#the way they go 'poof' at the same time is very funny to me

[ashiyn]

get egged idiot

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #27

The Battle of Big Wand

Part 2 of reacting to this episode (spoiler-free)!

Cosmo talking about the Big Wand going down: Better check with I.T. Hazel: Just I.T.? No fancy fairy name?

why is this so funny to me

Y'know... I've have a post in my drafts for ages that mocks Anti-Cosmo's castle entrance for not being wheelchair-friendly (because the road is covered in spikes). If he took over and then put spikes on this new road, I'm gonna lose it.

OH, I NAILED my "After thinking about it, this is my final answer" prediction. Dev is in the house! oh, good gravy.

This is the second time he's tried to be a king, and I think it's funny he hasn't tried to be a company president or anything. Not fantasy enough for him.

It's stupid funny to me that Dev just turned 10 and he's got impressive muscles when he flexes. what is this child doing- bench pressing solid gold??

We've been robbed of Dev wishing himself into one of the puzzle games he likes and getting buried under, like... Tetris blocks and having to claw his way out.

That might make a good 'fic; I feel like "wishing to be inside an app" is very correct for him.

??? whaaat does he have? He's got portable wishes of some kind? Is it a shooting star? oh, goodness. Let me think, let me think...

!! Crocker has these in the finale of Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 1. He throws them at the ground near fairy guards to poof them into animals. They're grenades. lmao, Dev got into the Fairy Armory.

Canonically, the Fairy Armory is the only place in Fairy World that still has power during outages, so... epic magic fight with weapons?? Ooooh, I hope so!

Irep is back, I knew it!! Part of me suspected he wouldn't be here because he's not really known for being a team player, but I'm glad he is :) Let's go Anti-Fairies!!

I'm delighted Anti-Cosmo isn't taking lead. Also, for some reason it's hilarious to me that Irep is focused on Hazel and not interested in addressing Cosmo or Wanda. He used to greet them as Auntie and Uncle, and now he's like "I don't need their approval or love."

Uh-oh... Has he sorted out his needy issues? If he's too old for naps and we can't bribe him with hugs, how will we defeat him??

I wanted to see if he uses their honoraries in "Fairly Odd Fairy Tales" (since he does it when he's being polite and I knew he was offering food). He doesn't, but I like how Wanda straight-up fed her nephew an apple that puts him to sleep until his true love kisses him, then looks dead at the viewer and says "And then we all lived happily ever after." Is the implication that no one will ever love him, so he's unconscious forever?? omg. Wanda's very black and white view of things is so incredibly funny to me, especially since she grew up in a mob family.

I'm excited to see Dev and the Anti-Fairies. Who would win: the species that invented papercuts, or a little boy who longs for lemonade?

Are you telling me Cosmo and Anti-Cosmo are BOTH intimidated by Irep now? Either this is about to be super funny, or they've switched.

Did Anti-Cosmo finally step up his parenting? Not out of the question; in Season 10, Foop was in time-out for putting spiders in his spaghetti.

(How ironic, considering Foop liked eating spiders).

I rewound and Cosmo jumps when the magic hits, before he sees Irep, so he's not necessarily afraid of him. Also, keeping my fingers crossed for anti-family interactions. I'm really looking forward to a face-off between Irep and Peri; their banter is my favorite and we didn't get much in "Best of Luck."

I'm so glad that despite changing his name, Irep presents himself with the same flair he always did. He is the same person...

omg, his little cufflinks. He's adorable.

For some reason, I've called him "posh British boy" in two previous posts, but... idk why, because he's literally never been posh and I know that. I'm glad he looks like his aesthetic is "bad boy with the tiniest detail of fancy."

I hope he's still friends with Sammy Sweetsparkle :) Maybe they're in a gang. I know there's 0 chance of Sammy being in this episode, but can you just imagine if Foop took out his wallet and there's a picture of Sammy in it.

Actually... if he's got a little metal circle there, I think that implies his jacket is closer to denim than leather. Lemme check......

OH, interesting... Yeah, he and Sammy don't match.

I don't say it enough, but it's really freakin' funny to me that Foop spends a distressing amount of "Certifiable Super Sitter" following Sammy or spying on Sammy and/or reacting to everything Sammy says. He's just Like That... Like, I enjoy the implication that of all the places Foop could go when his parents canonically left him unsupervised for the week, he likely chose to hit up the Turner place in spite of his hatred for Poof because Sammy is there. Silly.

Anyway...

Dev: Yeah, yeah, yeah... and Irep. Joint conquerors of Fairy World.

OMFG, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Was I RIGHT that Anti-Cosmo isn't even at the takeover!? Local introvert hates leaving his house and never wanted Fairy World anyway; more at 11. I'll be there!!

Plot twist, Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda don't actually show up in this episode because they're busy flirting while Irep's away.

I clocked the design aesthetic of the taken-over Fairy World as "This is Irep and Dev as partners; Anti-Cosmo wouldn't do this" so hard. crying. how did I do that. it's not getting better than this.

"Let's get DEV-ious!!"

dlkfgm, once again losing it at Dev using his first name rather than the "Dimm" part of his surname when he makes puns. He's a Dimmadome, but... he's kind of his own twig on the tree.

It is unreasonably funny to me that Irep's wand is so heavy considering he had massive muscles as a child after his Abracatraz imprisonment ("Spellementary School" & "Timmy's Secret Wish").

Also, I am FASCINATED by the decision to give Irep one little zipper tab that hangs off his jacket. Impeccable.

I love this team already. These are two people who are both known for:

- Coming from upper class families - Having parent-related abandonment issues - Not showing a lot of restraint - Only showing restraint when they've REALLY gone too far

Hmm... Oh boy, let me think. We know Dev's [previous] line was that he didn't like his dad shocking people's brains for money, with Dev having strained feelings even when he was trying to convince himself the shocks could be good ("You can help kids!") And he did feel bad about fighting with Hazel, though he's definitely Going Through the Wringer right now.

And Irep's line in the OG series is that he was totally down for:

- Tormenting his parents - Annihilating Crocker for not inviting him to his house party (whom he hilariously calls Denzel when he's mad at him) - Pointing his school's playground slide into the void - Sending Cosmo and Wanda on a dinner date to a black hole - Poof dying (despite the fact their lives were tied together)

- but he wouldn't allow anyone to harm Chloe, who finally introduced him to hugs.

He made it very clear he wasn't willing to face Vicky to save his own life, even on the verge of death, but he'd do it for her or for chicken cordon bleu. And she's not here, and we're all out of chicken cordon bleu. Uh-oh…

- Would Irep rate Hazel hugs 10/10? Inquiring minds need to know. - Is Dev bribing Irep with hugs? Or is Irep just here for the chaos and assurances that Dev's having more fun with him than Peri? - Is Irep bribing Dev with hugs? Are they pumping each other up with positive affirmations?? Go king; continue the healing cycle!

If Irep's parents show up, I hope he's on good terms with his mom, who used to pack chicken nuggets and anti-venom in his lunch box :)

Dev's faith in his ability to not fall off his O-pairs makes me nervous every time he's ever been onscreen.

His dad might let him down, but the O-pairs never have.

[ cnt'd - #Long post ]

All I've been thinking about for ages is an AU where Dev and Mikey Munroe (Bunsen Is a Beast) switch drones for a day, so Mikey's parents freak out that they can't monitor their son 24/7 and meanwhile, Dev just... can't get his dad's attention despite the two-way microphone and camera screen. Also, Mikey spends most of his time making noises into the O-pairs' fans. It's always been my headcanon that Mikey's parents installed the Buxaplenty's and Leadly's security systems (hence the buttons releasing different dogs & the lethal lightning bolts) since I think "ooh, rich people want us" helps justify why his parents are gone for months or years at a time when we know their job is designing home security, so basically... all the cool rich people use them. I actually have a WIP of Mikey and Remy playing near the Buxaplenty train tracks when they were little, but I never found a plot point strong enough to carry it to the end. Anyway, I've been waiting to see what the Dimmadomes have in terms of security, but it's... nothing yet. Plot twist, Dale has trust issues even with the people installing security?? ... I think he'd be friends with Mikey's parents. Maybe. Actually, I might need a 'fic about Dale having a meltdown when he goes home for the first time in 7 years and doesn't trust that Vicky won't sneak in to get him. He needs the world's best security team. It's two terrible parents afraid of literally everything. Yes, they ditched their kid for this. Don't worry about it. y'know... It's really messed up that Mikey's parents are terrified of everything, but they leave their 12-year-old home alone with the pets for months or years at a time, "but it's fine because they're spying on him 24/7 and sometimes give him gifts (like medicated wipes)." His dad is implied to have a fear of germs and I've always wondered if that plays into them not being anywhere near Mikey... Plot twist- We pull a "My Gym Partner's a Monkey" (where the reason we don't see Adam Lyon's parents is because they're severely allergic to animal hair and Adam has to thoroughly wash when he's home and they can't go to school events), but it's Mikey's parents fleeing Muckledunk because they're either allergic or afraid of Beasts. They left their son... Okay, I just checked my notes and I have a line here that says "Mikey's obsession with soft things like animals, beards, and blankets is probably because his parents never touch him." help??

Anyway, I think an AU where Dale hovers over Dev 24/7 and is still a terrible dad would be funny. Instead of neglect, it's obsession... Especially at this age since Dev's as old as Dale was when his trauma started.

... Is Dale putting distance between himself and Dev on purpose because Dev looks exactly like him and is now the age when Dale's life came crashing down? idk if Dale had access to mirrors back then, but that's gotta be weird.

crying at Irep waiting for his cue to pull Dev's flashbacks down from the top of the screen. They rehearsed this. Painfully in-character (In "Secret Wish," Foop claims he waited 10 minutes outside so he could burst in at a dramatic moment).

The way Irep twists his legs gives me Anti-Cosmo vibes.

Rare "Winn without cap" spotted in the wild.

Dev has the room oriented the wrong direction and in doing so, he forgot to include the door. Emotionally, he's stuck in this room. lmao.

Maybe it's a class that's not Guzman's since we know from "Multiverse of Jenkins" that these kids do attend other classes. But... Dev, what's goin' on, buddy?

INCREDIBLY funny to me that Bev sits directly in front of Dev? I gotta go back and fact-check that sometime. Has he been harboring his crush on her because she's right there? That's great!

??? If she DOESN'T sit there then I have to assume Dev is just so Bev-centric that he WANTS her to be there, and that's very funny. Go chase your sporty crush, rich boy. I support you.

Okay, I went back, and it seems his canon seat is between Bev and Kev (with Kev behind Hazel), but Kev vaporizes when we need to center Hazel and Dev onscreen at the same time (such as Dev faking sick and Hazel glaring at him). Oh my glob, he's another witch... Dev, embrace your ancestral witch-hunting for me, plz and ty. It would be funny... /checks my witch notes as a joke and screeches to a halt. Oh my goodness, I could finally get a Soil Tribe child in my roster... I have their magic down as "causes host to fade unnoticed into the background," and it would be very funny to do something magical with the child model. ??? On my first watch of "28 Puddings Later," I don't think I saw that scene of Dev falling over and losing his shades when the pudding throne collapses. Must've missed it while taking notes. That's cute.

I like how Dev's memories are 2D like the photos we've seen throughout the series. Also, Hazel's so dang cute.

I'm glad Dale's pants look the same in both the New Wish and old 2D style despite no FOP character ever wearing anything with that many dots.

I like that Dev's hair is much shinier than his dad's, implying Dale still has the dullness that comes with being soft instead of slick.

- I'm assuming this means either Dev's hair is gelled or he gets that from the maternal side of his family? - idk man, this is very in line with my "Dev's mom is a Leadly" headcanon... At this point, I can't NOT torment him with two very rich and extremely messed-up sides of his family... They both have extreme branding and weird fixations and funky buildings and run big businesses that have brought in incredible amounts of money and they like tech and call people the wrong names... do you see what I see...

I'm DELIGHTED Dale's hair curls up in the back. I've been so sad that he lost his tuft when he grew up. This is clever.

!!! oh yeah, Dale has his dad's stripe! Technically he and Dev both have the stripe, but I love the subtle differences in their hair. While collecting screenshots for an earlier post, I noticed the hair above their ears is combed in different directions, like this:

- with Dale showing the stripe much more clearly than Dev does. I like the implication that Dev's stripe is gold. That's really cute.

I checked, and the gold streak does seem to be in the place he has the Dimmadome family stripes in his 2D form (Eyebrow level). Neat!!

Aw, Irep's a big boy! And his hair grew out blue!! Parents' genes came out kickin'. I did wonder. I think it's funny his mustache and goatee are still black.

Despite losing the black hair, he's not yet immune from "Irep, are you sure one of your parents wasn't actually pixie?" allegations. This is stupid funny to me... In my Cloudlands AU, the Anti-Fairies are always dunking on him for having black hair like Anti-Cosmo's ex-wife, but no one can say anything because unlike Anti-Cosmo's first heir (Talon), Foop was born with the iris virus (colored eyes), so he's "been accepted by the nature spirits" and is heir apparent.

... Seeing this many colored eyes is giving me incredible amounts of anxiety, but it would not be appropriate to clarify why out of context. I like the guy with hair over his eyes and a big hat.

Is Irep leading the charge these days? Do the Anti-Fairies take orders from him?

Did Anti-Cosmo step down!? Because considering how much he hates conflict, I wouldn't be slightly surprised, omg...

I think it's funny that if Dev uncovers any official documents or watches memory clips that flashback to Irep's past crimes, he'd probably be like "Why is there no paper trail for this Irep guy? who tf is Foop?"

WAS that his experience of browsing the anti-web? I have to assume it was- I can't imagine Anti-Fairy World would cross his path without Foop's name coming up.

?? Considering that in my previous post, I said I couldn't think of any reason for Anti-Cosmo to desire taking over Fairy World unless he managed to score the earth and/or godkids out of it...

I'm so glad Dev just dropped "They have to take over Fairy World so they can rule Earth." slkdfj?? okay...

Irep: Now we can rule BOTH! Anti-Cosmo: That just sounds like scoring godkids with extra work.

THEM!! I am once again so intrigued by the lore that A.J. went into parascience and is following in Crocker's footsteps?? You've no idea how much I need to know what the A.J.-Crocker relationship is.

crying at Irep making a peace sign when he gets in front of the camera with Dev. Doesn't he do that in his profile pic on Dark Laser's phone? He's literally the same person he's always been. I missed him so much.

PLEASE do not tell me Dev's full name is Development "Devin" Dimmadome. The quote marks Dale puts around "Devin" are making me lose it.

Dale's partner: Honey, can you stop thinking about business for 5 minutes so we can pick a name for our son? Dale, who comes from a family that usually just slaps their name on things: I got this.

?? I'd LOVE to know what's going on with Dev's mom. Did she die in childbirth and had no say in naming her son, and Dale took over from there? Is she alive, but divorced from and/or passive around him?

Like... I have to assume she had the most exquisite prenatal care through a rich family like this, especially if we assume she also came from a wealthy family cough- Leadlys.

Holy flipping plot twist, does Dev not have a mom at all? He looks exactly like his extraordinarily wealthy dad. Was he just cloned so Dale could pass the business on someday? Did Dale just kinda buy him and wait for the surrogate to hand him over, and he never formed any attachment to him as a baby because he had the O-Pairs / au pairs raise him? lmao!!!

Traumatized beyond belief for 7 years by a girl his age so he trusts absolutely no one and never learned what a healthy relationship was like even with a partner, let alone his son. smh.

Actually, it's very funny to think of him and Vicky splitting up. Like, it was extremely toxic and not romantic in the slightest, but she straight-up identified him when she saw his face in "Operation: Birthday Takeback" even though logically, that would have been 70 years since she was last close to him. She probably knew him pretty well, especially since his hair has changed.

Timmy can't have frozen the timestream any earlier than Channel Chasers in Season 4 when he learns he'll lose Cosmo, Wanda, and his memories when he grows up, which is the reason he cites for freezing time in "Timmy's Secret Wish," and that was 50+ years. It's been 20 more on top of that for Dale to grow up and his son to turn 10. We know Vicky and Doug Dimmadome very, very occasionally crossed paths in later seasons (Vicky tries to sell him the Stryker Z in Season 3's "Engine Blocked").

If anyone cares, this (Season 3) is presumably where Dale grew up unless Doug took him to Dimmadelphia.

Like?? Something about the fact that Vicky and Dale are the same age is funny as heck to me. New Wish canon heavily implies Vicky's been taking advantage of Dale since they were 9, and they might've been friends once upon a time (despite the fact that in both New Wish and the OG series, she can never remember who the Dimmadomes are, lol).

There's no way Doug did a good job of looking for him, or Vicky would've turned him in for reward money. I wonder if Dale had a history of sneaking off to play with Vicky and just never came home one day.

Do you think that after her bossing him around for 7 years, Dale was really messed up and didn't know how to make choices for himself?

