#theres no right answer but there is one i favor

[strayheartless]

Okay, I’m just sounding ideas here and don’t come at me from behind with a baseball bat or anything…

But do we maybe think that Angeal made the situation in the training room worse? Now I’m not saying Angeal’s to blame and I wanna caveat this entire ramble with the admission that I’m not even sure about this take. However, I was thinking about the actual situation like I was breaking down frames of a film (👋🏻 yoohoo! Film degree!) and when you look at it this:

(Credit for clip: Shirrako on YouTube)

It’s Angeal’s sword that breaks. Now, again, not blaming Angeal, Genesis was being Genesis and the whole thing wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t challenged sephiroth. But there is a line of thinking that suggests that it is Angeal’s lack of trust in his friends that exacerbates the situation.

Fanon aside, there is nothing actually in text that suggests that Genesis and Sephiroth have ever actually taken it too far. Actually apart from that one e-mail from Kunsel:

"It seems every SOLDIER 1st Class has a quirkor three, but I think Angeal has a lot ofcommon sense and is a trustworthy fellow.Let's face it: Genesis never found groupactivities appealing, so Angeal is, in fact,the spiritual leader of SOLDIER.I've got a lot of respect for him, too.And I envy you for getting to work with himso often."

(Source: Fandom Wiki, Final Fantasy Wiki: Mail (crisis Core))

there is nothing at all about Genesis' personality before the accident and degredation at all. We can make general guesses based on what we see of Genesis before that innitial wound, but over all, we do not know. So, why does Angeal stop them?

The obvious answer to this is because Genesis and Sephiroth are literally destroying the training room, he even says "You'll destroy this place," but they've done this before according to Sephiroth and theres no point at shich either of them actually manage to hurt the other. Even when Genesis encases Seph in a ball of fire, he doesn't hurt him, and their swords never aim for flesh.

it would be very easy for Sephiroth to exploit Genesis' weakness' and aim for his vulnrablites.

(credit for clip: Shirrako on YouTube)

As we can see in the above frame, Genesis leaves his left side virtually unguarded. His body is turned to favor his right side, he is quite clearly teligraphing a weakness that Sephiroth does not exploit once. Why? perhaps its hubris, perhaps its trust; who is to say, but what is clear is that, despite the destruction, neither are going to hurt each other.

The problem arises, then, when Genesis allows himself to grow overconfident. He legitimately blasts Angeal out of the fight and goes to defeat Sephiroth himself. Angeal is perhaps alerted to the fact that Genesis has lost some sort of control, but concidering there is not a scratch on either of them, he possibly didn't need to.

What I like about this line of thought is that it works hand in hand with the actual story itself. at the crux of everything it is not just Genesis and Sephiroth to blame for how events unfold, Angeals actions have a greater impact on everything.

When Angeal chooses to get in between the two he is the deciding blow that hurts Genesis, yet it is Sephiroth who is blamed for Genesis' sickness.

When Genesis storms the Shinra building it is Angeal who has left Sephiroth in the dark without answers; yet it is Sephiroth and Zack who have to pick up the pieces after it ends.

in Banora it is Angeals inaction that places Zack in danger and ends with the distruction of his home.

and the most obvious, Angeals death is not just defining for Zack but for Sephiroth too. While it is not talked about in text, Angeals death leaves Sephiroth vulnrable to Genesis' ire, and his own relationship to honour and monstrosity that affects Sephiroth's perseption of himself.

Angeal's decision to not allow Genesis and Sephiroth to come to their natural conclusion creates a consistant feeling of unfinished business. The ultimate question here is, would either Genesis or Sephiroth truly hurt each other. Had Angeal not intervened with his flimsy Shinra issue Claymore (possibly representative of his own morality and honour) Would Genesis have been wounded and would he have felt robbed of the title of hero?

This is all just conjecture and shaky soundboarding. If you have any opinions please feel free to share!

As always be kind and please don't yell or be mean (I am only a little critter I will cry!)

[marksbear]

police consultant reader who constantly flirts w spencer reid? things like "the perp must be taking them out to dinner, which i am also going to do if the nerd doesn't stop being cute" and "the doctor stole my heart, arrest the thief!"

just pure fluff with a charming reader —⚰️

It's short BUT not too short y'know. And I made sure this is all pure fluff my love! ⚰ and thanks for requesting!

SPENCER REID X CHARMING POLICEMAN READER

"When are these guys about to arrive?" Morgan says impatiently crossing his arms and taps his foot growing tired of all the waiting.

"Be patient Morgan. These guys are flying all the way here from Georgia just to help us in this case." Hotch says looking over the case once more trying to figure anything out.

The BAU hasn't made any progress trying to figure out who the unsub is and why they're doing this. So Rossi made a few calls and punched a favor in from Georgia's own BAU unit to come help them out with the case.

"How did you even convince them to come out all the way here?" Reid asks looking up from the folders to Rossi. "Well the team leader over there owes me a big favor from a few years back, so why not use it now." Rossi answers with a smirk.

Before Reid could ask another question the room door opens wide as a group of people walk inside. "Agent Rossi?" An older man's voice rings out looking around the room for his old friend. Rossi stands out his chair and welcomes the older man with a small hug.

"Xavier, hello my friend how are you?"

"Good Dave. Boy how I missed you! Please tell me, what has been going on with you?"

Before Rossi could respond back an unknown and younger voice cuts him off. "Great, theres nothing worse than two old men catching up." Earning a few laughs from the group of agents. Xavier rolls his eyes at the younger male before introducing everyone to his team.

"And this is special agent---" "Y/n L/n. And you are? Let me guess. Agent cutie?" Y/n cuts off his boss again looking at Reid with a smirk. Morgan and Penelope giggle among each other looking at the flustered doctor.

"U-uhm... Doctor Spencer Reid." Spencer says with a stutter making him even more embarrassed than before.

"You know doc, I think I maybe have hurt myself on the plane while getting here. Like my whole head and especially lips hurt, but~ theres nothing a little kiss can't fix, isn't that right doc?" Y/n says with a wink and taps his lips. Y/n stalks up closer to Spencer and leans down by him, so he can get a better look. "I bet---" Before Y/n could flirt with Reid more he was pulled away from one of his workers.

"That's enough L/n. You're acting like a predator with its prey." The worker Anne says pulling her friend away. "If that's true he must be the beautiful rabbit and i'm the---" Anne covers Y/n's mouth with her hand shutting him up.

Xavier laughs out and says "Sorry about that. Thats Y/n just being Y/n. Now lets get down to business shall we?"

Both BAU teams work with each other. They imagine the unsubs profile and picture them having a reason why and how the unsub is doing this. But why all have to figure out where the unsub picking up/ taking the women.

"The perp must be taking them out to dinner, which i am also going to do if the nerd doesn't stop being so damn cute."Y/n flirts giving Spencer a wink as well. Anne groans and rolls her eyes. "What? That wasn't good? Cmon y'all know that was good." Y/n says with a laugh.

"Y/n is right. The unsub must be inviting them to dinner or a bar since every victim dressed like they were going somewhere fancy something with romantic intentions." Reid adds also trying to ignore Y/n's last comment, but fails from the obvious blush on his face.

"The case also lists that the victims were already dating someone. So it's most likely the unsub is going for cheaters or something of that sort." Hotch also adds in. Everyone in the room begins to list theories and possible reasons as to why the unsub is doing this. Y/n whispers into his co-workers ears while eyeing Spencer no doubt giving him signals that he's talking about him.

"Guys... After this case is done I have another case involving me. the doctor stole my heart, arrest the thief! And have him sentenced to life with me~" Y/n says causing both teams to aww and tease Spencer. "Awww~ Spence got himself a boyfriend!~" Derek teases causing Penelope to giggle and join in. "Y/n and Spencer kissing in a tree--" Before Penelope could finish Spencer covers his face in embarrassment causing everyone to laugh and giggle.

"You two just get a room already." Hotch adds in with the jokes causing everyone to pitch in their own joke to make the doctor even more embarrassed. "When is the wedding? And where are my grandchildren?" Rossi says with a laugh.

"I'm already planning to get on one knee." Y/n says causing everyone to laugh and giggle.

"Alright alright. Everyone gets back on track, then we can plan me and Spencer's future together. Like how much kids were having, who's moving in with who. When can I kiss him. And so on and so on. I don't my future husband to die from being so cute~ and from blushing." Y/n says wrapping his arm around Spencer's shoulder.

THE END

[the-s1lly-corner]

How would TADC cast react to their s/o baking them some pastries?

TADC cast x reader who bakes!

Funny that this is the next request due to be answered because I'm making orange cranberry scones as we speak (for an order! Not for me sadly, though I have enough to make myself a batch!)

CAINE:

Bro is going to try to shove whatever you've made for him into his jaws before bubble even has a chance to eat it.. has probably eaten right out of your hand before because of this/j

...../hj

He seems the type

Loudly goes on and on about how amazing it tasted, every single time without fail! Gets REALLY creative with his compliments, I thimk

Alas admin is no where near as creative as caine

POMNI:

Looks like she keeps a jar of cookies in her house in the real world. And honestly theres nothing wrong with that... though pomni herself cannot bake for shit

But good news! You're constantly making sure she has a supply to them so things work out in the end!

Though, I think she would eventually feel guilty because you're always making stuff for her, so shes gonna try to return the favor; with varying success

RAGATHA:

I know for a fact I said somewhere that ragatha would, if she ever escaped with her partner to the real world, she would open a bakery with them. As well as this I also hc ragatha to be really into baking

So

You guys bond together through that, and perhaps even have dates where you two get together and make something! (This can be read as platonic, too!)

This leads to you guys sometimes surprising one another with a baked good... kinda funny tbh

JAX:

Similar to zooble, jax is more of a sour over sweet kind of guy. But if you tie say, limes or lemons into a treat, then you've caught his interest. Probably the type of guy to snag pieces of stuff before everythings done and/or assembled, you're probably going to have to bar him from the kifchen

He does this both to be annoying but because you're so so talented he cant resist

Comically slaps his hand as he tries to reach for something

KINGER:

I propose to you;

Person who can cook but sucks at baking x person who can bake but sucks at cooking

Oooo I mentioned in ragathas part that you two would make a bakery in the real world

But imagine you and kinger having a stay-in date in the real world; he makes dinner and you make dessert and its just you two working around in the kitchen and just

Talking

I think that's nice

As for the actual giving of goods, I think he would be honored. Makes it a point to take his time and savor the goodie. It kind of just.. no clips/phases into his head

Weird

Constantly talks about how talented you are to others, I think

ZOOBLE:

Oh... thanks...

Look zooble loves you, a lot, but sweets arent exactly their go to. Now sour and savory, that's another story and if you make her anything that falls into those groups they're gonna subtly hint that they wish for you to bake something

Actually .. no not subtly, zooble doesnt strike me as the type to drops hints like that majority of the time, they seem more blunt

Very nice, none of it goes to waste! Bad at making compliments but does express that your baking is good regardless

GANGLE:

She looks like a strawberry shortcake enjoyer (I have never tried or made strawberry shortcake( and I explain why

Would be over the moon if you gave her some. Actually, she would still be over the moon if you gave her ANYTHING

Shes very shy when it comes to recieving gifts, so she may kinda. Freeze up when you put the plate in her hands... give her a minute shes just trying to find her voice to thank you!

