#thank u the coffin is so important but hey what the fuck

[sexy-opium-ravioli]

hiya!!! mind writing a fern x gender neutral! reader scenario? maybe the reader is a wizard n they need to get some stuff from a dungeon, so fern comes with n they both have some fun moments together!! maybe its vault of bones styled? thank u!!! [also btw, the anon button is off!!]

Oh my goodness, I am so sorry! Anon feature is now switched on babes, so feel free to send in requests to my decrepit, dank and dusty inbox.

Anyways, here you go!! I hope you enjoy you freakin honey bun.

This work has vulgar language, moderate, nondescript violence and descriptions of menstruation and endometriosis. Dw, reader is still gender neutral.

Note: This and other works (unless directly specified) are to be as inclusive as possible. If there is any sort of undue coding for any race, gender or sexuality that has not been requested, please tell me! :)

Title: Dungeons and Fern

Considering how many things there were in Ooo, one would think that there could be a cure-all potion for cripplingly low self-esteem. Or, at least some sort of medication for said problem.

Alas, Glob was more detail oriented than goal oriented. You could see sentient mountains whining at violence and grow rock-scale skin from drinking gruel, but intrinsic personal problems? Those were still a mystery.

You wish you could give Fern a potion to make him happy. A tincture for all the wounds eyes cannot see. You feel like your boyfriend has done so much for you, and seeing your favorite grass man spiral does a number on your own self-esteem, to be honest.

Anyways, that's codependency for another day. Right now, a dungeon needed exploring.

A cave. A little darkness, and then, light. Being a wizard was handy sometimes. Fire in your palm, you lit the way.

Walls were lined with red words, little orange cones and yellow stripes on the ground that were just at the threshold of ditches with long, metal tubes. You knew what trains were, but the trains down here looked more like metal coffins. They were eerie. So were all the skeletons at your feet.

You looked back at Fern. You smiled, and he blushed. His eyebrows were furrowed.

Ah! A map, how handy. It wasn't too hard to figure out, too!

'You Are Here,' Follow the red dot, and then the blue line, and you could get where you're going. You jumped into the pit, and vanished into the dark tunnels. Fern trailed behind you.

"You're quiet today. Anything wrong?" It was a hushed question you spoke. There was A Vibe in these old tunnels you did not want to mess with too badly. After awhile, you learned to appreciate them, all the colorful graffiti scrawled on them too.

"I'm evil," His words crept to your ears like perfume. It was there, and then gone.

"We've been over this. You're not,"

"There's literally a demon inside of me," A little louder this time. Perfume turned to smoke.

You stopped in your tracks and turned around fast enough to see Fern's pupils still having to adjust to the lighting change. There was a moment of tenseness you both felt, slightly predatory and preylike on both ends.

"That demon does not constitute who your whole self is. A part of you is formed by the new experiences you go through, and some of that in your personality is completely isolated from what you've been born as," Your wizard mind liked to go on tangents and force your mouth to voice them. Sometimes they helped Fern in his journey, and sometimes they did not.

He still looked conflicted, damn.

"I'm evil," Smoke turned into a thick fog.

"Prove it, kill me." A gamble, sure. But you knew your bet had won when Fern's face went from anger to shock.

"I-I'd never!-" His voice got a lot higher when you said quick stuff like that. When you disarmed his defenses in less than a second. To be fair, you do the same thing when roles are reversed.

"Then you aren't evil, dingus. C'mon," You grabbed his hand, interlaced his fingers with yours, and gave him a kiss. You always liked how his grassy lips tickled yours. He's such a sweet man, how you've fallen in love with him. "Let's go explore the rest of this stupid station,"

...

'Oh my GLOB what the FUCK is that-' This is your first thought. There is no time for a second.

The thing, made of shiny steaming hot tar swung at you. You had enough wits to dodge, but you still screamed in terror while doing it.

Fern was immediately at your side. A grass sword, mighty and green as he, grew out of his arm and before one could blink, a chunk of tar monster was separated from the host.

'Tar, tar, dude what spell is even good against tar?' This was the forefront of your thoughts against the backdrop of Fern holding the thing at bay.

"Hey, babe, mind retreating for like three seconds? Gonna teleport this thing to the Fire Kingdom," Such important words spoken in such a casual tone. There was a moment where Fern wondered how much life you had been though to earn such eccentricity in such a stressful situation. He loved you.

When Fern stepped away, you did as you said. The last thing you heard before closing the portal was a fire guard screaming "What the GLOB-"

"...I, I didn't go too far this time, did I?" His voice, back to perfume.

"No! No, not at all!" You gave him a forehead kiss that he would appreciate more than you would ever know.

You both giggled to yourselves before continuing.

...

"Ah! Finally!" The joy in your voice was palpable enough to grab out of the air and eat. Fern turned towards you and-

"...Train tickets?" There was a hint of annoyance in there. You simply knew it.

"Yeah, I know, right?" You chuckled nervously before continuing, "I need it for a potion for Marceline. Endometriosis is really a fucker sometimes and this can help with that,"

You both walked in silence as you felt sunlight on your faces. Smelling fresh air after breathing in so much stale made you feel a special type of joy. "That really wasn't too much for you? I know you need to photosynthesize every once in awhile and I just don't want-" He kissed you. It was your turn for your face to get warm.

This silence was peaceful, as you two walked to your home in the forest. It overlooked grassy plains and was just at the edge of a thick line of trees.

"My love?"

"Yeah?" You adored his nicknames for you.

"What's endometriosis?"

#fern the human x reader #fern #fern the human #gender nuetral reader #blondie's adventure time series #adventure time #fern mertens #fern mertens x reader #fern x reader

[tfw-no-tennis]

mtmte liveblog issue 28

catch me completely ignoring dark cybertron lmao

yeahhhh so I'm just gonna skip dark cybertron bc no thanks. I did read the tf wiki articles for the issues tho, which is more than I did in the past, so at least now I kinda know what happened, though I had to suffer thru reading about dark cybertron to learn stuff about it. yikes. reading ABOUT dark cybertron further enforced my decision to not actually read thru it

anyways. the best part of dark cybertron was when chromedome threw prowl off that cliff. that was baller lmfao

a 1 page recap of dark cybertron is about all I can handle. thank you

ooh, the 6 months later smash-cut, I fucking love itttt

nautica’s here!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so happy I love her. also brainstorm, and I love their friendship sm

hvbjdkhfbshdfj god I love them. they have such a fun dynamic 

everyone eavesdropping on a therapy session vhbhdjkhafbhkjsdf. hipaa laws mean nothing as usual 

the casual reveal of captain megatron, oh god 

the title fucking slaps, as usual. this is one of my favorites - ‘world, shut your mouth.’ great stuff, and a song title/reference to boot! and this being part 1: towards peace...chefs kiss

and then we flash back to 6 months earlier...yknow now that I'm rereading this, mtmte has a LOT of framing devices used - there's story-within-a-story, flashback/flash-forwards, storytelling with narration, etc...I love it

god hbvhjakdfbshjkdf rodimus saying ‘magic’ and then the little *magic = science rodimus doesn't understand HBGKJHSDBFKHJSDF my idiot boy ily

rodimus roasting prowl is my fav hbfjdkafshsbjkf ‘maybe the knights can help us find a cure for your personality’ ily sm

and then prowl agreeing w/rodimus a few panels later about megatron’s guilt...

