#he’s probably one of the few peeves who’s mind wouldn’t break upon thinking about what those weapons would do

[the-great-gullon-incident]

Is technopathy a rare ability?! Why in the world is Dex, a 13 year old, helping to work on a device for a councillor?!

#him working on the weapons made some slight sense #he’s probably one of the few peeves who’s mind wouldn’t break upon thinking about what those weapons would do #but this is just insane #did all the technopaths go on strike all of a sudden? #kate rereads lodestar

[16woodsequ]

Weekly headcannon ask!

Do you have any headcannons or opinions on Steve and his dads relationship?

Hi! Sorry this took a bit, but here we are!

I do have some headcanons about Steve’s dad, and because I’m me, a lot of them are pretty angsty, so be warned!

TW: discussion of child abuse, ableism, and alcoholism

So first off, we have to talk about whether or not Steve’s dad is even alive. I’ve discussed this a little in a previous headcanons post, but Steve’s dad is technically dead in the mcu. Steve says he died of mustard gas. In the comics of course, Steve’s dad makes it home from the war, and is generally a terrible person.

I usually headcanon that Steve lied about when exactly his dad died. If Steve’s’ dad made it back from the war, then I headcanon he was a gas casualty at some point, and had lung issues afterwards. If he then died from something like influenza, then Steve could technically claim he died from mustard gas, without it being 100% a lie.

I headcanon that Steve does this, because I headcanon that Joseph Rogers (if he survives the war) is abusive. I imagine Sarah Rogers told Steve that he came back from the war a different person, and I can see Steve thinking to himself that the mustard gas killed his dad, just slower.

So anyways, that is an easy way to work around Steve’s claim that his dad died from mustard gas. If Joseph was abusive I can see Steve sort of wishing his dad had died in the war like he claimed. 

Joseph Rogers’ A+ Parenting

I haven’t read the comics, so I am not sure if any of them expand on why exactly Joseph is abusive, but I imagine it has a few layers to it. For one, he is a veteran who is no doubt dealing with trauma in a time period when the effects of shellshock are not fully recognised. Alcohol is a common self-medicating tool, and I can see Joseph turning to that for relief.

Add onto that Joseph being a gas casualty, I usually headcanon that it is harder for him to breath after the war. PTSD and difficulty breathing would be a frustrating loss of control for someone like Joseph, and that isn’t even taking into account the daily stress of living in poverty as an Irish-Catholic.

And then there is Steve himself. Steve is chronically ill. He wouldn’t be the ideal son. His illness would cost money, and his breathing problems would probably remind Joseph too much of his own issues.

Ableism would be an easy thing for Joseph to latch on to. Eugenics was popular in that time period, and I can see Joseph seeing Steve as the embodiment of a lot of his anger. He went to war and barely made it back to his wife and child, but his child is sickly and can hardly breathe, and when he gets sick he uses up money that they don’t have.

Of course, Joseph wouldn’t be helping anything. I imagine he would have worked as much as he could, but it is debatable how well he could hold a job. I usually headcanon that he died right before the Great Depression, so he didn’t have to deal with that, but even if jobs were more available in the 1920s, I think his alcoholism would be his worst enemy and lose him jobs every couple of years or so, if not more frequently.

Sarah would be working too, since working class women would be more likely to work than middle class women, but I can see Joseph being sore about that too. I imagine every time he lost his job he was extra bitter about the fact that he had to rely on his wife’s work to survive. Toxic masculinity was deeply entrenched in that time period, so feeling emasculated would not have helped Joseph’s mood at all. 

As for how often he drank, it is kind of hard to say. Technically prohibition was going on, but it was easy enough to drink in speakeasies most of the time. I’m not sure how easy it would be for him to buy alcohol and drink it at home, but it would be realistic for him to come home drunk.

Even if he had work that could be the case, since I imagine his work buddies would often go out for a drink after their shift. Of course, Joseph’s drinking would do nothing to help the financial situation of the family.

Joseph and Steve

I imagine Joseph was abusive and was a violent drunk, but while I think he hurt Steve, I don’t think he regularly beat him to a pulp. This is mostly because if he did that, then Steve would die. Steve is sick enough that I don’t think he would survive regular all-out beatings.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Joseph didn’t grab, push, hit, etc. But I think his anger tunnel-visioned on things, so if he were distracted away from it, or Steve managed to get out of the general area, then his focus would be taken elsewhere.

I think Joseph did a lot of damage with his words though. I imagine he yelled a lot about Steve’s inadequacies and how Steve is a waste of money, etc. That kind of thing would stick with Steve for a long time, and I can see him trying to be the least of a burden possible in response.

In general, living with Joseph would put anyone on edge. Even when he wasn’t actively hurting people, he could still get mad over basic things that remind him of his helplessness. Being around him would be like walking on eggshells. I imagine young-Steve flinched at loud noises and slamming doors, and yelling, but also tried not to show it, because his dad didn’t like him ‘being a coward’.

Also, I headcanon that adult Steve never really liked the smell of alcohol, especially on other people. I think part of him was a little glad that the serum made it so he couldn’t get drunk, because that means he can never get violent like his dad. I think Steve was always a little afraid of letting his temper get the best of him after the war, and so he tried to bury his feelings instead of dealing with them, because he didn’t want to turn out like his dad. 

Good times

As all humans, Joseph would have his good days. Maybe he found a new job, or maybe something else put him in a good mood, but sometimes he would come home without being angry.

Those would be hard days too, in a way, because Steve and Sarah wouldn’t know if something would set Joseph off—and some days, acting worried that he will get mad would be enough to make him mad.

But I think Steve must have at least a few good memories of his dad. Maybe his dad being proud of him for a good grade in school, or maybe even being proud of him for facing off against bullies and telling them what’s what.

I think sometimes Joseph would try to treat Steve as though he were the son he wanted. He would chat with him about things they could do together ‘as men’, or he would tell him stories of his own boyhood days...but then, inevitable Steve would get sick again, and Joseph’s good humour would wash away.

Others and Joseph

I don’t think Joseph’s abusiveness was a very well kept secret. Tenement building walls are thin, and I imagine the neighbours knew what was going on. But I doubt Joseph was the only loud/violent drunk in the building.

Bucky might not have known the full extent of what was happening—because he was a kid—but he would have seen some of the bruises, and maybe Steve’s initial cautiousness around his own dad, and he would come to the correct conclusion. I don’t think Steve talked a lot about what was happening, but he would probably talk about his dad getting angry about certain things, or breaking stuff sometimes.

I imagine Bucky’s mom knew more about what was going on, and would do her best to help Sarah out, but Sarah would be in a tough spot. Divorce and single-motherhood were generally frowned upon, and her poverty would also make it harder to leave Joseph.

As for Steve’s teachers etc. I think most of them suspected too. But I don’t think much came about from it. Interesting fact, doctors were not legally required to report child abuse cases until the 60s.  

Joseph death

This is a headcanon I’ve had laying around that I haven’t been able to put anywhere yet, but I headcanon that Joseph died of influenza when Steve was between 8 and 10. Given their poverty, I think Joseph would have died at home, which is kind of horrible, since that would mean Steve was around to watch his dad get sicker and sicker, and then eventually die.

As an extra cruelty, I think Joseph would be pretty peeved at dying this way, and I can see him vindictively telling Steve that he will die this way too one day, since he gets so sick all the time. I can just see Joseph being spiteful and saying something like that while Steve is trying to look after him while Sarah is working.

MCU canon Joseph

I also have a few thoughts for if Joseph did die in the war, and didn’t come back. I’ve seen content speculating that Steve wanted to join the army because his dad was a soldier. I don’t know if the comics say that anywhere, but I usually headcanon otherwise.

I think having a father who died in war (or having an abusive one afterwards), and seeing what that did to Sarah, Steve would know all too well what war could do to people. 

No doubt Steve’s father would be on his mind while he tried to enlist, but I think saying he wanted to join mainly because his father was a soldier takes away from the heart of the reason Steve wanted to join—he felt like Hitler needed to be stopped, and he didn’t have a right not to do something about it.   

Well, that got longer than I thought it would, but I hope you enjoyed! 

Headcanon masterpost

#tw child abuse #tw ableism #tw eugenics #tw alchoholism #asks #headcanon #headcanons #steve rogers #joseph rogers #joseph rogers a+ parenting #marvel #mcu #long post #tw death #tw illness #tw alcohol #tw drinking

[beelspillowpet]

hi I've had this idea for a few days now but I've been too shy to ask,, but could you maybe do MC with panic disorder and how the brothers would react please? in case you don't know panic disorder is an anxiety disorder that causes very sudden panic attacks. instead of the build up of worry that causes an anxiety attack, a panic attack just kind of Happens without warning

I've had to deal with panic disorder for as long as I can remember and they can be really scary (dw I've learned how to cope over the years) so i think I'd be nice if someone wrote about them if it's not too much trouble, thank you

Panic disorders sound awful... just because I’m having a bit of burn out lately, I have to write this a little differently. I’m glad that you’re coping well!!

I’m not too sure if I wrote this properly, even with your great summary of it, so I did a bit of research still. Hope you like it!!

-

The worry was very random. None of the boys really expected it, and when it first happened, Leviathan, Satan, and Lucifer were the first to be there for you.

It happens without rhyme or reason at times. You could be sitting down watching the clock tick by, and then the panic will settle in. On who or what, you aren’t even sure. You just felt like you were in danger and needed to go, now.

Satan found you sprinting down the hall. As you turned the corner you bumped right into him, knocking his things on the floor. His wrath was usually kept under control but he was ticked off now. That was a lot of books you had just knocked out of his hands.

He was about to bark at you for being so clumsy. Why the hell were you running around like that!? but then he saw the panic in your eyes. It worried him and while he was still peeved, he didn’t want to make things worse.

He knelt down where you fell and took your hand, stroking his thumb over your knuckles. Trying his best to soothe you. You were having a panic attack and he could recognize it immediately. Leviathan can get them from time to time too.

Another time was when you were at one of Beelzebub’s games. The bleachers were shaking as the brothers stomped there feet, eagerly cheering their brother on for his game. You were worried that the shaking would get so violent that you’d topple over somehow and fall on either another demon, or on to the field and get trampled.

You gripped the blachers for dear life, and finally when it stopped, excuse yourself to be alone. You didn’t want to embarrass yourself by having a break down right then and there.

Lucifer was the one who followed after you. He didn’t quite understand the worry, and even told you it was flat out silly; but if it made you scared he would tell his brothers to hold back from their wild nature.

Lucifer first suggested that when you’re having panic attacks, to find him or call him as soon as possible. He figures that talking about it, and having someone reassure them that these things will not happen, is the best way to combat them. Sometimes he may accidently come off as offensive, but is quick to reassure you that his intentions are to help.

Satan has taken it upon himself to do more thorough research and ask some of his friends for advice. He’s come baring suggestions of medication you could take to help combat these problems.

You, Belphie, and Beelzebub attempt to do yoga and other sorts of relaxing activities. Anything to calm the mind and keep your body healthy while doing it. While Belphie would suggest a nap, he can’t help but want to be involved with you however he can.

With Mammon, he’s discovered that you’re anxious about being anywhere near a car, let alone drive it. While he can’t exactly.... remove his car, he’s trying. He puts a big tarp over it when you come in, hoping that will help.

Leviathan is probably the worst to go to, since his own anxiety and insecurities would trigger yours, and vice versa. Probably the best support is Beelzebub, who wouldn’t combat you on anything. He would simply hold you in his arms and tell you that nothing is going to hurt you as long as he’s around. While getting used to your random and horrific panic attacks has been a task for them all, they get into a sort of groove about it, thankfully.

#om! #obey me #obey me swd #obey me shall we date #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor

[secreteddsworldblog]

Can I Buy You A Drink?

Eduardo x M!reader

You really don't know how you thought going to a bar to drink Diet Cola all alone was a good idea. Though you're not really in the right set of mind to make reasonable choices.

 You've recently had a mutual break up from a long term relationship. Years, not petty months, walked out the door. Regardless if you were the one who brought up the conversation when confronting your Ex about the change of mannerism towards you it still hurt. You still felt like the Dumpy. 

Even a month now since the night it ended you still felt an overwhelming sense of loss. You're no stranger to the feeling though. You've actually had worse relationships you rather not think about unless you want to go into a fit of sobs between Cola sips. 

"Another diet cola please," you had already gone through a few cans but didn't want to stop. It's your favorite drink. Why not indulge in things to make yourself better? You're actually really picky with what you drink. Nothing makes it past your lips unless its water, milk, and Cola. 

"You've had enough, sir!" The bartender was in the middle of drying a wet drinking glass with a yellowed white rag. 

How dare he deny you, you're a paying customer, and in pain, "I know when to stop!"

From just the right distance away to hear the exchange sat Eduardo who was had been deep in thought about his own moarning. He always considered himself a tough man, the definition of machismo, someone who can't be knocked down. 

Many would say he has no right to feel the way he does after how he behaved before the life changing event he had to go through. But sometimes it takes a rude awakening to trigger a well needed over due self reflection and change in character. 

Eduardo's head perked up the moment he heard a man ask for another diet cola. Who orders diet cola at a bar? Besides him that is. If someone can enjoy a diet cola enough to drink it everywhere then obviously it's someone with good taste like him.

Temporarily getting out of his own head he got up and reached the counter, " Bartender, I DEMAND you bring a pair of diet colas for my friend and I!" 

"FINE, Mr Eduardo," the bartender slammed the glass he was working on down and went to get the cold refreshments firmly holding them out, "But this is all either of you is getting tonight."

"Whatever," Eduardo passed one of the cans over to you, "Cheers!"

You'd be lying if you said you didn't feel a little bit of second AND first hand embaressment. It's not everyday a cute rando just comes up and makes somewhat of a scene for you. You have a feeling he's the kind of guy who calls out underpaid fast food joint employees when they put pickles in his friends bugers when they asked for none. 

With the sound of a 'Tink' from cans tapping you lightened up a little. It would do you some good to know new people. Not in a thottie way. You've had to move  homes for a fresh start, staying in that house with the memories were only going to make things harder for you to recover from, so you're actually in unknown territory.  

"So what's a guy like you doing drinking cola all alone?" Eduardo glaced at you from the corner of his eyes still letting the diet cola can hover next to his lips after the first sip. You didn't know what he meant by 'a guy like you'. Though you weren't the most traditionally masculine looking bloke at the bar compared to him. You wouldn't go as far as calling yourself an E-boy but you're definetly decked out in more of a casual alternative attire. Some would call you a pretty boy, like your Ex before he stopped-

"Probably for the same reason you are?" It was strange to see someone else drinking the same thing alone- Unless this is normal for a guy like him. He didn't look like a traditional loner but weirdos come in all sorts of flavors. You knew that fairly well. 

Other broken souls in the bar are getting properly drunk and a man out with the boys would only drink non-alcoholic beverages if he's the designated driver.

"I see... You come here often?" He lowered his drink to have his other arm reach over to scratch the back of his head. Eyes avoiding yours. 

"No. I'm fairly new 'round these parts," You paused for a second deciding to say something risky, "Do you want me to come here often?" A little flirting never hurt anyone. It might be too soon to get back on the sattle but you weren't looking for anything serious any time soon nor were you planning to go far while you're still healing. You just miss being who you used to be before devoting yourself to you Ex. Your confidence wasn't always real but you'd love to go back to being the cocky flirts you used to be. Seeing just how many people call fall for you knowing you can have absolutely anyone. 

Eduardo seemed to almost spit his drink seeing his subtle attempt at hitting on you be returned. "A-Are you serious?" His eyes widened a little looking at you. He must have been on the market and unsuccesful for quite some time hm? He hadn't been seen in a serious relationship since the one with his own Ex, Laurel. 

"Why wouldn't I be?" You flex your classic side smirl and eyebrow raise. You might be a little rusty and you could use some practice in the mirror before trying that on anyone else.

Eduardo seem to have trouble thinking of what to say next only to be saved by his phone ringing, "S'cuse me, I have to take this-". On his phone Mark's icon and name popped up. 

Mark had it together and seemed to have taken the loss a lot better than Eduardo. He was the more mature one of the trio and because of that he took it upon himself to look after eduardo  remaining roommates with him. 

As Eduardo went to a less crowded corner of the bar you checked your own phone. 

You had roommates of your own. Some pals who ARE locals of this town. One of them even owns a music shop a few blocks form the bar. You couldn't trust yourself to exist alone after the break up so they were nice enough to let you move in as long as you helped around the store and did you part of house chores. 

You scoffed at the text from Kasey the other roommate who has an online business and likes to call himself an 'influencer.' 

[Kasey]: Are you still being a lil bitch baby? Where are you? Bill and I are going to lock you out of the house if you stay out late again.

With a roll of your eyes you respond back saying you'll be home in a bit. Even though they were nice enough to take you in the dynamic between the three could be considered playfully rude but tipping too close over the line into toxic. Kasey could say 'Fuck you' and you could say 'Eat my ass' then go out for a movie. 

"Sorry about that. My roommate was checking up on me". Eduardo sat back down looking at your face wondering why you looked peeved. 

Rent must be terrible in this town. It seemed everyone had a roommate. "That's fine. So were mine. I have to split actually-" You got up slyly putting your coat jacket on waiting to see if the man really was interested in you enough to say anything about seeing you again.

"O-Oh wait. How often are you thinking of coming by this spot?" Eduardo didn't have many people to see when he left home. Aside from a stiff friendship with Tom. Since the incident they've bonded over their hatred for Tord. They took turns doing each other's interests like watching a sporting event when it's Eduardo's turn to pick the activity or going to a concert when it was Tom's night. It would usually end in some fight over bashing each others choices but they always silently made up and made plans for another night. 

"Mmmm. I don't know really," it was the truth. Even if you were to say what days you'd potentially show up it wasn't for sure. You'd play hard to get but this could become a good friendship. Someone who isn't calling you slurs, reclaimable between you and your roommates among themselves of course, and someone who might actually like you. "Here, let me save my number in you phone-" You reach out placing you hand on his forarm that held the phone testing to see if he'd flinch or push you away from the gentle touch. 

Eduardo felt goosebumps from around you touch. You could have sworn you saw a hint of green blush on his face. No one really touches him besides Mark when he pats Eduardo on the back when he things he needs it. "S-sure". 

You glided your hand from where it was to his hands sliding the phone out from his grasp. Your brain did a buffer effect when seeing the person that was his lock screen. A guy with small eyes, light brown hair, and blue button up. Who was this? This better not be some unnamed boyfriend. You didn't take him for a cheater. You still saved your number on his phone but took a mental note not to flirt as much until you know for sure the guy was single. Even if it's just casual the last thing you want to be is a homewrecker. 

You handed the phone over back to him, "See ya." Okay, you can spare a wink before walking away from him. 

Eduardo sat there confused. That really happened. He really got someone's phone number. He took one last sip from his diet cola before setting down the money to pay for their drinks. 

Authors note:

What's up fellow LGBTs. I didn't see any xM!Reader content much less for Eddsworld charas so I took it upon myself to actually provide for any of the other losers who simp for Eduardo. Might do a love triangle down the line tho- 

#eddswolrd #eduardo eddsworld #x reader #m!reader

[okayshin]

ʏᴀɴᴅᴇʀᴇ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴɴᴏɴs

✉ how they choose their darling 

⤹ yandere!au

⤹ pretty boy setter edition 

⤹ ft. akaashi, kageyama, kenma, oikawa, sugawara

⤹ tw. manipulation, fwb mention, typical yan things

═══ ᴀᴋᴀᴀsʜɪ ᴋᴇɪᴊɪ 

▹    akaashi notices everything you do

▹    no matter how small, he sees it. takes notes. studies it and you

▹    you would’ve became friends with him in high school, introduced by the elated bokuto who “wants all of his friends to be friends” 

▹    you’re dedicated and he likes that about you 

▹    always attending every game, even if you mention previously that you might not be able to make it because a, b, or c. 

▹    and bokuto lives for you being there. if akaashi didn’t know any better, he’d think bokuto had a crush on you 

▹    akaashi is self-aware, to an extent. 