[ask-fgod]

Hello from @mcnotok! My name is Snap, and my answers will be tagged as "mod snap". I am an avid fgod Enjoyer™ :]]. I mostly enjoy Nightmare and Error, but every character in this universe is so fascinating to me.

and im @my-names-kris! which my name is uh. kris, obviously. answers from me will be tagged as "mod kris". i usually like blueberror in most utmv aus, but theres something about ink in this one that grabbed me by a stranglehold. also an avid fgod enjoyer, to the point where it actually got me to start writing for the first time ever!

RULES:

DONT SPAM

NO RP

NO ASKING CHARACTERS NOT LISTED HERE

DONT BE A JERK TO THE MODS

PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE CHARACTERS IS VERY MUCH IMPOSSIBLE (BUT YOU CAN SEND OBJECTS)

Story:

The backstory of this blog takes place after Error jumps into the void after he was attacked. Fate, annoyed but viewing him as replaceable, grabs a Swap!Sans, Blue, from his multiverse into the Anti-Void, and in a rushed manner, makes him into an error and the new God of Destruction. Destiny, angered by this and knowing Error would be too, tells him about what had happened to Blue, now known as Blueberror. Wanting him not to be alone, he returns, along with his newly adopted children, Void and Null that insisted to go with him.

Characters:

Error:

The first God of Destruction, jumped into the void wishing for death, and was sent to another multiverse instead with Destiny's help. Returned upon learning that Blueberror was made the next God of Destruction in his place, bringing two children named Void and Null with. Arguably the most powerful of the three gods, holding the ability to make a universe crumble with his very step. Despite this, he is normally a chill (and rather quiet) guy when you haven't done anything to anger him. It takes a lot to anger him, anyways.

📍 • ʚĭɞ • 📍

Nightmare:

Nightmare is so detached from his past life that he considers himself a completely different person, but he is not. He hates all reminders of his detached past before the corruption, as they make him feel complicated feelings and thoughts he'd rather do without. Doesn't view Dream as a brother, but a part of him that he hates feels as if that feeling should be there. Due to the multiverse oversaturated in negativity, he has extreme mood swings. Took in the murder-time trio in an attempt to spread SOME positivity. It didn't do much, but he ended up keeping them anyways. (my mans is soft)

📍 • ʚĭɞ • 📍

Dream:

Dream is extremely loyal to Ink to a fault, never believing the truth of the multiverse's oversaturation, even when Blueberror starts destroying. Due to this, he neglects his duties of spreading positivity, as that would disrupt Ink's creations... even if he suffers for it. Ink's right-hand man ruling over the Star Council. Is used as a mascot for the "happiness" that Ink can spread. Has only ever been used as a beacon for positivity, so when someone genuinely treats him as a friend, he gets very attached.

📍 • ʚĭɞ • 📍

Ink:

The God of Creation, Ink, is the only god out of the three that was unable to hear Fate. Despite this, after hundreds of years go by, he figures out the instability of the multiverse he has caused. Knowing this, but having formed a council and an image of himself along with it, he still insists that he has been doing nothing wrong. Ink is extremely strict about his creations not being disrupted by any outside source, even when the scales of emotion are tipped in negativity's favor. Holds a hatred for Nightmare for taking the murder-time trio in. Hates Error and now, Blueberror, as well for their insistence that he is the one in the wrong. Very close with Dream, not really ever realizing how he's hurting his friend.

📍 • ʚĭɞ • 📍

Blueberror:

Blueberror was a well-liked Swap!Sans (teetering on the edge of being a swapfell!sans) before he was snatched by Fate. It was to the point where he was even asked by Dream and Ink to join them. But being a neutral party, he refused. Before he was snatched, he sometimes travelled the multiverse, helping out anybody, no matter which side they were on. After Fate snatched him, he became the second God of Destruction. He is significantly less merciful than his predecessor, Error. Still helps out people in other universes, but less often due to his new duties.

📍 • ʚĭɞ • 📍

Void and Null:

Void (age 2) and Null (age 5) are two children from the alternate multiverse that Error fell into's Handplates AU. Originally finding him lying in the ground unconscious in their Snowdin, after Null fled with Void away from their Gaster, the two of them have been extremely attached to their adoptive father ever since.

📍 • ʚĭɞ • 📍

Minor Characters:

Minor characters that won't be making any major appearances in the blog, but still exist nonetheless consist of Horror, Dust, Killer, Star Council Fell, Fresh, and Core Frisk.

📍 • ʚĭɞ • 📍

If you’re asking “what is fgod?” go here!

📍 • ʚĭɞ • 📍

If you want to read the blogs posts in chronological order, go here!

📍 • ʚĭɞ • 📍

If you want to see everyone's heights, go here!

📍 • ʚĭɞ • 📍

If you want to join the Discord server, go here!

[actualbird]

this sounds rly weird to say but stick with me - i wish luke would get ill in canon. obviously he has a terminal illness which would weaken his immune system and while it’s great he’s physically fit i mean SURELY he’s way more susceptible to getting seriously ill from a cold/the flu, right?? idk i think i just want to see him being taken care of bc he deserves it but also i do like the idea of him being taken care of by the nxx and them looking out for him when he gets seriously ill from a virus/bug etc etc

i got this ask Before main story 9 dropped but only after did i wanna answer it because i totally feel u.....

i feel like tot doesnt let luke get smaller ails in canon because hes already dealing With The Big One Thats Killing Him (any more wld be overkill?). and though it's also true that neurological conditions dont necessarily always affect the immune system, it's still a dang shame cuz like u, i'd adore a story where it's the others taking care of him when hes down with a bad case of the flu....and given recent main story events, i reALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE TEAM HELP LUKE WITH A LOW-STAKES AIL :(((

in true luke fashion, he'd probably keep it under wraps and make excuses until his absence at an nxx meeting cannot be ignored and they crash his apartment to see him in a MISERABLE little pile of blankets trying to remedy this by himself

mc: why didnt you tell us!!!! >:O

luke: it's not a big deal :( it's just the flu and already called aaron for doctor's advice and meds and everything, i can take care of myself

vyn: have you been hydrating?

luke, nervously: ..............yyyyyes?

artem, looking in his fridge: theres nothing in here but peanut's treats, what have you been feeding yourself?

luke, still nervously: ffffood?

marius, finding a pack of sliced bread near his bed: dude, have you just been eating bread???

luke, increasingly nervously because hes fighting for his life out here: i cant stomach anything else for some reason!!!

mc: uh huhhhh, you seem to be doing a Great job at taking care of this yourself :/

luke: ;-;

cue the team helping out: helping in cleaning the place up (when luke is miserable his place gets even Messier), cooking simple foods (artem's soup to the rescue), etc etc. luke would be So apologetic during the whole thing, constantly apologizing for being a bother, which is both depressing and grating to hear. mc almost wants to take two piece of sliced bread and sandwich luke's face in them to tell him "STOP SAYING SORRY!!!" but she knows thatll probably make him feel worse, so she restrains herself

for all luke's apologizing, he does feel better with the team helping out. but then he feels bad about feeling better (because HOW DARE HE....AFTER HE INCONVENIENCED THEM ALL!!!) and it's this terrible ouroboros of shame

eventually, mc sends the other boys out on a grocery run to help stock luke's fridge with fruits and other good snacks-for-sick-person, and alone in luke's apartment she sits next to him.

mc: hey, tell me the truth. you knew you were doing a cruddy job at looking after yourself, you knew you shouldve asked for help. why didnt you?

luke: ...i dont...like it...i dont like you or the others seeing me like this

mc: pathetic?

luke: i mean, yeah. but i meant....sick. i dont like you guys seeing me sick. because of, yknow.....being sick and useless and helpless, it feels like a prelude, and everyone else is burdened picking up the pieces around me.

mc: oh

luke: yeah

mc: hm. youre an idiot

luke: ????

mc: i cant speak for the others, but i can tell you that i surely dont mind seeing you like this if it means i can help. dont you always tell me to rely on you more? how about you return the favor, luke. let us help, sometimes. let me help.

and we all know shes way too good at setting up a winning argument.

by the time the others get back, luke is a more cooperative patient and a less-apologetic one. in the back of his mind, he figures it cant hurt to let himself feel okay getting help every once in a while.

[exiledelle]

its vengeance au PAPYRUS time (LINKED POST HAS UTY MERCILESS SPOILERS)

i was originally planning on having more sprite edits n stuff for this but unfortunately i think too many of my thoughts would be too hard for me to sprite, at least not currently, but. since i dont want to be spending months on this:

like i mentioned in the original post, after clovers slaughter of a decent part of the underground, and progress toward breaking the barrier being shot back to square one as a result, the royal guard essentially goes into a panic, putting out a mass recruitment.

much to the relatively-newly-crowned empress, undynes, dismay, this includes papyrus. wouldnt be a good look for her to turn down such an enthusiastic volunteer, especially not when the guard is in desparation.

but shes still biased, and doesnt want to see him hurt, so she manages to position him as a royal watchman instead of a guard. instead of capturing a human, his job is just to keep watch, help anyone who needs help in the forest, and if he manages to spot a human, all he needs to do is report the sighting to the rest of the guard. pretty simple and fitting job for him, and hes still very enthusiastic about it!! plus he gets a neat ranger uniform, so win-win (the design stuck)

once frisk escapes the ruins though, and clover chases after, papyrus notices somethings not right before hes able to send his report. theres TWO whole humans, which would surely make undyne and the guard happy, maybe send him up a couple ranks too, but...

his job is also to HELP people. and clearly, frisk needs help. so in a conflict of interest, papyrus opts to help frisk find safety deeper into the woods, and only reports clover, to try and keep them at bay

realizing way too late the kind of threat they are, and that theyre too far gone for his usual approach of trying to talk them down like he does in undertale. he'll attack clover, but only when they have him and/or his friends cornered and its absolutely necessary. papyrus IS tough, so he can at least stall them, but he also knows his best chance is to find an opening to flee (he still has to protect frisk, after all), and that a prolonged encounter isnt really in his favor

unfortunately, being a watchman, as well as undyne being busy with empress duties, means he doesnt have as much time for his usual Spaghetti Training, so he falls back to rations of dinosaur egg oatmeal (calling them rations makes it sound cooler to him), which he gladly shares with anyone

...he gets a little overexcited though. its fine, this is normal for him, dont worry. also, the oatmeal survives this.

also in case youre wondering about sans: hes....actually pretty much the same, all things considered. hes happy papyrus got into the guard, tags along to his outposts, pulls his usual pranks, that kind of stuff. this isnt a sans au (and i dont really want it to be), so theres like. not a lot of emphasis on him, and theres not really going to be. he'll still like. timestop to drag papyrus and frisk out of danger given that hes there, cuz he does want to help protect them both, but hes not going to go all out on clover, at least not right away, and not without backup or a plan.

(also i say timestop and not teleport just because thats my own interpretation of the grillbys scene, and him having attacks start and end in seemingly random spots during his fight, i dont think its definitively canon or anything, but i still lean more toward timestop than simple teleportation)

WITH undyne busy though, papyrus is assigned a different captain to answer and report to.

someone... ...nyafarious... within the guard.

she will come later though. once i can make a sprite or two, and have more details ironed out. (should probably also start making a masterpost for this au at some point)

[malwar-e]

If you do not like what other people like, then this is not a reason to insult them.

