#actually join in on the prophecy like “woah!! you might be one of those three boys!! cmon!!!”“

[arche0ps-moved]

Can't believe earthbound is going to be the first fandom I write an AO3 fanfiction for. Embarrassing /lh

[tizeline]

How does Draxum deal with raising three super soldiers, mentally? We know from the show that Draxum becomes depressed after realizing that he helped unleash the Shredder and almost became one of the reasons why Yokai kind gets destroyed alongside humanity, but when the boys were younger did Draxum have any doubts about raising the boys as child soldiers or did it take up so much energy as to make him depressed?

Also, we’ve touched up on how the boys might react to Draxum’s destroy humanity’s plans after meeting April and Donnie but how do the boys react to Yokai reacting negatively to Draxum’s plans. Especially considering human society are a part of Yokai business resource chains even if unknowingly. I doubt normal Yokai like Hueso would react positively if they every heard the boys and Draxum’s plans to destroy humanity considering he lives on the surface with his kid. Also if you think about how Hueso is wanted in the Hidden City, Hueso Jr probably goes to school in the human world.

Draxum might know to keep quiet about his highly illegal plans to destroy humanity and mutate humans but were the boys ever told by Draxum to keep the plans secret from other Yokai? Does Raph considering he wants to become a police officer does he become devastated when he realizes that what he’s been raised to do is illegal according to Yokai laws?

I just want to mention that early on in the show Draxum calls mutants “Yokai” before he hears what the mutants were calling themselves, and tried to ingrain himself with them by creating the evil league of mutants. So do the boys call themselves Yokai like what Draxum would’ve wanted or do they come to the conclusion that they should be called mutants anyway?

In the flashback with the Council of Heads Draxum talks about mutating humanity into “Yokai” in his plans to prevent the prophecy of Yokai kind getting destroyed from occurring but the Council mentions that the actual prophecy makes no mention of humans being the ones to destroy Yokai kind. Did Draxum ever bring the prophecy being the whole reason he wants to destroy humanity up to the boys? How do they react to everything they’ve ever been told being a lie or the result of their dad making a mountain out of a mole hill?

Woah, lotsa questions, here we go! :D

While Draxum probably feels at least a bit anxious about sending his sons off to fight (dad instincts yknow) he doesn't really feel bad about it. He's very much convinced that humans are going to destroy the yokai if they don't destroy the humans first, so really, having his sons fight alongside him to save yokai-kind is would actually just benefit the boys is the long run. Sure, turning them into soldiers is putting them in danger, but in Draxums mind they are already in danger just by humanity existing. And while raising three hyperactive mini super soldiers was definitely a bit draining, it didn't have a particular detrimental effect on his psyche, mentally he's doing fine.

Raph, Leo and Mikey already know that the majority of yokai wouldn't vibe with the destruction of humanity, even tho there are yokai who don't particular like humans, that doesn't mean they wish any harm on the entire species. The Drax Trio's explanation for this is that CLEARLY those yokai don't truly understands what's at stake! If they did, they'd OBVIOUSLY side with Draxum because their dad knows best! And yeah, Draxum wouldn't want the whole truth of his ambitions to be known, what he's doing isn't exactly legal so the turtles would have to keep the yokai-world-domination plot on the down-low. That being said, it's not illegal to dislike humanity so it wouldn't be a secret that the Draxum family is quite anti-human.

(You know, I always assumed Hueso Jr was attended school in the Hidden City or was homeschooled, but I really like the concept of him going to a human school while using a cloaking brooch likee Sunita)

(And Raph wouldn't have any desire to join the yokai police force in this AU, so there's that)

And yeah, you make a good point. Mutants are essentially just artificially created yokai, so Draxum and his sons would just use the term yokai when reffering to the turtles. Donnie and April would be the ones to start using the term mutant probably, but I like the idea of The Drax Trio being very opposed being called mutants themselves. Obviously they'd know about their unusual origins, but they'd still consider themselves as part of yokai-kind, and the term mutant would probably feel quite "othering" to them.

