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thefirstknife · 4 months

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Hi Bel,

I keep seeing comments about people complaining about the quality of destiny’s writing and story in the last few weeks. I haven’t really engaged with destiny since season of defiance, what’s currently gotten everyone so riled up? I thought that people were enjoying Season of the Deep/Witch in terms of narrative, why is Season of the Wish causing people to deride the destiny writing staff again?

I don't know!

Deep and Witch have been absolute bangers in every aspect to me. I've been enjoying all interactions and lore tabs we've received. A lot of them are stuff that we've never had before, a lot of reunions and closures, a lot of development and interactions between characters who you wouldn't really think would have much in common.

Sloane's return and healing from what she's been through has been fantastic, Drifter opening up with her to help her because he also got help from others was fantastic, Sloane reuniting with Aisha and Shayura brought me to tears (Shayura's descent into madness was triggered by immense trauma of Sloane staying on Titan and Titan disappearing), everything with Sloane and Zavala...

Witch was just incredible in every single way; the focus on Eris, the amount of Eris and Ikora content!!!!! Everything about Xivu and Savathun and their interactions together!! Eris finally fulfilling her goal she promised Savathun YEARS ago, getting that closure.

Wish so far has been equally great to me. All the new stuff about Ahamkara is amazing, finally giving us proof for long-standing speculation about Ahamkara and how they aren't universally evil creatures and expanding on them as a species. I love all interactions we've had so far; finally we have Petra back, Mara's singleminded focus on figuring out how to defeat the Witness and her continuous work to improve as a person, ALL SJUR MENTIONS!!!!! I won't talk about the "leak" because we have no context for it so I will wait for the full story to be revealed before I can pass judgment; something that I think should be a lesson to learn from this entire year. Maybe wait for the story to finish before judging the story.

Literally everything this past year that involves Osiris, but especially this season now that he's back in his element with the Vex. And of course every little detail we get of him and Saint. Osiris honestly shaped this year for me with everything that he's done to uncover the biggest mysteries. I think a big reason is that a lot of people just don't like Osiris, which I consider a massive skill issue.

Other than that, I don't know what are the issues people have besides just not being interested in any of these storylines and attributing it to a nebulous "bad writing" claim. I also genuinely believe that way too many people get wrapped up too much in fandom, imagine storylines they want to see and then get disappointed when the actual story doesn't go there. Almost like people forget that this isn't their story and these aren't their characters. A lot of it is also fandom completely warping characters into not what they actually are and then feeling like the canon story is the one that's wrong.

Whatever is the reason, I guess everyone is entitled to their perspective of the story and everyone is free to explore the story in different ways through fanfics and AUs and whatever. I do that too!

But I would definitely ask people to be normal with how they engage in criticism, especially in the current state of affairs. Writers are developers; they experience a ton of harassment and negativity from the community and also from inside the company. And they are online: they can see what we're saying. It's been documented that community commentary has been used to harass writers:

Imprint this into your brain and never forget what these people had to go through. Let's not forget also the way people treated Seth Dickinson on social media when he was active with Destiny fans. "Fans" were actively arguing with him about his own work (telling him that HE is wrong) and were utterly disgusting towards him when he tried explaining what he wrote. His works are now hailed as the best writing in Destiny and people want him back. If I were him, I wouldn't want to come back ngl, not with how he was treated and not with how fans are still treating writers (and hey, Seth wrote LF Collector's Edition! So he was back, technically, this year!). Let's not forget that a lot of writers are members of various marginalised groups. And I'd definitely not want to go back with zero support from leadership.

Which is also an important aspect for all developers, including writers: sometimes they have orders they may not like, but can't argue against. They do the best they can with what they're given, the time they have and directions they receive. And with that in mind, I am enjoying everything we've gotten this year, obviously with some specific complaints about things I didn't particularly enjoy (like the universally mid reception of Defiance; I've spoken about my gripes with it before, a big one being the shafting of Suraya who should've at least been mentioned in a lore tab).

I can tell that there is passion in their work, even if maybe they would prefer to do more with it, but can't. Maybe even if they want to take different routes, but can't. But from what we got, I can feel that they care about this world and these characters. I can tell that someone lovingly wrote about Sloane and her friendships with two grieving women. I can tell that they deeply cared about Sloane's friendship with Zavala and that they loved showing us Saint and Drifter caring about a fellow trauma survivor.

I can tell that the writers are immensely careful and loving towards Eris; everything she went through was crafted with love and passion from both writers and her VA. Eris' story is such a fundamental aspect of Destiny and I can tell that this was important to the writing team and that they gave her everything they could to do justice to her character and her arc and her healing and her release from the cycle she was trapped in for so long.

I can tell that there are writers who care a lot about Osiris and Saint and their relationship. I can tell that someone cared a lot about expanding on Ahamkara and giving them more personalities. I can tell that someone cared DEEPLY about Sjur and Mara and that her repeated mentions are the passionate work of writers who want us to remember her.