You must distinguish the real world from fiction. If you can't do that, can you stop using social media, please? Why can't you just NOT watch posts tagged "Beluz" if you're so easily hurt by drawings?

Do you really want so badly to draw other people's attention to the fact that you do not like something that they like? Or do you think that if you insult them, then something will change?

Just don't interact with people whose content you don't like. Do yourself and them a favor

hey bucko, you seem to be lacking some braincells, so let me shed some light on that dark, empty brain of yours! 🙂

see, this is how the internet functions, bud! i make an opinion post on things i find that really grind my gears, as most people do on social media! before said post, i did not actively seek out any beluz posts. in fact, i have done my damn best to avoid them. a beluz supporter came on MY post, basically begging for attention at that rate.

you see, champ, what you dont seem to understand is that fiction bleeds into reality very often! take that one slenderman case, for example. yknow the one. that was caused by, you guessed it, fiction!

i do not actively engage with beluz shippers, i am primarily nonconfrontational! but theres a difference when someone who tries to defend it comes forward, clinging on to the mindset that 'fiction is fiction', which can be correct in some cases! when someone uses silly headcanons for a character that doesnt actively harm anyone, fiction is fiction! its a character, usually headcanons come from a form of projection in most cases.

however, bringing in pedophilia into the mix is when shit gets weird. y'see, pedophilia in all forms is wrong, something everyone is taught at a young age. common sense, right? when you take a young character and try to ship them with a much older, mature character, its obviously not right. everyone is aware of this.

fiction is just the projection of reality. i mean, realistically, if you saw a young girl dating an older man, you would be disgusted, wouldnt you? so why is it different within fiction? ill answer it for you, because people believe they can hide behind the face of fiction to condone their disgusting actions. pedophilia is pedophilia, regardless! see, get this, according to the Section 1466A of Title 18, United State Code, it's illegal for any person to knowingly produce, distribute, receive, or possess with intent to transfer or distribute visual representations, such as drawings, cartoons, or paintings that appear to depict minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and are deemed obscene. 

and that's just in america. it is ALSO illegal in the UK and Canada and many more countries! fiction does affect reality. many insults are warranted here in this situation, because news flash, pedophiles and those who encourage pedophilia are disgusting!

please get a grip, hope this helped, buckaroo! <33

[whumpbug]

hi hi hi I am working on your misc questions but I want to return the favor so your your BOYS i have. an interview.

For them all, what song are they listening to right now?

For Archie and Simon, what is one underrated quality they adore about the other?

For Gene and Cassidy, beyond all of their rivalry, are they worried about the other? Why?

For Archie and Cassidy, what's something about the world that gives them joy, even if it's small?

For Simon and Gene, what's something they do to make them feel like they're younger? Being a caretaker, or the adult, is hard. How do they destress?

and some lil this or thats:

For Archie, sitting under the stars or under the sun?

For Simon, date nights at home or out in the world?

For Gene, luck or fate?

For Cassidy, is the glass half full or half empty?

i hope this isn't too many but I am enthralled by your sillies and I will read anything with utter glee!!!!

seth it is never too many. if anything there aren't ENOUGH questions /hj (i don't mean to pressure u into asking more tho)

these are genuinely some of my favorite questions ive been asked UGH u know just what to ask seth these are unbelievably good. u know the drill. extremely long post incoming because these sillies are everything to me.

✮⋆˙

what song are they listening to?

ok im going to give real answers for simon and archie but since i don't really know what songs were like. around. in the 1860s, i'm going to give a song that describes gene and cassidy's Current Mental State instead and the lyric i think encapsulates it best (i'm sorry in advance)

simon: "light my fire" by the doors

archie: "good old-fashioned lover boy" by queen

gene: once more to see you by mitski

lyric: but with everybody watching us, our every move / we do have reputations / we keep it secret / won't let them have it

cassidy: "hello it's me" by todd rundgren

lyric: you know that I'd be with you if I could / i'll come around to see you once in a while / or if I ever need a reason to smile

✮⋆˙

archie and simon: what is one underrated quality they adore about the other?

archie:

archie is absolutely, positively, utterly, obsessed with simon's smile. and not the fake, practiced one he gives to strangers when making small talk or when he's trying to lighten the mood with patients. his real smile.

archie loves how slight it is, yet still somehow brightens his entire face. he loves the way it reaches his eyes with that subtle crinkle near his cheek. he loves that simon's teeth are just the smallest bit crooked, like he didn't wear his retainer as much as he should have as a kid. he loves the way it is usually accompanied with a snort-laugh. and he loves that he practically gets it all to himself.

simon:

i don't think theres a single part of archie body or personality that doesn't captivate simon in some way. if you asked him this, he would struggle to answer because how can he when everything is just so. perfect. but, his answer would ultimately be archie's eyes. they are the color of a stormy sea, yet somehow the warmest eyes simon has ever had the pleasure of looking in.

when they first met, simon would find himself staring at them far too often. he played it off like he was checking for neurological function, but i think archie knew. simon's wishes he could swim in them, they're just so lovely.

✮⋆˙

gene and cassidy: beyond all of their rivalry, are they worried about the other?

short answer: yes. very much yes.

cassidy:

cassidy had been worried for gene since they met, but the reason has long since changed.

at first, he was worried about his views. he found him to be extremely disillusioned about the world. he didn't understand how someone could be so "passive" and still claim to care about others, and this worried him because he knew gene's inaction would lead him to a tough spot one day. the worry was masked by frustration.

then, it changed. when he saw that gene actually did put in the work to help his people (e.g. working late hours to break up bar fights and get people home safely, making sure the orphanages and churches were well funded, even if it came out of his own pocket, etc.), he began to think, ironically, maybe it was too much. he worried about gene stretching himself too thin, and being used by people (haha. take a look in the mirror bud.)

gene:

god. not a day goes by that gene doesn't worry about cassidy.

gene, being the deputy, has had a few run-ins with montana, and that is enough to get a sense for the kind of man he is. he is mean, cold, and not afraid to pull all the wrong strings to get what he wants.

if it wasn't for meeting him face to face, i think gene would still have a sense of him by the the way cassidy reacts to certain things. gene notices that cassidy is jumpy, and flinches whenever he so much as raises his voice (thought he tries his hardest not to). he notices that cassidy doesn't like eating in front of others. he notices that he closes right up whenever gene asks about his past. he notices that sometimes, he keeps his head tilted down so the brim of his hat can hide the deep bruise around his eye.

he worries that cassidy will never escape that man.

✮⋆˙

archie and cassidy: what's something about the world that gives them joy, even if it's small?

archie:

archie appreciates a lot of the littler things in life. he loves when he finds a shirt or sweater that is just the right material and won't agitate his over-sensitive skin. he loves when pets look like their owners. he loves when simon falls asleep in his lap. he loves eating good food.

on a larger scale, he loved seeings acts of kindness. he loves seeing big brothers zipping up their baby brothers' coats and parents carrying their children when they get tired. its things like that that remind him why he fights as vigil-- to preserve happiness.

cassidy:

similar to archie, cassidy loves a lot of little things but specifically when he knows he had a part of it.

he loves seeing the little girls at the orphanage twirl and twirl in their new dresses after he donated a hefty sum. he loves seeing the couple that had their house destroyed in a hurricane raise their baby in the one cassidy and some boys from the gang built from the ground up.

more than anything though? he loves seeing people being kind to stray kids on the street. whether its a store clerk slipping the kid a can of beans or a lawman turning a blind eye when the kid snags a new pair of pants, it warms his heart because that was him. he would have given anything for just a fraction of that kindness.

✮⋆˙

for simon and gene: what's something they do to make them feel like they're younger?

simon:

for simon, the answer is quite simple. sleep.

something about curling up, especially in archie's lap, makes him feel safe and cozy like he's a kid again. after a long day of work, it's exactly what he needs. when archie sees that he's overwhelmed or stressed, he'll often just open his arms in an invitation, and simon will completely melt into it. he's most comfortable when archie is laying down as well, that way he can lay his head on his chest and hike up a leg to drape over archie's middle. this man attaches to archie. and then archie is just. stuck there.

gene:

for him, it is definitely when he gets to pamper calliope. something about baby-talking his horse while he brushes every inch of her coat and braids her mane and cleans her hooves thoroughly brings him right back to when he was 15 and working on his father's ranch. he coos at her and feeds her sugarcubes and lets her lay her head in his lap while they both nap under the afternoon sun. its rare that he has a day off, but he'll most likely spend it with her. he loves that damn horse so much.

✮⋆˙

this or thats!

for archie, sitting under the stars or under the sun?

it has to be sun. archie adores the sunshine and the way it feels on his skin. its a pleasant warmth that never fails to ground him and leave his head feeling just a little clearer. it drives simon crazy that archie consistently forgets sunblock.

for simon, date nights at home or out in the world?

at home for sure. he is very much an introvert. plus, his work and school requires him to be around a LOT of people. he's quite burnt out when he comes home, and wants nothing more than to spend a night with the person he adores, away from everything else.

for gene, luck or fate?

fate. he believes, in some way, everything happens for a reason. even if its a reason he can't quite understand himself, and even if its a reason he despises. all he can do is hope that his own fate is kind and merciful. it's all he can do.

for cassidy, is the glass half full or half empty?

in his heart of hearts, he'd want to say half full, but he can't. he's seen and experienced so many awful things in his life, and as much as he doesn't like to admit, it takes a toll on him. he puts on this front of a sly, competent, bright fellow, but in truth, he feels hopeless a lot of the time. trapped, even.

✮⋆˙

SETH thank you so much for letting me ramble about my darlings. as always, never be afraid to ask more because i look forward to talking about these guys. these questions were AMAZING thank u so so so MUCH!!!!!!!!!

[toguidethewildthings]

8. Ranger(s?) of the Immune

Ghoul/OFC . other characters .

Altered by Vault Tec to withstand the radiation, Carrion walks the aftermath plagued with a guilted sense of servitude since she can withstand what they can not. The Ghoul, with Lucy in tow, has found her again and needs another favor. Their dance of crossing paths sparks another adventure. But… after what happened last time….

Theres Never Enough Caps

Before The Bombs:

Of course secrets don't stay secrets for long. Just one event away from the privacy of her gated yard would bring his nightly meetings to dawn.

On his way to her trailer he had found her heading in the same direction and came up from behind. He watched her with a fading smile and slowing steps. A drag of her foot, then a stumble to her step, he followed behind her quietly as her shoulder dragged along the studio as she traveled down the dark crevasse between round dome top buildings.

“Caroline.” He calls, and she looked as if she tried to turn around quick, but the rapid movement of just twisting brought her to trip over herself, falling a step from the wall but gathering herself before he approached

“Go home to your wife.” She hissed, stepping away from him. Anger in her eyes and tone.

“Hey..” he soothed.

“Does she know you’re here? Or do you lie to her?”

“I tell her I come to the studio to decompress.”

“To decompress in the dark, drinking beers with the female maintenance worker?”

