#toads official works | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

primnroses · 6 months ago

Text

— An insight about summons: Katsuyu, the slug of the Shikkotsu Forest

The information presented in this post has been checked and revised. My aim is not to hate or to discredit any of the characters mentioned. Please read about me for further information.

This post will contain evidence in picture format directly from the manga Naruto (1999 - 2014) created by Masashi Kishimoto and published by Shueisha in 1999. I will also use information from the official databooks of Naruto.

This informative post will analyze the concept of animal summons in the world of Naruto and highlight Katsuyu’s unique abilities throughout the series providing evidence. This meta will also mention other animal summons from the Three-Way Deadlock. I will not use information present in the novels because there is none.

This meta is crossposted in AO3.

I give my permission to use or share this thread with informative purposes as long as you credit me.

I do not support the anime or the work of Studio Pierrot in regards to Naruto because I consider it over exaggerated and beyond biased. Furthermore, these fillers include some actions that these characters are unable to do in the canon according to official sources and they also generate unnecessary debate.

Please, take this into consideration.

Katsuyu, also known as Katsuyu of the Shikkotsu Forest, is a giant slug from the Shikkotsu Forest, a secret and legendary place from the Three Unexplored Sage Regions (仙人三大秘境, Sennin Sandai Hikyō).

The Three Sage Unexplored Regions according to the Fourth databook.

She is the personal summon of the Fifth Hokage Tsunade, and later, her disciple Sakura Haruno; both women are probably the only people in the world that have been able to summon the slug.

Katsuyu possesses one of the most unique qualities and abilities among animal summons, most of which are still a mystery within the series.

— WHAT IS A SUMMON AND ANIMAL SUMMONS?

A summon is the ability to invoke objects, weapons, people or animals. This action is carried out through a Summoning Technique (口寄せの術, Kuchiyose no Jutsu), a special hand seal based jutsu to transport any element to the user’s location for a limited amount of time.

A Summoning Technique is classified as a space-time ninjutsu and a C-Rank (chūnin level) difficulty jutsu.

Summoning Technique according to the First databook.

Usually, in order to summon objects or weapons, users apply scrolls or special sealing techniques to contain the desired material. This is the case of Tenten, for example; she uses scrolls to seal multiple kunai, shuriken and any weapon of her choice, granting her the title of “Master of space-time ninjutsu”.

However, for animals and living creatures, this is different.

An animal summon is a technique that adds to the ninja’s ninjutsu repertoire, as a shinobi can take advantage of the animal’s abilities for battle or other purposes.

Before any animal can be summoned, the animal and the user must sign a contract with the species or the specific creature using their blood. In order to summon said animal, the user applies some of their blood, normally by biting their fingers, and channels their chakra to their hands thus invoking a sealing pattern that transports their summon to that same location. The amount of chakra used to summon the creatures determines the size and number of summons.

The summoning contract of the Toads of Mount Myōboku, Naruto chapter 92.

In the case of the Three Unexplored Sage Regions, the summoning contracts vary.

Naruto Uzumaki Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze sealed a contract with the toads of Mount Myōboku using their own blood, so when they perform a Summoning Technique, any available toad can offer their services to them.

Orochimaru has his contract with the snakes of the Ryūchi Cave tattooed on his arms. The methods his disciple Sasuke Uchiha uses to summon snakes from the same location is unknown.

Tsunade and Sakura Haruno do not have a physical contract, or at least it has never been revealed. However, by reading the manga, the contract with the Shikkotsu Forest might be through their Strength of a Hundred Seal, as it is only possible to summon Katsuyu if the summoner possesses this seal.

It is unknown if there is a blood contract involved, but it is likely that there is since the method of summoning is blood like his companions.

Orochimaru's contract Naruto chapters 165 and 344.

— KATSUYU AND HER ABILITIES, WHAT MAKES HER SPECIAL?

Katsuyu is a very intriguing and interesting animal and the only one whose past has never been explored.

Summon’s habitats and the Three Unexplored Sage Regions are home to a single species of animals.

The Ryūchi Cave is home to snakes such as the White Snake, Manda or Aoda, and Mount Myōboku is home to toads like Gamakichi, Gamamaru or Gamabunta.

But, unlike those, Katsuyu is the only organism living in the Shikkotsu Forest. She does not have any other slug companions.

Following the same scheme as the rest of summons, Katsuyu resembles a real slug.

She is white or ivory in color, with three turquoise stripes running on her head and sides that start on her head and end in her tail.

One special feature about her appearance is that her true size has never been seen. Using one summoner, Katsuyu is bigger than the Hokage Residence, and using two summoners, Katsuyu is the size of the roots of the God Tree, which is just one tenth of her real size according to Tsunade.

Katsuyu's size summoned by one person or two, Naruto chapters 422 and 650.

Her size changes depending on the amount of chakra used to summon her. She can appear as a small slug used to gather intel or help in supplementary tasks, or she can appear as a giant creature using one or two summoners.

Small Katsuyu summoned to assist Headquarters Naruto chapter 561.

Her age is a true mystery. It is known that toads and snakes live many years and have descendants, such as Gamabunta and Gamakichi’s father and son relationship, or Aoda having great grandchildren; or certain summons retiring when they reach an age while their companions or children replace them.

The Three Unexplored Sage Regions are legendary places known for many generations.

Katsuyu, on the other hand, is the only inhabitant of the Shikkotsu Forest. She does not have descendants or companions in her home habitat. Her age or her true origins are a mystery. The first shinobi to discover her existence or previous masters before Sakura Haruno and Tsunade are also unknown.

The first and most important thing to point out is that Katsuyu can only be summoned by users of the Strength of a Hundred Seal. This seal is an extremely difficult jutsu to learn and achieve, so there have only been two summoners in history.

The reason for this is that Katsuyu is such an enormous animal that it requires an immense amount of chakra to summon, and that chakra is stored inside the seal.

Tsunade and her disciple Sakura Haruno are the only beings able to summon Katsuyu Naruto chapter 650.

The primary skill Katsuyu has is the ability to divide herself in many fragments, hundreds or thousands of them in fact. This technique is called Slug Great Division (蛞蝓大分裂, Katsuyu Daibunretsu) and it can be used for supplementary purposes, as well for battle.

In a fight, thanks to her rapid ability to transform her body and divide herself, she can separate herself to nullify attacks by avoiding any strike at incredible speeds. She can do this as many times as she wants without exhaustion. Each of these fragments are also quite fast, able to throw themselves in front of people to shield them from danger.

Manda trapping Katsuyu but she escapes Naruto chapter 170 and Second databook.

She also has the ability to spit a sticky and elastic acid, a jutsu called Tongue Tooth Sticky Acid able to melt stones and vaporize everything it touches (probably senjutsu although never truly revealed). It is also very difficult to dodge due to its unpredictable nature.

Slug acid, Naruto chapter 170 and Second databook.

Unlike Shadow Clones or other regular clones that are independent from each other and are not interconnected, what Katsuyu does is divide her own body in equal parts, so she is in as many places as she wants at once. She is one entity divided into many other independent and interconnected parts while remaining one single body. Each of her divisions behaves like their own person, so she can complete different tasks while also knowing what her other parts are doing in other places.

Being the summon of medical ninjas, Sakura Haruno and Tsunade take advantage of Katsuyu’s ability to divide herself in order to channel their healing chakra and treat as many people as necessary.

With a technique called Immense Network Healing (蛞蝓・網療治夥, Katsuyu: Mōryōjika), Katsuyu collects chakra from the Strength of a Hundred Seal to transform it into healing chakra and treat the injured.

Using the Great Division and Immense Network Healing in tandem, Katsuyu has the ability to heal and protect everyone she makes contact with. Healing any kind of injury or absorbing people inside her in order to shield them from attacks or sudden explosions is her specialty. Her body is able to resist explosions and even Kurama's corrosive chakra.

Katsuyu divides her body and heals the Alliance Naruto chapter 634 and Fourth databook.

In fact, Katsuyu's power is not only limited to healing wounds, but regeneration too. One of her most impressive feats is the ability to maintain a patient in suspended animation, keeping them alive for as long as she possesses chakra from the seal in order to ensure their survival.

Katsuyu was able to keep Tsunade alive despite having her body bisected, which on normal circumstances, would mean instant death. However, the slug's regenerative abilities allowed Tsunade to remain alive until she obtained a chakra boost from a third party. This fact is known as Tsunade does not really present the unique Uzumaki Clan ability to keep themselves alive for as long as possible.

Katsuyu kept Tsunade alive despite having her body cut in half, an impressive feat Naruto chapter 635.

This jutsu also acts as a sensing technique due to Katsuyu being connected to the chakra of the injured in order to heal them and her master. Katsuyu is able to relay Kakashi Hatake and Chōza Akimichi’s conditions to Tsunade through their connection, as the slug is connected to the Strength of a Hundred Seal; as well as being able to tell Sakura that Kurama’s chakra was still connected to the Allied Shinobi Forces.

Katsuyu can transmit the chakra levels and the condition of everyone she is in contact with Naruto chapter 427.

This way, Katsuyu was able to protect Konoha’s citizens from Pain’s Shinra Tensei and even survive Kurama’s toxic chakra.

Able to be in many places at once, her ability to cover infinite distances while her parts remain interconnected allows her to fulfill communication and intel gathering roles. Being in many places and her clones being part of the same body, Katsuyu relays information to one person or multiple people, something she could do by attaching herself to someone’s shoulder and speaking.

It was Katsuyu the one giving Naruto Uzumaki information about Pain and also told him that Nagato had revived Konoha citizens through the clones that stayed in the village, kept every villager informed about the situation and followed evacuation protocols when Naruto transformed into six tails, and told Tsunade everything that was happening in the battlefield thanks to having another body summoned by Sakura on the other side of the country, and vice versa.

Sakura instructing Katsuyu to evacuate the area through the multiple clones Naruto chapter 438.

This communication ability can cover immense ground at once because the communication is instant. It works similar to regular telepathy, but instead of hearing the other person's voice in their head, people are talking to Katsuyu, and Katsuyu in turn is actually talking to herself through her clones.

Katsuyu's clones on different parts of the Land of Lightning tell Tsunade and Sakura the events that have taken place on both ends Naruto chapters 635 and 647.

An animal summon can only perform at the top of their abilities for a limited amount of time, what is known as the summoning time limit.

It is unknown exactly how long the invocation lasts, or whether it varies between animals. A summon will help its master before the jutsu runs out or the summon has exhausted its power.

Gamakichi mentions the summoning time limit Naruto chapter 642.

However, for Katsuyu, this is not the case.

The slug can be summoned for unlimited periods of time and several times a day, as seen when Katsuyu spent the Fourth Shinobi World War by Tsunade’s side in the Headquarters, primarily helping Shikaku Nara and participating in the planification of the troops, and later with the Five Kage against Madara and Sakura with the Allied Shinobi Forces.

