#she is the one true catgirl

[mrpsychokiller]

i honestly do think theres a middle man you can get at where both "its good that dungeon meshi doesn't rely on a lot of sexualization tropes used in anime/manga which are often used to objectify and hypersexualize female characters, specially young or young looking ones" and "dungeon meshi IS very horny and theres nothing inherently wrong with a piece of media, including anime and manga, being sexual in nature" are true statements.

just like generally "its okay to think anime women are hot and think fanservice is hot" and "a lot of fanservice of anime characters is objectifying/sexualizes underage characters/sexualizes sexual assault etc. in pretty nasty ways" are both true.

like you get me. its great that falin has huge titties out in her chimera form and its great if you like that. but also i understand where "the senshi panty shots are protecting the women of gratuitous fanservice" statements are coming from because panty shots are most often used alll the time to sexualize female characters. dungeon meshi is hot AND i think its great that the character whos old but looks young is chilchuck and not a little loli fairy, and that the catgirl isnt sexualized considering she's a minor, and that the female characters are allowed emotional depth regardless of how sexy they are. does that make sense. if anything i want more anime to be hornier but in the way dunmeshi is, in a way that doesn't need 16 year old school girls to be hot and instead has tridimensional and complex adult women with variety in body types. we need more women making manga is my conclusion

[s-aint-elmo]

digging out the eah content i created in a frenzy during last year’s summer of obsession part 1: my personal sapphic multishipping guide (created to explain to my friends which of these dolls i think should hold hands)

(more in-depth discussion of the ships below the cut)

the polycule that will take over ever after

kitty/lizzie; kitty/maddie; maddie/lizzie

self-explanatory. frequently purchased together do not separate. bonus shoutout to maddie canonically giving kitty a little kissie on the cheek and getting off scot-free in the books though. a wonderlandiful world was a banquet to me

cedar protection squad

once again a wonderlandiful world and once upon a time i owe you my life. kitty ESP being so adamant abt not giving a shit then turning around and fucking up those boys who were mean to cedar...... i love friendship

kitty/cerise

also self-explanatory. she was a catgirl she was a wolfgirl can i make it anymore obvious. also doribuki’s phenomenal fake dating fanfic....... transformative foundational transcendental

cerise/raven

YOU MUST UNDERSTAND. i entered eah a rapple shipper and exited the book series ready to burn at the stake for cerise/raven. book two was SO MUCH. it had everything. raven befriending cerise despite her attempts to isolate herself. texting in class. winking at each other. raven meeting the parents and hearing embarrassing baby cerise stories. cerise putting it all on the line to save raven. i’m ambivalent about shadow high but cerise gets literally one (1) mention and it’s in raven’s internal monologue wherein she equates cerise’s hood w feelings of warmth and safety. like how was that in any way necessary. i rest my case 

raven & maddie

self-explanatory as well. dabesties. the ride or dies. it means so much to me that raven always has a friend in maddie no matter how many clowns and jokers (derogatory) treat her like the antichrist. maddie the character ever

raven/apple

WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN. the gelphie dynamic is a classic and i am EXTREMELY vulnerable to it. they are THE ship and i will pay my respects to the end of time. i am a big fan of how they trade their roles throughout the franchise and how rich the drama and history are between them. it’s pure fucking poetry.

raven/darling

TBH. a serve. the only thing juicier than evil queen/damsel in distress is evil queen/princess charming. big big fan of darling giving raven the five star princess treatment after a lifetime of being feared and shunned and vilified. equally big fan of raven’s momentous act of rebellion giving darling the courage to be true to herself. ALSO. the absolute archetype-subversion slay of the Pure-Hearted Hero(TM) confronting the Mistress of Evil(TM) and dropping their sword. looking through the smoke and mirrors and the will of Fate itself to see the girl who has wanted nothing but to be kind beneath. swearing their heart and soul and sword to the one true good they have found. picture it. i can almost see the 100-word drabble

raven/apple/darling

now THIS is just THE fairytale couple. the evil queen, the damsel in distress and the princess charming ALL holding hands and riding off into the sunset together. dappling on its own doesn’t do it for me but raven in the mix just makes everything gel perfectly. she’s the tomato in the ratatouille the cornstarch in the spring roll water, etc etc

darling/holly

this is one of those ships where i read a really convincing fic and the more i thought of it the more it just made sense. like they'd read swashbucklers and tales of courtly love together. holly would 100% write a darling placeholder in her self-insert romance fanfic pre-relationship as a way to express her feelings. darling would 100% find out and gently pull her out of the pit of sheer mortification she drilled into the ground to escape. also the height difference is a thing of beauty

safe from the polycule

duchess/poppy

they have one singular episode to their name and it was enough. it was Everything. the dynamic you can extrapolate from that one single interaction is so incredibly appealing to me. duchess’s bitchiness belied by her palpable air of vulnerability coming up against poppy’s spine of steel tempered by her skill in gaining perspective. poppy can challenge duchess into being a better person and duchess can be poppy’s character flaw like idk she just has shit taste in women that was the price she had to pay to be moisturized and unbothered by destiny. i just think they have the potential to be the unexpected, inexplicable power couple of eah

briar/faybelle

do i even need to say anything they had a whole movie to make their case. they’re rapple if rapple got their shit together before armageddon, with the bonus of a potential curse-breaking true love’s kiss for the fanfic authors to thrash between their teeth. truly unlimited. also unlike rapple where raven is 100% against being a villain and therefore it’s apple who has to do the mental gymnastics to open herself to the possibility of a relationship w raven, faybelle is just chomping at the bit to make her momma proud and presents a compelling perspective for the whole “falling in love w your fated nemesis” thing

blondie/cupid

they are icons, they are legends, and they ARE the moment. these two are so chaotic individually, what with blondie’s criminal skillset and habit of menacing innocent woodland creatures and cupid’s matchmaking powers combined w her shitty aim, that putting them together can only mean good things. there’s this whole element of their shared passion as public figures who at their best seek the truth and guide others through matters of the heart respectively that’s always interesting as a point of irony/obstacle when they start catching feelings and have to decide what to do with them. their joint youtuber/podcaster slay can level nations

[catgirlforeskin]

2023 Predictions

Joe Biden becomes the first pregnant US president

Tumblr updates its sexual content guidelines to require wearing socks in all pictures

CIA declassifies documents that reveal Halo 3 is based on a true story

New discourse breaks out after trans men start using “Shemale” because “I used to be a she but now I’m male.” The guy who spearheaded the trend is outed as running multiple Harry Potter ERP blogs, but it doesn’t change anything.

First contact with aliens happens but they’re kinda weird looking so no one cares.

Catholics gain a foothold on Tumblr after arguing for Creationism by using the inherent fuckability of feet as evidence for intelligent design. They lose their influence after they as a political bloc reject armpit sex.

Catgirl and Rabbitgirl blogs get banned en masse for being inherently sexual, but doggirl blogs are allowed to stay. A two-month siege of the Tumblr offices ensues, resulting in 30 deaths.

A nuke goes off in a midwestern state.

A new type of crab evolves.

Tumblr lets you buy cosmetics to dress up your hate anons. Ungodly shipping follows shortly.

Joe Biden becomes the second pregnant US president.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Other theories I have about the conclusion to the Meursault arc, in no particular order and in varying degrees of conviction and likelihood:

Dazai believes he is not going to make it out of the prison and in fact thinks he is going to die. He says that he will make sure Sigma gets out but doesn't mention himself. Says his goal isn't to escape but to kill Dostoevsky. He's also being weirdly open about his emotions. Mind you, I think it would be odd if he were to actually die in this arc given that it doesn't make a lot of sense to me character-wise but. Idk.

Dostoevsky is not going to die this arc. Look, we still know nothing about him! I feel he's a much bigger threat than Fukuchi and that we're just barely scratching the surface with him. We know nothing about his ability, nothing about the V connection, nothing about what he's been setting up for apparently longer than most of the younger cast have been active. It can't end like this for him. In fact, he's the only one I'm adamant won't be killed in this arc.

Gogol is the true wildcard and may end up as a spanner in the works - he says he wants Dostoevsky dead but when Dazai or Chuuya or both gain the upper hand, he sways events to give Fyodor an advantage while brushing it off with "it's more interesting and entertaining like this". The real reason is that he doesn't actually want him dead at all. At the same time, I wonder if he might find Sigma and try to work with him to get the info he wanted. I seem to recall he wanted information on what Fyodor's ability was. Gogol is on no one's side. Let him be chaotic.

Sigma will manage to extract the information from Fyodor - as he cannot kill ability users with his own ability. Based on that one theory that Crime and Punishment only works on non-ability users, hence why Fyodor tricked Ace into killing himself and shot Catgirl with a gun. I wonder if Sigma, spurred on by a new burst of confidence, will take some initiative, figure it out (he's quite intelligent, actually, so I wouldn't put it past him), and get the information he needs.