He stalls a moment, taking in her blood shot, glassy eyes, sweat dotted forehead, and the start of a drip of foamy drool in the corner of her mouth. She swayed with every breath.

“It’s never been anything more than that.”

She clicks her tongue, “never said it had been.”

“Are you-“ his question is answered when she suddenly leans to the side and vomits onto the tar a mostly pile of stomach bile and liquid.

She’s gasping for breath, panicking slightly. She looks at Cooper much more sadly before turning around quickly stumbling off, holding her stomach tightly.

He tries to chase her, but the attempt ends quickly as Caroline's knees collapse and she’s unconscious before she hits the ground.

Cooper is on his knees, shaking the limp body of a woman in distress. But it wasn't a movie or a plot line they rehearsed, it was Caroline, and something was very wrong. This wasn’t like the movie parts he played, he was afraid and his movements were as quick as his thoughts. He was reverting back to days past… a place in his mind he rarely goes.

Foam bubbled from her mouth. Eyes rolled into her head. Her lips dulling and red circles looping her eyes. He's calling her name and for help into the darkness, for someone.. anyone to hear.

“What the fuck!” Comes from over his shoulder as the tapping of feet belonging to two maintenance workers he had seen around the studio drop at his side.

“She's overdosing.” One puts matter of factly with a harsh sigh.

“What?” He asked as the two instantly started patting her pockets while the other pulled up her sleeves.

And there it was. Right before his eyes. A baggy of solidified white powder is pulled from her inner jacket as the bloody hole on the notch in her arm is exposed.

“I didnt know…” he fumbled his words as he pushed himself physically away. “Should i call-”

“No!” They both snapped at him.

“Pick her up.” The larger of the two men instructed and Cooper stalls a moment, his eyes locked on her pale face and foam dripping mouth.

“Howard!!”

Doing what he's told, he wrapped his arms under her and lifted her… Just as he had in the movies, standing upright as one of the two ran ahead.

“I didn't know she..” he mumbled as her body shivered in his arms. The walk was a longer path than the few steps he’d take before they called, cut. This was more like the military, which with every step he slipped into the mode of.

“You've been here enough times to see her…. How did you not know she's a drug addict when she was high every time.” The man who traveled at her side gruffed.

“I mean… You knew?”

The two men passed a glance at each other and Cooper adjusted his arms under her as they turned out of the alley. The man who had run ahead stood now by her trailer, looking around nervously as he held the door open. Cooper was instructed to get into the trailer with the two of them, flinching when the door was closed..

“Put her down here.”

He slipped her onto the couch and quickly took himself from the situation. The larger man had taken a sort of bottled antidote from the cabinet and the first man first injects it into her neck and then drips the rest of the vial into her mouth.

“Come on, Care.” The shorter man soothes as he lowers to her side, rubbing his hand over her forehead and then collar quite roughly. “Breath.”

He kept rubbing her collar heavier and heavier as the other man rubbed the injection sight.

“Breath….”

In a violent start she takes a violent breath in, choking and spitting up as she pulls as much air as she could into her burning lungs. Cooper is there at her side. Placing a hand on her shoulder and kneeling down.

“Here.” Suddenly vials and syringes are shoved Into his hands and the two are racing towards the door.

“Wait! Where are you going?!”

“Lying by omission, Mr. Cooper will get us fired. We were never here. You're the hero in this story.”

“Wait. But-”

But the two escaped out the door like rats, remembering to close it securely just as Caroline vomited violently on the floor. Crying, shaking and curling up into herself, Cooper turns to face her again, placing his hands on her in what he hoped was calming. He rubbed her sweat-dampened head and shoulder as she vomited again through gasping breaths. Each dry heave wracked her body. Eventually she could speak but all she did was cry her apologies as he stayed right next to her.

“You can’t just say, you’re sorry.” He says the same lesson that he teaches his daughter. “You need to stop the behavior you’re sorry for or it means nothing.”

“I don’t know how.”

He never went home that night which would turn the attention of his wife. He’d instead sit aside the couch as she faded in and out. He sat outside the bathroom when she begged for cold water on her burning body. He fell asleep on the booth seating of the table area across the couch. Legs pulled up, back against the window, eyes on her until he fell asleep.

The morning that came, she’d wake up before him, shake him by the shoulder and kick him out before the first sunrise for both their safety. He’d leave and would spend the day ignoring her weakened structure, which was his normal behavior, but he’d keep her in his mind, the hole that sits the notch of her arm, and the words of Vault Tech who had offered a placement to anyone he knew that needed a better life.

 

……

-- 33 years ago --

 

Boston Massachusetts

Degenerates of the waste land were often looked at like the degenerates of the real world before the bombs dropped, and it was in this group of people Carrion always found herself most comfortable.

Degenerates turned ghouls and Goodneighbor turned into a very frequented town while stationed in the East Coast, especially after the one John Hancock had taken over.

She was never really into Ghouls like that, rarely found them attractive with the hairless bodies and rotted face, their lost noses whith perforated black holes in the center of their faces. They’re eventual end was also quite discouraging but she figured they all had to die at some point…. But, overtime she gets the old saying that once you get to know a person, one tends to see past the physical imperfections.

And man was he attractive before his turning. And she had known Diamond City John well then too.

And that’s where she found herself now. Back in Massachusetts crying across the couch of John Hancock as she went over and over yet another of Ramblers' betrayal. Dressed in a jumpsuit that wasn't hers but now stained with blood around the collar, shoulders and chest. Her neck is swollen, red and agonizingly painful. She wasn't wearing a scarf which showed the ghoul the essence of yet another new branding.

And honestly, he was quite angry about it all. He had strong feelings for her, and had for quite some time… and to see her destroyed from another man… Well, ghoul… was something he was never about. Betrayal being a distaste he felt deeply about.

“He just abandoned me out there.. It was like he knew not to be there. Like he knew the synths would be….”

“Because he did know, love. He sold you out.”

“He wouldn't do that. He wouldn't go that far against me.. Not..” She leaves out their relationship or the nights prior to that one and lets her words die out instead.

He listened, told her everything she needed to hear that he had said before about that ghoul, while offering her the chems she wants that will help so stifle her pain.. Chems that he would take as well. Chems that brought them togeather originally and chems that brought his hand to her cheek and the other on her side, pulling her over.

“Take the hit.” He encourages as he puts out his cigarette in the ashtray on the table in front of the couch as he adjusted his affections. “We’ve done this too many times.”

His voice rasps as she flips the inhaler in her hand before taking a hit.

“How many times do I have to tell you just to stay here with me. You’re safer here and always have been.”

While he talks, his hand on her cheek has slowed down to her neck, his pinky running over the 6262 brandind thats covered in blood that he’s naturally drawn to. As well, he's inquisitive, wanting to know more about the new branding the blood has spilled from. But she senses this and impulsively moves back, covering the spot on the back of her neck with her hand.

He stares at her. She stares at him before he nods, and takes the red bandanna from around his neck and securely wraps it around hers, covering the two brands, deciding to inquire about it later.

“Don’t do this to me” she whispers at him as his hands stall on her neck and shoulder, but still the chems have found their way into her muscles, and her body numbs under the hands of the leader of Goodneighbor.

“I’m not doing anything, babe.”

He drops his hands and looks at her fading form. “I told you, remember? From the day you brought him to me mid rot.. I told you not to trust him. He was never truly there for you. I told you, a man seeking a family like his will never care about you solely. He'll never be fully loyal to you, Carrion, not as much as he cares about himself, and never as much as he's loyal to finding his family.”

It was true and this made her cry again, and John would let her as he took from the Chems that lay out on the table.

Rather quickly, she'd tire out, and knowing that he wouldn’t leave her in the state she was in, shed eventually find her spot under his arm and by his side as he ticked his tongue and soothed her drying eyes and limping body as the radio played in the background of the otherwise empty office.

She loved him but he demanded a stationary life and a home in Goodneighbor, while Carrion lived a life that required her to travel and aid those around her even after nearly 200 years. He'd always seduce her with promises of his protection and love.. He'd tell her she could stop now.. she could allow that part of her life to be over, or even just resort back to her old jurisdiction here in New England… He urged her to finally relax. Relax in Goodneighbor, relax in his office suite and relax with him until the rot took him and he could no longer love her.

While she slept her chem driven sleep he'd smoke his cigarettes as a chain and drink his alcohol and eventually convince himself a look.

He touched her first, testing her sleep by running his fingers through her hair and over her back. When she didn't stir, he hooked his pinky on the back of the bandana and pulled down, exposing the bloody, bright black brand that took up much of the back of the lower half of her neck. He pulled his hand back and licked his thumb before he wiped away the blood.

It was a bar code.

His jaw tightens angrily.

A barcode with the inscription “Institute” breaking the center of the horizontal black line at the bottom. He ran his finger gently over it, affectionately with pity before he felt a bump. Feeling it again he knew what it was.

That Ghoul had sold her to the Institute for what selfish buy he assumed he knew what for… While Carrion, a woman he dearly loved, had after they were done with whatever she vehemently refused to tell him about.. had been not only branded… again… but chipped like a dog.

If he ever saw Rambler again... he swore his life on his word that he'd fucking kill him.

 

……

Current

Staying with their shoulders to the coast since civilization bloomed by water, the next settlement was a settlement before some very hard lands. A settlement meant for stocking up as on either side were the dilapidated remains of before a gap in the world.

It would be a difficult travel, but the settlement pinged, verifying that Mclaine had certainly passed through for some kind of repair. They talked about buying a guide, a well acquainted associate who knew the safer paths. The Mojave was no joke. Between mutants, raiders, and much more murderous creatures, as much as the independent force of Ghoul rejected the idea, the group talked him into accepting the help. Accepting? Or overrode his opinion? Didn't matter.

(Song start) Carrion kept to her spot in the back of the group, but for the last day or so she had kept in her head. Rambler and her sat next to each other during the nights that passed, she shared more with him, and him with her. There was something there again, as much as both of them had the damage of trust, she didn't mind when she'd wake up and he was there. Lately she's fallen into her mind as she watched him walk infront of her, reliving his abandonments and sins against her. He though, gave her the space to be and grow, and somehow it worked.

Today she made a choice. Tapping the horse she picks up speed and brings the beast to his side, an obvious force he noticed as her calf landed by him. Glancing to her, he furrows his brow as she rides looking down at him for a good minute before rising the reigns and stopping the horse. He stops walking and turns towards the rider.

Face blank and walled they stare at each other for a moment before she twitches her head and a smile breaks Ghouls lips. (I wanna find a home and share it with you)

He lowers the sturup she pulls her foot from and with the skills of a few hundred years, he pulls himself up behind her, settling into the saddle she hadn't changed in over 50 years. She taps the beast, and their walk continues.

It turned into a game. First his hand is on her leg to set his acceptance. Eventually moving to her hip.

He tries his luck and with the other hand, sliding up towards her wrist, she waits until his hand cups her and he goes for the reigns. Its then she pulls away, allowing the touch, but not the control.

Thus the game would go on for the next few hours, him making a move every half hour or so not rushing the heat that sat between them. Him moving closer and closer to her submission of the horse. He'd whisper things behind her ear he knew she wanted to hear, garnering a smile, an elbow to his gut, and at one point a small laugh as she pushed away his hands that would eventually slither their way back.

