#that obviously didn't happen

[nightravens-therapycircle]

Welcome to Wonderland - Finale Preview

Not So Bad After All

“You’re telling me that you actually went to the Dwarfs’ Mine in search of a replacement?”

“WHAT?!”

Whether or not he had meant to, Crowley was waiting for Ace, Deuce, Emery and Grim when they arrived back at the Mirror Chamber. The headmaster inspected the stone that they had gotten between his clawed fingers, almost astounded.

“I didn’t really think…” Crowley continued. “I never expected that you’d actually go. And I definitely didn’t expect you to come back with a crystal in hand.” He sighed, tucking the crystal away inside of pocket. “And here I spent all evening preparing expulsion paperwork…”

Grim let out a cry of frustration while the rest stared at the headmaster. “Are you serious?!” cried out the cat. “While we were fightin’ some crazy monster, you were gettin’ ready to expel us?!”

“Not you per se,” Crowley gestured between Ace and Deuce with his cane, “more so those two.” Hold on, only Ace and Deuce? Emery stood there. Was she getting worked up over nothing?! “Wait, monster?”

“Yeah,” said Ace, giving Emery’s shoulder a shove to snap her out of her stupor. “There was this big, nasty monster in the mines that nearly killed us!”

“I see…” Crowley’s eyes narrowed from behind his mask. “Could you explain in a bit more detail?” The kids exchanged a look with each other as Crowley swiftly left the hall. They followed after him, relaying their tale to the headmaster. How they came across the creature, fled, fought it and then had to fight it again. By the time they were done, they had arrived in what Emery assumed was Crowley’s office -- a large room with a desk and portraits of the Great Seven floating in the air.

“So, there was a mysterious monster living in the mines,” said Crowley once their story came to an end. “And the four of you worked together to destroy it, and then brought the crystal back to me?”

“That’s the basics of it, yeah,” said Emery.

“Well,” started Ace. “I wouldn’t say that we exactly ‘worked together’.”

“It was more like our goals were aligned…” Deuce added. Emery huffed. Were all boys like this, or was it just these two? Before she could ask that question, Crowley had startled the entire group by bursting into tears out of nowhere. What was this man…?!

“In all my years as headmaster…” he cried, “the day has finally come where the students of Night Raven College have joined hands to defeat a common foe!” That was what got him so worked up? Sure, from what Emery could tell so far a few of the students at Night Raven weren’t the most… cooperative, but was it so bad that he had to break into tears over it? Ace and Deuce, meanwhile, were having a minor crisis of their own.

“There was no hand holding!” said Deuce.

“There was definitely nothing like that!” Ace added simultaneously. Emery bit the tip of her tongue to keep herself from snickering. The fact that they were both so adamantly denying something so small and simple was amusing.

Crowley sniffed, seeming to finally have calmed down now. “I am moved beyond words. This incident only proves that my hopes were justified,” he said. Emery raised a brow. What hopes? “Without a doubt, you have quite the talent as a beast tamer.”

“A beast tamer?” Emery repeated. Where did Crowley even get that from their story? If anything, she rallied the boys together like she was some kind of boy tamer instead. Crowley nodded and continued.

“My students are all budding mages that have all been selected by the Dark Mirror for their exceptional talent and potential. But due to their exceptional talent, they become prideful, self-centered and egotistical. Most are self-reliant and never even consider cooperating with others.” Yeah… Looking over at Ace in particular, it wasn’t hard to believe that was true.

“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing,” said Grim.

Emery threw him a look. “Grim.”

“What?!”

Crowley cleared his throat, catching their attention and getting the conversation back on track. “But, for Emery who can use no magic… in spite of that — or perhaps because of that — you were able to convince those who can use magic to work together to achieve a common goal. Such a mediocre, run-of-the-mill human like you may be exactly what the school needs.”

“He’s not saying anything nice, is he?” Ace remarked under his breath. Emery shook her head. It definitely didn’t sound like it. Where was Crowley even going with this?

“Emery… I’m convinced that people like you are necessary for this school’s future. Perhaps it wasn’t an accident that you were brought here after all.” Maybe that was true. But if that was true, then why didn’t she have her memory? It didn’t make sense. “Trappola, Spade! I’m revoking your pending expulsions. Furthermore, Emery… I’m granting you the full qualifications needed to attend Night Raven College!”