This could be explained by the symbiotic bond Sakura and Tsunade share with Katsuyu through the Strength of a Hundred Seal.

The seal stores unimaginable quantities of chakra inside, which are used by Katsuyu to perform healing on people. As long as Katsuyu has been transmitted every drop of chakra in the seal, she will continue her work, as seen when Tsunade gave the slug all the chakra inside her Byakugou to the point it disappeared but Katsuyu physically remained in Konoha until her services were no longer needed.

Tsunade's Byakugou disappears but Katsuyu still serves her purpose as a summon to evacuate Naruto chapter 430.

Still, like any other summon, Katsuyu can be exhausted from battle and disappear. When the Ten Tails absorbed the chakra of every shinobi in the battlefield as the Kurama Chakra Cloak, every Katsuyu fragment attached to them was also absorbed and vanished, but the main body remained intact protecting Sakura Haruno form the tree.

Katsuyu's clones disappeared absorbed by the God Tree Naruto chapter 647.

— THE PERFECT SUMMON?

Katsuyu is very different from the rest of summons.

From the immeasurable amount of chakra it requires to summon her, to her multiple multitasking and supplementary abilities and her mysterious origins, Katsuyu might be the perfect summon and the strongest animal summon of Naruto and Boruto.

Her ability to divide herself in thousands of fragments, a body and chemical composition resistant to blasts that can reshape her own state, no summoning time limit, outstanding healing and regeneration factor, the unlimited wide range communication she offers, acidic attacks, useful to gather intel by herself and turn small enough to offer battle assistant, and a sensory connection with her master and other people she is attached to.

Katsuyu is the ultimate creature.

Without a doubt, the most essential ally in desperate times. A valuable help in case a village is being attacked by powerful enemies that threaten to destroy everything around them, Katsuyu is the only weapon able to protect thousands of people from any attack and offer assistance while in contact with her master and everyone she is with.

Thanks to her, every Konoha villager that had not been killed by the Pain Paths previously could survive the Shinra Tensei explosion that destroyed Konoha, which later allowed the surviving shinobi to handle evacuations, as well as allow Naruto to obtain intel about Pain and Nagato or be told that Konoha's villagers were revived.

Katsuyu is an unrivalled intel summon Naruto chapters 431 and 449.

She was also the main link of communication between the Headquarters and the two different fronts of the war, Five Kage and Allied Shinobi Forces, and the reason why the Five Kage survived the fight despite their fatal injuries.

Lastly, it was also Katsuyu who protected the Allied Shinobi Forces against the roots of the God Tree, saving a large portion of the shinobi from death, and later offered a healing area for their future fight against the Kanzeon Lotus King.

— CURRENT WHEREABOUTS.

Ever since the death of Madara Uchiha, Katsuyu has not been summoned again.

With no threats to the destruction of Konoha or the need to establish connections between battlefields, Katsuyu was not summoned in the Blank Period.

In Boruto, Katsuyu’s debut is strictly linked to Sakura’s appearances: if Sakura does not appear, neither does the slug. This is something that is hard to fathom considering that the village has been exposed to explosions, invasions and multiple deceased shinobi ever since the start that could be prevented by Katsuyu like previous times.

Katsuyu appeared in the anime arc “Kawaki and Himawari in the Academy” where the students had to put on a play about the Sannin and Kawaki dressed as Katsuyu.

Kawaki representing Katsuyu in Boruto episode 267.

73 notes · View notes

rvbrebooted · 1 month ago

Text

I think it's time I posted our business plan on here. But first I want to say that my LLC is Rancher Toads

Warner Brothers owns the Red vs Blue IP which is a big hurdle, but someone bigger than them owns HALO. Microsoft and Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries). I bet Halo Studios is looking for a HALO show that works. Red vs Blue can be that show. It has over a decade of success, started a new form of animation, is an established IP, and has a massive fan base wanting more. But first we need to open a path with Microsoft and Halo Studios. However, we will not rely on Microsoft to be more than a sponsor and partner. Having a bigger parent company owning our smaller studio is too risky. My plan is:

Depending on how much Warner Media will be selling the rights for, we may need Microsoft to help get the rights back from Warner Media, which will cost them a pretty penny. But it will be a wise investment as they will get product placement, a percentage of profit, free advertisement for HALO, a successful HALO based show, and a good PR campaign about supporting creatives. Another financial bonus for them may be that when big companies take on some debt, it helps them pay even less in taxes. Which will save them money.

Meanwhile, to pay for operation costs and possibly even getting the rights back, we will do a Kickstarter. Death Battle got funded within a day of their campaign. They set their goal as $75,000 (USD), and by the end of it they made $740,000 (USD)! I have no doubt that Red vs Blue can reach its goal and continue operations. Reward items and future merchandise is a strong suit for my company, Rancher Toads.

Rancher Toads was originally founded when things regarding Rooster Teeth and making animated shows started to change. We want to make the animations that we originally would have pitched to Rooster Teeth. But- Animation is a labor intensive art form, and expensive. This is why we call our business model a reverse hasbro- We sell toys to make animation. (They infamously are known for “Make animation to sell toys”.) Our in house merch includes:

Mod Mods

Short for “Modification Models”, these figurines are posable, interchangeable, and extremely customizable. We want to do Red vs Blue and Halo batches, while providing custom Halo armor options so fans can make their own personal armor. Then with the interchangeable aspect, fans can also make their face claims of who is under the helmet.

Sewed’s Boutique

Sewed’s Boutique is more for fabric based fashion, such as bags, cosplay parts, and the like. A few concepts we have worked on that combine Red vs Blue and Sewed’s Boutique include: An Agent Washington helmet purse that is a 2D front facing image of Wash’s helmet. A Kaikaina “Sister” Grif Cheerleader bag. A Felix helmet purse that is a 2D front facing image of his helmet.

Corrode’s Armory

Corrode’s Armory is an offshoot of Sewed’s Boutique, where we sell more armor and weapon based merchandise. We would love to produce an official HALO armor line. Reasonably, it will start with HALO helmets. The plan is to have them made from two (2) sturdy, yet thin, resin molds. One for the helmet, and one for the visor.

I bring up using resin as I plan to use high quality alternatives to plastic when it comes to armor and figurines. Ridding plastic in all fabrics will be an uphill battle later to come.

Merchandise is not the only thing we want to be involved in when it comes to hopefully continuing Red vs Blue. We want to be involved in the writing. We see Red vs Blue having a canon map that looks like a subway map, or the Hyrule timeline. Our contribution to this messy, but organized, canon map is what we like to call- Red vs Blue ReBooted.

This will take place after Wash was shot, and instead of going on an adventure, the Reds, Blues, and Carolina stay beside Wash as he recovers on Chorus. In a way, it echoes the ending of Season 17, while leaving the canon of Seasons 16 and 17 in the air. We have much more planned out but legally, this proposal will not cover the majority of storyline ideas. But we will say we do have plans for both Meta Tucker and Zero to have proper stories.

We also want Miles Luna to have his chance to make a Mercs spin off series. While Luna has adopted an idea for Felix and Siris from one of our members, we want/plan Miles Luna to have majority creative control on his series.

Shisno Tales, a Red vs Blue anthology. This would be a perfect spot for officially making the Red vs Blue plays Among Us episode. We and our Amphibian Allies have a lot of episode ideas written down and even completed scripts. Shisno Tales will include different animators and forms of animation.

Project Freelancer Remembered. A spin off of seeing Project Freelancer’s early days and how close the Freelancers were before the mind games started.

Blue vs Pink is my own little talking in a box canyon idea. I plan to keep it in Shisno Tales. As there are a lot of show ideas being pitched here. It deals more with gender and sexuality. As Pink Team represents femininity, and Blue Team represents masculinity.

Locus Redemption. A space western. Not in the way that Firefly was, but Locus traveling around the universe trying to make things right after Chorus. A show the reds and blues will make cameos in. I see this as a true M rated show. One thing I want to put in this show is to highlight even more corruption of the UNSC. Specifically, where Locus is out in little known Outposts, that the UNSC is dead serious about occupying, even with great harm to the people originally there.

Circling back to the Mod Mods, the dream is to have these customizable figurines be building blocks for Mod Mod Media. Which would include a life simulator game, a more contained scenario game, and animated crossovers. We imagine most of the crossovers would be like Cartoon Network City bumpers from the 2000’s. But we dream even bigger to make Mod Mod Movies. Especially a Red vs Blue & RWBY crossover, as there should be one. But also to show while owned by different companies, they will always be sister shows. Then of course ones with our own original IPs, I see these as a love letter.

Nothing Rancher Toads plans to do is a cash grab. Bringing back IPs and expanding them is an act of creative love. We are not ready for goodbye, and neither should the creatives who put so much love into it. So please, take us seriously and let us work together. Thank you.

#rancher toads #red vs blue rebooted #RvB #Mercs #red vs blue #project freelancer #rvb locus #RvB wash #Shisno Tales

21 notes · View notes

tootoomanycats · 5 months ago

Text

CHAPTER 1 - That Bastard (A Kakashi x Reader Romance)

Summary: Kakashi is tasked with investigating a visitor whose peculiar behavior reveals deep grief over Jiraiya's recent death. Over three days, Kakashi discovers you are the beloved author of a series he has eagerly awaited updates on for over a year. Struggling with writer's block since losing your friend, the unexpected interaction sparks a connection that rekindles inspiration. As you both navigate the shared sorrow and newfound romance, its stands to be realized that healing and creativity may be closer than you imagined.

Warnings for THIS chapter: None

Master List

Pairings: Kakashi/Reader hinted at past Jiraiya/Reader

Word Count: 1,965 Words

Ao3 Link

Warning for this Story:

Reader is a smutty romance author

There will be smut

There will also be hate on Icha-Icha, trust me its for the plot

Please note that mention of Jiraiya's death is talked about, but its not super angsty. Think more comedy and light heartedness.

It is not specified what sexual power dynamics will happen during the smut.

Authors Notes: I want to start off by saying that the death date for Jiraiya is not something I just randomly chose, but is the date that “Episode 133: The Tale of Jiraiya The Gallant” was release on October 29th 2009 for viewers to be absolutely heart broken over. As hard as I tried to hunt for a last name, it seems that The Great Toad Sage was appropriate at coming up short for a real last name. Secondly yes there is smut in this story and it will have its own entire chapter. I am practicing on writing short stories and I hope to make this story happen in three chapters! So hold on to your hats folks because chapter two is where the fun and tension begins! Also please remember that fanfic authors live off of Likes, Kudos and Comments filled with conversation and praise. Have you fed your author today?

Chapter 1 - That Bastard

The receptionist nervously pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, the lenses reflecting the harsh fluorescent lights of the office. Her fingers trembled slightly as she handled the certificate, her eyes darting between the official document and your anxious face. The confused expression you wore made it clear that the news you were about to receive was entirely unexpected.