Chuuya deflected the bullet shot at Catgirl so that it drew blood but did not kill her. Or Catgirl froze time long enough to make a plan with Chuuya. (*sob* i just don't want her to be dead)

They are able to use the info Sigma got to send it back to the Agency, thus wrapping up the DoA arc. However, Dostoevsky has gotten away, which means the four of them - Dazai, Sigma, Chuuya and Catgirl - need to go on a chaotic manhunt/road trip to find him. Chuuya is driving. He is livid at Dazai and is giving him the silent treatment while turning on the radio in the car with music he knows will annoy him. Dazai is shoved in the backseat between Sigma and Catgirl, pouting. Catgirl is revealed to be a kleptomaniac who keeps stealing stuff from them and all the places they stop at. She's not even supposed to be there she just enjoys the drama and the vibes. And poor Sigma does not want this at all but he has some moments where he and Chuuya get to talk and that's somewhat civil. Maybe they end up recruiting Adam for assistance. This makes no sense. :)

Gogol saves Dostoevsky because he doesn't really want him dead. This sends him into a crisis where he becomes more and more volatile and unpredictable. Terrible road-trip #2 electric boogaloo. Gogol keeps trying to kill him and becomes erratic, poisoning his drink, brandishing a knife, holding him at gunpoint. He tries to strangle him but cannot follow through. Fyodor does not care because for as long as Gogol's attachment exists, Fyodor is in control. Gogol knows that for as long as his attachment exists, he can never be free. I am aware this sounds like a screwed up fanfic premise. I want angst. :)

Dostoevsky put something in place for Chuuya on the off-chance that he managed to escape the brainwashing. There's no real evidence for this other than I think it makes some sense that Fyodor would have an emergency measure in place. Perhaps access to misleading information that might make him question things? Idk. Fyodor plays the long game. I want some real effects on the cast.

Got anything to add? :D

[rainofthetwilight]

(dr pt2 spoilers)

WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT SORA GETTING HER TRUE POTENTIAL??????

FUCK HER PARENTS!!!!!

THE WAY SHE YELLED HOW HER NAME IS NOW SORA. YOU FUCKING GO CATGIRL!!!!!!!!!!

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

so i just found some old interviews of spop, especially ones after the finale, and i just wanted to dissect some of the interesting parts:

the crew themselves keep reinforcing the idea that only catra saw adora for who she is, when the show itself says otherwise multiple times. catra, who mocked adora for never being a true hero, who kept hurting adora because she resented her for being she-ra, who kept saying that adora has a hero complex and that she is full of herself. that catra “motivated and inspired” adora?

“i wanted their romance to be the central arc”

this explains everything. the fact that they took an existing show with an intriguing fantasy world and so much potential and then reduced it to “cute lesbians kiss haha”. if you're gonna write a show about romance, do that. you don't have to butcher an already existing series for that.

“it reveals how that arc has been built”

what arc? is the arc we're talking about in the same room as us? because from what i can see, they put in zero effort to make c//a's development even halfway coherent. catgirl tortures hero for four seasons, gets saved by said hero and joins the good guys, continues torturing hero. how is that an arc?

so.. they have the right idea here. catra and adora did indeed need to take their time away from each other and deal with their problems. but did they? adora came close to building her self-esteem and realizing that she didn't have to take responsibility for everything around her. but then all that was reversed in s5 when she was forced into a relationship with the same person who ruined her sense of self-worth in the first place.

catra.. doesn't even try. the closest she got to moving on from her past was during her time in the crimson waste but then she ends up spiralling even deeper into toxicity, adding more and more into her list of crimes. in s5, she is shown to reflect on her relationship with adora but does she learn anything from it? nope. she continues abusing and berating adora, she continues giving adora mixed signals and relying on adora to do all the work in the relationship.

so the crew seemingly had the right idea (although i'd say they still shouldn't get into a relationship, even after they've worked on their issues) but never followed through. instead they gave us a lazy and rushed redemption, where the wrongdoer never works on their flaws and instead puts all the blame on their partner. amazing.

so nate himself admits that not all of catra's actions were justified. but then, why does the show try to justify them? why does the show justify catra abusing adora by implying that it's because adora abandoned her? why does the show justify all of catra's toxic and abusive behaviour by blaming it solely on shadow weaver? if catra's actions cannot be justified, the narrative should keep her accountable, which they don't.

secondly, i'll try not to assume the worst of nate's personality from what he said, and just get to the important part.

“It's other people's decision to forgive you, that's not a given, but also there are ways for you to fix what's broken. You have to work hard to prove yourself again, you have to actually actively fix what's done, it's not as simple as a sacrifice.”

i'm so confused. the way nate says it, you'd think he applied all of this to catra's arc. but he didn't. “it's not as simple as a sacrifice” but a sacrifice was all it took for catra to be forgiven by her victims. she doesn't work on herself, her apologies were shallow, and she continues repeating the same mistakes. “it's other people's decision to forgive you” yet every single character forgives catra immediately and none of them are allowed to stay mad at her.

how could you write such a bad redemption and then talk about it as if it had all the details and nuance it was lacking? again, when speaking, nate seems to have the right idea of how to write a redemption arc. why did they fumble so badly when it came to actually executing it in the story? the only answer i can think of is that none of the writers in the crew are good at writing.

[cheebse]

One of the only catgirls I have ever enjoyed. She’s the most accurate representation of a human mixed with a cat in the history of forever. I love her, a true aro/ace queen

I forgot to draw the scarf bow but whatever

[nullbutler]

CW: mild body horror

so this is my AI AU...i dont have all of the pieces done yet, but I think this will be part one of 3 little collages I'm going to make hehe...the basic summary of the AU is, What if Black Butler BUT ROBOTS????

R!Ciel and O!Ciel are a pair of extremely intelligent bots made by the company Angel Wing (a company trying to put human sentience into robots to specifically help prolong the lives of sick children). The two of them are called RCL and OCL (R-C-L, O-C-L, pronounced just as you'd pronounce r!ciel and o!ciel, since it's cee el) and they're the newest little toy...

That is, until RCL goes missing from their little padded cell of monitored stimulation and information learning. And, then, a strange nebulous 'virus' infects OCL. Suddenly, he's on the run -- or rather, something is running and he's in their arms!!

Sebastian Michaelis (nicknamed, The Daemon, because he almost exclusively codes in hebrew and it looks Very Intimidating) had his eye on these little bots (called: dolls). He wants to know the true depth of their humanity, whether or not they actually 'have a soul' or if its a big hoax. Consider that a morbid curiosity of his. And so by hacking the mainframe of the company and infiltrating, he's finally able to extrapolate what's going on...

Kinda.

Anyway, while they're on the run, they have to crash at the fantastic transgender catgirl hacker (a very common trope, I know) Grelle's bachelorette pad.

details i can't fit in

OCL is 4'4, RCL is 4'5, they're quite a bit smaller and lighter since they're hypertech robots

They can't walk on their own for very long, their legs are functional but they were not designed for that

OCL...um....can bleed. something. something is going on. they're not really sure what he is.

He doesn't remember anything either

Sebastian's current hacker name is DOG because him and Grelle had a kitty motif for a while, but then he lost a bet. At the end of the month hes nerfing his account (like he'd even last that long before being caught)

characters that are important and WILL show up later: Alois, Jim, Claude, Undertaker, Ash, other important ones

something bad happened to RCL. OCL cannot remember it, though :(

no grelle's ears are not real. its a headband for the aesthetic. shes in her playful era. its between the 50 different shades of crimson eras

I've been calling this thing Cosmo Circuits. If you even care

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

PROPAGANDA

Catra Propaganda

"Seeing SPOP fans call Catra unhealthy and problematic makes me laugh… people love babygirling anime men who commit genocide but start finger wagging when it’s a lesbian space catgirl. Sure, fine. Personally, I think she should have commited more war crimes and killed people on screen. Lesbians should be able to try to kill each other on TV without people crying about how their behavior shouldn’t be “normalized”. Just sit back and enjoy the show"

Yukari Propaganda

"YUKARI PROPAGANDA: SHE IS LITERALLY SO CORRECT ABOUT EVERYTHING. People call her a bitch for uhh [checks notes] having a a brief freak out after she's shown live footage of her father's gruesome death? For [checks notes] accusing Mitsuru of lying to them about important information (which turned out to be COMPLETELY TRUE, by the way, but fans still mock her for this)? For [checks notes one last time] being mean to Junpei, who gives as good as he gets with rude and sometimes sexist comments in response? And even then, several times she apologizes or reassures him that she was just kidding when he seems genuinely upset by her words, so it's not like she isn't compassionate towards him. She is also routinely mocked and villainized for (huge spoilers) wanting to risk it all to attempt to save the protagonist after he passes away saving the world. To be fair, this turns out to have been the wrong choice, but let's be real -- she was a grieving teenager trying to save her friend slash crush. Yes, she was emotionally all over the place during The Answer. Of course she was! THE WORLD ALMOST ENDED AND HER FIRST LOVE HAD TO DIE TO SAVE EVERYONE. LIKE, THAT JUST HAPPENED TO HER. And everyone somehow just expects her to behave perfectly rationally when she's a 17 year old girl who just lost someone important to her and also almost died with the rest of humanity. Girl is traumatized and grieving and all people can do is call her a hysterical bitch or whatever other shit they wanna come up with." (by @ragecndybars)

"she's NOT a bitch she has a hard time opening up to people + she's a 17 year old dealing with grief after one of those people dies leave her alone!!"

