#though of course it's also possible that all three pieces just happen to reference the same photo ref or something

[beansterpie]

.

[ogfangirl]

DANIEL RICCIARDO BROKE THE INTERNET

authors note: this is my first piece of writing for Daniel Ricciardo and for F1. I’ve been obsessed with Danny lately and it randomly came to me late last night so bare with me 🥹 with Danny coming back this weekend it brought a lot of emotions happy ! I just want him racing so bad. This is fluffy and cute, and exactly how I imagine he’d be as a dad 🫶🏼

Pairing: Dad!Daniel Ricciardo x Wife!reader

Instagram AU & behind the scenes of the post

Summary: Daniel has been quite busy in 2023, but not behind the wheel of an F1 car.

Enjoy!

Liked by f1, landonorris, redbullracing and 1,991,562 others

danielricciardo I’ve been kept pretty busy these last three months 💙 @.yourinstagram

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yourinstagram we love you papa 🧸💙

- liked by danielricciardo

user7 whAT?!?!? WHAT IS HAPPENING

redbullracing a future Red Bull world champ 🏆

- liked by danielricciardo and yourinstagram

dannyshoney OMG THIS IS AMAZING!

landonorris can’t wait to meet the little man

- liked by danielricciardo and yourinstagram

maxverstappen1 my nephew !

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Daniel Ricciardo broke the internet.

Let’s recap:

Almost a year ago, you found out you were expecting your first child with your husband, Daniel. You were thrilled, and you knew you had to come up with a way to surprise him. You got a onesie with his logo on it, a card with the words "and soon there will be 3" as a reference to your growing family AND his racing number 3, as well as the three pregnancy tests you took, and you placed them into a little gift box. On a boat day out in Monaco, you handed him the gift box, but not before you took your phone out and pressed record. He was confused as to why you were recording him, but he opened the box anyway. His face was priceless. He was ecstatic. It was a dream come true.

Since this was your first pregnancy, you wanted to keep it a secret for as long as possible. You felt as though it was more special that way. His life was already so public, and yours was too as a result of being his wife. The two of you agreed to keep your pregnancy between your closest friends and family. But it didn’t take long before Daniel came home looking all guilty, and when you asked him what happened, he told you that everyone at the paddock knew he was going to be a dad. When you asked him how they knew, he sheepishly reminded you of his excitement and that you know how much he likes to talk. You forgave him, of course, because the paddock was like his second home. That was his family, too.

 You didn’t get mad or upset. You knew your husband. Daniel is known to ramble, and he just couldn’t contain himself, but who could blame him? It was an exciting chapter in his life. one that came at a rough time, when he didn’t know what his future in Formula One would look like. Obviously, McLaren wasn't working out, and he didn’t know where else he would end up. But what mattered to him most was that his baby was coming.

 It didn’t take long to find out the gender. He paid for the early test. He was too anxious to wait. The gender reveal was an intimate get-together with only a few family members and friends. As soon as the black balloon exploded and the blue confetti hit the floor, Daniel picked you up and spun you around in joy. "We’re having a boy!" He exclaimed with a huge smile on his face. His very own baby boy He already had a little boy in his life, his nephew, whom he watched grow up, and he couldn’t imagine loving someone more than he loves him. But he was excited to experience this new space of love, one he could only share with a son. He also fell even deeper in love with you after seeing you grow a life inside your body.

 Keeping your pregnancy a secret in the beginning was a breeze. At first, there were no signs of a bump; you could get away with wearing any outfit. The second trimester came around, and you had to pull out all the flowy dresses and tops. Daniel watched you in awe as you performed daily tasks, but with a growing belly. He noticed your glow becoming brighter and brighter every day. He loved parading down the paddock with you while everyone congratulated you on the baby.

Throughout the season, you traveled to as many races as possible while you could still hide the bump, but it soon became too difficult. Especially since Daniel was the star of Drive to survive, and there was always a camera in his face. He had asked the producers to try and keep you out of the footage, but it was hard considering he wouldn’t leave your side unless he was in the car. The more your belly grew, the fewer races you attended. Ultimately, with your energy levels plummeting and your bump being extremely noticeable, you decided that it was finally time to stay home. Daniel missed having you at races, and you definitely felt weird having to watch them from home after being used to the hustle and bustle for years.

 Daniel became less and less excited for race weekends as the season went on. One because, frankly, his car sucked, and two because you weren’t there with him. His favorite activity soon became taking the long haul flights back home, because he knew you’d be there waiting for him. Every time he’d arrive home, it was like his world was complete again. You’d be there waiting for him with a smile and your big ol’ growing belly. He didn’t know how to describe how intense his love and admiration for you had gotten. But he sure knew how to show it. Daniel showered you in hugs, kisses, massages, flowers, chocolate, gifts, love, but most importantly, reassurance. The pregnancy itself was fairly easy, but the part you were scared of the most was how his busy lifestyle would impact how much time he’d spend with you and the baby. So he did exactly what he knew you wanted but didn’t have the heart to ask for.

With the 2022 F1 season coming to an end, Daniel decided that it was the perfect opportunity to take time away from the sport so that he could spend time with his wife and his son, who could arrive at any time. He agreed to become a third driver for Red Bull, counting on the fact that they wouldn’t need him for a few weeks. He never gave the media much of an explanation as to why he decided to take a third driver position; all he said was that he needed time to himself. Some fans understood, and some didn’t, but it didn’t matter. He knew he had made the right decision.

 His little boy, Luca Gabriel Ricciardo, was born on January 5, 2023. The day both your lives changed, but for the better.

 You love watching him be a dad. He did it so effortlessly. He was eager to do night feeds and didn’t even mind staying up with the baby at night. He loved doing skin-to-skin, and was a pro at diaper changes. He wanted to be all hands on deck. The two of you would take long walks on the farm with Luca, and occasionally you would have picnics in the garden. That was what he cherished the most. When it was just you three. The family he built with the woman he loves

 The months flew by, and next thing he knew, the Australian Grand Prix was coming up. He couldn’t hide anymore. His life was perfect, but he knew he had to go back to work. That’s his home race, and there isn’t an Australian Grand Prix without F1’s favorite Aussie.

 Race week was the first time since Luca was born that Daniel spent time away from home. It felt weird for both you and him. In the 8 days that he was gone, there were approximately 52 FaceTime calls, 37 phone calls, and 12 pictures of Luca sent to him. He missed his son, and even though he was away, he still wanted to be a full participant in his soon-to-be 3-month-old's daily activities, which didn’t include much but eating, sleeping, and pooping, but you appreciated it.

 Word travels fast in F1, and everyone was excited for Daniel’s return. As predicted, Daniel was asked a million times what he did to keep busy during the past three months. He would chuckle to himself and keep giving vague answers like, "I was working on myself."

 But enough was enough.

 With the Australian Grand Prix behind us, on Monday afternoon he arrived at home and immediately made his way towards you and his baby boy. After planting a kiss on your lips and one on his baby’s head, he looked down at you with a smile. You looked at him, almost afraid of what his mind had come up with. "How do you feel about finally presenting Luca to the world?" He asked. It caught you off guard, but you’d be lying if you said you haven’t thought about it.

 "I think I’m ready if you are," you smiled back.

 And that was all he needed to hear. He was finally going to show the world his biggest accomplishment: his family.

 Daniel had taken a photo of you with Luca while you guys took a trip to the beach when he was about two months old. He loved the photo, and immediately knew that it was the photo he was going to use to announce his boy. Daniel had the post saved in his drafts for about two weeks. He was waiting for the perfect time, but after getting back to work, he knew that there was no better time. Everyone still had lots of questions, and he knew that the answers he gave didn’t actually give them any insight into what his days off looked like. But he could paint a perfect picture with one post. So on Monday, April 3, 2023, he introduced the world to his boy.

 It didn’t take long before his comment section became flooded with support, surprised comments and overall excitement. Both of your phones began blowing up, and you two couldn’t contain your smile. You opened Twitter and saw people were already talking about it all over your timeline. Your family and friends left cute comments on his post, and you took the time to reply and like all of their comments. It meant a lot for the both of you that you had such a strong support system behind your family. Your boy was so loved, and he didn’t even know it yet.

Following Daniel’s Instagram post, you decided to share an announcement of your own.

@.yourinstagram posted on their story

[dirtbra1n]

directors commentary about Impulse in the shape of Today you are a girl.... and surrounding scene of course.... i love you and peace and love on planet prevpreshanzashiro

hi it’s november 27th and I’m back here again. mindmelding between friends @aranarumei Hi kiri. is something that can be so personal. I’ll go in extra deep on still-unnamed tashiro post current events’ Side note this is why you don’t leave asks out to dry for four calendar months. close side note. extra deep on today you are a girl paragraph when we get there. I love you guys so much by the way did you know this.

speaking to you from the future: I started back on this thing at work, maybe an hour before we closed. that would make this about three hours now.

I’m putting this under a cut.

tashiro’s phone pings with a message from shirahama that reads, If you do anything to screw up your hair I’m shaving it all off your head

ping. And making you eat it

ping. Keep one foot on the ground at all times if you do anything insane I’m really gonna do it

first thing is that shirahama’s here again. everyone say hi shirahama :) he’s a few hours from getting the anxious shakes with no known cause (he was responsible for tashiro’s hair for the girlification competition). shirahama’s here again because he does an excellent job at carrying tashiro through the days and nights, and because the advice to keep one foot on the ground at all times if you do anything insane I’m really gonna do it. is topical always but especially now. he’s also here again because you have to identify a chance at comedic timing and lunge for it hungry with both hands:

tashiro purses his lips. glances out the open window; first floor.

the picture he takes of his feet, hovering as he sits on the windowsill and clad in black crew socks—he left the shoes somewhere else, he figures miyano will chase him down about them later—is waiting to be sent with incomplete text suck i when he spots someone out the very corner of his vision.

set-up is happening here. black crew socks highlighted as a reference to the black sailor uniform option from tashiro girlification poll 2023 as drawn by You 🫵 sunnfish. tashiro’s shoelessness as a cog is working steadily to do its part for a theme that was accidental, clocked, and left in. tashiro almost finishes typing suck it to send shirahama before pausing the action entirely—shirahama watches the typing bubble linger. uh-oh shirahama—because of

the very corner. an unmistakable figure at the edge of the crowd, staring over the living mass of strangers, right into tashiro stood in the window, until he isn’t anymore.

funny thing about crossdressing, see, is the worldview shift. that broad back looks broader, a piece-of-work senpai haunting his memory like a grief-hallucination.

that was him though. there are only so many people tashiro could recognize from the moon and he’s one of them. how many people in the world could possibly look like that.

relative to the rest of the thing, this scene was brand new; I’d written it a few days before tashiro’s birthday, when I posted the lot of it, because Creative process keeps me in a rock tumbler mostly. this matters really only because It was that evening, july third, when it really slotted into place in my mind exactly how prev prez should exist in the context of river. incidentally Neither your asks nor this post is about it obviously but the bathhouse scene and the others related to it are also “new” in this way, for the same reason.

anyway prev prez. from the start it was my understanding as wielder of the authorial godhand that he is, you know. functionally and narratively dead. if hanzawa masato is an active haunter straddling the line between Wanting to live and Being just so so sick of Various things, prev prez is about as passive a dead guy as the average dead guy can be. except for the fact that he is, in some way, to tashiro specifically, an exceptional (adj. unusual; not typical) person. an unmistakeable figure that tashiro could recognize from the moon. unrelated to anything right this second I think somewhere along the way I mindlinked tashiro to hanako tbhk. hmm. Okay well moving on. tashiro has a real certainty on that figure having been prev prez, because prev prez lives, in a very real way, in tashiro’s mind. he’s also a massive Haha. catalyst for the most prominent #tashirogirlification here; his gravity, the masculinity of him, works in tandem with the sailor uniform makeup and done-up hair.

because tashiro is crossdressing as a girl, he feels like a girl. because tashiro is crossdressing as a girl, prev prez (who is already recalled by tashiro in a super masculine way—it’s important to me as usual that Love & Passion is told by tashiro, seen through his eyes, because it says, to me, that those fucking photos of prev prez are also as tashiro saw him. this is present elsewhere in tashiro post, ideas of memory and recollection) Okay that was a long parenthetical let me restart. because tashiro is crossdressing as a girl prev prez Already looking the way he does. looks even more that way. okay great now the crown jewel:

it’s a second of stirring in his stomach that bridges the space between shoujo manga and violent murder. his feet are back on the ground but they might as well be dangling out the window; an impulse in the shape of today you are a girl has him gripped by the shoulders, nearly chasing after a living ghost and using strangers as stepping stones to do it.

hi killing point. first point of discussion is that this scene’s cinema is one of the most vivid ones I see; hands braced on the windowsill, head out the window, feet twitching where they stand on the floor. look up and watch yourself bound over still water stepping stone by stepping stone, grace and beauty completely hallucinated where the fantasy, in reality, is exactly as clumsy and cruel as you’d expect it to be. hup! out the window onto the heads and shoulders of strangers, clammer over the shifting tides of the dense crowd—great turnout!—and emerge worse for wear, but very quick, on the other end to continue the pursuit. this fantasy is only mostly completely hallucinated, in that tashiro really nearly goes through with it. this paragraph I just wrote explains nothing.

I’ll concede: solid alliteration with s in the first half of the first sentence leads cleanly into two sets of four quarter notes; the killing point, to borrow Words, shou-jo man-ga (kiss) and vio-lent mur-der (kill). next sentence in both of its semicoloned halves continues the yet-unstated not-quite run-on capital f Feeling where tashiro’s mind is running 10 miles a minute, but the first half embodies the feeling of Having a Body, the sensation of gravity contrasted by the tantalizing appeal of swinging your feet out the window, void calling as a siren would, and the second half (the first half of it) has impulse (personified) grabbing tashiro by the shoulders (not, by any metric, narrow these days) and nevertheless speaking into him the refrain Where’s your girlish whimsy? the second half of the second half, as we went through just a second ago, has tashiro watching himself (in spirit, haha) doing the worlds least considerate parkour, and closes with another instance of solid s alliteration. I want to put on the record that the alliteration was not intentional but I think in retrospect that it is neat. hit the button and call it time!

one foot on the ground with his hands braced on the sill, he hears, “tashiro.”

sky still looks like rain. indistinct collective murmur hangs over the crowd outside like smog. a metal rod’s pang clefts clean through his forehead, up between his eyes. taiko drums. dwarfed by encroaching shadow miyano calls again, “tashiro,” from down the hall. tashiro’s shoes dangle limply from his hands.

thundering resonance. tashiro croaks, “what?”

continuing on to what I’ll call the second point of discussion: where the camera was—tashiro facing out the window—shifts to lead into I think THE most vivid cinematic scene I see. tashiro in the foreground, caught, miyano in the background, catching. tashiro’s name throughout the whole piece has this cleaving quality I think, where it cuts through where you were to bring you where you are, and here it cuts through delusion fantasy and reckless daze to remind you that tashiro is someone who is more sensible than this. which is why, following “tashiro” the word (ice cold water poured down his back), tashiro the person suddenly sees feels and hears all that he’d been unconsciously tuning out.

prev prez just has that effect on him.

the second time around miyano’s voice is just miyano’s voice, bouncing off the walls a little with the way he projects it, more than a little concerned. by separating the information extra attention is drawn to tashiro’s shoes in his hands, words dangle and limply doing exactly what they were meant to, once I realized something. tashiro’s shoelessness as a cog is working steadily to do its part for a theme that was accidental, clocked, and left in. <- You know chekhov? TFW you accidentally liken tashiro’s impulsively wanting to jump like a girl that chases her first love, shoelessly, to jumping in a way that kind of feels a little like. river…y. in a suicidal way. you see why this is the scene I see the best and most frequently.

well anyway. As for the other things this bit is doing. the atmosphere merges a little with the water. in a lot of ways that cold water reality check description of the scene works just as well to describe the Fucking River, because I can’t ever leave it alone. because it can’t ever leave me alone. miyano is here and real but shadow works as a cloth backdrop behind him, upon which he stands stark and separate from the Fucking River because, even now, Nobody’s told miyano about whatever the hell tashiro and hanzawa senpai have got going on. all he sees is his friend, needed elsewhere, shoeless, about to jump out of the goddamn river, and all he has are his goddamn shoes. tashiro, caught, embarrassed kind of, with blood roaring in his ears, could only say, “what?” bonus points for my use of cleft when grammatically speaking it would be cleave. I have the conch, and I say grammar be damned.

anyway as I finally close this out, I’ll say Speaking of river,

see the tweet in the middle. there was a point on the third of july where I thought really hard about whether I wanted tashiro’s girlification to itself exist in dream time, as a dream, because tashiro post took forever and we’d all seen harusono’s own third year culture festival by then. ultimately I decided otherwise, but I really thought about it really hard. in any case I’m glad I didn’t do that because as I found out that friday following tashiro’s birthday. as we ALL found out that friday following tashiro’s birthday. harusono shou was on exactly the same page as me as far as One Thing in particula

aaaaand scene.

[morallygreyvigilante67]

thoughts on the charlie-bot twist in the novel trilogy?

I have mixed feelings towards it.

On the one hand, I think the concept is interesting and the whole idea of having a robot that's convincingly human added a whole new layer to the things that were possible in the Five Nights at Freddy's universe. The idea itself wasn't a problem.

I just don't think it was handled that well.

Because, while the concept was interesting, its introduction into the story was both too sudden and too close to the end of the trilogy for it to really be compelling. Yes, there were one or two hints towards the whole "Charlie's not human" thing, but most of those hints had perfectly logical explanations. The only hints I can remember off the top of my head (baring in mind it's been a few years since I last sat down to read the books in their entirety):

1 > The machine part that Charlie found in one of the closets in her childhood bedroom - she mentioned that her father used to carry loose pieces of machinery in his pockets all the time, and so finding the odd stray part dotted around wasn't unusual. Since Charlie also had three mechanical toys in her room, it could also be argued that the part was left behind after some maintenance work that might have been necessary at some point.

2 > During the scene where the gang was trying to question William after freeing Carlton, William displayed a strange interest in Charlie compared to the rest of the group - at this point in the story, William seemed willing to talk only after he'd had the Spring Bonnie head put on and he was noticeably referring to himself and the animatronics as a family as though he was one of them and no longer human...it's also worth noting that during the final confrontation in The Silver Eyes he seemed intent on Charlie staying, relenting only when the springlocks in his costume were triggered. In my mind this is the biggest hint in the first book but it was earlier revealed that William had a strange obsession for Henry, so it could also be argued that his interest in Charlie at this stage in the book was an extension of his obsession with Henry.

I know there were probably other hints, but those are the only ones I remember at this point in time.

Something that's also worth pointing out, is that one of the clues for "fake Charlie" not being human was that she was strangely blurred in any picture that was taken of her. Despite there being earlier scenes of characters looking at pictures of the real Charlie (well, the Charlie we've been following in The Silver Eyes, that is), there was never any mention of those photos being blurred. Of course, it could be argued that whatever illusion disc was being used on Charlie was more advanced, but since the "fake Charlie" body Elizabeth was using was originally intended to be the adult version of Charlie, I find it strange that whatever hypothetical advanced version of the illusion disc was being used for Charlie wasn't already installed in the adult version.

And, again, the actual reveal happened too close to the end of the novel for it to really be compelling. I think the plotline would've worked better if it had been handled differently.

If they wanted to keep the reveal itself at the end, it would've made more sense if there'd been more hints to it earlier on or if the story itself had revolved around Charlie learning about it herself instead of having it just blurted out. The actual reveal (if handled well) would've still been shocking, but it wouldn't seem as out of the blue.

It would've also been interesting to see the aftermath of the reveal, seeing how Charlie came to terms with what she'd learned, seeing how her friends would've come to terms with the information. Sure, they might not have known the real flesh-and-blood Charlie, but I imagine finding out one of your friends was a robot all along would still be quite the surprise even if it ultimately didn't change much.

Or, going down a completely different route, Sammy could've been the robot. A plotline involving Charlie finding clues that her brother's still alive only to later learn that the Sammy she knew really was dead and that the Sammy she reunited with was a machine would've been really interesting to see since Sammy (to my knowledge) isn't referenced at all anywhere else in Five Nights at Freddy's.

[pt-disconnected]

With the Dark World seeming to crumble around them, the Player was honestly terrified- as were their allies. Everything seemed out of place- the Card Castle was falling apart as parts of it were replaced with rooms that were from the school, collapsing in on itself. And the Knight was there, laughing. "You fools... so focused on a pawn that you forgot to block the checkmate! And now the game is over!" he said, grinning madly.