▹    yes, he knows he shouldn’t be getting a bubble of anger in his chest when he sees you hug sweaty bokuto first after a game

▹    but he brushes it off as jealousy. nothing more, nothing less

    ══

They got the last touch. They were the victors of yet another game, and they would be the ones going to the finals. 

They are the stars of the world. 

So why does he feel a pang in his chest when you come down from the bleachers and go straight for Bokuto? 

All excitement burns down to something less, the remains of a match brought to nothing more than charcoal and smoke while he watches his best friend swing you around in a hug. 

“Did you see us?” he asks excitedly after setting you down, grin ever present on his features. You can only nod, just as happy as the man in front of you. You pull him into another, less frantic, hug, then turn when Bokuto addresses Akaashi as he approaches. 

“We did it, Akaashi!” 

“We did.” 

As upset as Akaashi wants to be, Bokuto’s exhilaration is infectious. A smile makes its way on Akaashi’s face without him realizing, only to grow when you open your arms to him and give an excited squeal. 

Whatever jealousy his mind made stems down to nothing more than ash, blown away the moment your arms wrap around his neck. 

And suddenly, everything is okay again. 

═══ ᴋᴀɢᴇʏᴀᴍᴀ ᴛᴏʙɪᴏ 

▹    kags isn’t the type to get into a relationship ok

▹    however, i do see him as the type to become fwb with someone

▹    it’s not something that happens instantly ofc. it takes a lot of time and talking about boundaries and rules, but you get there eventually

▹    and you’d absolutely adore kags 

▹    he knows it, too 

▹    kageyama lives off of whatever attention you present him with

▹    but he sees no point in reciprocating anything 

▹    give him an inch and he takes a mile 

▹    he won’t acknowledge if you do anything that’s more romantic than fwb 

▹    bring him a bento box for lunch “just ‘cause you felt like it?”? don’t make a habit of it, or he’ll start to expect them, without giving back anything in return 

    ══

The blank look on his face should’ve told it all, honestly. 

But, you’re no quitter! And in your defense, he was the one who told you yesterday how good your lunch looked. 

Kageyama only stared as you presented him with a neatly wrapped bento box, processing what this could imply further down the line. Regardless, he takes the food and unwraps the cloth. It’s the exact thing you brought the day before, and despite your friends’ protests of ‘not getting too attached to someone like him’, you’ve taken it upon yourself to do something nice for him. 

It is one lunch, after all. Maybe a second if he doesn’t cancel your ‘study session’ planned later on in the week. 

“Thank you for yesterday,” you say nonchalantly, as if he didn’t blow out your back in the bathroom stalls with the only reasoning being ‘because Hinata pissed him off’ and he needed to do something with his pent up aggression, “I had a good time.” 

He doesn’t reply, but you don’t expect him to; instead relishing in the fact that the tips of his ears burn. That doesn’t stop a smirk from forming on his face, though.

═══ ᴋᴇɴᴍᴀ ᴋᴏᴢᴜᴍᴇ 

▹    kenma is one of the most analytical out of the five

▹    he can easily pick up on the things you do

▹    your pet peeves, your tics, your habits, all of it

▹    and he can just as easily use them against you 

▹    is the best at making it seem unintentional

▹    what do you mean you don’t want to watch his game? you promised you would, even though he sort of pressured you to in the middle of a gaming sesh but it’s not fair to just,,, tell him you have other plans!

▹    it’s kinda rude to just get his hopes up and then let him down, isn’t it? 

▹    probably the most self-aware out of everyone, but he really doesn’t care. people usually look over him because of how unassuming he is, so why would him taking interest in you be noticed either? 

    ══

Your agitation was tangible. He could make out your form under a blanket from the video call you were on, pitiful and tired, but that doesn’t stop the slight frown from crossing his features. 

“You promised you’d come watch me and Kuroo play tomorrow, though.” A pinky promise, at that, but he wouldn’t bring up the facts. 

You pout, shoulders dropping with a sniffle, “That was before my parents told me about their anniversary dinner, Kenma.” 

“I really wanted you to meet my friend from Karasuno. I think you’d really like him.” He toys with the string of his hoodie, looking away from the screen for just a moment. He hears you huff out a sigh, screen going black for a moment. 

Video Paused. 

“I’ll talk to them about it, see if I can make it up to them somehow.” Another sigh, followed by some tapping on the screen that Kenma can only assume is you typing. 

“If you can’t, it’s okay. No need to worry about it.” Kenma says dismissively, despite knowing you and your tells; the tone of your voice breaking way into confirmation that you’ve given in to his less-than-pushy demand. 

“Too late,” your screen comes back on, some shuffling and replacing your phone propped against a pillow, “already texted them. What kind of snacks should I bring?” 

“Whatever can get you through the match.” He smiles, a genuine, sweet smile only reserved for those he cares about. 

═══ ᴏɪᴋᴀᴡᴀ ᴛᴏᴏʀᴜ

▹    oikawa is manipulative for starters 

▹    to his peers, his friends, his teachers, his fangirls, to everyone

▹    he’s good at adapting to less-than favorable situations and will do whatever it takes to get his way

▹    the definition of a brat

▹    he’s not above using people for how own advantage, either 

▹    you don’t want to go out with him? that’s perfectly fine! just don’t come crying to him when you get hundreds of hate mail from his fangirls that he oh so dramatically confided in

▹    is not afraid to make you out to be the bad guy at all 

▹    honestly doesn’t care if you really like him or not. even if you say you don’t, he just believes you’re lying. he’s the great king, after all. who wouldn’t like him

    ══

This was the fifth letter you’d found in your locker since school started. No, scratch that- the first two were slipped into your backpack, along with some of your items being stolen by whatever crazed fangirl deemed it necessary to make your day worse than what it already was. 

It doesn’t take an idiot to know what you did wrong to be in this situation. You’d denied Oikawa Tooru, your school's golden boy, telling him you’d rather study than watch him practice volleyball and get dinner after. If you’d known this would be the backlash, you would’ve thought twice about turning him down. 

Someone clicks their tongue behind you, causing you to jump and whirl around. The man at fault stands looking over your shoulder, hands on his hips with a pout on his face. 

“That doesn’t look like a confession letter- unless the broken heart means you’ve already denied them before they had a chance?” 

The suggestion makes you more than agitated- he knows what the letter is. Hell, he probably gave them pointers on what to write! You slam your locker closed with one hand and crumble the letter with the other.

“Is there something I can help you with, Oikawa?”

His name tastes like venom on your tongue, yet it doesn’t make him falter, pout turning to a grin, “There is actually. I’m sure you’ve heard we’re up against The Iron Wall- and I was just double checking that my potential number one supporter would be there?” 

You open your mouth to snap out a reply, but you can feel the glares from your peers; girls and boys alike whispering to each other- stirring a pot they know nothing about. 

So, you bite your tongue. Grit your teeth and deal. It’s just one game, after all- what’s the harm in missing a few hours of a study session? 

“Yeah, I’ll be there.” 

“Great!” His smile grows tenfold, reaching up and pinching your cheek endearingly, “I’ll be sure to let everyone know just how sweet you really are.” 

You don’t miss the mischievous glint in his eyes; the way he moves away from you so confidently telling you more than enough. He knows the game and he’s playing it well. 

═══ sᴜɢᴀᴡᴀʀᴀ ᴋᴏᴜsʜɪ

▹    the sweetest boy on god

▹    just cannot place his feelings! 

▹    does he like you? like like you? want to be friends? more than friends? take you away from anything and everything that could ever hurt you? 

▹    falls back more into the last category, and can only assume it means he likes you

▹    he’s probably the least dangerous to have after you 

▹    suga doesn’t want to do anything that would ruin your relationship, or the potential for any future relationships

▹    this makes him the best friend you could ever ask for, honestly 

▹    will walk you home if you ask (as long as you can stand to wait until after practice) 

▹    takes you out for lunch or dinner or study sessions at the local cafe on the weekend and refuses to let you pay for anything

▹    snacks, drinks, and meals are all on him and he doesn’t complain at all

▹    generally doesn’t ask for anything but your friendship in return

▹    but if you give him a hug or hold onto his arm and let him imagine you’re more than something you aren’t then that’s the best payment

    ══

“You’ve gotta let me pay for something, Suga,” you whine, trying to push some cash into the center of the table only for the man to push it back towards you and pass his card directly to the waiter instead. 

“Nope, I invited you out so therefore I pay.” 

“By that logic, if I invite you out next weekend then I’ll pay?” You grumble, stuffing the money back into your wallet. “Sounds fair to me.” 

“No,” he disagrees again, looking up when the waiter brings back his card and a paper to sign, “I’ll just say no to hanging out- therefore you have no reason to pay.” 

“That’s just mean, Suga.” You whine again, “What if I say no to your hangout session, then?” 

“You can’t say no to me.” He smiles an award winning smile, thanking the waiter, then standing and waiting for you to pull on your jacket before you step outside. “It’s not allowed.” 

“‘Not allowed’?” You repeat with a scoff, scrunching your nose at how chilly the temperature outside is compared to the warmth inside the building, “So you can say no to me, but I can’t you? Isn’t that a double-standard and make you a hypocrite?” 

“Maybe,” he shrugs, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets, “but it doesn’t change the fact that I simply will not be letting you pay for anything.” 

You puff out your cheeks in protest, but it’s gone just as quickly as it appeared and is replaced with a grin. Patting Sugawara on the arm a couple of times before your arm wraps itself around his own while you pull him closer to your favorite spot. The dog park. 

Sugawara always plans for this; taking you past the park so you can see all the pets running around. Your reaction is always the same- hitting him a few times to get his attention, then, wrapping your arm around his so he doesn’t stray far, and won’t leave his until he drops you off at him. It’s routine, at this point. Your warmth seeps through his jacket, and it’s all the payment he needs.

#yandere!au #yandere!haikyuu #akaashi keiji x reader #keiji akaashi x reader #tw: yandere #tobio kageyama x reader #kageyama tobio x reader #kenma kozume x reader #kozume kenma x reader #oikawa tooru x reader #tooru oikawa x reader #sugawara koushi x reader #koushi sugawara x reader #haikyuu #haikyuu x reader

[superemeralds]

OH WOW thank you for answering so fast!! I wanted to ask because in my opinion, Shadow is written kind of... poorly.. at the metal virus arc :c and I love how you characterize Shadow!! I was wondering, if you could, how would you have written him in it?

okay so this got. RAELLY long. it’s under the read more.. hhaaa... get ready for rambles.

before i start on what i would love to see different, here’s a few things that i really liked about his characterization in idw:

shadow being persistent about what he thinks is right, being very straightforward and strict in wanting to execute his ideal

the way he stepped down and let sonic try his way instead of being stubborn because sonic made a very good point. Shadow wants to be fair, and if he of all people deserves a chance, then so should eggman. kind of ties back to maria also, which is a nice nod to have considering it seems like modern writers for sonic usually treat the ending of shth as “ok she never existed to him anyways”

i like that he uses his GUN affiliation to his advantage to do good and help people (even if by rouges account he does it because he doesnt want to deal with zombots)

he has great devotion to make sure the truck is safe and peole get a chance to get out, giving (according to the comics anyways) more than 100% of his power dealing with hundreds if not thousands of zombots alone

I like that there’s a nod to shadow being insecure about his status as ultimate life form, and he is tempted to get infected just to prove to himself he really CANT get sick and he really IS a perfect being. He struggled a lot with the high expectations that were laid upon him, the expectations he’s laying upon himself.

I like how he had a great sense of shock and defeat when he realized that he DID get infected. It’s very true for him to be thrown off by it, get a little careless due to shock. its natural. it’s good.

his “i told you something like this would happen” towards sonic in the beginning of #19 is justified. He hates that he was right, he always is, and he wishes he wasnt. he could’ve prevented this, but its too late now. then later he risks getting infected with the metal virus, and he DOES get infected. He suddenly wasnt right anymore. This sense of irony... it’s probably one of the reasons he has trouble to concentrate on the fight. it’s a nice parallel. IDK if ian intended it to be this deep, but that’s what i read into it.

(i also want to point out that i like that herms gives everyone slightly diverse “skin”-tones. like diverse undertones. im still peeved they are all pretty pale but its hoenstly a nice little nod)

okay so here’s what i think could’ve gone better:

I feel like shadow being the one to drive the truck into the city is a reference to 06, where he is driving around in various vehicles. That in itself is nice, and i think shadow is a person who prefers to do things himself if there’s a lot at stake (which there was a lot of peoples lives) but i also think that he would think of himself as a powerful shield. He would rather be the one overseeing the battlefield insread of being the designated driver. He knows he was created for the frontlines, and he is someone who knows he can survive the front lines. He is not a sacrefice tobe made, he is the one who will make sure that no one else has to sacrefice themselves. Shadow should’ve been on site from the very beginning. Where is the rest of GUN anyways? Those low level humans should make an effort to protect the life on their planet.

Shadow did absolutely NOT use 100% of his pwoer to protect the truck. He could EASILY have done more. He can lift trucks. He could use chaos blast. He could easily have prevented just faling victim to the zombots so easily.

As mentioned above it kind of DOES make sense for him to go down easily due to being infected, but I think this was the wrong time to let him get infected. I think he wouldn’t let his guard down and carelessly touch a zombot. He would not give in to the temptation to test his limits like this if there was not a greater cause. I think he would easily break if someone he cared about (other than sonic) fell victim to the metal virus. This is something that would get him emotional, to get careless. He knows sonic can outrun the virus, but rouge can’t. Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Vector, all of Sonic’s friends can’t outrun the virus. There’s a big chance that he is immune, there’s a slim chance he is not. But even with that slim chance, he knows he could outrun it, just like sonic. Losing someone he cares about to the virus would remind him of his superiority, of how fragile life is and of his responsibility to protect life itself. Any restrait would be gone. He would be driven by guilt and anger at himself, that he could’ve done better, that he HAS to do better. It’s something that spirals him totally out of control. It’s something that would make him want to prove to himself that he has the ability to fix it all. because it’s all his fault.

this is honestly something that is so important. he feels responsible for this, because he did what was right and gave sonic and eggman a chance. In his mind, sometimes the right hting to do is the wrong thing to do, because sometimes only wrong actions get you to the right goal. he is a gray character like that, and i think it’s not shown enough. his regret and guilt don’t surface enough so that anyone who is not as invested in the character would be able to read it out of #19. there’s a lot of stuff going on inside shadow in this issue and its just. not enough time to unpack it all. this whole deal of him getting infected was too rushed. (as mentioned above i wouldve preferred he get infected a little later or under other circumstances)

I think shadow is aware of his responsibility as living weapon to not fall into the hands of the enemy. he has learned what it means to be manipulated, he learned what it means if he was used as a weapon by an enemy of life on earth. he does NOT want to be used as an object of destruction ever again. He would RUN. even if hesitant, but his emotions would make him excell even in that. he would make sure he’d run faster than sonic. he’s want to make sure that he’d give 110% and cure himself, something sonic couldn’t do.

the way he would go down in my mind is him excerting himself. He would absolutely reject help. he would prefer to not have any contact with anyone at all. For one because he feels guilty and he doesn’t want to deal with that emotionally, also because he doesn’t want anyone to see him in this state of weakness. He absolutely would loathe the idea of anyone being able to see him go down and surrender to the enemy. He would absolutely exhaust his entire energy reservoir building barricades and being the sole and only front line protecting evacuation efforts from a distance, to make sure that they have enough buffer to escape, should he fail.

shadow is someone  who is rash and has a tendency to boast his strength, but he also is someone who tries to consider any and all possibilities, no matter how painful they are to admit to his pride. he will shove them to the back of his mind, but they are still there. and if it COMES to those scenarios, he will have a plan for them. only if unpredictable things happen, or things that shake him emotionally, he would lose grip.

also in all those talks abt things shaking him emotionally, i dont mean that other people who arent his friends are not important to him, its just that friendship has a bigger impact on people. i think that should be pretty obvious, but since people like to misinterpret shadow id like to make sure people understand that i think that shadow values all and every life on the planet. he griefs over random deaths as much as his friends, it’s just that it hits more personal. mostly because he thinks... of himself as someone who always protects, but never has to be protected.

shadows relationship with himself is complicated. he thinks very low of himself. he pretty much hates himself. but that is because he thinks oh so highly of himself. he is perfect, ultimate, unbeatable, unstoppable, immortal, immune.... he expects all this of himself... even though he knows that it’s not true. it’s the one thing that he knows of himself. The one thing he feels that he could maybe achieve if he tried hard enough, and of course he is never trying hard enough; and at the same time he is trying so hard. He gives 300% and yet he still feels like he halfasses everything and he still feels like he could do better. On the outside he presents it with his strict edgy persona, that looks down on everyone. but really he feels so small. most of all towards sonic. sonic is so so tall compared to shadow (pun intended).

he looks up to sonic so much, because he always manages to go out of hisway to do what is right. even if it meant risk, even if it meant weakness. Sonic, the guy that easily could just get killed and hurt and not recover. the funny jokes dude that never thinks more than a single step ahead. This boy is out there risking his life for the life of this planet on the front lines and he shows not a single care about his own safety, always putting everyone else before him. shadow envies him. he really really does. thats why he values his opinoin. thats why he listens to him and even steps back from his OWN ideals, something he would do for only VERY few people, because of course shadow is always right. this is referenced in various sonic games (sa2 most of all,shth,sth) and in sonic x (yea its not canon but like. They Really Got His Character).

ADDING SOME RAMBLING AFTER ISSUE #33 RELEASED

#shadcanon #kinda? #meta/ shadow #i still love my meta tag #anonymous #fan lore

[takerfoxx]

She Ra and the Power of Redemption!

A’ight, so, She-Ra’s coming back in a few days for their final season. Obviously I am SUPER excited about it, but before it drops, I need to get something I’m kind of worried about off my chest.

See, I’ve talked before about my big pet peeve in fiction, in which good or at least sympathetic characters do really bad things and don’t suffer appropriate consequences, sometimes because the writer just doesn’t understand the weight of what happened and wanted to rush a redemption arc or maybe get a little dirt on their heroes without really considering the implications or wanted to do something shocking and was clumsy and/or lazy about or even felt that they were justified even when they clearly weren’t. It’s even killed a few onetime favorite series of mine.

And I see the potential for She-Ra to make that same mistake here. And I think anyone who’s seen the show and has interacted with the fandom knows what I’m talking about.

I’m talking of course about Catra and Hordak’s potential redemption arcs.

Catra’s redemption is topic number one with the fans, because everyone wants to see it, but most people want to see it done right. The Catradora thing is the fuel on which the fandom runs, and I know quite a few people that would pop dem bottles if it were to become canon. And I totally get it: Catra is a magnificently written character, one who is super compelling, complex, and sympathetic, and her dynamic with Adora is just dripping with all sorts of tension. It’s the best friends to lovers AND enemies to lovers in the same package. Who wouldn’t want to see it?

Except, there is a problem...

See, one thing I have highly praised this show for is how, despite being a show targeted toward little girls, it paints a very realistic picture of abusive relationships and handles the subject with all the seriousness it deserves, from how they’re formed to how they continue to how the cycle goes from abuser to victim to next victim to so on. Horde Prime abused Hordak, Hordak abused Shadow Weaver, Shadow Weaver abused Catra and Adora, Adora broke free while Catra did not, Catra then abused Scorpia, Entrapta, Lonnie, Kyle, Rogelio, you get the picture. And they show it so wonderfully, in all of its forms.

But that leads us to that problem, and that is despite definitely being a victim of abuse, and despite all of her sympathetic qualities, Catra is still a terrible person! She became as much an abuser as Shadow Weaver, with how awfully she treated Scorpia, with backstabbing Entrapta and manipulating Hordak, with bullying her subordinates, to everything she’s done to Adora and all the lives she ruined from her exploits as Hordak’s second in command. She masterminded the destruction of Salineas, sent Entrapta off to die, treated the only person who has given her unconditional love like shit. Her damage and insecurities have driven her to worse and worse behavior, up and to including almost destroying the fucking world just so Adora couldn’t win again! TWICE!

