#with that same sort of arc of her having to grow up too fast and deal with all of this and him not really seeing it

[richhietozier]

very vaguely working on a buffy the vampire slayer au fic rn (that i think will be centered around steddie) where nancy is the slayer, eddie is a vampire, and steve, robin, and jonathan are nancy’s scooby gang

[ihaveforgortoomany]

Druvis and Schneider Parallels, and looking at the end of Chapter Two (why not?) + more on Schneider in general

Being two characters we met in the same patch, both characters do have a couple of similarities to each other that I wanna just yap about + talking about the ingame impact of Schnieder.

Both have (had I guess in terms of Druvis) a strong desire to help their families, whether it was Schneider's desire to protect their family at all costs therefore going to the Manus and for Druvis it was (other than her desire to protect the forests and love for them) a desire to aid her family in times of financial crisis in the form of developing her arcanum, then afterwards with FMN seek out the truth of the fire and who caused it.

Aesthetic wise both pull from the "flapper" movement of the 1920s, their shorter hairstyles are a big signature of developing women's fashion in this era.

The connection that Druvis developed the pristols Schneider uses when we met her. (Speculation: Arcana had approached both FMN and Druvis at the same time similar to the Dittasdorfs and Heinreich in Chapter Six, or FMN was approached alone and then told Druvis about it. Schneider likely after being rejected by the Foundation sought after FMN to join the Manus to protect her family, eventually leading to her meeting Druvis and obtaining her signature guns. )

(Headcanon: If Vertin ever comes to the point to need better protection or the situation becomes dire enough, Druvis will likely be the one to fashion guns for Vertin, maybe in the style of Schneider's, actually Vertin probably does have those guns somewhere, Schneider wouldn't have left them in the mansion or somethin)

Their relation to Vertin: argubly Vertin had met the both of them at their lowest points, vulnerable to the Manus and seeing no other option to join the Manus for their respective desires. Vertin offers salvation and shelter to the both of them, but tragically it is only one of them who is able to survive.

Druvis by the end of Chapter Two does reach a sort of conclusion by the end, resolving to look to the future for the first time since the fire instead of looking back into the past like Forget Me Not. This growing resolve plays a large part in helping Vertin pass the Reformation Bill in Chapter 4, she is (alongside the efforts of Iliya and Z) the one to spearhead the coup against Constantine.

For Schneider, what conclusion are we left at? Her arc in Chapter One and Two follows a tragic attempt to save her family, failed by the Foundations and Manus that all leads to aiding Vertin against FMN and Arcana. And after? In those six hours Schneider can only hope someone would remember her.

Again either Im overstretching but why specifcally is her last will is to be remembered? Its a depressing thought that she desire to be remembered, maybe a desire for her efforts to not be in vain, she effectively had failed in saving her family from the Storm, Mariam might have been saved from the Manus but truly they were all doomed regardless.

Whats also tragic about Schneider is how long she keeps up a brave facade in the face of this, her flirty attitude rarely ever breaks,the exception bring Arcana torturing both her and Vertin in the oranges scene, and in general around Vertin by the latter half of the Chapter (the umbrella scene and the last scene).

Even in these 24 hours and less of interacting with Schneider, her last moments break away from the facade of the Mafia leader and the flirtations to someone very scared of disappearing, terrified of being forgotten to desire at least one person to remember her. (It being Vertin likely because she is the only or first person to offer genuine help to her, someone forced to grow up too fast finally finding someone to depend on, even if its inly six hours)

(This is the end of the main analysis below is just pure ramble, speculation and copium)

Additional thoughts

On the topic of Schneider, its common knowledge she was playable in Beta but removed due to complaints in CN about a "dead" character being playable. We also know how well integrated aspects of the UI, menus, dailies, Wilderness and etc are incorporated into the lore and story (example being character profiles being interviews by UTTU).

Knowing that Schneider being playable was intended alongside the story (Chapter 1-4 being available from launch) with her psych cube being present as well. (Was she even placed in any banners? )

Right I sound like Im on copium but Bluepoch intending Schneider being playable in spite of her fate in the story means they likely had a in universe explanation for her to be reversed but still appear in the suitcase - now the lore implications of this are big. (Theories on different timelines or versions go brr here I guess) They had a reason for Schneider to be in a situation like this, but enough willingness to remove her playability entirely and gave her kit to someone else (was it Melania right?).

Heres the questions - would there have been a lore explanation for Schneider post-Ch 2 appearing in the suitcase? If yes does that mean either story could have experienced adjustments following her removal? Or later down the line we will get a character that was reversed by the Storm but appears in the suitcase?

(theres still the infected section in the Atlas that including CN no one is in BUT this section has been there since release) Storm inflicted going here would be crazy and Im pretty sure someone on reddit has brought up the idea.

Expect a more coherent post after this, i have just a bunch of stuff I wanna put down and talk about.

[randomnameless]

Land 3 and 4 done!

Elves and furries!

Or the worst double standard with Alcina's tragick backstory while Gary eats scraps, and Reimann puts devoted Fodlan fans to shame with his bias against subhumans!

Elheim was...

Very green compared to Drakengard lol, however the interactions between the characters felt... stale.

I mean, compared to the constant back and forth + exposition from Virginia about how cities are different from Cornia, who is Gilbert, the people living in the desert and all, for the first part of the plot, we just follow Rosalinde, a dark elf, to meet her sister so she we can save her from the bad guys, and ask her where is the second magic mc Guffin ring.

Sure, we rescue some villages and characters along the way, but they aren't, imo, as integrated in their setting as the Drakengard ones. Still, we find former thieves/brigands/bandits Alain decided to spare in Cornia - and apparently they want to turn over a new leaf, so when their old gang wants to sell elf ladies (young and not so young) as slaves, they rebel and we deal with them.

I guess the difference in setting/atmosphere is due to Drakengard, well, being conquered by the bad guys, but it feels like they just conquered it and left it there, not really caring about it.

In Elheim, they're still around - it can be sort of explained by the fact that Drakengard was conquered 6 years ago (Cornia, Alain's home was done in 10 years and Bastorias was subjugated 8 years ago) when the conquest of Elheim is supposed to be more recent? - but I guess it plays/is due to the main boss of this area's agenda -

Unlike Cornia and the small villages here and there, or Drakengard and the large cities sprawled on mountainsides, here the cities are located kind of far from each other, with a lot of forests/green/lakes/small mountains around - it makes for long maps without a lot of stuff to seize, but at the same time, it means you have to check your stamina more frequently so it's different enough to be a regional difference compared to the previous setting.

The units are... something - all jokes aside, having units deal both magic and physical damage was a nightmare for my poor 0 res armors lol, but I reckon they can be kind of useful with the proper setup, too bad the "proper setup" was something I never found and actually, I like how the game still gives you "human classes" enemies too (from the evil empire, like a red loldier) so you're not only fighting against elves, but also against the same kind of enemies (albeit promoted) than you did before, and they use mixed teams like ones with elves and humans, to make you sure have to still rethink your strategies and can't send the same team you used in the former land and expect the same results.

The BGM though... is sort of there - a bit disappointing compared to Drakengard's but I got a newfound appreciation after hearing the final boss' theme The Witch's World, it's not the banger Heir of the Dragonlands was but the fantasy/dream TWW conveys made me realise what Elheim was all about (hell those titles have a meaning lol) :

Drakengard's final theme is all about Gilbert reclaiming his castle and being the true heir of his country, not by birthright but when push came to shove, he stood up and restored the country. Which is why Drakengard had some exposition and character drama centered on Gilbert, his family and helping him.

Elheim is, as sad as it is... all about Alcina's fantasy/dream, her downfall and a sense of tragedy, both because of what she used to be, and what she actually did for the sake of her dream.

Regarding Alcina, I'll try to keep the sodium levels to minimum but :

@megafan1993 I know your comment wasn't under an Unicorn Overlord post lol, but this is basically my feelings regarding Alcina, and the comparison with the boss of the following arc stings even more, all things considered.

Who is Alcina?

A witch who acted as the court witch/mage of Cornia (MC's land!) who has the "uses magic to not grow old too fast but will eventually" syndrome, and was around during the time of MC's grandpa, a dude named Gerard.

King Gerard knew how to use his sword very well - to the point of being called a sword saint! - and liked to use it "for the good of the people", but he was the kind of guy who didn't like doing King work, found his coronation a nice distraction and didn't like when his PM modified his bills/papers etc etc. Pissed with the life of a King, especially since he felt like he couldn't do what he wanted, he left the land, without warning anyone, to explore "Cornia" and see what her people needs, only taking Alcina with him : effectively ditching the country - but no worries, his father was still around !

Exploring the land, Gerard finds himself in an ambush/skirmish against Drakengard - the neighoubing nations with whom Cornia has had border issues/problems for centuries - and takes an arrow meant for Alcina, thus dies unceremonously.

Alcina returns to Cornia and people are starting rumours, like how she had been the king's "favourite" and how the situation sucks, because now Gerard left his kid daughter* (whom he never mentionned even once in all of his voiced lines) Ilenia (MC's mom) alone to assume the role of the ruler of Cornia**.

Now, Alcina was pretty much in luf with King Gerard, so much that when Ilenia faces a rebellion (aka the prologue) and asks for her help, Alcina accepts to help her, because Ilenia is King Gerard's daughter.

Then...

Ilenia is supposedly "dead", Cornia has fallen and the Gharnef-like Baltro tells her (or she deduces it herself?) that his magic doesn't turn people crazy, but use people as mediums to put foreign/other souls inside them and take control of the bodies. It's more like a channeling magic.

Seeing the possibility to be reunited with her Gerard-poo again, Alcina switches sides and joins with the evil Zenoiran Empire, but she has her own agenda you see?

Alain lived peacefully on a small island because Alcina, who knew where he was, never told anything to the evil Zenoiran Empire people. It's not out of the goodness of her heart, hell no. Alcina had an interest in keeping Alain alive... because she planned to use him/his body to channel Gerard's soul inside - with the added bonus that Alain is a pallet swap of his grandpa.

She knew Gerard would most likely despise her for using his grandson as a medium to bring him back (from the lines we got spoken by the guy, I doubt it, he never mentions his kid!children not even once, why would he suddenly care about his grandson?) but she just wanted to hear/see him one last time sad uwus

(which raises a fucking giant red flag, Alcina who knows this and knows Ilenia's body isn't around, would obviously have guessed she was too, used as a medium for a Zenoiran soul much like Renault and Hodrick! So, with that knowledge, she wouldn't have tried to find a way to save her? Especially since she came to her in her "direst time of need" in the first place! I guess seeing Gerard >>> saving his daughter, after all the man himself never gave a fuck about said daughter...)

I don't have the exact timeline, but Alcina then accepts to march on Elheim - which resisted the Empire because they elves protect their land with a magical forest, and only taught a select few humans they are friendly with and trust a lot how to cross it, but could never have guessed that Alcina would later turn on them! - and leads the evil empire there with a dude named Gary, the land is conquered and while Eltrinde, the current elf leader (the eng/european script comes up with a lot of "exclusive" elven words, in the script she's called a turenos (??) but the jp!audio just has her be a "miko", I guess mikos don't sound elvish enough to the western lolcalisers and of course they couldn't translate her title by the word "sibyl", aka her class name :/) surrendering to avoid casualties...

Nothing is heard about her, save for Rosalinde (Eltrinde's twin sister!) who worries about her, and we believe when we face her that she's also possessed like the other people we used to fight against (by, and it'll later be revealed, ancient Zenoiran souls channeled by Baltro's magic in those bodies) but no, Eltrinde was possessed by... Alcina herself!

"But why would she need an elven body? She already has hers!"

Apparently, given some clues here and there (Yana - Alcina's apprentice - rapport conversation with Rosalinde), we can surmise that Alcina wanted an elven body to get a longer lifespan without needing to use the dangerous "rejuvenation aka turning from a dried old fig to a stripper" spell.

Tl;Dr : Alcina wanted to have her romance/spend time with Gerard again, using Alain and Eltrinde's bodies as mediums, even if it means dooming the elven kingdom and the world in general -

And oh boy do we see the elves being doomed, because while the two other human countries had a suspicious "plague" going on, here Baltro - like our beloved Riev - drops any sort of subtelty behind his title as a necromancer, and revives elves he previously killed to fight the party, which enrages both Eltrinde and Rosalinde (a feat, because so far their plot mandated interactions where very lackluster, their reunion scene had no pathos or similarity to the Drakengard brothers or even Virginia reuniting with her long lost cousin!) and they swear to take him - and Alcina - down.

Ultimately, after Baltro rewarps away like the good dark mage he is, we fight Alcina - who saved both Alain and Eltrinde from Baltro and prevented a game over lol because she still wants their bodies for her uwu ritual - and both the map song (witch's world) + her various FB's and ultimately Yana asking her to rest in peace after she's killed participate in selling us the "tragic/doomed by love" vibe about Alcina, like, the tragedy is about her, this arc is about her, hell, the entire Elheim plot is about her.

I guess I already let some salt flow lol, but even if this isn't as hamfisted as Hresvelg Grey, I felt like this was a disappointment and a bit of a letdown compared to Drakengard's story.

Double-standard hour : I was loitering on redshit to find some stuff and I saw so many people trashtalk some dude called "Gailey" that I wanted to know what was his story and...

(FR-wise at least, "Gailey" is Gary lol.)

So, Gary was Unicorn Overlord's take on FE8's Carlyle, without the sympathy he had for Joshua.

Gary was very devoted to Queen Ilenia and part of her guard, when she "died" - pretty sure that if Alcina knew, she would never told him the truth - to him Cornia died, because there's no Cornia without Ilenia as its ruler.

