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jolienjoyswriting · 1 year

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Broken Gears, Ch. II

Chapter 2 of 2 for "Broken Gears," an Essence of Ragnarok story. Co-written by AI Dungeon (Griffin)

Hope tries to come to terms with just what she's been through… and makes a decision.

Word count: 3,377 – Character count: 19,654 Drafted: March 20th, 2023 Revised: March 21st, 2023 –

More "coarse language" and "suggestive explicit dialogue". You know how it goes.

God, why am I so mean to Joseph and Hope…

Dylan Dumouchel, Hope, Carlos Magnus, Elizabeth Armstrong, "Essence of Ragnarok", and related characters and concepts created by and © Jo Li

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Silence filled the room as Hope stayed prompted against the door, eyes closed and arms holding herself. Dylan had his hands in his pockets, standing upright and staring at her. He didn't have a particular expression on his face… His tail was moving like a snake, though. She had piqued his curiosity.

"You serious?" he asked in a casual tone. "Yeah…" She glanced back his way. "You make me doubt myself, Dylan… I've always known that I'm an Artificial Being… but you seem to go out of your way to remind me of what I am every hour of every day. I don't… I don't…" She sniffled, tears starting to form in her eyes again. "Dylan… I'm learning to be a nurse… I try to be helpful in my day-to-day… I cook, I clean, and I even sleep in the closet so everyone has a bed… But no matter what I do…" She paused… then she looked up, angrily glaring. "It's never enough for you!

"Dylan, you… you treat me so cold… I sometimes wonder if you secretly hate me! Do you know what that's like? Do you know what it feels like, knowing someone hates you just because you're not a 'real person'?! It's not like I had a choice! I was created by someone to serve a purpose… and I don't know either of those things… but I'm trying to live the best life I can because… because…" "Because you want to be 'helpful'." "Because I want to be a person!" she snapped. "A-and that's what people do! They work with each other, they care for each other, and they treat each other with respect!" She paused to regain her composure. "You never work with me…" she sighed. "You don't seem like you care about me and you definitely don't respect me…" She looked up, wet eyes looking into his. "Why…? Why do you hate me, Dylan? Why do you hate me…?"

The cat calmly looked on as Hope brought her hands up to her face. She wasn't stopping herself from crying, anymore. She had finally brought all of her insecurities and concerns to the surface… and all it did was upset her. Worse than that, however…

Dylan was completely unfazed.

The cat snapped his finger at the android. When she looked up, he gave her a somewhat dark look. "I saved you," he stated bluntly. "Because Los wanted me to. I think a little gratitude for that would be nice." "Wh… what?" Hope shakily laughed. "I-I'm thankful… I just… don't say it every day." "You should be more thankful, then, don't you think?" She… hesitated. Was he being serious?

"Th… thank you for saving my life, Mr. Dumouchel." "Not good enough." He smirked. "Try again." "Thank you for saving my life and giving me a place to live…?" "Better," he commented, "but not quite." Hope's face fell. "Do you… want me to get on my knees and praise you or something?" "Yeah." He lowered his head, giving her a predatory smile. "Get on your knees and… 'thank me'." The way he said that carried a hidden meaning. The subtext… was not lost on the girl. "You want me to… fellate you," she asked, though it came out as more of a statement. "Yeah," he responded with a straight face. "You're a 'vacuum cleaner', after all. So…?" He smirked, his tail switching back and forth. "Get on your knees and suck my cock." Hope… had no idea what to say to that. Well, actually… she had one thought… "Are you… messing with me, again…?" "Yeah," the cat answered straight away. "I just…" The girl hugged herself again and frowned. "Th-that's not funny…" "Okay then. It wasn't a joke." He grinned, pointing down. "Get on your knees and–" "No." "What?" "No," she repeated in a calm voice. "No, I… I'm done with you." Dylan raised an eyebrow. "You're… done with me?" "I'm done with this!" she clarified. "I'm done with your 'jokes'. I'm done with your games. I'm done with your attitude… I'm… I'm– I'm… I'm completely done with you!" He chuckled. "You serious?" "Yeesss…" the girl growled, glaring at him. "I'm very serious! Incredibly serious!" "Okay, then." Dylan shrugged and turned around, walking back over to his chair. Like before, he sat down sideways and returned to his comic. It seemed like he'd lost interest in Hope again. That left the angry android with a few options… but she knew exactly which one she would choose. –

"You're moving out…?"