The Player looked around, trying to find something- anything- that would get them somewhere. And as they saw a path into the Light World, they grabbed hold of one of the Ralsei variants. "Hold on, guys!" they said, triggering a split-second reaction for the six to grab each other, and Lancer of course. Lancer, trailing at the end, also gave a warning. "G- guys?! That guy is chasing us! What'd you do to make him this mad..?! What's happening to the castle?!" the prince said, confused. But the Player didn't look back. "No time! We'll try and explain soon!" they said, before pulling the six out of the Dark World and into the Light World- without them turning into their respective objects.

This terrified the Ralsei group. Lairse, for one, was enraged. "This... this isn't supposed to be possible! The darkness is merged with the light- no fountain, light or dark, should be able to do that!" he shouted, albeit still in the line led by the Player.

The Player, however, had a focus on their goal. "We need to find Kris. Odds are, they might be able to put a few pieces together. And with what we learned from that guy- I'm not even gonna bother with his name- we might have a shot at figuring out what we need to do."

The group nodded, including Lancer- though he was a bit exhausted. "H- hey, lemon-lime..? C- could I just tag along in your pocket..? I'm not really... the running type..." he said, panting some. The Player sighed. "Yeah, that's fine. I can't be losing you in this mess- Susie would kill me." they say, to which Lancer ran over (conveniently regaining enough energy to do so) and hopped in. Seems the inventory logic of the Dark World had blended through as well.

With Lancer tucked away, safe in the Player's pockets, the group of seven made their way to Kris' house via the Player's lead. Around them, monsters and Darkners of all kinds were panicking, with humans emerging from the rifts connecting the Dark World to the Light World. But these seven were focused on the task at hand.

As they approached the house in question, three figures emerged. Kris, Toriel, and then one more who looked surprisingly like the Ralseis- to his complete confusion. Kris and Toriel were also a bit shocked- especially Kris, as Ralsei was currently in the Light World, something that shouldn't have been possible.

The first one to speak was Kris. "P- Player, what are you doing here?! And what's with Ralsei and the others?! You all should still be in the Dark World- especially them!" they said, referring to the Ralsei group at the end. But the Player shook their head. "This is a massive emergency situation, Kris. Things have gone haywire on both ends. We need to get Susie and Noelle... and probably Berdly as well. I'm not sure what's going on myself, but this is a very bad situation, and that's best case. Worst case... this could be the end of your worlds. And, possibly mine if things go really south."

Asriel spoke up. "Um, sorry to interrupt, but who are you..? And why are there... uh, six more of me?!" he said, completely baffled. Toriel sighed. "Azzy, there's a lot to explain. I'm lucky to have been filled in on the situation myself, especially when things weren't so sudden. We should find Susie, Noelle, and Berdly first, then we can try and sort things out..."

Ralsei nodded, as did the rest of the Asriels- including, well, Asriel himself. Asriel, for one, was surprised at the synchronicity he had with them, but shrugged it off. "Okay. We'll need to split up to find them- but I think we can handle this." he said. "But we also need to ensure everyone's safety."

Kris looked to their adopted mother. "Mom, you know Mayor Holliday, and she trusts you. You'd be best to get Noelle." The Player, in turn, looked to Kris. "Okay, Kris, you might be able to get Susie. I don't know for sure how well it'd go- but you should be able to find her best. Here- take Lancer. That should be enough to prove the intensity of the situation." they say, pulling Lancer out of their pocket (to the shock of both Toriel and Asriel). Lancer just looked around a bit, and chuckled. "Wow, nice castle you got, Kris! Maybe someday I can see what kinds of holes it's got!" he said, before Kris just smiled a little, putting Lancer right into their own pocket.

Looking to Asriel, along with his six other selves, Player sighed. "Asriel, we'll need you to ensure this place is safe. These six should be able to help with that- just make sure this place is safe for when we get back." they say, to which Asriel just looks toward them. "...How do I know I can trust you, though..?" Both Kris and Toriel, however, nodded some, with Toriel speaking. "You can trust them, Azzy. It might be crazy- but there's something different about them. And they've proved themselves. So just work with them."

Asriel sighed, and nodded. "Okay. I'll do my best." Though, Kris spoke next. "Wait, what about Berdly? Who'll find him?" they asked. The Player sighed. "I'm gonna have to try and find them. I'm not sure, but they might be in the library- I just hope that they're all safe. But we need to move, and we'll need to move fast. There's no telling what might happen."

The group all nodded, and began working on their respective tasks. Kris began making their way towards the general apartment complex in the town- and odds were, Susie would be out and about with the chaos going on. Toriel made her way towards the Holliday residence. The seven Asriel variants began work on a sort of base, trying to make the Dreemurr house into a decent place for them to keep themselves safe. And, the Player was making their way towards the library of the town- where Berdly would hopefully be.

But on the way, they wound up plowing face-first into a large, admittedly fluffy monster. They fell backwards, and upon looking up, found themselves staring straight at a startled, albeit armed, Asgore. They immediately put their arms up. "Wait! I don't mean any harm!" they said, knowing how the Light World residents saw the humans. Asgore, however, was just confused. "Wait, what..? Human, what's going on? Tell me now!" he said, starting out confused but quickly getting his weapon, a gardening rake, readied. The Player nodded some. "Okay, I can try to tell you... it's gonna be a bit unbelievable but I think with what's going on you might be willing to believe it... heck if you want I can get you to a safe place, but I need to get to someone- it's a long story, but please, PLEASE believe me. I'm not trying to hurt anyone..."

Asgore glared into eyes of the Player for a few moments, before sighing and allowing them up. "Okay. I believe you. Tell me where to go, and I will meet you there..." he said. The Player got up, slower than they would have normally. "Go back to Kris' place... they should be able to explain when they get back. It'll be a crazy story but this is already crazy as it is. I'll be back soon..." they said, and Asgore's only reply was a nod, before he started to run towards the house. Out of the corner of their eye, the Player also noticed Kris with Susie, as well as Lancer piggybacking on Susie's shoulders. That was good timing.

So they continued on their way to the library- but what they saw honestly terrified them. It wasn't entirely a library anymore- a tree that looked straight out of a pop-up book had grown through the roof, with Berdly on one of the branches. Upon seeing the Player, he called down to them. "Player! Help! I'm not used to this! I don't want to be a normal bird right now!" he said, admittedly getting a small chuckle out of the Player, before they refocused on the situation.

They quickly tried to find something that would break the fall- before noticing a nearby Darkner that was conveniently just an oversized pillow. As such, they quickly approached. "Hey, I need your help really quick. I know it's strange, but you need to break my friend's fall- are you able to do that safely?" they asked. Shockingly, they nodded- turns out they had been doing that for other Darkners too. As such, they went over to the spot where Berdly would probably land.

Unfortunately, it wasn't just that easy. Berdly was still clinging to the branch, not wanting to let go. "I can't fall that far down! I'd PERISH! This isn't the Dark World, where a single pillow would nullify all the fall damage!" he said, clearly afraid of heights. The Player just sighed. "Berdly, there's no distinction between the two right now! Whatever it is that's going on has messed up the rules of reality! Think of it as a glitch- fall damage isn't working right because of it!" they said. So Berdly gulped, closed his eyes, and dropped right onto the pillow-Darkner. Getting up, he looked at himself, and let out a sigh of relief and did a fist pump- before the Darkner asked for him to get off of them, which he did.

With Berdly back in the group, the Player now chose to make their way back to the Dreemurr house- Berdly not far behind. As they approached, the two could see Asgore and Toriel, actually talking. It was strange, but it seemed that the dire circumstances were allowing them to interact... somewhat normally. And with Toriel back, that meant Noelle had arrived as well. But to the Player's surprise, there was a second one there with her- another reindeer monster who seemed to be just a bit older than Noelle, and dressed in an outfit much like that of Noelle's Dark World outfit, except it was a light blue instead of white. She seemed to be talking with Noelle, as well as Susie and Kris, and when Susie saw the Player approaching, she pointed them out. Kris quickly went over, with Noelle and the other reindeer monster staying back for the time being.

Kris looked to Berdly. "Berdly, you got any idea what's going on?" The bluebird shook his head. "Not in the slightest, aside from the obvious. Why? You don't know either?" Kris shook their head. "Just checking to see if we needed to explain. Regardless, now that everyone's together, we need to get a sort of plan. Dad was worried for Mom, and Dess wound up finding out about things because her outfit changed, so they're getting an explanation of things from before."

The Player sighed. "Okay, once those explanations are done, I think me, Ralsei, and the rest of Asriel's alternate selves have some stuff to explain too. Turns out that the Knight had us all fooled. I don't know how we could have stopped him in the first place anymore."

Kris groaned, concerned but clearly not wanting to think on it too much. "Okay. Tell us later. Right now, we've got a lot to work on. At least we have another two in our team for now. I don't know where we'll go from here, but... I think once Azzy and the Ralseis finish getting the house fortified more, we can get things hashed out more calmly. For now, we should just get you introduced to Dad and Dess. That way, they don't mistake you for one of the other humans who seem to be... not as happy about what's going on."

The Player simply nodded. "Got it. Let's get that done."

Whoa, what's this? Part 20?! And I hadn't even done a Anon Asks yet!! Seems that things really have gone into chaos. And this is a nice, larger part too. I personally am unsure of the quality of it but if you guys all enjoy it then that's what matters to me. I certainly want to aim for quality as well in the end. So now we've had two parts in the span of one week (not in terms of a calendar, I mean two parts in seven days), and honestly I'm happy about that. I have a few ideas for where to go from here, and those vary wildly in all honesty. Depending on how I can work with Azzy being part of the story, as well as the new additions (hehe!) we might be seeing a variety of things. Could be new stuff, could be rewritten old stuff, could be stuff happening in the background of old stuff. There's even another option that you might be able to figure out if you hunt it down. Pgp lkwbak isow mqgba abj wep, xxnr zme isrbpn waabec penrxnm ezp isr zga. Qkz bbnpaan lka nzptpe fg lka dtqu uip rexmo abj bouznn royew nu mp. Md do ritnazzm vwzm pgc yafigapne pso htwe, tobp pso lmeeyo abj opzcg mqbpnjp. Hopefully you all enjoy this additional part of the story, and whatever else is soon to be! I'll see you all in whatever comes next, be it the next Anon Asks, or another part should I manage to pull more motivation out of thin air! Previous Part | First Part | Next Part LynxGriffin's Paper Trail Comic (Whoa, a completely original segment! Shocking! Check out the comic anyways though, you might find something that might be intriguing- there's all sorts of stuff in there that inspires these story segments!)

[a-la-campanella]

Journal On Penacony • The Sound and the Fury (Page 1/7)

Finished the 2.0 Penacony main story a while ago, and I'm now rewatching the cutscenes from a streamer's VOD. This is meant to be more like a very public journal with some speculations, not a comprehensive summary. Bullet-pointed notes for myself, with key points in bold, and of course, spoilers. I will not warn you twice.

Side note: I alternate with pronouns between the player(s), The Trailblazer, and Stelle. Take it or leave it.

The Sound and the Fury, which is the name of this Trailblaze Mission chapter, is a reference to a novel by the American author William Faulkner. I haven't read it, but I've heard that there are a number of parallels between Penacony and some motifs in the novel.

Pom-Pom introduces us to memoria, and we get a throwaway comment about the Memory Zone. The Memory Zone sounds like something related to Fuli and the Remembrance, and the Forgotten Hall/Memory of Chaos...

The Trailblaze and the Star Rail are what connected Penacony to the rest of the universe; and with the Express leaving Penacony, three Trailblazers stayed behind on the prison turned hotel. They were Tiernan (the guard), Legwork (the mechanic), and Razalina (the surveyor).

Some people have theorized that Misha might be the grandson or a descendent of one of these Trailblazers, and I'm inclined to agree. Of the three, he would likely be related to Legwork, as he's described as being "skilled at fixing a variety of machines" (Character Details).

Interastral Peace Broadcast update! I highly recommend listening to these for anyone who likes worldbuilding, just treat it like in-game current events. Most of what they said here isn't directly relevant to the main story, but the collaboration between the IPC and the Garden of Recollection is particularly interesting... I wonder what's happened since the events of Gold and Gears?

Also, Emperor Rubert I lore! I expect it to more relevant as we continue to get involved with members of Genius Society... I'm looking at you, Polka.

Dan Heng chooses to stay on the Express—totally understandable. Bro gotta celebrate Lunar New Year. And you know, we need someone to stay watch on the Express. He'll come find us eventually, he shows up in White Night after all.

It also doesn't help that Dan Heng took center stage for the Luofu and now there's not much mystery to him anymore. His story isn't complete per say, but all that's left to explore for him is the time between him leaving the Luofu and joining the Express, and the future. It'll probably be the backseat on lore for him until we head back to the Luofu.

Okay, the cutscene before the jump? Every time before we jump, there's a focus on the chessboard. According to this lovely reddit post, it's from a game that ended in a tie—and I think it's a direct reference to Jingliu's line, "This is a chess game between Aeons." Stelle, then, might be the black rook, because that's the piece we get a zoom-in on; though it's also possible she's a pawn, or not even on the board at all. Or the piece is the Astral Express (faction)? Questions, questions...

It also doesn't really matter how the game ends, because (1) when the Universe reaches its end everything will restart anyways and (2) the rules can be broken and new pieces can appear out of nowhere. Aeons don't have to play by normal rules (see: Mythus).

Flash: Acheron (moving backwards), Firefly, Robin, Acheron again (still moving backwards but closer to Stelle this time). This isn't the first time we've glimpsed into a/the future; the other time it happened was when we protected March from the Doomsday Beast on Herta Space Station.

The implications for seeing into the future seem pretty fucking big, but as it stands, I'm not sure how relevant that is right now. It's about the journey, not the destination; what matters isn't how the Universe ends, but what we do until we reach that point.

Blink and we're in the Dreamscape version of what becomes our guest room. No clue how we got there or if we're even really there.* (I'll expand on this in a bit.)

Acheron sighs, then says, "Not another one...." The other person she's talking about might be Black Swan...? I don't think it could be anyone else. She barely knows anyone else, even.

She also tells us we'll forget everything when we wake up, which is bull fucking shit when you see some of the dialogue options.

Okay, this might go pretty fucking meta (any ORV fans?), but Acheron's ability hear our "thoughts" might be similar to how we read the text stating the character's voicelines. Or to put in ORV terms, it's kind of like Kim Dokja reading the Wall. And HSR does go meta on character dialogue, they've given color to select words (e.g. Kafka's golden text, Acheron's red text), and alternative readings to other words.

*It doesn't make much sense to see the other characters in the dreamscape when this dream isn't being shared with them, and they're all people that (assuming we haven't arrived on Penacony yet), neither Acheron nor Stelle should know who they are -> they shouldn't appear in her dreamscape. Like, you don't just imagine whole ass people. Acheron calls them shadows, but they're all memories of conversations that have happened.

I saw a theory (no clue who said it, I think I read it first in a Reddit comment, but I thought it was interesting) that we've rewinded time on Penacony, and Acheron seems to be somewhat aware of this. In the first iteration, Duke Inferno may have successfully destroyed Penacony. In the second, Duke Inferno is slain by Acheron before that can happen, but the Memory Zone boss might've fucked us over. We'd be on the third iteration, then, and Acheron allowed the Memory Zone boss to kill Firefly. There's not much merit to this to be honest beyond some wacky voicelines, but I still think it's worth lingering on.

To be in the Memory Zone like this, I feel like it would imply that this is a memory, and these events would've had to have happened in the linear past. Acheron told us this is Penacony's "welcome", but I don't think that's the case. There's some time fuckery going on for sure.

The doors that lead us to meeting Misha are different than the other doors we saw, and lack the lock-like motif.

Acheron makes no acknowledgement of Misha. Keep this in mind, okay?

"...have we met somewhere before?" Yeah, maybe in another branch of time. None of the dialogue options are absolute an yes/no answer. (Or maybe before Stelle was "born" on Herta Space Station, but I doubt that a little. If that was the case, I think the Stellaron Hunters would be more aware of Acheron.)

If you play Stelle, the red text says "she stood shoulder to shoulder with me", and if you play Caelus, it says "he crossed blades with me". The former is a reference to her Nameless friend Frebass, mentioned in the new relic set Pioneer Diver of Dead Waters. Not sure about the other guy. These could also be taken as parallels to HI3 between Mei and Kiana/Kevin.

Her red text questions are so fucking wack, y'all. Inception reference: Would you wish to stay in the dream world? Elio/player meta: Would you wish to keep going, even if you knew how this story/game would/might end? Fourth wall break meta: Do you remember her?

Anyways, she does seem to be able to notice the different branches of time from different dialogue options; "countless versions of you[...] gave entirely different responses".

She tells us "in that monochrome world, there will be a glimpse of fleeting red, and when you make a choice, it will reappear before you once more..." The red, from what we can tell so far, is her red text. What we hear seems to change based on the choices/dialogue options we selected. If that's the red, then the monochrome world would be... the text you're reading? This really does remind me of ORV.

Then she kills Stelle. Well, not really. Death in a dream is one way to wake up from the dream in Inception, so that's Acheron's way of waking her up, huh.

Acheron looks like she's crying blood-tainted tears. And her eye looks kind of like the void in White Night, too...

Okay, Stelle goes with March to the front desk, and we remember meeting Misha. So what's that all about? We didn't forget jack shit.

March calls out to us, and she doesn't make any acknowledgement of Misha, which is out of character for her. If she saw we were chatting up a new friend, I get the impression she'd try to introduce herself. But she doesn't. Isn't that interesting?

[the-stray-liger]

Hiya Nate! We're in for a CLUSTERFUUUUCK!!!!! 1/2

Downtime went as expected. Arkady had several breakdowns over the course of three hours that required the party to take away his computer until he had some Xanax and Snickers. Arkady confided in Sergeant Reed that he couldn't believe Raskol fought not just Char and won, but also an entire squad (and he accidentally let it slip that said squad belonged to a former friend) and Reed, bless his heart, kept pushing the wound that friends ought to protect each other. They also confided in their insecurities regarding their own suits. Reed has a Bugu that is older than Methuselah, and Raskol is Arkady's son that literally has every disease xD

Amuro discussed with them about getting them Gundams, but Arkady outright rejected the possibility since he found them too "cold-hearted" though Reed suspects that Arkady was referring to Amuro rather than the RX-78.

Nyls would make a surprise appearance in the White Base, as an old acquaintance of Noah Bright. The ship's rendezvous location happened to be where Captain Dad was stationed at the time, and he spent that whole time monitoring the activities of the enemy squads to figure out their weaknesses. More importantly, he was able to figure out that one of the enemy squads involved (a GM original, called Midas' Hand) is the one that killed his daughter. Kai Shiden also helped, but was subject to much slapstick LMAO

Alicia on her part, decided to try and find out more about her last remaining friend on the field, who is part of Noisy Fairy. She tried to get some supplies, but her result came with consequences and turns out that Noisy Fairy got all the good supplies and left us with defective pieces. However, she did learn that Noisy Fairy is struggling a lot as well and its leadership is trying very hard to not cave in... especially because Killy Garrett actually gives a shit about the girls under her and is trying her damnest to protect them from ending like Cleopatra and her squad.

2/2 We returned to secret Federation base where Arkady's brother Raskolnikov is staying to give them more combat data thanks to Amuro and Arkady. While there, we were accosted by the team Witch Hunt, sworn enemies of the Noisy Fairies, who caught wind of Alicia's attempts at reaching out to that team and are trying to out her as a traitor... unaware that not only she personally put down several of their suits during combat but also singlehandledly dismantled several Zeon units thanks to her propaganda xD However, the incursion was loud enough to scare Arkady, who thought that someone leaked that he had contacts within NF. And this is where he talks with Alicia's friend Ingrid and reveals his connection to Alma Stirner. Ingrid, surprisingly, was sympathetic to his plight and actually encouraged him to talk to Alicia. After all, if she was able to find Ingrid, save Kanon and actually bail out one of her friends from Kycillia's honor guard, she for sure could convince Alma to surrender. Everything was going so well... until the power went out. Raskolnikov's voice channel went dead. And the alarm system keeps blaring "Intruder alert." To think we were on top of the game...

No way you just dropped a cliffhanger on my gay ass IN PRIDE MONTH I demand you come back and tell me what is coming next

[papercutsunset]

Topic 1: Eyes

Let the record show that one of my instincts upon Raquel removing Frankie's eye was to have Frankie put it in her mouth and bite down. I didn't go through with this because of the "Log Out" bit Scott brought up immediately.

This bled over into the nightmare and into Winona themself outside the simulation.

