. Because of that, he often tried to balance her will with Clara's whenever he was around to do so. "Hm," she murmured considerately, giving her sister a wary glance. Clara was already bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet. "I suppose that may be true."

"YAY!" Clara chirped, snatching Odette in a sudden hug that turned into the two of them half-dragging the other out of the room. Even Odette's quiet laughter could be heard before the door swung closed.

Carmilla chuckled and turned a companionable look to Zestial. "They mind you almost as much as they mind me, Zestial," she noted, not for the first time. "Sometimes a touch more."

Zestial's eyes crinkled at the corners when his smile widened. "Ah, children oft grow accustomed to the voices of their parents, dear Carmilla," he assured her. "I wouldst not take it to heart."

"Not at all, my friend," Carmilla said, her wing-like hands folded neatly on the desk in front of her. "If they're to listen to and trust anyone's word that isn't mine, I would be comforted to know it's yours."

"You honor me," Zestial said, bowing slightly. "What hast thee in thy queue for the remainder of the morn?"

Carmilla opened her calendar on her computer, eyes flicking over the labeled blocks with evident disinterest until one in particular caught her eye—her next one, thankfully. It would be a nice palate cleanser between the youngest Vee's abrupt takeover of her monthly meeting and the less interesting discussions she'd have to follow.

"Business as usual, save for one," she replied. At Zestial's curious look, Carmilla explained, "My next—my team at the medical facility is still at a dead-end regarding their research for a medical treatment that could expedite regeneration. I spoke with Rosie at our last meeting and she mentioned a botanist she supplies who may be able to assist."

"A botanist?" Zestial repeated with a mixture of surprise and intrigue. "Surely the Pentagram hast wrung dry what we might learn of Hell's plantlife these past centuries."

"From most of it, yes," Carmilla said, her eyes alighting with determination as she made her case. It was that determination that had crafted her empire. "However, that has excluded the types with a penchant for sinner flesh. My hope is that an answer may lie in them—and, if not, then another possibility is off the table."

"And this botanist Rosie hath recommended has found a way to study these beastly species?" Zestial asked. All his years in Hell and he'd never heard of such a sinner—much less any sinner willing to give it a try.

"This botanist, apparently, is the way to study them," Carmilla said right as a sharp but careful knock sounded at her door. "Speaking of… Enter."

The door opened…and revealed you.

And Zestial…well, Zestial was transfixed.

You were fascinating from first sight. Verdant from crown to foot, every subtle trace of his own vibrant green eyes over your form revealed new details, your very appearance the stuff of dryadic mythologies, the envy of folklorists the world and Pentagram over.

And of course it made sense that you could manage what no other sinner thus far had when it came to the Hellish vegetation that held a penchant for flesh—you, yourself, looked to be more plant than flesh. A walking, breathing garden.

It took Zestial a moment to realize he was being introduced. It was rare in itself to catch him off his guard, but this was of an entirely different level. Was his own base makeup as a spider demon reacting to something in your plantlike composition? Or was he simply…

…flustered?

"Zestial?" Carmilla murmured, noticing the change in her friend immediately. "Are you well?"

"Ah, of course, dear Carmilla. My apologies," Zestial recovered with grace, chuckling a little as he caught your name on the second go and reciprocated in kind. "Forgive me, little one. I am Zestial, as Carmilla hath so kindly stated on my behalf. I am normally not so unfocused, I assure you."

Carmilla bit down a smirk.

You were simply grappling with being in the same room with two of the most formidable, prolific overlords the Pride Circle had to offer. Because they—well one of them, at least—wanted to meet you. It was hardly believable, even as you stood there now.

"Wouldst thou like me to leave thee to thy dealings, Carmilla?" Zestial asked.

The cadence of his voice, you decided, was almost hypnotic. You'd heard plenty about both Carmilla and Zestial, but you'd not gotten as accurate of a mental picture for Zestial as you had for Carmilla. He seemed…gentler in some ways than you'd expected. Perhaps that was part of his guile which then led his prey so willingly in.

Something, something, something, said the spider to the fly, you mused as Carmilla responded to her colleague.

"You are welcome to linger, Zestial, if you wish," Carmilla said, gesturing to a little lounge area just off to the side. She knew he knew her office about as well as she did, but thought—with an edge of humor—that he might need a bit of direction in his current state.

Carmilla turned to you then and nodded toward the chair opposite her desk. "Shall we get down to business?"

You smiled politely and seated yourself while Zestial made himself scarce—even so, his presence was still distinctly felt throughout the office as you explained your research and facilities to Carmilla and she explained, in turn, what she hoped to gain from the funding she had to offer. After she finished her explanation, she watched you speculatively, gauging your reaction.

"Do you think such a venture is worth the effort?" she asked.

Over the course of your conversation, she'd gathered that Rosie hadn't been exaggerating in her excitement over you. You indeed knew your stuff and had a measure of matter-of-factness that she already at least partially trusted to give her your honest opinion. You were both demons of science and business, after all.

You'd been considering her proposal throughout its full duration but gave it a moment more thought now out of sheer respect for the overlord in front of you. When you were alive, you'd aspired to be someone like her. Top of your industry, funds to spare and invest in your most capable colleagues, in businesses, and ultimately your retirement.

You'd made it near the top but hadn't managed to attain any of your other admittedly unrealistic goals and you hadn't ended up needing a retirement fund in the end either. You'd settled down a bit in your afterlife, but you'd be lying if seeing where Carmilla had carved out a space for herself didn't put that sparkle of ambition back in your eyes.

"I do," you finally said and despite the fact that Carmilla's expression didn't change, you saw a similar sparkle flare in her gaze. "Particularly in the enzymes that help these plants digest their prey. It's possible that they could be used in a way that reverses their effect—"

"—and regenerates the flesh rather than dissolves it?" Carmilla wondered, her tone betraying the thrill she felt at perhaps finally having a breakthrough in one of her oldest projects.

You smiled. "Precisely."

Carmilla leaned forward slightly. "Then you'll take this venture on?"

"Gladly," you said. "I know you had a hard stop at two, but we can schedule a followup to draft something for expectations, a timeline, all that, if that works for you?"

"I will compare our schedules and set something for us," Carmilla said, pulling one of her desk drawers open and pulling out a checkbook. She plucked a pen from the cup nearby and started filling out the next blank check. "I would be delighted if you could start imminently. Consider this, outside of our future agreement, something of goodwill."

She neatly freed the check from its book and handed it to you. You did your best not to show your shock on your face, but you couldn't help the faint bristle that swept through your vine-like locks.

You'd never cashed a check this big in your entire existence. You were fairly sure not many had.

"I can start this afternoon," you said, your voice a little breathy. You cleared your throat and stowed away the check. "And I'll keep an eye out for your next email. Thank you for the opportunity—I'm looking forward to working together."

The smile Carmilla turned your way was almost doting. She saw some of herself in you when she'd been first starting out. Granted, she'd been far more ruthless—she'd had to be in order to achieve her status and guarantee protection for herself and her daughters—but still, she saw it.

She saw you out the door before turning a curious glance to her dear old friend, who was still lingering in her lounge area. She'd had an eye on him throughout the meeting when she wasn't fully focused on you and she'd paid particular attention when you'd been giving your goodbyes and had politely extended one to him as well. She'd spotted a few expressions on that mysterious face that even she'd never seen before.

"Zestial…," Carmilla murmured, having trouble keeping a smirk off her face.

Zestial spotted her expression—removing his gaze from the door that had been closed for at least a few minutes following your departure—and sheepishly scowled. "Carmilla, please," he intoned, one of his spidery hands moving to rest against his forehead. "I canst explain even to mineself… Most assuredly, I canst find the words to explain it to thee."

"Explain…what, exactly?" Carmilla asked, settling on the adjacent armchair to the one he occupied.

Zestial opened his Jack-O-Lantern-like mouth to speak but halted before doing so. His brow furrowed as he struggled to parse his feelings—something he'd not had a need nor a reason to do in quite some time. He considered himself rather emotionally intelligent. Stumbling across something so unfamiliar was near-unfathomable.

"I daresay I do not know," Zestial admitted, visibly uncomfortable.

Carmilla's smirk became a fond smile and she reached out to pat his hand—an age-old sign of reassurance between them. It seemed they were exchanging moments of support today with how things were unfolding.

"Well, my friend, it seems you'll have some research of your own to do," she said with a teasing lilt, chuckling a bit when he rolled his eyes at her. "And luckily—for both of us, it seems—our arrangement went through. So this will likely not be the last you see of our little botanist."

"She's not coming?"

You were admittedly a little disappointed. You'd had some actual progress to show Carmilla today.

Six weeks into your research for her purposes in finding something that would naturally expedite the regeneration process of the average sinner and she was due for her next check-in—her first had primarily been to show her around your facility and explain what your first steps would be.

Zestial had accompanied her, along with her daughters, but all of you had remained in your parlor and the non-carnivorous section of your greenhouse. It was safer that way and you assured her there was nothing there that couldn't be discussed or demonstrated where she didn't have to worry about her kids becoming plant food.

Your assistant flushed with chagrin and hurried to explain, "The meeting's not off! She's just been held up."

"So she's…rescheduling?" you guessed, trying to make heads or tails of your assistant's news. "I don't pay you for riddles, you know."

The impish sinner flushed hotter and scrambled to say, "Of course! I'm sorry—Zestial will be attending in her place is all!"

Your brows rose. "Zestial?" you repeated, ignoring the pleasant weight that name had come to have on your tongue.

You'd reined in your silly little crush fairly well so far—he was an overlord, after all, an ageless overlord. Way out of your league. But, boy, was he a charmer.

"Yes! He'll be here when Carmilla would have—oh, just about a half-hour or so!"

You hummed, confirming the time before nodding absently and leaving your assistant to rifle through their stack of papers solo. "Grab the door when he arrives. I won't hear it from the greenhouse," you said. "Just let me know over the walkie when he's here."

"Of course!" your assistant chirped, looking glad for an excuse to hightail it.

You scoffed softly but said nothing more as you returned to your work, thinking you should clean up a little bit before your company arrived.

Zestial could've throttled Carmilla for putting him in his current position. Could have, but would not have all the same—he respected her far too much for the play alone.

