#she finally puts herself before dev

[scootersscooter]

"Hazel doesn't need fairies" are we watching the same show, that girl is constantly spiraling and on her best days is one comment away from cracking under the pressure of being "mature for her age"

[spiderb00]

- FAM OUT - DREAM LIFE

The barking of the dogs awakened Sophia from her perfect world. The Filipina was cooking, she loved doing it after a busy day, and with the house to herself, the peace she felt was what she needed to end the day. As soon as she put the platter in the oven, Sophia heard little footsteps running towards where she was, and then she could finally see the little copies of her running around the house.

"MOM!" Bending down to be at the height of the twins, Sophia opened her arms, being greeted by a slight impact when the two four-year-old twins hugged her.

"Mom, Mommy Yn took us to the playground, and let us play a lot of hours." Samantha, the older twin – only for twelve minutes – said, emphasizing her words by moving her hands.

"And then she took us out for ice cream!" Denver, the younger twin said, covering his mouth with his little hands when he realized what he said.

"Dev! You weren't supposed to tell that part!" Sam said, stomping her foot on the floor and making an angry face that looked a lot like Sophia's.

"No, it's okay, my loves. I don't like it when you eat dessert before dinner, but I'll talk to your mom about it. Now go upstairs and I'll go upstairs to give you a bath, you little dirt." Sophia said, tickling the two children, who ran away screaming and running upstairs.

Seeing the twins' rush, you entered the kitchen, two backpacks in your hands and two stuffed monkeys hanging from your shoulders. As much as Sophia thinks it's great to see you in super sexy mom mode, she knows she has to scold you for giving the twins ice cream ahead of time.

"So, are kisses just for them? Or do I have one too?" Leaning in to give your wife a kiss, you missed the aim, making the kiss fall on Sophia's cheek, as she turned her face in the opposite direction.

"Not really, no kisses for mothers who do not comply with the other mother's orders." Sophia said, looking at you with that face you knew well, the one that gave you chills.

Already knowing that the twins would probably have snitched on you, you decided to go for the foolproof plan, puppy eyes. You knew you shouldn't give the twins ice cream, but they were so cute telling you the list of reasons why you should buy them ice cream.

"Baby, I'm sorry. But they were so cute with those little faces, I couldn't resist." You said, grabbing your wife's waist and making her look at you.

"You have to be tougher on them, Yn." Sophia said, putting her hands on the back of your neck.

"Sorry…" You said, kissing the Filipina on the cheek and hoping that would get you out of the punishment.

"All right." Sophia said, still with a warning look on her face. "But next time you don't escape me."

Shaking your head and with a smile on your face, you kissed Sophia. Your lips fitting perfectly and your tongues fighting for the dominance of the kiss. With one swift movement, you picked Sophia in your lap, placing her on the counter. Feeling your kisses on her neck, Sophia moaned lightly, covering her mouth with one hand so as not to make too much noise.

"Sophia." You called, as you went down your kisses around her neck.

"Say it, baby."

"Sophia." Stopping the kisses, Sophia looked into your eyes, only to see the smile on your face, before you whispered again. "Wake up!" Stunned, Sophia woke up in a jump, seeing you standing next to her on the bed. Looking at the clock on the bedside table, Sophia narrowed her eyes, the digital clock reading 02:34 in the morning.

"Baby, we have a problem."

Continues…

Hello guys, are you okay?

as I said, I really miss Fam out, so I decided to release a preview of what's to come.

This kind of happens in one of the chapters of Fam Out, which I'm still going to release, but I wanted to give you this background.

Any idea of what will happen ahead?

Stay safe and drink water

fam out masterlist

Xoxo, spider

[carothepoet]

The way I *desperately* need Deborah to be the one who apologizes first.

In my head, it would go like this: Deborah reaches her breaking point after the screaming match at the show taping, gets drunk, and impulsively calls Marcus. She tells him the whole story (with herself as the victim, naturally), leaving out the specifics of the Bob Lipka situation, just saying that “Ava has some sensitive information about me and blackmailed me into making her head writer.” Then she relays how awful and hateful Ava has been ever since, minimizing her own part, but of course Marcus knows Deborah and reads between the lines. So he lets her get it all out and then gently suggests that she may have played a part in this, and in fact set it off by betraying Ava at the start. He explains how it might look from Ava’s side.

Deborah is PISSED, yells at him, and hangs up. But she can’t stop thinking about it, because goddammit if Marcus wasn’t *right.* (He’s always right, and she HATES it. What a relief that he doesn’t work for her anymore.)

She sulks about it for a few days, avoiding Ava as much as possible, but Marcus’s words eat away at her and she isn’t sleeping and she’s rearranged her salt and pepper shaker collection 14 times.

And normally she wouldn’t DREAM of apologizing, but the constant fighting is affecting the show, and the magic is gone, and she’ll be damned if she loses her dream a second time if there’s any way to prevent it.

So she shows up at Ava’s apartment. And she’s there for 20 minutes before she works up the nerve to knock on the door. Ava opens it, and she immediately sees Emily and Dev in the background and feels that overwhelming surge of something like jealousy (but it’s NOT) and Ava’s standing there staring at her like she has three heads.

“Deborah? What are you doing here?”

“Can—can I talk to you for a moment?”

Ava hesitates and then steps out, closing the door behind her and crossing her arms over her chest. “Without Stacy?”

“It’ll only take a moment.” She bites her lips and takes a deep breath. “I’ve been doing some thinking, and…I don’t see how we can continue this way. “You were”—the words are physically painful coming out of her mouth—“you were right; our relationship is what makes the writing work. So I apologize.”

Ava furrows her brow. “You apologize? For what? For lying to me? For acting like I’m disposable after all we’ve been through? For screaming in my face and calling me names, in *addition* to fighting me on every single fucking suggestion I’ve made since?”

“First of all, I will *never* apologize for fighting back against objectively bad ideas, and second of all”—she grits her teeth—“yes.”

“Hm.” Ava regards her for a moment, clearly questioning Deborah’s sincerity. “Fine,” she finally says coldly. “I accept your apology.”

Deborah tries to hide the rush of relief that floods her body. “Okay. I’ll…let you get back to your guests.”

“Sooo…you’re just gonna be, like, *nice* now, or whatever?”

And Deborah’s hackles go up, in the good way, in the old way. “Oh yeah, that sounds like me.”

She proceeds to tell Ava the throuple situation is stupid and she’s going to regret it. Ava says something like “WOW, jealous much??” and they proceed to bicker in the old way, the Love Language way, and then Ava’s face softens a little and she says, “I missed this,” and Deborah says, “I did, too.”

The next day in the writers’ room, they argue all day long, but it’s different because the vitriol is gone, and everyone can sense the change in energy. They put together the best show they’ve ever done, and the ratings SOAR.

And Marcus watches the show with a smile, sipping a drink and knowing it was he who gave Deb the kick in the pants that she needed to do the right thing.

THE END

[brittle-doughie]

Let’s Get Rolling! | Looking into the Lights, Camera, Action! Event for CROB!

So the movie nerd, Popcorn Cookie, isn’t going to the Chocolate Factory with that golden ticket, but to see the filming site for what Butter Squid Cookie has got cooking up.

Only issue is that the actress is unable to make it to the set, leaving the stunt double, Choco Bar Cookie, to get the lead role! So for the event itself, it’s essentially the exact same event we’ve had for the last few updates, get and do favors as well as combine items for hard mode.

So the special draw event returns from the Wish Camp update, except this time there’s also a surprise exchange shop that allows you to get outfits or designs that you missed in past updates!

Choco Bar Cookie herself is pretty cute, would definitely add her to my wife collection and if her base design isn’t sitting well with you, hopefully her skin more then makes up for it because oh my lord-

Shine Muscat, Habanero, and Blue Slushy Cookie also get skins too. With Popcorn Cookie getting a fabulous skin in part 2!

Buttercream Choco Cookie has finally returned by the Buddy event! Bring your buddies to play the mode to obtain him!

In the Romance stage, who is this lady we’re chasing and how did I get the devs to put her in my game. In the Zombie stage, we meet some familiar walkers, where have I seen them before…?

Overall, they were not lying when they said that this would help a substantial update, there are so many things to look forward to that it might leave you overwhelmed! MicMac has addressed the event repetition in the official discord, hopefully, we can see a return to varied event modes some day.

———————————————————————

Busy chasing your co-star through the stage, following after the one you love was the pinnacle of romantic excitement in the eyes of Butter Squid Cookie!

“Come follow, my love! Have a little encouragement from me!”

She blew you a kiss in the form of a small heart that floated towards you. You went to get it promptly, feeling more encouraged to follow your heart that had your co-star in it! (In the premise of the movie of course)

Butter Squid Cookie was pleased with the results he was seeing so far, such warm love between two cookies that was sure to bring a tear to the eyes of audiences! He had to give you credit, for someone unfamiliar with acting, you were a natural!

But now time for the big moment! You were now supposed to catch your co-star and give each other the declaration of love and then a kiss!

Choco Bar Cookie got a little nervous with that plan, was it really necessary? The kiss part? Why not just a hug, you know? That would get the message across just fine. There was no need to be all theatrical all the time, you know?

Butter Squid saw her suggestion as nonsense, a kiss was the only way to execute the romantic tension flawlessly!

You told your co-star that she made your heart flutter, that no other cookie made you feel this way, that you wanted to spend your life with her.

Your co-star blushed heavily from your words, that was some pretty good on command blushing!

“Oh, my Y/N Cookie! My heart can’t stand being apart from you either! Please, let me be the cookie you love now and forever!”

The two of you leaned in, getting closer and closer, you see her eyes twinkle as she closed them, readying her lips as you did the same…

Before a director chair is thrown between you two!

Scaring you both faraway from each other. Butter Squid looked at Choco Bar with shock as she breathed heavy, having just thrown that chair a second ago.

“Sorry. My hands slipped.”

[rainofdauwuand0w0]

Another Murder Drones Au Things

so another idea with episodes came to my mind

well...technically two

first one is called

Murder Drones: Home in Time

Ep 1 "The Past is our prime": due to a bit of timing, N, V, and J are all there at the spire as they come back, a lil madess and hectic quick thinking as J starts up the emp, Uzi fires at it, the blast of uzi's railgun hitting the emp just before it was gonna release, leading to a time vortex being produced from all the energy combining, leading our dear dd's back to place they never thought they would ever see again. the manor (also due to temporal energies, they are once more assigned back to tessa as admin...memories are unblocked for better or worse as well due to this), point of view of the episode is from N primarily.

Ep 2 "the cores hum in contentment": After a long while of thinking, they decide to go through the back basement entrance to enter, interrupting another cyn and solver chat, solver is of course gathering many data at the implications and cyn faces the music from a very different V, an as expected J, and a “not mad but disappointed” N that she’d do it, being forced to explain to a truly big brother and big sisters her origin, it does also belp calm v and j though that N is back to his protective nature, though there own convo is interrupted by…past themselves and tessa.

Ep 3 “Workshop Lullabies”: after lengthy conversations, tessa hooks the dd’s up back in a lil workshop of hers, turning on tunes to relax to while she helps herself to overlooking and blueprinting all the design differences in both code and materials used, listening to hums of relaxed cores of both the regular manor crew and the modified DD crew (also a lil headcanon, that while worker cores hum and solver cores thump like a real heart, dd cores are smack dab in the middle, they hum still but in the same on and off and off repetition as a heart’s thumps). Tessa finds devs notes from her original fixes that confirms it is indeed them.

Ep 4 “parents are away, now the real family comes to play!”: The elliott’s go on a business trip that they have decided does not need their tessa, which allows the potential future peeps to come up into the manor, tessa puts glasses on dd V, causing her to blush….she then puts two pairs on the j’s after they giggled simply saying “you aren’t gonna squint anymore, my jaybirds”, they blue-screen briefly but manage to recover. Cyn kinda just sits there, mainly cus she doesn’t like the future this shows her, even if their presence fixed it, she hurt them and changed them. Solver says “hey, that’s my work!”. Which on one hand, does help, on the other…still kinda does not. Though the N’s aren’t gonna let her do that, giggle big brother! Okay. Okay. i will accept. Piggy back. Rides.