First of all, I specifically had them go to check their eye immediately. I had an idea in that this was an easy way to tell the difference between reality and the simulation, especially in situations where Winona forgot to or refused to decompress after diving (or didn't necessarily need to, given the nature of their job). Those justifications came later, of course, through talking with Scott-- but they still feed in.

Second, since my whole idea with regard to slotting the nightmare into Winona's timeline was that it happened after they went to bed that night (the night after solving the Raquel problem) and, since Frankie wasn't real and didn't sleep in that run, Constance couldn't have POSSIBLY picked up on one of Frankie's dreams. So, when I used the name "Frankie," it was more of a perspective thing. These were actually versions of Winona. (It's an odd fact of reality, that Pierce would have access to the whole dream, but it's also something I would really like! Winona is an awkward piece of shit older teen, and I like conflict sometimes.)

But the topic is in fact eyes. So, since the dream occurred that night, the damage to Frankie's (or, rather, Winona's) eyes within that space was related to what had happened. But, you know, referring to blindness and rage in the same breath... You know what that means.

Topic 2: Moons

There are a few things to refer to here.

The first is that of romance.

Winona hadn't been particularly lucky. Penis Beach (NOT its actual name-- thanks, Arca) was kind of homophobic, and they only ever dated one girl there anyway: Lily Wildcard. She was a fun-loving goth who canonically liked throwing things at her girlfriend and (in a section I ultimately cut from The Non-Literal End Of The World) putting her players through some weird shit and being a hardass at the table (in a fun way). She also had a connection to the moon, in three different ways alluded to in the story.

The first was the locket she found in the abandoned house. (Yes, the necklaces were lockets.) The second was the line "the moon is like a promise kept," which is honestly just something I had fun with. The third comes from the stories Ethan used to tell, which I'll explain in a moment.

Then there's Avery. This isn't the real Avery, who is a full forty years older than Winona (though... maybe...). Instead, this is a version of her that existed in the simulation, and was a little safer to interact with on that level than other people for reasons Winona can't articulate (but I can. The simulation had a side effect for Winona in that, after a certain period of time, they began to forget things about the world outside this simulated Lish, to keep them from potentially compromising any of the dives. Until that point, they could remember but after it, things were back to normal. This is why, for a time, it was and will be hard for Winona to extricate certain parts of themself from Frankie and the actual security the simulation brought, both in terms of social and bodily integrity).

But there's also the light powers.

The third point here is that Ethan Kelly had a series of stories he told his children to put them to bed. The whole of them doesn't matter, so I'll leave it like this: two of the recurring characters were the knight and the moon.

With that in mind, the moon takes on a second layer for Winona. Aside from a promise kept, it is also a beautiful young woman and she has a real issue of casting girls she admires in that role. In her head, it makes sense for both of them. Lily was a beacon of hope in a humid wasteland, and Avery literally produced light. The issue is, then, that she drove both of them away.

The fourth thing is classic lycanthrope lunar imagery. The moon is something beautiful that you fear because of what it turns you into. Full and high in the sky, it is the thing that controls you.

But, then, Winona is also the Moon. It's what they were assigned. They may be a LIAR, repeated a thousand times over, but they also exist in the reverse. It depends on how you pull.

Topic 3: Hair

Honestly, this one is just for fun-- but it pulls the nightmare back into it.

I like to use hair as a way to chart character personality and growth throughout different points in their lives. Denny's hasn't changed much because she hasn't changed much. Tiff grows out her hair at low points and cuts it when she's doing better or needs to buck up; that made it into A Story About You on purpose. Kay cuts her hair to free herself from the briars just as she cuts it as payment to the witch, leading her to a sort of new beginning when the spell is over and her slumber ends.

So the same truth extends to Winona.

In The Non-Literal End Of The World, Winona starts with short hair she cut because of some reasons surrounding her brother (a small act of solidarity to make him feel better). This was actually cut down from hair that reached their shoulders. The next time she cuts it, it's a weird form of bonding and explicitly not-bonding with Jesse (my boy Jesse)-- something simple she could keep out of the way (yeah, it was an undercut whatever). Now the case, now that they're settled and a little more stable with regards to living situations and familial figures (now that they ARE the parent), they've let it grow out a little to what it is now (shitty mullet thing).

In the dream, though, I extended this less to stages of being and more to ways of being. The version of Winona in the mirror is a monster. It's a version of herself that she does want to be-- and the thick black bangs hide the gaping hole.

The real star here, though, is "Better Frankie." It's a version of Winona that never was and never would be. Sweet and calm and feminine, her hair is held in place by little blue dragonfly flips, it's cut neatly, it's brushed-- and it isn't really HER. It's a dream of who she should have been.

But, then... it's all dreams. Sometimes you're running through corporate halls. Sometimes you're doing the chasing. We're all flesh here, right?

[jullbnt]

I searched through your masterlist and found your posts about your fic idea and your OC Nemma (she’s a cool character!!). I think you have the basis for a very good story there, and your Ganondorf is a lot more interesting than what we got in the game.

I guess having three people able to use Recall could be an explanation, though it still doesn’t feel earned that Rauru and Sonia appear out of thin air and resolve everything. I don’t even know if Rauru could use Recall, Link only can because he received all the Sages’ pledges. But maybe the same thing happened with Rauru when they swore allegiance to him, that’s possible.

Maybe Urbosa didn’t say anything and no one else knew about the origins of the Calamity, but we don’t know for sure. I think Zelda, being very curious and research-oriented, would look for any piece of information she can find about the Calamity and something has to exist somewhere. But it’s really difficult to know who is aware of what, so you might be right. I still think Zel should have been able to use her deduction skills and understand what was actually going on though.

Yes it seems we are supposed to believe that the Gerudo all turned against Ganondorf, and like you I don’t believe it (at least Koume and Kotake sure didn’t, as you said). Though I believe the ones willing to side with him after he summons all sorts of monsters and turns into a demon would be a minority.

I have rewatched Skyward Sword’s cutscenes countless times and read all the theories I could find about the time travels in this game to try and build my own theory haha. I don’t believe what Impa says is evidence that she remembers a different course of events, to me it just means that things aren’t happening the way Hylia planned them. The fact the she lets Zelda go to Skyview Temple on her own without waiting for Link or Young Impa to arrive proves (in my opinion) that she isn’t worried about what’s going to happen to her. Otherwise it's pretty stupid to let her go alone.

To me the only thing Hylia didn’t see coming is Ghirahim kidnapping Zelda in the end and using her to revive Demise. She made sure Zelda would get additional help besides Old Impa and Link by having Young Impa travel to the future. Hylia could have relied on Link only to escort Zelda to the springs, with guidance from Old Impa and Fi to teach them about their roles and the rituals. But she sent Young Impa and she was right to do so. She also made sure Link could use a second Gate of Time after Impa was forced to destroy the one in the desert, so the Goddess seemed to have a backup plan.

The consequences of Young Impa not staying in the past depend on whether this is a different timeline or not. If this is a different Impa than the one we knew, then Old Impa can’t share her memories (because Old Impa stayed in the past to watch over Zelda’s crystal, while this new Impa comes from a timeline where there was no crystal to begin with). So two different iterations of the same character. The only way Impa would remember anything is if this is the same timeline and the past was changed because of Link’s victory. But this is where things get confusing, because Impa both has the bracelet and acts surprised when Ghirahim kidnaps Zelda… If she was the same person she would know what was about to happen. Sorry I’m not sure this is understandable haha. Skyward Sword is a mess.

Sun is nowhere to be seen in the past when Link runs after Ghirahim (the doors are open and the crystal is gone as you said), but I was talking about the final shot of the gates opening to reveal the Master Sword in the present ^^. But you’re right, to me the absence of Zelda’s crystal in the past is the best proof that this cannot be the same timeline. 

Misko is actually named Lambda in French! Which is funny because we have the expression “une personne lambda” that refers to an ordinary/average person. Makes it sound as if this great bandit was actually quite humble and didn’t really want to stick out. But maybe this also exists in English, I’m not sure.

Misko being a title made me think instantly of the Dread Pirate Roberts from Princess Bride 😆 This is too funny so this will be my hc from now on!

I had no idea about a possible link with one of the Seven Heroines though, that’s interesting. About the droplet symbol, I think maybe it could also look like a flame? But it’s still not a text symbol so I'm not really helping haha.

(Picture from Zelda Dungeon)

Oh yes I love the Mystic Set, but it costs too much to wear it! I also prefer for Link to look like… well, Link, and I love his long golden hair.

Sure we don’t usually see cutscenes like this one after game overs, but OoT doesn’t have one and the Downfall Timeline still exists.

About BotW and TotK not being set after a new timeline split, I just feel like they didn’t want to bother with the timeline at all.

The reason why I think a timeline split after Skyward Sword makes sense is because of the Sheikah and their technology. One of the consequences of Link killing Demise in the distant past is that maybe the technological civilisation from Lanayru (the Sheikah in my hc) wouldn’t disappear, and that would explain why the Sheikah are more numerous than in any other game in BotW and where all that technology comes from. If Skyward Sword doesn’t happen, Link also doesn’t use the Triforce and the Goddess Statue doesn’t land on the surface, so the Triforce and the Sky Keep can be forgotten. It can also explain why some things like Zelda's power seem to work a bit differently. Or at least I try to make sense of all that in my timeline. But I know Nintendo isn't hiding a secret timeline split from us, that's just me theorizing and having fun.

Yes lingering energies are part of myths and legends all around the world, but I’d like to really understand these concepts from a Japanese point of view ^^

I was really interested in what you were saying about Confucianism and looked into it a bit. I found the Five Constant Virtues of Confucianism actually are benevolence, justice/righteousness, propriety, wisdom and sincerity/trustworthiness.

(In Stoicism we have wisdom, courage, justice and moderation/temperance, that’s interesting) 

Love what you said about Benevolence, and the thing with Power, Justice and Order. Though I believe it would oppose the idea that Ganondorf gets chosen by the Triforce of Power. He sure is powerful or believes in/desires power, but he’s far from benevolent. That’s more in line with the idea that he steals this piece of the Triforce from its rightful bearer, who would be someone strong/powerful and benevolent at the same time.

I had the “ai” part right! But I thought koi was maybe because of the famous carps haha. It might be a bit cheesy but it has a cute story and it sounds great, you should definitely keep it!

Sand magic would be cool to see! Or I would really love to see the concept of spirit magic expanded upon. We already know that Koume and Kotake could control Nabooru in OoT, and Ganon also possesses Zelda in TP. He is also able to create apparitions/ghosts or illusions (Phantom Ganon, the ghost riders in TP and of course TotK Puppet Zelda), I'm sure he could do a lot more.

I don’t think anyone is bared from an element because of their race, but each race probably has a natural incline towards one. They can learn another kind of magic if they wish but it might require more effort/talent. (I love the electric eels and the Zora with heat magic!)

Yes a wind dragon could have worked! I tend to associate Farore more with innocent and peaceful life though, but she sure has a dangerous side. Just like Link is kind hearted but changes into a fearsome warrior when needed.

I’m not planning to equip every Hylian home with household appliances because it would make things way too modern looking and I don’t think this type of technology is a priority in the first few years after BotW. I’m mostly thinking of technology that could help with rebuilding the kingdom, agriculture or travels/transportation, but I really want to keep a fantasy feeling (might be hard to do haha). Pictoboxes could be fun but they would not be the kind of stuff Zelda would prioritize, I think. Agree on the crossbows and the carriages!

One of the things I really want is a communication system that would make use of the Sheikah towers. The different races/provinces could use the towers to send each other messages, which would reduce the need for traveling. Maybe the rulers/chiefs could even have their own personal devices. And then of course a good way for the Yiga/Ganondorf to be a nuisance would be to take Hyrule’s communication system down.

Haha The Legend of Rain at Inconvenient Times never fails to make me laugh. Exactly how I feel when playing these games!

Rain could be a solution the same way it was on the road to Zora’s Domain in BotW, but I don’t want to use it too much because I’m so sick of it haha. I think I will use a mix of different solutions, like first giving Link’s arm a separate stamina wheel that Purah could increase later. I’m also thinking of blocking some roads or having some towns not welcome travelers anymore because of everything that’s going on, stuff like that. And I want the regional phenomena to be a bit more dangerous than they were in TotK, that could help as well.

Yes phantom limb syndrome could help justify Link’s new stamina wheel, but I think climbing with an automail might just be really painful. Having the prosthesis support Link's body weight might cause a lot of strain on his shoulder/arm where it is attached. I don't know ^^

I definitely want to give Link that kind of arc! I’m even thinking Ganondorf could break his automail in his final phase and then Link would have to defeat him without it. Don’t know if that’s feasible but I’d love this reminder that Link isn’t just an athletic guy skilled with a sword. What defines him is his courage and resourcefulness and they didn’t disappear with his arm, quite the contrary.

How do you know the Purah Pad isn’t keeping Link’s stuff? I always wondered about that, because in BotW it seemed everything was on the Sheikah slate but then it made no sense that Hestu could give Link more inventory space. I also headcanon that Link lost all his belonging because they were on the Sheikah Slate (which is why in my version he might not repeat the same mistake and look for another solution, but I'm not sure yet).

Haha Link’s cooking is a bit mysterious anyway. I mean this boy is making fruit cake and crêpes in a pot, that has to be some kind of superpower. Maybe that’s his actual Champion ability 🤷‍♀️

I don’t know, this time magic just works really conveniently. Link doesn’t even know where Zelda is when the Master Sword is sent to her and she’s also surprised to see it appear, so it seems none of them planned for this to happen. Maybe the sword triggered their Recall powers on its own, I don’t know. It’s just weird.

Like gophers 😆 The towers came from the ground but only a few shrines on the Plateau did, I believe. I still think all of this could be useful even after the Calamity, especially the towers. At the very least people would know what they are if they are needed again. It just feels like a waste of resources haha. 

But I’m not completely opposed to the idea of everything just disappearing, I just wish the game would mention it instead of acting like nothing happened. Maybe they wanted a bit of mystique… or they were lazy. Or they didn’t care. Who knows 😆

I thought Ganondorf viewed Link as weak and not a real threat after he almost killed him the beginning, but maybe you're right. Leading the Sages to the Temples to have valuable opponents is a bit convoluted though.

It’s a bit weird to me that the Sheikah/Hylians could unearth the Divine Beasts and everything else before BotW but wouldn’t be able to reopen the way to the Plateau. And if the Yiga can go, I guess others could. But maybe this wasn’t a priority for Zelda and everyone else… I don’t know.

You’re right I need to find a reason for the existence of the lone Gerudo males with this theory 🤔 I'd need to go through my notes from a few years ago but I don’t think I have satisfying answers to these questions. Maybe the Sands Goddess only wanted to give her girls something nice to look at once a century 😆 Just kidding, I'll think about it.

Oh I definitely think some terrible things can happen to Gerudo voes. Not only because the Gerudo would fear another Ganondorf, but also because of endless succession conflicts. Unless the boy is always the chief’s son, but if not… Any Gerudo chief who doesn’t want to step away from the throne just because some boy was born and would prefer it to pass to her own daughter might make sure to get rid of a newborn prince and his mother.

(That's actually an idea I want to use for another fic/comic project. I’d love to keep working on it but I'm too busy with this rewrite thing. Gan would live all his childhood and teenage years hidden so that the chief wouldn’t know a prince was born, and then challenge her for the throne once he comes of age. And of course Koume and Kotake would steal him from his mother and raise him her stead.)

I can’t imagine forgetting Link haha. But yeah I'm not asking for everyone in Hyrule to be able to recognize him, but his neighbours and people from Tarrey Town should remember him.

I meant Zelda’s “traveling princess” outfit, I think the blue and gold with the Hylian crest definitely mark her as the princess. And Link with his Champion tunic and the Master Sword strapped to his back doesn’t exactly look feral, he actually makes quite the sight.

Hmm I’m not sure that’s what happened after OoT. I believe when Time leaves the Adult Timeline his Triforce piece is broken in pieces, which is why Wind has to find the shards later. Then in the Child Timeline he’s supposed to be sent back before anyone claims the Triforce (I think), otherwise if Ganon has Power and knows it then it’s OoT all over again. He shouldn’t have the Triforce, which is why they manage to arrest him and set him for execution. But something unpredictable happens and the Triforce of Power appears on the back of his hand to save him (which means that Time and Lullaby probably got theirs back as well).

I don’t know about the Daimaō thing, I don’t really understand how it relates to the daimyō, tennō and shogun?

That's maō, but adding the kanji 大 dai (great) would refer to an even more powerful being, or one that is higher in hierarchy. I really think Demise was the highest ranking demon, but maybe I’m wrong.

I tend to think Null is separate from the Demon Tribe and more of a primordial being, but we don't know much.

TotK Ganondorf is presented as a social darwinist, but it’s so extreme it gets a bit ridiculous (in my opinion). I found his lines during the fight with Link really cringe-worthy.

I understand your perspective on Ganondorf vs. Ganon, but I don’t see it that way. To me Ganon isn’t a different being, it’s just Ganondorf when he loses his humanity and turns into a beast/demon because of his hatred coupled with the Triforce's power. And I don’t think he is specifically Demise’s hatred, he just comes to share the Demon Tribe’s hatred on top of his own when he turns into a demon.

I agree that Ganondorf was trying to get Rauru to use the Secret Stones, and that it would have made sense for him to steal more than one especially when he dominated all the Sages so easily. I also wish he would have realised that Zelda is the most powerful one and targeted her specifically. I feel like TotK lacks the kind of connection between Link, Zelda and Ganon that we had before. Here it’s mostly Rauru vs. Ganondorf.

Oh you’re right about the trees and forests, I wish the woods would get thicker in some places with a more ancient/mysterious feel. The Lost Woods were the most disappointing to me, first there’s no real secret besides “follow the torches” and then they just look like the definition of spooky and not even like an actual forest. I feel like the Lost Woods in previous games had something more (but maybe it was just because of the awesome music from OoT, TP and ALttP?). They felt mysterious and magical, but not completely dark and frightening even though they were still dangerous.

Another place I found really dull in the Wild games is Lake Hylia. It’s kind of an iconic place but here it really is just a lake. With a cool bridge, sure. At least there’s a dragon I guess, but there’s really nothing to do there and to me it has lost its magic.

Oh I never tried mods, and Second Wind looks interesting! The new village definitely doesn’t feel like Ordon, but it looks like a great addition. Maybe I’ll try it if I ever want to replay BotW again (but I’m a bit burnt on the Wild Era games, as you could probably tell haha).

I didn’t know about Trails, thanks for recommending it! I don’t have a lot of time to play games besides my occasional LoZ replay, but I’ll keep it in mind in case I ever feel like discovering something new.

@aikoiya The post was getting too long so I’m replying here, hope that’s okay! If anyone is looking for the beginning of this discussion, it's here.

Your extended pantheon is amazing! I just knew that Gàlondo would end up being Demise haha. I'd say I prefer not to associate Demise with any race in particular (and the Gerudo already have quite a heavy burden with Ganondorf), but otherwise I like that backstory you came up with. So what's Hylia's role in your version then if he’s the guardian of the Triforce? I'm curious ^^

I'd say my reasoning isn't so much "I hate this" but rather "this doesn't make sense/contradicts something else" or "previous games did this better". I also want to show that it's still possible to create stories without ignoring everything that was established previously because to me this idea that the timeline is too restrictive doesn't stand. In fact I tend to believe being a bit restricted and working inside a frame can trigger more creativity (after all they did wild stuff like flooding Hyrule before and it fits perfectly in the timeline). I also would prefer to see the existing lore extended or clarified instead of them adding new confusing stuff and leaving it extremely vague.

Oh I LOVE your Outset Timeline!! Though the ending is indeed very bittersweet. It always makes me so happy when someone else points out the inconsistencies in Skyward Sword's story. That's exactly my reasoning for my fourth timeline, it exists because of Ghirahim and Link's victory over Demise in the distant past. Though you are right, adding a timeline split while keeping the Master Sword in the official timeline requires some gymnastics! At the moment I'm going with a lazy theory about the Sealed Temple being the future Temple of Time, so the Temple's magic somehow allows the Master Sword to exist in both timelines (I said it was lazy haha). Impa’s bracelet is another story though. In my timeline the Goddess Sword is also left untouched in Skyloft because Skyward Sword doesn't happen, which could be useful in case someone accidentally broke the actual Master Sword 😁 It's very intriguing to me that Sky left the sword in the past when he had no reason to (and it shouldn't even be possible since it's in the exact same spot as Zelda's crystal). It's probably just a mistake on Nintendo's part but I like to think there could be something else there, and that Fi had a reason to stay in the past.