It was much later in the day. Hope, as promised, had made beef stroganoff for everyone. Once they were seated in the living room, she broke the news. Her boyfriend, of course, was the first one to react.

"That's right," she said before taking a sip of some tap water. "Why?" the wolf asked, sounding and looking concerned. "Where will you go?" "Some friends from work know of a nice place that's a little closer to the hospital," she lied with a smile. "It's… not as nice as your apartment, but I don't mind. As an artificial being, I don't need much to get by! As for the why…?" She looked over at Dylan… who was entirely disinterested in the conversation. "Remember when I called you earlier, Carlos?" "Yes?" he answered. Unlike Dylan, he was hanging on her every word. "I didn't want to worry you, but Dylan and I got into a… irreconcilable disagreement," she carefully worded. The wolf narrowed his eyes in confusion. "A what?" "We got into a fight," the cat told the group. "A really bad one." "S-so… as much as I love living here," Hope continued, "I think it's time that I left." "You're… I… But…" For the first time since she had known him… Carlos seemed genuinely at a loss. "E-Eliza," he called. "S-say something." The falcon girl looked up from stuffing her face, blinking her caramel-colored eyes at the wolf. Dylan just snickered. "Ask the mute to talk…" he snarked. "Good one, Los!" "Sh-shut up!" After snapping at Dylan, he turned his attention back to Hope. "Hope, you… you can't move out." "Why not?" she asked. "He'll miss you too much." "Shut… up, Dylan!" "It's true, isn't it?" The cat rolled his eyes and snickered more. "What is it with you and being 'Mr. Hides-His-Feelings Macho Man' all the time? Just tell the vacuum cleaner how you really feel, already!" When Carlos slammed his hands on the nearby coffee table, everyone looked his way. He was pissed. "Fine!" he shouted. "I'm… I'm…" "Scared?" He growled… but he nodded. Well, that was a start…

"R-remember when we found her? Remember how we found her?" "Abandoned, damaged, and wearing a maid dress?" Dylan answered between bites. "Yes!" Carlos looked over at Hope. "What if she gets in trouble?" "She has a cell phone." "What if she loses her memory, again?" "That's pretty unlikely, du–" "What if she… what if…!" "Dude!" The cat smiled at his friend. "She's just moving." "Ellis moved, too!!" "'Ellis'?" Hope blinked… and stared… and then, a look of recall came over her face. "Wait, I know that name," she said. "Wasn't she–" "Carlos' high school crush." All eyes turned to Eliza. She had finally spoken up. Or… had she? She seemed just as surprised as everyone else in the room when they looked at her…

"That's the one!" Hope said after a delay. "You told me this story before, Carlos!" Carlos blinked. "I… I did?" "I think? Someone did!" The girl laughed. "But, sweetie?" She reached up, gently stroking her boyfriend's cheek. "I'm not moving to a new school district. I'm not even leaving town! I'm just moving to a new place in town so I can be closer to where I work! I'm well on my way to becoming a practicing nurse! It would be easier for everyone if I lived near where I was needed! That's all." "B-but…" He swallowed hard, holding her hand. "You're needed here…" "You can come to visit me," she said with a smile. "And I can come to visit you!" "Yeah, Los," Dylan added. "Just 'cause Hope hates my guts now doesn't mean she's suddenly banned from your life. Get a grip, dude." "Okay." She frowned at the cat. "That… is a major part of why I'm leaving." He shrugged. "Whatever, 'vacuum cleaner'…" Carlos shot his friend a glare. He didn't care.

"Ms. Armstrong?" The bird looked up. She had just served herself another plate of stroganoff. "You've been pretty quiet during this conversation…" "That's kinda her thing, Blue," Dylan interjected. "What do you think about me moving out?" Hope continued.