I could go on. And I know that not everyone sees it this way, which is fine; we all have different ways of perceiving stories. I enjoy discussing things we in the fandom disagree on and I enjoy hearing different perspectives! Unfortunately, this has recently become rarer and rarer. And for the love of god, please try and treat writers with some respect, especially now, especially those who are still working and doing their best with the shitty situation they're in. None of the cries of "poor devs" ring true to me unless the same is given to writers, instead of treating them like punching bags.

#destiny 2 #long post #for the record: yeah i also have some gripes with some writing decisions. it's normal #but i feel like those are things that i can learn to accept or let go or even have my mind changed with a different perspective #or by just accepting that the writing team was limited in some way and that this was the best they could do #it happens to every story at some point #and yeah capitalism is the death of art. destiny's story would be better from start to finish if it weren't a shooter mmo #but that ship has sailed a long time ago. like. in 2014.#it's honestly a miracle that we got even a fraction of the stuff we got considering the target audience of fps mmos #and it's fine if this just isn't good enough to some. happens #but i think we can move on without being shitty about devs yeah?#in all likelihood writers may even agree that some of the stuff they had to write isn't the best or isn't what they wanted #calling them bad writers over circumstances we don't understand is just shitty #just like it's shitty to do it to any other dev over bugs in the game or badly implemented features or whatever #none of these people are sitting at their desks maliciously laughing while deliberately creating 'bad' things #and this is especially bothering me for writers because of how atrocious people are to artists of all kinds #almost like writers had to strike this year to be respected and treated as people that matter

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faofinn · 1 month

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A question.

We're in a situation where there is no more Fao and Finn.

Shiv has left, taking Fao and Ely (epoch's, but too much to talk to both of us), and leaving all our fics frozen still.

As mentioned previously, you can find shiv on ao3, but all of my work has only ever been on here.

Would people be interested in a rewritten situation where the Daniels etc remain (but without Fao obv)? Fao left in prev works but removed from future? Leaving the blog frozen with no changes or additions? Completely new characters on a new blog that has zero to do with the boys?

If anyone has any tips etc, they'd be appreciated.

#ev posts #faofinn breakup #this isn't how i expectedly the blog to go ngl #but i also didn't expect to be split up either tbh #we've got five years of writing every single day behind us #but now I'm not allowed to even message every day #hell even any week #shout out to mental illness for ruining my life again #ironically enough it wasn’t my depression that broke the straw #but i did try and off myself the same day shiv broke up with me lmao #and not a week has gone by without a tragedy #I've had too many deaths in the family #and three prealerts #two resus stays #and another three admissions #and not one of them was for my bloody mental health #it's literally a broken heart #they've actually genuinely considered it and it blows my tiny medical mind.

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valeriefauxnom · 2 months

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Yo, since you brought it up, what's the interpretation of Abyss's ending you like the most?

Going for blood, huh, anon? I'll bite!

I'm on the side of 'technically I think it should be Asch in Luke's body' side even if I acknowledge it's ultimately ambiguous.

The Contamination sidequest, of course, is the principle foundation for this argument, as it spells out pretty clearly: Asch will die, but Asch will assume Luke's body as a backup. Luke will remain in body but not spirit, further twisting the knife to Jade, who no longer would want his dream of 'replicas as a replacement body' to come true as he wished for Nebilim.

We also see an example of the effect with Star in Ortion cavern. The group comes back to see that the original cheagle has died, and the replica remains. But when Jade interviews the cheagle via Mieu, he finds out that it is the original in the replica's body, who felt weak, passed out, and woke up in another body.

More arguably, but I also might look to Jade's immediate response after he learns of Asch's death. He starts asking Luke about how it feels and all that, likely trying to get a gauge on what's happening, if there's any chance Luke is escaping the Big Bang, etc. He wants Luke to escape this with his life, no matter how dismal the odds even without Asch's death.

...And he doesn't seem pleased with the response he gets.

There's also his response at Tataroo itself, which, okay, very arguable, but to me is not a pleased look from Jade. I'm not claiming to be any kind of expert on reading emotions, but Jade's to me looks like one more of grief and/or disappointment than of happiness, especially in the anime, which could have more expressiveness than the original PS2 graphics in a game that had some notably poorly cutscenes.

And while yes, the mysterious figure does have more visual hints to Luke than Asch, and does reference a 'promise', I will say that to the latter both of the redheads were chucking around promises to everyone and is ambiguous. Luke's promise to Guy, to Tear, Asch's to Luke, etc.

Also, I just think it could be a unique and sad ending if Asch, who has utterly loathed replicas and the concept of one, from Van's grooming and his own trauma regarding Luke's replacement, finds himself a 'replica' in the new world, in his counterpart's body, and has to start trying to figure out what to do and who to be in the new world while puppeting around what's effectively the corpse of another person. It's just uniquely horrifying a concept that I would have loved to see explored. Heck, maybe even a postgame or game about the Jade Gang dealing with the impending fonon crisis while maybe trying to find a way to get Luke back and all the drama that could result would have been fun.

