#side note but obv these are not their canon heights

[1moreff-creator]

DRDT + Milgram AU: Undercover (Introduction)

Finally succumbed to the Urges and came up with ideas for a full Danganronpa Despair Time - Milgram AU, and now I feel like sharing. This means giving each character a MV + VD concept (not a full VD though I ain’t writing that much dialogue, and not a full MV because who do you think I am), plus this Undercover post! I’m not sure if I’ll commit to this for a full three trials, or I’ll just drop it after just one, but I can guarantee I’ll do this trial in full. Feel free to make analysis posts (no pressure obvs), but also obvs don't expect this to be that good, I'm doing this for fun.

And if you come from the Milgram side, uh... have fun? I am curious about what people with no prior conceptions of these characters would think, but I do recommend DRDT if you haven't watched it (the overlap between the fandoms is non-trivial, I imagine you'll like it). If not, you should probably look up the character designs at least, but be wary that there will be DRDT spoilers.

As an obvious disclaimer just in case, I am not affiliated with either DRDT or Milgram in any way, this is just a fanmade AU done entirely for fun.

Basic Concept

Pretty simple. What if the 16 students of DRDT were prisoners in Milgram? This means they're all "murderers" by some loose definition of the word, implying most of their backstories must be changed to acommodate for that. For the prisoner pairs, I just paired them based on the Chapter 1 recap. The rest is pretty self-explanatory provided you know how Milgram works; three trials, vote Forgiven/Unforgiven, etc. I won't repeat it all here. You can go to the official Milgram YT channel for more information if you're not familiar.

Meet Es

Although they are of unspecified adult age, this universe’s Es is very similar to canon Es from the main series, at least in appearance. The only differences are red highlights in their hair, as well as sharp yellow eyes and taller height. They also wear arm sleeves on both their arms, being particularly adverse to people touching the left one, and their voice is slightly higher pitch. As for their personality… well, you’ll have to wait for the VDs, right? But as a heads up, they’re quite a bit nicer than canon Es, though they can still get pretty strict with the prisoners. 

(Can you tell who they’re connected to yet?)

Their uniform is the same as canon, including the band thing which in Milgram runes reads “reciffO eciloP”. The only difference is that their other band thing is longer and has the following runes:

(As a heads up, since there's no rune for 'q' I just used the rune for 'c/k' in its place. You probably don't need to translate it all to know what this says if you're familiar with DRDT lore)

Jackalope is replaced by DRDT canon MonoTV, no big changes to its personality. It still breaks the fourth wall and talks to an audience,which is odd for the prisoners (and Es) seeing as there is no audience in-universe (at least, that's what it claims). 

*Es’ VD is mostly the same, besides changes in dialogue caused by the difference in personalities. The only real difference is that there is no ‘extra cell.’

*Cover is still Hibana. 

Alright, let's get to the fun stuff.

Undercover

(It is highly recommended you know what the canon Undercover looks like before reading this, since a lot of it is pretty similar)

The opening is still the same minus Es' different appearance and MonoTV replacing Jackalope, and only starts changing when the prisoners begin showing up.

(Don’t- Don’t expect this to actually work as a song btw. I’m not insane enough to make that work)

UNDER Split in between decisions, my conscious is made up of torn stitches

Levi (01) holds a mostly neutral expression as he holds up his prisoner card, which displays his face alongside an image of an alleyway. His pose keeps changing slightly in smash cuts. Levi’s face darkens right before there’s a switch to the next prisoner.

(Note: I won’t mention the pose switching and the face on the card all the time, since that’s part of canon Undercover. Just assume it always repeats)

UNDER The beauty in simplicity, wilting with rising complexities

Arturo (02) has his chin up arrogantly at first, showing a prisoner card with a picture of a bathroom. He scoffs and turns around before the switch. 

UNDER A liar? No, that’s wrong! My honesty shines like a star in the night

David (03) (speaker persona) smiles nervously, rubbing at his cheek with a finger. His card shows a bedroom. He covers his face with his free hand, sighing before the switch.

UNDER A sinner? No, you’re kidding! I’m innocent as can be, just don’t mind the gaps

Whit (04) throws a cheeky grin to the camera, doing a finger gun with his free hand. His card shows a park. He nervously rubs the back of his neck before the switch.

(Note: Yes I gave him 04 because of the tetraphobia thing sue me-)

UNDER With a fury and a passion, unstoppable, show them your fangs

Ace (05) snarls at the camera. His card shows a city street. He throws it to the floor angrily before the switch. 

(Note: Sometimes I wasn't quite able to tie their talent to their murder, so it's either tangential to their story or has been replaced with something similar. I am mentioning this with Ace for... no reason in particular, sure, you'll believe that)

UNDER Your fears and anxieties, Respond to the stress, show me fight or flight

Nico (06) hides under the part of their cloak which looks like a scarf, peeking out nervously. Their card shows a locker room. They take a step back as the scene switches.

INSERT CHORUS HERE

UNDER Each existence is like no other, Lucky, unlucky, showtime reaches all

J (07) holds up her card with an unsatisfied expression. It shows a bridge surrounded by camera equipment. She rolls her eyes as the scene switches.

UNDER And yet, it’s all the same In the end, this wretched still life goes on

Rose (08) yawns as she holds up her card lazily. It shows a large dining room. The card slips from her hand as she falls asleep.

UNDER It’s too much, too much, I’m high strung, please forgive my sins

Hu (09) looks nervous, glancing around as if to find a place to hide. Her card shows a zither in a non-descript room. She drops her card, and closes her eyes with a pained expression, a hand on her chest. 

UNDER Please do condemn me, Bloodletting, the horror inside us is what makes me feel.

Veronika (10) spins and gives the camera a bright smile as she pulls out her card. It shows a rooftop. She throws the card in the air dramatically, laughing as it spins around and falls beside her. Her eyes fall back on the camera, and she smirks menacingly. 

UNDER  Unopposable, incontestable Merry kings, life’s queens, for me they bow down.

Arei (11) is sticking out her tongue and looking to the side dismissively. Her card shows a bowling alley. She laughs into her hand before the scene switch.

UNDER My weakness haunts me, Alarm bells are ringing, there's no going back.

Eden (12) fidgets with her hands, shaking nervously. She hides her face behind her card as she shows it, but her teary eyes are still visible over it. The card shows a bedroom full of clocks. She cries into her hands before the switch. 

INSERT CHORUS HERE

[The music winds down, a bridge of sorts. As it plays, a few scenes are shown, where only the characters’ silhouettes are visible, white noise covering them]

[01: A steaming kettle covers most of the foreground. In the background, Levi is seen sitting at a table, head slumped forward. Most of the table is visible, but no one else is in the frame]

[02: Arturo is seen to the left, holding a white turtle neck shirt in his hands. Behind him, an open suitcase sits on a bed, clothes splayed haphazardly around it]

[03: David stands alone on an empty stage, arms wide out. The spotlights are all on him. The entire stage and some of the front row seats are visible, with David’s silhouette only covering a small part in the center of the frame]

[04: A computer monitor covers almost the entire frame. There are countless photos and words, but they’re all too blurry to see, with the exception of a small message on top which reads “Analyzing profiles…” Whit is reflected on the screen, resting his head on one of his fists]

[05: Ace sits on a motorcycle, looking up and admiring the night sky which takes up most of the frame]

[06: Nico is crouched beside a cat, holding out a pink mouse toy for it to play with. Only their legs are visible, but there is a puddle of water under Nico]

[07: J has her palm spread out all over the screen, as if blocking the camera. There are flashes of light behind her, but the source is impossible to see]

[08: Rose sits slumped in a chair, hands on her face. All around her, dozens of canvases can be seen, painted entirely in black. Small bits of color poke out at the bottom, but no full paintings are visible]

[09: The camera is entirely focused on the top of a zither. Hu’s hand is visible, touching the strings with her plectra]

[10: Only Veronika’s footwear is visible over a dark floor. The rest of the scene is filled entirely by blood]

[11: Arei stands in front of a bathroom mirror. She’s holding the right side of her hair, the only part that’s visible. It looks very unevenly cut]

[12: Eden is holding her head in her hands, slumped over a work desk full of small machinery. Behind her are a multitude of analog clocks of various designs, all showing the same time; 6:00]

[13: Min is sitting on a chair, slumped forward and apparently collapsed over a notebook. A pen sits just beside her right hand. A bit of the writing can be seen, showing this:]

[The brown part being Min's hair. Don't make fun of me I'm using Paint and have zero art skills]

[14: Xander, the focus of the shot, stands in front of a crowd, standing on a simple chair. His fist is in the air, and so are the fists of everyone in the crowd]

[15: Charles is kneeling over a grave, the name on it hidden behind the silhouette. Charles is pulling at his hair with his hands. Other graves are visible around him, but the edges of the screen are darkened and it’s impossible to see them well]

[16: Teruko’s hand is reaching out to a black figure, this one without white noise. The figure is completely non-descript, more a simple shadow than a proper silhouette. Blinding white light surrounds this figure] 

UNDER No mistakes, no corrections, 100% Perfection, results shall not vary. 

Min (13) wears a neutral expression, and she holds her card perfectly upright. Her pose changes only to match the exact angles actual mugshots use. Her card shows an untidy bedroom. Before the switch, she lowers her hand, and looks briefly to the side, before turning back to the camera. When she does, her left eye flashes magenta behind her hair. 

UNDER Fighting for true justice, Stand strong, a reflection of the will of the many

Xander (14) is glaring at the camera, moving his card around flippantly. Said card shows a window overlooking an entire city. Xander throws the card away before throwing a punch at the screen.

UNDER Leave no room to hide, No hesitation, a chain reaction of truth unfolds

Charles (15) looks serious, if a bit annoyed as he holds up his card. It shows a laboratory table with several test tubes. He turns his back to the camera, adjusting his goggles, but gives one last, softer look behind him as the scene switches. 

UNDER Or shall the secrets remain? What lies beyond the lies, armageddon untold

Teruko (16) looks at the camera with cold eyes, but a hint of a frown on her lips. Her pose never changes; unlike everyone else, her segment is one continuous shot. It starts with her holding her card at an angle such that only her face is visible on it. She closes her eyes solemnly, before finally flipping her card around so only the backside is shown. It has the Milgram logo combined with the DRDT logo. She never shows the rest of the front of the card, as the scene switches moments after. 