Oh, that's awful!! Who would write a 'fic about him running away to look for Vicky and beg her to take him back because he doesn't know how to be a person anymore and needs schedules and instruction? Who would do that?? I'm fascinated by their dark, twisted, and incredibly under-explained vibe. Haha, I'm in danger...

oh no, and Dev even told us his father relies on algorithms over his own thoughts, and we KNOW Dale was upset his publicity team said he should talk to people face to face instead of sending the O-Pairs or hiding behind holograms... A snarky Dev told us he thinks "talking to people isn't [Dale's] thing..." I'm connecting the dots...

hey wtf. does Dale have issues with scraping by in the dirt and dark with limited food and water and nothing to his name for 7 years and that's why he freaks out when he loses money? He can't handle the thought of not having a house??

Holy flip, I wish he'd communicate his trauma to his son, but I'm yelling that we keep seeing hints that he's withholding things from Dev. Like ?? Dale explains his thoughts all the time (in monologue fashion), but he's clearly keeping some things under wraps since Dev didn't have any concept for who Vicky was or why she knew his dad.

I genuinely think Dale doesn't want Dev to know the details. Dev didn't even seem to have a good grasp of why he isn't allowed lemonade, or at least that was my read considering how grumpy he was about it.

omg, this is horrible. who would write a 'fic about Dale taking his son camping and then slipping off to have a total meltdown where Dev won't see. who would do that.

Like, I think at this point they're so rich, you'd have to assume they're not at risk of losing everything if Dale took time off work, but we KNOW he's stuck on that schedule Vicky raised him with (working on Saturdays, which we see him do multiple times), and we KNOW he's always trying to claw his way up despite having the money to buy literally anything he could ever want.

And we KNOW Dale's big thing is that he loses his entire flippin' mind when the money slows down ("You still making sales?" / "Yes, but they're dropping, Dev!") and he's willing to stalk and hurt people to keep it coming in.

Y'know, this is continuing my theory that Doug Dimmadome is probably dead. I legit think Dale lost his support system (possibly around Dev's birthday considering how clingy he is about boots and says they came into his life on that day, plus the golden boots with the "In honor" plaque he has in his house). Daddy's not bailing him out of this one...

Lovely that Dale's first words to Dev after finding out he's taken over Fairy World are "My son." Oh, NOW he wants to talk...

I also find out my son is working with the fey and immediately drop his full legal name.

Why is Dale both the worst person alive and the only dad ever? I need to flatten him with a cruise liner (carnally).

Happy boy... (Dev, don't trust him.)

omfg, Irep's not buying this for a second.

?? I feel like it makes things WORSE that Dale seems at least a little aware of how upset Dev is about the boots? "I'm so proud of my son; it almost makes me want to throw away my boots." - There's no way he doesn't know he's been screwing with Dev's head for the last 5 months. omg.

- Hey, does Dale treat Dev this way because Doug made Dale feel like he was playing second fiddle to his giant hats?? I can't help but notice this whole city has a hat theme, yet Dale doesn't seem to care for hats at all... which is interesting, because we know Dimmadelphia existed way before Doug got here. Doug in my theory: /died 10 years ago Dale: If I touch Dad's hats or add boot statues around the city, he'll totally kill me. - ?? I guess the alt theory is that Dale put all the hat stuff up as memorials to his dad, which doesn't sound far-fetched since again... he keeps THIS in his house:

... Huh. I guess it could be a trophy for Dale instead of a memorial. That's another relevant time to use "In honor." What does it say about me that "omg his dad is dead and he bronzed his boots as a keepsake" was my first thought when I saw this in "Operation: Birthday Takeback" and not "Dale is successful of his own merit"? Obsessed with the implication that Dev's brand image is his sunglasses... Three Dimmadomes go down in history: The Hat, The Boots, and The Shades.

I still think Dale should have a gun. Not to be helpful; just to keep things spicy...

Please go to the Fairy Armory: the one place in Fairy World that canonically keeps power during blackouts. I am begging. I feel like his Southern daddy would want this for him. Doug had a flamethrower.

Is Dev still holding those magic grenades, and what would happen if someone tackled him in a hug?

SDLJKFSDKLFJSDF I'm on the floor. Did I call it? No way... But is Anti-Cosmo only going to show up now that Dev's giving godkids to Anti-Fairies??

Irep: Yo, I'm going to take over Fairy World; anyone want anything? Anti-Cosmo: The same thing I always want: a new child. Irep: wtf

Oh, all that time I spent speculating instead of actually watching the episode the night I started was so worth it. I was really nervous people would grump at me for how I see Anti-Cosmo, but now I feel like I was set up for a slam dunk.

Also, I like how Dev's taken over Jorgen's office. I didn't notice at first, but that's clever.

Dale is so proud despite the fact Dev taped his mouth shut and tossed him aside. That's so funny...

omg, this pit looks dark.

Will Dev torment his dad with lemonade? Is Dale going into the dark torture pit that swings open from the top like a trapdoor, which parallels his underground trauma to a T, or is that going too far?? Is Dev going to dump on his dad about Vicky? Will Dale freak out when he realizes he accidentally hired his abuser of 7 years to babysit his son? Will Dale be joining Club Redheads Who Didn't Get Mindwiped? (I hope not, because Vicky's in it). Will Dev bully his father while he has all this power and then wipe his mind?? So many questions. Find out next time...

[heloflor]

So this was supposed to be part of my other fop post but it got way too long (both posts did tbh) and is a different topic than the other one. So yeah here’s a bunch of random thoughts about the show in general from what I’ve seen of it. For context I’ve only seen the first 4-5 episodes + “Battle of the Dimmsonian” + the Cosmo-Wanda-Peri scenes in “Lost in Fairy World” and “Operation: Birthday Takeback”.

SPOILERS for “Operation: Birthday Takeback” for the last three dashes (2.4k words below):

- Putting it in first since it’s still related to Peri but I’m pretty amused by the whole “Tumblr sexyman” situation. I mean, less than two weeks ago all canon pics we had of him were baby pics. It’s the same deal when I see people call him a father figure to Dev, I can’t help but be like “wdym father figure? He’s barely an adult! He’s too young!”

It’s like imagine you have a neighbor who have a baby when you’re 9-10, then they move out and 20 years later you meet their kid as an adult. You can clearly tell they’re an adult and treat them as such but also it’s a bit weird bc your last and only memories of them were of a baby. Idk, I see Peri’s character as an adult but also he’s still a bit of a kid, you know? I feel like I explain this better in the other post tbh.

- In retrospect it’s also very funny to see how, when people talk about the decline of fop, they point at the inclusion of the new characters, including Poof. Yet look where we are now! If you thought the baby was the problem, apologize to him, now! /j

But yeah more seriously, personally I never minded Poof. He was definitely a useless addition, like outside of the handful of episodes focused on him he mostly just stands there looking at the other characters, but he was also a cute baby, so I’ve always been fine with him being around. He’s a useless but inoffensive addition, and I think the decline of the show around that time had less to do with him and more to do with the writing as a whole.

- Last thing about Peri before moving on to the show in general, which tbh I could've put in the other post: I've seen people talk about the idea of Hazel and Dev switching fairies and I kind of agree with it.

Not only because Cosmo and Wanda have the experience needed to help a kid like Dev (though it wouldn't be all sunshine and rainbows) while Hazel's situation is easier for Peri, but also it's worth noting that Dev needs a parental figure, which Cosmo and Wanda can be, while Hazel misses her older brother, who Peri is around the same age of. Idk, I feel like this could work, or at least make things easier for everyone involved (but also especially for Dev).

- Something I originally wanted to put in the tags of the other post but fuck it: I’m really not a fan of them releasing the episodes so soon one after the other. With serialized shows, I’m always been more of a fan of having an episode a week you can chew on and theorize about, rather than being given everything at once. Also it takes a while for the cargo to get on the ships if you catch my drift.

I’d also complain about seeing all those plot-related episodes one after the other with none of the more casual stories in-between that give us more character moments, but honestly that’s on me for looking up spoilers.

- Going to the early show, I think the first episode is such a good introduction! I especially like the amount of focus on Cosmo and Wanda, it’s good to have them reintroduced given how flanderized they became in the og show. I’m especially happy with Cosmo! He arguably had it worse than Wanda in the og and it’s so good to see him shine this much in this first episode (also I love his human form having a bit of a gut)! On that note, they did a fantastic job having them around a lot while still giving Hazel enough time to be introduced properly and get us to care about her as the MC!

But yeah I really like this first episode, fantastic beginning to the show! The only issue I “really” have with it is the way Cosmo and Wanda go back to being godparents just because Hazel made a strong enough wish or something, it felt a bit arbitrary rather than them just telling her who they are.

And on that note, big fan of that one scene where they immediately notice her trying to run away and try to talk her out of it. I love the contrast between them starting off as disasters being barely capable of passing off as humans at the beginning of the episode, and them being perfectly in their element the second they start talking to Hazel about her running away in this scene. It’s such a good way to see how much experience they have with taking care of kids!

- I’m not going to go episode by episode but one thing that bothers me a lot in the second one is that rule of “kids should get whatever they wish for”. Doesn’t that...go against the whole concept of having rules in the first place???

They should’ve replaced it with something along the lines of “a kid should always get the fairy that fits them the best”, not only bc it would work perfectly well for the episode, but also from what I’ve heard Foop (now Irep) is coming back and I could 100% see him use that rule to his advantage given Peri and Dev were such a bad match (I’m guessing anti-fairies don’t actually follow Da Rules but maybe they could still use it as an excuse regardless since fairies do have to follow them or something?)

- Call we talk about the fact Hazel is clearly autistic? Like is this a canon thing in the show? Are there people out there talking about it? No because seriously:

The fidget toys (Cosmo and Wanda’s disguises), her special interest for rocks, her anxiety over making new friends which is reinforced as uncommon when that one girl she befriends comments on how easy and not scary it is to approach other people (also Hazel’s “what am I supposed to talk about with them? School lunches?” comment in the teachers friend episode), her liking for fries which could be seen as her being potentially picky (bit of a stretch tho), her comment about liking the DMV if only for the reaction she gets that makes her seem “different”, her struggles to come up with a wish on the fly with minimal/vague instructions (episode 2), her character arc throughout the show apparently having to do with her not wanting things to change (me too girl), her being considered mature for her age, the angry outbursts when things don’t go how she hoped, pretty sure there’s also a lot of stimming that I have yet to pick up on (see if any of them repeat often). Like, there’s no way ALL of that was a coincidence!

I’d also like to mention at the beginning of the Dino episode, when her dad is explaining things to her, he starts talking louder and louder in excitement until his wife tells him to quiet down. Makes me think her dad’s likely neurodivergent as well. Also this moment hurts my soul a bit, as someone who’s both been on the receiving end of it and done it to someone else, in both cases it sucks.: /

- Took me until like episode 4 to realize the town she lives in is named after the Dimmadomes, with the hat in it (the very first shot of the intro). Also you can see their infinite house in the background, both in that shot and the show in general, and I absolutely adore that they committed so hard to this joke! That giant ambiguously-shaped-like-a-hat skyscraper that we never see the top of is just *chief kiss*.

- On that note Dev’s introduction in the first episode made me laugh, if only for the references. I also find it kinda funny he has such a big speaking role considering he doesn’t do anything for the rest of the pilot and the next few episodes. Then again I guess it’s in character for him to make such a show of introducing himself.

- Still on general stuff, I’m a bit curious about how the timeline went in regards to Cosmo and Wanda retiring and going on vacation “right after” Timmy (iirc they don’t voice it like that in the show). Like I’m having a hard time believing they would just ditch their then-child son to go on vacation, and then come back when he’s an adult. So I ended up having a bunch of headcanons.

Basically, after leaving Timmy they do take what was supposed to be a short leave to think of their future since it feels strange to get a new kid after so long with the same one + I like the idea that Cosmo and Wanda’s marriage did suffer while living with Timmy and they want to work on it before getting a new kid (the whole thing about them feeling confined, made worse if the “stopping time for 50 years” wish is canon) + Poof/Peri is struggling with the reality of having to leave Timmy behind and is nervous about his parents having a new godkid because of it.

Eventually they decide to retire, got to marriage counseling, possibly get Poof/Peri into therapy, and raise their son until he’s an older teen/young adult, at which point they leave for their vacation. And while the vacation is 10 thousand years for them, it’s like, 5 years at max in their present. And in that meantime, Peri starts his godparents studies (or however it works), leaves the house and changes his name.

Btw Cosmo and Wanda would 100% invite him to the vacation, he’d just refuse in a mix between wanting to be away from his parents for once, wanting to maybe surprise them a bit with his work and/or just get started with work, and not knowing how long the vacation would be. He’d also probably tell them to just use this time as some new honeymoon to finish rebuilding their marriage (though by that point it must’ve gone back to being strong). Oh and Cosmo and Wanda would send Peri postcards every so often, which would also let him know how long they’ve been gone.

Once they come back from vacation, I’d imagine there’s like less than a month between them “moving to the human world” and meeting Hazel, hence why they didn’t reconnect with Peri. They didn’t really know how to contact him and were busy with the move, and afterwards they had a godkid to take care of so they couldn’t exactly go back to Fairyworld.

As for Peri, he hears through the gravepine that his parents are back, and would be happy until he realizes they’ve been gone for 10 thousand years, hence him freaking out about meeting them again (he doesn’t know how much they might’ve changed with how long it’s been). Also he can’t contact them bc he’d hear about them coming back due to them taking in Hazel, meaning they’re in the human world and he doesn’t know where. Also he might be intimidated to contact them, which doesn’t help his decision-making.

So yeah, that’s all for how I could imagine this whole vacation thing going and how it fits with them having a child.

- Since I’m talking about Cosmo and Wanda’s marriage, I’ve heard about the whole “they fixed their marriage” before watching the show and oh my god I can’t get over how fucking adorable those two are in this show!!! I fucking love them.

- And on that note I’m incredibly amused that this show had the balls to reference the mpreg. Twice. Especially since it doesn’t even specify the whole “that’s just how fairies work”! In the eyes of people who never watched the og show, “A New Wish” just casually dropped the fact that Cosmo’s a trans man (bc let’s be real, how else are you supposed to interpret those lines if you haven’t watched the og show?) or you get the vibe that the writers wanted to make him trans (+ Wanda by proxy since she’s Peri’s bio mom) but weren’t allowed so that’s how they got past the censors.

And I love this because you just know Hartman would be furious about it! With our current society more aware of trans people and how men can in fact get pregnant, I could definitely see him sweep the whole mpreg thing under the rug, hoping people would forget about his “”accidentally-progressive”” (and also very sexist 😒) episode, but nope! New show said Cosmo was pregnant and gave birth! And better yet it didn’t even elaborate further! It just goes “btw this guy has an uterus and was once pregnant, here’s his bio child if you need more proof” and then walks on like nothing happened, I love it!

- Going back to the episodes talk for the last three dashes, there’s that shot at the very end of “Operation: Birthday Takeback” that I really dislike. It’s the one when Dev lashes out on Peri, with him hovering over Peri who’s laying on the ground in fear.

Really not a big fan of this shot bc 1. It makes Dev look way too much like a villain, especially with the way Peri’s laying like a servant that gets beaten up, and 2. Peri, honey, you’re a grown ass man; why are you so scared of that 10 years old scarred kid that’s lashing out while in a very vulnerable mental state? What are you doing on the ground buddy? I’m not asking for him to fight back but at least stand up! Don’t act like that kid can actually hurt you! Btw I’m completely fine with Peri afterwards looking like a dejected puppy (after Dev makes his wish), it’s just that one shot with him on the ground that I dislike.

- Obviously I’m genuinely curious to see how things are going to go in the next episodes (which apparently air tonight?). Like obviously Dev is going to spiral but if you have a scene at school how will it go? How will Hazel feel about the whole thing? What about Peri? Is he going to be gone for a few episodes? Be a temporary third fairy to Hazel? Crash at Cosmo and Wanda’s for a while?

(Personally I’m hoping for the third option, it would be a good way to still give him appearances to show the main plot’s still going without giving him to much screentime, which could take away from Hazel. Also given how much he wants to appear independent, I don’t see him being a third fairy to her, though I think he’d be ok with staying at his parents for a bit, if only for emotional support (though tbh I doubt they’ll do that, most likely he’ll be doing his own thing off-screen for an episode or two). Also I want to see a “human” design for him)

OK so I wrote this yesterday before the Irep episode came out, so on one hand nevermind all that but on the other hand I’m letting it in bc I AM curious as to how things are going to evolve with our main cast, especially with Dev spiraling and pushing both his bestie and fairy away.

- Btw is nobody going to talk about how Vicky’s dress might be a reference to one of the “Oh Yeah” shorts?

- VERY LAST SECOND ADDITION, SPOILERS FOR IREP: So yesterday before I finished both this and the other post the new episodes dropped, with a few clips shared on Tumblr. And OH MY GOD IREP’S DESIGN!!! The fact that they kept him as a cube makes me so happy!!! I was HOPING at least ONE part of him would be a cube and they delivered!!! He looks like absolulte dogshit I love it!!! Bc yeah for some reason I remember Foop as a character you’re not supposed to take seriously at all? And as a result I really like how stupid Irep looks. A+ design right there! /gen

[mikuni14]

How funny it is that throughout the entire series I didn't share or sometimes even understand the dislike of many viewers towards Phee and Jin, only to hate them literally in the last minutes of the finale 😁

I liked Phee and Jin's dynamic from the beginning and I liked this relationship more than PheeNon's. Phee, both in the present and in flashbacks, was a great character for me, very much my style, and I also had a lot of sympathy for Jin. I was also convinced that Phee was on his path of revenge/searching for answers, and that Jin didn't upload the video.