Basically, after handling the abuse themes so well, it would really, really suck for her to just be taken back and forgiven like nothing had happened or only minor consequences after she inevitably switched sides, because that carries the message, however unintentional, that abuse victims should forgive and take back their abusers, that it’s up to them to be the bigger person and invite those who hurt them back into their lives, which history has only shown will just restart the cycle all over again.

However, all of that does not mean I don’t think Catra is beyond hope, or that she shouldn’t be redeemed at all. She is absolutely a victim of all the terrible treatment Shadow Weaver and Hordak put her through since childhood, be it physical, mental, or emotional, and I am NOT about to hold an emotionally traumatized teenager to the same standards I would hold those more fortunate. Plus, we’ve seen how much her actions haunt her, from her nightmares about Entrapta to her psychological breakdowns to everything Double Trouble exposed about her. And I do truly want what’s best for her.

So how should the show go about it? Well, I think my half-joking wishlist from earlier just about covered it: after switching sides and helping the Alliance ward off the Horde, Catra should leave. Whether or not she makes amends with Adora, whether or not she’s forgiven, Catra needs to leave those she’s hurt and go somewhere else to start over, to separate herself from those she has so many insecurities about and work on bettering herself. Because after everything she’s done, she really does need to put in a lot of work in order to properly fix herself before she can even think of reforging relationships with Adora or Scorpia or Entrapta. 

And honestly, I still think the Crimson Waste is perfect for her. She thrived while down there. And it does seem like it’s been set up specifically for her. And then...maybe a few years down the line, after she’s come to grips with herself...well, we’ll see.

Now, as for Hordak...

Look, I like the guy, I honestly do. His relationship with Entrapta gave me life, seeing how he was literally grown in a vat to be Space Hitler Jr., it’s no wonder that he turned out like he did. 

Buuuuut...he’s still a murderous despot with buckets of blood on his hands. I’m sorry, but he can’t have a switch sides, now it’s all good happy ending. He just can’t. 

Fortunately, even though he was far worse, his possible redemption has an easier solution. You know how Horde Prime restored him to factory settings, wiping his mind and sending him off to be processed or whatever?

What if he stays that way? What if he never gets his memories back? What if Hordak, the evil conquering dictator that ruined so many lives, just stays gone? But the newly wiped Hordak, upon encountering Entrapta, is able to recall just enough to know that he cares for her, prompting him to break free from Horde Prime’s control for her sake? Call it the Kubo and the Two Strings solution.

As for Shadow Weaver...no. Just no. She has no redeeming qualities at all. Everything bad that ever happened to her are a direct result of her own actions, she doesn’t have the brainwashed/designed that way excuse that Catra and Hordak have, she’s never done a single decent thing since becoming Shadow Weaver, and even after switching sides has continued to manipulate Glimmer and gaslight Adora. No redemption for her. And since Noelle has said that she hates killing off characters, I don’t see her getting killed either.

So just swap her for Angella. Send her to the other dimension and get our girl back.

And as for Entrapta and Double Trouble...dude, I don’t even know. Like, they also did bad things, but they’re kind of in their own weird moral worlds, and I don’t want to let them off the hook but also can’t fathom how that would even work...

You know what? They’re the weird exceptions that prove the rule, I guess.

(also note that even if they botch this, it probably won’t kill the show for me, as it’s still a kid’s show and it has built up a ton of good will, so my overall feelings will still be very positive, I’d just be bummed that they dropped the ball in this one, albeit very important, area)

#she ra and the princesses of power #she ra #spop #adora #catra #hordak #shadow weaver #entrapta #scorpia #double trouble #catradora #redemption #abuse tw

[someonefantastic]

I'm Gonna Give You All My Heart Can Give

Welcome one and all to the first day of psychmas! Find the prompts here. I had fun writing this one, I always love doing narratives and especially ones on Juliet. Hope y'all enjoy! Summary: Juliet O'Hara has spent four Christmases with Shawn and Gus since moving to San Fransisco. Each one is memorable for different reasons. Prompt: Gifts also on ao3 ___

The first Christmas since moving to San Francisco is quiet and calm. It’s just her, Shawn, and Gus. All three of them had traveled to Santa Barbara a few days before to have a Christmas party with the Lassiter’s and Henry and as much fun as that was, she’s thankful to be spending Christmas alone with her fiancé and his best friend.

She’s the last one to get her gift. Gus had gone first, receiving noise-canceling headphones from her and pretending not to see Shawn’s smug face or hear his comments about needing them later. Shawn had given him a detailed map of all the best food places in San Francisco along with the promise that he’d drop anything and go with him whenever he asked.

Shawn had absolutely loved the shiny wrapping paper that she used, spending more time playing with that than actually opening up the present but she didn’t mind. The look on his face as he unwrapped a black hoodie with the words “psychphrancisco” written in red was more than enough to make up for it. And he nearly cried at Gus’ gift, a signed certificate from both Chief Vick and Chief Lassiter thanking them for their consulting services over the past eight years.

Finally, it’s her turn. Gus hands her a small red wrapped box and she bursts into a huge grin upon opening it. It’s a small framed photo of the three of them, plus Carlton, taken during one of their first post case celebratory hangouts. Their faces are younger, less worn by time and stress but the signs of friendship and that underlying bond is very prevalent.

And then Shawn silently slides her another box. The wrapping screams “Gus”. It’s blue with white snowflakes, a gold ribbon down the middle, tied into a bow. The edges are neat and straight and she can barely see the small bits of tape holding the package together. But the gift inside is clearly from Shawn.

It’s two pictures, side by side on one sheet of paper, she and Shawn drawn out in beautiful detail and adorned with watercolor. In one they’re standing in front of their old house in Santa Barbara and the other in front of their loft’s entrance in San Francisco. Her hair is longer in the second picture, a sign of time past but their smiles are all the same, just happy to be together. Below in beautiful letters, swooping and scrawling- a skill that she knows he picked up from his dad- is written: “Home is Wherever You Are”.

Her breath catches in her throat, tears pricking in the corner of her eyes and they threaten to spill over when she notices the glinting ring on her left hand in the second picture. It’s a little artist’s touch- after all the real ring had been stolen- but it makes her heart swell with emotion.

Shawn places his hand on her knee, squeezing slightly and she beams at him. He gives her a lopsided grin and she notes just how cute he is. She’s so glad to be engaged to him.

The second Christmas in San Francisco is a little larger and a little crazier. The Lassiters, Vicks, and Henry all cram into their loft, Christmas music playing and conversation ringing throughout. She loves having a big Christmas, after all, it’s what she grew up with, but a small part of her mourns the loss of it being just the three of them. She also wishes she was actually married this Christmas but that’s something she’ll never tell anyone.

The gift exchange is hectic, with multiple people scrambling and opening their boxes. There’s a lot that she can’t quite recall but she will never forget the look on Iris’ face as she unwraps Juliet’s gift. A soccer ball. It’s white with pink and black stripes and nearly takes out a lamp or two but Iris makes her pinky swear that she’ll take her to go play a match sometime.

This time, Shawn’s gift to her is wrinkled, the wrapping paper sticking out on the edges and massive pieces of tape holding the whole thing together. He clearly wrapped it and the image of him wrestling with paper and tape is enough to make her smile. It’s a small heater for her office as she’d been complaining about the cold atmosphere for weeks now. She’s touched that he would think of something to make her life a little better but that’s just who Shawn is, always listening and meeting her needs. (She’s a little disappointed, however, that it’s not an engagement ring.)

Juliet would never consider herself a resentful person but by the time the third Christmas rolls around, she’s a bit peeved. Her and Shawn are no closer to being married. In fact, he seems to actually be going backwards in their relationship. She’s caught him a few times slipping and calling her his “girlfriend” instead of “fiancée” and she’s spent way too much time wondering if he’ll ever actually be ready to be married. She loves him regardless and thinks that if he ever decides that he doesn’t want to get married, she’ll stay but it’s exhausting having no clue what he’s thinking.

They go to Santa Barbara for this Christmas, spending it in the Lassiter’s house along with Henry and Gus. (The Vick’s decided to spend Christmas in Detroit with Karen’s family.) Shawn makes a joke about sneaking off into his old bedroom and she has to gently remind him that that’s now Lily’s room and there will be no sneaking off tonight.

He pouts for a minute and then Carlton announces that they’re opening up gifts and his attention is elsewhere. She loves it when his eyes light up like that.

He bagged his gift this year. It’s a plain red bag with way too much tissue paper but he’s smiling so big that she’s very distracted from the packaging anyways.

Inside is a hair dryer. The exact make and model as the one on her Christmas list. It’s sweet and practical and exactly what she wanted. And yet… there’s a small part of her that is a little sad. She’d grown so accustomed to his thoughtful gifts that were slightly out of the box in his own quirky way. But she later reprimands herself for thinking that way. At least she got a gift from him. At least he was so kind as to get her something she wanted. At least she has him. It’s not too bad, and sure it’s no engagement ring or mindful gift but having him should be enough. So why does she feel like she’s nearing her breaking point?

Their fourth Christmas together is much, much different. It’s just the three of them again but this time… this time there’s a silver band on her left hand, the diamond glinting every time it catches a stream of light.

She had worried for weeks leading up to December that this Christmas was going to be just like the last ones, another year of engagement with no ring, no sign of commitment from Shawn. But he had surprised her, like he always did, with the best gift of all. They had done it, actually gotten married, standing on that pier. She was bruised and battered, they hadn’t slept in hours and their officiant was a criminal. It was unconventional all right but she wouldn’t change it for the world.

This Christmas she was spending it with her husband. The word still made her giddy and she didn’t know if she’d ever grow tired of referring to Shawn as that. She certainly hoped she wouldn’t.

They’re huddled around the Christmas tree, all three of them decked out in matching red flannel pajamas- Shawn’s idea. Gus comments for the third time that day (and probably the twentieth time since they got married) that he’s going to move out soon, give the newlyweds some space but she just shakes her head, placing a hand on his knee and telling him that he can stay as long as he needs. He is family after all.

Shawn nearly chucks his gift at Gus who in turn shoots him a dirty look. The expression quickly falls, however, when he unwraps it. It’s a beautiful portrait of the three of them sitting on the couch and laughing at a movie. Shawn grins, nudging Gus’ arm, and tells him how even when he moves out, he’ll always be family and more than welcome. She wholeheartedly agrees.

He grabs her gift next, it’s small and flat but a grin bursts across his face as he opens it. A Wonder Woman comic sits in his hands- the first comic they ever bought together- its cover signed by Gal Godot herself. She doesn’t tell him that she waited three hours in line to get that signed or went to 18 different comic book shops to find that specific issue. Inside is a note card from Juliet telling him how much she appreciates his friendship and Shawn has to gingerly take the comic book away from him before he bursts into tears.

And when he hugs them both, she doesn’t mind his sobbing or the slight awkwardness of the embrace. Instead, she thinks that part of her is going to miss living with her husband’s best friend- no- her brother-in-law.

Gus’s gift to her is equally as sweet. It’s a coin, carved with the words Detective Juliet O’Hara-Spencer, and she wonders when he had time to add that last bit or if he had known all along. Regardless, she’s just thankful to share something so special with him.

Shawn slides her his gift after she finishes thanking Gus, a small dopey smile on his face. The wrapping is neater this year but it still points out at the occasional odd angle and too much tape was involved. She gasps as she unwraps it, revealing a green snuggie- the perfect excuse for warm cuddles. It’s soft against her skin and she immediately slips her arms into it, allowing the fabric to encase her small frame. It’s a bit large and he waggles his eyebrows as he tells her it’s made for two. Even if it wasn’t, they’d surely find a way to share it.

Hours later, when they’re all piled onto the couch watching Gremlins, the snuggie wrapped around her and Shawn, she thinks this is the best Christmas in San Francisco yet.

#psychmas2020 #psych #psych fanfic #juliet o'hara #burton guster #shawn spencer #shules #and they were roommates #fanfic #christmas

[bookishable]

deathly hallows book moments

warning: this one’s a rollercoaster ride of emotions, read at your own risk.

‘the idea of a teenage dumbledore was simply odd, like trying to imagine a stupid hermione or a friendly blast-ended skrewt.’

“i don’t think you’re a waste of space.”

‘he felt like asking them to show a little more respect for his privacy as they all began stripping off with impunity, clearly much more at ease with displaying his body than they would have been with their own.’

ron: why do i have to clean my room? mrs weasley: !!! WEDDING !!! ron: theyre not getting married in my damn bedroom

“we’re coming with you. that was decided months ago—years, really.”

“if i picked up a sword right now, ron, and ran you through with it, i wouldn’t damage your soul at all.” “which would be a real comfort to me, i’m sure”

harry waking up on his birthday forgetting he was 17

“accio glasses!” although they were only around a foot away, there was something immensely satisfying about seeing them zoom towards him, at least until they poked him in the eye.

ron giving harry a book called twelve fail-safe ways to charm witches for his birthday

“i’ve learned a lot. you’d be surprised, it’s not all about wandwork, either.”

‘the rest of her speech was lost; harry had got up and hugged her. he tried to put a lot of unsaid things into the hug and perhaps she understood them’

“are you planning to follow a career in magical law, miss granger?” “no i’m not, i’m hoping to do some good in the world!”

“it’s time you learned some respect!” “it’s time you earned it”

hermione: when we were little we heard stories like snow white and cinderella ron: what’s that, an illness? harry: rip me i never got read any stories

“a brutal triple murder by the bridegroom’s mother might put a bit of a damper on the wedding.”

“merlin’s beard, what is xenophilius lovegood wearing? he looks like an omelette.” excuse me why wasn’t auntie muriel like this in the film

“he used to down an entire bottle of firewhisky, then run on to the dance floor, hoist up his robes and start pulling bunches of flowers out of his—” “yes, he sounds a real charmer”

harry suggesting that xenophilius lovegood’s deathly hallows necklace is the cross-section of the head of a crumple-horned snorkack

“vot is the point of being an international quidditch player if all the good-looking girls are taken?”

‘harry heard her mutter a suggestion as to where ron could stick his wand instead.’

harry reading lily’s letter and noticing that they wrote their g’s the same way as each other, i’m sobbing

‘the letter was an incredible treasure, proof that lily potter had lived, really lived’

KREACHER’S GODDAMN TALE

kreacher hitting mundungus over the head with a saucepan “perhaps just one more, master harry, for luck?”

“if anyone shouldn’t go, it’s harry, he’s got a ten thousand galleon price on his head—” “fine, i’ll stay here, let me know if you ever defeat voldemort, won’t you?”

‘with a twinge of regret that had nothing to do with food, harry imagined the house-elf busying himself over the steak and kidney pie that harry, ron and hermione would never eat.’

‘not knowing or caring that their living son stood so near, his heart still beating, alive because of their sacrifice and close to wishing, at this moment, that he was sleeping under the snow with them.’

the sign outside the wreckage of the potters’ house, covered with messages left for harry

the child who had the nerve to say “nice costume, mister!” to mr tom riddle the dark lord voldemort, what an icon

“after you left, she cried for a week. probably longer, only she didn’t want me to see. there were loads of nights when we never even spoke to each other. with you gone… she’s like my sister, i love her like a sister and i reckon she feels the same way about me. it’s always been like that. i thought you knew.”

“you’ve sort of made up for it tonight, getting the sword. finishing off the horcrux. saving my life.” “that makes me sound a lot cooler than i was” “stuff like that always sounds cooler than it really was, i’ve been trying to tell you that for years.”

ron single-handedly fighting off five snatchers by telling them he was stan shunpike

“he must’ve known i’d run out on you.” “no, he must’ve known you’d always want to come back.”

“i just think it’s a bit spookier if it’s midnight!” “yeah, because we really need a bit more fear in our lives”

“death’s got an invisibility cloak?” “so he can sneak up on people, sometimes he gets bored of running at them, flapping his arms and shrieking…”

luna decorating her bedroom ceiling with paintings of her friends (i’m not crying, you are)

POTTERWATCH

“we’re all human, aren’t we? every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.”

“i’d tell him we’re all with him in spirit, and i’d tell him to follow his instincts, which are good and nearly always right.”

hagrid throwing a ‘support harry potter’ party

“the fact remains he can move faster than severus snape confronted with shampoo when he wants to”

“no! you can have me, keep me!” this book went from making me smile to shattering my heart in around three pages

‘hermione was screaming again: the sound went through harry like physical pain.’

ron’s ‘passable imitation of wormtail’s wheezy voice’

“so young, to be fighting so many.”

‘ron said, “blimey, a baby!” as if he had never heard of such a thing before.’

‘he seemed set on course to become just as reckless a godfather to teddy lupin as sirius black had been to him.’

“he was never free, never, the night that your brother died he drank a potion that drove him out of his mind. he started screaming, pleading with someone who wasn’t there… it was torture to him, if you’d seen him then, you wouldn’t say he was free.”

“i’m going to keep going until i succeed—or i die. don’t think i don’t know how this might end. i’ve known it for years.”

“i got this one for asking her how much muggle blood she and her brother have got.” “blimey, neville, there’s a time and a place for getting a smart mouth.”

“yeah, well, food’s one of the five exceptions to gamp’s law of elemental transfiguration,” said ron, to general astonishment.

“why would harry potter try to get inside ravenclaw tower? potter belongs in my house!”

‘harry heard a little strain of pride in her voice, and affection for minerva mcgonagall gushed up inside him.’

harry using the cruciatus curse on amycus in front of mcgonagall because “he spat at you”

mcgonagall dueling snape and sending a swarm of daggers at him

“where’s professor snape?” “he has, to use the common phrase, done a bunk” minerva i love you

neville throwing mandrakes over the walls

“is this the moment? OI! there’s a war going on here!” “i know, mate, so it’s now or never, isn’t it?”

‘and percy was shaking his brother, and ron was kneeling beside them, and fred’s eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face.’

‘a herd of galloping desks thundered past, shepherded by a sprinting professor mcgonagall.’

harry stunned the death eater as they passed: malfoy looked around, beaming, for his saviour, and ron punched him from under the cloak. “and that’s the second time we’ve saved your life tonight, you two-faced bastard!”

trelawney using crystal balls to knock out death eaters ‘with a movement like a tennis serve’

“are you a wizard, or what?”

“you must kill me.” “would you like me to do it now? or would you like a few moments to compose an epitaph?”

‘this cold-blooded walk to his own destruction would require a different kind of bravery.’

‘he was tiny in death.’

‘he felt he would have given all the time remaining to him for just one last look at them; but then, would he ever have had the strength to stop looking?’

“we’re all going to keep fighting, harry. you know that?”

“i am sorry too, sorry i will never know him… but he will know why i died and i hope he will understand. i was trying to make a world in which he could live a happier life.”

“until the very end”

“this is, as they say, your party.” harry had no idea what this meant; dumbledore was being infuriating.

“it is a curious thing, harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it.”

“do not pity the dead, harry. pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.”

“of course it is happening inside your head, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

‘the scream was the more terrible because he had never expected or dreamed that professor mcgonagall could make such a sound.’

ron breaking voldemort’s silencing charm “he beat you!”

“i’ll join you when hell freezes over, dumbledore’s army!”

harry calling voldemort tom riddle like “yes, i dare”

‘tom riddle hit the floor with a mundane finality, his body feeble and shrunken’ where please, movies?

‘mcgonagall had replaced the house tables, but nobody was sitting according to house anymore’

peeves’ song voldy’s gone mouldy

‘tears were sliding down from behind the half-moon spectacles into the long silver beard, and the pride and the gratitude emanating from him filled harry with the same balm as phoenix song.’

harry FIXING HIS DAMN WAND

“i’ve had enough trouble for a lifetime.”

“if you’re not in gryffindor, we’ll disinherit you, but no pressure.”

albus complaining that everyone is staring and ron being like “it’s me. i’m extremely famous.”

‘the scar had not pained harry for nineteen years. all was well.’