There was a brief pause. Eliza quietly looked at Hope, and Hope looked back. After another pause, the falcon got up and walked around behind the couch where Hope and Carlos were seated. Hope looked up, then she smiled as the bird hugged her from behind. "See?" she told Carlos as Eliza returned to her seat. "Ms. Armstrong's happy for me!" The wolf frowned. "But… but…" "And you should be, too, sweetie…" Hope leaned in and snuggled against her boyfriend, draping an arm around her shoulders. She squeezed his arm and closed her eyes, softly sighing. "Look at it this way," she said as she cupped his cheek and looked into his eyes. "When I move out, you guys will have a little more room and a little more privacy!" "Yeah, but–" "Then, you can come and visit me! We'll have a whole place to ourselves!" She turned around and leaned up, whispering into his ear. "Which means… you'll have me all to yourself." Dylan grinned and even Eliza smiled as they both saw Carlos' cheeks turn red under his dark fur. They hadn't heard Hope… but they could figure out what she'd said from context clues.

"I– I don't know…" the wolf said after he calmed down. "I'm still iffy…" "'You still have a stiffy'?" Dylan grinned. "Robophile." After hearing that, Carlos immediately got to his feet, ready to walk over and put the smart-alecky cat through the floor for his comment. Eliza just giggled in silence, blushing, and Hope just smiled. "Okay, I have to admit…" The trio looked over. Carlos had Dylan into a headlock and Eliza was still eating. "This?" The blue-haired girl smiled. "I'll miss this…"

The conversation about Hope's new living arrangements was a recurring topic for the rest of the evening. Carlos, despite his "tough guy" demeanor, wouldn't stop fretting over her moving out, though neither Eliza nor Dylan seemed worried. Once dinner was done with, the former washed dishes, and Hope dried them. The quartet then gathered back in the living room to watch movies until it was bedtime, then they retired for the night. Mostly…

It was the middle of the night. For whatever reason, Hope had decided not to sleep. Maybe she couldn't… So, she exited her closet and headed up to the roof of her apartment complex. There, she walked over to the edge in her nightshirt – one of Carlos' shirts that was too big for her – and just… looked up at the sky. It was something she did a lot. It was too bright in the city to see the stars, but it gave her time to herself… time to think. "Figured I'd find you up here." Usually.

The girl turned back toward the roof access. Standing in the lit doorway was the orange cat that had driven her out of the apartment in the first place. He was wearing a bomber jacket with his pajamas and smiling at her. "You gonna jump?" he joked. "Need help?" Hope never liked it when he asked that. He always knew it would never happen. For some reason, though… she found herself laughing a little. "Maybe later," she joked back. "What brings you up here, Mr. Dumouchel?" "'Dylan'," he answered. "And… just seeing how you're doing…" The cat walked over and sat with her on the edge of the roof. Hope didn't react one way or the other beyond just acknowledging his presence. "So…?" he pressed. "How are you?" "I exist." She smirked as she told him, "I don't have feelings or emotions. Remember?" "Scared, huh?" She softly nodded. "I… didn't know how everyone was going to react to what I said." "It was news to me…" Dylan smiled. "I guess you meant what you said, huh?" "It was technically a lie… but…" She sighed. "Yes… I'm sorry, Dylan." "Here's an alternative: shove me over the edge," he suggested. "That'd solve that problem and give everyone more room." "Maybe…" The girl smiled. "But that would make Carlos and Ms. Armstrong sad." "Naaah…" The cat looked down at the street below. "Lizzy barely knows I'm alive and Los just thinks I'm here to piss him off." "Aren't you?" "More or less, yeah." The two shared a little laughter before going quiet.

"You know… I'm never going to apologize." Hope softly nodded. "I know." "And… you're okay with that?" Dylan asked. "Am I okay with what you did?" She frowned. "Of course not. I still think you should be put in jail for an appropriate amount of time to think about what you've done." "And get beat up by your boyfriend?" "Mm-mm…" She shook her head. "That wouldn't help anything…" "Mm." The two looked skyward, pausing to reflect.

