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writer-room · 11 months

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Rewatching the earlier, and even pilots episodes, of Ninjago are so WILD man. First of all, you notice all the things that are just plain forgotten about or pushed aside in later seasons. Kai originally being the main character, sure, we all know that one, but Cole was heavily implied to be, or become, the leader of the Ninja, that was Cole’s thing. Zane was automatically described with having a sixth seer sense, when nowadays it shows up very, very infrequently. Lloyd used to basically be the Avatar, does anyone remember that? This kid was just the Avatar.

And then you remember the silly things. Like how the skeleton army was once a threat. Like...the skeletons. We battled a giant snake, smaller snakes, robot armies, sentient video games, Garmadon a billion different times, the Overlord, Oni...and the skeletons used to be a worthy adversary. The skeletons.

Did you all remember that Cole’s earth dragon used to...breathe earth? I’ve been forced to remember. Rocky used to breathe earth as a form of attack. It was shown through brown swirly wisps in that beautiful, incredibly shitty 2011 effect. The Underworld used to be implied to be the place where all dead people went, or at least the bad ones. We never heard of a Departed Realm. Do we remember the time Cole had a scene that was a direct parody of Michael Jackson? I sure do. Genuinely the highlight simply because I don’t know how to describe the emotion I felt upon seeing it.

#ninjago #lego ninjago #kai #cole #zane #skeleton army #rocky dragon ninjago #dragons #early ninjago seasons #ninjago underworld #skulkin #talk #text post #garmadon #kai smith #cole brookstone #zane julien #also the skeletons lived in the underworld #there was no departed realm yet. was this just where we were expected #to believe people went when they died? to the skeleton army?#garmadon hired these guys. he wanted these guys to help him #there was so much happening #in the pilot episodes the main villains were the skeletons with garmadon looming in the background #then there were the SNAKES that lloyd unleashed. which. now i love lloyd with all my heart and soul--#but at least 80% of all the ninjas problems wouldve never happened if lloyd didnt unleash those dam snakes #no pythor. no great devourer. no aspheera. no villain team-ups. no dead guys back from the dead. no underground city that momentarily #worried them. no ancient cities to find #like a good solid CHUNK of the ninjas problems straight up would not have happened if baby lloyd just put that cover back on the snakes #im sure the writers and artists can do something angsty with that. i believe in you guys #baby lloyd fr was the reason the apocalypse was unleashed like 20 times if you wanna squint do you think that keeps him up at night

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quadrantadvisor · 1 year

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The Owl House takes place on a corpse. That's clear from the beginning. The people we meet, the fantastical things we see, every part of it is life that comes from death, and it's beautiful. Luz says that, the first time she's far enough away to see the bones. It's beautiful. The Titan was so full of life and magic that what he left behind could be passed on and made anew, and the people who sprung from that, who rely on it, understand that and are grateful. Everything they have is built on the bones of a god.

But what grows from the bones of children? Nothing. Nothing at all.

The Titan hunters killed children. They said they were monsters, but they were children. Children who played games and laughed and from their first conscious moments wanted to be loved and belong. And they hunted them to extinction, and kept their pristine skulls as trophies. An entire room full of them, of tiny skulls that could've become something wonderful and terrible and life-giving but never had the chance. They wear them, as a badge of honor. Look what I've done, look what I destroyed.

Philip Wittebane had been making grimwalkers for hundreds of years, sure, but even knowing that, there's so many of them. How many could've reached 20? There's piles of them, of bones and identical masks, scattered at the bottom of a pit, and god, were they dead, when he threw them down there? It's clear that he doesn't care, that the only thing that matters is disposing of them once they wear out their usefulness, moving on to the new model. Children tossed aside, left to rot and decay, and when we see them the bones are all clean.