The finale will be up on Ao3 on June 26th!

#meant to get this up earlier #that obviously didn't happen #twisted wonderland #the prefect's previews #fic: welcome to wonderland #twilight's emissary #twst mc #mc: emery hargreaves #ace trappola #deuce spade #twst grim #dire crowley

[salamispots]

dream from several days ago

#dream diary #artists on tumblr #flotsam diaries #sequential #...I said I was gonna sleep but that obviously didn't happen HAHA #anyways really happy that I was able to get the colors/vibes I wanted down fjhkgj :'D #a lot of nitpicking and adjusting hahah #also kororon/eve was on blast for the majority of drawing this hghhjf #alright good night/morning/something yall #edit: was thinking more and the feeling I wanted to get across I guess is like when someone voluntarily #reaches out to touch me/casually/platonically and it's like a 'you're touching me of your own free will??? o H' #because when I was growing up had a parent who wasn't physically affectionate/would kinda brush me off #and that uhhhh kinda internalized as I'm gross and therefore shouldn't touch other people #(lmao took covid lockdown and very good friends to basically destroy that feeling yay) #anYWAYS had feelings but didn't quite know how to verbalize it hahah

[neko89]

Ok I just saw a comment on tiktok and I need to... vent? Rant?

I mean is fine if you don't ship wolfstar, i get some ppl don't see them in a romantic way and that's totally valid but saying that you don't see how them can be together romantically but that you do see that with Sirius and Marlene.... I don't want to be rude but.... WHERE?! I really don't get the Balckinon at all bc in canon Marlene is mentioned ONCE OR TWICE and in fanon the most popular hc is that she's a lesbian (this is canon, fight me)... so yeah I'm fucking confused

#also and I'm sorry I really don't get how ppl don't see wolfstar #sorry not sorry #i've been here for 20 years don't come at me #personal rant #b*ackinon confuse me a lot #in latam there was a time where ppl thought they happened in the books #that obviously didn't happen #but is so weird 🤣 #harry potter #personal

[ghostlyheart]

season 1 poster: this is a lighthearted pirate comedy :)

season 2 poster: death is inevitable and btw love is a lie

#the contrast is taking me OUT #if you didn't watch this show can you IMAGINE trying to figure out what happens between seasons to cause such a dramatic shift in tone lol #i mean we know the love is real obviously. it's just the vibes #ofmd spoilers

[introspectivememories]

best ending: they talk it out after lewis wins his 8th wdc and we end up with brocedes in each other's lives again. lewis shows up on nico's yt channel. nico is on lewis' insta. vivian dogwalks both of them for letting the divorce last that long. i join the convent because this is clearly a miracle from god and reblog gifsets of brocedes interacting from the chapel. rinse, repeat.

ending we're most likely gonna get: whatever the hell we have now. nico talks about lewis. lewis will say karting is the best time of his career. for two seconds out of the year, lewis will say nico's name. i will sob, rinse, repeat.

worst ending: they shut the fuck up about each other forever. they process the divorce and move on with their lives without each other. i will go on tumblr and reblog angsty web weaves about their relationship and what could've been. i take psychic damage. rinse. repeat.

#inshallah we get the best ending #but we will most likely get the middle one #obviously them processing the divorce is best for each other and like it's none of our business but as a bystander to their fallout #i think i deserve emotional compensation in teh form of knowing exactly what they are to each other #my family is sick of me wailing about them #if you'd've told me last year (casual f1 watcher/knew bits of the lore but didn't really care that much) that i would one day be sobbing #over a rivalry that happened when i was in elementary/middle school i woulda laughed soo fuckin hard #anyway vivian ik you're richer than god and you probably don't need it but i hope you're getting paid 8 figures for putting up w brocedes #f1 #lewis hamilton #nico rosberg #brocedes

[stranger-awakening]

One Piece Episode 102 / Episode 377

"I might not have the same bounty on my head as Luffy at the moment, but I swear to you that I'm destined to become the greatest swordsman the world has ever known. Surely that must be worth something."