He'd had a pleasant enough morning stroll as he awaited your allotted meeting time—keening screams of sinners bounced off the walls and rose high into the carmine skies above at the mere sight of him, the sizzle of acid on flesh met his ears as one particular demon attempted death preemptively, and the Hellish air was crisp with the faintest burn of brimstone.

Perfectly pleasant.

Just like Carmilla had been when she'd phoned him and asked perfectly pleasantly for him to go alone to the check-in he'd originally intended to simply accompany her to.

On the surface, she'd seemed just fine—a bit harried maybe to the untrained ear but fine all the same.

To his trained ear, he'd heard an underlying note of mischief.

He'd sorted his strange feelings in the time he'd had to think it all over, particularly in the instances he was able to linger in proximity as Carmilla's escort whenever she popped in to check your progress. He was…interested in you.

He didn't know you well enough to declare any specific feelings for you—he was quite the old-fashioned gentleman, you see, and no aspect of such things was taken lightly by him. However, he'd managed to at least admit to himself that there was something to-be-determined present.

And he'd made the error of admitting such a thing to Carmilla. Carmilla who was now playing matchmaker, he suspected.

A dark chuckle traced past his thin smile. He'd find some way to get her back for this.

Zestial could almost envision the high-arching glass walls of the greenhouse as he drew nearer to the edge of the city and the wavering smile on his sharp features softened slightly. He was anxious at the idea of being alone with you for the first time, but the idea wasn't unappealing, he had to admit.

Small talk had been exchanged here and there thus far yet this might be the first full, at-length conversation the two of you would have. He was rather looking forward to it.

Darkness pooled out beneath his cloak and swirled upward, engulfing him until he, himself, was a work of shadow. Like a whisper, he carried forward, too quick for any normal sinner's eyes to keep track of as he left the city center and traveled the familiar route to the outskirts of the Circle.

In this more rural area of Pride was where you'd established your greenhouses, your lab, and the home you'd made amidst it all. It was the only area with enough space. The house was admittedly lackluster in comparison to the well-equipped, carefully tended facilities it sat adjacent to, but you practically lived in those facility buildings anyway. You slept more at your desk than your bed most nights.

Zestial reformed in full on the doorstep of the main greenhouse, from which several wings branched, ringing the bell and anticipating you—or, more likely, your latest assistant—letting him inside. He was mulling over how he might be able to sneak in a few non-botanical questions edgewise during today's activities when the door swung open.

As anticipated, your anxious little assistant appeared on the other side.

He was admittedly a little disappointed, but not surprised. You surely would be soon to arrive once the scrap of a sinner before him alerted you to his presence.

Despite clearly expecting him, your assistant—whose name he didn't bother to retain, as you'd had five or six cycle through in just the short time he'd known you—nearly yelped as they acknowledged him. "Oh, Zestial! Welcome!"

"My thanks," Zestial said, having to nearly bend in half to address the pint-sized demon now clutching his clipboard like a lifeline. It jittered in his hands as harshly as their arrow-shaped tail jittered behind them. "Might our fearless leader be present for today's report? Carmilla doth send her regrets that she could not attend."

Empty regrets, all, Zestial added silently, ruing his friend as much as he appreciated her efforts.

"O-Oh, of course!" the demon crowed sharply, stepping aside for Zestial to enter.

Zestial straightened as soon as he was through the doorway, his smile curling as he appreciated both the now-familiar colorful sights of all the various plants, flowers, and fungi lining the walls and the fact that this ceiling was of such a height that he didn't have to hunch his tall stature just to exist. Despite the tall average height of demons throughout the Pentagram, this was more of a novelty than it had any right to be.

A blare of static sounded behind him and, for a second, Zestial wondered if Alastor had inexplicably dropped in on this meeting—however, he saw the little assistant fiddling with a walkie-talkie when he turned around.

"Stupid thing… Ugh, whatever, I'll just take you to 'em," your assistant said, tossing the walkie carelessly into the roughage nearby.

Zestial's eyes narrowed on the leaves the device bent down in its decent, able to imagine the displeasure that would cross your face once you saw, but turned away to follow the creature before any more time was wasted. With a small flick of his hand, the shadows around the walkie adjusted its position and allowed the assaulted plants to perk back up before any lasting damage was done.

"Are you most certain that you are permitted to escort us this way?" Zestial wondered, more amused than anything now that the plants were sorted. This assistant would be the shortest-lived of all and he was rather looking forward to seeing your normally polite, calculating features turn toward something more furious.

"It's fine, just stay close!" your assistant squeaked, not even seeming to glance up at the wing they were leading him into…

…which just so happened to be the carnivore wing.

Zestial gave a doubtful hum but followed all the same. Perhaps the rules had changed for this visit. Even so, he hardly feared a plant of all things. He more feared crossing your boundaries or upsetting you despite the fault lying clearly at your assistant's feet.

And truthfully, if he could be so bold, he'd begun to sense you might have a bit of a soft spot for him. So he might be in the clear regardless.

His eyes found you with ease despite your lush coloration blending in with the plants you cared for. His gaze was still tracing over you when you glanced up at the sound of footsteps, eyes rounding first in shock, then in anger, and then in something close to fear.

"Have you lost your mind?" you demanded immediately of your assistant.

"Your walkie stopped working again," he stammered, raising his hands as if he'd had no other choice but to walk himself and your guest into the most dangerous sector of your greenhouses.

To them, anyway.

"Get out. We'll discuss this later," you growled and the impish pest ran off without a second thought. Almost apologetically, you turned and said to Zestial, "We should move out of here for now, too, these are—"

Your words caught in your throat and Zestial didn't realize why until he glanced sideways just in time to see one of the carnivorous, flytrap-like plants surge forward, maw agape and teeth bared and eager for the sinner flesh it smelled. His flesh.

He was so floored at the sight alone that he didn't have time to react—an oddity in itself for the overlord. So when your arm shot out and took the bite in place of his, he was jarred enough at last to step back.

The plant chomped down, eliciting an uncomfortable grunt from you as it took a chunk out of your arm. The sound was similar to that of breaking a stalk of celery and a limey sap leaked from the bite once it freed you from its jaws.

More offended than pained, it seemed, you bonked it on what might serve as its nose after it spat the bit of your forearm back out. "Serves you right, you little ingrate," you murmured. The other plants surrounding it seemed almost humored at its misfortune.

"My dear, your arm—," Zestial began to intone only for you to gently wave him off and encourage him to walk with you.

"I'll feel better once we're not in here. It's not safe. For you or for them," you remarked. With a slight smile, you suggested, "That one might've caught you off-guard, but I can't imagine the lot surviving your wrath if it'd succeeded in getting a bite."

Zestial chuckled warmly, although his gaze flickered with concern toward your bite wound the whole walk to the lab entrance. You paused at one point and he realized why when he saw a clipboard on the path and a self-satisfied plant looming over it with a shred of your assistant's shirt in its teeth.

"You know what," you murmured, picking up the clipboard and freeing the bit of fabric from the plant's jaws like a mother would fuss over a child, "thank you. Saved me some time."

If a plant could preen under one's attention, this one managed to.

Zestial couldn't help another chuckle.

"Sorry again for the run-in with Cerb," you said a bit later after giving Zestial the lowdown on your latest findings to pass on to Carmilla. "Tyler shouldn't have brought you back there in the first place, but that batch of plants is just now reaching adolescence. They're still a bit rowdy."

Zestial had insisted on taking your meeting to your parlor, in part so your arm could be tended to. Despite your insistence upon being made of plant fiber and that meaning you'd be fine once the sap settled, he'd insisted harder and that had landed you both where he'd requested to be, first aid kit in hand, and attentively cleaning up your wound.

"Cerb?" he repeated curiously as he finished swabbing the last little drops of sap away and unrolled some gauze between his long, spindly fingers.

If your anatomy allowed you to blush, you would've just then. "I…name them," you admitted with eyes averted as Zestial smiled at you. "All of them. Cerb is named after Cerberus."

"How darling," Zestial mused, wrapping your arm with care and smoothing the bandage at its end. You watched his huge hand wrap around your arm, gentle as could be. You spotted a bit of sap on his fingertip at the same time he did—while you were mortified, he was intrigued. "What a fascinating form you have."

"It's come in handy, I guess," you admitted, offering him a cloth from the kit to wipe off his hands. "Thank you for doing that, by the way… You didn't need to."

"There is much I needn't do, my dear," Zestial said as he cleaned his hands, closed the kit, and settled back into the armchair adjacent to yours. "Even more I desire naught to do. Such things for thee are not among them."

Your throat tightened a little as you studied him, wondering what lay past his smile and honeyed words. He'd come off almost tender just then…had he meant to? Or was your brain—whatever that was made of—just working overtime?

"Amongst them, however," he continued, frowning faintly at your wrapped arm, "wouldst have been not to cause thee injury due to my diverted attention… And, for that, you have my sincere apologies."

"It's not on you," you said, reaching out toward his hand to comfort him. It was instinct and it only occurred to you that it might be too forward when your hand was hovering above his on the arm of his chair.

You glanced up and met his eyes—there was anticipation in them and something softer as he inclined his head, granting permission. You rested your hand against his with that blessing.

"Like I said," you continued, ignoring the quick drum of your heart, "you shouldn't have been brought back there. Not yet. I was going to take you and Carmilla to see them after they'd been fed today, but things shifted around when Carmilla had to raincheck.

"I'm honestly just glad that I reacted quickly enough… I'd hate for you to get hurt, especially on my watch."

Zestial smirked. "A novel concept. However, I have at least some standing over a Hellspawn plant, I assure you," he declared with a low rumble of pride.

You couldn't help but find his stroke of ego a little funny. "I believe that," you assured him. "But I imagine it hurts quite a lot."

Curiously, Zestial asked as he turned his hand slowly over to hold yours and examine its plum coloration, "Thou dost not feel pain?"

You tried to remind yourself he was more likely examining you like a science project and not coming onto you as he stroked the pad of his thumb across your knuckles.

"Not in the same way others seem to," you replied honestly. "Not in the same way I remember experiencing it while alive."

"Doth that apply to all things?" he asked with that same quiet interest. "Pain, hunger, fatigue…pleasure?"

"Pain is different," you said, treating this as an analytical discussion because otherwise you might have to entertain the possibility that he was trying to get to know you. The thought alone was dangerous enough. And outlandish to boot. "Pleasure is a bit up in the air. Not much of that in Hell. Hunger and fatigue are normal. And they both get worse when our 'sunlight' is at a minimum."