I was so confident in my opinions that even when Phee spilled the beans to Jin, I was convinced that he wasn't that stupid and mean and that it was all part of some bigger plan. Likewise, until the end I was convinced that Jin was wrong and he was not the one who leaked this video, also based on Fluke's words (who said to Tee for some reason that he "knows everything, INCLUDING the video").

So when the finale brought confirmation that yes, Phee was a fucking snitch, that he sided with his "friends", and that yes, Jin actually released the video like an absolute piece of shit, all my sympathy evaporated in the blink of an eye. Poof! 🥳

I understand Phee's concerns and his refusal to participate in Tan's plan, but that's not the problem, it's HOW he did it. Phee isn't trying to protect the group AND TAN, who is also his friend ffs! NO! Phee is constantly confrontational, aggressive, escalating violence, doing everything against Tan, treating him like HIS worst enemy. He openly accuses Tan when everyone is agitated and someone has a gun, provoking Tan (Tan, who according to him is a dangerous murderer!) without thinking about what he might do. Phee accuses him, Tan takes control and manages the situation so that Tee confesses what really happened with Non, so , you know, a big deal right? That's what it was all about, right? And what does Phee do? He ends the scene by pointing his gun at Tan. When Tan says "you wanted to know the truth about Non, now you know" how does Phee react? He punches Tan. I'm absolutely surprised and appalled that after 3 years of friendship with Tan, watching the nightmare that is his life, saving him, when it comes to choosing, Phee comes so easily to choose "friends", without offering Tan a single bit of kindness, a kind word, extended hand. As if their friendship, their cause, their shared past, Non, didn't exist, didn't matter.

THE MORE BAD HE FINDS ABOUT THE BOYS, THE MORE HE HELPS THEM AND THE MORE HE IS ON THEIR SIDE. This is something I just cannot understand at all! In addition, Phee shot Tan even though he had a camera stand right next to the gun, used successfully many times in the series! 😆 He could have hit Tan unconscious, he didn't have to kill him!! And, what really pisses me off, he shot Tan in defense of Tee!!! Then he helped Tee and Jin, people who ruined and led to Non's death with their choices and actions. I don't know how much more you can insult his memory!

The ending itself is the final nail in the coffin for Phee and Jin's reputation in my house 😎 As I understand it, the final scenes are their hallucinations. And these hallucinations are nice and normal, they have a nice life, they fulfill their dreams, they have a career, they go to college - everything that Non and Tan don't have. In their hallucination there is no room for reflection, for regret, or for any discomfort. They are selfish even in hallucinations that show their real feelings. They still have the nerve to analyze Tee, the only one on whom the events of this house left any impact. I'm not surprised that Non himself appeared in Phee's hallucination, since Phee didn't find a place for him 😏

Their hallucinations, the earlier ones, are also interesting. As much as I loved Jin's hallucinations, it's telling that even in his guilt, Jin still made everything about himself. HE is the victim in his visions 🤷‍♀️ In the same way, Phee wakes up from his visions because it is he who decides which Non is real and which is not. Which means that Jin, instead of feeling bad for what he did to Non, feels bad for imagining "what if it were me." And Phee's guilt is not deep enough to allow Non to dominate his visions, as it happened with Tee, for example.

So in the end, I'm sad to say that as someone who really liked Phee and Jin, that after the finale - fuck them 😈

[eleven441]

The Story 1 🤍💙❤️

Cody Rhodes x Eleven story.

First of all i wanna say congrats to Rhodes once again. And all Roman reigns fans are pathetic why are you crying. You know he couldn't be champion forever. Y'all can stay mad.

Meh he's leaving meh this meh that, can't he do something normal like you know , finally starting a tag team, you know winning the tag titles. Join a Battle royal emg Andrea the Giant. Can win Money in the bank idk.

Stuff like that , it's fun. But noooo no championship you just leave anyway it's giving petty vibes.

He's now as good as someone like Ricochet, or Kofi Kingston. The Underdog never had a problem. I LOOOOOVVVVED THE UNDERDOG. But ever since he became the tribal chief and had brown eyes.... Ugh.

Soo to the story....

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

So in this story Cody is 28, Jey 25 and Seth 26.

Cody still has brown hair. And Seth black.

Ok umm

Me

🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣

Hi my name is Eleven I'm 25 and i am one of the biggest WWE superstars yet. I live with my brother Jey Uso🙄. With his friends Cody and Seth. And also with my best friend Becky. In a real big house.

I have another brother named Jimmy you know his stage name. But we don't live with him, due to some "personal reasons". We've been going through alotta ups and downs in the Anoa'i family. We'll get into that later.

Jey is an annoying Wild Card , who could be bothering me for no reason. He just comes and takes my chips. He uses my equipment without asking and he is always yelling.

Seth is very toxic in a funny way. He is always making these offensive jokes in serious situations like at funerals. He is a real foodie, i stash up the whole pantry and fridge with food, next morning poof it's gone.

Then we have Cody...Coooodeeey ......CO-D

Umm yeah we don't talk at all I don't even think he likes me. I guess i can't tell because whenever we're in the same room. It's just an akward silence. I am kinda crushing on him especially when he walks in without a shirt. But i ignore my feelings and let it slide.

...

Today Jey and Seth were out running errands for this week's upcoming SmackDown. I was in the gym busting my ass off. Cody was with me, but he was like literally on the other side of the room. It was total akward silence from there.

All he said coming in was a quiet hi. Then he went to his business. What weirded me out the most is how I could feel eyes on me. I felt bright blue eyes on my skin and for some reason it stung. I decided to ignore it and lift some weights but i was failing.

My brother Jey usually gives me a spot. But now that he ain't here it's gonna be hard. I wasn't expecting anything from Cody at all.

"Y-You need help with that?"i heard his soft voice gently echoing from the other side of the room. I was in shock just thinking of what Cody said. "Umm yeah yeah" i answered back. He came over to me snd stood behind me, to help me lift. The idea of squatting Infront of him made me uncomfortable.

He made sure i didn't hurt myself. ".....25! Woof that was one work out!" I said. "Thanks" i said softly fluttering my eyes. He smirked at me , with sparkling eyes. "Don't mention it" with that he walked off into the distance.

Thursday....

Seth , Jey, Cody and i went ot waffle house to have breakfast. Once we were there we so a real fat guy tryna get through the doors. "HEY! WHY DON'T YOU LOSE SOME WEIGHT!!!" Seth yelled. "Seth!" Jey and i hissed. All Cody did was chuckle, and shake his head then went through the other side of the door.

I had to answer a call from an Unknown number

Hello?

Oh hi, Elé....

Who the fuck , is this?

Liv Morgan ofcourse

(Ugh bitch)

Why the living fuck do you want?

Nothing , nothing, just let Jey know his time is almost up.

Leave my brother alone.!!!!! Hello he-hello?

Ugh i put my phone in my pocket and entered.

Seth and Jey were sitting next to each other. Which left me with Cody... He looke at me with a small smile and bright eyes. I sat next to him knowing it was ok.

Seth and Jey went to order and now Cody and i were left alone. That fat giy came back and bardged through the doors , he had a cake, sadly the hit the floor him too.... "NOOOOOOO , I WAS GONNA EAT THAT" He said , i could bear Seth laughing from the counter.

"Well you don't see that every day"Cody finally said with a small smile. "Yeah"i added on."We don't talk much"Cody said softly. "Yeah , we really don't...." I responded.

"would you like to join me at SmackDown"he asked.I eas surprised. "Yes , id love too" i smiled. "I love you" he whispered."What?" I asked. "Umm i want stew" he said.

After that Jey n Seth came with our food.

I guess i wasn't meeting Bianca and Naomi on their segment. Oh well ...

Story continues...

@alyyaanna @codyrhodesnet-blog @jeyusos-girl @wwe

[frankenjoly]

I'll rest assured

2x1 in atsulucy aka a couple drabbles i made for a fanweek on twt that got poofed out of existence

“unrequited” feelings

“Huh… can I ask you about something?” Lucy started out, almost stuttering, and it seemed crystal clear what her question was about. At least for Yosano.

There was no way it was about a medical issue, since her last shot had been just taken care of barely a couple of minutes ago, and the doctor had barely let the girl’s arm go so she could apply pressure over the spot by herself. In fact, the small bit of cotton used for it had been on her hand instead of Lucy’s only a second ago. So, unless there was something she hadn’t deemed appropriate to bring up beforehand, which was unlikely… it could only be one thing.

Crushes troubles.

“Of course, shoot.” Yosano lost no time in answering, discarding the needle she had just used while talking.

“It’s about… well, Atsushi.” And, there it was. “Do you think… he likes me? Like, y’know, like me like that.”

“Fearing it might be unrequited, aren’t you?” Once the needle was properly secured and thrown away, the doctor also got rid of the disposable gloves she had been using and made them follow the same fate said needle had met.

“Basically, yeah.” 

Her snorting at the affirmative response wasn’t meant to mock Lucy, but to show how unlikely Akiko found the mere idea. And fortunately, it seemed the younger of the two picked it up instantly. Good thing, really. Someone had to be the perceptive one in that relationship, and despite loving the kid quite a bit, she knew very well that might not be Atsushi. Not yet, at least.

“Ah, don’t worry about that.” Now in the middle of changing into the usual pair of gloves she used to wear just as accessories, Yosano waved as a way to try and wipe Lucy’s fears away. “It’s just that, as our dear Ranpo-san said once, he still needs to get a bit of… speed, when it comes to noticing this kinda stuff.”

“Really?”

“I mean, have you seen him?” Such a comment made the redhead laugh, and she couldn’t help but smirk triumphantly. Of course it was all going to be okay, and the doctor had no doubt it would be proven true sooner rather than later.

(Also on ao3.)

marks

“Penny for your thoughts?” 

“I’d rather have that in yen, y’know.” When Atsushi’s eyes met Lucy, she was already sticking her tongue out at him as an answer to that comment. Deserved, though.

“Very funny.” She even rolled her eyes and, had they been physically closer to each other, something was telling him Lucy would have also pinched him. Not like he would complain, anyway. “Now to the point, what’s on your mind?”

“Alright, alright. You ever thought about getting tattoos? ‘Cause I sometimes do.”

Lucy then moved from her previous position, from laying in bed to sitting cross-legged over it, face resting between her palms and staring at him with more than evident curiosity. There was no need for her to say more, since Atsushi instantly picked up how she was asking him to elaborate.

“I mean, it’s not like I’ve given too much thought to what it would be, but… I’m pretty sure when it comes to the place?” He shrugged, pointing at the burnt scars on his side. “It’s gonna take time, and money I don’t have yet, and all that stuff. But, y’know…”

“It could look cool, yeah.” Lucy patted the spot right beside her, with yet another wordless request Atsushi instantly obliged too.

Offering her a smile, he returned to the bed, letting himself fall over it with not too much force, and taking position on the aforementioned spot while placing his head on her lap.

“I accept ideas, by the way.”

“Ah, that makes two of us.” She giggled, poking Atsushi’s nose. “Y’know, ‘cause I think I might do that too.” Her hand then moved up, running through his hair. “Like, maybe they won’t get completely covered and so. But you can definitely do pretty neat stuff.”

“Like with our lives.” Atsushi smiled again, both at the thought and Lucy’s gestures.

“Like with our lives.” She repeated, nodding along with those words.

(Also on ao3.)

[the-kr8tor]

Funny thing yesterday- in the middle of writing, that same friend that was flirting with me and then started crushin on another dude messaged me 'ilysm mwah' and I tweaked so badly I could not function for 30 minutes

Daily Hobie HC! We wake up and POOF. No longer bat form >:)

You let out a satisfied sigh, your face buried into the crook of this cute guy's neck. Slowly, as the sun rose, you began to stir, noticing how you didn't exactly feel small anymore..

You quickly get up, noticing how you've become a human once more.

You groan softly, pinching the bridge of your nose as you mentally scold yourself for snuggling up with a random cute guy that picked you up and treated you so kindly.

While Hobie stays fast asleep, at least you hope he does, as you slowly slide off the bed and try to make your quick escape. You close the door slowly, cringing at the squeak it made before shutting.

As you're making your way quietly away from his room, you take a brief moment to admire the houseboat. It wasn't bad, looking quite lively for just one person living here. Hobie's eyes flickered open at the sound of his door closing. He sat up with a groan, eyes squinting at his door. He slid off his bed, stretching out his torso and reaching for the doorknob.

Upon hearing him turning the door, you try to sneak out of there quickly. Unfortunately, since you were still fogged with sleep, you ended up stumbling and falling onto the floor. He opened the door immediately as he heard the sound of crashing.

Hobie walked out, his brow raising in confusion as he sees..the bat that he had rescued the previous night, on the floor. You look at your wings, before slowly turning to stare up at Hobie with wide eyes, confused and a little scared.

You cuss loudly in frustration, which only came out as a loud squeak to him. What was going on? Why couldn't you control it? Hobie watches as you take a step towards him, his eyes widening significantly as you suddenly turned back into a human before his very eyes.

Another step, and you're back as the bat he had rescued. Hobie holds his hands up to you, preventing you from taking another step and possibly stressing yourself out.

Instead, he simply just scooped you up, and set you down to perch on his shoulder.

Hobie scratched your little fuzzy head, petting you to try and calm yourself down to be able to control it. He felt surprisingly calm during the entire ordeal, but it was probably due to the fact Hobie was still half-asleep.

You stayed on his shoulder until Hobie went into the kitchen for breakfast, where he gently sent you down on the counter. The entire time he was dicing up some fruits for you, with you watching, Hobie would give you some extra pieces, talking to you about everything.

Of course, you couldn't respond with words, but he managed to figure out the different types of squeaks you made, as well as expression. He mainly asked yes-or-no questions nonchalantly, throwing in a little tease that made you huff, and him chuckle.

Once you seemed to have calm down now, with information having been shared, you manage to take a step and finally turn back into your human form.

You avoid his gaze for a while, taking a sliced strawberry and eating it with a small 'thank you'. Hobie smiled towards you, lifting himself to sit on the counter, his legs criss-crossing over each other.

After a brief pause of awkward silence, he asked you about your vampirism, one thing that had been lingering on his mind, but couldn't ask when you were a bat.

He listens intently as you explain how everything happened from the start to now, your heart almost beating out of your chest at how intrigued and cute he looked.

That question seemed to have started a pretty casual conversation between the two of you, teasing each other and joking around, specifically about your fangs.

Of course, you needed blood, but you weren't going to tell him that. Not when he wasn't throwing you out and giving you food.

Hobie was really intrigued by your predicament, and was even more interested with your personality. He found it adorable that you felt so guilty about everything, even though he knew it wasn't your fault.

A bit..creepy, yes, but from what you said, you had been bitten, and were still fairly new to this concept, so it wasn't all your fault.

Besides, Hobie seemed to like you quite a bit, especially since he had offered you both to become friends and get to know each other more apart from accidentally cuddling as strangers.

You both shake hands on the idea lightheartedly, introducing yourselves properly.

From a formal greeting, you had no idea how you went from that to trying to wrestle Hobie off the kitchen counter.

Actually, yes you do. He flicked a blueberry at your forehead playfully, and now you were over hear declaring 'war'. -🐦‍⬛

Awwe that's so cute 🥰

Daily Hobie HC!!

WISJIWJSJWJSJW HOW ADORABLE 😍😍😍

Your version is way more wholesome than what i had in mind lol mine was full of screaming and throwing shit at each other bc Hobie thinks someone snuck inside his house like goldilocks but he's still inside instead lmfao 🤣

I love love this and I love how he's so understanding bc he saw the transformation with his own eyes bc if he didn't well my version would've happened lol

[krsive-writes]

There Will Be Time

Title: There Will Be Time

Author: krsive

Rating: T+/M-

Tags/Warnings: hospitalization

Hospice was what they called it, but Morty thought of the hospital bed as his nest. It was funny, really, the things a person could get used to. The beeping of the heart monitor was his lullaby, the morphine drip his warm blanket. They had taken half his stomach, so he could eat very little, but they let him choose his favorite foods with no fuss. The bed pan sucked, but he supposed dying couldn't all be fun and games.

The Earth doctors had no idea what was wrong with him, because they didn't even have a name for the alien disease that was rotting him from the inside. Rick had dragged him to hospital after hospital in the broader multi verse, but the answer was always the same: Ventraxian Immunodeficiency Virus was incurable. Terminal. Just make him comfortable.

The fighting had started surprisingly slowly, but when it began the house shook with it day and night. Your fault, your fault, your fault. The grownups couldn't agree about how many and which of them were to blame—with one exception. Every hateful eye had turned to Rick, judge and jury instantly in agreement. You did this. All with one voice they agreed that Rick had killed their beloved son. Morty just wondered where that love had been before he was dying.