[zecretsanta]

to: @goggles-girl

from: @mortellanarts

prompt: Junpei and Akane decide to adopt a pet together (and it doesn’t come as naturally as they would like at first)

I also made a fic for this one! I feel like the first thing that would go wrong is that Akane wouldn’t be comfortable taking care of animals again at all, the second would be that Junpei’s canonically an impulse adopter. So this ended up being more about getting Akane to come around about the idea in the first place (also many catgirl jokes at her expense lmao) Also about the drawing I imagine she quickly comes around to enjoying the little head boops while reading :3

Hope you enjoy!

——————

Junpei and Akane had gone through hell to be by each other’s sides. That was true, sure, but a few years into their ‘happy ending’ and the picture perfect act has begun to feel rather unsustainable. Not to mention it should have long since stopped being an act to begin with.

The I love you’s are very real… when they are apart.

It’s not as bad as when they first reunited at least, it wasn’t a very fun sort of tension like she vicariously lived through a little by playing June all that time ago. No, it was more comparable to the tension between a bleeding wound and the injured hand applying pressure to it. They both knew it, felt it, then let the matter join the many subjects which they don’t talk about. Ever. Despite the fact that they probably should.

As counterintuitive as it sounds, their counter to all of that was wanting to be with each other as much as possible. Maybe that’d make the pain fade. To get to know each other better like any normal couple, maybe a bit to prove to themselves they still liked each other’s company and that they hadn’t changed completely from what brought them together as kids.

Big problem with that is, the farthest thing Akane wanted for any of those outings, especially the rare ones where she was somehow convinced into going outdoors, was for it to so closely remind her of any of the things that brought them closer together at that terrible tender age of twelve.

Wandering into an animal shelter wasn’t the intention behind this little stroll. Neither of them even knew it’d be here- really, it wasn’t even much of a proper shelter to begin with, it seems more like an adoption fair. One that was hopefully backed by an indisputably good-faith, locally known and reliable organization– and not by any other corporate entity with history that she’d be tempted to add to her criminal record over. Every time Junpei tells her that the ever-present instinct to suspect and look into every little thing she comes across is bad for her he also fumbles and asks what are the chances she’d just happen to bump into that kind of huge conspiracy so often in her life without actively looking. She answers it’s always a non-zero chance in the end, and they risk far more if unsuspecting. That’s always when he drops the subject.

Though at a certain awkward distance from the fences, she’d elected to just go along with it and follow him for as long as the detour entertains him. It’s not like she hates getting to see the little critters around the place, she’s not that messed up about it, of course not… There’s even a comfortable amount of people around too! Which is to say, far less than there are animals.

There would have been an attempt to just keep walking past where this was taking place, if not for the fact that it really hadn’t taken long for Junpei to start playing with one of the dogs. Not that the rest of the pack wasn’t jumping at trying to grab his attention too, of course, but he took a liking to a particular one.

Noticing she’d stayed behind, barely budging an inch, his voice turns into that clumsy but cute stammering, like it always does whenever he’s trying to sound sensible.

“Oh uh, do you- uh… do you have a fear of dogs?” It helps ease her into a grin just a little.

“No. ‘Afraid’ isn’t the word I’d use…” She just doesn’t know what to do with her hands at the moment other than hold onto Junpei’s, which wasn’t helped when he suddenly let go. And well, it’s not like she knows the temperament of the animals just by looking and it’s really a lot of sudden movements to keep track of in just one place, it’s also not like she would want to risk bothering them when she barely wants to be touched ever without initiating it either, not to mention the space they’re in seems quite small– she makes herself smile again and tilts her head squinting, realizing she’d forgotten to ask. “Is… that a Boston terrier?”

“…Got it. Well, you are more of a cat person I guess. And uh- I don’t know? If you say so, then it must be? I’m not really good at remembering the names for these.”

She steps closer and leans down next to him, who is just sitting on the floor without a care, palms on her knees for support.

"It’s not like I hate pups just because I get along better with the cats.”

"Of course not, just look at them. Aw… it’s hard to imagine anyone could hate these guys.”

Avoidant as she may be, after a solid half minute or so of her watching him have fun she also extends her hand out to pet the dog who, while not showing clear distaste for it or anything, only goes back to wagging its tail when circling back to Junpei. He quickly took over once more when she retracted her hand, vigorously pulling his hands along the fur around the collar and talking to it in a jumbled baby-talk that was apparently really enriching judging by how it earns enthusiastic barking back, as if in conversation. Exactly matching all that energy that Akane couldn’t imagine keeping up with even on a good day.

Between laughter, his voice starts being directed at her again, even if what he says is more of a musing to himself.

"Wait, I think I’m beginning to remember what this little guy reminds me of…”

Oh. Only now? Come on Jumpy, this one’s even black and white as well.

That’s it, she’s got to mess with him now.

"You mean like… a wrestler? The spots on its face already look like a mask but I’m sure a fun little costume would be a really cute look. Clover could DIY a big belt spelling out ‘winner’ for them as well! Unless- or was it a retired wrestler…?”

"No- what are you talking about?! Everything that you just said was absolutely bananas–” Even if his tone poorly feigns appalment there’s humor in it too. "I mean- what’s wrestling got to do with anything, what the hell–?”

"You mean you don’t know?”

It was just ‘bananas’ enough to pull his eyes away from the dog and, apparently, being met with her expression looking down at him while knowingly and visibly holding in laughter, was all it took for it to finally dawn on him.

"Ohh— ” She starts laughing before he facepalms and, from the sound of it, he hits far harder than intended too. Pulling her partner to his feet by hooking her arm under his, she speaks cheerily only once he seems to have recovered enough.

"You shouldn’t touch your face without washing your hands first.”

"Come on, give a guy a moment, okay? This is an overwhelming amount of emotion to feel all at once…” It’s endearing to see him engage in his own variety of theatrics, even if only for the sake of unfunny jokes that she can’t help but be fond of anyways.

"Dork.”

"But hey, you’re right. It would be pretty funny to give him a little wrestler costume… You sure there’s no place for him back home?”

Home as a single stationary place still sounds so foreign to her, and that’s just the part she doesn’t want to talk about.

"We’re here just looking.”

"You say that as if I were a stranger asking and not part of the we in question.”

"Very well. I did not intend on being here today and I won’t indulge in what’s essentially impulse buying a living being, Jumpy.”

"Come on Kanny, what could go wrong? I mean, we’ve got space, we’ve got more than enough funds, I think it would be–”

”What could go wrong?” Sometimes it’s hard to tell if he’s being dense on purpose. “Do you really need me to say it?”

"I… thought you liked animals?”

And with that, it’s finally safe to assume Junpei’s chances of getting his tact back are long gone. Not that she thinks he ever had any to lose.

Flat shoes walk away into the fair, but that’s only because the best way out is through. Akane gets pretty far in before Junpei decides to stop dancing around the subject and puts himself square in front of her, blocking the way.

"Look, I never heard of a single other person who had luck as shitty as we did that summer. Alright? It wasn’t a subject I looked into much but even hearing from people in law enforcement it was a freakish animal cruelty incident that doesn’t happen often. That whole area had issues with that sort of thing anyw–”

"I never heard of luck as poor as I was left with that whole entire year.”

"Y-yeah, there’s that-” When they do bring up a subject that should be buried, there’s not much to do except measure the reaction. That’s what’s between them, if they can’t look away then it better mean something at least. "And… I wasn’t there to help at first, but I came around eventually. I won’t let something like that happen again.”

It’s sweet, he even holds her hand in his… but it’s still a little conceited.

"What makes you think I would?”

"Perfect! Then, we’re both in agreement. There’s nothing bad that could possibly happen and we can totally bring one of these guys home uh… if you two click?”

"Excuse me? At which point did we agree?”

"It doesn’t have to be permanent, these kinds of places do all sorts of trial runs, foster–”

"That’s just cruel.”

"Well, but it doesn’t have to be. I’m sure the little fella will love us and we’ll end up keeping them.”

"What if I don’t want to get attached to a creature with hardly a sixth of a human lifespan?”

"Did you want to uh, take a look at the cats since that’s more comfortable for you?

"Junpei.” None of this is comfortable.

"Okay, okay.” He puts his hands up in a mock gesture of surrender… before plunging into his pocket and pulling out his phone for some reason. ”… Here goes a last ditch effort…”

“What are you doing now?”