optimus...don't you think that making yourself chief of justice is...maybe a bad idea...like, maybe there's a conflict of interests here...just a little bit of bias...a bit too much history, perhaps...

the fact that all the big roles in the trial were given to high-ranking autobots who were heavily involved in the war...I see that cybertrons justice system is as much of a farce as their medical ethics and patient confidentiality laws 

the ‘you BROKE the MATRIX’ panel is so good bjhkdhfbajskhdf

rodimus: LISTEN dad I just wanna resume my space cruise with my frat bro ship I have no interest in politics

psychiatrists HATE him! local former warlord refuses to recognize the validity of psychological analyzation of people’s actions

ravage casually breaking hipaa laws and chilling in megatron’s therapy session like >:3

I love rung...he’s so good at like, passive-aggressively cutting right to the heart of someone’s issues, and he’s so generally mild that you can’t even really get mad at him 

the sudden inclusion of megatron as a major character in mtmte is kinda jarring at first - mostly, for me at least, due in part because I didn't read dark cybertron so this is like, megatron’s introduction as a relevant character in general - but I feel like jro does a great job laying a lot of intrigue down from the very beginning w/his character - like, I already want to know more about what his whole deal is, even though we have, ostensibly, seen pretty much all of his story play out already 

rung name-dropping froid...i remember that made me lose my shit bc cmon. FROID....jesus christ

rung and megatron: holy shit! we’re suddenly being drawn in a 90s-esque sci-fi tron-looking retro-futuristic style!

interesting that megatron sought rung out, and not the other way around

RIPTIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my favorite sharkboy is HERE

CREWDITIONS...YES....

‘we’re not allowed to take anyone who might remind rodimus of prowl’ vhbhjdkshfbhaskfd brutal

I love nautica so so much. a perfect autistic scientist after my own heart

I adore that nautica brought chromia along for moral support

hgvbjdakhfbhsj and then swerve saying that rodimus hates ‘trisyllabic names’ and nautica is like....but....‘rodimus’.....

and then nightbeat busts in to get all bbc sherlock on they asses hgbfhjadkfbjaskdf

WHY was perceptor at the crewditions if he was already part of the crew lmao

ooof, and then we have megatron flipping out when chromedome, a mnemosurgeon, shows up

also damn the autobots were rlly like okay so we wanna speed this trial up so lets just like, probe megatrons brain, that seems completely ethical, especially when you consider the history of shadowplay and stuff that our previous government had

I know important stuff is happening but megatron is holding a CUBE and I love CUBES so I'm distracted by that. C U B E

and then right after a scene where we see chromedome willing to perform mnemosurgery again - despite rewind’s like, dying wish for him not to - we hear that he’s been locked up in his room rewatching rewinds goodbye message over and over again :( I'm fucking depressed

I love nightbeat, he’s so funny and kind of an asshole

and then you see more missing letters behind them next panel...clearly nightbeat is right and there’s a mystery afoot...OR somebody is fucking with the ship’s lettering as a prank, which is a plot point I would absolutely buy

yeahhhh skids is right, chromedome is clearly Not dealing 

the dramatic graffiti on megatrons door...I wanna know who spray-painted ‘die’ everywhere like they're reaper overwatch

oh god. whirl vs megatron

really cool red lighting tho

GOD its so brutal, all the stuff megatron said about how he told the cons not to kill whirl...and doesn't that end up being false anyways? so he was just saying it to dig at whirl, which is awful

also I'm never over the fact that literally everyone - including megatron and whirl - blames whirl for ‘turning megatron violent,’ as if the entire Point isn't that whirl was a tool for a corrupt system, and if it wasn't whirl it would've just been someone else, and megatron turning away from pacifism was inevitable given the circumstances, AND also a choice on his part, so he really only has himself to blame for his OWN ACTIONS

bye bye whirls right arm, see you in lost light 

‘people never stop changing’ that IS something I say all the time...damn you warlord grandpa! how can you steal my philosophies?!

ohhh man and then rewind’s goodbye message being different....oooh

AUGH the fact that whirl was basically trying to goad megatron into killing him, just like he did in issue 1 w/cyclonus...It Hurts Man

also I do love the hint at who he’s talking to w/whirl shooting megatron with the bow and arrow earlier, and we know that atomizer is a fan of those

ok, but here’s where my philosophy diverges - megatron talks about throwing away his past and starting new, but I think that you have to learn from and build on your past...either way, megatron’s arc is one that I enjoy greatly from a character writing standpoint, and I'm excited to get it underway, especially w/how controversial it is lmao

big ole double-page spread...I like how you can pick out individual characters in the background crowd, which is crazy cause that's a LOT of people. also how come cosmos is so HUGE

phewwww 4.6 billion cybertronians died in the war, that’s INSANE. that's like, an incomprehensibly huge number. is there an estimate for their current population? I bet its not a lot. no wonder jro leaned into reproductive themes so much in mtmte/ll - of course the continuation of your species would be a concern for many if your numbers have been that greatly reduced

optimus w/his fancy tyrest-lookin crown

oughdajbfsbdf and the fact that megatron ALSO murdered 100 BILLION non-cybertronians...bruh. I feel like they maybe should've dialed those numbers back a little to allow his ‘redemption arc’ to run a little smoother lmao. but also I admire the commitment either way

and then we end w/megatron doing captain stuff, and seeing The Coffin...and we never did see rodimus in any of the flash-forward parts of this issue, did we???? I love how concerning that is. where's my BOY

also of course we gotta remember the warning from way back at the beginning of mtmte: ‘don't open the coffin’....

and so begins mtmte s2! man I love s2. I love mtmte in general lmao. s2 takes on the impossible w/the whole ‘megatron redemption arc’ thing, and I know that’s like, a divisive plot point and stuff, but from a writing standpoint I enjoyed it a lot...I think it was pretty much as well done as it could've been given the enormity of the task, and I thought it was a really interesting direction for the story to go in 

also espec if it’s true that hasbro was like ‘hey jro put megatron in your story and give him a redemption arc’ rather than jro like, planning/asking to do it 

anyways. I doubt ill talk much abt the disc horse(tm) here bc this is just for fun and also my own personal opinions and whatever, but I for one am excited to reexperience this stuff 

so yeah s2 off to a strong start with some wild shit already happening! cant wait to read more!

