#and also the survivors guilt

[thedo0zyslider]

(woe. Fanfic snippet be upon ye)

Fwhip looked at the hallway he'd just been shown, curious at how empty all the bedrooms seemed to be. "Why doesn't anyone stay over there?" He asked, casting a quizzical look at Katherine. The sheep hybrid seemed to shift uncomfortably at the inquiry, but she answered him anyway. Even if she did avert her gaze as she did so.

"Jimmy sleeps on that wing," She explained slowly, an old kind of worry creeping into her tone. "He wants to be alone down there."

"We think he gets night terrors." Shrub adds, quieter than their friend is. "Sometimes there's screaming at night, from around his room.." A little sound comes out of the gnome as she finishes speaking, and Katherine places a gentle hand on her shoulder. Gem makes a noise of her own, and shares a glance with her brother. Fwhip says nothing, just sets his jaw in thought.

They say nothing more of the hallway for the rest of the tour, but it weighs heavy on the dragon hybrids mind for the rest of the day. He ends up picking a room on that hall, making some stupid, crappy joke about separating boys and girls. Like any of them have ever cared for that, and like the whole Wither Rose Alliance hadn't crashed in the same room once.

All he gets in response is troubled murmurs, and Gem's steady gaze on his back as he retreats into his bedroom for the foreseeable future. When Jimmy finds out, he does nothing but blink, frown rather deeply, then seemingly move on with his day.

_______________________

Not even two nights later, Fwhip is jolted awake by the sound of screaming. Jimmy’s screaming. The sound is horrible, tortuous, and sends the half dragon into panic mode as soon as he hears it.

Hurriedly, and without thinking, he's surging out of his bed. He throws the door open, not caring how loud the sound is, and prays Jimmy’s own bedroom door isn't locked.

After nearly running down the hall, and a frantic fight with the knob, the ginger manages to get his way into the cod's room. He thrusts the oak door open, right as the screaming seems to stop. And Fwhip is meet with a sobbing Jimmy, hunched over himself in bed, crying and hyperventilating like he'd never seen before.

Slowly, he takes a few steps further into the room. Even in the darkness, the ginger can see how Jimmy’s fins twitch. And how his head snaps in the general direction of the movement. Which means he should probably be as quiet as possible, and gentle as well. Not that he was planning on being anything but in this situation, even to the man who had once been his enemy.

"Jim?" He asks, staning hesitantly by the bedside. The nickname slips past his lips without a thought about it. "You there?"

"F-fwhip?" The cod’s voice is small, scared, and raw from all the use it just had. The half dragon can't help the pang of sympathy that pierces his heart upon hearing it.

"Yeah, yeah it's me. This is Fwhip." He places a tentative hand on the bed. "Are you okay?"

"I-I don't think so." The blonde chokes out. "Didn't mean to wake you up, sorry."

"No, no it's fine. Genuinely." Fwhip soothes without a second thought, his hand cautiously ghosting over the other's leg. He's uncertain if touch would help or make the situation worse, and he doesn't want to find out. Not unless Jimmy himself grabs for him. "Do you want me to stay?"

Those seem to be the magic words, somehow, as it what sets the cod into proper motion again. Without warning, the cod is grabbing him by the arm, and pulling him down for a hug. The ginger startles at that, but holds him back on instinct.

Before, he wouldn’t have dreamed of ever hugging this guy. But the explosion had done a lot of weird things to their relationship, so here he was, perfectly unbothered by this. Jimmy makes a strangled cry, one muffled by the half dragon's chest, and he holds the other back tighter. He holds him tighter than he thinks he's ever held anyone, even tighter than he had held his sister the day the world had ended.

They stay like that for heavens knows how long. It could've been a mere twenty minutes, or five long hours. All Fwhip knows is that he holds the blonde close to him the whole until, until his crying subsides and his breathing is even once more. He holds him and runs gentle fingers through messy hair, and whispers sweet nothing between sobs.

"Sorry for grabbing you." Jimmy mumbles. He's sat back now, no longer clutched in the half dragon's tight hold. Fwhip watches as he sniffles and rubs his eyes of any remaining wetness, and has to fight the urge to hold him again.

"It's fine. You needed it." The half dragon shrugs after a moment. He was warned about the nightmares the former Codfather gets, he knew what he was getting into when he took the room next door, and he is determined to get to the bottom of this. Especially since all of their other friends seem to be clueless in the matter, despite living with Jimmy for years.