"You know… we can still be friends." The cat looked at Hope as she spoke. "You… want us to be friends?" Hope paused to look down at the ground, not answering. "Changed your mind, huh?" He chuckled. "Well, I don't blame you." Dylan sighed. "Dylan?" "Yeah?" He looked her way and noticed her looking back. "Why aren't you sorry…?" "I honestly don't know, Blue…" Tears started to form in the girl's eyes. She was clearly hoping he'd have an answer… "What would it take for you to be sorry…?" she asked, pressing the matter. The cat hummed and thought about it… "You'd have to be a real person, I guess?" was his answer. "But then… I probably wouldn't have done that to a real person." "So… this is one of those 'it doesn't count because you're a machine' things…" The cat's face soured. For the first time that day… he actually looked guilty.

"You wanna know why I'm not sorry?" He didn't give her time to answer before telling her, "Part of it was simple, scientific curiosity." "Curiosity…?" She expected him to make a joke about cats and curiosity. He didn't. "When I had you undressed and apart that one time, I noticed that whoever made you gave you certain anatomical anomalies that, honestly, had no business being on a general-purpose android body. Ever since I repaired you, I've been curious about why they were there… and if they worked or not. I wondered just how close to being a 'real Being' your inventor tried to make you. Maybe it was adrenalin from being confronted… or maybe it was the power I felt when I had your servos locked. Whatever it was… I took full advantage of the situation and… I explored my curiosity to the fullest. Well… no, that's not true." He looked her way with a smile. "I put it everywhere… except up your butt." "Gee. What a relief." Hope scoffed and chuckled. Dylan chuckled a little, himself. "I really should have…" The cat sighed, looking back at the ground. "A missed opportunity… That's what it is…" The girl didn't know what to say. So… she just spoke from the heart.

"You know… if you weren't such an obnoxious, nose-in-the-air elitist about 'vacuum cleaners' like me," Hope said as she scooted a little closer, "there's every chance in the world that I would have let you 'explore your curiosities' about me." She softly wrapped her arms around one of his and rested her head against his shoulder. "All you had to do was ask…" "I told you then and I'll tell you now…" Dylan closed his eyes and rested his head on hers. "I don't date androids…" "Who said we'd be dating?" She smiled. "All I'm saying is that if you had a genuine curiosity about my anatomy…" When she trailed off, the cat quietly grumbled… then he pulled away, causing Hope to look over. He opened his mouth… then he closed it. The two fell into silence shortly after.

"You'd've… let me have sex with you, huh?" That was the next thing either of them said. "Under the right circumstances?" Hope was still smiling. "Probably." "So…" He grinned at her before commenting, "You are a sex 'bot after all…" "I don't know if I am or if I was. But…" She smiled. "I don't know that I'm not. My programming was a clean slate when you revived me. All I can do now is just live my life and see what happens…" Dylan hummed… "Hey… have you and Los… y'know." "Made love?" The girl giggled a little. "He's surprisingly shy for such a strong, stoic man… Plus, with you and Ms. Armstrong hanging around…" She sighed a little. "Maybe after I move out…" "Don't s'pose you and I could have voluntary sex before you go?" The girl blinked. She offered a surprised look at the cat. "I can't tell if you're being serious or not…" He smiled and opened his mouth… only to close it and sigh. "You're not a sex 'bot, Blue," he said. "You're a vacuum cleaner." The girl tilted her head. "How do you know I'm not a sex robot?" she asked. When he suddenly put a hand on her chest… she just looked at it, then she looked at him. "No boobs, for one," he said, giving her hard, metallic chest a squeeze. "For another?" He grinned a little. "No tactile feedback." Hope smiled… but only a little. "I wish I was made better…" "So you could have sex and enjoy it?" She paused. "Among other things, maybe…" "Sex is overrated."