#i just watched all 11 episodes of season 2B in one sitting and I'm #having some feelings #the owl house #toh #toh spoilers #just in case #this is why I don't watch shows lol like this shit gave me heart palpitations #how am i even going to survive season 3? the answer is i won't #anyways everytime philip fucking wittebane is on screen i am screaming and crying and throwing up #if i saw him in real life i would strangle him to death with my bare hands. it would be ON SIGHT #he's too real is the problem like the harm he's caused and the way that he talks and the way hunter reacts to him #he gives me the same sick feeling as real life self righteous liars #and you know that this is a person who will never change and never listen and never admit they were wrong #and that the harm they've done will never matter to them because to them they can deny anything and justify anything #ANYWAYS.#idk if anybody'll see this post but i needed to exorcise it from my brain #god........... that show sure has a lot of fucking bones #my rambles

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sarah-yyy · 2 months

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the worst part of this job is client interaction because i can really be out here asking y/n questions and my client will literally tell me every single thing EXCEPT the answer to my question

#i am AT MY LIMIT AGAIN MY DUDES #all i wanted to know from my client was 1) is there a problem with the tenants vacating because i am getting the vibe it's a Problem #and 2) if there is no problem when is the move-out date #this is just so i can draft this stupid settlement deed right #it's all information i need like if i could do without this i WOULD just so i wouldn't have to claw information out of my client-#-like it's killing him to tell me things that i actually have to know to be able to do the work he's engaged me to do #and he went on a whole spiel about how he's going to take opposing counsel to the law society like ?????????????????#buddy can we go one step at a time #that side track went on for almost ten mins and i was actively trying to turn the convo back!!! but we got back to the main issue!!#and i PRY that information out of him by baiting him to answer like i'm fucking cross-examining at trial #and come to this conclusion that it sounds like the tenants ARE vacating on the 29th #to attempt to get a firm answer i go 'okay so the tenants WILL vacate that's what you're telling me?? there's no problem??'#and he said 'under the tenancy act we can't force them to leave'#WHAT DOES THIS MEAN #BUDDY YOU'RE KILLING ME #what's a nice law job where i don't have to talk to people #work stories #sarah talks about herself

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lloydfrontera · 5 months

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related to that last post that's kinda why i think cpsm revealing that javier had died three years earlier than lloyd is poignant in a very understated way.

javier's original fate was to live when everyone he cared about didn't. he was meant to be the protagonist of that world, to face all kind of threats and survive all of them, but with no one at his side.

he's the narrative's favorite but the narrative's love is not gentle and it is not kind and it will hold you close until you suffocate under its themes and parallels. for the world would bend itself for javier to be at it's center but it would not allow him the comfort of sharing that spot with anyone else.

he was always meant to be the last one standing. fate won't kill him but it won't allow him to die either.

and then comes lloyd with his plot breaking meddling saving everyone around them and shoving his way into the protagonist role, sharing the burden javier wasn't even aware he was carrying. and fate tries so hard to correct itself, it tries by all means possible to put things back the way they were meant to be, but in the end the best it can do is to try and make it so there will only be one main character in the world. the way it was always meant to be.

it concedes. it won't take away everything from its favorite anymore. but it won't stand for there to be two of them.

and the thing is. it wins. it gets what it wants. in the end javier can't save lloyd, he can't take his place, he can't keep him alive, he has to stand and watch him sacrifice himself for everyone else. for javier himself. in the end when the battle is over javier is again the last one standing.

when lloyd comes back and the fate restoration doesn't start up all over again, he thinks it's because lloyd frontera's original body disappeared and he came back in his own body. i don't think it was that. i think the reason fate didn't try to restore itself again is because it had already achieved what it wanted.

the narrative won. not completely. not the way it was originally meant to. but in the end javier ended up as the lone protagonist who watched his loved one die before his eyes.

only then was it satisfied and allowed javier to leave its grasp. only then was he allowed to become a person and not just the main character.

a person who could spend a lifetime with all of his loved ones and when the time came, die peacefully in his sleep, knowing at least the person he came to care the most about will outlive him. at least this time, he won't be the one left behind.