#deathly hallows is the best book and i am not taking criticism on this #congratulations if your eyes are still dry #hp book moments #deathly hallows #harry potter books #harry potter quotes #hp textpost

[forgeandgredimagines]

Late Night Endeavors『 Sirius Black x Gryffindor!Reader 』

A/N: Guess who couldn’t write for like a whole month? ME! I don’t have an excuse, I just had really bad writers' block, but amidst my disappearance emerges a Sirius oneshot which I’m not entirely satisfied with but oh well. The reader is gender neutral and is in Gryffindor by the way, enjoy!

Warnings: None

Word count: 1, 700+

It wasn't uncommon to see students burning the midnight oil in the common rooms, there were always a handful of people studying and revising into the late hours of the night and as of your sixth year you had found yourself always being a part of this group.

Your teachers hadn't been joking or exaggerating in the slightest, NEWT classes were very very difficult and they only seemed to be getting even harder.

The difference between the workload you had the year prior and now was appalling, you'd think that you would have had more free time now that you were dropping several subjects but you found yourself using up all this said free time for nothing but studying and trying to fulfill all of your requirements, which according to Sirius Black, a friend of yours, was unhealthy, which you thought was a bit hypocritical seeing as he spends all his free time playing pranks on people and causing trouble.

He was always nagging that you shouldn't overwork yourself and that you should let yourself have a break every once in a while but you simply couldn't afford to do that.

You were aiming to be a healer, that meant that you had to have top marks on Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Which may not seem like a lot at first but it seemed like all your professors had it in for you because the number of essays you've written, all the books you've had to read and the number of hours you've spent practicing spells and charms was just way too much.

But you knew you had to push through, it had always been your dream to be a healer and nothing was gonna stop you, not even the hardest essay or the most complicated potion could hold you down but it wasn't as if it were possible to avoid the limitations your body had.

Your dormmate had just bid you goodnight and left to go to bed, it was now only you and the usual late night workers in the common room. You were working on a rather nasty essay Professor Slughorn assigned, well, you were trying to work on the essay. It must have been the days worth of sleep deprivation and fatigue finally crashing down on you because you found yourself falling in and out of consciousness, this kept going on for a few minutes until you finally stopped resisting and fell asleep on top of your books.

You were in a rather uncomfortable position but you didn't really care because of the much needed rest you were getting.

The remaining students in the common room didn't pay much attention to you, it was normal to see a snoozing person or two in the common room at that hour and by the time it was 2 am you were the only one left in the common room.

Sirius had woken up not soon after and went to get a glass of water. When he went to go back to sleep he noticed that James had fallen asleep whilst watching the Marauder's Map (Most likely watching Lily Evan's name glide across her dorm room) and had forgotten to close it. Sirius scoffed at his friend's carelessness and reached over to grab the map.

Sirius pointed his wand at the map and whilst he was saying "Mischief managed." His eyes flickered to the familiar name which much to Sirius' annoyance and exasperation was still down at the common room. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was almost three in the morning.

He quickly headed to the common room ready to forcibly take your books from you if he needed to.

As he was getting closer to the common room he started saying "What in the bloody hell are you doing still up?" But the words died in his mouth once he spotted your sleeping figure hunched over at one of the many desks in the room.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. He gently placed his hand on your shoulder and nudged you a bit.

"Hey, wake up sleepy head."

You shifted at his words and slowly opened your eyes. You slowly took in your surrounding and suddenly jolted up.

"Merlin's beard, what time is it?" You quickly scanned the common room. The fire in the fireplace was now reduced to bright embers, all the usually filled tables, desks and couches were empty and the grandfather clock on the opposite corner of the room chimed as the hour hand reached three o'clock.

"Well, as you can see" Sirius gestured towards the ringing clock, "It's three in the morning."

You groaned and rubbed your eyes frustratingly. "I've been asleep for almost seven hours."

Sirius took the seat beside you, "You really have to take care of yourself more." He said while rubbing dried ink that lifted off the book you were laying on off your cheek. You felt yourself blush at this action.

You nodded quickly and turned to hide your red cheeks from him, "Yeah, you're right." You started to pack your things into your bag.

You had to stop losing your composure around him or else he'd realize that your feelings for him weren't as platonic as before.

You had started gaining feelings for Sirius the previous year, you thought that it was just a little crush and that it would fade in a few weeks but it just wouldn't seem to go away. You supposed you were doing a good job of hiding it because Sirius hadn't seemed to notice anything or maybe he was just really dense. Whatever it was, you were thankful that he hasn't realized anything, you didn't want your feelings jeopardizing your friendship.

An idea suddenly popped in Sirius' head and a mischievous smile formed on his features. You've known Sirius for years, you were well aware of what that look meant.

"What are you planning on doing this time, Sirius?" You asked reproachfully.

"What do you say to grabbing a little snack before heading to bed?"

You guffawed at him, was he really planning on going out at this hour?

"It's 3 in the morning, I am not sneaking out with you."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun!" Sirius grabbed your hand and gave you his infamous puppy dog eyes while repeating your name repeatedly.

You ignored the butterflies in your stomach and flicked him on the forehead playfully.

"I said no, Sirius!" You said, "We'll only get caught and get into a heap load of trouble with McGonagall."

He gasped and stood up dramatically, he placed a hand over his chest "How insulting, I never thought that you of all people would think I would let such a thing happen, don't you know who you're talking to?"

He held his hand out for you to grab "Come on, don't you trust me?"

You thought it through for a few seconds. It was true that your chances of getting caught were much smaller seeing as you were to be accompanied by Sirius Black, troublemaker extraordinaire, he was probably an expert at sneaking around the castle late at night by now.

You also wouldn't say no to spending some more time with the Gryffindor, you hadn't been spending as much time with him as much as before.

Some food would be nice too.

"Fine then." You said as you took his outstretched hand with yours. He flashed you a giddy grin and led you out of the common room.

There were a few close calls, you almost ran into Filch whilst on the fourth floor but luckily you were right by a secret passage that led to the second floor where you narrowly avoided getting seen by Peeves who was vandalizing a portrait of a scandalized looking warlock.

In a few short minutes, you had reached the large portrait that led to the kitchens in the basement. 

"Won't the house elves tell on us?" You whispered worriedly as he tickled the pear on the portrait.

"No, they love shoving food in our faces, they'd never snitch." And at that, he pushed the portrait open and you two headed inside.

There weren't many house elves in the kitchen at that time, which was expected, even house elves need sleep too.

The ones that were present were the house elves that were responsible for cleaning the castle whilst everyone was asleep, according to Sirius.

Upon entering the vast room which was almost identical to the Great Hall, you and Sirius were suddenly surrounded by a dozen house elves all talking at once. They all seemed very excited and eager to help.

Soon, after all your pockets were filled to the brim with pastries and snacks, you and Sirius returned to the common room where you two sat by the newly lit fire, courtesy of Sirius, and ate and talked about whatever popped in your minds.

You missed hanging out with Sirius, he always found a way to help you forget about your worries, you don't think you've been this relaxed since the beginning of the term.

One you two finished the last of your food and realized that it was almost five in the morning you two decided to call it a day. 

"I had a lot of fun," You said as you two stood to head back to your dorms "I really needed this." 

You leaned in to place a small kiss on his cheek. "Thanks, Sirius."

He seemed to be caught off guard with the kiss because he was speechless for a few seconds before quickly regaining his composure.

"Anytime.” 

You bid him goodnight and went to climb up the stairs to your dorm but you hadn't even gotten up a dozen steps when Sirius was calling out your name.

You hurried back down to the foot of the stairs where Sirius was still standing.

"What is it?" You asked

"Well, I was thinking," Sirius shuffled nervously under your gaze which was very unlike his usually confident demeanor. "What if we did this again? You know hang out but maybe when it was later in the day and at Hogsmeade.." He hesitated for a moment "I'm trying to ask you out on a date."

It would be an understatement to say that you were surprised, the first thing you blurted out was "Wait, really?"

"No, I'm just playing you--of course, really!"

Sirius then started going on about how he wouldn't joke about something like that, you couldn't help but grin.

"I'd love to go on a date with you."

Sirius stopped mid-sentence, he seemed to burst with joy "Oh thank god, this is great, very great, I should get to planning-"

"I think we should get to sleeping first." You grinned, Sirius nodded.

"Goodnight, Sirius."

"Night, love."

#Harry Potter #harry potter oneshots #sirius black x reader #sirius black #sirius x reader #sirius black x gryffindor!reader #sirius black oneshots #hp oneshot #harry potter fanfiction #james potter #marauders #marauders era #lily evans #Harry Potter x reader #sirius orion black #marauders preferences #harry potter scenarios #sirius black fanfiction

[unofficialkfamtranscripts]

King Falls AM - Episode Two: That Book Is Overdue, President Lincoln!

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[Podcast intro music]

Mayor Grisham [”sincere” politician voice] Stay vigilant, but most importantly: stay hopeful. And Tim, wherever you may be, just know that your friends, family, and everyone in King Falls is looking forward to your eventual, and safe return.

[KFAM rock intro music]

Sammy Good evening, I’m Sammy Stevens and you’re listening to 660 on the AM dial. Welcome to King Falls AM. I’m here with Ben Arnold-

Ben Again?

Sammy Yes, again, Ben! Uh my producer-slash-cohost, emphasis on cohost. Uh, that voice we just heard from was Mayor Grisham, of course, speaking out about the recent disappearance of Tim Jenson.

Ben If you or anyone you know has any information about Tim’s disappearance, we urge you to reach out to the King Falls Sheriff Department.

Sammy Now, on a lighter note, we’ve got a big show tonight, folks. We’ve got an interview with Emily Potter, who will be telling us all about the grand re-opening of the King Falls Library in just a few short days.

Ben [dully] Plus, a call from Doctor Raúl, later in the hour.

Sammy I can hear the excitement in your voice, Ben. You’ve got your Gunnin’-for-Network-News Underoos on today.

Ben Any network but Channel 13, Sammy! [quieter but with feeling] They can suck it.

Sammy Now, before we bring in the lovely Miss Potter, we’re going to—

Ben [dubious and laughing] Is she lovely?

Sammy Well, I mean, I haven’t met her, but I assume she’s a lovely person. Small-town librarian and all.

Ben Lovely— personality? Gotcha.

Sammy *slight laugh* It counts.

Ben That’s what they say.

Sammy So, okay. Before we bring in Miss Potter—

Ben Couldn’t help but notice you didn’t use any adjectives that time.

Sammy Ben, is there something on your mind?

Ben Not at all. It’s just that, our old librarian, Mrs.Kilpatrick, was not what you’d call a lovelyyy… *pff* anything. Lady got her scholarship in war-torn Nazi Germany, so I’m a bit apprehensive to call anyone running the town bookshack “lovely.” Can I just say? for the record? that Mrs. Kilpatrick used to place the “learn-to-draw” books in the reference section? [getting worked up] If anything, they were self-help books, and if a kid wants to check one out- learn how to draw Droopy the damn Dog- then maybe, they, should let him.

Sammy *chuckle* You’re not wrong, Ben, but maybe—

Ben [still worked up] I haven’t told this to anyone ever, but when I was a kid, [slightly quieter like sharing a secret] I was walkin’ down the aisles, and I saw that old whisper-Nazi put “Mein Kampf” in the children’s section, and she—

Sammy [cuts Ben off] Maybe! we can ask Miss Potter her opinions on the King Falls Hitler youth, uh, as well as opening up the phone lines to you, dear listeners, right after this commercial break.

[jaunty, polka-esque music]

Ernie [New York accent] ‘ey, I’m Ernie. Maybe your car your truck ain’t runnin’ so good. Maybe you thinkin’ you need a new one! I’m ‘ere to tell youse, that ain’t always the case. Maybe all you need is bring your car your truck down to Ernie’s Mufflers! Maybe you ask yourself, “ERnie, whateveR Do You mEan?” What I mean is: bring your car down to Ernie’s Mufflers. We’ll have a trained and/or certified technician check on all your whosies, your whatsies, and maybe get you and your car your truck feelin’ good again.

[music stops]

Announcer Ernie’s Mufflers! Come on down and ask about our King Falls AM discount.

[KFAM theme]

Sammy Welcome back folks, and thanks for tuning in to King Falls AM. Sitting in the studio with us this evening is— can I say lovely now, Ben?

Ben [awestruck] Stunning.

Sammy Is the lovely Miss Emily Potter. She’s here to talk more about the town’s library’s Grand Re-opening later this week, is that correct?

Emily It is! Aand thank you for having me on, Sammy, and Ben! I’ve been listening to you every night!

Ben [still awed] Beautiful.

Sammy Well, we certainly appreciate it. Now- if you don’t mind, catch me up to speed on why our fair town’s library was closed in the first place.

Ben [murmured]Gorgeous.

Sammy [softly prompting] Ben?

Ben *gasps* Hey! Sammy.

Emily Well, the library was closed due to renovation. It’s an older building, and—

Ben  [fast tour-guide-voice] Built by Francois Swindle, 1912. Largest brick-and-mortar structure in King Falls until 1918 when City Hall was built.

Emily Oh my gosh! you are exactly right, Ben! So smart.

Sammy Y’know, I’ve driven past it. It is a magnificent building, uh- So they’re just replacing some older fixtures, and what-have-you.

Emily Oh no, the top floor of the library was set on fire.

Sammy I’m sorry, purposely? Wh-who tries to burn down a library?

Emily Unfortunately that mystery is yet to be solved, but not for lack of trying. Sheriff Gunderson and Deputy Troy have been hard at work these past few months. Though, I think the bigger problem was the disappearance of Mrs. Kilpatrick.

Sammy [hold-up-now voice] Wait a second. The library was set ablaze. The old librarian, Miss Kilpatrick—

Ben God rest her soul.

Sammy -has disappeared. What is going on here? I mean, a-are there any leads? Y’know, other than Ben?

Ben [nervously] Hah! Good one, Sammy! *nervous laugh* What a kidder! I’m no-I’m not- I’m not sure why you’d say that, at this time.

Sammy Two words. Book. Shack. Uh, but- but I mean, seriously, folks. How many people are missing in this town?

Ben *clears throat* Emily- uh, c-can I call you Emily?

Emily Please do!

Ben Ca-can you tell the listeners anything that might- help shed some light on these subjects?

Emily Well, for weeks leading up to the fire, Mrs. Kilpatrick had been having… visions.

Sammy [skeptical] Visions.

Emily Yes. To the point where upper management had been talking about retirement. [hesitantly] I… I don’t know if we should be talking about this, with the investigation ongoing and all.

Sammy I think—

Ben [overly earnest] Maybe it could help, Emily- your words, your magnificent words, could be our best- last chance at saving- dear Mrs. Kilpatrick.

Emily [she sounds like a smile] You’re right, Benny.

Sammy Um…

Emily The vision she had was by the checkout desk? At first it was a shadowy figure carrying a book. Upon closer inspection— she realized it was actually [timidly] President Lincoln, who, she believed, was trying to check out a book.

Sammy [very skeptically] President- Abraham Lincoln.

Ben [mocking] Sixteenth president of the United States, geeeez Sammy, catch up, will ya?

Emily This went on every night at closing for close to a week. Until the second vision appeared.

Ben Go on.

Emily She watched from the second floor as President Lincoln brought the book to the front desk.

Sammy [clearly not buying it] Just by chance, uh, what book does a deceased president of the United States try to check out?

Ben “Twelve Years a Slave”, duhh.

Sammy Alright, too easy, Ben. How ‘bout, uh, “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.”

Emily I don’t think-

Ben I like it, but I think Lincoln is probably more of a “Who Moved My Cheese?[1]” type.

Emily Privacy and all— I-I couldn’t say even if I wanted to.

Ben Yeah Sammy, privacy and all!

Sammy [sarcastic chagrin] Of course. Library-patient privilege, gotcha. So, please continue, Miss Potter.

Emily So, she watched from afar, quietly putting away the periodicals. Then, she felt a wind rush past her to the ledge. That’s, when she saawww—

Sammy What did she see?

Emily A vision of John Wilkes-Booth. Peering over the ledge, watching the president as he waited for a librarian that never came.

Ben Fascinating.

Sammy Okay—

Ben Oh here comes Mr. Skeptic- [aside] he didn’t believe in General Abilene— Lemme guess Sammy, you don’t believe in Presidents of the United States either? The Great Emancipator.

Sammy [peeved] Oh Ben, will you stop it. I’m just wary- that a ghost of—

Ben and Emily Vision.

Sammy Right. Eh- That a vision of President Lincoln and his assassin would be wandering the halls of King Falls Public Library, that’s all.

Emily I understand your reticence to believe in the visions, Sammy. I thought the same thing. But, as I’m sure as Ben can attest, Mrs. Kilpatrick wasn’t one to—

Ben If she said she saw it? She saw it.

Sammy So, she has visions. Um, what does that have to do with the fire?

Emily Well- Mrs. Kilpatrick actually lived in a small apartment in the library.

Sammy In the library?! Ugh, that might be creepier than the visions.

Emily She complained to management about the noises, the visits. Apparently, there were arguments—

Sammy Arguments? Between Lincoln and Booth?

Ben So they were keeping Old Lady Kilpatrick awake at night.

Sammy And, y’know, then Kilpatrick gets fed up. Uh, there’s no Peter Venkman[2] to call, so she does what she can do and sets the place on fire?

Emily Well, I don’t know if Mrs. Kilpatrick would’ve done that.

Ben All due respect? Oh, she would have!

Sammy [glibly] I think it’s cut and dry, actually, you know? Maybe we should call Deputy Troy and solve this cold case.

Ben Well, what do you think happened, Emily?

Emily I have to assume that Booth did what he could to get to the president again. Unofficially, of course. Ah— god, we- we shouldn’t even talk about this with the investigation and all.

Sammy Alright, well, that said, we’re gonna open up the phone lines now. We’re talkin’ about the library opening back up later this week, uh, after some difficulties; maybe you’ve got a question for Emily!

Ben Maybe you’ve seen the visions in the library as well, we-we’d love to hear about that.

Sammy Or that too. Uh, You’ve heard our story, now let’s hear yours. 424-279-3858.

Ben Or tweet us @KingFallsAM. Line 12, uh, wouldn’t give a name.

Sammy You’re on King Falls AM.

Line 12 Yeah, I’ve got a question for Emily.

Emily Hi!

Line 12 So let’s say that… my friend checked out a book last year, and- due to the fire and the closing- wasn’t able to return it on time. Are overdue charges being forgiven?

Emily If you couldn’t return it due to our renovation, then, I’m sure we can overlook it.

Line 12 Cool!

Sammy Thanks for the question.

Line 12 Wait! I’ve got another question for Emily!

Emily Oh! Okay?

Line 12 Are you seeing anybod–

[click, dial tone]

Ben Next caller! Uh, we’ve got line 4, Cynthia.

Sammy Hello Cynthia, you’re on the air.

Cynthia [Cynthia has a high-pitched, nasally, persistent “I want to speak to your manager” voice] From what I gathered on this interview as well as the news report that Channel 13 ran—

Ben *snickers* You shouldn’t listen to them, Cynthia.

Cynthia Excuse me Ben! Excuse me!

Sammy Cynthia—

Cynthia From what I’m gathering, the library- if you wanna call it that- is a Despot of Desolation. Arson? Check. “Fifty Shades of Grey”? Check. Presidential assassins? Cheeeck!

Emily Cynthia, I believe—

Cynthia What are you, twelve? And you’re running the show? Could we at least get an adult to watch over that Den of Depravity?

Sammy Cynthia, I think we could probably argue that the worst of the library’s problems are behind it.

Ben This is a new chapter in its history! *stutters* Did you see what I did there, Emily?

Emily *laughs* You’re so funny!

Cynthia Oh my god. Hose those two down, Sammy. It’s unbearable.

Sammy Cynthia, did you have a question regarding the library?

Cynthia Yes. My boys are ten and six. Does the revamped library have a kids’ corner?

Emily It most certainly does!

Cynthia [snooty] Are you overseeing it?

Emily Yes I am!

Cynthia *scoffs* [click]

[dial tone]

Ben Weee’ve got line 8, Sammy.

Sammy King Falls AM.

Line 8 Hey King Falls. Long-time listener. First-time caller.