Also, he would be a pretty big dickhead if he did nothing more to help. And he was trying not to be a dickhead anymore. So there was that.

"When did they start?" Fwhip asked it gently, and paid no mind to the other’s hesitation. He had been keeping this a secret for so long after all, like the stupid fool he tended to be.

Jimmy's words are accompanied by one too many shuddering breaths, so much so that the half dragon reaches out to hold his hand. "Those have been happening, since the explosion. " The cod's eyes were fixed on the wall as he spoke, looking like he was properly out of it. "I dream of it happening again, and you're there, and a lot of times your dead. And I have to watch it happen. I have to watch you die, Fwhip. And I can't do anything to stop it."

The blonde's voice cracks on the last words. Fwhip squeezes gus hand tighter, and doesn't stop as he keeps explainin. Though the explanation is more of a panicked rambling at this point. "Then I wake up and remember you're not dead, or that you hadn't died in the explosion."

Fwhip is stunned into silence for a few minutes, the horrfied kind really. But regardless he swallows nervously, and asks yet anoher question. And the answer, no, the shy admission he gets afterwards is nothing short of horrible. "How often do you have them?"

"Every night or so."

"Jimmy." The former Count hisses out the cod's name, but with a lot less venom than he used too. This time it was just filled with worry. Jimmy flinches regardless.

"I know I should've told someone, but I felt like I couldn't.." The cod mumbles, arms being placed out of his chest in what looks like habit. Another pang of sympathy pierces Fwhip's heart at the motion.

"Why?" He asks, poorly holding back a worried little sigh.

Jimmy's gaze flicks from the walls to the blankets, as he twists a part of the fabric in his fingers. Fwhip has to wonder what it feels like for the other, to be so strangely vulnerable, and wonders why the cod is doing it now. To him of all people, his once mortal enemy. "Dunno, some old fears about being weak or somethin'"

"Well, I know now. And I don't think you're weak." He says, the raw honesty leaking into his tone like a rushing river, like it rarely had before with the man in front of him. "I think your rather brave, for dealing with them every night like that."

"T-Thanks. Thank you." Jimmy stammers. He takes another deep breath, one mre futile attempt to regain his composure. It doesn't work, because he's far too shaken up at this point. So the cod is forced to bend and fold, and ask for the one thing he was most scared of. The one thing request he was scared of being declined.

"....Can you stay with me until morning?" He whispered, leaning closer on what seems to be instinct.

Fwhip didn’t think any part of him could possibly say no. "I can." He forced a gentle smile, and the cod’s eyes got all wide. Like a baby cow's.

"Until the sun comes up?" Jimmy asks. Like anyone in their right mind would leave him after such a nightmare.

"At least until the sun comes up." The half dragon confirms, and says nothing when the cod is in his arms again, still shaking and taking shuddering breaths. He says nothing, and holds him till sun comes up.

_______________________

A few nights later, Fwhip is back in Jimmy’s bedroom again. He’s clutching the cod to his chest, running gentle fingers through his messed up hair. Sobs wrack his friends whole body, and Fwhip can do nothing but hold him and mutter sweet nothings until it's over.

His panic is shorter than the previous one it seems. Maybe the nightmares had been slightly kinder that night, maybe it because he's here. He doesn't know the reason, and doesn't really care too. As long as his friend calms down, he is happy.

"Sorry, about that." The cod mumbles once it's over, his voice still raw and ragged from his sobs and earlier screams.

"You gotta stop apologizing for these." Fwhip sighs, and holds the blonde closer. Jimmy just sniffles, and buries himself further into the half dragon's warmth.

"I hate this. I hate having these so much." The cod complains, his arms once again holding the former Count’s waist.

"We could share a bed every night, if that helps?" Fwhio suggests, resting his chin atop the blonde's head. He's usually not very affectionate, not even in the slightest, but he lets himself go for Jimmy. He thinks his sister would be startled if she saw him so much as hold someone, let alone cuddle them. (And maybe it feels nice to let himself go. Maybe he's just a bit touched straved, not that Fwhip'll ever admit to that.

"I don't want to keep you up every night." Jimmy shook slightly his head in protest.

"I don't want to come running in here every night." Fwhip snorted, noticing that the other's breathing had finally calmed down. Good, that was good.

