Btw I’m Gonna Be Updating Some Chapters Of My Fic With Just General Improvements + Making Them Longer

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” said the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back!”

“Be logical,” said the scorpion. “If I stung you I’d certainly drown myself.”

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Climb aboard, then!” But no sooner than they were halfway across the river, the scorpion stung the frog, and they both began to thrash and drown. “Why on earth did you do that?” the frog said morosely. “Now we’re both going to die.” 

“I can’t help it,” said the scorpion. “It’s my nature.”

___

…But no sooner than they were halfway across the river, the frog felt a subtle motion on its back, and in a panic dived deep beneath the rushing waters, leaving the scorpion to drown.

“It was going to sting me anyway,” muttered the frog, emerging on the other side of the river. “It was inevitable. You all knew it. Everyone knows what those scorpions are like. It was self-defense.”

___

…But no sooner had they cast off from the bank, the frog felt the tip of a stinger pressed lightly against the back of its neck. “What do you think you’re doing?” said the frog.

“Just a precaution,” said the scorpion. “I cannot sting you without drowning. And now, you cannot drown me without being stung. Fair’s fair, isn’t it?”

They swam in silence to the other end of the river, where the scorpion climbed off, leaving the frog fuming.

“After the kindness I showed you!” said the frog. “And you threatened to kill me in return?”

“Kindness?” said the scorpion. “To only invite me on your back after you knew I was defenseless, unable to use my tail without killing myself? My dear frog, I only treated you as I was treated. Your kindness was as poisoned as a scorpion’s sting.”

___

…“Just a precaution,” said the scorpion. “I cannot sting you without drowning. And now, you cannot drown me without being stung. Fair’s fair, isn’t it?”

“You have a point,” the frog acknowledged. “But once we get to dry land, couldn’t you sting me then without repercussion?”

“All I want is to cross the river safely,” said the scorpion. “Once I’m on the other side I would gladly let you be.”

“But I would have to trust you on that,” said the frog. “While you’re pressing a stinger to my neck. By ferrying you to land I’d be be giving up the one deterrent I hold over you.”

“But by the same logic, I can’t possibly withdraw my stinger while we’re still over water,” the scorpion protested.

The frog paused in the middle of the river, treading water. “So, I suppose we’re at an impasse.”

The river rushed around them. The scorpion’s stinger twitched against the frog’s unbroken skin. “I suppose so,” the scorpion said.

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Absolutely not!” said the frog, and dived beneath the waters, and so none of them learned anything.

___

A scorpion, being unable to swim, asked a turtle (as in the original Persian version of the fable) to carry it across the river. The turtle readily agreed, and allowed the scorpion aboard its shell. Halfway across, the scorpion gave in to its nature and stung, but failed to penetrate the turtle’s thick shell. The turtle, swimming placidly, failed to notice.

They reached the other side of the river, and parted ways as friends.

___

…Halfway across, the scorpion gave in to its nature and stung, but failed to penetrate the turtle’s thick shell.

The turtle, hearing the tap of the scorpion’s sting, was offended at the scorpion’s ungratefulness. Thankfully, having been granted the powers to both defend itself and to punish evil, the turtle sank beneath the waters and drowned the scorpion out of principle.

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” sneered the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back.”

The scorpion pleaded earnestly. “Do you think so little of me? Please, I must cross the river. What would I gain from stinging you? I would only end up drowning myself!”

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Even a scorpion knows to look out for its own skin. Climb aboard, then!”

But as they forged through the rushing waters, the scorpion grew worried. This frog thinks me a ruthless killer, it thought. Would it not be justified in throwing me off now and ridding the world of me? Why else would it agree to this? Every jostle made the scorpion more and more anxious, until the frog surged forward with a particularly large splash, and in panic the scorpion lashed out with its stinger.

“I knew it,” snarled the frog, as they both thrashed and drowned. “A scorpion cannot change its nature.”

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. The frog agreed, but no sooner than they were halfway across the scorpion stung the frog, and they both began to thrash and drown.

“I’ve only myself to blame,” sighed the frog, as they both sank beneath the waters. “You, you’re a scorpion, I couldn’t have expected anything better. But I knew better, and yet I went against my judgement! And now I’ve doomed us both!”

“You couldn’t help it,” said the scorpion mildly. “It’s your nature.” 

___

…“Why on earth did you do that?” the frog said morosely. “Now we’re both going to die.”