Ben Long time?

Sammy Uh- The station appreciates the patrionage.[sic]

Line 8 I don’t listen to the station really, I- [low, “seductive” tone] I listen to you.

[click, dial tone]

Emily Oh.

Sammy Okaaay.

Ben Yikes. Uh, try 14, Sammy.

Sammy Good evening, welcome to the show.

Line 14 [shaky, old-woman voice] I saw the president.

Ben Oh! Another sighting!

Sammy Ma’am, are we talking about President Lincoln at King Falls Library? or President Obama on Fox News type’a thing?

Line 14 Lincoln.

Ben [triumphantly] Hoh!

Emily Mrs. Kilpatrick?

Probably Mrs. Kilpatrick I saw him! [click]

[dial tone]

Sammy Well terrific, I mean, I didn’t need to sleep tonight anyways, it’s fine.

Ben Uh, one more before commercial. We- we’ve got Greg, line 1.

Sammy Greg, do ya have a question for us?

Greg [def. Line 12 from earlier]  Yes, this question is for Emily? If a man, such as- my friend- wanted to court you, would you be availabl—

Ben [click, dial tone]  Pay some bills, Sammy.

Sammy Emily, thank you so much for being here with us tonight- enlightening us with the tales of the library.

Emily Oh it was my pleasure. I just want all the listeners to know that, while we can’t wish the visions away? they more than likely will stay away from us in crowds, so please come join me for the re-opening ceremonies this Thursday at 10AM!

Ben I will be there.

Emily You’re a sweetheart, Benny. Thanks for having me on, guys.

[door shutting]

Ben [excitedly] Any time, Emily!

Sammy She’s gone, “Benny.”

Ben [hostile] Ben.

Sammy Oh! So only Emily can call you Benny.

Ben Sh-she didn’t call me… “Benny”. *scoff/laugh* You’re ridiculous.

Sammy Oh yeah, that’s me. Look, I get it. I mean, she’s a very attractive girl, and you guys hit it off—

Ben [pleased] We did, didn’t we.

Sammy But really, she called you Benn—

Ben Don’t

Sammy *chuckles* That’s the Ben we know and love, folks.

Ben Yeah, yeah.

Sammy Alright! Now after this quick message from our sponsors, we’re gonna be back and we’re gonna be talking with Dr. Raúl from the King Falls Chiropractic Center and getting daily tips to keep our backs on the straight and narrow. And I’m sure Ben will be just as flirtatious with the good doctor.

Ben *tsk* [lightly] Is he lovely too?

[outtro music]

[CREDITS]

References:

[1] “Who Moved My Cheese?” - per Wikipedia: “Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life”, published on September 8, 1998, is a motivational business fable. The text describes change in one's work and life, and four typical reactions to those changes by two mice and two "Littlepeople", during their hunt for cheese.”

[2] Peter Venkman - Dr. Peter Venkman is one of the original Ghostbusters. He has doctorates in both psychology and parapsychology. Played by Bill Murray

#King Falls AM #King Falls #KFAM #sammy stevens #ben arnold #KFAM transcripts #KFAM ep2 #emily potter #cynthia higgenbaum #greg frickard

[of-tarnished-metal]

The Revival

A short RP segment to get Silver reconsidering his original plans besides his constant lazing about at the Rocket HQ, given after the events of my plot for him. This was collabed with @of-the-land, who as far as Gio’s goes, has the best rapport with this grump given their development. A lot of this can be found in his ABOUT page on his blog, but this boy obviously has a lot of internal struggles to come to terms with. 

If you’re aware of the Route 22 event in HGSS you’ll be pretty well aquainted with the relationship strain and context.

I’m keeping it at the original format from Discord, for documenting!

Silver: Coming down the stairs in the living quarters from his bedroom to the kitchen, in usual teen fashion he's rummaging through the fridge for a snack, and has wireless headphones on that is used for gaming.

Giovanni: It was one of those days that Giovanni was in the private quarters of the HQ. Most of it was spent in his home office section, working, knowing that he was less likely to be interrupted here than at his usual office. Lucido the Persian was sitting in the doorway to the office, noticed the noises from the kitchen, and got up to investigate. This got Giovanni's attention. He figured it was about time for a break anyways and got up as well, carrying his empty coffee cup with him.

"Hm, hello Silver." No surprise it was his son he found in the kitchen. "What are you up to today?"

Silver: The teen gives a bit of a shrug. "Just the usual."  These days he's had more of better standing with his old man, though sometimes for him it could feel a bit strange and awkward for them both. Though as time has gone on, the redhead could even say that he reacts less standoffish to the man than he used to upon approach. Something inside of him feels more... neutral, which in an of itself can be strange.

Giovanni: "'The usual.'" Gio echoed as he rinsed out his coffee cup. What was the usual now that they had started to make amends? Teenager things, he supposed. The boy mostly kept to his room, venturing out for food or even to spend time with his parents when they were relaxing together, or spent time with his friend (friends?) that he had made with those who worked at HQ. Gio was grateful for that, that he had begun to repair the family he had broken apart. Still... something was off that didn't quite sit well with him.

Giovanni set about making himself a mug of tea instead of reaching for more coffee. The time spent waiting for the water to boil in the kettle allowed him to linger in the kitchen to talk to Silver. That was another thing that was starting to get easier, though again there were subjects he hadn't breeched. However, the thoughts were on his mind and while it was likely going to upset Silver, Giovanni felt the need to bring it up anyways.

"Are you happy with, 'the usual?'"

Silver: "I don't think much about it." The redhead glances over a bit when he notices that the man is perhaps standing there for a bit longer than he usually would in his peripheral, tea makes sense...enough. However he mentally narrows ever so slightly, there's a-- tone about it that causes him to feel a bit of a shift. Gio's size and stature perhaps makes it appear more imposing...his dad has always been a man with presence under his belt. Even he cannot deny that it causes a bit of uneasiness like it would to any underling beneath him at times. 

"That sounds a little existential..." a bit of sass cannot help but escape him, but there's a humored smirk despite the tone all the same.

Giovanni: He responded with a smirk of his own and a quiet "heh" of a laugh at being called out. Giovanni was a man who tended to be cryptic when he spoke. The air of mystery and intimidation worked wonders on his underlings. But now that his son had called it out for what it was Gio could drop the pretense and be more open about what he was getting at.

"That's because it is." He said to give Silver a small warning. There was a pause as Giovanni gathered his thoughts of how to broach the subject. "You know. When I came back and found you here, I was expecting you to be more... 'with all guns blazing.'" 

For a while after his return it seemed to Gio that Silver was fiery and cross with him. Then after their heart-to-heart on Silver's birthday that fire wasn't there anymore. On the one hand it was a relief, but on the other it became a point of concern to Gio. What happened to that promise to become stronger than him?

"...Considering the terms we parted on previously."

Silver: Something in his shoulders starts to get a bit tense as he stands over the open door of the fridge, his back is facing him, and after a few moments he closes the door to it not even bothering to grab anything to eat.  Slowly he looks over his shoulder to him. Perhaps in an ironic twist, being called out for fizzling out in ire causes the redhead to smolder just a bit. 

"Guess it just died somewhere or something." the tone was rather blunt, cold, and almost unafflicted by his own words. He pulls the headphones off his ears and wraps them around his neck as he turns to face his father to look at him with a more deadpanned expression.

Giovanni: Ah yes, that was a reaction he was expecting. This was not something Silver wanted to talk about, but Giovanni wasn't going to relent. This was important. To Gio this was more about the boy's future than that he said in the past. 

"It feels to me that a part of you that shouldn't have died went along with it." Again a pause as Giovanni needed to pick his words carefully. He turned his back to Silver so as not to stare the boy down and busied himself with prepping his mug for tea. 

"You made a vow to me that you would become stronger. While you don't need to prove yourself to me... I wonder where that drive went? What is your goal now?"

Silver: The boy's shoulders only started raising themselves higher once Giovanni turned his back on him, his fingers were close to clenching tightly into fists, but for now instead they just flexed as he tried to keep his cool. 

"Yeah well...maybe sometimes you can go into something thinking it's gonna work out...and then it just doesn't." Silver snorted. Then for himself, there was a moment of silence before he muttered in a more grim fashion. "It's not like everyone can cut it as a Pokemon Master..."

Giovanni: He was glad he turned his back to Silver so that his son could not see the grim look on Giovanni's face when he heard that news. Perhaps Silver would still catch it from the slump of his shoulders. It was one thing to assume that's what happened, but another to hear it straight from him. Giovanni was... disappointed? Saddened? Both. That Silver failed to accomplish what he set out to do. 

The kettle whistled and Giovanni pulled it off the stove after he turned off the flame. He poured the steamy water into his mug and waited for the tea to steep.

Had not Giovanni faced the same? He too had failed. With his ambitious set too high and his drive too aggressive eventually he was met with failure. He was forced to fold, and so too now his son.

"You're right. It is a long and arduous journey that takes many years to cultivate. Not everyone can make it as a Pokemon Master. Still..." Giovanni turned back around, his posture corrected itself, and he looked back at Silver. "When faced with failure, that doesn't have to be the end of everything. You have a choice to make. Get up and try again. Turn your sights onto a new goal. Or wallow in your self pity forever."

Silver: The redhead only grew more flustered and peeved as he stared at his father dead in the eyes when the man himself had calmly stared down at him with those words.  Silently he was seething, but after a few moments he quickly lost the will to fight with glaring alone and his gaze lowered itself more to the floor. "......."

"......." At first his grumblings come in rather low before they come in a little louder. "I just don't know if I'd be very good at it. Some people either have it or they don't. I just don't know if I'm one of the people who does." 

Silver shrugs his shoulders a little, but it's a half-hearted attempt at his usual attempts of being cool and dismissive.

Giovanni: This would not do to let his son fizzle out in self doubt. The boy had too much untapped potential and Giovanni was not going to let him waste it. No son of his was going to simply do nothing because he didn't know what he wanted.

"Staying cooped up in a hidden base doesn't sound like a good way to find out if that's the case." 

Giovanni smirked, a glint in his eyes as he was about to say something he was sure Silver would balk at. 

"Unless you wish to find that out in Team Rocket, and take your place beside me as its heir."

Silver: The protests were real as he scowled and crosses his arms rather tightly up against his chest, he's starting to visibly pout and look red in the face over a remark by that. Though perhaps...in some ways he doesn't quite react as strongly as one would think he would. 

Realistically speaking he knows he's been groomed with this lifestyle from the start, in many ways the HQ is all he knows. Intelligence, wealth, lies, deceit...morally questionable motives, but not all of it is quite as black and white as he wished it to be. He's a misfit like the rest of them, he doesn't know what it means to function normally in a lawful world. Maybe it wouldn't surprise him if one day he stepped up and took the place of his Father...though if he had the means he'd do things much different. 

"Yeah well...the Interpol probably have a profile set on me anyway." Silver smirks a bit at in his own dark amusement and he shrugs more casually. "I always loop may way back around here at some point...so who knows." But he pauses, maybe the words start to sink a little, he can't expect to learn more here than what he already knows....could he? Confliction starts to show on his face more, this was a lot to think about.

Giovanni: "I wouldn't be surprised. Considering how much they're looking to find me. I'm sure you can frustrate their efforts by living your own life and giving them nothing to work with. Silver..."

Again it was best to get to the point. 

"You may loop back here eventually, but that doesn't mean staying here all the time. You should consider heading back out again."

Silver: The boy's lips purse in a bit of an uncertain fashion,  he was afraid of that answer, Gio was very well at being direct and to the point, as well as cryptic...and his more flustered nature started to creep in, which in turn was quickly overshadowed by a growing sense of frustration. "I don't know how..." 

The anger starts to build, mix which his heightened degrees of guilt and fear. The criticism of one of the great Dragon master's was too much, Ethan and Lyra...they understood something that he still can't get about Pokemon Training. His dad is a Master...Red is one too...what do they have that he doesn't get? What is it that he's not getting!?

Giovanni: "'Don't know how?'" He repeated as he raised a brow. "It's not as if you haven't before. You're in a better position to do so now."

Before, Silver left on his journey alone after he ran away from Giovanni. Now, both of his parents could provide Silver with support as needed. Gio didn't know what trials Silver faced during that time that caused him to turn out this way, but at the very least he had the opportunity now to help his son.

"Your mother and I will only be a call away to give you advice or assistance. It'll be more..." There was a pause as Giovanni realized the words that were about to come out of his mouth. A sad realization at what could have been. "It'll be more as it should have been. A second chance."

Silver: The boy only blushes and starts to grumble. He's forgotten where to start....what to do, who even is Silver anymore? He squints at the door of the fridge as his body faces his father, as he's considering his options, weighing the truths. The reality starts to sink in...

Though as much as he won't admit it, there's a wash of relief that perhaps he could be offered more support this time around...?-- Pathetic. An inner voice scoffs at him, the old and familiar voice. When did you start getting so soft? What's wrong with you? Weak!

"........I'll have to think about it." Silver mutters as he realizes he's no longer hungry and goes upstairs back to his room. One can just hear the angry stomping of a grump going up the stairs, yet he doesn't slam his door like you would come to know.

Giovanni: That went as well as it could have. No yelling this time. That was certainly a positive thing to note. Giovanni turned back to his mug of tea and finished fixing it up before he took a contemplative sip. He could tell from his son's reaction that there was more that was left unsaid. Unfortunately he couldn't do anything about it unless Silver opened up to him. An unlikely thing even if they were on better terms these days. 

Giovanni let out a sigh he was holding in. Hopefully Silver would speak to someone else, Ariana or one of his friends, and work past whatever it was that was holding his son back.

#oftheland

[generallynerdy]

Rover (TFW 2.0 & Reader)

Summary: You had been de-aged, aged, had your memories taken, been given a love potion, and even transformed into a lizard-- twice. But being turned into a cat? Okay, that’s a first.

Requested by TheChevy67ImpalaLifeLineTurret (AO3)- Gah I love the way you write the characters! If I may, can I request something with Team Free Will? Like the reader is with them on a witch hunt that goes wrong. What goes wrong is up to you, tho I really like the way you write cats lol. Thank you! And you do not have to do this if you do not wish to. Have a nice day! <3

Key: (Y/N) - your name Warnings: terrible writing, cursing probably Word Count: 1,355

Note: its short but its okay i guess hhh

    How many times had you had your life royally screwed with by witches? You’d lost count.

    Sam and Dean were definitely not the only members of Team Free Will to get screwed over by witches and warlocks. You had been de-aged, aged, had your memories taken, been given a love potion, and even transformed into a lizard-- twice.

    Fighting the supernatural never got old, at least, but the witches were getting there.

    They usually didn’t dare to hit so close to home, so when the boys got a call for a case just outside Lebanon, they were pretty stumped. When it turned out to be that pervy lady from the post office, they were a little more than surprised. It only got worse when you found out she had a whole coven on her side.

    So there you were, trying to take down two witches by yourself while Sam, Dean, Cas, and Jack took down maybe another five in the other room. Luckily, you had been smart enough to pack extra witch-killing bullets on the short trip out from the bunker and whipped out a loaded gun, taking down one instantly. Unluckily, the other witch was a little better prepared than her friend had been.

As soon as her hands started to glow green, flinging your gun out of your hand and aiming some kind of blast at you, you knew you were done for.

"Oh, hell n--" You began to say, but never had the chance to finish.

When you awoke again, the witch was gone, as were the boys, as far as you could tell. You were lying on the floor and, before getting up, noticed that the only thing left in the room was a slip of paper just in front of you.

You went to stand, but froze when you didn't feel your regular appendages. Looking down, you nearly had a heart attack. You had paws. Fluffy, furry little paws.

"WHY!?" You asked in exasperation, though it only came out as a mewl.

You cursed under your breath, which just sounded like a little squeak, and moved over to the slip of paper, hoping it would give you some idea of how to fix this furry little problem. Flipping the paper over as best you could with your...paws...and resisting the urge to rip it to shreds, you managed to read the neatly inked message.

The magic word is Rover.

You knew instantly what it meant-- or at least, you thought you did. To get back to normal, someone would have to say Rover around you. You'd watched enough ridiculous movies with Dean to know all the cliches, including this one.

You groaned, but it just came out as weird choked kitten sounds. You were really starting to get frustrated with your own voice. Technically it wasn't yours anymore, though.

You took a deep breath, reminding yourself that it could've been worse. At least you weren't a lizard again.

Finding your way back to the bunker was more of a pain than you expected. Tiny kitten legs didn't get you very far, apparently, and avoiding people who tried to pick you up was damn near impossible without hissing and scratching at them. That part was easy, considering you were pissed beyond belief.

When you got to the front door, you realised that scratching on it wouldn't help that much. It was a metal door! You'd break your claws off sooner than get them to hear you from the other side.

As soon as the thought crossed your mind, the door creaked open and a familiar light-haired boy walked out, a small smile on his face. He didn't seem to notice you at first, not until you meowed loudly. At the sound, he gasped loudly, out of delight, and looked down at you.

"Hello there," he cooed, kneeling down to your level.

You purred a little instead of smiling, knowing that a smile would probably make him think you were hissing at him. You rubbed up against his leg almost naturally, dying a little inside at the instant movement. Jack was just a kid and you felt bad doing this to him, but you needed to get inside the bunker.

"You are very cute," Jack said, petting your head.

Okay, so it felt really nice. Sue you for being cat-like after turning into a cat. That was how it was supposed to work, right?

"Don't worry, friend," he laughed. "I know someone who will love you. But I'll have to put you in my jacket for a moment, okay?"

You were about to nod before realising that wasn't normal for cats, so you just went along with it when he picked you up. He did as he said he would, tucking you into his jacket and carrying you discreetly into the bunker. You wondered who he meant when he said 'someone who will love you.' Was he seriously gonna trust one of the boys with a cat in the bunker? They'd refuse instantly.

Much to your surprise, Jack made his way over to Sam's room, knocking on the door softly.

When the gentle giant answered, he looked a little peeved. "Jack, I'm a little busy trying to find (Y/N) right now. Can you come back later?"

"It's kind of important," Jack whispered, glancing down both directions of the hallway before showing you to Sam.

You mewed quietly, trying to get the point across that you were adorable and needed to be kept.

Sam sighed and, following Jack's example of looking around cautiously, let the both of you inside his room, despite your original doubts.

You hadn't expected to see another cat on Sam's bed, much less a dog in the corner of the room.

Holy shit, you thought to yourself. Has Sam been keeping a secret animal sanctuary down here the whole time?

Apparently, it wasn't just Jack who was in on it. No. Cas was lounging on Sam's bed, three cats sprawled across his torso. You felt your jaw literally drop at the sight. This room was a massive shelter and you had no idea!

A little contempt hit you like a brick wall. Rude. They hadn't even told you about these guys. They were all so cute!

Of course, this should've been the last thought on your mind, seeing as you were one of those cute little things.

"Have you found any trace of (Y/N)?" Jack asked as he placed you gently on the bed.

That gained Castiel's attention, making him look up from his cats at you and Jack. "No," he sighed. "Dean still thinks the witch took her to her vacation home in Iowa."

"Who has a vacation home in Iowa?" Sam muttered.

At that point, you decided you better do something to let them know you were more than just a cat. You didn't have any genius ideas, except for one. It was kind of dumb, but, hey, it wouldn't hurt to try, right?

So, you started meowing your heart out.

The boys instantly tried to shush you, glancing worriedly at the door. It wasn't long before Dean's familiar footsteps came storming down the hall and it was way too late to stop him when he opened the door.

At the sight of animals all over his brother's room, he froze. "What the hell!?"

"Uh...we can explain?" Jack started, looking worriedly at his two other dads.

"Dean--" Cas started, but was ignored.

Dean scoffed. "I said no dogs in the bunker, Sam!"

"Hey, we get them adopted out all the time, Dean," his brother said, defending himself. "None of them are here more than a few weeks."

"Well, they all better be out in a few days," he huffed. "Or I'm gonna kick Rover and friends out myself--!"

You cheered as best you could in cat form as soon as the words left his lips.