About the DLC items the thing is that most sets are found in the Depths in random Zonai chests if I remember correctly, or in the coliseums, and there was no explanation as to how they got there. In Misko's little shrines we find the Fierce Deity set and the LA set, but also the barbarian armor, the shock-resistant outfit and the climbing gear. I can understand building shrines for the Fierce Deity or LA Link following what you said, but then for three random armor sets? Not to mention that Link already owned them in BotW, so making us look for them a second time was kind of a joke. I like this shintai/yorishiro idea, but I think it would work a lot better if there were only a few items to collect and not… the outfits of all the Links ever INCLUDING WILD'S (how!!). It feels really meaningless and more like a catalogue for you to choose from so you can look like your favorite Link (which is a bit insulting to Wild, you can just replace him at this point and go as far as changing his hair or even his entire appearance with the LA set). I also didn't really believe they were the actual items from past games, it made no sense (the same way Link wouldn't actually wear a red Nintendo Switch t-shirt or something from Xenoblade). It just really felt like fanservice.

The dictionary thing might help, but I think the story should be explicit enough on its own and I don't really want to study Buddhism/Shintoism in depth so that I can play Zelda games and understand what's happening haha. I mean of course it's fine if knowing a bit about it adds new context and all, but if you can't understand things like malice vs. gloom without it then I think it's a bit of a problem. Speaking of Fujibayashi I feel like this wasn't really an issue before he was in charge.

Yes the French translation for Demise is very misleading, that's another problem: depending on your language things are sometimes interpreted very differently.

I really like the English names for the three dragons, I think they're so much better than what we got in French. Nedrac, Ordrac and Rhordrac, really?? At first I didn't even understand the link with the Goddesses, and then the last two sound way too similar. Btw I remember from my very basic Japanese courses that it's common in Japanese to create new words by mixing a few syllables of other words together. For example "rimokon" means remote controller (remo + con), or there's the well known Pokemon = pocket monsters. So naturally we end up with stuff like Ordinn + dragon etc.

I thought as well about the dragons going by names given to them by mortals instead of their true names. The thing is, I don't really want to create new names because I'm already changing so many things and my timeline stuff can be a bit complicated, so I need to keep at least a few things familiar. And I really like Dinraal, Farosh and Naydra :D

I agree about Farore being more associated to wind and plants than thunder (I mean she's kind of Link's patron goddess and he has nothing to do with thunder). What's even more confusing in BotW/TotK is that the Gerudo are now also related to thunder for some reason, but they're definitely more Din than Farore in my mind.

Maybe I should give you some context about my dragons haha. The beginning of my story is quite similar to TotK, though I still made some changes. Ganondorf completely destroys the Master Sword, Link looses his arm (except here Rauru isn't there to replace it), and Zelda still travels through time (but not because of a Secret Stone since I got rid of everything Zonai). She arrives in ancient Hyrule one century after Sky killed Demise (because this is set in my alternate timeline), and she's stuck there so she needs to find a way back home. Before that she learns a lot about SS, the Triforce, the timeline split and Hyrule's past. After meeting various characters and most importantly Sonia (who's still a priestess, the Sage of Time and her ancestor), Zelda learns that this era has two Master Swords: the one left by Sky in the Sealed Temple, and the Goddess Sword that is still somewhere above the clouds. She understands then that she needs to retrieve the Goddess Sword in Skyloft and forge a second Master Sword in order to help her Link in the future, and to do so she needs the three Sacred Flames. Where are the flames? The dragons "swallowed" them since they weren't needed anymore after Sky left his own Master Sword, which turned them into the giant immortal dragons we see in BotW/TotK. So that's Zelda's quest: find a way to go to Skyloft and then get the dragons to lend her their power. Along the way she'll also meet the ancient Sages, who can help her return to her own time by using the Triforce (but of course this won't work because of Ganondorf, and Link will have to fight him in the present and bring her back himself).

I'm trying to make this both a story I could adapt in comic form and something that could work as a game. The idea is that Zelda's memories would be playable sequences with places to explore, fights and maybe even mini-dungeons and bosses. And of course there's an entire story for Link as well. At the moment I'm trying to come up with interesting arcs and quests for each race/Sage, both in the past and the present.

Anyway, that's why I'm so focused on the dragons. Zelda (and Link) will need their help and they will talk this time. And since they will remember being apointed by Hylia and they're supposed to absorb their respective sacred flames, I need things to make sense. This is also a timeline without climate change in Lanayru (here it's the same province as in BotW with the addition of Mount Lanayru and a good part of central Hyrule), so the thunder dragon has no business being up there. That's why the swap would make sense.

No need to apologise! I appreciate your perspective and that you're interested enough to share your own ideas! :D

I agree on Zelda's magic being her own and what you said makes sense! Love the part about her only thinking about how she's a failure (though I guess it's only natural if she's been trying for 10 years without result). I don't know if she would have had the same reaction had she witnessed her father's death though. AoC isn't canon but Zelda doesn't unlock her power when Rhoam "dies" in front of her and Link forces her to run. The memory where's she's crying in Link's arms in BotW also shows that she knows everyone is dead, it's even possible that she saw some of it happen (maybe in the same way as AoC for Rhoam, or they saw what happened to the Divine Beasts from afar). I guess they must also have seen some terrible things on the roads, so she could have unlocked her power trying to save her people. But it only happened when Link was about to die.

Haha yes, I'm probably one of the most obsessed Zelink shipper there is and even I can't stand that power of love trope. It really has no place in a LoZ game. In my headcanon Zelda wouldn't access her power only because of her love for Link, though it definitely helps, but rather because the Hero dying is kind of an emergency situation and would trigger her divine magic even if the necessary conditions were not met. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone but me though 😆

Yeah I'm okay with the women of the royal family having some sort of power though not as powerful as Zelda. I think some part of it could also be attributed to their Sage of Time abilities. And the gift of prophecy being inherited from Sky is such a cute idea!!

I don't know about Terrako, I only remember that Zelda built it when she was just a child?

I'd send you an ask to rant about TotK but I'm not sure about the character limit and I fear it would just turn into a second wall of text haha! Here are some thoughts:

– I could live with new lore that contradicts older games, if only things made sense and were sufficiently fleshed out. Then I could just enjoy the story and accept that this is a different continuity. But here everything is so vague and sometimes even confusing. Like if we're going to meet the Zonai and make them such central figures in Hyrule's history, then I want to know more about them and learn about their culture. What's the point if we're only going to see two of them and have no clue about how they created all that technology, mined the Depth, lived with the Hylians, and then disappeared? Same for ancient Hyrule: if the different tribes were at war, I want to see it, and I want to learn more about them. Ganondorf also had so much potential for an interesting backstory. What kind of king is he? How did the Gerudo feel about him becoming the Demon King? What about the Gerudo Sage? And so on. It feels like this could be so much more.

– Other things I would love to see explained: where is the Master Sword in ancient Hyrule and why does no one seem to know anything about it or the Hero? How does it travel through time to reach Zelda? What about Rauru and Sonia's descendants? Also what was the point of the fake Zelda, and why did Ganondorf stay in his bathtub the entire game instead of rehydrating himself right away and getting stuff done? There's also everything I said about the secret stones the other day, but I know you don't see it as a problem ^^ (Also I just rewatched the memories and I had completely forgotten what Rauru tells Zelda in front of Sonia's grave: "Remember, that was a future where you never appeared in this world". So does this mean this is a new timeline that kind of retcons BotW? If not then where did all the Sheikah tech go and how were the shrines replaced by the Zonai ones? I really need an explanation for all of that!!)

– The game also barely mentions what happened in BotW, except for the history class about the Calamity in Hateno, the statues in Zora's Domain, and the memorials left by Zelda to honor the dead. I wanted to see Hyrule starting to rebuild and to get some sort of follow-up on the story. Did Link regain all his memories? Was Zelda planning to take the throne? Does she have some sort of trauma after her century-long battle against Ganon at Hyrule Castle? Why does she react to Ganondorf's name, but doesn't link him to Calamity Ganon? Why did the Sheikah tech that was so central in BotW disappear, especially the Divine Beasts? I care about this world and its characters, I want it to feel like a real place and to see it evolve. But then stuff like this really reminds you that this is just a video game world, and that Nintendo doesn't really seem to care. And if things can be retconned any moment even in a direct sequel, then… why should I feel invested?

– There was a real waste of potential with the Light Dragon and Zelda just transforming back thanks to Rauru and Sonia (btw couldn't they have helped if they could appear anytime and still had that kind of power?). I find it so disappointing that Link doesn't have to do anything to help Zelda, it almost happens by accident. Mineru also said it was irreversible, but in the end it's no big deal (they shouldn't establish something and then ignore it like that). If only Link had to use the Triforce or something. I didn't want Zelda to stay a dragon but sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't have been a better ending.

– It also really doesn't help that Link feels so disconnected from the main story. In BotW he was also experimenting the story through flashbacks but at least they were his own memories and they fleshed out his relationship with Zelda and the other Champions. Here Zelda is the one experimenting the best part of the story, and to make it worse you can find the memories in any order and get badly spoiled. It could have been so cool if Link also time traveled at some point and could explore ancient Hyrule (and they could have done something crazy like Link and Zelda being the ones to seal Ganondorf in the past, which would lead to his transformation into Calamity Ganon). Link is also so expressionless (except when cooking and all) that I find it hard to care when he doesn't seem to. Imagine how different Zelda sealing herself would feel in Skyward Sword if Sky didn't act so distraught. In the same way TotK would hit a lot harder if Link did stuff like falling to his knees after seeing Zelda's last memory.

– I also think that the hands/cooperation theme the devs talked about in interviews is a bit weak and cliché (with characters reminding Link and Rauru that they don't have to do things alone and that they're stronger together, stuff like that). First I don't find it very interesting compared to what games such as OoT, MM or Wind Waker did, and then Link being able to fight Ganondorf alone from the start kind of throws it out the window (and Rauru also ends up sealing Ganondorf on his own). The Sages are not even with Link outside of the dungeons, they just create creepy copies of themselves (and I found them so annoying I never activated them, except for Tulin when flying). But yeah sure they shake hands and vow to help Link. I still think him being accompanied by the Champion's spirits in BotW worked a lot better, and their powers were also more useful. I guess seeing everyone working together to rebuild Hyrule would have made that theme more meaningful. The thing I really liked about this though was Link finally catching Zelda in the end after failing at the beginning of the game, that was a really beautiful scene.

– Also I said it above but I don’t want everything to be explained by Buddhism/Shintoism parallels, especially if the game just expects you to get it without providing context. Let Hyrule be it’s own thing.

So I know this isn't only about lore, but these are the main reasons why I'm not very interested in TotK. To sum up I'd say that the game lacks some kind of depth and has a lot of wasted potential, and it also makes it clear that it's pointless to care about continuity. BotW Hyrule was interesting and I think a lot of things could have been done about existing races instead of adding a new one but not bothering to do much with it. Just bringing Ganondorf back in this version of Hyrule and see how the Gerudo react to him could be so interesting!! Some concepts were also excellent but didn't really go anywhere, like the Depths and the Sky Islands.

Honestly I haven't thought about all these side quests and minor characters yet, I'm still trying to sort things out with the main story ^^ But I don't think I'll touch the ones you mentioned, they were fine. I liked the thing with the Eighth Heroine as well, I've seen a lot of people complaining about it but it's one of the only things in the game I actually found interesting. I just can't unsee the parallel with Link and the Seven Sages (of course).

What I'll be doing for sure is making some of the quests and events more serious, I'm kind of aiming for a darker tone. Most of the quests are quite fun (especially the "potential princess sightings" ones), but I feel like this game really lacks some sense of danger and urgency. For example couldn't the people in Hateno have more pressing problems than making cheese or choosing between Cece and Reede? Or was it really a good idea to make lighthearted little quests about misanderstandings with Zelda when her disappearance should be driving Link mad? (I should have included that in my little rant above haha)

I'd also love to make the pirates in Lurelin something more interesting than just a bunch of Bokoblins, but I'm not there yet. And rebuilding the exact same village was kind of meh.

About the Gerudo questioning their traditions, I'm actually planning for my Ganondorf to be a lot more active and go to Gerudo Town in order to meet his people (I want him to care about them, so he wouldn't attack them the same way he targets the others). I don't have all the details yet but I'm pretty sure there will be a conflict between Riju's supporters and other Gerudo who believe he's their rightful ruler (at first they wouldn't know he's actually that one king who turned into Calamity Ganon). So that's another tradition for them to question.

The consequences of Ganondorf being the only Gerudo male are something I've been wondering about as well. Add to that the fact that he's raised to be king because he's male (and maybe even kind of worshiped by his people) and you get something that can turn nasty real quick. Though I also wonder if Gerudo aren't different from Hylians. You said you hc that the Gerudo are only women because they were cursed so it makes sense that you would view it this way, but on my part I believe that's just how they were created. For that reason I think this is natural for them, so it's possible that it doesn't cause exactly the same problems it would for us or for Hylians.

About Demise, yes of course Ganondorf is more than just Demise's hatred. But in this game it doesn't seem to matter, he kind of turns into a second Demise as soon as he gets his secret stone and his motivations instantly go from conquering/ruling to destroying everything and everyone. They could have done something a lot more nuanced or at least shown a more gradual transition, with him being more and more consumed by his hatred and loosing control for example. I don't know, anything that would look less like a comically caricatural villain riding a demon unicorn.

Also about Demise's curse, I always thought it sounded more like a warning than an actual curse, and I remember reading somewhere that this was the intention in the original Japanese text. In French Demise even says something like "you must never forget, history will repeat itself" instead of "I will rise again", and he and speaks of the curse of the demon tribe (implying that it existed before). Even in English it doesn't sound like Demise himself is casting a curse: "Those like you… Those who share the blood of the Goddess and the spirit of the Hero… They are eternally bound to this curse". He doesn't say "I curse you" or "I bound you to this curse". I feel like this makes a difference (the curse already exists). This is why I interpret it as him basically saying that evil will not die with him and that Link and Zelda/the Hylians as a whole will always have to fight the demon tribe, but not necessarily his reincarnation. So I don't even believe that Demise himself is influencing Ganondorf in any way.

About the Zonai Zelda explains she studied them at the beginning of TotK and recognizes what's depicted on the murals, so it seems strange that sky beings could get mixed with a tribe of barbarians living in the woods. But yeah history getting lost and mixed is the only explanation for this.

Oh you're completely right about the Mogma, I got the same vibe from them! And a Mogma mafia sounds hilarious ^^ I love the Rocktato, Link would definitely eat something like that 😆

I need to take some time to read through your master list, it all looks very promising!

[cecilysass]

How to Eat Pleasant Holiday Meals With Co-Workers (2/5)

Read on AO3 | Rated M | Tagging @today-in-fic

This is an expansion of a one-chapter fic posted last year. Chapter 1 was posted for the Secret Santa exchange 2021; the other chapters (like this one) are new.

Thanksgiving Day 1994

You can’t see very much from the window of the containment facility. Most of her view is rough gray concrete, she thinks probably the side of a parking deck. Through the far end of the window she can see a solitary tree already entirely divested of its leaves. She has been here a week, so she knows that at this time in the early afternoon, the tree’s spindly limbs begin to cast a labyrinth of twisted shadows over the white walls of her tiny room. The effect is bleak. There is no beauty in it.

Scully, lying on her back on the hard cot, contemplates the maze of shapes moodily, seeing no way out. She knows she should be getting up, moving around, maybe putting in some time on the exercise bike. There are three weeks left in quarantine, and she has strength to gain back after what she has been discreetly referring to as “her time away.” She can’t afford to have listless days. She has to stay strong, stay sharp.

But she can’t seem to motivate herself to do it.

For one, her lower abdomen is twinging again. Ever-so-slightly, in that way she doesn’t want to think about. That faint sensation of menstrual cramps that seems to keep coming back, ever since she returned, ever since Duane Barry and Skyland Mountain. It’s not the painful cramps she gets before her period, just that clenching, an unnatural tension, coming and going.

It makes dread creep down her spine. Because the word “why” is a hole her mind falls into, a hole that goes down and down with no discernible bottom. She can’t even bear to mention it to anyone, even her doctors, though she knows rationally that she should, of course she should, it’s ridiculous that she hasn’t.

She also knows it’s eleven in the morning here at the Raymond Containment Facility in Washington state. Which means it is almost two in Maryland.

Right now, if she were at her mother’s, she and Melissa would be chopping the potatoes, joking about having an early glass of wine. Her mother would be playing Dean Martin CDs and singing along into a wooden spoon microphone, and she and Melissa would probably roll their eyes and laugh. Bill and Tara would arrive – we’re so glad you’re back in one piece, Dana, come here, let me hug you – and possibly they would have brought her some of that poppyseed bread she likes from the bakery in San Diego. She and Bill would set the table together and elbow one another and bicker. They would all feel a little lost because it is the first Thanksgiving without her father, and they would probably cry a little, but they would also hold each other tight.

We’re so blessed you’re here with us, baby, her mother would keep saying. I prayed hard to have you here for Thanksgiving this year.

None of that is happening, though. That’s not the Thanksgiving she is having, because Scully is sitting in level two quarantine in a makeshift CDC containment center in the middle of nowhere Washington state. Today she will be tested for gruesome silicon-based fungal spores, again, and she will spend the day wearing glorified hospital scrubs.

There are footsteps outside her open door. She knows who it is, of course. Because there is only one person it could be.

“Want to go for a run?” Mulder’s voice is cheerful. She glances over to see him standing in the door of her small room, wearing the same bland gray scrubs she is, a book under his arm. Their quarantine was downgraded after a week, so now they can move around the small facility, visit one another's rooms.

“Like they’ll let us outside,” Scully says dourly.

“Up and down the corridors?” Mulder says, playacting running. “Gotta make room for that turkey, Scully.”

“It’s one corridor, no more than fifteen feet long,” she snaps. “Go ride the exercise bike.”

He doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t move from her door either. She is pretending to examine her fingernails, but she can practically feel her partner’s worry pelting her in little direct hits from across the room.

She turns to look at him. He is leaning against the door frame, watching her.

“Are you coming in or not, Mulder?” she says, with a small sigh. Because there is no sense in getting Mulder all wound up again, for heaven’s sake.

He nods, walking inside, and she scoots up her legs on her cot so that he can sit at the foot. There is not much guest seating in these rooms. He sits down with his knees facing the door, still giving her tentative sideways looks. She has a sudden childish urge to kick him, to scream at him, to tell him to stop being so fucking careful with her.

“I’m really sorry you can’t be with your family today, Scully,” he says, reading her mind in his annoyingly prescient way. “I know you were probably looking forward to it.”

“You didn’t put a silicon-based fungal organism inside Mount Avalon, Mulder. You didn’t even want me to come along on the case. I hardly think it’s your fault.”

He glances up at her with a half-smile, but doesn’t say anything.

“I was hoping maybe they would let me call my mom’s later today,” Scully says. “The orderly said she would ask.”

“That’s great,” Mulder says. He shifts on the end of the bed. “You know, I was supposed to show you how to do cranberry sauce the right way this year. Instead of that nasty jelly crap you like. But I don’t think they’re going to let me into the kitchen.”

“Probably not.”

“Last Thanksgiving seems like a long time ago,” Mulder says.

She nods. With faint surprise she remembers Ethan, his pathetic call to her apartment, his nasty-minded barb about fucking her new partner.

She had been very serious about Ethan. She has to remind herself about that, because truthfully, she hardly thinks of him at all now. He seems like an ex-boyfriend from someone else’s life, or from a movie she once saw.

All of the space in her life that Ethan once occupied, all of the space in her mind that was once devoted to thinking about him: what he might like for dinner, what he might think about this weekend idea, what it might be like to be with him for the long run, is now simply … gone.

It was crowded out entirely. By her work. By the endless, fascinating, all-consuming puzzle that her work now poses, which absorbs all of her mental energy.

And by Mulder himself. By his personality and his intellect and his physical presence. She glances at him now, sitting bent over on the edge of her bed, looking down at his knees morosely. Her feelings for Mulder aren’t romantic, obviously. He’s her partner, her friend. But it is undeniably intense —even overwhelming — the way he has taken over her life in every respect. It sometimes astounds her: the Mulderness of Mulder. His effect on her.

It isn’t romantic. Still, sometimes, just because of the intensity, little things can set them a little off balance, make things start to feel uneasy.

This could be a problem even before her abduction. Now that she is back, and he is guilty and solicitous, and he spent all that time with her mom, and he wore her cross necklace around his own neck, the dynamic is off-kilter and unnatural and emotional. So it’s a bigger problem. She knows a recalibration is needed.