So Gary accepts to work with Zenoira because his queen is dead, apparently he does this conquering stuff well enough to be distinguished during the Drakengard campaign, and is sent to Elheim with Alcina.

Alcina however is the main villain while Gary is a sidekick, and is relegated as such which pisses him - and he knows she is the one possessing Eltrinde! - but our party arrives, and he wants to take our head.

It doesn't work, apparently Galvius (the evil emperor who conquered everything and is the red emperor !) doesn't like it when his troops lose and Gary knows that if he returns to him, he'll be executed, but also can't remain in Elheim else the rebels will kill him and can't escape from that land due to the magic forest surrounding it (the one no one could cross save for elves and their trusted friends!).

To get rid of the magic forest, Gary thus decides to burn the "super magic tree" that gives power to the forest and fairies living inside who are also the source of power for the elves.

Alain's party finds Gary and kills him... or at least planned to do so, because he runs away after we rekt him and is actually killed by one of his soldiers (who wanted to bring his head to Galvius and explain that if the rebels got them, it's only because Gary was incompetent!). He has last words not to Alain, but to Jeigan Joseph and the other former members of Cornia's knights - they ask Gary why he betrayed and it's here that he tells them that he never betrayed Cornia, because Cornia died when Ilenia did, thus he had/felt no attachment/reason to fight for Alain.

He has the last word to Joseph though - who pulled a Finn when he escaped with kid!Alain while Ilenia fought (apparently to her death) to give him an opening - saying Joseph has no right to judge him, because when Ilenia was fighting for her life (and apparently died), Gary was by her side until the end (he was in her team) fighting for and with her, while Joseph ran away.

And we know - after Virginia's sidequest - that Joseph still feels guilty about having left Ilenia and escaped with Alain, wondering if their places couldn't have been reversed and if she should be the one alive, but he listened to her orders back then (something he doesn't reveal to Gary!).

In a nutshell, Gary had most likely unrequited feelings for his queen, did his best to save/protect her and fought with her, but when she died he felt like his world did and from that point dgaf about the world or what it was supposed to become.

Alcina... most likely had (unrequited ?) feelings for her king, felt like trash when he died and she couldn't save him, thus abandonned her job and while she did help his daughter at one time, in the end she was willing to see the world and her king's family burn to get another chance to live her love story with him.

They are pretty similar, but somehow treated differently when both did horrible stuff, however only Alcina gets the "tragedy sad uwus" framing when Gary dies unceremonously.

Yeah :/

Not find of that plot arc.

In their rapport conversations, the elves are more interesting than what their plot interaction led to believe and I liked the devs adding maybe like 70% of the elven npcs around being sort of assholish and quite biased because Alain'n'pals are "humans" and have a huge superiority complex regarding the rest of the continent (watermelon time for that one NPC who calls Bestrals "unclean" or "corrupted" like dude, what do you have against bunnies?).

-------

I heard Vanillaware rushed the ending of the game because they had a money problem or something, and well, Bastorias shows it lol.

We have maybe 5 plot quests - sidequests you are supposed to unlock way way later lol - and a cast of 3 characters who talk in turn, but don't really exchange or interact with the NPCs or the rest of the cast found there.

So yeah, I can see where the rush was lol

And yet, I still prefered the Bastorias arc -

First because while the maps are also as empty as the Elheim ones in cities and all, well I sort of prefer the "vast snowfields" vibe to the "large forests" one, even if I confess I really liked seeing/talking to the various people around - even if it was only for a sidequest (tfw a dude wants to sell Laguz slaves).

Second, because the BGM is both relaxing and yet foreboding/mysterious enough to keep you focused, even if I confess, I pressed + during some fights when wereowls were busy giving each other blue points lol

Oh, and werefoxes were... I won't judge people based on their kinks, but personnally, I was kind of weirded out by their sprites, like when I can crack jokes at F!Elven Fencers like "if they fall on their back they can't stand anymore like turtles if you flap them over", werefoxes are just... uh yeah. Not my cup of tea.

Plot-wise, Alain wants to get rid of Zenoira in this region too so it will diminish their forces (ludonarrative point : if you don't do Bastorias and go to the final map, Reimann pops us as a reinforcement unit with the feral plot characters you're supposed to meet in Bastorias, aka feral!Ramona and feral!Morad :( I guess Yunifi died alone, I hope she wasn't killed by her adoptive parents !) but everyone realises that there's some "illness" or stuff that makes some Bestral go mad/feral (does this remind you of something?) and while some pop up as yellow units who attack everything on sight, through the plot we later learn that it's not "illness" at all!

Much like the best Gharnef out there (sorry for your poll @crushednugget, but I believe science should have won!), Reimann - a former Cornian noble who was part of the band of traitors who sided against Ilenia in the prologue - uses his science + a magic rock to turn the animal people in feral versions of themselves to control them, and calls himself a genius while also revealing that this magic rock that those lowly subhumans only thought was a shiny rock that belonged to the lion (thus royal) tribe was actually the magic rock that makes people able to control the Bestrals (the subhumans).

We even have one rapport conversation from Joseph, that suggests that Reimann might have been involved in trafficking/enslaving/experimenting on subhumans before the game's events, as he was already trying to get his hands on Bestrals during Ilenia's reign!

Unlike Izuka though.... Reimann is betrayed by one of his "allies" - much like Gary! - who was... under his suit of armor... a bestral himself!

(Cucumber lolcalisation point : Eligor, when first met is talking to this place's Batta the Beast and at one point is pissed/haughty/upset and calls Batta a human - but in the jp!audio, I didn't hear any "ningen" mention at all. Eligor blows his cover in the us/eu script, but not in the jp version!)

Eligor is a rat bestral, and Bastorias has some sort of hierarchy/class system based on which kind of Bestral you are - cats are fishermen, owls are the "wise mayors", bears, foxes and wolves are fighters (but polar bears are selling weapons!) goats are innkeepers etc etc.

While it's upsetting that we never hear anything from the numerous NPCs around about the "rat tribe", given how Bastorias is presented we it's not that farfetched that rats were indeed seen as lesser or not as important/valuable as lion bestrals.

The Rat Tribe was captured by Baltro who used them for experiments to make them sturdier/stronger, everyone lost their mind save for Eligor who seems to be thankful to Baltro-sama to give him the means to reach his dream : become the King of Bastorias even if he is a member of the rat tribe.

As Morad (a lion!) tells him though, while his dream and ideals about making Bastorias a place for everyone to live with pride etc etc, he still tells Eligor that he resorted to stupid/ridiculous methods (aka mind controlling and sending hundred of bestrals to death fighting against each other and being a fucking member of Zenoira!) and would have prefered if they worked together, to which Eligor tells him that he dgaf, because even if it only lasted for the duration of the final battle, he finally got what he wanted being the King of Bastorias and commanding people thanks to the shiny magic rock.

No uwu sobest for Eligor unlike the gallons of tea we had to drink for Alcina though, maybe that's why i can appreciate this arc more lol

I think the nod to the reveal about Eligor being a rat and this arc wasn't the lolcalisation adding shit, but the sidequest with the... Rock Rats - former bandits Alain spared in Cornia lol - when you recruit/want to recruit the leader who's basically Robin Hood, he tells you that even if Alain started his quest with 5 people and thus isn't like the other evil Nobles (tm), you should always worry about someone who started from scratch and managed to become a leader, because they will cling to power and forget why they wanted it in the first place.

...That's basically Eligor's story, as told by another, metaphorical, rat!

Battle theme a Fleeting Dream is the general Bastorias overworld theme, with imo, the earlier feelign of something ominous being played/schemed and its climax - it's the same mystery/foreboding feeling we got in the overworld map, but with a feeling that "something is going on". A good catch for Eligor's plot and this arc in general, even if it was rushed.

Anyways after his death, more plot reveals - Morad the friendly (uhh) lion we met who acted as one of the main characters from this arc was actually a human changed in a lion with the power of the shiny magic rock, and the human girl, Yunifi, who was adopted by Ramona (owl mom) and Morad (lion dad) is very heavily implied to have been a lion princess herself, but turned in a human!

Nod to Fodlan discourse : upon finding Reimann's notes and researches about how to use the shiny magic rock to control bestrals - everyone in the cast agrees with Ramona's suggestion to burn those notes!

No "uwu censorship BaD" or "creature masquerading as a human is attempting to hide knowledge to keep humans ignorant!" -> those "researches" are basically some "how to perform mindcontrol and turn people against each other in 5 steps" lessons, so they are destroyed for the sake of everyone, the shiny magic rock will forever remain a shiny magic rock, and not a tool to control the minds of anyone else.

Gameplay wise :

The Bestrals have a gimmick where they are more powerful/get more mobility during nighttime, but some of their classes are more similar to the human ones than the elven ones.

I still have to use/play around the werefoxes and the werewolves, so far I only used the lion, the bear and the owl and while I know Yunifi has an unique class and can be built in a certain way to be completely broken...

I don't have enough medals to make more than 3 teams of 5 characters rofl - but I'll definitely try to play with some builds!

----

Oh and in general, I guess i forgot to mention in the "this was rushed" part, but while we can see the rush - I still am flabbergasted at some details the devs added like, hm, the fact that when you use a skill that summons rain in Bastorias - aka tundra land - you don't get rain but snow!

Or the completely random stuff I just noticed today (tfw after 50h you still notice and learn something knew), when you pick a squad captain, the sigil/banner for that squad in the "battle screen" is the one of the "captain" of that squad!

So yeah, even if they're fighting in Alain's Liberation army, some characters still retain their identity and banners - Gilbert's team has the Drakengard sigil, Eltrinde/Rosalinde has the Elheim one and... Travis has the Tricorns (his bandit/merc group!) one lol

*Given how Virginia is Alain's cousin and Ilenia's niece, it means Gerard must have had two kids, assuming primogeniture works, Virginia's parent, must have been younger than Ilenia which means Gerard basically left his two children and role/duties as a king behind him because he was upset that people were disappointed in him/kept on meddling with his duties as a king.

**Through various supports and lines popping up here and there, we learn that while some people loved Ilenia and thought she ruled wisely and justly, some other people were very critical of her, given how she became Queen young and wasn't as battle-hungry as her dad before her : Tl;Dr, dying like a moron after ditching his throne, Gerard abandoned his daughter who had to face the same adversities - if not more - than he did, but she pulled through. I'll have to check the audio when I'll reach that moment to see if there's hidden salt, but she has a line to Alain in the True Ending where she's basically all "I'm not going to miss my son's coronation" and, well, with the knowledge that Gerard was crap, I wonder if Ilenia resented him a bit lol

[elijahs-dumps]

Cassandra and her villain arc; was it bad? Let's discuss... (Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure)

Just wanted to say before we dive in, I'm currently working on a piece about Gonzo from the Muppets and some Hazbin Hotel stuff too. So stay tuned;)

Cassandra was mainly portrayed as snarky, cold, and even a little rude. She's almost a perfect opposite to Rapunzel, which makes them interesting friends. And it's nice that Rapunzel has another girl she can rely on, since I personally believe female friendships are important in media. Within the TV series, Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, Cassandra is often seen budding heads with Eugene or helping with Rapunzel's misadventures. And as the show goes on, we see Cassandra actively looking out for Rapunzel more and more.

Even though Cass states many times in the first two seasons that she loves and cares for Raps, their relationship is quite unstable through out the show even before she became a main antagonist. Let's take a look at their relationship pre-season two to get a better understanding:

For example, in The Challenge of the Brave (S1 E4) when Raps joins the challenge, Cass feels like Raps is being a bad friend by trying to win something that means so much to her. She's annoyed by Raps' ignorance, and jealous of the admiration Raps is receiving. Yet, Cass never even told Raps how much the contest means to her. So instead of communicating her feelings, Cass starts to act more snappy with Raps and actively tries to get Raps eliminated from the game. However, it's not unreasonable for Raps to be unaware of Cass' wishes, especially since she struggles with social cue. Regardless of the fact that Cass should've been more patient with Raps, I think this episode would've been nice foreshadowing to her change of heart in season three if they didn't try to paint Cass as the victim in this episode. I don't understand why only Raps apologized, when they both should've acknowledged their wrongs.

In Under Raps (S1 E9), Rapunzel tries to make Cass feel better about being single by making her things and showing her appreciation for Cass. When this happens, Cass sort of gets annoyed for no reason even though Rapunzel's intentions are sweet. She doesn't even really verbalize if Raps is pushing boundaries or not, she's just... frustrated?

This doesn't relate to Rapunzel directly, but in Great Expotations (S1 E8) Cass uses Varian to get what she wants. Even though she does make up for it, it's still a testament to her character. Cass often acts without thinking about how others might feel or think, and the way she treats Raps in season one is a prime example of that. She does take into account how naive and ignorant Raps can be, but she refuses to show any patience for it as Raps recovers from literally being isolated for eighteen years. And Cass is supposed to be Raps' best friend! It's the same with Varian. You see, Cass isn't really a bad person. She just wants her moment in the spotlight, her moment to prove herself. In these episodes, that's often what drives her to make these mistakes towards her friends. This would be a great character flaw, and an interesting writing concept. But this show keeps having Cass in this same situation again and again, and she never grows from it. It gets old very fast.

Not to mention, Cass also tried to force Raps not to tell Eugene how she got her hair back when it first happened. All because Cass "doesn't trust Eugene". I thought this was strange, because I don't really know what kind of friend asks someone to lie to their significant other.

In the flashback episode, Beginnings (S3 E6), we learn that Cass never wanted to be friends with Raps to begin with, and there was a lot of guilty undertones on Cass' part of the relationship at least in its early stages from what we can see. Raps clearly latched onto Cass way too fast, because she was still fresh out of the tower when they met. And Cass wasn't ready to be what Raps needed (which was therapy). Cass was Raps' first friend besides Pascal, and I don't understand why Cass would take on that role if she wasn't going to put in the effort to at least try and be compassionate and understanding with Raps.