"Oh. Yeah. That's fair." Jimmy said, removing himself a little. He always did this when he'd calmed down enough. The cod would remove himself from Fwhip, like he was forcing the other to comfort him. Like Fwhip wasn’t the one to hug him first nine times out of ten.

"We'll just see how it comes, okay?" He smiled, pushing the blonde downwards. "Now try and sleep. You don't get enough of it."

"You don't either!" Jimmy let out a small huff of amusement, and took the half dragon down with him. Fwhip couldn’t hold back his own giggles as his head hit the soft bedsheets.

_______________________

Some time later, Fwhip wakes up with tear stains marking his cheeks. Great, that was great.

He let out a groan, and turns over in his bed. He presses his face until the coldness of his pillow, feeling his chest heave with left over sadness. The former Count hated crying in his sleep, really he did. It always gave him the worst feeling imaginable when it did happen.

After what feels like an eternity, there is the skund of his door opening. Curious despite his rather messed up state, Fwhip rolls over, and sees a very familiar man now standing in his roo. "Jim?" He asks, watching as the cod slowly approaches his bed. "Why're you in here?"

"I felt like I needed to." Jimmy shrugged, placing a head on the corner of the footboard.

The half dragon just huffed in reponse. "Well you don't. 'M fine." He can hear how his voice shakes, and knows that his words wouldn't have convinced anyone. Let alone this guy infront of him.

"Oh, Fwhip." Jimmy says delicately, and crouches on the bed next to him. Oh how the tables turn.

"What wrong?" The cod asks, and Fwhip decides he should probably sit up for this.

"Had a dream." Is all he mutters at first, a little reluctant to recall it.

"A bad one?" The blonde asks, shifting closer just in case. The half dragon shakes his head in response.

"No..."

'Fwhip, what was it?" Jimmy pushed again, in a tone that sounds like Gem’s serious one. And the ginger knows he cannot weave his way out of answering anymore.

"I....I dreamed I was flying again." He admits, and cannot look ag his friend when he does so. There is something like shame in him, shame for not being able to do that. Old shame, for causing that for himself, shame for causing the world to end.

He can feel the way the cod dimply blinks in repsonse, and wonders why his tone had turned soft so sharply. "Oh."

"Sorry, I just...." Fwhip sighed, and shifted so he could bury his head in his knees. He wasn't going to cry again, he wasn't. Not in front of Jimmy. It's supposed to be the other way around, not like this.

What the cod says next surpises him entirely, though in hindsight, the half dragon doesn't know why he hadn't considered if before. "No, I get it. I miss swimming sometimes."

He shoots his head up in suprise, meeting the others soft brown gaze. "Can you not..?" He tries not to glance at Jimmy’s tail as he speaks. Keyword tries, it doesn't really work. Though the blonde doesn't seem to mind in the slightest, considering his own people have probably given him weirder looks. (Well, what's left of fhem anyways)

"No, I'm missing one tail fin, and half of the other. And the nerves are messed up as well." Jimmy explained. He changed positions, so Fwhip could properly seem the now damaged limb. And well, he'd never really looked at Jimmy’s tail before. He'd known what if had looked like originally, and had caught glimpses of it since he can back, buy never had the ginger really sat there and inspected it.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He reaches out a hesitant hand to touch it, to ghost over the scarred flesh, and Jimmy lets him.

Jimmy just give a shrug in response. "It's fine, I'm getting used to it. What about your wings? If you don't mind me asking?" And well, Fwhip doesn't really want to show them off, but Jimmy’s voice is just so kindly curious. And he had just showed him his tail.....

The half dragon sighs, and decides to just get it over with and show him. He spreads what remains of his limbs, and can't help but move his gaze downward in shame once more. "They're mostly gone. And my tail is messed up as well. I can still move it, but it doesn't do much for balance anymore."

Jimmy nods along as he speaks, and maybe the half dragon reliazes that this feels nice. Maybe it feels nice to finally be vulnerable with someone, when he hasn't let himself for months now. "I see. Mine doesn't help with balance like it used to either." A moment later, he adds something else quietly. "My arm's also permanently damaged."

"Oh?" He cocks his head to the side curious. In response, Jimmy moves his right arm, his dominant one (arguably the worst arm to injure forever), and the movement seems a little slow and delayed.

The cod looks at the scars ligning his skin, a frown working its way onto his face. Fwhip can't even imagine what memories must be going through his head at the moment. "Used it to shield myself from the blast. It has scars, and I can barely feel one part of it."