#i talk a lot <3 #tged #the greatest estate developer #tged spoilers #javier asrahan #lloyd frontera #i always thought the ending of tged was kinda weird #cause it felt like the main issue wasn't really addressed??#like. everything lloyd accomplished was still there. his soul was there. his rp his titles his effects his summons his abilities #everything was still there. why would the body he was in be the problem?? he's still the same person that disrupted the fate of the world #does that mean that if he had isekai'd in his own body the restoration of fate wouldn't have been an issue??#he could've changed the plot in its entirety and fate wouldn't have had a problem with that??#so personally i think his death. the even itself. had more to do with it than anything.#him dying was like. a trigger event for fate to be satisfied.#it couldn't stand having two protagonists and all of its plot disrupted. so when one of them died leaving the other one with 'tragedy'#it counted it as good enough and finally stopped trying to give the main character the tragic backstory and traumatic events #he was meant to go through.#does that make any sense to anyone. does it.#anyway it does to me so that's my headcanon ajshdksda #can you tell. i like metanarratives. and fate as a character onto itself.#can you tell i come from the [OMITTED] fandom ajhdjaadsf

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skunkes · 4 months

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i keep wanting to get into reading books in spanish bc im a heritage speaker and was the only one in my family that didnt go to school in mexico past age 4 so my reading (and writing) skills are lacking, but theyre all either like. Non fiction historical, bilingual books specifically made for people just learning spanish, or just like, translated books that run the risk of being european spanish.... mexican authors of fiction are u out there. Save me. Save me.

#id go for the translated ones but i dont trust them also i am rarely grabbed by any book i see today...ykwim #would be one thing if there were some i already liked that i cld then read in spanish idk #maybe i should just crawl back to picking a fandom on ao3 with the spanish filter on and hope the writing isnt sucks bc #thats all I've got at this point LMAO #talkys #same with media where do i find media in spanish that is good and modern ykwim #all i have are my parents and family so i run into that problem where the spanish i speak is Old. i dont know current Slang #god i need to talk to my nephew more he could probably fill me in on that part #ffr

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kineticallyanywhere · 1 year

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Tell us more about Doodler Normal Kinetic i beg of you

First thing to note: Doodler Boss Normal would not survive contact with Canon Normal

Cause the thing with this version of Normal, I think, is that the situation to create it is so specific; and in a way that I've never thought about before, for a narrative? I'm sure it exists somewhere, because what story framework doesn't already exist somewhere but like.

this version of Normal only happens in a world where all 4 anchors are broken with violence and not a single other person is questioning that decision by the end. (which I don't think is going to happen! for the record!) in this world, Normal presents himself as a last bastion of empathy, but where in any other story that would look like a shining knight with their Chosen One sword and shield and righteous strength, in this story it looks like a kid ready to turn into an eldritch monster because the eldritch monster is the only other creature he can find that makes any sense to him. a character who, written in words, is a paragon hero who's virtues refuse to crumble. but because of the Ao3 CSS skin of the world he's in, he gets all the style and flair and trappings of a villain.

(which, again, I don't have reason at the time of this writing to think that this situation would happen; that there isn't going to be at least one other person on Normal's side. It's all but impossible to predict any of these kids and I think they all have good hearts, even Scary. Link right now is an unsettled weather vane in a storm, Taylor for all his swagger doesn't seem on the side of brutality, and then like... Hermie???)

that said! In a world where sometimes you can't decide if you want to sit in your disappointment or scream at the top of your lungs, there's falling back on your new frienemy-of-the-family monster bro

(anyone with a writing bug and time, feel free to use any, all, or none of these ^^)

for thoughts on where this AU would end up, anyone can obviously take it anywhere but I know the version I would make would have a happy ending (I am allergic to writing tragedies, sue me). I guess it would be a story where finally snapping and letting out some Oak Anger and not apologizing (because while it's not okay to be cruel it is okay to be angry) is what gets characters to come to terms with each other and better understand each other and meet each other in the middle and even come to terms with themselves and what version of expressing themselves makes them happy and comfortable and best able to love themselves and the people around them.