It was flirting and he took his time as he did everything else with her. Damage was damage and although she was his under the privacy of night, he had done enough to her to know at this point his work would be earning back what he lost for anything during the day.

She never did give him the reigns that day. His success in little touches, he'd give up eventually, resting a hand on her leg satisfied with how the last few hours played out.

It'd be an hour after when she'd make her silent move. The weight of her is lowered against him as she leaned back. Her head resting against his lower shoulder, her back against his chest. And he'd leave things there as this reward would suffice for now for him, and with an arm around her waist and back tall and strong, they would make the rest of their days travel in comfortable silence.

There was one settlement before the long walk into nothing but beasts, both of creatures and of nature. A huge settlement had been built up for the cause of survival. Everything one needed to make it through was sold in SaNapa. Including guides and a guide was what they sought out.

O’Conner ad been forced into silence by his commander. Max had come down on him rather hard that night of the rad storm, yelling about how she was helping them, helping the BOS and how without her, if they were correct about Mclaine, the wasteland would turn to ruin. The scribe had stood with his head down and discrimination on his tongue but said nothing, instead, turning and going back to the couch.

That night he and Lucy would stay up and talk. She'd inform him of what she knew about Carrion and he'd brief her on what he was briefed on about the pair during their time together ravaging the wastelands worst togeather.

So. With everyone caught up, O'Connor said nothing as they approached the outer edge of the settlement of the town and when he turned around to see Rambler slipping off the horse, he kept his opinions in his head as he felt the eyes of Max upon him through the suit. The two of them were preparing to avoid any side eye attention they were sure they'd et as a group.

People were gathering here and they were hard to ignore. The ferals and dogs garnered space while the power armor garnered attention. The Ghoul pulled up the bandana to the bridge of what he had left, and kept his head down as he walked aside the horse Carrion used the height of to look around.

Outside of major settlements people made money offering stalls and she'd break off with Max when she noticed the familiar icon swinging on a sign.

The barn was simple and acceptable. She was looked at awkwardly and she nodded when she showed her wrist and their parents wrote off the extra charge for the ferals in good faith. She took her dogs like she always did, and walked away with a slightly lightened pocket.

The others waited as Max did the same with his power armor, snagging the fusion core before he went. Locking the machine down from theft in a stall next to Carrions.

And that's when they entered the town.

The size of Diamond city, the city built on the edge of death, but lacked little to nothing.

They'd buy water of course. And Ammo. Rations. Various smaller things. A hotel room for a fair nights rest. Everything they needed they emptied their pockets for and toward the end of the day they'd travel to where they'd settle on a guide.

Guides were obvious because they marked themselves with orange bands around their arms and jacket collars and it was left to the two most familiar to choose.

Well… for Carrion to choose.

Rambler said nothing, looked at noone, just pushed his plate of food aside, electing to sit silently and dismantle his guns on a sheet of leather for upkeep and cleaning. Carrion would watch him before looking around herself.

It was up to her. But she only had two people in mind.

“You gonna help?” she asked Rambler who suddenly found interest in his drink and food, quickly filling his mouth and giving a shrug as he messed with a joint that had gunked up.

She looked at Lucy, then O'connor then Max.

“Have you ever been out of your camp?”

Max shook his head no and she groaned a pissed off sigh before shoving off the table and onto her feet.

“You're a total child sometimes, Ram.”

His mouth was full and he only gave her a humf noise as he finished scrapping the joint clean.

She glared at him before dropping her pistol aside his.

“Help me out at least.”

He didn't move, just glanced at her pistol with his eyes before turning back to his own gun.

She lay Cantor and Kika at the table and walked off with Nuka into the dinner time crowd. If who she was looking for wasn't in here, she knew where to find them and leaving the eatery, she adjusted her rifle on her shoulder and started out into the city.

Alone, she quickly realized attention fr9m others became more brazen. Unaware of the real affect of that Ghoul had, people were more interested, and moving closer to her.

“You're an Immune Ranger?” A man walked up to her, eyes looking her up and down.

“Yes.”

“I need help… you see-”

“I'm sorry. I can't. I'm currently…. employed by another team to help them.”

His face paled, the edges of his lips dropped and she backed away uncomfortably.

Pulling her rifle to her front, she walks tall and through people who examined her as she traveled.

She slips into the back alley and followed the wooden board paths where lights flickered and residents sat in their homes doorways and looked at her cautiously as she passed.

Up to the second story paths she's dipping over roofs and second floor homes to a corner space whose purple light filled her with filimarity.

She knocked and a moment later a familiar face fills the light drenched doorway.

“Oh my fuck, Carrion.”

The women hugged tightly, Jessin letting out a small squeal before turning into the home. “Ty!!”

And Ty was soon joining the door way.

The two were old guides and old friends of hers, but once within the light Carrions face fell just a bit, her stance breaking when they turn away for a moment.

Age never touched her, never touched Ghoul.. so when it touched others she was always unprepared.

Jessins once bright blond hair had dulled to a sandy gray blond with wispy edges to her long, leather wrapped dreadlocks. Her facial tattoos now blended with age lines. When she smiled she rippled.

Tys once fired eyes had softened in age and his face as well rippled over his cheeks and eyes. Less raider, more home owner. And it looked like their repair buissness had taken off.

“Wow, Care. You look great!”

“You guys too.” She pushes out the truth but not the truth in her heart.

She hated when this happened.

“Do you want a drink?” Ty smiled pulling a self made tea bag out of the little brown box.

“Ya, ya. Sure.”

They'd catch up around the kitchen table before Jessin got to the elephant in the room.”

“You're not just here to visit.. are ya?”

She shook her head no. “Im with a group…”

Jessins face faltered while Tys lips fell.

“Not Rambler…” Jessin almost begged.

She only nodded, not getting into it she pushed through the disapproval.

“We need help getting through the desert.”

Jessin and Ty looked at each other uncomfortably.

“Like, a guide?” Ty asked as Jessin played with her cup.

Silence.

Carrien sighed and looked up. “Jessin. Please.”

“it's been a long time.” She muttered.

“I know.”

“Carrien..”

“Half way… just over the pass.” We'll pay the entire trip…

Jessin sighed and leaned back in her seat.

“I'm not as young as I used to be…”

“I know.. But you know how to make it.”

“Knew… I havent done guide work in.. almost a decade.”

“Please Jessin.. you were one of the best… Im sure theres people you could talk to.”

“Theres people I can suggest you to..”

“No.” Her fist tightened, unconsciously.

Jessin looked Carrion over. The same woman she remembered from 7, 8 years ago.. the last time she came through.. Carrion had an ace in her pocket… because the truth was, Jessin owed Carrion a favor… a debt. But Carrion was too kind to play it against such a long time friend.

Jessin looked from her head shaking husband and made her own choice.

“Okay Carrion. I'll get you as far as the ridge line. I can get you a map for the rest of the way.”

“Thank you, Jessin.”

On the way back to the tavern or the hotel.. where ever the group had drifted to, she noticed an uptick in people in the alley way. Reaching for her pistol she swore to herself as she remembered Rambler had it so she switched to her rifle. With both hands supporting the weapon, she made it through the upper alleys that had turned darker than she remembered on her way in.

“Hey, Ranger.” a voice immit from her side, a voice she ignored, but a hand she couldn't.

Nuka was quick to bolt out infront of her mom, teeth bared at the man who removed his hand and chuckled as he stepped back.

“Nice little antlers on that hat. You go kill that yourself?”

Her path had been blocked on either side and she lowers the gun and places her fingers on the triggers of her arm blades. Realizing this wasn't enough space for a rifle fight..

“I got something for you.” the large man held out a paper, a paper she looked at herself drawn upon. Under was scriped a reward.

“I just didn't think you were so little.”

She expelled the arm blades as her legs set and her dogs crouched with her side against her leg, her eyes on her back.

An arm extended to grab her, and it would be the last action of that arm would ever make as a single swipe of the technology advanced Vault Tech blades sliced straight through the arm, the bone but little traction against the wide angry swipe.

The man's scream broke the fight into action.

Nuka did her part with legs and ankles. Who she took down, Carrion would end. Shed move to keep the attacking mob in sight. But the space was a thin alley and the only way to go would be up..

A well placed bullet took her in the shoulder, wracking a numbing sensation through her arm, but the throat was sliced in return.

Unfortunately, the wave of that slice was predicted as upon her pull back, her outside unprotected arm was grabbed while another arm wrapped her neck, both yanking her back and off balance. She sent the blade through her rear attacker, but in front her leg was taken, her knee broken inward by a violent kick. She swipes up with the agonized leg, the spikes entering the abdomen but whoever aided the arm around her neck, had from behind sent a knife through her legs tendon. Blood began to flow heavily. The man went down in his own blood, taking himself as a sacrifice to her ability to stand strong.

With more hands came a smaller and smaller space as well as more damage. She orders Nuka gone, and off the dog ran. Her face is violently sliced, a noose wrapped around her neck that she cuts but is replaced from the back with another far tighter before her other knee is kicked out painfully. Both legs out, she's on the ground earning a hard hit to the head from a blind side which sent her vision into spins as she hits the ground face down.

She swipes blindly, feeling connection and hearing a scream, but a foot comes down and slams her arm into the ground.

She's grabbed around the face by a large dirty hand and is forced to look up at a gravely looking man with a glinting, hungry eye.

“You're a pretty little thing.” He almost drools as he digs his finger into her face slice, a pain she could control and never let him have the pleasure of seeing her with anything but hatred in her expression.

And then his head exploded.

Shot after shot the crowd panics. She was already on her knees so she ducked, knowing the sound of the gun well enough to know it was time for her to just stay down and wait. She helped. Taking out legs. Sending swings upward. Ending the few who fell.

Eventually those who would live chose to scatter and for those who didn't get the option, had created a small river of draining blood that seeped into her clothes and over her skin. A stream her own body contributed to.

Heavy boots land near her, the spurs announcing his arrival, she looked up just as he kneels down.

“Fuck happened?”

“Theres a bounty out…” she explained sitting up, checking the tendon on the back of her leg, grimacing at the blood flow, though slower, still concerning. Rambler was quick to notice this too and take off a belt from a dead attacker near by, tightly tourniqueting her leg. “For me?”

“For me.” She wipes the dripping blood off her face with the cuff of her sleeve and struggles to stand, her leg instantly giving out and just as instantly ending up in the ghouls arms. He passes her his pistol which she takes as he adjusts his arms under her.

She's easy to lift, and as he's had before, he does, both adjusting themselves to a familiar place against him until her arm raises around his neck, a pain shooting through her arm numbing it again.

“My shoulder.”

“We'll take care of it.” He grumbled. “Whats the crime?”

“There. Put me down.” She points to the man who originally held the paper.

“I'm not putting you down.”

“Rambler.”

Always stubborn in her injuries, she nearly roll out of his lowering arms and starts to crawl across the bloodied ground to the man. Tearing through his clothes until she finds the folded paper, out of breath and growing tried she turns onto her backside and hand him the paper.

“Hold it.”

She's back in his arms begrudgingly, knowing it was her only option to travel, as they walked she'd unfold the paper.

Holding it for both of them, he'd look it over. A bounty as high as his. No mention of a crime. But the face and accents are clearly her and he bites his cheek as he looks out ahead.