#one piece #zolu #i've been thinking a lot about how zoro's dream and luffy's are intertwined in his head and have been for a long time #like he's going to be the world's greatest swordsman For the king of the pirates and those two things will happen relatively simultaneously #and how he absolutely thought he was going to die in thriller bark for realsies but he'd rather that than the alternative #he'd rather give up his own dream Permanently if it meant luffy didn't have to lose his #that alabasta conversation lives in my head rent free btw that was so gay of him #anyways please ignore where you can see that i painfully tried to spot heal all the netflix stuff out of the screenshots lmao #i had to chop up the thriller bark conversation a little to make it fit in my four panel format obviously its longer than this #oh and quotes taken from the dub specifically which i know varies just slightly from the manga and probably the sub too #a:one piece #ship:zoro x luffy #mine

[fleshadept]

the love story being so central to our flag means death really is mindblowing. i haven’t stopped thinking about it for months. it is, to its core, a romance. that was the point. the queer romance wasn’t written in in the second or third season because the fandom picked up on the homoeroticism and made a ship popular. it wasn’t added in because the fans demanded it or because the actors pushed for it later on it wasn’t forced into slowburn by a network it was there the whole time.

when stede showed ed his secret closet that was on purpose an allegory, when they shared the marmalade bread that was romantic intentionally, when they rowed away from the burning party boat and ed was looking at stede that was him FALLING IN LOVE . that's how it was WRITTEN. ed really actually leaned in and almost kissed stede in the moonlight scene. and then. they actually kissed! like i know this is months old news now but i can’t get over how fucking different this feels to other queer romances i’ve seen. it is the core and central plot of the show and it’s beautiful. it’s funny it’s cute it’s heartwarming it’s GOOD. they did it.

#i cannot emphasize how good it feels to have a queer story #at all first of all #but also a queer romance that didn't require the writers/network to be held at gunpoint for several seasons before allowing it to happen #comparing it to hannibal is interesting because hannibal was very much trying to be an openly queer story it was just airing on NBC #from 2013-2015 #so they couldn't #but even that wasn't planned until later on like it wasn't MEANT to be queer from the beginning #i have said before this show healed a part of my soul #sorry guys i'm emo today! #cricket chirps #just like. i knew they kissed when i STARTED the show and even then i refused to look at the obviously romantic scenes as romantic!!! #because so many fucking shows play it off as a joke or use it as queerbait or WHATEVER #ofmd #our flag means death #5k

[everysongineverykey]

genuinely killing undyne in a neutral run and then walking through hotland later and seeing alphys' posts go "just realized i didn't watch undyne fight the human... well i know she's unbeatable i'll ask her about it later v . v" completely unaware of what's happened is one of the most unpleasant and harrowing experiences in undertale and i am not kidding even a little bit

#undertale #she doesn't fucking know. #that's part of why undyne's no mercy death is in a way less heartbreaking than her neutral death #partly because in neutral she didn't expect this. she had no clue you would be powerful enough- experienced enough- to defeat her #and she dies terrified of what you'll do to her loved ones #while in no mercy she gave it all she had and she dies knowing alphys has a plan to evacuate everyone if she loses #AND alphys at least knows. like. watching your best friend and the one you love die horribly in real time #while you're powerless to help obviously isn't fun. #but is it worse than having no idea she died until after you've unknowingly befriended her murderer #and helped them in every part of their quest? #is it worse than only finding out what's happened after they've gone and you're truly stuck there with her gone and them untouchable? #despite everything. undertale still makes me insane.

[dominicsorel]

You ever think about how the "keep Riku safe" memory almost wakes Sora up but then Ansem SOD showing up to imply Sora's failure on doing that in KH1 is what plunges him back into sleep?

#SICK AND TWISTED!!!!! #didi speaks #text #soriku #this is why i loved corona sm bc it's like his second chance #obviously he can't be there the whole time as eugene needs to be there as the main character and rapunzel's love interest #but sora actually gets to adventure with rapunzel and they have a lot of fun together #and i do think it's important to note that they basically say what was going to happen was always going to happen #because even with that fun and happiness ultimately rapunzel is manipulated and is taken hostage #of course that doesn't mean the former didn't matter #happy memories are a form of light not just a happy present

[ride-a-dromedary]

You're not a doppelganger, are you? Trying to study me, learn all my secrets so you can take my place?