"Hey man, can you help me convince your sister of something?”

Before she can even begin to reprimand him he’s clicking his tongue and dialing up again. When Aoi picks up again she can hear even from the arm’s length she’s being kept at.

"Whatever this is about, what makes you think I could possibly be on your side instead of hers?!”

"I don’t! Just hear me out, okay- gimme a second.” He opens the video option in the call and turns the phone in her direction. He has a mildly confused look urging her to explain the situation but it’s a few moments until she says anything, because Junpei has a stupid grin on his face and they both know he might win this.

”…Junpei wants a pet. And we happened to walk into a kennel. Cattery–”

“Adoption fair.”

"And he’s being really stubborn.”

Takes a second for her brother to process the absolute nonanswer he comes up with.

"Oh.”

"Oh?”

"There are worse arguments you could be having out there.” Though Junpei wouldn’t be the one pulling him into those. "Guessing that wasn’t on your itinerary?”

"You think? Why am I not hearing you antagonize him anymore?”

"I mean, I think it could be good for you? You used to beg me for one all the time- until I said Santa couldn’t send animals in boxes with little holes poked in them for air like in the movies.”

She yanks the phone out of Junpei’s hand and turns off the video before putting it up to her ear, looking almost embarrassed.

"Aoi.”

"You’re right, you’re right– it’s a ton of responsibility. Wouldn’t be trying to convince you sis, I’m just saying–”

"You think that’s the part I’d take issue with??”

Akane takes off, pacing away from Junpei, wanting some distance at least if not privacy to continue one of the silliest sibling squabbles in recent memory. Which is completely fine by him, there’s plenty to do while she talks herself into it just to prove a point.

After a few minutes, Akane’s standing next to Junpei again. Turns off the phone and extends her arm out for him to take it without looking at him, pouty like a child while Junpei’s looking smug. This is like the first marital dispute he’s won.

”…Only if we come across one I feel is a good fit.”

“I’ll take that.”

Aoi and Light had recently gotten a cat of their own, though insistently not as a couple, Akane doesn’t really understand what her brother’s love life is like (and she’s grateful to be spared of the details) but they have something going on, why else would he move in with them after she decided to move in together with Junpei? Actually, she might have heard him mention that one of Clover’s coworkers found the little calico abandoned and she offered to take it in, so really it wasn’t even like it was his responsibility any more than the Field’s by a long shot but still… he was so happy over it, which used to be such a rare sight, that Akane found it hard to be a buzzkill about it by voicing what came to her mind.

In truth, it wasn’t just the rabbit hutch thing giving her pause. Aside from the obvious glaring reason for her to be hesitant to hold such a tiny creature in her arms, despite her love for them, she just didn’t think she knew how anymore. At this point she’s more used to stuffed animals, not that she kept many of those around either.

While they visited recently, she sat very stiltedly holding the feline in her lap, her brother went from gushing about it to joking about already having experience looking after a weird ‘kit cat’ his whole life. After she complained Junpei followed up on it by sneakily referring to her as ‘kitten’, just that once, and even if by some metric seeing them getting along was cute she’d have kicked them both if not for the purring fluff ball snoozing on top of her thighs. This was far more anxiety inducing than a plush, she noted, and it only became more evident each fleeting second, each motion coiling for breath she felt against her skin. It was so precious and so easy to ruin and her hands were too singed to hold it. The fact her body deeply rejects such simple gentleness despite it having come so easily to her once is a mourning unto itself.

Most of the cats they see around are cozily lazing about, some snuggling together, staring back at them curiously at most. She could genuinely smile at that. It’s calmer with none of them seeming in the mood for interaction at the moment. They slow their pace now that Akane is actually participating, the unexpected unexpectedness of the situation no longer weighing her down as much.

Though it was still a bit much, so they sat together by a bench for her to rest a little. It wasn’t far at all, it’s right behind one of the cat houses in fact just where it starts leading away from the event.

She’s so completely lost in thought that she’s surprised to hear a small high pitched gasp before even realizing it was a sound she herself had made. Then looking down at her leg she understands why.

A little black cat scratched at her leg, accidentally, it looked more like the tiny little fuzz ball was attempting to climb her leg. Well, technically not black, she notices the fur is a dark grayish color with tons of off-color patches when she gets a better look and she only gets that better look because it succeeds at its task. At which point she has to attempt to scoop the very tiny cat with both hands so it’s not at risk from falling back down. Only stopping its determined meowing when he settles on her lap.

"Why do they always choose you?”

"Because I don’t try chasing after them like they’re dogs, Junpei.”

"Hey, that’s not something I’ve done since I’ve grown up, okay? Well- except–”

"If you say I’m the exception, I swear–”

"Okay! So, where did this little fella come from?”

"I didn’t see…” She leans in and rubs behind the cat’s ears, earning a soft little purr of gratitude. The fur really is weirdly patched when you look close, it doesn’t feel like the coloration should be that way, the texture’s also a bit different. Wait, are the eyes not open yet? Or is one–

It isn’t long before an employee? Volunteer? A lady in a friendly colored vest comes to gently whisk away the culprit, she seems young and a bit anxious to have to talk to them.

"Oogh, I’m so sorry ma'am, are you okay? These little nails didn’t do a number on you, right?”

Akane gets on her feet to more steadily help the kitten trade hands.

“Oh, oh no, I’m perfectly fine. Really, I could barely feel it. Thank you.”

“That’s good.”

And that’s where the interaction would have ended if Junpei didn’t also get up.

"Hi, I’m with her. So, how come he’s popped up all the way over here?”

"You see this guy’s a little escape artist– every time there’s people around he tries to hide away from visitors by sneaking out into the desk with us, so… then why today did he decide to bother such a nice couple instead? What’s up with you?”

The cat is still trying to climb out back to where it was a minute ago, which the volunteer seems to know how to handle, though it’s funny to see it go from her arm to her shoulder then back to the other arm. A lot of effort is going into making sure he doesn’t throw himself on the ground. Junpei waits for a moment where the pace’s slowed down a bit to also try to pet him, seems to like him too.

“Aww, I think that’s a really good fit, actually. What’s his name?”

“Oh we don’t know actually, this friend was found without a nameplate. He’s made a name for himself but it’s not been that long at all since he’s been with us, we haven’t agreed on a name yet since he’s been back from the vet. Wait, did you say you two were interested?”

He looks at Akane for her to answer. She looks back with what doesn’t seem to be a look of aggression to the general onlooker, but they know he’s putting her on the spot like this so she won’t be backhanded about agreeing.

"Well, yes. If possible, I mean- isn’t the saying that the pet chooses the owner and not the other way around? We sure sound like we’ll get along, we both aren’t super sociable either–”

The awkward little laugh got to Junpei, who’s more comfortable with failing at humor in front of strangers than she is to even attempt it.

"He must have thought ‘oh these guys are off by themselves away from everyone too, we’ll get along great!’”

That’s just silly enough that she can look at him funny behind crossed arms and it’ll be an entirely appropriate reaction. She can only hope that’s the only thing that he sensed in them.

The kitten settled into a nap on the volunteer’s arms by now, tired himself out. Really is an adorable sight.

"That’s just great! One of you just has to come fill up a questionnaire at the table and a few more things, we can sort out real quick- uhm… I guess I should- oh right! So, like I was saying, this fella may come with extra expenses due to health complications, is that okay with you? Are you new pet owners?”

"The issue isn’t money…” “We are? New to it- kind of…”

“Oh, don’t worry too much. He’s all healthy now, neutered and the vaccinations all in order too, it’s just… it’s a little bit of a hard sell to some people since he needed stitches and lost an eye so he’s always going to be a bit wobblier than average when moving around.”

"A-ah… why is that?”

Akane’s hand suddenly has a vice grip on his. For once, the resolve in her voice is undeliberate, shaky.

"We don’t need to hear the story.” She turns away from the volunteer and her voice turns small so only her partner hears. “Can you go take care of all that? I’ll go get my brother to help get things in order before they go do a housecheck, if they’ll do one.”

"There’s not much there to cat proof I don’t think, but sure. Guess you’d- uh, have a better eye for that stuff… Also let me guess, you want me to tell you when that is happening so you can go to his place while there’s strangers over?” A smile confirms that. "Alright. But I’ll check in with Clover too to make sure you two aren’t skipping town instead.” Another smile, more mischievous this time.

"Oh no, my plan’s been found out.” First off, if she really intended on making an exit she wouldn’t bring it up to him first, duh, as if she were an amateur. Second, maybe this line of teasing can get far too draining, far too quick, so she changes the subject one last time. "Tell me your name ideas when I get back.”

She places a kiss on his cheek and saunters off. Does she wish she didn’t get shoved into bringing painful color back into a memory that had just barely grayed and numbed?

Yes.