“Keep my gun in view. Don't forget about the recoil.” He grunts as they walk back out into the populus, whose eyes linger but no one approaches.

The walk to the hotel room is simple and they're left alone, they're essence never truly forgotten and laced with danger even in Carrions weary condition.

His foot slams the door twice and Lucy opens it with a start and she's pushed aside by Rambler as Carrion is carried in.

“What happened?” She exclaims as she shuts the door.

“Make sure you lock it.” He hissed as he takes Carrion to the single wooden table. “Clear it.” He orders and O'connor and Max are shoving their supplies onto the floor.

He lays Carrion who winces and now in the light he starts to assess her damages.

“I need a few stim packs.” He grabs her arm and twists her shoulder, bringing Carrion to grit her teeth. He looks at her, and she looks at him.

“The bullet-”

“Is lodged.” She finishes and he cusses before going through some bags, pulling a heavy chem and bottle of alcohol out of hers, and then a basic health kit from his.

As Lucy and O'conner are pushed back, Max steps up and offers his help.

“Stim her leg, make sure it closes.” Ghoul slides the stim across the table and Max nods before pulling her boot off and her pant leg up.

“This is really deep.” Max said quietly. “and it's already black…”

“Black.. what!”

Ghoul rounds the table as Carrion twists her leg and yes indeed the wound was blackened and looking infected.

“God damn it!”

“Same idea as when you blew off wiltzeg leg..” Lucy remembered, which only garnered her a fury glare from Ghoul.

“Shut. Up.” He explained his anger and prementioned threat.

He runs his hand over his face as he thought over his moves. His attention draws to Carrion as she slides out of her coat and unzippers and unbuttons her jumpsuit.

Pulling down the suit she's left in a dark green t-shirt, to which she pulled up the sleeve of exposing the bullet wound that was just that, an irritated hole in her arm.

Rambler nodds calmly, noticing her face had much of the same irritated basic effect. Easy fixes… but her leg…

“Carrion.. start hitting those.” He says quietly as he watches the blue and red veins growing the slightest, dimmest outline against her skin.

They pushed the table against the wall so she could sit up which was her request. She'd then knock herself into oblivion, happily. Her head against the wall as her out streched leg was lifted above her hip with a few objects under the pillow it rest on. As she nodded in and out, her fingers fumbled between the mixed inhaler of an intoxicant and the alcohol O'connor shared with her as he sat at her side. She was past the point of realization that the two below her were physically cutting off skin and injecting mixtures into the spreading wound they seemed to have under control.

“What do you make of the bounty?” Max asked mid cut.

“I don't think it's a bounty.” Rambler hypothesized through grit teeth. “I think it's a way to take Carrion out of our team. A move straight from Mclaine. ”

“That makes sense. No her, no Atom”

“Right. This ain't gonna to be our last run in about it. You alright, Care?” Rambler would go on to ask occasionally until she stopped responding, to which then he directed his enquiry to Lucy and O'connor who would confirm for the barely conscious Carrion.

“Take that chem from her.” Rambler would soon instruct as he zoned in on her drug addict urge to keep taking regardless of where her mind was.

Lucy did, looking it over curiously before putting it down at her side, Carrion to high to argue.

Eventually there was nothing more with her leg they could do. The infection rot wasn't progressing at that moment, which meant they needed to wait. So they moved up.

Everything else was simple.

“Move.” He ordered Lucy as he slid up to her shoulder and pulled with him the kit, pulling out tweezers.

“I'm going to use the restroom,” Lucy regarded the room irritably before leaving, closing the door loudly behind her.

“Lucy” Max looked after her, back at Ghoul who looked at him and nodded, the BOS jumping to his feet and following after her across the room.

Rambler took Carrions arm in his hands, tweezers in his mouth he played with the wound for a moment before he saw her neck roll toward him.

She looked at him, her eyes red and glazed with a dull life to them he didn't like. She pulled the bottle across her body and handed him some. He nodded and took the tweezers from his mouth before putting the lip of the bottle against his mouth.

“I love you, Cooper.” She sighed out and the beer choked in his throat, eyes flashing to O'connor who looked confused for a moment as he violently coughed out the liquid onto the floor.

“Carrion.” He tried. But there was no reasoning with her when she didn't even know what she said. He avoided looking at O'connor.

“I love you too, Carrion,” He hopes the boy is stupid as he is pointless and elects to just start working on the wound.

“Let’s hope it's one peice, ya?” He adjusted her arm and pulled open the wound with his fingers with one hand while he lowered the tweezers with the other.

“Do you remember what it used to be like?”

He starts to rush, pushing in the tweezers, praying to hit the bullet..

“Ya. Those were good years.” He's working on keeping everything vague as possible as her neck rolls with her eyes.

“Everything's different.” She sighed sadly, and he starts to assume what years her mind is in. “You turned into a real cowboy.”

He grits his teeth as the tip of the tweezers hits the bullet.

“I didn't have a choice.”

“Neither did I.”

He hated to leave her in her thoughts he knew she was traveling in, but he couldn't let her reveal his secret so he kept quiet until he pulled out half a bullet.

Fuck.

Round two.

He wiped away the blood and started again.

“We've had good times.” Rambler speaks up.

“Some of the best…. “My family.” She whispers rolling her head away as rhe tweezers dig inside her.

“Who?”

“You, Cooper. I always thought of you as my family.” She paused, eyes looking out infront of her as she thought. “I just wish I was yours.’

He pulled the second part of the bullet out and shot her quickly with the stimpack before putting O'Conner to work wrapping her arm.

Next was her face which was done in a few minutes.

She said nothing else, and when he worked on her cheek, he'd ignore how sadly she looked at him.

“You are my family.” He'd assure quietly as he closed the slice in her cheek.

“No… Not like them..”

…….

They shared a bed that night, O'connor having more to bitch about sleeping on the couch as the two couples slept close to each other on the two beds.

Ghoul would notice Lucy and Maxs awkwardness, while physical affection came easy for him with Carrion.. The two still seemed scared to further anything between themselves and the three others in the room seemed to intimidate them while he was easy to care for what was his.

But he didn't pay too much attention as he pulled the blankets over himself. He was lost in the essence of her blood and the blood that drenched her. He had done the best to clean that, taking her out of the jumpsuit when it was just them in the room.. her pantless legs pressing against his as he locked her legs with his as he always had. Her shirt was wetened with blood from her face and shoulder, and he had argued removing this as the essence trickled over his skin and sat in the back of his throat when he breathed her in. Sacrificing some of his sanity he protected her privacy, the blanket kept tightly around her, her shirt kept on her.

That night they'd all sleep soundly behind a locked door and as a group. Guns loaded and resting on side tables. Supplies packed and ready to go. 4 walls. 5 people. 3 dogs. They slept in the blackened space that lingered with the scent of blood.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Have you ever watched the owl house? Can I ask for a reader who has a curse like Eda Clawthrone?

Shamura, Kallamar, and Lambert please. Maybe the Goat too if you want.

Shamura, Kallamar, and Lambert x reader who has a curse like Eda Clawthorne

*takes. a drag on a cigarette* owl house... havent heard that name in a long while...

Notes: reader is GN, beast reader doesnt exactly have to be an owl it can be any creature, may tackle goat in a separate post, written on mobile

CWs: none

SHAMURA

has a scroll somewhere that could point you both in the right direction to figure it out, but they likely already know that your curse is... most likely life long

can take you in a fight if you lash out at them after transforming- actually all of the bishops and the lamb can- but theyre one of the quickest in order to minimize damage to either of you... being able to spin web comes in handy when needing to restrain someone

if they dont already have an answer theyre not going to stop until theres something they can use to help you in some way

always makes sure to check in on you when you revert back... are you feeling sore or tired? they can take you to their quarters so you can rest, you can sleep for as long as you need

KALLAMAR

the crystals in anchordeep have some level of healing ability it seems, so you can bet hes going to find a way to utilize them in your favor! you get a pretty little gem to make things run a little smoother as well as keep an eye on your curses' progression

damn near inked himself when he walked into a dark room and found you transformed just sitting quietly in the dark... bishop be damned, youve still got him on edge even just momentarily

his temple is nice and tranquil, and filled with all the pretty things you could ever want- for your safety and comfort, you tend to stay there a lot of the time

i like to think that medicine is also part of his specialty- alongside all the sickness, both actual legitimate medicine and less traditional healing methods... he cant take your curse away but theres at least one way to manage it

LAMBERT

youre probably the first person with a curse that theyve interacted with for an extended period of time, and to do so closely... they want to help you- if they cannot cure you they at least want to find a way to make things easier for you

dedicated space for you to be able to decompress if things get too much, knowing that stressing out can make things worse for you

pours their spare time into trying to find more information about whats going on with you and potential curses, going through the now emptied domains of the bishops leaves some areas free for the taking to be sifted through

...would be lying if they said they werent at least a little amused by your interest in all things shiny... they definitely make a mental note of that for later in case things get dire

[snow-system-wol]

S'ria finally gets to learn about himself -- even if it's uncomfortable that it was through someone else. (Partway through the first Gyr Abania visit. Does reference S'ria Snippets Ch 12 events.)

warnings: nothing specific, but memory loss and cultural identity weirdness. theres a snake

Ao3

It'd gotten back to S'ria eventually – subtly at first, the obvious rumor mill whispering in his vicinity. Several of the people at camp started looking at him differently.

There'd been awe from some of them before, the usual response his reputation seemed to elicit. There was something new there, now – those that had seemed a bit jaded to his presence now looked a bit…softer towards him? And those that were previously too intimidated by the Warrior of Light title to speak with him suddenly found the courage and comfort to do so. He appreciated both the kindness and the willingness to treat him a bit more like a normal person, but it just left him confused.

S'ria honestly had no idea what had happened for such an overnight shift.

His first real clue was someone calling him “brother”, same as she referred to the other members of the Resistance. The only other person among them that got that treatment was Lyse.

His second clue was that Alisaie and Lyse had both been acting strange ever since he'd passed out in the desert yesterday (which he was, quite frankly, still embarrassed about). He could understand them perhaps being overbearing or concerned or even dubious of his health. This was something else though. S'ria had suffered enough lapses in his memory to wonder if there'd been more that, something he'd missed happening. Usually it was battles that disappeared from recall, but occasionally other things caused it too.

S'ria didn't need the benefit of a third clue, because J’tandhaa came right out and said it.

It might've happened sooner, if he'd had a prior reason to speak with her. As things were, her wares and his interests didn't much align – but he had dropped by purely on a favor for someone else. She leaned over, conspiratorially, and quietly said that she wanted to let him know something. Purely as a courtesy among fellow survivors. He didn't have time to question what that meant before she continued.

“Your friend, the young girl – she's been asking some prying questions about your past. She's likely figured out that your tribe used to be here from context, and I think other parts of camp have heard it on the wind as well.”

Your tribe used to be here? S'ria had a different question for almost every single word in that phrase, and the very first was perhaps why she seemed to think he'd understand what was being said. His voice came out high and stressed, managing to crack multiple times on just a few syllables. “Pardon? She what?”

The look J’tandhaa gave him was sympathetic, almost unbearably so. “She pointed out the exact location on the map – whatever…reaction you may have had to passing by your home must've been worrying to them, for her to start asking around.” 