[Pre-chorus, as the prisoners hold their hands to their mouths before a scene of them smiling plays. At the end, for a few frames, a white camellia blooms, before there’s a sudden shift in scenery as we hit the final chorus. All the prisoners’ silhouettes have a still shot each with Es, with a blood splatter always under the latter. The scene starts to focus on each individually]

[Levi’s punching Es in the face, Es thrown to the floor from the impact. Brass knuckles are barely visible on his hand. Levi’s shouting, as are all the other prisoners]

[Arturo is kneeling, facing away from Es. The latter is laying on the floor behind him in what would be a pretty uncomfortable position. Arturo is holding his head in his hands, his mouth visible from the side and open in a shout. One of Es’ shoes is off]

[David is holding Es by the neck of their shirt, shouting at their face (from now on I’ll stop clarifying that they’re shouting). The following symbol appears over where his eyes would be, glowing yellow: 正] EDIT: I forgot to mention one of Es’ shoes is off. RIP to the theorists I’m so sorry-

[Whit is pointing what looks to be a gun at Es, who is recoiling as if they’ve been shot in the heart]

[Ace is seen running, Es’ body falling to the ground beside him and twisting as if they’d been bumped into]

[Nico sits on top of Es’ back. With one of their hands, they’re grabbing onto Es’ hair and apparently pushing it forward. With the other they’re holding two ends of a wire firmly planted on Es’ neck]

[J stands normally, pointing what seems to be a remote control at Es. The latter is face-up on the floor, their limbs contorted in unnatural angles]

[Rose is standing, facing away from Es, who is kneeling and grabbing at their throat. A small jar sits beside them, the cap taken off]

[While standing, Hu is grabbing Es by the throat with both hands, blood coming from the Warden’s throat]

[Veronika is kneeling besides Es’ face-up body. Her hands are on her chest, and there is blood under her as well as the Warden. Meanwhile, Es’ limbs are contorted in unnatural ways, and one of their shoes is off]

[Arei is violently swinging a bowling ball at Es’ head, causing their body to twist around as it falls]

[Eden is standing, covering her eyes. Her right hand has a Ⅵ symbol glowing bright yellow. Es is uncomfortably laying face-up on the floor]

[Min is standing with her back turned to Es, who is kneeling on the floor and grasping at their neck. Min is shouting into a landline phone. Along her arm, an equation glows bright yellow:

ln(x³ - 2 . 13) = 0]

[Xander is grabbing Es’ shoulder, plunging a knife into their stomach]

[Es is standing neutrally, but there is still blood on the floor. A glowing yellow question mark floats above them. Charles is nowhere to be seen]

[Teruko is kneeling calmly besides Es, who is lying face-up with their hands crossed over their chest as if in a coffin. A question mark glows on Teruko's left hand. Teruko is the only prisoner besides Charles who is not screaming]

[The song winds down while a sped up and translucent version of the video plays in the background. A shadow begins growing in the middle, and for just a moment, two sharp yellow eyes stare at the camera from the center of the screen. The finale simply has Es exiting to the left as they do in canon Undercover]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And there's Undercover! How we feeling? Hope you enjoyed! Take care!

#drdt #danganronpa despair time #milgram #drdt milgram crossover au #sure that's a tag #david chiem #eden tobisa #teruko tawaki #veronika grebenshchikova #levi fontana #arturo giles #ace markey #whit young #nico hakobyan #j rosales #rose lacroix #hu jing #arei nageishi #min jeung #xander matthews #charles cuevas

[astrxealis]

anyways under the cut i will ramble abt sandalphon and i (+ etc) bcs i kind of cannot get him out of mind again

i saw a sandalphon edit some time ago and there was a quote related to stars and another "you're not alone" !! and OKAY HEROEHDK I KIND OF REALLY associate myself w stars. i really really love starsurhejd and its just like oh sandalphon w stars haha he looks up at them at night and is remindwd of me maybe? (also like w luci bcs. morning star. sobs) AJSHWHWJSJ AND THEN ... youre not alone is one of the biggest themes in ff endwalker so that just HIT ME LIKE A BULLETTRAIN JFCJDHSJ YOU CANT DO THIS SO MY HEART HELP HELLOW WHY

and then okay theres official art of sandalphon and the other angels wearing glasses? the one for sandalphon is more brown than mine but ours r around the same ... the look so similar ... haha matching couple glasses so true (mine r more peach/pink tho rirhwifhedjj) that drives me sigekebdkejd

i want to go on coffee shop and cafe and tea dates w sandalphon so bad !! i also have many brainrots abt him embracing me w his wings :]

ALSO ITS RLLY UNFAIR BCS THEMES W ANGELS ARE LOTERALLY ONE OF MY FAVES ... like w shb and then wmtsb and GODUSHSUSJS MY HEART !!

also thinking abt how hurt sandalphon wld be riehdisndksj w how im acting in ebg rn GODDAMN HRUT i blame my twin for this lune ihysm /nm JDHSJDBAKSJ I DONT WANT TO BREAK HIS HEART ANYMORE ... ESP W HIS PAST AND YK WHAT HAPPENS IN THE 1ST SIDE STORY YEAH ?? he just wants acknowledgment and love and all that and me ignoring him GDODOSJSKJWKSKAKS O DON THWATNT TO DO HRTA ANYMORE

but in a lighter note ive also been vv affectionate to my pichu stuffed toy lately !! p cute if sandy was jealous over a lil yellow baby LOLFIRHWIDJWKWH HELP AS YOU CAN SEE i also have kind of similar brainrots w xiao too ngl bcs damn yall giving me fluff and angst yo yes 🥹🥹🥹

my biggest enemy and sabotage tbh is the fact i think and talk a lot bcs my FIRST STRIKE WAS JUST ME MAKING FUNNT CONVO AND THEN SLIPPING i wont be surprised if my 3rd strike is wholly on accident tbh.

i want to nuzzle sandalphon yk ... we both actually have catlike tendencies eiehwihdiwbd IDBSKS i want to boop his nose w mine really badly actually. and also hug him. hed be very nice to hug

AND ALSO ... i fee as thoufh hes not actually that much taller than me (dimitri is tall though. i feel like xiao is around mt height too. diluc tall tho. uhhh g'raha is actually shorter than irl me canonically so...) ODHSKDNS BUT IT DOESNT RLLY SEEM LIKE THAT WAY BCS HE ACTUALLY WEARS HEELS LIKE YES sandlaphon is genuinely the guy you would call babygirl. raha is literally the epitome of lil meow meow and tbh sandy is also a lil meow meow but for me hes the epitome of babygirl. WIFE malewife Odhwiqhswiwj ALSO VANE IS CNAONICALLY TECHNICALLT A MALEWIFE HELLO WHAT hes the mom of the dragon knights ITS UNFAIR BCS HES ALSO TECHNICALLY A HIMBO W BIGG ASS FUCK BOOBAS LIKE WHAT THE EHCK YOURE SO PRECIOUS AND CUTE BUT THEN YORIE SO BIG /SFW

tbh this isnt even just abt sandy n i anymore just me rambling a lot HAHSUAHAJAJ

AND THENNNDISDHJ BELIAL OH MY GODDDDIEHEIWHWJSJSJJSKS I CANT STOPPPOehwj

i think abt belial calling me by some SCANDALOUS NICKNAME /lh nah nothinf vv scandalous dw just stuff like pretty girl ... then he realizes i am also in fact weak as well to pretty boy ...

i want belial to invade my personal space but like obvs i wld allow him too tho ???? if that makes sense dw this isnt forced or anythinf or /neg this is vv much /pos i want belial to put a finger under my chin and lift me up. teasing me for a kiss that i just want rllt badly but first i have to tell him that i love him and aRGEGDHSHDJ I HATE HIS GUYS SO MUCH

okay ill stop rambling here for now help ive taken up almost half an hour of my simp pass alrdy IDHWIDBS

#⋯ ꒰ა starry thoughts ໒꒱ *·˚ #✩.saved #⋯ ꒰ა hell on earth ໒꒱ *·˚ #IFHEHEBWIDHSKDJ .... #✩.selfship

[xiibalba]

Akihiko for that ask game?

//BUSTS THE DOOR WIDE OPEN AND TAKES OUT ALL MY NOTES//

I HEARD BEST BOY’S NAME HELLO-

—

Favorite Thing About Them

He’s just so CARING- like I know his initial introduction and early game behavior makes it seem like he’s very battle focused and just wants that- but later in the game, especially if you’ve done his social link with FeMC you can see he REALLY cares about people. He isn’t the best at wording himself but his actions speak louder- protecting FeMC (even if you don’t go the romantic route), worrying about Ken even before he joins S.E.E.S, constantly worrying about Shinjiro and even MORE so when he finds out about the suppressants?? I hold Akihiko gently he needs some soup and a blanket

Least Favorite Thing About Them

I joke about the protein stuff with my friends but it honestly bugs me so much from a story perspective- fandom latches onto ONE THING and makes that the entire character’s personality I hate that aND ITS WORSE THAT ATLUS DID IT THEMSELVES TO AKIHIKO. One offhand comment. ONE. This man’s career was ruined. P4A/P4AU gets a pass (in some cases) because of “plot” but RARARARARRARARARARARARARA

Favorite Line

Literally can’t think of anything off the top of my head- but I like the whole scene where he’s mourning Shinjiro and he awakens to Caesar. Makes Me Cry

brOTP

HONESTLY ANYONE IN S.E.E.S- Especially Junpei and Yukari. He’s a great Senpai but I think those two would distract him from other stuff and take him out to like. The movies or places to eat that AREN’T Hagekure. Obvs Mitsuru is his go to for Deep Shit though. The Senpai Squad is just Very Good yes yes

Additionally I like Minato/Akihiko brOTP. They’re cute as a couple but I think Aki being able to talk without someone interrupting him and then being offered (often questionable but sometimes good) advice is Great

OTP

SHINJIRO AND/OR HAMUKO. I love Akishinji and I love Akiham but together? Oh absolutely adore it I love them all so much. I’m so sad there’s a lack of content of them, I have to feed myself </3

Aki’s def the type to need/provide balance tho which is why I love Akishinjiham. Shinjiro’s quiet and (typically) calm and Hamuko’s bright eyed and bushy tailed and like “Come on Aki let’s see how far we can go in Tartarus without anyone else cOME ON-“. After everything they’ve been through I feel like they’re good for each other in terms of overcoming all the SHIT they put up with at such a young age. You can’t be overly pessimistic about a situation or overly optimistic you need BALANCE and that’s where Aki fits in because he doesn’t lean too heavily to either side… Let Them Heal And Be Happy ATLUS I Am Outside Your House

nOTP

Uh… Mitsuru/Akihiko- Mitsuru is a Big Ol’ Lesbian

I don’t have to say it but yes I do, if you ship Ken with literally anyone get off my blog and block me I am going to rip out your throat violently