...But, as always, this is a very cursory summary of some of the most common arguments for Asch. We could dissect the Contamination Effect and Big Bang and all that all day, but to me, I personally don't see any evidence that it is not working as prescribed on Eldrant, or 'reversed' as some people argue. The one example we see is it working as intended, and Jade doesn't seem all that pleased when it seems like it's starting to kick up with Luke.

However, I'd like to throw a much rarer argument into the works as a thing to consider, just for fun.

What if it's not Asch in Luke's body or the reverse, or a merging of the two into one mind/body...But Lorelei?

To this, I'd like to point out that Lorelei has a sworn duty to answer the Grand Fonic Hymn of Yulia. And what was Tear signing right before this mysterious person popped up randomly in a field when Luke nor Asch show a particular skill in stealth? Well I mean Luke says he's good at hide and seek but still

Uh-huh, Grand Fonic Hymn. This could also explain the 'promised' quote. Lorelei is fulfilling its covenant with Yulia in heeding her descendant's call.

The mysterious person's speech and behavior, for however short we see it, is...ethereal? For lack of a better word? Detached? Both Luke and Asch are very emotional people and don't tend to speak in such a even, neutral tone. Lorelei, however, is a fonic sentience (well, so is Luke, but Luke is a mini chunk of Lorelei) and is not human at the end of the day. What few lines we do get from it in game are 'indirect' and otherwise formatted in a manner humans don't usually use when speaking. To me, the more detached 'This place has a nice view of Hod' compared to anything Luke or Asch might have said normally, even a greeting, is more aligned with Lorelei's potential behavior.

So yeah. Perhaps it's Lorelei, come to Auldrant after heeding Tear's call, perhaps in its' scions' visages, attempting to honor them both by assuming elements of both now that they (or at least Luke) have re-assimilated into the greater whole of Lorelei. Lorelei certainly seems to like its scions.

In the end I can just summarize: scientifically, I think it's Asch, canonically, it's ambiguous. No matter what side of the debate one is on, I dislike people trying to insist that it is absolute fact that x happened. I think part of the ambiguity is intended to reflect the fact that the Score is gone, the future is no longer set. Notice also how all the text boxes are gone after the Score is repealed. What they're saying- what's happening is no longer has a single canonical answer. So even if I do think more of the rules of the Abyss world point to Asch, it's ultimately up in the air.

#tales of the abyss #inbox responses #Imagine a fic of the group stalling on Eldrant after Asch dies. Maybe from injury. and then #Either suddenly or gradually notice that Luke is turning into Asch.#Maybe they just wake up to find Asch causing a fit because he's died and now woke up in his replica's body.#Mmm. Too tempting. But I've got too much else to write right now haha #Funnily enough this isn't even the take on Abyss that would get me the most ire from the most people!#I won't go into it here but uh. I strongly dislike one of the main cast that's very uncontroversial in any sense in the fandom.#So yeah I keep that one on the down low and just quietly mischaracterize them in fic to better fit the idea that fans have of them as a #Better person than they seem to be at times in the actual Abyss canon and quietly commiserate with my friend.

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willowser · 9 months

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gaining all those new followers from plagiarizing poc and running them off tumblr you're a terrible person and i hope you rot

so this is another really heavy accusation that i take very seriously.

who is it that i've run off, exactly ?? if you are said person or know them personally, i would love to have the ability to speak to you/them one-on-one, like grown adults, so that we can clear the air or discuss whatever issue there seems to be.

i doubt that you'll respond legitimately but this has always been my stance on your issue with me, that has kept you coming back to, not only my main account but also my nsfw account, daily. sometimes multiple times a day. you've also never once given me any kind of definition on what it is exactly that i've "plagiarized" — which, again, leads me me to believe you're just choosing to be hateful for no reason ?? the ONLY reference that's been made in the last few weeks that this has been going on, is the love island bakugou concept, and if that's what you're still sticking by, then — again — i urge you to understand what plagiarism actually is.

#for the third time now — i am urging you to message me privately so we can squash this #i truly dont understand how this could be fun for you ?? so what's the point in wasting your time over something you know isn't true ???#if you genuinely thought i'd stolen something i think you would have come at me with evidence straight away #and if i had anything to hide i wouldnt have answered you publicly THREE TIMES NOW #who have i run off ?? in my original love island bakugou post i added a link to the only other post(s) i had seen about it #but even still !! writing about a widely popular television show that's currently airing isn't plagiarism #anyway. again — sorry to everyone that has to see this but !! if this person is brave enough to do this not only to me but close friends —#— then they should be brave enough to be witnessed as they so deeply desire #the great anon calypse of 2023 #✿ ask willow

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northern-passage · 1 year

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very interested to know if anyone would ever leave a review like this on a game that had all cishet characters... is that pandering to the "cisgender" narrative? or is it only pandering when it's the "transgenders"? 🤔 what makes it pandering? just because it's for an audience that's not you? because it's for a group of people you don't personally like? what makes you so special that only your stories are the ones you deem worthy of being told?