“Alas, I was of two natures,” said the scorpion. “One said to gratefully ride your back across the river, and the other said to sting you where you stood. And so both fought, and neither won.” It smiled wistfully. “Ah, it would be nice to be just one thing, wouldn’t it? Unadulterated in nature. Without the capacity for conflict or regret.”

___

“By the way,” said the frog, as they swam, “I’ve been meaning to ask: What’s on the other side of the river?”

“It’s the journey,” said the scorpion. “Not the destination.”

___

…“What’s on the other side of anything?” said the scorpion. “A new beginning.”

___

…”Another scorpion to mate with,” said the scorpion. “And more prey to kill, and more living bodies to poison, and a forthcoming lineage of cruelties that you will be culpable in.”

___

…”Nothing we will live to see, I fear,” said the scorpion. “Already the currents are growing stronger, and the river seems like it shall swallow us both. We surge forward, and the shoreline recedes. But does that mean our striving was in vain?”

___

“I love you,” said the scorpion.

The frog glanced upward. “Do you?”

“Absolutely. Can you imagine the fear of drowning? Of course not. You’re a frog. Might as well be scared of breathing air. And yet here I am, clinging to your back, as the waters rage around us. Isn’t that love? Isn’t that trust? Isn’t that necessity? I could not kill you without killing myself. Are we not inseparable in this?”

The frog swam on, the both of them silent.

___

“I’m so tired,” murmured the frog eventually. “How much further to the other side? I don’t know how long we’ve been swimming. I’ve been treading water. And it’s getting so very dark.”

“Shh,” the scorpion said. “Don’t be afraid.”

The frog’s legs kicked out weakly. “How long has it been? We’re lost. We’re lost! We’re doomed to be cast about the waters forever. There is no land. There’s nothing on the other side, don’t you see!”

“Shh, shh,” said the scorpion. “My venom is a hallucinogenic. Beneath its surface, the river is endlessly deep, its currents carrying many things.” 

“You - You’ve killed us both,” said the frog, and began to laugh deliriously. “Is this - is this what it’s like to drown?” 

“We’ve killed each other,” said the scorpion soothingly. “My venom in my glands now pulsing through your veins, the waters of your birthing pool suffusing my lungs. We are engulfing each other now, drowning in each other. I am breathless. Do you feel it? Do you feel my sting pierced through your heart?”

“What a foolish thing to do,” murmured the frog. “No logic. No logic to it at all.”

“We couldn’t help it,” whispered the scorpion. “It’s our natures. Why else does anything in the world happen? Because we were made for this from birth, darling, every moment inexplicable and inevitable. What a crazy thing it is to fall in love, and yet - It’s all our fault! We are both blameless. We’re together now, darling. It couldn’t have happened any other way.”

___

“It’s funny,” said the frog. “I can’t say that I trust you, really. Or that I even think very much of you and that nasty little stinger of yours to begin with. But I’m doing this for you regardless. It’s strange, isn’t it? It’s strange. Why would I do this? I want to help you, want to go out of my way to help you. I let you climb right onto my back! Now, whyever would I go and do a foolish thing like that?”

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” said the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back!”

“Be logical,” said the scorpion. “If I stung you I’d certainly drown myself.”  

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Come aboard, then!” But no sooner had the scorpion mounted the frog’s back than it began to sting, repeatedly, while still safely on the river’s bank.

The frog groaned, thrashing weakly as the venom coursed through its veins, beginning to liquefy its flesh. “Ah,” it muttered. “For some reason I never considered this possibility.”

“Because you were never scared of me,” the scorpion whispered in its ear. “You were never scared of dying. In a past life you wore a shell and sat in judgement. And then you were reborn: soft-skinned, swift, unburdened, as new and vulnerable as a child, moving anew through a world of children. How could anyone ever be cruel, you thought, seeing the precariousness of it all?” The scorpion bowed its head and drank. “How could anyone kill you without killing themselves?”

took longer than expected but here’s some grimm studies (featuring the little demonic child)

SUPERNOVA

If I’m not supposed to drink the chemicals then why do they look so colorful and smell so fragrant??? I need to consume all purple liquids regardless of what they may contain. If chemical manufacturers wanted less lawsuits they should color all chemicals poopy brown and make them smell disgusting.

#isat and Other Things That Ruined My Life: An Autobiography by rocktoo

"Isabeau isn't that interesting of a character compared to the others" is a take I have regrettably seen. I have never believed it for a moment but I realized I had way more immediate thoughts on the other cast members, so I went to fix that. And ohhh, Isabeau.

Siffrin's "not the only one acting in this play," but Isabeau's act of sorts is compelling to me because of how deeply intentional it is, even before the loops. He agrees with the craftology book's description of Protector Craft users being patient, loyal, and "very gullible" with a smile. He's upset that he didn't know what colors were, but when Odile tells him, "We don't usually count on you to know things," he corrects himself after a short pause with an "Oh yeah! That's true!!!"

His relationship with Odile makes me ill because her more straightforward, joking remarks unknowingly hit right where it hurts. I think of the SASASAP art book's relationship chart - "I wanna impress [Odile]! Old me would have..." as if the current version of him would never be able to. But he can! He does, in different loops! The two of them are the ones that synthesize the information on Wish Craft, and Odile compliments his questions about the King in the candle room ("Good questions, Isabeau. You have pretty smart insights sometimes").

Isabeau and Siffrin are the two that always ask Odile what her research is about, and she goes along with it because it's easier than explaining. Both Isa and Odile unknowingly reinforce those boxes, because those boxes and labels are easier to live in instead of telling the truth. And in Isa's case, it's not that faking it 'til you make it is bad or wrong, but it becomes a cover-up for the problems he can only heal by confronting them.

I think of the bathroom conversation between Isabeau and Mirabelle, how when she asks if he's doing okay, he tries to call himself simple, saying he "[doesn't] have a big enough brain to worry about things." How it's such a painfully obvious lie. How he's the one to always worry about others and whether they're alright, but he can't accept the same for himself. (Like a certain someone else.)

There's a lot to glean from comparing Isa's anxieties and conflict avoidance with both Mirabelle and Odile. Odile is caring, but also pragmatic, confronting the problem even if she isn't the best at it. Isa knows something's wrong, but isn't ready to ask. Their bathroom talk during Susquest highlights their dichotomy.

And although Mirabelle admits she's "no good at being confrontational," she's the one to ask Siffrin what's wrong in SASASAP's True End route. Isa was going to, but he spends so much time trying to "build up to it," trying to plan out how to word it correctly, that he's too late to the punch.

(thank you isat script project! 🤍)

Isabeau has been working on it, for sure, but his fears hold him back constantly. He's the type that wants to both reassure others and to be reassured. To make sure he's not messing up his relationships, to make sure that existing the way he is is okay. He's become louder, more boisterous, someone who loves hugs, because those are qualities he values, but to an extent where his older traits - shyness, but also his intelligence and nerdiness - feel incompatible in his mind. He starts to see those qualities as bad because of how he struggled to love himself (and still does). His Change is good for him, but the way he tries to mold his personality is forced, even inauthentic, as he tries to run away from himself.

It's compelling in the context of ISAT's rejection of stereotypes and the typical found family structure, too. Odile's the "smart one," so he can't outshine that, Siffrin's the "funnyjokespun person," so that can't be his only trait, even if he's the big strong man (and he instead contrasts this by acting gullible and foolish - I wonder if he exaggerates it around the party at all, consciously or not?) Bonnie's the kid to take care of (which can lead Isa's words to sounding "patronizing"), and Mira's the leader, the kind, loving Chosen One who brought everyone together (not that he'd want to take center stage to begin with). And it's also interesting to examine from a gender role lens (a few people have done so. ouuuch!).

This doesn't even begin to talk about how similar he is to Siffrin, how closed off they both are in different ways, how they want to be loved so badly but can't express it, the way they suppress their emotions (thinking about these two posts. i'm normal!). That could be its own separate infinity word post by this point.

But it's so lovely how Siffrin's actions in the end - how they take Isabeau's hand, how they reassure him ("We wouldn't like you any less if you were smart, you know"), are ones that help Isabeau confront his fears just a little bit more. It's like he says: "Changing takes time, you know!!!"

And fortunately, he has people who will be there for him every step of the way, even if they physically go their separate ways.

Tumbr keeps crashing for no reason. Clearly this means the media is trying to silence me

Can’t stop seeing that ad with the weird lady and her sword. Why is it everywhere? Does it’s continued appearance mean my day of reckoning has finally arrived? Help?

Picker Wheel

Picker Wheel - Spin the Wheel to Decide a Random Choice

Picker Wheel is a wheel spinner for a random picker. Various functions & customization. Enter choices or names, spin the wheel to decide a r

The decade you’re given is the decade to which you’re transported. Your geographic location doesn’t change; only the time period changes. “Equivalent QOL” means a qualify of life that approximates the life you have now and anticipate being able to have in the future.

Bees are also cool. But not nearly as cool as moths.