S'ria placed both hands on the counter, as slowly and gently as he could to avoid slamming them into the surface instead, and stared down at the wood. “I don't know what you are talking about.”

She started to respond and her voice quickly tripped from the start of annoyance at his response to genuine uncertainty. “You're an S Tribe boy, aren't you?”

“It's in my name.” S'ria knew she wanted a better answer than that, but he was having a hard time understanding what the question meant. He could only hope that the bland half-dissociated response didn't come out sounding fully impertinent.

“I thought… aren't you a real member, not just from one of those city-seeking families that still claim the name for their own – if you don't want to answer, just say so instead of getting smart with me.”

S'ria could almost laugh. That was why so many people suddenly started treating him differently? Because they had this false hope that he was really one of them, that he belonged here? The want for the vaunted hero of the realm to be someone just like them? That misunderstanding was cruel for everyone involved.

Except… S'ria couldn't say for certain that it actually was a misunderstanding. Nothing was disproving it. He was fairly certain his name had always been S'ria. He'd allegedly not been in Limsa Lominsa before Jacke found him, when they were both teens. He didn't know who his parents were, couldn't remember anything before the Rogue's. And, most damningly perhaps – even if he didn't remember what had happened out in the hills, it was increasingly clear that he'd missed something important again.

It…sounded more plausible the longer he thought about it. He had over a decade unaccounted for, almost anything could've happened. It was also nearly impossible to consider, though. S'ria had long since given up on trying to recover his past – and had always harboured doubts as to whether that was a good idea in the first place. But here, there was suddenly a tempting answer to pursue.

It took most of S'ria's courage to push forward into the unknown.

“I don't know.” He wished he was no longer standing, the way his legs shook to admit that. “I wish I could give you a better answer. But I don't remember.”

J’tandhaa didn't immediately respond, lapsing into something that S'ria didn't know how to interpret. He was fairly certain that she hadn't wanted this complicated of a conversation and that maybe he should walk away now.

He was stopped by her speaking up again. “I have an idea. Might not work but it's an idea. Let me get someone to tend the wares and then I'll meet you at the south entrance.”

She took off immediately and S'ria was left to meander towards the meeting point and wonder if he should've tried to stop her first. Somehow, out of all that had happened, this was one of the most terrifying moments he'd experienced lately.

They were barely a few dozen steps out of the Reach when S'ria stopped and turned to her with a look of horrified realization.

“You – you aren't taking me back to that spot, are you?”

She shook her head and the fear immediately dropped from his face. “No. Though the fact that you seemed immediately scared of going back to the remains feels like it should already be an answer for you.”

S'ria was completely at a loss for how to respond to that and, after a few moments of silence, J’tandhaa began walking again. She assured him that they likely wouldn't need to go far at all.

She paused once more to ask him, suspiciously, if he had any sort of phobias of creatures or critters. S'ria responded with a somewhat baffled no.

They wove past beasts and kept an ear out for patrols, all while she kept her attention firmly fixed towards the ground. She seemed to be getting a bit frustrated. S'ria was about to ask what she was even looking for and if he could help – and then she made an excited noise and immediately dove down to plunge her hands into a thicket of dry grass.

“S'ria, come down here and look at this.”

He dropped into a crouch by her, a touch nervously. Perhaps it was warranted, because she immediately turned around and lifted a snake up to him.

Now, S'ria wasn't at all scared of snakes, and there was nothing particularly threatening about this one – striped with thin white bands on black scales, barely the length of his arm. Despite that, he still felt an immediate jolt of fear – moving from a crouch to gracefully landing on his ass in his haste to put some distance between himself and the snake.

J’tandhaa chuckled, not unkindly. “Wrong snake, friend. This one's black with white bands – the one that'll kill you is white with black bands.” Her expression grew more serious, face softer. She put the snake back into the grass and reached out a hand to help S'ria to his feet. “A child wouldn't much know the difference, better for your mother to beg you to avoid any snakes with those color stripes. Aye, you wouldn't flinch if you didn't have the instinct to be afraid.” She patted S'ria on the back, heedless of the fact that he looked like he might easily keel over. “Welcome home.”

[autisticbokutoenthusiast]

ive been thinking about top nonstop for the past 24 hours and i can't help but wonder what his arc will actually look like

we're introduced to him in episode 1 as the top-tier. he's cool and confident, he's rich and hot and gets everything he wants and knows the answers to hard trivia quetions and charismatic as hell.

as the series goes on though we're introduced to other parts of him as well, that he has insomnia and has a hard time sleeping alone because he's scared of dying in his sleep alone and unloved, he won't/can't stick up for himself in various situations, he's pretty lonely, etc. he also hooks up with boston because of insecurity that mew is being genuine with him.

these things don't really negate the traits he's introduced with, he's still confident and cocky but post top/boston reveal it stops feeling cool and charismatic and starts seeming a bit desperate, and it doesn't get him whatever he wants in any given scenario anymore. I'd also say that compared to his introduction to the friendgroup, having the answers to the triva questions (i.e knowing the right things to say), following mew finding out about him having sex with boston we often see him speechless, or not speaking up for himself, especially when it comes to mew. it feels like since episode 6 at least, his smirk has been replaced with those sad puppy eyes.

now i'm one of those people that watches the show and thinks top did genuinely fall for mew and is genuine in his attempts to win him back, so i think it's interesting that the more love i see behind his actions, the less mew does.

I'd say the biggest effect on top's character is his relationship with mew/ mew's arc, because of how he agrees to change his lifestyle but also because of how he is framed. like in episode 2 top jumps in the lake to help cheum and mew notes it down as passing one of his boyfriend tests and when top jumps in to help mew in episode 9, its not received negatively but it doesn't but top immediately back in mew's good graces (actually i don't think we get mews thoughts on it at all cause he had just passed out but wtv). similarly top taking care of mew after his lasik surgery vs at the halloween party. i'd imagine that if top's interaction with mew's moms had happened pre episode 6 top would have gotten top marks from mew instead of being met with annoyance. theres probably many more instances like these but i'm starting to lose the point of this post the more i go on. (one last point is in episode 9 top is about to take some sleeping pills and decides instead to seak out human company, which could be just a way to introduce boeing to the story but i still think about it in terms of mew telling to to stop doing drugs, different drugs i know, in exchange for affection...anyway). we've seen the ways top has started to change but i don't think we've gotten as strong a sense as to where his character will go from here.

with mew we see him start out as the table holder, as the guy whose never been in a relationship but has a very clear image in his head of what it has to be like and when he finds someone who passes his tests and enters a relationship he thinks is perfect he ends up feeling betrayed and heartbroken. then we see mew lose his sense of self, enter his bad boy winning the idgaf war era and also what it takes for him to get out of it and start to come to terms with how he feels and why. we've seen who mew was introduced to us as, how he broke out of that mold, and where he may go next

boston was the hunter, who didn't do relationships because of all the drama. he becomes friends with benefits with nick and breaks his rule and starts to develop some feelings and it ultimately does lead to a lot of drama, mostly at the expense of his friendships. it seems tho that moving forward boston may re-evaluate his stance of relationships, not in favor of changing how he is necessarily but the value he places on other people and how he treats them.

ray is introduced to us the drunkard and guy with an unrequited crush. i personally will say ray is a bit different from these other characters because i think all of us ray enthusiasts clocked what layed beneath his surface almost immediately but nevertheless, he starts out as the guy who drinks too much when he goes out and gets called a burden by his friends for it, then we find out about his mother drinking herself to death, about his past suicide attempt because he feels unlovable and like he'll always be a burden, but we also see him try to move on with sand, to open up even, then get immediately roped back into his negative emotions in episode 6 when he self sabotages because self fulfilling prophecy, and we see things start to fall apart for him in episode 7/8 but pick back up in episode 9 with the prediction being the rest of his arc will revolve around dealing with his addiction and the impact that will have on his life.

i lost the plot of this post so bad someone please make coherent thoughts about this character cause clearly i can't. genuinely don't know what the point of this was supposed to be....

[turmoilcity]

Little Darling

In another light cont'd.

Inside the house they were playing "Here Comes the Sun" and handing out lemonade. Brick decided to stay by the front door and listen. There weren’t many seats on the inside anyway. He sipped his drink slowly listening to Dylan continue to press this kid.

“So, you’re Lillian’s child, and this is her home.” 

The doe eyed child nodded, sipping from her glass. “Mommy’s out for groceries right now though.”she says.

“So, who’s watching you?” Bella asks, she’d claimed a couch to herself, stretching over the length of it as she sipped her drink.

The girl did seem very young. No more than eight probably. She had on a big white gown, the sleeves came down to her wrists. Her hair had all of these ringlets and curls that were held together by a bow. 

“Bailey.” she replies.

“Who’s Bailey?” Bella asks.

The girl blinked and then giggled air headedly. Man, she really did favor Lillian. “Oh, aunty Bella, you’re so silly-”

“Listen kid,” Dylan interjected behind her. The gleeful expression on her face dropped at the authoritative sound of his voice. Brick almost wanted to step in and excuse the kid… which was odd, but Dylan didn’t know how to approach children.

What the hell, Brick doesn’t either! What the hell was he even on, right now? Did he smoke something before getting here? He had too. That time travel shit was messing him up.

“We don’t even know you’re name,” Dylan said to the naive girl.

She blinked, her expression blank, “Well my names Brianna, duh uncle Dylan-”

“A-and I’m not your uncle.”

“You’re not!?” She gasped mortified. Lilllian went to cover her ears quickly.

“Don’t listen to him baby girl. He’s just being a jerk!” Brianna cried into her arms.

Collin shot their leader a dissapointed look, “Way to go man. You made the kid cry.”

“I’m not her uncle!” 

Bella sneered and swirled the content of her drink in her cup, “Then who are you?” Before Dylan could answer, Bella turns to Brianna. “Niece,” her niece looks at her, taking a break from crying into Lillian’s shoulder, glassy eyed. Bella nods, “Tell me. Who’s my big papa?”

The child is confused.

“BELLA!” Meghan screeches. “THIS IS A CHILD YOU’RE TALKING TO. BE APPROPRIATE.”

“Oh my god, it’s just a stupid question!”

“And you think ‘big papa’ is the right terminology to use  for your future partner when speaking with a kid?” Jenna says in a monotone voice.

Bella thinks, “...yes.”

Theres a collective sigh from the group, sans Butch who is laughing.

“Well, she’s a kid not a fortune teller,” Collin speaks up.

“Yeah, talk to my baby with some respect!” Lillian squeals.

“It’s not a time telling question, I just wanna know who my baby daddy is!” Bella barks.

Savannah, who is behind her, raises a brow, “baby daddy?”

The group begins to argue, and Blossom carefully steps up, a little sheepishly, “Hi, um, Brianna? I believe Bella wants to know if she and Dylan are married.”

The little one flutters her lashes and then has a light bulb, “Oh, no, Uncle Dylan and Aunty Bella aren’t married.”

Against all the arguing, Dylan hears this and cheers.

“Whoo!” he throws his arms up into the air, “You heard that, Bella!? I am not, married to you.”

“He’s Destiny’s daddy though,” the kid finishes. The room goes silent.