Six weeks ago, right when it started to get really bad. Rick had vanished without a trace. Poof. No note, no nothing. He didn't even say goodbye to Morty. His absence was more painful than the disease itself. After what he thought they had become to each other, his grandfather still just took off when things got hard. Even now Morty didn't doubt the sincerity of his love, but Rick’s inconstancy had shattered Morty's heart for good. Rick was too cowardly and weak to see it through. He was off somewhere drinking himself to death, and Morty was here in his nest that had taken over the study, feeling so alone.

Morty liked waking in the wee hours because the peace of the quiet house was precious to him. He wasn't going to get much more privacy in his short life, so he wanted to enjoy it while he could. He turned onto his side and stared at the IV needle in the back of his hand. The bruise all around it looked like a blooming flower, all soft purple and mauve. He hated it, the dull ache and the way it zinged when he used his fingers. He wanted it out, but if he fucked with it then the morphine would be gone, and he liked the morphine very, very much. He drew his legs up and tucked himself more completely under his fluffy blanket. It was so cold in here. Too cold to think. Too cold to cry. He drifted in featureless misery, afraid to try and sleep again. Someday soon he would go to sleep and never wake again.

Then the room lit up suddenly, flooded with a brilliant flash of neon green. Morty's mind was so addled that he only knew he was panicking by the sound of the heart monitor. His eyes widened, rounded; he couldn't close them but he didn't want to look. He could practically feel the weight of Rick's shadow falling over him. It took him some time to remember how to operate his tongue, silence stretching on between them.

"Go away," said Morty.

"I did it, baby."

"Go a-a-away!”

"I figured it out. I'm gonna—grandpa's gonna fix it now, mijo." Rick edged a step nearer.

"No!” Morty curled himself tighter. Finally the tears came. He closed his eyes, tried to keep breathing while he wept. "You left me."

"I..." Rick's shame was palpable. He came up to Morty's bedside at last, and he took his hand. Morty tried to jerk away, hissed in pain as his IV came partway out. Rick went stiff. "I went to find out how to make you better," he continued, but he sounded distracted and distant.

Rick dabbed his thumb into the drop of blood that had run down from the disturbed IV and brought it to his mouth. He groaned, a shameless animal sound. It felt wrong for the moment, and a sense of unease crept in like a fog hugging the ground.

"I needed you and you left me." Morty turned onto his back. Rick should have to look at his face for this.

"I left because you needed me. Everyone was trying to make me waste your..." Rick's lips tightened. ''They all wanted me to let you die.”

"I im gonna die anyway! You could have been here! You left me like you don't even love me!" Morty dissolved further into his anguish. "You don't love me!"

Rick sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed him by the shirtfront, hauling him up so they were practically nose to nose.

"I don't love you?" Rick's voice was low and coarse. He was so angry, that kind of quiet angry that Morty still truly feared. ''How dare you, you ungrateful little shit?"

Though Morty's mind was whirling, he began to notice strange things. Rick had always been strong, but now his hands felt like iron. And—was he even breathing? Morty should have felt the warmth of his breath on his face.

"I needed you," Morty said again. It was the only thought he had to hand, faced with Rick's burning stare. "Please, Rick. I'm s-so mad at you."

Rick's touch changed, his anger cracked and fell away. He put his arms around Morty, easily holding him upright. Morty put his hand on Rick's cheek. He was so cold to the touch, so cold that Morty was deeply unsettled in some animal part of his brain.

''I know you did, sweetie." Rick smiled sadly and nuzzled against Morty's hand. “You're so warm. I'm gonna miss this."

Morty dissolved into tears again. Rick was going to miss this? They weren't going to be together like this, after all? "I-I thought you said you were gonna save me."

"I am, I am, don't cry, baby." Rick wiped a tear from Morty's eye. "Things are just gonna be a little different, that's all."

"Different?" Something about the simple word felt ominous. ''Please—if you're—I don't want it if you're gonna leave m-me-me again.”

"I'll never leave you again." Rick pressed a cold kiss on Morty's lips. "I promise. Just close your eyes, baby.”

"What are you going to do to me?"

"Close your eyes and trust me."

Did Morty trust his grandfather? He didn't want to. He wanted to have the self-respect to punish Rick for leaving him. Conflicting memories flew by, moments of cruelty, moments of intimacy, all back to back with no reprieve. He deserved better than Rick. His eyes lingered on the old man's face. He deserved better, but this man was all he wanted, all he had ever wanted. Heart quaking, he closed his eyes.

A sudden searing pain made him gasp, the soft skin of his neck pierced by Rick's razor sharp teeth. In a frenzy, Morty tried to push him away, but Rick was too strong and he held him tight. Morty could taste blood at the back of his mouth, thick and hot. He felt it rolling down his skin and soaking his shirt. His fear was muddled by the drugs clogging his brain and by the obscene moans that rumbled in Rick's chest as he swallowed Morty's blood in eager gulps. The monitors were all going haywire as Morty's pulse raced. The world started to white out far more quickly that he had expected, prickling at the edges like static on an old TV. His arms weakened until he couldn't even hit Rick's arms any longer.

'"S-stop," he said, or may have said—it was hard to tell. "I’m dying. I'm dying. Rick..." His lips felt so dry. "Stop..."

Rick didn't stop. He kept drinking, his fingers tangled in Morty's hair to tilt his head back. Morty's chest rose and fell sharply. His last breaths were to be painful, it seemed. Everything was happening so quickly, so slowly. Rick held him close. At least he had that.

"Love..." The world was grey, now, translucent like a raindrop. "Love you... Rick..."

Morty sighed out his last breath and went still.

Wakefulness came crashing in all at once. There was a strange taste in his mouth, something rich and hot, more delicious than anything he had ever tasted. He opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Rick's face. He could count every fleck of color in his grandfather's eyes, see each flicker of emotion that crossed his features. Rick's joy was overwhelming to behold. He couldn't face it for long, so he let his eyes roam.

"There's blood on your face." He had thought his voice would feel dry and creaky, but it came out clear.

Rick wiped at his chin with his sleeve, though he didn't seem particularly bothered. ''Fuck," the old man sighed. He layed back, sprawled over Morty's legs. "Man, they really had you on the good shit. I don't usually go for opiates, but this is a nice buzz..."

Morty looked up at the heart monitor. It had gone completely flat. He touched his own chest and felt no stirring of life.

"So..." he said, with solemn caution.

"So?"

"W-W-We're vampires, now? Th-That's what just happened?"

''That's the long and short of it."

"It took you six weeks o-of me dying to figure out how to be vampires?"

''No, Morty. Vampirism was kind of a last resort solution. There was nothing else—“

"You didn't ask me if I wanted to be a vampire! You didn't even tell me first!"

"Not that we don't have a long, long time for you to get this out of your system, but could you hurry it up?" Rick moved, righting himself and laying himself over Morty. "I've been missing you."

“You've—? I've—“ Morty spluttered. "Consent, Rick! Consent is important!"

"Don't be so boring." Rick stole a kiss. Morty willingly gave away a second one. "Think about it. A hundred years Rick and Morty? Peanuts. Make it a thousand. You're really complaining about a thousand years of patented Grade A Sanchez blowjobs?"

Morty hesitated, giving Rick a chance to taste his lips again. "Can vampires even come?"

Rick gave him a grin, a flash of fang showing. "Why don't we do a little experiment?"

They fell into each other, all roaming hands and tasting tongues. Morty put his arms around the monster who had saved him. He could be angry later. For now, he had fully earned that Grade A blowjob, and he was ready to collect.

[growling]

I recently remembered your au where Yuma quits being a detective after the train and Yomi is caught for his crimes much earlier and they meet

They'd have such a fascinating dynamic... plus with Shinigami in the mix it'd be so funny. Yuma's a magnet for trouble and I can imagine Yomi just continually flabbergasted over just how much trouble Yuma brings to the table accidentally. Not to mention how much Yomi himself brings, being on the run in a city he can't leave

zkajsdhkwadiadkj this ask made me stim for minutes before I could coherently answer.. omg people think about my older stuff still....

I've used to like have. Very. A Lot of those Yuma + Yomi forced to interact aus, most notably

Prrrreetty much same premise as this one, except Yomi doesn't get booted out the company and it's just Yuma wandering around (alone) (fucking loser) until he accidentially ends up somewhat benefiting the peacekeepers with his instakill torment labirynth powers when he uses it once after arriving in KW in front of them and now he's stuck working for the guys if he wants to keep his spleen. Nobody has any fucking idea about him having a pact with a shinigami of course (most of them thinks its some extremely op forte. they do have other theories though. some of them scarily close), but all Yomi has to know from his Polite Interrogation is that if Yuma can stop time to solve any mystery and if he succeeds the culprit drops dead. He has lost his only hitman so far just a few days ago (F.Zilch/Aide rip in fucking rest) so Yuma sounds like a great deal and a decent replacement, especially with his killings being instant leaving zero marks -- while he won't ever truly replace Aide as one of his closest advisors and the person he was to him, (and Yomi will never hesistate to scream at him about it every single day) (but he still simultaneously treats him like one, why couldn't you act more like that dead guy that really liked me that you will never be like no matter what you do, you know his death matches what you did to that other guy right when we first found you? if you really did kill him too which I already made up my mind about you must really make up for that sin by filling in the hole he left which you can never do by the way, and by acting like you can would be insulting his memory (and me) almost as much as it would if you didn't even try, anyway here's your paycheck for this week *hands him 30000 shien which makes Yuma feel slightly better*), as long as he can keep killing people and being such a pleasure to have at meetings (but be careful!). Yuma's main "job" is to find out the identities of people (or just the exact intricacies of their actions) who are actively wronging or interfering with Amaterasu corp and then make them go poof. Though Yomi never sics him on Huesca despite complaining about him so much, for some reason. Yuma is so stressed the whole terrible, no good, very bad time he's at KW, his health starts rapidly declining, and due to being extra irritable from being tired/in pain constantly he turns into a really unpleasant person to be around which makes most people avoid him except for a few select people (that are fucking unhinged btw. which makes him feel even worse), that coupled with regularly being exposed to Yomi's radioactive miasma and slowly getting desensitized to death via being a hitman, he starts thinking hey maybe murder is ok actually sometimes like you know theres nuance yknow... That doesn't mean he doesn't still retain some of game Yuma's overall kindness he had even if he wishes he could stop caring (ugh why do i have morals this sucks), he's not like, a terrible person per se the way Huesca or Yomi (admittedly, sighing emoji) are, he's just. Yeagh. Sometimes he's got a good day and he decides today he's gonna try and mediate between Makoto and Yomi again so his shit boss would get himself together and stop yapping to him about his shit boss every day because he doesn't have the patience for this this is so stupid I do not care who started it now go hold hands and apologize to each other or let me disengage from this situation please. I don't know how much aware Yuma is of Makoto wanting him obliterated too, but it sure must be interesting at the headquarters with this homoerotic hatred triangle. I had way more to say originally but this is getting *scrolls up for a brief moment before starting to sweat* Long I've got the paragraph text limit and had to delete it lmaoo

The Yomigami au I also posted about earlier where essentially Yomi is Shinigami and you will never ever in a million years guess who the director is instead. Originally a joke but then I started thinking and as you know this is usually where it all descends downhill into the madness. Anyaway canon Shinigami was morbid already and had a morality far removed from humans, Yomi/gami is just cranked up to 100 with all this and sprinkle some sadism on top. He purposefully drags Yuma out every day to get involved in as many cases as possible until he just has no choice but to enter that labirynth (fun bonding activity). Yomi/gami is also EXTRA against Yuma working for the resistance in that one chapter, he really really really hates criminals and poor people and especially poor criminals dohya's so scary guys let's go Kokohead let's leave this pit :(((((( anyway putting all the funky labirynth details I got aside as to not make this too long, canon Shinigami already was pretty lonely (in that book (gay baby jail) for an ambiguous amount of years) before but in her own way focused on what's best for Yuma's growth as a detective even if they'll have to part ways eventually. Yomi/gami is not like this even if he doesn't act like he cares abt Yuma he's not just gonna let him leave so he can rot in the book in total isolation again just a few weeks after he got out of it. He does everything in his power to impede on Yuma's progress and get him as far away from the reason he came there for so their contract will last longer he's latching on he's a parasite he's lonely. He would NEVER suggest to Yuma that he can stay in the labirynth in chapter 5, he HAS to reap Makoto's soul there is no other option. And if Yuma did by any chance choose to do so anyway, Yomi/gami is absolutely not letting him take the emergency exit he'd rather let him die in there than to let him leave and just move on without him and forget he existed at all lmao. You could go anywhere you want to see others like you and have anyone you could desire I only have you do you really hate me so much you can't stand to know me any longer is that why you're so eager to abandon me the first chance you get. That is so cruel of you and makes you even more of a terrible person you already are for killing so many people for your own selfish pursuit of the truth but it's okay because I'm the only one who could ever understand you and why you've done all this and forgive you even if you don't deserve it because we're bestiessssss foreverrrrrrr <33333 in short: it's a trashfire. Vivia and Makoto both wish they were never exposed to whatever this is and that they remained oblivious for the rest of their lives. Having a lot of trouble with the ending though since I cannot decide between whether 1) Yuma Fucking Dies if I can't have you no one can *compresses you into a cube and yeets it directly at Makoto's skull 2) Yuma has to epic battle his 1000+ yr old weird shinigami buddy on creative mode so he'll let him get his memories back (yomigami voice that you willingly gave to me you knew the terms very well why are you suddenly going back on your word huh. huh??) and Yomi/gami just kinda accepts any relationship he forms with anyone is never gonna last and just goes back to sleep until somebody else wants a temporary pact with him again 3) secret third option where nobody's depressed and Yomi/gami gets to have some kind of way to avoid being isolated forever and start forming longer lasting connections with people that doesn't require Yuma to set himself on fire to make him warm but I'll be honest chief I have no idea how they could possibly do it. So that's that. And before anyone asks: Yes this is yaoi to me

A lot of other smaller yumayomi/kokohell AUs where they mildly enjoy each other's presence, widely ranging between "actually somewhat surprisingly healthy" and "good lord somebody stop them from fucking killing each other or dragging anybody else into this shitshow they got"

And this one of course. the one who started the yuma + yomi madness <333333333 One detail about it that managed to actually stick (so much about it im just. continuouslyc changing ksdhgyrsjsg) is that Yuma gets much more involved with the resistance after being in Dohya for that long before just kinda stopping or avoiding them because uh, *gestures at the hellsmile he's currently in close proximity with* you know. And yes the dynamic would be unparalleled Yuma has no normal friends. They never get a moment of peace before bringing another disaster onto themselves it's always fucking something... Id say something else but i used up all my energy now brain not work anymore defeated looking emoji. A glimpse into my fucked up yomi/yuma mind I will milk them forever

[nibwhipdragon]

OK OK JJBA DRAGON AU LORE DUMP. FINALLY DOING THIS. Leaving my copy pasted discord messages under the cut there is a Decent Amount. This is all pt2 for now bc I'm Normal

Anything in purple are Kirsten's messages bc I was talking abt it with her to calm myself for my exam results. And I do not have it in me to reformat the messages into something that makes sense without them. And also bc some of her ideas I decided would be a thing in the AU and she deserves credit

Ok so. First I'm gonna talk abt the Pillar Men and how I designed them (only in my head I have not drawn them yet)

Like I've said before they've [The Pillar Men....dragons?] got front facing horns

Did that bc I'm planning for them lore-wise to be very subterranean

They use their big horns to like. Dig things and break stone and that

They also don't have wings for this reason 👍

Kars DOES end up getting wings when the Ultimate Lifeform stuff happens, and they are feathery like in canon

Cus like. Also if they had wings what else could I do to make Kars more threatening as UL

The whole vampirism stuff is the same, they cannot go out in the sun or. Poof

I also. Don't know where to put the Joestar birthmark on the designs. I feel like having them on the shoulder is like. Too off in my head?

Maybe between the wings?

I could go with a muzzle design but idk if that'd give Joseph enough leeway to speak and that without causing the mask to like. Not work yk

Probably not like. Full on?? [Referring to clothes] They get some like. Accessories like the scarf for example but. Not fully clothed

Caesar's bandanna goes around his neck bc idk where else to put it 👍

Hamon. It's applied physically like it is in canon (just through like. Biting and clawing instead of punching and kicking) but it can also be used with like. Fire breathing and that. This is bc I think it'd look cool 👍 Like. You can see the hamon crackling in the smoke and that

For now yes I think? Maybe some different elements but like. Fire is the dominant one [talking about breathing elements]

Yeah also. About the Pillar Men. I think it'd be funny if they could just. Be able to walk on two legs like a human being tbh. It would set them apart and also be very creepy in the setting bc. They would be the only ones to be able to do that

Whammu is easy bc. Boom make him stand on 2 legs and he can do the Divine Sandstorm like he does in canon

Bc at first I was thinking about him [Esidisi] having like. Venom spitting

Bc like. The whole fight between Joseph and Esidisi would be different bc I'm NOT putting that goofy hat on Joseph. How would it even fit the horns would get in the way

Would Esidisi still hide his horn via hat?

Or hide his horn at all?