"I have scars too, everywhere basically. All explosion shaped." He offers, and knows the ones on his arms and face have been on display a decent amount. They make him like wearing his coat even more than he used too.

Despite the earlier frown, Jimmy cracks a smile. "We messed ourselves up real good, didn't we?"

"Heh, yeah." Fwhip can't help but laugh lightly at it.

Slowly, Jimmy reaches a hand to his battered wings. Fwhip is catious about it, but he lets him, because it's only fair to, really. He flinches back a moment later on near instinct, and hates the looks of guilt that flashes across Jimmy's face.

Okay then, he doesn't like people touching his wings. Not yet anyways. A new boundary discovered at the worst time ever.

He doesn't know how to make Jimmy feel not guilty, so he just flops onto his back in defeat. "I hate this. This sucks."

"I know, I know." Jimmy mumbles, and it feels like he's moved farther away. Fwhip wants him closer.

"I want to fly again. I miss flying." He complains, gaze fixed on the white and pink celling of House Blossoms castle. Katherine really liked pink, is what he found himself noting again. He'd stared at this ceiling far too many times than he was comfortable admitting too.

"Why didn't you tell me you had nightmares as well?" Jimmy's asks quietly. Fwhip just shrugs in response.

"Never thought to."

"Idiot." Jimmy says, but not without a hint of affection behind it. "I'm helping you with them from now on."

"Do you have to?" Fwhip groans with a pout, and feels a light flick against his arm. It doesn't hurt much, but he still playfully kicks the other in response. Jimmy holds back a laugh before he speaks again.

"Yes! You help with mine, I help with yours!" The blonde exclaims, and it feels like he's moved closer again. There is a tail somewhere near his legs, one that's not it's own, and it seems to be flicking with some sort of happy emotion.

"Fineee" Fwhip holds back a laugh, and flexes his damaged wings under him. Maybe missing these won't be so bad. Maybe it can be manageable, if this guy keeps trying to cheer him up that is.

_______________________

"Mind if I sleep here tonight?" Fwhip asks, standing in Jimmy’s doorway for what has to be the thousandth time. Be doesn't know what he looks like, but he assumes it's rather pathetic.

The cod shrugs, and moves the covers aside for him. "Nah. Get in."

He walks over quickly, and slides into the bed, the second he's laying down, arms are wrapping around him and holding him close. He must've looked really sad and pathetic, for Jimmy to do that without asking. But it's comforting, and helping his bad state of mind a little, so the former Count doesn't mind much.

It feels a little awkward sharing a bed when no crying has come before it, Fwhip has to admit. In his mind at least. But then Jimmy buries his face into the small of his back, and suddenly it's not very awkward anymore. Fwhip relaxes into it fully, and has to hold back a sigh. God he needed that. He's not sure why he needed to be held and cuddled so much, he just did.

At some point in the quiet, Fwhip turns over in Jimmy’s arms, so he can see the others face. This all feels so.....domestic. so intimate. With a man he used to hate and spit venom at, no less. He wonders when they got so comfortable with each other, to be all domestic like this. He wonders if it means something else, and finds that it doesn't. He wonders what their friends would say if they found out about all this. He wonders what Sausage would say, if he was here and seeing this.

The cod hums, having shifted their postion without the other noticing, and start to trace the scars that run up his arm. The scars he's been told stories about, the scars that they both helped form. Fwhip wonders if the other feels any guilt when he looks at them. Because he know he does whenever he catches a glimpse of Jimmy’s tail, or his own scars, or any of his torn fins and his permanently damaged right arm.

Suddenly, as if the cod can feel himself being stared at, he looks up. Their eyes meet, and the blonde frowns. "Stop thinking." He says, fingers still running over his skin.

"How do you know I'm thinking?" Fwhip asks, slightly amused. He wonders when they could start reading each other so well.

"Because you're looking at me all guilty like. Stop that and go to sleep." Jimmy sounds like such an expastered mother, the half dragon can't help but sigh and try to oblige.

"I'll try." He mumbles, and closes his eyes. Careful hands keep tracing over his scars, and maybe the sensation helps lull him to sleep. Maybe the sensation is becoming comforting, just a tad.

Maybe Jimmy is his comfort.