"How very interesting," Zestial mused. "And, regarding sustenance, what doth thine diet consist of?"

"I probably eat more leafy greens than when I was alive, but other than that, it's about the same," you said, watching his claws trace careful circles across the back of your hand and finding it more and more difficult to separate your budding feelings (no pun intended) from this portion of the meeting.

Zestial nodded, almost to himself, as he inquired, "Doth tea or coffee find their way unto such a list?"

Persistently not overthinking his questions, you responded with ease, "I tend to prefer tea, but I like both. Caffeine processes similarly to when I was alive."

"Then mayhap," Zestial suggested, a faint sigh in his words as if he'd been working up to something, "once thine injury hath healed, thou mightst join me for tea? If thine schedule allows."

Okay, maybe you were wrong and this wasn't a purely scientific interaction.

A little rustle of shock shook your leaves and Zestial's eyes caught on the movement with undisguised interest. You just now realized his ever-present interest was also an interest in you. And just based on the weight of his gaze as it turned back to yours, this question of his carried multitudes.

A slow smile spread across your startled features and only that eased the tension in the overlord's frame across from you. "I'd love that, Zestial."

Warmth bloomed in the towering spider demon's expression. "Splendid."

He made a mental note to find some way to thank Carmilla for her passive interference.

And perhaps "Cerb," to some degree, as well.

[multiheadcanons]

BABYS FIRST RESPAWN

aka tf2 mercs and the first time they died and respawned

tw: death, murder, marginal gore?

spy: it’s embarrassing, he hates to say it… he fell out of his smoking room window in the middle of the night. he was taking in the view, sitting in the feeling of new. he didn’t know whether he maybe leaned too far out the window, or if something or someone had pushed him, he didn’t see anything but the ground approaching. it was swift, and virtually painless. he squeezed his eyes shut before he hit; and before he realized the pain his eyes opened to the infirmary. he sat there in shock for a moment; confirming he was actually alive. he felt his body for any trace of ache, and felt his heart drop when there was none. that fucked him up. he quit thinking too much about it after the first few dozen times he encountered the respawn machine. he does not want to think about whether he’s actually him or a perfect clone or— never mind.

sniper: it’s also embarrassing and he hates to talk about it. he would consider it a case of murphy’s law. he was actually having a really good day! it was his first day on the job, and he made it out alive. he didn’t think much about the fact that the same guys were showing up between his crosshairs. he didn’t think much about it until he was cleaning his rifle. and as he finished, and inspected it, he’s pretty sure it misfired. he’s the one who didn’t put the safety on before he inspected the barrel. he doesn’t know. he knows he was staring down the barrel and a loud, a familiar crack rang through his ears for a fraction of a second before he saw the white of the infirmary. he immediately jumped to his feet; dazed. and, without really thinking about it, other than his eyes making out a red cross, yelled for the medic. the medic who took his time coming to reassure him. he also quit thinking about it the first few dozen times because he didn’t want to think about whether or not he was himself. he had enough on his plate as is.

medic: okay, technically it was his fault. he pushed heavy, who was a stranger at this point, verbally. he made a couple off handed comments, a few too many underhanded insults on their first day of work. and the worst part was, he would laugh about them. loudly. and when heavy would confront him, he would immediately back down. and heavy hates cowards. the final time he was given the opportunity to do this was in the infirmary; heavy simply…. picked him up. arms pinned against his own rib cage, which was trapped between heavy’s hands. he was still laughing when heavy started to squeeze. and said nothing more. he continued to laugh until he felt a painful snap. and after the pain, he almost felt…. a relief. a glorious relief in his back he hadn’t felt in years, no… decades. he sighed, and found he could not breathe in again. a final, firm grasp and squeeze around his neck sent him staring at the white wall of the room next door. and his back hurt again. there was a whisper of wind, almost like someone was also taking their first breaths; and turned to see demo; who was staring at the wall in shock. a slow turn revealed his one eye to be wide, pupils resizing as he attempted to focus it in the brilliant white room. “what the fuck just happened.”

“well… i see we must both still be alive.”

demo: tavish…….. poor guy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. he happened to be entering the infirmary, a few drinks in, with a small cut. he literally just wanted a bandaid. he didn’t expect to walk in to the heavy weapons expert holding a…. very clearly dead doctor. well, maybe he was just giving like a fucked up chiropractic lesson, but doc’s back was bent at an unusual angle, and his eyes were not moving, and his lungs looked like they collapsed, and he was not making any sound... yeah. that’s a dead medic. he didn’t register that, or the doctor’s falling body, before he felt a palm encase his entire face, and something that he could swear was steel made contact with his temple. and his vision came back to him being in the room next door. next to the very much alive medic, who also seemed a little dazed, but at least was at the correct angle and breathing and making noises. after regaining his bearings, he actually didn’t hold it against heavy. nobody knew what it meant when they were told that they would come back, and nobody needs to mention it. emotions got hot and things just happen that way sometimes. medic should take the lesson in stride and stop pushing buttons. but he held no ill will. it actually makes him incredibly confident to know that he can go through anything and still come back. and he’s bolstered with more confidence to have a guy like heavy on his side. drives him through battle.

heavy: heavy had apologized to the doctor immediately after he (and demo) entered the main infirmary room from a set of double doors to the side. demo said all was well. medic said all was well. all was not well. medic did not forgive him for murdering him in what medic considered to be cold blood. and played the slow game about it. medic let their other teammates die in favor of making sure heavy did not see the inside of that infirmary for months, past minor to moderate damage. medic carefully cradled heavy’s life in his hands, and never dared to disrespect it again. medic never babied him, but was clearly better than had he… not snapped the man’s spine in half and crushed his rib cage. he had never truly seen what the others began to call “the respawn room”. he had sat in there a few times, pondering the feeling of it. heavy did not consider that medic’s intense intensive care could be a ruse. he didn’t consider that as they made their usual idle chatter on the field as they sped into the heat of battle; he didn’t think about it as he reminisced on that moment. he only thought about it as he mentioned medic’s grace and kindness for his outburst. how he actually quite liked the doctor. how he couldn’t believe he could get that worked up. “over a silly joke, no less.” was actually the last thing medic hissed in his ear as he shut off his medigun and stepped away from him, ubercharge wasted, as heavy rounded the corner to heavy fire. and he had never felt a burn like it to date. the medigun truly made bullets feel like nothing. what a medical wonder, he thought briefly. he turned his head, his final action, and watched medic make direct eye contact with him, before offering him a smile, a wave, and walking away. that was the first time he had seen the walls of the respawn room without his express permission. he decided then that he did not like that doctor. they’re fine now though. they can laugh about it.

engineer: it’s embarrassing, he hates talking about it. having family that worked in Mann Co, he generally knew and understood the workings of the respawn machine. he was a couple beers in, there was an outage. he felt confident enough to do it. he thought “i shouldn’t let the outage sit and wait for me to sober up, something might happen and we’ll need full electricity!” and he was haphazard. he didn’t give enough time and care to practice safety and paid that price. he felt a shock begin in his ungloved fingers and reach his chest, fast. but at that point he couldn’t let go. he woke up in the ward with his hand still clenched in a tight fist. he didn’t like that feeling much. but he’s glad the price wasn’t his life…. permanently.

pyro: pyro willingly jumped off a cliff on a question from scout; “do ya wanna know what it feels like to die?” and five dollars and seventy two cents. they returned, seemingly unfazed, and took scouts money, and pushed him off the edge in return. they both made a point from then on to never get too close to the edge, and pyro makes it a personal mission to warn others of the fall. they know what pain feels like. it bothers them more to not actually know what death feels like. they don’t like opening their eyes to the infirmary. and they wonder when it’ll be the last time they open their eyes to that sight. however, they’ll regularly air blast enemies off the cliff. they take every opportunity to show them that they shouldn’t be that close to the edge!

scout: scout…. honestly didn’t remember the first time. he remembers driving into teufort, and he was being kinda reckless, but he didn’t really care. there was nobody on the road for miles in either direction but him, he felt like he should be able to cut loose a little, even though he knows safety on the roads is paramount. if he died, at least he would just take himself out, right? and then the wheels popped on his dogshit car. he panicked, he couldn’t get the car under control, and the last thing he remembers is seeing a sign saying “welcome to teufort!” before he woke up in an infirmary. he didn’t put two and two together until pyro pushed him off the cliff he had just dared them to jump moments prior. and he screamed. he screamed until he hit the floor and shot up in the respawn room screaming. and seeing that infirmary again… he realized what had happened that first day. he now takes road safety very seriously. he can’t believe he is an actual story for road safety. he can’t believe he’s dying, or dead most of the times he sees that room. it bugs him. he would like to die permanently. not any time soon, but he does wonder when he’ll die permanently.

soldier:

pauling: “alright soldier, so you get how to rocket jump, right? you want to practice with the—“

soldier: “i got it ms pauling! shoot at your feet then jump!”

pauling: “no soldier it’s— no soldier WAIT—!”

soldier promptly blows himself to bits and returns to the training ground from the respawn room. takes approximately two and a half minutes.

soldier: “I DID IT! I JUMPED ALL THE WAY TO THE INFIRMARY!”

[rollercoasterofshitposts]

RAMBLE TIME BUCKLE UP

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR TRIALS OF APOLLO AND BASICALLY EVERY PERCY JACKSON BOOK EVER BUT MOSTLY TOA, ESPECIALLY THE BURNING MAZE.

TLDR at the end.

spoilers start now ok bye

Here are some facts that we know for sure:

1. Percy Jackson is named after Perseus, the Greek hero who killed Medusa.

2. Perseus is one of the only, if not THE only Greek hero to not die tragically.

3. Rick Riordan is VERY careful about how he uses names throughout the series, something he addresses from the very beginning when Percy gets to camp. Percy says Zeus’s name (or Kronos’s, can’t remember which and I’m lazy right now) and the sky rumbles, and Chiron warns Percy that names have power and to use them carefully. Later, in Tartarus (if I’m remembering correctly), Percy and Annabeth are wary of using names because of their proximity to monster respawn points.

4. The only other main character named after a Greek hero is Jason Grace.

Here are some things we can assume, based on Rick’s writing style and the details he has given us:

1. A character’s name will tell you something about them. That’s a Riordan near-guarantee.

1a. For example: Piper being a reference to the Pied Piper since she can get anyone to do anything for her, even follow her off a bridge.