Nah I don't think so (great response past me)

Maybe he'd grow spikes from his back or like from his limbs so he can like. Tackle people XD [Referring to Kars' bone blades]

Kars is like wrapped in bandages the whole as time

Then when he fights

He takes them off and boom! Glorious hair. Boom! His horn(s) are suddenly blades

That'd actually be very threatening could you imagine him charging full speed at you with those

Kars also gets sent to space here like in canon 👍

Idk how that fully works though bc. Planes do not exist here

Joseph IS the plane and idk how he's living that

Just. Boom Joseph tries to crash them both directly into the volcano. Boom it goes wrong Kars stops it. Boom they crash onto the crater instead. Boom Kars mauls his limb off. Boom profit

Caesar gets buried under rubble 👍

Ok that looked like more in DMs. Anyways that's pretty much all I got rn. Finished Caesar's design but. Big design essay I will definitely add. So I post him later

Also. Something that went unsaid between us in the messages but Von Stroheim doesn't exist here none of that stuff happens ❤️ heart emoji

[kehideni]

Something funny about the resurrection spell of Viren.

Claudia has killed a human(or maybe an elf) to resurrect Viren, so i don't see how that only amounts to 30 days.

2. Apparently Aaravos' truths are always tricky, he doesn't lie but you are not supposed to have full context of what he is saying.

If Viren doesn't die after 30 days, then here's what i imagine:

"Where are you going? This is a special day. Stop!"

"You're so close now, we are finally on the cusp of each other's realities."

This is weird to say, Viren and Aaravos have always shared realities, even if Aaravos is imprisoned, that doesn't mean they are not in the same world. Unless Aaravos means Viren could enter "his" reality in the meaning that maybe if Sir Sparklepuff sacrifices himself Viren could live longer, MUCH longer, like Startouch Elf longer.

To Aaravos a human lifespan is like a blink i imagine, so Viren getting resurrected for a normal human lifespan wouldn't mean a lot to him.

Why he would do that though? Idk... long living beings like their toys i guess, and humans are Aaravos' choice of toys specifically. It's not like i couldn't find a reason if i didn't try harder to look for it.

Maybe Viren could be his "little bug pal" this time around idk...

"As to the matter of your mortal existance-" Humans were already mortal my dude...

"- you cut it rather close coming in on the 30th day." I'd hazard a guess the time limit is more Sir Sparklepuff related than Viren, that creature in season 2-3 was shown to rapidly age, and moths do tend to have a truely short lifespan even compared to humans.

"Just a few hours before your life expires, poof." again, *IF* Viren lives past 30 days, i'd think Aaravos' point of view is that human life is short af, shorter even than the other kind of elves' lifespan, not just compared to Startouch ones.

"Don't worry, making your resurrection permanent won't be a problem." <-this is the actual line that made me second guess Aaravos. Making a resurrection permanent can be easily interpreted in two very different ways.

And Aaravos does say that for the spell (that i can't spell, ba dum tiss) he needs the blood of Viren's child, but not stating that his own blood is probably the far more important ingredient in said "child" is not lying per se...

This isn't anything i can say for sure, it's just another spitballing post, but i'm just saying. If Viren is still alive past the 30 days, this might be an explanation.

[fountainpenguin]

So I was rereading your lore on witches in your riddledeep au and um.

Would this technically make Dev a witch??? lol. He also freebies a pizza across a digital title card that episode too.

😂 Y'know, it's funny you say that because for the past month, I've been wondering if anyone was going to ask me if Dale or Dev are witches. I don't know why I was wondering that, but it's been clinging to me. I couldn't think of a way to bring up "btw, they're not witches in my work" without it feeling weird.

My witch lore for context

Dale and Dev can specifically not be witches under my lore even if I wanted them to be, even if I were following a headcanon where the Dimmadomes get around the XYZ chromosome sterility through clones, because of something extremely specific that also exists in my lore that I cannot go back on.

Magic Colors

So, I have a whole magic system set up around the colors of magic. There are 6 possible colors in the OG series- 5 of which are represented on the Rainbow Bridge, 4 of which are represented on the Fairy Council, and 2 of which are extremely rare.

I gave the Fairy Elder (namedropped in "Timmy's Secret Wish") yellow robes, thus tying the Fairy Council together.

Each magic color has a meaning associated with the mood or thought pattern behind magic use. I drew my original inspiration from the colors Timmy's brain turns when Poof's controlling his body in "He Poofs, He Scores."

For those interested, my Colors of Magic post (From May 2016, but has screenshots) & my worldbuilding sideblog's post on magic colors (Cleaned-up lore with no pictures). Short version below:

Red is an extremely uncommon magic color, though we see it when Foop is fighting Cosmo and Wanda in "Playdate of Doom" and when Wanda jumpstarts Timmy's heart in "Yoo-Doo." It's the color I associate with life and death magic. So, y'know... Foop is very okay.

There's also indigo (used by Juandissimo in "Fairy Fairy Quite Contrary"), which I consider a subset of blue.

Green is also extremely rare. Notably, it's the color Foop's magic slowly starts to turn throughout "Scary Godcouple"- He started off with blue, but sours to green in one of the only appearances we see of green in the entire series.

But you know what commonplace color we don't see?

Orange.

In my lore, orange-haired magic users (both Fae and genies) are the equivalent of shiny Pokémon. Even two orange magic-users don't normally have orange offspring- They produce yellows and reds.

And the thing is... I've already set up Happy Peppy Gary to be the only orange witch in my lore. In fact, I have a WIP multi-chapter 'fic about Gary getting discovered by H.P. and Anti-Cosmo, who lose their minds when they realize what he is (Pink and Gray).

Shout-out to one of my favorite dialogue exchanges I've ever written, from H.P. trying to sus Gary out as genie-descended:

H.P. brought his hand up to fiddle with his glasses. "Okay. Completely random get-to-know-you question. By any chance, are you afraid of small spaces?" "Deathly. Why?"

And Dale is Gary's age - in the same city where the Pixies dropped Gary and Betty after taking them in - which means if he WAS an orange witch, he would've been clocked so hard, so fast. Also, since I'm going the route of H.P. being Dale's godfather, there's no way he wouldn't have noticed even though Dale was MIA for years.

Fun Fact! Gary and Juandissimo are "related!" Juandissimo was finger-snapped into existence by Gary's ancestor, Crimsona. He's arguably a great-great-great-great uncle (5 generations up from Gary). In Cloudlands AU, Gary's middle name is actually Juandissimo! That's because Juandissimo's been assigned to godparent to this family several times (We met Gary's dad and grandmother, Quincy and Eunice, in Baby, You're a Rich Man; Sanderson matches Eunice's name to Juandissimo's in Chapter 10 while looking through godkid files).

Anyway, I COULD have witch genes passed down through Dev's mom's side of the family (Leadlys in my headcanon), but that comes with its own issues: if Leadly had XYZ chromosomes, he can't have Hadley, and I'm not going back on that. I could make his wife a witch, but that STILL has issues.

In my 'fics I play Ed Leadly as a guy who's looking for magical creatures (hence him being willing to drop 17 million dollars on someone else's dog in "Dog Gone"). I have literally shown him onscreen holding a witch-detecting compass that points to Gary (in "Opportunity"). There is no way he would not have clocked his ex as a witch, sldkfj...

Closing Comments

Dale and Dev are some of the only characters in my universe who are absolutely confirmed to not be witches, despite how much I have actually wondered if it would be fun to portray them as such.

I don't have a lore reason for the visual gags in that episode- I sadly have to clock it up to random cartoon silliness akin to Jenkins exploding into pieces when Jasmine sings in "Fly" (or Hazel also falling apart or exploding when people expressed crushes on her in "Multiverse of Jenkins").

In my lore, I actually do have Gary set up to be able to pass his witch powers to people he kisses (Because I thought it would be funny if that's why Betty is taller in some scenes than others; yes, I am that pedantic and it makes Betty's "But I don't like you like that" line exponentially funnier), but I've established that only genie-descended witches can pass powers... That doesn't make sense for Dev in this episode either.

Technically all the fluids can pass magic, so a blood transfusion would make Dev "a permanent false witch" if I wanted to do that, but I'm not gonna bother when again, we have people exploding in this show as a gag. Cursed gags I cannot touch with lore 😔

If anyone else makes the Dimmadomes witches, I'd be totally down to read that. I think it would be extremely funny if Dale Dimm was also a witch despite sentencing Alden Bitterroot to 350+ years of clawing his way out of Dimmsdale's well for witch crimes, but my AUs have pretty firmly locked Dale and Dev out of that option.

Riddleverse Design Facts

Here's another fun fact for any new followers who don't know I do this: I draw witches with spirals in their hair! Pics under the cut due to length:

Crocker has his in the back and Kevin has his on top!

You could TOTALLY make an argument that Leadly's spiral is in his mustache

Also, it's a very good thing I do this- I joked in the past that Gary and Dev look eerily similar (even sharing lots of body language), so it's nice to have things like freckles and a hair spiral I can fall back on.

I'm VERY happy with my adult Dev design, but I definitely kept freckles and hair spirals away from him, haha. Sneak peek of him next to his mom:

Note- Spiral headcanon excludes H.P., who has a unique family cowlick I gave him before doing this for witches. Poof doesn't count either since he's under Fae Get Alphabet Hair rules:

Whistle and Anti-Whistle [Soren] (at the bottom) are some of my favorite designs... I can't get over his upside-down W hair sldkfj.

But Wanda and Anti-Wanda having completely different Ws is another favorite thing. I'm especially proud of Dusty's little D tuft.

I'm not sure why Smoky ended up with what looks like an F (unless it's a T since he was Talon before Talon was Talon), but I remember doing a lot of designs for him. Sometimes I don't commit to alphabet hair if letters are hard (Soren's top zigzag is meant to be an S, which is a very hard letter to incorporate, and I think I didn't want Smoky and Soren to have the same one). I've been wanting to redesign Smoky a bit, so I'll probably fix it then.

Goldie's is subtle and you can see it better in some drawings than others, but she has M hair because her full name is Marigold :)

I should probably re-add her middle tuft to her official sideblog art, whoops.

Also, if this is how someone is finding out Poof and Foop literally were designed with alphabet hair, I have wonderful news for you. Fun fact, the "Anti-Poof" storyboard portrays Foop with a square spiral instead! It was the final detail of his design.

[alan-duarte]

TIMING: 14th of June LOCATION: The Grocery Store PARTIES: Alan (@alan-duarte) & Zane @rn-zane SUMMARY: Alan and Zane have to do something mundane such as grocery shopping. Neither of them have a good time. CONTENT WARNINGS: homophobia tw.

It instilled a sense of normalcy, going out for groceries. Granted, there was way less need to buy things now that Zane’s food groups consisted of only one, very specific group but old habits died hard. So the small hand held basket now carried some skittles, coffee and soon, a scented candle for his room. Not exactly grocery shopping but still. As he was checking the scents, finding that most of them didn’t really hold the same appeal as they had before (no chance of finding blood scented candles, obviously), Zane noticed the presence of someone watching his actions from just down the aisle. The guy smelled nice, his cologne mixing nicely with the undertone of sweetness that made his mouth start to water, and he wasn’t bad on the eyes, either. The thick curls made Zane’s fingers tingle and the dark brown eyes were managing a nice glint even in the store’s fluorescent lighting and oh, shit, he’d spent way too long staring. 

The offered smile before he quickly turned his head back was every level of awkward, mind trying to regain focus on the scented candle mission. Zane was vaguely aware of the handsome stranger leaving the aisle, hearing his footsteps recede just around the corner, followed by voices. He had a nice voice and a lovely accent, speaking in fast paced Spanish that only allowed Zane to pick up a few words. ‘Acabo de ser mirado… tipo espeluznante… me sonrió… como un maldito joto?’

The tone following that last word, even if he hadn’t painfully known the meaning, was enough to get him moving. There were other voices speaking up now, at least two, and this was not the quiet trip to the store Zane had planned. Heading the other way from the voices, scented candle abandoned, he made a beeline for the register. ‘Ey, pendejo?’ Zane tensed, knowing what usually followed that jeering tone of voice. These guys were looking for a fight, no reason too small, and a 6 foot guy in decent shape always sounded like a fun challenge. Not that three against one was much of a challenge. 

Alan usually ordered his groceries online. It was convenient and it prevented him from being inevitably confronted to too many noises and smells at once. This once, he had missed the deadline and the idea of waiting until tomorrow  for his order was not pleasant to the impatient mind of Mr Duarte. 

Focused on the handwritten list in his hand, the werewolf tried to ignore his surroundings, although he was, as per usual, failing miserably. He didn’t like the idea of completely shutting himself out with earphones and didn’t feel comfortable walking around with earplugs. It was probably paranoia, especially considering hunters could tell who he was from a lot less than visual inputs. God only knew how that worked, but either way, Alan preferred to endure the noise. 

¿Me queda café en casa? His questioning was interrupted by discourse in his home language. With a raise of one eyebrow, he set down the pack of coffee beans he had in hand into his cart, and left it to take a stroll through the aisles. Hands slipping in his pockets, Alan heaved a sigh as he caught sight of them. Fucking kids with nothing better to do on a Saturday night. Not to contradict the man, the legend himself, but fighting in a supermarket? C’mon. With a rather unsubtle clearing of his throat, he had approached the quartet, eyes darting toward their hands. Sure enough, he didn’t look like much of a fighter, dressed as he was in his usual businessman gear. He hadn’t even bothered taking off the tie, the change of plan for groceries having stirred up his routine just enough to make that crucial comfortable step go away. Funny how the brain worked. One grain of sand and poof all the cogs were damaged. “¿No tienen mejores cosas que hacer? Tres contra uno, deberías estar jodidamente avergonzados.” He clicked his tongue and moved forward. “Come on. Leave.”

—

The excuses were all lined up, ready to go in the hopes of diffusing the situation, as much as a part of Zane wanted to make them take it back. He’d brushed off so much of this shit throughout the years and knew that these guys, with their pants hanging dangerously low on their hips and hats turned back, didn’t have a personal agenda or grudge. Just wanted to show someone, anyone, that they were tough. It would have been interesting, sort of, to see how the three of them faired against vampiric strength that Zane still had no idea how to control. Interesting but something he definitely didn’t want it to come to. 

A new arrival, someone who looked like he didn’t belong at all in the mix, barely looked like he belonged in the small supermarket, cleared their throat. He looked important, felt important, and air of authority around him that was only accented by the suit. Zane caught most of the scolding, hopeful eyes moving between the man and the group of guys who now seemed… amused. Great. 

‘Oh, shit guys, abuelito’s here,’ one of them taunted, the others laughing in a way that brought Zane right back to a playground at the boys’ home. With their attention diverted, Zane tucked his shoulders and turned, making a beeline for the exit and leaving the basket of assorted things behind. Skittles and coffee weren’t worth getting berated by those idiots. He felt bad that he wouldn’t get a chance to thank the nicely dressed man for attempting to step in but his head was buzzing uncomfortably and he just wanted to get out. The door had barely been pushed open when hands made contact with his back. Stumbling forward a few steps out to the parking lot, Zane felt the buzzing in his ears grow louder. 

“Seriously?” Zane sighed, jaw clenching as he turned. “Look, can we just-” Another shove, a crooked grin planted on the man’s face, the one from before who no longer looked attractive at all with that goading expression twisting the features. ‘Just what? I’m not interested, joto.’

-- 

Abuelito? Well Alan was not going to let insults coming from 3 in 1 body wash users get to him. He could actually smell it, and the Axe body spray they most likely decided to soak their pubes in. And if the other kid decided now was the time to flee, well Alan was happy to return to his shopping. He wasn’t the sort to be vindictive, not when his opponent still had breast milk on his chin, at least. 

And he’d have continued his shopping if the sound of those voices didn’t reach his ears again. 

Alan paused. Did he really want to be the sort who didn’t help LGBT youths? No. He couldn’t stand that shit, or the looking the other way mentality. “Joder,” muttering to himself, the werewolf turned on his heels to follow after the group. The clerk was pretending not to see a thing, and Alan was making a mental note to shop elsewhere already. “You sure seem very invested in keeping this conversation going, for someone who’s not interested.” Of course the guy turned around, his mouth ajar like a trout’s, taking one too many seconds before responding with an eloquent fuck you old man. “Really, that’s the best you’ve got? Did your mother cradle you next to a wall by any chance?” 

---

Run or let this turn into a fight? Running might mean a chase but Zane was sure he could outrun them, seeing as their sneakers seemed much too big for their feet. It was better than things getting messy - not that he was worried about his own physical safety at the moment, more so of what he might do to the others. He didn’t know his strength, that much was clear, and if any of them started bleeding, with the way Zane’s mind was already racing with anger, hurt and annoyance…

The nicely dressed stranger was back, displeasure coloring his features and Zane felt overwhelmingly relieved. Yeah, Zane was technically an adult but this man was an adult - the three boys didn’t seem very impressed by it but the vampire found immense comfort in his presence. Even though he seemed intent on riling up the boys, rather than deescalating the situation. “Look,” Zane started tentatively, “I’m sorry. I’ll… fuck off, let’s just drop it, okay?” What exactly he was sorry for, he didn’t know. How badly this might turn out if a fight broke out? For checking out the other man? 