But she wouldn’t have been convinced if she didn’t genuinely think they were capable of giving it a try. Maybe any place they stay at together will feel more like a home when there’s someone living there with them that isn’t walking on eggshells, that is just uncomplicatedly happy to have survived whatever it did before it ended up there. Maybe she’ll learn to do that as well. Things already are complicated enough.

[sytokun]

"Blake Belladonna should have been an orphan". No, I didn't stutter

Rant incoming. If you feel the onset of symptoms like malding and seething, just click away and you'll make an immediate recovery.

You cannot tell me that Blake's parents weren't randomly created on the fly post-Volume 3.

By all evidence given onscreen, YES, technically Blake never mentions whether she had parents or not.

But she also doesn't say that she has an evil twin named Bleu Bougainvillea living on the broken moon. Doesn't mean it suddenly justifies her having one. There's equal importance in reading what Blake doesn't say.

RWBY and Team RWBY in particular are very focused on family, especially in Volume 2. Weiss mentions her father and family name. Yang talks about Raven and Summer, by extension including Ruby. Blake talks about Adam, i.e. the White Fang. Not her parents. Almost like we're supposed to think that Blake believed the White Fang was her family.

It's even weirder that Ghira and Kali actually love and support Blake, and she had no bad blood with them. For someone on good terms with her parents (just she wasn't willing to confront them), she really doesn't like, mention them at all. Not even longingly or wistfully, like a prodigal daughter wanting to return home.

But she has sketches of Adam in her notebook. Almost like maybe Adam was one of the few people on Remnant she was close to. But the world is never ready for the Adam conversation.

Honestly it's made all the more worse because Kali and Ghira are so well-liked in the fandom, because "Well, now we can't get rid of them. Look at how lovable and pleasant they are! And it's good that someone on Team RWBY has a happy home upbringing."

The latter is true - in a vacuum, but Blake is not the person to be having a happy home life, if she even has a home at all.

I'm not saying this to be mean (as if the catgirl pixels on my screen can take offense to me saying she shouldn't have her nonexistent parents), but Blake is very clearly portrayed to represent the dregs of Remnant's society - she's a Faunus, a non-citizen of the Kingdoms and likely displaced from any home she would have once known to join the White Fang. She is an underdog.

There's adding layers and nuance to a character, and there's adding just plain contradictory elements to them. I don't write "Blake is an outcast of Remnant's society, forced into an extremist group just to survive and feel heard" and then write "But also she was actually born onto the lap of privilege and led such a hard life not out of necessity but out of impulse". It's totally backwards.

Not to mention that she quite explicitly says "If you can't fight, you can't survive"... for an organization she joined and did crimes for of her own accord, when her cushy mansion, comfy bed with pre-fluffed pillows and her parents who run the place is a 20-minute walk away.

It reeks. It smells of "While you were painting your nails and drinking coconut water in your fantasy Australia/Malaysia/Polynesia frankenstein island, I studied the blade" energy when Blake says this and she isn't in any way someone who's had to suffer. Who's had no choice but to fight.

"But she's a Faunus! She's still marginalised in Remnant!" Wow, then good thing she was born and raised on the island where she's only surrounded by Faunus and probably never faced a single discriminatory act by any humans whatsoever, because the closest human around is probably 500 miles away across the ding-dang ocean.

Plus, the "we need someone in Team RWBY with normal parents" argument doesn't hold water as well, because had CRWBY committed to their writing and kept Blake an orphan or some no-name runaway, the same people would be praising Blake either way. "I'm so glad someone on Team RWBY doesn't have living parents, because 'found family' is just as important to show for Blake's arc - first for the White Fang, and now for Team RWBY". See how the reaction changes to match?

To say nothing of the fact it completely screws over the whole identity thing? Not only are you a former White Fang agent in our school, you're also the daughter of the former leader? No amount of "How many politicians' or civil rights leaders' daughters' names do you know" is going to sweep this under the rug - one shouldn't be bending over backwards this much to justify this.

The truth of the matter is the fandom would have eaten up whatever narrative CRWBY spun for Blake, and gone to any necessary lengths to justify it in hindsight as "what the show needed". It's the whole "planned from the beginning" nonsense this fandom falls victim to far too often, which is frankly embarrassing.

Had CRWBY never shown that Blake had living parents, we would have happily eaten it up, but at least they wouldn't have to change what they already said about Blake to do it. It's like saying Weiss is "the loneliest of all" and then later reveal she actually lived under the same roof with eight siblings, four uncles, five aunts, a godmother and three dogs.

"Oh, but that would have been even more effective! It would have been, like, *✧'You feel the loneliest when in a crowd' *✧, it's so deep."

Okay? And?? You've told me nothing besides "I actually would have been happy to bullshit any reason to enjoy these writers' poor-piss decisions, so might as well give me the worst version of what I would have been happy with anyway".

Please, I implore you to put aside your love for the "nice big loveable bear dad" trope and the Kali NSFW art and actually think about what this character's actually about.

This shit is not hard. Like it's hard to write and execute, sure - writing of any kind is a challenge, but you know what's not hard? Keeping the parents dead like you implied they were. Letting found family be Blake's arc.

Letting her look at the White Fang and at Team RWBY, and knowing she has to choose between two families she loves, instead of her running away to the convenient third family she had lying around as her golden parachute in case either one turns to violence or has their school blown up, basically wrapping her in a nice warm blanket so she doesn't have to grapple with any tough moral and emotional choices.

Blake was my favourite character in RWBY until this shit came around; I loved that her hardened nature and upbringing was tempered by a pure conviction and willingness to heal, even when everything she knows and grew with is broken beyond repair. Her conflict felt real and visceral.

Ruby's the daughter of a big Huntress and has silver eyes. Weiss is the daughter of one of the most prestigious families in the world who owns half the world's economy. Yang's the daughter of a bandit queen who's also a Maiden. Blake should have been the nobody. Someone with no greatness to her name, other than the greatness she sees in her new team, and the greatness she can strive towards with her own two hands.

She could have shown that you can come from the absolute bottom of society, hated and overlooked by everyone, and still be a hero, especially in a show where most of its villains (Cinder, Emerald, Adam, Roman, Neo, Mercury) are also outcasts, felons or nobodies in their own communities. Great message, CRWBY. Of course the company robbing their staff of their livelihoods and ousting them when they're no longer useful would demonise the poor people and rebels.

But oh look, now she's the daughter of the former leader of the entire freedom fighter movement and the chief of an entire fucking island nation. Isn't that so much cooler? Don't you look up to Blake so much more now?

Fucking. Yawn.

[cerastes]

I think at least for me Schwarz is in the same boat as Tomimi: I recognize the horny design, but she's too funny for me to be horny about. She's not nearly as funny as Tomimi, don't get me wrong, but I just love this like, born and raised assassin who met this upper-middle-class bookworm with a parasol and because the bookworm didn't know any better to be scared of her Schwarz decided she had no choice but to simp.

No no you're right, Schwarz IS funny.

Schwarz was a normal kid that HAHA THAT'S A LIE She is originally from Rim Billiton and her parents were ore traders, but then one day they got scammed into buying not Whatever Ore They Wanted but Originium Ore instead, which 1) they didn't deal with and 2) got Schwarz infected. So they went to complain like "hey you scammed us" and the scammers were like "the customer is always WRONG" and killed them, then grabbed Babby Schwarz and sold her to slavery, where she was purchased by a mercenary group that trained her to be the Ultimate Child Assassin later Ultimate Assassin in general, and they were like "Ok, we finally can take on this big job! We're going to kill the Mayor of Siesta! And for that, we need our BIGGEST GUN" and who else would be the gun of sizeable heft if not Schwarz?

So Unfailing Super Assassin Schwarz confronts the Mayor, and the Mayor says "hey, you are pretty good at this, you should be my daughter's bodyguard" and Schwarz was like "literally why" and Majorman was like "better pay, better life, I have a cute daughter your age" and Schwarz was like "bet" and well, she did just that, but they don't tell Ceylon ANY of this, so as far as Ceylon knows, Schwarz is just her weird stoic lovable bodyguard friend gal pal who makes really good tea and also for some reason can destroy entire armored platoons with just a crossbow but otherwise totally normal.

What you have to remember is that Ceylon is a scholar, an academic, a researcher, she's high int, but definitely low wis, because you know she has witnessed Schwarz go full John Wick With A Pen on at least six different people and all Ceylon could think was "Wau! I can't wait to go home so we can continue watching Utena :D" like, this was NORMAL for Ceylon, this was normality, no wonder she sees every freak at Rhodes Island and is like "this is a peaceful place with kind inhabitants, a true and tried pharmaceuticals company cut from the finest of cloths!", when your frame of reference for normality is SCHWARZ, of course you'll witness Specter chewing on reinforced metal, Ifrit burning entire hallways in a bout of rage, Shamare playing medium to the forces of the abyss, and Lappland eating a Kitkat wrong and be like "this is literally just Tuesday". Ceylon probably believes Shalem is a normal guy.