Ep 5 “nightmares of things to come”: nightmares…they can recall the past and be stitched with memories, n, v, and j all have nightmares of the gala to come, but a question looms over all their heads when they awaken again “will they be able to save her?”

Ep 6 “A rich build-up”: The plans for the gala begin to happen, groceries orders prepared in advanced, things get set up for the right caterings, and many other things, the dd's explore the untouched area's of the basement, and discover the solver's new plan while trying to escape it's potential consequences in the form of it's own creations in a sense.

Ep 7 "would you really still love me if I was a monster?": a fully metal and industrial version of the centipede cyn, roams the basement, pacing around the basement an anxious mess because the solver left her looking like that since it couldn't enact the original plan as it hoped, not without leaving the dd's distracted, and this was it's solution.

Ep 8 "The Final Bow": It's the day of the gala, cyn(it's solver using holograms to present itself as her) is determined to enact it's solution upon earth, and it will complete....it....why does it hear boss music?

and with that one in mind, let's check out the other side of things, remember that during intermission that the food station is open and the beverage station is open *humming the tune of "let's all go to the lobby" (it's stuck in my head again lol)*

after all...we left uzi alone, remember? hehehehehehehheheeeeeeeeeee

Murder Drones: Dispersion Of Alteration's

Ep 1 "The shot that rocked the world": We follow Uzi this time for the POV, going through the usual stuff until the divergence from canon, holy [Parental Advisory redaction], she did it! She managed to somehow send the murder drones away, judging by the screams not kill them but probably sent them far away, haha her gun worked! though she was indeed sure that it had something to do with the Emp part mixing with it, she'd have to figure that out later, for now, she was gonna have to go home, who cares if no one believes her, she dealt with a problem once, she can probably figure it out!

Ep 2 "to the beat of your core": Lizzy and others attempts to genuinely bully her were falling on deaf ears, which doll notices, she was too elated after the last day, and why wouldn't she, she did end up getting a talk from her dad about the inner workings of doors (okay so maybe some of the mechanisms could be useful for things other then doors, she'd figure out how to translate this into her works, it had been a while since they last talked, she wasn't gonna admit it, but it was nice) but along side that, doll said she wants to have a chat again after so long. Meanwhile the solver looms....it knows something happened... checking it's home base's systems....temporal anomaly? trying to regenerate the trio brings up an error of them being both out of range and admins been given to....tessa. welp, that's another past solvers problem now. well, she had always wanted to send out these two anyhow, one of them took long....a preserved human mind was quite the transfer anyhow.

Ep 3 "A Gala or a Prom?" So doll and uzi have a...very long chat...they ended up having a sleep over, doll's place was a bit of a mess but that's fine, still groggy, uzi sips some oil. which leaves doll a bit...perturbed and wid eyed...it takes a moment for uzi to register why as she fully wakes up...though still drinking the oil like its coffee as the solver symbol flickers in her hand and she slowly sets the knife down that doll was planning to use "do you wanna talk about our moms...or am I gonna end up like the rest of the suckers?" doll, knowing how her mother and nori were friends from somewhere before they came here, feels like they were restepping old ground in a a new way. Lizzy helps the two get ready, if they both were gonna be there, they were gonna have a theme, causing both to blush at the prospect. as the prom goes on, two new dd's watch from the shadows over the targets, designations? C and T and PSU. (tessa/T is in a war mechanic outfit in the dd body, just take her old interests and apply that to her outfit, C/Cyn is in surprisingly comfy clothes for a dd body, sweat pants, long sleeved sweater that ends, PSU...hey yeah, remember the poor sap who watched as his buddy got STABBED by james with a fork?? yeah this is him, acronym stands for Personal Security Unit, man is there to ensure the other two don't fall out of line and stay alive, wearing what is effectively a trench coat and a fedora)

Ep 4 "The Mothers final hope's broken": if nori and yeva saw them now, standing outside the very place that they hoped their children would never have to touch again to get answers? they'd both understand but still be mad that they did it, doll and uzi explore the area of the cabin's searching for answers. But while they do so, the new trio ambush them, leading to a brawl between the two solver users and the new trio within the snowy landscape, the duo having to get creative with their new powers

Ep 5 "Memories are where the info lie": after realizing they could regenerate from just about anything, doll and uzi, try to come up with a new plan, and the idea of probing memories comes up. oh boy are they gonna see the origin of their interesting powers from three different views, yippee :D

Ep 6 "deep breath's, Everyone!": after a long while of this new trio coming to terms with...all of that. Doll and uzi bringing them along for the adventure into the labs, more secrets shall be unlocked, sentinels....tessa....tessa please....tessa. fine that one can be your dingo, but only one! oh and beau and alice are here too btw, don't forget those wild cards heheheheh

Ep 7 "Cathedral Bells toll": "you look familiar, do I know you?" "yes. nori. solver...thought I needed to. be on the front lines." "cyn?! oh that complicates things...um less talk more running!" meanwhile doll and Uzi and the others are dealing with prototype experiments that never saw the light of day till now, they get separated and the solver gals continue despite it

Ep 8 "Crimson and indigo is a lovely combo shade for the sky": The big battle, things have changed, but also not really, two solver-crossed lovers are a bout to fight a eldritch beast and win!

and thus that closes the over arching au's caused by this Divergence

the total thing called Murder Drones: Temporal Shift

I'd like some thoughts on it

hey @logo-comics and @silentmagi? I have another Idea to share with y'all if that's alright.

[thunderstomm]

I have many thoughts about the finale but I think this one is important to share.

SPOILERS FOR THE BATTLE OF BIG WAND BELOW !!

I’m glad Hazel didn’t use her wish on Dev. I like Dev. He’s probably my favourite character! But it is not a satisfying writing choice in any regard for Hazel to use HER rule free wish on Dev. It’s meant for her, she is justified on using it for herself just because of that! But also… it feels too easy to use the wish to resolve the tensions with Dev.

I like Dev, and I want him to be redeemed in future storylines. Does that mean he should go without punishment though? No. Besides- it’s not like we have never seen a kid get back their godparents before!

Remy Buxaplenty, anyone? He lost his fairy, and had his memory erased. What happened next?Juandissimo went out of his way and against the rules to reunite with him, and they convinced Jorgen to let them be godparent and godkid again. And we KNOW Peri cares about Dev, he was still keeping an eye on him after the split just a few episodes before!

Also who’s to even say if the memory erasure works, because according to some of the previous specials, sunglasses cancel out the memory erasure. We see Jorgen put on sunglasses before carrying out the memory erasing process in the finale, and Dev never takes his off! What if he still has his memories!

And even if you don’t like that theory, it’s canon that the memory erasure can wear off, if one is reminded of what they have been forced to forget!

The show has left itself in an amazing place for storytelling in a season two, and I would hate to see that potential go to waste. Thinking about long-term storytelling is important, and this show getting a second season would benefit this narrative so much, because it’s clearly not over just yet!! (:

[sunshine-zenith]

I never been this invested in fairly oddparents before. Like I'm so nervous about what's going to happen with Dev and Peri by the end of the season because if they get separated that would be the worst thing for both of them or if Dev gets his memories erased, he won't learn from any of this.

So to distract myself, I'm gonna think of what would happen when this show is renewed for season 2 (and it WILL be if I have anything to say about it!) like:

Peri getting embarrassed by his parents for not acting normal when they're humans in public because it's like winter and they're still in their regular clothes when outside, so he has to poof them up himself.

Dev getting invited to join in on holiday festivities with Hazel's family because we all know that's not gonna happen with Dale.

More time with Hazel, Dev, Jasmine, and Winn as a group.

Even more wacky neighbor shenanigans with Peri involved.

Same, my dear Anon, saaaaame. I remember FOP being one of my favorite shows when I was little (I remember being in elementary school and somehow stumbling upon the first couple seasons online, meaning I could watch it whenever, and to this day I still laugh when I remember the “Where did you get that?”-“Uh…. Internet?” bit, but there’s something so special about these characters I grew up watching and their silly hijinx and sweetheart new godkid getting into serialized shenanigans

I seriously hope we get at least one more season (or even TOH treatment where while the crew is put in the unfair position of having to rush through their story to wrap it up, but at least they get to wrap it up *cries in Infinity Train*)

I want all of the above, especially Dev getting to hang around Hazel’s family and getting exposed to a completely healthy family dynamic, and seeing Hazel, Jasmine, Winn, and Dev as a friend group in O:BT was absolutely delightful (I’m still sad the original show fazed out Chester and AJ over time — give our main character friends and let them keep them!)

Some other potential stories that I’d love to see

Another episode about Hazel’s hair. Diana actually grew on me (metaphorically) by the end and I wouldn’t hate if she became a reoccurring character. Plus it was amazing seeing an episode about a black character’s natural hair without it needing to be A Special Episode. They made that joke about “relaxing” and it almost flew over my head but when I got it I had to pause the episode because of my delighted laughter

An episode where Peri (who finally has his own human disguise) somehow gets roped into solo babysitting Hazel, Dev, Jasmine, and Winn (because for some reason kids really like me and whenever I visit my sister’s family I somehow always end up at an arts and crafts table talking about Ninjago with a bunch of 3-7 year olds and I need Peri to go through the same I Need An Adult — Oh No I Am The Adult emotions)

More Hazel and Antony shenanigans — maybe she visits him at college and wishes she could experience college life herself (knowing the types of jokes this crew likes making, there should be at least one student loans joke that makes you cry as much as it makes you laugh)

For that matter, even if it’s a long shot, I would love an episode that features the Wells Siblings and the Turner-Cosma-Fairywinkle Siblings. One set could have the A plot and the other could have the B plot, or they could all get up to shenanigans together, idc I just know that there are so many obvious parallels between Antony-Hazel and Timmy-Peri (the nearly identical age gap, the close relationship that had a wrench thrown into it when the older sibling grew up and moved away, the way the younger sibling looks up to the older one, etc) that I need to see explored somehow. Plus, maybe we could even get Peri and Antony bonding — since he’s a fairy, the way Peri aged is probably super weird, but developmentally he’s probably close enough to Antony that they could be peers. Give👏Peri👏A👏Friend

Does anybody remember that episode from the original series that was a back door pilot for a Crash Nebula spin off. It was one of my favorites as a kid and I would love if they did something like that with Prime Meridian Love — it could start with Hazel and Dev learning their favorite manga getting an anime adaption and doing everything they can to watch it premiere in English (or the crew could have the majority of the episode in Japanese and even make a sub vs dub joke)

Listen Peri was OP as a baby, and I need them to bring that up somehow. I don’t know, the could have him lose his wand and have to fight whatever the bad guy of the episode is with his bare hands and show off his martial arts skills. I can just picture Dev and Hazel’s reactions and I need to see it and see their faces when they learn he taught himself how to do that as a baby

[frindoka]

just finished demo 4. twitches. CALYPSO AAAAAUUUUUGGUHAAQGJHHHH😭😭😭😭 pls pls spill any thoughts im very interested

AUUUUUUUHHHHH. falls to the ground and falls apart (i pressed the reset button and sploded). ok yes i have so many thoughts hold on. Hold On

i’m putting them under the cut because of demo 4 spoilers, if anyone reading hasnt beat demo 4 yet don’t continue on lest you be spoiled 🙏

CALYPSO!!!!!!

oh my godddd. i am SO HAPPY we got calypso FINALLY first of all. i knew something would be up with her when that letter from kyoko was posted. ouuugghhh

fun fact i wasn’t initially expecting her introduction to be like this! well i wasn’t expecting much considering how much little information we had before, but i had a fun little theory made from nothing where calypso was a sword wielder & that’s why she disappeared. glad to know she hasn’t been a sword wielder but uh… im not sure if what happened was much better.

anyways holy fuck. i love calypso. she is lovely and i feel so bad all of that happened to her.

she’s so fucked up. trotter saved her from the brink of death and him and his crew showed her more kindness and love than she ever thought she deserved (re: “Why… WHY did you save me? Why would you save a WRETCHED girl like me? I’ve wanted to know… for so long… And now… It’s all too late, isn’t it?”, when she’s talking to the firebrand), and she cared for them very much in turn considering how without them she wouldn’t be here still. her and trotter and such were going into the temple with dreams of treasure and hopes of a stress-free life after they could get stability with the riches in there— and instead of that, calypso walked out the sole survivor of their escapade.