“I’m sorry, miss,” she said softly, her voice tinged with sympathy. “He passed just last year.�� With a sad sigh, she extended the document towards you, her gaze dropping to avoid your eyes.

You scoffed in disbelief, gripping the certificate tightly, your knuckles whitening as you shot an exasperated look at the young woman behind the desk. Sure, it had been months since you last received a letter from him, but for him to go through all this just to avoid his work and you? It seemed absurd, even for him. He had always been elusive, skirting responsibilities and commitments, but faking his own death? That was a new low. You could already imagine the confrontation: finding him and giving him the earful of the century for this elaborate ruse.

But as your eyes drifted down to the neatly typed words on the paper, a chill ran down your spine, freezing you in place. The breath caught in your throat, and the room seemed to blur around the edges as you read the stark, unyielding truth.

There it was, in bold, unforgiving letters accompanied with the coroners official stamp sealing the grim reality:

Jiraiya ‘The Great Toad Sage’

Birth: November 11 Death: October 29th

You read it, and then reread it.

Your hands clenched the edges of the stiff paper, the rough texture and filigreed corners confirming its authenticity. The coroner's red stamp and the doctor's signature beneath it further solidified the harsh reality. Desperately, you scanned the document for any clue, any sign that it wasn't real, that this was some elaborate mistake.

In the end, it was fruitless.

He was gone.

Your muscles twitched, starting with your upper lip, causing the skin on your nose to wrinkle slightly. Your eyebrows furrowed harshly, deepening the lines you so hated in the middle of your forehead. The sound of your teeth clenching and the click of your jaw echoed through your head, reverberating painfully in your mind. In a swift motion, you looked up at the ceiling, refusing to let the stinging tears fall. As the square and dotted ceiling tiles came into focus, you took a long, deep breath before screaming out.

"THAT BASTARD!"

It was the receptionist's gasp that jolted you back to reality. A quick glance over your shoulder revealed a line of people had formed, their shocked expressions mirroring her own. Embarrassment burned at the tips of your ears as you handed back the paper, mumbling a quick apology before turning to leave the office building. If asked, you would lie and say you walked calmly to the doors you had entered through, but the truth was you ran so fast you were sure an outline had been left behind where you had stood.

The sliding doors opened to reveal a sun glaring down from its high, centered position, large, beautiful white clouds climbing into the stratosphere and sprinkling across the sky. A cool, light breeze carried the scent of blooming wildflowers planted around the streets, where butterflies fluttered lazily. It really was the most perfect-looking day.

"What a shit day to find out your friend’s dead," you grumbled, kicking at a loose pebble on the sidewalk. "Should be raining, dark, and freezing cold. How is someone supposed to mourn in this?"

—

It had been hours since you found out he was gone, and in that time, you had managed to get quite a few steps in. You walked the entire perimeter of the village three times, wandering into multiple retail shops like an apparition. Dragging your feet around and back out to the streets, you missed the uncomfortable glances from shop workers each time you reentered, your pale skin, swollen eyes, and red nose telling the story of your grief.

It was only when the ache in your feet grew too loud to ignore that you finally looked up from the ground. The moon had started to rise, casting a soft glow as the sky darkened into night, and a few stars blinked into view, timidly announcing their presence. Throughout the long walk, you had oscillated between softly sniffling and bawling your eyes out, depending on how populated the area was around you.

A particularly large sniffle brought a warm, aromatic smell wafting into your numbed senses, causing a growl to resonate from your stomach. With that one sense coming back to life, it felt as though the rest of your body seized the opportunity to make its grievances known. A headache, born of dehydration and hunger, throbbed from the base of your shoulders up into the juncture where your neck bones met your skull. The pressure in your sinuses only added to the headache's intensity. Your knees creaked with each step, and sharp pain shot through your shins.

Turning your head, you followed your nose toward the source of the enticing smell. You found a small ramen stall with only six bar seats, all of them empty. Your body moved before your mind registered what was happening, and you found yourself sitting in the low light of the intimate stall. The ache in your feet lightened as you settled onto the soft, well-worn cushion of the seat, the leather creaking gently under you as your hips adjusted to a more comfortable posture.

Having a moment before someone from the back noticed a customer, you took the opportunity to lean both elbows on the bar and unceremoniously plopped your tired, puffy face into your open palms. A groan formed in the back of your dry throat as the pressure from your hands helped alleviate some of your persistent headache. You rocked your skull up and down, the motion dragging and pulling at the overly tight muscles of your brow, cheeks, and jaw, coaxing them to relax slightly.

“Welcome In!”

An overly cheerful voice caught you off-guard. Peeking between your index and middle fingers, you saw a simple menu being held out for your perusal. It listed only three basic ramen bases, accompanied by a longer list of sides and extras that could be added on. Sitting up straight, your back popping and cracking as it straightened, you gently reached out to accept the menu and examined it further. Glancing up at the older gentleman who had handed it to you, you offered a grateful nod. It must have been painfully obvious how exhausted you appeared, judging by the sympathy in his smile before he turned back to his ingredient preparations.

Returning your focus to the menu, your shoulders slumped at the reflection staring back from its laminated surface. Raccoon-like makeup streaked from runny mascara, with red, puffy eyes peering out from beneath the smudged lines that once neatly adorned your eyelashes. Lips cracked and parched from dehydration framed a deep-set frown that seemed permanently etched on your face. Dear god. Even the meticulously styled hair you had spent hours on that morning now resembled a rat's nest.

You were definitely not looking forward to trying to untangling that later.

Another growl rumbled from your stomach, louder this time, making its presence known to those nearby. Sitting down seemed to intensify the sensation of hunger, especially being so close to the source of that tantalizing aroma, which only amplified your craving.

Turning back around, the worker asked if you were ready to order, and without hesitation, you placed your order: an extra-large bowl with double portions of ramen, soaked eggs, cheese, and noodles. The man nodded approvingly and swiftly went to work, knowing you needed the food desperately.

Once the steaming bowl of nourishment was placed in front of you, you attacked it with ferocity. The hot broth warmed your insides, and the new influx of calories and nutrients began to revive your depleted body. As you ate, tears welled up once more, dripping into the broth below, mixing with the savory flavors.

Kakashi remained perched in the tree just behind Ichiraku Ramen, silently observing the individual he had been ordered to track. The briefing with Tsunade had been brief and to the point, providing minimal information gathered so far. A few shop workers had voiced concerns about a suspicious person entering their shops multiple times throughout the day, raising fears of a potential thief. Additional updates from the front gate security confirmed sightings of a woman walking the village perimeter around the same time as the suspicious guest at the shops.

With most other ninja occupied on missions or assisting with preparations for a possible attack, there were only a few available to gather more intelligence and determine whether this person posed a threat to the village's safety. Kakashi sighed, recalling how the Hokage had emphasized his role in handling this assignment. The others available were still in training, yet to embark on their first mission.

So far, the person in question had appeared to be a mess, but Kakashi had yet to observe any signs of truly worrisome behavior other than the constant crying.

Even while eating.

Kakashi watched from his perch as you placed a significantly larger sum of payment onto the table, easily three times the price of the meal. You were speaking with Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku Ramen, who bowed repeatedly and tried to return the excess money. With an exhausted smile, you shook your head and instead asked a question that the ninja couldn't make out. Teuchi responded while pointing in a specific direction, waving kindly as you began to walk down the empty, dimly lit street as directed.

The night had settled over the village, casting long shadows and a quiet stillness broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves in the breeze. The usual night time sleepiness made itself know as he adjusted his position in the tree, body starting to protest keeping still for too long. All while keeping a careful eye on you.

The empty streets amplified every sound – the soft shuffle of your footsteps, the distant hoot of an owl, the creak of a sign swaying in the breeze. Kakashi shadowed you discreetly, blending into the darkness with practiced ease. He noted the way you glanced around nervously, as if expecting shadows to come to life.

As you turned another corner, Kakashi's keen senses picked up on a faint murmur of conversation ahead. He narrowed his visible eye, maintaining a safe distance while ensuring he didn't lose sight of you. Whatever your mission was, Kakashi knew he had to remain vigilant. As odd as this stake out was becoming.

Following closely behind, he watched as you turned back and forth through multiple blocks until you came to a stop in front of one of the few hotels in Konoha. Ringing the front desk bell, you completed the transaction with the attendant and received a key. Luckily it was easy to observe through the few windows of the stairwell as you ascended to the top floor. Luck again on his side as the windows of the room you had chosen, faced the tall tree where Kakashi was already positioned.

Entering the room in total darkness, it was easy to follow where you walked inside when a lamp was turned on next to the single bed. He chuckled when you unceremoniously fell onto the bed, passing before your head even hit the pillow. The bedside lamp, clothing, and shoes were still on as you drifted off. Peacefully unaware, the ninja outside disappeared from thesite for the evening.

#kakashi smut #kakashi x reader #kakashi sensei #hatake kakashi #kakashi hatake #kakashi

39 notes · View notes

uncoupledengine · 4 months ago

Text

Another Polaroid picture that I created for another piece.