It gets even worse/better when you realize that Schwarz was getting MK Ultra Superassassin training when she was like 8.

Schwarz has 20 years of combat experience. That's an insane amount!

But she got infected when she was 6! Which means she was sold to slavery and subsequently trained to be Solid Snake Catgirl around the time when she was maybe 8 or so! NO WONDER Schwarz looks at all the freaks at Rhodes Island and is like "haha oh wow you are all freaks I respect literally every single one of you" LIKE YEAH OK SCHWARZ, THEY ARE FREAKS, but not you, oh, no, not you, you are only accomplishing what all these people manage with extreme dimensional-reality warping powers and super unholy magic, by simply being that good with your crossbow. Schwarz' superpower is literally "is REALLY good with a crossbow" and it matches and surpasses people with fucking reality altering powers or control over gravity or what the hell ever, Schwarz is a fucking riot, she really said "Wow! I never thought I'd see anyone like you people!" well yeah no one would expect a single catgirl with a crossbow to fucking blow up the Pentagon singlehandedly if she could, Schwarz definitely has the sheer firepower and skill for it, just because she's THAT good at Crossbow.

[lolly-047]

there is a diluven headcanon that i love incorporating into most if not all of my works:

Venti being allergic to Diona

Now, Venti being allergic to cats is canon - and Diona being a cat is basically canon (despite her repeated and enthusiastic disagreements) and y'all should know that Diluc, in all his brooding, Batman-like glory is a father figure just waiting to drop adoption papers at any unsuspecting child left alone by their guardians for more than five seconds. He may not know it yet, but this is nonetheless the truth

Now, picture this: Diona finally getting to talk with Diluc, just once - usual 'bonding over their mutual hatred for alcohol' commences - and thus, a catgirl becomes a more permanent fixture in Diluc's life. Is he complaining? No, he is more horrified with why a ten year old has a job in a tavern - but that is a problem he is still working out how to solve. At least she eats well whenever she comes around, and she also likes Kaeya's old room, so-

Yes, Diona is now a permanent fixture in Diluc's life. Which means, as another permanent fixture in said life, Venti eventually runs into her - maybe even while being a tad bit tipsy and reeking of wine... (Master Diluc always takes such good care of Venti tho, so why shouldn't he come stumbling to Dawn Winery?)

And so... The legendary meeting goes as the following:

Diona Kätzlein - nose fine-tuned to smell even the faintest whiff of that bloody-terrible alcohol all grown-ups are insistent of dying of (don't ask why she is suddenly brittish, i dunno either) - can barely b r e a t h e due to the stench of a bard who has a rather hard time getting drunk with anything less than a whole barrel of mead. It is a rather unfortunate side-effect of being a God of Wine, but hey, when your pseudo-boyfriend owns a winery that problem is mostly easily taken care of...! That is, when you are not faced with the only thing that causes you true trouble in your long, immortal life-

A screaming, hissing cat-child.

When, despite all the possible shortcomings you could have had, you possess none other than... an allergy to cats.

Venti, of course, is quite plastered at this point - so his reaction to a cat-child yelling bloody murder at him, being also yelling bloody murder back at the cat-child seems quite reasonal and logical, at the time. Tho his words slur, he can't help but get into a verbal battle of wits, even as his eyes grow watery and he begins to sniff and sneeze.

Diona, on the other hand, is red-faced and shrieking at the top of her lungs - also quite unable to smell things properly, because somehow, this one bard smells worse than the Cat's Tail on the busiest nights and Diona is choking on the stench.

She makes sure to throw this barb at his head, too.

And this is how Diluc, summoned by all the screaming finds them; two people, both very important in his life, but also, where do they get all this air to keep screaming for so long?!?!?

And his arrival brings something unexpected:

Silence.

Then, the duo whirls on him as one.

Diona is loudly questioning who and how and why this random drunkard is here and makehimgoaway! - meanwhile Venti, matching the cat-child in volume reminds the redhead that he is highly allergic and what the hell is a cat-child even doing here at Dawn Winery?!?!?

Cue Diluc calmly (trying to) explain the situation to both, at first somewhat patiently, but then getting annoyed af by all the loud noises and simply using his dad voice™ to make them both fucking listen

And thus, the first encounter does not end bathed in blood - instead, Diona gets to go up to her room, while Venti is forced to stay away for the night and then wear a nose-clip to keep him from having much of an allergic reaction again. Diluc certainly doesn't bring him to his own bed that night, despite all the griping of the bard.

But alas, this is only the first encounter.

Many more follow, as both Diona and Venti are prominent figures in Diluc's life - especially these days.

Each meeting, each narrow-eyed glare and biting comment makes sure the air between the two feels like a ticking bomb tho; one you are never quite sure when will go off.

Because go off it will, at the slightest chance it can.

But at the end of the day, altho Diluc would clearly be better off without one of them in his life - the redhead is a common ground between the two. They can make nice, against all appearances, for a scarce five minutes.

And tho neither will ever admit it, they might be growing on each other more than they care to acknowledge.

Welp. Not sure i wanted to go ahead and write out a whole scene like that, but... lol xD

Just - frenemy Diona and Venti. the good shit

I L I V E for the character dynamic that takes two otherwise mostly normal characters and turns them into rabid dogs frothing at the mouth when they see each other. just. Good shit

Also, why does Diona canonically hate Diluc (i mean i get why, he is kinda the poster-boi for the wine industry) when VENTI is there??? These two have the perfect elements for a mean-banter relationship, one even greater than the one Venti and Paimon share!!!!

Maybe we will get in one day, in canon

Until then, this still lives in my head (plus across many of my wips) rent-free. Thanks for the read <3

[chatonnoir]

I love combining Kwami Swap AU with the classic Ladynoir dynamic, it's still a trope subversion because the catgirl isn't the flirty one and it becomes a true representation of a human trying to give their grumpy cat affection

Bugaboy swaddling angry Lady Noire in a blanket burrito during Psycomedian and giving her a kiss on the forehead like "I promise to let u go if u promise to stop breaking things ♥️" and she's even more unhinged in this AU because now feral Lady has cataclysm

All of Paris knows Lady Noire as a force of destruction but Bugaboy insists in all interviews that she is the cutest kitty in the city!!!! He holds Lady Noire's lil triangle ears bc they're the cutest things he's ever seen

Lady Noire tries to square up with enemies ten times her size and Bugaboy's soul leaves his body as he frantically picks her up and nopes out of there

Fans are afraid of hitting on Bugaboy because they see Lady Noire glaring at them over his shoulder and realize maybe looks CAN kill

Lady Noire bites Bugaboy when he tries to boop her nose and he's like "why don't you bite me where I WANT you to bite me!!!!!" "what??" "nothing 💕"

[thewertsearch]

This Exile uses a darker, Derse-themed version of the White Queen’s font, just in case we were in any doubt that this is, in fact, Snowman. It’s conceivable that the Black King could also speak like this, but he was killed before he could be Exiled.

Snowman doesn’t use this ‘voice’ in the Intermission - but by then, she’d abandoned decorum to become a mobster. 

You were wondering when she'd come back. This time you are ready for her.

Terezi is fully cognizant of Snowman’s commands, so she can’t be controlled directly. Snowman will have to open a dialogue with Terezi and manipulate her the old-fashioned way. 

Savvy as always, Terezi is the first Player to figure out how to talk to her Exile directly. 

Well, I guess Snowman is actually Vriska’s Exile, since they’re both eight-themed, and that’s who she started with. Terezi’s true Exile hasn’t been revealed yet, and my fingers are still crossed for Problem Sleuth. 

>To begin your mission. [...]  >You must eliminate the archagent. >Exile Jack Noir. 

Send me my kismesis, Seer. 

>Nepeta: Surely you must be adventurin' by now.

Why yes, as a matter of fact. It does appear that the ROGUE OF HEART has been keeping herself quite busy.

Nepeta is a troll matchmaker. A heart isn’t the only symbol she’s involved with, but it is an important one. Maybe this Aspect represents love?

Rouge also makes a lot of sense. It’s generally a combat class, centered around stealth and agility - perfect for a catgirl, not to mention an experienced huntress.  

Admittedly, she doesn’t seem all that stealthy - but she’s definitely built for offense. 

You inquire into whereabouts of the MAID OF TIME. The HEIR OF VOID has no idea where she went! She just disappeared.

Congratulations, Equius, on narrowly beating out Mage of Doom as the coolest-sounding Title in the comic. 

His planet is the Land of Caves and Silence. Caves are holes in the earth, and Silence is the absence of sound, so Void seems like a pretty straightforward Aspect. It represents nothing, nullification, or absence. 

Plus, he’s an Heir, like John. We’ve talked about about how John’s Class seems to involve just being given things - and this is sort of true for Equius, too. He was born with his strength, and his place on the hemospectrum, and didn’t have to do anything to ‘earn’ them. This is true for all the high-blooded trolls, though, so it’s not exactly unique to him. 