…that survivors guilt has got to be awful for her. she couldn’t save the crew, she couldn’t save the person who saved her life— in fact, she had a direct hand in what happened to trotter, even! she could never repay what the debt she thought she owed to them was, she never found out why her, she never found out why she got to live and she’s not going to be able to find out why she’s STILL alive now and they’re all dead. and now she can’t even get back to her family, nor kyoko, who is Still out looking for her, for that matter.

she’s the only remnant of that entire crew. she probably views herself as the least deserving to ever be that final person left. none of them had a peaceful death. and does she even know where her family, where kyoko, is? does she know how to find anyone? it’s like she’s lost all over again!

anyways yeah i love calypso. she’s been making me pace around nonstop for the past few hours.

2. the swords

oh we are so fucked aren’t we. it just keeps getting crazier. the windforce is gonna blow up the whole of bizville or some shit

anyways WOW. WOW. the firebrands get condition was like Extremely Devastating. i knew as soon as calypso pointed out the many many sacrificial glyphs that something awful would happen here but STILL. IT FLOORED ME. (also the ancient boss was DEFINITELY NOT EXPECTED AND SO COOL. A LYRICAL TRACK??!!!??!!)

watching the swords corrupt the player demo by demo is hurtingggg meeeee. even with the BADGE ICONS… what’s that smile for bro. my friend pointed out that their head was twitching when they were moving closer to the firebrand, while trotter and calypso were looking at the treasure… aoouuugghhh. we’re SOOOO FUCKED. shoutout to a recent dev interview where one of the lines was “do you deserve these swords? do you deserve this happy ending?” ☹️

also, when you cure griefer of most of the bubonic plant condition, he says something like. how when he was being corrupted by the venomshank, it’s like he could barely control himself over anything. it completely changed who he was as a person in general so like. … how much of the player going towards the firebrand do you think was Voluntary? ??? ?? they have THREE SWORDS— other characters have gotten completely fucked up by just ONE. and especially with how the ghostwalker went.

do you think player tried to stop themselves from going toward the firebrand? do you think they tried to resist that temptation of grabbing it before trotter took it and brought on his own demise? if that, though, it obviously didn’t work. it’s like being pulled along by puppet strings…

speaking of trotter fucking dying: his sacrifice bringing upon the ancients is horrifying. what the fuck were the ancients talking about. what is the metamorphosis. what is happening. I Am Very Scared And Everything Is Just Going To Get Scarier

3. my other misc thoughts

shedletsky was acting really weird in the beginning. like was that just me. why was he acting so weird

AUUUGGHHH THE DIALOGUE OF KYOKO AT THE DOCKS KILLED ME. her acting surprised if you tell her you’re here to see her, like she isn’t expecting herself to be remembered or cared for!! her withdrawing into herself for a moment where she mentions her family!! her fear when you tell her you’re going to the desert, only relaxing a bit when you tell her you promise to stay safe!!!! AHHHH KYOKOOOO IM SO SORRY GIRL IM NEVER GONNA LET YOU LOSE ANYONE EVER AGAIN

also kyoko mention in One line of dialogue from thaniyel when he mentions who he wants to invite to the festival. hehe. makes me wonder what’d happen if she did come though, cause then she’d see griefer again, and he’s all Plants…

squeaking of griefer he is so cute i need to throw him into a pit of burning spikes

the swing in vermillion village has a line that says “Do you deserve to ride the swing?” before switching to “Maybe later” every other time you interact with it. i SCREAMED……dream world reference……. player you’re fucked up. player you have to let the swords go dude

beyond The Torment this demo was REALLY fun. i had a fun time solving the puzzles. i spun around calypso for a whole minute when she was following in my party bc i <3 her. the enemies were very fun even if the vultures dismemberment attack wanted to make me start crying and screaming every time it hit. good demo!

red and blue staring at a grave in the preprologue……….PLEASE don’t break my HEART. PLEASE TELL ME NOOBADOR DID NOT KICK THE BUCKET.

firebrands battle effects are fucking crazy. good lird

anyways that’s all my thoughts. i need to draw so many things soon. first of all i really want to make a calypso design…ive been waiting for her for FIVE HUNDRED YEARS

[mobgabriel]

well i promised i was going to put my thoughts about COH from a wisdomverse perspective in a post later so here it is, longpost incoming you've been warned

ok so being honest here:i really only began playing this game because it was echo and silent's second game especially because while i really like crypt of the necrodancer i'm really bad at it(i am still stuck at floor 2) and due to that i didnt really expect to get that far into the game and especially didnt expect this game to be such a good sequel to EOW when they were made by 2 different dev teams in 2 different companies with COH being made before EOW but just how this game surprised me with how fun it was to play, it also surprised me with how well it fit within the EOW-COH-Great decline timeline and i guess the best character to begin talking about it is well Echo herself

for starters this game does open up with echo having to break out of hyrule castle again but it also goes on to show that echo did learn to wield a sword after EOW with she having the same weapon selection as silent(excluding their exclusive weapon class that is) but while i did know that this game was going to show echo as being able to wield 2 of the godesses spells(nayru's love and din's fire) i did not expect nayru's love to be this readily available(with you getting it before you even leave the castle) wich again shows echo's magical prowess expecially when you get shield technique later wich allows you to hold Nayru's love for as long as you want alongside also getting access to din's fire wich i feel is very significant as EOW is already brimming with Religious significance both from the scene where echo swaps into her disguise behind a hylia statue but also from the fact that she is the first character in the Zelda series as a whole to talk to the golden godesses

this game also follows up on another very important thing for Echo:her mastery over the tri-force, in EOW the final battle has echo and silent take away Null's triforce of power in order to finish him off

, in COH Echo,Silent and Cadence use the triforce to kill ganon due to their lack of sacred weapons(no bow of light, silver arrows or master sword lol)

and then Echo uses the triforce to send cadence back home and presumably to go back to her era with silent

this shows to me that echo does seem to have become the guardian of the triforce in her era(wich is fitting considering how she was sanctioned by the golden godesses to handle the thing) wich does 2 things:1 free the Great Deku Tree to do other stuff(i will come back to him later DW) and 2:explain why does the prince and the magician go to her in AoL/Echo of the Past

wich leads to the beggining of the great decline and echo's 100 year nap

i dont have nearly as much stuff to talk about when it comes to Silent but i do have a few things that i'd want to point out about him

first there is silent's own personal weapon class:the longsword, each personal weapon in this game has their own gimmick with echo's rapiers allowing for lunges that deal more damage and cadence's great shovels working like a shovel, and what does silent's weapon allow him to do you may ask? simple:

it removes his option of using a shield(swapping it for the option of holding the sword in front of him) now correct me if i'm wrong(especially considering that i have been wrong before *looks at my post about cadence being the only good triforce of power wielder* how could you do this to me lana) but i'm pretty sure that this is the first(and only) time that a link's main weapon removes their hability to use a shield (especially considering how silent doesnt have any problem using a shield while using spears wich are also 2 handed) wich does forward my own headcanons about silent being one of the more aggresive links in combat(this is the guy what went to fight god with a stick, tell me he enjoys being on the defensive), it also makes silent the only character in the game able to change directions and attack without moving wich is a very usefull skill to have in this game and forwards my own headcanon about him being more agile while echo is physically stronger( because after all who would discard a shield if they werent confident on their hability to dodge?) but i already went way too far into this tangent so lets get back to another thing i want to point out about silent in this game: the Deku Tree doesnt recognize him

for those unaware CoH does have its own post apocaliptic version of the great decline's hyrule:future world wich serves as the setting to both its final dungeon and the Symphony of the Mask DLC, with SOTM allowing you to explore its overworld in the main campaign too through a portal in the lost woods i will go into more detail about it in a sec but for now i want to focus on the Great Deku Tree's dialogue with Echo and Silent, with Echo the Great Deku Tree comments on Echo's disappearance and says that he is glad that she is safe

with Silent the Great Deku Tree not only doesnt seem to recognize him but also acts like silent was from this time period(wich he isnt, remember this Deku Tree is from future world)

while it is fair to point out that Silent and the Great Deku Tree didnt meet in EOW and the Great Deku Tree doenst seem aware of the time travel shenanigans in this game i do think the fact that he doesnt recognize Silent here shows that silent doesnt survive the great decline, especially considering that COH does have Link and Zelda know each other from the get go as shown by how zelda reacts upon being waken up

by how she talks when she wakes up link

and the fact that not only the tutorial fairy refers to link and zelda as her friends but also the fact that octavo targeted link specifically with his curse too

so the fact that the deku tree doesnt refer to his ausence(unlike how it does when talking to zelda) does seem to point out that silent does die early into the great decline and speaking of the great decline:let me talk about future world

future world in this game can be acessed in 2 different locations: first in hyrule castle wich leads to the final dungeon of the game and ganon's fight and the second is in this portal that you find where you encounter cadence in the lost woods

entering this portal leads you to the deku village and i kid you not the first time i entered this portal i was so surprised by what happened to the Deku that i completely forgot about this being future world and thus early great decline hyrule

because its stuff like this this that reminds me that hyrule was in its golden age, the deku without any intervention from hyrule castle changed from endless trend chasing and organized themselves into a society with an entirely unique culture almost on their own, the dialogue from the deku princess indicates that this is a first contact between the deku village and people from outside(this is also supported by the gerudo village where one of the villagers say:

i will get to the gerudo later dw) and while the deku are encountered in EOW not only are they very much secluded from the rest of hyrule but its very possible that this is the first contact after the deku went through this reform prompted by the great deku tree

and yes i do think this is what the great deku tree did after echo took the role of triforce guardian, it wouldnt even be the first time the great deku tree moved from their spot and certainly wouldnt be the first time a tree changed locations in a nintendo game (looking at you whispy woods)

kirby references aside there is a substantial amount of evidence that it was the great deku tree that prompted the begining of the reforms, the deku that guards the entrance to the great deku tree and Skull kid(who is found at the village) refer to him as "grandpa" and even the Deku King asnswers to him

the Deku even have their own sport in the Deku shooting gallery(wich is a really fun minigame btw)

speaking of things that remind me this is great decline hyrule, i'm going to go on a very quick tangent about the Zora

while evil zora are back in COH i'm pretty sure that this is the first time that antagonistic zora have been associated with ice instead of fire and not only that but the COH Zora designs seem to pull some elements from the sea zora despite being very clearly river zora inspired wich does indicate to a unification between the Zora clans, and as someone who ships kushara x dradd

the presence of this zora prince, with kushara's colors and no sign of his parents makes me very happy

well i talked about the Deku, i Talked about the Zora and so its nothing but fair for me to talk about the gerudo(especially considering how the gorons are barely in this game lol) and by god was dohna done dirty by this game lol and i dont even mean in a "dohna doesnt get to appear in this game" sense i mean in a "she is in a really bad position to be when ganondorf is born sense"...wich is exactly what happens in this game but what caught my eye the most about the gerudo was their future world version, despite being ganon's people the gerudo dont follow ganon's command because of tradition as stated by barriara(the gerudo representative herself)

ganon has them under controll not because of their loyalty but because of his strenght and fear forcing them to run an arena in the place of his old house, the village itself is smaller than in the present and frankly? i doubt that they will survive the power vacuum created by ganon's death at the end of COH

and on the grim topic going to kakariko village in its future counterpart only reveals its graveyard, the first of many to appear in this era

the first time i came to future world and began talking with the Deku i got reminded that this was post gread decline by talking with one of the scrubs and i could feel echo's heart sinking through the screen but if i had to pick one area in the game that perfectly incapsulates the tragedy of echo's story it has to be future world's hyrule castle, the first time i came to future hyrule castle was not thorugh the main's story future world dungeon, it was through the SOTM extra instruments and i have to say:it was a really good choice to make this area completely without music and only the sound of the rain

in EOW castle town and hyrule castle are filled with life its pretty much where you begin your journey and taking it back is the main objective of the first half of the game

in COH hyrule castle has been very much taken over by octavo, echo has to break herself out of it as soon as she wakes up with impa and even when you unlock its barrier with the 4 instruments its still filled to the brim with monsters

but in the future world? its dead silent(no pun intended) even if you reach it with SoTM's instruments there are no enemies to fight, no background music playing even the room with Eli's greatshovel's puzzle(wich is where you get caladbolg in the main game) is completely empty

and the weight of the tragedy just downs on you, seeing the ruins completely abandoned despite the fact that everything around it is falling a part and filled with monsters and here you are to put an end to the man who caused all of this, you might not be able to save hyrule but you can atleast avenge it

wisdomverse by @linderosse

[partiallypearl]

bet on it, bet on it

a/n: i’m a little livid that kenny, devon and ant were barely in the final episodes. but yknow what, it’s whatever bc fanfic still exists, and i can have fun however i want. inspired by dallas and oona’s recent twitch stream, where they mentioned going for drives with griffin and singing along to the hsm soundtracks! set post s6!