Honestly those are the only ones he’s pretty cute with anyone else

Random Headcanon

I absolutely can’t pick. I’m gonna give y’all a few-

He has pyrophobia! I do not need to elaborate as to why <3

I like the idea of Aki being eager to learn more languages. I HC Shinji and Hamuko as half Hispanic and Aki for sure made an effort to learn Spanish to impress them and just so they could talk to each other without others (besides Aigis) understanding!! I think that by Arena Ultimax Akihiko’s learned a lot of Spanish

Sleep Talks and Snores, thankfully both his partners are heavy sleepers so it doesn’t bother them too much but they’ve heard him sometimes and it’s so fucking funny. He’s fallen asleep on the lounge couch before and once scared Junpei SHITLESS when the guy had gone down for a post midnight snack just to hear utter nonsense coming from Aki

Unpopular Opinion

His canon height is wrong, he’s 5’7” he told me himself

Song I Associate With Them

Broken Church Bells by Small Leaks Sink Ships

Wrecked by Imagine Dragons

Faust, Midas, and Myself by Switchfoot

Fire Fire by Flyleaf

Favorite Picture Of Them

Boxing Legend Akihiko Sanada found dead in Inaba

#ask game #Tia Rambles #persona #persona 3 #Akihiko Sanada #persona 3 Akihiko #SEND ME MORE I LOVE DOING THESE

[quidfree]

Not og asker but

Wuthering Heights, Great Gatsby, and Stephen King (in general) pls

these are mostly just my various thoughts rather than Hot Takes since it's been a minute since i read any of them but regardless if anyone disagrees with any of these just know you are incorrect.

quidfree's literary opinions hour

wuthering heights

the best brontë novel, no contest. i am actually of that rare breed who enjoys all 3 brontë sisters but i think for all that anne is the only one with a sane view of romance agnes grey is boring and jane eyre is too one-sided of a fiasco (jane get out girl you're in danger). wuthering heights is just filled with terrible people making horrible choices and is hands down the most fun as a result.

on that note people who find it 2 grim/depressing you are in fact just weak and ripe for natural selection.

people who say wuthering heights is a romance/romantic are deranged. it's a gothic Romantic (capitalised) comedy of errors greek tragedy Novel that eludes categorisation and every protagonist in it is the worst. cathy and heathcliff are So Bad to/for each other. yes they are also iconic and very fun to read about but good god how do people find them dreamy they literally drive each other to the grave through pettiness and bad communication. emily brontë says this in the damn book. this is not twilight people (despite s meyer's delusions).

that being said cathy and heathcliff are both intensely cool literary characters largely due to what natural shape-shifters they are (and their whole Nature v Society identity crisis). i think 90% of takes about them are incorrect because they don't pay enough attention to heathcliff and cathy's penchant for self-reinvention and what it says about them. plus obv they're intensely extra so we love that for them.

cathy linton (next gen) is an icon who should have gotten to spit on linton and heathcliff's graves on the page where i could read it. i wish her and hareton the best despite the cousins thing.

lockwood does that thing walton in frankenstein does where they're both incredibly obnoxious and entertainingly wrong about everything and their narration serves as funny bookends/mise en abime to the story bc it's like wow. you have 0 judge of character you pompous idiot.

this isn't a hot take i just want to take the time and say that the tone/writing in this book is so damn good. what a mood-setter. what iconic lines. 'i am heathcliff!' drama. we love.

great gatsby

read this in middle school so my memory is foggy.

fun. chaotic. messy. basically kind of like watching a good season of like, skins or gossip girl or whatever that brand of tv melodrama is called.

i'm kind of loathe to say any given big novel is over-analysed bc i'm very into over-analysis myself and thus find it hard to judge where the limit lies but i do think gatsby is perhaps a simpler novel than it is given praise for being. though i do love a Societal Critique always (see: wuthering heights). it's good, it's fine, it's. maybe not The Definitive Novel Of All Time. i don't think any Definitive Of All Time should be about the #struggles of the rich and pretty.

jordan baker >>>>>>> rest of the cast

why does no one ever talk about the weirdly present antisemitism in this book lol

i think reading gatsby as a man of color is really good and interesting actually. not to downplay people's gay agenda when it comes to gatsby (the subtext is there to a level that nick is pretty much explicitly suspected of it in canon) but i think this is the more interesting read of it.

i love an unreliable narrator! especially when said unreliable narrator drops hints/is called out for it in text!

baz luhrmann is literally a faultless movie-maker and his aesthetic was Perfect for an adaptation. that being said romeo + juliet 1996 still beats it hands down

stephen king

good idea guy, not very good writer

i've only read..... it, back before it blew up, and i think carrie many moons ago, and maybe some random less famous stories of his? but like. as much as he's responsible for some of the most iconic horror america has produced, you can tell this man bangs out 832 books a year and that his most famous ones were done while he was high off his fucking rocker. which i do not mean in a complimentary fashion

i honestly think stephen king is lucky more talented writers have been tasked with adapting his source material and retroactively attributing good dialogue/storylines/ENDINGS to him lol. like SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION is a stephen king adaptation, which is insane.

that being said he does have a lot of iconic premises/stories and he's not /bad/ at the basics of writing by a long shot. he just has a knack for over-complicating said stories with weird surplus to tie into his 'verse which makes him do that moffat thing (see bbc sherlock or doctor who or anything else moffat touches w his grubby hands) that weighs down everything good he had going on for meaningless Multiverse shenanigans. and also a very airplane literature level of nuance to his text sometimes- there's not much beyond what's on the page.

i know it was the coke but why did he make them have an orgy in it. why stephen. why did you make the child have sex with all the other children unprompted. would the blood oath not have sufficed.

that being said while it 2017 is a great coming of age film it 2019 is a hot mess and the book does everything better.

#qui repond #qui parle #literature #lore #wuthering heights #the great gatsby #stephen king #anon

[cattles-bians]

damie vibecca exes au part 20

post directory

obsetress: ok but when they first meet

obsetress: at that bar on whatever night or whatever

obsetress: when dani and viola are talking

obsetress: viola's waving her hand around as she says something and dani's staring and then totally out of nowhere:

obsetress: "wanna compare hands?"

obsetress: "what?"

obsetress: "lemme see your hand"

obsetress: and dani is grabbing one of vi's with both of hers and pulling it towards her "like this"

obsetress: and then dani's pressing their palms together and viola's raising an eyebrow and dani just GRINS and then even once they lower their hands back to the bar, neither of them move away

em: dani is SO bold i would die for her

obsetress: god same

obsetress: dani keeps glancing down at them as they're talking and she is NOT subtle

obsetress: viola catches her every time

em: maybe dani gets a smidge of smthn on the corner of her mouth and viola...

obsetress: viola pulls her hand away and dani blinks and her brows do that lil thing but then viola's murmuring "here" and grazing her thumb along the corner of dani's mouth

obsetress: dani squeaks

em: love when dani gets out dani’d

obsetress: viola's like "sorry, was that... was that okay?" and dani just swallows and nods with big shining eyes and then vi kinda hesitates and (they've been talking for a couple hours at this point, touchin hands and obv v into each other) lets her thumb graze across dani's bottom lip and she murmurs "what about that?" and dani's eyes flutter shut

obsetress: cut to: them making out in the bathroom

obsetress: no um

obsetress: thinking about vi and dani's first kiss and like

obsetress: maybe like right after that up there vi's leaning in closer and i think she. asks dani "can i kiss you?" and dani's whispering "please" and then they're kissing all soft and THEN cut to: them making out in the bathroom and one of them slamming back against the door and kissing hard

em: dani whispering please…

em: also the smash cut between um nervous anticipation and SLAMMING against a door is so funny to me

em: sums them up

obsetress: RIGHT

obsetress: it's so good i love them

obsetress: i cant decide like

obsetress: because i don't think vi would be so rough with dani at first as to shove her hard against a door and i DO think dani would be shoving her against the door and her tongue down her throat first chance she gets

obsetress: but i think vi prob flips them p quick

---

em: i am. creasing thinking abt dani having to rename all of violas contacts like STOP FUCKING UR EX

obsetress: STOP FUCKING UR EX lskfjakdlsfjsd even BETTER

obsetress: edit the tumblr post coward

em: obsetress: no um dani definitely calls the landline once and viola's like "HELLO?" and dani's like "hi?" and viola's so glad to hear her dumb voice but she's still like "dani, why are you..." and dani's like "well... i, uh... i... i was... and then i..."

obsetress: anyway they have phone sex on the landline

em: CRYIN

em: danis blocked all of vis numbers except the landline shes down Bad

obsetress: yeah,

obsetress: (dani still comes over after)

em: unstoppable force (danis thirst) meet immovable object (violas stubbornness)

obsetress: just imagining like

obsetress: i mean either after this or at literally any other time

obsetress: dani and viola laying side by side in vi's bed catching their breath immediately after and viola's just like

obsetress: "you have the libido of a teenage boy"

obsetress: and dani's head just flops to the side to look at her and she just GRINS

em: dani makes some quip abt um

em: danis like i read somewhere women don’t hit their sexual peak until their 40s or something and violas like (extremely tersely) i’m 35

obsetress: SCREECH

obsetress: dani "no, i... i know, i wasn't–– i was just––"

obsetress: viola can't stay pressed w her

em: dani tryna explain her way outta that one i’m

em: dani has never once seen violas drivers license nor ID

obsetress: "i was just... saying, because, you know, i mean... for me, i'm... you know, i'm only ever getting more..." (flush, head duck, grin up through her lashes) "you know. and i'm getting older, so i was just... thinking. for me, i mean. thinking for me"

em: dani; also i give WAY better head than a teenage boy

obsetress: viola biting her lip, grinning, melting because how could you not? and then dani kinda stops in her tracks and her brows pinch together and she tilts her head at viola "i'm... a lot better at going down on you than a teenage boy though, right? i think i am" (long pause) "i hope i am"

obsetress: anyway viola laughs and tugs dani over n on top of her "i wouldn't know" and dani does her lil nervous laugh and is like "yeah, you're right, i guess not" "but" and dani's face lights up and viola continues "i think you probably are. and you're definitely up there" and dani just GRINS

obsetress: her head is back between vi's legs not three minutes later

em: dani talks big game n then like immediately double checks for validation

em: it’s an important part of her character growth!!!