#and can you tell me what it is about trans people just existing that breaks your immersion? quickly #'i can excuse the demon ghosts from another dimension and glowing yellow eyes and fire magic and blood alchemy #and a god monster speaking in the mc's head. but i draw the line at the transgenders'#funniest review i've gotten in a while #right up there next to the 'this game is lacking representation because there are no femme women that wear makeup'#i also really don't agree that there are 'cliche' trans characters #there arent enough trans characters or storylines that exist in mainstream media for there to be any cliches #beyond like. homophobic& transphobic stereotypes. lol #and whos fault is that i wonder....#honestly the first half of this review isn't even bad like it's fair criticism but they had to come in w the steel chair #talking about the 'transgender' in quotes #2 b clear 'pandering' is for like disney corporation making shitty movies and introducing their 20th first gay character #not a independent trans creator writing trans characters for a trans audience. lol #personal #transphobia #yeah i'll tag it cus it's annoying lmfao

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everykonan · 5 months

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ch. 446

#konan #i think konan's silence during the whole exchange is very interesting to me #but also really frustrating like. look at her. she isn't indifferent while she listens to the story of the fall of her 2 only friends #we just know that she is quiet because kishi just didn't know how to handle her and just had her be nagato's cheerleader #but also we see that she wanted to just end things right there by killing naruto. she is really someone who doesn't speaks up more-#than she believes is enough. and she is certainly not the kind to just overshare her life and feelings. not even once we see her-#doing that. the only thing she mentions to naruto was that the tendo was yahiko's body and that nagato was the only one who kept her-#from leaving akatsuki. we never see the history from her own perspective only from nagato's and what we know of her are memories #ugh!!! i love konan but her writing frustrates me so much!! she is such an interesting woman who isn't swayed by emotions #and goes straight to the point and has the most unique jutsu but!!!!!!#alas!!! she is from a popular shonen series whose purpose is to hype up nagato!! she gets CRUMBS

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kaidanalenkosprmanager · 5 days

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THE BEST OF SHENKO 1/?

The end of the world has a way of reminding you of all the things you forgot to say do. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (2021)

#mira makes gifs ✨#kaidan alenko #sophie shepard #EDI #shenko #fshenko #mass effect #mass effect legendary edition #dailygaming #OTP: you're real enough for me #i learned i am physically incapable of creating less than like 20 gifs at a time #but shenko stonks are up right now!!#gif’ing my favorite bisexuals gives me joy 🥹#even though ME2 is dry as shit for shenko content like it’s literally the sahara desert #like a whole ass 10 minutes max of cutscenes between shep and kaidan like come on #like 2 minutes in the prologue and like 8 minutes of cutscenes on horizon #and then an email and looking at the picture in your cabin before the suicide mission #i'm so sorry y'all ME2 shenko canon is absolute shit (besides kaidan being rightfully angry on horizon) which is why we ✨ignore it✨ 🥰#but i rant about ME2 VS treatment too much so i will not write another essay about it in the tags #i will say the EDI line isn't the exact quote from the game but i think about it a lot tbf #same with the quote i borrowed from anderson too lmao (which is also a tiny bit paraphrased)#i just love EDI asking shep for relationship advice when you get to follow shep and kaidan's relationship/struggles across 3 games #and anderson's quote about all the things you forgot to do in relation kahlee to is just *chef's kiss* when you think about shenko #like whether it starts in ME1 or ME3 shenko has some really fantastic moments across the series #two characters with strong morals who realize that they're falling in love and literally start to become each other's strength??#their soft place to land?? their support when they need it?? shenko will always have my heart #also the shenko quotes you get are the most fire thing in the world #you're real enough for me?? you make me feel human?? i want to be your strength- your soft place to land?? shenko you will always be famous #I FORGOT IM GONNA FIGHT LIKE HELL FOR THE CHANCE TO HOLD YOU AGAIN TOO LIKE??#but i’ll stop ranting now bc i do that wayyy to much in my tags lol. have a good day wherever you are! <3

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twisted-leader-of-something · 13 days

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Vil Schoenheit and the Howl family - Safe Haven

The Schoenheit household was restless again. After all, it wasn't hard to hear the people downstairs talking loudly with each other once more that week. And Vil, the child of the house, didn't want to hear it. Not that he had a choice in the matter.

Vil Schoenheit was in his room, listening to his father and mother fighting about something. There was another voice in the fight this time too, not that Vil cared that much, seeing as he was planning on leaving the house.

Vil pulled out his phone he'd gotten a short time ago, and called someone he knew he'd be safe for the night with, well, he called the someone's landline. It took a few rings, but eventually someone picked up.

"Hello, this is Sasha Howl. May I ask whose calling?" A woman on the phone side of the phone asked. Her tone was serious, but Vil didn't seem to pay it any mind.

"Can. . . Can I come over and stay for the night?" Vil asked, nervously, not bothering to state his name. He was more worried about getting the mother's approval to get inside the home than saying who he was, it seemed.

"Vil! What's the matter? Oh no, are your parents fighting again?" Sasha asked, with her tone of voice changing to a much kinder and loving one. One that made Vil soften on instinct, as he knew that tone of voice very well.

"Y-Yes." Vil said, fidgeting with his hands.

"Say no more. I'll bring Jack, Adolphe, and Ylva. Alonzo will explain everything to your parents." The female beastman said, "Just wait a little longer. Okay?"

Vil nodded and simply said, "Yes."

"We'll be there as fast as we can. But be patient, alright?" Sasha confirmed, "I'm hanging up now. Don't worry about a thing. We'll have smoothies and cocoa when you get here."

Vil smiled warmly at the women's statement, extremely happy at that proposition. "Yes. I looked forward to it."

The wolf beastwoman made a sound of acknowledgement, and then she hung up on Vil.

Leaving Vil to himself.

The Howl's home was decently far away, but the Howl family was all wolf beastman, so they have better abilities than Vil would as a human. But Vil was still upset when Sasha hung up.

Because he'd have to listen to the fight again.

Vil sighed and got up from his desk and opened the door to his room.

From what he could tell, the fighting was coming from downstairs. Most likely in the living room.

Of course it's there. Vil thought to himself. They can't fight anywhere else.

Vil closed the door to his room, and quietly walked down the stairs to the lower floors. As he got closer, he could make out what his parents and that woman who'd joined in the fight where fighting about.

"Erich! Don't you dare drag Vil into your problems!" Vil's mother, Regina Schoenheit yelled at her husband in anger. "Vil has nothing to do with this! She asked you give them money, not suddenly invite them into our lives!”

“But! We need his support!” The other woman stated. She sounded desperate, but Vil didn’t believe the woman’s cry for help since he knew her. She was a model. She definitely could hold her own, and she has. So, why was she begging for money?

“Then why ask for his help now, Eva? Neige’s eight now! You’ve had eight years to ask for help! Why now?!” Regina pointed out, which made Eva nervous.

“That’s-”

“Regina! Stop it! Eva’s-” Vil’s father was about to speak, when the doorbell of the house rang, which made Vil rush towards the front door in excitement, and making the adults stop fighting and walk towards the front door, where Vil had just barely opened the door, and was attacked by the youngest Howl sibling with a hug, and surrounded by the Howl family’s care and attention, like a bunch of worried dogs rushing to an old friend of theirs they haven’t seen in a long time.

“Vil-san!” Ylva happily said, which caused Vil to hug the beastwoman back.

“Hello, Ylva-chan.” Vil said, as he picked her up and placed her on his hip, which the little girl definitely liked, as she cuddled into Vil’s neck.

The youngest male beastman then hugged Vil as well, and simply said, “I missed you, Vil-san. It’s been so long since we’ve had a sleepover.”

“Indeed. I’m looking forward to it.” Vil said simply, and wrapped an arm around Adolphe, which seemed to please the young wolf as well as his white tail wagged side to side.

“Did you wait long?” Jack asked worriedly, before Vil shook his head as if to say no, which seemed to make Jack feel better.

In the background, Vil could see Mr. and Mrs. Howl speaking with his parents and this Eva person, but Vil didn’t mind. Since now Jack, Adolphe and Ylva where there with him. After some time of Jack and Vil talking and the two younger beastman cuddling with Vil, Sasha stopped speaking with the adults, walked towards the group of kids, and kneeled before the group of children.

“Well, everything’s all ready for tonight.” Sasha smiled, even bending down to the level of the kids. “Let’s go home, everyone.”

“Okay, Mama!” Ylva and Adolphe said at the same time, as Adolphe pulled Vil out of his house and the group set off into the woods and Ylva jumped out of Vil’s arms, only for Vil to be soon picked up by Alonzo and for the group to rush off into the snowy forest.

Vil Schoenheit really liked the Jack Howl's family. Jack's kind yet badass mother, Sasha, who'd taught Vil how to cook, Jack's manly and wise father, Alonzo, that gave Vil all the help and support he needed, Jack's adorable little sister, Ylva, that couldn't pronounce Vil's last name right, and Jack's sarcastic little brother, Adolphe, who always had a snappy comeback or joke. Vil was quite attached to the beastman family that lived a mile away from his own home.

The Howl family was quite nice to Vil, despite the fact they knew little to nothing about Vil's acting career. When Vil came over to their home, no matter the reason, they'd offer wonderful food and drinks at the cost of Vil's thankfulness, they'd entertain him with what they had, which typically included board games, books and outdoor activities, and above all they'd do their best to make sure that Vil was comfortable in their wooden cabin. Which, Vil loved. He loved being in a place where he felt he was in the right place. He loved being in the Howl's cabin. In all of the places he's ever been to, the Howl Cabin was surely his favorite by a longshot.

After a few minutes of Vil being held in the wolf beastman’s arms as the group ran, the group came upon a decently sized wooden cabin to which the younger child cheered at the sight of.

“Yay! Vil-san is sleeping over tonight!” Ylva said happily as she shook off the snow she’d gotten all over her coat, just like a dog would.

“Hey! Ylva! Not on the front porch! You’ll get all of us wet!” Adolphe complained, as he brushed off the snow on the steps of the cabin.

“Oops. Sorry Mama, Papa, and Vil-san.” Ylva responded, cheekily as she walked in the house with Jack not far behind.

“Apologize to Jack-onii-chan and me!” Adolphe complained, as he followed his siblings.

“Are you alright, Vil-san?” Alonzo Howl asked, as he set down Vil on the wooden porch of his home, looking kind of serious.

Vil nodded at the adult beastman and beastwoman, who was right beside him with worried looks on their faces. “Yes. I am now. Thank you for letting me stay at your house for the night.”

Alonzo didn’t seem to be satisfied with Vil’s answer, but didn’t seem to want to push, “Vil, I know your life at home isn’t my business, but we’re all here if you want to talk. We won’t push your home life, but if you need someone, just remember that we’ve here, okay?”

Vil, after a few seconds of shock, smiled confidently. “I know. I know that very well, Alonzo-san. Why do you think I’m here?”

Alonzo let out a laugh, the kind of fatherly hearty laugh that made Vil feel good inside, and then, the wolf beastman pat the blonde’s head. “As long as you know not to hold things in. Come on, Sasha’s said she’s going to make some dessert tonight in honor of this occasion!”

Sasha Howl nodded at her husband’s comment. “I was thinking of making some smoothies and hot chocolate for you five while I make something special for everyone tonight.”

“Special?” Vil asked, as he didn’t seem to know what Sasha was talking about.

“I have found some recipes that are both delicious, as approved by my family, and I think will work for what you can eat.” Sasha winked at the blonde-haired boy. “If I told you, it would ruin the surprise.”

“Okay!” Vil said, happily.

Alonzo nodded at Vil’s sudden happiness approvingly. “Well then, let’s get inside then! No need to keep the cook waiting.”

Vil nodded as the two beastman gestured for Vil to come inside their home, to which Vil opened the door to reveal a large and spacious area with window all around the sides of the house. The house mostly appeared to be made of wood, similar to a log cabin would. There was an active fireplace with comfortable looking chairs surrounding it, where Jack, Adolphe and Ylva where sitting, discussing something with each other.

As soon as Vil opened the door, the three Howl children looked in Vil’s direction, and the two boys seemed relieved, while Ylva’s face lit up. “Vil-san! Over here! We got new board games!”

Vil smiled once again at the beastwoman and began to walk over to the three Howl children, “Oh really?”

“Yeah!” Little Ylva said as her tail wagged just like a happy dog’s would at Vil, “We were at the games store and we found this old game! I want to play it with you!”

Ylva held up the old box, which had the name ‘Villainous’ with the front of the box which had a black color on it and a pair of creepy eyes.

Vil looked at the box as he sat down. “Looks interesting. Have you played it yet?”

Ylva shook her cute head and gave a pouty expression. “I can’t open it. Jack-onii-chan and Adolphe-onii-chan aren’t sure how to open it either.”

Vil gave a confused face at the three Howl children, and it didn’t seem like Ylva was lying to him, so Vil smirked. “I’ll open it.”

Ylva’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

Vil nodded at the little beastwoman. “Of course. I’m Vil Schoenheit, remember? There’s nothing in Twisted Wonderland I can’t do.”

Ylva cheered and sang Vil’s praises, which made Vil genuinely want to hug and kiss the little girl for her praises. Jack and Adolphe laughed at Ylva’s happiness as Vil got to work on opening the box.

What Ylva said was true. It was hard to open without magic. So, Vil simply pulled out a magical item, which happened to be a bracelet he had on him, and he cast an unlocking spell. To which, the box immediately opened to reveal cards, token coins, and 18 game pieces. The game pieces floated towards the four children, as if wanting the children to pick one. Vil saw a dark purple game piece with a cape and crown that looked like the Evil Queen’s symbols, and he reached towards it and grabbed it. Upon Vil grabbing the game piece, a card appeared in front of him that showed an area.

Upon seeing what they had to do, The Howl children reached for a game piece. Jack reached for a yellow piece that had bones on it. Adolphe picked a game piece that was dark blue and had a flame and a robe on it. Ylva reached for a bright yellow game piece with a flower symbol on top and a dress on the bottom part, and then cards appeared in front of the children. Each one seemed to correspond with the game piece they were given. But, the children still seemed confused. But luckily, someone came in with drinks.

“Ah.” Sasha Howl said, which seemed to make to children perk up upon hearing her voice. “You four figured out how to open it. That’s wonderful.”