#lj rereads mtmte

[millennialzadr]

WHY I LOVE ZADR!!!

HEY GUYS WHASSUP? LMAO

So this is a whole ass giant long post of me absolutely spewing my feelings of love for ZADR, it was the very first thing I wrote when I made this blog and I think it’s a nice, positive thing for my fellow shippers to inhale and enjoy 👌👌

it was originally a reply to mitarashiart’s post about why HE loves ZADR (link in replies) but I decided to delete that and make my own post since MY WHOLE ENTIRE TEXT WALL WAS SHOWN IN THE REPLIES and drowned out anyone else who was trying to talk (thanks tumblr mobile u fuckin idiot)

I had also posted a summary of an AU that I’m working on in the original post, but decided to remove it since it just about doubled the length (I’m thinking about posting it separately along with the wips I’ve been putting together, we’ll see 👀)

But ANYWAY, here is about a million reasons why I think ZADR is the fucking best, so if you like reading gushy gay ship feelings, please enjoy ❤️❤️❤️

[Posted June 2019][WARNING, LONG ASS THOUGHT BARF]

SOOO, holy hell y’all my journey back into this fandom has been a wild and unique experience for me, i went from adding invader zim to my bookmarks on kisscartoon, rewatching the series, finding out theres a movie coming out, finding out there was a shitload of content i’d never seen before (commentaries, lost episode scripts and audios, panels, the COMIC, episodes i’d never seen because the dvd i used to watch was scratched!! and a FUCKLOAD of quality modern fan art like oh my GOD) and finally curiously googling ‘zadr’ (which i was way into when i was maybeee 13/14) to see if there was any interesting new art, and holy hell, mita (the artist above) singlehandedly THREW me down the hole into modern zadr hell, first with his absolutely stunning IZ art (all his art is dope tho check him out yo), then reading the above explanation put the final nail in the coffin like, 100%

so i wanted to add onto his post here on why this ship got me so fucked up, both for anyone who might be wondering why on earth i’m shipping two characters from a kid’s show (i’m very aware how weird that is at first glance trust me) and also so i can get some ideas down for possible future reference (will i ever draw them? maybe)

(first of all, a disclaimer, and this is not pleasant to write but it’s important to address for clarity’s sake: I have no interest in romantic or sexual relationships between minors, and do not ship zim and dib as they are presented canonically in the show (as children). what i’m interested in is the conceptualized relationship they may have as modern adults, and i view zadr more as taking the concepts of existing characters and experimenting with them with different interpretations, which i personally think is a constructive and fun creative outlet, especially if these characters hold personal significance for you (childhood faves of course). growing up together is an important facet of their relationship, and certainly they were important to each other even as children (see: mopiness of doom) but as an adult i’m personally curious about what kind of adults they might’ve become, and that’s the focus of my interest. i’ll still be reblogging regular IZ art because it’s dope but if you see shippy looking art of them as tiny lil beans its either friendship or chibis (and i personally headcanon zim as getting taller with dib but some people stick with his canonical height when drawing them as adults, which is super short. it still doesn’t mean he’s a kid). aaand i wish i didnt have to write this and it would just be obvious but we live in a sick sad world and it is sourced from a children’s cartoon so i feel its necessary. end of disclaimer)

NOW THAT THAT’S OUT OF THE WAY

- ok, first reason’s a bit obvious - the nostalgia. holy hell, the feeling of rediscovering a ship that was popular when i was a preteen during the mid 2000s and discovering a totally new perspective on it as an adult comes with an almost totally overwhelming sense of nostalgia and comfort, as well as inspiration!! the kind of art that seems so common for zadr, these sketch pages of scenes and expressions and visual gags where artists would just scribble every idea they had and LOVE doing it, this was exactly the kind of art that made me so passionate about drawing as a kid, and it still sparks such a powerful feeling of love and admiration for me to this day. fan content of iz and zadr is simultaneously achingly familiar and totally new and fascinating, and it just makes me SO damn happy to consume, it is most definitely my new comfort content. and just, GOD. THE ART!! SO GOOD. FUCK

- now for the characters themselves: for some reason i just really love the thought of a mid twenties, modern Dib?? lanky goth dork, disaster bi, depressed as shit, uses bad sweaters and memes to cope?? when i was a kid i didn’t even LIKE Dib, but now i totally sympathize with him! he’s just a hyper obsessive nerd wishing there was more to life than the situation he got stuck with, how wildly relatable. he was a pretty big asshole as a kid (even to people besides zim) but he was also totally isolated and constantly bullied, so there’s a lot of room for growth. i feel there’s a lot of juicy character development potential for that boy, and there’s always been a special place in my heart for characters who are totally sad and screwed and hopeless, but there’s one thing, or person, that means the world to them and could possibly save them…

- aliens. Zim. i love nonhuman characters, i love monsters, i love aliens, i love characters that don’t understand human shit (and thus have much less room for shame or fear bc theyre just totally oblivious the negatives of modern society) and need guidance (bonding!!) from their human. i also love morally grey characters and characters with skewed logic, they’re always really interesting, and Zim himself just has such a unique personality and set of mannerisms, he contradicts himself a lot and you can never quite expect how he’ll behave, and i love that in a character, it makes them super versatile and fun, especially since there’s so many different possibilities for their development. Also, Zim is a gremlin, a little shit, and a disaster. I also love those traits in a character. And don’t even get me started on his character design?? big sparkly eyes? expressive antennae? monster teeth? complimenting colors? he’s adorable.

- mutual obsession. for someone like Dib, who seems almost repulsed by how boring and slow the people around him are, Zim quite literally personifies Dib’s  escapist fantasies, both as an inhuman entity from beyond the stars, and as a person who’s knowledge, charisma and mystery far exceeds that of anyone Dib has met in his entire life. (so basically what i’m saying is that for a shunned, jaded misanthropist, an actual alien is terribly alluring, even if said alien is dangerous, stupid, and possibly insane). not to mention Zim vindicates Dib’s entire life passion, the supernatural! Even when their relationship is totally negative, there is not a single inch of room for Dib to get tired of Zim. as mita explained, they validate each other. for Zim, WHO AGAIN, IS TOTALLY SHUNNED, ISOLATED, AND HATED BY EVERYONE HE KNOWS, Dib is the only person in the universe who gives a single shit about him!! he gives Zim credit as a threat, a capable invader, which if you ask me is the sole thing Zim is after (he’s hellbent on his mission because it would win him the approval of the tallest, all he’s ever wanted is recognition from the people he thinks so highly of). He literally gets depressed when Dib isn’t around to pay attention to him, not even the tallest were enough to motivate him before Dib came back. these two have no one and nothing without each other, and while lifelong nemeses is fine and dandy, i personally prefer friendship, affection and love, cause i’m a softie like that. how could they possibly get there after years of actively trying to kill each other?? well, i think under just the right circumstances it could become a possibility after a long, long time.