Here is Oliver and Douglas having a movie night. They have stolen Duck’s laptop, created a blanket fort and the Little Wester team had even got Oliver a toad (frog) plushie for him to cuddle with.

~~~

“Are you sure this is okay for us to do?” Oliver inquired curiously as he pulled more blankets on to Douglas’s bed to make the fort.

“Of course,” Douglas smiled as he closed the door behind him, Duck’s laptop tucked under his arm. “Donnie and I do it all ta time.” Douglas sat on his bed and watched as Oliver continued to tie the blanket to the top of a bookshelf.

Oliver smiled happily at his little fort and lowered himself gently on to his bed. He examined Duck’s laptop and was amused by the stickers on it. The big Great Western logo and the picture of a duck in water heavily secured the laptops owner as Duck.

Oliver reached to his side and pulled at the large plushie that had been gifted to him a few days ago. The Little Western team had felt sorry for the poor lad not having any of his own belongings apart from a few pieces of clothes. Donald and Duck had been shopping when they had found the plushie and instantly bought it for their new friend. Oliver thought himself too old for plushies but the more he cuddled it the more he needed it. It had been a wonderful gift. It was nice to have something that was his, especially being surrounded by so many nicknacks and souvenirs that the other three had collected over the years.

Soon the two lay on their fronts watching the film when a knock on the door occurred. They barely looked up as Duck stepped into the room with a smile on his face. He watched the two for a moment and quirked an eyebrow at his laptop being used.

“Donald and I are heading out,” Duck announced, “are you two staying in tonight?”

“Yep,” Douglas answered watching the fight scene intently.

“We’ll be back late,” Duck warned and slowly closed the door behind him.

Duck quickly collected his camera and took a step back into the room. Oliver and Douglas seemed too happy with their situation to notice him. Oliver was curled around his plushie and snuggled next to Douglas, a large blue blanket lay on top of the two as the blue light from the laptop illuminated their faces. Duck smiled and took a quick snapshot of the two before shutting the door. He placed his camera back down before moving to the makeshift gallery wall they had started in the corridor. Many pictures of their adventures and achievements hung upon it. Duck collected a pin and placed the picture in the centre of the collection, next to a picture of Donald and Douglas from their first official work day on Sodor. Duck smiled before heading to meet Donald.

#ttte oliver #ttte douglas #oliver the great western engine #douglas the scottish twin #ttte fan art #ttte fanart #ttte human au #ttte humanized #ttte #uncoupled engine art #ttte au #ttte humanisation #ttte duck #ttte little western

25 notes · View notes

just-an-emily-existing · 23 days ago

Note

Hey pookie, hopefully this can distract you from everything because I can only imagine the feelings you have now 🩷💕

Regarding the ships in your au, how did they realise they had feelings for their partners? And also- what is their favourite thing about their partners?

(Sending lots of (platonic) love and support, even if I’m MILES away from you rn, I’m still always just a message away) 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

I knew you’d come in clutch, tysm for this bestie. I’ll do this for me and Douglas, Oliver and Toad, Rosie and Mavis, and Thomas and Percy. But I will try and go into deeper details on every couple's origin story. Let me know if you want any othe short couple stories. But these'll be short stories lol

Happy Reading!

For me and Douglas, it started when he first saw me. He instantly fell but I didn’t, I just wanted to get on the train to Sodor. But we kept bumping into each other like at the store or just on the street and we became friends, he showed me more of the Little Western and I showed him my drawings. Word quickly got around that Douglas has a crush on the new human girl. It was Donald who ended up snitching and telling me he liked me. I was honoured to be someone's special person. I immediately told Donald to take me to him. Luckily Douglas was taking a break and laying down next to Dilly's pond. I confronted him and asked if he liked me. Of course, he was a blushing and stuttering mess but he eventually spat it out that he liked me. By this time I was really starting to like him too and we agreed to go on a few dates to see if we’d be a good match. After one summer date in July, Douglas accidentally called me his girlfriend, but I didn’t mind, I liked the new title and by the end of the night, we become official! Of course, we had to keep our relationship on the down-low cuz at the time, human and engine couples were unheard of and kinda taboo. But after being yelled at by an old angry couple, it was STH who made the announcement for me and Douglas' relationship to be accepted.

For Oliver and Toad, they met after Toad was transferred to a new engine after being in an abusive relationship with Samantha (One of my Oc’s). Like Douglas, Toad instantly fell for Oliver, but Oliver was SO oblivious. Toad would leave subtle hints that he likes him but Oliver never caught on. Once Oliver was sent for scrap, Toad, Isabel and Dulcie were sent to be transferred to another engine, but Toad wasn’t having it, he had spent years with his love and refused to accept this fate. On the night Oliver was supposed to be scrapped, Toad came up with the idea to run away to Sodor. Oliver loved it and the four of them ran that night. Unfortunately the four were captured one night and were sent to the nearest scrapyard and left on a siding to rot. It was them that Toad finally told Oliver his feelings, seeing that they were not going to make it. Oliver was taken aback but accepted his feelings, although not truly feeling the same, he felt honoured to be the someone Toad was utterly devoted to. Oliver promised to go on a real date once they got to Sodor. Toad was confused but with this newfound energy, Oliver felt determined to live, not just for himself, but for Toad, for Isabel and Dulcie, and his siblings that he lost long ago. After being rescued by Douglas and were properly fixed up. the two finally had their real date and it went wonderfully! They were able to truly express how they felt for each other and explore their new home together. It was actually Oliver who asked Toad to be his “Precious Shell” (That’s Oliver's pet name for Toad) and he happily agreed. From then on, the two became inseparable, always pulling trains together and hanging out with their friends.

For Rosie and Mavis, I like to think they met after Rosie was rejected by Thomas and was feeling really down in the dumps. She and Mavis were scheduled to work together at Brendam Docks, but Rosie just couldn’t seem to focus on her work, only Thomas and his rejection. Mavis finally asked what was wrong and Rosie explained everything. Mavis listened and gave her input when needed. She told Rosie to try and move on and focus on herself cuz it was obvious Thomas isn’t interested and Rosie deserves some self care. Rosie understood that was the best move. Of course she tried, with Mavis' help and all but she just couldn’t get over him. He was perfect in her eyes and seeing him and Percy made her all the more heartbroken. As the days turned into weeks, Rosie tried hard to take Mavis’s advice. She immersed herself in her work, hauling goods, helping friends around the island, ect. But every time she saw Thomas, her heart would race. She admired the way the sunlight glimmered off his shiny blue paint and the way he laughed. Mavis noticed Rosie’s struggle. Encouraging her to join in fun outings, she suggested they go on a scenic trip to the seaside. Rosie hesitated but finally agreed, hoping the change of scenery might distract her. They talked, laughed, and shared stories the whole day and really got a better connection with each other. Mavis had a warm energy that made Rosie feel valued. Eventually, as the sun began to dip below the horizon, turning the sky a canvas of oranges and purples, Mavis told Rosie that she was loved, not just by those around her but by everyone on the island, and she didn't need the approval Thomas to feel good about herself. Rosie felt a warmth spread through her as she gazed into Mavis’s eyes. In that moment, something shifted within her. Maybe the engine she had always been destined to be with wasn't Thomas after all. It was Mavis, right there beside her, always supportive and always caring. Weeks turned into months, and their friendship blossomed into something deeper. Rosie began to notice how Mavis made her laugh like no one else could, how they shared a powerful connection that felt electric. One evening, as they stood side by side overlooking the same beach, Rosie took a deep breath, feeling a sense of freedom wash over her. Rosie finally spoke her mind and told Mavis how she felt. Mavis was surprised and asked if she was ready for a relationship. Rosie was sure, her feelings were true and was able to move on from Thomas fully. Mavis was happy to see her love become the best version of herself and from that day forward, Rosie and Mavis became a couple. Thomas and Rosie are still good friends, and are happy to have a stable friendship.

For Thomas and Percy, whoooo boy it's a crazy one. It started off as Thomas not really liking Percy (Then, pre-trans), thinking he's a bit dull and Percy just being oblivious to his subtle dislike. But of course, they grow to become good friends after working many jobs together and just hanging out as friends. Percy starts transitioning after a few years of being on Sodor, using he/him pronouns and having Thomas' support through it all. The day Percy became fully Percy, he showed off his new male human form to Thomas before anyone else. It was a bit of a shock to him but he still thought of him as a friend and would continue to call him his best friend. But little by little, after many years, they start to fall for each other and began pining for each other. Everyone could easily tell they liked each other, especially James, the engine they'd tell their feelings for the other with until finally James had enough of their pining and wishing for them to just get together already, so he planned a surprise date for them. With a plan forming in his mind, James decided to set up a special date for Thomas and Percy. He carefully devised a strategy to get them both to Tidmouth Sheds where hopefully, the two could open up to each other. Once there, James had planned a nice picnic for the three of them, as they all had the day off and had the whole sheds to themselves. It was very awkward cuz Thomas and Percy just couldn't seem to get the ball rolling, so James finally just spilled the tea. The two were embarrassed and tried to get James to shut up, but finally see that they had nothing to fear, cuz the feeling of love was mutual. Finally Thomas and Percy opened up and told the other how they really feel. James sighed in relief that he was able to bring a satisfying end to his favorite rom-com, which was Thomas and Percy lol.

#ttte #thomas the tank engine #thomas and friends #ttte human au #my post #The Stesel Team #Ttte Emily 💖#ttte douglas #ttte Oliver #ttte toad #ttte Rosie #ttte Mavis #ttte Thomas #ttte Percy #asks #Ttte Lore Stories

14 notes · View notes

hufflefluff-stuff · 1 year ago

Note

102 is quite a line 👀

Maybe an Ominis line 👀

tho I'm lost on a scenario, you got free reign on that!

Ooooo yes!! This reminds me of some angsty audio I heard on tiktok with Ominis saying "it's rotten work [about himself]" and MC replying "not to me" so that's the vibe we're going for.

MAJOR spoilers for endgame stuff ahead!

102) "I am damaged."

[Request more Angst/Horror prompts here!]

........

"I am damaged..."

That's the first thing you heard Ominis mutter to himself when he thought he was all alone in the Undercroft.

He hadn't realized you were there as well, quietly studying your books and trying to feel like a normal student for once.

Ever since you attended Hogwarts as a late bloomer, things were anything but normal from the get-go.

After saving the school (and more or less the entire wizarding world) from certain doom at the hands of Ranrok and Rookwood, you hoped to end this year on the best note possible. It was hard given all of the friends you've lost along the way, but a lot of good came out of it, too.

Ominis was one such example. Despite the rocky start you both had when he caught you sneaking out of the Undercroft that fateful day, you managed to make amends and grow closer together.

You never thought that same snobby blind boy who threatened to report you to the headmaster would be the one to confess his feelings for you.

It was in the days following you winning the house cup for [House], and when you finally had a moment alone to talk to him, he finally made his move. His way of courting you was so sweet and eloquent--fitting for the Slytherin from such a privileged class.