_______________________

"You two share a bed a lot, don't you?" Gem asked one morning, brewing herself a cup of coffee. She had grabbed a mug for him without even asking, because she just knew that he'd complain if she didn't. Even the way he liked his coffee was gross, or whatever she had been calling it.

"Yeah, and?" He asks, already starting to sound exasperated. His sister must have seen him exit Jimmy's room this morning, his clothes probably decently (and suspiciously) rumpled. And if Gem was asking, she'd probably seen it more than once already.

The wizard clears her throat a little awkwardly, and asks the worst question shes probably ever asked him. "Are you two...um...involved in any way? More than friends I mean-"

"I am not fucking Jimmy." Fwhip groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind before, and thinking about it now made him physically recoil. Not that the cod wasn't attractive or anything, their relationship had just never been like that. And would probably never be, as far as he was concerned.

"Good to know." Gem says over the sound of coffee being poured. Fwhip doesn't even care much about the drink anymore, just leaving this situation as soon as he can really.

"Physical touch helps him with the nightmares." He explains further, carefully leaving out the information that he had them sometimes as well. Though Gem had seen some of them, before they were found and all, but she would worry less if she believed they'd slowly stopped over time.

"Ohhh." A lightblub seems to go off in his sister's head, and she starts preparing his coffee how he likes it. Fwhip almost tells her there's no need too.

"And if I was, it'd be none of your buisness." He grumbles, and stands from the table. He can drink cold coffee later, when he's less annoyed. It was not a good morning to ask him that.

He hears Gem sigh, but she doesn't chase after him. Fwhip only hears the faint clinking of a mug against the table, right as he returns to his own bedroom.

_______________________

Fwhip crawls into Jimmy’s room one night, not even knocking before he opens the door. It's become quite a habit after all these months, a bad one as his twin would call it, but neither of them care much for her opinion on this specific thing anyways. (Because according to Gem, finding a counselor would do many more wonders, even if Fwhip’s pretty sure neither of them can sleep alone now. Night terrors or no night terrors.)

Jimmy is awake as soon as his door clicks shut, and greets him with a groggy hello. Fwhip says nothing, just sits down on the bed, and relaxes near instantly as familiar arms wrap around him. The half dragon melts into his friends warmth, and thinks he could finally fall asleep right then and there.

"What's wrong?" The cod mumbles, sleep stilling coating his voice. Fwhip says nothing for a moment, and buries his head into Jimmy's soft woolen t-shirt.

"Phantoms pains were bad today." He grumbled eventually. "And a bunch of other things, just felt like i was gonna have a nightmare."

"Mmm, I get it." Jimmy hummed. "Wanna lay down?"

"Please." Fwhip sighed, and let himself be pulled down. He laid half ontop of Jimmy, and nuzzling into his warmth had become habit by that point, it had become as natural as breathing.

"You comfortable?" The cod laughed, his breath ghosting over the others face. Fwhip just made a tired noise in response.

"Yes, you're very warm and comforting." He mumbled, and squeezed his eyes shut. The phantom pains from earlier were still there, but focusing on the cod's breathing was helping keep his mind off it.

"Good, that's good." Jimmy said, and his night felt a lot more manageable than it had before. Not good, but more manageable, and that was more than enough for now.

[hoshizoralone]

reflection

[loriache]

"I've been waiting for ages for somebody to unmask them."

This moment tends to elicit negative reactions in a first read through, and I've got some opinions about why where Kabru is coming from here actually makes a lot of logical sense. So I thought I'd elaborate on that.

I think people hear this and go, "He thinks they must be hiding something because they gave money to someone? What a cynic." Or "he dislikes them because they did charity?? What's wrong with this guy!". And obviously, a lot, a lot is wrong with him. But I think this makes more sense than it seems at first glance! What people evaluating this judgement miss is why Kabru is paying attention to Laios and co to begin with.

Kabru knows of the Touden siblings because (he's a little bit of a stalker-) he is keeping an eye on all the relevant parties in events developing on the island, in order to be able to guide them to his preferred outcome. This includes adventurers because they are the ones actually exploring the dungeon! He's well aware that something as minor as internal tensions between party members could be key to the historical events that are developing. (He would love the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.)

His desired outcome is that whatever the rewards are of breaking the dungeon's curse, whether that's kingship or the ancient elven secrets of dungeons, are claimed by:

A) a short lived person

B) Someone who will be a good, effective leader and/or use those secrets and the power they carry wisely, with foresight, and to establish a political bloc for short lived people.