all of that admittedly wrapped in a gift box with the catharsis of a character saying "I'm not okay with how you're treating me" in a very badass fashion, as we all wish to do one day.

also for those of us who would die for Scary but also want to take her by the shoulders and shake vigorously there's the Rule of 3s for swiping the Goth Crown from Scary a THIRD TIME

all of her put-on apathy and tiredness and lashing out but from a genuine place, simultaneously forcing her in front of a mirror and asking her to reach back for the part of herself that started the day of the debate "bright eye-ed and bushy tailed" so that she could even stand a chance at getting through to Normal??? The ways to talk about Scary skyrocket even higher. to be clear, I don't want this as a form of stealing Scary's narrative, I want it as a way of taking Scary's narrative and hitting the NOS. give her just about everything she wants, for everyone to agree with her and listen to her and think she's right and enforce the belief that she has any power over what's going on and then see if she even likes it. See if she likes herself and see how far she's willing to take the identity of goth punk seeker of darkness. ask her where the line is. show her the road she she's taking and ask her where the line is. canon parallels and connections between normal and scary are a whole other post I can have and will drive to work in the morning writing the meta in my head, the way Normal is a previous version of Scary cranked up to 11 and the way Scary makes herself into a person that Normal has every right to be but isn't becausehe'shumanandflawedbutsogoodatheartandnevergivesuponothersnotevenherandAUGH

#dndads #dndads 2 #normal oak #aus #ask ka #me talking #i... have even more thoughts than i thought #and also more that i dont know how to elaborate on or balance yet #cause figuring out how to finagle this au without doing Link dirty is something I would like to do #problem is we dont know what the other two anchors are or even why he did it yet and like #we are in a pocket of time that's perfect for the seedling IDEA of this au #but we dont have enough content for me to grow it in a way that satisfies my love for all the characters #i know there are others more powerful than me who can take a thing and run canon be forgotten im just... bad a that #and therefore lean on them in these trying times #SPEAKING OF THEM THE NUMBER OF OTHER PEOPLE WHO'VE DRAWN BRANCHES OF THIS/TAKES ON THIS????#HI I SEE YOU AND LOVE YOU IM BLOWN AWAY #...well dang i had even more thoughts #long posts #i couldnt figure out where to put a readmore and also forgot to

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goldkrone-struggle-tweets · 8 months

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^ we all need to start posting like this guy

@metanarrates (reclines across my bed in the goldkrone dormitory. takes a deep sip of a black liquid from my goblet with skeletal wing designs. sighs.) people love only because they wish to be loved... can there be a world where love is not demanded of us? just how long have I been dreaming of such a thing, even not realizing I did so? (picks up a red crystal from the bowl on the side table. looks at it contemplatively before popping it in my mouth.) but now I am awake. and even if all of you offered your "love" to me, none of it would be enough to save you. to make up for what you've done. even you, rue. (especially you.) if just one fickle, flawed emotion could fix all the ills of the world... heh. I wouldn't have grown so tired of trying were that to be the case, now would I? and I am tired. I know full well what the proper, princely thing would be. smiling and nodding and agreeing with all your talk about love, about that being the only meaning. there was a time I would have done anything to protect you, to make you believe that. (The Crows Appear) unfortunately, that time has passed us by, and that isn't MY problem anymore. we shall see what these notions of yours will do to defend you now.