“Have you been doing some reading, Mulder?” She looks down at the book he has gripped in his hands.

“Just a novel to pass the time.” He looks down, too.

“Remains of the Day?”

“Well, there’s not a huge paperback selection here, and I remembered you said you liked it,” he says, spreading his hand over the cover. “But I gotta tell you, Scully, it’s even more depressing than I expected.”

Scully feels her face redden, remembering the book’s plot. A man so devoted to his work he never acts on his feelings for his co-worker who is in love with him. She did tell Mulder she liked it, didn’t she? She even joked around with him about learning lessons from it, tried to convince him to see the movie. This is exactly the kind of thing she means—a recalibration is definitely needed. That was last year, last Thanksgiving. She would never make a joke like that now. Now she is far more careful about the delicate ecosystem of emotions in their partnership.

“Is this man really going to let his whole life go by?” Mulder says, looking down at the book. “Such a waste.”

“You should have found something lighter.”

“Or is he going to have a change of heart in the end? I was hoping that was why it was called ‘remains of the day.’ Because even though he was older, there was still some time left, to have a satisfying life?”

“I’m obviously not going to tell you the ending.”

“Yeah,” he says, a goofy smile. “I wouldn’t guess you would.”

She returns his smile half-heartedly, and her eyes refocus behind him on the winding passages of shadows on the wall, curving around and around.

“Are you… okay, Scully?”

“I’m fine,” she sighs. “As I have said many times.”

“There’s not anything I could do to—”

“I swear, if you ask me that again, you won’t need to worry about any silicon-based fungal organisms, Mulder, because you’re going to face a different end of life.”

He chuckles, and she’s satisfied that she has forestalled another round of guilty and concerned questions. Sometimes when he looks at her now, she swears she can still see her hospital bed reflected in his eyes, like it has been imprinted there forever.

“Do you want to do something?” he suggests. “Play cards, maybe?”

He’s got this hopeful, boyish expression. She can’t help but feel drawn in. Cards doesn’t sound too maudlin.

“Do you have a deck of cards?”

“No.” He smiles. “You?”

She tilts her head to give him a look. “No.”

“Not a very well thought-out plan, I guess.”

“When are they ever?”

His bottom lip looks so plump, so delicious, there in the arch of his smile.

Her feelings for Mulder aren’t romantic. But he is objectively good-looking, and he’s always there. Sometimes she can’t help but entertain thoughts. She assumes this isn’t uncommon with partners. Especially partners whom you’ve also become emotionally close to for perfectly understandable reasons. Partners who have saved your life, who have comforted you, who have completely taken over your calendar. Not to mention inexplicably spent lots of time with your mom.

She indulges for a moment in a quick thought experiment. She has been through an ordeal, an abduction, she is in a quarantine for a gruesome infection, she is devastatingly single. Doesn’t she deserve a little physical comfort? What if she just allowed herself to touch Mulder? She might just run her palms over his head and her fingertips through his fluffy hair. What if she slipped her hands under his scrubs, slid them over his torso, enjoying the feeling of that smooth skin, that hard muscle she knows is there? Feeling her cheeks flush a little, she imagines sliding her hand under the elastic of his pants, gripping him, feeling him harden.

She finds she can’t quite picture his reaction. He would be surprised, that’s for sure. In her mind’s eye the surprise would swiftly transition to enthusiasm. He would lunge in to kiss her; his eyes would flutter shut; he would groan. His long hands would also find their way under her scrubs, and she would feel them groping over her own body.

God, she has already thought about this too much.

But she isn’t at all sure this fantasy is how he would actually react, if she were to touch him, to cross a line unexpectedly. What if he looked at her in shock? He might mumble an excuse, walk out of the room, leave her sitting there humiliated.

Even if he were tempted, even if some part of him wanted to touch her, is he really a person who could act on such feelings with his partner, with someone so intimately connected to his work? For Fox Mulder, the work is his whole heart.

No, he is not, she decides. Definitely not.

Which of course is for the best, as she’s not that kind of person either, and this is solely a thought experiment. He’s a good-looking man, but it’s a platonic relationship. A very close, very intense platonic relationship.

He notices her staring at him and looks down at his shirt self-consciously. “What? Did I spill breakfast?”

She wills herself not to blush further or react in any way. “No.”

Thanksgiving dinner in the quarantine facility is served at exactly noon. In Maryland, three hours ahead, they won’t even have eaten yet. She knows her mom probably has a little while to go on the turkey. There are probably appetizers out by now, though. She wonders if her mom made the baked Brie she likes so much.

Mulder and Scully eat at the tiny table from the mess, which they drag into Scully’s room because they can’t stand eating in the depressing little clinic room. It barely fits at the foot of her bed, but they make it work.

Mulder has drawn a little lackluster pencil drawing of a turkey on a folded piece of paper, which he places at the center of the table. “See? A centerpiece,” he says. “Makes it more festive.”

“I had no idea you were an artist, Mulder,” she says, with a deadpan version of the enthusiasm one gives to a small child.

“Inspiration hits and I have to go where it leads, Scully.”

They grimly peel back the plastic on their trays. “I feel like I owe last year’s cranberry sauce an apology,” Mulder says sadly. “Because whatever this is, it doesn’t even deserve the name ‘cranberry.’”

Scully laughs, shakes her head. “Do you suppose we’ll continue to eat worse and worse Thanksgiving dinners every year that we’re partners, Mulder?”

“No,” he says. He’s poking his fork fearfully at the pile of mashed potatoes, but he looks up at her. “Don’t even say that. You’ll be with your family next year. No more sad sack Mulder Thanksgivings.”

His expression is one to suggest that he means it, and she feels a little pang—that he sees himself like this, that he values time spent with himself in this way.

“Maybe you could come eat at Mom’s next year,” she shrugs casually, eyeing the little side of gravy. When she looks up, he is looking at her, surprised. “If you want,” she adds. “She’d be happy to have you.”

He nods, carefully, and she suspects she knows what he is thinking. Thanksgiving dinner at her mother’s isn’t necessarily part of the Partnership. It signifies something else, a different dimension in their relationship.

“Want to say anything before we eat?” Mulder says. He gives her a crafty look. “Hey, doesn’t your mom like everyone to say what they are grateful for?”

Scully smiles, a little touched that he remembers her mentioning that. “Yes,” she says. “Did you want to do that this year, Mulder?”

He tilts his head, as if considering. “Yeah,” he says. “I’d like to do that.”

Her eyes widen. “Wow,” she says. “You’re serious?”

“I’m a contemplative guy, Scully.”

Scully shifts a little, uncertain what he could be thinking about saying. “Okay,” she says.

“You go first,” he urges, his hand reaching out towards her arm for a moment, then withdrawing.

She fiddles a little with her napkin. “All right. I’m grateful, Mulder …” She hesitates. “I’m grateful for your partnership. Always. But … especially now.”

His eyes are on her. He nods slowly, taking that in.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to have many more years of it,” she adds softly.

“Wow, years?” he says.

“Years,” she repeats.

“Then you’re crazier than I am, Scully,” he says, but his eyes are bright.

“That’s an outrageous accusation,” Scully says. “Your turn.”

“Well,” he stops. He clears his throat. “Yeah. My turn.”

His eyes wander around the room, and they land at last on the tray in front of him. “For one, I’m very grateful for this slimy-looking turkey and this probably inedible cranberry sauce.”

She waits.

“And … I’m grateful for that depressing book you tricked me into reading,” he adds. “Although I have to admit, it’s pretty good. Maybe the guy will find happiness after all. I don’t think he will, but I guess you never know.” He clears his throat again, fidgets in his seat. A serpentine shadow falls over his face.

“Are you finished, Mulder?”

“No,” he says. He waits a moment, folds his hands, almost like he is praying. Scully finds herself holding her breath.

“I’m grateful for …” He shakes his head helplessly, biting his lip, looking at his hands. When has Mulder ever had difficulty talking? Scully thinks. When he raises his head again, his eyes are shiny and wet. She thinks her heart might burst.

“I’m just grateful that …” His breath lets out a little hitch, and she’s suddenly alarmed, because she knows she can’t sit there and watch him cry without doing something, and she doesn’t trust herself enough to know exactly what she might do.

“I’m grateful to … get another Thanksgiving dinner with you, Scully,” he says, his voice rough. “Because I thought I might not.”

She stares back at him. They say nothing for a moment.

Her hand extends and wraps around his forearm, warm and steady.

“Years more,” she says. “You get years more.”

“Years more,” he repeats.

[carlisles-girl]

OMG UR CAIUS FIC WAS SO GOOD COULD YOU DO SOMETHING AB ARO PLEASE

a/n: Thank you so much! I’m very excited to write for Aro, he’s one of my favourite characters, more so because of Michael Sheen’s performance. I put a slight reference to something in this, you might catch it if you know other projects Michael Sheen has been in, but you might not, and that’s alright. Hope you enjoy <3

another a/n: I did put one or two feminine terms in this work, such as ‘mia regina’ which is ‘my queen’ in Italian, so do skip over it or replace it with something else if you’d like. I love writing this type of material in the middle of my classes, it adds so much adrenaline to not get caught.

-

Aro Volturi With A Human Mate

-

Instead of being angry and frustrated like Caius, Aro was more excited.

Like as if he was getting ready for a big party.

A human for a mate was inevitable for some vampires, of course, but Aro didn’t expect to be included in the some.

He was excited since it was rare for such high profile vampires to socialize with humans.

Aro often gushed to his brothers, excited to meet you, but also for them to meet you.

He wanted to host a ball for your welcome.

But Marcus noted that it would probably be slightly frightening for you to be in a room full of vampires.

Most of the vampires would look at you as if you were some sort of a snack.

Because it Marcus’ comment, Aro assumed it would be a greater choice to send an invitation to a tour of the castle.

Free of cost, of course.

When you had received the invitation, you were beyond excited.

An invitation to a tour of an ancient castle with endless legends, for free?

Absolutely.

The tour was the next day, so of course you were slightly nervous.

When the tour commenced, a very pretty woman named Heidi lead the tour group.

She began to speak of secrets of the castle, as well as secret corridors and legends.

Some things a normal tour guide would most likely have no idea about.

Heidi then looked in your direction, and smiled brightly at you.

“It’s very lovely here. I’m sure you’ll love it.”

Just when she had finished her sentence, she opened the doors where there were three men sitting in thrones, and what seemed to be 4 guards.

The man who sat in the middle, greeted everyone and began speaking greatly of the castle.

He had only stopped when he motioned for your tour guide, Heidi, to come forward.

She did as told, and held her hand out towards him.

You would have thought it was to greet him, but it seemed like he was concentrated, or zoned out.

“Magnifico! I will get Demetri to escort them.” (Translation: “Magnificent! I will get Demetri to escort them.”

A man who you assumed was Demetri, walked in your direction.

“Come with me, all will be alright, rest assured. However, do not look behind you.”

You went with him, doing as he said, but immediately turned around when the rest of the tour began screaming.

“What the hell was that?!”

Demetri just grabbed your wrist and brought you upstairs.

“Just stay in here, I’ve been instructed to keep you under my eye. Aro will explain everything to you.”

“Aro?”

“The man who sat in the middle throne.”

You nodded, and decided to sit on one of the window seats.

You wanted to ask Demetri as many questions as you wanted to, but you didn’t want to bother him, or disrupt him from his job.

When the door had opened and Demetri bid his farewells, you had turned around and saw Aro.

“You must be Y/n, correct?”

“Yeah, and you’re Aro?”

“I am, I assume you have a good amount of questions?”

You nodded, and Aro moved swiftly but smoothly towards the opposite side of the window seat.

“May I?”

“Of course.”

He sat opposite to you, and smiled slightly at you.

“There’s no need to be afraid of me, or the others. You’re the most safe you could ever be in the castle. I promise you, I will keep you safe.”

“May I ask why the rest of the tourists were screaming when I left?”

“I sense that that question should be answered later, appropriately.”

You were slightly frightened as to what the final answer would be, it could be anything.

Perhaps there was a reenactment of the past after you had been escorted, one of the tourists got pushed and the rest screamed since one of them fell, or the worst:

They were murdered.

“I feel like I already know what happened.”

“I sense that you do know, too. I will tell you everything in a moment. But for now, would you care to lend me your hand?”

You trusted Aro, though you were positive your ancestors were screaming from above or below not to trust him.

You held your hand out in front of him, and before he held your hand in his own, he asked for permission or something else.

“I want you to think of the happiest memory you have stored in your mind, I will describe it to you. I will not see anything else besides the things you want to show me, unless I have your permission.”

You thought of a memory, and then placed your hand in Aro’s palm.

He covered the back of your hand with the palm of his other hand, then he began telling you small details of your chosen memories you had even forgotten about.

When he was finished, he brought his head up from looking down, and smiled at your face of bewilderment.

“That is so cool! Is that like your superhero power?”

Aro smiled widely at your interest in his gift, and began explaining what his was.

“I have a gift, it’s called tactile telepathy. I can read everyone’s thoughts and memories with a single touch. The others in this coven have multiple different gifts, they help keep us safe.”

“So you’re all like superheroes?”

“Vampires, darling.”

After that, Aro enjoyed seeing your memories whenever you two were apart for some sort of time.

Especially say you were having a difficult time attempting to explain something to him, he would hold your hand and immediately understand what you were trying to say.

“I understand you, cara mia. I always will.”

And he was right, he understands you in every way possible.

Aro memorized your body language on how you react to different things, as well as your facial expressions.

When you’re uncomfortable with something, he will do absolutely everything in his power to make you comfortable.

Aro will burn down the entire world for you.

When it’s time for you to go to sleep, you best believe that Aro set up the most lavish and comfortable room for you.

The best and most comfortable bed, of course.

You lay down on his chest, and he brushes the hair out of your face, admiring your tired eyes looking back at him.

“Would you like for me to read to you, dearest?”

You nodded your head, and Aro would get up from wherever he was seated, swiftly retrieve a book, lay back down next to you, and begin reading.

He loved having you hold his hand while he read, it lets him see what you’re imagining the scene that he’s reading to you.

And when you fell asleep while he was reading, he would be so very content.

You curled up next to him, sound asleep on his chest.

Aro adored seeing what you were dreaming.

He loved how humans brains worked while they were sleeping, keeping your mind entertained with multiple little scenarios.

When you woke up, however, Aro would prefer to have you describe your dreams, if you remembered them.

He loved to learn more about humans, especially in the modern age.

And you loved to learn more about vampires, especially in the ancient times.

Aro would often tell you stories of each coven he encountered, his old family and friends, and his past human life.

As much as he wants you to be changed into a vampire like the rest, he can’t help but smile whenever you got slightly nervous around him, stuttering over your words, and hiding your face with your hands out of embarrassment.

He pays attention to little details about you.

Especially your eyes.

Even the shade of your eyes stops him from changing you. Your eyes wouldn’t be as unique anymore, they’d be the same red as everyone else’s.

“You have the most magnificent shade of colour in your eyes, mia regina. I simply cannot get enough of them.”

Being absolute best friends with Demetri.

But wherever Demetri was, Felix wasn’t too far behind.

You three are like a troublemaker trio, always causing trouble and pulling pranks on different members of the guard.

Never Jane or Alec, though. Unless it was a scheduled board game night or something along the lines.

Which Alec loved to take away different players senses, allowing him to cheat in the games you’d play.

He doesn’t do it all the time, though.

Marcus was a lot more welcoming towards you, perhaps more than anyone else.

Whenever Aro couldn’t, he’d show you different areas of the castle you hadn’t seen yet, and would give you wonderful pieces of advice along the way.

“Remember to stay true to yourself, never let anyone think for you.”

Aro will spoil you insanely.

If you mention a specific piece of clothing even once, you better expect that when you wake up the next morning, Aro has an elegantly wrapped package placed at the foot of your bed with a note written in fine handwriting.

“Mia amato, I have seen you speak of this article of fabric, and I have gone out of my way to make sure you have every little thing you admire. I need you to be the happiest you can possibly be. Please accept my gift, and meet me by the gardens by noon. I’ll see you then. Cordialmente, Aro.”

You two have annual walks throughout the garden, usually during golden hour. The sun still above, but setting at the same time, making it seem like Aro was made of a trillion Tiffany Yellow Diamonds.

He loved finding a flower that suited your mood for the day, and putting it behind your ear.

“My beautiful.”

You two often walked either arm in arm, or hand in hand, but sometimes you would hold him closer with your arm wrapped around his waist, your head leaning on his side or shoulder.

Often times, when the moon is visible, you would slow dance together, looking at each other with smiles on your faces, just appreciating each other’s presence.

Usually, Aro would come back into the castle around 2 in the morning, carrying your sleeping self up to your shared room, after you had fallen asleep on his shoulder while sitting in the garden.

The rest of the kings and guards would be predominantly more happy than from before you had arrived.

You had given Aro something to look forward to after trials and mountains of work, something he didn’t have for hundreds of years.

Though, Caius was still slightly jealous of you.

You had practically stolen one, if the not the most, needed member of the vampire world. Aro was nearly as focused on you than he was on trials and legislature.

He’d warm up to you eventually.

At least, you hoped.

Speaking of trials, you wanted to sit in and watch the trials, to see what it was about, and how it worked.

You knew the most of it, of course, Aro had already told you. But you wanted to see it live.

Aro was quick to say no, he didn’t want you to get hurt, or worse, killed.

He understood what would happen to him if his mate was killed, Marcus was the example. He couldn’t even bear the thought of you not being by his side.

Though, you owning the key to his heart, convinced him to let you watch, letting both Jane and Alec stay on either side of you, protecting you if anything were to go wrong.

You would usually sit on Aro’s lap, and then the throne when he had to see what was truly going on by using his gift.

Jane usually stood on the left of the throne, and Alec on the right.

Mainly since Caius sat on the throne in the left, and Jane loved to torture the criminals.

He loved the front seat view.

Constant look backs of reassurance to make sure that you’re alright.

Nearly always having your hand in his.

Forehead kisses.

Constantly bringing the back of your hand up to his lips.

Getting the absolute best care in the world, health wise especially.

When Aro proposed, it was in the bedroom the both of you share, and he was reading some poetry to you.

All was going swell, and then he got to one page.

“I can write no stately poem

As a prelude to my lay;

From a poet to a poem

I would dare to say.

For if of these fallen petals

One to you seem fair

Love will waft it till it settles

On your hair.

And when wind and winter harden

All the loveless land.

It will whisper of the garden,

You will understand.”

At the end, you were leaned up closer to him, looking at him in awe.

He closed the book, and placed it aside gracefully, before leaning slightly closer to you. Placing his hands overs yours.

“Do you remember who wrote that, cara mia?”

“I do. That’s Oscar Wilde, right?”

“That’s right. There’s so much I want to say to you, especially in this particular moment, but I don’t think there’s enough words to express my love and affection towards you. I’ve known you for a little while, and I can feel the bond between us, and I know you can feel it, too. The universe has guided us together, and I am so very thankful for every second we have spent together, and I’m even more thankful for the rest of eternity we have. However, I am the most thankful of the fact that I have the most gorgeous human as a mate. I love you so much, anima mia. Will you do me the best thing that could ever happen to me in my thousands of years, and marry me?”

You said yes, obviously, who wouldn’t?

You leaned over to press your lips against his, as he held one side of your face with one hand, and the other hand slid a ring on your ring finger.

While Aro wanted an extremely lavish wedding, with all the diamonds in the world, you wanted something more of a homely essence.

So you compromised, and had a bit of both.

Aro invited nearly every vampire to the wedding, wanting to show you off in every way he could.

The Denali’s, Cullens, Irish coven, everyone was invited.

Except for the Romanian coven, Vladimir and Stefan. Not trusting them to be in your presence.

The wedding was held in the garden, the arch where Aro stood had your favourite flowers intertwining around it, with diamonds pressed in the centre of each individual flower.

Demetri walked you down the isle, smiling proudly when he handed you over to Aro.

Proud that his leader had finally found true love, and that one of his best friends is finally where they need to be.

After the official wedding ceremony, the rest of the night and day were spent smiling and showing off each other to the guests.

When the night ended, it was finally time for you to be changed to a vampire.

Aro sat by the bed were sitting on, making sure that you were absolutely ready to be converted to a vampire for the rest of eternity.

“Are you ready, my darling?”

You nodded your head, and Aro took one final look into your coloured eyes, attempting to remember every small detail of them.

Aro then moved your hair away from your neck, before placing his lips over where he would finally bite down and turn you immortal.

“Just say when, and I’ll see you after.”