---

em: ok more ‘viola has been doing this lesbian thing for longer than jamie realises’ content but like

em: perhaps she has a whole lot of ear piercings that she just never wears

em: and then one day she’s like gosh gotta make sure these don’t heal over and jamies like

em: hey what the fuck

---

obsetress: um suddenly had a thought

obsetress: viola tattoos

em: oh

obsetress: yeah, like um

obsetress: vi wouldn't have heaps and they'd be hidden bc Propriety but

em: hidden tattoos my beloved

em: all tattoos my beloved

em: i mean defs has like. the date and coordinates of isabels birth somewhere

em: but um! hmm

em: haha violets

obsetress: THE ISABEL THING WAS THE FIRST THING I WAS GONNA SAY

obsetress: violets are very vi tho like

obsetress: shade plant yk

em: under the tit

obsetress: I WAS GONNA SAY UNDER THE TIT

obsetress: GET OUTTA MY HEAD

obsetress: ok it has to be canon then if we both thought it

em: it’s canon!!

em: hmm what else

em: i think viola and dani have belly button piercings but like they got them separately

obsetress: omg when did they each get theirs

em: hmmmmmm

em: i mean wild child rich heiress viola (untapped potential here won’t lie)

obsetress: wild child rich heiress viola/boarding school wild child dani au

em: oh my god

em: viola defs went to a boarding school and dani n her commiserate over it

em: viola gets it done while she’s in highschool

em: dani post eddie break up

em: like symbolically reclaiming herself deal

em: doing things for Her

obsetress: YES

obsetress: i was gonna say vi highschool dani college

em: YES

em: idk what tattoos dani would get but am thinking abt viola holding her hand while she’s getting a tattoo or piercing done bc she’s braver than ppl think but Also

obsetress: vi holding dani's hand and telling her how good a job she's doing

obsetress: dani kissing vi's tattoos

obsetress: super fascinated even though shes seen them a hundred times

em: danis like haha and what’s this one mean (plants a big old smooch)

---

obsetress: Shananigans402: dani putting on 4 inch heels and being so content that she's finally her girlfriend's height and then viola kisses her before putting on 6 inch heels with a smug little grin

obsetress: i––

em: oh my god shannon

obsetress: oh shes on one

obsetress: Shananigans402: dani starts keeping things on a high shelf in her place just so she can ask viola to reach up to get them down for her

obsetress: i was talking to shan abt the shelf thing

obsetress: and i played myself i think

obsetress: because now i literally cannot stop thinking

obsetress: dani putting the strap on the top shelf in her closet "baby 🥺 can you get it 🥺"

---

[em note: once again it is the time honored timezone tradition of either sending ur friend something really good or really fucked up b4 they go to sleep]

em: what about

em: jamie and dani laying in bed after brunch w violas excessive amount of ear jewellery and jamies like ‘those were cool. i want some’ and danis like ‘with ur tiny lil ears??’ and jamies like ‘well. yeah…’ and danis like well. if u wanna. i think one would be cute here (mwah) and here (mwah) or maybe here (mwah)

em: ticklish jamie. that is my lil idea

obsetress: im Soft

em: thankyou

em: em softsbians

em: what was ur lil idea

obsetress: oh

obsetress: not obsoftress

obsetress: but um

em: look i was really hoping i could make it hornier but alas sometimes the idea is soft

em: can’t force the horny

obsetress: i will do my job n delivery the horny for u i suppose

obsetress: it's a hard job but somebody's gotta do it!

em: it’s a thankless job!

obsetress: dani, sneaking up behind viola to wrap her arms around her waist and bury her face between her shoulder blades: baby 🥺 can you get the strap 🥺

obsetress: dani, laying on the bed, staring up at her, panting: baby 🥺 can you get the strap 🥺

obsetress: dani, pulling away mid-heated makeout, half naked, still grinding into vi even tho they're not kissing anymore without even realizing it: baby baby 🥺 can you get the strap 🥺

obsetress: dani, catching her breath after her first orgasm, letting her head flop to the side to look over at vi: baby 🥺 can you get the strap 🥺

em: insatiable dani clayton my beloved

obsetress: thank you i agree

obsetress: something about dani calling vi baby also........................

em: oh i love dani calling vi baby SO MUCH

em: fucked up that dani clayton is potentially just the right height to motorboat vi pretty much whenever

em: sappho may u plant ur self face first into the breast of ur tender gf or whatever

em: dani: haha i’m so short i can’t reach it. can u lift me

obsetress: vi sees thru all of dani's little tricks but entertains them anyway

obsetress: because she knows shes gonna get to rail her at the end of them

em: dani being a little shit is foreplay actually clayton

em:

#the dani jamie viola rebecca exes au #this one is so self indulgent sorry sghjfasfms #but also: not sorry? #i have ONE MORE and then the vibecca wedding and im So Excited to post that one #not just bc then ill be like. free ahsjfasf

[dialoguelostloop]

remember when my hand slipped and i accidentally a bunch of hollow knight gijinkas? the hand... did not stop from keep slipping, suffice to say lol. i think i’m done now though.

part one (ghost, hornet, the dreamers, and quirrel) can be found here. notes on these folks will be under a readmore!

please read my faq page! (tl;dr version: dont use my art for icons/graphics/whatever without getting my permission beforehand, please use neutral pronouns for hollow and any other vessels in any tags/commentary, dont tag as kin/me/whatever pls)

HOLLOW - as i mentioned under ghost’s gijinka description, i think proximity to void & pale being energy is what causes vessel growth. when tpk figured this out he, like, supercharged hollow with both so that they’d be fully grown as quickly as possible. this is how they wound up 6′7″ at all of 12, which just gave them fragile joints and height dysphoria as severe as ghost’s. they went into the black egg with the same bob haircut and it grew out badly while they were in there. they’re not totally blind in their right eye, but their vision in it’s pretty bad and they’ve lost some red/green definition too. their prosthetic arm works through soul so they can take it off whenever they want, which is good, because it’s not very comfortable.

GRIMM (and grimmchild) - from what i’ve seen most grimm gijinkas lean into the circus master/dracula side, so i went for the clown/catboy angle instead lol. yes that’s greasepaint. i was going for “almost sexy, but unfortunately still a weird clown” but am informed by friends that i overshot and he wound up hot anyway. as for grimmchild, i really just wanted them to be a kid in a kigurumi for each in-game charm level lol. they start out looking 3 but grow a year with each ritual stage completed, so lv4 grimmchild is 6. whether grimm is cis or trans/perisex or intersex depends on what the previous grimmchild was, so he’s used to his anatomy changing with each reincarnation. he never dresses any differently either.

WHITE LADY - your weird alien mom who’s the face of Horny On Main... this is her precanon outfit, her midcanon one is gray and more covering lol. aside from the crown there’s just a lot of white palace foliage in her hair in general. her hair should always be drawn trailing off the edges of the canvas, like ultimate madoka.

RADIANCE - before anyone asks, tpk is obviously what happened to her legs. her prostheses are even more Cool But Uncomfortable than hollow’s (she literally has to float, you cannot walk on those toothpick feet) so her chair is very necessary for when she gets tired. yes the dreamshields on the big wheels actually function magically; its cushions are the same sort of cushion in seer’s room. her clothing patterns come from dream realm spirographs, from the normal and absolute versions of her canon halo, and the architecture found at the crater’s crown. also her hair just Does That naturally. her tears being the same color as her eyes/the infection is a little on the nose but it bears emphasis, so lmao

LACE - i wasn’t gonna do any silksong characters but... She... i poured as much Adorable Bastard Energy into her design as i could!!! i was really torn whether to adapt her canon design’s hat into a pink diamond hair type white afro or just a hat over cornrows or s/t. i went with Fluffy, but if we ever see lace without her hat in canon i guess i’ll retroactively make her fro into a wig so i can have both worlds

SEER - everyone knows i cannot turn down the option to give a character sky-patterned clothing, so seer’s cloak is the sky of the moths’ dream. the gold spirographs on her arms and face are religious body paint that only dream masters/dream nail teachers are allowed to wear; the wisteria pattern on her face (obv taken from the charms in her room/in the dream realm) is scarification.

MARMU - did you know that on real puss moth caterpillars the brown thing in the middle of their faces is their actual face, and what looks like a face and mouth around it is just camouflage to scare predators away? so obviously i had to put marmu in a big cloak that looks like her canon design as a recursive joke. she’s a lighter brown than the other moth characters because i have way more marmu sadstuck headcanons than anyone ever wanted, including me.

UNN - just wants to go back to sleep. she’s the tallest of the higher beings, probably pushing 8 feet. aside from her size her canon design is pretty unassuming so i just gave her Clothes Comfortable To Sleep In. the clasp on her cardigan is the shape of unn charm ofc.

BRETTA - i have found the new home of 90s antenna ahoge. it is a design choice made for bug gijinkas.

CLOTH - i could only picture her as a more subdued, brown-eyed/slightly lighter-skinned gideon nav. my apologies to taz.

MYLA - lost that front tooth in her line of work. mining is very dangerous. her hairstyle and freckles are just because i think both are cute lol

#hollow knight #hk gijinka #the hollow knight #grimm hollow knight #white lady hollow knight #the radiance #lace hollow knight #seer hollow knight #marmu hollow knight #unn hollow knight #bretta hollow knight #cloth hollow knight #myla hollow knight #hollow knight spoilers

[plush-anon]

Happy Halloween Scooby Doo! Review

Muahahhhahahhahahaha! Thanks to the Walmart tradition of stocking movies for sale weeks before the intended release date, I have myself a copy of what claims to be Scooby Doo’s FIRST Halloween adventure!

…in spite of movies like Witch’s Ghost and Goblin King, holiday specials like WNSD’s A Scooby Doo Halloween (which had a haunted Scarecrow too…), BCSD’s EL Bandito (for Dia de los Muertos - obvs not the same, but most companies act like it) and Halloween, The NSDM’s Halloween Hassle at Dracula’s Castle, and the DTV short film Scooby Doo and the Spooky Scarecrow (which, ironically enough, did NOT take the opportunity to feature Dr. Jonathan Crane). 

So let us take a look now at Happy Halloween Scooby Doo! and see whether this film will be a graveyard smash of a treat, or a black licorice bomb of disappointment.

Full review (and SPOILERS TO GO WITH IT) are below the cut in my new review format; if all goes smoothly, I’ll go with this for future Scooby films.

WARNING: This review is very long.

One minor note before we begin: the Special Features actually include BCSD’s Halloween, WNSD’s A Scooby Doo Halloween, and PNSD’s Ghost Who’s Coming to Dinner

...so they were AWARE this was not the first Halloween adventure of the Scooby gang, and yet still use that tag line. Hm. 