---

Alan stared at the trio of fuckwits before him. He wasn’t one bit amused. If he had the confidence not to hide who he was (not entirely at least), it hadn’t always been so. The army wasn’t precisely the best place to be gay, not in the late 90s, and America still wasn’t the best place for it either. There weren’t many places yet where it was unconditionally accepted.

Perhaps this was silly, perhaps was he trying to be the sort of person he would have liked to back him up, back when he was in high school, and getting scared and confused as he realized Samantha Wilson, his first, and last girlfriend, really wasn’t his type or when he caught himself longingly staring at his best mate. If you’d seen him then, you would have too. The guy was dreamy, then he became a tax accountant.  

“You’re not fucking off, they’re going to apologize for this,” his voice raised up, but his tone dropped as he approached the three guys with the stance of someone who wouldn’t hesitate to whoop their asses. “You fucking apologize to him and you fuck off. You don’t know me, but rest fucking sure that I’ll find out where you fucking live,” he spat, pointing at their faces, “and I’ll make your life fucking hell.” 

—-

Zane’s feet glued to the ground as the stranger raised his voice, phantom heartbeat pounding in his ears. Was this what standing up yourself, or other, looked like? Granted, Zane probably would have had an easier time standing up for someone else, especially if they were being harassed for anything other than this, but right now he was just immensely grateful. Mildly terrified at the amount of angry words and tension but still grateful that his apology, one made for simply being himself, had been rejected as completely unwarranted. 

The threats were definitely believable, the man looked like someone who could find out where you lived, and anyone with common sense would have backed off at this point. Not surprisingly, the three boys didn’t seem to come with much common sense. It was just a glimpse, a brief flash of movement that the older man couldn’t see but Zane stared right at, a small knife being tugged out of a back pocket. “Hey!”

It was obviously ill thought out but he lunged forward nonetheless, grabbing at the arm holding up the knife with strength that still surprised him. With his almost total lack of any sort of fighting however, Zane didn’t think as far as to suspecting this wasn’t the only knife in play. It was a strange burning sensation, radiating from his shoulder and all the way down his arm, making his fingers tingle for a moment. Shock quickly dulled the pain as his head whipped to look at the assailant, knife in hand and yeah, this wasn’t going to end well. 

—-

Hey! 

You always think things are going to be happening in slow motion then, like they do in the movies. They don’t. They happen fast. He understood why directors chose to slow things down, make it all readable, but it never happened like that. It was quick, and just like that, you could end up with a knife in your shoulder. For fucksake. Well, this wasn’t going to be much different than pugil sticks, was it? He just had to avoid getting stabbed. The thing with knives was that you could just run away from them, usually. Both he and that young man knew that these guys were too stubborn for that. 

This wasn’t precisely the middle of nowhere, and as much as he wanted to snack on homophobes right now, he also wanted to keep his reputation intact a lot more. This was escalating into exactly what he detested. Couldn’t people just get along, not be bigots? For once? 

“That was a really, really terrible idea,” hard to tell who he was speaking to, or if he said it to himself. It was around then he realized that he was only hearing 3 heartbeats. The kid seemed very much still alive. Was he a zombie? A vampire? Something like that? Well, at least he wouldn’t die from a paper cut or two… Alan’s fist in the meantime was connecting with someone’s jaw, his elbow with someone else’s nose. He valued effectiveness. His lupine form went to the throat, his human form for the groin. Funny how a man crying over his bleeding nose would often forget to protect his manhood. Sure, his loafers weren’t as brutal as army boots, but his high school football years left him with the technique for kicking balls.  

—

The very surreal sight of a man dressed in a very expensive suit moving that swiftly to completely immobilize two men was enough to distract Zane from the pain in his shoulder. It was very unlikely that he was some sort of undercover spy and all odds pointed more towards a past spent fighting but still, it did feel very Hollywood. Even though it seemed like a movie Zane had no interest in being in. There were sounds of pain now and a definite smell of blood in the air and for a second, it was almost overwhelming enough to make him forget about the third assailant, still brandishing a knife. 

Deciding that maybe a stab would work better on the suited up gentleman, he made a move to run past Zane, heading straight for the night’s hero. It had only been meant to stop him, maybe even just slow him down. He’d grabbed at the flopping hood as the guy shouldered past him and given what he thought was a little tug. Probably not so little as the force of it stopped the assailant in his tracks and consequently made his feet leave the ground, body hitting the concrete with a heavy thud. It was all Zane could do to not apologize. “Shit,” he breathed, taking a step back to watch two of the bruised and bleeding men curse and scatter, leaving the third to shout after them and finally scramble to his feet and follow suit.

“I, uhm… thank you.”

—

“Fuck I’m old,” in all of this nonsense, he’d received a punch in his ribs and a kick or two in his tibia. The wolf was sore, and he didn’t reply immediately, holding onto his side as he walked to the front steps of the store and took a seat there. The ground was most likely filthy, he thought to himself. “Oh God,” with a contained wince, his brows furrowed in discomfort, Alan glanced up at the undead guy. You couldn’t really say not a scratch but that wasn’t far off. “Please tell me you weren’t luring them out to have a snack,” with a sonorous yawn, Alan rubbed at his jaw. 

“No need to thank me,” he brushed off. Quite frankly, he was annoyed with himself. He should have minded his business. People died in this town every damn day for all sorts of reasons. “So, what are you?” Realizing it was strange of him to just know the other wasn’t human, he pointed toward his ears, as if to suggest he could hear it. 

—

There was wincing and sharp inhalations of breath as the older man moved, making guilt wash over Zane as he slowly shuffled over to where the guy was taking a seat. For a moment, his focus was solely on the way the other moved, trying to map out his injuries and make sure he hadn’t also gotten stabbed - a way worse scenario than the wound in his own shoulder. There were no visible stab wounds but worryingly, a smell of blood seeped through the air. It was hard to ignore with the pain in his shoulder and the panic still catapulting through him. Probably the reason the blunt question took a few moments to register. 

“I… what?” Zane blinked a few times, wondering for a moment if that was some sexual slang he was unaware of. It seemed more likely than this stranger asking him if he’d literally been planning to eat the other guys because how would he have known? Swallowing thickly, trying to get his nostrils to stop flaring over the smell, the thought occurred to just make a run for it. No, this man had saved him and was hurt. Zane wasn’t going to hurt him more… right? 

So what are you? Well, that definitely dragged his attention from the scent of blood momentarily. This man could… hear it? Hear what, his lack of heart beat? Or maybe the fact that he’d been trying to hold his breath to actively avoid smelling the blood on the man’s shirt. Nothing human had hearing like that. “I… I could ask the same of you,” was the best thing Zane could come up with, worried eyes flicking from the man’s face to the scarlett drops ruining his fancy suit. “We should call you an ambulance.”

____ 

“What: what?” The pain in his side was dissipating slowly, but Alan could feel his shirt stick to his skin in a way that could only be explained by blood. Fuck. He hadn’t gotten punched, had he? Shit. “You don’t have a beating heart. I wish I noticed earlier,” he could feel his bone beneath the pain. Maybe it had just grazed him, cut through the flesh and hit the bone. Maybe this was why he felt like he’d been hit in the ribs with such violence. Why the fuck did he even care about making sense of it? Heh, at least he wasn’t wearing vintage Armani today. 

“Dashing, great hearing, great sense of style?” He deadpanned. He hadn’t met a lot of werewolves, but he wasn’t really pushing it too far with his description, was he? Maybe wolves only sparred handsome enough contenders? Was he delirious? Did he mention he was lucky he was only wearing Gucci tonight? “I’m alright, I just need to walk and have water and then take a big nap,” he yawned. “Alright, standing back up,” he pushed on the pavement with one hand, sparing his chest most of the work, or at least trying to. 

—

The spot of blood on the man’s shirt seemed to be growing and with it, Zane’s mounting sense of worry. Whether for the fact that this stranger had obviously gotten stabbed or the fact that half of the vampire’s focus was solely on the growing stain. This guy probably wasn’t a vampire hunter or he would have kicked Zane’s ass with the others. But he did know that there was nothing going on in the vampire’s chest vis a vis blood flow. Didn’t seem very put off by it, either. The man’s explanation provided very little information and before Zane could attempt getting a better answer, the stranger was standing up. 

Thankfully, the health care side of his mind wasn’t completely blocked out by the gnawing whisper of hunger so Zane quickly threw off his sweater, balling it up and gesturing for the other man to press it against the wound. Standing close by in case the guy fainted, despite seeming very self assured about getting himself home in one piece. “Water and a big nap generally don’t help with a stab wound,” he tried desperately, trying to assess the man’s breathing in case those idiots had punctured a lung. “At least… let me take a look at it before you go. I’m a nurse and I’m pretty sure you’re going to need stitches.” He paused, worry shining in his eyes. “Come on. You got stabbed helping me out.”

—

“Yeah yeah, it’s not my first rodeo,” he didn’t mean to snap, but he was old enough that he didn’t like some young looking chap telling him what he needed to do. He didn’t accept it from someone his age, he certainly wasn’t willing to listen to someone youthful. And so his voice came out harsh and firm. “I’m fine,” his annoyance seeped through his words still, yet he lifted his hand to let the nurse see and assess the damages done to him. 

“If you call a damn ambulance, I’ll bite your head off,” he warned still, resting his hands by his side while he tried to relax his stance. The danger was gone and he deserved this much. “Fucking assholes,” perhaps he’d find them, feed them to Monty just because he would be doing everyone a huge favor then. The town would be better off without them. 

—

Zane pulled back slightly at the sudden harshness in the man’s voice but it didn’t deter him enough to let go of his insistence to have a proper look. Angrier patients had shouted at him before although a part of the vampire actually believed that this man would find a way to bite his head off if given reason to. The way he’d handled those idiots from before definitely showed he wasn’t someone to mess with, especially since he was making threats to someone he seemed sure was a vampire. He was right, obviously, but Zane was still dead set on playing dumb despite the fact that he was paying attention to this particular stab wound and not the one in his shoulder. 

To be fair, it didn’t look like the man would bleed out and there was obviously no way to either get him to a hospital or somewhere to stitch him up. With a heavy sigh, Zane carefully pulled the shirt back down to cover the wound, worry still coloring his features. “Fine, no ambulances. What is with people in this town and not wanting to go to the hospital,” he muttered under his breath, stepping back before the man decided he was pissed enough to take a swing at the person he had just saved. “Just… keep an eye on that, okay? And… thanks. Again. I’m, uh, I’m Zane. By the way.” Not that the guy seemed likely to care but it was mostly an attempt to get the name of someone who had helped him out just because. 

 “I don’t fucking know, what do you think it is?” With contempt, Alan buttoned his shirt. He shouldn’t have been so harsh, but he wasn’t even supposed to be here in the first place, and if they didn’t have such stupid rules on deadlines then they could have prepared his order and he would have just had to pick it up. Instead, he had no groceries, he was bleeding, and… Yeah, that was it. He had no business being so harsh. “Sorry. I’m just… long day, long fucking day.” He didn’t have it in him to smile, so he just fell silent.

“I’ll put a bandaid on it,” with a deadpan look, the werewolf straightened his shirt and fixed his tie, as if that would make his crimson stained clothes look pristine. But, even with his partially fixed appearance, Alan couldn’t keep himself from wincing as he stood back up. “Don’t worry pal, like I said, it’s not my first, won’t be my last,” he held out his hand. “I’m Alan. I run the real estate business on Main Street. You can stop by if they bother you again. Maybe I’ll bite their head off instead,” with a courteous nod, he finally raised his hand and turned on his heels. He’d just pick something out of the freezer, he supposed. Maybe he had soup somewhere in the pantry.

[2n2n]

This chapter was crazy in my opinion. But what I would like to know is what do you think will happen in the next chapter? Obviously Hanako-kun won't be able to arrest Tsukasa like that, especially with handcuffs. So will Tsukasa hurt Hanako-kun to free himself? Or will Akane throw a tantrum and impulsively attack Tsukasa in the middle of the twins' conversation?I’d love to hear your theories 🤩

I don't imagine Akane would be eager to get Tsukasa's attention back on him... may be best to reconvene in some way with his own team lol... he should talk to Teru or something. I don't imagine he's very interested in whatever the hell Hanako/Tsukasa have going on .... (so funny for Akane to once again have to witness some little brother grief, he just had to deal with Kou & Teru fighting lol.... he must be so thankful to be an only child...)

Well, you'll have to bare with my delusions. I don't think anyone can make a very meaningful guess at 'what will happen next', Iro-sensei is so unpredictable ! We don't have any clues or hints, and there are a great many things that , COULD, happen, given EVERYTHING going on and ALL the powers at our disposal right now, on every side! ANYONE could take control of the table.

But ! I've most been fantasizing about Hanako finally saying "sigh... and I thought maybe, this time, you finally wanted to do something different. But it's the same as it ever is." and sending Tsukasa back into his boundary. He's been in his Tsueshiro this whole time... I would love his joudai to come swirl around Tsukasa, and poof him back into that paralytic prison, Tsukasa's body stuck lifeless in a coffin. Protected, 'saved'... still. Together, forever. The only way they can be together....

I have been long thinking that... everything going on, is allowed by Hanako. Has been his curiosity, his sad interest in Tsukasa's ambitions, impulses... how much has Tsukasa really 'lived', ever? Has he ever had a chance, as a ghost? Tsukasa managed to free himself from the boundary, all on his own-- maybe Hanako was surprised but, excited, by that. Tsukasa has things he wants to do? Games he wants to play? Maybe anything other than "eager to die" gave Amane a sense of wonder and hope. He's remained shockingly hands-off with Tsukasa. I like to think he's ALLOWED, EVERYTHING to transpire. "What does my brother really want?" ... but if the answer to that question is "my brother wants to leave me behind, AGAIN!!! my brother just wants to die for me, AGAIN!!!! my brother doesn't have his own dreams, AGAIN!!!! AND HE NEVER WILL!!!!" ... there's no point in Tsukasa being free.

I imagine it's always been... 'selfish'... to save Tsukasa, who doesn't ask to be saved, who only wants to give Amane possibilities. Maybe holding him eternally in his boundary is as selfish as it gets-- "stay here, so I can continue to look at you." <- not dissimilar to what Hanako almost did to Nene-chan with PP.

But Nene-chan just bonded with Tsukasa, Tsu even alluded to the notion of needing to escape prison on your own... without Hanako's help. I wonder how she would feel to see Tsukasa done away with! She just experienced Sumire, as well. She understands the ways a yorishiro is at the mercy of their boundary, their mystery. They kind of extremely do not have rights!!!! They are PROPERTY! They are OBJECTS.

And what reason would there be for Sakura or Natsuhiko to care what happens to Tsukasa, at this point? Being back in his boundary isn't inconvenient. They are at the point nothing matters except No. 7, soon, so ... maybe they could have anticipated the possibility of him being taken down again, in this way, and will simply work with Nene-chan, who might have an easier time peeling a seemingly still, dead body, anyway.

I would be really interested if yorishiro Tsukasa was simply 'gone' for the timebeing, and we only had the living 12 year old Tsukasa to contend with, via Nene-chan....

As you can see, it's complete delusion. Maybe none of this will happen haha. It's a kind of fanfiction, isn't it?

What else lol... I've thought of Tsukasa simply possessing Nene-chan in order to quickly peel the key, if everyone is suddenly opposing him. This would be such absolute misery for Hanako to observe and endure, and Nene-chan would get blasted with clock informations-- MAYBE JUST IN TIME FOR WHATEVER 12 YEAR OLD TSUKASA HAS TO SAY TO HER!

[invisibleraven]

seeing dead people wherever you go for PeterPatterlina, because I laughed so hard at the prompt like: that's just canon

It starts when Julie is very young, the whole, being able to see ghosts thing. She tells her parents all about the funny dressed man in the park playing fetch with the little dog who was missing a leg. The old lady who was sat feeding the pigeons and didn't even grumble when a couple sat way too close to her on the same bench to gulp down water during their run.

Her parents brush it off at first. Kids are prone to imaginary friends, so why not imaginary people out and about? Rose and Ray indulge her, accept her scribbled artwork of the people she claims to see, though they share a concerned look when asking her about one drawing, a man in a purple suit and cape. "That's Caleb," Julie says quietly with a shudder. "He's not very nice."

It becomes a bit more concerning when she doesn't grow out of it. Still tells them she sees people that aren't there. Worse when they catch her talking to one, holding half of a conversation.

"W-who are you talking to mija?" Ray asks her one day.

"Oh, it's my friend Willie!" Julie explains. "He was telling me all about his skateboarding adventures! He did an ollie in Trevor's pool when it was drained last week!"

They bring in Doctor Turner, who Julie immediately dislikes. He talks down to her, like she's a baby, or crazy. Rose sits her down and explains their concerns, how Julie seemingly can see and hear people that don't exist.

"But they do! They're just dead!" Julie explodes. She pulls up Willie's obituary, showing them a young man with a bright smile and long flowing locks who had died almost a decade prior when he got hit by a car. The newspaper article of the magician who had died in one of his own tricks, the picture looking eerily like the drawing Julie had made of Caleb so many years ago.