Draxum would've told his sons about the prophecy really early on, (he probably used it as a bedtime story lmaooooo) so they'd already be quite familiar with the details of it, INCLUDING the fact that humans aren't mentioned at all in it. But it also doesn't mention what exactly it is that destroys yokai-kind at all, so the trio just figure that if Draxum deduced that humans are the biggest risk to yokai and are therefore the unpsecified threat spoken of in the prophecy, then that must be right cuz there's now way their super smart dad would be wrong, right?

[littlefaerose]

walking on a wire through the fear (take my hand, we’ll get there)

WHO: Marley Rose (ft. Olivia Wisteria and Lila Lily)

WHERE: Sciron Square, Room #401

WHEN: Wednesday, April 19th, 2017

WHAT: There’s nothing quite like a spontaneous intrusion, followed by a quasi-intervention. Kind of.

WARNING(S): vague descriptive mentionings of death (??)

She didn’t hear the first initial knock at the door.

She was almost finished writing her final paper for her Sex, Genders and Culture class - while the topic was controversial among her own kind, she’d decided to take on the topic of ‘ace-normativity’ among Fae - and the continuous clacking of her keyboard along with her music playing low had blocked out any other sounds. She paused long enough to skim over the current paragraph she was editing when a second, more insistent banging came, distracting her from her laptop screen. She wasn’t expecting company today, was she?

“Just a minute!” she called as she hastily finished typing out her thought, hoping to get to the door and squeeze her way out to see who was interrupting her, but without warning her door flew open, making her whip around in her chair.

‘Geez, Marley, you’re such a slow- WOAH.’

She recognized the voice immediately. And immediately panicked.

See, the fact of the matter was that while she had been in a somewhat better mood the last week, the tree-like thing in the middle of her dorm room had not shrunk much past the small increment it had the night Mason’s first letter had arrived. It still wound and twisted and had a bit of a life of its own, creaking as it stretched out its roots, expanding or pulling back in depending on the minute fluctuations of her mood. It was manageable, all things considered, but she hadn’t let anyone into her room ever since the thing had sprung to life. And for good reason.

‘What the fresh hell is this??’ Olivia exclaimed as she took a step back from the twist of branches that extended out toward the front door.

“Why didn’t you wait for me to answer??” Marley answered in return, her cheeks flaming in embarrassment as she realized that not only had Olivia seen the manifestation of her lack of control, but that she had not come alone. Just as she ducked beneath a series of roots to reach Olivia, a red-haired woman stepped out and around from behind the taller girl, her eyes slightly widened in surprise as well. Oh Aether.

‘It looks like some kind of tree…?’ Lila offered, then looked to Marley questioningly.

If there was ever a more mortifying moment in the entirety of her life, Marley couldn’t remember what it was right then. This trumped it all.

“Is there a reason you’re both here unannounced?” she brushed past, making quick work of shutting the door behind all three of them. “I was in the middle of finishing a paper.”

‘Well you haven’t exactly been answering my texts or other attempts to contact you for the last - aether, what has it been now, a month? Two?’ Olivia asked, arms folding across her chest as she looked to Lila for confirmation.

‘Sounds about right,’ Lila nodded, the surprise disappearing from her expression and replaced with something more akin to concern. ‘Actually, it was my idea. I’m sorry for us barging in, but you’ve been laying low for quite some time now, it seems.’

Marley huffed but led the way further inside her room, guiding them through a maze of roots and branches back to her desk. “I’ve been busy. Schoolwork, my photography portfolio, the like,” she offered up lamely. She didn’t even really believe herself anymore.

‘And that’s understandable, of course,’ Lila continued, pausing on one side of Marley’s desk. ‘It’s just that we’re a little bit concerned.’

“You don’t need to be-”

‘Stop that,’ Olivia interrupted her. ‘I’m tired of hearing this bullsh-’

‘Olivia,’ Lila cut in, gently but firmly. Olivia’s mouth set into a thin line but she quieted. Lila then turned her attention back to Marley. ‘I know I personally have been meaning to come speak with you about the LNWA. You know - the club you so passionately pitched to me and convinced me to join?’

Marley cringed. “I haven’t had the time…” she said.