The girl looked over, watching Dylan climb over the edge of the roof. As he started walking away, she turned around and watched. "Have you ever made love with someone, Mr. Dumouchel?" she asked. "With you," he commented, still walking away. "I meant someone you actually care about!" She flinched. That came out a little harsher than intended… The cat slowed to a stop, then he looked over his shoulder. "Have you?" he asked. "I haven't been… I mean… to the best of my knowledge…" "Do you even want sex?" The girl fidgeted a little before sighing. "I want to feel a deep, emotional bond with someone I care deeply for. That's… the only thing I would get out of making love with someone." "Sex is overrated." "So you've said, but–" "Liz." "What?" "Liz 'n I had sex, once. It was…" Dylan sighed before shaking his head. "We were young, stupid, and she was overly curious. It sucked." "Do you care about Ms. Armstrong…?" "I did at the time," he commented. "As a friend. We looked out for each other." "How do you feel about her now…?" There was a long pause. "Mind your own business." "You should tell her!" Hope said with a smile. "I bet she'd be over the moon!" "I said 'mind your own business', machine." Dylan spun around. "She's not some hopeless romantic like you. She doesn't care about love or sex!" "Then why did she have sex with Mr. Lithius that one time?" Hope covered her mouth. She knew she had gone too far with that one. However… "Sex… is fuckin' overrated…" The cat didn't seem to care. He just started walking away again. She didn't stop him. Instead, she turned back around and turned her gaze skyward. "I want a place in the country…" she whispered. "So I can see the stars at night…" Not long after, she decided to head back inside. She had a long day ahead of her. After all… she had a lie to commit to. As she walked back inside the complex, she found herself wondering why she hadn't revealed what Dylan had done to her. Only one answer came to mind.

She couldn't tear apart her friends like that. An android such as her just wasn't worth that kind of heartache…

#fiction #Essence of Ragnarok #Year 2043 #Broken Gears #original characters #Hope North #Dylan Dumouchel #Carlos Magnus #Elizabeth Armstrong #drama #suspense

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reddstardust · 7 months

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I think this is my magnus opus

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padgettdelaney6 · 2 years

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The process to help yourself improve and grow in life is not an easy one. By following the advice and tips laid out in this article, however, you can begin to learn about self-help in a straightforward, sensible manner. Learning is the first step to a better future.

To help deal with your depression, try going into a support group for depression. When getting into a group with other people affected by the same condition you are, it can help reduce your sense of isolation. You can also use these groups to provide support for others and give them your own advice with how to cope, along with sharing your own experiences. Try to keep yourself motivated when it comes to achieving your goals. You need to stay confident and believe in yourself. Also make sure to keep focussed on the task at hand. If it helps, try writing out the direction that you need to take to accomplish the goals that you have set. Get up early. The earlier you rise, the more time you have to start your day in a relaxed fashion instead of running around trying to squeeze all your morning activity into precious few minutes. An early wake-up time allows you to leisurely walk into the day instead of racing into it. That will make you feel calmer and more in control of your day. If you have a seasonal depression disorder make sure you keep your home well lighted. Keep all your curtains and blinds open. The light regulates the body's reproduction of serotonin and you may be deprived if suffering from seasonal depression. You can also try using a tanning bed for this disorder. While it is important not to dwell on your past, it is also very important to reflect on your it and what is has to do with how you are today. Righting wrongs from your past can help you settle things and move on and learn about how to deal with your current situation. If you find yourself more susceptible than usual to negative thoughts and critical observations, look to your social circle for clues. You may discover that your peers are contributing to a highly pessimistic and caustic outlook, and that you are allowing these people to actively shape your own unhappiness. Try to surround yourself with positive, nurturing people who can lead by example. Help yourself by helping others. One of the most powerful keys to personal development is to give yourself to others. Go beyond a few coins in a collection jar and get to know people or even animals in need. Helping those who are worse off than yourself can put things in perspective and help you become a more rounded individual. If you find yourself experiencing an unusually high number of worrisome thoughts or anxiety attacks, step back and try to assess variables in your life that may be to blame. You may be able to trace the thoughts to a certain person in your life. Does he or she insist on bringing up a particular incendiary topic whenever you meet? If so, make your feelings clear: stop bringing up the subject or stop spending time in my company. Instead of focusing on how you perceive your body may look to others, focus instead on how your body feels to you. After all, you are more qualified than anyone else to determine how your body is or is not performing. Boost your self-esteem by looking for healthy activities and hobbies that satisfy both requirements of looking and feeling great. If you are battling depression, eat a diet that includes many types of raw fruits and vegetables, soy beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, brown rice and legumes. mentoria could help increase the level of serotonin in your body and relieve some of the symptoms that accompany depression in a natural way. Set realistic goals or you set yourself up for failure. If you are a terribly shy person, do not expect to become a public speaker in thirty days! This will undoubtedly lead to failure which will discourage you from further attempts at personal development. Set reasonable goals you can strive for each and every day to know you are working towards a real finish line in a race that you can actually win! The tips from this article provide numerous ways for you to begin your self-help journey. The process of helping oneself can be confusing and difficult, but with the straightforward advice you have read you can start improving yourself effectively. Self-help doesn't have to be a chore, it can be simple and sweet.