“If you think you’re getting shotgun again, you’re wrong.” Devon said, her voice tense as she glared at Anthony. The two of them were standing outside of Cobra Kai’s dojo, waiting for Kenny to lock up so he could drive them home. It was weird being the older students at the dojo now.

So much responsibility. But Devon was always up for a challenge. Except when her challenger was Anthony and his demands for getting shotgun every time Kenny gave them a ride.

The slightly shorter boy scoffed. “I’m Kenny’s best friend-“ He began, and Kenny rolled his eyes, as he walked over to the two of them, interjecting. “No you’re not. Robby is.”

Anthony stuck his tongue out in response, very maturely, Devon thought to herself as she did her best to bite back a laugh.

“Anywho. As I was saying, I’m Kenny’s best friend so I should get shotgun.”

Devon shook her head, tossing her gym bag over her shoulder as she pushed past both boys, towards Kenny’s car. Anthony followed after her, his footsteps in line with hers as they approached the car door.

“I put up with you both on a daily basis.” Devon said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Besides. I’m a girl. Shouldn’t you be all chivalrous and kind to me?”

“Oh you’re a girl?” Anthony asked, a smirk on his stupid face, “I didn’t notice with how mean you are.”

Devon rolled her eyes, opening the door and placing herself inside. Anthony groaned, knowing damn well that if he tried to push her out, she would start a fight.

Zero points for LaRusso, one point for Lee, Devon thought to herself as she grinned.

Kenny shook his head as he got into the driver’s side, telling them both to stop playing and to put their seatbelts on.

“Yes dad.” The other two parroted after him, sharing a quick look in the rear view mirror. Devon pulled her sweaty hair off of her neck as she shifted in her seat.

She loved karate, but sometimes, she hated just how gross and sweaty she looked. She sighed, rummaging in her bag for a extra scrunchie, huffing as she pulled her hair up. God, she was acting like such a girl.

You look fine Dev.” Kenny said as he pulled out of the Cobra Kai parking lot, turning onto Victory Boulevard.

Devon could feel her cheeks heating up as she turned her attention back toward the floor. “I feel like I look awful.”

Anthony snorted from the back. “You do.” Devon’s cheeks became even more red. Kenny shot Anthony a glare through the rear view mirror.

“Ant, shut up and put some music on.” Anthony nodded, giving Kenny a lazy salute. Devon looked out the window as she watched the cars speeding by.

After a few more seconds of Anthony messing around with his phone, the opening notes of Bet On It from High School Musical 2 began blasting through the car speakers.

Devon groaned, already knowing what was about to happen.

“Everybody's always talkin' at me. Everybody's tryin' to get in my head.” Anthony’s voice was surprisingly smooth and clear. He wasn’t a trained singer, but he could carry a tune.

Devon watched as Kenny drummed his fingers on the steering wheel for a split second before joining in.

“I wanna listen to my own heart talkin'. Ineed to count on myself instead..” Both boys turned their focus to her as the car pulled up to a red light and Devon sighed before she also began to sing along.

“Did you ever, lose yourself to get what you want?”

“Did you ever!” Both boys joined in as backup vocals and Devon bit back a laugh as she continued.

“Get on a ride and wanna get off?” She flipped her hair over her shoulder, using her fist as a microphone. She leaned toward Kenny as he joined her in singing the next line.

“Did you ever, push away the ones you should've held close? Did you ever let go? Did you ever not know?”

Anthony pushed the two of them apart as he leaned into the center console, singing as loudly as he could as the light changed and Kenny began to pick up speed.

“I'm not gonna stop, that's who I am! I’ll give it all I got, that is my plan. When I find what I lost, you know you can-”

Kenny and Devon shared a look before they both began to scream sing. “Bet on it! Bet on it! Bet on it! Bet on it!

They sang along the way to the turn for Escalon Drive, Anthony singing the loudest. They pulled up to the LaRusso mansion, parking in the front driveway behind Sensei LaRusso’s Audi.

“You guys wanna come in and watch the movie?” Anthony asked as the song finally ended. Devon smiled, grabbing her bag from the back as she got up. “Hell yeah.”

Her and Anthony both turned to Kenny who sighed. “Alright fine. But I’m not sleeping over this time.”

Devon grinned, getting out of the car, and walking over to her boys, wrapping her arms around their shoulders.

“Get your head in the game Kenny! We got to work this out.” She said, giggling as Kenny rolled his eyes at her references, Anthony cackling beside her as they walked up the driveway.

[fantasyinvader]

The one thing that I just keep coming back to is how, well, the localization and what it did to the story. With how the localization altered the script, trying to make the game more favorable to Edelgard and her route heroic like the other three, but in doing so it erased her depth imo.

According to the devs, her depth came from how there were two sides to her; she’s introduced as a cute schoolgirl character but ends up being revealed to be the game’s red emperor villain seeking conquest and shattering the peace. The latter is the game’s reveal, the big twist.

Edelgard tries to present herself as more of a normal girl despite her being the heir to the empire, her red flag in the opening being that she seems to be judging Byleth like one would a piece of fruit. Playing her route sees her revealing things about her past, but we can see cracks in that facade.

The Flame Emperor is Edelgard, and we’re told that her words are meaningless. The cute schoolgirl is just a persona Edelgard adopted as part of her goals, not the other way around. It’s like the whole debate over pirate ghosts over ghost pirates.

The localization messes with that. It makes Edelgard harsher initially, which causes her cutesier moments to stand out more. It flaps her gap moe. At the same time, it makes her being the Flame Emperor less of a shock due to that harsher personality. However, this leads into how it tones down Edelgard being a deceptive character, removing mentions of her doing whatever it took to try and get Byleth on her side, employing propaganda and her pulling the strings of TWSITD to name a few. It buys into the idea that if Byleth supports her, she remains herself rather than becoming the Flame Emperor.

But, really, when you consider what her creators said gave her depth the localization seems intent on erasing that. It’s not that Edelgard becomes a tyrant without Byleth to keep her reigned in, the Flame Emperor is a major reveal of Edelgard’s actual character. Jeralt had already called out her words as meaningless, and now you have the Eagles realizing she has been using them this whole time. Likewise, for all the localization wants to downplay Edelgard being a liar her story still has a bunch of holes in it, she is still given the title of Lady of Deceit because the story drills this into your head before the final battles happen. And going hand in hand with that is how she uses people and tosses them away when they have nothing left to offer her, which should be a major red flag considering the system Edelgard wants to make. All of this is present in her right from the beginning of the game, it’s why she hired bandits with orders to kill her classmates, all of it hidden behind the mask of the student we are introduced to.

Instead, the localization wants to put her in line with the lords she was meant to be a foil for. That like them, the player can get through to her and make her a better leader. She seemingly abandons the ideology she espouses in AM, making her power of teamwork speech sound more legit. We have her paralogue talking about how she’ll get along with Almyra while erasing Caspar’s endings confirming she begins marching her troops into other nations to match Claude and Dimitri working on improving foreign relations. Her mention of military rule/hadou is removed from her S support, and they throw in lines about her promoting freedom. They add to this by removing the reveal she consolidated power on herself, while calling Rhea a tyrant after they mischaracterized her. All the bad things Edelgard does in the other routes is because she lost herself to her cause, and she wasn’t manipulating TWSITD. They were manipulating her before she had them killed after the war.

In doing so, they want to keep her as the character we are introduced to early on, downplaying the big reveal and altering the message of her route. In essence, they remove her depth. She isn’t the big bad conqueror she was meant to be, she’s just the cute schoolgirl from White Clouds grown up.

The actual song, since this post wasn’t korny enough.

[mimikyuno]

no but the more i think about it the more i realize how fundamentally different mizu5 was from ANYTHING ELSE in the and i think it’s no coincidence that it was the FIRST event to happen right after the 4th anni event

first of, the visual storytelling had such a different vibe compared to previous events. just look at this scene: the flashbacks, the zooming in, the camera movements, the heartbeat etc. also they zoomed in on mizuki’s 2D model during the confrontation in the corridor, and for the first time a character’s 2D model turned their head to the audience. the most obvious novelty was however the pop up warning before reading ch 8, and mizuki’s subsequent disappearance from the “real world”, the sparkle disappearing, her having new voicelines, and her chibi now isn’t smiling anymore.

the way this event affects the actual game is in my opinion mind blowing – when mafuyu was struggling with masking and was going through it, her chibi was always smiling no matter where we were in the story. but more on this in a second.

in my opinion, even the song and cards feel different somehow, tho i cant rly put my finger on it tbh!! i think the song feels different bc like the actors were allowed even more freedom to sing completely in character? and the lyrics are linked to the story more directly than bf imo! though in all fairness, this might be my recency bias and forgetting being mindblown by how well certain producers captured the story (theater….)

but yeah i genuinely do not think it is a coincidence that all of these new storytelling gimmicks are introduced in the first event after 4th anni. i genuinely think mizuki’s event might mark a new era when it comes to prsk event, with more dynamic storytelling and affecting the real world that the kids inhabit. and i think mizuki5 was the PERFECT event to kickstart this as it was A. long due and B. it’s key relevance in niigo’s story.

and all this got me thinking about how in niigo’s story, mafuyu was the central catalyst – she’s the reason they all meet irl for the first time, her suffering brings them all closer together, and by helping her, the other girls also get character development; mizuki understands that running away was her salvation, but also that it is not the final solution, and finds the resolution to come out (sobsob), kanade finds purpose in “saving” mafuyu, but also now that mafuyu is healing at her place, she’s starting to be able to think of herself, while ena slowly learns to get over her insecurities (she felt threatened by mafuyu bc she was so talented and ena felt so worthless, and getting over her complex helps gain courage and confidence). however, after mizu5, mizuki becomes the “protagonist” (allow me the term) of niigo. and im wondering if this is how the devs will keep the story running even as the kids grow up. i wonder if at some points we’ll get a new game-breaking event that switches the main focus in niigo in a couple of years. i wonder if some characters that are given a bit less backstory in other units will get a similar treatment… also i rly want to see all these kids go to uni 😭

in other words, i wonder if this is just a new era in the storytelling and gameplay of prsk!! bc i genuinely cant see the game ending any time soon, as it’s still so very popular and getting even more popular if that is possible (and like, mizu5 actually brought in lots of new players!). also, ngl it would be a bit weird if mizuki were the only character, out of a cast of 20, to get this treatment (tho she deserves it uwu)

and idk im just very excited to see how the storytelling and gameplay related to the stories evolve from here on!