[obeiii-mee]

Can I angst for Mammon where he is in a really bad mood and his brothers are at it again calling him names. And already ask them kindly to leave him alone but they keep at it. And Levi says something and it's the last straw. The air around them get cold for a moment as he slowly looks up and he flat out threatens them to shut up before he puts them back into there place with a really dark and threatening voice, before leaving. And the look could rival Satan's or even Lucifers glare.

I think Mammon takes the abuse of his brothers but sometimes he isn't in the mood and want a little peace and it is very very rare for him to get pissed

Like he's the kind of person who would yell when he's upset but when he's down right pissed it's like really fucking scary

People forget that as much as he lets his brothers push him around he is still the second oldest and is powerful so 😬

Brothers+ undateables reaction

Mammon snaps:

___________________

This is something I’ve mentioned in previous posts, but I basically second everything you said. I believe that Mammon dislikes getting into confrontations but isn’t by any means weak or stupid. He is the second eldest. However he is also, arguably, the one with the most self control out of them all. He has an overwhelming amount of patience when it comes to his siblings and I like to think he puts up with all of their insults because he loves them. Then again, it’s very possible for him to go berserk after years worth of build up.

Thanks for the request!!! I had a bit of trouble at first because I didn’t know how I was going to format it but I like the way it turned out so I hope you do too. Uhh also I reached my word limit writing this so I couldn’t include Simon, Luke and Solomon. I do plan on writing for them as well but at this point I’m just trying to get this done. Let me know if I made any grammatical errors! I double check my writing all the time but sometimes mistakes got over my head! The undateables are short because honestly I view the brothers as the ones who will suffer the most out of everyone. I hope you enjoy reading it anyway!!

•Characters: Lucifer, Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Belphagour, Diavolo, Barbatos.

⚠️Warnings: Cursing, mentions of blood & gore and that’s about it.

___________________

For the past few months, Lord Diavolo’s pleasure of hosting parties and inviting people over had become more and more noticeable. It was pretty obvious that the Prince was lonely, isolating himself from others due to the responsibilities he has as the heir to the throne and a leader in the making. Attending his gatherings seemed like a down right chore for most of the brothers but you never had any problem tagging along. Besides, it felt nice knowing he seemed you worthy of coming to such important meetings. Your seven demons were, of course, also invited and per Lucifer’s orders, they all got cleaned up and dressed in fancy clothing to impress the regals prancing about the castle. Though the outfits themselves came with their own set of problems. Levi’s was way too tight; the collar seemed to annoy him more than anything else, judging by the patches of red skin on his neck. Satan accidentally ripped one of the buttons from his jacket off in a fit of rage earlier that day and was now silently fuming while poking his finger through the hole he made. Even Asmo spilled some water on his shirt before they arrived, ruining his pretty pink suit! Not to mention Beel was munching on his tie, having last eaten about 15 minutes beforehand. Lucifer pulled it out of his mouth and scowled at the saliva stains that were left behind. Safe to say they were all in a miserable mood to begin with.

“I expect all of you to behave in a respectable manner,” Lucifer flicked Belphie on the back of the head just as he began dozing off, making the youngest growl at him. He shot Mammon an irritated look “I’m especially talking to you Mammon. Don’t try to steal anything or I’ll cut your hands off.”

“I told ya big bro, ya don’t have to worry about me! I’ll be a golden child today! Promise!” Mammon held up his pinky as if he was committing to some kind of oath. The eldest darkened his glare and opened his mouth to say something else, but you interrupted in hopes of avoiding any bickering that might’ve followed.

“Look, there’s our table! Let’s go sit down. Lord Diavolo’s speech is going to start any minute now.”

Beel leaped at the table as soon as he sniffed out the appetisers, which were neatly arranged on the expensive tablecloth, shoving at least half of them in his mouth by the time the rest of you caught up with him. Having been seated, you quickly glanced around the room in hopes of spotting Diavolo. You bumped into Solomon and the angels before entering the castle, chit chatting with them for a while about the event. Even now, Luke was excitedly waving at you from across the room, using both of his arms. However, Lord Diavolo and Barbatos were the ones in charge of this party and you were yet to see either of them.

Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Mammon eyeing the golden utensils laid out in front of him. Not the biggest of surprises really. Anytime Mammon sees something along the lines of gold, he can’t help but snatch it away. And there’s obviously so many valuables scattered all over the place, including the silverware that was proudly presented on every table. You sucked in a breath of anticipation when he reached for one of the spoons, only to exhale in relief when he placed it on the bridge of his nose, trying to balance it.

“MC, look at this!” He tapped your shoulder, as always wanting your full and undivided attention as he demonstrated his newfound skill. You giggled at his antics with fondness as he accidentally let the spoon drop with a clatter and a quiet ‘shit’ coming from him. Lucifer pulled on his ear, like a mother scolding her child and whisper-yelled at him to stop acting like an idiot. The only reason the oldest chose a sit right next to Mammon was to maintain order and peace. Basically, he did it for disciplinary reasons.

“I understand that being impertinent is your full-time job, Mammon but keep this up and I’ll throw you in Cerberus’ room. Let him do with you as he pleases.”

“Lucifer, it’s not a big deal-“

“Yeah, OK,” Mammon hissed, picking up the spoon from the recently polished floor with a slight grin that didn’t quiet reach his eyes “I gotcha. Can-“

“Speaking of Cerberus,” Levi suddenly piped in, no longer fussing about his collar or nervously twiddling with his thumbs because of the massive crowd of demons surrounding him “Didn’t you force me to walk him last week when it was your turn to do it?? I only agreed because you promised to buy me the newest Ruri-Chan limited edition body pillow that came out last Tuesday! And you never did! And now they’re out of stock, you scummy piece of-“

The third eldest would’ve leapt across the table and aimed for the throat if you hadn’t pressed a gentle hand against his chest, making him sit back down with a huff. People were starting to stare at the commotion coming from your table, turning heads and muttering between themselves. You were slowly dying from embarrassment by the way, since you guys definitely became the topic of conversation for the other guests. The brothers were being too noisy to even notice and Lucifer himself was too preoccupied to see the scene they were creating which made you further slouch down into your chair, silently hoping for the ground to swallow you whole. The night really wasn’t going as intended. You could hear Solomon laughing at the brothers’ antics from three tables down.

“I guess that’s Mammon for you,” Belphie yawned, barely raising his head from table “He lies everyday, all day. What exactly is new here? And that says something since it’s coming from me.”

“I apologised for that!” Mammon whined, referring to Levi’s accusation and choosing not to address Belphie’s insult “I was gonna buy it but then I realised I spent all my money earlier that week anyway so I couldn’t!”

“Perhaps that wouldn’t happen if you learned how to save the money you earn properly,” Satan muttered, sipping from his glass of whatever beverage he had snatched from the servants earlier “Not like you know how to earn money in any way besides stealing it.”

You watch as Mammon clenched his fist “Can we please just move on-“

“I can’t believe that I was cursed with this moron for a brother,” Asmo sighed, almost theatrically, as if he was performing. And, in a way, he was. People were getting really interested in the drama unfolding over there. It was making you even more anxious, all those eyes staring at you. The Avatar of Lust was leaning so much on his chair, you were sure he was going to topple over and at this point, you kinda hoped he would. Anything to stop this momentum of hatred aimed at Mammon “You’re always getting us in trouble, you know. Hmph, we can’t go anywhere with you Mammon! You always end up ruining it for us! With your stupid schemes and-“

“I’m hungry-“

“Not now, Beel!”

“Cutting him up into tiny pieces for the witches will always be an option,” Lucifer chimed in, smiling at the thought.

Mammon snapped his head upwards at that. It was such an abrupt reaction, it made you jolt a little in your seat. You couldn’t miss the tension radiating from him, how quickly his body stiffened and exactly how hard his hands were gripping the edge of the table. His brothers were still paying him no mind, blaming him for this and that under their breath or being silently judgemental in Lucifer’s case. You worried for him because Mammon rarely acted like this; feral, in a way. Just so you know, he definitely noticed it. The look of concern plastered all over your face. That’s the only reason he released the table from his vice-like grip and slouched back against his chair. Satan went quiet and was staring at Mammon in bewilderment.

He disliked the idea of you watching him lose control of himself. He was your guardian. Your first pact. It’s important to him that your relationship is build around a pillar of trust. And he can’t even expect you to trust him if he exposes you to his demon form every time something inconveniences him. Mammon would rather cease to exit than have you fear him. So he kept his breathing regulated as the fog cleared his mind. The Avatar of Greed isn’t an angry demon. Snuffing out the the flame of rage he had fanned up until then was relatively easy. He just needed to get through tonight, then he could go home and complain to you about it once he got out of his brothers’ earshot.

“Why does he get to spend so much time with MC anyway? He’d probably sell them for a few Grimm any time of the day, wouldn’t he? It’s so fucking unfair. He won’t change no matter what so why risk MC’s safety? I will summon Lotan on him if he starts getting on my nerves.”

It would be an understatement to say that those words rubbed Mammon the wrong way, judging by the lack of immediate response. It was unexpected for him keep his mouth shut at a time like this. What was even more unexpected was the abrupt, delayed reaction he had a few seconds afterwards, resulting in his chair being flung back about 5 feet in that general direction. The seemingly deafening thud it made when it collided with the floor echoed around the dining hall, bouncing off walls and whacking people over the heads with the aggression behind it. A moment of pure, indescribably loud silence filled the crowded space as everyone else stared in shock at their brother, mouths agape and eyes bulging out of their sockets. Mammon would’ve laughed at their faces if it weren’t for the circumstances leading up to that point.

“What gives any of you the right to treat me like some sort of punching bag?” Mammon drawled, accentuating his obviously superior nature to almost every single demon at that table. He laughed, in an oddly half hearted way, before his sea struck gaze landed back to his siblings “Do not try to push me into a corner, because I will not handle it well. You’ve been having a field day with me for centuries now and I’m starting to get really ticked off, ya know? But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’ve done everything in my power to keep MC alive for the past few months and y’all are acting as if I’m out here playing with their life. Complain about me all you want. But...” He thumped the table, loud enough to make all the noblemen in the room flinch.

“Don’t you dare insinuate that I would ever put MC in danger, willingly or not because I will rip out your insides and paint the walls of this palace with them while hanging your intestines from these chandeliers. I will pluck your hairs out one by one, then your nails, then your eyeballs and then your teeth. You’re the ones that have put MC in danger’s way time and time again in the past few weeks, and you’re out here trying to suggest that I would even think about hurting them? Unlike every single one of you, who almost killed my human-you’re lucky I don’t have your fucking heads.”

He smashed his fist into the table again, using even more of his strength this time and effectively breaking the whole thing, the wooden legs giving out and shattering into thousands of splinters. Mammon spoke again, his voice lowering “MC forgave you. I didn’t. And I have no reason to. Not with how you’ve been treating me.”Once he spit that out, Mammon turned on his heel and left, slamming the door shut behind him hard enough to shake the whole building, leaving his siblings in dazed awe.

......

Even more silence. For some reason, all of the brothers at the now broken table ended up looking your way, silently questioning what they should do. It often ended up like this

You gave them all an unimpressed stare and a half-assed shrug “Don’t look at me. You guys fucked up.” Before sliding out of your seat and following Mammon out of the castle, sending an apologetic smile to Diavolo on your way out. Hopefully, you could manage to calm him down before everyone else gets home otherwise this might drag on for a while.

Lucifer:

-In all honesty, he probably saw the signs from a mile away and still decided to ignore them

-Maybe because he believed they weren’t being all that harsh on him, even if in Mammon’s eyes they were

-‘Harsh’ in Lucifer’s vocabulary usually means being hanged upside down from a ceiling or publicly executed, not a couple of mere insults

-Not to mention the eldest had always been horrible at communicating with his brothers when it came to emotions

-Despite Mammon clearly suffering from the treatment he received from his brothers, Lucifer refuses to believe he’s the root of the problem

-As the Avatar of Pride, he always had a hard time realising that all those words and the constant teasing, which he deemed to be pretty harmless, scarred Mammon a lot more than expected

-Once he actually comes to that conclusion, and after getting over the initial shock, Lucifer would probably feel the guiltiest out of them all

-Being the eldest means he carries quite a few burdens on his shoulders as most responsibilities fall on him due to his prideful nature

-He would blame himself for Mammon’s outburst simply because he’s the older brother and he should’ve known better, not just because he sees how a big of a role he played in all of this

-Usually, if his brothers do something bad, then he’s there to fix it within hours, that’s how it always worked

-Except he doesn’t know how to fix this exactly

-The problem is he has no idea how to approach Mammon after that sudden meltdown and he has no idea how to talk it out with him because he sucks at expressing himself verbally

-And since this took place in a public space, Lord Diavolo’s Palace no less, he felt really conflicted on what should have been done at that moment in time

-There was a lot of frustration, embarrassment and confusion in him for a good five minutes after Mammon slammed that door shut behind him and even after he gathered his thoughts together, he was still in shock for the rest of the night

-In any case, the whole event was promptly cancelled and everyone ended up going home earlier than expected, after Lucifer apologised to Diavolo about the spectacle they created (several times)

-When they finally get home, he decided to give Mammon his space instead of trying to knock at his door and instead went back to his room

-He knows they will need to solve this matter soon but there’s no way Mammon will want to see, let alone talk, to any of them just yet

-He’s sort of hoping he can apologise best he can next morning at breakfast, cross his fingers and wish for the best but judging by the venom that laced Mammon’s voice the night before, it’s not likely he will forgive any of them that easily.

Levi:

-If I were to guess, he saw the ending credits of his life flash before his very eyes as soon as those words left his mouth

-Levi felt a panic in him like never before, not even while playing his engaging horror visual novels at 3am in complete darkness or that one time he used Lucifer’s credit card to buy merch before being found out

-Must’ve forgotten his brother technically ranks higher than him on the power scale for a second there

-Or maybe he didn’t think his insults were going to affect him much

-They usually don’t

-Or at least that’s the impression he’s been under for a while now

-Mammon doesn’t snap easily under pressure but Levi must’ve really hit a nerve there that night

-While everyone was sitting in a short silence after Mammon left the building, he started twiddling with his fingers again the more he thought about it

-Because now he went from nervous to fucking terrified of what the hell was waiting for him when he finally got home

-He does feel guilty, nowhere near as much guilt as Lucifer feels but still pure shame

-However most of that guilt is swallowed by a steady fear and the constant worry of ‘how do I stop my brother from killing me?’

-Unlike Lucifer, I honestly don’t see him taking any sort of initiative when it comes to apologising to Mammon

-Not even because he doesn’t want to, but he would freeze up if he were to come face to face with him after that incident and then scamper back to his room like a rat in hiding

-So without your help, it’s likely the two won’t be speaking to each very soon which can honestly make life at the House of Lamentation so much more miserable

-In the end, if either you or Lucifer forced him to, he would say sorry by selling some of his merch and then giving him the profits (in secret but we all know it’s him)

-That is a big sacrifice on Levi’s part considering how precious his merchandise is to him

-But the idea that he’s gonna get murdered in his sleep by his older brother was getting a tad too real

-Besides, Mammon is still his brother and if he has to sell a couple of items in order to make him less mad, he would do it, albeit with a bit of grumbling

-Despite that, Mammon still refuses to come out of his room and sort of relies on you to bring him food because he doesn’t want to see his brothers

-Levi and Mammon would probably have to rebuild a lot of their relationship after this but it could easily take months for that to happen since Levi is too terrified to look him in the eye and Mammon is too upset to even hear his voice

Satan:

-He wouldn’t be the Avatar of Wrath if he couldn’t spot the anger within someone from a mile away

-He’s always been able to recognise the fury building up inside of him so for Satan it’s second nature to just know when someone’s on the brink of snapping

-It’s no surprise to say that he probably noticed Mammon’s wrath spilling out before anyone else did

-But alas, he realised it too late

-If he had reacted quicker, maybe he would’ve been able to diffuse Mammon before he exploded on them. Or not

-It’s difficult to tell if he could’ve actually helped because who was he to tell Mammon to calm down??? If anyone told him that while he was throwing a fit, he would probably break their necks-

-In the end, he just pressed his lips into a straight line and watched his brother throw his chair across the room

-Not gonna lie, he found it a bit entertaining purely because of the look on Lucifer’s face

-Satan had to try really hard not to crack a smile because he knew Mammon would probably smash a glass against his head or something

-Even so, he was the first to stand up and offer to go after him, though he wasn’t sure he could do much consoling

-Being so experienced with anger meant that he knew Mammon had built himself into a rage that he won’t be able to escape out of too easily

-Which is why he advises Lucifer to give Mammon his space once they get home

-Overall, the most understanding out of all of the brothers

-At this point in time, probably the least judgemental out of everyone and once Mammon comes out of his room for the first time in a while, either him or Beel is going to apologise to him first

-He may push and push him alongside the rest of his siblings but I feel like Satan doesn’t want to reach a certain low, like cornering Mammon into the frenzy he had that day ever again

-He might get pissy with him if he’s being too stubborn to forgive anyone after coming down from his intrusive thoughts

-And he really hates that Mammon had to remind them about all the times you had nearly died because of them, because he knows they won’t be able to make it up to you so why is Mammon upset about this????

-But he will try to maintain respect for his older brother from then on

-Even if the sharpest of remarks is on the top of his tongue!

Asmo:

-Asmo is the type to laugh it off and then start feeling really upset about it later on, the longer he thinks about the whole thing

-After Mammon storms out, he just assumes it’s another one of those ‘Mammon’ things and tried to brush the feeling of unease off him

-Even so, later that night the memory of Mammon kept coming back to him while he laid in his bed, unable to have a nice rest for the first time in how long? He’s always been really strict about his sleeping schedules after all

-Asmo’s observant, almost on par with Satan himself when it comes down to it. He definitely saw the gleam of anger, pent up frustration and hatred in his brothers’ eyes that moment and it legitimately scared him, even if it was for just half a second

-Honestly, he begins neglecting himself out of anticipation and worry which is a huge red flag for the Avatar of Lust who always holds himself at such a superior level compared to everyone else

-It may start out slow, but it has the same effect as a snowball rolling down the hill. It becomes more of a problem the longer it’s ignored

-Because he spends most of his days now debating whether he should try to coax his brother into coming out of his room and apologising to him, he forgets about himself

-Skincare routines are missed, pedicure appointments have been cancelled; hell, if Mammon’s keeps being stubborn, he may let his hair become absolutely filthy

-Asmo sort of relies on his brothers to provide the living environment he revolves around. If something is off with his brothers, he can not work properly either because it doesn’t feel right to do so

-Imagine a machine not working anymore because one of the clogs in it got stuck

-I can see Asmo feeling a decent amount of guilt when it comes to the situation but he still blames Levi for completely pushing him over the edge at dinner

-So now those two aren’t talking (it’s honestly so exhausting since they’re shoving the blame onto each other without stop)

-If Mammon decides to come out and hear them out, Asmo might get on his knees and beg because that guilt bubbling up inside of him may end up being his demise

-No seriously, MC might need to keep an eye out on him too while comforting Mammon because whatever he is doing isn’t healthy

-Takes Mammon’s outburst pretty badly and tries apologising to him many times but the second eldest still hasn’t said a word to any of them

-And that’s driving him into a fucking swirl of insanity at this point

-Of course, much like Mammon’s mental breakdown, this builds up over time but the result can be devasting

-If you pass by his room at night, you could probably hear him sob about how his brother hates him and it’s really heartbreaking to hear pained cries like that coming from such an overly confident demon like Asmo

Beel:

-Literally the only one here that doesn’t dish out insults onto Mammon every hour of the day

-He joins in very rarely and even when he does, it’s usually in good nature rather than malice

-Unless food is involved. Feelings (and Mammon) might be hurt if that’s the case

-Beel wasn’t listening to his siblings as they were diminishing Mammon, he was way too hungry to comprehend what the hell they were on about

-So he just started wolfing down appetisers until he noticed you looking all weary

-That’s the first thing that put him on alert

-And then the second born’s aura was also...off putting

-Might’ve actually tried to nudge Belphie to stop him from saying anything offensive to Mammon in this state when he realised how tense the atmosphere got

-Flinched when his brother left the palace, almost cracking the whole doorway on his way out

-Hunger is all but gone and at this point he wants to go home to check up on him

-Beel is a bit of a softie and he wears his heart on his sleeve a lot of the times

-He never did anything particularly bad to Mammon, not on the same scale his brothers did certainly and yet he still felt extremely bad

-Perhaps because he didn’t step in as much as he should’ve...?

