#while still being a child who is doing it as an attempt to resolve her own trauma

[bug4932]

dont like the writing part but. something like this when they reunite.

Dark timeline where Kenzie latched onto Amy instead of Ash and Vic

[silversodas]

The Fairly Odd Parents: A New Wish Observations

What actually sold me on giving this series a solid chance, was the theme song, why? Because for me it showed what the series is attempting to be, something that’s paying homage to the source material while being it’s own thing and knowing what it wants to be.

The original theme song is categorized as Electric Swing or Light Jazz. This new theme song sounds like straight up Swing and it SLAPS!

The Set Up

So Hazel Wells moves to the city with her parents for her Dads job and at the same time her older brother and best friend Antony has left for college. Leaving Hazel overwhelmed but still trying to put on a brave face for her family. Not long after arriving they are visited by their new next door neighbors

Cosmo and Wanda are masquerading as a retired human couple

Lol one of the gifts in the welcome basket Cosmo gives them is a jar of pennies. In some places it’s a thing to leave pennies as gifts for fairies, I wonder if Cosmo thought it was a custom human gift

The concept of the parents are pretty interesting, especially their jobs.

Angela is a therapist and author, with all of the non self awareness fairy world had going on her insight could definitely be interesting if she somehow finds out. she is also pretty open minded and non judgmental, not being off put by Cosmo and Wanda’s weird behavior and inviting them in

Marcus is a paranormal scientist, which instantly makes Cosmo and Wanda nervous but what makes him interesting is that he didn’t go in the direction I thought he was going. I thought he was going to go full FOP writing fashion and him basically say he was looking for fairies. But no, he is just wanting to learn the unexplained and mostly about ghost. I don’t know the fact that he is presented as a friend to Cosmo and Wanda who could be a potential obstacle because of the interest that are apart of his character is a lot more interesting then if he was presented as a blatantly obvious obstacle and that’s his only purpose as a character. ( not saying it was bad when FOP did it, they did it in a way that was funny just not to compelling)

Hazel figures out they are magic because both Cosmo and Wanda are piss poor at hiding it but Hazel actually completely drops it after being unable to get her parents to see it

Angela and Marcus actually make pretty good foils for Cosmo and Wanda they are both just completely normal people who highlight Cosmo and Wanda’s colorfulness just as they highlight Angela and Marcus’s normalcy. Hazel, Marcus, and Angela seem to be emotionally intelligent people and it makes them enjoyable and honestly is refreshing

This girl has more emotional maturity then I ever dreamed of having at 10, she keeps her brave face until she hears that Antony can’t come visit till the holiday brake, she has an understandable brake down and her parents feel really bad they are having to change so much so fast for her.

She almost runs away until Cosmo and Wanda catch her (which is interesting because when she passed them on her way up stairs they where to busy with their mail to pay attention to her, but when she is about to run away their full attention snapped to her. Their “child is about to do something stupid”senses must have been tingling) she relents and vents to them about her troubles and that she just wanted to see her brother.

Cosmo and Wanda seem to have a Cathartic moment in realizing that Hazel needed help and that they realized that they were ready to be Godparents again. It was this moment I was like “yeah, you guy’s definitely retired because letting go of Timmy hurt you”

It’s when after everything is resolved and Hazel visits their vary magical and whimsical apartment (I bought the episodes on YouTube but they wouldn’t let me take screen shots) that they reveal that they had been on a 10,000 year sabbatical through time and space during their retirement. They don’t bring up Timmy, just say that they used to be Godparents to kids but then retired for 10,000 years (and no it’s not 10,000 years into the future, they were just time traveling). They actually nervously ask Hazel if she would consider being their Godkid which she enthusiastically agrees too. Don’t make pacts with fairies kids

How it’s going so far

Something interesting to note that while they never bring up Timmy, he kinda haunts the background I think they still have some unprocessed grief for Timmy that may get unpacked. I herd this show is supposed to get an overarching story and after seeing a few episodes I can tell that it’s staying consistent that it’s not completely episodic even if it’s a slow build ( as slow as it’s allowed to be anyway)

It looks like their human personas are their default disguises, that has the potential to be interesting in future episodes

I can tell that Hazel is still not 100% close with Cosmo and Wanda right off the bat, she is still getting to know them, like it was actually so enduring to watch her formally thank them for playing with her. Cosmo and Wanda are also trying to ease themselves in for her sake, but it’s clear that even though they are out of practice they are all in for this little girl and are in Godparent mode. Wanda is never not in Mom mode, and Cosmo already knows all of her special interests off the top of his head in the short time he has known her.

I don’t know, I just saw that a lot of people have been “rightfully” cautious about this show or have written it off, and just wanted to share some things that I thought made it interesting and made it worth giving a look

There are some who are a bit hopeful because one of the writers for infinity train is on the writing team so who knows

[002yb]

i would love to hear any thoughts about the guys finding out damian’s paternity in the secretary au? how does everyone handle it? ps your writing is a refuge against all the canon typical jason and the fam angst and its so good to have a bit of cute jason centric goodness 🥰

When Bruce returns home from another late night at the office, the last thing he expects is to be confronted by what appears to be an intervention. Not an uncommon occurrence for this family, but definitely not appreciated given Bruce is already running late for patrol.

A patrol that Nightwing and Robin should have already gotten a start on, yet here they are. Dressed, ready, and yet still lingering for him.

Something dire must have happened. His only consolation is that Jason is safe. Bruce made sure of it, as he often does. Seeing Jason home. Leaving, only to double back and linger. Watching through a broken window and sheer curtains at a spill of golden light to catch one more glimpse of his darling boy.

Ah, it's most definitely an intervention.

To dawdle like he does, as often as he does — it's possible it hasn't been without consequence to his responsibilities. For as motivated and reinvigorated as he feels towards his cause now that Jason is returned to him, Bruce can't protect this city if he can't tear himself from Jason's side...

But also? Where better to stake himself than at the heart of this city?

"We were delayed at the office." Bruce defends himself like a child caught out and not the grown man he is, sweeping through the cave and towards his costume. "Given the hour, I chose to see Jason home safely."

No one says anything. Tim doesn't call Bruce out on the truths he stretches — how the only delay that kept them at WE was due to Bruce's insistence on having misplaced his keys and needing help finding them. Being distracted by playful ribbing and witty humor throughout; shared stories of Jason's misadventures in child care — forgotten diaper bags and missing shoes, a hat blown away on a breeze.

'Lost things have a way of turning up where they're needed.' Jason had said, content because that forgotten diaper bag helped a struggling mother that was down on her luck and the shoe Damian kicked off on a walk made a homeless man smile at memories of softer times and the hat became a nest for some birds—

'If we're lucky they make their way back to us.' Jason told him, with a firm pat to Bruce's breast pocket where his keys jingled together. And Bruce stood there, awestruck as he raised his hand. Fingers brushing over Jason's hand before Jason pulled away, smile wide and impish. And Bruce smiled back, head dipping to play at sheepish while really his chest was simply overfull with gratefulness.

Lucky, indeed.

Not so lucky is that his fortune only extended up until the point with this intervention. Even Alfred is here to badger him, it seems. It’s laughable, given the three of them would or have done the same as him. Hypocrites, Bruce thinks petulantly.

"Start your routes." Bruce calls to them, a hail mary to hopefully spare himself from whatever is coming. When no one budges, Bruce frowns. Sighs, "Unless there's something pressing?"

The question has everyone shifting their gaze away from him with uncertainty. Even their body language is closed off, though maybe their mirrored crossed arms are an attempt to self-soothe? Bruce's brows furrow. He turns his focus to Dick who meets his eye and Bruce's frown deepens at the wariness he finds there.

"What is it?" He prompts even as he turns to dress. A quick process for how often he's done it. Whatever intervention they have staged, whatever trouble has come their way — it will have to be resolved while they're on the move. It really is late.

And yet they continue to wait. It tests Bruce's patience, though when he starts to bristle, Alfred clears his throat and prompts him, "It would do you well to take a seat, Master Bruce."

Ah. Bruce shoots a fleeting glance at the Batmobile, gauging if he can make a break for it before his sons tackle him and force his compliance. As that was one of the points of a prior intervention, Bruce decides to sit. If only to prove a point.

When he's handed loose pages, Bruce looks to Tim for a summary. Their usual routine, only this time his partner is not forthcoming. Tim looks pointedly down at the pages before looking back to Bruce, a somberness to his expression that has Bruce giving the report his full attention.

The report being... a paternity test? For Damian.

Bruce scans it, pausing when he comes across the results. Doubling back and rereading it properly because oh.

In no uncertain terms: it's Bruce.

A fine tremble in his hand gives away his nerves. The report shakes in his hold, worsened when Bruce slouches forward to read the results again, again, again. He hides the lower half of his face with his hand, brow furrowed as he tries and fails to wrap his head around such extraordinary circumstances.

Everything falls away from him. There's static in his ears, beneath his skin. Being a father is of no consequence to him — he has three wonderful sons already, he would be so lucky to have another, it's just...

"I have a son..." His voice sounds far away to his own ears. Soft-eyed, breathless, he marvels, "with Jason."

He thinks of Jason's romanticized views of being lost — of going to where you're needed and can't shake that Jason was lost to him to find Damian. To bring him home.

Maybe Bruce's luck hasn't run out quiet yet, after all.

Silence trails Bruce's proclamation, followed in short order by Alfred turning away from him — the bridge of his nose pinched between his fingers. Tim follows suit, head tipped back and hands scrubbing down his face, muffling exasperated gibberish. And Dick, who Bruce watches most pointedly, balks.

"That's not what the test says," Dick bristles, "Absolutely not!"

===========

What's tough is that Bruce can't up and claim to Jason that Bruce is Damian's father, either. That would hardly go over well. Jason is so protective of Damian that Bruce would be put in the ground for overstepping with his unconsented for paternity test — the authorities wouldn't even have a chance at him.

But also? Bruce can't go on like he knows nothing. He wants to be involved in Damian's life. He wants to be a father with Jason.

So. Baby steps. Which Dick and Tim are so petulant about because it involves them covering for Batman's patrol one night. Meaning they can't hang out at the manor with Jason and Damian when they come by for dinner. This is about a kid and their father though, so Dick and Tim begrudgingly lay low (and are grumpy about it all the while).

But yes, Damian being icy with Bruce because he associates Bruce with being the one to always take Jason away. And Jason has explained it's work, but Damian is peeved regardless.

To everyone's surprise, Bruce focusing more on Damian than Jason?? With Bruce kneeling to be more at eye level with this boy. And telling Damian that he can come with Jason to work whenever he wants; it's okay.

Which Jason is !!! about because what? Boundaries, boss. Not that he doesn't appreciate it.

Bruce insists though because "he does keep Jason occupied more than he should" but low-key...it's an opportunity to spend more time with his son if Damian visits, so...

Just Bruce trying to be a good dad even if he can't openly be a dad ;U;

Something something Damian bonding with Dick more though and Bruce gets it, but like (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

Extra odds and ends:

Going to the park together! And Bruce brings Ace and Damian adores him so much. The dog, not necessarily Bruce.

Just this sweet family walking together. With Damian holding the leash (that Bruce also holds on to) and ahhhhhh it's sweet

But also... the park is Dick and Damian's thing. So Bruce notices Damian looking around and questions it. And when Jason admits that he's looking for Dick, Bruce is so petulant and grumpy and jealous and ಠ_ಠ

Jason taking Bruce up on bringing Damian into the office one day. Because the assassin sitter got tied up on a job. Only there's an emergency with Tim so Jason has to attend to that and it's just Bruce and Damian.

And they probably sit across from one another at Bruce's desk and Bruce is all severe while Damian stares at him and clicks his tongue and insists on being difficult ahahahaha

Tim coming back with Jason later and both Bruce and Damian click their tongues at Tim for taking up Jason's attention and it's their first moment really connecting on something ahhhhhahaha

But yeah, the Talia reveal might come later and in a completely anticlimactic way. Where Bruce probably asks after Damian's mother and Jason casually name drops Talia. And Bruce is convinced it's a coincidence, but then Jason throws out the Al Ghul name and Bruce is ko'd, utterly o(-( because okay, he needs a minute.

==============

A big thank you for the sweet message, too! Sometimes I worry the way I write Jason is unlikable since my take on him is a little more soft/silly, so this was very assuring. ;/////;

[sweatreleaseofdeaths]

I never liked some aspects of SNK's ending since it came out back in 2021. Not because I thought it was bad or because I thought it wasn't well made, but because it felt forced. 

The sudden change of Eren's feelings about Mikasa was one thing that pissed me off, but also because Isayama's original ending wasn't even supposed to be the one that we got. It felt like he only wrote that specific ending for the fans and readers (and maybe because he was tired too; have you seen the bags?) and not because that was the ending that he wanted to write. 

Like you can clearly tell by the last arc that he took a drastic turn on where the story would go to make it "happier," for lack of better words.

 

The way I saw it from the beginning, there was no getting out of it. No happy ending whatsoever. And true to it, the ending with got was bittersweet. Everything Eren did was for nothing because the cycle started back again.

I did actually appreciate that, because it showed us something that was an actual reality. Even if it did help for a bit, nothing really changed because it's in humanity's nature to always start the cycle once again.

However, what I wanted to see more was his original idea of everybody dying. Instead of that, Isayama went and tried to pull a Naruto (with Armin and Eren) so that they could talk it out, understand each other, and come to an understanding. (The understanding being: the reasons of his actions, Eren's need to die, and their promises) 

From an interview (if I'm not mistaken), the original ending was apparently inspired by "The Mist," which is basically about the protagonist being the cause of his loved ones downfall in an attempt to protect them. Sounds familiar, right? It feels like it was going in that direction, then Isayama just decided to make them all resolve their differences, for some reason. 

I personally don't hate the ending; like I said, I just think it was a tad forced on his end.

 

On the Mikasa/Eren thing, do NOT get me wrong. Mikasa is and has always been an important character to this story. Her as well as her relationship with Eren IS special. Now just because what they share is special doesn't necessarily mean that it's "love.".