This lead to many many long talks, and the Molinas come to the agreement that Julie has a gift. One that must be guarded, else others take advantage of her. Julie is free to keep her ghostly friends, but they ask her not to advertise it, and to keep her conversations with Willie to the house. She readily agrees.

And then Rose dies.

Julie waits in vain for her mother to appear as a ghost. But she never does. Willie explains that people only become ghosts when they have unfinished business. "Your mom, she had a good, albeit short life Jules," Willie says as he sits beside her, aching to give her a hug. "You guys loved her, and she loved you. She probably didn't feel the need to stick around, because she knew you'd all be okay, even if it hurt for a bit."

"It's just not fair," Julie wails, lamenting all the lost time she would never get back. She asks Willie to give her some time, and he nods with understanding, poofing out of view.

Julie stops seeing ghosts after that, too mired in her grief.

Sure, she knows they're there, the tingling from their presence never really fading. It's just that she can't pay attention to them. Has to shut them out. Willie had taught her how, since restless spirits always wanted mediums to pass along last messages and requests. She still sees him around, out of the corner of her eye, gives him a dorky wave when she can, but he still stays away, knowing him still being here when her mom isn't is painful for her.

That all changes when her dad asks her to clean out the garage. When she finds and plays Sunset Curve's demo and has three (admittedly cute) ghosts fall through her ceiling, confused and scared.

At first, Julie wants nothing to do with them, tells them to hightail it to Pasadena, but they are so nice, and sincere that she relents and lets them stay.

Of course, this is also when things get weird. Because aside from being thrust forward twenty five years in the future, somehow thanks to Julie playing their songs, she also seems to have the power to make them visible to everyone. It helps her get her spot in the music program back, but it is weird as heck, since she's never been able to do that before.

"Are you sure you're not a witch?" Reggie jokes.

Julie shakes her head. "No, you guys are the only ghosts I've been able to do that with. Even skating with Willie, no one else could see him."

"You know Willie?" Alex perks up, and tells Julie all about their meet cute. Julie gives a little squee, and is happy to reconnect with her old friend, even if he has no idea where her new power came from.

"We could always ask... him." Willie suggests meekly.

"No! No way!" Julie shouts. "Caleb is bad news. I know you have friends who work for him Willie, but I don't want you guys anywhere near him."

"Who's Caleb?" Luke asks.

Julie and Willie explain, going back and forth, talking about how Caleb is an old ghost, notorious for doing deals, and stealing souls. "I want you guys to promise me you'll stay away from him," Julie says, her voice deadly serious.

The guys promise, crossing their silent and still hearts for extra measure. But that's before they find out about Bobby, and Julie has no interest in helping them seek revenge, more concerned about their new band. They do end up haunting Bobby a little, and while they're tempted, don't go to Caleb for advice-nothing is worth losing their souls over.

Except Caleb hears about them. Hey, their band is pretty popular, and he always keeps his ears perked to new ghosts. He pretends to be excited for them, but then his smile turns malicious and he pulls them in. "Now, we can't let power like that go unchecked. You join me, or you lose your little 'link' to the outside world."

"You leave Julie alone!" Reggie yells, his voice quivering.

"It's us you want!" Luke choruses in. He and Reggie share a glance, worrying. They had all grown close to Julie, she made the whole ghost thing easier. Plus her family were so nice and accepting. They couldn't lose that. Especially not when well, Julie made their long dead hearts flutter in a way that they hadn't since they got together before they died.

Caleb smirks, marks them with his stamp, and threatens, "You have one week to join my club, or you stop existing. See you next Saturday boys."

They don't want to tell Julie. She'd hate them forever if she knew they took the deal to keep her safe. So they lie, tell her they did go looking for revenge, despite their promises. Alex grumbles about it, but agrees. He and Julie are friends, and he knows if she knew the truth, she'd try to take Caleb down herself. She's furious at them, but she and Willie scheme to get them out of it.

"You could cross over?" he suggests, and every face falls. None of them want that, no one ready to say goodbye.

"I-I think it's our only option," Julie concedes. "So... what's your unfinished business?"

Saturday comes, and somehow, they're playing The Orpheum. Julie doesn't really want to know how Willie and the guys did it. Plausible deniability and all that, though her dad does look at her with an air of suspicion when she tells him about the gig. He took the whole ghost band thing well, but she hasn't told him the whole crossing over plan yet. She can't, not with the threat of more grief counselling still hovering in the air. At least it wouldn't be Dr. Turner this time, but as much as Julie likes her therapist Pepper, she doesn't think the woman will get the whole ghost thing either.

She's in the garage, Luke and Reggie strumming their guitars, nervous energy emanating the whole space. Every so often they are shaken with a new set of jolts, but afterwards they always assure her they're fine. Alex is absent, wanting to say goodbye to Willie in private, and Julie mourns the what if of their blooming relationship that will never come to be.

And the two what ifs that sit across from her, trying hard for her sake to pretend that this is just another gig, that they'll come back afterwards to watch a movie (anything but The Sixth Sense, she's heard enough of the joke from her family for years now) or have a post show jam session. Part of her wants to tell them how she feels-the sweet longing for them, the butterflies both of them cause when they smile at her, the way she wishes that they could be more-but she doesn't. Even if they weren't crossing over, she can't be in a relationship with a ghost, let alone two. Set up for heartbreak right there. So she holds her crush at bay, and stays silent, worrying her bottom lip as the boys harmonize on an old Sunset Curve song.

Before long, it's time for Julie to head out, and she says her see you soons. Not goodbye, never goodbye. She can't bear another goodbye, even as she wipes the tears from her eyes.

The show goes amazing, even if there was a worry that the guys took Caleb's deal, or that worse, they poofed out of existence before the show. But she she sings she feels them pull themselves to her. Smiling as they appear on stage, playing what will be their last show. Alex still has a sad, haunted look in his eyes, but he grins as he hits his cymbals with vigor. Reggie sends her the biggest heart eyes as he jumps into view, his bass line sure and steady as his belief in her. Luke fizzles in and out of view, then becomes almost solid with a power chord, his voice soaring through the crowd.

Julie lets a tear fall as the guys shimmer out of view after their bow, smiles as the audience gasps and waves as she leaves the stage. Excuses herself from her family when they get home to say a quiet thank you to the guys in the darkened studio.

Only the guys are still here, though barely.

It didn't work.

She pleads with them to go, take Caleb's deal. Anything would be better than fading out. "We're not going back there," Reggie says with a watery voice. "You'd only come try and free us, and goodness knows what Caleb would do to you."

"It sucks, but this is how it has to be," Alex says, voice firm, though he's holding himself up against the amp, his limbs trembling.

"No music is worth making if it isn't with you Julie," Luke finishes. Julie mindlessly throws herself into his arms, trembling with tears. "I love you guys."

But then backs up, because...

"I can feel you."

She urges Reggie and Alex over, and they're all solid. Warm.

Alive.

Julie tries to summon Willie to her, to see if she can do it for him too, though it's a dim hope. He doesn't appear, but that's par for the course with him. Alex is determined to find him, and promises to return in an hour with or without Willie. They all wish him luck, and Julie prays that whatever magic she wields will work for her friend too. Alex waves and sets off.

Which leaves Julie alone.

With her very alive crushes.

So who can blame her from rushing into their arms, feelings pouring out of all three of them? The boys have a second chance at life, Julie has a chance at love and happiness which she never really thought she would have with anyone, let alone two former ghosts.

And if Alex comes back, Willie in tow, he tactfully doesn't say anything about Julie's smudged lip gloss covering all three of their faces, though Willie does waggle his eyebrows at her. Anyways, he can't say anything because when her magic inexplicably does work on bringing him back, the first thing he does is sweep Alex into an epic kiss.

Julie shares glances with her new boyfriends, and with mutual understanding, let Alex and Willie have the garage. Linking their pinkies, she pulls them towards the house. Though she wisely cleans them all up before introducing the guys officially to her dad.

After that, Julie never really sees ghosts again. Never really questions it, nor does she mourn the loss of her power.

Because she is more than happy 'seeing' her two former ghost boyfriends for date night every week. That more than makes up for not being able to see the dead, even if Carlos and her dad will forever tease her about her 'thing for ghosts' from now until the end of time.

Luke and Reggie just snuggle in deeper to her sides afterwards. "Well we're not complaining," Reggie will say sleepily.

Luke will grin, pressing kisses to both of their foreheads. "Yeah, because if not for Julie's weird sixth sense thing, we wouldn't be here."

"I never should have let you watch that movie," Julie grumbled, but let herself rest her head on Luke's shoulder, smiling to herself.

This was always her favourite kind of ghost story anyways.

[sgcairo]

My Dearest Darling (Irnes/Fatui!Reader Part Two)

The first part can be read here!

So funny story... The second I published the first part of this series, I spilled water all over my expensive computer and killed it. So I'm writing this on my tiny, barely functional chromebook from four years ago and regretting my life choices, but that doesn't matter because progress! Here's part two and the aftermath of the festival! Time to beat Irnes with a stick because that's all I know how to do... Don't worry, he's okay. Mostly. You would think that I'd put off Irnes' tragic backstory... But nah. So take this gift and hide it with your treasures, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

And yes, reader is addressed as sir a lot in this part, but the Fatui just call everyone sir. Woman? Sir. Man? Sir. Everyone in between? Sir. Same goes for Lord, gender is thrown out the window.

P.S. Thank you all for the beautiful comments on the last part! We're not even in deep water yet, this is just the kiddie pool of feels... Much love for you all, enjoy!

Aftermath

There's noise. You wake up to a horrid amount of noise, which only makes you want to shrivel up even more, like a raisin. You're well rested, but your lips are so chapped that you feel like a fish that's been left out of water for too long, rolling over in bed and burying your face in the weirdly soft pillow under your head. Weird, yours is nothing close to being soft...

Opening your eyes, you find a little poof of blue hair, watching you with wide eyes from the side of the bed.

"...Hello?"

"Hi."

"Can I help you?"

"No."

"Oh. Okay, then."

The clones continues to watch you until the door swings open, his eyes widening as he gets to his feet and scampers off, getting a warm chuckle from the doorway. You're still groggy, but you know that laugh, and you're not surprised to see Irnes, a painted tray in his hands, two cups of steaming tea and a matching teapot perched neatly on top of it.

"Good morning, dear. I see you've met Sergei. Don't worry, he's mostly harmless, I had him keep watch while I made some tea. He seems to have taken it... A bit too literally."

Irnes sets down the tray, dusting off his hands lightly as he turns to hand you the teacup, a pleasant smell filling the room.

"It's aster tea, if you're wondering! A little bit of sweet flower too, but that's the secret ingredient! And a little bit of love, of course."

You laugh lightly, taking the cup from his hands and sip at it carefully. It's warm- not hot enough to burn your tongue, but not even close to being able to burn your mouth- and pleasant on the tongue, and you're so entranced that you almost miss Irnes sitting down on the bed, the mattress dipping slightly as he holds the teacup awkwardly in one hand, his scarred fingers shaking as they press against the side of the cup, but do nothing to help. It makes your curious, as you've never seen him without his gloves and with his sleeves rolled up like this. His skin is so red and torn that it looks painful, and you almost want to ask what was brutal enough to cause that much damage. Because you're going to beat it up, obviously.

Irnes seems to notice your staring, laughing awkwardly in the silence.

"Like what you see?"

The strain in his voice isn't covered up very well, unfortunately. You quickly tear your gaze away from the burned and crooked fingers against the porcelain of the teacup, instead watching his face closely. It's... soft, lacking the wide grin and composure you're so used to.

"You know it. I'm sorry for staring."

"Don't apologize, dear. I can see the gears in your head turning. You want to know what happened."

"I guess, yeah."

"Do you really want to know?"

You hate the way he sounds so small, his smile bleeding away until it's a small frown. He's clearly hesitating, and you suddenly feel bad for agreeing.

"I do, but you don't have to tell me. You said it isn't a happy story for you..."

"I did, didn't I?"

Irnes chuckles, taking another sip of his tea.

"I won't tell you the whole story right now, but... it was a factory accident. Got caught in some machinery."

Silence. There's no right answer to this, you can't imagine what kind of machinery could've done that. You don't feel pity, no, you just hate the thought of something that terrible happening to him, to the point that he can't even hold a cup of tea with that hand.

"It's alright, however! It was a long time ago, I was young and stupid back then! It doesn't hurt nearly as much as it used to, just a few aches and pains. The burns and breaks healed quite nicely, Prime originally wanted to cut off my arm because of all the damage. That's probably the last time I trusted Prime with a bone saw, I tell you."

"You trusted Dottore with a bone saw?"

"Eh. Somewhat. Though he's a bit rusty, so I suppose it was the delirium talking."

"Good. I'd be concerned if you trusted him with anything other than chemistry."

"I do suppose he doesn't have a degree in medical sciences. We're self taught, the lot of us!"

"...I don't know if I should be horrified or impressed."

"Both, dear! Now, would you like more tea? There's plenty to go around..."

Together?

So Irnes kissed you. Confessed to you, even if it wasn't in the most... direct way. Which means... Well, you're not even sure what it means, but after spending the better part of the day chatting idly and lounging around- you completely forgot about the fact that you're an agent, and you have a job. While you'd love to still have life you had before, with few responsibilities and spending most of your days exploring the surrounding forest or staying inside while practicing your indulgent hobbies- you can't. The money you get for your service, though it's not much, is the only thing keeping your family from falling into bankruptcy, and you can't have them on the streets. You can't let that happen.

The next day, you get your ass kicked by one of the higher ranking agents, and after a few bruises and a promise to do better, you finally get dismissed, back to your room in the barracks. The flowers are still there, and you make a note to give them to Irnes the next time you see him.

Which is in fact a few days later. You feel bad, the flowers have wilted slightly, as the natural course of life has taken them into its arms, but they still look nice... Hopefully Irnes won't mind. You find yourself sneaking out during patrol, some of your friends covering for you with little winks and whistles, which is quite embarrassing but- It's not like you have much of a choice.

Technically, it's been four days since you've seen him. Yes, you've definitely been counting, wondering when your paths would cross, excited and scared at the same time. Would he be okay with being seen together, for others to know that you're a thing? While relationships are forbidden between soldiers in the military, Irnes isn't exactly a part of said military. Right? He serves under a Harbinger, but he's certainly not a part of the ranks, as far as you can tell. He's treated more like a lordling than an agent, so surely it wouldn't be unlawful?

If it is... Oh, you're so dead.

Once you arrive at the lab, you hesitantly knock, stepping back to avoid being hit by the door. There's no answer for a long moment, before a commotion reaches your ears, and the door opens with a loud creak, a mass of shouting and shoving clones revealed, all trying to get the door at the same time. You stand there for a good moment, befuddled as you hold the small bouquet of flowers awkwardly, staring as the clones continue to brawl, ignoring you completely.

"Ah, excuse me! Pardon me, I need to get through-"

A clone somehow manages to wiggle his way through the mass, panting as he comes out the other side looking as if he's been put through a hurricane.

"Forgive me, sir!"

The poor clone looks white as a sheet, occasionally glancing back at the brawl happening behind him shamefully. He's familiar... Wasn't he the one who was staring at you the other day when you woke up? Sergei, if you remember correctly.The poor clone looks white as a sheet, occasionally glancing back at the brawl happening behind him shamefully. He's familiar... Wasn't he the one who was staring at you the other day when you woke up? Sergei, if you remember correctly.

"No need to apologize, Sergei. I'm sure this is... a somewhat normal occurrence, no need to worry about it. Where's Irnes?"

"Ah! Well, um, he's resting."

"Resting?"

"Oh, you weren't informed... Oh dear, I'm so sorry! It slipped my mind, I promised him that I'd go notify you- I completely forgot!"

"Hey, hey. Don't stress yourself out, it's fine. But if I may, what happened?"

"Ah, right! Uh, Irnes fell ill a little while ago. He's been sick for the past few days..."

Oh no. Ice floods your veins, your hands accidentally crushing the stems of the flowers in your grasp. You know he's probably fine, but what if he isn't? You've been toiling away, training and joking around with your comrades this whole time while he's been suffering! You feel horrible for not taking the time to visit, let alone take care of him... You're not officially together, but you still care! And if he can't even answer the door... Oh Tsaritsa have mercy, you're a horrible person. At least, that's what you tell yourself as Sergei watches you, clearly concerned.

"Um, sir? Would you like to come inside and speak with him? He's a bit feverish, but I think he'd feel better, seeing you."

"Yes, yes! Let me in, thank you!"

You practically run past Sergei and the now dissipating crowd of rowdy clones, trying not to let your own anxiousness get ahold of you. But it's hard, and the lab is so big...

"This way, sir..."

Sergei takes your arm gently before you can run too far into the lab, guiding you towards a door hidden behind a row of large pods. There's nothing in them, but you can roughly tell what they're used for, the size is too close to human to be a coincidence. The door is cracked slightly, Sergei opening it quietly and beckoning you in, walking over to one of the few singular beds in the room, the others bunk beds that are a mess of papers and mismatched blankets.