- growth. i. love. me. some. good. character growth. especially for characters with trauma/mental illness, bc again, relatable. these boys have issues, and as mita mentioned, their canon stories are actually INCREDIBLY sad! but the happy thought is, they could recover! they could help each other recover, for little reason other than the two are the only source of happiness for each other. now of course this also opens the gate for angst lovers, but at the same time offers potential for comforting, uplifting content of the boys supporting and inspiring each other, maybe even to the point of becoming happy and healthy enough to create the lives they want for themselves (as in appreciating life and doing things that make them actually happy instead of the delusions of grandeur they both sought when they were younger). gimme that positive shit and let the poor beans be happy  щ(ಠ益ಠщ)

- LITTLE THINGS. LITTLE THINGS THAT ONLY COME WITH CHILDHOOD FRIENDS. WITH HUMAN/NONHUMAN. WITH THE SHOW’S WEIRD LOGIC. Zim being the person Dib knows best and vice versa. Zim having an involuntary respect/admiration for Dib because he’s tall. Learning each other’s needs, limits, and communication methods, both emotionally and biologically. Sensitive antennae. Affectionate bickering. Being less insecure bc your partner literally has no idea why you see your flaws as flaws. Laughing at the flaws they do notice because they make no sense. Zim only wanting to eat waffles and chow mein. Dib being forced to overcome his depression lethargy and stay hygienic/keep the apartment clean because Zim has a sharper sense of smell and is afraid of germs. Endless conversation about anything and everything because they’re from literally different worlds, and endless intrigue. TOUCHING. TALKING. DOING EVERYTHING LIKE ITS THE VERY FIRST TIME AND ALWAYS NEEDING THE OTHER TO GUIDE THEM. HOLY HELL THERE IS SO MUCH POSSIBILITY FOR TINY LITTLE MOMENTS THAT MEAN THE WORLD. FUCK. GOT ME FUCKED UP.

so that wraps up the why. fuck man. its just such a good ship. if you read this big ass text post, thank you for indulging me, i hope you enjoyed it! because i enjoy it very much 👀 so stick around if you’d like to for a shit load of IZ and zadr content on this blog, possibly (MAYBE) even from me!! come roll around in alien hell with me why dontcha ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ its a fun time! thanks for reading!!!

-

SO THAT’S MY MANIFESTO Y’ALL, FEEL FREE TO REPLY WITH YOUR OWN REASONS!! I WOULD LOVE FOR THIS POST TO JUST BECOME A BIG GIANT PILE OF LOVE AND YELLING!! GO NUTS! SCREAM ABOUT IT! INFODUMP! DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! I’LL READ EVERY LAST REPLY! Y’ALL DESERVE TO ENJOY YOUR SHIP BC IT’S LITERALLY THE FUCKING BEST!!! LOVE Y’ALL!!!!!!

#in this trying time of shippers being stressed over discourse #i offer a gift<3 because i love you guys #and we should spread the love #i want yall to go OFF #tell me every little fuckin thing about zadr that makes ur heart doki OK #LETS GO 👏👏👏 #invader zim #zadr #text post #my post #long post

[tillman]

Pls infodump about Drian the gay. Hes interesting

ehehhehehehehehe ok yeah ok thank u yes i will. i luv the him............ sadly there isnt like. all that much to go off on since hes . a . minor character in the vulgate ....... and thus only shows up for his small little relevant section and never again BUT. the bits he does show up for....... exceptional.. show stopping............. i love y

he showsup for a bit REALLY early on and helps arthur fight the rebel kings and also saxons apparently which is really sexy of him. like tahts so funny. also around this part its said he comes from the perilous forest (which . 1 . which one theres like 7. and 2 thats SO FUNNY of him... what!!!! the gay castle is in the Perilous Forest..) 

anyways the more important of his few appearances is early on in lancelots whole proving himself as a knight of the round table thing and what not. trahan the gay (drians dad !) comes in injured and is like. hey. caradoc of the dolorous tower kicked the shit out of me PLEASE god someone go kill him. and lancelots like haha ok. since hes lancelot. so on his way to get to the dolorous tower he finds Melian the gay (drians brother.... melian the bi........) who points him in the direction of the tower since he aslo got the shit kicked out of him by caradoc and lancelot just kinda rolls with it. love that hes so chill with the entire gay family. king. 

but so anyways when he gets to the dolorous tower he wanders around as he is want to do and finds drian trapped in a coffin. he drags him out and wanders off to go kill caradoc and drian, so enthralled by this random dude who just saved him from his nap in the dolorous tower, is like lancelot. hey lancelot. come to the gay castle with me. i am throwing u a celebration and thats that! and then he does and lancelot and him r friends. thats it. the end. hes never heard from again to my knowledge. king. 

other fun notes:

arthur gives morholt (that dude that tried to poison tristan and also that dude that fucked gawain in a field that one time) a castle called the gay castle. completely unrelated as trahan is still the lord of HIS gay castle . but like . i guess there r many gay castles in the world huh.

theres fun symbolism to be said about lancelots personal symbolic “pulling the sword from the stone” being him opening his own coffin and then him meeting drian in the same way. im not saying thats pretty homosexual of him but also. it is. whats up with lancelot and having so much thematic symbolism around love and Coffins Specifically (dont answer that i know and it makes me very sad)

theres another drian in the texts, hes a son of pellinore and gawain kills him on a bridge. mallory includes him as . durnor? and kinda removes all the shit about him, but gawain killing him is one of the reasons the blood feud got so bad. 

uhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm im out of drian facts atm that are real and not me thikning about him so much that i go insane. thank u for ur time. im gonna go lay down

#modern adaptions refusing to let lancelot have any of his many boyfriends. i see u. #Anonymous

[somuchbetterthanthat]

If you could hit me with a no. 10 on the prompt list for JonMartin and completely destroy me emotionally, I would be very grateful? :D

10 - not said to me. :). :). :).  (how dare u.). Disclaimer that 1) i don’t know what martin’s poetry looks like; 2) i myself have written a few bad poems before 3) IN FRENCH. so, yeah. Please, please don’t judge me too hard.

It’s not about what I say, by Martin Blackwood. 

I create warmth; carefully measured for your hands,Sweeter than they all expect, even you, to make amends. 