In a flash of green, you were your normal self again, seated upon Sam's bed with arms raised in victory. All the boys jumped at your appearance, shouting various expletives.

You, meanwhile, sighed in relief. "OH, THANK GOD!"

Supernatural tags: @missihart23

Masterlist

#spn x reader #supernatural x reader #spn imagine #supernatural imagine #spn fanfiction #supernatural fanfiction #tfw #tfw 2.0 #tfw x reader #tfw 2.0 x reader #spn oneshot #supernatural oneshot #jack kline #castiel #castiel winchester #jack winchester #dean winchester #sam winchester #novakitty #novakitty114 #generallynerdy #last request #thank god #im so tired #time to open for new ones #aklsjslkjs #kill me lmao #river #rivika

[popatochisssp]

Are any of the skeletons into D&D? What classes do you think they'd play? Do any prefer DM-ing to being a player?

Believe it or not, I am prepared for this ask! >:D

…but please forgive any inaccuracies of actual D&D gameplay because I personally have only done two or three sessions because our group was too rowdy and meandering for a DM who couldn’t corral us properly and after awhile we started playing Hearts instead to keep from stressing him out.

So! I definitely don’t feel like D&D would’ve been a thing Underground for anybody, so I’m going to answer this from a lens of somebody looping them into it on the surface and them giving it a try for the first time!

Sans (Undertale): Wizard; any DM’s worst nightmare, all his dice rolls are suspiciously perfect and he always seems to know all the campaign’s carefully hidden secrets but nobody can effectively call him on his cheating. He just keeps saying “a wizard did it,” and everybody in the party has absolutely wanted to kill him at least once. Probably does something to get himself banned, sooner or later, and then he’ll just lurk around eating snacks and being the peanut gallery. He is also preemptively banned from DM-ing, everybody just knows, instinctively, what a shit-show it would be.

Papyrus (Undertale): Paladin; a model player, he follows the rules and sticks to the objective, happy to collaborate with his party members in whatever way they need him to. He goes absolutely hog wild for any battles he gets into, though, and loves describing his heroic action scenes in vibrant detail–to the point that his party members learn the best time for a bathroom break is when he’s waxing poetic about the sing of sword against sword and they can be gone for a few minutes without missing anything important. He’d be a good DM and would probably enjoy running challenging campaigns for his friends, but he personally prefers playing over DM-ing. It’s more exciting being in the thick of it!

Sky (Underswap Sans): Fighter; also a pretty good guy to play with, he’s as skilled as Sans Classic at picking up little hints and tells about secrets and important things, but he also has enough respect for the game and the DM not to spoil everything or purposefully go against the grain. He’s a DM’s dream because he’ll subtly keep the party on track and if there’s any hints the DM is giving off about what they hope the party will do next, Sky may try to play into it so the story runs the way it’s supposed to. He likes the game in small doses, but he’d never DM himself or pick it up as a main hobby, he’s not great at sitting still for long periods and prefers to do more active stuff.

Paps (Underswap Papyrus): Bard; he’s every terrible stereotype about his class that you’ve ever heard. If it’s sentient, he will try to roll to seduce it, plus a million other silly things that get him and his party into trouble. He thrives on the looks of exasperation, amusement, and sometimes horror that it gets him. The only hope a DM has of reining in his cavorting nonsense a little is by having a compelling storyline– if they can get him invested in where the story’s going, he’ll more or less play by the rules if only so he can find out what’s going to happen next. One thing… he is very stubborn in some cases and is absolutely the type to argue with the DM over things that don’t make sense to him. “what do you mean, he still died? i gave him a bandage, no, he should’ve lived, you’re just killing off some poor npc arbitrarily, that’s dumb.” He might be a pretty decent DM himself, but he’s also probably not passionate enough to run a campaign for more than two or three sessions before getting some combination of bored or frustrated and not wanting to do it anymore.

Jasper (Underfell Sans): Rogue; absolutely a dark horse, he is a surprisingly good player and takes it more seriously than you might guess. He won’t go full-on roleplay, but he’ll play the campaign straight aside from picking a pocket or two, stealing random shit here and there and generally be a good asset to his party. Mentally, he treats it the same as a video game: do whatever side-quests are necessary and minimize fucking around in order to complete the objective. As serious as his character may be, though, he himself will be cracking a lot of jokes during sessions, usually making fun of somebody for being a dumbass or failing a roll, and he doesn’t have a lot of respect for the DM. He’ll treat their word as law and all, but there will be a lot of grumbling if he doesn’t agree, plus plenty of eye-light-rolling and passive-aggressive sighing. Would never DM for himself, that’s way too much work for something this nerdy.

Pyre (Underfell Papyrus): Ranger; takes it pretty seriously, too, but depending on how all-in the rest of the party is…maybe too seriously? He’ll definitely do the full-on roleplay thing and have a whole intricate backstory made up for his character that will probably never come up, but he needed it! For his motivation! He’s easily frustrated by bad rolls and things not going the way he wanted, but he’s more bark than bite so once he yells a little about the injustice of it all and gets it out of his system, he’ll settle down and just get back to the game. He’ll get pretty peeved at players who don’t take it even a little bit seriously, though, or ones who do things that don’t fit with what their character would actually do– what’s the point of even playing this game if you’re not going to play it?! He would never actually want to DM because uncooperative players trying to derail his elaborate campaign would really piss him off and he knows it, plus he wouldn’t be able to roleplay and that’s his favorite part.

Mal (Swapfell Sans): Warlock; he’s not a great pick for this, honestly, even though he’ll definitely give it his all. He’s very tactical and a great asset to his party in that sense as he’ll always know who needs to have what and the best strategies to use to achieve the objective, personalized from player to player. The only downside is that he’s very impatient and very much of a control freak: he wants to be in charge of the party so they can accomplish this quickly, and any world-building, flower-sniffing, or meandering is going to really tick him off. He sees the campaign as a task that he needs to get done and if he perceives his party to be dragging their heels, they become obstacles in his mind and he’ll start asking the DM if he can just split off on his own. If the Great All Powerful Evil kills him, that’d be fine, the other players can just lower his character’s casket in the ground so they can let him down one last time! You can see how he’d be not too fun to play with if you’re just in it for a good time. He’d make a decent DM with a cooperative group of players, but if there are any trolls in the bunch that won’t play the game right, he’ll definitely get pissy and if it goes on long or far enough, he’s not above a good old-fashioned rage quit. Creative stuff is just…not his thing.

Rus (Swapfell Papyrus): Sorcerer; the first couple of sessions are going to be very awkward. He’s a little nervous in groups and very concerned about doing a Wrong Thing that will make somebody mad at him, so he stays pretty quiet and a common phrase out of him is, “i dunno, what should i do?” But as long as he’s with a good group of players who are willing to help him out and don’t get shouty over little stuff, he’ll get a bit more comfortable and start doing stuff on his own–though he’ll still double-check a lot with whoever seems to be the leader of the party and will be pretty conscious of places he could conceivably be stepping on someone’s toes so he can avoid them altogether. He could very easily come to like the game and if it’s an inspiring enough campaign with characters he likes, he may be a sweetheart and draw some peoples’ characters for them or stuff for the DM to use. Would not DM himself, though, that’s way too much pressure.

Slate (Horrortale Sans): Druid; he’ll try but this kinda game is just really not for him. He forgets a ton of stuff between sessions–especially if they’re far apart, and they usually are because schedules suck–and he has to spend more time asking questions about what the hell happened last time or those other times than he spends actually playing. If the DM’s accommodating or he has a buddy in the party who can give him a recap of all the relevant stuff as it comes back around, he might do…okay? But he’s not really going to be having fun, it’s mostly just him alternating between being confused and then frustrated at himself for being confused. He’d definitely pass on DM-ing for the same reason, little details are important in a campaign and if he can’t remember them, it won’t be as good for everyone else. Probably best if he sits this particular hobby out.

Papy (Horrortale Papyrus): Monk; he loves it just about as much as Papyrus Classic does! The only difference is that he tries to avoid battles where he can: his view of conflict isn’t quite as romanticized as it used to be and he thinks of it more as a necessary evil. That said, when there is a fight, he won’t hold back (dice rolls permitting), especially if his inaction might mean something bad for his fellow players! He’s very empathic as a player himself, so if there’s a befriendable enemy or something a party member needs that he can help with, he’s all over it–and if ever a dramatic sacrifice is necessary, he’ll be the one to heroically fall on the sword. Overall a great guy to play with, not the least because he usually takes it upon himself to bring snacks for everybody like a mom. Would like to DM someday, but needs awhile to build up the confidence, and that’s fine! It just means that when he’s ready for it, he’ll have had plenty of time to draft up a killer campaign that his players will love.

#anonymous #headcanons #undertale #sans #papyrus #underswap #us!sans #us!papyrus #underfell #uf!sans #uf!papyrus #swapfell/fellswap #sf!sans #sf!papyrus #horrortale #ht!sans #ht!papyrus

[soveryanon]

Reviewing time for MAG150 /X__X/

- … So this is how you guys pronounce “cul-de-sac”, you absolute barbarians. (No, you don’t pronounce that L in French……………..)

- Statement-giver was, this week again, an absolute delight of sarcasm/self-awareness/casual self-deprecation… and so honest about his own faults and wrongs and personal pet-peeves that, even with the cheating, he didn’t seem antipathetic to me at all? Except for:

(MAG150, Herman Gorgoli) “There’s plenty of things I’ve done I couldn’t explain to you. I mean, I’m constantly, constantly looking back on my past self, and thinking: “What an idiot. How the hell could he have down such an obviously stupid thing? How was I surprised it went so badly; what a relief I’m now so much older, and wiser.” … Except that last part never really turns out to be true, does it? The line of when you were your dumb younger self seems to keep moving forwards with you, until each more mature and reasonable version of you… eventually falls foul of it, and becomes… a young idiot.”

YOU’RE RIGHT BUT YOU SHOULDN’T SAY IT………… SHHHHHHH…

- The moose thing. The effing moose thing. I love that in the middle of cheating and probably-depression/middle-age crisis and bad break-up, there was suddenly the mention of the moose:

(MAG150, Herman Gorgoli) “I’d probably have stayed away forever if it… hadn’t been for the moose. There was a… carved wooden moose, you see, something Alberto’s grandfather had carved, apparently, and a real family heirloom. It was an ugly old thing, with this… weird angular face that always made my skin crawl a bit. I’d never let him display it in our house, so it had lived in one of the suitcases under the stairs. The suitcases I’d pulled out and filled in a tearful rage when I was leaving. So… yeah, I’d kind of accidentally stolen the moose?”

How do you “accidentally” steal a carved wooden moose. (But then, was it truly an accident? Herman must have seen it when filling a suitcase – so it may have been… bitterness and anger in the spur of the moment, a mix of wanting to steal something precious to hurt someone he had loved, and keep something precious to a person he still loved, because it reminded him of him?)

- I got the Spiral-vibes of getting lost in the endless suburb, but to me, it was pretty clear from the start that this was a Lonely statement because:

(MAG150, Herman Gorgoli) “You’re all alone, trying to connect with people, trying to find your place in the world – but in the end, the only person you really know is yourself.”

… was textbook what Peter had told poor Brian in his very first ‘on-screen’ appearance:

(MAG100) PETER: Peter Lukas! Lovely to meet you, Brian. Now, am I to understand – you don’t work here? BRIAN: Uh, no; I was just, um… making a s–statement, o–or, or whatever, u–um… PETER: That’s probably for the best. Elias can be quite… “protective” of his people. [CHUCKLING] Never really understood why – I mean, in the end, the only person you really have is yourself! Wouldn’t you agree, Brian? BRIAN: Wh– I–I don’t… What…? PETER: Well. Plenty of time to make your mind up, I’m, I’m sure.

(Hi, This Was Another Incidental Reminder That Even If He’s Not In This Episode And Only Mentioned In Jon’s Post-Statement: Peter Lukas Is Hella Bad News.)

- Gerry had described The Lonely as “feeling that you’re just… alone. Maybe there’s no-one else there at all, maybe you just can’t connect” (MAG111); MAG150 reminded me mostly of MAG048 and MAG108 in that aspect – statement-givers surrounded by almost-people, the idea that things around are becoming empty shells, that people are fading/losing their identity? And in this episode, yeah, the dull repetitive suburb made a lot of sense (combined with impersonal TV shows and the… logic of them going wrong, the disconnect getting more and more pronounced as their actions made no sense and their words turned out to be unintelligible).

Two things strike me about The Lonely statements so far:

* They were either triggered by a Lukas (MAG013, MAG033, MAG057, MAG092, Peter Lukas being there-and-not-there throughout season 4), either… just happened for seemingly unknown reasons, just because the statement-givers had a personal rapport to isolation/loneliness/feeling singled out, initially taking comfort in it until it was twisted all over (MAG048, MAG150). (+ MAG108, but Adonis’s case is not clear to me: when Peter asked Martin “Did [Elias] suggest you record a statement today? One that mentioned me?”, was it an exaggeration and was Peter talking about The Lonely in general? Or was it literal, and Peter had been in the audience, and the one responsible for messing up Adonis?)

* … People who got out of it through an emotional anchor (Naomi’s dead fiancé in MAG013, Andrea’s mother in MAG048, Herman’s (ex-)husband in MAG150)… got out of it. No “half-finished meals”, as far as we know, amongst the people who escaped it? On the other side, Adonis dragged himself to the Institute before disappearing entirely but he knew it was coming, he hadn’t managed to escape it; same with Barnabas Bennett, who was stuck in The Lonely and only managed to transmit a call for help (that remained unanswered by Jonah). Yetunde Uthman apparently didn’t have any anchor and was a vulnerable target (Gerry had warned us that the Fears tended to pick on the vulnerable and people on the margins). There is still Carter, whose whereabouts are unknown (he was clearly messed up, but Jon didn’t mention if he was still around or not).

(… but then, there is Martin, who seems to have begun using Lonely powers, and it’s… another matter entirely to get out of that, probably.)

- Given how Herman mentioned that Yetunde seemed to have died recently:

(MAG150, Herman Gorgoli) “My eyes found themselves focusing on the ceiling. On a small spot of red, that seemed to have seeped through from above. As I climbed those stairs, I desperately tried to tell myself I didn’t know what was going to be up there. And to be fair I was surprised by some of the details. But as soon as I saw the spot, I just knew that… someone else was up there. And that they were dead. The only questions were “how”, and “who”. I think I’d given up on “why”. I didn’t know them, as it turned out. A young woman, conservatively dressed. Her face was bloody, but… I was sure I didn’t recognise her. She had a bag with her and her ID read “Yetunde Uthman”. Not a name I’d ever encountered before. Just another victim of this place. […] I don’t think she’d been dead that long. But I’m not a doctor, and I didn’t really try to check. Instead I turned and ran, all my tiredness gone in a sudden rush of adrenalin, down the stairs, out the door and into the night and the rows upon rows of bland, empty houses.”

… I wonder if he got stuck in the Lonely place to replace her as a Fear-battery of some sort, because she had ended her own life? We may have got a similar case with Sean Kelly (MAG033): Jon mentioned that his body washed up six months after his disappearance on the boat, but that the coroner had established that “it had only been in the water for five days” – had he been stuck on the boat alone all this time, until he couldn’t stand it anymore and threw himself in the sea to make it stop…?

- This week’s static were (not including Jon when he Knew Melanie was at the door – which… has happened a lot this season. The specific thing of Jon Knowing when someone is close / about to come in):

(MAG150, Herman Gorgoli) “I’ve never seen [STATIC:] people happily living in a place so obviously dead. Two years we lived there. [/STATIC] Two years imprisoned in that beige, comfortable house, with the man I loved, watching our relationship turn to… sniping and snapping and bitter passive-aggression. […] Because the sign said: [STATIC] “Road”. No name. Just: [STATIC] “Road”. […] [STATIC] “Avenue”. “Close”. “Way”. “Lane”. Only ever the suffix; never with the name attached.”

… And I still don’t know what to make out of that first one? Is it about being Swallowed By Banal Life?

(The statement reminded me a looooooooooooooooot of Wajdi Mouawad’s Seuls, actually, and oh. This play is indeed such a sheer complete utter Lonely mood.)

- … it’s rare, but this one was… kind of a sweet ending?

(MAG150, Herman Gorgoli) “It was Alberto. He was… calling me. I don’t know how, but the tears came even faster now as I answered, sobbing with relief to hear him yelling at me for taking so long. Had I forgotten? Was I even planning to bother? I tried to reply, to explain, but all I could manage to say, to get through the shaking sobs… was “I love you”. He went… very quiet. And then he hung up. It didn’t matter though, because when I looked around, the windows of the houses were lit, and a woman was coming down from her front door to ask if I needed help with my car. … We’re working on it, the two of us. We’re not exactly back together yet, but I think it’s going well. He’s reluctant to sell the house, but I’ve made it quite clear that I’m never going back to the suburbs. Even if I can’t… really tell him why. I checked. To see if I could find anything about Yetunde Uthman. And I did find a few old social media profiles. But I wasn’t able to get through to any family or friends. As far as I can tell she disappeared a year ago. And nobody noticed.”

Not perfect but: it helped to push Herman to acknowledge that he still loved Alberto, they reconnected, the fact that they’re working on their relationship is honestly the best possible outcome – things aren’t perfect but… oddly hopeful? Although, at the same time, we had confirmation of what happened to Yetunde, who hadn’t been so lucky.

- … and at the same time, FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF did that statement feel like Specifically Going After Jon.

Main relationship about a duo of romantically involved males who (got) separated, snappy statement-giver who can’t stand monotony, who had the feeling of being “imprisoned” for “two years” and then got trapped alone (… Martin and Jon have been “trapped” for almost three years at this point), bitterness and annoyance covering up remnants of love; statement-giver wanting to see Alberto again, getting stuck in The Lonely, managing to get out of it thanks to his lover calling him… Jon, right after: Have I mentioned Martin recently.

(And I feel, too, that we heard a lot more… background corporeal noises than usual, in this statement? Here and there, we could hear sounds as though Jon was shifting – uncomfortable? Trying to get out of the statement’s trance as an experiment? It was especially jarring there:

(MAG150, Herman Gorgoli) “… Maybe I was hoping for a fight. Or just… to see him again. I don’t know. I was younger then. Foolish. [HUFF]”

That part was followed by some ruffling of clothes and, I think, a faint scraping of his chair? It was… quite noticeable.)

- Which makes me wonder: why did Jon read this statement? Because… it sounded way too targeted to feel like a coincidence? Annabelle made fun of Jon (and us :w) for not being sure of when and where Beholding and The Web were influencing him, if there was any influence at all, but… it’s still an actual question. Or is it that Jon was drawn towards a statement matching his feelings and mood, on his own?

If it’s Beholding-or-Web, why would they push him towards this specific statement, which seems to be basically just talking about Jon’s relationship with Martin and giving him tips on how to get Martin back? Because indeed, Jon seemed to entirely miss the point, if there was any (that to get out of The Lonely’s influence, which is insidious enough to make you feel like you’re embracing isolation on your own, you have to rely on connections – in both ways, to reach and be reached):

(MAG150) ARCHIVIST: Statement ends. The Lonely is… possibly the most insidious of the powers, I believe. Certainly it is the one that… most delights in having you do its work for it. Even the Spiders seem to have a hard time matching it for sheer seductiveness. [HUFF] “Time to yourself”, “self-care”, “putting yourself forward”… “not being a burden on those you care about”… [PAUSE] It doesn’t even need to tell you any lies; just waits for the lies you tell yourself. […] And at least none of us is suffering alone. … Martin’s got it the worst, of course. But it still seems to be his choice. And I have to trust that he knows what he’s doing.

And yeah, Missing The Point is a typical Jon thing; but here, it felt… even more than that. Pointedly ignoring the statement to talk about another logic. … Is Jon fearing that Beholding-or-The-Web are trying to push him to reach for Martin and/or get him out of Lukas’s influence, and assuming that that’s precisely a reason why he shouldn’t try to pull Martin out…?