‘Actually, I think you have,’ Lila replied, nothing malicious or accusatory in her tone, but Marley couldn’t help feeling like she was starting to get backed into a corner. ‘I noticed that you haven’t been to any of the recent meetings, none at all really since the new year began. And I haven’t heard a peep from you or anyone else about this petition you were working on.’

“I gave that over to Madison McCarthy,” Marley explained. “She was one of the few others who was interested in the activism part of the club, and she was helping me with it before. She’s taking over it if you really want to know more about it.”

‘That’s fine and all, but what I’m really concerned about is the sudden lack of passion for these causes that meant so much to you not that long ago.’

Olivia chose then to chime in. ‘Look, I know losing Millie has been hard and at first you seemed to be making an effort to get better, but… honestly, I’m beginning to wonder if you’re not just worse off than you were before,’ she said.

“I’m-” Marley stopped herself before either girl could tell her to. She’d been saying she was fine for so long and it was clearly getting her nowhere. “Okay, fine, maybe I’m worse off, maybe I’m just not ‘okay’ yet. But I have a full plate and that leaves little room for personal matters like that.”

‘Marley, you’ve sequestered yourself into this room,’ Olivia argued, ‘you’re stuck in here with this massive tree thing - and judging by how out of control it is, I can only assume you didn’t intend for it to even grow here - and when you’re not here, you’re keeping company with the likes of Victoria Violet or those other conservative Fae. Not to mention I can’t remember the last time I saw you hanging out with any of your real friends.’

“It’s complicated.”

‘Everything is always fu-’

‘OLIVIA. Language!’ Lila admonished.

‘Sorry, geez - everything is always complicated with you, Marley,’ Olivia huffed. ‘You’re always making things ten times harder than they should or could be. So why don’t you uncomplicate them and talk to us. Tell us what’s going on.’

Marley looked between both girls and sighed again. Were they right? Was she making this more complicated than it needed to be? And would it really kill her to talk to someone about what had been going on with her since February?

It’s not like she could tell her real friends anything about the Fae… but…

“Fine,” she relented, raking a hand through her hair as she tried to figure out where to even begin. “Here’s what’s going on.”

~*~

‘It’s time to stop acting like a sapling, my Dog Rose,’ Raphaelle drawled. ‘You’ve had your fun but it is time to buckle down and show where your true loyalty lies.’

Marley shook in her spot, rooted (not literally but close enough) to the ground. She couldn’t take her eyes off the strange and creepy abomination of a flower, upon which their ambassador’s face was affixed, upside down. In any other situation, this might be comical. But with Raphaelle Le Fay? It was just downright scary.

‘There is a time coming when you will need to put aside this frivality and face the responsibilities that come with being the Flowerchild of Prophecy,’ she continued, flexing her leaves and petals as she spoke.

“But I’m not-”

‘I have eyes everywhere, Dog Rose. And while you have been having fun with your unorthodox group of ‘friends’, you have neglected your sisters. You have pushed them to the sidelines rather than offering to stand united with them.’

Marley’s cheeks flamed green as she ducked her head in shame.

“My people are no less important to me,” she insisted. “I still want to help… I still want unity…” Just maybe not quite exactly the same unity the Fae had right then. “I promise you, my alignment is still with the Fae. I want to help them.”

‘Then it’s time to start showing it,’ Raphaelle replied. ‘I am capable of many great things, my Dog Rose. I still wish to help you with your fallen sister… I could find ways to bring her back. And… while I shudder to think of such alliances, there could come a day in the future when Fae would not have to worry about the dire implications that come with being with the Humans. I hold the power to bring about such changes, but I need a united front among my most influential sisters. Our future-makers.’ The upside-down face studied her own right-side-up one, and Marley shifted again nervously. ‘I need to know that I can trust our Flowerchild of Prophecy.’

Marley swallowed thickly. “Whatever it is I need to do… I’ll do it,” she promised, trying to ignore the sinking feeling that went with it. “Just tell me what I need to do to prove myself.”

‘The next Promenade will be in May of this year,’ the flower nodded. ‘I need to see a marked change in you, my Dog Rose. Find common ground with your sisters. Show us all who your true priority it is. And if there is not a significant change to be found at that time…’ The sentence ended there and hung in the air, leaving Marley feeling a certain sense of dread. What did she mean? What consequences would accompany a lack of change?