The person he can best trust to do this is, of course, himself. But due to his PTSD regarding dungeons and monsters, he's not able to develop the necessary skills to conquer the dungeon. Once he realises this, he starts looking for someone else who he can support to that end.

But most of the adventurers don't have any intentions of conquering the dungeon, don't have the skills, or are unsuitable in other ways. In fact, it seems like some potentially suitable people are the Toudens. There are a lot of good rumours about them going around - they actually seem to have a very positive reputation! That's what Kabru means when he says "unmask".

So when Kabru is observing something like them giving money to an old comrade from their gold-peeling days, he doesn't consider it a problem because "they're giving money to this person who doesn't actually need it" or because they must have some dark secret if they act superficially nice. I think he actually understands this situation and what it implies about Laios (in particular) perfectly well.

Laios and Falin gave money to an old comrade who got injured and couldn't work. That person then healed up but kept taking their money. Then he used the money to start smuggling illicit goods to the island.

The key is that for Kabru, the problem here is the same as with the corpse retrievers - people using the dungeon's resources to fuel dangerous, selfish, or violent pursuits cause problems for the island, attract more criminals and people with motives other than breaking the curse, and increase the chances of the whole situation ending in tragedy.

Kabru is willing to work with the Shadow Lord of the island if it gets him to his goal - he isn't scrupulous - but the criminal element of the island increasing is something he sees as a major issue.

Also, when you're evaluating someone as a candidate for power, riches, secrets, potentially kingship - then being curious about how the money you give to people is going to be used is kind of a relevant trait!

Interpersonally, Kabru's actually very easygoing - I mean, Mickbell isn't exactly an upstanding guy, is he! But Kabru likes him and they get along well. These traits wouldn't be a problem at all in a friend, or a comrade, or someone Kabru was confident he could use. But he can't get a handle on Laios, and Laios is someone who has the potential to be a major player!

On Laios' end, this is the same as with the marriage seeker who joined their party. She kept asking for things and he gave them to her, because he tries to be nice to others. He even gives her money! It's the exact same thing.

That's fine, but it became a problem because he basically wasn't interested in her motives, didn't notice she was trying to manipulate him, and it also didn't occur to him that the other party members would notice or be affected. We can assume the situation with the gold peeler is the same. When Kabru says that "It's not that they're bad people, they just aren't interested in humans," he isn't wrong.

The extent to which this is true of Laios is linked to his autism imo, (because it isn't just disinterest - he genuinely isn't able to notice nonverbal cues that people are lying to him or have ulterior motives) but to a greater or lesser extent I think it's a very common trait. Most people aren't actually that interested in other people who aren't close to them. Kabru is the weird one here. It isn't an issue except as a leader - which is why we see an immediate comparison to the Island's Lord, because that's how Kabru is evaluating them.

And disinterest in/lack of ability with people to the extent Laios exhibits it, it does, actually, make him a worse leader... it's just that as we see in the story, people can help him out. The rest of the party tell him the marriage seeker is taking advantage of him so he tells her he can't give her special treatment anymore. They're pissed and it's a crisis point - he couldn't have recovered their trust without Marcille and Falin - but that's exactly the point. With Marcille and Falin, he was able to recover their trust.

And he has other good traits that make up for it, such as his intelligence, strategic knowledge, open-mindedness and sense of fairplay.

Kabru doesn't disqualify Laios as a candidate based on what he sees about him from afar, though - he still tries very hard to get close to him, obviously hoping that if he manages he can steer Laios to defeat the dungeon and make up for his lack of people-skills in the aftermath. (Which... he does eventually achieve that goal!) He completely fails until the events of the story, so... definitely I think "They just aren't interested in humans" could also partially be a stung reaction to Laios' complete disinterest in him.

Anyway, that's my read on what exactly Kabru's "issue" with Laios is. Obviously, once he does find out what Laios' true nature is like - about his love for monsters - he develops an entirely new set of fears about Laios' priorities. But since Laios kept that a secret until the start of the story, he has no idea of that yet.

Given all that, I think it's interesting that he says that he doesn't think that the Toudens are suitable to defeat the dungeon, and that he's hoping they'll turn out to be the thieves. As some of his few potential candidates, people who he thinks may play a big role in the island's future, you'd think he'd hope they would be good people!