[willothewispwisteriadawn]

Do you think there was a plan for Josh and Sam to have a romance in Until Dawn? I feel like it was implied that they at least have feelings for each other by Josh's "joke" about helping Sam with the bath/specific mention of her being there and Sam's comment at the end of the game, but if so i wonder why they didn't give more lore or moments between them. I mean the big obvious reason is that Josh was playing his elaborate prank on the others and he was obviously not in a good mental state and just lost his sisters and would be gone the majority of the game. But idk i just wish we could have had more knowledge about them or scenes with them. Josh gives the vibe that he talks more game than he has. I believe when he truly likes someone he is quite smitten and sometimes surprises himself with the things he may blurt out. Honestly, i don't think Sam didn't want to "take advantage" of Josh considering the events going on so she was being very careful and considering her feelings but this traumatic event was bringing them together *cough what Josh said Chris and Ash needed* so it was getting hard to deny those feelings.

Oh I like this question! I’ve mentioned it before, but Josh x Sam is my favorite ship.

I don’t think there’s much evidence they were originally intended to be a couple or that the devs see it that way. Even so, I definitely got the impression that Josh cared for Sam more deeply than anyone but Chris. His stats show that Sam is 3-way tied for second with Ashley and Jess, and Sam’s have most people equal (Mike and Jess are lower), but there’s a lot of lore connecting Josh and Sam.

Josh comes across as kind of girl-crazy to me, because of his comments towards Sam, Jess, and Ashley. But there are several things that jumped out to me about him and Sam:

There’s dialogue where Josh tells Sam that he’s happy everyone could make it to the lodge. Then he emphasizes the fact that he’s happy Sam could make it.

Sam says in her interviews that Josh had told her that he felt a special bond with her. Josh had claimed that Sam understood him more than anyone and that they had a connection.

Josh talks a ton about finding her pretty. Again, he does this to other girls, but there’s quite a lot of it during Sam’s psycho chase.

There are some little gestures and statements the characters make that I find sweet too. If Sam is nervous to explore the sound in the basement by herself, she’ll hold onto Josh’s arm when they look together. When Josh and Sam get chased by Chris in the monk costume, Josh will hold out his arm to prevent “the masked monk” from getting to Sam. Sam, if she finds the psycho lair, can tell Josh she thinks he’s crying for help which is very empathetic and caring, considering what he put her through.

Finally, I did write an analysis for Reddit at some point, just unpacking Josh’s motives, and I did find it interesting to reflect on Josh showing Sam the tape of him dying, particularly because (as you also noted) he admits/hints a few times that his prank has been intended to bring people closer, and the game gives a lot of indicators that it was meant to be psychological manipulation.

Josh is deeply disturbed, obviously, and it’s not always clear what his exact logic is— but I do get the sense/headcanon that he genuinely wanted to see what Sam and Chris would do in situations involving his death. His dialogue towards Chris while he’s “dying” is very much “we’re still friends, right?” and he’s legitimately pissed later if Chris chooses Ashley.

Josh: Bro! Bro, we've been through so much, come on... I don't wanna go out like this...!

Josh: I know... I know we haven't been the best of friends lately... and I've been kinda messed up and everything... but I'm getting better, man... I swear!

Josh: I thought we were FRIENDS man! I thought we were FRIENDS why would you DO THIS!?

Josh: NO! OH GOD WHAT DID I DO!??

I mean, this can be read a few ways, certainly. Josh is definitely trying to terrify and mess with Chris, and the last line could also be fake-directed at the psycho. But some of this dialogue sounds like it has a grain of truth in it. Josh may be safe, and he does want Ashley to ultimately think Chris saved her, but he is genuinely learning whom his best friend loves more and truly does have to make sense of why Chris doesn’t choose him, if that’s the case.

Now, with this context, I feel like he plays a similar game with Sam. He, as the psycho, asks Sam how she feels about seeing Josh die.

Sam turns back around to see Josh getting cut in half.

Sam: Josh!

Psycho: How does it make you feel?

I sense there’s a level of dark curiosity Josh has with Sam and Chris. And my interpretation here tracks with how I view their relationships. I believe he cares about what Sam and Chris think. He wants the whole group, particularly the couples (DOUBLE particularly to Chris and Ashley), to get closer. But when he goes about attempting this bonding for himself— it’s most clear that he might be trying to do so with Sam and Chris.

All this said, I do think there’s less canonically indicating that Sam has quite the same level of feelings for Josh. Sam is very independent while also being something of a “Team Mom.” I think she’s known Josh a long time due to her friendship with Hannah, and it’s evident that she spent a lot of time talking to him after the twins vanished. Josh just has a bit more indicating he loves Sam as more than friends than vice versa.

So uh TL;DR—

I think it makes a lot of sense that Josh has a crush on Sam. It’s unconfirmed, but there are many things that caught my eye and made me interpret that. The reading that feels the most accurate is that it’s a bit one-sided, because it feels stronger on Josh’s end. That said, Josh and Sam as a ship fascinates me and has SO MUCH GOOD about it given their defined history. Also, the conversations they can have feel less superficial than how most of the couples talk. I like it a lot.

[sissytobitch10seconds]

Little Bird's Song

Fandom: Some Assembly Required Summary: With a romantic rival walking around Knickknack, Piper has been a lot angrier than she usually is. She spends a bit of time introspecting into herself and realizes a lot of ground shaking, world breaking things about herself. Warnings: Internalized transphobia, comphet, and general idiocy Word Count: 3,658 Ship(s): Piper Gray/Robin (SAR)

Archive link!

Piper could never remember being this angry before.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Nowadays it felt like her default emotion had turned into anger rather than the ever-present despair that she had been wallowing in before. She had moments of sadness and joy, as well as fear given how often their company ended up being in some kind of mortal jeopardy, but she was just angry all the time.

Her brain was almost always swirling with thoughts that she didn’t really understand and that was a lot more exhausting than she had thought that it would be. She had been starting to question why everyone was asking her about her gender and thinking that she was a boy when she had always dressed femininely with makeup, and why it always made her heart pound so hard. Those thoughts combined with her obsession with Jarvis were beginning to come to a point in her mind and it made her lash out reflexively.

What wasn’t helping matters in the slightest was the presence of AlphaDog in the office. Piper had originally been so excited when the other girl had come, mostly because they both had died hair and dressed the same way, but also because they played the same game and it gave her someone other than Bowie to talk to about it. Bowie was pretty preoccupied trying to get Aster to put the game down so that he could focus on real clothing instead of virtual clothing.

Things had started to go downhill not long after that. Robin was cute and funny and smart and so very talented when it came to video games. She had been the top player in their game for a reason, it showed whenever a control or a mouse and keyboard were placed into her hands. Piper liked to think that she was good when it came to coding and figuring out how tech worked, even if she didn’t necessarily understand how the back end worked and couldn’t hack worth a damn, but Robin was so much better. She was able to find the loopholes and exploit them to their fullest extent both in online games and in person technology. She had found the override on their rollercoaster in a matter of seconds and got it to go way faster than was probably safe, but fast enough that it was finally newly exhilarating after them using it to get to different levels of the building for the last year or so.

“Jarvis! I want to think about Jarvis!” Piper reminded herself as she threw her arms up in the air in exasperation. She had come up to the roof so that she could be alone, despite the shuffling in the shed off to the corner. She needed to be alone so that she could sort through all of her messy thoughts and become more of a person than she had become.

Robin was good at video games, but that wasn’t something that came with natural talent. A lot of games had a very steep learning curve that required someone to put dozens of hours into them, and that meant that the other girl simply had more time to do that with. Piper was allowed some amount of gaming time when she was on the clock so that she could figure out what might be the best games for Knickknack to put out, but she also had to untangle messy code for their website and manage the whole dev team on top of going to high school. Robin wasn’t better than her, she simply had more time on her hands.

Thinking that didn’t make her feel any better, though.

Piper walked over to the couch made out of turf and then flopped down onto it. She reached down and unhooked the back of her heel from her foot so that she was free. She may have been insanely jealous of the other girl, but Robin had the right thought when it came to footwear. She had always gone with heels because they were the most feminine and that gave her something else to point to when it came to correcting people when they insisted that she was a boy. She didn’t understand why they did that, it upset her so much that she only wanted to scream and curse and throw a fit like a toddler might.

Robin had never done that though, she had always accepted Piper at face value and corrected herself when she said something wrong that made the other girl uncomfortable. That was something that Piper wasn’t used to in the slightest even though she really wished that she could be.

The thing that made her angriest in the current moment was how perfect and wonderful Robin was, and how much Jarvis seemed to like that. Piper had always been worried that her flaws caused problems with her ability to make friends with the other employees at Knickknack, especially with the way that Aster was always pointing them out and making a big deal out of them. It felt like a confirmation that her near-perfectness and all the flaws that came with getting it down from perfect had caused all the problems that she was currently fighting with. If she was perfect then Jarvis would love her the way that he loved Robin, if she was perfect then people wouldn’t constantly call her a boy and refuse to accept that she was a girl, if she was perfect then Robin would keep her eyes on Piper instead of looking towards every other boy in the building other than Bowie.

Horror dripped through her very veins and washed out the red hot rage that had been consuming her when the realization finally struck her mind. It felt like someone had placed a cattle prod on her spine and drove her to sit up with it, making her entire body go rigid.

She sat up from where she had been laying on the couch and placed a hand on her cheek to see if it was hot. She had stopped wearing foundation a long time ago when she thought that her freckles would make her more noticeable in terms of being unique and alt, which allowed her to feel the heat in her face far easier than it would have been if she were caked in makeup like she used to be.

She had always looked up to Robin since the other girl had been so talented before they had met. Piper had used her as a high bar, the goal that she wanted to achieve before she finally decided that she was good enough at playing video games to endeavor upon another hobby. She thought that she had lost those feelings when she had officially met Robin, seeing the other girl in person had confirmed just how perfect and wonderful she actually was. Those kinds of things made her insanely jealous when they were done by any other person, so it made logical sense to her that the same would be true with Robin. She hated people that were better than her at one thing and Robin was better than her at everything.

At the same time, though, whenever she thought of the other girl her heart squeezed dramatically in her chest. She had thought that feeling was due to the jealousy she had over Jarvis and his attentions. It seemed like the CEO could only look at other girls, like he as incapable of turning his head towards Piper and seeing the love and adoration that she had for him. Of course, she knew that she wasn’t helping matters by fumbling over her words and making herself look like a complete joke whenever she tried to confess to him.

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” Piper mumbled to herself. She sat up on the couch and then leaned back so that her head was resting on the back, staring up at the bright blue sky. She had a lot of feelings and thoughts she needed to sort through, and she knew that if she was lying down on the couch she would get a mouthful of turf while squirming back and forth.

She had thought that she was in love with Jarvis for a very long time, since they were both in high school together. She had seen him every day when they were in gym class together, seen the way that his muscles rippled when he played sports with the other boys or how he roughhoused with them during lunch. She had seen the way that his shirt and jeans hung off of his body when he was trying not to fall asleep in class and it always made her feel such intense, strong emotions that she didn’t quite know how to name.

Robin, on the other hand, made her feel safe and secure. She liked when she was around the other girl without Jarvis being present.

Piper took a deep breath and tried to get all of her thoughts to align themselves in her head so that she didn’t feel totally and utterly overwhelmed by them. Her feelings for Robin were really complicated, as was the way that she was beginning to feel about Jarvis.

She didn’t know exactly when she had noticed it, but the boy that she had always been so fond of was actually quite cruel to those around him. She knew that Bowie wasn’t exactly everyone’s cup of tea, but that didn’t mean that Jarvis had to be constantly reminding the other boy of that. Jarvis was also almost entirely obsessed with himself and how he looked, that was why he had hired the rest of the staff when they had the mixup with that fast food place in the beginning of the company. He talked about himself almost constantly and while Piper could understand being proud of one’s body when they looked like that, it didn’t necessarily make for a good romantic partner.

The longer that she thought about how she felt around Jarvis versus how she felt around Robin, the more she realized that she wasn’t so much attracted to Jarvis as she was aggressively jealous of him.