Of course other students had eyes for you, too, but Ominis loved you for who you are and not for your ancient magic and reputation as a "hero". Going on different adventures with you and Sebastian made him realize what kind of person you truly were:

An unreliable "acquaintance" of his best friend who reeked of distrust in the beginning, turned to a kind person who was always by his side through thick and thin in the end.

Now that you two have officially become a couple, you managed to coax him into accompanying you on more excursions both inside and outside of the castle.

Although he couldn't see the beauty of the world and all its magical creatures, you described it to him how ever you could--whether it's a Thestral resting underneath the ribcage of some enormous beast's skeleton, or the charred corpse of a spider you've just slain with Incendio. He loved how you spoke of them regardless of the scenario.

On top of that, you've taken up to helping more people in the local hamlets and villages, with Ominis reassuring them that he's not some cruel and mean Slytherin from the Gaunt family, and that he genuinely cared for their concerns.

However...your latest mission ultimately had taken a turn for the worst, and you had some serious regrets on taking your boyfriend along for the ride.

It seemed to be just like any other poacher camp you've shutdown. But the locals informed you that this one in particular was in charge of trafficking beast skins...or selling beasts to butchers.

You urged Ominis to discreetly free the creatures from their cages, taking out the nearby guards with Petrificus Totalus, while you ambushed the poachers on the other side of the camping grounds. But you both failed to realize that some of Rookwood's goons were among their midst, seeking to avenge him and make it very clear that you'll never be safe again.

He had every intention to murder you; you were just protecting yourself against his Killing Curse, though of course his gang wouldn't understand that. They just saw you and began throwing whatever spell they had at their disposal.

You took most of them down with ease, while Ominis finished freeing the last purple toad and rushed to assist you in the fight.

But then he stopped upon hearing three distinct things that would forever haunt him: A dark wizard shouting "Crucio", the sparks of electricity crackling in the air...

And your brief, yet painful, screams.

Despite his wand detecting only you and the one ashwinder casting the curse, he was frozen on the spot, unable to bring himself to move forward and save you. It was like somebody had casted Petrificus Totalus on him.

He could have taken them out right away, but...he was terrified.

Suddenly he felt like he was back in the Slytherin Scriptorium, where Sebastian had to cast the same curse on you in order to proceed forward--something Ominis had tried in vain to protest against.

He knew he wasn't there, it was all in his mind, yet all he could think about were your screams.

Then he thought about the screams of those innocent muggles he watched his family torture...before he remembered his own screams after they tortured him for refusing to use the curse, not giving up until he finally relented.

The rest of that moment was a blur, but at some point you managed to yank out a Mandrake from your bag and stun the ashwinder long enough to use Expelliarmus and lacerate their legs with Diffindo.

While that shrieking plant made Ominis briefly deaf, too, it snapped him out of his trance, bringing him back to reality as you rushed over to him. You fled the campsite together on Highwing's back, drinking some wiggenweld on your way back to the castle, not speaking until you were safely on schoolgrounds.

That all happened yesterday...and he was still quite distressed. He didn't seem comfortable talking about those events too much, and you couldn't blame him. So you left it be, apologizing for the stress you caused, and tried making it up to him with a trip into Hogsmede.

However, this morning you didn't find him in the Great Hall or anywhere in the Slytherin Section. Not even Sebastian knew of his whereabouts, assuming you "lost" him; fortunately there weren't many places that your boyfriend frequented.

The Undercroft was your next best guess.

Yet it was empty when you arrived, much to your annoyance.

You figured Ominis will eventually turn up here, so you transfigured a sofa out of some pile of armor and decided to catch up on your studies. But obviously it was hard to focus on the texts when all you could think about was him..

At some point he finally arrived, and you nearly jumped up to ask where the hell he's been...until he started mumbling rather concerning things to himself, apparently unaware of your presence.

Then you noticed he didn't have his wand in-hand, feeling the walls and eventually sitting down on the floor, leaning against one and curling up. He certainly knew the Undercroft's layout well enough to not need it constantly, but his behavior was still extremely concerning.

Especially his remark about being "damaged", which had you gravely worried about his physical well-being.

"Ominis, what do you mean by "damaged"? Are you hurt?"

"MC..?! Oh, Merlin..d-didn't realize you were here." Although startled at first, he quickly calmed down upon hearing your voice and approaching footsteps. "I'm alright. I was just...th-thinking up some poetry. You know, Thakkar has been giving me some really good advice-"

"Wow, you're a worse liar than I ever was," you chuckled lightly, kneeling down in front of him. "You know he's away on a family trip, right?"

"......."

"....Ominis?"

His silence worried you greatly, especially as he suddenly hid his face in his arms, now unwilling to look at you for some reason.

"If you wanna hide from me, love, Disillusionment is more-"

"D-Do...I even deserve to be called that anymore?" He mumbled in a trembling voice that made your stomach sink.

"....huh? Of course you do." Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What's going on? You can be honest with me. If...I did something to upset you recently, I'm sorry-"

"No. You...d-don't have to be sorry about anything. It's me who should be the sorry one."

"Darling, what do you mean-?"

"Stop. Please. I-I think the proper term is "bloody stinking coward". I could have stopped that ashwinder f-from using the Cruciatus Curse...he was right there and I could have done something! But I didn't!" Ominis began to ramble, unable to stop his voice from shaking and rising in volume. "I-I stood there like a bumbling half-witted mooncalf wh-while he tortured you!"

You frowned slightly, gently setting your hands on his arms as you finally understood why he was so distraught. "Ominis, you were occupied in freeing all those beasts. You can't be in two places at once, and I'm not angry at you for that. And besides, the curse didn't hurt me badly this time. I know it scares you, but...."

However you trailed off as he lifted his head, and your heart cracked in two upon seeing the tears streaking down his face like rivers of salt water.

Only now did you realize what he meant by feeling "damaged"---and it wasn't in the physical sense. But the emotional.

"That's exactly my problem...I was too scared to do anything." He shuddered. "Wh-Who just stands by and...and lets their fears of the past consume them?! And nearly gets the love of their life killed because of it?!! That's something only a broken person does, MC...someone who's far too damaged t-to stand up for-"

"Don't say that. Nothing about you is "broken" or "damaged"." You pulled him into your arms, feeling him fall completely limp against you. "You are the furthest thing from either of those."

For a few moments, he was silent as he absorbed your words. But when he tried to respond, all that came from his lips was something between a gasp and a loud sob. He choked out an apology for losing his composure so quickly, though you just hushed him.

"Shhhh, it's okay." You held him tighter than ever, keeping one hand on the back of his head. ''Just let it all out. I'm not going anywhere, my love. And I mean that..I still love you."

With trembling hands, Ominis grasped onto your cloak, tears soaking into your shoulder as he allowed all of his emotions to spill. His sobs echoed freely in the Undercroft, not caring about anything anymore; not even if Sebastian were to walk in right now.

After all that's happened this year, it was just too much for him to keep locked inside: he lost his oldest friend to the Dark Arts, Anne was likely never going to reach out to him again....all that he really had left was you.

Yet he felt like none of his experiences made him any stronger, unlike you--who also lost so much and, at the same time, gained great powers that allowed you to protect those dearest to you.

But who would be there to protect you?

That's where Ominis came into the picture, wanting to fight for you after everything you've done to save Hogwarts. His worst fear was losing you forever anytime you went off on a dangerous mission. So he actually insisted on going out with you more often to put his mind at ease..plus he wanted to be sure you're not doing something too reckless.

But if he was only going to freeze up every time some dark wizard merely spoke the incantation of a certain Unforgivable....then how could he ever hope to save you when you needed him most?

He felt pathetic and useless, essentially forcing you to figure out how to escape that situation yourself while he stood there like some idiot.

What if you didn't conveniently have a Mandrake tucked in your bag? What if you had been in too much pain to grab it?

What then?

At that point, he felt like he was too broken to be with someone as strong as you. This relationship was done for, he believed, and sooner or later you'd grow tired of his cowardice and resent him for not stepping in.

He thought you were going to break it off for sure now that you see how "difficult" he was being.

But that was far from the truth. You didn't shun him or demand an explanation for why he acted the way he did. Instead you let him cry in your arms--something that no one in his life offered when he was at his lowest--staying here in this safe haven together and reaffirming your love for him.

He didn't know whether to feel grateful or selfish.

"I-I tried, MC..I..I really tried to help you." He wept, his face now buried in your neck. "But I guess I'm...just doomed to hurt everyone around me. That's all I'm good at."

"You're not doomed to live that way, Ominis. You haven't hurt me at all, and I know damn well you'd never hurt anybody on purpose."

"Really? T-Tell that to my family...we were monsters who tortured and killed muggles for fun-"

"They did that for fun, not you. You're not a monster like them. I know this because you refused to follow in their footsteps. And by Merlin, I'm glad you were a stubborn child..even after all they put you through." You softly spoke, kissing his head as you felt his arms tighten their hold around you. "All I see now is someone who's even stronger than them, with a good heart that would've won him a spot in Gryffindor for sure."

"....w-with Prewett, Weasley, and all those twits? I don't think so.." He chuckled lightly, sniffling as he rested his head on your shoulder and fell quiet. He felt a lot calmer than before, sighing tiredly. "..I'm sorry. I-It was never my intention to burden you with this, love. You already deal with so much. I just wish I...could've been just a bit stronger for you."

"Don't worry about me, okay?" You smiled. Even though he couldn't see it, you hoped he'd at least imagine it. "I saw how sneaky you were around those poachers. You petrified them before they even knew what hit 'em."

"Of course. I had to do something, right?" He huffed, although he smiled a little bit.

"You did great, darling. If the beasts could talk, I'd say they'd be thanking you over and over. You saved their lives. They probably think you as their hero."

"I thought it was that Hufflepuff girl's job to be the "hero of beasts"...but I don't mind that title, too."

A calming silence fell over you two, save for Ominis' light sniffles. But eventually he was the first to let go, his hands reaching for the sides of your face moments later, wanting to ensure you weren't injured at all.

You helped guide him there, your skin growing warm at his touch. He felt around for any recent scarring or bruising across your flesh, being grateful that he found nothing of the sort.

Meanwhile, you kept smiling as you observed his own face. Although he looked like a complete mess after all that crying, he still managed to appear quite handsome in your eyes.

You knew he desperately needed that outlet, and you were happy he finally confided in you.

At the end of the day, you'll love him no matter what.

#hogwarts legacy x reader #ominis gaunt #ominis gaunt x reader #angst/horror prompt #hurt/comfort #hogwarts legacy spoilers

181 notes · View notes

wfagamerants · 2 years ago

Text

I have made it very blatant that I am a fan of Toad.

If you followed me for a while, you also likely have heard me vent about the claim Toad and Captain Toad are different characters, citing multiple contradictions to this claim in the games themselves.

I’m not here to deny official word or push my preferences (though I do have them), rather I want to give my perspective on the whole thing in full and delve a little into how Nintendo handles main members of a Mario species in general.

First, it’s important to recognize that Nintendo is loose with a lot of stuff. Many different people work on these games and you can see different takes on how to present certain species quite frequently.

When we think of Toad, the main way we think of him distinguished from other members of his species is the red spots and blue vest combo. In a large number of games that is indeed the case.

Most spin-offs, Super Mario 3D Land and Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon, only to name some. Those make it simple, red spots and blue vest Toad is THE Toad. Other red Toads have a red vest.

However, not every game makes it so nice and simple. The pre-GameCube games had ALL the basic Toads rock the red spots and blue vest combo. THE Toad was distinguished more by role, being the only Toad in the game or as in Super Mario RPG, being the only Toad to have Toad: in his text box, even in the japanese version I might add, to indicate he is the main one you keep meeting.

The modern games aren’t without occasional screwyness themselves though. Odyssey reverts to the idea of all generic Toads using that look and then you have things like Sunshine or the Baseball games, where there is no red spots & blue vest Toad, but a red vest Toad is identified as THE Toad in things like the manual:

It’s weird, but it should be said the 2000s were still a bit of a transitional era for Mario. It took until 2004 for short sleeves Wario to be consistently used in spin-offs for instance and Peach still had her old dress in Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door. You saw oddities like that around a fair bit.

The only time the Toad thing ever came up again in later years is Puzzles & Dragons SMB Edition and even that one has THE Toad on the cover, despite him having a red vest in the game,

Something that is even stranger given that by then they had stock Red Toad renders around and Nintendo is so overprotective of Mario as an IP, that them letting this slide is notable.

While this kinda stuff muddles things, it doesn’t take away from the fact a THE Toad exists. It’s seemingly more about the iconic visuals, than the detail. That visual of a single red Toad being with the rest of the main cast.

Something that still persists to this very day and will, with the distinctions we prefer to go for (only one blue vest, red spots Toad) even be present in the movie, which Nintendo is directly involved with.

It’s a thing that extends beyond Toad and has been present with other characters representing their species as well. Kamek being the most blatant example of it.

Even prior to Yoshi’s Island, singular important Magikoopas such as a particular Yoshi’s Safari boss, a right-hand man Magikoopa in Super Mario kun’s Super Mario World story or the eeeeeevil Koopa wizard Wizenheimer in the Super Mario World cartoon, had already appeared as important parts of Bowser’s troops.

It’s with Yoshi’s Island that one particular Magikoopa, who was the one who raised Bowser no less, was introduced. While this had no distinct name in Japan, where all Magikoopas are known as Kamek, the localization either consciously or by lucky accident, kept his name as Kamek, giving him a big distinguishing element from his species.

The idea of Kamek the main Magikoopa is one that persists to this day and it makes a lot of sense why. Given his shown connection to Bowser in his debut game, there is no reason to assume the most prominent Magikoopas aren’t this particular one and localization was happy to keep the concept around.

In Japan meanwhile, Kamek the character is not a foreign concept, but many materials do not make a formal distinction between the character and the species. It’s there, just more vague. You can sense that in localizations too, with how there are a couple notable oddities.

Mario Party 9 has a playable Magikoopa who is referred to as such in american localization, is called Kamek in other versions, like the german translation. Whether this is meant to be the character or a generic member of the species is genuinely not clear. Not helping matters is how european translations sometimes call generic Magikoopas like in the first couple Paper Mario games and as recent as Bowser’s Fury, Kameks.

A particularly noteworthy example is Giant Kamek in Super Princess Peach. His status as a boss, the one to guard Luigi no less, makes it easy to take him as Kamek transformed, but then you look at the Glossary:

A Kamek. It’s meant to be a generic member of the species, in a new form.

The truth is that Mario is a very, as I like to call it ‘’function over flavor’’ series. It’s more about the function, such as a main red Toad or a main Magikoopa and not so much the finer details like whether the vest color is correct, even if many games DO take that into account.

Because of this, I think the thing to look for is consistency, whatever fits the consistent image is the most likely answer. We will never know in some cases if the character in question is a generic member of the species or the main one, but that is because Nintendo themselves often don’t put that much stock into it.

On that note, while localizations, despite greater efforts to define things can fumble too, I don’t think that means they don’t ‘’count’’. I generally don’t agree with the idea that only japanese sources have any say with how to interpret Mario stuff, because the series does not have the lore consistency to give that idea weight.

On top of that, we have seen that western influences have affected the franchise at large more than once. The western Super Mario Bros 2 is the most obvious example of this, with how many elements of it have made it far into the franchise. Most notable though are the Koopalings, who didn’t even have names in the japanese version of SMB3 and adapted their localization given names.

This kind of stuff isn’t like say, Monsteropolis in the US Mega Man manual or the US Sonic CD manual clumsily trying to treat Amy as Sally. This stuff is still with the franchise today and as the movie shows, still matters.

THE Toad is a thing in the movie and as is Kamek. Both clearly defined as such and while the New York backstory is not a western invention, it was more emphasized in the west and that’s back too. It’s even Brooklyn again and I’m not even sure if that was ever specified in japanese material or direct confirmation from Miyamoto.

Mario is not a story centric series where only the original text matters. It’s a extremely loose canon, where what the west did, still matters to this very day and is of equal importance.

With all this in mind, let’s talk Captain Toad.

To understand my point on what I mean with contradictions regarding him and Toad being separate characters, we need to look at what Captain was like in the Galaxy games.

In these games, Captain Toad as a name did not exist, with him being only referred to as ‘’the captain of the Toad Brigade’’ and being specifically shown to be a self proclaimed captain at that. Even his inability to jump was invented later on and is contradicted by many level set pieces he shows up in, as well as this:

Even the headlamp, one of his defining visual features, wasn’t treated as anything that special, with BankToad being able to get it at a certain level of deposited Star Bits in Galaxy 2.

He wasn’t really talked about in any official materials and didn’t even get an official render of any sort, but you know who did and is on the cover of Galaxy 2 no less?

Toad. I have seen the argument that this could be an error, but for that to make it all the way to the cover, the first thing someone would see of the game when buying it, would make that a very massive one. Additionally, Toad also has a render for Galaxy 1, even though he wouldn’t have any presence in either game aside from a Save File icon and a cameo in the story book opening of Galaxy 1, if he’s not Captain. The only existing bios for Toad or Captain in these games, even identify them as the same character.

It does line up with what I said about consistency. Sunshine gave us a group of 5 Toads in different colors, with the red vest and red spots one being singled out to be the main Toad. Galaxy introducing a similar group and making the red Toad, in a franchise where a red Toad is one of the main characters, THE Toad, like in Sunshine or the Baseball games, makes sense because there is precedent.

Then many years later came 3D World, the game where Toad and Captain were supposedly clarified to be different characters, co-existing at the same time.

This is also the game where the main playable Toad is a Blue Toad. THE Toad, has never been portrayed that way before or since, to the point where every time Nintendo reuses one of the Blue Toad renders in this game

They are recolored to fit his proper appearance, because this has NEVER been how he has been portrayed. The game really emphasizes the playable Toad being a blue one too, with how the credits scene even shows Captain with a group of Toads, missing a blue one.

This flies heavily in the face of past established consistency, where between Sunshine, the many spin-offs or Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon, THE Toad has always been distinguished as the red one, because that’s the first one, who established himself as THE Toad.

One could point to his blue color palette in NES SMB2 and I have seen arguments that it’s an homage to that. We don’t have official word on this, but I find that very hard to buy, because he was never supposed to look like this. When he WAS depicted that way in art, everyone was portrayed with their in-game colors:

And in every other case, everyone had their proper colors:

3D World doesn’t do either. The idea of a homage rings hollow when Mario, Luigi and Peach are the same as usual and those couple spots needing to be recolored to not confuse him with Mario, also doesn’t really make sense, given how drastically different their body types are.

It goes so far the official Super Mario website even lists red spots specifically as one of Toad’s defining features, which would make him being Blue Toad in 3D World even stranger:

The game also lacks any kind of red spots and blue vest Toad, which 3D Land ensured there was only one of, to identify him as THE Toad. You know who had an icon like that in the reveal trailer though?

Captain Toad. Completely new art no less, that stuck around in the game to be in the reveal trailer, less than half a year away from release.

Also, yah know how you can find Captain Toad in levels and sometimes get a collectible out of it?

Toad did the same thing in 3D Land. Even in terms of gameplay function, the two are extremely similar. Similarities between the two are a running theme from here on out.

Prominent red Toads who throw turnips, give out stars, have Toadette as a partner, act as leaders to other Toads and have been depicted with fairy partners (though in Captain’s case only in concept art).

It is baffling how much they have in common and you can tell that even more by how much the two are linked.

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker has an amiibo bundle, amiibo functionality and a pre-order bonus, centered around a character that, according to some sources, you don’t even play as.

All by Nintendo themselves btw. Same with say, this video title or german eShop description for the game, which refer to the main character as Captain and Toad interchangeably.

This even extends to in-game content:

And an Odyssey developer interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVNYfoFcrZY

Then you got Mario Maker call Toad Captain:

Smash let's Toad’s spirit evolve into Captain, which is tied to gameplay AND in-line with stuff like Shadow becoming Super Shadow or Alm and Celica becoming their adult selves. The game even makes the distinction that THE Toad exists in the tips, where Peach’s Toad is THE Toad and Daisy’s (who is blue ala’ 3D World btw) is a Toad.

And then you get Mario Kart Tour, the only spin-off Captain Toad is in and the same one where someone like Peachette can be an independent playable character distant from Toadette OR Peach, so yeah. He even shares most of his animations with Toad:

A trait mainly seen with the simpler alts. Pit Stop Toad has more unique animations than Captain has.

VS Tour promos even group him with Toad, right next to him. Same happens with Peachette, who is correctly placed between Toadette and her alts.

Hillariously enough, even LEGO gets in on this, by giving Toad a treasure hunting themed expansion:

As I said, it’s not my intent to ignore official word. Officially, Captain is regarded as a different character, I’m just pointing out how much the games themselves don’t support that and how it requires a lot of justification and ignoring of past patterns to get there and explain away the mountains of counter evidence.