The room is dark, which makes it hard to see. You almost run into a bedpost at least twice, and by the time you make it to the corner with a dim candle illuminating it, you're still riding out the adrenaline from earlier and a few new waves from almost smacking yourself straight in the face with metal that's beginning to rust.

"Irnes..."

Sergei walks over to the sleeping figure in the bed, which is now very clearly Irnes once you take a closer look- except he's not wearing his mask. Burns trail up the side of his face and creep into his hairline, his eyes both tightly shut against the cold compress on his forehead, a bunch of serums and shots sitting on the bedside table, along with what looks to be tea that's long since gone cold.

"Irnes, wake up. You have a visitor."

Sergei shakes his shoulder lightly, getting a little annoyed grunt from Irnes, who tries to roll over (unsuccessfully).

"Irnes, please. It's your friend."

"'ich one?"

Irnes finally speaks, and he sounds terrible. As if his vocal cords have been completely and utterly destroyed. Much raspier than what you're used to, which only makes your anxiety worse.

"...The one you made me watch."

At that, Irnes' eyes snap open, and he tries to sit up, only to be pushed back down by Sergei.

"Ah, my dear..."

Irnes chuckles, weakly pushing Sergei off and settling himself back down. You advance carefully, Sergei pulling back with a small nod before wandering off, likely to get back to his work. You turn to meet eyes with Irnes for the first time-

And almost drop your flowers in shock.

One of his eyes does not match the other, and not in the heterochromia way. No, one of them is just a milky white, the pupil so burned that it has no color. As if it's a boiled egg... without the yolk, but a boiled egg nontheless. The other is a piercing red, though it's foggy with the haze of his fever.

"I'm terribly sorry that you have to see me like this..."

Irnes sniffles, fumbling for the handkerchief on the bedside table. You pick it up, handing it to him carefully. He takes it with a small smile, using his good hand to bring it up to his face, wiping at his nose clumsily.

"I believe that a night out in the cold may have done me in... I'm very sorry that I couldn't greet you properly my dear."

"Don't worry about it, you need your rest. I, um, brought you some flowers, but they're kind of wilted..."

"I'll treasure them."

Irnes chuckles, but it turns into a coughing fit, shrill and dry. You reach forward, though you really can't do anything, hovering until he finally regains his breath, his eyes watery as he wipes at his face again, trying to get rid of any evidence of being vaguely gross and sweaty. He really does want to look his best for you, and yet... If this doesn't drive you away, he'll be surprised.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh yes, I'm-"

He starts coughing again, but this time you put a gentle hand on his shoulder, sitting down in the little space there is between his body and the edge of the bed. He's physically shaking, you can feel it through the blanket, his coughing muffled by the handkerchief over his mouth. Oh Tsaritsa have mercy, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, not to mention how much it makes your heart physically hurt. This is your fault, isn't it? As far as you know, the festival was the last time he was out in the cold, he doesn't seem to leave the palace often. Archons, you should've known better...

"...My dear, forgive me. I truly wish to talk to you, but I'm afraid my body isn't allowing me-"

The coughing fit once again makes an appearance, to the point that you're almost considering getting help. Sergei couldn't have gone far, right? You free your hands of the flowers, setting them behind the mass of items on the bedside table, before turning back to Irnes. What can you do? Your comrades can't cover for you forever, but you can't just leave him like this...

"Don't worry about it, Irnes. Just... focus on resting. I'm sorry for waking you up..."

"Nonsense... Sit with me. I may not speak-"

More coughing. You're not sure how long you take keep a brave face, this is pushing your anxiety through the roof.

"-but I want you here. If you're not opposed."

"Of course not. I'll stay for as long as you want me. I'll get a chair..."

You move to get up, but Irnes reaches for you before you can, his hand trying to grab your arm.

"Lay with me."

It's barely a whisper, but it stops you in your tracks, Irnes' watering eyes meeting yours. Who are you to say no? Even if you do get sick, it'll be worth it. Sitting back down, you unbuckle and pull off your boots, setting your coat aside as well, carefully crawling over Irnes and settling on his right side. You don't dare ask him to turn over, sliding under the covers easily. It's warm, but you're freezing without your coat on, and Irnes is very hot. Quite literally. He's so warm that you're thawed almost instantly.

"Irnes...?"

"...Hm?"

"I'm sorry for getting you sick."

Irnes chuckles again, shaking his head lightly.

"Nonsense. It's my own fault. Besides... I have you here with me. That's enough for me."

"But-"

"Shh-"

More coughing. You reach out again, this time placing a gentle hand on his side, rubbing gently as he shakes and spasms under your hands, hacking and coughing into the handkerchief. There's nothing you can do, you're not a doctor or mad scientist. Just a soldier who only knows first aid, and maybe a little bit about comfort. Other than that, you're stumped.

The coughing finally stops after a long fit, Irnes' hand falling back onto the bedsheet, his eyes glazed over.

"You're okay..."

You can't help but blurt it out, the tears glistening on Irnes' face making your throat tighten.

"You're going to be okay..."

Drowsy

You fall asleep, somehow. Irnes too, but you wake up to Sergei hovering by the bed, shaking your shoulder lightly.

"Sir, I think it's best if you retreat for the night."

"No, it's fine. Is there anything I can do for him?"

"Not at the moment. I have regulated his fever, and all he needs is rest that the moment. But I hate to leave you in such conditions..."

"What do you mean? If you're afraid of me getting sick, it's really not a problem. And the bed is very comfortable. I'm a bit hungry, but that's not a big problem..."

"...Oh. I see. Well, um, I will go fetch something for you to eat then!"

Sergei then rushes off, leaving you awake and alone. Irnes has at some point flipped over, his face now mashed into the cold compress and pillow, breathing softly. You can't help but reach out and brush the stray hairs out of his face, tucking the particularly long one behind his ear. It's weirdly intimate, but you can't bring yourself to care. His skin is still too hot, but much less than before. Hopefully he feels a little better when he wakes up...

Dinner is... lackluster at best, but you're not really hungry anyways. Your squadron leader is likely out looking for you right now, but you're too tired to make the long trek back to the barracks, and it's not like they'll miss you all that much. You'll get another scolding, but what can they do? Replace you?

Actually, that would be very bad, you shut that thought down faster than anything else in your life.

You eventually drift back to sleep on a full stomach, only waking up when something heavy falls on you in the middle of the night, crushing the air straight out of your lungs. You gasp for air, now very much awake, as you try to shove off the mystery obstruction-

Only to find a head of light blue hair on your chest, Irnes having somehow flipped over onto you in the middle of the night. Now, he's laying half on top of you, and he's heavy. Well, with that sort of height, it's no surprise, but you didn't expect him to lay on you, you're not exactly the most comfy thing in the room.

"...Dear, hurts."

"Huh?"

"Head hurts."

"Oh, you're awake. Do you want water? Maybe something to eat?"

Irnes nods, his hair tickling your collar. You smile in the darkness, shifting him to lean against your shoulder so you don't break his back or anything as you sit up, reaching for the glass on the bedside table. It's not frozen yet, luckily, but it's really cold. Hopefully Irnes doesn't mind it...

"Alright, here's the water. Careful, it's cold."

Irnes drinks greedily, though he can't even hold the cup by himself. Either that, or he can, and he's just letting you feed him like a child. You're happy to indulge regardless, he's probably too tired to worry about it right now.

Once he's done, you set the cup back down carefully, scooting back to your previous position. Irnes is clearly half asleep, but his eye glints faintly in the dark, half lidded and a vivid red.

"Feeling a little better?"

"Mhm. Warm."

"Yeah, well you still have a nasty fever. I promise that it'll be better soon, okay?"

You lean down, planting a gentle kiss on his brow, which he very happily leans into. You're 99% sure he doesn't even know what's going on, but it's okay. At least he isn't running around the halls naked or anything drastic...

"Sleep..."

"Alright, alright. After you."

"No. Sleep."

"Irnes..."

"Sleeeeeep..."

You can't win this one.

Recovery

You're ushered back to your barracks after a day of taking care of Irnes, though it's very hesitantly.

And of course, your boss practically shouts your ear off for sneaking off and abandoning your post. At this rate, you'll be sent to a corrections camp, apparently. Not that you care, but they aren't taking any excuses on how you were taking care of a sick family member (which isn't technically true, but...). Either way, you're stuck with bathroom cleaning for the rest of the week, which gets a bunch of laughs from your comrades. Tsk. At least you aren't getting sent back home...

Once you do see Irnes again, it's almost deliberate. He's outside the barracks, in fact, his cane in hand as he stands tall against the cold winds.

"Irnes! What are you doing?!"

"Ah, my dear! I was waiting for you, your friends alerted me that you were out... cleaning."

Those bastards. Irnes is clearly being polite about it, but you want to beat some people up. Namely, your friends.

"I was, but you can't just stand out in the cold like this! You're going to get sick again!"

"It's worth it, to see you."

Oh boy, you're going to have to have a long talk about acceptable risks with this man. He's a goofball, but now he's your goofball. Which means you must take responsibility. It's for the greater good.

"Well come inside, then! I can't have you getting sick again on my watch! Next time, just tell them to bring you to my quarters, on my very specific orders. If they don't..."

You weren't sure what a good threat was in this situation, but you'd figure it out. It was whatever, as you were finally in front of your room, which was very clearly barren as per Fatui code. All personal articles were few and far between, such as the vase that you left on the table earlier, and a picture of your family on your desk. Other than that, it was almost empty, other than the quilt your mother had sent you off with.

"Sorry it's a little boring... It's a temporary living space at best."

"Oh, no. I think it's rather lovely! Is this your family?"

Irnes immediately takes to the black and white photo, the kamera quality being questionable at best. Yet there you are, still young and lacking the broken bones that recruitment brought upon you. In fact, you look almost happy in the picture, compared to now. No dark circles, no clicking shoulder- just a child that snuck off into the forest to eat berries and run through the twisting roots of ancient trees.

"It is. Happier times, you know."

"They seem quite nice! I can't wait to meet them."

Woah there, that's... Alright, the idea of Irnes meeting your family is very appealing, but still! He can't just make your heart explode like that, it's not fair!

"You'll meet them soon enough. Anyways, can I get you some tea or something?"

"Tea would be wonderful."

The Letter

A few weeks pass, seemingly uneventful.

You meet up with Irnes on your breaks, and he's seemingly memorized your schedule, always waiting for you at the end of your shift guarding the halls, sweeping you up and away without a second's hesitation. Your boss is almost pissed at you, but after Irnes showed up for a personal meeting with them, they've been weirdly quiet about you skipping out on a few of your duties. That doesn't mean you've stopped doing them, no, you're just... less stressed about Irnes keeping you for too long.

Then the letter arrives.

You know the seal on it like the back of your hand. An official ordinance from Her Majesty. It arrives over dinner, while your whole squadron is gathered, your leader getting up and reading it loud and clear. You're being sent overseas to assist in the retrieval of the Sumeru Archon's gnosis. Of course, you're nothing more than infantry, you likely won't see the gnosis or the Harbingers in action, you'll just be a meat shield should anything go wrong. Which you're not exactly worried about, it's what you were trained for, but it also means that there's a high chance you'll get critically injured or even die.

The news settles over the room heavily, as your squadron hasn't been officially stationed outside the palace yet. You've only been involved in internal affairs as of yet, and other nations are a whole new hurdle. But it's Her Majesty's order, and you can't refuse.

"Get packing, everyone. We leave tomorrow at daybreak."

Tomorrow.

You're leaving tomorrow.

It's horrible, the feeling that sinks into your bones. You need to tell Irnes, you need to at least hold him or something before you go, you'll go insane if you don't. That's how you end up in front of the Doctor's lab, the sun having already dipped beneath the horizon, breathing heavily and banging on the door like your life depends on it. It doesn't open. Are they ignoring you on purpose? No, they can't, you'll break the door in if you have to-

"My apologies, it took me a mo- my dear?"

Irnes stands before you, and you almost collapse in relief.

"Irnes-"

He staggers a little as you launch yourself into his arms, burying your face in his chest. Irnes doesn't speak, merely gaping at you for a moment until he finally gains his bearings, hugging you back with just as much- if not more- fierceness, his good hand holding you up while the other rests oh so gently on the back of your head, pulling you close.

"What's wrong, my love?"

"I-"

You can't say it. The crushed expression on his face would surely destroy you, tear you apart before you can even pack your bags and leave. So you don't speak, burying your face in his shoulder to hide your shakiness. It's not because you're afraid of leaving, it's just the idea of him being heartbroken at your death- it scares you. As a soldier, you know full well that death will eventually come for you, but Irnes is fragile. You don't want to reunite to early in that impossible circumstance.

"It's alright, my dear. Whatever it is, we'll get through it. I know we will."

"You make it sound like we're married-"

"Good. Because we will be soon."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Now, come inside and have some tea. It'll help you calm down, my dear. Besides, you're shaking... It may be best to sit for a while."

"Yeah... Tea sounds nice."

Morning

You're all packed, ready to take on Sumeru. Light clothes? Check. Plenty of lotion? Check. A ton of paper and envelopes? Check and check! The pier is already somewhat populated when you arrive, feeling better after Irnes talked it over with you last night. It was nice, having him hold your hands gently while soothing you with reassurances, especially the one where he promised to write every day. You selfishly hoped that he would write to you each day, even if you knew deep down that it wouldn't happen. You were both too busy, and you knew all too well that it would be a miracle if he had even a moment's break from wrangling clones and finishing experiments.

The walk of shame out of the barracks was freezing, not to mention that your body felt like it was made of lead. You had slept somewhat well the night before, but your own body was betraying you, not wanting to be up this early. It wasn't hard, walking the distance from the barracks to the pier, but with two heavy bags and a coat that could suffocate a man... it would be a long one.

The Piazza itself was quiet. None of the nobles or couriers had arrived on business, and the guards were likely around the bend, making rounds. Your shift would be starting soon, if it were a normal day. You'd see Irnes before sunset, and would be whisked away to help his research in the library-

You're going to miss him so much.

Casting one last glance at the palace in all it's glory, you give Irnes your final goodbye, heading for the flagship that's undoubtedly going to be pulling away soon.

The walk down to the pier isn't as lonely as the one through the palace. There's plenty of soldiers milling about, not all from your squadron, waiting for the final calls to get on board. There's plenty of foot servants running around, taking bags and giving out quarter numbers, the crowd around the flagship only growing thicker the closer you get to the boarding ramp. You haven't seen any Harbingers milling about, but you don't doubt that there's at least one present, the Doctor wouldn't call for just foot soldiers. No, he's too ostentatious for that. You wouldn't be surprised if the Captain was hidden somewhere in the throngs of people, maybe even on the ship itself.

You eventually get stopped, your bag taken and a key thrust into your hand. 187 is stamped clearly into the bronze tag, though the key itself has seen so much use that any paint on it has long since faded away, barely clinging to the metal. It's well loved, as your mother would say. You pocket the key, preparing to board the ship-

"Excuse me! Pardon me, so sorry~"

Irnes?

You turn, only to find Irnes, pushing through the crowd, his towering figure and lopsided gait standing out from the crowd.

"Ah, my dear! I hope I'm not too late!"

You can't do much more than stare, eyes wide. Irnes... came to see you off? This early?

Your chest feels warm, warmer than it's ever been before.

"Irnes?"

"Of course, who else would it be? You surely didn't think that I'd let you leave without a kiss goodbye?"

You want to cry. You feel like you should, standing there only a step away. You didn't expect this, and maybe it's just the fact that you woke up so early that's making that feeling fill your chest, clogging your throat and making it hard to speak.

"I... I don't know."

"Well then, seems that I'll have to change your mind, my dear."

The kiss lingers for so long that you're convinced the boat will leave without you. When you finally pull away, Irnes is beaming so bright you could almost compare him to the sun: brilliant and about to combust. He takes your hands gently and plants kisses on both of them with a cheeky grin, placing one last kiss on your left before letting go, smiling and gazing at your face as if he can't get enough of you.

Oh, you're not leaving without a hug from this man. Unacceptable.

"Oh! How could I have forgotten?"

He hugs you back so tightly that you can barely breathe.

"Have a safe trip, my love. I will think of you every moment you're away. And do not worry, I will take care of myself in your absence! Sergei will ensure it!"

Irnes bows dramatically, getting a little laugh out of you as he grins brightly. You can tell his eyes are sparkling, even with the mask in the way.

"I know he will. Um... I'll write whenever I can. Every day, I hope."

"Of course. Regardless, I will write you a letter for every day you carry my heart, dear."

You're speechless by his smooth talking again, blushing a little. The horn blares in the silence, the call for the stragglers to board, the winter wind blowing in from the south and catching Irnes' hair, like feathers on a warm breeze.

"Go on, my dear! Know that I love you!"

He shoves you towards the flagship with a hearty chuckle. The crowd around you moves, but Irnes is ever present, solid against the waves of people, waving with that tender smile on his face.

You force yourself to turn, waving back and joining the rush of soldiers.

As you step foot on the deck, you hear singing.

A familiar voice belts over the docks, so loud that it overpowers the wind, the lyrics clear and full of passion.

Farewell, my departed soldier, he sings.

May the sea carry you back to my home.