She was used to feelings of jealousy, she got them almost every time someone got a higher test score than her or when someone else took the spotlight for something that she had done. She had never confused them for a crush before, but it made sense now why she had been totally and utterly obsessed with beating Jarvis in all of the classes that they had shared. He had occupied her mind because she wanted to be him, not because she wanted to be with him.

It also explained why it had been so hard for her to act normal about having a crush on him when she had never had that problem before. She had been forcing those emotions as an attempt to explain why she felt such strong jealousy for him over things that she never had before. She was jealous of the way he looked, which was strange because she had always been so confident and happy with how she dressed and her style overall.

Piper worried her lip between her teeth as she began to contemplate if she preferred the way that Jarvis dressed compared to the awkward alt style that she had chosen for herself. She supposed it could be true, but it still felt awkward to roll around in her mind.

Another chill went down her spine as she finally realized something monumental and confusing. She was going to have to think about that a lot more before she decided anything entirely, it was a big change in her life.

Suddenly it felt a lot easier to think about Robin and the weird mix of emotions that she had for the other girl. Doing anything to get her attention had seemed like such a good idea when Piper had thought that she was a boy. She knew that people could like other individuals of the same sex, she was best friends with Aster- for better or for worse- and he was dating both Bowie and Knox. She just hadn’t ever considered that as a possibility for her.

Piper felt something weird burst inside of her when she realized that she was jealous of Robin interacting with Jarvis not because she was in love with Jarvis, but because she was in love with Robin.

She was both giddy with excitement about knowing that she had a crush on someone and terrified about what the implications of this could mean from her. She knew that she wasn’t living in a time where being queer wasn’t allowed, she was in the modern era where people could be bigoted but being queer was usually protected by law. Her parents were generally understanding and kind people, so they would understand her to an extent. She just worried that people would start looking at her or thinking about her differently. If she liked girls and had masculine features, then she might as well have been a boy in their eyes.

That idea didn’t sit as strangely in her stomach as she thought that it would have.

---

Robin hummed gently to herself as she walked up from the lower floors of Knickknack to where the personal offices were. She had been coming there more and more often as of late, so that she could talk to the person that had killed her character in their shared favorite game. She was good enough to have won an award, but it was rare that she found someone that was just as passionate about it as she was and she liked Piper’s company.

Jarvis was a fun bonus, she liked having him around and getting to yank his chain. The boy was focused in on himself enough that he didn’t always get the jokes that she was making and she thought that was objectively very funny. She never drove it all the way home by mocking or laughing at him, but she enjoyed the comedy of his responses not making any sense to her given their different tracks of thought.

Things had been getting a little tense since a few days ago when she had mentioned maybe wanting to take Jarvis to the movies. There was a new sports biopic out that she wanted a jock’s perspective on so that she could make fun of it for the right reasons and he seemed perfect. Bowie and Aster had been all for her doing it while Knox had been shocked an offended that she hadn’t thought of him, despite the fact that he was going with his boyfriends, so she had brought it up to Piper.

That was when things started to really go downhill. The other girl had clammed up in the most bizarre way and began to babble around the subject like she was having some kind of fit. Robin hadn’t been able to figure out what she was saying in the slightest or why she would be so upset about it all. She had excused herself and continued on about her day, working with the dev team so that they could do a collaboration together with her.

Things hadn’t really gone back to normal after that. Piper had been avoiding her by bringing up some really weird excuses that didn’t make a lot of sense, and it was beginning to worry her. She had long since learned that it was hard enough being a feminine woman in male dominated spaces, let alone a woman that as interested in other women. She had learned to keep that factoid about herself private, being bisexual was only a part of herself that she shared with someone that she was romantically interested in. She didn’t think that Piper would have picked up on that and she certainly didn’t think that another person that dressed in the alt style would be repulsed or put off by something as small as a sexuality that deviated slightly from the norm. Despite that, Piper had been avoiding her like the plague and it was beginning to make her think that the other girl wasn’t as liberal and open minded as she had presented herself to be.

Robin peaked around the corner of the stairwell and saw that Piper was sitting at her desk. She caught eyes with Aster and then jerked her head to the side so that the other teenager could pick up what she was putting down. “I think that we should finish this meeting on the roof! It’ll give us some more inspiration,” Aster then declared loudly. He reached down and took Bowie’s hand, yanking him up into a standing position and practically dragging him from the room. None of the other employees were up there, Knox and Geneva were somewhere with Jarvis and the cleaning lady who wore the fat suit.

That meant that it was only Robin and Piper.

She took a deep breath to steal her nerves and then walked over to the other girl. She cold feel the sweat beginning to pool in the palms of her hands and her stomach flipping with anxiety. It had been a long time since she had felt like this when she was about to confess her feelings for someone, it was the main reason that she had started to wear the dog mask when she was out and about or why she simply dated online.

“Piper? Do you think that the two of us can talk?” Robin asked, ignoring her own feelings for the simple matter at hand. She would never forgive herself if they didn’t actually work through the barrier that had popped up between the two of them.

“No! I have a meeting! On the roof!” Piper said as she gestured over towards Aster’s now empty desk. She began to collect a random assortment of things including a broken Rubik’s cube, a ball of twine, three pencils, and her tablet.

“I think that the meeting on the roof was actually code for them wanting to make out,” Robin replied. She grabbed a chair from another one of the desks and then sat down so that she was on the short end closest to Piper. “Just sit down and talk to me, please.”

Piper whimpered, she actually whimpered, as she slid back down into the chair and dumped her things out on her desk. “What did you want to talk to me about, Robin?”

“Why have you been acting so weird around me recently? I can’t think of anything that I did that would make you feel so uncomfortable that you would have to make loud and obviously fake excuses just to get out of being in the same room as me. I… The only thing that I can think of is that something slipped and you found out that I have a crush on you, but I didn’t think that you would be the type of person that would freak out about that!” Robin let the words fall out of her mouth all at once, without even thinking about what she was saying. She had meant to string something coherent together so that they could have a real, actual conversation, but nothing had gone right for her since she had come to Knickknack.

“I just found out that I’m a boy.”

The silence before and after that was spoken was almost deafening. Robin could hear the beating of her heart up in her ears and the shaking of her hands as they rested down on top of her knees. She blinked once, twice, before it finally registered what Piper had just said. “You’re trans?”

“I guess so. I’ve done a lot of research on it, looked up a lot of articles and watched a lot of videos of trans men talking about their experiences. I’ve alway felt kind of weird about people calling me a boy, but it was an emotion that I skipped over right before I went to anger. I guess that was because I wanted to be a boy so badly that it made me angry when everyone thought that I was even though I had been born a girl,” Piper said. “I don’t want to lead you on and make you think that you have a crush on someone that wasn’t who you originally thought that they were.”

“I’m bi,” Robin replied, trying to make it casual. She could hear just how hard she was leaning into that alleged casualness to try and drive the point home for the other teenager, though, so it ended up coming off like she was a try-hard.

“Oh,” Piper replied. “I think I want to use the name Pipes for now, gender neutral while I figure some shit out.”

“Right,” Robin nodded. She stuck her hand out towards the boy and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Pipes. My name is Robin. I’m bisexual and I have a massive crush on you, regardless of what gender you are or what you look like.”

Pipes took her hand and gave it a firm shake. A pink blush had taken over his cheeks, making the freckles speckled over his nose pop something fierce. “It’s nice to meet you too, Robin. Do you think that we could go to the movies together instead of you and Jarvis?”

“I would like that a lot. Though I think we should pick something else, neither of us are very into sports,” she laughed. The confessions had brought something else with them, a sense of ease that they hadn’t had since Robin had stepped foot into the building and laid eyes on the boy that had managed to kill her character. She was very happy that it had gone and was excited to get to know the person that had been hiding underneath that uncracked shell.

[terraxcloud]

A Few Many Things...

There are 5 or more timelines, and it's not worth counting them anymore.

Biggs dies in one (the middle) but Zack at the church immediately talks about him being alive (this is the Zack that meets Cloud in the final battle I believe). The first image is the last Aerith date and the Stamp bag is to the left. Johnny appears with a plushie of a dog to show it's a different timeline instead of using a bag.

The reason it's not worth counting them is due to what Sephiroth says:

In this scene the FF9 Terra/Gaia "two planets becoming one" thing is shown again.

They represent the timelines as worlds, but what they're showing is an FF9 thing involving actual planets. I'll look at DFFOO Act 4 Chapters 4 & 8 again to see what's up there. Of course, they wouldn't say it's planets because of the implications, but that's not to say these timelines aren't coming together...they just need a reason since most people just think the devs are changing things just to change them. Gilgamesh has already appeared in this game from his own rift anyway.

After the Temple of the Ancients, Aerith and Tifa aren't able to stop Cloud from giving the Black Materia to Sephiroth. The date scenes between Aerith and Cloud are more than likely for Yuffie than Terra, especially since we have no idea of Terra other than the main theme lyrics.

The descriptions Cloud gives about what he prefers and how he acts matches what they show of Yuffie's interests (chocobos, getting paid for jobs or acting like a merc, smiling, seeing Red XIII as a dog, staring at Cloud, the poses for the photo with Aerith, being pissed off, etc.

This isn't saying that Terra is supposed to be like this. Yuffie was always a reflection of "real Cloud", however, both Terra and Yuffie are similar to him (the whole "siblings" dynamic). It could be that the Terra we got in other games isn't the same as the one when FF6 was being developed before the main character vanished (Kefka may have sucked her personality away).

The thing that makes Cloud "regain himself" is remembering the flower Aerith gave him in the beginning of Remake.

I don't know if Aerith will find the "real Cloud" herself. Tifa represents that part, but it's clear they're changing things with her. Obviously, they're going to use the "dream" this time around, which is what Aerith represents (she already has a shared dream with Zack), not Tifa. They also put a small shooting star bit with Aerith instead of Tifa, but if Aerith's technically dead the only character that can do these things is Yuffie.

The dialog Yuffie gives immediately gives after Cloud wakes up before the Lost Capital is the hint. It couldn't be encapsulated in a small scene, so they just left Yuffie out of it. If she's not going to do anything, why would she say it immediately?

Another hint was after the Demon Gate boss when Cloud starts banging his sword on the wall to break through. The two characters they show reacting to him are Barret and Yuffie, but the camera goes towards Yuffie in particular. Before this Yuffie was shadow boxing with Barret, which is what she does with Cloud at the end of her date scene (it also happens with Barret after leaving the Mansion at Nibelheim before the final Roche boss fight).

I believe Red XIII represents the change Cloud has personality-wise ("you don't always have to play the badass") while Barret represents the anger he feels at Sephiroth. Having Yuffie shadow box Barret for fun while Cloud is going crazy for the Black Materia shows that Yuffie will have a big role in preventing Cloud from doing this in the 3rd game.

The Corel sidequest with Cloud Jr. shows Barret's change to being "softer" as he explains that he was always hard on others and going after everything that ticked him off, making others suffer in the process. It makes sense why they show him and Yuffie reacting.

The other sidequests that show this "anger" issue are the Chocobo Billy ones with Yuffie in Nibelheim and the last one at the Gold Saucer with Tifa. The Yuffie one is more about the anger issue while the Tifa one is more about learning what happened in the past.

If you think about it, the only thing Cloud doesn't "remember" is being a normal Shinra foot-soldier, the one with motion-sickness (maybe the memory of him defeating Sephiroth from Remake is gone due to the whispers? He does react to the tubes in the Shina Mansion a bit).

The dialog Yuffie has about Chocobos are also noteworthy (since if we go by the symbols, Yuffie is the Moogle and Cloud is the Chocobo).