“And… You believe him?” Elias asks.

His tone is mild as ever, which tends to make Jon more agitated even on his best days, and this is definitely not one of those - he’s left Martin down in the Archives to settle in, and he can’t stop thinking of his pale, tired face, or the way his eyes had immediately checked the whole room nervously as soon as he’d thought Jon wasn’t paying attention anymore. 

“Well, yes,” Jon says impatiently. “I can’t imagine why he would lie about that, and we’ve all been made aware of Jane Prentiss months ago -”

“Mmh, he isn’t a bad liar,” Elias says, which - is a very odd and Elias thing to say, Jon supposes. “But alright, I’ll see what I can do, call the police perhaps. If you’ll please tell Martin to come see me -”

“Not today,” Jon says categorically. Elias’ eyebrows raise somehow even higher than before. “He’s exhausted, and terrified.” he justifies, with no idea why his neck warms up. “He needs rest. You can hear his story tomorrow, surely.”

“Of course.” 

Jon nods. “Right. Well. Thank you. On his behalf. For letting him stay -”

“If you don’t mind me saying, Jon, I’m quite surprised of how… ardently you seem to be taking this,” Elias says lightly. “You’ve been very vocal before about your… disapproval of Martin.”

Jon flushes; he can still very well recall the… heated discussion he and Elias had a few months ago, when Elias told him Martin would join them in the Archives. Still; this is not - this is much bigger than any personal feelings, surely Elias can see that -

“I may not like the way Martin works, but I’m not heartless,” he says at last. “He’s - he’s just had a very traumatic experience. I’m not going to begrudge him some kindness just because he’s horrendeous in latin. Besides he’s -” Jon tapes his fingers stiffly on his side. “He’s a… a good man. And if I had been a bit kinder in the first place, perhaps he wouldn’t have been stupid enough to go back there in the first place just to, to prove a point to me.”

And i feel guilty, he doesn’t add; I feel guilty that I’ve been so pleased not to have him around, I feel guilty I didn’t think to check on him properly when he didn’t return my calls, I feel guilty I sent him there in the first place -

Elias seems to understand, like he always does. “Well, that’s a lesson learnt I suppose,” he says. “We’ll see what comes of it soon enough, I’m sure.”

I offer whatever I can, through the dark you take refuge in; I stay here even when you bite, because I don’t need to be seen.

“Tim, one more thing,” Jon says before he can’t stop himself. 

Tim turns around to look at him with tensed shoulders, lips pursed and eyes ready for a fight. It makes every single bit of Jon’s agressive instincts rise up as well, but he tries very hard to keep his voice mild and professional when he says: 

“I know the situation is…” 

“Fucked-up?” Tim says when Jon can’t seem to find the proper word. 

“Right,” Jon sighs. “That. I understand it’s been - hard on you but if you would please refrain for taking in out on Martin -”

“Excuse-me?” Tim exclaims, and closes back the door loudly behind him. “Oh that’s rich, Jon, that’s - are you kidding me right now?”

“You’re mad at me,” Jon retorts stiffly. “Yell at me all you want, but I’ve overheard you and Martin yesterday and -”

“You overheard did you?” Tim bites. “That’s none of your business what I say or not say to Martin -”

“Yes, it is!” Jon snaps. “Weren’t you the one who wanted me to be a proper boss? Well, as your boss, I’m telling you there’s no need to take out your anger on your colleague, especially when, out of all of us, I think Martin deserves it the less -”

Tim scoffs with angry disbelief. “You are such an arshole,” he says. “You’re so - You’re such an hypocrite! You literally spent your days before going off at him for the stupidest reasons and now I’m being called off because I got annoyed at his endless cheerfulness once?” 

“I’m just saying -”

“No, no, I get what you’re saying,” Tim cuts him off. “Bet that’s going to make Martin’s day too, really; oh, hey Martin, of course i’ll take that cup of tea, Jon said I had to, because he doesn’t want us to hurt your feelings. Get this: next time he might even admit that you’re not a murderer! That’s true love right here!”

“I -” Jon tries again, cheeks flushed and stomach twisting unpleasantly. “If you’re going to make a joke out of this -”

Tim stares at him for a second, and then he shakes his head, looking disgusted. 

“God, you’re so - Fine, boss. Be nice to Martin. Added to my to do list of the day. I’ll just go now, or I may punch you, and god forbid I get fired.”

And though you may never hear, surely you must notice,That I fight for you, the small and the big, monsters or police -

“Hey, Jon?” 

“Mmh?”

“I’ve been thinking about your colleague,” says Georgie above his head. 

Jon opens his eyes back to stare at her, baffled: “Why were you thinking about Martin?”

He knows immediately he’s made a mistake, though, because Georgie’s hand goes back to play with his hair and she gives him a cheeky grin, the kind he’s learnt to dread years and years ago. 

“Who says I was talking about Martin?” she asks, and she even has the nerves to waggle her eyebrows at him. He scowls, cheeks flushed.

“Well, if it was Melanie, you would have said her name, for a start. As for Tim and Basira I - well -”

He doesn’t have any excuse; he knows this, and she knows this, and he knows she knows this. Her eyes are sparkling. 

“No,” he says. 

“Oh, come on,” she laughs. “I was testing a theory, and you’ve proven me right.”

“No,” he repeats, more firmly. 

He knows exactly what she’s thinking and it’s - absurd. Utterly, entirely, completely - 

“He sounds sweet, from what you’ve said,” Georgie continues, happily ignoring him. “And like he cares about you, which is important, you’re really terrible at taking care of yourself, Jon.”

“I am not, under any circumstances, having this conversation with you,” Jon tells her.

“Who else are you going to talk to about your feelings, uh?” Georgie asks, and then, grins harder. “Martin?”

“Isn’t there an implicit law, somewhere, that forbids exes to talk about each other’s -” Jon stops right there. He’s made another mistake. God, he’s bad at this. Or perhaps Georgie is very good. There’s no words for what Martin is to him, he supposes. He’d like to think they’re more than coworkers, but he’s unsure friends can really apply when he’s spent the last few months unable to trust him for anything at all, and the last few years before that berrating him for poor work ethics. He groans. 

“You could ask him out,” Georgie suggests, her voice kinder now. “Have dinner with him, see what’s going on here.”

“Right,” says Jon. “And then what? We date until I become a monster? Until he dies horribly because I made another mistake? Or, perhaps, until the end of the world arrives and we don’t know how to stop it?”

“…Jon,” Georgie sighs softly. 

“I - sorry,” Jon mumbles. “I just… I just don’t think dating should be high on my priorities right now.” Georgie opens her mouth again, but he adds, empathically: “Besides, and that is a very important fact, I am not in love with Martin Blackwood. Which means this whole conversation is pointless.”