Sasha Howl brought forth three different hot chocolates and a smoothie. She handed a hot chocolate that looked like real chocolate with just whipped cream and put it in front of Jack, who thanked his mother for the drink. She handed a hot chocolate with toasted snowflake marshmallows crackers flakes to Adolphe, who gave it a sniff and then smiled. The last hot chocolate went to Ylva, and it was colored pink with sprinkles and whipped cream and some candies on top of the whipped cream, which Ylva immediately started to drink. Lastly, Sasha Howl handed the child actor a smoothie, it was a multilayered and blue and purple colored smoothie that Vil knew and loved that he’d asked Sasha to give the secret of since it was both really delicious and good for him, but the wolf beastwoman refused saying she’s give to him when the time is right as he needs to have a reason to come over the Howl household and learn to drink it in moderation. Upon the smoothie being place in front of him, Vil turned to Sasha and hugged her.

“T-Thank you.” Vil said, as his eyes got watery. “I. . . Needed this.”

The wolf beastwoman seemed shocked at Vil’s sudden hug, but eventually settled into it, and began to pet the human boy, who was now surrounded by the worried Howl children.

“Vil-onii-chan?” Ylva asked, as she snuck her way into Vil and her mother’s arms so she was in the hug too, where Vil could see her. “Are you okay?”

Vil laughed as Ylva snuck into his arms for a hug for comfort, which he granted and shook his head to the little girl. “No. . . Work has been stressful recently with my parents fighting. . . On top of school. . . I. . . Was stressed.”

“Should we just watch a movie?” Adolphe asked, looking very worried. “We don’t have to play a board game if you don’t want to.”

Vil seemed surprised by this. “I-I didn’t mean that-I just-”

“How about we watch a quick movie to settle down and then we play the board game?” The Father of the Household came to the children from out of nowhere and kneeled before the group of children. “Let’s let Vil calm down from his busy week and watch a movie together, and afterwards we’ll have dinner and play the board game together.”

The Howl children looked at each other in confusion, but then they shared a look of agreement, which Alonzo seemed to get. “I’ll put the board game away, while you four decide on a movie.”

“Okay!” Ylva said, and then she turned to Vil. “Vil! Do you have a movie you want to watch?”

Vil stared in silence at the small wolf beastwoman, as if processing the situation. “A-Ah. Um-”

Vil seemed really overwhelmed by the choices the Howls had on the shelves, but then Jack stepped in. “I know! Let’s watch that movie about the old vampire trying to adjust to modern society with his descendants. Remember that one?”

Vil seemed confused as to what the movie was, but Ylva seemed to light up when the movie was mentioned. “Oh yeah! I wanted to watch it with Vil!”

“What’s it called?” Vil asked, confused as Ylva pulled him to the carpet near the couch, where Adolphe was sitting down, wagging his tail at the sight of Vil coming close.

“Listening To The Graveyard.” Adolphe simply said, as Vil and Ylva sat down, with Vil in the middle of the two wolf beastman cuddling him. “I think it’s a good movie.”

“Huh.” Vil said, confused as Ylva went into Vil’s lap, and Alonzo sat down on the couch behind him, making Vil feel a little safer than before. “When was it made?”

“Recently! Um, it came out last year!” Ylva smiled as Jack came to sit at Vil’s other free side. “We watched it at Grandmother’s house! With all of our cousins! It was so fun!”

“Oh really? I haven’t heard of it.” Vil said. “I must’ve missed all of the production stuff.”

“Well, then, I think you’ll be surprised. For an indie movie, it’s quite good.” Alonzo said.

“Indie?” Ylva asked Vil, to which Vil answered.

“An indie movie is a movie made by a small group of people, made with little to no help from big companies that make movies. I get lots of request from these types of people who want me because I’m the best.” Vil gestured some, hoping it might help Ylva out.

“Ah! I think I get it!” The little wolf girl smiled, “It’s like, one of those projects we did at school a while ago! That we did by ourselves without the help of the school and older kids!”

Vil nodded. “Yes, that’s a good way of looking at it.”

“Alright, everyone.” Alonzo finally said, giving Vil a headpat, as if to tell him to be quiet. “Do you have your snacks? I’m going to start it.”

“Ah! My hot chocolate! I left it over by the table!” Adolphe cried, then getting up.

“We’re starting~” Jack teased his younger brother as the smaller wolf seemed to rush to get his hot chocolate.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Adolphe then said, quickly rushing over to where the others where without spilling.

“Ah. Vil-san, you’re so comfy.” Ylva smiled in Vil’s lap, as the two wolf boys sat around Vil. “I wanna cuddle with you all night.”

“Of course I am.” Vil smiled, wrapping his arms around the little girl, which the little seemed to love a lot for her smile. “I’m the best at everything. Of course I’m comfortable to sit on. It’s a part of my job.”

The little wolf girl nodded at Vil’s statement, seeming to be contented to just be in Vil’s arms.

“Alright, are we ready?” Alonzo smiled, which the three nodded at.

“Yes, Papa!”

“We’ve seen this movie some many times I bet I can quote it.”

“Adolphe, be nice to Vil-san, please.”

“I am!”

Listening To The Graveyard was not as bad as Vil would have thought it was at first.