I don’t think it’s fair to dismiss every source that speaks against those claims either, these are just people trying to make sense of the mess Nintendo has left behind and I could just as easily point out that the original confirmation Captain is a separate character, also came with Toads not truly being mushrooms. A claim that contradicts a lot of past descriptions of the species, dialogue mentioning things like spores and Toad showing spore abilities at multiple points.

Not saying this invalidates the entire thing, just pointing out this is a nightmarish mess if you want to maintain consistency.

It’s why Movie Toad is exciting to me.

Giving him the backpack, Captain’s most defining feature these days and thus possibly silently merging them, is to me, the best and least complicated thing they could do.

Time will tell if this will affect anything, but Nintendo allowing for this at all does tell me they are fine with the characters being linked, which I hope translates to good things for him. Toad has a lot to gain from being Captain, while Captain really struggles to be his own thing, because he IS Toad in all but official word.

#super mario

485 notes · View notes

thelastspeecher · 6 days ago

Text

Weird Little Critter - Chapter 5: Transitions, Part 2

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 AO3

Aaaaaaaaand here's part two! After a bit of a longer wait than initially anticipated whoops. Life got crazy. But the third part (again, not just by myself, but also @elishevart) should be up by the end of the year!

——————————————————————————————

Banjo and Stan walked into the house while Ford waited outside for them to get ready for their short trip to the Crawlspace.

"I'll get the cloaks Ford mentioned," Banjo said. Ford had told them he had some in a chest in his room, and they would be essential to hide their human features. Stan nodded and grabbed a quick snack from the kitchen. Banjo returned a few minutes later with two brown cloaks draped over his arm and a couple small bags in his hand.

"I thought he said to get the green ones," Stan said, setting aside his now empty plate. Banjo's face twitched slightly.

"Well, I figure this color will work better," he said. "Green lures fairies to ya, and we don't want much attention. Red repels 'em."

"Those are brown," Stan pointed out. Banjo twitched again.

"Yes, 'cause we don't want to keep fairies away either," he said firmly. "Stanford could very well have purchased that potion from one, after all."

This seems like a touchy subject for him. Time to move on. Stan shrugged.

"You know what you're talking about, so I'll do what you say." Banjo relaxed visibly. "Do you really think the cloaks will be enough?"

"I grabbed some fake pointed ears, fairy dust, and my makeup bag," Banjo said. He set the items on the kitchen table.

"You have makeup? I never see you wear any."

"It ain't logical to wear in a field science, but I keep it around fer special occasions." Banjo glowered at his makeup bag. "But I'm not that good at applyin’ it, since I so rarely use it."

"You're in luck. I started doing mine and Ford's Halloween monster makeup as soon as I could steal Mom's eyeliner," Stan said. He gestured to a chair. "Have a seat and let me work my magic on you."

Ten minutes later, two “elves” exited the house. Ford, who was looking morosely up at the full moon, gave them a silent nod.

“Those disguises are suitable,” he said softly. “Follow me to the Crawlspace.”

—--

“Well, this is officially the weirdest place I’ve ever been to,” Stan said as the trio, with Ford in the lead, walked around the Crawlspace. “But not by much.” The place was filled with stands of all sorts selling either weird potions, parts of weirder animals, and even stranger plants. Stan couldn’t help but be in awe.

It’s like the stories from when I was a kid, about genies and caves full of jewels and gold.

And if the stands were impressive, the sellers were on a whole other level. Monsters and other creatures from legends Stan had only ever heard of and some he never knew. He was pretty certain he spotted a giant toad in the back. At first he thought that was where Ford had gotten the potions, but his amphibious brother kept marching forward, although at a slow and unusual pace. His unchanging low mood was beginning to concern Stan.

Stan hadn’t had a chance to observe this side of his twin as much as Banjo had, but he had seen him as a salamander for a whole week. And despite how frustrated Ford had been back then, he hadn’t looked nearly this… distraught.

Ford’s gills hung low on each side of his drooping head. His tail trailed lifelessly behind him. He barely glanced at them to make sure they were still following him, as if he wouldn’t be surprised they weren’t. His whole form screamed “sad little puppy”, but even if Stan wanted to cheer him up, he wasn’t sure what to say.

Next to him, Banjo wasn’t doing much better. He was tense, constantly glancing left and right, as if he was expecting something to get the jump on them. Stan’s comment finally seemed to register to the twiggy man and he looked at Stan in confusion.

“Huh?” Banjo still looked uneasy, but the shadow of a smile crossed his face. “You mean an underground market filled with all sorts of magical creatures is somethin’ ya came by already?”

“Well not exactly like this,” Stan hedged. He leaned in closer to Banjo. The sweet smell of Banjo’s perfume filled Stan’s nostrils, almost distracting him from what he was saying. “But you should see some back alley marketplaces. The real shady ones look pretty close to this.” Stan looked down and ahead. Ford was a few paces in front of them, still leading them towards their ultimate destination. “So… you doing okay?”

Banjo took a deep breath. “I think so… still shaken up.”

"By everything?”

It took a moment before the southerner answered. During the pause, Stan saw him looking at Ford’s back before speaking. “Yeah, everything.”

Stan sighed. No matter what he said the tension between the trio, especially Ford and Banjo, was still as high as it was an hour ago. Stan just shoved his hands in his pockets, glancing around as they continued walking. He raised an eyebrow when he saw a weird gray stripe running along Ford’s back.

Huh, that wasn’t there before. Banjo was looking directly at Ford and didn’t seem phased, so he shrugged it off. If he isn’t worried, must not be something new.

A few minutes later, they stopped before a vendor with vials and potions of all sorts. Ford stopped, sniffed the air, and turned toward them.

“Here,” Stanford whispered. The sound came out more like a chirp than a proper word. He then stepped to the side to sit on his hind legs, his tail circling him. A few more gray streaks popped into existence across his skin as he idly looked at the ground.

Banjo walked up to the counter and cleared his throat.

"Hello," Banjo said politely. The vendor, a man so short he needed to stand on top of a crate to look over his trestle table, looked at him with suspicion. Stan busied himself pretending to look at the produce being sold at the stall next door, staffed by tiny fluttering fairies. He looked down at a box of green and red berries, keeping an ear on Banjo's conversation, glancing at Ford every now and then to make sure he was still there.

"What can I help you with?" the vendor asked, apparently deciding to treat Banjo like a regular customer.

"My friend purchased a sex change potion from you the other day. I wanted some more information on it," Banjo said smoothly. Stan's eyebrows went up. Banjo's southern accent was completely gone.

I didn't know he could drop it whenever he wanted. That's a good trick.

"Oh, yeah, I remember him," the vendor said. He peered over his collection of vials and bottles to look at Ford. "Is he your pet?"

"...Something like that," Banjo said after a moment's hesitation.

"What sort of information do you want?"

"Is there an antidote?" Banjo asked. The vendor laughed.

"I'm not selling poisonous berries like the pixies next door!" he said. Stan quickly dropped the berry he had picked up. "My products don't need antidotes. That potion in particular is short-lasting, with effects that vary depending upon dosage. So, no, there's no 'antidote'. It'll just wear off in time."

"Got it." Banjo smiled at the vendor. "Thank you. Slán." The vendor seemed taken aback for a moment before smiling.

"Slán. And feel free to send your pet on errands to my stand any time you want," the vendor said cheerfully. Banjo nodded. He stepped away from the stand, joining Stan by the berries. Stan frowned at him.

"What?" Banjo asked.

"What did you just say to him?"

"Oh, that was just goodbye in Irish," Banjo said with a shrug. "I clocked that he was a púca immediately. Did ya see his ears and tail?"

"What?" Stan looked back at the vendor. Sure enough, the man had black tufted ears that blended in with his hair and a long black tail like a lion's. "How'd you know what he was?"

"My Pa's family is from Ireland. Pa passed down the oral history to us, such as the tales of faeries, or the aos sí. The púca is one such bein’."

"You know Irish."

"A bit. Enough to impress people but not enough to communicate in it." Banjo looked down at the berries Stan had been pretending to be interested in. "The púca said these were poisonous."

"Only the unripe ones!" said one of the shimmery fairies manning the stall. "The ripe ones are heavenly! A single one fills you up better than a three course meal!"

"Really?" Stan asked. The fairy nodded. Stan looked at Banjo. "Wanna get some berries?"

"Which ones are ripe?" Banjo asked.

"The red ones," the fairy replied. Banjo stared at the berries, ripe and unripe mixed in the same container, with panic on his face. After a moment, he cleared his throat.

"No, we should just head home. It's not wise to accept food from the Fair Folk anyways," he said. The fairy crossed her arms, scowling.

"How rude!"

"Come on," Banjo said. He walked away, heading back in the direction they had come from. Stan quickly caught up. Stanford, who had curled up on the ground, sprung to his paws and trotted up to them.

“Well, that was a bust,” Stan said. “Guess Ford was right. You’re stuck like that for at least two more days.” Stan glanced back to see if said twin was following them.

As Banjo talked with the vendor, Stan had watched his twin on the ground turn more and more gray. So much so that by the end, when they decided to just leave, Ford was completely gray, lacking almost all color. Now, the big salamander was slowly following them on all fours, his head, gills, and tail still low.

“Yeah well, better safe than sorry,” Banjo grumbled. “I mean, if yer goin’ to sell sex changin’ potions, surely you’d have a counter potion or an antidote or somethin’.”

“Yeah, but the effects are temporary and change depending on the dose you take.” Stan’s parroting of what the vendor had said earned a surprised look from Banjo. “What? I listened, I wasn't just trying to pickpocket anyone or anything that walked by.” Banjo raised an eyebrow.

“Did ya…?”

Stan shot him his best smile. “What do you think?” He opened his hand to reveal a few golden coins and gems. All looked genuine to Stan’s admittedly amateur eye. “I’m surprised Sixer didn’t try to stop me.” Stan nodded at Ford behind them. He frowned. His twin had stopped for a few seconds to lick some water from a puddle. “You think he’s okay?”

”I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Banjo’s voice was tart, prompting an apologetic chirp from Stanford.

“Does he usually walk on all fours?”

“Why don’t you ask him?” Banjo snapped.

”Since I’ve known him most of my life, he doesn’t like when I ask him questions about himself,” Stan joked. He shot Banjo his most charming smile, but only earned an eye roll in return. “And…since I know him so well, here’s something you should know about him. He’ll keep his feelings inside until they boil over or- or overwhelm him. I don’t know if you noticed, but he can be a bit of a drama queen and wallow in his own sadness. I’m the last person who wants to do actual ‘communication’, but…you two have to talk about what happened.”

Banjo huffed and crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance. The walk was silent until the house came into view. Banjo stopped just outside of the front door. His arms fell to his sides, his hands clenched into fists.

“I’ll think about it.” With that, Banjo opened the door and disappeared inside.

Stan sighed. A soft chirp came from below him. He looked down to see his gray little twin next to him, tilting his head curiously.

“You’re not gonna get out of this, Sixer. It’s a two-way street. You’re gonna have to do something about it, too.”

The axolotl looked down sadly and sighed before rubbing his head against Stan’s legs. The movement caught the human twin off guard. He was preparing to bend and pat Ford’s head when a loud rumble erupted around them. Stan raised an eyebrow.

“When‘s the last time you ate, Sixer?” He asked.

Ford looked guilty down, his tail wrapping around his legs.

Stan just shook his head and opened the door. “Let’s see what we have left for you. I think I saw some hornworm in the fridge.”

At the word “hornworm”, Stanford shot to his feet and sprinted inside as fast as his four legs would carry him. From him came a series of chirps and noises that could be an attempt to speak, but sounded like gibberish to Stanley.