There’s a blank; The Admiral purrs on Jon’s chest, his claws digging into his sweater rather uncomfortably. Georgie’s eyebrows rise up. Oh, thinks Jon. Third mistake. He’s really, really quite terrible at emotional talks. 

“In love?” 

So you see, dear one, there are many things I could say to you,I have, before; and I will again, that much is true -

“Look, Jon,” says Basira. “I do care about what’s happening with Martin, but out of all of the things to take out from these tapes, I don’t think that finding him is the priority.”

“Fine,” Jon spits; he’s still clutching the last tape recorder in his hand, as if it could somehow make Martin appear right now, in front of him. “Then I’ll just go find him alone.”

“Jon,” says Daisy calmly between them. 

“What?” Jon snaps. “What is it Daisy? What is it you all want me to say? That I’m going to deal with this - this Extinction business right away? I don’t care about a new threat to the world. We have plenty of things ready to destroy the world at any given moment! This whole place is a monument to it! I may very well be on the path to destroy it myself, not that I would know if that’s the case because that’s the information I apparently can’t get by thinking hard! So excuse-me if for once, for once I prioritize -”

“For god’s sake Jon, Martin’s a big boy,” Basira cuts him off, exasperated. “He’s made his choice, he’s very clear about it. He doesn’t need you to throw yourself into danger recklessly again, he needs you to think. Look at all of this! He’s carved you the path for it so if you could just -”

“What did you do, all those months Daisy was trapped in the coffin?” Jon asks abruptly.

Basira looks like he’s just slapped her. “This is not -”

“You searched for her,” Jon continues fierce and angry; his mind pulling at Basira’s thoughts; she stares at him, and when their eyes meet they both feel the gaze of the Eye, staring down at them, heavy and passive. “You searched for her, again and again, you did not give up because there was no body, which meant there was hope. And yes, sometimes, that meant leaving Martin and Melanie at the Institute, unprotected; but you did it, because you loved her.” 

“Stop that,” Basira says, very, very coldly. “Get out of my head, Jon;”

Jon does but, for once, he doesn’t waste his breath apologizing. “I am going to find him,” he says. “Because I love him, and because I refuse to believe it’s too late. Everything else can wait.” 

But I don’t need to tell you that I love you,Because I know you’ll understand it in everything I do. 

“Jon,” says Basira, very quietly. She understood already of course. Jon’s throat is tight. 

“I know,” he says, and that’s ironic, that’s so - he wants to laugh, and he wants to cry. “I know.”

“What?” says Martin, worry and urgency in his voice. “What is it?”

“There’s a way to get out,” Jon tells him, very softly. “Of course there is. I just - need to know it.”

“…Okay?” Martin frowns. His hand is still gripping Jon’s arm, warm and comforting, and Jon feels little tears prickle at the corner of his eyes. “Do you - why do I feel like i’m not going to like it?” he asks. 

“It’ll be fine,” Jon breathes out. He stares at him, drinks him in, pale and freckled and entirely focused on Jon, as he always were; all this time, doing everything for him, as if Jon deserved any of it - “It’s going to be fine, Martin.” 

“You usually say that when it’s not,” Martin says. 

Jon laughs. “Right, I guess I do. Basira -”

“Yeah,” she says. “I’ll handle it.”

“Thank you,” he tells her softly. There’s a beat, and then she awkwardly squeezes his hand. “Good luck,” she tells him, and gets up, rising up her gun.

“Wil one of you just tell me what’s going on?” Martin snaps. 

Jon turns towards him again; carefully, hesitantly, he lets his fingers run over Martin’s cheek. Martin freezes; 

“Martin,” Jon begins. “I -”

I love you, he doesn’t say. What’s the point? Why add to their pain, when there’s already so much of it? I love you, he doesn’t say, and lets his hand fall at his side again, ready to open the door and drown. 

#the magnus archives #THIS IS SO LONG OH MY GOD #sorry for the bad poetry #it IS really really bad but for once let's blame me and not poor martin #tma stories

[tozierpunks]

uhhhh 22 with stenbrough?

22. Two Miserable People Meeting At a Wedding AU

A/N: Meet: verb 1.come into the presence or company of (someone) by chance or arrangement. (ah……….. so…. not meeting for the first time?). Also follow me here, but we’re gonna switch perspectives so normal text is Billiam and italics is Staniel. K, thanks. Love u. Appreciate u.

There were flowers everywhere; apparently freesias were Patty’s favorite. Taking a breath was like stepping into a cloud of Febreeze.

Looking around at the church, he couldn’t help but chuckle. He thought Audra would want an outdoor wedding; either she changed her mind or lost out to the love of her life. What a way to start a marriage.

Bill fixed his tie, clearing his throat as he checked himself out in the bathroom mirror. He wanted to splash his face with water, but knowing himself, he’d mess up his suit. Did it really matter? He wasn’t exactly the main event. His stomach lurched, but he ignored his body. If it failed him, it failed him. Frankly, he didn’t care. He already wanted to die.

Stan clenched his fists. He shouldn’t have come and he knew it. Of course he would see Bill! … And of course Bill would see him. His breath caught when their eyes locked, and for a split second he thought maybe - just maybe - Bill would remember.

But then Bill gave him a curt nod and walked on.

He forgot first. Not Stan.

When Bill saw Stan, a fire was lit inside of him. He desperately wanted to ask if they could leave together, but then saw Patty in her dress. It was beautiful, really. A sharp pain seared through his chest, because he remembered down to the last detail what Stan wanted to wear.

That dress. White and flowing. Shoulderless. A v-cut down the back. Stan had a great back. Bill missed it so much. He missed Stan.

All these years later, he became the cliched bitter novelist. It dated back to college, when he lost the only person who made him happy. Eddie moved first, eventually forgetting him. Then Richie. They were alive, but it was like losing his little brother all over again. If cancer of the body got Georgie, then cancer of the memory got all of his friends.

That’s dementia, Bill, he thought dryly.

He and Stan were the last two in Derry, and their plan was to move far away. Maybe California. Maybe Seattle. But then he was accepted into NYU, and Stan received an offer from CalTech.

He swore. He fucking SWORE. They made a promise to each other and Bill couldn’t keep it. What made Stan think he could handle binding marriage vows? His jaw tightened. Sitting in the back row didn’t make this any easier. His feet were lead; he couldn’t escape the suffocation of such happiness from everyone else. The energy wrapped around his throat like the fucking hand of Thanos and choked him.

And yet, all he could think about were the nights they read their X-Men and Avengers comics, listening to Bill’s shitty pop punk bands and arguing which Marvel universe was more interesting. Those arguments were at least helpful for falling in love. They were fun.