#is this an rp blog now. anyways if raven mytho was well handled he would be the greatest aroace villain to ever do it #*refuses to elaborate. leaves*#asks #metanarrates #raven mytho #I want to write fic NOW but I don't remember how this guy talks and I don't have ideas #well I could have ideas but they're all way too longform for me to commit to #anyway love was what caused all of mytho's problems and it fixed almost none of them #that's all I have to say folks! *revs up motorcycle and kicks up a giant cloud of smoke*#*when it dissipates I am lying completely dead on the pavement next to a single unidentifiable blu-ray disk*#the skull #adjacent. it's part of the saga

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bonefall · 6 months

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naruto as a whole is a fucking mess and i say thisas somebody whos read the entireseries 3 times over. “naruto is going to change the system! haha teehee never mind hes not doing anytning about the child soldiers and slave castes and the genocides.” “sasuke can be upset at his brother for committing a genocide but actually genocide against an oppressed bloodline is good if theyre getting uppity and its sanctioned by the government and also have a genetic predisposition to be evil so he should just get over it and be okay with it” “sakura needs to stop obsessing over a guy whos not even interested and become strong for her own sake. actually shes a housewife now”

kishimoto im going to blow you up with my mind

YOU GET IT

For real though I think what they did with Sasuke's arc was one of the most baffling fucking things I've ever seen. "Actually. Your brother who carried out a genocide loved you :( he only put you in the Torment Nexus for several days because uhhh he wanted you to hate him and not find out about the government who ordered it. Everything he ever did was actually to protect you. And Uchihas are actually kinda rotten anyway so it's good an entire GROUP OF PEOPLE died. Don't think about any babies or children who were also slaughtered btw uhh nope all of them were bad."

Sasuke: "Yes I understand. I will now rule the world through fear. Actually nvm Naruto won our fight so, my philosophy is gone now."

Thank goodness that Evil Sasuke killed the three Bad Government Officials before that point, though. We had this whole theme going about toxic structures, cycles of abuse, and how oppressive regimes can propagate themselves even when a leader is well-meaning... but, like, Naruto REALLY wants to be Hokage, so actually if you just kill these Three Bad Governors it's gonna be fine.

There is no need for systemic change. Slave castes and child soldiers are fine. It's ok as long as the president is blonde :)

#It also bothers me unreasonably. And HAS bothered me since I was like 15. That in the final--#--scene where sasuke finally lets Naruto Into His Heart he goes off about how they were both just Lonely Children Looking for Love #Like... no!! No actually! Sasuke's WHOLE THING was that EVERYONE was praising him as a prodigy #But that he was pushing away everyone around him because his brother put him in the fucjing torment nexus #It would have been more appropriate to talk about how THEYVE BOTH BEEN MADE INTO WEAPONS #For Naruto to realize (now that he is Useful to his war-obsessed society) that Sasuke was also undergoing a sort of dehumanization #It should be through THEIR GROWTH AS PEOPLE that they finally have a deeper understanding of each other #THEY DID NOT HAVE A COMMON ORIGIN #THATS THE POINT. THEY BECAME FRIENDS IN SPITE OF IT #iM FLIPPING TABLES #They had the opposite problem as each other but through self-imposed ostracization and proving one's 'worth' *NOW* THEY GET IT #But we cant do that bc you'd have to admit that Sasuke hada fucking point and wasnt just wrong the whole time #And that this system is ROTTEN and that Naruto shouldn't become Hokage but DESTROY THE POSITION #because dictators choosing dictators IS BAD.#They should have changed the government to democracy and then Sakura wins the first free election #Because she's actually deeply connected with the people of the fire nation especially outside of the capital city #For like her humanitarian work during the timeskip #And for being the disciple of Tsunade who was a respected leader #And then have a cute moment where Naruto and her banter about it. That she fulfilled HIS dream lmaoo #And also let the three of them be friends im beggign OTL #She gets over her crush on him and theyre just friends #Animeposting #I shouldn't have mentioned sakura now im yelling about naruto on the cat blog

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orbdotexe · 11 days

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Under pressure and request from both Osiris and Shin Malphur, Drifter seeks out the Young Wolf early in their exile. He's not sure he'd say it went well, but it certainly could've gone much, much worse. And hey; Shin was right, new friends are new friends. Alternatively: Two rogue Guardians play horse plinko with each other before agreeing to an exchange of favors.