1b. Or Magnus and Alex being confirmed from the beginning because Rick mentioned that he stole the name Magnus from Cassandra Clare. (She wrote The Mortal Instruments, which contains a gay couple named Magnus and Alec (Alexander).)

1c. Or Leo being named after the great inventor Leonardo daVinci (not confirmed, but they’re so similar it’s hard to believe otherwise).

1d. A castellan is the governor of a castle who enforces the law around the land. They also have military responsibility. Luke Castellan. nuff said.

2. NAMES HAVE POWER IN THIS UNIVERSE. Sally literally named Percy after a Greek hero to keep his roots close in a subtle way, but she purposefully picked a Greek hero that lives.

2a. HUGE example: Castor and Pollux. In myth, sons of Jupiter. Castor is mortal while Pollux is immortal, and Castor dies. (Slightly irrelevant but Rick loves taking notes from other authors so: In The Hunger Games, part of Katniss’s film team. Castor dies, Pollux lives.) In PJO, sons of Dionysus. Castor dies during Battle of the Labyrinth, while Pollux lives.

The one exception to this rule is Jason Grace. Or so I thought.

If you read the myth pertaining to Jason (Golden Fleece, Argo the First, Medea, etc) you find out that Jason of the Argo dies when he falls asleep on his ship underneath the rotting mast and it falls and kills him. There’s a lot of other stuff that goes down, but for the sake of being succinct, here’s a link to the myth for your perusal:

The only other SUPER MEGA IMPORTANT DETAIL from this myth: Argo Jason, by cheating on Medea, falls out of favor with Hera, while in PJO/HOO, Hera actively names Jason 2.0 and claims him as her champion. (despite him being. Y’know. The proof of her husband being a jackass to her. quality time with the stepmom right there.)

Putting this all together:

1. Sally purposefully named Percy after a Greek hero who lived, indicating fear that he would die if she chose a different name

2. Names have power and Rick puts meaning behind every single name he uses.

3. Jason dies in The Burning Maze.

The real kicker is that they both die in the same way: having lost everything, with so much still to do, dying a completely avoidable death because they weren’t paying attention to what was going on behind them. There’s differences, obviously, because Jason Grace is actually a good person, but those are inconsequential as the big picture is all the same. (We see these similarities happen A LOT with Percy, especially when he kills Medusa.)

We should have known. Rick laid out all the pieces for us from the very beginning, even (possibly) going so far as to straight up tell us that one of the seven would die (again, not confirmed, I saw it in a meme and maybe his twitter? idk im ty ty).

so:

TLDR: Rick Riordan left a gigantic trail of breadcrumbs that should have clued us all in to the fact that Jason was gonna die long before it happened.

And no, I will never shut up about Jason. Justice for my favorite white boy.

[things-arent-what-they-seem66]

Yo! I've been thinking of an au I'd like to share! I hope it's up your alley cause I have no one else to tell it to, but I think you'll like it 🥺

It's adamsapple (obviously). The quick run down is that when Adam dies (either in the final battle of season one or when he dies on Earth and instead of going to heaven, he goes to hell (but i think I'm leaning towards the final battle death fitting much better)), he respawns as a succubus, but he doesn't look like the one from Helluva Boss (if you know the one I'm meaning), I'm thinking more feminine, like Verosika. But still a dude (with both parts down unda for smut reasons).

At first he was a bit weirded out but the longer he lives in hell the more into it he is (he was a whore in heaven so it's only right be becomes a whore in hell).

Maybe after a few years of doing his thing, partying, fucking, wearing the hornist clothes, rocking it out on stage, Lucifer eventually finds Adam (not sure how, I like to think he sees him around a couple of times but as much as this succubus looks like Adam, there's no way he'd respawn as something that's usually hellborn- but the resemblance is uncanny?!).

Adam sees Lucifer and the hotel gang around, but of course he tries to keep away, and not bring too much attention to himself (which, unsurprisingly, he finds that hard to do). I like to think that other than Lucifer, Adam runs into Angel Dust a lot, because Vals taken a liking to him (he doesn't sign a contract but maybe Val pays him to work in some of his clubs, whether that's poll dancing or serving customers).

Angel also has the same feeling as Lucifer. "Is that... Adam? There's no way..."

He mentions it to Charlie and Husk, Charlie doesn't think too much of it but obviously mentions it to Lucifer and Vaggie. I like to think Vaggie is ready to spear this succubus just in case it is him (or she just hates him that much that she would be semi hostile to anything or anyone that looks like him), Lucifer is getting more suspicious. "If Char's friends think that succubus looks like him then maybe I should investigate more".

I would love for Alastor to be quite involved in this au as well, he's still butt hurt that Adam landed a good hit on him, and made him retreat (putting a huge damper on his public image, especially with Vox filming the whole thing).

I'm not 100% sure how they confirm it's Adam, I'm thinking Lucifer hires Adam for a night or two, but Adam does such a good job keeping his cool (even tho he's panicking on the inside) that Lucifer starts doubing that it's him, so he comes up with a plan.

Maybe Lucifer brings up Eden as conversation, knowing that's its a real touchie subject for Adam, he says lies, brings up Liliths accusations she had against Adam that turned Angel!Lucifer against Eden!Adam (him being controlling, forcing himself on her, which is a complete lie that Lilith told (I'm all for evil!Lilith lol)).

Adam gets so mad at Lucifer for telling a totally fabricated story and just goes OFF. 10,000+ years of anger, betrayal, pstd, and depression just coming out. And even tho Adam realized halfway through into his rant that he's blown his cover, he just can't stop. He's too furious.

Lucifer: so it is you..

Adam: ...well fuck *proceeds to quickly grab his clothes and runs out*

Lucifer: You're not getting away from me bitch-! (Lucifer would catch up to him, start attacking him again like he did at the final fight, but he sees how terrified Adam is. Just shaking and crying, and actually begging for his life. Lucifer stops, he's never seen Adam beg, let alone cry, not since Eden (and that brings up feelings Lucifer buried long ago)).

I like to think that once it comes out to the hotel gang that it is Adam (Charlie would try and convince him to try redemption (mainly so he can get back to heaven and put a good word in for her hotel, maybe be the go between between Heaven and Hell)), but surprisingly to everyone, he doesn't want to go back, he can finally be himself, and he isn't hating his whole succubus look, even tho it's slightly feminine but he's fine with it.

This is when I think Alastor would try and get revenge, not sure what that could be yet.

Anyway, I think I've rambled WAY too much, u hope I haven't lost you 😅

I really hope this is something that piques your interest, I just love the idea of a more feminine whore Adam, plus I love the succubus designs in Helluva boss, the wings, horns and colour's are so gorgeous to me!

Thanks for coming to my tedtalk- I love your work by the way! It's such a joy to just scroll through your page and read everything you're doing 🥺

Okay- bye!

My good anon I am IN LOVE with this idea!! Especially since Adam didn't sell his soul to anyone, he's whoring around because he WANTS to not because he's forced to.

I love everything about this.

Lucifer would SO bring up Eden shit to out Adam and of course it would work. Adam is prideful like Lucifer is.

If you're on my page you know I like one-sided Angelicradio...... Just saying. And Alastor isn't attracted to Adam because he's good looking, though that doesn't hurt, he is enamored with the power Adam had as an angel.

He would want to get his revenge anyway possible. Take that as you will.

AWWWWWWW 🥺 💖 You're so sweet anon that makes me so happy to know people actually enjoy the silly little stories I put out. You made my day 🥰

[bleue-flora]

Hello, I come to you with a silly prompt!

In what way do you think Dream is disabled/affected post-prison and if he does, what do you think he does to hide it?

So I’ve loved all of the different answers to this, lots of fun. Sorry to be late in the game. Like usual I’m probably gonna make this more complicated than it needs to be. No surprise there though lol XD. But ya know you asked for my thoughts so here are my thoughts, as messy as they are.

See this is hard for me because there is a divide between what we know for sure is canon, what we can speculate in general and what is more fun to imagine. As well as, the difference between Minecraft and our physical world. Because like obviously no one can actually survive living that close to lava, so we have to decide which elements would match our world consequences and which wouldn’t.

Because it’s Minecraft and things aren’t necessary like the real world, I play looser with some of the effects. So things like for example messed up vision from the lava don’t apply. I mean everyone spends times in mines, the nether, even has lava in their house so it’s not something I personally include. The same with things like seizures and such.

When it comes to canon, obviously we know potions exist in this world, but the thing is there is never confirmation of them being used in the prison. They don’t appear in Quackity’s or Sam’s inventory (besides fire res) when they visit and during the visits we get to see, Dream is munching on potatoes to heal. So does that mean he never gets potions since basic food can work to heal in Minecraft or does he get some only with more severe and dangerous injuries or something. Or would he have sustained less serious injuries because the potatoes can only heal so much. Then again canonically Quackity is swinging a diamond sword and a netherite axe around, which aren’t exactly gonna do small damage.

And the thing with scars is that the only scars we know of are from canonical deaths, meaning Dream would probably have some from the other time he went to limbo (or multiple if went multiple times), and Tommy killing him (quite a few actually given how many arrows he took and stuff in staged finale) but there’s not necessarily confirmation of scars other than that, and Quackity can’t exactly take credit for those.

There’s also the question of whether he was dying and respawning as non canon deaths, especially because again Quackity is using some high damage weapons. Though I tend to lean away from believing that since that isn’t shown except with Sam accidentally killing Dream after Techno escapes.

I also don’t personally think he suffered anything super noticeable because the guards in prison as well as Ghostbur and Tommy and even Techno, don’t mention the torture. Ghostbur and Tommy don’t notice anything, Techno has to be told, and the guards like Badboyhalo even after hearing screaming still seems almost unsure of himself. Plus, Antfrost talks about visiting Dream and yet had no clue about the torture until Bad brings it up. So in my mind he doesn’t have anything too mutilated or missing body part wise, because that’d be kinda obvious. This includes eyes and also even missing fingers (though if he is missing one let’s just all agree it’d be his left hand ring finger because of Quackity’s breakup with his fiancés… ;]). (Though if we decide they were using potions then it’s interesting to play around with the idea of Quackity doing something like cutting off his arm and Sam having to fix that like I did in my fanfiction.)