At first, the movie was a typical horror parody he’s seen almost everywhere. Pulling out all the stops for a parody movie. But as the movie went on, it got more emotional, and even seemed to pull out stuff even Vil wasn’t expecting to have in a cheesy vampire parody movie. But, Vil had to give props to the director, because they certainly knew what they where doing with balancing the comedic and serious element of the story. In the future, Vil hopes he’ll be picked by the director for a future movie of theirs, since this movie alone was pretty good in his book to see the director’s potential.

“Hey, hey, Vil-onii-chan.” Ylva asked Vil in the boy’s lap, clearly excited. “How was it? Was it good?”

After a few seconds of thinking, Vil nodded. “Yes, there was somethings I thought where pretty cheesy, but I liked it overall.”

“I knew it!” Ylva said, pumping her fists as if she was proud of her achievement. “I just knew you’d like it!”

“You know me too well.” Vil smiled, then giving the little wolf head pats, making the little girl extremely happy.

“Pet me more!” the little one seemed to insist with her facial expression as Vil seemed to stop, but then Ylva seemed to catch the scent of something, and started to get carried away by it, getting the little girl out of Vil’s lap.

Adolphe seemed to catch the scent as well, as he followed Ylva soon after with his nose high in the air.

“Ah. They must’ve caught the smell of dinner. Come on. Let’s go survey the scene and if the cook’s done.” Alonzo sat up, sneakily gesturing for Jack and Vil to come with him.

Jack and Vil then stood up, following the adult to the kitchen. But, while Vil just walked to the kitchen, Jack and his father seemed to be using their wolf instincts, and where sneaking to the kitchen as if there was an enemy in there. So, when Alonzo noticed Vil was about to do it, he quickly jumped in front of Vil before he could reach the kitchen area, and moved in front of him.

“Alonzo-san, what are you-?!” Vil was going to question the old wolf, but then his mouth was covered by the person in question. With Alonzo simply putting a finger to his lips, showing Vil he needs to be quiet and then peaked over the hallway to see what the scene is. Jack and Vil soon did the same, and they saw little Ylva and Adolphe staring intently at a metal pan with something clearly in it, and Sasha moving around the kitchen. As soon as Vil peaked his head over to see what the matter was, Sasha called out to the three.

“I know you three are there.” the wolf woman said, as wasn’t even looking in their direction, which seemed to frighten Vil before Alonzo put his hand on his shoulders, as if to tell Vil he was safe. Sasha then turned around and smiled at the three boys, holdings trays of something in her hands. “Come on! Don’t just stand their drooling! We’ve got some things to eat!”

Alonzo and Jack then calmly walked into the kitchen, with Vil soon following suit.

“What are we eating?” Vil asked, to which, Sasha then gave a proud smile.

“Cheeseburger casserole! With a side of homemade fries and a soda copycat!”

Vil seemed confused as he sat down. “Huh?”

“Recently, there’s been a new store that opened up in Grandmother’s area.” Jack started to explain. “Since we’ve been going to out grandmother’s a lot lately, we’ve also been getting fast food lately. Now Ylva and Adolphe always want this fast food, but since we’re so far away and we don’t have much, Mama found a copycat recipe and has been working hard to make it taste like the real thing.”

“Ah, really?” Vil asked, which Jack nodded.

“Yes. When you called, you should’ve seen Mama.” Jack laughed. “We were already promised to do this because all three of us have been getting good grades in school lately, and she didn’t want to ruin your diet either. As soon as you called, she started to scramble to try and find alternatives that would fit your diet.”

“Is that so?” Vil’s eyes widened in shock-he didn’t expect the Howl family to care so genuinely for him.

“Yeah!” Ylva chimed in. “She almost dropped the sesame seeds when she heard your voice on the phone!”

Alonzo let out a snort. “Not you all fared much better. When you found out Vil wanted to come over your tails were wagging so fast I thought it was a bug!”

“Was not!” Ylva and Jack said a little too quickly clearly flustered.

“Was too!” Adolphe shot back.

“Was not!”

“Was too!”

“Now, now. You there,” Alonzo said, in an authoritative but gentle voice as if to gently tell his kids to stop with his tone alone. “No more fighting. The food’s getting cold.”

“Yeah! Come on Vil!” Ylva said, taking Vil’s hand and pulling him closer and closer to the food.

“Vil!”

“Vil.”

“Vil-onii-chan!”

Vil Schoenheit hadn’t had his name called so warmly in a long time, and if he was being honest-he hoped the Howl family would never stop calling to him, like they’d done all those months ago.

#jack howl #vil schoenheit #twst writing #[ Can you tell I LOVE Jack and Vil's relationship even though canonically we have nothing? Because I do. ]#[ TWST staff isn't giving me enough content so I had to make my own. ]#[ It's MY fanfiction I get to write what the TWST staff won't give me.]#[ Well I say that but I wrote this a VERY long time ago and it's been sitting in my drafts until I found it again.]#[ and with the lack of Jack and Vil friendship content I need this. ]#[ mun makes content ]#[ jack howl ]#[ vil schoenheit ]

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