Still, kudos for including them - this’ll help boost the reasons to keep this movie, if it turns out to be a real Milk Dud of a movie *ba-dum tish* :D

-----------

The movie starts off rather abruptly, actually - no slow pan over the setting, just WB Animation credit and BOOM, we’ve cut to a Halloween parade and Elvira is talking. 

I’m of a mixed opinion including Elvira on top of having Bill Nye and a Batman Rogue - while she most certainly fits the Scooby aesthetic, it doesn’t feel as grand an impact after her weird little cameo in Return to Zombie Island (ugh) and I’m not sure how well the movie will balance her in wait a minute

wait just a

WAIT A MINUTE

Did - did that parade float skeleton just sing Crystal Cove as the town’s name?

oh no. 

Oh No.

....also their song is terrible and they should feel terrible.

-------

Fred: We got him! Banh Mi Shop, second floor!

me: the heck is a Banh Mi Shop? *mild googling noises*

So I guess Jonathan Crane really had a craving for a Vietnamese sandwich before he enacted his Halloween scheme.

...you think he’s a lemongrass chicken type of guy or a BBQ pork guy? It’s always hard to guess at these things, esp when coffee and pumpkin spice aren’t on the table (as per fanon, of course)

-----

Velma: We have a flawless track record!

So I guess WB is just gonna ignore the past few DTV retcons established in 13 Ghosts and Return to Zombie Island?

I mean that rather defeats the purpose of them existing at all, but fcuk YEAH I can get behind throwing that retcon garbage out of canon!

And STAY OUT!!

------

Shaggy, talking about ghosts being real: I’m like the boy who cried wolf - I keep warning you but like, you won’t believe me until I finally get eaten!

Yet again, Warner Bros makes a wolf reference to Shaggy. Yet again, I am torn asunder between wanting werewolf!Shaggy in a new Scooby property, and fearing for the appearance of werewolf!Shaggy in a new Scooby property. 

-------

Velma: Point is, being afraid is a waste of time!

Scarecrow, LITERALLY EXPLODING THROUGH A BRICK WALL three buildings away:

------

He’s floating through the air and t-posing to assert his dominance 🤣🤣🤣

Gods bless animation 😁

------

Daphne @ Shag and Scoob locking themselves in the van: Are you serial?

Me: wait, SERIAL? *re-reads captions* yup, that says “serial”.  

Is this an editing mistake? I don’t think that works here…unless that’s supposed to be a joke on how they always do this. But then why would that be an irritating surprise, they literally do this EVERY episode 🙄

-------

Oh hey, Red Herring’s Party Screams truck has Red Herring running out of it

Could this be a hint to how the story goes? The villain appearing on a literal Red Herring?

Naaaaaah, WB’s not THAT smart

-------

So if we take @captainbaddecisions​​ crack theory on Jonathan Crane being Shaggy’s uncle seriously, does this mean that Jonathan is using magic to fly, float fear toxin orbs around himself, and making things explode, a la the family trait of Crack Theory A? 

Logically he’s probs using wires or magnets or some shit, but it’s a fun thought to entertain 😁

------

Welp, we finally get the opening credits! … with Jonathan Crane smashing through the Mystery Machine’s windshield, set to a slow poppy song straight from the 60s, and spewing the title of the film out in glittery pink mist.

All the while Scooby and Shaggy throw candy at each other, deliberately obtuse to the cloud of fear toxin enveloping their friends and the townsfolk, the steady destruction of the Mystery Machine they’re laying in as multiple cars crash into it and send it spiraling, and the general mayhem and destruction that Scarecrow is causing

Never change, guys, never change

--------

I just choked on my lemonade

There’s an article plastered to the roof of the Mystery Machine titled “Talking Dog Confounds, Ignites Ethics Debate Over Dog Labor”

ahahahahaha

-------

Annnnnnnnd there goes the Mystery Machine, tumbling in the air and over the roads with Shaggy and Scooby still inside without seat belts. Will they perish in this horrible road accident? Will Death finally come to claim them at last?

Of course not. This is Shaggy and Scooby we’re talking about - I’m almost positive they can survive anything up to and including a nuclear bomb. This is child’s play to them.

-------

So they “capture” Scarecrow… by pinning his cape to a tree with crossbow bolts. 

And they do not try to at least tie up his arms or his hands in ANY capacity. 

JUST the cape. 

...you know, Velma, for a team with a “flawless” track record, you guys are making a hecking TON of mistakes in facing against one of Batman’s ROGUES GALLERY, ESPECIALLY with no Batman in sight, good freakin’ grief. 😩

------

Yaaaaaaaaas, this Scarecrow design is LUSH

He’s got the lank, the height, the BTAS costume colors, the elongated face with beaky nose and pointed chin and angular cheekbones, the eyebags like Gucci, the furrowed brow… honestly the only thing missing is the more reddish color hair, and even that isn’t mandatory. I love 😍

Not to mention the HOT DAYUM voice he has - low and velvet rough and so godsdamned particular in a way that could either tie in to obscuring a southern accent as in fanon or just as a stringent academic, oh my yes. He’s voiced by someone called Dwight Schultz, who’s most well known for playing Captain ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock in the OG A-Team show, and someone called Reginald Barclay in Star Trek TNG and Voyager, if any of y’all know that character in particular. 

And of course, the first line he says is a delightfully wry “Oh, but I AM getting away with it,” with the sort of smirk that absolutely lends credence to why he’s a threat to Batman, and not some simpering wimp that can be defeated with some crossbow bolts in a tree.

I think I’m going to enjoy this movie at least somewhat, so long as we get to see him 🥰🥰🥰

(tho on a side note: Daphne why on EARTH are you trying to film Crane saying the meddling kids line? Do you have a video compilation of past villains who’ve done that, and you hope to add his to it? Was your phone damaged when you went up against the Riddler a few DTVs ago and you want a second shot at recording a Gotham Rogue saying it? Bc I don’t think a Gotham Rogue would be too pleased with seeing himself as a Mystery Meme on the Youtubes, you get what I’m saying?)

-------

Okay, so the floating orb things are explained away as fear toxin bomb drones somehow… despite looking nothing like the other drones and being much smaller with no visible propulsion, while also flying unassisted through and around objects to explode against places once flung…

(tho interesting note, none of them are aimed directly at the crowds, just behind them - odd, that)

But how did he heckin’ FLY at the beginning?

Yeah, they show him wearing wrist-mounted grappling hooks at the end of the intro song sequence, but they are NOWHERE IN SIGHT at the beginning - and I do mean in sight, since he emerges against a backdrop of flames. There was nothing there (see the T-pose above for further evidence), and nothing there when he FLEW THROUGH THE MYSTERY MACHINE’S WINDSHIELD AND FLEW BACK OUT AGAIN. And these things are pale silver, which stands out like crazy against the darker backgrounds, so no hand-wavy ‘they were always being used’ bullcrap we’ve seen in other movies. 

Hmmm *scribbles in notepad* note to self, add notation concerning Crack Theory A on magic!Shaggy to “Uncle Crane” theory files - evidence denotes that Crane is able to fly (or at least hover in mid-air unassisted) for terrorization purposes. May boost strength of CTA by family association, lending credence to magic inheritance along the bloodline...

------

“Avocado Toast Generation”? Crane, I honestly don’t know if you really mean that, or if you understand just how much that phrase gets under any Millennial/Gen Z kid’s skin. Having seen multiple variations of your character, it really could swing either way (tho kudos on the dead switch idea - very nice 👍🏻) 

Although this does lead to an interesting stand-off: Fred, upon seeing the town threatened with 3 days worth of fear toxin, immediately moves to let Crane go, while Velma stops him and refuses to consider compromising if it means Crane escapes.  They both look legitimately frustrated at the other for taking the stance they do. 

Fascinating~

------

Hmmm

Crane honey, I don’t know if your drones are made of flash paper and hope, or if Scooby and Shaggy are using the reeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaally old candy (the stuff made about ~3 years ago most neighborhoods give out to the teenagers that knock around midnight on Halloween) to shoot them down, but either way you may wish to speak with the manufacturer about this

Then again, this IS Shaggy and Scooby - they probably could’ve spat marshmallows at the drones and brought them down with equal success and explosions 

(and good on them for shooting those down! Atta boy 👍🏻)

-------

Aw dang it

1. They still have Crane captured and now in handcuffs (despite having… you know… NOT been bound by anything except cross bolts in his curtain cape thing)

2. Dwight Schultz has decided to pitch his voice higher and more nasally than what he has. Hopefully this is more of an incredulous sort of pitch than something that sticks for the rest of the movie, ugh.

Also, I think they’re framing the movie to be more Velma-centric this time around - she’s the one explaining to Crane how they tracked him down, apparently through a piece of fan mail he sent Elvira (is that the only reason she’s there? Also why was Velma examining random pieces of fan mail for toxins, Elvira probs gets hundreds a week irl) and it looks like they’re framing something up on how fear isn’t something you can pretend isn’t there. neat!

------

whajit

53rd? 

53rd?!?!

ONLY 53rd?!?!?!?!

Boooo, Scarecrow’s WAY more popular than that! I call foul

---

Okay why is Daphne’s schtick so far to spit laaaaaaame slang after every sentence Velma says

I would rather this not be her schtick

Actually could she go back to filming mystery stuff, bc at least I can pretend it’ll build into the OG Zombie Island Daphne

----

Phew, his voice has returned to its low, raspy goodness

also, Crane needs to learn about personal space, good grief

(interesting clue brought up tho - Crane only steals tech that CAN’T leak his toxin, ergo it can’t be tracked until he releases it. Sensible use, given that Batman probs tracks it if it does.)

----

Velma: I’m not afraid of you, Crane. Fear is an illogical reaction to an imagined threat. 

Crane:

-----

Crane: Fearless, then. Intelligent. Proud and stubborn. You remind me very much of the one person in this world I care about. 

uhhhhhh

Yourself? Harley? Edward Nygma? Ichabod the raven? Idk, I’m honestly curious as to where this thread will go 🤔🤔🤔

-----

Fred, leaning against the Mystery Machine: Guys, it’s gonna be okay. She told me!

O_o

Fred? Honey? Are you sure you weren’t supposed to join Crane in the transport vehicle back to Arkham? 