The matter of “trusting Martin” had been brought up with Basira first:

(MAG127) ARCHIVIST: Do they? … W–w–who else– Did Martin say something? BASIRA: … It was a few months back. After the attack. He’d started spending time with Lukas. At least, he said he was. And I wanted answers. He kept telling me to trust him, to hear the guy out even though he still wouldn’t actually show his face. I told him he could… drop me an email or vanish me.

(MAG129) BASIRA: Then everything ended, and Daisy was gone. And you were gone. And Tim. And then I got back to the Institute, and Martin sent me to meet the new boss. Then I stood alone in an empty office for more than one hour. I can trust me, Jon. That’s it. ARCHIVIST: [SIGH]

So is Jon reacting in opposition to Basira because he saw what happened to her? Is he sticking to his decision to “trust” the assistants that he had stated in MAG117? When it comes to his involvement with Peter, Martin has never actually told Jon to trust him; it’s something that Jon came to on his own and tried to stick to, even though he’s been obviously forcing himself and uneasy about the whole situation:

(MAG129) ARCHIVIST: No, it’s fine, I know you’ve got… whatever this is, I’m not going to question you. MARTIN: Thank you.

(MAG139) ARCHIVIST: … [SIGH] I’m just worried about Martin. … Christ… Every other Avatar gets to have their feelings… burned right out of them, but me? I’ve… just got to sit in mine. … I know he said he had everything under control. I need… to trust him; whatever he’s doing with Peter, he’s… he knows what he’s doing. Probably. I just– … [VERY FAST] I need him to be okay. I just do.

It’s still curious how Jon is sticking to this idea…? Is it because Jon knows a bit more about Martin’s whereabouts than he has been telling on tape? (His affirmation that “Martin’s got it the worst, of course.” was… a bit strange – how can Jon be so certain of that?) Is it because Martin was a bit more explicit to Daisy that they had to rely on him? (Since Daisy spotted the recorder at the end of MAG142 while Martin and her were still discussing, and she told him that she had reported their conversation to Jon in MAG144 – we might have missed some information outside of the recording.) Is it because Jon learned from the end of season 3 that Martin knew how to hide his plan, and then Jon might be overestimating him in that regard, thinking that Martin will be able to take down Peter? Is it because it has become a convenient excuse for Jon to not interact with Martin – because he’s afraid that Martin will be too disappointed and disgusted with what Jon has done and become…?

(Jon felt especially self-deprecative with the “not being a burden on those you care about”, followed by a pause…)

- Hey! We now have canon footage of Jon saying “I love you”, cheers!

- Surprise!awareness with Jon pointing out the danger Peter represents:

(MAG150) ARCHIVIST: We’re… all well aware that with Peter Lukas in charge of the Institute, it’s a very real danger to all of us. We are trying. Daisy, Basira and I, we don’t leave the Institute much anymore – so we do spend a lot of time together. It’s not that easy, though. When everyone has so many walls, so many defences… [SIGH] sometimes you can feel lonely even when you’re in the same room. … But it’s better than the alternative. And at least none of us is suffering alone.

… at the same time, that arrangement sounds… so stiff and awkward. They “spend a lot of time together”. Sure, with close friends, you don’t need to do things together to be at ease and have an amazing time in the same room. But still; it… sounds so cold and impersonal, with Jon’s words…?

- ;; The vocabulary…

(MAG150) ARCHIVIST: Statement of Herman Gorgoli, regarding his period trapped alone in a suburban area of Cheadle. Original statement written 9th November, 2014. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, the Archivist. Statement begins. […] MELANIE: Jon, have you got a moment? ARCHIVIST: Uh… [DOOR CLOSES] Of course, I was just, um… having a statement. MELANIE: Uh… an, an old one? ARCHIVIST: Wh– Yes, an old one! I’m not– I’m doing my best.

That… was, I think, the first time Jon introduced a statement as “written” (instead of the usual “given”). I reaaaally hope that it’s because Jon is not perceiving the live-statements as the actual given ones, because we saw multiple times that people didn’t have a choice when it came to them (Jon would make them tell him their story, whether they consent to it or not); is it because he’s becoming suspicious of the written ones being dub/noncon’d out of people too…? In any case, that “written” was… odd.

The “having a statement” was awful and, yeah, addict getting his fix. … And at the same time, making me awfully sad: because these are people’s stories and at the moment, they’re just handled like… food. They’re consumed, and nothing else: once again, Jon wasn’t interested in any follow-up, he didn’t have a thought for Herman. We only heard about Yetunde Uthman’s disappearance because Herman searched her up and reported on it – and usually, it would have been part of the follow-up that Jon or the assistants would have provided? They would have checked for the time of her disappearance, they would have tried to find out if a missing report was filed, where and when? But here, nothing from Jon, who prefers to focus on the Fear dynamic (like he did in MAG125 when he tried to get meta on the Slaughter and the idea of control). And in the same way, we haven’t heard of Jon’s victims from season 4 at all except for Jess’s complaint in MAG142 and Jon describing what he had done in MAG146 – it feels like, for the team Archives… they’ve ceased to exist as people past the fact that Jon attacked them…?

(Once again, I!! still!! find!! it!! hard!! to be emotional over Jon right now, to feel sad or emotionally invested in him. Because: he’s not the primary victim. Depressed and in a bad place, sure; but the people he hurt don’t have a protagonist status ensuring they’re heard, and I want to hear about them the most…)

- ALRIGHT, SO.

M e l a n i e, holy Mew. Everything Melanie.

(MAG150) MELANIE: Look. [INHALE] I’m not going to do my job anymore. ARCHIVIST: … I am not sure I follow, you–you know we… we can’t… quit, we’ve all tried. MELANIE: I didn’t say I was going to quit. I said: I’m not going to do my job. No researching; no filing; no… field trips. Nothing that is going to help the Institute in any way. I’ll still be around, I just… ARCHIVIST: [SIGH] MELANIE: I can’t be a part of this anymore. If, if I get sick, I get sick. And, and if I die… ARCHIVIST: Why? MELANIE: Because this place is evil, Jon! And so… doing this job… ARCHIVIST: [LOUD EXHALE] MELANIE: Helping it out… even in small ways, i–is in some way… evil too! Every time we try to use it to do good, it just seems to make everything worse, and… and I will not be a part of that anymore. ARCHIVIST: What about The Unknowing? We, we saved the world! MELANIE: Did we? I… I mean, I–I think it was the right thing to do, but how many people were killed to do it? We, we weren’t even a neutral party; we did it as agents of The Eye, because Elias told us to. ARCHIVIST: An–and then you put him in jail! MELANIE: Martin put him there. And, and–and he’s still doing harm. [INHALE] You ever think that maybe this whole… ritual business is just an excuse, an–and that we’re all part of some… huge miserable Fear-machine? ARCHIVIST: [SIGH] I’ve… considered the possibility. MELANIE: Right. Well. If I’m… just another cog, er… Maybe I can’t leave the machine, but from this moment? I–I–I’m not turning. I’m… jammed. [SIGH]

* I love how you could hear Melanie’s efforts when it came to communication all through the exchange. She’s struggling with words, they have trouble coming out of her, almost physically; you can hear that they don’t want to come out, but she keeps pushing through. Even at the end, when she pointed out to Jon “Look, I… didn’t come here for a fight. I… just wanted to let you know what was going on.”: she put efforts into not answering with anger, she softened a bit.

* Jon had already singled her out by mentioning that Basira, Daisy and he were spending time together (leaving out Melanie) and that they weren’t leaving the Institute much anymore. We knew that it wasn’t the case for Melanie, since she had been told to frequently leave it: she was going to therapy in MAG136, Daisy said that she was out in MAG142, Georgie came to pick her up in MAG145 and MAG149. Unlike the others, Melanie has managed to reconnect with a life outside of the Institute – she has put work in her recovery, she relied on someone who was staying out of spooky matters (Georgie), she separated herself from a place she has deemed toxic. It only feel logical that she would reach the mental state and the decision to… cut her connection to The Eye even further.

* It…………………… fits……………….. her so well… I’m not sure I’m explaining it well but, with MAG117 and her rant about Elias (which really felt like a “down with the patriarchy” one?), I had gotten the feeling that Melanie… fitted well with “activism” as a notion: denouncing and firmly refusing to close her eyes in the face of things sticking out to her as unfair or oppressive.

* “Control” and “choices” have been extremely present themes this season and… Melanie is putting her own touch in that picture. Regaining control over her life, but also highlighting that even though they’re stuck in the Archives, they’re in that “dead end” too, they still have options and that even passively serving The Eye is still serving, is still choosing to feed a Fear-machine; and that they still have the possibility to… plainly stop. She didn’t say it but the idea is also quite clear that Jon still reading statements for his own survival is, in parallel, an active choice on its own. And it’s true that Jon never questioned or wondered about the possibility of stopping even though it would make him suffer – when he realised he was experiencing withdrawal without them in MAG107, he just decided that he would roll with it because his priority was still to stop The Unknowing and he couldn’t afford to waste time pondering about it:

(MAG107) ARCHIVIST: It looks like the recording of statements has now passed over from psychological compulsion into… a more physical dependence. I don’t whether this is… some sort of classical addiction or something a bit deeper. But either way, this is not the time for experimentation. I’m on a deadline, and if I need to be reading statements to stay well enough, then I suppose that’s what I shall do.

But in season 4, it’s not something he thought about questioning, or at least, not out loud. We still hear him reading statements. He’s currently choosing to try to not attack people anymore, sure, and it indeed means not hurting any more innocents… But it’s true that even reading statements is not an “innocent” act, if it’s also feeding The Eye.

* Melanie’s choice is radical and is… probably the bravest thing ever done by a character this series, along with Sasha jumping at Tim to save him from Jane Prentiss?

And there are many ways it’s going to turn awful for her – she mentioned it would probably be bad, could go to “dying” level. We heard from Tim that trying to run away from the Institute was bad. Even if Melanie manages to stick to it, in exchange for the comfort of sticking to her ideal, it will be pain and misery. It means the others will witness it. I’m not even sure that Jon will let her carry through with it – given how he didn’t “want to lose anyone else” in MAG118 and still lost Tim. It’s going to be bad, and I’m so, so impressed that Melanie is choosing to take that road, because it makes sense, but still: it’s a personal sacrifice, without glory, and yet it sounds like the most effective thing to do to stop feeding The Eye and to not participate in the Fears business.

* (… I’m not even sure, though, that Melanie’s sufferings (and/or that Jon observing it) wouldn’t… feed The Eye, incidentally.)

* GUUUUUUUH, I love the direction the similarities she shared with Tim took… We knew that they had discussed together off-record:

(MAG106) ELIAS: You already have doubts, though. You’ve been talking with Tim, and have convinced yourself that– MELANIE: [DRY LAUGHTER] ELIAS: –even if I’m telling the truth, I’m too dangerous to live. MELANIE: Well.

There were a few random/comic bits – both Tim and Melanie had expressed some longing for the real Sasha, both are bit more crude than the other characters (holders of “fuck” and “asshole”). Both expressed wariness/disgust for the tape recorders:

(MAG098) MARTIN: […] Have you seen [Jon] since…? TIM: [GRUNT] Kind of. We tried to talk, but he, he reached for that– Ah, he, he wanted to turn on his recorder. I freaked out a bit, and I said some stuff: if he wanted to talk, no tapes, I just, I just hate that thing.

(MAG136) THERAPIST: Right, have a seat. Do you mind if I record our sessions? MELANIE: I do mind. Yes. THERAPIST: Ah? I mean, it’s just for my own notes. MELANIE: I categorically and completely do not give consent for you to make any recording of me, ever. Turn it off. Please.

But what was striking this episode is how close Melanie’s words were to Tim, when it came to the Institute and their work there:

(MAG098) TIM: Still doing those? MARTIN: … Yeah. Yeah… I did ask Elias if I could stop. TIM: And he said “no” for a mysterious reason? MARTIN: I don’t know? I mean, he kind of explained – I think? Jon’s “too inconsistent” at the moment. He needs to make up for the shortfall, which, I guess, means me. … Unless you… TIM: No. MARTIN: He did suggest I try to get you involved, and– TIM: And I suggest that he not be a scary, magic psychopath. … Whoops! Too late. MARTIN: … Yeah. TIM: [SIGH] … Sorry. MARTIN: No, I– I get it. Heh. They’re not exactly much fun. TIM: Look, it’s not that. I… [SIGH] This place is evil, Martin. And I think doing what It wants? Probably makes us evil. And It wants those things to be read. I mean, I’m not gonna stop you, but, at the same time– MARTIN: I– I get it.

(MAG150) MELANIE: Look. [INHALE] I’m not going to do my job anymore. ARCHIVIST: … I am not sure I follow, you–you know we… we can’t… quit, we’ve all tried. MELANIE: I didn’t say I was going to quit. I said: I’m not going to do my job. No researching; no filing; no… field trips. Nothing that is going to help the Institute in any way. […] ARCHIVIST: Why? MELANIE: Because this place is evil, Jon! And so… doing this job… ARCHIVIST: [LOUD EXHALE] MELANIE: Helping it out… even in small ways, i–is in some way… evil too! Every time we try to use it to do good, it just seems to make everything worse, and… and I will not be a part of that anymore.

And Tim was the only one of the assistants to experience the sickness of not serving The Eye anymore/trying to flee, which Melanie took into account in her decision:

(MAG090) TIM: I hopped a flight to Malaysia. Found myself a hotel. ELIAS: I see. … You were trying to leave us? TIM: Yeah…! ELIAS: But you’ve returned. TIM: I… I got sick. The longer I was gone… I felt weak, like… like I was, I was losing myself…

(MAG150) MELANIE: I’ll still be around, I just… I can’t be a part of this anymore. If, if I get sick, I get sick. And, and if I die…

And although Melanie and Tim share a reasoning, their conclusions… differ so greatly. Tim fell into depression (confirmed by Mike in the Assistants Round Table) and ultimately chose anger and self-destruction as his answer. Melanie… goes with something that is technically self-destructing, too, but which also feels like self-preserving – and more interestingly, without anger, although it had been a long-term companion over the course of her life?

* Goooods, we got Basira and Martin visiting Elias in prison – now, I want Melanie visiting him and taking none of his shit anymore. I’m worried it would go super badly for her because Elias can be shitty when he wants to be, but still want………………… Melanie uncomfortable but resisting her anger and not letting him get under her skin this time around………………….

* I’m a bit worried over what Jon will take out of the exchange, however, since:

1°) Unlike Melanie, he has continued constantly feeding The Eye by reading the statements. The comparison does him a disservice.

2°) What Melanie said about The Unknowing:

(MAG150) MELANIE: Helping it out… even in small ways, i–is in some way… evil too! Every time we try to use it to do good, it just seems to make everything worse, and… and I will not be a part of that anymore. ARCHIVIST: What about The Unknowing? We, we saved the world! MELANIE: Did we? I… I mean, I–I think it was the right thing to do, but how many people were killed to do it? We, we weren’t even a neutral party; we did it as agents of The Eye, because Elias told us to.

… was absolutely fair and true. Nikola had pointed out to Tim just before he exploded the place:

(MAG119) NIKOLA: You… idiot! Do you really think the world will fare any better under the Watcher? You think you’re saving anyone? TIM: I don’t care.

But it also tells Jon that there is absolutely no way serving The Eye (or even being trapped with it) can do anything good, ever; that there is no positiveness to take out of their awful situation. Jon had made out of MAG127’s statement that the Institute had been created in evil purpose, that the aim of the place had always been bad… but it’s something else to be told from one of the assistant that stopping The Unknowing wasn’t even a “victory”. That Tim died almost for nothing, unwillingly furthering the interests of something he hated although he was pursuing his own revenge.

I doubt Jon’s defensiveness was out of loyalty for The Eye, but it’s true that this is not the first time it popped up this season (in MAG129, when he tried to argue with Martin that The Eye hadn’t gone “after our own” unlike Peter); it might be that Jon was still clinging to the hope that at least, getting compromised and twisted and “becoming a monster” could at least mean getting powerful enough to protect innocents and/or the world, that they could still find meaning in that… and no. Jon has been attacking innocents; and he’s being reminded that the Institute is not neutral. (And indeed: what about The Eye’s own ritual…)

* On the matter of isolation and of Jon lacking connections… although I am delighted by Melanie’s announcement, it also sounded like a goodbye. She did point out that she would still be there, but by deciding that she would stop working for The Eye, that she wouldn’t do anything resembling Archival assistant work… it sounded, to me, like she was “leaving” the Archives, and Jon too, on an emotional level. And I’m a bit worried that Jon would take it the wrong way: given that Martin doesn’t want to interact with him, and that now, Melanie is cutting one of their only connections, he’s getting even more isolated, abandoned by them?

(When talking with Gerry, Jon had called The Lonely “isolation” before learning its usual denomination, and it… might be telling that he’s more sensible to that aspect.)

- Aaaaaaaaaaaand Jon was thinking that Melanie’s therapist could be Annabelle, too, and it’s SO SILLY presented this way:

(MAG150) ARCHIVIST: … Did your… therapist suggest this? […] Melanie, could you… could you describe your therapist for me? MELANIE: [CHUCKLING] What? You think I wouldn’t notice if she had cobwebs down her face? ARCHIVIST: … No? MELANIE: [DEEP INHALE] That’s it, isn’t it? [EXHALE] You… you really think I’m so stupid I wouldn’t have noticed if my therapist was some kind of monster! ARCHIVIST: I just… It was a worry. MELANIE: Right, right… Okay: I know. That is why I ruined my first four sessions, and almost torpedoed the chance at a genuinely, really good therapist, because I was so paranoid that she was going to turn out to be some… some thing trying to manipulate me – but no. She’s not full of spiders, or made of wax, or wearing the therapist’s skin, or whatever: she’s just a well-trained professional, who I am paying to help me. ARCHIVIST: O–kay. [SIGH] It’s just… The Web can be subtle, you understand? MELANIE: And? For all you know, its plan is to paralyse you with indecision…! ARCHIVIST: [SIGH] MELANIE: Leaving you… sitting here, terrified that… everything you do is somehow all part of its Grand Plan… And who do you think that fear is gonna feed? ARCHIVIST: Yes, well. [INHALE] You are… not the first, to make that point.

To be fair: Jon and Melanie hadn’t identified Elias as an Eye cultist when they were new to it, and Jon is apparently unable to focus on his Web-lighter – the therapist could still be… something (someone relevant and/or an avatar). I’m glad, though, that the therapy seems to be working!! (… although I’m a bit worried because, on the one hand, Melanie Got It when she points out she’s paying a professional to help her; on the other hand, the way she said her therapist was “genuinely, really good” felt… weird to me? It’s not something I’d say of mine? I would talk about methods and how it’s working for me but not… compliment like this.)

- Crying very hard that Melanie is absolutely spot-on on the fact that The Web is mostly a perfect culprit for Jon, at the moment. Once again. Because that was his idea in MAG146 – MAG147, too.

It’s interesting how Jon has been settling more and more with referring to The Web as “the Spider(s)” this season!

(MAG081) ARCHIVIST: I do not know how many of them there are, or precisely how they separate, but I do know that the Eye – Beholding – was not the first that I encountered in my life. The first was the Spider. The Web. And I have no idea what that might mean.

(MAG130) ARCHIVIST: I found this tape tucked in the corner of my desk drawer. [AGGRAVATED SIGH] Covered in cobwebs. I suppose subtlety is gone out the window a bit. And the question is now simply … how much I trust the Spider to have my… best interests at heart.

(MAG150) ARCHIVIST: Statement ends. The Lonely is… possibly the most insidious of the powers, I believe. Certainly it is the one that… most delights in having you do its work for it. Even the Spiders seem to have a hard time matching it for sheer seductiveness.

It fits him, and I still do like how The Web is actually referred to in feminine form (“she”, “Mother”, “Mother-of-Puppets”) by People In The Known, but Jon tends to go with “it” – it’s… probably more of a “he” for him, too, because of his own personal experience, given how he (almost) met “Mr. Spider”? He’s not been the only one going with “the Spider” this season, though, it sounds like an actual way to refer to it:

(MAG121) OLIVER: Honestly, I’m… still not exactly sure why I’m here. But… you know better than anyone how the spiders can get into your head. Easier to just do what She asks!