I’ve also speculated that the Heir is a generalist class, which can fulfil multiple roles. I wonder what you could do as a generalist of ‘nothing’? 

[numbugwritingblog]

The Miracle Mind of Serene: the Tale of a Girl and a Ghost (Chapter 4)

Previous Chapter

Index

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26/01/2018

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“... Is that the psychic?”

“Well-”

“This is my friend Selena. She’s always getting mistaken for Serene, she’s absolutely sick of it.”

“Uh… Yes! That’s right. I’m thinking of getting my name changed, even…”

Aura looked at this catgirl, who looked oh-so-similar to that Serene lady she’s seen on the news, and then to her brother Terra. Do they really think they can fool her so easily? “And how come I never met this suspiciously similar stranger?”

Terra’s smug little grin was odd. This is obviously Serene, he wasn’t going to be able to-

“You got no room to argue, you didn’t even know about Tim until I broke up with him!”

Fuck! “Y-you were barely with him!” Aura did her best to defend herself, but being exposed like this in front of a stranger was already embarrassing enough.

“Only if you think a whole fucking year is “barely”,” Terra reiterated. “Is it?”

They… they were together a whole year?! Aura did her best to dismiss the embarrassment with a huff, marching off. Her previous suspicion of “Selena” completely forgotten from how absolutely embarrassed she now was.

Indeed, she marched directly into the woman’s bathroom and made her way to the sink, running the water to wet her face and chill her nerves so that she could think straight. “Did I really not know my brother was dating him for a whole year?” she grumbled to herself, looking straight in the mirror. “He’s got to be fucking with-” a deep involuntary gasp escaped her lips, before she stopped moving.

But not by choice. Something else was moving her body.

“Finally, an employee,” she heard her own lips speak, as she felt her head look down and a hand check the nametag on her shirt. “... Aura, is it?”

Who’s… what’s happening?! It was like she was a puppet on a string, helpless to do anything but watch as her own body stretched.

She started walking, only to stop at the last second, forced to look at her face in the reflection. “Sorry about doing this in the bathroom, it’s the only place that there’s any privacy.”

She didn’t even think about that, but the realisation made her furious. Not that her body showcased any of that, instead moving back into a focus. This pervert was now in control of her! What was he going to make her do?

When she made her way to the kitchen and grabbed one of the knives, she knew what the stranger was likely intending.

And she couldn’t do anything to warn anyone.

---

“In fact… that guy over there, see how his cup’s right on the edge? If you knock it over it’ll certainly give him a fright, and you can even make sure he doesn’t lose his drink.”

Serene was quiet, looking Terra right in the eyes. She had only one reaction to his suggestion. “Seriously?”

“Well- Alright, say no more.” He was quick to relent, leaning back in his seat. “Just thought you might find it fun to kick back and actually use your…” he looked around the restaurant briefly before turning back to Serene, “...skills, to entertain yourself.”

“I’m not a fancy toy, you know.”

Terra’s ears immediately flicked back at that remark, shaking his head. “I just thought you might find it fun, promise.”

Serene let out a small sigh, eyeing Terra. “You don’t know what I find fun.”

Terra raised a finger to speak, only to find himself pausing. “Okay, okay, true.” He lowered his finger, looking Serene in the eye. “But neither do you.”

“I-” Serene cleared her throat, blushing lightly from embarrassment.

“Think, what is something you really like to do? Even if you don’t usually do it?”

Serene let out a sigh, putting a hand to her chin. “Well… my job is-”

“Psh, not your job,” Terra affirmed. “Something fun, something you do when winding down from a job.””

“Well…” Serene thought to herself some more. What about… wait. “I like to read,” Serene said with a hum, satisfied that she was able to come up with a real answer.

“Yeah, what about?”

“I really like reading up on other people. N-not real people, like… stories about how people lived.”

Terra let out a chuckle. “I thought your answer was gonna be stories about psychics.”

“Actually…” Serene paused a little bit, rubbing the back of her head. “I don’t like reading about people with psychic powers. It just feels… weird, you know?”

Terra tilted his head slightly at that, something had caught his intrigue. When one of his ears flopped down over his face, he let out a small huff to blow it out of the way. “Read any from before you were born?”

“Huh? No, why?”

“Well-” Terra paused. “... Nevermind.”

“Okay…” Serene cleared her throat, looking around. “What about you? What do you like to read?”

“I mean, I’ve checked out a book every once in a while, but I’m not a huge fan.”

“Well surely you do something, right? You don’t just go to the park day in and day out, do you?”

Terra let out a small chuckle, nodding. “Actually, I’ve been thinking of getting into hiking.”

Serene took one look at this lil’ bunny, shorter than she was. “Really?”

“Rea- yes of course!” Terra called out. They got a look or two, and thankfully nobody recognised Serene in that exchange. “I’m tired of being stuck in this little slice of the city, I love to get on my feet and see where the world takes me.”

Serene nodded. “Ah, I can relate.”

Wait, what? … No, she does relate. But why?

Terra let out a small chuckle, grinning wide. “In that case I should take you along with me, take up hiking together.”

Serene put a hand up to decline, but paused. She was not under surveillance for a whole month. She wasn’t going to do any training for at least a little bit after what happened. She needed to do something with that free time. “...You know what? Sure, I can come.”

“Great!” Terra called out. “It’s a date~” Innocent language, but Terra’s cheeky grin made it clear that it wasn’t so innocent.

“Wha- I- uh-” Serene’s cheeks went bright red at that. He meant a real date? She… was not expecting that.

Terra let out a cheeky giggle, grinning wide. “You’re cute when you’re flustered. But don’t worr- EEH!”

His chair moved on its own, he was certain of it. And with that Terra came tumbling down onto the ground, but the impact was… a lot softer than it should have been.

Hearing a laugh or two, Terra let out a small grumble before he trudged back onto his feet. He saw Serene giggling and, more importantly, that behind her mask her eyes were glowing a faint white.

“You know what, you’re cute when you’re fumbling around.” Her embarrassment was gone, probably because she had just taken control of the conversation’s pacing.

Normally, Terra would be more annoyed at knowing someone tripped him on purpose. But not only was she cute, but it meant he was totally right. She would enjoy messing with someone with her psychic powers, if given the right push. Brushing himself off, he let out another chuckle. “I take it back, do worry because this is gonna be a date to remember~”

Still blushing, Serene let out another chuckle. “Well… okay, okay, I’ll be there~ When?”

Terra took out his pen and notepad as a waiter, and began writing down some numbers before passing the piece of paper to her. “Here’s my number, may I have yours? Then I’ll ring you when I can confirm my next day off.”

Serene let out a soft hum, writing down her own number. “That sounds nice. I can’t wait!”

---

Damion was in a confusing situation. His daughter, Aura, now had his wife, Amanda, held hostage with a knife to the throat, and was asking about Richard.

And he knew exactly what to say.

“Who?”

He did not know who Richard was at all.

“Don’t play dumb with me!” Aura snapped in a low growl, something that was quite uncharacteristic of her. “Richard’s a regular at this restaurant, loves the place. So tell me where he is, or failing that, something that will help me find him.”

This was the worst possible moment not to know someone. There is nothing more that he’d love than to save his wife, but… he didn’t know how.

Amanda yelled out with fury, the knife at her throat only barely keeping her from turning around and punching Aura then and there. “You do not treat your mother like this!”

Aura was quiet at first. Maybe whatever was going on they had snapped her out of it?

“So she’s your daughter…” What?

Aura moved the knife away from Amanda’s throat before kicking the woman down onto the ground. Before either of them could move, she put the knife to her throat. “Tell me what you know about Richard. Or she dies.”

… No… This must be him. The ghost that was in the newspaper with that psychic girl. “Mortis.”

The bunny woman in front of them said nothing in response. But there was no doubt in his mind. This wasn’t Aura at all, it was Mortis controlling her.

Amanda picked up on it too (though whether it was on her own or from her husband’s deduction was unclear), her rage entirely gone in an instant. “Stop… I’ll tell you, just-” she wiped away the tear in her eye. “Please don’t hurt my baby girl.”

Hearing his daughter chuckle in such a sinister tone with a knife to her throat was the most frightening thing Damion had ever seen. “What are you waiting for?”

Amanda nodded, making her way right to the computer. “I don’t know where Richard lives, BUT-!” She was quick to add the interjection, just in case Mortis took it the wrong way. “He always swings by in the same limousine, and I can get the licence plate through the security cameras.”

“Good.”

---

“And there you have it,” Terra said with a grin as he tucked away Serene’s number, leaning back. “I’ll make sure you feel like the luckiest girl in the world~”

Serene let out a small giggle, stashing away Terra’s number within her purse. “If you think about it, I kind of already am.”

Terra blinked, looking back to her. Then his smile came back. “Yeah, of course, you scored a date with me, that’s some real luck.”