“I’ll fix this,” she answered, “I promise.”

~*~

‘I told you,’ Olivia shook her head, pacing what small space was available for them to move around in. ‘I told you she would use this stupid prophecy business to her advantage. Clearly, she’s manipulating you. For what reason, I don’t know, but there’s no denying it - she wants something from you and she’s willing to do whatever she has to in order to get it.’

“But she was right,” Marley admitted, rubbing the back of her neck as her cheeks flushed. “I was spending all this time fighting for causes that had nothing to do with Fae. I was going to parties and getting drunk and having crushes on people who can’t reciprocate and I… I…” She sighed, leaning forward on her elbows and rubbing her temples. “I wanted to be someone other than me. But that’s not possible. I’m still Marley Rose. I’m still a Fae, and I’m still the Flowerchild of Prophecy, and no matter of glamour potions or learning about human culture or frivolity can change that.”

Lila reached out to take one of Marley’s hands and squeezed it. ‘You’re putting yourself under a lot of pressure,’ she said. ‘You’ve dealt with a lot since coming here and… maybe I’m reaching a bit, but it sounds like you’re holding on to a lot of guilt.’

‘You can say that again,’ Olivia muttered.

“Would you shut up?” Marley snapped.

Lila gave Olivia another warning look. ‘As I was saying, it seems like perhaps you’re taking on the responsibility of a lot more than you’re obligated to. And I don’t quite understand why. The sorts of politics and issues that Raphaelle Le Fay concerns herself with - they are not the kind that I’ve come to know you to support,’ she said, squeezing again. ‘I can understand feeling overwhelmed with the pressure to please multiple parties and find some sort of acceptance among your peers, but… is this what you really want?’

Marley gave a humorless laugh. “What I want hasn’t mattered for some time now,” she said.

‘You may not think so, but it does.’

The truth though was that it was easier to focus on expectations and rules and parameters rather than what she actually wanted. Because… what did she actually want?

“Either way, it doesn’t matter because I already made my choice. I’m working on my relationship with the Fae and I think I’m close to the breakthrough I need to prove myself worthy of this stupid title.”

‘Which, just to clarify, you think is stupid?’ Olivia asked, raising an eyebrow. Marley gave her a glare in return, though the older Fae just rolled her eyes. ‘Whatever. The reason we’re here is because we want to help.’

‘We hope you’ll let us help,’ Lila added. ‘If this is really the road you’re going to choose to go down, then we can’t stand by and let you drown here on your own.’

“I’m not drowning.”

‘You’ve got a massive tree taking over your room and you’ve all but become a recluse,’ Olivia reminded her. ‘I don’t know what your plan is but I already don’t like it…. but I also won’t let you go this alone. So please. Let us help you.’

Marley looked between both ladies, unsure what definition to give the overwhelming feeling that rose within her chest. It was one thing to have Mason offering his help, or even Santana prying in her own intrusive ways, but to have Fae in her life who could and wanted to help? It felt simultaneously like a dangerous idea and like breaking the surface of the water to finally breathe again.

“I don’t… I don’t know how you can help yet,” she admitted, running her hand through her hair again. “But I’m open to suggestion.”

Lila smiled, relief infusing her facial features as they softened and her frame relaxed. ‘We should wait to see what happens at the Promenade,’ she nodded. ‘See if Raphaelle has anything to say about the current political climate and if the Fae have any cooking up moving forward.. But in the meantime… Marley, I really think you should take some time out to figure out what exactly it is that you want. Independent of the expectations of you as the Flowerchild of Prophecy, and separate from what anyone else’s opinions might be of who and what and how you should be.’ She squeezed Marley’s hand again. ‘You can’t base your life off of what others unrealistically expect from you, and you certainly can’t make a decision this great without taking stock of what implications it will have for you in the long run.’

It felt like an exercise in defeat but Marley finally nodded in agreement. “Fine… I’ll think on it.” It felt like Lila was asking the world of her - just like every other person crossing her path - but with finals almost done and the edge of the pressure taken off, she could stand to entertain the impossible, however far out of reach it might seem.