I suppose it's better, in his eyes, because it means that he's involved in something "interesting". They haven't just had their stuff stolen by regular criminals (boring, puts them further away from his goal) - they've been caught up in the beginning stages of "a historic event". The desperate and dwindling group forgetting morals in their quest to retrieve their lost comrade probably appeals to his sense of melodrama. Because he also just... loves drama.

Despite it being "uglier than anything he was expecting", he still pursues Laios as the person he wants to conquer the dungeon pretty much as soon as it becomes clear that he won't be able to do it himself and they are out of time. That's because... well, to be fair, there aren't any other options. And he fits standard A: he's short-lived!

and Kabru still hopes he can fit standard B, too, and be persuaded to use the power he wins for good. No matter how many nightmares he has about Laios, or whether he thinks about killing him. He doubts him, but ultimately he puts his faith in him and seems happy after the manga's ending that he made the right decision.

[linkedin-offficial]

more vivian things

[stil-lindigo]

you wonder why I'm bitter?

[tossawary]

Trying to judge Kakashi for his teaching fuck-ups is hard because everything keeps getting skewed by everything that is wrong with this man and also everything around him. He ends up being graded on the triple wonky curves of: 1) "You know, I'm not sure that you specifically could have done much better." (Child soldier as a preschooler, isolated genius prodigy fast-tracked out of childhood, violently orphaned twice, war veteran, late teenage years and nearly half his life spent in black ops, he's only like 26 years old, etc...)

2) "I'm not sure that the average Konoha ninja could have really done much better in Kakashi's shoes." (Inconsistent prior Academy training for students, little to no apparent teacher training or solid child development resources for genin team teachers, inconsistent oversight from neglectful superiors, promotion exams where it's apparently normal-ish for participants to be either killed or permanently injured, etc...)

3) "I don't think anyone could have handled this situation well, honestly. It was fucked up before Kakashi showed up." (Sasuke.) (Also Naruto if his personality had been slightly different, after 12 years of neglect and shunning. What the fuck.)

[chaosmax]

Many thanks to @rewuyuu for the commission!

hello everyone do you have a moment to learn about Sampo and Jing Yuan friendship propaganda because IN THIS ESSAY I WILL--

(based on that one Jason Momoa meme, because this is so their energy)

Edit: said essay--

(obligatory these are just personal headcanons of a friend and mine other interpretations are valid)

-They both go :3 they are both some of the few characters that make that face and it is adorable.

-They both conceal their true deeper feelings behind teehee funny man/lax eepy personas [this is assuming the Funny Bone video is canon to Sampo. It was made for Hoyofair but Hoyoverse showcased it in the Live concert event so I consider that canon until Hoyoverse says otherwise]

-On the topic of that both had a tight-knit group of friends they hung out with when they were younger and were ride or die with. Unfortunately, this turned out to be die as all of their friends died (some of the HCQ are still alive but are either reincarnated or so changed/driven mad from Mara the version Jing Yuan knew had died) while Sampo and Jing Yuan were the only one out of their pals to survive.

-But both had to move on and continue to anyway, whether they wanted to or not

-Due to these things in common they would understand and relate to each other in a deep, meaningful way that few others in their lives could. There would be a certain level of liberty to their friendship because of it. They'd be able to release pent-up emotions and trauma as well as sympathize and empathize with each other. They'd be able to support each other and trust each other with the burdens of their pasts because of it. While not easy for these topics to come up initially, once they did they would find a safe space in each other for these topics. And from this would form a strong bond of trust.

-Not to mention Sampo would be a great way for master strategist ™️ Jing Yuan to keep tabs on what is happening throughout the galaxy in other places or gain valuable information for the Xianzhou Alliance. AND as Jing Yuan has expressed a lot his daily life is quite boring and loves to hear tales from the Astral Express's adventures he'd also love to hear all the wild antics Sampo gets up to because you KNOW Sampo has some wild tales to tell

-In happier news Sampo is very outwardly mischievous while Jing Yuan is also hella sneaky but in a different way usually. But when put together they bring out the utter gremlin in each other and are constantly messing with each other or having a prank war but it's all in good fun. It makes them both genuinely laugh a lot, breathing new life into their days.

-Also Mimi is either really affectionate with Sampo or bullying him (safely and gently) but it freaks Sampo out because she so beeeg. Jing Yuan finds it hilarious.