On Mikasa's side, she literally lost her parents and met Eren a second later because he killed for her and came to her defense. She latched into him because of that. She was a traumatised child with a deeply unhealthy view of love, so while she did love Eren, the way she showed it could be interpreted as just obsession toward her rescuer.

But the thing with Mikasa's character is that the more the story goes, the more you see her become her own person without Eren. Either it be choosing between her desire to stay with him or her duties as a soldier, or even when she had to make a choice between killing him or not being willing to because of how much she loves him.

I honestly love Mikasa as a character so much. You can see her growth and see her trying to get past her trauma step by step. So, at the end, even though she never stopped loving Eren, she moved on and started a life for herself, because that's where her development was leading to.

Contrary to her, Eren had little to no self-restraint. He was hot-headed and only believed in what he believed, walking the path that he felt was right. He was obsessed with one thing and one thing only (that's literally everything he talked about), never straying from it no matter what happened.

I feel like he never tried to get past his trauma, only feeding into it the more time passed. From always getting into fights because of different perspectives he had with people (i.e., hitting one of the guys who was badmouthing the scouts with a stick) to ending 80% of humanity. Eren was selfish from the beginning; everything he did was for himself. Even the rumbling was partially for himself because his freedom couldn't be obtained if the people outside the walls were still around. 

Eren was and will always be a deeply selfish person, but there is also more to that. (So much more that I'm not even going to get into that here, because I love Eren too much and wouldn't be doing him any justice by resuming his character in just a few words.)

 

TLDR: Eren did not love her romantically (he did LOVE her; it just wasn't romantic), and even if Isayama wanted to say that they did love each other, what they shared ultimately was toxic. It could've turned into something better if Eren was less self-centred, but then again. My issue with all of this is that Isayama underexplored this aspect of their relationship so much that it just was out of the blue (and might I add ooc without getting shot) when Eren started wailing about not wanting her to end up with someone else.

You can't just make a story, build it, and put effort into it, then make a little throwaway line of "Oh, these two love each other, btw." That's just not how it works. You have to develop it for the readers to understand, and even if some people end up not liking it, it wouldn't matter because at least you made it make sense. 

 

Also! I'm not criticising SNK, nor am I criticising Isayama. I've loved this story for years, so really, at the end of the day, even if some things still felt off to me, I will keep loving it to death. (And you can ship whoever you want who gives a fuck!)

[softguarnere]

Hi, Dove!

I really love all your one-shots and headcanons! I haven’t read your OC work, but when I get the time, I’m super excited to start it.

Can I request a one-shot with Roe treating a soldier who he finds out is actually a girl disguised as a man, and her making him swear not to tell anyone? (Can be platonic or romantic). Possibly some little bits of conversation in French if it’s not too difficult? I won’t judge if you use Google translate😂French is hard.

No pressure, of course

Have a great day!

Where There is Injury

Eugene Roe x reader

A/N: (This is written for the fictional depiction from the show - no disrespect to the real veterans!) Hello friend! Thanks so much for sending in another request 🤗 I'm so glad you've enjoyed my other writing, so I hope you'll like this as well! I haven't spoken French in years, so this is most likely riddled with mistakes, but I tried haha. You have a great day as well! 💕 Warnings, PLEASE READ: this fic contains misgendering until the reader's secret is revealed, please do not read if that may be triggering for you! Also contains mentions of war, injury, and blood

“Medic!”

For what feels like the thousandth time, the word is screamed out into the woods, echoing off the charred stubs of trees as they attempt to reach the man who holds that job. One word, two syllables, yet so much responsibility tied to the title. So much pain on both the part of the person screaming and the person being screamed for.

It should be second nature by this point, with how often since arriving in Bastogne people have been wounded, been calling for help. There’s hardly ever a time when Eugene isn’t on the move, sprinting between foxholes and doing his best to dodge German artillery fire as he heads for whoever needs him – and all with little to no supplies.

Yet somehow, he finds that he has to urge and instruct himself on each next step. Vous vous levez, Eugene. Tu cours maintenant, Eugene. Tu aides les gens, Eugene.

And there he goes, boots crunching the snow underfoot as he runs toward the voice that calls for him. Pieces of the prayer that his mémère taught him as a child run through the back of his mind as he goes.

Seigneur, faites de moi un instrument de votre paix.

It’s Skinny Sisk. A piece of shrapnel has pierced his leg. Frank Perconte is trying to keep him still while he calls for a medic. Relief briefly flashes across his face when he sees Eugene appear.

“Save the morphine, Doc!” Sisk insists through gritted teeth. “I can make it.”

“You sure?”

Sisk hesitates. Then he nods, resolving himself to his fate as Eugene and Perconte raise him from the foxhole, adjusting their grip on him as they rush him towards the Jeep that’s arriving.

Là où il y a de la haine, que je mette l'amour.

Sisk screams in pain as Eugene and Perconte stumble forward. His wounded leg hits the ground first, even though they scramble to pick him up as quickly as they can.

“Aw, Jesus, Skinny, you got blood all over my trousers!” Perconte scolds.

“Gee, I’m real sorry, Frank!” Sisk hisses.

Là où il y a l'offense, que je mette le pardon.

They load Sisk onto the Jeep. Eugene starts to climb in after him. He hasn’t seen the town yet, but he needs whatever supplies they may be willing to spare, and he should make sure that Sisk gets there safely.

“Sorry,” the driver says, pressing a hand to Eugene’s chest to stop him from climbing in the vehicle.

Là où il y a la discorde, que je mette l'union.

He doesn’t argue. The company is desperate for supplies, but he’ll have to find some other way to get what they need. Instead he nods to the driver, stuffs his hands into his pockets to warm them, and starts back to his foxhole.

Là où il y a l'erreur, que je mette –

Gene stops in his tracks. In the snow at his feet there are spatters of blood staining the fresh white crystals that fell the night before. With the shellings that have happened this morning, it wouldn’t be so unusual, except that as far as he knows, no one out this way has been hit this morning. Even more curious is that when he stops walking, silencing the crunching of snow under his boots, he can hear fast breathing and the occasional groan coming from nearby.

His medic brain springs into action at once. Following the blood in the snow, Gene arrives at a foxhole that holds one person. The man sitting inside the earth is so preoccupied with trying to mop up the blood coming from his arm with a threadbare blanket that he doesn’t even notice Gene’s arrival until he drops down into the foxhole with him.

It’s (Y/L/N), one of the few Toccoa men that are left. His (Y/E/C) eyes go wide when Gene lands next to him, and he scrambles backwards, trying to get away, despite the fact that there’s nowhere for him to go.

“(Y/L/N), what happened?” Gene asks. He extends a hand. “Let me see.”

“No!” (Y/L/N) exclaims, trying in vain once again to push himself out of Gene’s reach. The word is harsh and said in a tone that Gene has never heard (Y/L/N) use before, but he ascribes all of that to the pain. (Y/L/N) must catch it too, though, because he clears his throat and says more calmly, “No, Doc, it’s nothing.”

Blood is seeping into the blanket he’s pressing to his arm. His eyes are wide and frantic. Gene supposes that he would most likely have a similar reaction if he found himself injured in this place. As much as he can empathize with (Y/L/N)’s reaction, he also needs to stand firm and help his fellow paratrooper.

“(Y/L/N), you gotta let me see,” Gene insists. He manages to remove the blanket from where it’s pressed against (Y/L/N)’s arm. Through the dark blood that stains the fabric of his sleeve, Gene can barely make out a horizontal gash along the other man’s arm. “I know it’s cold, but we need to take off your jacket so I can see your arm. Spina might – “

“No!” (Y/L/N)’s voice is low and harsh this time as he interrupts. “I don’t need Spina. I don’t need anything. It’s not that bad.”

“(Y/L/N), you’ve got blood everywhere! I can’t tell how bad it is unless you let me help you!”

“And then I’ll get sent to some aid station, and then they’ll send me home, or to jail, or worse.”

 Most of the men are willing to admit that they don’t like being sent to the aid station. (Y/L/N)’s reluctance to be sent there isn’t unusual. What is unusual are the other possibilities listed: jail or worse. Why would a wounded soldier be sent to jail? And what could be worse?

Eugene’s confusion must show on his face, because (Y/L/N) blinks, mouth falling shut, as if surprised by his own words. Whatever is happening here, it’s clearly much more than just a wounded arm.

“What do you mean by that?” Eugene ventures.

(Y/L/N) winces then, drawing a shaky breath, grip tightening on his arm. When he looks back up at Eugene, something has changed. His gaze softens, as does his voice, and his eyes are a little watery, though Eugene politely pretends not to notice the last part.

“I don’t want to come off the line,” (Y/L/N) says.

“That depends on how serious that is,” Eugene asserts, nodding to the wounded arm. “You gotta let me help you.”

They’re losing what might be precious time, yet (Y/L/N) still hesitates. Finally, he draws a deep breath and nods.

“Alright. Take off your jacket so that I can see how bad it is.”

Slowly, (Y/L/N) removes his jacket, wincing as he moves his injured arm. Jumping into action, Eugene helps him shrug out of it, not willing to lose more time or more blood because of a disagreement. They’ve just managed to remove the coat when Eugene feels (Y/L/N)’s gaze on him, heavy and challenging. What? he starts to ask when finally, he sees the reason for (Y/L/N) not wanting to remove his coat.

Or should he say, her coat.

“Oh.” He sits back on his heels, his brain rushing to connect all the information that’s just come at him in these past few minutes. (Y/L/N)’s insistence that Roe leave her alone, her assertion that something bad could happen to her, the bandages around her chest . . .

Il n'y a pas de temps pour ça, he reminds himself, once again instructing himself on what to do next. Réparer ce bras. Posez vos questions plus tard.

Luckily for the both of them, the wounds on (Y/L/N)’s arm aren’t that serious – a few gashes from shrapnel, but nothing that needs stitching up. For her sake, Eugene tries to keep the mood light when he finishes bandaging her up. “I’ll make sure you get a Purple Heart for it.”

Shrugging back into her coat, (Y/L/N) offers him a tight-lipped smile. Several times she draws a breath as if to speak, only to stop herself, allowing the foxhole to remain in its vacuum of silence.

“I won’t tell anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Eugene finally assures her. This must have been what she was worried about, because relief washes over her face, although its quickly replaced with a suspicious brow raise.

“Why not?”

“Well, why would I?” Really, why would he? It’s none of his business. Not really. Besides, if (Y/L/N) has made it all the way from Toccoa to Bastogne with this secret, then she’s pretty good at keeping it. It’s been years, after all, and Eugene never would have suspected. And, he reasons, to give up her life to disguise herself as a man and become a paratrooper – well, that’s definitely taken some guts, whatever her reasons. Reasons that he doesn’t know, but that he’s starting to wonder about.

Ce ne sont pas mes affaires, Eugene reminds himself. Still, though . . .

“Well, thank you,” (Y/L/N) says with a curt nod. Then she lets out a deep sigh, burying her head in her hands. When she emerges again, she has an air of resolve about her. “Would you . . . As long as you’re not going to tell anyone, that is, could you – could you help me keep this secret safe?” She won’t quite meet his gaze when she confesses, “It can get a little lonely.”

Whatever Eugene was expecting her to say, it wasn’t that. But he can understand what she’s talking about, the loneliness of this place. Especially as a medic. “Of course.”

A small smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. Still a little bloody, she extends a hand to him. “(Y/N),” she says. “Nice to properly meet you.”

He shakes her hand in kind; she’s got a very confident handshake. “You as well.”

It really is, he must admit. Strange, how in just a few chance moments, some of the cold loneliness of Bastogne has begun to melt away.

[francesminos-tt]

Did you see the leaks? What you think about the season in general? Did you like Gwayne? AND TESSERION? for me, the leaks were disappointing. rhaenyra begging for the war to end going to alicent and alicent wanting to hand over her children!? It's like the war makes no sense, is completely pointless and s3 seems disheartening and boring

To answer your first question, Gwayne is probably my favorite character in this season. He is exactly what I imagined him to be, a bit more playful perhaps, but overall, I like his character. He's like the voice of reason in the Green's side tbh. Freddie Fox's acting added to the characterization as well. I will touch more on Gwayne while talking about the Green's plot later. As for Tesserion, I didn't get a good look at it actually. I hope it is not too small. (Size of the dragons and people's obsession over it is another disappointing point in the show)

For the season itself, well, I am so glad you asked. I can write an essay about how the show killed almost all characters' arc with bad plot, unnecessary dialogue and forced conflict. Let me explain.

In my opinion, the biggest problem of S2 is that the show failed to recognize the dire situation of war. In fact, it seems to me that the show writers do not think there is a war at all. They seem to think the conflict between the Blacks and the Greens is just a family dispute, and it can be resolved by calling back to Rhaenyra and Alicent's bond. Do you realize how ridiculous this sounds? Why is Rhaenyra begging for the war to end going to Alicent and Alicent wanting to hand over her children? Because they see this so-called war not as a matter of life and death, but as a dispute between themselves that can be solved by begging the other. The show focuses too much on the emotional bond with Rhaenyra and Alicent that it killed both women's character development. They act like innocent maidens as they were in S1E1, while in fact, decades have passed and now they are both mothers and both has suffered child death. It is as if the death of Luke and Jaehaerys did not change them at all, which is absurd to me. I want to drop a bomb on someone who hurt my cat, so why does Rhaenyra still think the so called war can end peacefully when the other side killed her child?? Rhaenyra insisting to behead Aegon in the leaks seems strange to me as well. Rationally, I know Aegon is the enemy king and he should be symbol of the Green's usurpation, but in the previous episodes of this season, no one really sees him as king. Everyone, both allies and enemies, is talking about Aemond, Vaghar, Aemond, Vaghar, without even mentioning Aegon the Usurper. So I don't think publicly beheading Aegon can have the desired effect of ending the usurpation.