I finally did it- A Questionably Fortunate Encounter's rewrite. I have no idea how I got the motivation to finish this, it wasn't even half done when I picked it back up, but here it is in time for TFE's (concept's) 2nd birthday! I am significantly happier with this than the original, you have no idea. It wasn't even a thousand words and now it's like 20 words from being 2k, and overall? Everything just has more character + an extra page of interaction and the end note being from Ghost instead of Drifter. and being accurate to more story details! I kept a lot of the parts i thought were funny tho, if moved them around-

[old ver. ao3] --- [new ver. ao3]

The Sundial. A ballsy idea from a mad warlock.

Knocking a few times on the side, he can’t help the chills down his spine at the whispers ringing in his ears. “If you short-circuit the universe, you’re on your own.” He snips, his already uneasy grin wavering.

“If I make a mistake here, you might cease to exist,” the old Warlock says simply, though there’s a questioning edge to it.

Drifter only shrugs. “Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.”

Osiris squints at him as Drifter moves around the machine, checking the stability. “We haven’t talked about payment.”

Drifter’s grin smooths out some, sly now. “If you live through this little experiment, you can be sure I’ll be back to collect.”

A simple ‘hm’ is the only response he gets for a few seconds, before Osiris starts again.

“There’s a Guardian you should meet.”

“Yeah, yeah, so I’ve heard. Some bigshot—Can’t wait.”

"Drifter."

—

The Warlock and that old Hunter had their points—The Young Wolf needed people on their side, and it's not like Drifter couldn't use the opportunity. He figured, if worst comes to worst, just say Osiris sent him. It seemed the best bet; he heard the two of them had been on good terms, and Osiris wouldn’t have sent him without reason.

This was, regardless, a horrible idea.

Which was very quickly weighing him down as he waited just inside their most recent hideout; a willing, sitting duck in the path of a hellhound. Then again, Shin would be waiting for him, just the same, to see if he really went through with it. A rock and a hard place, if both were unmovable walls.

—

Eventually, the Kingbreaker did show up—and they looked pissed—but they didn't seem to quite notice him, yet.

Their Ghost, on the other hand, had stopped at the door, and was switching between glaring at him, and watching its Guardian. It was a bare hope, but he almost prayed for the Little Light to let the Guardian notice him by themself—for what good it would do.

Drifter had to admit, though, they looked like Hell—In both the shit way and the eternal punishment way—And he'd quite like to keep them from being his punishment, thanks.

They were never in the same place for long, constantly tapping their fingers or wringing their hands. He'd almost call it a nervous habit; if the jerky, almost corpse-twitching movements didn't make him feel like they'd pounce on him at any given moment. It gave the distinct impression of a Taken, a fact he took no comfort in. He had told Shin they would be unpredictable, but recordings didn’t capture just how much.

The Guardian’s posture was rather slumped, in spite of their twitchiness, but he was rather certain he was a pinch taller than them; though it could be their hunch. That dead-eyed and bone-deep tiredness that seeped off of them… The Guardian stumbled whenever they walked, off-balance. Injured, maybe.

They looked as unstable on their feet as he imagined they were mentally.

He rapped his fingers on the tabletop he was leaning against, a slight knot in his stomach building on the question of ‘How to get their attention without getting pinned as a threat?’

Questionably fortunate enough, and probably should’ve been expected; the tapping made them pause, and he'd almost compare the frozen movement to their namesake freezing to listen. They nearly looked like they'd been caught doing something they shouldn't be, or as if a sudden red dot (or dozen) had appeared on their chest.

The Young Wolf then snapped to look at him, eyes narrowed and hand beginning to raise to their sword. Their Ghost noticed, and took it as a sign to speak up; "What do you think you’re doing here? Who are you?" For being the Ghost of an exile, its voice was strikingly uptight. Drifter had expected an edge to the voice, but not for it to be pedant.