Another giggle. “No no, I mean… Not everyone has psychic powers, right?”

Terra notably shrugged in response. “So? Is that special to you?”

Is that- Serene stammered at the question. Nobody had ever asked her that about psychic powers, of all things. “I mean- obviously? So many people would kill to have them, and there’s people scared of me just because-”

“That shit sounds like other people thinking it’s so special. Are they special to you?”

Serene… had to think about it. How special were her psychic talents to herself? “I…” She found herself thinking back to earlier that very night, how strange it was to act without them. “Honestly… it feels normal. Like it’s just me.”

Terra nodded. “That’s good to know.”

Serene let out a small sigh, looking down to her phone. “You’re not worried? About the powers?”

“Pffft, why would I?”

“You’d be the first…”

Terra leaned forward in his seat, looking over to Serene. “... I don’t give a shit if you can fire death rays out of your eyes, you seem nice.”

Serene gave another small giggle, which left a warm smile on her face.

Then Terra abruptly got to his feet. “Well I gotta go, if I don’t get new orders barked at me then they’ll think I’m slacking off.”

Serene nodded. “Thank you. I should be getting ready to go too. I’ll see you before I leave, though!”

“See ya then!” Terra smiled wide, making his way straight to the kitchen, ready to hear whatever new orders his mother would give him.

Strange. Usually at least one of his family members was in the kitchen with the other cooks. Maybe they were having a meeting in her office.

---

Mortis had memorised the licence plate by now, grinning. “And there you have it.” Mortis said with a pleased hum, taking the knife and stabbing it into the table. “Your daughter lives another day.”

“Don’t think we’re not going to tell,” Damion said with a glare.

Mortis grinned wide, looking over to Damion. “How do you arrest a dead man?”

… Damion was silent.

But not Amanda. “They’ll arrest the psychic girl that’s with you.”

Mortis began laughing at that, gently patting Amanda on the head, knowing how on edge the two of them were. Then the laughter turned into an intense coughing fit, as he dropped to his knees. Then the coughing turned into sobbing.

Damion moved right in, hopeful that it at least meant his daughter was back. “Aura?”

“I’m sorry,” Aura choked out through heavy sobs, curling up into a ball now that she was in control of herself again. “I’m sorry mom, I’m sorry dad, I couldn’t do anything.”

Amanda moved in to help her up - only for Damion to gently put an arm in the way. He sat down with her, holding her in his arms as he began to cry as well. “It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault…”

Amanda looked down to the table, letting out a growl of anger as she swung a punch at it - all this achieved was hurting her own hand, leaving her to hold her fist as she looked for something softer to punch. “Damn that little fucking shit to hell!”

“Mom? Is something going on?” The three of them all looked up to see the door handle open up, Terra walking right in. “Did a customer spit on you or-...” Seeing Aura and Damion on the floor was all it took for Terra to realise something big had happened.

Aura looked up, tears still in her eyes. “I- I was taken over. By that ghost…”

Terra’s eyes widened. “Ghost? Like… The one on the news? With that girl Serene?”

“Yes, him!” All three called out in unison.

Terra was silent, before looking back to the doorway. “I’ll be back in a second. It’s directly related, I promise.” Before they could answer, he rushed back out the door - swiftly walking back to where Serene was…

---

Serene saw the ball of flame that was Mortis flying back towards her, flying around her quickly.

“What? What is it, Mo- uh, you?” Serene asked softly.

The fireball started moving towards the exit, before flying back to her.

“Leave?” Mortis’s movement of up and down clearly suggested a yes.

“Just a moment, Terra said he was going to come back.”

With that Mortis began moving more frantically.

Serene let out a huff. “Just because you’re done with your business doesn’t mean I’m done with mine, you can just wait.”

It was then she could see Terra popping back into view, where she gave a friendly wave. He seemed to be approaching quickly.

The ball of flame then moved towards the phone, a horrific digital noise ringing from the phone throughout the restaurant.

Serene quickly lowered her head and put a hand over the phone. “S-sorry…!” She called out.

Once the noise died down, she picked up the phone to look at Mortis.

“We’re done, we need to-”

“He’s here anyways, so you can just wait a minute.”

“We’re not here for-”

“Just wait!” She had to hold herself back just to make sure she wasn’t yelling, glaring at her phone.

“... Just let me talk to him first, then. Just a few seconds.”

Serene let out a sigh. “... Fine, fine. But I’m not leaving until I’m done talking with him.”

“Deal.”

Finally Terra reached her, leaning in close. “Serene, did-”

“Hang on,” she said softly, passing over her phone. “Mortis wanted to talk to you first, I don’t know why.”

“But-”

The phone went on loudspeaker, letting Mortis speak up. “It’ll just take a few seconds,” the digitised voice spoke up.

Terra glared at the phone, slowly putting it up to his ear. “Listen here-”

“No you listen,” the voice spoke up, unheard to all but Terra. “I can only guess you figured out what happened-”

“Damn right I-”

“And,” Mortis talked over Terra without missing a beat, “if you tell her anything I won’t just kill you, I’ll kill every single one of them.”

Terra froze, glaring even harder. Nobody bossed him around.

…But there was nothing he could do, and he knew that. Ghosts were well known for their ability to not be touchable. “...Understood.”

“Good. I’m done talking to you, as long as she doesn’t know what’s going on, I don’t care what you say.”

Terra passed the phone right back to Serene, still glaring. “Serene?”

“Yeah?” Serene asked. “What is it?”

“He’s an asshole.”

Serene let out a sigh. “I’ll… talk to him.”

Terra let out a sigh. “Don’t trust him.”

“What? He’s a nice person, he helped me,” Serene said. “He’s just… rough around the edges.”

“He sure does have a lot of edges.”

Serene wanted to continue defending Mortis. But… “Yeah, he does.” Even she had her limits. “I’ll see you on the date!”

“The what?” Mortis’s voice called out from the phone.

“Shush,” Serene spoke quickly.

“Yeah, the date…” Terra said softly, not even pretending to be excited unlike prior.

Serene let out a hum, waving goodbye as she got her things. “But I should get going now, Mortis is really impatient.”

Terra let out a dry, low chuckle. Much more venom than previously. “Yeah, he’s really full of flaws, isn’t he?”

Serene let out a sigh. “I’ll… make sure he’s not present for our date.”

Terra let out a sigh. “... Thanks. I’ve got… important business, so I gotta go. See ya, ‘Selena’.”

Serene let out a small giggle. “Bye, Terra.” She thought about opening her arms for a hug, or kissing the back of his hand. She should… but that would be inappropriate, wouldn’t it? They hadn’t even gone on one date yet, afterall. But isn’t that what they do in the books?

She blinked, and realised that Terra had already hurried back out. She cleared her throat, gathering her things before walking back out the front door. “So what did you find?” Serene asked softly, holding the phone up to her ear.

“Oh, I know the licence plate for his limo now,” Mortis said with a small cackle. “Richard, we’re one step closer to catching you, you little w-... uh, you little traitor…”

Serene let out a hum. “Okay, that’s good.”

Silence.

“Aren’t you going to ask how my night went?”

Mortis let out a small huff. “What’s there to ask? You clearly had googly eyes for that little twig.”

Nevermind. “I’ll just… go home, then.”

---

Terra made his way back to his family, about to speak.

“Where did you leave in such a hurry!” Amanda yelled out off the bat, glaring at him with fury.

Terra cleared his throat. “I met Serene just below, I was just checking if she was involved!”

“You should’ve called the cops if you knew she was in there!”

“Actually,” Terra spoke up. “I don’t think she’s involved, because Mortis had threatened all of our lives if I told her anything, so she really does have no idea.”

“Did you tell her?”

“Fuck no!” Terra called out.

“Coward.”

“Cowa- what can I do about a murderous ghost, mom?!”

“Don’t let him walk all over you!”

“Don’t dodge the question! Tell me! What can I do?!”

“SHUT UP!” Aura cried out, fur stained with tears by now. “Both of you, just shut up!”

Amanda zipped up, glaring right at Terra.

Terra, however, let out a heavy sigh. “... Sorry.”

Aura let out a sigh. “I… I don’t want to think about it anymore.”

Damion nodded. “I think the best thing we can do is to take some time off.”

“Time off?” Amanda called out. “We need to keep the store running for some cash.”

Damion glared right at her. “Really? We’re all on edge and you think the best thing to do is to keep the pressure of work on us?”

Amanda let out a sigh, slumping back into her seat. “... Yes, you’re right, my Darling Damion. I’ll close the restaurant for a week.”

Damion walked up towards Amanda, gently hugging her while she’s in her seat. “Don’t worry, you’re safe now. You all are.”

For some reason, Terra certainly didn’t feel safe, despite his father’s reassurance.

Not when he was in a psychotic ghost’s sights.

And Serene.

She had no idea what she was going to go through.