So in my mind, no major cosmetic things, besides being smaller due to poor diet and starvation. Though again, in my mind it’s not quite the same as real world so I don’t like to imagine him as grotesquely skin and bones if that makes sense… (look he can be broken and still pretty ;D).

But despite what I said, I do like to imagine he has scars and I think potions may not have been a staple but probably did happen if Quackity ever went too far. Maybe early on before Quackity mastered his craft a bit more or later when he became more and more enraged and extreme in his desperation to break Dream. Either way, I think it was a rare occasion type deal. And because of that, in my mind he does actually have scars because the potatoes provide poor healing. So other people dying by falling in a hole or fight in a war don’t really have scars from that due to respawn and potions or golden apples, while Dream deprived of that would have more lasting effects (because as someone with many scars I like to imagine he has some as a testimony to what he went through). This also means that some of his broken bones perhaps didn’t heal properly causing some pain or even having things not quite right. So fingers bent wrong if you really studied them or knees misaligned or whatever. So some sensation of pain at all times is pretty guaranteed. Though even without injuries healed wrong he’d still have chronic pain because scar tissue is very sensitive and messes up the nerves so it freaking hurts, it hurts to move, it hurts to touch, it hurts to use… etc.

One of the things he’d do would obviously be to cover the scars and hide them from view, because embarrassment, shame, looking weak… etc but he’d definitely do it in really soft and not super tight fitting clothes because again the skin is sensitive.

I sometimes like to imagine that for injuries that are obvious and badly healed enough he would like break them and reheal them, maybe even with Punz’s help. In general though, broken bones, concussions and stuff heal on their own given time so even if not the best, things heal eventually and Dream is up and about swinging an axe so it ain’t like he’s too debilitated. Still, moving and stuff would be painful and he’s definitely not in shape like he was so it makes sense why he uses so many pearls all the time and why Tubbo would say to Punz in the finale about killing him, “He was sluggish—he was slow—he was out of practice we took him by surprise.”

Though, I do think sluggish and slow could also be a reference to his mental ability as well, implying he isn’t as quick witted or as good at reacting, something that if you watch that finale fight does align. His counter measures aren’t super fast especially compared to how adaptable and swiftly clever he was before.

Obviously, he likely has Depression, PTSD, and an Anxiety disorder, as a result of prison. Anxiety is the one we seen him at least try to mitigate by finding the most secure place to sleep so he can feel less stressed out, not going out and provoking people to avoid being attacked, kinda blocking out the world and stuff, not great for his depression though nor his PTSD…

I also imagine he’d be the type of person to think he could get over fears and trauma by exposure. Like sleeping in the cell with the lava down to remind himself he doesn’t need to be afraid of it… things like that perhaps. With limited success.

I imagine he has a lot of nightmares so he mitigates this by not sleeping as much as possible. Old habits die hard I guess…

Based off of Bad talking to Antfrost after the prison break about how he thinks someone was coming in and torturing Dream: “Anytime I would go and visit Dream he would be all shaky and he wouldn’t wanna talk.” I’d say Dream does shake, sometimes out of fear, sometimes out of weakness, sometimes out of stress, and sometimes because his body doesn’t work as it should. He mitigates this by trying to build up his strength and change strategies in battle if it ever gets debilitating, like switching to food, pearls, potions or TNT. He does a lot of pearling and running, and he never takes off his armor in fear of what might be around the corner.

Despite living in isolation for so long, he’s not overly social like he used to be. He goes days, weeks even without really talking to anyone between spurts of being overly talkative and needing interaction.

When talking to people, perhaps he hides his hands behind his back when they shake, he wears his mask to hide anything he might feel - fear, panic, sorrow, they can’t really see the tears building in his eyes or falling down his face that way. They can’t even really tell he’s hyperventilating unless they are paying attention.

He likes to do a lot of pushing down his feelings, which worked in the prison, it’s a good way to survive but it’s no way to heal. Maybe he schedules his meltdowns or panic to a later time - He’ll get upset about the fight with Quackity at home, he can’t breakdown in the streets now.

Maybe he spends days feeling numb, not leaving his bed, feeling like there’s no point. It’s better that way, if he doesn’t go anywhere he’s safe. If Punz asks he’ll lie, and Punz won’t believe him but he won’t push either………….

“Purpled, do you know what that does to a man do you know the limits that people have it—it goes beyond those limits it’s not okay.”

[prac-ticalproblems]

Well now you're tempting us. Tell us more of your headcanons for the guy! As a starting point, you can go with his background, and ties to Radigan and Classic Engie. I'm. Very normal about the (not confirmed but I say rather likely) lineage of Engineers busting their Texan asses to work for Administrator.

DONT TEMPT ME, you VIXEN.

But I shall! Just for you!

I feel like Radigan was a hard ass.

For sure. He was definitely the type of person to have his trophies and awards and his achievements in a glass box while his son’s picture was flipped upside down on his desk.

He’s the type of guy that you call Sir more than Dad. Or Grandfather. I feel like he sticks to his work more than his family. Or at least, that is what is most likely.

He wasn’t only an engineer, he was an Inventor. He created things humanity couldn’t or perhaps wouldn’t comprehend on its own. He was a great mind, and I don’t think he would ever let that down.

Not to say genius runs in the family but I do believe their strive is a little more than simple ambition! I think it’s just learning at a young age but ALSO I believe strongly that it comes from that need, that want to connect to someone who feels distant like that.

So I think Fredrick, the prodigal son, HAD TO have given our Engie one of the most loving caring childhoods ever. I can not imagine this being anything but canon.

I think Fred was so fucking sweet. Maybe he had a tough upper lip in what he believed but I SURELY believe he meant entirely well for his son. Sure, he was a merc, with a kid on the battlefield. But I don’t think he would have ever pulled out the stops for his son.

I think he was the type of man to say you couldn’t have a cookie but slide you one under the table just for tonight. To make hot cocoa because you had a nightmare. To care.

We’ll never know how much of a massive unadulterated concentration of autism runs through these fucks but I’m sure this is a hyperfixation, bleeding into generational trauma and expectations. I have very strong feelings about the Conagher family and its works.

Also, that’s not bringing up the concept of the respawn machine in relation to the classics! Engies probably seen his father die countless times!

(Squirrels this idea away for angst maybe)

Anyway, the Conagher bloodline NEEDS to be touched upon. I’m such a sucker for these sorts of things.

[celtrist]

Oh, also in regards of permanent damage all of that drugging might actually damage Alastor's stomach lining and stuff. Though if it results in Alastor no longer being able to eat well spiced food it might just end up a final nail in the coffin for his hopes of his afterlife ever getting better

Oh, I did not know that! However, this does depend on how the regenerative system works in Hell! Some people go by a sort of "respawn/regrowth" Take that if you get harmed by anything not angelic (and you're a sinner), it'll heal. So his stomach lining and anything associated would, with this theory, just keep healing!

However, I honestly don't like that idea entirely. It just feels way too "videogame-y" to me and doesn't fit "eternal punishment" exactly. So my thought process has kind of always been: if you get flattened like a pancake by like a car or something, you STAY flattened like a pancake but remain alive and in pain. Same with if you lose a limb, if you lose a limb it doesn't just regrow. If you want it back, you'd have to reattach it. If someone gets decapitated but not by an angelic weapon? They're still alive, just their body is running like a headless chicken and their head can only really do head things until it gets reattached back to the body. Maybe if they say get hit in the head or anything they'll knock out for a bit and wake up, but not sure. I can see there being clinics to help heal these things at the least (like re-attaching limbs or unflattering someone). Which, if going by this route, Alastor would have some stomach damage that could be interesting to dive into! But I can also see Charlie or Lucifer helping Alastor out by healing these parts of him (whether by themselves or doctors from sloth, I don't even know if Charlie or Lucifer have healing magic) when he complains or realizes the issue. With that said, even then I can see Alastor sorta trying to hide it because he still doesn't want to show any weakness.

I can 100% see him going in to eat some spiced food, realizing he can't stomach it, and having that exact thought of shit not getting better. So I dunno if I'd actually want Alastor's stomach to heal at any point with that said...

I do hope at some point we'll get a better grasp as to how Hell's death system works. Because I don't even know if it was ever confirmed or not that non-angelic weapons can kill or harm permanently? I mean, what happens when the cannibals eat someone? Someone just able to regenerate from that at some point would be strange. But it seems like they've made it a point that only angelic weapons can kill sinners or even possibly demons (i.e. Striker needing an angelic weapon to kill Stolas. Which iffy since Goetia in the bible were fallen angels too but we don't know if that's the case here too well. Especially since Stolas clearly grew up in Hell and we'd only have Paimon to work with to know.) One of the many worldbuilding issues of these series I'm afraid haha.

[autumnistic-danmei]

Inner Beast - Scott (LimL)

Category: Hurt/Comfort

Main Character(s): Scott, Martyn

TW: Blood, Minor Gore, Sensory Overload

Scott stared out over the ocean, the salty sea breeze flowing through his hair. He was enjoying the beginning of this new series, now that the boogeyman chaos had settled down and he had set up an island over the coral reef. There was only one thing bothering him.

He had no tail.

In every other life series, he had sprouted a long tail with a furry tip that matched his current colour, and he had similar tails in a few other worlds as well.

Oddly, he didn't have that here. Instead, Scott had realized that he was sprouting gills, currently non-functioning, on his neck. He also had sleek faintly grey skin on the top of his nose, head, arms, and legs. This seemed to serve no function though, and he thought little of it.

-Time Skip-

It was now three hours into the series, according to his clock that he had received from Grian, but that was clearly wrong. Nine days had passed, not a few hours.

That was not the worst of Scott's worries at the moment though, as he had found that he had gotten webbed hands and feet. His grey skin had become very prominent as well, as Martyn had pointed out when he had visited. He even had sprouted flowing teal fins, two from the sides of his arms and one on his back.

What is happening to me? He stressed, raising an arm to scratch at his head. What am I? Some sort of weird sea beast?

Scott's eyes skimmed over the water, wondering if there was anything in there that could give him a clue about his predicament. Pufferfish? No... Lionfish? No. Maybe a Blue Tang? No. Dolphin? N- Wait a moment...

He paused, watching the grey creatures swim around in the reef. That could be it. But dolphins don't have gills, do they?

He frowned, then got to his feet and leaped into the water. He sank down slightly, before beginning to try and swim towards the pod of dolphins, but when he tried to kick with his newly webbed feet, he instead jerked forwards at an odd angle, quickly spiraling out of control as he attempted to kick again and again. ACK- What's happening?! What's going on now?!