(MAG128, Breekon) “A thrumming, silk-wrapped thing of the Spider, hiding away in an old steamer trunk. […] The Spider’s always an easy job – no fuss, no complication, everything planned and prepared. It knows too much to truly be a Stranger, but hides its knowing well enough to endure.”

(MAG136) DAISY: [SCOFF] She’s… Web. Spider’s sneaky like that. [PAUSE] Like that lighter you’re always using. Where’d you get that?

(MAG146) HELEN: There is… something wrong, with Hill Top Road. You know it as well as I do. Some strange “scar in reality” at the centre of… whatever it is the Spider is spinning. […] But the Spider’s strings are subtle, so I suppose it’s not impossible. Why?

(MAG148) ELIAS: Uh! Look, look, look. I’ve… been doing this a long time now and, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about The Web, it’s that it plays its own game. All you can really do is… hope it doesn’t get in the way of whatever your plan is. Because the Spider usually wins…!

(Although Elias/Daisy/maybe Helen could have picked up the habit from Jon.)

- rgefdjerkfd

(MAG150) ARCHIVIST: … Did your… therapist suggest this? MELANIE: N–not… not exactly. … She’s just… helped me work through some things I’ve been thinking for a while, uh, she doesn’t know the details. Just that I’m in a “bad contract situation” working somewhere pretty awful. [HUFF] … She thinks I work for the Tories. ARCHIVIST: … God…

I love that 1°) this is how the therapist translated Melanie’s situation, 2°) that for Jon and Melanie, being bound to an eldritch entity feeding of pain and fear that is trying to reshape the world as a factory farm is still… way better than the perspective of working for the Tories. BABES, I LOVE YOU.

- Especially given how we only know that not serving The Eye means getting sick because Tim experienced it, that Tim had been the first one to call the Institute “evil” and to point out that working for it meant corrupting themselves, and given how The Unknowing was mentioned… I’m still utterly baffled that Tim wasn’t even namedropped in this episode. I still kind of hope that there is something coming about it because? It was super-weird?

- Guuuuh, Melanie and Daisy are so good this season!!

(MAG150) MELANIE: If you need me, I’ll be trying to get Daisy drunk. ARCHIVIST: [STATIC] Good luck. It only ever happened once in 2006, she drank a– … Sorry. Didn’t mean to. MELANIE: Sure. See you around.

… and pffft: Martin highlighted that Daisy was “pretty observant” (MAG142), and we now have confirmation that Daisy very rarely gets drunk… which means she’s probably used to watching people get wasted around her? To hear compromising stuff while she remains sober? Daisy, you’ve been getting a lot of Beholding points lately.

- That means that, right now, three members out of four of Team Archives are under withdrawal: Daisy is resisting the call of her blood/The Hunt, Jon has stopped taking live-statements (and ;; isn’t recovering well from their trip to Svalbard: MAG150, “… Still feeling weak. Restless. I want to be proactive, but there hasn’t…! That hasn’t been going quite so well for us lately.” He probably won’t truly heal until he takes one…), Melanie has now stopped working for The Eye.

- Alright, so both with Jon commenting that Basira-Daisy-and-him are spending a lot of time together bundled up in the Institute (in the Archives / in the tunnels?), and Melanie announcing that she would stop to do any work for the Archives… What are they spending their time on? Because Melanie’s decision implies that the assistants were currently still doing research and follow-ups, although we haven’t heard a trace of it lately: in season 1 and 2, Jon was constantly crediting his assistants’ work during follow-up; in season 3, we heard them adding some data after the statements they had read, and we had a few mentions of Jon asking for their help while he was away. In season 4, Jon highlighted here and there that it wasn’t the case anymore:

(MAG122) ARCHIVIST: Statement ends. [EXHALE] Well that… certainly helped, I think. No notes or follow-up in the statement, and obviously no research done by myself or… my team.

(MAG123) ARCHIVIST: Statement ends. The Web does seem to have a preference for those who prefer not to assert themselves. The investigation is tricky, I don’t want to impose on Basira and, obviously, Melanie and… Martin… aren’t available, but I did do some light searching myself on Gregory Cox.

(MAG124) ARCHIVIST: … Of course, even if I did want to do research into the statement, I wouldn’t have any help doing so. It’s been a week and… Melanie’s attitude towards me hasn’t softened. And Basira, though she is very willing to talk, still doesn’t seem to trust me enough to let me in on whatever plans she might have – if she has any plans at all, of course.

(MAG126) ARCHIVIST: I did do a small bit of follow-up on Deborah Madaki, just for my own curiosity. She didn’t go to Sannikov Land in the end.

And Jon admitted in MAG148 that he was less interested in doing a follow-up, which he has indeed… stopped doing at all at this point. Annabelle had also portrayed Jon as unable to not read out a statement once he has it in mind nowadays (MAG147: “But think about it, Jon: when’s the last time you were able to read a statement quietly to yourself without instinctively hitting record and speaking it aloud? It is just instinct? Habit? Or is it a compulsion – a string pulled by the Ceaseless Watcher or the Mother of Puppets? Or both? I know the summaries have started to confuse you. Where did they come from, when you read a statement fresh? How do you just… sort of know what it’s about, before you even start to read it…? But by then, you’re away: the roller coaster is dropping and you’ve no real choice but to hold on and hope that… I don’t crash you.”), although she might have been trying to confuse him on purpose (since… he had done follow-up into statements shortly before that episode, which implied doing some work before reading the statements out loud…? Or is it that the overall glimpses of what-this-statement-is-about-before-reading-it were enough to do some research?).

But in any case: there was no mention of Basira, Daisy or Melanie providing any follow-up this season. So… what have they been doing, in the Archives, that counted as “assistant work” to not get sick? Follow-ups on past statements? On statements we haven’t heard yet? On dummy statements? Or did they just do some filing and/or organising (like Tim was moving boxes around in MAG104)?

- We’re going back to the “assistants can’t quit” deal and aaaactually:

(MAG150) MELANIE: Look. [INHALE] I’m not going to do my job anymore. ARCHIVIST: … I am not sure I follow, you–you know we… we can’t… quit, we’ve all tried.

If we trust his words (…), Elias indeed confirmed the trapping aspect (MAG092: “Basira is now tied to the Institute. All of you are. Like fingers on a hand. And I am the beating heart of it. Should I, or the Institute, be destroyed, you will all, unfortunately, follow suit.”), but I’m curious about Jon’s “we’ve all tried”… because as far as we know, only Tim tried to quit?

(MAG065) ARCHIVIST: Then quit! If you hate it so much, leave your post in the Archives. Permanently. TIM: You’re firing me? ARCHIVIST: … I’m offering you a chance to quit. No notice period, I’ll even make sure you get the rest of the month’s paycheck. [PAUSE] Just say the words. [STATIC RISES] TIM: I want to. ARCHIVIST: So do it. TIM: I… … can’t. ARCHIVIST: [SOFTLY] Why not…? TIM: I… I… I–I can’t! I don’t know… Why can’t I quit?! ARCHIVIST: I–I don’t know. But I don’t think I can fire you either. TIM: What? ARCHIVIST: It’s this place. TIM: I don’t understand. ARCHIVIST: Neither do I. [STATIC FADES] I’m trying to figure it out, I’ve– I’ve got the shape of it but… I’m sorry, Tim. Truly I am. But I cannot, and will not, trust you. This place isn’t right, you see that now. I don’t know how or why, but there is something very wrong with the Archives. And I don’t know who here is a victim of it… and who is an agent. TIM: So… what do we do? ARCHIVIST: For now? I suppose we just… do our jobs. TIM: I don’t want to. ARCHIVIST: No…

(MAG079) TIM: There is something in this place, and it’s messing up our heads. It watches us all the time. It stops me quitting. I’m pretty sure it would stop Elias firing Jon even if he decided to actually try running this place for once. MARTIN: You’re sure you don’t just want to stay? TIM: I’m. sure. MARTIN: But, like, deep down– TIM: No. MARTIN: … Oh.

… But the others don’t seem to have tested these boundaries as far as we knew? Martin is unclear (although he mentioned feeling trapped in MAG039 and MAG117); we didn’t witness Melanie trying to actually flee (although Elias mentioned to Jon that “Even more than the others she has a visceral hatred of being trapped. Regardless of how much freedom I afford her.” in MAG102); and it had been pointed out how Basira hadn’t even tried:

(MAG095) MARTIN: Kinda thought your job was to be a hostage. […] Shouldn’t you be, I don’t know, trying to escape? BASIRA: Sure. How’s that gone for you? MARTIN: What? BASIRA: The way Tim tells it, we’re all in the same boat here. So, how’s your escape plan coming? [NOISES OF CONFUSED EXASPERATION] MARTIN: How… Doesn’t it bother you?!

(MAG112) DAISY: You’re getting comfortable with all those books. Don’t forget why you’re here. BASIRA: I know where I am, Daisy, and I know that I’m a prisoner. DAISY: And you want to escape. BASIRA: Yeah. But not on my own. We’re working on something. I’ll ask Melanie to fill you in.

And Jon himself was a weird case – he indeed fled the Institute at the end of season 2, but it was more… circumstantial? And he didn’t come back because he was getting sick like Tim?

- Oufffffffttt, Jon…

(MAG150) ARCHIVIST: Uh… [DOOR CLOSES] Of course, I was just, um… having a statement. MELANIE: Uh… an, an old one? ARCHIVIST: Wh– Yes, an old one! I’m not– I’m doing my best. MELANIE: … Sure.

… What is the definition of his “best”, here? Staying in the Archives and accepting to be tailed by the others…? That’s… better than (re)traumatising people, sure, but the contrast with how Melanie is doing her best (forcing herself to go through therapy and to go past her distrust, working on herself, deciding that she prefers to be dead rather than collaborating with a Fear-machine, putting efforts into going to tell Jon although we could hear that it was hard and they’ve never been best friends in the first place) is quite astounding, and it was really not surprising that she was absolutely unimpressed.

(To Jon’s credit: that also means forcing himself to Not Know, probably. But still: if he feels like he’s currently doing “his best”, what does it say about his current mental state, except that it’s… bad all over?)

- For once, I’m still not sure that I clearly understand the different meanings of the title! Herman’s was pretty forward (feeling like he was stuck in the suburb & in his life, getting stuck for real in a Lonely dimension without issue) and I’m guessing that it’s also a representation of Jon&co right now: stuck and unable to go anywhere, just condemned to… wait (is Jon waiting for the end of 2018? He said he was conscious that the year marked the Institute’s 200th anniversary, in MAG127); although, at the same time, Melanie is proving that choices and options are still possible.

Right now, we’re indeed in a strange situation where it feels like, unless another new crisis suddenly explodes at their face (Maxwell Rayner not actually dead-dead? Jon had mentioned seeing people with the pendants of the cult, shortly after he woke up from his coma) (Vast ritual? We haven’t heard anything about it) (other Beholding folks coming to prepare their ritual?) (Hunters going after the Institute?)… Martin is the only one currently able to move things forwards.

- Cheers: this episode marked the end of the penultimate quarter of the season… and of the series in general! … Now, we’ll be entering the last quarter. It. Feels. Weird (usually, at this point, you would have a clear idea of the end line in sight and, uh, I… have… no idea… what we’re heading towards… and I am absolutely confident that, whatever happens, it will make sense and will have been introduced for a long while. But right now, it’s only “something most likely awful coming” and just. Dread.)

Title for MAG151 was used by Peter, twice, so I’m expecting the episode to be about Martin meeting his “friend” and… getting some answers/leads. Whoever that friend is – but given how the title can serve as a Vast pun and/or be a reference to a camera, I would say that Simon Fairchild (the Fairchilds collaborated with the Lukases on the Daedalus project, one of Jon’s first cases as a researcher at the Institute was about him, Jon has jinxed it by spitting that he didn’t want to meet Simon ever, and Peter said his friend was currently out of the country when Jon pointed out in MAG124 that Simon apparently likes to travel…) and Mikaele Salesa (since Peter and him were at least acquaintances making bets together according to MAG066, and there is… that camera from Floyd’s statement…) are gaining a few points as likely suspects.

(Anil had mentioned that this episode could trend at number 1 on tumblr, too, and squints, if I had to guess at why an episode would be more likely to trend, it would… probably contain reveals (Martin meeting Peter’s friend would cover it indeed), but also “Jon & Martin meeting again” or “Peter and Elias actually in the same room for the first time”, so………………)

#... on an unrelated note there was a spider on a wall and i can't see it anymore and it's somewhere and *screams* #2 #3 #4 #5 #mag150 #tma liveblog #tma season 4 #long post/ #the magnus archives

[shoujosoulsearching]

Mars, AKA The Shoujo Manga with Too Much Emotional Baggage for One Woman to Carry

SPOILER WARNING!!!

The Roman god of war, Mars, was said to love violence and conflict--he was known as the embodiment of bloodthirst. Unlike his Greek counterpart Ares, however, who was considered to be more destructive in nature, Mars was seen as more of a protector, a bringer of peace.

With a title like Mars, one has to wonder what side of the Roman god is going to be showcased in the story: the bloodthirsty divine or the righteous guardian? For a shoujo manga, you’d expect it to go the latter, but upon reading Fuyumi Souryo’s fifteen-volume teenage melodrama, the answer to that question turns out to be much more complicated than you think.

The actual story itself has nothing to do with the literal god named Mars--he’s only explicitly shown in the first volume as a statue, which our playboy prince charming, Rei Kashino, approaches and kisses on the mouth. Kira Aso, our introverted and artistic leading lady, is infatuated with this sight and asks Rei to become a model for her to sketch during her free time. From that moment onwards, their relationship blossoms, and they both bring out things in each other that would have never been brought to the surface if they had never met.

While it has its fair amount of stereotypes what sets Mars apart from its contenders is the way the main couple is portrayed. Rei and Kira are individually appealing characters, and their qualities are only enhanced as they grow closer throughout the story.

Our leading man Rei is the first character that truly jumps off the page from the get-go. A motorcycle-riding playboy who couldn’t care less about school, Rei’s a boy with deep-rooted issues and a devil-may care attitude. He has an unmeasurable sense of justice, and while he has a sense of morality, he won’t always uphold it when the situation tests him. If he gets a bad feeling from someone, he will immediately turn to hostility--but only when the event pertains to something he wants, or something he cares about. He understands what the “right” thing to do is, but he doesn’t care. As long as he isn’t stopped by Kira or someone else’s plea, he will fix the problem in a way that satisfies him.

This type of violent behavior would usually be associated with a sociopath, but upon further inspection that turns out to not be the case. Most of Rei’s questionable actions come from a post-conventional reasoning, and it’s apparent that whenever he acts out it’s because he’s either been deeply hurt by something in the past or he’s afraid to lose what he cherishes in the present. I’m not at all justifying his actions, but the point is that Rei has never been a true monster, and whatever monstrous aspects he had to him were eventually blurred away by Kira (who was the first person to ever love him that wasn’t incredibly toxic.)

The main difference between a sociopath like Masao Kirishima and someone like Rei, is that Rei is just a teenager who’s been hurt one too many times and only knows how to self medicate using violence. He had never been policed for his actions in a proper way. As we learn in the last volume, his memories were altered during his time in the psychiatric ward to lessen his trauma. Once you look beyond his blunt and aggressive exterior, Rei is the most genuine character in the entire series. He’s just a teenage boy that’s been through too much hardship that he never deserved, and was never emotionally mature enough to handle all of it. He’s rightfully angry at the world--until he meets Kira.

It took time for our heroine to shine like her male counterpart did, but a few volumes in, Kira becomes a show-stopping character. Originally an immovable introvert only interested in painting and nothing else, Kira grows into her own loving, hopeful person. One of the things I appreciated the most about Mars was it’s portrayal of mental illness--nothing is never outwardly said, but it’s obvious that Kira had been going through not only anxiety but a deep, dark depression she can’t bring herself back from. The way Kira thought about death, the way she always put others needs before her own, etc, made her real and relatable to me on a personal level. I’ve had those same issues my entire life, and seeing Kira slowly and surely come into her own throughout each volume wasn’t just satisfying, was inspiring.

The most tantalizing reveal about Kira and why she acts the way she does is when we learn that she was raped by her stepfather in middle school. Not only did she start isolating herself after the incident, she began to live in her head, where a more sinister, damaged and unhinged Kira would imagine killing herself and those around her. This is an extremely serious subject to dive into--and Mars doesn’t cover up the darkness behind it. It’s not romanticized, it’s ugly and depressing, and the worst part is that we never get the feeling that Kira will ever fully recover from it. Yes, she learns to become intimate with Rei because she trusts him--but it’s implied that in the deepest, darkest parts of her soul, that horrible memory will continue to live on.

The first thing that struck me, and my favorite aspect of the entire series, was how genuine the relationship between Rei and Kira felt--several times in the story there’d be a break where they would just talk, and not talk as in they’d tell each other things that would move the plot forward, or with a clear purpose in mind--they have actual conversations. They talk about each other’s hobbies, about their existential crises, things that actual teenagers talk to each other about. With every heart-to-heart comes another glimpse into who these two are as people, and it becomes apparent that they cherish and remember every word they say to each other. It’s clear that these two characters grow because of each other, and turn one another into the best versions of themselves. They’re honest and authentic with each other in ways only adolescents can be. As two teenagers who’ve never had anyone to be their shoulder to cry on, their relationship just feels right, and their marriage at the end of the series is one of the most wholesome and satisfying things I’ve read in a shoujo manga.

Up until now I’ve sung praises to Mars for the two main characters and their dynamic, but unfortunately, besides a few exceptions, the rest of the characters in the series are either uninteresting, unlikable or just straight up garbage human beings. To keep it short, just seeing Shiori, Kurosawa or Harumi on every panel would get me peeved. Masao Kirishima was the last straw for me, however; once I got deep enough into his arc I ended up putting down the series for a few days, because I couldn’t stand his presence (not to mention the ONLY canonically LGBT character just HAD to be an evil psychopath who wanted to kill people for pleasure…..REALLY……) but I’ll throw in a head-canon saying that these characters only exist for me to appreciate the main couple more (which it did) so I could look over it.

By far Mars’ biggest problem is it’s tone. Soap operas can be fun, don’t get me wrong, and there are plenty of times where Mars gets it right--but also plenty of times where it becomes overbearing. The series was probably best to read week by week when it was being released in Bessatsu Friend magazine; it’s not hard to imagine Souryo stuffing in enough melodrama in each chapter before it’s release in order to keep reader’s interest. Marathon-reading it is very much a different experience. And it doesn’t help that It’s clear that this is a product of its time. A lot of popular shoujo manga in the 90s tended to stretch the drama, i.e. the insane level of bullying, the evil side characters insisting on keeping the main couple apart, etc.

Using an example from Mars, Rei reveals he used to have a brother, who is actually dead, and when Kira asks how he died, before Rei can answer, a man jumps off a building and the police are called. Rei has a panic attack after seeing this, and it’s implied that his brother died from suicide. Then, we go back to the high school where it’s revealed that a character named Kurosawa also attempted suicide, and is currently getting treatment. Then Rei and Kira go out on a date. ALL IN ONE CHAPTER. If you got exhausted reading that, try reading that page-to-page in one sitting. It was entertaining, sure, but it took me out of the immersion every now and again.

I can shit on these aspects as much as I want, but without them, Mars wouldn’t be Mars. It’s apart of its charm, in an odd way, and it only enhances everything the series does right. At times, it’s as if Mars is drowning you in it’s depressing conflict and weighing you down with it’s emotional baggage, enjoying every second of your agony--but in the end it always comes back around, making wrongs rights and surprising you with its tenderness. That’s why I think this manga has the perfect title. I doubt Fuyumi Souryo intended for this, but in its own roundabout way, I believe Mars is an allegory for the Roman god, and a good one that you definitely shouldn’t miss out on. 

And I’m giving this one a STAR rating.

(Check out my other manga analyses here, and my standards here.)

(Follow me on twitter @/choerrychrist)

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