Moving on to season two, Cass didn't really do anything of substance until The Great Tree episode (S2 E14) which is a little weird in hindsight. But I thought her insecurities about needing to prove herself and how she always feel second place to Raps were pretty justified. We saw a couple times through out the series that people preferred Raps over Cass, or gave Raps opportunities when Cass worked harder for them. Still, I don't feel like that's Raps' fault. Waiting in the Wings did a perfect job of illustrating Cass' feelings on this subject, and it even made me like her more as a character because it gave her so much more depth. Still, the song talks about how Cass is going to keep waiting until her moment in the sun arrives no matter what, which contradicts her villain arc quite a bit considering the fact she did not wait at all. Anyway, I think Cass trying to insinuate that Raps doesnt trust her judgement anymore in these episodes was BULLSHIT. Raps clearly loves and values Cass, and trusts her completely. All Raps did was mkae a call that Cass didn't agree with, I dont think this meant that Raps wasn't listening or wasn't trusting Cass. The two of them simply disagreed on it, which they do all the time.

Technically, the thing that pushes Cass off the edge is the fact that she finds out she's Mother Gothel's biological daughter. But there was one other incident that set this villain arc into motion before the episodes within the House of Yesterday's Tomorrows. Cassandra's hand wound from Rapunzel.

When Cass injuries her hand during the final fight within the Great Tree, she blames Raps for it even after they talk it out and apologize. I didn't understand this at all, because yes Cass warned Raps not to use the decay incantation. But it's not like they had any other choice! And Raps was not in control of herself or the tree when Cass got injured. Not only this, but Raps also told Cass to leave before anything even happened. Why is Cass upset with Raps for not listening to her when she wouldn't listen to Raps either?

The season three opening episode, Rapunzel's Return (S3 E1), shows us exactly what Cass saw in the House of Yesterday's Tomorrows. We learn that Cass is Gothel's real daughter, and this is a huge turning point in the series. Because in this episode, Cassandra's entire villain arc stopped being about her own struggles and insecurities and how she's felt second place to Rapunzel this whole time, it became about the fact that Gothel chose Raps over Cass. I felt like this was a lazy writing choice, to make it seem like Cass' feelings of being inferior to Raps are more justified. But honestly, I think her villain arc could've stood well on it own if they just planted to the smaller seeds of doubt earlier on, and didn't involve Gothel in it. Of all people. Gothel is a naturally selfish woman who would never do anything that doesn't serve some kind of purpose for her. I find it hard to belief she kept Cass around simply to do house work around her cottage instead of just dumping Cass at an orphanage of some kind.

I also feel the need to mention the fact that Cass was absent for almost 12 episodes in a row, during what is supposed her season as the antagonist and her moment to have the spotlight, probably has something to do with why her writing in season three came out so half-baked. Combining this with the fact that her change of heart was only really hinted at in maybe five out of the forty-five episodes, episodes in which the conflict involving Cass' character is always resolved by the end, makes her entire villain arc seem out of character at first glance.

This season went to great lengths to make Cass' actions and attitude as nasty as possible, especially by having her show no remorse or doubts after Be Very Afraid (S3 E9). This is on of the reasons her redemption arc fell flat.

In A Tale of Two Sisters (S3 E14), we see the last bit of Cass' doubt be outweighed by her need to blame someone for the way Gothel abandoned her. So, she blames Rapunzel. But Cass knows Gothel was sick and abusive towards Raps, and she also knows it's not Raps' fault she was kidnapped. After all their years of friendship, I didn't buy the concept that Cass would let her anger manifest in a way that would blame Raps for a traumatic event that happened to both of them.

While I'm well aware that Zhan Tiri has been manipulating Cass since the House of Yesterday's Tomorrows, it still didn't make Cass's villain arc anymore believable for me. It felt like the show's way of trying to excuse its own crappy writing.

Once a Handmaiden (S3 E16) is when Cass realizes Zhan Tiri has been manipulating her since the beginning, and begins to regret her choices. So Cass disguises herself as Rapunzel's current handmaiden to try and find a way to extend some kind of olive branch. This gives us a little more insight into the headspace Cass has been in these past few months, and it gives the audience more room to sympathize with her (especially in the play scene). Yet, when Zhan Tiri reveals Cass to everyone and the guards start attack her, Cass is quick to become incredibly angry, even though Raps was trying to call off the guards. Cass literally takes over the entire kingdom, almost killing hundreds of people after spending the whole day bonding with Raps like old times. While I have issues with the amber-firing machine Varian made, I feel like the switch up with Cass in this episode was absolutely insane.

Cassandra's redemption arc, if you can even call it that, completely fell apart because it was so rushed. It was similar to Varian's redemption arc in that sense, but even though Varian's redemption arc had flaws he was able to sort of get away with it. Varian's villain arc was shorter than Cass', his crimes weren't as bad as Cass'. and he served at least a year in jail anyway. Cass served no punishment for her actions and got to leave Corona scot-free. This also plays into the constant contradiction Cassandra goes through this season of soul-crushing remorse vs homicidal rage.

Considering Cass was one of our main three characters for the entire show, I just think she deserved better when it finally came time to give her some more depth and complexity. But what do you guys think? Do you think Cassandra's time as an antagonist was poorly executed? How do you think they could've fixed it? Feel free to let me know!

[kittenmoth]

I'm very disappointed that centaur zuko is a dragon but centaur toph isn't a badger

Sorry! Zuko is a dragon due to how I made the Royals in the verse have super special specialness via being dragon bloods. Zuko and Azula were legit "born to be special" and Zuko in this verse feels he doesn't live up to the task. It's sort of how I incorporated the whole "the royal family is blessed/favored by Agni" thing to this AU. The only dragons in this world are those who descend from the royal family, hence why Jet mentions how "being a dragon just means he's a royal".

This is also why he's able to pass as other species though, you don't see a dragon every day. You kind of assume if they don't have horns or are a weird color they're probably some other kind of lizard hybrid, and Zuko spends the majority of the first arc with his horns sawn off as part of his banishment. They regrow quickly once he joins Azula and goes home because dragon horns just be like that and grow back kinda fast if not continuously filed back down. This is also why he has a larger set in some pictures and none/smaller sets in others.

Toph isn't a badgermole because Toph learns from them the same as in the show. Where Zuko was legit born to be special and powerful and fails to embody it in ways his Father and he himself wants, Toph just says "screw fitting the mold" and learns to be powerful and do things outside of her "nature" by finding the origin of her element without being directly related to it in the same sense Zuko is. I did originally consider making her a badger or something similar but having her be a more unassuming animal felt like it fit her origin a bit better. The whole "small and frail" image society had of her. Zuko later learns from the original dragons, too, just like in the show. Because despite being dragons themselves in a way the royals have not honored their elements origin through anything but boasting appearances in a long time.

Hybrids of the original benders of course did exist at one time, and maybe still do, but they would likely be much rarer now after the Fire Nation started the war and are probably also more limited to people who have a special link to the origins. I haven't put much thought into that yet, beyond that the Fire Nation probably makes it very unsafe to be a descendant of those lines due to wanting all the power over them? Still world building on that part.

Toph really ends up helping Zuko accept that he doesn't have to just be the perfect whatever he is in this verse as well. She learned to be herself despite what she was born to be in the eyes of others, she helps Zuko understand that he can learn to be who he is despite the same. Sibling energy wins the day.

Basically, Zuko was purposefully made after what his bending element came from because it puts the pressure of perfection on him. Toph isn't because Toph just learns it from them herself because Toph is awesome and special in a different way. Her own way. The way she chose for herself in a way. Zuko thinks he is stuck trying to fit in a slot he's not made to fit, Toph just punched a hole to make it fit herself because she can and wanted to and who was gonna stop her?

Hope I explained this well enough to get the idea across, sorry if it's nonsensical and rambly I just woke up lol. I'll elaborate if something doesn't make sense. But this is the general idea I had behind why Zuko matches his elemental origin but no one else does. At least no one we've seen in the main Gaang.

[jonquilyst]

Several weeks ago I wrote how I was writing the hardest part of my story. If you've been following along, by now you can probably guess what that hardest part is: the pairing of Megyn and Jayden.

As I stated in that post (without directly mentioning it), this love arc was planned since the very beginning and was always meant to happen, but it's been a very difficult arc for me to write. This post is pretty long and wordy, so if you want to read about why, then you can read on below the cut:

TLDR: It was super challenging to write Megyn becoming willing to become Jayden's partner because of her trust issues/past trauma and the fact that Jayden was inspired off of a person I ended up breaking up with last summer.

So, this arc was incredibly difficult for several reasons, the first being the challenge of Megyn becoming willing to become Jayden's partner. I wanted their coming together to be rocky. For Megyn to be unsure because she has trust issues related to her trauma growing up, but she would come around anyway. I really had no idea how I would do that until I was actively writing the arc.

I think I've just been afraid of having this go too fast or having this be out of Megyn's character because I've established that it can be incredibly difficult for her to open up to others, but at the same time I wanted her to overcome that and her trust issues/anxiety. For Megyn to realize that Jayden really is a good person to be with and that sometimes, it's okay to embrace change and to try something new

That is what I want the pairing of Jayden and Megyn to be. Megyn opening up, overcoming her trust issues, and embracing the evolution of her relationships. I really, really hope I've achieved in sending this message because I've been pretty insecure about the execution of this pairing for a while now.

Also, I wanted to break stereotypes with Jayden, as he sort of looks like a "bad boy" (esp since he's a POC) when in reality he's an absolute cinnamon roll who just happens to have a mohawk and pierced ears.

The second reason is more personal. Last summer, I had a falling-out with the person that heavily inspired the character of Jayden. I won't get into detail but yes, we were in a (brief) relationship and we were very close, and after everything went down I realized I could no longer go back to being friends with him, so we parted ways.

This experience really changed the way I thought about the eventual pairing of Megyn and Jayden. They were primarily based on what I thought we'd have and now that he's gone, I had to rethink about how I would write about pairing them together. It's been difficult as I grieve the departure of this person. I miss him every day, but I know we're better off apart.

However, even though Jayden is inspired off of a person I no longer talk to, he is still a separate entity and he is NOT this person. I still love Jayden a lot. He's my boi and I knew I wanted to continue on with having him pair with Megyn because again, I had it planned since the very beginning and I felt it wouldn't be fair to him to scrap this arc because he's based off of a person who I fell out of love with.

So yeah, that's why this arc has been so hard for me to write, but I wrote it anyway for the sake of healing from my breakup and for the characters I love very much.

Thank you all for the love and support. I really hope you're looking forward to what I have planned for these two 💖

[literary-illuminati]

Book Review 28 – Finna by Nino Cipri

This was another slim book I picked up basically blind entirely so I had something fast on hand to read. Unfortunately, didn’t work out nearly so well for me as most of the other’s I’ve read. Which is a shame, because the fundamental idea behind it is incredible, or at least seemed like an excuse for a kind of ridiculous pulpy adventure that was just made for me.

So, the story’s about a pair of 20-something queer dead-enders working at a bigbox furniture story that is similar to but legally distinct from Ikea. The Monday after they broke up, they find themselves both working a shift at the same time. And, even more awkwardly, after a transient wormhole forms and a customer wanders into a parallel universe’s not!Ikea, the two of them are volunteered to go rescue the wold woman. From this follows adventures through wild and deadly alternate realities, self-discovery, realizing how much there is out in the world, post-breakup reconciliation, a moment of dramatic self-actualization-through-heroic-sacrifice, and so on and et cetera.

Now, there are good qualities to this book, but I will be honest that the weeks since I’ve read it have dulled my memory of everything except the petty annoyances. So this review is basically just going to be complaining about what I thought didn’t work or irked me out of all proportion to its significance. Okay? Okay.

So fundamentally this feels like this could have been a fun, cheesy absurd comedy about some #relatable millennials trapped in retail purgatory and all its kafkaesque upbeat cheer. Tragically it was written by someone whose memories or ideas of what that’s like were warped by too many years on twitter and around people being professionally writer for the book to ever really ring true (to me, at least).

Or, possibly better put, it felt like the book was trying to tell me what sort of story it was and what emotional journeys its characters were going on and what it was trying to satirize more than it ever followed through on any of it? Which is pretty unhelpfully vague as a complain, I’m aware.

More concretely, the emotional arc of the two leads just felt incredibly rushed – these did not feel like two people who had had a messy breakup after an incredible hurtful argument three days before! They were, at most, slightly awkward around each other, and inside of fifty pages they were friends again. Which was just deeply emotionally unsatisfying for what the back cover sold the book as, or for my own desire for my messy drama generally. More generally, they both theoretically have flaws, but you only know this because the narration keeps explicitly saying what they are and how they’re growing past them instead of them ever really, like, meaningfully fucking them over or causing them to be unsympathetic.

Our protagonist also just had an utter surfeit of self-knowledge – her internal monologue sometimes reads more like the author’s notes on the character’s passions, neuroses and flaws than anything anyone would actually think about themselves. Especially someone in her position. And all the therapy-speak just really made me grind my teeth (not least because whatever the book says, there’s no way she’d able to afford the regular therapist sessions she apparently has on regular retail wages. Which is a minor thing but a) it really does annoy me, and b) it feels telling.)

And, fundamentally, the book just kind of took itself too seriously? Or, more properly, given how utterly absurd the premise and most of the set-pieces were, it just wasn’t nearly funny enough. Or horrifying enough, if you wanted to go the other way – there’s the raw material for some decent creepypasta style horror there, but that would kind of undercut how wholesome and uplifting nad etc the narrative’s clearly supposed to be.