The hybrid's eyes glanced down for a moment to see what was wrong with his legs just to find that...

He had no legs.

In place of his legs, he had a huge tail akin to that of a dolphin, but instead of the usual grey fin at the end of it, there was the same loose, flowing, material that made up his fins.

Scott carefully moved in back and forth, in a slower and almost snakelike way, moving with the flow of the water around him. As he did so, he began moving forwards in a much more controlled fashion. I could get used to this...

-Time Skip-

It had been several weeks in this place, and the clock was still only moving by 20 minutes each day. Scott had slowly become more and more fish-like as the time ticked on, slowly growing a tail for his non-aquatic form as well as his gills beginning to partially work. With the help of Martyn he even confirmed that he was part dolphin as well as part betta fish.

He had not died as of yet, but he quickly realized that every time that he got a major wound, coral would begin to grow on him. So far he only had a little bit on his arms and legs, but he was sure more would appear.

"Cleo, your children want you home now." Scott called down the ladder where his undead ally was climbing up. She nodded, climbing up onto the roof of the tower with him.

"Are you ready? Are you really sure you want me to kill you?" She asked, drawing her axe as she said it.

Scott nodded. "Yeah, if you don't, the others will."

"Now? Before boogeyman?"

"Yeah, I would do it now, because otherwise we could get into an awkward situation..." He trailed off, staring at her axe nervously.

Cleo grinned. "Okay." He axe sliced down, colliding with his chest painfully, but he ignored it.

"Bye!"

Scott respawned at the Coral Isles where Martyn was just kinda chilling on the beach and he immediately jumped back in surprise when he saw Scott.

"I- Scott! The coral- It's- Look!" Martyn stammered, fumbling for his communicator and opening up the mirror function, showing Scott his reflection. The coral on his limbs had spread slightly, and a new patch of coral was now growing on his tail. He also now had little deer-like antlers of light orange coral.

A small voice of primal instinct inside him cried out that this was an intruder in his territory, but the urge to attack was easy to quash for now. He gave a little laugh, shrugging off the alarm from his ally.

"Martyn, chill, it does that." Scott told him "Save your terror for when the boogeyman is gonna be chosen, it'll be in like five minutes."

Martyn sighed, but nodded. "Okay, okay, fine. There's something I need to show you though, and I think it has something to do with you."

Scott cocked his head "Uh, sure? What is it?"

The blonde turned around to reveal a spiked fish tail growing from his lower back, as well as brown spines protruding from his elbows. He then turned back to face Scott and pushed his hair to the side, showing that he had similar looking spikes as horns.

"... Oh. I don't know why that happened." Scott shrugged. This has never happened before... And I've also never based with Martyn, and I'm sure that he's not quite human.

He quickly diverted Martyn's attention to the communicators, which were showing their boogeyman messages now. I've got to look into that.

-Time Skip-

"Ow ow ow, dang, that's a lot of poison-" Scott hissed "Shouldn't have put down that pufferfish." He was being chased by the yellows, as he was one of the last greens on the server after a little while of people killing each other.

That little voice screaming for murder was now a lot louder with so many people aggravating him, and his head pounded as he resisted the urge. Oh no, oh no. I can't do this for much longer. He could see Jimmy and Joel right outside of the water, and the Clockers had just dived in after him, weapons at the ready.

"Martyn. Martyn where are you?!" He yelled, but he couldn't see his ally among the mass of people that had surrounded him.

He was cornered.

That was the breaking point for him, and he let himself go feral, feeling a huge rush of anger and adrenaline. His fins flared aggressively and he bared his teeth in a threat of violence.

Scott hissed and snarled at the people circling him, coiled like an angry viper, but they didn't move in range of a strike for a little while. Until, finally, one did.

Jimmy, yellow wings flailing in the ocean currents, swam for him with a crossbow in hand. Bad move. Scott sprung towards him, sharp teeth sinking into his shoulder. His tail coiled around the canary's legs, and his clawed hands tore at his chest.

The man would have died right them and there, ripped to shreds, if it wasn't for Grian and Joel grabbing Jim and pulling him away. The water around him was slowly turning red, and the Bad Boys scrambled for healing potions to help their dying ally.

Everyone stared in shock at the cuts and slashes all over Jimmy's body, and then turned their wide-eyed gazes to the angry hybrid.

"... Scott?" Someone broke the silence that had fallen over the server. It was Pearl, who was half hidden behind BigB. She poked her head out of the water for air before swimming a little closer.

"Are you okay? Can you hear me?" She called. There was no weapon in her hands, and a small voice of sanity inside of him cried for him to stop, to not hurt her, to calm down, but nothing it did could stop him from what he was about to do.

Pearl inched closer and closer. "Listen to me, I don't know what's really happening with you, but-" She was cut off by Scott suddenly striking, claws aimed at her face.

Chaos exploded in the ocean, some people fleeing, some trying to help Pearl, and some just screaming. Loudest of all being Pearl herself, until she was saved by a very generous Tango. Scott lashed out at the people attacking him, but there were too many for him to fight at once, even in this manic frenzy.

Scott swam away, darting through the water to escape his attackers. He found a tiny underwater cave and quickly entered it, then poked his head up into a pocket of air inside. The only light in there came from the dim screen of the communicator, which showed a few new messages.

Okay, calm down Scott, nobody's here. The hybrid told himself, his heartbeat slowly getting back to a normal pace, and he began to read the messages.

SmallishBeans: THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT?!

ImpulseSV: idk ask martyn

InTheLittleWood: I don't know either

ZombieCleo: i think we need a moment to deal with this

BdoubleO100: time pause?

Grian: i'm not supposed to mess with the games, but i'll pause the timers for this. something's really wrong here.

No shit, Sherlock. He grumbled to himself, but he was still thankful that his time had stopped for now. Every nerve in his body still screamed for a fight, and he knew he would be triggered by literally anything. Scott tried to start calming himself down, but then he felt a hand grab his shoulder.

Scott hissed, whipping around. ENEMY! It was still pitch black in the cave for another moment, until a torch was placed on the wall, illuminating the face of his attacker.

He nearly went in for the kill, but he had just enough self-control to hold himself back. It was Martyn, and the man clearly meant no harm to him. The two stared at each other for several seconds.

"Hey there... You good?" Martyn asked cautiously. Scott stared back at him, fully aware of how unhinged he currently looked, with traces of blood still on his teeth and claws, as well as how his hands twitched towards Martyn involuntarily.

"Er- Okay, if you don't mind, could you..." The other hybrid carefully swam outside, beckoning for him to follow. Safe? Maybe?

Scott floated out after his friend, but then spotted something a few meters below him. NOT SAFE-

He was too late to escape. A net closed around him, lifting the feral hybrid out of the water, where his large tail became legs once more. Scott screeched, clawing at the ropes, but they were too thick for him to break.

He could tell that the others around him on the shore were yelling something, he could see their mouths moving, but he couldn't hear them. All he heard was a painful ringing in his ears, and his head throbbed horribly. The sunlight practically stabbing his eyes didn't help either.

The hybrid clawed at his head as the horrible agony didn't stop, it only got worse. Scott could feel his own irregular breathing, and hear his own heart pounding, but he could do nothing about it. After several minutes of enduring this torment of his mind's own creation, it all suddenly went silent.

No ringing

No yelling

No screams of terror

Nothing.

"-ott? Scott? Scott, can you hear me?" It was Martyn.

Scott cracked open his eyes, his slitted pupils locked onto the man's face. He nearly leaped again to attack, but it was much easier to refrain from doing so now. Scott could see the faint figures of everyone around him, watching him in silence.

The net that he had been trapped in was gone, and he was in a small fenced-in area with nobody but him and Martyn in it. The two stared at each other as Scott's breathing slowed to a normal pace, and his headache began to subside.

"Are you okay?" His friend whispered, putting one hand on his shoulder.

Scott hesitated, then replied in a horrible croaking voice. "Y-Yeah. I'm okay... I think." Martyn smiled softly, then wrapped his arms around Scott in a hug.

"Thank god you're alright. What happened there anyways? Do you remember anything?" The other hybrid asked him worriedly.

"I... Don't really want to talk about it here, if you don't mind." Scott mumbled nervously, and Martyn quickly nodded, a sympathetic smile crossing his face.

"I understand"

[yumeko2sevilla]

Project: Mirage_ Revamp AU

──ㅇ─────↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺───ㅇ────

↳ ❝ [Overview_The Project: Mirage] ¡! ❞ ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇ!

↺Project: Mirage, a MMORPG game that's gained popularities these days across Twisted Wonderland. Some says it was based on the myth of the myth of the Futuristic Diva and her "worlds".

You, as a traveller who wanders through the five worlds trying to collect fragments of your memories. During your journey, you will unconsiously reveal some of the secrets that the Guardkeepers of those world have been keeping for too long.

Those says, that if you managed to beat the Futuristic Diva, then your one wish would come true through phenomenons.

It was suppose to be a normal game.

It was suppose to be a normal game.

█████▒▒▒▒▒ ⋘ ᴛʀʏ ʟᴀᴛᴇʀ… ⋙

▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ █ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▃ ▂

↳ ❝ [The Context_ Rules] ¡! ❞

↺There have been several students missing right in Night Raven College.

Among them, 7 students from the dorms were lost in existances. Those included: Ace Trappola, Jack Howl, Floyd Leech, Kalim Al-Asim, Epel Felmier, Ortho Shroud, and Sebek Zigvolts.

Nobody remembered who they were, nor confirmed that if they existed from the beginning. Even with all of those evidences.

It wasn't too long until Yukiharu Shirokami also received an invitation from the Project: Mirage admins. The ones behind these missing cases, the ones behind his friends and lover's sudden dissapearence.

And it wasn't too long until the rest of the students also dissapeared.

