#fabulous anons

[friedwritinggamingghost]

2/22 is cat day! Do you have any kitty Omi headcanons?

Apologies for the late reply! I have 3, actually. 😀

1. I think 😺 Omi enjoyed being groomed by the warriors, though to save his pride he pretended to be affronted by it. Because it's freely given care and affection. Something he doesn't get a lot of in the temple.

2. I think 😺 Omi probably went to sleep better alone, but whenever he woke up, he'd either have some of the warriors surrounding him while being asleep, or he'd be with Chase. I think waking up with comrades around him was probably something he missed upon going back to the xiaolin temple.

3. I think 😺 Omi almost certainly ended up eating meat at least once as a cat. I base this on the fact that cats are obligate carnivores, and while he wasn't with Chase for very long, he was young enough I think he would have given in to his new form's needs.

[friedwritinggamingghost]

What's your favorite scene of Chase and Omi? 😊

Oh gosh, that's really hard! 😭 ( 😉)

Um, while I pretty much like them all, I would have to say it's a tie between three scenes:

1. During the Sibini episode, when Chase first pats Omi's head. Because this is the first instance of this nasty, antisocial person reaching out to the sweet drop of sunshine and being the one to try to build a relationship. I really adore that, and how the loner/sunshine character dynamic is flipped onto its head.

2. When Chase tells Omi that there is always a place for Omi by his side. Chase has Omi in the palm of his hand at this point. It's blatant that there's not a whole lot Omi wouldn't do for Fung. Chase's plan was going off without a hitch, he was absolutely going to get Omi. Yet he still stopped to offer Omi the chance to join him, to make it clear that Omi would always have a place by his side. To me that underscores that Chase is actually sincere towards Omi.

3. When Omi and Chase meet again while Chase is in the torture device. So we don't actually know when Jack captured Chase. But Jack is a kid, and judging how old he is in that episode (easily 80s/90s), I think it's safe to say that Chase has been in that contraption for at least 50 years. So at the very least, 50 years of being tortured and he never gave up hope of seeing Omi again. To me that really shows how important Omi is to Chase. I think pretty much all of Time after Time shows how important Chase is to Omi, but that's the scene that confirms for me that Chase is just as invested, and holds him as close to his heart as Omi holds Chase.

An honorary mention is when he let's Omi kick off his staff, but he kicks Kimiko in the stomach and nails Raimundo in the crotch with his staff. I think it's another instance where you can see the regard Chase holds towards Omi. He's not looking to humiliate or injure Omi, and it's obvious that Omi is the exception because he clearly doesn't care about humiliating or injuring anyone else.

Poor Raimundo though, seriously. Chase didn't have to do him like that. 😆

[friedwritinggamingghost]

Hannibal targeting Omi to get to Chase definitely seems like something he'd do! Omi's still inexperienced and naive (especially compared to Chase, who's tricked Hannibal before) despite being a strong fighter, and he's definitely one of the things Chase cares about most, so Hannibal doing that thing where he sends body parts as a ransom note to Chase is so scarily in line with the bean. That was my favorite chapter so far I think.

Thank you so much! 💓

I'm glad to hear that! 😊

I really enjoy exploring the darker sides of the villains. With Chase it's how manipulative he can be and how self-serving his logic is, even as its threaded through with genuine care. And how brutal he can be, and just dismissive of anyone he doesn't want in his sphere.

With Wuya, it's how she's first and foremost focused on self-preservation and power, even as you can see that she's capable of friendship, but her own wellbeing always comes first.

Jack wants to matter. And by the end of the series, Omi is the primary person (if not the only one) who he matters to. Which I think is a huge part of why he went so far in Time after Time.

With Bean it's harder because he's deliberately difficult to parse. You don't know his goals, his motivations, etc. The only thing you can say for sure is that he cares for Ying-Ying, though he does seem to like Wuya. But his goals? What are they? What's worse than ten thousand years of darkness?

Bean for me is notable because he was written to be fairly inscrutable. You really have to guess at a lot with him because of how close to his chest he keeps his cards. He's one of the few characters where this approach works.

However, his blatant hatred for Chase does give a decent opening into his character and I think he'd be very capable of chopping up Omi and sending his body parts to Chase in order to hurt Chase.

[friedwritinggamingghost]

In accordance with the theory that Dashi and Omi are related, how do you think Dashi felt when he first met time-traveling Omi? Do you think that's what he meant when he said Omi had an "honest face"?

So, there's 3 answers for that. My first theory, because of what happened in Time after Time, is that when Omi met Dashi, that was actually Dashi's second time meeting Omi, it's after Chase and Guan are no longer around, and Dashi is very good at rolling with the punches. So when he sees Omi who has clearly never met him before, he already knows that Omi is basically an honest person.

In my first theory, I think when he sees Omi ready to fight by their sides in TAT, that blatant surprise he had, definitely could have been him wondering if they were related.