What is wrong with him?

—--

Ford yawned as he made his way to the kitchen. The night before had been even more draining than typical for a full moon. Pre-coffee, he had barely enough energy to throw on a robe and brush his teeth after waking up in his tank in his study, fully human. Stan, getting ready in his room, joined him when he walked past the open door.

“So, uh, last night was kinda wild, huh?” Stan said. Ford rubbed his eyes blearily.

“I don’t recall much of last night.”

“Yeah, you seemed pretty off.”

“Yes,” Ford mumbled.

“What's the last thing you remember?” Stan probed. Ford sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Why are you interrogating me this morning?”

“Just humor me,” Stan said. Ford raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment. He stopped in the hallway.

“I remember us getting to the Crawlspace and the vendor. Banjo talked to him and…” He side-eyed Stanley. “...You pickpocketed a few passersby that got too close.” Stan snorted.

“I’m surprised you didn’t stop me.”

Stanford just shrugged and idly ran his fingers through the blue streak in his hair. “I didn't see the point. I don’t remember much after that. I recall us walking in the woods and coming back. I know you and Banjo talked, but I didn’t listen. Or I chose not to listen.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his robe. “You gave me some hornworms for dinner, then we rested on the couch for most of the evening. Did I miss anything?”

Stan patted him on the shoulder, ushering him toward the kitchen with a big smile on his face. “Nah, just wanted to make sure.” Ford frowned and removed his brother’s hand.

“You’re not telling me everything. What happened?” Ford winced. “What did I do?” He didn’t like the knot forming in his stomach at the prospect of him missing some pieces. Stan waved his concerns away.

“You got enough on your mind as it is. Don’t worry, you did nothing wrong. I swear.”

“I don’t have anything on my mind!” Ford protested. Stan snickered. Ford sighed and rephrased. “Nothing weighs on me that would mean you have to hide anything, Stanley.”

“Clearly. So that means that you can handle a day with Banjo, no problem.”

That horrible knot that had plagued Ford came back with a vengeance. Ford hugged his sides. He could feel bile rising in his throat. It took all of his willpower to not vomit the few fluids he had in him.

His twin saw how distressed he had suddenly become and pulled him in for a hug. It didn’t take long for Ford to bury himself in his brother’s embrace. The gesture grounded and comforted him. They both stood in the middle of the hallway until Stan broke off the hug.

“All right? Stan asked. Ford nodded. “Good. You do realize you’ve gotta pull yourself together and talk to him eventually, right?”

”I do,” Ford whispered. He dragged his hand down his face. “I just- I feel that I’ve ruined things between us. I don't know if I can face him…”

For more than one reason. Stan gave him a tap on the back of his head.

“You dumb nerd. Don’t think too much! Just start apologizing. Then you guys can go from there.”

“You’re certainly one to recommend an apology,” Ford muttered under his breath. Stan laughed.

“Yeah, I tell people to do stuff I won’t do all the time.” Ford rolled his eyes. The two resumed their walk to the kitchen. Soon, they picked up on the sound of faint singing.

“Country roads take me home, to the place I belong…”

“Is that Banjo?” Stan asked. Ford shrugged.

“Either him or a stranger that has broken into the house to sing along to the country station.” Stan snickered and elbowed him. As they got closer to the kitchen, the singing grew louder. But the uncomfortable feeling in Ford’s stomach returned. He stepped back.

“I’ll meet you two later. I just realized I forgot to go over some data,” Ford lied. He quickly turned around and walked away, not giving Stan a chance to try to stop him.

Stan just shook his head and entered the kitchen. Banjo, who in fact was singing along to the radio, stood at the stove cooking some eggs, a bug-filled container filled on the counter next to his pan. Stan grabbed it before any damage to the eggs could be done and shoved it in the cupboard.

”We won’t be needing those this morning. Ford needs to look over some data,” he said firmly. Banjo pursed his lips.

“Very well,” he muttered.

“Yeah, I didn’t buy it, either,” Stan said. Banjo managed a small smile. “By the way, were you singing just now?”

“Oh, uh, yes.”

“It was nice.” Stan leaned against the counter. “How come I’ve never heard you sing before?” To his surprise, Banjo blushed.

“My, uh, my big sister, Violynn, she’s- she’s got the prettiest voice in the world. She’s won awards!” Banjo looked down at the pan and stirred the contents. “But me? Or, I s’ppose, Angie? Not even close.”

“You don’t sing as Angie ‘cause your sister’s better than you?” Stan asked. Banjo rolled his eyes.

“Well, I guess when ya say it like that, it does make me sound-” Banjo started.

“No, I get it,” Stan interrupted. “You’re not the only one who grew up with an older sibling better than you at something.” Banjo smiled shyly at him. “I bet you sound good as Angie, though.” Banjo shook his head. “Seriously, if you sound this good as Banjo, there’s no way you sound bad as Angie!”

“You’d be wrong,” Banjo said firmly. “I told ya. I don’t sound good.”

“I don’t believe you,” Stan said, just as firm. Banjo rolled his eyes again. “At the very least, you sound better than me.”

“I’ve heard ya sing in the shower. That ain’t a high bar.” Banjo turned off the stove. “Let’s move on from this topic and eat, okay?”

They both sat in silence to eat their breakfast until Stan broke it.

”Okay, so you’ve known my twin while he’s been a magical whatever for a while. Has he ever acted weird before? As a salamander?”

“Well…” Banjo frowned thoughtfully. “He always acts a bit odd. I think it’s ‘cause it’s so strange to be a completely dif’rent species from what ya normally are.” Banjo looked down at his plate and picked at his food idly.

“Okay.” Stan chewed a bite of scrambled eggs and swallowed. “I know you weren’t worried about him turning gray last night, but-” Banjo's head shot up. He stared at Stan in horror.

"What?!"

"Last night, while we were in the Crawlspace, Ford went from pink to gray," Stan said. Banjo’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"He turned gray?" he croaked. Stan frowned.

"You didn't notice?"

"Clearly!" Banjo chewed on his lip. "Changin’ color, that don’t bode well. Unless he’s suddenly part chameleon or cuttlefish or somethin’. Which we can’t rule out."

“You were looking right at him, how did you not see it?” Stan pressed. Banjo’s gaze dropped to his plate. He pushed around a piece of egg idly.

“Nothin’, I- I must’ve been distracted or- or maybe the lighting in the Crawlspace…" he mumbled.

"Nuh-uh. If I noticed, there's no way you shouldn't have," Stan said firmly.

“I- I was upset,” Banjo said. “Yesterday was dif’cult, I was- I was as blue as- as my shirt.” Banjo sighed softly. “I still am. I wish Stanford weren’t avoidin’ me. I want to put this all to bed.” Stan raised an eyebrow. Banjo’s shirt, an inoffensive button-down, was purple.

So either he’s not actually sad, which he clearly is, or he doesn’t know what color his shirt is. But how could he not know? Stan thought back to the outfit Banjo had worn yesterday, a combination of orange and green. I don’t know him as well as I’d like, but that seemed weird for him. In addition, when Stan was doing their makeup yesterday, he stopped asking Banjo to grab items, as he kept selecting colors that didn’t go with their disguises. I thought he was just being annoying, but maybe it was something more? There was also that thing with the cloaks and the berries…

“Uh, Stan?” Banjo asked hesitantly, clearly wary at how long it had been since Stan spoke. Stan set down his fork.

“I’m gonna take a shot in the dark here. If I’m wrong, don’t laugh at me.”

“Okay?”

“Are- are you colorblind?” Stan asked. Banjo froze. Stan’s jaw dropped. “Shit, you are!”

“I- yes,” Banjo said weakly. His head drooped. “It runs in my fam’ly.”

“Whoa. I didn’t realize.”

“I thought I was doin’ a good job hidin’ it,” Banjo moaned.

“You were! I didn’t notice until after you turned into Banjo!”

“I weren’t colorblind until I became Banjo.”

“Huh?”

“Angie can see color just fine,” Banjo said. Stan furrowed his brow.

"How the hell is that possible?"

“The specific kind of colorblindness that runs in m’ fam’ily is deuteranopia, a form of red-green colorblindness,” Banjo explained. “It’s a sex-linked trait. The gene involved is on the X chromosome.

“Females have two X chromosomes. If they’ve got one faulty version of the gene and one reg’lar version of the gene, they don’t got colorblindness, ‘cause the right version overrides the wrong one.” Stan nodded. “But males have one X chromosome, so if they’ve got the faulty version of the gene on that one X chromosome, they’ve got colorblindness. So’s ya see this form of colorblindness more in men ‘n in women.”

“So, when you’re Angie, you’ve got a regular copy and a bad copy,” Stan said slowly. Banjo nodded.

“That’s called bein’ a carrier, and it’s the only conclusion fer my sudden development of colorblindness.” Banjo rubbed his forehead. “Just my luck that the X chromosome what turned into a Y was the one what didn’t have colorblindness on it. Ugh.”

"Okay, so you can't see red, and pink is a kind of red," Stan said, "but you can see gray, right?"

"Yes."

"Then how come you didn't see Ford changing from not-gray to gray?" Stan asked.

"Wh- because he already looked gray! Pink looks gray to me right now!" Banjo said, throwing his hands up in frustration. "Even before we went to the Crawlspace, Stanford looked gray. I just figured he wasn't ‘cause some of my clothes what are pink looked gray yesterday."

"Huh.” Stan picked up his fork again and poked a bit at his breakfast, mulling over what Banjo had said. He locked eyes with the annoyingly attractive southerner. “Why didn’t you tell us? Were you embarrassed? You don’t need to be.” Banjo sighed.

“I was a bit embarrassed, sure. But it’s more that I didn’t really want to deal with it. It’s at the bottom of my list of concerns. I mean, I thought I was doin’ a good job hidin’ it!”

“The orange and green yesterday did seem a bit outta character,” Stan said. Banjo groaned.

“Dangit! I knew the flannel was orange, but I thought the shirt was red!”

“Oh, man,” Stan said, poorly stifling a laugh. “No, the flannel was green. The shirt was orange.” Banjo stared at him.

“It was?!”

“Yeah.”

Banjo slammed his head on the table. He groaned loudly.

“I ain’t teasin’ Lute ‘n Harper fer bein’ colorblind ever again!” he declared. Stan snickered. Banjo’s shoulders began to shake.

Shit, was I not “sensitive” enough? Banjo might be a guy right now, but he’s usually a chick. To Stan’s relief, he soon realized that Banjo was laughing, not crying. Banjo lifted his head, his eyes lit up with mirth. He grinned at Stan, his cheeks pink.

“Those ‘re my colorblind brothers,” Banjo explained. He leaned back in his chair, still grinning. “Though I s’ppose right now I’m a colorblind brother, too.”

“Think you could go fishing while colorblind?” Stan asked. Banjo frowned.

“I don’t see why not. Why?”

“It’s pretty obvious to me that Ford’s gonna hide in his room all day. I don’t see the point in staying here just to sulk in separate rooms or whatever.”

“...Oh.” Banjo looked down at his emptied plate. He sighed. “Yeah, I think yer prob’ly right ‘bout Stanford’s plans fer today. But I was really hopin’ to talk to him…”

“You can talk to him when we get back.” Stan got up. He grabbed both his plate and Banjo’s. Banjo blinked.

“Back? Back from where?”

“Fishing, genius.” Stan flicked Banjo’s nose playfully. Banjo snickered at the action.

Man, I love having someone around who’s got the same sense of humor as me.

“Unless you wanna mope around all day,” Stan added. Banjo shook his head.

“No, I don’t want to waste the gorgeous weather.” He grimaced. “Even if I don’t like fishin’.”

“You just think you don’t like it ‘cause you’ve never fished with me,” Stan said firmly, eliciting a soft laugh from Banjo. Banjo stood up.

“Just to dot our I’s and cross our T’s, I’ll go make sure Stanford don’t want to come with us.”

“I think it’s a waste of time, but suit yourself,” Stan muttered as he brought the plates over to the sink. He had just finished washing them when Banjo returned, looking crestfallen. “Well?”

“It’s just the two of us fishin’,” Banjo mumbled. Stan nudged him.

“Chin up, man,” he said. “Trust me, we’ll have way more fun just the two of us.” Banjo pursed his lips, clearly not convinced. “And if we don’t, we’ll stop at the grocery store to pick up those weird popsicles you like.” That got a smile from Banjo. Banjo led the way out of the house. Stan grabbed his car keys from the bowl on their way, grinning.

Bribery. It always works!

#Gravity Falls #Gravity Falls AU #Axolotl Ford AU #Stanford Pines #Stanley Pines #Angie McGucket #fanfiction #my writing #my stuff #speecher speaks

15 notes · View notes