▐░░░░░░░░░░░░░▌

i. Upon receive the invitation, you will have two choices. Or to select 'Yes', and you will get teleport to the main enterance connect between 5 worlds. Or, to select 'No', then you will experience several pain mentally. 10 seconds is the time limit you have to make a choice.

ii. When accept, you will be respawn to 'The Central Hall', a SEKAI that acts like the center of 5 worlds. In here, you will select to be the Defenders_ The one that defend the traveller_ and Attackers_ Those that will attack the traveller. You can select your weapons, deciding how your appearance would be and your stats.

iii. You can use your Unique Magic in this realm. However, it has a limit of 7 times per 2 battles. It will also affect you worse than before.

iv. Those who aren't the Players, somehow respawn in 'The Central Hall' will be automatic select as the Player.

v. After 9 minutes, you will be respawn randomly to a world. When enter it, you will be given an information file about how that world works. We don't want any Players grew curiosity, you know?

vi. Don't trust the Guardkeepers named Kagamine Len and KAITO. They are untrustworthy, and will do anything to bring you to your downfail. (Note by Yukiharu Shirokami: This rule was false.)

vii. You can play with your friends as teams, fighting the Bosses and exploring the SEKAI. But remember, the Futuristic Diva can only grant one wish for one person.

vii. Entities will spawn when you enter the SEKAI. While most of them are friendly, we don't reccomnend you to annoy them.

[To Be Continued...] By. Kagamine Rin ▐░░░░░░░░░░░░░▌

@anxious-twisted-vampire @writing-heiress @achy-boo @yukii0nna @rosietrace @starry-night-rose

[idonotpretendtoknow]

I finished Hazbin hotels and I have some thoughts/theories. SPOILERS AHEAD

So, we have confirmation that sinners can go to heaven. Yay! I love Sir Pentious’s angel design SO MUCH! But, there are some interesting implications to be had because of how he got to heaven.

So, Sir Pentious got killed by Adam and then went to heaven. It can be inferred that his sacrifice is what redeemed him. But, did he need to die in hell to be reborn in heaven? If someone redeems themselves in a different way, would they just transfer to heaven, or would they need to “die.”

Also, everyone who saw this happen knew it was a sacrifice and that he wouldn’t come back. To my knowledge, sinners who die in hell just respawn, unless killed by an angelic weapon. This implies that Adam’s holy rays are just as deadly as the forged weapons. How, then, are there no souls that were killed by angels and gone to heaven during the exterminations? Children born in hell were killed (shown by Vaggie sparing one and getting punished), how are they not allowed in heaven? (Also to my knowledge, hell born creatures like imps are safe from extermination. So, kid sinners aren’t counted as hell born. It was also stated that kids don’t get sent to hell, unless that was changed)

Unless the only deadly part of Adam’s rays are the vaporization aspect. (Or the characters just assume angelic powers work the same as angelic weapons). Maybe redeemed sinners just respawn in heaven and anyone killed by angelic weapons is just gone. Unless the characters don’t know that sinners respawn (which would be weird because lots of sinners die and there wouldn’t be such a big overpopulation problem).

Then there is the idea of the respawning of human souls in general. While we haven’t seen it happen in either Hazbin or Helluva, we were told that sinners can’t be killed by normal means. This is supported by overpopulation in hell and the use of angelic weapons to kill sinners. As shown by Cannibal Town, sinners will kill each other. If they stayed dead then angels wouldn’t need to interfere every year.

My theory is that human souls (unless eradicated by angelic weapons) will be rejudged if they “die” again and respawn in the afterlife they deserve. Sinners respawn in hell because they haven’t done anything to warrant going to heaven. But, a redeemed soul will respawn in heaven instead. On the opposite side, a “winner” who sins in heaven would respawn in hell if they were to be killed.

I’m also a bit confused on how children should work in this world. Why haven’t any children born in hell from sinners respawned in heaven? If they did, then heaven would know that souls from hell could go to heaven. If they were considered hell born and not human, then how come angels allowed to kill them? The only explanation I can think of is that they work like other hell born instead of like human souls, but are considered human souls by angels and demons. Or that the angels just aren’t allowed to kill demons, and that sinners and their children aren’t demons.

None of these point are plot holes. They are just pieces of plot that haven’t been resolved yet, and won’t be for a while. So, they are fun to pick apart. I really hope Hazbin gets another season to explore this world and gets more time/episodes to do so and don’t have to rush.

[ultra-raging-ghost]

Soooo i have this lil theory about q!bbh, its under the cut :3

im also operating under the assumption that since HG is cannon to q!bbh, DSMP is also cannon to q!bbh, keep that in mind

So I don't personally think BBH is sticking to one religion or like mythology, whether that be Greek or otherwise, think it's mostly Greek but he's kinda including other things so it's personalized to his character and doesn't follow a single story line.

I have my own personal theories Abt him in relation to the qsmp but it's just a concept rn

My like basic theory is that like. All of the shit going wrong with quesadilla island is either fully or partially being caused by him Because he's shown like as a character time and time again to be present/the cause of major disasters such as the sinking of Atlantis, when mt Vesuvius erupted, lmanburg being literally nuked, etc.

I think he's just like an ever present figure where there's a lot of death, or there's intended to be a lot of death

And he has mentioned quesadilla island has been a lovely vacation because he hasn't had to walk anyone over (paraphrasing but that was the idea) most likely because of the Minecraft respawn mechanics in universe being unique to quesadilla island for some reason. But I think it's unique to quesadilla island as opposed to him just not doing his job, because q!maxo has been confirmed dead and in yesterdays stream he did confirm that either he walked max across to death or he is aware of it happening, it's like a very consistent thing in his memory loss he's very sure about who's dead or alive he just doesn't remember anything about the people who are alive unless prompted or in lapses of sound mindedness

Low-key kinda love the special guest theory if my theorys true because that means they invited him and then we're like god DAMN IT what the fuck is HAPPENING and he's just like chilling out because this is normal to him 😭 might also mean we might get more major character death down the line whether this be from NPCs or actual players

Think it's also partially/fully caused by him because we are acutely aware that the federation has other islands and has has residents living here before (i.e. bagi and cellbits family) and had previous experiments going on and nothing major happened to them like it's happening now, experiments passed or ran away and bagi moved on after she became an adult but the codes and the eye fucker and all the dark matter are all new to the federation

But that's just like my little theory for now ;3

[fantasyinvader]

I think the one thing I don't like about Scott Pilgrim Takes Off has to do with the ending. In the books, Scott was getting his act together and got a real job as a prep cook. Sex Bomb-omb broke off due to Stephen wanting to do a new band with his boyfriend, but he's still friends with Scott. Scott and Kim try to work together as a new band, but they suck. Knives leaves for college. But at the end, Scott still has matured and is able to be with Ramona, heading into subspace with her.

I feel like the mundanity of the ending really made it work. Scott was building a life for himself and moving forward, and I found this was a nice contrast to how the Evil Exes were things like movie star, rock star, robotics genius, half-ninja, everything that Gideon had… and dressing like a pirate. In a series where beating someone caused them to poof into pocket change, it was saying something about how money isn't happiness as for all their successes the Evil Exes were still hung up on the girl who dumped them all.

So while Ramona mending bridges with them and everyone being friends is a nice ending, it's too clean for me. I mean, Sex Bom-omb no longer sucks since Knives joined, and Stephen didn't hook up wiht Joseph so the band isn't going anywhere. They're going up if anything by working with Envy, while Ramona takes a job as a stunt double and loves it.

Also, as much as I love Wallace what he did to Todd was… bro. I mean, they retconned Scott's memory of how he hooked up with Kim into being legit and there was no sign of NegaScott. Scott's self-serving memory wasn't in this story, but Wallace still did that to Todd to get at Envy over her breaking Scott's heart. Except in the books, the breakup was because of a fight Scott drunkenly started. They hurt each other, but the show never dives into that. And as much of an asshole Todd is, Wallace playing him like that, playing with his feelings in order to break him as revenge, it just soured me. TODD SAW SPARKS WALLACE, WHAT HE FELT FOR YOU WAS REAL!

But then again, there was him stealing Jimmy.

But on the other hand, it did confirm the word of god that people don't die when they are killed, they respawn. Guess they already did that with the game, with Envy being defeated yet still in Scott's ending.

I can't help but wonder if Scott talking to Ramona about the two vastly different 90's Sonic shows airing at the same time is a nod to how this is supposed to be a different universe than the movie or books?

Still, I really loved this anime. Got the movie now, so might rewatch it this weekend. Definitely needed to read the books though.

[monstersdownthepath]

Is there any knowledge on Tar-Baphon's phylactery? I've heard that it's either under a fortress in either Gallowspire or the Isle of Terror, but I've already read that it's rumored that Urgathoa has hidden it, and was wondering if you had any confirmation on either.

Scouring all my resources (mainly Mythic Realms' description of him, Dungeons of Golarion's list of Gallowspire's many features, and the entirety of the Tyrant's Grasp Adventure Path, which focuses on beating him) and perusing many an online thread has told me one thing: No one knows where the damn thing is! Without spoiling too much of Tyrant's Grasp, one of the major NPCs has a whole plan revolving around killing him and themselves at the same time to latch onto his essence just to get even the smallest hint of where it could be. Even that doesn't yield fruit, because said NPC gets convinced there must be another way.

The best anyone can guess is that it's somewhere within the Gallowspire, because in his centuries of imprisonment inside it he never blew himself up to respawn anywhere else, and he seems to always mysteriously pop up back there each time he's destroyed in a different way. The main soul-suspect is the titanic black obelisk of indestructible metal that lays at its bottom covered entirely by every spell and arcane formula that Tar-Baphon knows. If that isn't his soul jar, it's likely somewhere inside the thing... but that could ALSO be a red herring, because one of the core tenants of the Whispering Way, the faith founded by the Tyrant himself, is that you don't write anything down. Having literally all your knowledge inscribed on something that literally cannot be harmed runs kind of counter to that, even if it's one of the most obnoxiously well-protected items in existence and has more traps across its surface than most entire dungeons have in their every hall.

For all we know, he could have taken a page from the ostensibly equally-powerful lich Xykon, of Order of the Stick, and had the thing locked in a specialized tomb somewhere in the infinite Astral Plane that only he could access.

[hummus-birb]

Been obsessively working on an idea for a Splatoon and partially DnD based magic system, thought I’d share it! If anything is disorganized, contradicts, or repeats itself, it’s because most of it has been written at midnight throughout the past week

v Everything under the cut! v

Random Important Stuff

Music is canonically magical

Zap fish and Power eggs give power (magical in nature?)

Ink based magic

Since splatoon is post-apocalyptic, ancient humans had cool technologies or smth

Ancient sea gods (variants/take inspo off of splatoon bosses? King salmonids might be magic imbued/ just actual gods?)