(Particularly if the theories about Dashi and Wuya being together are true. If you're gonna fight to the death against the father of your child, it would make sense to hide that child after all.)

My second theory, involves the theory that time travel in Xiaolin Showdown , is basically just the show's official term for Shenanigans. If that's the case, then I think that the first time Omi met Dashi was in a different timeline from Time After Time, and the only Dashi we see from Omi’s timeline is ghost Dashi.

So in this theory, I think it's entirely possible that Dashi thought they were related as ancestor/descendant, hence the honest face comment, but also that there wouldn't be much of a point bringing it up.

And finally, completely unrelated to time travel/the possibility of them being relatives; Omi does have an honest face and a very sincere personality which tends to shine through. So Dashi could have easily just thought he had an honest face.

[friedwritinggamingghost]

In your opinion, what do you think ran through Chase's mind when Omi snuck all the way to his castle alone to break Chase out of the Sphere of Yun?

Oh gosh. This one made me think. 😆

Okie. So, I figure there are 4 main avenues Chase's mind could have gone down.

1. He was actually already expecting Omi. There's a moment where it looks like he looks at Omi right after he's been captured. That could have been him trying to cue Omi that this would be a good time to repay the favor. It would also be an easy explanation for why he wasn't surprised by Omi coming.

2. He wasn't surprised by Omi coming, but he was gratified by it. It would indicate a preference for Chase over Jack. The fact that Omi clearly snuck away to rescue Chase would also indicate that Omi is loosening his morals a little bit. Not enough to even remotely think he's coming to Chase's side, but I think Chase would definitely see it as a good first step to making his protégé heylin.

3. Chase actually was surprised, but he's been around for 1500 years; no way he doesn't know how to hide that. I don't think he cares to, because why bother hiding from insignificant insects, but I do think he wants to be put together in front of Omi. (Probably look cool too.)

However this would be a good surprise, and Chase is perfectly capable of rolling with the various turns life likes to dish out.

4. He wasn't surprised, and he was glad about it. Because Omi coming to rescue Chase shows a significant portion of his character, regardless of if it's because he was simply returning the favor, or because of how Jack was pummeling them. And the more knowledge Chase has of Omi, the easier it (theoretically) would be to turn him.

In all of these scenarios, while I think that Chase had already determined that he wanted Omi by his side, this episode twigs me as the moment that Chase decides that he won't stop until Omi takes his rightful place by Chase's side.

That he views Omi as his: his protégé, his to-be co-ruler.

I honestly think that Chase initially makes Omi his second in command because Omi is a kid (not to mention good), and not actually ready to be a ruler. And that the reason he made Omi into a cat was so that he could ensure Omi stayed by his side.

Once Omi is fully heylin, of his own choices rather than the ying yo yo, and he had actual life experience, I do think Chase would have changed him back into a human and that he would have had Omi take his place by Chase's side rather than as his second.

So yeah, while other episodes established that Chase wanted Omi to rule the world by his side, I think this is the episode that establishes why Chase never tries to kill Omi. Even when it becomes apparent that Omi isn't gonna join him. (At this time at least. )

[friedwritinggamingghost]

I liked the contrast of Chase knocking Omi out but making sure to catch and hold him gently in your fic! Reminds me of how Chase reached out to take Omi's hand and pull him back to his feet after their spar in The Evil Within.

Thank you! 😊 I'm glad you liked it!

Oh, that was a good scene in XS. 😆

[friedwritinggamingghost]

The fallen warriors show up a lot in your fics, which ones are your favorites?

Well I can hardly ignore such cool warriors, now can I? 😉

In order:

1. Berserker

2. Zulu warrior and Tiki warrior

3. Knight

4. Gladiator and Samurai

5. The Aztec (I tend to forget about him. 😭 )

The Berserker slightly edges out the Zulu warrior and Tiki warrior because of @grasshopperdoingdogpaddle

But I adore the character designs, how you can imagine how they came to be in Chase's service, how their mere presence shows how much Chase has traveled the world.

Plus it's really fun to imagine their personalities and backstories! 😀

And my own personal headcanon is that once Omi stops denying his place by Chase's side*, they'll get to dote on him, because I like vicious, brilliant warriors showing their soft side to their kid. I think they'd love him given the chance and I think they like him already thanks to the few days that Chase had Omi by his side.

*From their perspective they're just waiting for Omi to stop being so stubborn and just accept his rightful place.

[friedwritinggamingghost]

One of my favorite things is how gentle Chase's smile look when he's smiling at Omi sometimes. It's so rare and such a contrast. Sometimes he even has that soft smile at Omi while he's plotting something evil, like during Judging Omi.

I just wanted to say that you write that aspect of Chase really, really well in your fanfics!

The fact that they genuinely care about each other is such a good part of their relationship, and I'm so glad that it comes through in my writing!

😊 Thank you!