-Either way, when his loved ones suffer, he has a tendency of putting the blame on himself because he feels it’s the only logical answer

-Honestly, he feels guilty enough to the point where it’s affecting his eating habits-which is obviously not normal for the Avatar of Gluttony

-Beel knows Mammon doesn’t want to talk to him but he still brings him food and leaves it at the doorstep of his room since he doesn’t want to come out and have dinner with them

-Or he relies on you to give it to him

-The thought of Mammon being so mad at them that he doesn’t even want to eat makes him feel so vulnerable

-As soon as he sees him for the first time since that night, he will probably be the first to apologise, even if Mammon isn’t in the mood to hear apologies

-Again, he’s trying to use food to make up to him (bringing him his favourites and paying for them)

-Even if he gets ignored, he’s still going to do it

-Beel is trying his best to say sorry to his older brother the only way he knows how to do so, but Mammon still doesn’t give in

Belphie:

-Could’ve been asleep the whole time Mammon was thrashing about

-Or at least that’s what it looked like to the average passer-by

-Kept one eye open to watch as Mammon finally snapped under pressure, having to raise his head once his brother broke the whole god damned table

-“OK, alright, storm off I guess-I have a splinter now-“

-Don’t trust that sarcastic commentary, he’s in deep thought on the inside

-Maybe he should’ve expected this but then again, he never would’ve guessed Mammon had it in him to be so aggressive

-Will narrow his eyes at him when he talks your death and scowl

-As if he didn’t already feel like the world’s biggest piece of shit, he had to bring that up

-As soon as he leaves, he turns to Lucifer and goes “See what you did? You broke Mammon. You suck, Lucifer.”

-The shifting of blame suits Belphie really well (it takes Beel side glancing him to get him to shut up)

-The Avatar of Sloth is too tired to even try to communicate with his brother so he goes straight to bed after getting home

-However, he actually visits Mammon’s dreams that night

-Or at least tries to, if Mammon is getting any sleep after that showdown

-It’s his way of checking in with his brother, helps him evaluate the situation

- Whether that works or not, there was definitely an attempt that required a lot of effort and you don’t see that very often with Belphagour

-It really demonstrates how much he actually cares for his family, even if he hides behind snide remarks and the likes of it

-However, if Mammon refuses communication, then he can’t do anything but give up

-He clearly won’t be able to convince him to step aside for a chit chat and why waste energy trying to force him to do so

-When the time comes, Belphie knows his brother will willingly talk to him (or at least someone else because he knows he’s not any good at comfort or apologies)

-At the same time, a lot of the things Mammon said during that party rubbed him the wrong way and seeing his twin suffer because of it is also pissing him off so patience may be running thin with Belphie

-Like Levi, there may be a lot of ice between the two from then onwards so it won’t be easy for them to find the middle ground in this whole argument either

-It could lead to a strained relationship if no one intervenes or even a physical fight if the youngest pushes all of Mammon’s buttons properly

Diavolo:

-The Future King feels guilty too, for some reason

-He is clearly not involved but he’s under the impression his party was a catalyst of sorts to the fight that broke out that night

-Diavolo wasn’t even in the same room when it happened-he heard shouting and growling from next door whilst talking to a noble about future arrangements in DevilDom and rushed in

-The sight was something to behold really; Mammon cornering all of his brothers and threatening them with pure venom in his voice wasn’t something you saw everyday

-More often than not, it was the other way around so the Prince had every right to be concerned

-He tried asking Lucifer what was going on after the second eldest slammed the door shut behind him and left but to no avail; the Avatar of Pride was in a state of shock and the only thing he did was apologise to him about a million times before his departure with the rest of his siblings

-Despite his worry, Diavolo tried not to get involved in the aftermath either, believing it’s not his place to interfere and hoping they would solve it out amongst themselves

-He did give Mammon permission to miss RAD classes for that week, thinking a small break is what he needed most

-Even drops by every now and then to check up on him (he just asks you how he’s holding up because he doesn’t want to pry)

-He can’t do much but watch from the sidelines, I mean this is a family dispute so it would be wise to just give them all a bit of space

-If it drags on for too long, however, he will be forced to do something because the brothers are all distracted and can’t get on with their student council work because of it

-Lucifer is even more stressed than usual and can’t even focus during their meetings so for the sake of his friend, if nothing gets resolved quickly, he will intervene and it won’t be pretty

-For now, he’s counting on you to make sure there are no further incidents but it’s unlikely you can stop a train once it’s set in motion so just hope Mammon doesn’t come out of his room until he’s calmed down

Barbatos:

-The butler is a Time Lord so it’s probably no surprise to find out he already knew this was going to happen eventually

-Not like he believed Mammon was going to take his brothers’ insults for much longer anyway

-Being the quiet and observant demon he is, he’s been keeping a close eye on the Avatar of Greed knowing damn well he was going to lose his patience soon enough and go on the offence

-If he knew this was going to happen at such an important moment in time, he would’ve warned his majesty beforehand but he failed to see the potential catastrophe awaiting his breakdown

-Again, he has no right to intervene

-Unless, of course, Lord Diavolo asks him to do so but really the most he can do is give you tips on how to deal with miserable demons

-I mean, you’re the one that’s going to be stuck with them for the rest of the year and this isn’t the type of conflict that gets resolved too easily

-Barbatos is clever so if there is still bitterness between Mammon and his siblings after an amount of time passed, he might try to change timelines (with the permission of Diavolo)

-He’s had enough of Beel coming over to eat his cakes and cry about his older brother hating him (believe it or not, the butler is definitely a bit fond of the sixth eldest so his cries did pull at his heartstrings)

-Basically, in the same position as the Prince

-He relies on you to get them all to make up but he knows it’s not likely to happen any time soon

-For now, he’s getting ready for the chain reaction this fight set in motion because there was no easy way to end this, considering they’re all vicious demons and all

—————————————————————-

Al~ im mad I couldn’t add Simon, Luke and Solomon-I want to write for them too >:(

[annakie]

Mass Effect Trailer Thoughts

*EDIT* -- there are now TWO UPDATES to this post with additional screenshots, thoughts and theories, please check that one out! :) 

I wrote an unhinged disorganized post before... now I’ll attempt breaking things down in a much more logical way. :D

1) It’s basically confirmed that this is both the Milky Way and Andromeda in the same shot.

2) The audio is some actual and I think some fictional mix of communications -- 

“We know now that in the early years of the 20th century, this world was being watched” is from War of the Worlds

“Eagle Houston, you are go for landing, over” is from the moon landing.

“Arcturus Station, uknown vessel approaching, we need first contact protocols” would probably be new dialog from the First Contact War.

“Humanity now stands as partners in the galaxy” is likely new dialog from after the end of the FC war when humanity was accepted as a Citadel species.

“Ark Six is away, godspeed” is new dialog, likely a reference to the Andromeda Initiative.  There were six arks in the initiative.

3) This system isn’t in any of the first three games as far as I can tell -- and I logged into ME3 with the EGM mod wherein literally every system in all three games is used as extra content and looked at them all.  Anyone recognize it?

4) This is anyone’s guess but... possibly... what’s through the Omega relay?  the rings seem... very densely packed.

5)Two moons and a gas giant looking planet.  I don’t even want to hazard a guess.  The planet itself could look like Jupiter, but Jupiter has a lot more moons.

6) Then of course, we have the destroyed mass relay.

This comes with the dialog about taking down a dreadnaught, and (sensors?) are going crazy, and abandoning the ship, and then the REAPER SOUND.

Then “Is anyone receiving this?  We’ve lost contact.”

So all of this felt like traveling through time, and here we finish Mass Effect 3.

7) Then comes this image... which again, does not really look like any system recognizable in any of the games.

An indistinguishable female voice says something about Humanity (something like “Humanity is all the problems its faced”?  Maybe?) and a male voice... which sounds a little like Clancy Brown (Alec Ryder) to me, but... maybe I need to play through the Andromeda prologue again. 

The slight break in the action there may be accounting for the 600 years passing before Andromeda.

The break in the action could also mean it’s something in the future of what we’ve seen, something new.

8) Now, we come to this planet.

There are THREE MOONS...  and Alchera has three moons.  Maybe this is a coincidence.  Or maybe this is Alchera.  It seems oddly specific for them to show the three moons in sequence if there wasn’t a reason for it.

9) It’s confirmed that Liara is walking up a reaper here.  There ALSO appears to be a SECOND reaper in the background (look just above the sun, you can see reaper-like wires and follow that outline to see the other reaper’s legs.)

10) There appears to be more stuff, maybe N7 striped stuff, than just the fragment Liara picks up buried in the snow here.

11) This may be a part of an N7 helmet, but it can’t be Shepard’s N7 helmet.

You get the helmet as a reward for finishing the Alchera DLC in ME2 (so basically, Shepard brings it along after planting the monument), and although the part is similar on the side here, it’s definitely not the same.  This is Shepard’s helmet on the SR-2 in ME2, loaded it up and took the pics with flycam just to confirm.

14) That’s definitely a Salarian on the left and probably a Krogan on the right. Guesses for the center person... Human?  Turian?  Angaran? (Comedy answer: Javik?  Though we don’t know how long Protheans lifespans are so... hey!  Anything’s possible!)

13) Liara has crow’s feet and laugh lines -- she’s most likely much older in this trailer than we saw her last in ME3.  Perhaps... 600 - 700 years older?  Grunt would likely be the only other ME/2/3 companion still alive. (Wrex was alive to fight in the end of the Krogan Rebellion in 700 CE, if this is post-Andromeda that would place him at over 2000 years old, I don’t think Krogan lifespans are that long.  Drack is considered an old man at 1400.  But it could be possible.)

So my best theory right now aligns with what I’ve seen other people guess -- this game will take place sometime after Andromeda and serve to bridge the two galaxies, but how that happens and why Liara is retrieving a piece of broken N7 armor is anyone’s guess.  I have a few wildly unhinged theories myself. :D

[mino-diabolik]

[Admin!Danny: Too much fresh air getting into my head—🏃‍♀️]

Younger Tsukinami — Chaos Lineage

Headcanons & Part in the Story

Though Mystic and Kazuha were never meant to form part of the Adam and Eve plan, they were transported into the mess of a place where the three houses of families were, alongside Yui. Their memories are very vague, but they do recall their names and what they are, to the very least, as well as a few of the faces they see, but not what kind of relationships they have with them.

Mystic has the peculiar ability to make flashes of memories come back to the individual once he has managed to lay a hand on them.

In the beginning, they believe he is an undercover member of one of the other houses and begin accusing each other of whatever plan they have.

(I thought this would funny so) Because of the “majestic” aura Founders often carry, the boys strongly believe that perhaps it is Kazuha who is meant to be the Eve of the legend. She was much more fitting for the image they had of the “great Eve”, after all.

Her similar appearance to the head of the Violet Family thoroughly throws everyone off, but no one ever really exactly acts upon it. Not even this manages to get her father’s memories back.

In the end, Mystic and Kazuha escape out of the church with Yui in hand in the middle of the argument, believing it better to simply dip out and deal with that mess later.

It is clear by this point that they must think of a plan in order to keep themselves out of trouble (as much as possible). They aren’t able to brainstorm much when the families gather around them once again, who demand to know who they are.

By now, Kazuha acts upon the facts they have managed to gather and boldly states, “We are Eve’s guardians, you fools.”

Mystic quickly catches on to what she’s doing and also stands in front of Yui, alongside Kazuha, seemingly in a protective manner.

Reiji: There was never a mention of any of Eve’s guardians.

Kazuha: Of course there was none, you idiot. Though did you thoroughly believe getting your hands on Eve would be as simple as a small brawl and stick fight with the other families?

Reiji: …!

Ruki: That girl behind you… that must mean she is Eve.

Kazuha: Congratulations, Sherlock. You’ve guessed the bare minimum.

Ruki: …

Carla: What must be done to get Eve under our roof then? Beat you down? All of us against just the two of you? Are you trying to die?

Cue Kazuha sending a blast of magic that makes the nearest boys stumble back from the sheer force.

Mystic steps up and crosses his arms.

Mystic: Eve must choose one of us guardians. We will decide whose family it is that the Supreme Leader resides in. The other, meanwhile, will accompany the second closest family that sticks out.

Ayato: What will happen with the third family?

Mystic: You’ll be discarded as someone who are not even so much as worthy of being in the presence of Eve.

From here, the options point out:

↳ Go with Kazuha (Head into the Violet Household and Mystic goes with the Scarlet. The Orange Family will be the main “enemy” of the storyline, in this case.)

↳ Go with Mystic (Head into the Orange Household and Kazuha goes with the Violet. The Scarlet Family will be the main “enemy” of the storyline, in this case.)

Kazuha’s route would consist of Yui and her attempting to piece together what in the world in going on, while having to deal with the other members of the family. At some point, perhaps, she loses it a little and pounces on Yui. As it happens in the game, this awakens Yui’s memories. Kazuha does believe her, as she also has no memories or even a point of reference, and actually becomes quite embarrassed from her outburst. When told the Head of the Violet’s is her father, she doesn’t seem all that impressed. It was quite obvious they were related, somehow. Meanwhile, Mystic—having taken residence with the Scarlet—begins flashing back memories once he starts making contact with the brothers. Specially Kino, who most notably tries to approach him first. Suffice to say, it is Kino that unlocks Mystic’s memories.

Mystic’s route is not especially romantic (directed to Yui). There would certainly be moments for the sake of the story and fanservice. Aside from protecting Eve from the members of the Orange Family, he begins making contact with the brothers. While he definitely has an effect on them (after all, he has a story with many of them and one of them is quite literally his father) it is Ruki who seems the most effected by Mystic’s touch and the flashes of memories he receives, because… well, it’ll all make sense once I brave up to write for Dark Fate.

[Admin!Danny: That’s it for now lmao Not planning to make any routes at the moment but—🤸‍♀️✨✨✨]

[makeste]

but I just feel too tired to be fighting

this is a follow-up post to what I said in my recap the other day about this arc being the Deku Angst arc, as opposed to the Villain Hunt arc or the Deku SIXQUIRKS Exhibition arc. I feel like the fandom discussion tends to focus on the flashier parts of the chapters -- the sexy villains and the new quirk reveals and the Shindous -- each week, and so the quieter emotional beats sometimes get overlooked, especially since the character arc here is playing out in little bits and pieces over time rather than all at once.

this has always been a very reactionary fandom, and there’s a tendency to judge the chapters week to week without ever going back to look at how they all fit into the big picture. so I figured I would try to attempt that, and basically go chapter by chapter here to look at what exactly Horikoshi is setting up and how it all fits together.

so let’s start with the end of chapter 306, which is when the arc officially kicks off. specifically with the very last page:

this is imo one of the best pages Horikoshi has ever drawn. I got the sense that this was a scene he’d had in his mind’s eye for quite a long time, and that he was excited to finally get to this part of the story. it’s extremely effective as both a chapter-ender, and an arc-opener. like, look at this:

it establishes the initial premise of the new arc -- the world is in chaos, and Deku is now seemingly on his own

it leaves the readers with a number of questions. why did Deku leave U.A.?? is he really on his own now?? why does he look so beat-up and exhausted?? what is he up to?? what is the world like now that all these villains have been unleashed and the heroes have been decimated?? and most importantly of all, what the fuck is going to happen next??

it pays homage to some of Horikoshi’s comic book influences -- Batman in particular

it dramatically hits us with that “THE FINAL ACT BEGINS” and lets us know that shit is getting real now

that’s some good shit. so much so that I think people tended to overlook the other notable thing about this page amidst all of the initial excitement and discussion and speculation about where the series was headed. and that is the fact that the final panel in this chapter is NOT the panel of Deku standing above the city. the very last panel, the one that this chapter actually ends on, is instead the close-up of Deku’s face. his face, which is covered in shadow; and his eyes, which have dark circles under them and are prominently missing the usual flecks of light that give him his signature “sunny optimistic shounen protagonist” look.

not to mention this last line here, which is a call back to the very first time we saw the 14-year-old Deku way back in chapter one.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Horikoshi chose to throw this reference in. nor is it a coincidence that THIS is the scene he actually chose to end the chapter on. what this does is show us the drastic shift in Deku’s emotional state of mind, and his attitude towards being a hero. he’s gone from being thrilled and excited to being jaded and exhausted. he’s matured, but at a great cost. it’s always been his dream to be a hero, but “be careful what you wish for” is a popular adage for a reason. and right now he looks the furthest thing from happy.

and this is the emotional beat that Horikoshi chooses to end the chapter on. this is the panel that closes out the War arc, and begins the final act. to me the message could not be clearer -- this arc will be about the exploration of Deku’s character, and his struggle as he tries to live up to the expectations that have been placed on him as the Last Holder of OFA and quite possibly the World’s Only Hope.

it’s a character arc that builds on a lot of the things we’ve already learned about Deku over the course of the series, such as the fact that he is reckless, and that he focuses on others often at the expense of himself. but more importantly, it’s an arc that finally expands on the dark side of what has up until now been a net positive for Deku -- the power of OFA. up until this point, despite its ups and downs, it’s been a boon for Deku overall and has allowed him to pursue his dream. but now we’re finally reaching the point where the monkey’s paw part of the OFA blessing/curse finally starts to come into play. OFA gives Deku more power than he could have ever dreamed of, but it also comes with a built-in destiny that he can’t opt out of whether he likes it or not. AFO is on the loose and out there trying to destroy the world. and now everyone has pinned their hopes on this sixteen-year-old kid, and the question of whether or not the sixteen-year-old kid is ready is apparently not one that anyone feels inclined to ask (possibly because they’re afraid that the answer might be “no”).

he doesn’t have a choice in the matter. he has to do it, because there’s no one else who can. that’s the kind of pressure that is on Deku now.

and on that note, we begin the Deku Angst arc.

chapter 307

this in hindsight was mostly just a set-up chapter to better establish the current state of the BnHA world at large (spoilers: it’s not good), while also providing an answer for one of the big initial questions of the arc -- namely, “what happened to all of those villains that AFO released from Tartarus?” these are important things to touch on, but the pacing could definitely have been better, and the bulk of the chapter was dedicated to providing fanservice to all of the Shindou fans who spammed the most recent popularity poll (which, whatever lol). anyway, so this was the sole chapter thus far with absolutely no Deku development. thankfully the arc picks up from there.

chapter 308

on to the next one! this was the one and only chapter thus far which I think actually qualifies as an “exhibition fight.” this was definitely all about showing off Deku’s current powerset, as well as introducing us to another of the SIXQUIRKS. however, there was Deku development here as well, most notably in this scene:

this is the scene that got a lot of people speculating that this arc was going to focus on Deku hunting down all of the old villains. but I think people got so caught up in that speculation that they overlooked what this scene tells us about Deku’s mindset. and yes, there is new information being revealed here, and it’s not just a rehash of the stuff we already knew. like yes, we know that Deku was shaken up by the recent encounters with Dabi and Tomura, and we know that made him start questioning why villains become villains in the first place, and all that good stuff, and that’s great. however, there are two additional important things that this scene helps establish for us.

the upcoming battle with TomurAFO is weighing heavily on Deku’s mind. this is something that will become a recurring theme in this arc. Deku is thinking about this constantly. the question of what to do when he finally encounters TomurAFO again is knocking incessantly at the back of his mind, and this won’t be the last time it comes up.

Deku is using these villain encounters as test runs. can Tomura be redeemed?? is he just being stupid and naïve?? or is this really something worth attempting?? the interesting thing about this is that Deku’s resolve to save people is usually so strong and unwavering that it’s more than enough to overcome any doubts that he might have. but this time it seems like the repeated objections posed by the Vestiges and Gran Torino have really gotten to him. it’s possible I’m just reading way too much into things, but to me it really feels like Deku’s recent attempts at Talk no Jutsu were meant to do more than just show his growing awareness that the line between heroes and villains is thinner than he once imagined. they’re also serving as trial runs for the real test, when it finally comes. if he can “save” even a villain like Muscular, there’s hope for him being able to save Tomura as well. and so that moment when Muscular rejects him out of hand is all the more disappointing to him, even if it wasn’t really unexpected. basically it wasn’t the answer that he had been hoping for.

aside from those little notes though, like I said, this was unquestionably an exhibition fight first and foremost. which is fine; we needed to establish where Deku is currently in terms of strength, and it was also just fun to see him kick some ass, ngl. in terms of story purpose this chapter was similar to 219, which showed us how Shouto and Katsuki had powered up after getting their provisional licenses. people who don’t care about those characters might argue that these fights weren’t necessary, but as someone who stans all three characters hard, I would disagree! but anyways, moving on.

chapter 309

in contrast to the previous chapter, this chapter focuses more on establishing Deku’s current mental state, as opposed to his physical state. and this is what we learn:

(1) Deku is ~technically~ being shadowed/accompanied by All Might and the Hawksquad (but in practice he’s avoiding them).