#Carlos Magnus

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figged-newtons · 1 year

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and by weird I mean its great

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calibrationneeded · 5 months

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I’ve said this before but if Cecil Gershwin Palmer met Jonathan Sims he’d beat the ever loving shit out of him on sight and Jon wouldn’t stand a chance

#Martin and Carlos would be friends tho #they’d just talk about their strange eldritch partners #tma #mag pod #magpod #the magnus archives #wtnv #welcome to night vale #night vale #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #cecil palmer #wtnv carlos

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bloodydrew · 8 months

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I was doing FINE then I started to listen to podcasts and now I’m GAY

#if someone asks I’ll be in the depression corner listening to podcasts #the magnus archives #malevolent #the penumbra podcast #welcome to the night vale #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #wtnv cecil #cecil palmer #carlos the scientist #arthur lester #john doe

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lost-in-the-cosmos-vast · 1 month

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me and the bad bitch I pulled by being a nerd

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notsurewhattocallmyselfyet · 5 months

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Logging into Tumblr and playing my favourite game:

Who is this fanart of??

Where the options are:

Jon Sims from The Magnus Archives

Bruno from Encanto

Simon Petrikov

Loki

Carlos from Welcome to Nightvale

Edward Teach (Blackbeard) from Our Flag Means Death

#the vibes are similar #and a lot of them present with the shade shade of acrid green #this is also on me a lot of the time its pretty obvious who the fanart is of #had this in drafts for a while because I was sure there was one I was forgetting #and then today was scrolling and saw two doodles of who i thought was Blackbeard and it turned out to be Jon Sims #ofmd #tma #the magnus archives #loki #encanto #bruno encanto #jonathan sims #edward teach #blackbeard #simon petrikov #fionna and cake #carlos the scientist #welcome to nightvale #our flag means death

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ihatebrainstorm · 11 months

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Rodimus being worried for bunny drift while drift is in the back both annoyed that Rodimus didn't realise it wasn't him and also touched at how much Rodimus cares

Side note? Is the bunny kept around after? Sort of like a mascot for the LL/service animal of the LL?

Well at first Magnus tried to "arrest" the bunny

They then named the rabbit "Drift 2" much to Drift's annoyance (the other option was "Ravage 2" but Ravage threatened to call the DJD... Ok joking, but he did threaten to kill them all)

"Drift 2" now lives with both Ten and Ratchet :) (They exchange care for the rabbit every other week)

#don't ask where Ratchet got the rabbit from because I don't know either lmao #mtmte #transformers #transformers fanart #frootertooter archive #tf idw #maccadam #maccadams #more than meets the eye #rodimus #ultra magnus #verity carlo #drift #drift 2 #tf ten

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mrbango · 5 months

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Why do all the best podcast have a gay couple where one is a very well dressed, (mostly) put together sunshine puppy and the other is the most grimy little goblin man who is also the dampest wettest cat character ever.

#camp here and there #sydney o sargent #Jeddie #the penumbra podcast #peter nureyev #juno steel #the magnus archives #martin blackwood #jonathan sims #welcome to night vale #carlos the scientist #cecil palmer #crowley #aziraphale #good omens

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ifwebefriends · 2 days

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Started listening to the Magnus Archives and I’m still on season 1 and I get really excited when Martin is mentioned or comes on and then I realized that I feel the same way when Carlos is mentioned on Welcome to Night Vale so I guess the boyfriends of horror podcast protags just really delight me I guess

#the magnus archives #welcome to night vale #wtnv #tma #carlos the scientist #carlos robles #martin blackwood #jon sims #cecil gershwin palmer #cecilos #jonmartin #jmart #podcast #podcasts #horror podcast

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jolienjoyswriting · 1 year

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Attune Your Ears (The Rewrite), Epilogue

The epilogue for "Attune Your Ears (The Rewrite)," an Essence of Ragnarok story. Previous version available here.

Carlos and Dylan come home from bowling… and make a very interesting discovery.