The college arguments weren’t.

He wouldn’t sacrifice his education for anything, and as much as Bill pushed, it was clear he wouldn’t either.

So they promised to keep in touch.

A year of phone calls, letters, mixed CDs or mixed tapes, flowers, presents… None of it mattered in the end.

There were a lot of things Bill regretted. He didn’t think transferring to a writing school in England would be one of them. To celebrate the occasion, he flew out to see Stan, expecting they’d spend the weekend making love and drinking champagne.

Stan recalled how hard he sobbed when Bill told him he’d be going to London. Being across the the country was hard enough, but across the world? He couldn’t handle it. Maybe it was unfair, but Stan told Bill to choose. Him or London. In retrospect, he might’ve made the same choice, but it didn’t hurt any fucking less.

Even if Bill chose wrong, they promised forever. He didn’t forget. Stan did.

Was being here, so close to him, a form of self-torture? He wasn’t the man to cry at weddings, but here he was, ready to break. Sitting in the third row, behind the important family- Hell, that was enough to choke him up. He wasn’t significant here. He wasn’t significant at all without Stan.

The music started and Stan saw Bill look over his shoulder, but he wasn’t looking at Audra in the gown Stan should’ve been wearing. Their eyes met.

Bill wanted to scream.Stan wanted to scream.Audra passed him.Patty took her place beside Stan.

If he could protest the wedding, he would’ve, but what right did he have? Bill invited him as a mere formality. We used to be lovers, here’s your consolation prize.

Stan invited him out of pettiness. This outdoor wedding, Patty in her gorgeous gown, Stan’s smiling and accepting relatives… It was all to choke Bill up and remind him that he did this first. The ring on Bill’s finger burned.

“Do you, Bill Denbrough, take Audra Phillips as your lawfully wedded wife-”Stan could’ve said “I object” early. He could’ve gone up to Bill before this shit show started. He didn’t want to marry her and Stan knew it. Why was he doing this to them?

“With this ring, you are made holy to me, for I love you as my soul. You are now my wife,” Stan said, loud and clear. Bill wanted to vomit.

Slamming down shots at the reception didn’t make this any easier to grasp. For the life of him, he didn’t know why he stayed. Maybe he hoped Bill would pull everything out at the last second and take him away to California.

Bill sat alone at the reception; Audra left to chat with the bridesmaids. He got up to get a drink, paralyzed when he bumped right into Stan.

Oh God, he’s coming over, Oh God, Stan panicked in his thoughts, keeping a straight face when Bill motioned to the bartender for a drink.

“Hey! I’m glad you could make it!” Stan said, the hollow words ripping through Bill like bullets.

“I’m glad you came, Stan. It means a lot to me,” Bill said softly. Everything he said was soft, but only because of his stutter. Did it still plague him? What hurt the most was how Stan didn’t know anymore. Bill was a stranger. He was at a strangers’ wedding.

“Listen, try the lamb, it’s delicious. Pat’s mom made it!” Stan’s enthusiasm over his new wife was the final blow. Bill managed a tightened smile and nodded. Someone called Stan away, and he gave Bill’s shoulder a squeeze. When he pulled his hand away, Bill felt their last ties pulling tight and severing.

“You look happy,” Bill commented, and that truly was the final nail in Stan’s coffin. It was dismissive. It was a “you look happy, so you don’t need me, and I’m free.” All he could do was smile and nod, letting Bill walk away.

He wanted to badly to say “I love you.”More than anything he wanted to say, “Come back, Bill.”

#stenbrough #baby's first! #I imagine this wasn't the hot take the prompt meant but I got inspired #I HOPE IT MAKES SENSE #I HOPE Y'ALL LIKE IT #I AT LEAST STUCK WITH THE WORD ''MISERABLE'' #Anonymous #truly tho I tried my best #I don't usually write anything that doesn't have Richie or Eddie as at least one half of the pair #but I wanna be versatile so I'm trying!!!! I've got like three more shots to get Stenbrough down tho so bear with me

[4ourleafclover]

Processing

{🍀} Clover was pacing back and forth in her room, unable to sit still. She’d been pacing for a good hour now, but nothing of importance was coming to her mind.

“Dammit… what should I do?”

She needed someone to talk to about Phi, and about herself- but who was there to trust? Oh, she had acquaintances, but she wasn’t really how many people she could consider that close- and there wasn’t anyone she could think of that she knew she’d be able to trust with these secrets.

Well, there was one, but Junpei wasn’t an option… or wait, was he?

Clover picked up her phone and stared at the screen for a while, before finally forcing herself to select him as a contact and start messaging.

TO: Junpei

[SENT: 11:23]: hey junpei we need to talk where r u [SENT: 11:54]: junpei pls rspond this is important [SENT: 12:36]: its abt phi just pls rspond already

She was checking her phone, and she could see the little ‘read’ checkmarks beside every message. They both knew he was ignoring her- but that last one seemed to finally get his attention.

[…]

The little dots stayed on screen for at least a minute, as she presumed Junpei was trying to figure out what to say.

[INCOMING: 12:41] …meet me at the corner pub in sector 006 in a half hour.

[SENT: 12:42]: junpei im in 4 itll prolly take me n hour just to get ther

[INCOMING: 12:43] whatever, just show up when you get there.

The dismissive tone didn’t bother her in the least- she was honestly just glad he’d responded at all. She quickly threw all her important stuff into her bag and ran out the door, moving as quickly as possible so she could catch the soonest train. Overall it took about an hour and twenty minutes before she finally arrived at the right place, but when she did, she saw him- Junpei was actually there.

“…do you mind if we don’t sit at the bar, Junpei? This is… kinda personal.”

He only shrugged and picked up his drinks, moving to an open booth. Once they’d taken a seat, he pushed one of the glasses he’d grabbed over to her- before Clover could even say anything, he spoke up.

“It’s non-alcoholic, don’t worry. I just figured you’d like this fruity shit.”

“O-oh… right, thanks.”

It was still hard to understand that the Junpei here in front of here wasn’t the same Junpei she remembered, but she had to face that fact. Besides, even if his memories were different, he was still Junpei- he was still the person that she trusted, the one who’d saved her life.

“So? I’m guessing you didn’t just text me out of the blue because you wanted to drink, so what is it?”

“W-well, it’s just… I wanted someone to talk to, and you’re the only person I think I can trust with this.”

“You couldn’t just talk to Phi? You did say this was about her.”

“No!” It was clear that he hadn’t expected the force behind her words, because his eyes widened a little bit in shock. Not much, but just enough that Clover saw it. “I-I mean… it’s just that…”

Clover put her head in her hands, and leant forwards over the table. This was all a big mess, wasn’t it?