(2) it was Deku’s own decision to leave U.A., and he did it because he didn’t want anyone else getting hurt in order to protect him.

and finally, (3) Deku’s game plan is to stop Tomura and All for One before they reach full power.

this last part is very important, because it means there’s a countdown in effect. as far as Deku is concerned, there’s only a finite amount of time before TomurAFO becomes unstoppable. which means that he’s not only under “gotta get stronger” pressure, but time pressure as well. he doesn’t have the luxury of taking his time and training in safety. he’s being rushed now; this is do-or-die.

this chapter is also the first in this arc in which we get to see Deku’s expressions without the hood covering up his face, and what we see is very telling. as previously stated, the light is gone from Deku’s eyes. he keeps his expressions very neutral, and the only time we even see a hint of a smile is when he hugs his mom in the flashback, and it’s clear from the dialogue (“it’s okay, I’ll come home to you”) that he’s doing it for her sake in order to comfort her.

but aside from that, this is very much not the Deku we’ve grown accustomed to. this is the chapter that really establishes his current mental state imo. above all else, he’s afraid that more people will get hurt because of him, and so he’s distancing himself from everyone around him. and he’s also morbidly preoccupied with the inevitability of having to face TomurAFO again, and soon. the chapter ends on the flashback of Gran giving him his cape, and telling Deku that “killing can be another way to save someone.” there’s a lot on this kid’s mind, to say the least.

chapter 310

this chapter opens with a gang of civilians who are trying to open fire on a nice fox lady whose only crime was walking around in the rain at night. Deku intervenes to save her, and it’s the first time in this arc that we see anything close to the “old” Deku, who just wanted to save people with a smile.

but it’s bittersweet, because all the lady can talk about is how scared she was, and how horrible everything is right now. and so Deku, who feels responsible in a lot of ways for everything that’s happened, just feels that much more pressure to somehow make things right again.

there’s also this extra throwaway line which is especially heartbreaking:

“I can’t afford to be around anyone.” fucking ouch. just reinforcing once more how incredibly isolated Deku is right now -- not by choice, but because he feels like it’s not safe to let anyone else get close to him. and so he’s out here running around this dystopian cityscape in the middle of the night in the pouring rain all on his own, and neglecting himself to the point where All Might practically has to force a bento on him.

but does he complain? of course not. because his focus is never on himself. instead, when he settles down to eat, his thoughts immediately drift back to, guess who...

it’s that time pressure once again. “unless I draw out One for All’s full power, I can’t stop any of this.” it’s just nonstop, I have to get stronger, I’m running out of time, I have to do better, and constantly thinking about that inevitable confrontation.

Deku is a thinker, you guys. and when left to his own devices he will overthink, every time. his mind will run in endless loops while he mentally works his way through all of the possibilities. and that’s one of his greatest strengths, don’t get me wrong, but at a time like this it’s also one of his greatest weaknesses. it’s just so fucking easy for him to get stuck in his own head, in his endless rambling thoughts and analyses. and without anyone else there to help distract him, or help him focus, he’s become fixated on his mission, and it’s slowly consuming him.

this, incidentally, is also the chapter in which we finally see Two and Three’s faces, and learn why Two in particular is so reluctant to lend his power to Deku. he appears to be the lone holdout at this point, so stay tuned on that, because I don’t doubt this will wind up being crucial to Deku’s future development, however it winds up playing out.

chapter 311

this chapter flips back to the Hawksquad for the first half, so we get a brief respite from the ongoing Dekuangst. right before we switch back though, we do get confirmation of something we had pretty much already guessed:

like, that much was already apparent based on what we’d seen (the bags under his eyes; the fact that he refused to sit still in any one place for very long even at night), but it’s always nice to get the official confirmation so that people can’t dispute it lol. so yeah, Deku isn’t sleeping much. and not eating much either, if all he’s getting is the occasional bento from Dadmight. so basically not taking care of himself at all, huge shocker there. but this is something that’s important enough to the story that Horikoshi took the time to point it out in the dialogue, in addition to all of the visual clues we’d already gotten.

and just in case we needed to drive that point in any further, this chapter ends with the appearance of Lady Nagant! like yeah, no shit Deku isn’t getting much sleep, what with him having to fend off racist civilians and hired assassins every five fucking minutes. smdh. can he live??

chapter 312

so this is the chapter that properly introduces Lady Nagant, who maaaay or may not be one of the primary antagonists of this arc?? like, it’s really unclear right now tbh, but she gets hyped up by Hawks and AFO, and has a flashback and a mysterious past and a weird trump card (where did you go, Overhaul) and all that good shit, so yeah? one can hope at any rate.

but anyway. so to his credit, Deku’s first thought is to retreat, but he quickly abandons that plan once he figures out Nagant’s location. this is played off like a logical strategic decision at first, but the subsequent chapter quickly makes it clear that Deku’s decision to take the fight to Nagant is less rational than he might have you think.

chapter 313

so yeah. last but not least, the most recent chapter, in which Deku’s real reason for targeting Lady soon becomes apparent:

what’s more, it quickly becomes clear that he miscalculated and probably would have been better off following Hawks’s advice, seeing as he promptly gets himself shot, and subsequently realizes that AFO gave Nagant an extra quirk, something he hadn’t taken into account. but instead of cutting his losses and running at this point, he doubles down instead and not only breaks out Smokescreen, but also the Third’s quirk which he has never even used before.

it’s worth noting that both En and the Third start telling him to chill at this point, and warn him that what he’s attempting is too dangerous. but tbh if they were expecting him to listen, they haven’t been reading the same arc I’ve been reading. once again, Horikoshi makes it clear that Deku has one thing and one thing only on his mind right now.

of course. once again it all comes back to this. hunt down AFO. it doesn’t matter that he’s exhausted. it doesn’t matter that he’s just been shot twice. it doesn’t matter that Hawks, despite knowing what Deku was capable of with his OFA abilities, specifically warned him away from this one person only. it doesn’t matter that even the Vestiges are trying to tell him you’re going too fast and you’re trying to do too much and it’s too dangerous.

he just doesn’t care. long story short, the only thing that matters to Deku right now is tracking down and defeating TomurAFO. and as the person who knows him best once so aptly put it, “he doesn’t take himself into account.” and therein lies the major challenge of this arc.

and so this is where we’re currently at now. and this has been a very long post, but if nothing else, I hope I was able to get this one point across: there is absolutely no way that Deku will be able to defeat TomurAFO as he is now. not a chance in hell. somehow he’s managed the uncommon feat of waging a war of attrition against himself, which is really quite an accomplishment. he’s not taking care of himself, and he’s refusing to listen to sound advice from the people surrounding him, and is trying to skip ahead to the final boss battle before he’s ready, because the guilt and pressure from feeling responsible for the current situation are eating him up. the only way that the world can go back to normal is if he can defeat AFO; therefore he has to do it as soon as possible, because time is running out and everyone is counting on him. this is who Deku is. and this is what inevitably happens when his saving mentality is taken to extremes, and left unchecked.

anyway so to wrap up this post now, I do think this arc is a lot more cohesive than it’s gotten credit for thus far, and Deku is the glue holding it all together. I for one am loving the exploration of his character and all the subtle little angsty touches as we build up to the big moment, whenever it finally comes. just keep in mind though that if his decisions right now seem reckless and short-sighted, it’s because they’re supposed to seem that way, because Deku is not in a good mental state right now. the cracks are finally showing in our perfect protagonist, just like everyone has been wanting this whole time. he is just a kid. he is doing his best. he is trying far too hard to do his best, and it is hurting him so badly, but he doesn’t even realize. this arc is not an endorsement of the Angsty Nomad Hero lifestyle, lol. it’s the exact fucking opposite, and I think it’s being wildly misinterpreted with all of the emphasis on “oh look at that, he mastered another quirk with no effort”, as opposed to “oh look at that, he is shutting down emotionally and is a few more missed nights of sleep away from a complete and total breakdown.”

tl;dr the overarching storyline of this arc is all about Deku slowly falling apart due to his trauma from Jakku, and the subsequent pressure that was put on him by the Vestiges with their whole “GUESS WHAT, YOU’RE THE LAST USER OF OFA, THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S ALL ON YOU BUDDY” pep talk. and mark my words, things are not going to go according to plan. something is going to go terribly wrong here. whether it’s something happening to All Might, or AFO setting up a trap for him, either way Deku is being set up to fail in a major way. unless of course, someone (or a group of someones) manages to intervene first, and possibly stage an intervention or something. it’s what he needs right now, but idk if Horikoshi is going to make it that easy.

anyway, but in other words, the point of this arc is not to show how much stronger Deku has gotten and how he doesn’t even need his friends anymore. it’s the exact opposite -- the point of this arc is to show that Deku needs his friends now more than ever. that in spite of OFA and all of its mystical trappings and fancy SIXQUIRKS, Deku can’t do this alone. he needs his friends. that’s the core message. and right now, we are at the “I can get by on my own” part of the story. and the part we are all waiting for, but which is coming -- I guarantee it is coming, you guys -- is “the thing is, you don’t have to.”

and that shit is going to slap hard you guys. and I for one can’t wait. but until then, enjoy the angst.

[j4gm]

TOGETHER AGAIN SPOILERS

A thread of lore, Easter eggs, episode connections, and background details from Adventure Time: Distant Lands: Together Again! Let me know if I missed anything! This is adapted from my original Twitter thread.

Keep reading ⬇️⬇️⬇️

1. I was expecting them to perhaps do a classic style title sequence for this episode, but I wasn't expecting them to straight up use the original title sequence. The only difference is this final screen saying "Distant Lands".

2. The background of the title cards is also the hill from the title sequence.

3. The ice cream having "50 flavours" and having an image of an enlightened soul is an obvious reference to the 50th Dead World as we see it later in the episode.

4. Continuing with the metaphor, the dirt in the ice cream could be a parallel to the fact that Jake's Nirvana actually wasn't perfect, because his inaction was allowing for injustice to perpetuate.

5. This whole scene feels immediately slightly off. Finn has his Scarlet sword and is out on a classic Ice King adventure, but he speaks in his grown voice and all the slang feels much more forced than it did in the real season one. Turns out this was deliberate.

6. The snow golem speaks with a baby voice like it did in the pilot episode, even though in canon it has a deeper voice. This further hints that something is not quite right.

7. The first major break in continuity is these snow golems resembling Uncle Gumbald and Peace Master, who Finn didn't meet until later in his life.

8. LSP sitting on Finn's head like this is reminiscent of Pen Ward's piece for the 2018 Ble crew zine.

9. Finn being given the choice of helping somebody but ending up helping everybody reminds me of "Memories of Boom Boom Mountain". It's the kind of resolution that wouldn't happen so much in the late seasons of the show, which helps make this scene feel even further out of place.

10. Jake is half frozen by Ice King in pretty much the exact same way as he was in "Prisoners of Love", and even has a very similar line.

11. The Snail is seen here. The crew have said that the Snail has been deliberately left out of previous Distant Lands specials, so its placement here is another very deliberate hint that this whole sequence is "trying too hard" to be like the early seasons.

12. The book "Mind Games" appears a couple of times, as seen in several previous episodes of Adventure Time. The first is as Finn is approaching the library in his dream. It also appears as one of the items in Finn's backpack later.

13. Jake is hurt when Finn fist bumps him with his metal arm, revealing that this scene is not real. This is also a callback to the title sequences of "Islands" and "Elements".

14. A whole bunch of familiar skeletons are seen in the bird's nest: Dirt Beer Guy, Abracadaniel, Me-Mow, Lemongrab, Mr. Pig, and the Snail again. This doesn't necessarily mean that all these characters are dead, since this scene is just a hallucination.

15. Old Man Finn! He's still got the chest tattoo of Jake, and this time we know that Jake is dead, so the theory that Jake died before "Obsidian" seems pretty likely. He looks similar to his old man design from "Puhoy", with the same facial hair.

16. There are several cameos of familiar characters who apparently died at the same time as Finn. The first is this duck, who previously appeared in "Ocarina".

17. The second is Donny, from the episode... uh, "Donny".

18. This goblin guy is an unnamed background character from “The Silent King”.

19. This old lady first appeared in "The Enchiridion", way back in season one. Old ladies are a species in the Land of Ooo, so I guess she wasn't actually very old back then, given she just about outlived Finn.

20. This is the cobbler who first appears in "His Hero". Amazing that he lived so long given all the trouble he got into in that episode.

21. Land of the Dead! This place was first seen in season two's "Death in Bloom", and now we are finally learning its actual purpose. It's a sort of gateway and hub to all of the other dead worlds.

22. There are some more minor cameos at the gates: a house person from "Donny", a soft person from "Gut Grinder", and a wood person from "When Wedding Bells Thaw". And, of course, the gate guardian himself from “Death in Bloom”.

23. Finn completely ignores the gate guardian in the same way he did in Death in Bloom. This also has the convenient effect of not having to reveal how Finn died, leaving it up to the audience's imagination.

24. Mr. Fox! We already knew he would die at some point because BMO had his skull in the finale.

25. Finn has his design from the first Distant Lands poster in this scene. Turns out it's young Finn in old Finn's clothes. But they gave him a shirt in the poster so you wouldn't be able to see the tattoo.

26. The clapping that Finn does while he's looking for Jake is a callback to "James Baxter the Horse", when Jake tells Finn to listen for that same rhythm if they are killed and need to find each other in the afterlife.

27. Mr. Fox talks about a "past life quotient", suggesting that there might be some kind of limit to how many times somebody can reincarnate. Finn's reincarnations are also seen in this scene; a callback to "The Vault", and confirmation that reincarnations share the same soul.

28. Boobafina, the goose who Mr. Fox was in love with in his debut episode “Storytelling”, apparently reincarnated into a tugboat. We've already seen that objects can have souls in the episode "Ghost Fly".

29. Finn is initially assigned to the 37th Dead World, which is the same one that Jake went to when he died in "Sons of Mars". We can only guess at what the other numbers on the ticket mean ;)

30. Tiffany! Despite several lucky escapes throughout his life, Tiffany has finally died. I like the use of this imagery to express Finn's conflicted feelings about him.

31. The 50th Dead World has long been established as the "highest" dead world, and the one synonymous with Heaven within Adventure Time's universe. It was first mentioned in "Ghost Princess" back in season three.

32. It's unclear what happens to souls which are destroyed within the dead worlds. It is a similar question to asking what happened to the ghosts that were killed in "Ghost Fly".

33. Death doesn't speak at all in Together Again because his voice actor, Miguel Ferrer, passed away in 2017 long before production began.

34. Finn phases through New Death when he tries to attack him, just like what happened way back in "Death in Bloom".

35. The 30th Dead World contains Tree Trunks as well as many of her love interests; Mr. Pig, her alien husband from "High Strangeness", Danny and Randy who first appeared in "Apple Wedding", and several more who we don't recognise, including at least one who presents as a woman.

36. Literally yelled when these two showed up. Joshua calls Finn a crybaby, which is a callback to "Dad's Dungeon".

37. The wall of weapons in Joshua and Margaret's house includes the iconic Demon Blood Sword, which was broken in "Play Date", as well as Margaret's auto-loading crossbow from "Joshua & Margaret Investigations".

38. Jermaine is sidelined a few times through the episode, in reference to his attitude in "Jermaine" where he feels that Finn and Jake were always their parents' favourites. I would have hoped things would be a bit better by now.

39. Fern gets name dropped while Finn and Jake are reuniting. A shame he doesn't actually show up in the episode.

40. In this scene, Finn says "What time is it?" This is a very subtle reference to the 2010 cartoon "Adventure Time".

41. In a couple of shots during this fight scene it looks like Jake might have a tattoo. It seems like it only becomes visible when he stretches out his arm.

42. New Death's amulet in this scene resembles parts of the Lich's cape, foreshadowing his influence on New Death.

43. There are several more cameos in the 50th Dead World: Booshy from "High Strangeness", one of the Marshmallow Kids from "Scamps", and Ghost Princess and Clarence, who were seen ascending to the 50th Dead World in "Ghost Princess".

44. Finn didn't interact with Booshy in "High Strangeness", but it seems they must have met at some point before they both died because Finn knows his name.

45. It seems like people in the 1st Dead World are slowly melted away until they become part of the landscape. Nasty.

46. Lots more cameos in this scene: a gnome from "Power Animal", a gnome from "The Enchiridion", a Bath Boy from "The Vault", Blagertha from "Love Games", Maja the Sky Witch, a troll from "Dungeon", Chocoberry, Choose Goose, Wyatt, a spiky person from "Gut Grinder", and possibly more.

47. Tiffany's insults are consistently nonsensical and amazing, as they were in the original series.

48. The Candy Kingdom looks extremely different. Peppermint Butler is wearing the crown so he might be in charge now, which is supported by the kingdom's very magical-looking augmentations. It’s not clear whether Finn and Jake were expecting to find Princess Bubblegum or Peppermint Butler, since both have the initials “PB” and both could be going by the title of “Princess”. Perhaps Peps and Bubblegum share the princess duties now that PB is living with Marceline more of the time.

49. Peppermint Butler has a "Boss" mug, although it's not the same colour as the one from "Obsidian".

50. Jake's ghost has the same design as he did when BMO killed him in "Ghost Fly". I also absolutely love Finn's ghost. This scene establishes that ghosts are just visitors to the mortal plane from the dead worlds.

51. Life has only appeared in animated shorts before now. Namely, "The Gift That Reaps Giving" which establishes her relationship with Death, and "Frog Seasons: Winter". This episode gives her a concrete place within Adventure Time's pantheon: she is in charge of reincarnation.

52. A translation of Life’s angry French dialogue by Shado: “After all I did for that boy. After all I did for him. No, it's not possible. It's not possible no, that... that makes me so mad but it's not possible.”

53. We finally have in-universe confirmation that Shoko's tiger is a previous life of Jake. This was previously confirmed by one of the writers, but wasn't canon until now.

54. I feel like Finn pulled off Shoko's look even better than Shoko did. I wonder whether Finn has gained the memories of his past lives now that he’s dead.

55. No Easter egg here, just want to appreciate this image.

56. There is an elemental symbol on the wall here, as seen in "Jelly Beans Have Power".

57. Tiffany's dramatic internal monologue is a recurring gag, as is his habit of nearly dying from falling into holes.

58. The Jake suit makes a cameo in the fight against New Death. It was last seen in the episode "Reboot”.

59. Finn's backpack contains a few familiar items: the t-shirt with the pocket from "It Came from the Nightosphere", Finn's underwear from "Little Dude" and other episodes, and a copy of Mind Games as I've already mentioned.

60. The Lich's Hand is present in the background of Death's... death scene. This is probably the unseen "friend" who New Death keeps talking about.

61. The Lich's menacing monologues often begin with a single command. Previously they have included "Fall" and "Stop". This time, the command is "Burn".

62. Jake uses the word "boingloings", which is a callback all the way to "Hitman" in the third season.

63. Jake's blue shape-shifter form from "Abstract" appears very briefly during his fight with Finn.

64. Finn's lumpy space person form also makes an appearance. This design was last seen all the way back in the second episode of the entire show, "Trouble in Lumpy Space".

65. Jake steps on the Lich's hand in a very similar way to how he stepped on Ash in "Memory of a Memory", which is itself a Monty Python reference.

66. The credits include a dedication to a few AT cast and crew who have passed away. Polly Lou Livingston was the voice of Tree Trunks. Miguel Ferrer was the voice of Death. Michel Lyman and Maureen Mlynarczyk were both sheet timers on the original series. Rest in peace.

67. The message that Finn and Jake write out on the ouija board is "BUTT", which Peppermint Butler takes as a distress signal. This message is also used as a distress signal by the Hot Dog Knights in "The Limit".

68. Peppermint Butler's reversed dialogue from the scene where he makes contact with Finn and Jake is "Kee-Oth Rama Pancake", the spell from “Dad's Dungeon” for banishing demons.

69. That appears to be President Porpoise with all of Tree Trunks’ other lovers.

70. In this scene, Life is humming part of "Lonely Bones", the song which Death tried to record for her in her debut short "The Gift That Reaps Giving". It's hard to notice because it's so brief.

71. Finn and Jake's cover is blown while in the Land of the Dead because Jake loudly farts, which also happened in "Death in Bloom".

72. The place where Mr. Fox explains the perception mechanics of the afterlife is the exact same location as the River of Forgetfulness from "Death in Bloom", which, as it turns out, was imaginary.

These are sort of out of order at the end because I was adding stuff to the Twitter thread as it got discovered. That’s all for now!