Another problem is that the show wants to put Rhaenyra and Alicent both in a very oppressed position so bad that they sacrificed a lot of character development and logic to achieve this. The show wants to paint both Rhaenyra and Alicent as victims of discrimination against women, which is fine by me, but being the victim is the not the solution. I, as an audience, want to see them fight the system. I think it is one of main takeaways from the Dance of the Dragons era. Disappointingly, all I see is them complaining and whiny about how the men don't listen to their commands, but I want to see them plotting, scheming, threatening, being diplomats, and most importantly, making a change. The show clearly wants to draw some parallels with Cersei, but at least Cersei does not sit in a room throwing a tantrum or go out to take a bath in the woods. Rhaenyra doing the red sowing seems like an attempt to make a change, but the way she did it (recruiting people from enemy territory is just beyond me) and the fact she doesn't seem to have a comprehensive plan of what to do next is just lame.

The show tries to force their out-of-place ideas and values upon the audience, namely feminism and the importance of people(smallfolk). Firstly, the show puts a lot of focus on female characters and in order to make these women shine, and it castrates all the men. I am not joking. Can you point out a single male character who doesn't go against the women? Not a single one. Gwayne is a possible candidate, but I think why he acts so logical and somewhat kind is to make Alicent even more devastated when he dies in the next season. Daemon, Jace, Corlys, Aegon, Aemond, Cole. They are all obstacles of Rhaenyra and Alicent, instead of their supporters. Putting men against women is not feminism. Secondly, I admit that smallfolks play an important role in killing the dragons in the F&B book, but the show makes it too far. This show is a medieval fantasy, not the French Revolution. Preconditions need to be met in order for the smallfolks to fight against the aristocracy. Productivity, social changes, urbanization, and movements like the Enlightenment are all contributors for the commoners to rise against their kings and queens. Ignoring all these factors and putting modern standards on smallfolks in the asoiaf world is just arrogant and disrespectful.

In terms of plot pace and development, S2 is also a failure. If you look at S1E1 and S1E10, things have become so different that you will probably feel sorry for the characters. But if you look at S2 premier and finale, they are practically the same. Even though supposedly a lot of people died and a lot of battles fought, the main characters still seem to be in the same place. They have no development whatsoever. They still immerse in their personal issues and fail to recognize the grand situation.

The final point I want to make, and this is completely personal, is that I hate them making Joffrey a clingy mommy's boy. He acts like an idiot who only knows how to say mommy. The scene with Rhaena, it pains me to watch it. They are not even having a intellectual conversation! They sizes down Tyraxes and just leaves Joffrey in the Vale like he's unwanted luggage.

Okay, thanks for giving me an opportunity to rant about the utter failure of S2. I have so much more to say(like how killed Jace and Daemon's character, how they made Aemond an anime villain, etc) but I think I will stop here. Let's just say I am not looking forward to S3. AT ALL.

[vigilskeep]

wait harker what is your beef with halsin? /gen

so on my first attempt at starting the game, i played a tiefling druid, which was quite an experience as i had no idea the first conflict i was about to walk into was between tieflings and druids. i found talking to kagha very upsetting for my character; it was obvious this was a place my character would normally feel at home, were it not for the bigotry that had taken root. the first thing kagha said to my character, after she was finished hurling fantasy slurs at and threatening a tiefling child who was crying apologies and begging to go back to her parents, was to dismiss my character as a druid on account of their race: “the treefather’s words spoken with a devil’s forked tongue”. if you read what’s on the table next to kagha, there’s a diatribe against tieflings, saying their allegiance is to the hells and implying they should all be sent back there. i also played a failed save where kagha was responsible for the little tiefling girl’s death and her only immediate reaction was to cover it up, and also where i foolishly attacked her and she commanded a full attack against the tieflings where i came back into the hollow to see dozens slaughtered and the rest desperately trying to defend themselves. so i was fully aware that kagha posed an existential threat to this entire group of innocent refugees with whom i shared common ground

(i swear all this context is necessary)

after all this, obviously i was glad to discover there was a quest to investigate kagha. i felt my character’s faith in their druid beliefs was pretty shaken, and they would be hugely pleased to displace kagha, search out the rightful leader of the grove, and see justice done and balance restored. i put some quite considerable effort into investigating kagha, stealing from her chest (and boy is stealth not my strong suit) and trekking all the way down the map to the bog to discover the truth. i was pleased to learn she was some kind of evil druid. she was an anomaly. all i needed was to get rid of her, and everything would be fine again. but i made a crucial mistake: i decided to rescue halsin first, thinking everything would be much easier if i had the true, good leader of the grove at my side before i started making accusations. after all, my character still wanted to believe in the druids, and had not felt like she would be trusted in the grove herself. it was a natural choice.

and halsin... just demoted kagha to novice?

like. that’s it. he didn’t even make her leave the grove that had been willing to support her in all this. kagha was willing to kill a tiefling child. she was willing to kill all the tieflings. if you show up before you go to rescue halsin, she’s willing to attack her own people. you can even tell halsin she was involved with these evil shadow druids, and he has almost nothing to say about it. and right after that, he had the nerve to say to my druid character that in another time they would have been a welcome addition to the grove, as if it wasn’t very clear how unwelcome people like them were, as if they would be willing to be the one exception. kagha wasn’t the only one who’d gone along with it or spat the word devil. then halsin wants to join me and leave the grove to deal with his own guilt, while bringing in some stranger to resolve the grove’s problems and restore its “purity”, as if any druids seem trustworthy neutral parties right now, and as if kagha and her influence wouldn’t still be right there, just as unchecked in his absence. and he got mad at me for the extremely minor questioning of that which the game let me do!

i absolutely do not expect anyone to share these opinions as they originate from an extremely specific experience of the game lmao. in fact, different players being able to have very different opinions based on how you experienced the game is one of my favourite parts of bg3 so far. but personally i don’t seem to be able to shake this opinion despite now playing as a different character��this current one having found out that he personally taught kagha??—and i... don’t think i’m being that irrational. i don’t like him and if i get an opportunity to drop him from my camp i will take it

[cassiebones]

I wonder how often Agatha said "I can be good" to her mother

Did Agatha start showing her powers early on? Were there sparks already flying between toddler Agatha's fingers. Did she excitedly show her mother what she could do? Was Evanora shocked that such a young child could have such power? Did she take it as an omen that her child wasn't "right"? Did she worry that Agatha's powers would grow into something untamable? Did she start mistreating her then or before then? Evanora was also a witch, but what did that mean? Especially for somebody convinced that her child was pure evil.

Did she immediately punish her daughter, calling her bad an evil, locking her away for using her powers? Did she drill into Agatha's head that she was an evil child? Did baby Agatha cry and scream and pound on the door, promising that she would be good?

Did she grow older, watching her mother take part in this coven of witches? Did she watch the younger children? Did she make sure they were fed and safe as their mothers gathered for coven meetings? Did she grow an affection for them? Did she show them some tricks that she learned sneaking a peek in her mother's books? Did she get caught by a coven member? Was that member horrified by her? Or impressed? Did she bring it to Evanora, asking when this gifted young witch was going to be inducted into their coven? Did Evanora then tell her coven mate that Agatha was not to be in any coven, that she was evil, that her powers should not be developed because she would use them for only bad things?

Did Agatha get locked up again, bound by her mother so that she couldn't use her power to escape? Did she cry and scream again, begging for release? Or was she used to this now? Was this just her life? Did she resolve to not stop using magic, but to stop showing others her magic?

Was she quiet, respectful, and obedient to her mother, trying desperately to be good? Did her mother care?

I bet Evanora took every chance she could get to tell Agatha how evil she was, how bad she was, how she would only ever cause destruction. And resentment built from that. She still loved her mother, but she also wanted to prove herself. That she could be good.

That's what she told her mother every time she was called evil.

"I can be good!"

I bet Evanora snarled at her. "I doubt it." And it made Agatha feel so small.

I wonder if Agatha got so tired of being hated by her mother so much, for no good reason. Her powers grew and she kept them a secret, but she didn't want a mother from whom she had to hide her magic. She wanted one who celebrated her power, encouraged her gifts, praised her and told her how much she loved her.

Forced Love spells are, without a single doubt in my mind, dark magic. You cannot and should not force somebody to love you. But Agatha is desperate for even an ounce of love. Especially since she's stopped being allowed to care for the children, who are all now fearful of her, thinking her evil.

So she tries to find some love spells, spells that can give her the loving mother/daughter relationship she has always craved, the relationship the other coven members have with their daughters.

But she's caught looking for them, poring over a book of dark magic. She's reported quietly to Evanora, who suddenly starts to be affectionate toward her daughter, inviting her to the coven for an initiation, trying to entice her daughter with kind words and gentle support, but secretly planning her demise.

Agatha of course thinks that her spell worked and trusts that he mother is changed, that she loves her now as a mother should, so she accepts the invitation.

And she is ambushed. She is tied to a stake while her mother's coven stands around her, as her mother spells out her doom, telling her that she is evil and must now die.

Agatha cries and begs and pleads, telling her that she can be good, please, Mother!

But Evanora doesn't listen. She and the rest of her coven attempt to kill her daughter...and fail spectacularly.

Instead, a new, dormant power is revealed: Agatha can absorb the powers of those that try to harm her, like a sponge.

She doesn't mean to do it. She doesn't truly want her mother to die. She doesn't know what has even happened until she's on her hands and knees in front of the stake, purple magic that isn't her own, buzzing through her body.

It feels exhilarating, but that feeling doesn't last when she sees the empty husk of her mother a few feet ahead. Then the other coven witches, all mothers in their own right, all with small children whom they love, who love them.

Agatha killed them all. But she didn't mean to! She didn't want anybody to die! She just wanted to be loved by her mother.

She begins to sob at her mother's corpse. Her entire body heaving with it, her hands grasping the dirt around her.

"Wow," a voice says from above her. Agatha jumps and stares up at the figure of a cloaked woman, with black hair spilling from a bright green cloak. "You have caused quite some damage, huh?"

Agatha's eyes widen and she shakes her head, pushing herself away from this woman, crying and denying.

"N-no! I di-didn't mean to! I can be good! I swear!"

The hood of the cloak falls, revealing a pale face with dark eyes full of empathy, a frown on her face. She puts her hands up in surrender.

"Okay," she says, her voice smooth and soft, "I know. I know this wasn't..." she looks around at all the bodies, "your fault. Still, it is pretty impressive." She gives Agatha a genuine grin. "You must be a pretty powerful witch."

Agatha's face immediately burns at the praise. Nobody has ever praised her like this before. It's kind of...nice.

She clears her throat and wipes away the tears from her cheeks. "Not if you ask my mother," she says, bitterly. "To her, I am pure evil."

"Not much of a mother then, huh?" Rio huffs, slightly kicking the shell that is Evanora Harkness. "But what do I know? I've never really had one of those. I mean, unless you count..." She motions around them, to the trees, the Earth, the sky, then shrugs.

Agatha is confused, but doesn't ask questions. She just stares, in silence, at this mysterious woman who seems to have sprung up out of nowhere. She thought she knew all the women in the village - especially the pleasant-looking ones. She had kept that fact from her mother, of course. But she wasn't blind.

And this woman....oh, she was the most pleasant-looking of them all. Beautiful, even. Agatha's face felt as though it had been set on fire at the thought and she coughed.

"Oh, how rude of me," the green-cloaked woman says, "I've failed to introduce myself." In a second, she is kneeling in front of Agatha, suddenly in front of her when she'd been several feet away. "Rio Vidal." She reaches for Agatha's hand, which had been scratched in her fall. "Oof, that's a nasty one," she says. "Allow me."

To Agatha's shock, she licks the back of her hand. Agatha squeaks, pulling her hand away.

"Are you mad?" she huffs, wiping her bloody hand on the skirt of her dress. "You're going to give me the Plague..." Her eyes widen when she looks back at her hand, finding no scratches, just saliva and a bit of blood and dirt. When she looks up at Rio, her eyes are narrowed.

"Who are you?" she asks.

"Rio Vid--"

"What are you?" Agatha clarifies. "I've never met anybody who can...do that. Not without a chant and some moonlight. Are you..." she lowers her voice, "a dark witch?"

Rio lets out a bit of a cackles as she straightens, lifting herself above Agatha, then offering her a hand to stand as well.

"Not exactly," she says. "But I don't typically feel the need to explain myself to strangers." She tilts her head, pointedly, and Agatha flushes, again.

"Harkness," she says. "Agatha Harkness."

"Harkness?" Rio's eyes flash with familiarity. "I've known many in the Harkness line. But I've never known an Agatha." She bows to Agatha, taking one of her hands in both of hers. "My lady," she says. Agatha is blushing again, cursing at herself to cut that out already.

"My mother didn't really like to talk about me," she said, ashamed.

Rio's eyes widen at that, then she looks around them at the deceased coven witches. "You sure about that?" she asked. "This seems like a pre-planned, discussed-at-length, kind of event. I think she spoke of you plenty."

Tears prick at the corners of Agatha's eyes. "Not because she was proud of me," she said. "But because she thought that I was evil."

Without preamble, Rio reaches forward, placing her hand on Agatha's chest, right between her breasts. Agatha flushes again and stutters a bit. "You really have no respect for boundaries, do you?" she huffs, but she doesn't push Rio away.

Rio laughs and pulls back a second later. "Apologies," she says. "I was just checking on something."

"My heart rate?" Agatha huffs.

"Now that you mention it," Rio teases, and Agatha hides a smile behind the curtain of her hair, looking down. Rio softens at the display of shyness. "You're not evil," she says. "You've just been poorly treated by one who is meant to love you, unconditionally. If anybody is evil, it is--was your mother." Then she groans. "Your mother who is screaming in my ear right now, so give me just a moment. I'll return."

Agatha furrows her brow as she watches Rio walk around the circle of bodies, touching each one with a glowing green hand, then placing her hand into the pocket of her cloak. When she's finished with the last body, she gives Agatha another bow and then disappears into nothingness, leaving Agatha flabberghasted.

While she waits, she looks at her healed hand, which still tingles at the memory of Rio's tongue swiping across it. The bodies are still there, but they feel...quieter, somehow. Her chest aches when she looks at her mother. But there's no guilt or sadness there, only rage.

When Rio reappears two feet in front of her, she has a frown etched on her face.

"How you lived with that woman without strangling her, I will never understand. You are much stronger than me."