Btw, these two scenes are kinda similar:

Another "Yuffie represents the Moogle" hint is made at the Gold Saucer intro. Cait Sith summons a Cactuar, a Tonberry, and a Chocobo, but what about the Moogle? It's Yuffie since the moogle is on her pop star outfit. These four on the orphanage chalkboard in Remake. With the characters we've seen so far it may be like this:

Cactuar - Zack Tonberry - Sephiroth Chocobo - Cloud Moogle - Yuffie

The Tonberry King boss battle has MAI dialog that sounds similar to Sephiroth's dialog when he goes insane in the mansion basement. It's kinda fitting that this is a Yuffie sidequest and you need to steal his crown.

The Cactuar thing is Zack due to the "pose" which Cloud, Yuffie, and Red XIII also do in the last proto-relic quest. People know that's something Zack has done.

Every sidequest has it's own meaning. The one similar to Cloud's Dissidia story is the Barret one in Gongaga with the weaponsmith.

[loverrofmineee]

The Parting Glass - Robert "Rosie" Rosenthal x OC

AO3 | Summary | Previous Chapter

A/N: I just wanted to do a quick little mention before the chapter. As seen from the title, there's a bit of Irish culture/music embedded in this part. I highly recommend looking into all the phrases and songs mentioned, as it really sets the tone for each scene. If anyone is interested I can post a few links to songs and things that inspired me while writing this!

Chapter 5- Sláinte

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Time on the base seemed to speed up, or at least that was Sorcha’s point of view. Ever since the letter from her brother, she had been counting down the days until she’d be in London. Thankfully her trip coincided with the Regensburg-Schweinfurt mission, which had taken weeks of planning and extra hours in the tower. By the time the day came, Sorcha was a mixture of exhaustion and delight, nearly skipping as she made her way to the tower. 

“No need to ask how you’re feeling, Devs.” Anika noticed her friend's mood instantly, a smile gracing her face. “I gather you’re excited about ditching us for a few days.”

“You sound like Shiv,” Sorcha chuckled, her words earning protests from the aforementioned girl, “But yes, I’m excited to see Cormack. I haven’t seen the kid in forever, so it’ll be nice to catch up in person finally.”

“So we’re just gonna gloss over the fact that Devs didn’t deny being glad to ditch us?” Shiv teased, hoping to get a rise out of her friend.

Shiv’s teasing worked, causing Sorcha to scoff and defend herself, “I never said I was happy to be leaving you all. Just happy to see Cormack… and maybe leave the base.”

“Oh, Shiv’s just jealous, Devs.” Aileen said as the rest of the girls formed a circle around Sorcha, planning to press her on any details, “Maybe we should all have brothers over here.”

“I don’t know if I’d recommend that,” Lilibet spoke, her words laced with an undertone of seriousness, “Tell Cormack I say hi. I miss the kid.”

“You know, sometimes I think you like him more than me. And you’ve only met him once!” Sorcha said with mock offense 

“When do you head out?” Aileen 

“Around eleven,” Sorcha sighed, “do you think they’d delay me due to the fog?”

Lilibet rushed to Sorcha’s side to comfort the girl, “of course not. All our work is done here, it’s just up to the brass to decide when they’re allowed to go. It better be soon though.”

A small smile fell upon Sorcha’s lips at Lil's words. Ever the mother of the group, she would go to great lengths to make each girl feel secure. “I wish you all could join me. God knows that I’ll be surrounded by men.” 

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Shiv teased, a suggestive smirk on her face.”

“I swear, if you start another conversation about me finding a man, I will lose it on you.” 

Shiv raised her hands in mock surrender, “All I’m saying is that there’s nothing wrong with finding a London boy to spend the evening with.” 

Lilibet and Sorcha threw whatever was closest to them at Shiv. Earning a pencil and ball of paper to the face. Laughter enveloped the girls at the oldest two’s behavior since they were supposed to be role models for the others. 

“Really though.” Anika spoke up once the laughter had died down, “There’s nothing wrong with putting yourself out there.” 

“We get it, you’re in love with Benny.” Teased Aileen

“You’re one to talk!” Anika defended, “You and Biddick are always chatting. Who knows what you’re whispering to each other.” 

Aileens face suddenly became flushed, confirming the other girl's thoughts about the couple. “Curt’s a good lad.” 

“Oh, we’re sure he is.” 

“Piss off Shiv!” 

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Sorcha’s train ride to London was a pleasant one, as it gave her time to collect herself and actually process the past weeks. The fast-paced nature of Thorpe Abbotts gave little time to comprehend what occurred week-to-week, something Sorcha was partly grateful for. She wasn’t a woman who enjoyed stewing in the past, opting to keep quiet during the many nights she and her friends would swap secrets and stories about their lives before the war. The girls knew a decent amount about Sorcha’s life in New York, but mainly the happy memories. Most of those memories had Cormack woven into them since the two had been best friends since they could remember. 

Tears started to form at the creases of Sorcha’s eyes as she got closer to the station, a mixture of joy and sorrow. She was more than overjoyed to see her brother, but deep down she knew he’d be a different person when she saw him. His letters had detailed various aspects of missions, but true to his personality, Cormack would end each with a positive note, saying everything was fine. Sorcha did her best to believe him each time, but not so secretly worried for him. 

Before she knew it, Sorcha had arrived in London. She quickly wiped her tears away as she gathered her belongings, stepping off the train and onto the platform. Her eyes darted around the bustling platform, looking for her brother, as he had promised to meet her when she arrived. 

“Sorcha!” A voice called down the platform. Sorcha’s eyes immediately set on her brother, rushing to greet him. 

The two siblings enveloped each other in a bone-crushing embrace, Sorcha’s eyes watering once again. After a minute or so they let go of one another, Sorcha’s hands firm on Cormack’s shoulders, “Hold on, let me get a good look at you.”

Cormack let out sounds of protest, stating he was ‘too old’ for her to be doing such things, though he stood still at Sorcha’s demand. Her brother had somehow managed to grow a few more inches during his time in England, now standing at a whopping six feet. His unruly brown curls peeked out underneath his officer's cap, something their mother would protest, stating that he needed a haircut. Cormack’s face seemed more mature, bags under his eyes from the amount of sleepless nights he had. Though a boyish smile was permanently placed on his face, and a smattering of freckles kept him youthful. 

“Are you done examining me?” Cormack chuckled as he pushed his sister's hands off, “You planning on writing a detailed letter to Mom about how I look?”

“Maybe. You know she’d appreciate it. Though I’m not sure she’d appreciate how crazy you’ve let your hair get.”

Cormack subconsciously took his cap off, running a hand through his hair at his sister's words. However, the small action caused his hair to stand up even more, making Sorcha laugh as she attempted to fix it for him. 

“Oh stop it,” Cormack attempted to swat Sorcha’s hands off his head, a fit of giggles escaping the girl. 

“Hey, don’t forget who did your hair for prom.”

“How could I ever forget, since you’ll never let it go.”

Sorcha frowned at her brother's words, though it was quickly replaced with a smile as he grabbed her bags, and started to walk to the car. “So, I know I was pretty vague in my letter,”

“You? Being vague in a letter to me? That’s something new.” Sorcha’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she teased her brother.

“I may cancel all our plans today if you keep acting like this.” Cormack threatened, immediately silencing his sister. “Thank you, now if you’d let me finish. There’s a lecture over at Oxford about politics and that type of shit. Thought you’d wanna go to that, even though it's insanely boring.��

A smile that could rival the sun appeared on Sorcha’s face at her brother’s suggestion, overwhelmed with joy that he took notice of her passions. “I would absolutely love that. And since you’re being so kind, I’ll let you complain as much as you want during it.”

“Oh, that was a given.” Cormack laughed as the two climbed into the car provided to them by the hosts of the conference. The car made its way through London, both siblings putting their conversation on hold to take in the view of the foreign city. Sorcha was practically buzzing in her seat, the chance to explore a new place sent her mind racing. 

Cormack could feel his older sister’s excitement, secretly happy that she was this excited. “Can you possibly, maybe, hopefully not be a total bore during this trip?”

Sorcha turned to her brother with mock offense on her face, “Don’t even start with me, young man. As if you wouldn’t be going crazy if some boring engineering lecture were going on today.”

“Well, one of those things actually pertains to what I do, versus what you do.”

“We’ll agree to disagree.”

“No, you know I’m right!”

The two siblings continued their small argument as they pulled up to the hotel they were staying at. Sorcha shot an apologetic smile at the concierge working the hotel, as her brother was prattling on beside her. Cormack was still continuing to make his point as they grabbed Sorcha’s bags out of the trunk, and kept going until they were in Sorcha’s room. 

“God, if you weren’t a pilot you’d make a damn good lawyer.”

Cormack was unamused by his sister’s words, the look evident on his face, “Once again, you sound like mom. She would always say that to make me keep quiet.”

“I wonder why?” Sorcha’s voice dripped with false sweetness, a smile matching her tone. 

“You know, I think she’s secretly glad we’re both over here. She doesn’t have to deal with constant arguments. I mean half of her letters are all about Caoimhe.”

“Well,” Sorcha turned to her brother as she unpacked, quickly defending their sister, “She is their little baby. Pretty sure she’s dad's favorite.”

The pair burst into laughter at Sorcha’s words, imagining what their family must be like back in New York with only one child to take care of. Neither Sorcha nor Cormack spoke with any malice when discussing their family, as they had always been extremely close. Sorcha felt a sense of calm and normality wash over her as she joked with her brother, feeling as if they were both at home, not miles away from it. 

Once Sorcha had fully unpacked the two made their way to Oxford to attend the lecture. They opted to walk since it was a surprisingly nice day in England, meaning there was no predicted rain for the day. The pair walked in silence as Sorcha took in all the sights, marveling over the architecture of each building. London was absolutely stunning, nearly presenting itself as a city untouched by war. Though as much as Sorcha tried to romanticize her stroll, she couldn’t escape her reality. The siblings passed by a row of houses, only the support beams left. Families were piled on top of the rubble, searching for anything that could be salvaged. Sorcha felt a pull on her heart, wishing more than anything that she could give the families a semblance of comfort. 

“There was an air raid last night,” Cormack noticed his sister’s solemn expression, trying to give her some context, “I know what you’re thinking, but don’t think about it too much, Uan.” 

Sorcha smiled at her brother’s attempt at comforting her, using the pet name their mother gave them. Cormack had never been the emotional type, their father joking that Sorcha somehow took in all his feelings as a form of protection. As the eldest sister Sorcha felt a responsibility to check in on her brother, but Cormack would never let anything on, always stating that everything was fine. In a way, Sorcha tended to believe him, his frequent admissions seeming sincere. 

“How’d you handle it?”

“Same as I always do. Though this time I didn’t have Rubber in my ear saying the flashes remind him of fireworks.”

“Remind me,” Sorcha glanced at Cormack, the  mention of his friend piquing her interest, “Why is he called ‘Rubber’ again?”

Cormack let out a bark of laughter before answering his sister, “The poor bastard's last name is Trojan. And I don’t wanna bring up that topic, but I’m assuming you can make your conclusion there.” 

Sorchas face twisted at her brother’s innuendo, nodding that he was correct in his previous statement. “So, what’s your nickname then? I know all flyboys have one, but please don’t tell me it’s basic. I’ll be truly disappointed if it’s the same as mine.” 

“It’s Crisp.” Cormack stated, taking in his sister's confused expression, “When we first landed over at King's, I climbed out of my plane, and there was an awful burn line from the sun. So one of my buddies tells me I’m burnt to a crisp, and it carried on from there.” 

Sorcha chuckled as she imagined the situation, knowing how badly her brother burnt when exposed to the sun for too long, “that’s pale Irish skin for you.” 

“Mom would be having a field day if she saw how bad it got every mission. But it’s settled down, for now.” 

The Devlin siblings had finally arrived at the grounds of Oxford, both impressed by the structures around them. Cormack spared glances at Sorcha, her face lit up like a kid in a candy store. Sorcha couldn’t help the smile that crept onto her face as they approached the interior of the building, wishing she had all the time in the world to explore. 

Suddenly Sorcha felt Cormack's hands wrap around her shoulders, “You were gonna run into the beam.” Her brother’s words rang true, as inches from Sorcha's face was an intricately carved wooden beam. 