[creatrixanimi]

I’ve been thinking about an angsty AU where chandelure gets injured when Ingo goes missing (was taken)

[sassypantsjaxon]

Listen. I know most of the earlier one piece movies aren't really canon, but I am obsessed with the implications of Saga in the Cursed Holy Sword, because he really adds a layer to Zoro's relationships with his rivals.

Okay. First, there's Kuina. His first rival. The one he can never beat. The promise to become the greatest. Untouchable, indestructible, until she isn't. Wado Ichimonji.

Then there's Saga. His next rival. They're more equally balanced. They're both orphans. There's an understanding there. A more even footing that he didn't have with Kuina. A gifted short sword instead of an inherited katana.

And Sanji. The proof of Zoro's rule of three. Twice over, in fact, third rival, third son. Never gives Zoro an inch in a fight, but doesn't hesitate to give him food afterwards. He doesn't fight with a sword, so there's no blade shared between them. Instead there's a much heavier promise.

Kuina dies. Saga dies. Both so close to Zoro, and he couldn't even do anything. Of course Zoro's worried when Sanji boards the sea train by himself. Of course he pushes Sanji out of the way at Thriller Bark. Of course he's angry with Sanji when he runs off to Whole Cake.

Zoro's already mourned his first two best friends rivals. Does he really have to go through that again?

Maybe Kuina wouldn't have fallen if Zoro had never asked her to fight him. Maybe if Zoro had been a little better he could have saved Saga. Maybe Zoro will have to kill Sanji himself.

[sysig]

Rainbows (Patreon)

[jellyfishfem]

grooming is when *checks notes* we talk about the dangers of the sex industry

[zer0point5ive]

[theetwinkleboy]

just. came across this panel and got unexpectedly and wildly emotional about aizawa becoming a dad. because like. he cares about his students, he's shown time and time again that he'll push them and fight for them against villains and the media and he'll go to his last breath to protect them but like. they're hero students and he's their teacher and he's tough and strict because he has to be to keep them alive. but then like--

it's morning and he's doing her hair. he's got the hair ties with the little baubles on them and he's doing her hair and she's been through so much crap and aizawa's never shown being demonstrably affectionate or enthusiastic around her the way that izuku and mirio are but like. he's been her dependable quiet shadow every time she's shown up in the manga so far, and he doesn't have to be strict or tough with her because what she needs isn't someone to teach her how to save others, it's someone that she can trust to be there when she needs, someone she can trust to do her hair with little bauble hair ties in the morning.

[kusanagihaku]

anyway thinking about haku again,,,,,

his artefact is the flute - it lays spirits to rest. the power of artefacts don’t have to have anything with their stigmas (see: ritsu bopping people on the head with his thickass book).

his family-inherited abilities include seeing spirits and ? laying them to rest.

the chancellor uses him as an examiner to test other ghouls’ stigmas. by holding their hands, he’s able to ? ascertain what their abilities are? (what did they do to test stigmas before haku enrolled?)

taiga also said haku can also (try to) resolve curses if he has access to the anomaly. maybe his stigma has something to do with seeing someone’s supernatural history, like their curses (and their demonic pacts) -> understanding how it has affected them -> knowing how to solve it -> actually solving it, if he has the means to do so?

(which makes sense with one of the theories that he used to be in clementia before the clash and his transfer to hotarubi? understanding how something is cursed can help him exorcise things, after all?)

rui also says haku helped him a lot with advice about his curse early on. accumulated knowledge about curses / supernatural stuff might come about as part of his upbringing, or might be part of his stigma?

if haku’s stigma is something along these lines + the theory going around that your stigma is related to your pact, would haku’s demonic pact then be related to being able to understand and resolve curses?

it ties in almost too well with his family business. did he make his pact because he wanted to help those who came to his family’s shrine for help? did he make the pact because he thought it would help his family’s shrine (given that shrines are in the supernatural business)? was it a last ditch effort to prove himself useful to his family / to prove he wasn’t irresponsible?

given how hard he works for hotarubi (he says in bs-log that hotarubi is understaffed + his official profile says he’s often cleaning up other students’ messes), i refuse to believe his family’s view that he’s an irresponsible heir... if he did make the pact to help his family’s shrine… how much more does he have to do / how much harder does he have to work or how much more does he have to give away before he can live up to their expectations?

[stiffyck]

Obsessed with him

@kittlebyll kind of a my take on ur scar, hope u don’t mind

[daily-hanamura]