----

OH SWEET JESUS SHAGGY GREW YAOI HANDS

WHAT THE HECK 

THAT’S WAY MORE UNNERVING THEN YOU GUYS NOT BEING AFRAID ANYMORE

(although the fact that they’re both unsettled by NOT constantly shaking or having their heart racing is honestly kind of heartbreaking. Y’all need therapy, good grief)

----

Shaggy and Scooby just chewed up candy (wrapper and all) to make themselves a Halloween costume of… what looks like barfed-up candy (ew)

Before then proceeding to dance so well that everyone around them also starts dancing in a 60s-70s era rainbow light show and giving them candy

I worry for these two sometimes - that kind of power seems to be getting to their head 😬😬😬

---

Oh hey, acid green toxic waste is spilling from an 18-wheeler onto the Fear Toxin drones and emitting a purple pink haze that envelops a pumpkin patch! That won’t do anything suspicious at all I bet!

(wait is Poison Ivy going to come into this at some point)

(also major kudos to the music here - very 80s horror synth, I like)

----

So the Pumpkins have grown faces, limbs, consciousness, the ability to fly and a lust for human flesh

And they appear to be led by the Pumpkin King of the Pumpkin Patch mentioned in the Charlie Brown Halloween special

He’s not as friendly as I pictured him being, sadly 😕

---

Why is this random ass cop coming up to FD&V to say that they’re in over their heads… AFTER the mystery’s been solved?

Like dude, you’re only making yourself suspicious at this point, go home

----

Huh, interesting - the gang are being interviewed for a tv news network while they’re considered the town heroes

Why am I getting bad vibes from this…

Eh, it’s probably nothing

----

Velma: {Shaggy and Scooby} are, um… REALLY into the Halloween spirit. 

Shaggy: THIS ISN’T COSPLAY, VELMA!

I’m dying 😂

------

Holy Shit

Velma just snapped and went off on Shaggy and Scooby for acting scared and doing nothing to help wrap up the mystery

(even though these guys are the ONLY reason that the gang didn’t have to choose between setting Scarecrow free and poisoning the entire town for 3 days straight, but hey, what do I know - I’m just writing an in-depth reaction post to this movie and taking note of details like this, clearly I know nothing *eye roll*)

Last time I saw Velma critique the guys’ usual mystery solving shenanigans, it was much more low-key and without knowing they were nearby

But I’m sure that’s just a coincidence

------

What the

Bills?

Bills?!?!

Fred just mentioned that fixing the Mystery Machine was going to leave a hefty bill and that they may need to get dishwashing jobs to earn money

Which is more of a job you might expect a high schooler to get on the go and yet

They actually have to pay bills 

How old are they here??!

------

wait a tic

THIS is how they introduce Bill Nye?

He just calls up Velma with no explanation other than Velma saying “Oh hey, it’s Bill Nye!”

I just - what?!?!

How do you know him so well that he can just pull up your number and call you, and then geT YOU A NEW FREAKING CAR LIKE

WHAT?!?!?!?

Was there a Scooby episode with him in the past two years where the fcuk did this come from

------

Also the car is dressed like Bill Nye

And he can talk to the gang directly as the car

So that he can solve mysteries with them whenever he wants

This… this was not what I was expecting to come about from the Bill Nye cameo 

(alas, poor predictions of being Crane’s roommate, you will not come to pass this day) 😔

-------

Ooooo, purple haze throbbing on the horizon! That’s always a good sign of things to come! 😀

------

 And now Daphne’s… asking Elvira to mentor her fashion wise. And Elvira’s taking her on as her unpaid intern/personal assistant.

Yooo, movie, can you pick a direction and stick with it for Daphne? You’ve gone from her spewing outdated slang to wanting a costume for trick-or-treating, and now this. 

-------

Welp, now I can say I saw a giant pumpkin dog vore an old woman

I didn’t WANT to see that mind, but I guess I can say it now 😐

------

OH SHIT NO

IT TURNED HER INTO A FLYING PUMPKIN SHAPED LIKE HER FACE

ABSOLUTELY UNSETTLING, 0/10 WOULD NOT RECOMMEND

-------

At least we get a nice scene of Daphne kicking the pumpkins’ collective butt

Something normal

------

Elvira: WOW! You’re a regular Mary Sue!

*falls over cackling*

------

And now there’s a giant purple fissure opening up in the concrete to swallow the town of Crystal Cove whole 

(good, i whisper softly into the darkness of my living room. Let it fall)

--------

Man, I feel so bad for this single father right now

He’s gotten wrapped up in all of this nonsense with his daughter, and he is just Distraught at being chased by Jackal Lanterns, having the town collapsing under his feet, and having to gorge jump in his sedan to get away from the worst of it

It’s okay, Mike Dad - we would feel the same way in your shoes

-------

Hologram Bill Nye is wearing Cat ears and cat whiskers/nose, and is cleaning his hands like a cat cleans its paws

Why was this the movie we found out Bill Nye was a furry

Why Warner Bros 

Why would you inflict this upon us in a Scooby Doo-Scarecrow mystery

-------

Hey, can Jonathan Crane return now? The movie needs its dignity back. 

------

A clue on the whys here - the town was built on top of a MASSIVE lithium deposit, with the talks to mine it being scrapped due to environmental concerns. That’s actually a decent lead in for why some 

-------

Welp

The Jackal Lanterns just went full Mad Max with the Halloween Parade floats and cars

No, I don’t have any idea why either, just roll with it

-------

Nice, they confirmed that Fred’s full name is still Frederick Herman Jones XD

Also a great little action sequence with Daphne - while there’s not much movement, they frame the scene dynamically, with some good quick wordplay. Very nice. 

--------

Velma has a mind palace

Aight

--------

Velma: Shaggy, I could kiss you!

Oh, to hear this as a child, when I still hardcore shipped Shelma *sigh*

------

Oh thank gods we’re going back to Scarecrow again

------

Shaggy ate some Scooby Snacks, leapt out of a moving vehicle, and onto the backs of two flying pumpkins that he promptly reined in to fly to Crane’s prison transport

...yet again, I am amazed at the sentences I am led to type for Scooby Doo DTVs

------

Ah, how very Hannibal Lector of you, Jon 

Man, he actually looks very meek in normal clothes - red long-sleeved shirt and grey slacks

-----

Hmmm

So Crane ISN’T behind the Jackal Lanterns - in fact he’s outright befuddled by them. This means his whole spiel to Velma earlier about both of them being caught in the same trap was… metaphorical? The breakdown doesn’t actually go into WHY he thinks they’re in the same trap - Crane’s whole schtick is tied to accepting fear, not denying it, so why would they be the same?

Either way, someone is using both him and Mystery Inc to do something to Crystal Cove (please be Red Herring, please be Red Herring, please be Red Herring)

Actually, that reference at the beginning really WAS a red herring - they framed it as being Jon the whole time when it wasn’t. Kudos!

Additional kudos to having Jon be seen more out of mask than in - he is a looker, and I aim to look as much as I can ;)

-------

Annnnd Daphne’s now trying to convince Elvira to switch clothes with her

I don’t get it - how on earth did we get from Daphne trying to find a good costume for trick-or-treating to asking Elvira to switch oh there it is nevermind.

-----

There is literally a scene where a giant buzzsaw is slicing towards Crane

and he just

stares at it

going “huh, that’s different”

And I LOVE IT

------

And here we have another fascinating scene: Velma going to free Crane from his cell, as Daphne tells her to just leave him to die by pumpkin

I’m wondering if they meant to draw a parallel between the two here - Velma starts by reciting a nursery rhyme, then overcoming her fears in order to release madness to take control. It’s not done very cleanly - mainly bc we barely have any time with Crane in this movie - but I wonder if they meant to insinuate that Crane was like Velma once, where he refused to acknowledge he was afraid, which caused him to lose focus on his initial goals

Idk, ignore my ramblings

---

Crane, smirking: I’ll need my personal effects - extenuating circumstances.

Me, fanning myself: I’ll need you to remove yours first

(i am not even kidding, Crane is an absolute DILF in this movie and it flusters me. Stupid sexy animation)

---

YAAAAAAAAAAASSSSS

SCARECROW TO THE MOTHERFCUKING RESCUE BABY, SCYTHE AND FCUKING ALL!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

----

FCUK YEAH THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

HE HAS A DANCE LIKE QUALITY WITH SOME OF HIS FIGHTING MOVES

VIOLENT DANCING BRINGS THE GIANT JACKAL LANTERN DOWN BABY

THEN HE BACKFLIPS AND GYMNASTIC SWINGS INTO THE VAN

ROCK IT SCARECROW FCUKING ROCK IT

(minor note here, but the subtitles show Dr. Crane instead of Scarecrow - unsure if that’s more that the movie calls him Dr Crane or if it indicates he’s acting more heroic than villainous)

---

GODDAMNIT

THE GIANT PUMPKIN SNUCK VINES INTO THE VAN AND STOLE HIM BACK 

WHEN CRANE WAS... wearing a seatbelt before, but isn’t now.

...

BOOOOO

---

Yet again, we find a Scooby movie that attempts character development, but with Velma

Unlike Shaggy’s Showdown however, I’m mixed on how successful it is.

For starters, Velma hasn’t been this cocksure in other DTVs we’ve seen, so it’s a bit odd to see it now. While not 100% out of place - after all, the gang DID capture one of Batman’s Rogues Gallery on their own - it still feels a touch forced. Compare that to Shaggy’s Showdown, where Shaggy has ALWAYS been a coward (one that, in more recent years, writers have had willing to abandon his friends for safety), so the character development there feels more natural. 

The progression of events with Velma actually work somewhat okay - but again, here’s where past DTVs come to bite them in the ass. The past handful have had the gang be wrong, have had them fail, or catch the wrong guy. This makes Velma’s attitude here at odds with the other films, something that sticks more due to a character that’s appeared in the past few films as a minor inconvenience - a Sheriff who keeps telling the gang not to interfere, they’re doing things wrong, etc. If this had been a character who was completely wrong in the past AND SHOWN TO BE WRONG FOR HIS OPINIONS, while the gang never guessed wrong, this would work much better. Unfortunately, it doesn’t, and here we are. 

I think it would have flowed better if Velma’s cockiness came solely from catching Crane on their own. Have a random cop character or reporter or whatever (just not the recurring cop), insinuate that the gang is in too deep with Scarecrow, that he should be handled by the adults or professionals or whatever. Velma could bristle, overcompensate, and THEN fall from her pedestal like we see, reach out to the gang and commiserate over feeling scared, and grow. Again, it’s not too far to reach for, but they handle it poorly; as a result, the outcome feels a little more shoehorned in. 

It’s an honest shame, bc we haven’t had a Velma centered story since Frankencreepy, and we all remember what a hideous fcuking mess THAT was *shudders*. Still, it somewhat gets its point across, I guess.