“And you weren’t going to let me run into it for fun?” Sorcha eyed her brother cautiously, “It’s scary how much you’ve matured.” 

“Don’t give me too much credit, I’m sure you’ll take those words back eventually.” The siblings shared a knowing smile at the younger's words, both knowing that Sorcha would take any chance to poke fun at him for acting like a 15-year-old. 

The room where the lecture was being held was filled with various servicemen and women, either from America or Britain. Accents mixed during conversations, both parties attempting to set aside personal differences to agree on the reason for war. Sorcha sat next to a less than enthusiastic Cormack, the latter opting to keep quiet around the light chatter around him. 

“I know you hate sincerity,” Cormack groaned at his sister's words as she spoke, “but I genuinely appreciate you doing this for me. I know it’s not your interest whatsoever.” 

“Oh, fuck off.” The younger Delvin swatted his arm as if trying to dissipate the words from the air. His response was true to his personality, eliciting a sigh from Sorcha. 

The lecture was exceptionally informative to Sorcha, the woman hanging on the speaker's every word. True to her brother's words, this was her ‘shit’. Admittedly, Cormack was well-behaved during the hour and a half they were sat in the hall, only making a few snide comments, more so poking fun at the lecturer himself. 

“Could the man talk any slower?” Cormack groaned as they left the room. “I swear I thought I was gonna die in that room. I’d have been talked to death.” 

“If anyone is guilty of talking someone to death, it’s you.” 

“I swear if you make the lawyer comment again-“ 

“I wasn’t!” Sorcha raised her arms in defense, “but you do talk a lot.” 

“Keep this up and we’re not going out tonight.” 

Sorcha perked up at her brother's statement, her interest being piqued once again. “You never said we were going out?” 

“You never let me explain myself,” Cormack sighed, “I met a few guys last night, from the conference, and we found a nice pub nearby. Told them we should go again if you’re up to it.” 

Sorcha feigned offense at her brother's words, “When am I ever not ‘up to it’?” 

“M’not sure if you’ve managed to change since being over here. God knows the number of times I got a call from Colleen begging me to pick you two up from Rory’s” 

“It wasn’t that many times,” Sorcha reasoned in an attempt to defend her past actions, “Colleen was just dramatic.” 

Cormack leveled a challenging look at his sister, “Was it dramatic when I picked you both up drunk out of your minds next to the Deegan?” 

“We were almost home!” Sorcha defended, “It was basically 5 blocks from our apartment. You complain but we all knew you had a crush on Colleen.” 

“Fuck off.” Cormacks face turned beet red at his sister's teasing, confirming her previous comment.

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

A set of pounding knocks were heard at Sorcha’s door, signaling that her brother was on the other side. She let out a small sigh as she made her way over, opening it to see Cormack's exasperated face. “Could you take any longer?” 

“I made you wait for a whole minute! God, you're impatient.” 

“It’s what makes me a good pilot.” Cormack grinned with pride, “Anyways, I’ve got the boys waiting down in the lobby, just waiting on you.” 

Sorcha quickly pulled on her shoes and exited her room, Cormack on her heels. “So who are these guys?” 

“A few RAF guys I met yesterday. They’re good guys, just so long as we don’t discuss anything about American bombers.” 

Sorcha nodded her head in understanding, having borne witness to many arguments between Brits and Americans, each defending their positions with fierce loyalty. “So no work talk for me then? Sounds perfect.” 

A brief chuckle fell from Cormack's mouth at his sister's words. The two continued to chat as they made their way down to the lobby. Three airmen were circled in a group, all in dress uniform. “Hey, lads!” Cormack's voice grabbed the attention of the men, each letting out a brief greeting and waving at the siblings. 

“Sorcha,” Cormack started as he led his sister to the group, “this is John, Percy, and Douglas.” 

The men each shook Sorcha’s hand, British accents slipping through in their ‘hi’s’ and ‘hellos’. Sorcha found an opportunity to eye each man as Cormack caught up with them. John was the tallest of the three, with neat black hair poking out of his cap. His face was sharp, making Sorcha assume that his personality was the same. Percy was the youngest of the group, blond ringlets that were poorly gelled down stuck up, looking as if they were trying to escape from the boy they were attached to. Douglas was the most striking of the trio, at least to Sorcha. He had a certain authority about him, though it wasn’t intimidating, more so inviting. The cap that sat on his head was somewhat askew, giving Sorcha a peek of his half-curly brown hair. A pair of green eyes belonging to Douglas met Sorchas, causing the girl to blush. 

“So, are we ready to head out?” Cormack's voice snapped Sorcha out of her current state. She let out a curt nod as the group took to the streets of London. Cormack walked ahead alongside John and Percy, meaning that Sorcha and Douglas fell into step with each other. 

“Cormack’s been excited about this all day, you know?” Douglas’s crisp accent broke the silence between the two. “I don’t think I’ve ever met a lad who’s a bigger fan of his sister.” 

“You’re just saying that,” Sorcha dismissed the man’s words with a wave of her hand. 

“I really do mean it. The entire time we were out last night he kept mentioning how much you’d love this place.” 

Sorcha's heart swelled at the man’s words, “he’s a good kid. He was practically my best friend growing up.” 

A fond look appeared on Douglas’s face as Sorcha spoke, “It was the same for me and my older brother Charles. I basically spent my whole childhood chasing after him. He was a true hero to me.” 

“Are you two no longer close?” 

“No,” Douglas sighed, a crestfallen look washed over his features, “He went down in combat during the battle of France. Wasn’t an airman like myself, thought it’d be better to work on the ground. He’s been gone three years now, but God do I miss him every day.” 

Sorcha laid a hand on Douglas’s arm in a feeble attempt to comfort him. Though the two had just met, a certain connection flowed between them, “I’m so sorry, Doug. That- it just must have been awful.” 

“It was, but it’s the reality we’re in. The reason I get back in the air is for him.” 

“I can’t imagine how hard it is,” Sorcha spoke softly. 

“It’s difficult for sure, but there’s a level of comfort in it. I feel like he’s with me on every mission.”

The brief moment was broken by a loud shout from Cormack, earning him a few looks from passersby. “You two! Hurry on up, it’s just up ahead.” 

Doug extended an arm for Sorcha to take, which she took gladly, linking her arm with his. “Let’s have a good time, for Charles. How does that sound?” 

“That sounds lovely, Miss Devlin.” 

As the group approached the pub, aptly called Finnegans Wake, Sorcha could hear a traditional set pouring from the windows. Her face lit up in excitement, the grip on Doug’s arm growing stronger. Cormack turned to his sister with a wide smile, arms open as if he were presenting the bar to her. “What do ya think, Uan?

Sorcha let go of her grip on the Brit, rushing to embrace her younger brother. Cormack spun her around as the two fell into a fit of laughter, “Have I  recently mentioned that you’re the best brother ever?” 

“No, but at least I have the guys to witness this.” 

“Are the two of you gonna stay outside, or can we go in?” Percy teased, not being able to stand still. 

John piped up to appease his friend, “I think we should head in.” 

The pub was bursting with life as the group went in. Nearly every table and chair was full, people coming and going every second. A live band was stationed in the corner, continuing to play traditional Irish music. John had gone ahead of the rest in an attempt to secure a table for them. His attempt proved successful, as a few patrons gave up their seats for the men, and woman, in uniform.         

“You know,” Percy started as he sat down, “Sometimes I hate this uniform, but I’ll be damned if it has its perks.”  

“We all drinking?” Cormack asked before heading to the bar. A resounding chorus of yes prompted the boy to wiggle his way through the crowds with the precarious task of acquiring five drinks. 

A light jig played in the background as Sorcha conversed with the men. They helped give her a glimpse into what RAF life was like, and how it differed from her life at Thorpe Abbotts. “My best friend Lil was stationed at an RAF base for a while.” 

“Why’d she leave?” John asked in almost a defensive tone. 

“Once they started opening up our bases, the brass felt like they needed experienced women to help train the newbies.” 

“Good on them. Your lot needs it.” 

Doug lightly shoved Percy for his comment, signaling with his eyes that it wasn’t the time nor place for comments like those. Before Sorcha could retort, Cormack had returned to the table, somehow balancing all the drinks in his hand. 

“I just did Guinness all around. Figured we all could take it.” 

“This lad gets it!” Cheered Percy as he took his glass. 

Once Cormack had settled down into his chair, he raised his glass, causing the others to mimic him. “To weekend passes and boring lectures! Sláinte!” 

Sorcha shot her brother a look for demeaning the day's event but echoed him alongside the others in his cheers. The bitter taste of the ale coated her mouth as she took a sip, making Sorcha feel as if she were home. 

Once the group was a few drinks in, the conversation had been long gone from the earlier pleasantries. The group exchanged various stories about their bases, as well as what they did before the war. Eventually, they started talking about their personal and love lives, “Cormack won’t tell me anything about his girl at the base!” 

“That’s because you get all interrogative!” Cormack slurred, pointing an accusatory finger at his sister.

“Is it a crime to ask questions?”

“Depends on what your government says.” John quipped, earning a bark of laughter from Sorcha and Doug.

“Seriously though,” Sorcha leveled once the laughter had subsided, “Tell me about her.”   

Cormack sighed in defeat as he put his glass down, “Her name is Audelia. She works on her family’s farm which is beside our base. I met her at one of the parties they threw in the officer’s club. Rubber told me she was way out of my league, but that didn’t matter to me. I asked her to dance, and the rest was history.” A look of true adoration was painted on the younger boy’s face as he spoke, making Sorcha smile. 

“She sounds nice. I hope I get to meet her one day.”

“She’s the best. Honestly one of the only things keeping me going each day. Shit’s hard for her, ya know?” Cormack continued, though his previous tone was now replaced with one of contemplation, “We say goodbye to each other before I go up. And I can’t help but think what’d happen to her if I didn’t come back.”

John turned to the boy, matching his tone as he spoke, “I get it. My wife and I send letters nearly every week. M’hoping to see her soon though.” 

The others simply nodded their heads at his statement, a sour mood falling over them. Sorcha glanced at her brother, sending him a reassuring smile. She knew he wasn’t one for verbal comfort, as he didn’t see the point in continuing an already hard conversation. The mood was quick to shift when Sorcha’s ears perked up as the band started a new tune, American Wake, which happened to be one of her favorites. The Devlin sibling's eyes caught, Cormack matching his sister's smile, extending a hand to her, “Shall we dance?”

Sorcha couldn’t even form words as she stood up, too overjoyed to speak. She immediately grabbed her brother's hand as they rushed to the makeshift dance floor alongside other couples. Those on the floor had started to form small circles, spinning themselves to the beat. In the chaos of making the groups, Sorcha had stood parallel to her brother as the group started to spin. A smile to rival the sun was set upon the sibling’s faces, a feeling of pure bliss washing over Sorcha. Once the circle had been broken Sorcha rushed to grab her brother's hand, fear of losing him to the crowd. They set into a stance similar to a slow dance, except the music entirely opposed the notion of ‘slow’. Sorcha tightly gripped her brother's hand as they spun around again, doing their best to avoid crashing into others. Both siblings pushed their feet against the floor, making them spin on a dime, dizzying laughter carrying across the pub. The song ended as quickly as it had begun, causing Sorcha and Cormack to pull away from each other. Both of their faces were flushed red, droplets of sweat falling from their foreheads. 

“I told you we’d have a good time,” Cormack shouted as they made their way back to the table.   

“You two have fun up there?” Doug asked, already knowing the answer. 

Sorcha was out of breath as she sat down, resting her hand on Doug’s arm to gain balance, “I felt like we were back in New York! Cormack really is the best brother.”

“Oh, fuck off!” Cormack face reddened deeper at his sister's words. Sorcha and the men fell into comfortable laughter at the embarrassment of the younger boy. 

“Could I request a dance?” Doug asked, speaking quietly to Sorcha.

It was the older Devlin’s turn to turn red, trying to cover it up with fake confidence and giggles, “Only if you can keep up with me!”