Agatha warms at the compliment, enjoying the way it makes her flush this time.

"Anyway," Rio continues, "I have good news and bad news."

"What's the bad news?"

"Your mother refuses to cross over to the other side. She'd prefer to stay a ghost here rather than go on her merry way to Hell, where she belongs!" She glares to her right, as if there's an entity standing right beside her where Agatha sees only open air.

"Um," Agatha says, feeling as though she just received the confirmation that Rio is a madwoman. "And what's the good news?"

"You can't hear her," Rio says, with a grin, "and she is powerless to do anything about that." She turns back to the open air. "Scream all you want, bitch; she can't hear you." She turns back to Agatha. "Congratulations. Now, you just have one more task."

"What's that?" Agatha asks, frowning. "Hiding the bodies?"

"Oh," Rio says, looking around. "Yeah, you should probably do that. Here, I'll help." She twists her fingers in the air and suddenly all the bodies around them start to sink into the Earth, leaving behind flowers and patches of green gas. "Rest in peace," Rio says, somberly, before turning her bright smile back to Agatha. "No, I was talking about the children."

"The children?" Agatha asks. "You mean...the coven children?"

"Yep," Rio says.

"What about them?"

"They're going to become a problem. You have to kill them."

Agatha's eyes widen at that. "What? No! I can't!"

"It's tradition!" Rio huffs. "After you slay a witch, you have to kill her offspring, so that her line dies with her and you don't create little revenge gremlins out for your blood."

"I killed my own mother," Agatha pointed out. "Does that mean I'd kill myself, as well?"

Rio shrugs. "You could," she says. "Then we could probably spend more time together."

"How so?"

"Have you not figured it out yet, sweetheart?" Rio asks, grinning madly again. "What my job is?"

Agatha's eyes widen at that. "You're Death." It's not a question. Rio still answers it with a wide, beautiful grin. "So you were just...around?"

"I heard whispers of an attack," Rio says, walking around Agatha in a slow circle while Agatha turns to look at her. "Figured I'd get a jump on collecting the body. Doesn't hurt that you're not hard on the eyes."

Agatha blushes at that and clears her throat.

"Guess you got more than you bargained for, huh?"

"Eight bodies and a beautiful, powerful witch?" Rio asks, stopping where she'd originally stood. "Feels more like I've been blessed. But what would I know? I've never been blessed."

"Neither have I," Agatha says, growing a bit bolder at the praise. "But I guess there's a first time for everything."

Rio grins, stepping into her space, their noses practically brushing as energy sparks between them, green and purple, complimentary.

"Seriously, though," Rio whispers in the space between their breaths, "you have to kill them. The children. It's the only way."

Agatha steps back. "I can't," she says. "They're...they're so young. Innocent. I will not fault them for the actions of their mothers."

"It's your choice," Rio says, shrugging, "but it's also your funeral." She grins. "I'm fine with it either way."

"You are mad," Agatha says, with a snort.

"Join me, then," Rio whispers between their lips. "It's fun."

Agatha feels herself leaning forward, as if drawn in by some kind of magnetism, her lips attaching themselves to Rio's, which are cold and hot at the same time, dizzying.

When she opens her eyes, however, Rio is gone.

And she is alone again.

[writingintheshadowsforever]

Imagine Being Namor's Daughter and Choosing Wakanda over him after Queen Ramonda's Death

Okay so walking straight into enemy territory after your father just drowned the country's beloved leader in front of her daughter wasn't your best idea. But how could you continue to stand with by Namor's side with his merciless actions. Your whole life you had always been daddy's little girl. Namor gave you the world and treated you like the Princess you were. When you expressed your desire to be a warrior he didn't turn you away.

He taught how to fight, how to move with your wings, and how to control your ability to manipulate water. Whatever your heart desired is what he gave you. Except this time the feud between Wakanda and Talokan was getting out of hand. You had begged your father to proceed with caution when he returned from his meeting with the Queen to find. Both Shuri and Riri had been rescued by the country.

You grabbed his arm and dug your feet into the hard cavern floor. Holding on for dear life your desperate pleas were the last line defense for an inevitable war on the horizon. You had considerable strength thanks to being his daughter, but Namor was still stronger. And when he turned around to shrug you away that one small action sent you flying back to the ground. You landed on your butt hard and looked up at him in shock and fear.

Namor's eyes widened as it hit him what he just did. His intention wasn't to hurt you that was never his intention. Regret flashed across his face but was quickly replaced with his hard resolve. You recognized that look all too well. He wore it whenever Namora and Attuma came to him with news of human ships getting to close to Talon's vibranium supply.

His mind was made up and no amount of reasoning would change it. He would attempt to make amends with you later, but soon Namor would discover this time he went too far in your eyes. Unlike your father you never shared the same hatred for the surface world. Especially for a nation of people who were in the same position as Talokan, and while Wakanda had surely made some mistakes. Nothing justified what he was doing. This wasn't the way to build an alliance, and you had to do something. If such a thing could still be possible.

You rose up out of the water in the heart of city floating outside the palace. At the same spot where your father launched his attack on Queen Ramonda. You got the chance to speak with her after news reached you that her daughter and the scientist got captured.

"You have a lot of nerve to show your face here" Queen Ramonda seethed.

You appeared on the same beach your father had approached them at knowing it would be heavily guarded. Indeed you were met with sharp end of multiple spears wielded by women dressed in red and silver armor. "I come in peace I request an audience with the Queen."

"And why should we grant your request?" One of them spoke up walking forward forcing you to step back. In order to avoid being pierced with her weapon.

It was a power move to establish control and dominance. You knew it and knocked the spear away with a simple strike. "Because my father has taken your Princess and the scientist hostage."

That was all they needed to hear and the leader of the army ordered them to stand down. She regarded you in suspicion. You had no weapon attached to your body, and didn't look a day over eighteen, but your eyes told a different story. You were a force to be reckoned with just as much as your father. Funny thing you never introduced yourself as the Princess of Talokan, but she was able to figure it out. With the way you walked and talked showing absolutely no fear.

"I know you are angry your Highness and you have every right to be. My father went against his word and betrayed you, but I promise you no harm has come to your daughter." You told her.

"And I'm just supposed to believe you. The child of my enemy who threatened my country" She shot back with a humorless chuckle.

"I might be his child but I am nothing like my father I came to reassure you and-" You cut yourself off in hesitation.

"And what go on" Queen Ramonda encouraged with a wave of her head. The elderly people seated in a circle of the throne room nodded as well. They were captivated from the second you walked through the door. The wings on your ankles, the pointy ears, and the large circular vibranium bottle that sat on your hip. They wondered what was in it, and you reassured them it was only water. But none of them knew of your ability to control it.

"I'm here to offer myself up as your prisoner until your daughter and the young scientist is returned safely." You finished straightening your body out to stand tall. Your eyes locked onto hers to show her just how serious you were about this proposition.

Queen Ramonda waited for a few seconds as if you had just told a joke, and she was waiting for the punchline. But you showed no sign of retracting your offer or regret. "Will you really be so foolish child?"

"Its not foolish it's a fair trade in my eyes. My father took the Princess of Wakanda, so you guys get the Princess of Talokan" You told her.

"Queen Ramonda we should accept her surrender. It will finally give us the leverage to get him to surrender." A elder woman spoke up.

"My father doesn't surrender ever" You corrected her. "But this will keep him in check, and make him more inclined to negotiate."

A dark skinned burly man dressed in furry clothing got to his feet. "Maybe we don't want to bargain with the fishman. What if we want to kill him?"

Your gaze darkened at the clear hostility that his demeanor was giving off. "Then I would pray to whatever you humans believe in these days, because that's a fight none of you stand a chance in surviving." You sneered taking a step closer.

The man raised an eyebrow at you. "Oh so you do have a bit of fight in you after all. How much of a warrior did fishman make you?"

"My father's name is Namor and you should do well to remember it" You said with your voice getting considerably lower. There was a dangerous tone to it.

Queen Ramonda must have recognized it and knew it matched the same one as Namor. When he made his threats and she didn't like it. "M'Baku stand down at once" she ordered pointing a finger at him.

M'Baku looked as if he wanted to argue but thought better against it, and took his seat.

"Great now that the furry man is done with his idle threats. I want to make it clear I'm only surrendering to you and no one else your Highness." You said your voice returning to its normal tone of neutrality.

"Ayo prepare a hovercraft" Ramonda announced.

"Forgive if I overstep my boundaries my Queen but for what purpose" Ayo asked, slightly confused at her decision.

"We're returning the Princess of Talokan to the beach" The Queen answered getting to her feet. A collective sound of gasps filled the room at her words. Then everyone burst into speech trying to talk over each other.

"Are you serious?" You asked her with narrowed eyes. As you pondered rather or not this was some sort of trap. Somehow your voice carried over everyone else's.

"Yes I am and we shall discuss my decision on the way. Now come child" she said taking a gentle hold of your shoulder to nudge you forward.

On that trip Queen Ramonda revealed to you that despite all your father's transgressions against Wakanda. She had no intention of involving his child in the affairs of the two nations. You argued that it was your decision, and she hit you back with. The classic you're a child and clearly not thinking straight.

"You remind me of my Shuri in someways y/n and if I can I want to protect you from the horrors of war."

Guilt tore through your body as you flew through the gaping holes where there use to be glass. You weren't present during the war only because your father ordered you to stay behind, and left a few of his guards on watch duty. If he was smart he would've left Namor or Attuma the only soldiers in your army that could hold their own against you.

Your feet touched the cold brown floor, and it felt as if the pain and grief from the events that took place here. Just a day ago or so was still swirling around in the throne room like a spirit clinging to what little life they have left. You could feel it in your bones and it nearly put you on your knees. Until your ears picked up a the faint sound of footsteps approaching you from behind. Then a low whistling noise followed and you brought your arm to block the blade with vibranium wrist guard. It glanced off the green metal and sent your attacker stumbling back.

You whirled around to face the person. It was a lone man by himself dressed in dark clothing. His face was covered with a mask covering the bottom half of his face. Out of nowhere two more came to his aide taking their place on either side of him. "Don't be a fool take to the Princess."

"What do you want Talokanil? A familiar voice demanded from behind. You glanced over your shoulder to see it was none other than Ayo with small change in armor. Instead of a silver neckline hers was now gold.

"I want to speak with her" You said your main focus going back to the men just a few feet away.

"For what reason I know you wouldn't be dumb enough to surrender yourself to her. In the state that she is in you will find no mercy here" Ayo warned.

"I'm not seeking out mercy I want to assist her in defeating my father" You revealed. Not needing to see her face to hear the hitch in her breathing. Once again you had surprised her.

"She doesn't want your assistance" One of the man cried out lunging at you. He swung his sword in wide arc aiming for your face.

"No" Ayo yelled holding out a hand. She might not be your biggest fan right now, but if your blood was spilled Namor would become even more unhinged.

His movements were erratic and sloppy. You caught by the wrist and forced his hand down while swinging his body around at the same time. In one swift move the man was rolled to the floor gently. It happened so fast that the others barely witnessed your counter. Ayo eyed the sword attached to your back wondering why you didn't draw it instead. You would've been within your right to do it.

"I'm not looking for a fight with either of you. I'm sorry for the loss of your leader. She was great woman and didn't deserve what my father did to her. I know I can't bring her back or right his wrongs, but I can help bring this war to an end. Before more countless lives are lost please just let me do that." You pleaded your case looking over at Ayo in desperation.

She let out a huff knowing what she was about to do could only end two ways. Either Wakanda was going to gain an ally with unlimited knowledge on Talokan's army, or there would be no peaceful to all of this will your body turned up in the ocean. She prayed to Bast the Princess could bury her emotions to at least hear you out.

"Come on then she is in her lab" Ayo finally agreed and motioned for you to follow her. Which you did walking instead of flying.

The elevator ride down was filled with more awkwardness than tension, and you appreciated it. Knowing it would change in just a few more seconds. Ayo was wary of your intentions yet somehow you were still able to convince her of your honesty.

Shuri wouldn't be so quick to believe you heck it wouldn't matter to her if it did. You had to consider the possibility she would be consumed by vengeance already. The elevators doors finally opened to a massive space with a giant circular ramp behind you. There were many levels to it each one filled with various workstation and clear screens. On the outside you could see through the glass a multiple trains traveling at a blinding speed across the vast cave system. You were wandering over to truly take in the sight. When a hand stopped you with a firm grasp of your shoulder.

"We didn't come here for you to sightsee Princess let's go" Ayo reminded you.

You nodded and followed her around the ramp. Just a few feet away stood a group of four women huddled together. You recognized all of them having run into them all at some point. The one named Okoye stood beside Shuri with a comforting hand on her shoulder. Nakia sat beside the Princess and cradled her head on her shoulder. Riri stood a few feet away fiddling with her hands keeping her gaze on the floor.

"Now might not be the best time" Ayo whispered.

"Its now or ever I leave now my father will not permit my return. He has his ways of keeping me locked up." You whispered back stepping forward. Ayo shot you a look picking up on the subtle hint of distress in your confession. There was a story behind your words.

"Princess Shuri" You called out her name softly trying carefully not to shock her too much.

She pulled away from Nakia as all of their heads snapped in your direction. Okoye moved to stand in front of the Princess protectively knowing that even without a spear. She was still one of Wakanda's best warriors. Riri scrambled backward and inched her over to stand beside Shuri who was on her feet. Ayo took stance in front of you with a single hand raised. Nakia did the same placing herself in front of Okoye and Shuri.

The woman with beautiful locs that were a deep red color pulled back pointed the long gun at the Talokanil woman. Who had Shuri by the shoulder with a blade to her throat. The mysterious stranger and the Princess spoke their mother tongue. But before she could fire off a shot you walked into the room with calm pace. Holding out either of your arms to ward both your solider and the woman.

"Lower your weapon and I will order her to stand down" You reasoned.

She looked at you a bit unsure. "Who are you?"

"Y/N Princess of Talokan daughter of Namor" You answered not missing the look exchanged between her and Shuri. "Obviously neither of you were aware of my existence until now. But that hardly matters your Queen knows me and delivered me back home. I owe her a great debt so I will allow the Princess and the young girl to leave with you without a fight. All I ask is that you lower the weapon."