"Mind your business, Ghost," he drawled. Their head jolted up a fraction. "Just want a talk with your Guardian, is all-"

Their Ghost flicked back a bit, only to be replaced by its Guardian stepping up close to him. Well… he got their attention, at least.

His gut twisted in knots as the seconds passed like that—far, far too close for comfort. "How about we just… back up for a moment, yeah? Think this all through?" Like he hadn’t. He should have told that Warlock and Shin to shove their requests back down their throats.

The Guardian tilted their head, the action more unnerving than anything else, reminding Drifter of a certain other Hunter, and he was unsure if it was an acknowledgement or a threat. They refused to look anywhere but his eyes, and he swore they leaned a bit closer.

He raises his hands to push them back a bit, but thinks better of touching them. He opts to just slide back a bit, instead– except they match his step. He does not take another one. That definitely wasn't good.

"I'll ask again: Who are you?" The Ghost hovers over its Guardian’s shoulder as they tilt their head to allow it to take the center of Drifter’s vision. Their dynamic is clear, but he tries to focus on them.

"Your old man Osiris didn't mention me?” Drifter tries to say, “I’m hurt–”

"You will be hurt–" the Ghost starts, just as the Guardian grips his collar. There’s a moment the Drifter is almost certain they were going to slam him into the wall.

"Alright, alright—” he tries to interrupt, “Just back up.”

It takes them a moment, and a couple glances between him and the Ghost, but they do back up, if not letting go of his collar. He tries to quietly let out the breath he’d been holding, nerves a bit strung. Their emotions are as on-a-dime as he thought. Damn this plan. The Ghost eyes him expectantly.

"You can call me Drifter; I run a little… operation outta the Tower." Their face somehow pulls even further in a grimace. “Now, I know how that sounds, but I’m not working with the Vanguard—Trust. Wouldn’t be here if I was: Heard about your… dislike of ‘em.”

He gives them a grin when they don’t make another move, though not optimistic. Watching every little change in their expression doesn’t give him much hope, either, given the hard line in their brow now.

"That old Phoenix of yours pointed me your way, and I figured we both could make use of the others'... skills. I've got the connections, and you've guts enough to attack your own–”

The Drifter hardly has time to blink before his back is against the wall again, this time with a knife to his throat, sharp eyes glaring down at him—So it's like that. Osiris might've downplayed the sore spot; Drifter can’t even get away with a tease. He’s good at pushing buttons, but their reservations broke immediately.

He counts by the seconds as the Young Wolf silently dares him to say it again.

While he decidedly opts not to and tries to think of a way to de-escalate his mistake, he has… an inane thought: They’re taller than him… Not by too much, but the thought gives him an idea potentially worse than even the meeting itself was; something mischievous glinting in his eye and, as an added bonus, giving the Guardian pause.

"...Kinky." Feeling their hold loosen somewhat and seeing their brow twitch, Drifter pushes the joke with a sly grin and a cant to the side. “I didn’t realize you swung like that, Killer…”

Drifter’s eyes flick towards the Ghost at the undoubtably horrified, near-static chiming it makes as it rapidly recoils. “Are you… trying to flirt your way out of this–”

The Guardian’s expression seems of someone entirely bewildered by a puzzle in front of them. As they loosened their hold in what he could only assume was disbelief, Drifter had to stop himself from laughing—in relief, at the absurdity, or at their reaction.

“Nahh… Just seizing an opportunity, you’d understand,” he says, as nonchalantly as he can manage. There’s a moment of silence, the Guardian and their Ghost both searching his face, and it's everything he can do not to break—Either into a sweat or into a fit of laughter.

"...what the hell is wrong with you?" is the only response he got from the Ghost, the top fold of its shell covering half its eye. Drifter can only assume it's meant to be a mimicry of a dead-stare.

"Many things!” He gives a toothy grin that splits his face as he chuckles, “Next question."