---

Fred why did you rip your shirt off

Actually better question why do you not have nipples

--- 

Awwwwwww

Velma just apologized to Shag and Scoob for snapping at them earlier, and admits how she doesn’t appreciate how much they make Mystery Inc what it is

Also she eats a Scooby Snack with them and admits they taste pretty good

----

Huh

Velma’s mind palace is the Mystery Machine driving through space

Also Shaggy and Scooby are able to telepathically follow her in and communicate with her

Literally, they actually followed her into her head telepathically, and show her their memories of things she hasn’t gotten to see tonight (while also possibly enhancing her ability to remember things, given how much DETAIL she captures perfectly of things that she would maybe have glimpsed in a millisecond AT MOST)

...another tally for Crack Theory A of magic! Shaggy and Scooby *scribbles*

-------

Fred, be very very thankful that there are no people operating those pumpkins in person cause uhhhh

Those traps would be spraying red instead of orange

------

Another weird music choice - the gang goes up to fight the Jackal Lanterns, but the music is the same 60s bubble we heard earlier 

Not terribly atmospheric, really

(wouldn’t a Smashing Pumpkins cover of Scooby Doo be more appropriate, or did you guys spend all your money on hiring Elvira and Bill Nye?)

------

Dang

Velma just admitted her fears and jumped into the mouth of the Mega Pumpkin, before getting Fred to use the app from earlier to shut it down, revealing it to be a giant drone surrounded by smaller pumpkin drones

This feels… counterintuitive, but I’ll try to explain at the end

---

Okay

I’ll admit it

The Whodunnit is actually pretty decent in concept

There was a sprinkling of tidbits that could be assembled for the final conclusion and still make a decent amount of sense, all to find the sheriff doing it 

Only he isn’t a sheriff

He’s a former Tech CEO who was also busted by the gang years ago in a case the Sheriff kept bringing up throughout the movie - due to his prison sentence, he lost more than half his wealth and the opportunity to expand it further with the Crystal Cove Lithium deposits

He was also someone who sold tech to Crane for his fear toxin distribution, where he got the idea to frame him for it

(tho on a side note, Crane is an absolute dork and a terrible liar - just look at the email he sent XD and that profile pic, my gods)

He deliberately picked at the gang for the past few DTVs (specifically 2: Return to Zombie Island and Curse of the 13th Ghost) to fracture their confidence, undermine them, etc - all so that in one fell swoop, he could retake his fortune, frighten everyone in town away from the mines so they couldn’t interfere, frighten away the gang (while also ruining their reputation as mystery solvers), and take Crane off the docket so he couldn’t identify the CEO when he pretended to be the sheriff

This… is actually a pretty damn good plan, for a Scooby villain. He was patient, manipulative, and clever, learning how best to tie up loose ends and win back what he lost. A clever revenge story that came so close to coming to fruition, and could have honestly been sold convincingly… 

...if it hadn’t been done so much better in Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. 

Yeeeaaaah, this movie basically lifts the rough framework up from that one - past mystery villain comes back to attack the gang and ruin their reputation (tho this one decides to also make his fortune back and tie up loose ends with former criminal contacts, a la Crane). Gang is embarrassed in front of the news folk, another villain is framed for it (like Old Man Wickles of the Black Knight fame), and the gang must reconcile to foil the villain for good.

Although it also??? Merges elements of Frankencreepy in it?? The movie is focused on Velma, who is struggling to admit when she’s wrong (which ties into her fear, somehow… I’ll think on that point a little) and things purportedly go haywire when she won’t bend. This… isn’t illustrated as well here, since there’s very little direct cause-and-effect from Velma’s actions that would prove this point - that insisting her way is the right, best, and therefore only way to go ends up making things worse.  

As much as I despised Frankencreepy (and I DESPISED IT), it did do that part well - showing that refusing to budge on something can lead to you hurting your friends (literally, in that one), and that admitting you were wrong and need help isn’t the end of the world. 

(that movie also had former villains returning to gain vengeance upon the gang using psychological warfare, hm - may need to go over that one again, unfortunately).

It’s a shame, too -  the basic elements for this plot are all here, they just need to be polished and reworked a bit to make a really fascinating movie. 

------

Anyways, back to the asshat CEO who just… faked being a sheriff. Because white people can get away with that so long as they have the outfit and the car *throws up hands* (the sad part is this is probably something that actually happens)

As he drives away we see a familiar silhouette looming in the cornfields, watching him approach

Velma had Bill Nye on speaker, so he could record the entire confession for the federal officers nearby (who were taking Scarecrow back to Arkham), and track the phone signal to his exact location

And right as his holographic call cuts out, we see the shadow of a Scarecrow looming over him, causing him to scream.

When the feds arrive at his final location, both his body and the money have vanished. The car still sits, engine running, before the crows leering over him from the field vanish into the sky. 

-------

Now that he’s dead, the gang walks and finds themselves at a Halloween party, with friendly faces and good food. The mystery is solved, though the culprit may never be found again. 

Then Daphne admits to NOT trying to steal Elvira’s costume for Halloween, but instead trying to steal Elvira’s identity and replace her. 

Something that she’s apparently nearly gotten away with on past mysteries working with Phillis Diller

*sighs* movie, why couldn’t you just stick to the costume schtick? This is just… so much worse. 

-----

From there, Elvira walks off to wrap things up, reveal the monster face on the back of her head sans wig (which was also a monkey), and start the credits, where we see the gang working to bring the Mystery Machine back to its former glory a la Frankenstein pastiche. 

This movie… this movie is a hot mess, but at least it’s an OKAY hot mess. 

It really does feel like someone started writing a decent Velma-focused movie concerning the Scarecrow and a past Mystery Inc villain interfering, but was bogged down by notes from higher-ups: Wait! Write in Elvira! Also write in Bill Nye! Hey, let’s have a Mad Max car chase with the Jackal Lanterns! And have Daphne obsessed with literally becoming Elvira! Also make reference to things that we’ll insist be explained this way instead of a way that makes sense! Great!

(seriously tho, we never find out who Crane cares about most that reminds him of Velma, what the heck?)

It’s like two or three different scripts were smooshed together without being cleaned up - stuff is said that doesn’t get resolved, the celebrity guests don’t get to breathe much and feel squished together, and the build-up for the villain feels… less impactful, even knowing that he’s been in the past two films. 

It might have worked if he’d been in… let’s say like 5 or 6 DTVs in a row, speaking roles for dissing the gang growing in each (ex start with “Good job kids! But maybe next time, leave it to the professionals, okay?” and growing more bitter from there), but only 2 feels kind of meh. Still, I do appreciate the clues we got to collect together, and they all work in the final breakdown of the scheme - some DTVs can feel like they pull stuff completely out of nowhere, so kudos there. 

I appreciate what they wanted to do with Velma - give her a character development arc similar to Shaggy’s in Shaggy’s Showdown. Unfortunately, it wasn’t set up quite so neatly: they blended her ‘refusal to admit fear’ with her overconfidence that she was always right, and it led to a weird conclusion. To face her fears, she leapt into the Giant Pumpkin, which… proved that she was right all along about it being fake, and that solves things somehow. It doesn’t address how she can get something wrong sometimes, it doesn’t really address what she’s afraid of (which is honestly quite good: she’s afraid of failing in a way that allows bad guys to escape justice and in a way that hurts her friends), it’s just a bit of a mess. Points for aiming the focus the right way (and in a way that DOESN’T sexualize the underage teenage girl, unlike some DTVs cough cough Frankencreepy cough cough), but it’s very very messy how it goes about it. 

The movie actually balanced pretty well for the whole gang - no excessive focus on one leaving the rest in the dust (too much at least - Fred was a touch underdeveloped, but nowhere near as annoying as past iterations have been. Shaggy and Scooby were kind of meh in some places but great in others, while Daphne was just odd. I think they were trying to recapture the BCSD Daphne characterization, but they failed. Still, she did spend some good time kicking ass with the pumpkins, so that was fun.

Now for the Rogue, Jonathan Crane. If you like Crane, this movie gives you: maniacal Scarecrow, calm and creepy Crane, a brief glimpse at fanboy!Crane (he admits in his own awkward way that he’s a fan of Elvira, and later tells her he loves her work - it’s fun), and (best of all for me) a heroic Crane - one who helps the protagonists and ends up kicking ass pretty damn well, brief as it was. And while DILF Crane is always a treat, he feels underutilized in this. In comparison, Scooby Doo/Batman Brave and the Bold really utilized a lot of different aspects of Riddler, to the point he actually does feel pretty menacing by the third act. It’s a shame we don’t quite get that with Crane, but I do love seeing him 1. More out of mask, and 2. Acting as a good guy (in his own way), so he’s enjoyable on the whole. 

I kind of wish that the whole movie was spent more with Crane, but again, the script is a bit of a mess on this part - the fact that he’s not completely screwed over is a goddamn miracle. 

Elvira was… okay. She didn’t have much of a purpose beyond getting the plot started and giving Daphne some hooks to play off of. Bill Nye (abrupt as his introduction was) did provide some necessary elements to the mystery, as well as the tech; he wasn’t too bad by the end. (still a touch bitter we didn’t get ex roommate Nye, but hey, what can you do)

Humor was… mixed. Some good, some meh, but very few long enough to feel painful. Some bits felt extraneous at times, but they did help to build to the conclusion, so points for effort.

At the end of the day though, I’m probably keeping this more for Jonathan Crane than anyone else. It does have a lot of fanfic potential tho 🤔🤔🤔

That’s all from me tonight, folks! Hope you enjoyed my own little breakdown of the movie. 

#happy halloween scooby doo #plush reviews: final thoughts #jonathan crane #scarecrow #spoilers

[kasspasia]

I love all the family feels with Kassandra, Aspasia and Phoibe fics! Could you write one about Kassandra and Phoibe taking Aspasia to visit their old home on kephallonia? 😊

Anonymous said to kasspasia:I really loved your kasspasia with phoibe! You can think you can do one where Phoibe actually lives in the end and she spends more time together with Kassandra and Aspasia? Like they form some kind of family together? I live for that domestic shit 

-

Thanks for the prompts

-

Phoibe stood at the bow of The Adestria, a beaming smile on her face and her hair whipping around as she held her arms out. Kassandra’s tight grip around her waist kept her safe as she was lifted up to see over the top.

“I can see it! I can see Kephallonia!” Phoibe yelled excitedly, pointing at a fast approaching island. 

“You certainly have the eyes of an eagle!” Kassandra said with pride, bouncing Phoibe up and down a little to join in on her excitement. “Even I couldn’t see it that far away.” She joked and shot a wink at Aspasia who glanced at her from her position leaning against the bannister, peering over the edge to see the upcoming island. She shook her head with a smile and walked back over to the two of them, leaving a quick peck on Kassandra’s cheek.