Dylan goes dull, “Wh-who is….”

Bella’s smirk is almost audible. In a tiny voice she whispers, “You are… the father.”

The room roars.

“N-no, this can’t be…” Dylan looks defeated. Butch drops an arm over his shoulder.

“It could be worse.”

Dylan shakes his head, “No, this is the worse… This has to be some… some time period or-or universe where everything is set in hell-”

“AH HA HA!” Bella’s cackle seems to make him go that much more bleak.

Brianna turns to Lillian with an obtuse gaze, “Did I say something wrong?” she cocks her head.

Lillian pats her back. “No sweetie,” she pulls her in for another hug, grinning dimwittedly, “Dylan is just sad sometimes. I get sad, you get sad.”

“Do trees get sad?”

“Um… yes! Yes, tree’s totally get sad.”

“I think that’s why my bonsai tree in the room isn’t growing after chip pee’d on it. I think the tree is sad.”

Lillian rubs her back, “Oh, sweetie.” She grins. Most likely due to generally being happy she has a child in this timeline. Some primate mother code seemed to have kicked in with her. 

Blossom tries to gather the room. She whistles and claps her hands, “Guys? Guys! Hey! Is this anyway to act in someone else’s home? We’re supposed to be here on an important mission, remember?”

“Oh, yeah! Enrique!” Bubbles chirps. Her boyfriend nuzzles her.(“You’re so cute.”)

“That slimy son of a bitch,” Dylan mutters despite his distraught state.

“Language, there’s a child here,” Blossom repramens.

“Blossom, shut up and let me do my job,” Dylan orders, stunning her. He over steps her. “OKAY.” He says over everyone, “You all can laugh at me as much as you want. You can paint me with whatever brush you want for my crimes.”

“Crimes-?”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP.  i may have massively fucked up in this timeline, and to be quite honest I don’t know what head the Dylan in the universe was thinking with-”

“Obviously, not the one on his shoulders,” Bella sneered to her friends, who properly accomadated her with snickers.

“BUT,” he continued, glaring at them specifically, “that is neither her or there! Thank you Blossom for bringing us back to the real issue here, and that is finding Enrique.”

Blossom crossed her arms, “Could’ve gone without the shoving.”

“Sorry about that.” Dylan turned to Brianna again. “N-neice?”

Her thick expression spreads into an eager look, “Yes, uncle?”

Several snickers and snorts could be heard  throughout the room. Dylan let out a long sigh.

“Could you please find someone or something we can use to contact your mother?”

She tilted her head, “Why would I do that, when Daddy’s right there?” Her finger lifted and pointed to the doorway, where Brick stood, quietly. The room fell silent.

TBC

[yetanothergreyjedi]

This just popped into my brain, but have you ever considered a Star Wars AU where it’s actually green lantern shenanigans? Like the lightsaber kind of correlates to the lantern ring color? It might be dumb, but like, rage overcoming Anakin to the point where he loses his lantern ring and becomes a red lantern sounds epic to me

I'm not super familiar with the Lanterns beyond their vague concept, but this does sound pretty interesting. Yoda speech about fear->anger->hate->suffering comes to mind, bc isn't the greens main weakness fear?

I think, I'd make the Jedi all use green rings. Bc will and imagination are pretty strong in children, I'd have the green rings tend to favor them. Because having a bunch of kids with these powers is a recipe for disaster: the jedi order serves much the same purpose it does in canon.

I think Anakin has his ring for a few years before Qui-gon finds him. The life of a slave is a fearful one, and he has only realized a fraction of its abilities. Alter the Podracing scene to best fit lantern powers!

For Anakins fall... Can you have more than one ring? I feel like the answers probably no, or that its yes but people go on mad spirals to find them all and have infinite power... which suits the sith pretty well i think... I'm gonna say in this AU its possible to have more than one, but difficult to keep them both attuned to yourself.

A ring of rage finds anakin after Shmi's death and he has it through the entirety of the clone wars. He keeps it a secret from the jedi and it's urgings (the rings talk right???) Latch onto Palpatine's manipulations. He falls and palps adds a green ring to his collection.

Im sure theres a lot more to explore here. If someone more familiar with the lanterns wants to pick this up im curious

[rivertalesien]

This is an honest question: if theres no one to vote for what do we do? revolt? that doest sound good

Get in your community. That's the answer. Find the groups in your area that are working to push progressive agendas and push Dems toward them. I say this all the time: if you're not in your community somewhere, however you can be, if you're not getting involved, then *things* are just going to happen that you might not want.

We have to be involved in our communities. We abdicated so much responsibility to "leaders" and politicians, business people, lawyers and that was a massive mistake, but it was calculated: once a group has power, they don't want anyone else having any. Police/military fight oversight commissions, media creates false narratives and obstructs understanding, the super wealthy hoard all the wealth.

So you have to find your people. You have to be there and know who is there and who is representing what. And don't get me wrong: that's hard when you're working, trying to survive, if you're disabled, if you're rightly scared of being out or live in a place where transport isn't easy or available. Simplest route: libraries and school boards. You can find a lot of like minds and organizers around these places.

I'm gonna soap box on this for a minute though, because this ask along with so many freaking posts out there pitting liberals and leftists and all that crap that is messing with people's heads? It's pretty conveniently happening over one of the most openly horrifying events of modern times. It shouldn't be an either/or/and proposition.

Criticism and anger toward Biden and the Democrats is wholly justified. Not wanting to vote for them is wholly justified. In a better world, we wouldn't have the most important election boil down to two white men who won't be around to see the worst of how their policies play out, who are too insulated and protected from real consequences. We'd have a crowded room with multiple parties (or none) and no heavily-rigged electoral system that favors one class over another.

Last night, Biden invoked racist Israeli propaganda over October 7th and ducked for cover by pointing out Palestinians have been killed, too. In greater numbers. But it wasn't with any sort of empathy or reverence, as he spoke of those killed on October 7th. He played a little empathy game with his audience. He made Palestinians statistics who died in crossfire with Hamas: this is a blatant obfuscation of the truth. Palestinians have been targeted for destruction, regardless of the existence of groups like Hamas. This has been going on for over 70 years. And we, our tax dollars, have played a massive role in this. And the President went and validated the Israel position of apartheid and ethnic cleansing before the whole nation, in a room that included a Congresswoman who was wrongly censured for standing up to the injustice of all of this.

He didn't mention how his support of KOSA was stabbing trans/queer kids in the back, even as he once announced he had ours. Right. His policy on immigration --last night he referred to immigrants as "illegals" -- is deeply racist and indistinguishable from Trump's. He's played carrot/stick with student loans, Covid and the environment. It was no surprise he'd do it to Palestinians.

We've been watching months of footage from out of Gaza showing us the reality and seen as IOF soldiers mock with outrageous cruelty, the people they are hunting, almost for sport.

We pay for that. Money out of your working day pays for that.

Good people who really give a shit have been working their asses off for months now to send the message to Washington: no more. This is wrong. This is genocide. And for months we have received silence.

Only now, that his presidency is in question, does Biden say or offer anything and what is it? It isn't stopping the shipments of arms or money. He's going to build a pier. A dock. To, supposedly, help deliver aid to Gaza. Something that actually isn't hard in the general order of things: when it isn't being blocked and bombed. It's just more smoke.

This he announces after we got to watch all those parcels dangled over the heads of starving people not reach them. And it wasn't nearly enough in any case. Cruelty.

I look at people in this country who have openly compromised any morality they might have had, knowing there is so much dead, kids with amputated limbs, starvation and still say, well Trump is worse. Vote for Biden! One genocide somewhere else is ok. Just don't let it happen here. Cruelty doesn't cover it.

Right now the Republicans have aligned themselves as the new American Nazi party. There's no hiding it anymore. They've got a fan club of massively stupid, cowardly and unimaginative racist jackasses waving guns and flags, awaiting orders to fuck shit up if things don't go their way.

People are right to be worried about that. We saw half the country vote for Trump and saw families and communities fracture. We saw the damage his "administration" did to everything from housing to schools, to immigration, right into Covid, where he was suggesting people should inject bleach. It was an evil clown shit show.

One that Dems did nothing about. Why?

My theory? Because the numbers weren't there. It wasn't tens of thousands or a million people showing up on the Capitol steps Jan 6th; Nazi parades around this or that town are in the dozens, at best. CPAC, filled with Nazis, wasn't well-attended this year. When Biden said last night "I trust the American people" he's playing another little game: that there are more people who do not want what the Rs are shoveling and will show up for him. That's a tight gamble. One that would have been better mitigated if he'd done a little work the last four years.

Biden had the opportunity to pack the Supreme Court. Dems could have led the call for Thomas's resignation or impeachment. They didn't. It could have been loud and passionate. The same kind of "fire" Dems wanted from Biden last night and seemingly got. Where was it before? That *alone* would have turned around so much of the conversation: but Dems didn't touch it. For all the judges Biden has put on benches, he didn't lead the Dems in squelching the massive corruption on the SCOTUS. No pressure campaigns, nothing. Wasted opportunities that should make people question whether Dems/Biden really have our backs or are just looking out for theirs.

The people in these parties are friends. They're peers. They work together even when they don't. Biden going off last night, at what is, essentially, the last minute? Instead of using his office to build democratic networks to put pressure where it is needed? To combat media disinfo? But oh, he'll do it next time. Just give him a trifecta with the senate and the house. He'll get RvW codified: even though they had a trifecta under Obama and still didn't do it.

I don't know folks, something has to give here.

Everything is stripped bare and we should be looking at it. Hard.

Get into community and help build better networks because there is no guarantee that an election is going to save us from what is painfully obvious to folks inside and out: the right wing is strongly positioned for a coup. It might not be as dramatic as January 6th. It might involve courts and recounts and who owns the court? Who are the massive armies of police in this country favoring? Who does the media play with?

Right now I'm thinking of Aaron Bushnell, who, by all accounts, made community a priority. He helped others. He tried to make a difference. He made an enormous sacrifice. It's not one, I'm sure, he expected others to follow. He was a service man who saw it as his duty and he was clear about it.

There's an example there, if you want to look. It isn't going to be people having screaming matches online, it's going to be people recognizing our choices are limited and we need to be the ones to build the system that does better: Biden might be your stop-gap measure from the Nazis, but he's not the answer to anything. He and those like him hold us back from real progress.

Recognize that and definitely get out there and vote. You don't have any choice but to vote for him. There's no one else. A third party candidate will just siphon votes from him. Get that ballot and tick off all the dem/progressive boxes. Maybe it'll work. Maybe it'll hold off the nazis another four years. Maybe a coup won't happen because they really don't have the numbers. We're gambling.

But don't let anyone tell you to be silent. Scream if you have to. Pressure on Biden to change course is essential. Pressure on Dems to change course is essential. Can't keep rewarding them for nothing. Decadent, isolated power structures have a way of eating themselves alive. We deserve better from them.

Either we recognize how failed our state/system is and start working together for something better, or we just keep spinning in this rut and never get out of it. This is absolutely is an existential crisis, here and all over the world. Its heart is racism. The blood that keeps it going is greed. If you just want convenience, let it ride. If you're ready for us to make the next leap, find community. Organize. Lead if you can. Like Winifred Burton said: