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birdmitosis · 11 hours

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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?”

#time loops #sort of #the scorpion and the frog #OOUGH #<33333

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birdmitosis · 18 hours

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OOOH NAME IDEAS TIME :D I have thought so much about this... I have ideas for their names in potential human AUs and also potential ways they might change away from their titles...

Hero

Human name would just be Hero (Greek meaning, of course, "hero"), or possibly Hiro (Japanese meaning "generous, tolerant" or "prosperous"). Also considered Hiroshi (meaning the same as Hiro), Hector (English, French, or Greek for "holding fast"), Heron (also Greek for "hero," but also a bird! he loves birds!), and Neil (Irish, Scottish, or English for "fury/passion" or "hero") for him.

Thanks to some people I can't shake the thought that in a universe where he Gets Worse he'd become Voice of the Savior. In a universe where he improves... That I'm not as sure of, but maybe he ends up feeling less responsible for everything? Voice of the Kind? That isn't quite what I'm going for, but...

Broken

Decided on Brody (English from Scots Gaelic for "ditch, mire") for his human name, but I was heavily considering either Brogán (Irish for "shoe, sandal, weave") or Brooklyn (English for "broken land" or "marsh land") for a while.

In a universe where they get worse I think something like Voice of the Shattered, just taking the whole broken theming up a notch. Even when they improved I feel like they would still not be ~totally fixed or anything, so maybe in that universe he might be Voice of the Weary, Voice of the Fragile, or even (as a callback to the demos) Voice of the Meek?

Cheated

For her human name I decided on Chidi (Western African/Igbo for "God exists")! I was also considering, at one point, Chí (Vietnamese for "will, spirit"), Chiaki (Japanese for "thousand" + "clear"), or Charlie (Charlotte) (French for "man" or "army").

In a universe where she gets worse I think Voice of the Spiteful makes sense, or even just straight-up Voice of the Cheat. In one where she improves I think Voice of the Fair, Voice of the Just, or just Voice of the Cynic would work well.

Cold

Cold is just Cole to me in any human AU. He just is. (Name is English for "victory of the people" or "charcoal.") That said, I did also consider Colum (Irish for "dove"), Ayaz (Turkish for "frost/dry and cold air"), and Rin (Japanese for "dignified, severe, cold") as human names for a time. Michael (English via Hebrew for "who is like God?") (with Cole/Cold as a nickname) or Nicholas (English via Greek for "victory of the people") (with Col as an actual Medieval English nickname) could also potentially work.

I love the fact that we got specific potential names for Cold specifically in that one Reddit AMA, so I can't help but think that, yeah, if Cold got worse he'd become Voice of the Heartless and if he got better he'd become Voice of the Determined. (Though I can also see, for an improvement, Voice of the Calm or Voice of the Placid.)

Contrarian

CONNIE. Look I really do just think of human Contrarian as Connie. Could be short for Connor (Irish for "hound, dog, wolf" + "desiring"), Constance (English or French for "constant, steadfast"), or Conrad (English or German for "brave counsel"), or could just be Connie by itself. At one point I was also idly considering Corbin (English via French for "raven"), Corentin (Breton or French for "hurricane, storm" or "love"), or even Sture (Swedish for "to be contrary") as names, though.

If they got worse, probably Voice of the Antagonist, Voice of the Incompatible, or Voice of the Ridicule. I think if they improved, they might become Voice of the Whimsical, Voice of the Arch, Voice of the Jester... even Voice of the Advocate, potentially. (It is interesting to me how alike Cheated and Contrarian could be despite Cheated not liking them...)

Hunted

I personally looove the name Hulda for a human Hunted! (It could be either Icelandic, Swedish, or Norwegian for "hiding, secrecy" or "gracious, sweet, lovable" or Hebrew for "weasel, mole.") But I would be remiss to not mention the possibility of just making its name Hunter (English just meaning "hunter")... or potentially Chase (English meaning, uh, "chase, hunt"). (And also shout out to @toon-topaz naming it Heather -- another English name after the shrub -- because that's another really really good one!)

I think if it got worse it might become Voice of the Hunter, Voice of the Prey, Voice of the Quarry, Voice of the Bleeding, or maybe even Voice of the Casualty, depending on what direction things went. I could see an improved Hunted becoming Voice of the Instinct, Voice of the Cautious... or, interestingly, in a universe where the vessels maybe no longer exist, potentially even Voice of the Wild.

Opportunist

I have no idea why I associate this song with Opportunist so strongly but I do, so I can't help but think of eir human name as Ofelia (Spanish or Italian meaning "help, advantage"). In the past, though, I was very strongly considering Opaline (English for "resembling an opal" -- faaake), Ophiuchus (an astronomical Greek name meaning "serpent bearer"), and even Chance (English for "luck, fortune") for a while!

If he got worse, I think Voice of the Egotist or Voice of the Turncoat might fit; if ey got better maybe Voice of the Chameleon, Voice of the Strategist, or Voice of the Cohort?

Paranoid

Parastu my beloved!! I love that name for human Paranoid (it's a Persian name meaning "swallow" as in the bird), though I was also considering Paraskevi at one point (Greek for "preparation" or "Friday, day of preparation"), and I've seen Patrícia ("nobleman"), Pamela ("all" + "honey"), Paula ("small" or "humble"), and Pauline (same as Paula) and I think those work well! Pallas (Greek for "maiden, young woman"; an epithet of Athena and in mythology a friend of the goddess's she accidentally killed), Paloma (Spanish for "dove, pigeon"), or Pearl (English for the gemstone, which "supposedly imparts health and wealth") could also fit, imo.

I think if she got worse she might become Voice of the Delusional, Voice of the Neurotic, Voice of the Hysterical, or just Voice of the Untrusting; if she improved, maybe Voice of the Wary or Voice of the Cautious.

Skeptic

One of the hardest for me to decide on a name for! I ended up going with Skyler (English via Dutch, meaning "scholar"), but the spelling Schuyler also works. At one point or another I was also considering Scorpio or Scorpius (astronomical Latin names meaning "scorpion"), Scout (English meaning "one who gathers information covertly" or "to listen"), or Skender (short for Aleksandar, a Bosnian name meaning "defending men").

I think if he got worse he'd be Voice of the Mistrustful, Voice of the Doubting (another beta throwback!), Voice of the Disbeliever, Voice of the Argumentative, Voice of the Suspicious, maybe even Voice of the Indecisive. If he improved, I think Voice of the Thoughtful (with the double meaning of him also being kind), but Voice of the Thorough, Voice of the Questioning, or even just straight-up Voice of the Detective could also work.

Smitten

In a human AU I just keep imagining Smitten as transfem, tbh, and I landed on Sitti for her name! (It's a Malay/Indonesian name meaning "furrow," and the variant of a name of a couple of Hindu goddesses...) Smitty/Smith (English meaning "metal worker, blacksmith" and coming from "to smite/hit") and Amandus (Roman meaning "lovable, worthy of love") are also cute names that I considered at one point or another.

If he got worse I think Voice of the Fixated, Voice of the Blind, or even something like Voice of the Haunted, Voice of the Grieving, or Voice of the Anguished could work. But if he improved I think Voice of the Heart is actually a great potential course for him; Voice of the Caring, Voice of the Devoted, or Voice of the Nurturing could also work really well.

Stubborn

Sten! It's so short and simple and I think it fits human AU Stubborn really well. (It's a Swedish/Danish/Norwegian name meaning "stone.") Stein (same as Sten, but Norwegian specifically), Stoyan (Bulgarian for "to stand, to stay"), Subhan (Arabic or Urdu for "glory, praise"), Steven/Stephen (English or Dutch from the Biblical name meaning "crown, wreath" or "that which surrounds"), Stephanie (same as Stephen), and Sture (Swedish for "to be contrary") could also work well for him. (Yes, I suggested Sture as potential names for both Contrarian and Stubborn...)

I think if he got worse he'd become Voice of the Obstinate, Voice of the Intractable, or even Voice of the Bloody... If he improved, he might become Voice of the Determined if Cold didn't, LOL. Otherwise, Voice of the Will, Voice of the Resolute, or Voice of the Persistent could work!

The Narrator

THIS ONE'S A BIT WEIRD. In a human AU, the Narrator and the Echo might be the same person or two (or more) different people. In either case, the Narrator would be Narcyz (a Polish name meaning "sleep, numbness" or simply the narcissus flower, from mythology but actually also used in the Bible), while the Echo would simply be Echo (a Greek name from mythology meaning "echo, reflected sound"). Yes, I am making a reference. :D In canon, if the Echo improved I like to think he'd actually start going by Echo rather than the Narrator.

I think if I had to choose one of each...

Hero: Hiro (human); Voice of the Savior (worse); Voice of the Kind (better)

Broken: Brody (human); Voice of the Shattered (worse); Voice of the Fragile (better)

Cheated: Chidi (human); Voice of the Spiteful (worse); Voice of the Fair (better)

Cold: Cole (human); Voice of the Heartless (worse); Voice of the Determined (better)

Contrarian: Connie (human); Voice of the Antagonist (worse); Voice of the Whimsical (better)

Hunted: Hulda (human); Voice of the Bleeding (worse); Voice of the Instinct (better)

Opportunist: Ofelia (human); Voice of the Turncoat (worse); Voice of the Strategist (better)

Paranoid: Parastu (human); Voice of the Delusional (worse); Voice of the Wary (better)

Skeptic: Skyler (human); Voice of the Mistrustful (worse); Voice of the Thoughtful (better)

Smitten: Sitti (human); Voice of the Fixated or Voice of the Grieving (worse); Voice of the Devoted (better)

Stubborn: Sten (human); Voice of the Obstinate (worse); Voice of the Persistent (better)

Narrator: Narcyz (human); Echo (better)

Echo: Echo (human)

If I were to give the voices their own names

Harlow the Hero

“Contra” the Contrarian (Real name is a mystery~)

Simon the Smitten

Spencer the Skeptic

Caleb the Cold

Percival “Percy” the Paranoid

Bruno the Broken

Steven the Stubborn (Do not call him “Steve”)

Hunter the Hunted (It hates the irony of its name…)

Oswald the Opportunist

Chester “Ches” the Cheated (He prefers “Ches”)

And of course, Jonathan Crowe, the Narrator

#i just saw it but [POINTS AT BUBBLYBLOOB] BRODY!!!#HOORAY #slay the princess #aus #human au #and others #headcanons #humanizations #the voices #the narrator #i'm not listing everybody #long post

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