"Princess" the soldier called out in a worried voice.

"Let her go you will be fine I promise I will not let death befall you" You swore turning to her. She gave you a slow nod and released Shuri before taking a step back.

The woman slowly pointed her gun at the cave floor. She motioned for Shuri and Riri to come to her keeping her eyes trained on you.

You let both of them pass by you without lifting a finger or a word.

"Thank you" Shuri said as the woman yanked on her hand.

"You're welcome I will do my best to keep my father at bay" You replied waving goodbye.

Nakia didn't know why you were here, and while she couldn't be sure this wasn't a trap. That action right now made her want to give you the benefit of the doubt. "Let's all just relax."

"You told me you would keep him under control y/n what happened?" Shuri demanded. Her voice distraught filled with pain.

You opened your mouth but no words came out.

"You let him kill her my mother is gone because you failed." She continued pushing past Okoye only to be held back by Nakia.

"Get her out of here" Okoye ordered.

It would seem positions didn't matter as Ayo turned to grip you by the arms pushing you away. "Let's go."

"No just let me try." You stood your ground planting your feet, and your body didn't budge another inch.

"Take her to a cell Ayo" Shuri ordered. A venom in her voice now replacing the pain.

You cursed in your language under your breath running a hand through your hair. You knew this outcome was a possibility, but was hoping it wouldn't come true.

"Shuri you act with haste without thinking maybe we sh-" Nakia began, but was silenced with a glare.

"She is Namor's daughter and his only blood. My mother was the only family I had left in the world. She is lucky I don't order her death right where she stands. After what her father did."

"No child should pay for the sins of their parent" Nakia told her.

"Killmonger did" she shot back.

"He paid for your father's sins as did T'Challa look how all that played out sister." Nakia continued to push.

"Stop defending her" Shuri shouted breaking free of her grip. "General I told you to take her away."

The use of her positional name got her attention, and the warrior shot you an apologetic look. You nodded and turned around letting her lead you with a hand on the small of your back.

Two Days Later

You lost track of time laying down on the cot provided to you in the decent size cell. There was no windows in the room letting you know when day came and night passed. But at least you were comfortable and somewhat fed thanks to Ayo and surprisingly Nakia. Both brought you food leaving it outside the bars.

Your father had to be worrying himself to death by now, and it was a miracle he hadn't come for you yet. Which meant your plan to throw him off your real location worked. You asked one of the few guards truly loyal to you more than your father to lie, and tell him you ran away to one of the old kingdoms. There a great deal of them spread across the oceans from all the times Talokan had to be moved in order to avoid discovery by humans. Some were still in great condition and was actually fun to return to. While others that weren't built by vibranium had succumbed to the nature of the water.

You would journey to them often just to reminisce the past. Namor hated it whenever you did disappear on your little adventures.

The main entrance door opened and the last person you expected to visit you walked through it. Riri Williams.

"Did you come here to gloat?" You asked sitting up with your back against the wall.

Riri shook her head holding up something in her hand that you couldn't really make out. While the cell wasn't completely shrouded in darkness. It lacked a significant lighting source. "I brought you some snacks the best on Earth if you ask me." Riri stopped at your cell and took a seat on the floor. She pushed some items towards you the paper crinkling, but you made no move to get it.

"You know I actually did feel sorry for you at first but then I thought about it." Riri began opening a candy bar of her own.

"And" you said in a lazy voice.

"I just thought what dumbass would walk straight into enemy territory trying to negotiate. After her father killed the leader right in front of her daughter and closest friends. I mean I know not everyone is as smart as me but I just thought it would be common sense to anyone to steer clear. After something like that like do your people not believe in that or something. I'm serious did daddy not give you the political breakdown of war."

You couldn't help but burst out into laughter at her ramblings. It should have offended you to some degree, but the face that you and her thought the same thing of. Your reckless actions amused more than anything, and you needed a good laugh. Eventually when your laughter died down you crawled forward to take the strange snacks. "You know what if this is poison I don't think I mind at all."

Riri grinned. "Its chocolate and chips not poison well how do you feel about calories?"

"I love them" you replied eyeing the substance covered in dark brown wrapping with the word Hershey's on it. The name tugged at a long forgotten memory in the pit of your brain. "I think I had this before."

The young scientist raised an eyebrow at that ready to question you. When the door opened again but this time it was Shuri in a Black Panther Suit.

One look was all that the young girl needed to get the memo. She got up with a small wave and left the two of alone.

"No handcuffs" Shuri mused.

"I would've broken them" you told her breaking off a piece of the chocolate bar. You let it the sweet flavor of the candy coat your tastebuds melting on your tongue.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you?" Shuri demanded.

Her question didn't faze you in the slightest. "Because you need me Princess."

"I figured out your father's weakness on my own I have no use of you" she said shrugging her shoulders.

"You shouldn't go down this path Princess it won't do you any good in the long run."

"Oh please" Shuri scoffed with a look of disdain. "How would you know?"

You got to your feet and walked to the front of your cell placing both hands on the cell bars. Leaning your head forward to look her in the eyes. "My father didn't always hate humans you know. My mother was one."

The bomb you just dropped on her made her trip over her own feet despite her new abilities. She shook her head in disbelief. "No Namor said his name stood for no love because he has no love for the surface world. Your father hates all humans you're lying."

"No I'm not I just take more after him than her. He always said it was the effect of moving underwater and drinking whatever concoction his advisor whipped up for me. A very long time ago my father fell in love with a human woman, and they had me. She opened his eyes to the beauty the surface world had to offer. Before my father was only indifferent to humans and knew it was crucial that the governments never discovered our existence. But my mother was slowly changing his perspective."

Shuri was a bit interested in the story even if she wasn't sure if she believed it or not. "Go on what changed."

"My mother was murdered." You told her in a monotone voice.

Her eyes widened and for the first time Shuri regarded you with sympathy.

"I was only a toddler when it happened. I don't remember how it happened or much about my mother till this day. Namora had to tell me the story because my father refuses to speak of it. Men raided the village my mom lived in on this island near Talokan at the time. She was running with me tucked to her chest, trying to make it to the ocean. Some of my people believed she prayed to my 6 he heard it, but she was struck down with two bullets right as she reached the shore. Dad arrived a few seconds short of being able to save her, and he watched as the love of his life died in a pool of blood. Cradling his child in her arms that were reached out towards the water like a desperate plea. That was the day the man, without love, was born."

"How long ago was this?" Shuri asked in a hazy voice as she tried to process your entire story.

You gave your shoulders a small shrug. "I can't really remember Princess."

"How old are you?"

"Not as old as you think but not as young as I look" You answered.

"Can't you give me a real answer?" She asked in exasperation. "Look I'm sorry about your mother but that doesn't excuse your father's actions."

"I never say it did I was just pointing out how he let the decision of a few bad men influence his whole view on the entire world. The surface world doesn't deserve my father's rage, as my people nor do I deserve yours. But if you can't see that because you're blinded by rage. Nothing I say will convince you to spare me Princess Shuri." You explained leaning backward for a second.

"But Namor doesn't" she declared angrily.

"I never said he didn't now did I?" You shot back.

"You wouldn't seek out revenge if I killed your father" she chuckled in disbelief.

You fixed her with a hard look before answering. "I watched as vengeance consumed my father and turned him into a man I can hardly love sometimes. I watch now as it consumes you and makes you act with such haste not considering your very own people. The ones you wanted so badly to protect when you visited Talokan and tried to reason with my father. Do you really think I would be foolish enough to let it do the same to me?

Shuri knew you were making good points but could hardly fathom the idea of. You not trying to kill her if she took Namor away from you. "You have no love for him."

"He is the most precious person to me in this entire world, but not more so than my people who I swore to protect and care for. Talokan would fall without a true leader" You reminded her.

"They would seek out war as well" she argued.

"Not all of them nations aren't just made up of people but civilians who can't fight as well. Some of the army will stay loyal to me, but yes others would seek out vengeance."

Shuri took a deep breath turning her back to you as she contemplated everything you had said. Wakanda's armies were ready to go at sunrise to put the plan in motion. But she had to figure out what to with you first. Nakia pushed her too hear your proposition at least. And now she was regretting it as you made her question all of her decisions.

"Princess I only want peace that's all I ever wanted" You whispered knowing she would hear you.

"I use to want that" she murmured blinking away tears.

"Come here" you called out to her softly.

You wasn't sure if she was going to listen but curiosity won out, and indeed she walked forward to the cell bars. There was about an inch of space between your bodies. Your hand reached through the bars and rested on her chest palm forward over her beating heart.

Shuri looked up not pulling away from the contact instead she locked eyes with you. An overwhelming feeling of warmth invaded her body betraying the storm trying to continue to rage. As your eyes bored into hers breaking through her defenses.

"Deep down past all the steel walls you built after losing your brother and mother. Past all the hatred you harbor for the world and my father. You still want peace Shuri I know you do sometimes when my father looks at the only picture of my mother in his possession. I see the man he was before the world took his love away from him. A man I never met but I know exists inside of him somewhere. The same way I'm seeing the person you were before the world turned against you as well. She is happy, kind, has the most beautiful smile in the world, and wants to help people in her own way."

Shuri took a step back with tears falling from her eyes at the way you spoke so softly. She wasn't going to let you take this away from her. "I will release you and allow you to provide us with aide. But you will not interfere with my fight with Namor understood?"

You nodded with a saddened look. "You and my father must find your own way back. If one or both of you die. I will mourn but I will not seek vengeance."

Shuri moved forward to slip the key in and open your cell door. You took a step out and began to follow her back into the palace.

[feladi-fority]

haven't posted in a while, but I completed Undertale Yellow a while ago and none of my friends have and I need to scream into the void about it SOMEWHERE! Spoilers abound

So, Flowey. He's really well written in this. In Undertale proper we don't get to see much of him and what we do see is really 1 note. He scares you, tries to manipulate people, and tries to hurt people for his own amusement. In Undertale Yellow though we get to see how immature and impatient he is. Whenever Clover does something Flowey doesn't approve of he lashes out even when doing so directly impedes his ability to manipulate Clover, such as killing Marlet at the end of the neutral route. Flowey is a terrible manipulator, putting in absolutely zero effort to understand Clover, instead blaming them for his own plan not working. He talks about how much he hates Clover and relishes in their death but Flowey has done nothing to understand Clover, instead just viewing them as a problem to brute-force a solution to. All of this is, of course, consistent with who Flowey was in Undertale but it's so much more textured with how much screen-time Flowey gets.

Additionally, I find the implications of what I can only describe as Flowey's Blackspace. During the meta-Flowey fight his attacks are monstrous versions of himself, many of which are killed as part of his attacks. He pulls out his own pedals, cries to attack, and kills images of himself. Then there's the section where you walk through piles of Flowey corpses which call for help. The dialogue the later corpses give is ambiguous, but lines like "this must be it" in the context of the rest takes on a dark implication. Flowey seems to hate himself and view himself as a monster who deserves to be cut-down (he has that in common with his dad lol). Maybe then Flowey's plan to destroy the world via collecting the souls is ultimately self destructive, a way to go down with the world, and rid himself of the possibility of coming back, a true completion through obliteration.

Now I need to talk about Marlet. She's fucking great. She has this deep sense of maturity to her character which was really cool to see. It isn't all that clear in the pacifist route as there we mainly see her inability to get things done and her self-hate, but on the more violent routes we see her constantly trying to empathize and resolve conflict with Clover by understanding them. I think it's incredibly note-worthy that Marlet is the only character who recognizes Clover as a child who shouldn't be capable of committing such violence, and the implications of that fact. Marlet doesn't let her emotions stop her from understanding people and doing the right thing, and I really like how that was executed.

I loved the themes of this game. I expected the game to tackle similar themes to Undertale, either just recreate theme entirely or at least tackle something similar to Undertale's very meta exploration about what it means to care about things. Instead this game goes for an old classic, the cycle of violence, and I think it executes it very well!

Throughout the game characters interact with this theme in different ways. Clover (on the vengeance route specifically), and Ceroba parallel each-other in this way. Ceroba objectifies humans due to her position as a monster separated from humanity and growing up with an adversarial relationship to them. Chujin finds it extremely easy to hate humanity for a slight against him and enacts violence on humanity due to perceiving them as inherently evil due to historical mistreatment by humans and personal experience. This violence horrifies him in the end, but still in his attempt to get vengeance he perpetuates the cycle, projecting his hate towards humanity onto Ceroba who goes onto hurt more people because of it. Clover on the vengeance route is in a similar position, objectifying monsters due to being a human separate from them and learning of slights against humanity by them. Clover finds out monsters killed 5 humans (either all children, or some of them children) and is able to easily objectify them for it due to their position. Clover enacts disproportionate violence in reaction to the violence monsters committed against humanity in reaction to the violence humanity enacted against monsters by sealing them underground. Asgore remarks at the end of the vengeance route that Clover's actions will result in many more deaths on both side's parts, and he's right, Clover provided more reason for another Chujin to come about and enact more violence on humanity which in turn would provoke a response. Violence creates violence creates violence.

Flowey, under this framing, becomes an embodiment of the cycle. The game cleverly uses the power of resetting as the mechanical manifestation of this cycle. Flowey continues to reset events over and over and over letting Clover get killed over and over and over, just as the cycle of violence repeats, so to does the game itself. The game resets, new runs provide new content, certain events are enshrined in this game's concept of fate. The fate here is just that things cannot change with more violent inputs, Flowey can never get what he wants because he's incapable of doing what Marlet could do. Flowey can't change fate because he's what's locking it in place, he's the logic of violence that forces the world to over and over again punish characters and kill them, but Marlet through her empathy and compassion at least tries to break the cycle, she tries to get Clover to stop hurting people and break this repeated cycle of violence, and she does the same for Ceroba and Chujin to less success. How fitting then that Flowey kills Marlet in the neutral route.

Pacifist Clover is the parallel to Marlet. They face the cycle of violence and chose to understand and help others despite it. The vision for breaking the cycle that Undertale Yellow provides is empathy and compassion, choosing to not give into anger at horrible things done to you as to not perpetuate that being done to more people in the future. It's a really well-executed theme, I love this game.