Word count: 1,356 – Character count: 8,118 Drafted: March 18th, 2023 Revised: March 19th, 2023 –

Confession time. As I was going through the history of events in my head, I remembered this story and how it ended. When I remembered, I also remembered that Carlos is a wolf and Dylan is a cat. Canines and felines have pretty good senses of smell. So, yeah. When I wrote this part, though, I didn't expect it to turn out the way it did… This absolutely changed the dynamics of two characters forever.

Dylan Dumouchel, Carlos Magnus, Hope, Elizabeth Armstrong, "Essence of Ragnarok" series, and related characters and concepts created by and © Jo Li KMC

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"Maaan, you suck at bowlin', Los!" "It was my first time…"

On a sunny afternoon during the early summer, two young men were returning home from a fun day out. One was a wolf, the other was a cat. The former was all smiles and laughter! The latter, though…

"Yeah, but even for a first-timer, that was bad!" "Shut up, Dylan," the wolf growled, the two entering an elevator. "Gutterball after gutterball…" Dylan grinned. "Man, I'd be embarrassed!" "I will kick your ass, cat." "Sure, sure," he chuckled. "Sooo… same time next week?" Carlos nodded. "We should invite the girls…" "Maybe! They sure can't be worse than you are!" A hard punch to the arm made Dylan laugh out loud. "Love you, too, Wolfie!" Another punch drew a yelp and a chuckle from the cat. "O-okay, okay, I'm done. Honest. Aaaahh… owie." That seemed to satisfy Carlos. The two walked in silence from there, arriving at their 7th-floor apartment door not long after.

"So, any plans for next semester, Los?" The dark wolf crossed his arms and hummed. "Metalworking… Alchemy, too." "More alchemy?" Dylan chuckled as he unlocked their door. "Didn'tcha get enough after what happened last year?" Carlos growled low, looking away. He was trying to hide his discolored eyes. "Ya know, I hear Joe dropped out 'cause'a you…" "He's lucky I didn't slit his throat." The cat turned the doorknob. "Why do you hate him so much, anyway?" The dirty look he got made Dylan reconsider his question. "I just meant–" "Wait." Carlos put a hand on his friend's shoulder, keeping him from entering. "What's that smell…?" the wolf quietly asked. "Smell what?" the cat answered seriously. He knew something was up… Carlos took a long, quiet smell of the air coming out of their apartment… "Blood. And… other stuff?" He paused. "Smell." Dylan stepped up to the door, sniffing through the crack. "Hm… I don't think it's anyone we know," he said after a few seconds. "Whose is it?" the wolf growled. "And… what's that other smell?" "There's a lot of smells coming from–" "Mr. Dumouchel! Carlos! Hiii!" The investigative discussion was suddenly interrupted by a chipper voice… and a short, blue-haired girl in a gold cap popping out to throw herself at Carlos. Carlos didn't hug the girl back. He was still distracted by the medley of scents coming from their apartment…

"Heya, Blue!" Dylan greeted. "It's just 'Dylan', by the way! So hey, where's our dinner?" "Oh, shoot…" Hope leaned back, looking over. "Was I supposed to make dinner tonight…? I completely forgot!" "Naw, naw…" The cat grinned, holding up a bag. "We got sweet noodles and rice buns!" "Isn't that Miss Armstrong's– ah… isn't that Eliza's favorite kind of take-out food?" The cat grinned from ear to ear. "Maaaybe…" "Oh, gosh…" Hope smiled. "You're always so nice to her, Mr– er, Dylan!" "Well, someone's gotta be!" Dylan nudged Carlos. Carlos didn't react. He was still focused on those smells…

"Hey, Blue…" Hope attentively perked. "Yes, Dylan?" "What's with the smörgåsbord of smells?" He smirked as he asked, "You light some candles or somethin'?" "Oh! No, no…" The girl laughed. "Miss Armstr– Eliza is taking a bath, though! She really likes that lavender bubble bath!" "A bath? Ah, geez…" Dylan scratched his head. "I gotta whiz, too…" "Blood." Both Hope and Dylan looked at Carlos. He hadn't moved… but he did speak. "I smelled blood," he told the pair. "I also smell something else…" "Blood sounds unlikely. I had the day off! But, I can't help you, anyway…" Hope weakly smiled up at her boyfriend. "I have no olfactory senses or sensors, sadly." "I swear I've smelled it before…" Carlos paused to take another whiff… only to grunt and lose interest. "Fuck it. I can't smell anything over that bubble bath…" "Guess that closes that case, eh?" The wolf grunted at his cat friend. He then entered the apartment. Just as Hope turned to follow, Dylan got her attention.