Splatoon “demons” have something to do with story mode voices? Or ancient human ghosts?

“Plant” magic includes coral now

Training grounds and schools to connect with magic are sprinkled throughout

Monk abilities are now squid roll and super jump because yes

Fairies are like sea butterflies???

Global warming caused extreme weather conditions (maybe take inspo off of that Pokémon concept by lockstin & noggin?)

Music mind control definitely exists (maybe Octavio/-like uses it? Or Tartar?)

Sanitized and fuzzy ink is a little wackus bonkus (made from dead bits and aliens and stuff, so it interacts with world differently due to magical/ technological properties)

Ancient clans confirmed w/ examples being Shiver, Frye, and Big Man

Weapons help concentrate ink magic

Other races can have magic, but it’s off a different type (since no ink)

^^^ Music, Memories (mem cakes do be like that), coral and other plants, control of minor sea creatures, abilities directly based off of species, etc.

Main pillars of magic are rooted in Song, Ink, Color, and Memories. Based on Deep cut and other characters, we can assume most if not all species have ink

Ink color is important, not necessarily magic in and of itself, but a manifestation of it (slightly edited this fact later on, don't worry about it)

No fey realm :( but they do have a magic realm of sorts. It’s a realm manifested of pure color, ink, and music, as well as human memories mixed in there. Maybe also nuclear, who knows. (For simplicity I’m calling it a fey realm though)

Rain is dangerous, Rain World style

Transient water/ink pools to other dimensions?

Nuclear based hell circles?

Maybe nuclear power is the “demonic” side of magic? And Cephalo-etcs are semi-resistant to it, and learned to control it like a form of dark magic?

Poisonous/venomous species assassins are fairly common, there’s whole cults/underground schools dedicated to the art of it

Jellyfish hive mind do be like that???

Frying permanently “fries in” a food based magic (like Crusty Sean might have a now-permanent run speed up)

Zapfish are along the same lines as king salmonids, just more respected due to them acting as a big friendly traveling energy source

8 is seen as a “magic number” of sorts to Octarians

Magic Specific Details

Like I said before, main pillars/sources are Music, Colors, Memories, and Ink!

Nuclear magic, while “natural,” is looked down upon, and generally considered evil. Fairly dangerous for both users and target

Use weapons as focuses most of the time! Especially ink based weapons, while being useful physically also allow for ink based manipulation. Song based weapons work as well, and while memories don’t have a focus, they can be compressed into memcakes

Sanitized, Fuzzy, and [side order] ink is all modified technologically, magically, or nuclearly, and is all highly dangerous and illegal. The main reason why creatures get permanently affected by it (mind control, becoming furries, etc.) in the first place

Jellyfish can use telepathic sort of magic, it’s main source being Memories

Zapfish are a siphon of electrical energy and magic, helping spur technology and link the gap for many different races as a pseudo-magic. Also some sort of more powerful being, sort of like a dragon

Respawn anchors are a mix of Ink and Memory technology, powered by the Zapfish

Salmonids have different magic customs, using more nuclear magic, as well as different types of song and technology

Super Jump, squid roll, etc. are all movement spells, many species can use them

Temporary drink and food-based magic is their form of alchemy/potions. Temporarily enhances abilities

Salmonid excel in food magic due to their whole thing with being eaten after death

Color chips include technologically engineered magic [side order please give me lore]

Color is a type of magic usually coinciding with emotions. “Fey” use it regularly, and their realm is a pure collection of it and song

Ghosts are manifested and affected by Memories, and they live in a sort of ghost realm similar to the void with human tech and stuff. Bits and bobs of memories and artifacts floating around

Song music is really strong, and does a lot of mind related stuff. (Ex: Jellyfish get their telepathic power from song) (and color)

Species abilities includes: Bioluminescence, venom/poison, electricity, regeneration, spitting insides out at you, seeing more colors (giving stronger color magic), cold/ice magic, etc.

Booyah magic is real, and primarily based on sound (Music)

Splatfest law is actually somewhat true, sometimes things are manifested by the memories of it, as well as predicting future events

Power eggs give energy similar to the strength of a singular mini Zapfish. Golden power eggs are super strong magic conductors, and control and siphon energy as well.

Super sea snails have a sort of magic randomizer imbued in them

Kraken magic is gotten from colors, ink, and extreme emotions

While some creatures don’t have ink magic, some still do, such as eels, sharks, mantas,

Main Mythological Creatures

Great Zapfish - gives energy, lawful good, invested in Song slightly more. My man powers the entire three cities, I’m proud of him. Popular god among most city-dwellers

Huge fry - Reincarnated god, shows up only in Salmonids. Chaotic Good, fights for justice but will destroy a city (oops)

Horrorboros - Reincarnated nuclear empowered god of salmonids, most popular among them as a result. God of life, death, and reincarnation. Huge Fry is kind of like a child or champion of sorts

Cohozuna - Nuclear empowered king of salmonids, similar to Grizz in that he’s not exactly a god, though he didn’t cause his own nuclear shenanigans. Treated like a god though, and has special cool abilities

Grizz* - He basically made himself a “god” with his fuzzy ooze.

Goldy- Minor god/creature, controls glowfies. Kind of like pestilence or something? Very popular among salmonids, usually the leaders of the troops they are in

Minor gods based off of Deep Cut’s families (shark, eel, and manta)

Nessie - Canonically exists!

Space - Not a creature, but space is important to almost all creatures. Radio waves for the Splatfest come from there, Horrorboros is said to have come from there, Huge Fry is often depicted in outer space, etc. (Grizz is also related to space, but again, he’s a self-made god)

Kraken (creature) - Major god to many Octolings, the Kraken is somewhat of a magic common ancestor, and/or gifted it’s magic to cephalopods (color and ink)

Ink vampires - They exist. Not exactly dead, but a deficiency in ink or color can cause vampirism. Not to be confused with the vampire squid species

[pvpcivilization]

ok. now i can actually elaborate. if anyone needs my credentials just know im insanely autistic about chainsaw man and minecraft in general. alright lets begin.

very important thing to keep in mind is how pvp!evbo relates to denji (the protagonist of csm). this post by @/0smorh1za sums it up pretty well, but for the sake of those who dont know about csm, ill elaborate. pvp!evbo is presumably not an adult with how everyone calls him kid and with how naive he is (i say presumably because theres no confirmation for it, so for now its branching more into hc territory.), so he misinterprets how characters interact with him and how exactly hes meant to interact back, and is 'selfish' in the way most teenagers are selfish. he is incredibly materialistic and is more often than not, willing to risk himself just to have those things.

rounding back on how he interacts with characters and how they interact back, you can see this best with how he interacts with tabi, and how zam interacts with him. this post from @/myreputatioooon includes a screenshot of a comment talking about how evbo seeks connection through chasing after tabi and his video journalism. he doesnt understand how friendship is meant to work, because presumably friendship is seen as a weakness in a society built on using violence as a means to support yourself, and with the vague one-off establishment that there ARE family units of some kind, he goes with the only thing he knows that is close in regards to friendship: having a girlfriend. he yearns for a connection and doesnt quite grasp how to go about asking for it. oh god this is gonna keep going i didnt realise how long id yap about pvp!evbo ok the rest is under the cut OOPS!!

as for how zam interacts with him, he sees him as a nuisance and a tool for the greater public. hes reassuring in the worst ways, and it works on evbo because he doesnt understand better. he knows that the situation hes in is unfair, but hes being faced with an ultimatum (the death of his only friend, or the death of many). they keep things over his head to get him to go along with whats happening, and even then hes still looking for a way to get out of his situation. hes not just going to lie down and accept that hes cattle to these people, he needs to survive. he wants a better life for himself, and for tabi, his guard friend, and eventually all of civilisation (dont get it twisted though, he is still very much so in it for himself, but him seeking a better life indirectly drags everyone else along with him)

ok im done talking about pvp!evbo (even though i could talk about how hes also a power parallel), but i need everyone who doesnt know anything about csm to understand that denji was faced with a very similar ultimatum (and didnt get out nearly as lucky as evbo did. while denji wasnt directly being used for his skills, his desire to live a better life placed him in the perfect position to get manipulated by makima. she gave him a family (aki, power), and then ripped them away in order to keep him dejected. this didnt work, and he killed her in the end, but he didnt live his happy ending.)

you could argue zam is more like makima than tabi is, but i believe theyre two sides of the same coin. zam is definitely conditioning (or trying to condition) evbo into thinking this is Fine. hes meant to do this. hes saving people of course! zam ultimately doesnt care about evbo in the slightest and enjoys the control he has over him. tabi is very apathetic to evbo and has her own goals to get out of this civilisation, and you could argue she began using evbo to further her goals the second she learned he can respawn, but she DOES care about him in some way, even if he was hopelessly attached to her for a while. zam and tabi arent 1 to 1 with makima, but they get down a lot of what i think makes her a good villain (and if tabi is a villain, she is written REALLY well as a character, because i actually would not have seen it coming in the best way. i think zam deserved to be fleshed out a lot more, but hes also a good villain for the series), which i appreciate greatly.

now, what about reze? weve already covered what i think makes tabi a good makima parallel (using evbo for her own goals without being clear that she is, the general kind of disregard she has for him, the control she has over him that he doesnt quite realise she has), but i think shes also a good reze parallel.

reze is the bomb devil hybrid, much like how denji is the chainsaw devil hybrid, and while they dont bond over this (she IS meant to kill denji and take his heart, afterall), they do have common ground to stand on. their isolation growing up and being trained explicitly for the betterment of the people around them and Not Themselves, and their need to see a better future, to run away.

tabi and evbo "bond" under similar notions. they want better lives, to leave, and to not be tools (shes a tool of the system, evbo is a tool of the masses. they keep the cycle of civilisation going). them bonding over this is very important to both of them, even if tabi doesnt make it clear at all. despite this, shes still keeping things from him and using evbo, potentially setting up some kind of betrayal. much like reze!! tabi doesnt outright hate evbo, and doesnt mind having him around, but she certainly isnt too worried about him because shes too preoccupied with her own goals to care.

tabi and evbo kinda drive me up the walls and i hope they get to be friends and nothing bad happens to them but i also kinda hope pvpciv ends on a very bittersweet note. the children yearn for tabi betrayal.

is this thing on can anyone hear me. tabi is like makima and reze. i can talk abt this more later im working rn u guys just need to believe me