[writerscafehub]

𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀: 𝐋𝐢𝐳

@avengers-resident-idiot

From one to five stars, how would you rate your writing? (No downplaying yourself!)

About a 3 I think, I hav𖤓 liz 𖤓en’t written anything in a while because I’ve been busy with work and school. I struggle with actually finishing anything, I swear my drafts is a graveyard of WIPs. Once I get done with my finals I plan to actually try and sit down and actually write a fic or at the very least headcanons

2. What do you think makes your writing stand out from other works?

I feel like my writing is very self indulgent, I fantasize for literal days or weeks about what I personally would want to happen and imagine myself as the reader in the fic and just run with it. I have tried a few times to write an idea that a friend gives me and I just struggle cause I get stuck in my own head wondering if I’m writing it how they personally would want it.

3. Are there any writers that inspire you?

Literally everybody in the server, the fact that y'all are so imaginative and are so motivated to write fics on a consistent basis never fails to amaze me, I am on my knees begging for a crumb of the kind of motivation y’all got. 

4. What’s the fic you’re most proud of? 

Honestly probably the very first fic I ever wrote, which was a Zayn Malik fanfiction (I was a HUGE One Direction fan…honestly I still am). It was terrible, and so ridiculously cringey but to middle school me, I was the next Shakespeare  and was just proud that I actually wrote something and put it on the internet for the world to see and I regret nothing. 

5. Which character(s) do you find easiest to write and which do you find most difficult to write? 

The easiest is probably Peter Parker cause he’s such a sassy little shit and I love him. The hardest is probably Dr. Spencer Reid, I’ve tried before and I just can’t get his mannerisms right. 

6. Who or what do you find yourself writing about most?

I feel like my most of my wips are friends to lovers with misunderstandings galore 

7. Tell us about a WIP you’re excited about!

I’ve been planning this fic out in my head for the past month, idk for sure what I’m gonna call it, but it’s gonna be an Evan “Buck” Buckley x reader fic, I’m considering adding Eddie Diaz into the mix cause honestly it’s what we deserve. Basically the reader is going to open up a bakery across from the fire station and our lovely firefighters can’t resist the smell of warm bread and coffee in the morning so they go and meet Reader (considering giving her a nickname) who is dancing to 80’s music and may or may not be covered in flour, and from there hijinks, first dates, and love confessions ensue. 

8. First fandom you ever wrote for?

One Direction and I regret nothing

9. Any guilty pleasure trope(s)?

Ooo  misunderstandings that can be easily resolved if they JUST TALK, found family tropes almost always make me cry, fake dating never fails to make me laugh because the characters never think it through and I love that for them with that being said idiots to lovers is another big one, especially if they share exactly one brain cell. 

10. A trope you’ll never, ever write for.

Probably anything dark, nothing wrong with dark fics, I just don’t think I’d ever be able to write a dark fic well enough where it was actually understandable or good for that matter.

11. Wildest fic you’ve ever written?

Another One Direction fanfiction, but this time Liam Payne, it's since been deleted but basically gang leader!Liam and the reader were highschool sweethearts and broke up cause Liam betrayed her, if i remember right he gets her brother arrested? Years later she comes back to town and is part of an all girls gang and Liam's gang (One Direction) start fighting over territory, there were drunken confessions, a secret child, and attempted kidnappings and literally every other chapter one of them almost died. Middle school me was very proud of it.

12. Favorite pairing to write for? (platonic or romantic!)

Steve Rogers x innocent!reader, knight!Bucky x princess!Reader, Evan “Buck” Buckley x reader

13. Do you listen to anything while you write?

Yes, I have so many playlists, everytime I get an idea for a fic I run to Spotify and immediately create a new one and add songs that fit the vibe I’m going for, doesn’t matter what genre or language so long as I think it fits it gets added to the playlist.

14. One-shots or multi-chaptered works?

Definitely both, I am not picky whatsoever. 

15. Have you ever daydreamed about side adventures/spin-offs from your fic? Tell us about them!

Omg yes, I honestly think this is part of the reason it’s so hard for me to finish writing anything. The second I get a new idea for a fic I start imagining all sorts of different scenarios I could put them in like trips to the zoo, grocery shopping or like the same scenes from the fic, but from another character's point of view. Even if it’s not going to be part of the fic I imagine what the proposal would be like, what their vows would be, or how they'd react to their first child being born. My mind goes a hundred miles a minute when I get a new idea, but the second I sit down to write it out poof all the ideas are gone.

16. Is there anything you’ve wanted to write, but you’ve been too scared to try?

Honestly smut. There are so many talented writers out there who do a great job at writing smut, but whenever I try it just comes out to stiff and doesn’t sound write, so I always end up deleting it 

17. What’s the nicest comment you’ve ever received?

I was once told I was very good at descriptions, they said they could picture the night sky in their mind and it was like they were there. 

18. Have you ever gone outside of your comfort zone for a fic? How did it turn out?

Eh not really, I usually stick to fluff, humor and slight angst, I want to try step out of my comfort zone by writing smut, but it’ll be a while before I post anything 

19. Tooth-rotting fluff or merciless angst?

Oh my gosh how could I possibly choose, most of the time it just depends what kind of mood I’m in but lately it’s been tooth-rotting fluffy with a tiny bit of angst mixed in

20. Do you have any OCs? Tell us about them!

At this point in time I do not have any oc’s, but I’m considering creating one for my Evan “Buck” Buckley fic. 

21. If you could enter the universe of any one of your fics, which would it be and why?

Probably my WIP Knight!Bucky Barnes x Princess!Reader because who wouldn’t want to be protected by an extremely handsome Bucky who acts like you're a nuisance, but would do anything to protect you no questions asked if ever necessary?? And also I just love the idea of running down a castle hallway at night wearing a floor length ball gown.

22. Is there anything you wish your audience knew about your writing or writing process?

Just that my process involves creating the perfect playlist for that specific fic and tons of daydreaming, and while it may take me a long time to finally finish writing, I’m always excited to share it and get feedback!

23. Copy and paste an excerpt you’re particularly fond of. 

This is from my knight!Bucky Barnes x Princess!reader wip                            

“Do you think I am inadequate because I am a female, my Lord? Is that what you’re saying? You think that I am unfit to rule because I'm a little emotional right now?  Well you’re right, I am a little emotional right now. From the moment I was born, it was known that I, and I alone, would be next in line to assume the throne. My entire life was spent preparing for the moment that my reign would begin and I intend to use all the knowledge my father, may God rest his soul, taught me.  Just two weeks ago I watched as they lowered my father’s cold, dead body into the ground and not a week later a crown was placed atop my head…. a crown I thought my father would be giving me.  I am emotional because right now at this very moment there are rebels out there, only God knows where, hatching plans to storm this castle! This castle has stood here for 300 hundred years and I intend for it to stand for many more. I refuse to let the rebels take my country and everything that my family has worked for.  Now, we have much more pressing matters to deal with than your fragile egos, don’t you think my Lords?”

24. Ramble about any fic-related thing you want!

Have fun with writing! Don’t worry about whether or not the idea you want to write has been written before because it most definitely has been, but it’s never been written by you! 

I’m excited to finally be done with my classes and I hope to to write more and post my fics throughout the summer! 

[chibimui]

The Apothecary Diaries LN2 Thoughts - Epilogue + Final Thoughts

Volume 2: Prologue-ch5 - ch6-7 - ch8-9 - ch10-12 - ch13-15 - ch16-17 - ch18-19 - ch20

And we've reached the end of The Apothecary Diaries Light Novel Volume 2!!!

It's kind of wild to think the first volume I flew through in 3 posts and this one I kept having to break up constantly because I had so many things to say about so many different chapters.

But we still have the epilogue to go through and then my final overall thoughts on the novel!

I don't have too much to say about the epilogue - it's a good epilogue! It wraps up everything that occurred in the novel well, provides a nice sense of closure, a cute JinMao moment and the hints of more to come.

Maomao wishing that Lakan had actually bought out Meimei is something that always caught my attention. After thinking about it, it's not that I think this action is strange - if anything I appreciate how consistent it fits with Maomao's character even if it's not the "nice" thing to do.

I can easily see another author trying to tie up Maomao's feelings for her mother with a nice bow, saying "oh, but at the end of the day she did really care", but... I like that we actually don't get that here. Maomao's feelings towards her mother are pretty consistent - she has none. She has no pleasant memories, no attachment, and no real want for anything towards her. What Maomao cares about are the people who are actually involved in her life.

That won't stop her from dancing though, because at her core Maomao is a kind person. She will still grant this woman a dance because it is still something to celebrate, even if it's not the celebration she personally wanted.

Okay. Got that over with. Let's jump to the JinMao stuff. As usual, these two are an entire comedy routine and this is just gonna be me screaming at things :)

Maomao freezing when Jinshi picks her up is so funny to me. Girl was stunned. I like to think she was kind of impressed. A "doki doki" moment if you will. Even when Jinshi readjusts her she still doesn't struggle. She just tells Jinshi he could put her down, but never actually attempts to leave his arms herself. Clearly she isn't horrified at being carried by him.

Just... all of this? The banter? Jinshi headbutting her like a CHILD. WHO HEADBUTTS PEOPLE JINSHI WHAT THE HELL?

And Jinshi being amused at Maomao's sulking, while Maomao reflects that she gets along with him better when he's kind of childish like this as HE IS STILL CARRYING HER.

And the novel ending with this paragraph - I wish the anime had shown this briefly because it is hilarious.

Jinshi being inundated with get well flowers because he's gone nuts trying to find medical ingredients for Maomao and people think he's sick. What an absolute clown. What a joke. What a silly guy. Just... oh my god Jinshi, he's such a loser.

AND HERE WE HAVE IT! The official end of LN2.

When I think back to LN1, I really consider it a "prologue" novel. It's the novel that introduced us to the characters, the setting, and primed readers to expect Maomao to solve mysteries with a certain sparkly eunuch aiding her along the way.

LN2 feels like the "true start" to the story though. It's when we are no longer just being introduced to characters, but we actively get to learn more about our two main characters - Maomao and Jinshi, AND we start to see overarching plots coming into play.

Many of the the new players that are introduced, Lakan and Fengxian are either for the benefit of learning more about Maomao, OR, in regards to Loulan, Suirei or Shishou are there to set up major plots that we have yet to see into fruition. Anything that is not resolved or does not get a call back in this novel ends up getting a call back in a later novel.

I'm not going to say whether I enjoyed LN1 or LN2 more because overall I enjoyed both, and I think they served very different functions so it's actually a bit unfair to compare the two. LN1 felt way more episodic because it was an introduction, where as LN2 had the breathing room to have more of a consistent plot.

As to where LN2 stands in the greater scheme of all 15 novels? It's okay. Again, LN2 feels very much like the start to a greater story. While I liked learning more about Maomao and her origins, Lakan and Fengxian's story, at the end of the day, isn't really that interesting to me. Tragic, sure, but eh. Lakan becoming a comedy relief character also makes what we learn about him in this novel not as compelling since nothing much is done with it afterwards.

The highlights to me for LN2 were definitely more in regards to seeing how Maomao's comfort with Jinshi grows throughout, how we get more and more hints to his true identity as well as the hint that a certain amount of political tension is present in the royal court. All of these things we get to dive into even more with LN3.

I'm actually going to try reading LN3 in Japanese, but I will still share screencaps of the English translation so posts might come out slower. If this ends up being too annoying to jump back and forth, I might just stop with the screencaps, so we'll see.

Until next time!

[a-really-cool-blog-name]

Did somebody ask for adventure forward head canons that may or may not interfere with the actual canon because I haven't played the games in a while?

No? Screw you, you're getting them anyway.

Warning ⚠️ I am cringe, but I am free so I feel like that makes up for it.

VERY LONG LIKE INCREDIBLY LONG YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED DO NOT CLICK THAT SEE MORE BUTTON UNLESS YOU WANT TO READ ADVENTURE FORWARD HEAD CANNONS YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Also I say head cannons but like halfway through I derail into my AU of what crown of shadows and vein reveal would be like so I still think it's really interesting but I'm very biased.

("I hate celesteal!" I say, before making a bunch of head cannons around him.) I really like celesteal as a character I hate him as a person but I really love him as a character

Do not expect this to be arranged well it will not be. This is not chronological this is not even like grouping a character altogether this is really messy, I'm just getting all my ideas out.

The two different canceled sequels are both different timelines (that I may or may not make crossover in my head) and I have different ideas for how each of them would go so I will refer to them as crown of shadows (COS) and Vain revival (VR) to specify when it is only for one of the versions.

Anshine and Stratosfear are happily married.

I don't know if this is cannon or not but Sheldon definitely made Miobot. And also accidentally made him sentient, oops, sure hope that doesn't come back causing both of you to get forcefully ascended to a higher existence.

Celesteal admire humans a lot mostly because he can't figure out where they keep coming from (he does not know how reproduction works) and he can't figure out how to make one.

VR! The shard saver is his closest attempt to a human looking mostly correct but having the little quirk of her having pink blood and also thinking it is normal for a person to not remember the first 15 years of their life (She does not know she is not human at first) The shard savior is also the only one of his creations that he considers to be his child.

It took Celesteal a couple hundred years to figure out how to make a sentient being at that point he was kind of already cuckoo bananas.

Yawgate was one of his earlier creations and often accompanied him to where he needed to go because Yawgate does the portaling.

The pure points did not learn how to speak English properly they were just imbued with that knowledge shortly after they were made. Unfortunately they are all British because of this. (Celesteal thinks that accent is the most quote on quote "cool" and therefore he speaks in it)

Celesteal refers to everyone using they/them most of the time because he does not know how genders work at all.

The first Star Savior is a 39-year-old closeted gay man named Stefan. (I accidentally stole that name from a fanfiction like 2 years ago, oops)

Mason is a 40-year-old and is also a closeted gay man. The main reason he became the mayor is because his father was the mayor and his father is now dead. The hat wears is his father's. He is also really tired of the may or may not jokes, yes he has heard it before it lost its funny factor since he was a child and heard it from people saying that to his father. Stefan doesn't think it's lost it's funny factor and still makes those jokes.

Mason and Stefan are childhood best friends and may or may not (Haha get it) have feelings for each other. Unfortunately, that issue won't be resolved for another 300 years. (Talk about a slow burn)

The second Star savior is a 28-year-old man named Nicholas (I also stole that name from the same fanfiction I read 2 years ago accidentally, oops) who has served in the military. His only remaining family members are his aunt, who he has a rough relationship with and his cousin who he has a fine relationship with, but he hasn't talked to since before he joined the military.

Anshine is really bad at naming things like "if he had a Dalmatian he would name it spot" type of bad at naming things.

Stratosfear for a brief period of time forgot his own strength because he didn't really have to do stuff like opening jars when he had to play the role of the star steeler and he's kind of been trapped for 300 years so not a lot of time to get used to how strong you are with objects and stuff.

Stratosfear is immune to poison and venom because he himself can make poisonous stuff if he really wanted to. He can also make red metal into any shape he wants, he just thinks scorpions are cool and so has a bunch of metal shapes in the shape of the scorpion tail, that is one of the very few things he got to choose for himself in that time loop.

Evon has somehow managed to in all her years of being a cashier, which is two, meet every single pre-point and not realize it. Evon goes by Eve. Whett is Eve's boss. Whett and Randall are friends.

Eve lives with her roommate Rose who has very obvious feelings for her and Eve is oblivious. (Would really be a shame if something were to happen to Eve which caused Rose to never be able to properly tell her her feelings, ha. On a completely unrelated note Rose is actually one of Nick's ancestors so maybe that's a good thing because he literally wouldn't exist if they were together oops. This just in, woman (me) who can't handle tragedy made another tragedy.)

Umbra may or may not be in a cult?? It's really unclear to an outsider if it's a cult or just a really dedicated group of people to studying the Moon. She does have powers from this because I think that's cool.

If Cynosura had a nickel for every time he has been brutally transformed he would have two nickels which isn't a lot but it's weird that it's happened twice.

He got cursed by a weird gem thing that was in his backyard when he was like twelve. Given the fact that he's already cursed he can't be cursed again so he goes out looking for those items to stop anyone else from being cursed. (Yes, he has ice powers I thought it would be cool for his pre point to also have them, shut up.)

Cynosura and Umbra used to be friends before Cynosura's cursing and then became penpals because they couldn't see each other in person they recently have started talking in person again. I feel it is important to mention that Umbra literally couldn't care less that he was cursed, she's more mad he didn't talk to her in person for that whole time. (They're like in their thirties I don't know the exact ages)

(Wow sure hope Umbra doesn't see something she's not supposed to see and go to run off to tell him and drag him down with her to be higher being of existence forcefully accidentally because she couldn't keep it to herself) (also Celesteal gets Cynosura pointified Midway through talking about how they probably shouldn't know this and how one of them might get hurt because he quote unquote "thought it would be really funny" Umbra tried to punch him in the face, to little success.)

Despair is an orphan and is also distinctly not human. (He's not exactly sure how to say what he is in English so he just goes with what everybody else calls him, a demon.) he also chose that name when he was an edgy teenager, his friends call him Dee because it's kind of hard to take the name Despair seriously. Despair still finds the name cool even though he is going to be twenty soon.

Cynosura offered him a place to stay shortly after he lost his parents at like 10ish. He takes up this offer randomly and then randomly leaves. They consider each other to kind of be like Uncle and nephew.

Eve, Despair, and Laoin are all friends.

Laoin is part dragon because I think that's cool.

Funny random thing I thought of, Laoin is friends with Trussy (I don't like that name that much I kind of want to change it but I don't know to what) who is friends with Sheldon And Laoin is also friends with Despair who is friends with Cynosura so when Cynosura needed house repairs once Despair mentioned that to Laoin who mentioned it to Trussy who then paired up with Sheldon to help fix Cynosura house while not knowing him directly at all.

Ixol gets pointified last and only gets pointified because his entire friend group mysteriously disappeared and he managed to -in his grief- figure out almost everything he had a board with red string across it and everything he was like one pin away from figuring out the identity of Stratosfear, I am serious. He figured out that the points probably where his friends because it's a little suspicious that each time one of his friends disappears there's a new guy with their exact personality who doesn't remember their past, this happened to him like four times. Cyalm when he realized what Despair had figured out was shocked and really impressed because he proceeded to do that and then never do anything like that ever again.

Yawgate is not supposed to let the pure points into other pure points dimensions but he does it anyway behind Celesteal's back because he feels really bad that they wouldn't be able to see each other any other way. (Celestial doesn't really care that much, he knows Yawgates doing it he just feels like it's not worth his time to stop it. Yawgate doesn't know that Celesteal knows about that) Only reason he didn't visit Stratosfear for that whole time is because Celestial specifically blocked off that pocket dimension.

Morword is surprisingly optimistic for seeing an infinite number of alternative timelines that the future could go into many of which includes people she cares about dying. But she chooses to specifically not think about that.

Pasless is one of the only people who knows about the infinite amount of timelines cause unlike the rest of them there is only one him and he is just split apart infinitely, he does a surprisingly good job at keeping the different parts of him separate and not letting anyone else know that he is constantly doing that. He talks to Morword about it occasionally though. Morword doesn't let him know how much it bothers her that those infinite number of timelines that she sees do actually happen in a different timeline.

That whole speech Morword and Pasless gave about how "you control the future but can someone else control the past and if so would we know" was incredibly pre-planned, they practice that for like a month straight once Morword saw that someone was going to see them.

(Yes, I am a sucker for them considering themselves siblings, how did you know?)

Stratosfear has PTSD.

The Red x did not have a name he consistently went by until someone else decided to name him (I want the first star savior to name him but I am not sure if that directly goes against the canon) and then once he realized he could change his name he went ballistic with changing his name. Like, come on he did it thrice.

Blueband is one of the few humans the Red x personally likes blueband is very loyal to the Red x and as a reward for his good behavior he gets to be pointified and keep his memories (he's the red guy who tried and failed to guard the elemental points) he's a little upset that he can't wear his hat anymore due to the horns. When blue bands pointified form I forgot his name and I don't care enough to look it up see stratosfear he exclusively refers to him as the star stealer, this annoys Stratosfear greatly.

VR! The shard savior is a 20 year old (or at least she thinks she is) named Charlotte (hooray I didn't steal that name form that fanfiction I read 2 years ago) who, as previously established, thinks it is completely normal to not remember the first 15 years of your life and is Celesteal's favorite creation. (She does not know this)

VR! Verfection (Yes, he is a pointified version of the second Star saver, he has lost all of his memories.) is best friends with the Voxier. (Their friendship is the poster child for extrovert adopts introvert) Verfection is one of the very few people that Voxier actually cares about and makes them actually want to exist and not return to the nothingness he (supposedly) came from.

VR! Verfection and Charlie freaking hate each other.

COS! Arrolin and Ixol freaking die. And on a completely unrelated note Compale loses one of his legs. (They're not supposed to be able to lose those but voixer managed to anyway) You see the joke is that it's not unrelated Ixol dies so Compale won't, haha. (This just in woman (me) who, once again, can't handle tragedies has made another tragedy.)

Still COS! Ixol also had the ability to see ghosts and was able to see Arrolin's ghost she was happy about this, Ixol was not. Ixol could always see ghosts, he just thinks he's really lost at this time, he already knew he was probably insane this was just the tipping point for him to actually realize it. Once Ixol is dead he also becomes a ghost and realizes he probably should have told the others before he kicked the bucket.

Also COS! geez I have a lot of head cannons for COS! Said crown of shadows is a corrupting force that corrupts the user and when in a room with only one person will attempt to attach itself to said person's head. Voixer would have without the crown of shadows never tried to actually kill the points just try to figure out a method to go back to the void it's only the crown of shadows that gave him the idea of killing the characters in the story to also kill himself to end the story. Not that the rest of the points will ever know this except for Nicholas.

You know what I'm just going to tell you when it's not COS! Anymore okay?: Oopsie Daisy, Nick, you killed the guy who the crown was on and you were the only person in the room, guess what the crown is going to try to do. That's right! Force itself on your head. So Nick any actively crumbling building thing starts getting pointified, uh-oh. Luckily for him he's in an actively crumbling building (a sentence that has probably been said exactly once) and the rubble knocks the crown of his head, (Yay!) it also cuts off his arm (Not yay!) because he is not fully point yet and he does not get the neat ability to regrow his limbs until after one of his limb is already gone.

He wakes up surprisingly okay for just being under a crumbling building, he's also a point now and actively missing an arm and there's also this evil crown trying to get on his head so in his panic he tries it to stuff it in his bag, this somehow works in stopping it.

A little meme based off of that:

He's going to go by verfection now because he feels a little weird in breaking tradition of choosing a new name when you become a point. He also got the ability to see ghosts, get haunted by your dead friends, idiot. Surprisingly this is good for Verfection's mental health because that means he can't completely isolate himself. Voixer doesn't directly haunt him because he feels a little still messed up in the head and also feels guilt, a lot of guilt, and shame, quite a bit of shame.

Verfection just went back to living at his house because he didn't tell anyone where he lived. Verfection is not doing well because even though he got the crown off soon enough that he didn't go completely mad he still isn't doing great mentally and feels a lot of guilt because he got the memories of Voixer and now feels like he killed someone who didn't deserve it. He's mostly just trying to keep the crown safe to stop anyone else from getting it put on their heads. Surprisingly putting it in a bag still is working. Just for safe measures he locked it in a specific room that no one is meant to go into as well as putting it in a safe in said room. He still has not told his friends he's alive because he feels a lot of guilt and a lot of emotions right now.

Also Signol just loses her memory again, don't worry she'll get it all back when they managed to figure out how symbol breaking works in the crown of shadows timeline which I haven't figured out how they're going to figure that out but I know they will figure it out.

FINALLY WE'RE DONE WITH CROWN OF SHADOWS FOR NOW

VR! Verfection was actually a scrapped idea that Celesteal had he scrapped it because he thought it was too similar to the first star savior's fate. However those scrapped ideas came out whenever the world started literally breaking.

None of them know how points work (except celesteal for obvious reasons) exactly they mostly got it figured out but sometimes they'll just figure out something completely new about how they work for instance,

Okay after this point I'm just going to specify when the vein reveal section is done: There would be a boss fight between Stratosfear and Anshine in which they would fuse and then not figure out how to defuse until after they were uncorrupted. After Celesteal was brought back he revealed but that's just a thing they can do and I've always been able to do he just never mentioned it before.

Despite the fact that Yawgate is on the side of "we need to bring celesteal back or else the world will literally end", it is important to know he is one of celesteal's top five biggest haters. Probably being biggest hater number two or three. He was often threatened with being erased from existence by him and over time him threatening to do that to people that you love and actually doing it at least once causes you to dislike a person over time.

In the final fight of "we shouldn't bring back an evil dictator who literally locked up a guy for 300 years cause he thought it'd be funny I guess" vs "okay but we literally need to bring him back or else the world will literally end we hate him too" Verfection accidentally cuts Charlie's arm off which simultaneously makes Verfection's symbol break due to the intensity of it all and causes Charlie to realize that she is indeed not human because her arm is bleeding pink and is shattering into shards that are actively rebuilding themselves in front of her. All of the same time celesteal is actively getting remade from the shards collected.

Celesteal did not intend to come back after being killed he did not think that the world would just shatter into pieces, he thought it would be more like a crown of shadows if anything. When he does come back he's like "Oh. Oh. I messed up didn't I? I made a miscalculation somewhere... :D Hiiiii Charlie! <3 My favorite creation! How are you doing? Oh, you've grown so much! What are they feeding you around here?" And everyone's just kind of standing there like "what".

ALRIGHT I THINK THAT'S THE END OF IT

I definitely forgot some of my head cannons (I have a lot) but this post is getting so like incredibly long I think I'm good with ending it here.

Ending notes:

"Why do half of the pre points know each other? It's not very realis-"

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 🤫🤫🤫🤫🤫 I don't care. And they all live in pretty close vicinity just because that's easier for me. And by pretty close I mean no one is more than like a city away.

"Where are the elemental points? You barely mentioned them."

Shut up they're still there I just forgot their names and I don't have a lot of ideas for them all I know is blue bands pointified form I forgot his name was supposed to be guarding them, he failed at guarding them. They all want the crown of shadows because it is immensely powerful even though it's a corrupting Force I don't know what happens next I haven't thought about them nearly as much as the others.

I also have several au's including the previously established vein reveal and crown of shadows au's I explained above and several others including "pathetic loser villain OC makes Nicholas have a bad time" (ASK ME ABOUT HIM PLEASE) and "what if Verfection was a pure point" and other various ideas.

[paintedscales]

012.1 The Rice Farmer

A children's tale from the lands of Thavnair about a humble rice farmer, well-loved due to his compassionate ways. When a particularly harsh summer arrives, this rice farmer attempts to find something else to do in order to provide for his budding family and village if his paddies could no longer be sustained.

Word count: 1,409

Steppe by Steppe Chapter List

Misc notes: The tale is intentionally written the way it is as something that is passed from one storyteller to another. This was part of the previous chapter of Steppe by Steppe of Haragin, but I decided to cut it and make it its own story separate from the primary one as it felt far too distracting. Instead of simply scrapping it because of that fact, I'm deciding to share it.

Tucked away within the jungles of the northern parts of Thavnair, there was a village on the edge of a great lake. The farmers of this village drew water from the lake to tend their fields, believing it had special properties that made their crops grow better than those of other villages nearby -- bigger, more bountiful, and much tastier.

In this village there was a farmer named Duru who lived with his wife and grew rice in paddies filled with water drawn from the lake. He took only what he needed, ensuring he could grow rice not just for himself, but for the entire village. Duru was dedicated to helping his people, ensuring they had food for the season from not just his bounty, but  from the other farmers' crops as well. Due to his giving and helpful nature, he was beloved by all in the village.

It came as no surprise that when Duru and his wife announced they were expecting a child, the village showed their immense happiness and joy for them. The more joy that Duru was shown from his fellow neighbors, the more he started to feel a sense of unease and confusion. Frustration was even one such emotion that welled within him. Part of him thought he should be happy like everyone else.

All the emotions he felt stemmed from the absence of a name for their child. None of the names they considered or thought about felt meaningful or special enough for what they believed would be the most precious addition to their lives. It was a rather troubling conundrum that left a heavy weight upon both of them.

Summer soon arrived, and with it, an unbearable heat. Duru diligently tended to his paddies while caring for his wife and unborn child. Despite their efforts, they still had no name for their baby. They pressed on despite this; they had to. They endured the sweltering heat day by day until Duru noticed something alarming: the lake could no longer be used to keep his paddies filled with the necessary water.

With no rain, the waters in Duru's paddies were drying up. The lake's water was slowly vanishing, and what once nourished his fields was disappearing. To Duru, it felt like the land itself was punishing him for not sharing in the happiness others had for him.

Seeking to make things right, Duru set aside all the water he had left and buried his paddies, abandoning his life as a rice farmer then and there. He distributed the remaining water to his neighbors, urging them to use it for their crops or to drink as needed. He hoped this selfless act might appease the Gods and end his perceived punishment.

With his paddies buried, Duru's reliable source of food was now gone. He resolved to save all the rice he could, keeping some water for himself to care for his pregnant wife. By spacing out his trades and ensuring he had what his wife needed, Duru earned her appreciation and praise for his selfless deeds. She was always a patient and wise woman, and Duru counted himself lucky to have such a wife who, even when heavy with child, helped to uplift him when things were looking bleak.

Thanks to his wife's comforting words, Duru reflected on how the drought affected more than just himself. He realized just how shortsighted he had been in thinking only he was being punished. Why, many in his village were equally affected!

Determined, Duru awoke early the next day. As a farmer of routine, he instinctively prepared to tend his paddies. Stepping outside and seeing the buried paddies, a wave of grief washed over him. The routine of tending his rice paddies had been so ingrained. He sat at the edge of where his paddies used to be, silently mourning the loss now that it had truly sunk in.

As he sat in silent grief, Duru looked up at the clear skies above. Nary a cloud was in sight.

He sighed, feeling defeated. Realizing his grief was becoming overwhelming, Duru reminded himself that his wife and unborn child were relying on him. Getting back on his feet, he decided he could set traps or even learn to hunt to provide food for his budding family. Perhaps he could even see if the jungle's bounty would be enough.

Equipping himself with materials to trap prey, a dagger for defense, and some food and a skin of water, Duru set out into the surrounding jungle. He hoped to bring something -- anything -- back. He thought to himself that if he failed, he shouldn’t worry. He believed he had enough reserves at home for at least a fortnight. That sounded like it would be enough to catch or be able to forage for something.

As Duru ventured, he came across what appeared to be a white elephant.

'What luck,' Duru thought. Before him was a meal he could bring home with little effort. However, as he drew closer, he realized this was no ordinary elephant, for it simply had the head of an elephant, and the body of a man. Duru had stumbled across a great manusya.

Quickly feeling regret for his previous thoughts, Duru apologized to the great manusya who laid on the jungle floor. He approached cautiously, fearing the manusya had sensed his desire to eat its flesh. Instead, he found the manusya injured, its breath ragged and strained.

Fortunately, Duru had also packed bandages and salves in case he got injured. Praying for forgiveness if he was overstepping, he tended to the manusya's wounds. The manusya remained silent, and Duru stayed by the manusya’s side throughout the night, ensuring no harm came to them in their vulnerable state.

When dawn broke, Duru awoke to find the manusya gone. In their place were three fruits, a brilliant golden yellow in color. Though the manusya had vanished without a trace, a voice rang out in Duru's head as he approached the fruit: ‘With these fruits called amra, nourish you and yours. Use their seeds to grow more. For the kindness shown to I, Indra, rain shall grace your land once more.’

Duru, with the fruit in hand, looked up at the skies in shock. He had no reason to doubt the voice's words -- there was zero doubt within him that they really were that of the divine manusya’s. After all, many in his village revered Indra, the bringer of rains.

Taking the fruits back home, Duru calmed his worried wife by explaining what had happened. His words and experience did much to quell her, and she told him that she was simply glad to have her husband back.

That night, as Duru cut the fruit for his wife, the soft patter of rain began to fall. The sound grew louder until a nourishing storm drenched their land.

As the rain fell, its sound a comforting chorus, Duru looked at his wife with a realization. This realization filled him with excitement, for he had a name for his child. When his beautiful daughter was born, he looked upon her and said, “Your name is Suyun, and you are named for the water that gives us life. It is my hope that you grow up with the desire to love and nurture as we will show to you.”

During their time as new parents, Duru also did as Indra asked and planted the seeds of the amra, caring for his family all the while. What was once a paddyfield was now turned into a small grove of the precious amra that Indra gifted Duru. The trees grew quickly -- perhaps another gift that Indra bestowed upon Duru and his family.

As Suyun grew up, she watched her father cultivate amra, the ripe fruit a brilliant yellow like the shining sun. When Duru became too old to tend to the humble grove properly, Suyun quickly took over. If she was ‘of the water,’ as her father named her, then she would nourish and care for the amra that had sustained her family and the village. Like the waters she knew, she sought to provide; and like her father before her, Suyun became beloved by the village as she extended her hand in kindness and sought to look after everyone.

Often, when the rains graced their lands, Suyun could be found playing and dancing out in the rain, as if saying hello to an old friend.

[weenwrites]

Hello! Parental/platonic relationship please of a rescued kid reader, who has been experimented on & abused by M.E.C.H because of their incredible healing power on any living being (plants, animals, humans even the bots) and was left in bots' base for their protection.

With tfp optimus, ratchet and arcee. Thank you!

(The bots could be the ones who did the rescuing)

Optimus

He doesn't really mind how attached the kid seems to him—although he doesn't understand the reason behind it. So long as they don't try to follow him through the groundbridge on missions, everything's fine. He treats the kid the same way he treats the others for the most part, and that unfortunately includes the way he doesn't quite spent much time around them.

But even if they don't speak or talk too frequently, he'd take notice of their little mannerisms, and remember even the little moments shared with them, and he'd grow attached. He doesn't believe that keeping the kid here would be good for their development, so he asks Agent Fowler to keep him updated on when he finds a family to adopt them and give them a proper home.

He doesn't know how to entertain a kid, but he tries reading them children's books whenever he can. But if they don't show any interest in children's books, and seem more interested in any stories he has to tell, he'll tell them of his days as an archivist and nothing of the war because he was told that war stories are not suitable for young children. In general, he'll try his best to act as much of a father-figure as he can until you're under better care.

Ratchet

He didn't anticipate to find a human child in one of M.E.C.H's laboratories, and but neither did he care about the reason. In the aftermath of it all, he doesn't understand why they seem so attached to him when all he did was find them and take them out of that laboratory, and honestly he's peeved. He asks them to let him work in peace if they tend to bother him, but he wouldn't yell unless they really got on his nerves. So long as they don't tend to bother him, then they have the best chance for him to grow attached to them.

He'd try not to yell around them, and he'd try his best to be patient and understanding for their sake. But, it's only oh so long until one's patience runs dry, but even then he wouldn't yell at them. With how busy he is around the base, he hardly gets any time to sit down, but he tries to watch over them whenever he can. And when he does, he learns just how hard it is to raise a child.

Of course, after doing a bit of research on raising children, he resolves to keep them entertained with toys like stuffed animals, puzzles, books, paints, pillow forts, etc.. And while it's a hassle to clean up afterward, he considers it worth it so long as it keeps them happy.

It'll take time and patience, but after a long while he'll care about them, even if he doesn't openly admit it. If they have any trauma around being used solely for their powers, then he'll keep from asking them to do any healing for him, no matter how useful it may be. He'll leave them to decide on their own whether they'll use it to help or not.

Arcee

If they're a bit clingy toward her in the beginning, she's not gonna like that. She has no problems with hanging around them for a while, but when they start trying to follow her everywhere then that's where she draws the line. So long as they're well behaved (which is improbable, considering they're a child), there won't be many problems between them.

If they still act very frightened and scared around the base, she attempts to help them learn that no-one there is going to hurt them, and that they're in a safe place. They essentially bond over having been hurt and traumatized, and it doesn't take Arcee long to grow attached to them. If they have nightmares and whatnot because of the trauma they endured, she'll have some sort of idea on how to help with that. She'll try her best to serve as a support system for them.

With a bit of help from Raf, Jack, and Miko, she'll try getting them to play with toys, or to get them invested in some new hobbies to keep them entertained since stimulation plays an important developmental role.

[stainedglassthreads]

Thinking about it? I feel like while Toriel and Asgore are both flawed. A lot of their flaws are actually a lot more similar than most people act like they are--it's just that, when faced with hard decisions, Asgore prioritizes his duties while Toriel prioritizes her integrity. But with enough time, both do show that they care immense for both duty and integrity--in most endings, Toriel will try reclaiming the throne after Asgore's death(reclaims her duties), meanwhile Asgore eventually decides enough is enough, and sacrifices his own life rather than Frisk's (reclaims his integrity).

But I'm just going to run through some flaws that both have, briefly--

Self-isolation: Both do this. Yes, Toriel was the one who exiled herself and shut out all monsterkind, but I'd actually argue that she actually self-isolates LESS than Asgore does. She still talks to Sans as a genuine equal and friend, and trusts him to protect a human in her stead. I'm...genuinely uncertain Asgore has anyone he can have a true heart-to-heart with and speak to as an equal. Yes, he offers to lend an ear to anyone in the Underground with troubles, but it sounds like no one in the Underground(except maybe Flowey) would even consider for a second that Asgore DOESN'T want to break the Barrier. Has he...actually told anyone about how he regrets his decree and no longer wants to follow through on it...?

Even Gerson seems to feel a bit betrayed that Asgore made that decree. Does even Gerson know that Asgore doesn't want to? Does anyone?

Avoids Problems by Solving Others' Problems: Again. Yes, Asgore is the one who's incredibly involved in the needs of his kingdom and is constantly crushed by the needs of his subjects, asking them to stop by and talk to him if they need help...but isn't this also kinda what Toriel does with the humans? Neither feel at all ready to confront their own emotions, so they bury those emotions under attempts to fix the problems of others. For Asgore, it's his subjects. For Toriel, it's the fallen humans. Yes, this is Asgore's job, and yes, Toriel is trying to save lives and avoid a war. But the game presents both these things as ultimately bad for Toriel and Asgore's mental health--Toriel is overprotective to the point of being smothering, and Asgore is known as being a pushover.

Denial: Both of them really, really, really want to ignore the tragedies they've experienced and just see their children again. It's not stated outright in the game, but considering how she acts, as well as how she talks in the Winter Alarm Clock Dialogue, it's easy to read Toriel as trying to 'fix' what happened with Chara and Asriel by saving the humans who fall, or even replace her kids. (Flowey certainly seems to read her behavior in that way.) Asgore says as much about himself more or less outright. He thinks about raising Frisk himself, quickly realizes this is just an impossible dream, then says he just wants to see his wife and son again.

Avoidant of Conflict: Yes, yes, Asgore is a big fluffy pushover. But this also applies to Toriel too, I think, if you read between the lines. Toriel seems to despise Asgore when you first talk to her, and judges him overly harshly. So if she hates him so much, why doesn't she just march out of the Ruins, and talk to Asgore, and scare him straight?

I once proposed a theory that, because Toriel doesn't teach you to spare enemies, only to stall until she scares them off, and because she demands that you 'fight or run away' rather than 'survive and show mercy'...she doesn't REALIZE it's possible to resolve things peacefully, even if she wants to avoid the deaths of innocents. So why doesn't she just march out of the Ruins and murder Asgore so she can do away with his decrees? Personally I like to think because she doesn't want to have to choose between watching her ex-husband die, and watching her adopted child die. Even if she does that before a human falls, she's still being asked to kill her ex-husband. And I don't think she wants to do that if it can be avoided.

Likewise, as we see. Asgore is fully capable of taking one soul, passing through the Barrier, and claiming a final soul. That's what his kids did. It's common knowledge that his kids did this. He HAS to know that was an option. But he delayed as long as possible, not wanting to start the war, not wanting to tell his people no. Even when he decisively chooses 'No, I'm not killing this kid'--he doesn't tell anyone aside from Frisk of his choice. He doesn't ask them to free the trapped souls. He doesn't make an announcement of who will be leader in his stead. He just...entrusts Frisk to find a third option, like they seem to have a talent for doing.

I feel like they both have a nasty case of decision paralysis.

Expectations and Remaining Behind: Not quite a flaw, more just a sign of how neither is really ready to resolve all their traumas and depression they've been struggling with for years. But the way they say goodbye to you after their boss fights just reads...the same.

Despite being demanded that they prove themself and Fight, Frisk insists on showing mercy to Toriel or Asgore. Toriel says she'll put away her fears, anxieties, and loneliness, and lets Frisk leave through the Ruins doors, asking them not to come back, trusting that they'll find a way to get past Asgore. Asgore tells Frisk that if anyone can find a way to peacefully break the Barrier, it'll be Frisk, out on the Surface, and asks them to take his soul and leave. Making this parallel even stronger is how Toriel giving Frisk her own soul was something Toby considered, but thought would be far too dark for the first area of the game.

I dunno. They're both messed-up and horribly lonely and depressed. To the point where Toby considers one or the other comitting suicide to be interchangeable. I feel like that says something it bothers me that people seem to miss it.

Of course, these aren't their only flaws as characters. I feel like Toriel's biggest flaw is that she's unwilling to compromise. She draws boundaries and refuses to compromise them. Meanwhile, Asgore has issues enforcing his own boundaries and delegating. The influences which each prioritizes: duty or integrity. But overall, I feel like they're just. They're similar. It's kinda silly to say one is irredeemable and the other's a good person, because at the end of the day, they're similar.

They're must've been a reason they were such a happy couple, once upon a time.