"Hey, Hope…" "Yes?" she asked, looking at him. "Joseph was here again, wasn't he?" The look on Hope's face was absolutely priceless. She looked so shocked! "You can smell him…?!" she worriedly asked. "He left about an hour ago! How–" "That's not all this cat nose can smell!" The cat tilted his head and sniffed the air a few times. His nose twitched and his whiskers flicked. His ears turned this way and that… He was taking his time, assessing all the various smells wafting into his nasal cavities… After a good half-minute, he finally looked back at Hope with a calm smile. "It smells like he and Liz got bi-zaaay…" Hope tilted her head, offering a confused look. "What… does 'bi-zay' mean…?" "Oh, you innocent little muffin…" Dylan laughed, making her frown. Shortly after, he leaned in and whispered an explanation, which caused the girl to rear back and look even more shocked than before!

"Th-that's supposed to be a secret…!" Hope squeaked. "E-er, I-I mean…" "Oh, I'm not gonna tell anyone…" The cat grinned, his tail slinking around behind him. "I might ask a certain dirty birdy a few questions, though! Heh heh heh…" "Mr. Dumouchel, please…" The girl looked extremely worried. "I don't think Ms. Armstrong wants people to know! So… so, don't tell anyone! Don't even talk about it! Okay?" Dylan's smile faded and his gaze turned icy… "Didn't plan on it…" he coldly said. "And don't you ever tell me what to do." Hope flinched at his tone shift. Then, suddenly… she scowled and grew angry! "Why are you like this?" she asked, throwing her hands down and stomping her foot. "One minute, we're friends! The next, you act like you hate me!" Her expression softened into a worried frown. "Did I do something to upset you…? What can I do to fix it…?" Dylan snorted. "You can get out of my way…" The girl grunted as she was shoved aside. She spun on the spot, then, as the cat came in. "You stopped me!" she half-shouted, losing patience. "I was trying to–" "Confused little machine…" Dylan limply waved his hand. "Even when you're not in the way… you're always in the way. That's why we put you in the closet with the vacuum." "I volunteered to sleep in the closet," she corrected in a high-pitch, frustrated voice, "so everyone else would have more space!! Why are you being so mean to me?!" Hope was completely flustered. Dylan, though, just laughed. "Because…" He stopped, turned, then looked right into her teary eyes. "You're just a machine." He smiled… but it was a somewhat nasty one. "Now, go hide in your closet. The real people in this apartment have real lives to live."

All Hope could do was stand there in the entryway and try not to cry as Dylan headed into the back. She was angrier than she could ever remember being. And… she was worried. "I… I shouldn't have said anything," she whimpered. "I should've just kept my mouth shut… denied what he said… If he didn't know it was supposed to be a secret…" The girl shook her head and wiped her eyes. "If he didn't know… he probably would've blurted it out at some point… And now that he does know… he could blackmail Ms. Armstrong…" She looked at the floor. No matter what she did… something bad was bound to happen. After a short while, Hope closed the door to the apartment and, not long after, she walked over to and entered the living room closet, shutting her eyes and hugging herself. "Maybe Mr. Dumouchel is right…" The android girl sniffled… " I'm… just a stupid machine…"

She went into Sleep Mode that evening, deciding it would be best to just "stay out of the way". When the question of where she was came up, Dylan just said she was sleeping in the closet. The trio always laughed about it and no one ever questioned it. And why would they? Hope had volunteered to sleep in there. Plus, it's not like it mattered where she "slept".

She was "just a machine", after all…

#fiction #Essence of Ragnarok #Year 2043 #Attune Your Ears #rewrite #original characters #jolikmc #Dylan Dumouchel #Carlos Magnus #Hope #Elizabeth Armstrong #slice of life #drama

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