The Ghost makes a show of rolling its eye, while the Guardian still looks like their mind has shattered, eyes seeming to search the wall through him for answers. The Ghost seems to take notice of its Guardian’s… inoperable state, and pipes up again, terse, “So what do you want?”

He’s really going to have to cut a deal with the Ghost, instead, isn’t he? As Drifter slowly tugs the Guardian’s hand from his collar—which they thankfully do not resist—he gives the Ghost the greasiest side-eye he can manage. “Well, as I was saying before your Guardian interrupted me,” it mimics narrowing its eye as he speaks. “I hear you two need friends, and, well, I’m always looking for more of those.”

“Just get to the point,” the Ghost pushes, tone flat. The Guardian seems to only vaguely be paying attention.

“Them and I could both use the support, so I suggest an… exchange.”

“An exchange? What is that– You mean, glimmer?” The Ghost interrupts itself with flicking its shell around itself and letting out a short chirr. “Information? We have nothing you’d want in that.”

“Nah, I don’t want any of that. If anything, I’m offering—You two just gotta do some favors for me in return. How’s that sound?” At the mention of favors, the Guardian refocuses; eyes widening some before narrowing and scanning him in search of some catch. “Just a job or two; you scratch my back, I scratch yours, yeah? Nothing you wouldn’t already do, of course.”

At the skeptical, almost blank looks from both of them, Drifter’s grin tightens some. “Favor for favor make sense to you?” He’s tempted to ask if they’ve got cotton in their ears. The pair take a long glance at each other, and he can only see the slight twitching in both’s expressions.

“...And how do we know we can trust you?” Finally comes an answer, again from the Ghost, but one that’s more assuring than it probably should be.

“Your old man asked me here, didn’t I say? I wouldn't risk this without a good word.” That, or without Shin over his shoulder. He turns his eye back to its Guardian and offers them a hand, “So, whaddya say? Give it a shot, hotshot?”

The Ghost trills in some semblance of worry as the Guardian cautiously eyes him and his hand, body canted away from him, before hesitantly taking his hand. Their hold is slight and feels like they would rather writhe away from him, but they hold just long enough to shake his hand.

“Heyy, don’t be like that, now. Friends take care of friends, yeah? Trust.” The Guardian grimaces at his words. Maybe that odd adage of insects had a bit more truth to it than he realized.

They’re more scared of you than you are of them?

—

Hours later, the Drifter far gone, and his Guardian was still kind of distracted. Honestly, Ghost would be lying if he said he wasn’t mind-broke by that as well. Who, in any sane state of mind, would do any of that? Sneak into an ill exile’s hideout, startle and piss them off, and then try to make a deal?

And why did it… actually work?

Ghost must be losing it.

#idk the pacing might be slightly off still in some places but i like it!#i could hardly stand to read the old version anymore so being able to compare them side by side? im not very easy on myself about these #things but. DAMN ive gotten a lot better huh #i would probably delete the old ver but. idk people might like something in there that i didnt put in this ver so itll stay up #the forsaken exile #destiny 2 #anyway yeah im very asleep as this is being posted bc i scheduled it for the minute discord says that message was originally sent #so like. 5:54am. and i dont have to get up at that time tomorrow so im... just not lmao #god. ive been brainrotting about an exile timeline for Destiny for two years...#i am actually ill i think. NOT sane behavior #but hey! i wouldve never gotten back into writing after not touching it since like. early middle school or smth (?? honestly dont remember)#if not for this AU. beloved #im not sure words can describe how important this thing is to me. aaaaaaaaaaaaa #eepy and getting sappy now. time to shut up!!!#anyway yeah Shin knew (or. thought he knew. its *Shin*) Drifter would get attached. the old snake fell for #the oldest trick in the book (forced exposure -> eventually friendly)#(Shin did not consider that thats not really how that works but thats okay)#i feel i should clarify. bc there isnt really much of a way to tell-- Osiris talks to Drifter first. and THEN Shin talks to him.#we be havin canon lore problems now huh...

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