“I am so excited to show you our home, Aspasia!” Phoibe called and patted Kassandra’s hand to lower her back down. She grinned up at Aspasia who crouched down and patted her head softly.

“I am excited to see it!” She exclaimed. “I’m sure it is a beautiful home.” She looked up at Kassandra who grinned sheepishly, scratching the end of her nose in embarrassment.

“It isn’t very big, or impressive.” She admitted. “We were not exactly well off like now.” Aspasia stood up and took Kassandra hand and squeezed it, her other still rubbing Phoibes head.

“But it was a home with love, so I’m sure it will be beautiful.” She said. Kassandra raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“Coming from the woman with multiple estates.” She said jokingly, shooting the woman another wink. Aspasia rolled her eyes with a smile.

“As i recall, you are the one who decided to buy on nearly every Greek island.” She retaliated and Kassandra shrugged.

“Sometimes I like to enjoy comfort. I don’t see you complaining.” She grinned and Aspasia shook her head in mock frustration.

“Just ignore her Phoibe, I am sure I will love it.” She assured Phoibe.

“Maybe if you like it enough we can stay there! All three of us.” Phoibe said, a little quieter than usual. Aspasia and Kassandra shot each other a look over her head. “After-all Markos is there, and all our other friends. Maybe we can even bring Grandmother Myrrine as well and live in it as a family.” Kassandra bit her lip searching Aspasias face for a moment before crouching to Phoibes height. 

“Phoibe, Aspasia and I - we have a plan, a job-” Aspasia dropped a hand on Kassandras shoulder and squeezed it when she noticed Phoibes face fall.

“Maybe we can live there, but if we are all to live together there and with you having gotten so tall since you left we may need to look at buying a bigger house so we all fit!” Aspasia interrupted with a small laugh. Phoibe glanced between the two of them, before smiling.

“Our home was pretty small.” She admitted. “We only had one bed!” She exclaimed and Aspasia mocked horror.

“Well, now that you are a bit older you will certainly need your own room.” Aspasia said thoughtfully. Kassandra stood up smiling at the two of them and mussed Phoibes hair. Aspasia noticed the smile not quite reaching her eyes and gave her hand a squeeze in reassurance. “I am sure we can figure something out.” She murmured quietly as Phoibe ran to the edge of the ship to peer over the side. 

“Perhaps.” Kassandra glanced down at the glinting gold bracelet on her wrist, before pulling Aspasia into her side in a one armed hug. “If anyone will figure it out, it would be you oh wise one.” She said loudly and kissed Aspasias forehead with a smack, grinning. Aspasia rested her hand on Kassandras chest and smiled as the ship began pulling into dock at Sami. Aspasia leant forward and tapped Phoibes shoulder.

“You should go and pack your bag up so we can go as soon as we are docked.” She said, nodding toward the cabins. Phoibe sighed dramatically before running off.

“You really would make a fantastic mother.” Kassandra said in adoration, kissing the top of her head. Aspasia blushed slightly before nudging her ribs.

“You could also stand to go and tidy your bags up.” She muttered. Kassandra laughed and tilted her head up leaving a chaste kiss on her lips.

“Always so demanding.” She whispered.

“You enjoy it.” Aspasia shot back. “Now go, get ready.” Kassandra sighed loudly and backed away, holding Aspasia hand as long as she could before following Phoibe to the cabins. 

-

“That is a giant statue of Zeus.” Aspasia noted out loud, staring in wonder at it. She had heard of it of course, but had never seen it in person. Kassandra grinned, making sure Phoibe was riding ahead.

“It was one of the first things I climbed when I was younger.” She said with childish glee. “I got in trouble by the priests though because I decided to hang off of his dick.” Aspasia let out a snort before composing herself.

“Of course you did.” She said, trying to keep her composure. Kassandra kissed her shoulder as Phobos trotted along.

“You laughed!” She murmured into her shoulder with a grin. “The great and mature, cold and unfeeling Aspasia of Athens laughed at the idea of a dick being climbed on!” She exclaimed loudly and Aspasia turned around and shushed her with a peppering of kisses, laughing. For the first time in her life - travelling with Kassandra and Phoibe just ahead, laughing and making jokes she felt what life was supposed to be. Happiness, and comfort. Loved ones.

“Come on you two, stop making out and hurry!” Phoibe called, pulling her horse into a trotting circle and the two of them quickly split apart, both slightly red from being caught. Phoibe kicked her heels into her horse and urged it, Kassandra followed suit and they galloped along. Looking around the familiar hills, noticing landmarks and houses from her past Kassandra realised that she had ached to return here and now that she was back… the idea of a house for the four of them to live out their days seemed more and more appealing.

“Is it much further?” Aspasia yelled over the wind and the stomping of the hooves. Kassandra pointed as they came over the top of a hill. She felt her heart skip at the sight of the building. It sat as it did when she left, overlooking the ocean. Small, but it was her home. She urged her horse faster soon overtaking Phoibe who laughed and pushed her horse in the race. Aspasia held the saddle for dear life, thankful for Kassandras arms either side of her as they raced down and back up a rolling hill. Kassandra pulled the horse to a skidding stop as they neared it with Phoibe following behind.

“You beat me!” She called out, before hopping off her tired horse. 

“Of course!” Kassandra called back and helped Aspasia down, before grabbing their bags off of Phoibe’s horse. The girl grabbed Aspasia’s hand and began pulling her toward it.

“This is our house, Aspasia!” She said excitedly, dragging her down the dirt path to the small building. It had seen better days, the limestone and marble chipping and crumbling in multiple places. What used to be a canopied balcony roof was torn from what one would assume to be rough winds and storms. It had clearly been looted and left barren. As Phoibe pulled her into the house she felt her heart skip at the sight on the inside. A single bed, with a now upturned table in the middle. But aside from that there were drawings on the walls - clearly mostly Phoibes work, but a few that were done by Kassandra - a baby eagle in a nest, a younger Kassandra with a younger male next to her and two adults standing behind her. Aspasia bit her lip as she slowly walked around the room, tracing her hand along the drawings and markings.

“Oh I had forgotten all about our drawings.” Kassandra said, finally walking in. She dropped the bags to the ground and looked around in joy. Phoibe quickly ran over to a loose floorboard and pried it open, pulling out a few figures of animals made of carved wood and sticks. She held them up to Aspasia.

“Kassandra made these for me because I used to get sad when we killed them for food.” She said, and Aspasia grabbed the stag one, smiling with adoration at it before looking to Kassandra who grinned sheepishly. “I’m going to go down to the beach and see if my secret stash is still there!” She yelled suddenly and darted out. Kassandra managed to get a pat on her head as she ran past.

“Be careful and don’t stray too far!” She called out to the retreating girl who waved a hand over her shoulder in acknowledgement.

“Now who is the good mother?” Aspasia said, still holding the stag figure. “You raised her to be such a kind and gentle girl.” Kassandra looked away, unsure of how to accept the praise and began pulling blankets out of the bags. 

“I just didn’t want her to have the childhood I did.” She muttered, clearing the bed and replacing it with their clean sheets and blankets. She stood up when she felt Aspasia’s hand on her back. 

“You did a good job, Kassandra. Have some pride that you made that girls life much better than it could have been.” Apasia said and Kassandra smiled gently. “I lived with her for some time. That amount of gentleness and caring is no small deal in this world.” Kassandra suddenly sat on the bed and pulled Aspasia down with her so that she fell on top.

“Thank you for looking after her while she was in Athens.” Kassandra said, muffled under Aspasias hair before the woman was able to sit up properly.

“You have thanked me a million times already.” She said, trying to brush her hair out of her face, sitting on her knees next to Kassandra who was splayed on her back looking up.

“I know. But I will continue thanking you.” Aspasia leant down and kissed her gently, Kassandra’s hand weaving into her hair.

“I leave for 5 minutes and you two are making out AGAIN!?” Phoibe exclaimed loudly, standing in a familiar stance - hands on her hips staring at the two women entangled. They quickly sat up, laughing slightly in embarrassment.

“Come jump on kiddo. It’s softer than before.” Kassandra said, patting the bed in between the two of them. Phoibe dived onto the bed stomach first and sighed, her energy clearly beginning to wane. Aspasia stroked her hair gently and smiled at Kassandra.

“Perhaps we should consider dinner soon so this one can go to bed.” Phoibe lifted her arm half heartedly and waved Aspasias word away.

“I am not even tired.” She said, her words muffled by her faceplant. 

“Uh huh, sure.” Kassandra said, poking the girl in the back before standing up and giving Aspasia a quick kiss. “Stay here with her and I will go go get us some food ready.” Aspasia nodded and crawled backward on the bed, allowing Phoibe to curl up on her lap. The years that had passed had made the slight girl grow into a gangly pre-teen and she awkwardly wrapped her arms around Aspasias leg in a sort of hug as she stroked her head.

“See, we could just all stay here like this.” She murmured. “I don’t like it when you or Kassandra leave.” Aspasia hummed quietly. “I get scared that you will leave and not come back - like Kassandra left me here.” She admitted. Aspasia frowned slightly.

“Unfortunately that was not really of her choice, Phoibe.” She said quietly. “I am positive she would have returned to you the moment she had a chance.”

“It’s okay. I forgave her a long time ago, because it meant that we both got to meet you, and Kassandra found her mater.” She said sleepily. Aspasia smiled and leant forward, kissing her head. 

“And I am thankful to the fates everyday that we did meet.” She whispered and leant her head against the wall, humming a lullaby as he eyes closed in contentment.

-

Kassandra returned just after dusk with food feeling slight concern at the darkness of the house. She put her hand to her spear and crept toward it, her heart racing and opened the door quietly. The moonlight shone through the small window and illuminated their bed where both Aspasia and Phoibe were curled up cuddled together snoring lightly. She smiled, feeling her heart swell up with love and as quietly as possible sifted through the debris for some chalk. She headed to the biggest clear space on the wall and began sketching herself, Aspasia and Phoibe. The two woman standing behind the younger girl with their hands on her shoulder with giant grins on all their faces. She stepped back, and quickly wiped the stray tears from her eyes before sneaking back to the bed and sitting on the edge. She shifted a stray hair from Aspasia’s peaceful face, causing the woman to stir with a hum.

“Would you like some dinner?” She whispered and Aspasia glanced around blearily with a small yawn.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” She muttered, glancing down at Phoibe who was curled in her arms. She planted a kiss on the girls head. “It feels like home, doesn’t it?” She said quietly.

“It is home.” Kassandra said with a wide grin to match that of her drawing.  

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