So yeah, ended up using some amazing conceits and occasionally great visuals to construct a pretty tepid adventure story around an emotional core that didn’t feel real to me. What a pity.

[shadowofthelamp]

In the “it’s as if you’re birthing the Antichrist” way, if he was able to have her the normal way OR still have to cut her out. Think of Stanley getting a letter urging him to come as soon as possible, he needs help. Before the due date, Stanley opening the door from no answer and seeing the place a mess, like a madman, blood dried on the floor or walls, bits of fur or animal bone from previous “meals” he had to have, and he finds ford weakened and a mess and also bloody and dirty. 1/2

And realizes he’s holding a baby, who once he can start to process what that means suggest killing her but ford by that point refuses to because he sees her and she looks small and innocent despite it all

Stan wasn't sure what he expected, but it… wasn't this.

Six-fingered handprints smeared blood that had dried deep brown over the walls. They lay in between threats that were messy and frighteningly close to the same color and texture. The floor was littered with equal amounts of paper and books and- was that roadkill? The one in the center of the room was certainly dead, at any rate, and insects were nibbling at the tiny bits of meat left on the ribs poking out from the mess of fur. There were other bits of fur and bone scattered around, a rank smell permeating the room.

Was he already too late?

"…Ford?" The voice was hesitant, and he almost didn't recognize it as his own even as it left his lips. This didn't feel real, not the way a gun to the head did- a nightmare reflected through a mirror dimension. When he heard a weak cough in the other room, he instinctively reached for his knife before- no.

It was his brother. His nerdy brother.

There had to be an explanation for this.

"Stan…ley?" Ford sounded almost delirious, and Stan allowed himself only half a moment to swallow before weaving through the mess to make his way towards the voice.

When he saw Ford in the kitchen, he almost wished he didn't.

He was filthy, for one thing- hair tangled and matted with streaks of blood and some sticky clear-ish fluid he couldn't quite identify. On top of that, he was trembling and clutching something roughly the size of a football. More concerning, behind the thing in his arms, his shirt and pants were soaked in growing dark stains combined with what might have been dirt and might have been raw coffee grounds.

The thing moved right when he noticed the knife still soaked in red that had been thrown away from Ford with fresh, shiny droplets splattered on the tile in an arc.

Was that…?

A wail broke through the air from Ford's arms, confirming that Stan's improbable guess had, in fact, been correct as Ford curled around it.

"Is that a baby?"

"I suppose it is…" His eyes were more bloodshot than Stan had ever seen, and that was saying something considering Arizona from a few years back. "You… you got my postcard."

"Yep, figured I'd… swing by," Stan agreed, taking a cautious step forward as the baby continued to show off its lung capacity and proved that it did not seem to be, in fact, some sort of collective hallucination considering Ford was staring down at it instead of up at Stan. "Where did it come from?"

"What, her?" Ford's head rolled up, then lolled like the neck was half-broken already, skin sallow and thin over his cheekbones. "She came from me."

"Ford."

"I know how absurd this looks-"

"Ford, you don't have-"

"I am well aware, Stanley," Ford said through gritted teeth. "I- I thought I had more time, but she's grown so fast, and I-"

"You- you just need to think about this. You're smarter than this, Sixer-"

Ford hissed before he flinched and curled in on himself, and Stan took another tentative step forward as the wailing from the baby lowered to a whimper as Ford crushed her to his chest.

"I have no idea what's going on, but I'm- I'm here for you." The next step was wet. Stan was standing in a puddle of blood, and Ford's body slumped back against the wall, eyes open as he breathed through his mouth.

"Thank you. Do you… know how to bandage a deep incision on the abdomen?"

Stan nodded. "Decently enough." (He wasn't dead yet, anyway.) "Where's your first aid kit?"

"Good, good…" Ford sucked in a heavier breath, and Stan swore he could hear the rattling in his lungs. "Over on the table. I can't exactly… move at the moment."

It took mere moments to pop the case open and start to pull out what he needed, and Ford had gone back to staring at the baby.

The baby that, from this angle, Stan could now see had one giant eye.

"What the fu-"

"Questions later, please." Ford's voice was growing fainter by the second, and Stan didn't allow himself another moment to think as Ford worked his way out of his filthy coat and set the baby on top of it as Stan started to clean the wound.

He could feel the thing staring as he knelt in the puddle of blood and stitched his brother up, and he shifted his hip to feel the weight of the knife against his thigh.

Just in case.

[little-peril-stories]

Happy STS! So if you don't mind, imma keep asking questions about The Queen of Lies until the big day arrives (whenever that may be!) Consider me your unofficial hype machine.

What was the biggest challenge or difficulty you encountered in the course of writing TQOL that you didn't have when writing TPOT? Did it surprise you? And why do you think it was an issue here and not in the original story?

Thank you, Claire, for the ask! Happy STS! Even though it's Wednesday!! I super do not mind, and I'm sorry I took a while to get to this. I'm staying with family and my free time always gets kind of messed up when that happen.

I love having you as my unofficial hype machine and I appreciate it so so much!!! 💕

This is such a good question. I have been pondering it for days. I kinda got rambling so I'll add a Read More to avoid taking up too much real estate on the dash.

One thing I struggled with: writing Will so that his snark and defiance still felt fun and fresh despite the fact that we've met him in this way before, but also writing Will so that he still felt like the same person. His character arc is really different in TQOL, and his struggles and suffering are largely (though not entirely) of a different sort as well. We get to see a different side of him for at least part of the AU, and I guess I feared accidentally just making him into a whole new character. I still want him to feel like himself.

(Of course, this wasn't an issue for TPOT because it was the first time I was writing him and I had nothing to 'keep consistent' to.)

So...yeah. Keeping the characters consistent from TPOT to TQOL was a big challenge. Colette also got a bit of this; she definitely reads a little different in the AU, although there are plot reasons why, and I did pull from one (TPOT) scene in particular to explore one aspect of her character we really only see once(ish) in TPOT.

I didn't worry about this for Breanna because as far as I'm concerned, she is a different person, and this story is of how she grows into someone far more like Bree.

If I'm being honest, my biggest challenge with TQOL is happening, like...now. I've started my readthrough and will soon be preparing to post it. The story just kind of fell out of me, so fast that I didn't have much time to second-guess myself, but that's all coming out now.

is it realistic enough? (super did not care about this while writing TPOT; now there are some things I would edit out)

was I too mean to [character] in [x] chapters? (in TPOT, there are like 2 things from early in the story that I feel were either 'too mean' or 'not realistic' and I may very well edit them out, but I didn't have this concern. Even though I was, like, really mean to the characters.)

did I do enough time period research? (super did not care about this for TPOT. enjoy your anachronisms. yum yum.)

did I treat [x] subject with the appropriate amount of sensitivity, care, and respect? (in TPOT, I really only had this concern with *that one chapter* but with TQOL, there's a few things I'm nervous about)

even though I knowingly and purposely repeated some plot elements/tropes because I wanted to see if I could / because I just wanted to, will readers see that as cheap or lazy? (n/a to TPOT)

is there enough whump for the whump people? (n/a to TPOT. there is whump aplenty in there)

is the romance executed well enough for the romance people? (lol in TPOT I was allergic to Bree & Will's romance until the bitter end so this was...not really on my mind)

and the list goes on.

Thank you so much for your question. It made me think a lot!

[bonmonjour]

my crack idea i had on the bus

Adventure Time currently has 281 11-minute episodes. Structuring it into seven Disney seasons with each 22-minute slot divided into two episodes (like Amphibia or P&F) would keep it at 280 episodes. Actually, the season order could be split up into 40 distinct episodes. So the series would have roughly the same amount of content (51h20m), but the content would be structured differently. The show currently has a bit too much inconsistency and too much “filler” for my liking. The early seasons were still trying to find their footing and the very nature of cable TV in the early 2010s meant that it had to be what it was. But anyway, here’s my idea for making it a bit better.

Consistent Seasons

As it exists, Adventure Time has 10 seasons of varying lengths. The first four are all the CN standard 26 11-minute episodes. S5 doubles this, with 52, and S6 has 43. The next two (Seasons 7 and 8) originally had 39 and 28 respectively, but CN executives rearranged them with absolutely no regard to the story. The last 13 episodes of S7 were stitched onto the first 14 of S8, making Broke His Crown and Orb unintentional premiers. This reordering also completely destroyed the original S8’s Fern arc. With this restructuring, the other half of S8 became its own S9, the shortest season of them all. Finally, the last official season, S10, is also considerably shorter than the others with only 16 episodes. Thus the number of episodes in each season are: 26, 26, 26, 26, 52, 43, 26, 27, 14, 16. 

Having there be 7 seasons of 40 episodes each would certainly fix the consistency problem without the content necessarily suffering. The new Season 1 (N1) would consist of S1 and S2, N2 would consist of S3 and S4, and N3-6 would correspond closely to the original S5-8. Lastly, N7 would be a significantly expanded version of S10. This new order would considerably expand the later, more character and story centric seasons, and would cut down on the frankly childish early seasons.

Intentional Story & Character Arcs

With consistent seasons, and with the benefit of hindsight, the stories themselves would be better crafted (especially from S1-3). The early seasons played extremely fast and loose with the rules of the world, animation, characterization, and lore. Finn and Jake learn magic two different times only to never use it ever again; Bonnie and Marcy’s characterizations are very far out of line with what they would become in later seasons, with Marcy being far too edgy and nonchalant about her life (as seen in Heat Signature) and Bonnie reciprocating Finn’s feelings (like in Too Young).

N1 would sort of introduce and set up the entire rest of the series. We would meet all the main cast; learn about the Land of Ooo, it’s locales, kingdoms, personalities, and history; locations completely outside of Ooo, such as the Nightosphere, Lumpy Space, the Dead Worlds, and the Underground; Finn would learn life lessons throughout, peaking with being exposed to non-violence by Billy; and the finale would set up the biggest bad of the entire series: the Lich. The season (especially the second half) would also focus on Finn’s growing feelings for PB, her not reciprocating, and contrast it with Jake’s successful love life with Lady.

N2A would start with Finn’s feeling for PB at their highest. Through many episodes focusing on these feelings, they steadily get worse until Finn feels utterly rejected. Starting here, the show would also get more dark and creepy, unafraid to scare its audience. This section would feature some big lore drops– namely, Bonnie and Marcy having a past history, and the reveal of Simon. It would end with Finn meeting Flame Princess. From there would follow several episodes throughout the season of Finn and FP growing closer together and also becoming more involved in Fire Kingdom politics. As a complement to this, the show would also start to tackle ‘love’ in its many different expressions. The episodes would also cover lessons on topics such as leadership, responsibility, and fulfillment. There would be the first proper appearance of the Nightosphere, more lore drops about Mars and Marcy, and would end with the Lich again. Actually, the Lich’s return would be foreshadowed throughout the whole season. In addition, these early seasons establish Finn as the archetypical ‘Red Knight’ and set him up for his journey towards becoming the ‘White’ and eventually ‘Black Knight.’

N3A would start off with Farmworld as a resolution to the Lich’s story in the previous finale. From there, it would start with both the brothers’ relationships being the best so far, with Jake becoming a father and Finn becoming extremely close to and comfortable with FP. Jake/Child episodes would also start off, probably with One Last Job. There would be more than just one episode of Finn and FP dating, more information about the nature of Magic in Ooo– from individual magicians such as the Magus or Maja, to whole places like Wizard City, and more backstory for Marcy and also BMO. The first half of the season would culminate in Finn fumbling the bag and (accidentally) manipulating FP for his own enjoyment. This leads to their breakup and is a watershed moment for the rest of the seasons, and the rest of the show really. The rest of the seasons would have Finn going through the stages of a breakup. Another result of the whole situation with FP and IK is that IK now has to live with Finn and Jake in the treehouse. This plot thread leads to the destruction of Joshua’s blood sword, Jake’s brief imprisonment, and the introduction of the Grass Sword. Some other notable introductions would be those of the self-proclaimed King of Ooo, Betty, Shoko, and GOLB. Additionally, in the background, more details would be revealed about the political landscape of Ooo, chief among them: Castle Lemongrab’s continuing descent into totalitarianism, the Fire Kingdom’s succession crisis, and PB’s extremely sketchy history. The seasons would end with the reveal that Finn’s human father is still alive.

N4A would obviously open with Prismo’s death, Martin’s escape, and Finn’s amputation. Several following episodes would have Finn working through the trauma of what the hell just happened at the edge of reality; and there would also be some episodes of other characters working through their interpersonal relationships. There would also be a run of Jake-centric episodes, in which we learn the truth of his birth, his internal world (literally), and some of his ambitions. Prismo and Tiffany also come back. There would also be an undercurrent of citizen opposition to PB’s (increasingly?) undemocratic ways, and at the end of the section, PB is directly confronted by FP on how she rules her kingdom. N4B would see this plot thread resolved slightly as PB learns to be more forgiving. In addition to the series of character-driven episodes (including one with Jake and his kid and another with Jake’s brother), we would also get a heavy dose of lore. The Catalyst Comet arc and related Orgalorg arc would start in N4B. Before the finale, there would be a solid chain of episodes that foreshadow the Candy Kingdom’s coming downfall and the Lich’s influence, show Betty’s dark dealings, and feature the appearance of Orgalorg and the confounding reappearance of Martin. All of these will play into the finale.

N5 would begin with Bonnie and the Candy Kingdom living with the ramifications of N4’s finale. After this would come a 10-episode long miniseries entirely focused on Marceline: her past, her present, her inner and outer demons, and her future. This miniseries would be flanked on either side by BMO-centric episodes. Later in the season, there would be a few episodes of Jake with his children, of fun romps and secondary characters, of the plot from You Forgot Your Floaties continued, of PB’s politicking, and of ever more lore (namely, the introduction of Patience St. Pim and the start of the Elements arc). There would also be quite a focus on Finn: his mind, his growth as a character, and his life before, during, and after his “death.” The finale would be a prelude to the first half of N6.

The new sixth season would have two main features: the story of the life of Fern, and two back-to-back miniseries. The premiere would establish Fern, the next few episodes would be as they are, then another piece of the Elemental arc, and then a 10-episode long Islands miniseries, this time with more focus on Finn and Minerva reconnecting, a look at Island society, and some information on its history. Up next, Orb and then an expanded Elements miniseries. The aftermath of Elements should have more episodes, in my opinion. Jake should be blue for at least the length of an entire episode, Marcy and PB get an episode, and also I just think it would be neat if Marcy went to ask Finn what actually happened over on the Islands. Marcy could perhaps find out that Two Bread Tom and crew did make it safe and sound, her sacrifice having been worth it. And in turn, Finn could ask Marcy what happened, since Ice King’s story obviously isn’t the whole story. And also, Fern should get a few more episodes that make us even more attached to him, if only to make the betrayal sting more.

The new seventh seasons would need a good deal of expansion in four main areas: general dénouement, the Gumbald arc, the Ampersand arc, and the Finale. There should be more episodes focused on wrapping up the story of secondary characters we will never see again in a satisfying way; Son of Rap Bear wasn’t that good of a resolution to Phœbe’s arc, and Ring of Fire and Marcy & Hunson could have done so much more with their characters. Characters like Jake’s kids, Cinnamon- and Bun-Bun, the Wizard Gang, Jermaine, Kara, Freida, and so on might have benefitted from at least one more appearance. And this would have been a much better use of earlier characters than the rogues gallery of Come Along with Me I what with Pete fucking Sassafras making an appearance for no reason. Second, Gumbald should have had more episodes focused on his schemes to thwart PB and his slow rise to power. Like, he’s a smart man who also created candy life, he should have a plan that’s a bit smarter than whatever happened in Always BMO Closing with the baby teeth. And also, his rise to power seems extremely quick– a little too quick. PB’s tale could also be expanded perhaps. As for the Ampersand arc, while it’s always nice to see their old house, Jake’s disappearance itself feels a tad unnecessary. Warren’s threat doesn’t establish anything new about Jake, it does not grow his character any more than what he’d already achieved in the previous season. Not saying it couldn’t work, but it would need serious reworking. Finn and Jermaine’s quest to find Jake also brings us to Mars, and here perhaps more exploration of King Man and Betty’s new lives on Mars post-Normal Man and post-Skyhooks II and their relationship with each other might have been nice. Finally, my main complaint with the Finale is that it feels rushed and not enough topics are brought up or explored thoroughly. In the space of but 4 normal episodes, we see: the future of Ooo complete with new characters, the start of the war, parlay, various dream sequences of 5 characters, the resolution of the war, and then the end of Ooo, the destruction of Finn and Jake’s home, Betty’s sacrifice, and a credits montage. I’m just saying that if Gravity Falls could devote a whole 9.7% of its runtime to its finale, Adventure Time could do with more than 1.4% – I’m thinking 10 full episodes. 

Plus Minus

I have just a few more thoughts about what I would add or remove from the show as it stands. I’d say to get rid of the gross-out/body/fart humor, sometimes nonsense stories, and dropped plot points of the early seasons. We could have done without episodes like What Have You Done?, Ricardio the Heart Guy, Memories of Boom Boom Mountain, When Wedding Bells Thaw, Business Time, The Witch’s Garden, Storytelling, Slow Love, The Pods, Another Way, Web Weirdos etc.   We’ve seen from popular shows that even shows ‘made for kids’ can be a lot more expressive, imaginative, high-brow, and deep than Adventure Time’s early season material. As for what I’d add, definitely more consistency: consistent characterizations*, a definite map of Ooo, known rules for magic, and so on. And of course more lore; can’t have enough lore. The little crumbs that got into the actual show like the Lich’s “last scholar of Golb” or the Grass Entity’s “rising” should be expanded upon. The cosmic type of lore is good, but more domestic things like history or ethnography or religious studies would have been nice too. And we should have seen the other ‘dimensions’ more often.

\* like seriously, throughout the show, we learn so much about PB and her past; that she's basically the first princess in Ooo and probably the most powerful political figure on the entire continent whose done unspeakable things for her kingdom.... and here she is being a stereotypical damsel in distress in the early seasons. seriously wtf.

Appendix: Thoughts from when I first finished the series

Evicted! should’ve been the introduction of Bubbline. F&J go to PB to crash and tell her that their house was taken by Marceline. PB knows that name, and they meet again, and F&J get their house back; and Marcy and Bonnie get their arc started up (again). Maybe they swap stories, or maybe they have a tense confrontation but it gets their feelings rekindled.

There’s no way in hell Shermy & Beth wouldn’t know who F&J are. There would be mountains of oral and written tradition about the great heroes of old, and there would still be quite a few people alive a thousand years later who were eyewitness to those events, e.g. PB, Marcy, Simon, BMO, and Sweet P. If gum people are immortal, then Aunt Lolly too. And don’t forget about Hunson Abadeer since he knows F&J too. Perhaps this is Finn’s version of Achilles’ prophecy. Whereas Achilles chose to die young but be remembered forever, Finn lives to an old age but fades into obscurity.

Just like how Marcy is a saint in the Glass Kingdom, she would also have an important role in the founding mythos of the Islands society. “There was this girl with magic powers who protected the Founders from the threats of Ooo. Her last act in life was protecting them from the Vampire as the Founders sailed for land. She died so that we may live!” type deal.

Character interactions I would’ve liked to see somehow: Finn telling Marcy about his three month stay in the Islands. He was in this park and there was a dope statue of this guy named Tom,, and then Marcy tears up knowing that Two Bread Tom and all the hyoomans were safe in the end. And also, BMO somehow overhearing Martin (maybe during The Visitor while stowed away in Finn’s pack), and then having a startling realization that he’s heard that voice before.

The Islands society could be explored further, especially with how the government/state could be a reflection of [American] Civil Religion. Also they should have the Cult of the Glowing Cats because that would be very neat.

[flanaganfilm]

hi mike, saw someone say your ask box was open and i came running! have you ever had any ideas as to how the crain family would be getting on now a few years later/what they're doing? it's always in the back of my mind wondering if creators also wonder about those sort of things themselves once their project has ended. thanks so much & hope you have a great day!

I do think about that. Quite a lot, actually.

The Crains took on lives of their own for me. I'd never written long form before, so it was the first time I lived with the same characters for that long, and for such extended arcs. Here's where I think they are, a few years later:

Shirley: I think that Shirley and her husband overcame her disclosure of infidelity. She'd been closed off for so long, after the series ended I think she found some peace in her life and opened herself up to her marriage. I think she also began to find kindness again. They ran the funeral home together, but Shirley found purpose in helping people handle grief and loss with empathy and kindness. Her oldest would be just about ready to start college now, and I think that would have her looking back and realizing that she always remembered her childhood as seemingly endless... but now she sees just how fast it truly goes by.

Luke: Luke stayed sober. He's six years into it now, and it's gone so well that he's also become a sponsor. That doesn't mean he's immune to the struggle, far from it. He still walks up to that edge sometimes. Oddly, it's in those moments that the "Twin Thing" kicks in... and he feels an inexplicable and complete sense of love. He knows that's Nell's, and that always pulls him back from the brink. He never did find Joey, or find out what happened to her. And sometimes he still wakes up with nightmares that he's on the floor of the Red Room, or that Joey visits him with her runny-egg eyes. But no matter how hard it gets, he feels what Nell feels for him... and that always pulls him through.

Theo: Theo and Trish got married, and moved far away from New England. They currently live in Portland. She still works with children, but enjoys a much smaller patient pool. She specializes in the kids who are hardest to reach, and she's sought after for her unique and uncanny ability to connect with them. She doesn't wear gloves anymore, but she still avoids the very crowded places. She and Trish take long hikes, grow their own pot, and travel frequently and spontaneously. They're considering a surrogate... and if it's a girl, they're going to name her Eleanor.

Steven: Steve and Leigh have two kids, and are thinking they might stop there. He never wrote about what happened at Hill House, but he still writes. Science fiction. Leigh recommended the genre as a way for him to focus on the future, not the past. He likes it a lot. It's pulpy, but it's earnest. He maintains Hill House, as it is his responsibility, but he doesn't enter the property beyond the gates. He has a rotating collection of people service the property itself, always during the day, and only for a few hours at a time.

Hill House stands quietly and silently in the hills. There is something different about it. Still the same energy, but without the malice. Steve assumes this is because of Hugh, Nellie and Olivia, who maybe curb the most malicious energies of the house from within. While shadows still walk in the windows at night, there are no living souls there to see them. Mostly, Steven imagines the spirits inside spend most of their days sleeping. And if they cannot sleep, he imagines Mrs. Dudley singing softly to them on the wind.

There is grief, for all of them. There are nightmares. Horrible dreams of moldy rooms and phantom hands. They meet twice a year, usually without spouses, to catch up and raise a glass to Nell, and their parents. There is a lot of healing still to do, a lot of therapy, a lot of introspection. But there is peace, too. There is love. There is forgiveness.

[concerningwolves]

omg art i just saw your tags on the animorphs post you rb-d: are you a fellow animorphs fan?? who was you favourite character? which book was your favourite? and what did you think of the ending?

ahh Ari hi!! Yes absolutely I am a fellow animorphs fan! It's the first thing I can remember getting Really Autistic about, actually. I found one of the books in a charity shop when I was in middle school (I just remember it was a Jake POV book) and I have vivid memories of going to my friends on the field during break asking "are you visser three? are you visser three??" and explaining about these shapeshifting kids to anyone who would listen – or, well. More often anyone who wouldn't listen, but I digress. Then in 2021 I downloaded all 54 books and (re)read them over the course of like three weeks, sometimes I was getting through three or four books a day. It sure was A Time lmao.

I imprinted hard on Tobias in middle school (which on rereading I realised was because there was something deeply resonant to me, an undiagnosed autistic child, about how he struggled to be human). I still love him so much, but I actually found myself getting quite attached to Marco on the reread which was? not at all what I expected?? I've literally just seen your post where you quote him on ruthlessness, and I think that actually captures why he appeals to me now. I'm a Big Fan of ruthless characters now and I wasn't as a child, but also there's just this particularly delightful sort of tragedy to his character in that like.. he had to grow up really fast, even before the plot of the books started (as did Tobias and Ax, and they're also my faves so. I think it's obvious I have A Type here), because the way things were with his dad basically parentified him. I also love the comparisons between him and Rachel in the types of ruthless they are; they're both very much of the Do Whatever It Takes mindset, but Marco is the one who plans the What It Takes part while Rachel is the Do It element, and that makes my narrative foil-loving nerd brain go BRRR.

I truly can't pick a favourite book, which I wish I could say is because I loved them all but really it's because my memory is simply quite bad 😔. But! The one where they meet the Howlers haunts me and I think about it regularly.

As for the ending my brain sort of. Breaks. Every time I try to have coherent thoughts about it because there is just So Much going on up there. The two points that stick out to me are the different paths that Cassie and Jake took, and Rachel's death. I loved that Cassie and Jake didn't get a happy ever after-type ending together; Applegate said that the war had changed them too much, and she stuck by that when I think a lot of children's authors would have walked it back for the sake of making readers happy.

Meanwhile Rachel's death felt like it made sense and it fit with the tragic feel of the books, but I also spend silly amounts of time wondering what if she hadn't died. What if she'd survived, how on earth would she have gone back to life afterwards? Could she have? Like, her entire character arc had gone beyond this point of no return; she embodied the war on the yeerks in a way that none of the other kids did, and her death sort of symbolised the death of that war, so maybe she had to die. Maybe it would have been even more tragic if she had lived, and spent years afterwards trying to find something to give her the same rush of adrenaline that she'd come to feel as normal (and even to crave). I don't know. It's an entirely too thorny question for me to ever unravel in a satisfactory way, I think.

But then again, the entire series is one big tangle of thorny dilemmas without satisfactory answers. That's why it's so good.

[fwkei]

Time.

Kazutora x fem!reader (angst/fluff)

CW/TW: Mentions of suicide, (slight) mention of starvation.

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR VALHALLA ARC

Note! Explanation of story at end just incase you’re confused also i apologize for mistakes, i did not read this over. 🙆🏻‍♀️

WC: 3.4k

--------------------------------------

You sat at the edge of your seat. Watching the clock above your teacher's head ever so closely. 

“When you want to find the common di-” 

Suddenly the bell rang, interrupting your teacher from his final words. 

“Oh my bad, guess I lost track of time, anyways please remember to study for your quiz on Monday! I know it's a weekend, but save some time for academics!” said your teacher as your classmates packed up their stuff to leave. 

Today was Friday, meaning it was the day you get to visit Kazutora at juvie for the first time after Keisuke's death, and your attempt. It was 3:30, and visiting hours started at 4 to 5 every Friday for inmates. Running to the metro takes about 5-7 minutes, and walking from the station to the actual juvie takes about 20 minutes, while the ride lasts up to 10, meaning you should arrive there at around 4:10. And there's no time to waste. 

You ran out of class, ignoring your fellow classmates goodbyes. You held your book bag tight as you ran fast to the Tokyo station. Seeing you arrived just on time you jumped in just before the 3:30 o'clock train leaves to a different side of the district where Kazutora is being held. You held onto the rail beside you to keep yourself steady as the train started to move . 

You felt scared but happy to see Kazutora. He most probably didn't know you would be coming, he probably thought you would at most write letters to him, like before, but again...Kazutora believes that you hate him now. You didn't know what you were going to say to him. Draken told you that he already visited him while you were in psychiatric hold for a bit, and he told you that Kazutora was planning on killing himself. Draken did not specify if he told Kazutora about your own attempt but you didn't worry too much because you were healing, and you now had hope.  

Your heart was racing, as the train came to a stop. As the doors opened you ran, and fast. Dodging people to not hurt them and almost stepping on things you shouldn’t be stepping on. You checked the time to see it was 4:01, and you still had about 10 minutes worth of walking/running to cover. 

You were breathing heavily when the Juvenile building came into view. You checked the time again to see it was 4:11. You jogged to the doors of the building despite the fact that your thighs were burning from the amount of cardio you had just done. 

It's all worth it. 

You thought to yourself opening the doors. 

Kazutora sat on the bed of his bland and colorless cell. He signed as he looked up at the ceiling light before turning his position to look at the side of the wall. He held his pillow tight. He knew it was visiting day, and his heart was anxious despite the fact that others had already been called to see their visitors, and there was still no call for him. He didn't even expect any visitors.

Kazutora didn't know if he wanted to see you or not. He’s spent so much time alone in his cell thinking. He wondered if you had figured out the other reason for him stabbing his best friend, you could read people, but he knew you had a hard time reading him. He felt his heart ache. He was scared of the karma that would hit him because of it. Maybe not even Karma, but just some sort of punishment, for causing pain to the soul that cared for him so much, and for not being there for that soul when she needed it the most. Which... ultimately lead to your attempt, which Draken told him about during his visit. He shut his eyes as he remembered Draken's words. 

“I don’t wanna hear you say there is no point anymore. Because there is, and it’s kinda frustrating and irritating how you can’t see it even though it’s right there. She’s in psychiatric hold right now because she was close to ending her own life. After Baji died, and you were taken away, Y/n couldn't take it anymore, and no one could see it because she just...she just kept it in, like you do. She was going to die on Baji’s birthday if I wasn’t there to make her throw up the pills she took. Her and I may not be blood related siblings, but I know she’s been through a lot and has always gotten over it just fine, you know that...but this time...I got really fucking scared.”

Kazutora felt his heart drop to fucking hell at Draken’s words. He felt his breathing stop as his mouth parted.

“I know you love her, I'm not sure in what way but I could care less about that. I know, Kazutora. All those times you came crying to the brothel, crying into her arms, begging for some type of help and she helped you, lended you her body for you to cry on, I’d hear all of it. I know you’re hurting, but if you go, I don't think she will be able to live with herself. She’ll blame herself for not being there for you like she’s always been. Do you understand?”

He felt his body throb from literal physical pain. Kazutora was feeling and getting the punishment he deserved right then and there. 

“You owe it to her, whether you like it or not, to stay alive because she's doing the same for you. And once you’re out of here, you should finally grow up. Let her cry into your arms for once. She’s your best friend, right? Because she deserves for those efforts to be reciprocated. And you deserve to see what she’s gone through because of everything that happened. Take care, Kazutora.” 

Kazutora was lost in his own mind, to the point where he couldn't even register that one of the guards was calling his name from the cell door.

“Hm? I’m sorry I wasn't...uh, paying attention. What did you say?” he asked sitting up nervously 

“You got a visitor, kid. C’mon get up.” said the man unlocking his cell 

“A- visitor?” he said quietly getting up from his bed with shocked eyes 

It was already 4:15. Kazutora grew anxious at who his visitor could be. He was sure it wasn't you, your school is too far for you to make it here in time. There would only be a couple minutes to spare if you did try. Could it be Draken wanting to give him a word of advice? Or maybe Chifuyu.. Maybe Mikey? God, who could it be. It made him feel even more congested and trapped than before.  

As Kazutora walked, he looked down at his feet avoiding people's gazes. He saw the backs of his fellow juvenile delinquents from the side of his eye. His heartbeat became stronger, and he felt it thumbing in his ears. God, he didn't know what to expect. He was just so...frustrated. 

“Here, you have until 5.” said the guard, taking off his hand cuffs. His back was facing you. You grew anxious bringing your hands to rest on your things and skirt, waiting for him to turn around and look at you. You watched as he rubbed his wrists and sat down at the stool still not looking at you. You rubbed your hands together under the table separating you both, as the guard walked away to patrol. Your eyes followed the guard, not even noticing that Kazutora had turned to look at your face. 

Kazutora felt his face get hot at the sight of you. You had a school shirt on, with a dark blue tie and a sweater vest, Your hair tied into a low and messy bun with some of you natural and dyed hairs falling out framing your face. He felt his whole body go warm as you turned your head and gave him a nervous smile as a small blush formed. He didn't know why he was scared to see you, because every time Kazutora had the chance to see you, he instantly felt better, no matter what.

You two, and the other inmates and visitors, were all separated by a piece of plastic with a vent to capture sound better. On the side there was a subsection with an opening to the other side where you could pass things through. Such as notes, toys, hygiene stuff, and extra. You brought your hands to the table holding them.

“Hey...sorry I’m late.” you said as you saw Kazutora snap out of his gaze 

“Oh no I-, please don’t be..” he said waving his hands frantically, clearly nervous

“I had to run about 2 miles to get here..” you laughed trying to not tense up

Kazutora felt… stupid, why would you do that? Just to see him? It just made him even more confused...confused about how he felt towards you. 

“Just to see me? But..why?” he asked without thinking and just speaking, giving a regretful and embarrassed face after asking his question.

“Hm? Oh well it's simple really…” you said bringing your hands to rest in between your thighs on your seat 

“I know that I've told you that I don't like saying these words to people because it sounds like some sort of goodbye but it’s time I grow up from my past, and stop keeping things in..so…it’s because I love you... I thought that was fairly obvious but I don't wanna mess up like I did last time. I want you to know that I do love you and care for you.” you said giving him a closed eyed smile, this made Kazutora realize that you deeply regretted not telling Keisuke that you loved him more often when you two still had time. He felt his heart ache. He felt so guilty and gross.

“So, I’m gonna try and start saying that more often..” you said laughing to break the silence 

Kazutora was still speechless at what you had just said. He couldn’t seem to process it, and he wanted to say it back but for some reason he just couldn’t. He was afraid that something else might slip out. He truly didn't think he was worthy of your love and care. It became quiet. Again.

“I made you a bento box with your favorite things, I made sure to put some extra meat. Cause you always used to ask for that when I would make bentos for study days with you and Keisuke. And don’t worry! It’s allowed and you can have the kitchen hold it for you till you’re ready to eat it for today's dinner, the guards said so. And the container is microwave safe! So you can warm up the entree section. There’s rice and BBQ meat, little octopus shaped sausages and sauce with it! Oh and a salad with sesame dressing on the side, and desert which is just mochi. Every Friday I'll come by, and give you the new bento and you'll just give me back the old one, so that I can wash it and so we don't have to waste stuff.” you said smiling 

Your hand dung into your bag, and you pulled out a wooden bento box sliding it halfway through the subsection, but Kazutora hung his head low. You smiled, trying your best to make things right, as silence grew loud again. 

“I can also bring some mangas for you, I know you like shounen and also horror.. So I can buy some and give them to you so that you aren't bored! This week's shonen jump is good… It’s about a boy who is trying to save his mom, and ends up traveling across lands, with close friends, to get this special potion that will heal her, but I’ll make sure to look for some good horror manga too...I know you like stuff about folk tales, that sound okay?”  

Silence.

After a few minutes you spoke again.

“I decided to let my hair grow out cause I kinda miss having longer hair…There's this really pretty girl in my class who has long blonde hair.. Like Emma’s but longer and more wavy.. What about you? Anything you wanna do to your hair when you get out? I’ll take you to get it done-” 

Silence. 

The time now at 4:40. Kazutora bit his lip out of frustration, refusing to look up at you. 

“Oh! What about I bring over a sudoku book, so you can work on your academics as well! I can teach you how to play, it’s fun once you get the hang of it. Or I can bring just a simple literature book, it’s really up to you, I think both are great.” 

Silence. 

“Maybe markers so you can draw on yourself when you’re bored? I remember you doing that while I would tutor you and Keisuke. I can get big and small ones, and ones with different colors too. Also a sketch book, since you’re really good at drawing.” 

You were met with silence again. You felt your heart ache. Your eyes looked up at the clock and saw it was 4:47. You both were running out of time. About half an hour went by of your speaking, you giving a couple minutes in between waiting for him to speak back, but nothing. You clenched your hands into fists, biting your bottom lip as you looked down at your hands, resting on your thighs. 

You felt a strong feeling in your throat, the feeling you get when you’re about to sob. You were so frustrated, and you were trying to keep a level head. It was hard and you just wanted to fucking cry. 

“I- '' you said before closing your mouth realizing you were about to let out a whine. You didn't wanna cry, you wanted to say something but you were afraid that if you did, it would just come out as a sob.  

“I know it’s hard on you-” you said holding back your sobs while still looking down at your hands, letting your hairs cover your face 

“If you don’t want me here, I promise- that I’m fine with that...but~” you said in between pauses keeping your sobs in, but your last word came out shaky making Kazutora shoot his head to see you about to cry. 

He felt his heart ache once again. 

 “But please….jus-just say something. Anything. At least acknowledge that I'm here.” you cried quietly while tensing up your shoulders 

Kazutora frowned. This was his punishment. Seeing you cry, and not being able to hold and comfort you like he desperately wanted to. He opened his mouth, but closed it soon after when nothing came out. Not even a squeak, or whine, or breath. 

“I-”

You heard him say. You looked up with tears in your eyes seeing his face of desperation. 

Kazutora wanted to speak so badly, there were so many thoughts in his head he just could not push one out of his mouth, and he was afraid he might say something he would regret. He wanted to respond to everything you asked him, add commentary, tell you that you looked pretty today, say thank you for the food you made him. Tell you to not waste your tears on someone like him. Say sorry for making you feel uncomfortable because of his silence. God he just- 

“I love you-” he choked up and said in a louder tone causing your eyes to widen and mouth to part from shock at his sudden outburst.

He was avoiding your eyes as he spoke. 

“I- thank you, thank you so much for the food! Really! And I would really love whatever and everything you bring me.” he said, quieting down towards the end.  

“I...can’t put my thoughts into words… and I don’t wanna say something I’d regret. All this time I’ve just been lost in my own mind. I just want you to know that..that I really am in- that I really appreciate you. I want you..to be here, and I’m so...sorry for making you cry.” he said in between pauses of frustration and embarrassment 

You felt your body get warm, your heart beat was strong and you could feel it in your finger tips and temples. You opened your mouth to say something before Kazutora spoke again. 

“I..wanted to.. Wanted to help you...in just some way...after seeing you cry for the first time...with Baji in your arms….I shouldn't have stabbed Baji...I took the person you loved more than anything...away from you.. Because I was j- because I was so stupid, and still am. Even when you’ve done...so fucking much for me...I- and I took him from you...I just don’t get it… how can you have any empathy towards me anymore.. It doesn't make sense. I took so much from you… I killed Shinchiro, and I killed Baji. You loved them both...Mikey loved them both, why do..why do you even have any feeling towards me?” he said looking into your eyes with tears   

Your eyes softened at him. You took a small breath before saying-

“I thought I already told you why, Kazutora. I love you.” 

Kazutora felt a tear run down his cheek. He knew how much thought came behind those simple words. 

“I don’t need a reason to love you. Just like I don't need a reason to be hungry. It’s just there, and will continue to be there, you know what I mean? Same thing with everyone I love.” you said 

His breath hitched. The time now at 4:52.

“The only difference is I was in love with Keisuke. I still am in love with him. Even though he’s not here anymore. I know you might think I love him and Shinchiro and Mikey because they saved my life and helped me. But I was only so little. I had no concept of it. So was Keisuke. So was Mikey. Keisuke had no reason to come up to little me while I was starving on the ground practically dying. He just did it. He was too young to understand love. You think he understood his feelings for me the second he saw me? Or even with Mikey or Shinchiro. Of course not. They were just focussed on saving my life at the time. We discovered the love that was involved later. Even if it was too late to say anything about it. It took Kei and I about...hmmm..5-7 years maybe...to understand what we felt toward each other specifically. It is different with everyone. The love is just there, it’ll just be understood when the time is right. Like when your hunger just hits you. So when you ask me why I love you, or care for you, or forgive you. I just can’t give you a simple answer, even if I wanted to….because there's so much. Too much.” 

Kazutora understood your words. He really did. It made so much sense to him and he just wanted to scream.

Why? Well.. 

“The time will come where you believe that you're worthy of someone else's love and even your own, and even worth loving someone else yourself. So don’t worry. I’ll wait. I’ll wait as long as it takes. Even if it takes all the time in the world, okay?” you said smiling at him leaving him with shocked eyes

“Alright times up! 5 o'clock!” yelled a guard 

“Well, I'll see you next Friday, okay? I’ll bring over some manga, oh! And don't forget the bento!” you said getting up from your seat as Kazutora did the same keeping his hands on the table as the guard came to cuff them 

“Y/n I-I’m…”

No. He can’t say it. He can never ever say it. Why? And say what? 

Because he will never be him. He can never be like him for you, and he was perfect for you. He was the one there for you. He had the time to love you. He was the one. He could never even compete. Not after what he did. Not after the jealousy and envy grew and brewed inside him towards him. He is filthy. Not worthy of your love. Right? 

But someday, he desperately and genuinely wants to allow himself to be loved, and to love. Kazutora will forever be longing for that moment. And when he can love, and allow himself to be loved, he wants it to be with you. 

But till that time comes..

“I’ll...really be looking forward to it.” he said biting back his words and smiling softly 

“Likewise.” you said smiling as you both parted your ways, at least for the time being. 

------------------------------------------

Explanation/note: when i wrote this, i made y/n be a ‘foster’ siblings with Draken and childhood friends with Mikey and Keisuke. << Reason being is because i gave her a backstory where she was neglected and ran away, hence her having a more naturing personality. Y/n and Keisuke were a couple till he died but Kazutora always loved Y/n so it’s a love triangle in a way? I don’t know, but Kazutora grew envious of Keisuke in this ff which ended up being a motive to stabbing him during the fight, to which he later regrets and gets punishment for. Y/n in the story doesn’t know that so that’s why Kazutora can’t accept her love for real because he doesn't know if Y/n will really forgive him after that, and Kazutora won’t be able to learn/accept love till he admits what he did. Holding in that secret, and being in love with Y/n makes him feel frustrated and act out. And obviously time is the theme of this whole story. Kazutora at the end decided to avoid his feelings because the way things are going right now fro the time being for him are fine because he doesn't believe he deserves anything more.  But that can only last for so long, so he’s gambling with his relationship with you. He thinks of it as his punishment for now, not being able to tell you how he really feels, and not being able to comfort you.

ANYWAYS hope you liked it, sorry if it’s confusing. 

[demonslayedher]

following himejima's opinion is shinobu's crush tomioka ?

Himejima has such a shipper’s heart, doesn’t he?

He probably notices things that the characters themselves don’t even notice, as a bunch of little comments throughout the second fanbook (besides the wonderfully insightful section on how the Pillars see each other) makes me think that the Wind, Water, and Insect Pillars are all especially dense when it comes to romance. Shinobu herself can only give Mitsuri love advice in the form of assessing it as medical symptoms, it doesn’t seem she’s dedicated much thought to her own heart and tastes.

So… my thoughts on Shinobu, and by extension, Giyuu and Shinobu as a pairing. 

First, one thing to get out of the way: Giyuu’s got a type*, it’s manly men. Sabito? So cool. Sanemi? So cool. He probably has no idea how this personality type attracts him, and Shinobu is so far from that. I doubt he felt any particular attraction to her in the first place.

Shinobu, if anything, seems like the type to get easily annoyed by men. It can be the same behavior, but somehow it’s more permissible from a girl than from a boy. Likewise, Shinobu is attracted to cheerful personalities (Kanae, Mitsuri, even Tanjiro grew on her really fast), which Giyuu most certainly is not. *(Clarification: This was not necessarily a statement on sexual preference, but on what sorts of people catch their attention and who they are inclined to gravitate toward--the sort of people that they are inclined to admire and spend time with.)

But we also see in these little comments some other things that they subconsciously really care about. Giyuu doesn’t say it, but he really likes that Rengoku and Mitsuri reach out and talk to him. Shinobu can probably tell that Giyuu is lonely, but it’s so frustrating, because he wouldn’t have to be so lonely if he’d just talk more. Even if this trait annoys her, she seems to subconsciously worry about him.

Likewise, Giyuu appreciates that Shinobu talks to him. Giyuu notices that sometimes she looks unwell (she’s probably been poisoning since before the Spider Demon arc, so good on him for noticing).

Himejima likewise sees a tendency in Shinobu to push herself too hard, he’s probably picked up on the fact that Giyuu is sensitive to this too. Himejma has known Shinobu ever since she was a little girl, so he’s probably grateful that Giyuu would pick up this about her too, since Himejima probably knows there are limits to how much he can advise Shinobu to take care of herself. Likewise, Himejima notices that Giyuu’s got a dark personality, but he seems to enjoy talking to Shinobu (yes, Giyuu is indeed happy when she talks to him). Himejima notices that a more playful side of Shinobu comes out when talking to Giyuu, and he’s probably grateful to see her relax around someone like that.

So, quietly, of course Himejima must be hoping it’ll blossom into something good for them both.

BUT THEY ARE SO DENSE.

My further conjecture is that if Shinobu had any particular feelings for Giyuu, she either wasn’t aware of it, or she chose to downplay it in her heart. We see one private fretful moment at the beginning of the Pillar Training arc when she scolds herself for not being able to keep her feelings under control, as she seems to find this a key element of being a good warrior. If she were aware of special feelings for that grim colleague, she’d probably set it aside as silly, for she’s got more important things to worry about, and people who she already has chosen to prioritize (avenging Kanae, seeing Kanao grow into a functional person, making sure no harm comes to weaker people in her care, etc.). Furthermore, romantic feelings have a way of making one vulnerable, and Shinobu is at a state of maturity where she probably flees from any sense of vulnerability.

If Giyuu had any special feelings for her, he probably had no idea. He’d probably require someone pointing it out to him for him to get it, and he’d probably turn to stone for a day or so, and then if he accepts it, he’d probably not be able to act naturally around her all for a while (which would probably tick Shinobu off a bit if she doesn’t know what’s going on. Likely, since it doesn’t seem she’d suspect Giyuu of having feelings for her).

(Quick caveat: Shinobu might also be the type to distance herself from her emotions enough that she could enjoy a friends-with-benefits relationship. I think Giyuu would have more trouble with this, though, he seems like an all-or-nothing type. And most of the time, he’s giving nothing unless someone like Tanjiro forces his way in to make it an all-in friendship. In a “we’re colleagues but secretly we’re up to other stuff on night missions” sort of dynamic, which I can see working in the realm of fanwork (but not canon), my thought is that Shinobu would be the instigator, but Giyuu would quickly sink into deeper feelings.)

So, let’s say they do have feelings for each other, and somehow—SOMEHOW—move past their own respective difficulties with fluffy feelings, and SOMEHOW become a couple.

It would take a really long time, I think, but if it were to happen, they’d probably be a very solid couple. They’ve got a lot of similar trauma they could unpack together, and likewise, it would be good for them both to have someone value them and get each other to accept that. Giyuu’s got years of feeling like he should had been dead and never deserved to even be in the Corp, Shinobu valued the people around her so much that she constantly tries to suppress her own feelings and nature personality, and if it means avenging Kanae, then yes, it’s worth going on a suicide mission.

But even with that kind of hard work going on under the surface, in the day to day, their interactions as a couple annoying each other and caring for each other in little ways would be a lot of fun.

Tl;dr: If Shinobu has a crush on any male character, yes, it’s probably Giyuu. But I place a lot of weight on that “if.”

--- ADDENDUM, AGES LATER...

So, I have since finally been bitten by the "yes, I do indeed enjoy GiyuShino and I want it" shipping bug. It makes me view canon through through different lenses that see potential and thinking, "if only they could had talked more, then Giyuu could had found himself as comfortable with her as he is with Tanjiro, and as soon as she understands his Final Selection issues they'd be smooth sailing after that" or "if only Shinobu had some hope in a future for herself instead of hedging everything on revenge for Kanae, maybe if Kanae had expressed her own personal wishes to get married someday, Shinobu would have had some desire to try to do that in her sister's stead."

Which is to say, I'm of two minds on GiyuShino:

--In a strict reading of canon, they never got the opportunity to recognize their own potential for feelings for each other. I stand by my analysis above.

--But potential was there, AND I WISH MORE COULD HAD BEEN DONE WITH IT.

[juniorgman187]

About Time (Reid Fic)

Summary: Reader’s offer to help Morgan renovate one of his properties makes Spencer jealous enough to confess what he never could before. 

A/N: I try to avoid specific Reid eras in my works so that it can be up to you how you imagine him, but please just imagine seasons 1 or 2 Spencer - I’m telling you it’ll make the experience richer. Also, I might improve this fic in the near future bc I’m not entirely happy with it. Category: Drabble, Fluff Pairing: Fem!Reader x Spencer Reid Content Warning: None Word Count: 2.5k Playlist: Would You Be So Kind by Dodie

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　

Clink … Clink … Clink … 

The repetitive noise was barely discernible at first, then it became all that I could focus on. 

In an attempt to find the source, I looked up from my paperwork and scanned the room. It only took me half a second to discover that Morgan was the culprit. 

From across the round table, I watched as Derek absentmindedly stirred his coffee and sugar together, making a ‘clink’ noise each time his spoon hit the rim of the cup. This wouldn’t have been bothersome had it not persisted for more than 10 minutes which, by all accounts, is plenty of time for the sugar to dissolve.

“Derek… ” I sort of sang, trying to capture his attention as nicely as possible. 

“Derek.” I repeated, this time a little less quietly and a little more sharply. Still, my voice did nothing to stop the noisy stirring of his coffee. I stayed silent for a second, just in case he finally noticed I was speaking to him, but when he didn’t, I gave a concerned look to Spencer beside me as if to ask if he was seeing what I was and he returned just the same expression of confusion. 

That’s when I knew something was wrong. 

“Derek!” I said even louder, finally catching his attention. 

His head snapped in my direction, his ghost-like countenance falling away after looking directly at me. I was relieved to see proof of life had been regained behind his eyes. The abrupt reaction made me squint harder in his direction to decipher what was truly going on. “Is everything okay? You were kind of zoning out just now.” 

He sighed while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “It’s nothing. I just had a late night last night and I didn’t go to bed till three this morning.” 

“Oh?” I asked coyly. “And what was her name?” I brought my mug to my lips to hide my growing smirk behind the rim. 

He didn’t catch on right away, which to me was more than enough evidence that he wasn’t well. He was usually the first to be aware of an innuendo, maybe even the one to be making it. “Whose name?”

“The girl that kept you up till three this morning.” I mimicked his voice in crude yet playful imitation.

To this, he shook his head and rolled his eyes with a grin. “Alright, get your pretty lil’ head out of the gutter, Kitten. I was busy fixing up a property I got down in Emporia. Lost track of time. That’s all.”

Whether or not he was hiding something more, I didn’t care anymore. He’d piqued my interest in this new topic. “Emporia? That’s like 2 or 3 hours away.” 

His eyebrows lifted in agreement. “Yeah, like I said - late night.” 

Not even trying to tempt him with my words, I simply remarked, “But I mean it can’t be that hard though, right? Fixing up the house?” 

There was no verbal response from him, only a mirthless chuckle.

I was less careful with my words than I should’ve been, letting them flow through my mouth without filtering them first. “I’m just saying, I worked with Habitat For Humanity for years. We built thousands of houses from scratch, each of them within a matter of days.” 

He sat up in his seat and leaned forward to assert himself. It was nearly the same mannerisms he would display in an interview when he wanted to maintain dominance. “Well, that’s because you got how many people working on one house?” 

When I didn’t answer, he simply tapped the table and leaned back comfortably in his seat, prematurely relishing in a self-proclaimed victory. “Yeah, exactly. Whereas, it’s just little ol’ me fixing up these properties.”

“Okay, then I’ll help you.” 

He only snickered in response, lending way for me to believe he didn’t trust that I’d provide any sort of productive assistance. 

“I will!” I insisted. “Since you’re so convinced those houses were only built as fast as they were because it was a group effort, I want to prove to you that it’s actually because I’m just a fast worker.” 

“It’s not a race, Kitten. All I said was it took me a while to fix up the house. I don’t need you to help. And I wouldn’t be paying you even if you did, by the way.”

“Oh, I’m not doing this for money,” I reasserted. “I’m doing this for pride. I know I’m right, and I want you to know it, too.” 

It’s worth mentioning that Derek and I made these kinds of bets all the time. Our friendship was practically built on the foundation of competition. The first interaction I ever had with him was when he came up to me while I was arranging my desk to ask what I thought the odds were that he could toss his paper ball into the trashcan across the bullpen. 

Years Ago . . .

“What are the chances I’ll make the shot?” I heard a deep, unfamiliar voice inquire from behind me.

“You’re aiming for the trashcan all the way over there? No way.” This voice I knew was Elle’s. She’d been the second person to introduce herself to me and if I had to guess, the deeper voice belonged to the guy I recalled sitting diagonally from her. I made eye contact with him when I initially walked in, but he hadn’t taken the time to introduce himself to me, nor I to him. He seemed a little preoccupied … making a paper ball and all. 

“Actually, if Morgan’s throw had specific arc, the trajectory of the ball would -”

“He’s not making it, Reid.” Elle cut off the small, almost mousy voice promptly, shutting down any ‘pro-Morgan-making-the-shot’ argument he was about to make. 

You could get a lot from just listening. Some might call it eavesdropping, but I like to call it being observant, and from what I’d observed 

A) The one throwing the ball was Morgan. 

B) The smart-sounding one was Reid. 

C) Reid was a proponent of Morgan, so I could assume they were close friends. 

D) There were three very distinct, very different personalities in this general vicinity of desks alone. 

“O’ ye of little faith! Gimme a break, Elle. You’re just busting my balls ‘cause Reid came to me about Lila before he came to you.” 

“That has nothing to do with the fact that I’m right.”

“No, but it means you have bias.” Derek retorted.

“Fine then. If it means that much to you to have an unbiased opinion, let’s ask someone impartial - like Anderson.”

“Actually, I have a better idea,” The deep voice said as soon as I’d placed the last item on my desk - a stack of sticky notes in the shape of a cat’s face that’d been gifted to me the moment I exited the elevator by Penelope Garcia. 

“Excuse me, Kitten,” The deep voice purred. “You think I could get this ball into that trash bin right over there?” 

It took me a second to register that he was addressing me until I realized where the nickname originated from and that it had belonged to me - I could thank Penelope for that.

“Oh, um …” I looked around the room like somehow it would have my answer. In some ways, it did. 

I made contact with Reid first. He smiled weakly at me with tender awkwardness that melted my heart a little bit. Meanwhile, Elle’s eyes were luring me to join her on the dark side and say he wouldn’t make it. To be fair, riling him up seemed like fun. I’d be on Elle’s good side, gain her approval, and if I executed my jest playfully enough, I’d be on Morgan’s good side, too.

“No shot in hell, big guy.” 

Present Time . . .

That’s how it all started - this sibling-like rivalry. Ever since then, we’ve been challenging each other like our lives depended on it. And if I had to make it my life’s mission to win this most recent bet, then so be it. 

“Alright, kitten, I’ll take you up on that offer. I’ll pick you up at 9 on Saturday.” 

We sealed the deal with a cross-table handshake, and at that moment, I hadn’t realized it - only when I thought back to it, did I notice - Reid had been watching the entire interaction unfold. Misinterpreting every painstaking second of it. 

_ _ _

Sticking true to his word, Derek had taken up my offer in spades. Not the least bit shy in delegating me each and every duty there could possibly be. 

I’ll admit, he used my pride to his advantage. Because while I was practically doing all the handy-work imaginable inside the property, he was resting on his laurels outside, probably taking up the view of rolling green hills that went on forever just beyond the front yard. 

It just so happened that that would be our maintained, respective locations for the unexpected arrival of Derek’s very first (very unhappy) guest.

I was inside painting when I heard the placid squeak of Derek getting up from his Adirondack chair on the wraparound porch. I remember peeking my head out of the doorway for a second to see if he was finally going to come inside and help me, but lo and behold, I caught him walking further away from the entrance. While I might’ve given an eye roll of annoyance at the action, I thought nothing of it. Not until I heard Derek speaking to an eerily familiar secondary voice. 

“What are you doing here?” I could hear Derek ask. My ears had perked up like a dog on high alert. 

“Don’t play dumb. You’re trying to … to -” The second voice stammered. 

“Spit it out, kid!” 

“You’re trying to steal my girl!” Whoever it was, was desperate to speak with conviction, maybe even malice, to prove some level of strength that could match Derek’s, but they tried and failed. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Steal your girl? What the hell are you talking about, man?” 

“You know I like her! And yet you’re just hanging out with her alone now? On one of your desolate properties? Can’t you see how suspicious that looks? You’re supposed to be my friend.” 

I’d stopped painting completely at this point so I could take asylum behind the closed door. I could place that voice anywhere, and I needed to press my ear against the only thing separating it from me to confirm what I already knew. 

“Reid, I am your friend,” And there it was. Reid? “And as your friend, I’m telling you: lower your voice unless you want her to hear you.”

“Don’t patronize me. Just tell me,” Spencer, if anything, spoke louder. Perhaps he did want me to hear him, or he simply wanted to defy Derek. “Why do you flirt with her?”

“Flirt?” Derek seemed appalled at the word. It would’ve been offensive that he was disgusted at the thought of engaging with me in that manner had I not felt the same way. What we were doing was not flirting - by any stretch of the imagination. 

“You know what I’m talking about. You call her ‘Kitten,’ you both make sexual innuendos that you think fly over my head, you invite her to come over.” 

“Slow your roll, Pretty Boy. First of all, ‘Kitten’ is just a nickname I gave her the first time we met because I didn’t know what her actual name was. You know that - you were there. Second, the sexual innuendos are just playful jabs at the fact that I sleep around. Low hanging-fruit. Third, inviting her to come over might seem suspicious, but if you walk in there right now, you’ll see that nothing is going on between us. She’s just here to help.”

I wanted any excuse to walk out there myself and announce my nearby presence. Confront Spencer and tell him I heard everything. Ask him where any of this was coming from. How he could think, for even a second, that there was something between me and Morgan. 

Turns out, I didn’t need an excuse. I had already walked out. 

Spencer gulped hard when he saw me. And for that I felt sorry for him. He looked so unlike himself. His hair was disheveled like he’d ran his fingers through it a million times out of stress. His outfit was strangely untidy, the buttons of his cuff unclasped. “Could you ... did you-”

“I heard everything,” I clarified to the dumbfounded shell of a man standing at the base of Morgan’s stairs.

It was a triangle of stares between us all. Exchanging quizzical glances in a battle of wills to see who would fold first. I was looking at Reid, Reid was looking at me, then he looked at Morgan, who looked back at him, then at me. Like I said, a triangle of stares. 

“Um ... I’ll leave you two to talk. I’ll just be inside.” 

I suppose there were worse ways to finally get Morgan off his ass and working. 

Reid trailed Morgan with his eyes, while I simply waited for the sound of the door shutting behind me. It took a few more seconds until one of us had the gall to speak.

“Did you mean what you said? About liking me?” This question that I posed went unanswered for what felt like minutes. Looking at Reid, I could tell he wanted to say something, he just didn’t know what. 

The soul was willing, but the flesh was weak. 

“If you’re not ready to admit it, that’s okay. But then why did you really come here, Spencer? To yell at Morgan for possibly making a move on me? Because now’s your chance. Make your move, Spence.” I descended the stairs, stopping to stand on the very last step so I’d hover a mere inch above him. “Make a move.” 

Make a move, he did.

Warm, clammy hands that were disproportionately bigger than the rest of his body caught my face so that unbelievably, inconceivably soft lips could make their fierce attack with no resistance. His fingers laced through my hair until his hand found the nape of my neck. He used that as leverage to pull me impossibly closer. 

When he was just one step away from sucking my soul out of me, I laid my palm on his chest and pushed him slightly backward. I think I heard him laughing when I did this, probably to hide the shame of letting himself commit so fully to the moment that he forgot just how intense his passion was. 

His eyes fluttered open and his lips were still contorted in a pucker. It took him a second, but it finally came. 

“I meant what I said,” He confessed ever so nonchalantly as though it were the easiest thing in the world to him, despite being unable to come even close to admitting it just minutes before. “I like you. A lot.” 

It was me who laughed then, both from the sheer elation hearing him say that brought me and the distant, exasperated comment that came from within the house. 

“Well, finally! It’s about damn time!” 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

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[aerial-jace]

This started as me trying to think of something to write for a KestrelJay fic, but thanks to @mallowstep enabling me it became a full-on Po3 + OotS AU. I present to you: Po3 + OotS but the powers don’t come with a prophecy attached AU. Alternatively: Po3 + OotS but Jayfeather willingly became a medicine cat out of delusions of grandeur.

The only reason I’m deleting the dark forest part of the conflict is so I can use the powers but still have this AU be about an entirely new interpersonal conflict that doesn’t cross over with that whole thing

Jaykit figures out very early on about his dream powers, using it to hop across the dreams of his littermates and others in the nursery. Growing up he hears lots of stories about dreams and prophecies and medicine cats and the rest, so naturally he gets really excited about this special power and gets it into his head that he’s destined to be the next medicine cat.

(He can’t see in dreams on this one. He knows he’s actually dream hopping and not just dreaming of the others in the nursery because he’s very insistent about asking others what they dreamed about. The other kits are impressed but no adult gives him the time of day with it.)

Hollykit, ambitious little furball that she is, also gets it into her head that she’s going to be the next medicine cat. When playing in the nursery, the arguments about it are endless.

Lionkit’s concerned because if both his siblings become medicine cat apprentices, does that mean he’s gonna have to put up with that meanie Berrypaw all on his own? 3:

As they approach apprenticing age, Leafpool notices the two siblings are very much serious about wanting to be her apprentice. It’s at this time that Jaykit starts to brag about his dream hopping ability as if that’s going to guarantee him the position. Hollykit, meanwhile, is trying to help however she can.

Leafpool very much thinks Hollykit would make a better apprentice, she sounds much more helpful to have around and she thinks someone should really check Jaykit’s growing ego.

The day of their apprentice ceremony comes and Jaypaw is fucking pissed, like in canon Lionpaw goes to Ashfur, Hollypaw to Leafpool, and him to Brightheart.

Brightheart and Longtail are really trying to be helpful and encouraging here. Longtail even sort of came out of retirement just so he could assist them outside camp. But Jaypaw’s just being a brat and it makes all three miserable. He won’t listen to instructions, he rushes everything just so he can go pester Leafpool, when out on patrol he will try to sneak away, he is very rude to them, etc.

Lionpaw tries to be a supportive brother, trying to give Jaypaw encouragement and tips, reassuring him that he can grow up to be a great warrior, convincing Ashfur to let them train together, and so much more but he’s just met with the same scorn and aggression that Jaypaw has for Brightheart and Longtail. Doesn’t help matters that Lionpaw is just good at this, reinforcing Jaypaw’s belief that this is not his special destiny.

Hollypaw is trying her best, but like in canon she just struggles a lot with memorizing and identifying herbs and of course being grossed out by actually treating injuries. She also tries to extend an olive branch to Jaypaw, only to be met with scorn and particularly harsh insults. He also tries to butt in whenever he has the chance. Leafpool’s getting really fed up with all this.

This whole thing lasts for like a moon to a moon and a half and the whole of ThunderClan camp just doesn’t have the energy to deal with Jaypaw anymore. The general stress and just in general being so worn out give Jaypaw the perfect in to enter Leafpool’s usually more tightly guarded mind. She originally thinks the little brat has just been so annoying she ended up dreaming of him but when he turns up the next day and recites her whole dream to her, she sighs in defeat.

She’s perfectly aware that she shouldn’t reward him for wearing her down, but this has gone on long enough. She’s seen Hollypaw and she knows it would be better for her to swap mentors now. And if StarClan has given Jaypaw this power, she’s not about to go trying to prevent his destiny. She knows better than to piss them off.

Jaypaw is an immature, smug little shit about this whole thing, and Leafpool knows she has her work cut out for her in regards to nipping that in the bud. At the very least he’s obedient now and very eager to make up for lost time.

Their first night on the apprentice’s den, Hollypaw and Lionpaw begin to bond over complaining about their dickhead brother. It’s extremely cathartic and even though they’re keeping everyone else up they don’t mind either. They needed that release as well.

Hollypaw quickly learns that Lionpaw is very good at this warrior thing, way better than she’d expect with how behind she is. They figure out Lionpaw’s got a power as well, and while Hollypaw’s initially concerned he will turn out a dickhead as well, the experience of Jaypaw keeps Lionpaw humble. At least when not around Berrypaw.

It’s Jaypaw’s first half moon gathering and he can’t help but bounce with excitement. He’s excited to meet everyone and share tongues with StarClan and to be announced officially as Leafpool’s apprentice and all the rest. As they meet the others he finds that the other two apprentices are not being as friendly as he’d expected. Willowpaw is downright angry at him for costing her a friend, while Kestrelpaw is polite but distant. They’ve both been warned of him and seeing them both act so coldly really hurts Jaypaw.

(While all of this is happening, LionBerry is going through a rivals to lovers arc in the background. And of course we all know Hollypaw is massively gay for Willowpaw.)

Jaypaw is really lost on what to do. He wants to make friends with the other medicine cat apprentices, but he’s just not got the social skills for this. He thinks invading their privacy in dreams is a good idea, kind of forgetting everyone and their mother know of his power and that most people find that creepy.

It takes a while, but seeing his desperation to make friends, Kestrelpaw starts to open up and Jaypaw is massively emotional about it. They bond as friends and over time they get Willowpaw to also open up. The three become really close friends and they encourage Jaypaw to fix his relationship with his siblings.

When Hollyleaf and Lionblaze get their full names, Jaypaw starts to reach out to them. They’ve seen Jaypaw becoming more humble and minding his own business over time, so they’re willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. But it still takes time for their relationship to be repaired.

Willowshine and Kestrelflight earn their full names and Jaypaw couldn’t be more proud of his friends. Him and Kestrelflight begin to date (using those handy-dandy dream powers they don’t even have to meet physically!) and he starts to relay messages between Willowshine and Hollyleaf.

It’s around this time that Flamepaw, the token straight of the medicine cat gang, shows up. He’s basically the reverse of that whole “Everyone has a gay cousin and if you don’t it’s you” thing, which becomes really apparent with how his gay cousins dominate the conversation at all the half moon gatherings.

(For the sake of the joke, his siblings are bi. He only learns this after telling them about how gay the half moon meetings are.)

When Jaypaw earns his full name, Leafpool names him Jaystorm because of how much of a handful he was as an apprentice and as a reminder to not fall back on those old behavior patterns.

Jaystorm announcing his full name to his siblings and showing healthy pride in his accomplishment is basically the end of his arc regarding repairing his relationships. They’re now all equals in the eyes of the clan and they get along pretty well. They’re his preferred escorts whenever he has to go out of camp and they’re glad to spend more time with him.

Fast forward to the time of OotS, Jaystorm notices fairly early on the signs that Dovekit also seems to have special powers and begins making plans to ensure she and Ivykit aren’t driven apart by ego and jealousy like he and his littermates were

Dovekit, thankfully, starts showing interest in becoming a medicine cat while Ivykit doesn’t. Come their apprentice ceremony, Jaystorm maneuvers to have himself be named the official mentor of Dovepaw and Hollyleaf the mentor of Ivypaw.

(Leafpool’s still around or something. I deliberately also omitted the fire scene and the parentage reveal drama. But she’s just not a character I’m interested in and sidelining her is for the good of the story.)

Having someone with partial medicine cat training mentoring Ivypaw means Jaystorm can very easily make an excuse to have her as part of his escort when herb gathering. Ivypaw, of course, complains endlessly about it, but she finds it nice to have time to spend with Dovepaw.

Under the guidance of the three, Dovewing and Ivypool grow up to be well adjusted adults who deal with the whole powers thing very maturely. All five of them are very close to each other, to the point the three almost consider those two as honorary little sisters.

(It’s fine, Cinderheart ends up having Fernsong with a completely unrelated tom. Lionblaze is too focused on his husband Berrynose to have eyes for anyone else. It fixes the incest, even.)