“I… I’m really scared. I’m scared because I love her, and I know that I love her… but she doesn’t love me back. And I know that she’s trying to make me feel better, even if it hurts her in the end, and just… I don’t know if what I’m doing is right. I have no idea anymore.”

“Wow… sounds like you’re in a real mess.”

“Junpei-“

“I’m kidding, sheesh.” He sighed and looked to the side, but Clover saw the sadness in them. It was clear as day. “So, basically… you want to know if you should push her away for her own sake, and hurt yourself in the process; or if you should let yourself get close, but risk damaging your relationship beyond repair when she realizes she can’t go through with this anymore.”

“That’s the simplest way of putting it, yeah…”

“…fuck, man, I don’t know.” There was something about the way he said it- it wasn’t patronizing or cruel, it was just an earnest expression of how he felt. “I mean, I can’t just tell you to go break your own heart, but I’m not gonna let you mess around with Phi either.”

She sighed. Some help he was being… no, that was unfair of her. She’d spent the entire night trying to figure out what to do, so how could Junpei just hear the problem once, then know? She was probably asking far too much…

“Can’t you at least give me some idea of what to do? I can’t.. I don’t know if I can trust my own judgement anymore.”

“And you think I’ve got better judgement? It’s hardly two o’clock and I’ve already finished my first beer.”

“That’s…”

“Look, Clover. You’re not an idiot. You were the first one to figure out that Hongou was a killer, and you were the first one to open the safe. If it wasn’t for you, I never would’ve realized for myself- in my timeline, or in yours. Just have a bit of faith in yourself.”

“J-Junpei…”

He was scratching the back of his head awkwardly, and his expression made it look like he wanted to be anywhere but here at the moment. For Clover, though, it was important. She knew about Junpei’s timeline, to a small degree- but all she’d really known was that she’d been killed by Hongou, and that there had been a good deal of death afterwards as well.

Had it really been her to thank for getting everyone out, though? No, Junpei was probably just reaching, trying to console her- before she could even say anything, he’d spoken up to cut her off.

“You had a note in your hand. ‘Truth had gone, truth had gone, and truth had gone. Ah, now truth is asleep in the darkness of the sinister hand.’. You were the first one to put it together- the sinister hand was the left hand, ‘truth’ meant for something to be ‘right’, and ‘gone’ meant that someone had ‘left’. When you input ‘right-left-right-left-right-left’ into the bracelet, it showed a sequence of numbers- those were what opened the safe, and those were what got Light out of the coffin. If you hadn’t opened the safe first, if you hadn’t held onto that note, then I never would’ve been able to figure it out. I… I let you die, but still… if it wasn’t for you, I would’ve died too. So thanks.”

There was the faintest hint of an embarrassed blush on Junpei’s face, but Clover couldn’t see it- she’d started to tear up while Junpei was talking, sniffling and wiping her eyes in an effort to keep from crying too hard.

“Sh-shit, uh… are you ok? Fuck, I didn’t mean to make you cry-“

“Thanks, Junpei.”

“Huh?”

When Clover raised her head, there was a bright smile on her face- tears continued to fall, but she started to chuckle a bit in spite of herself.

“You’re really not that different at all, you know that? The other Junpei… he helped me too. You’re a good person, Junpei.”

“W-well, um… that’s just a matter of perspective.”

Seeing him fumble so desperately to say that he wasn’t was both cute and sad- but Clover wasn’t going to dwell.

“Well, my perspective is that you’re really trying- someone who tries that hard can’t possibly be a bad person, right?”

It was Clover who was speaking, but her words made her realize something. Phi… she’d been really trying for her. Even if it wasn’t necessarily healthy, she’d still been trying- she’d wanted to help Clover, and that had to count for something. She still didn’t think she could outright accept her offer; but to ignore what she’d been trying to do felt like she was ignoring the effort Phi had been making. She had difficulty trusting, she’d had the worst possible outcome for her last relationship- but she’d still been willing to reach out for Clover.

That meant something, right?

“Junpei… I think I have an idea. I’m not sure if it’s a good one, but it’s still an idea.”

“Oh yeah? What is it, then?”

“What, you think I’m gonna spill everything, just because I asked you for help?”

He gave her a blank stare for a moment, and then started chucking a bit himself.

“I guess not, huh? You girls, always with your secrets.”

“A mystery is what makes a woman a woman, after all!”

“Not sure if woman is the word I’d use for you… aren’t you still, like, 17 or something?”

“Hey, I’m 19, thank you very much.”

“Wh-what? Are you serious?”

“Yep.”

“Jeez…”

The mood between them had been thoroughly lightened, and Clover’s tears had finally stopped again. It was so weird, she hadn’t joked around with Junpei since the nonary game- and even if he wasn’t the same Junpei, he really did act the same. Memories would change a lot, but they couldn’t change everything.

The two of them stayed there until Clover finished up her drink, not really talking much and instead just enjoying each other’s company. Junpei was visibly uncomfortable whenever she got too close, so she made sure to give him his personal space bubble- she was just glad he was talking to her. It was one thing to be alone, to not know anyone from before- but in many ways, it was a lot worse to show up and find out that one of your friends couldn’t stand being around you.

She finished up and pulled out her phone for a second to check something, then smiled and turned the screen to Junpei, showing the page for a particular establishment she was fond of.

“We should meet up and do karaoke, sometime. We can bring Phi too- it’d be a blast!”

“Oh, uh… I can’t sing.”

“Junpei, if you think that karaoke is a matter of your ability to sing, then you are grossly mistaken. It’s a matter of getting drunk with your friends and singing to cheesy pop songs!”

“Are any of your friends even legal?”

“You’d think that a detective would understand the workings of a fake ID.”

“Touché.”

“So, whaddya say?”

“I.. uh… I’ll think about it.”

In the end, that was all Clover could really ask for, so she was happy with that answer. She said a quick goodbye and started to head for home- it would be a pretty long train ride, considering the irritating way the trains were run, but she’d deal. It would give her more time to think of just how she wanted to word things, after all.

This time, she’d plan better, she’d prepare (hell, she’d write it down on cards if she really needed to)- and then this time, things would go a bit better. She was certain that there could be a happy ending for both her and Phi, it might just take a bit of work to get it figured out.

Well, if she’d figured out that safe, then who’s to say she couldn’t figure this out? Interpersonal relationships were nothing compared to two death games, and she’d done pretty good at helping with puzzles- she could do this!

Clover spent the entirety of the train ride back home just contentedly planning, trying to think of what to say. She could do this.

For the both of them, she could do this.

#Memories from the Field [DRABBLE] #Bracelet No. 4 [IC] #long post #999 spoilers #ninthextrication #//tags because relevant #//even if it's my own blog lol