#Baldur's Gate 3 #bg3edit #bg3 spoilers #Halsin #otheredits #blood tw #what would even be the tw tag for this? implied child endangerment? (that didn't happen)? #imprisonment tw #doppelganger tw #my stuff #hey you wanna see something that makes me really sad - there you go - yes i spent several hours on this what of it #hey fanficcers - I need someone to write a halsin centric thing with the line 'I do not deserve to see the sun again' crossing his mind #whether that be from his time with the drow or after the shadow curse - please i need #orin's imitations of the companions she kidnaps are always slightly off (obviously) but the gal uses the *exact right pressure points* #where it's like...it almost feels as if we get a peek into the reality of their thoughts #is it SUPPOSED to come off that way? no clue - but that's how i read it #that bit about the shadow curse applies in my mind because as is based in implication #halsin had to leave the wounded behind while he rescued survivors - you don't think those screams echo in his head #every single night? #and halsin not thinking he deserves seeing the sun? because of all the godforsaken things *he* was the one left from that tragedy? #yeah #also what in the dragon age origins is the lighting of this scene #was gonna make another gifset but this took me four hours lol

[anghraine]

I got a comment that was like ... people are only mad about film Faramir because he doesn't act exactly the way they personally imagined him, and tbh I'm torn between being annoyed at how deeply disingenuous that argument is and slightly impressed at the sheer audacity of pinning the Faramir Controversy on difference from random people's headcanons rather than the book itself.

...then I got to thinking about how the whole time-consuming and wildly out of character handling of the temptation of the Ring is one thing, and justifiably gets a lot of attention, but Faramir allowing his soldiers to beat Gollum for information is quite comparable in my mind. They're his men! Gollum is an unarmed prisoner! I guess it's meant to show the exigencies of war or something and I'm just like ... hahaha no.

In a way it reminds me of film Aragorn just straight up killing the Mouth of Sauron in a way that seems meant to show their desperation in a badass cathartic way, and meanwhile, I'm thinking ... oh, our heroes murder ambassadors now. I feel like it's the same underlying kind of rationale, and quite far from not matching people's headcanons.

#faramir ordering his men to handle gollum gently and aragorn not actually killing sauron's (human) envoy are not people's headcanons #they're things that objectively happened (or didn't happen) in the source material being adapted #like the argument about how significant the divergences are is one you can have (obviously i find them very significant) #the argument about whether the comparisons should be made at all is one you can have (obviously i think comparisons are fine) #but 'people are just mad about not seeing their headcanons on screen'? nah. points for effort though. #anghraine rants #legendarium fanwank #legendarium blogging #pj critical #jewel of the seashore #húrinionath #vagueblogging intensifies

[danmeichael]

"shen qingqiu is a liar who is lying about his feelings so we can't ACTUALLY tell how he feels about anything"

so you admit that you can tell he is lying and by extension you can actually discern what his true feelings on the matter are and that he's just unwilling to admit to them.

#svsss #shen qingqiu #i read fantl of a manhwa once where the translator changed a character saying “I hate that guy” to something to the effect of like #“I really like that guy but i don't know what to do with my feelings” #which was you know. just stating the intended subtext laid out very clearly by the story #however the translator said they thought it would be “confusing” and they didn't know why the author wrote that when it was untrue. #and i don't..... get it #like part of the appeal of subtext is letting your readers feel the excitement of being in on a secret #knowing something that even the characters don't know and feeling pleased with yourself #and adding a layer of frustration because you know what's REALLY happening and this idiot DOESN'T and keeps making decisions #that are logical when you examine their worldview of the situation!!! #but OBVIOUSLY DISASTROUS when you know what's actually going on. #and that's on purpose!!! you're supposed to be frustrated and feel your smugness turning into dawning horror #because you are omniscient but have absolutely fuckall power to do anything with that knowledge #and you have to watch blorbo ruin their fucking life. #more people need to have faith in their ability to interpret subtext #and more people need to have faith in the author's ability to write it intentionally

[101-zigzagoons]

oh THAT'S why ivy wasn't surprised to see lucy alive- she just assumed lucy had finally given in and let ankarna resurrect her, and that she was fully on their side again

#also explains why kipperlilly is so calm about merking her own party members. I thought it was just because she sucks. #dimension 20 #fantasy high junior year #fhjy spoilers #so it seems like what happened was maybe #kipperlilly pushed for the group to get a spring break assignment that was way above their skill level #bc she wanted a 'challenge' #and they were wildly underprepared for actual combat bc they'd only been fighting rats or w/e #so some of them went down #I don't think it was a TPK bc lucy wouldn't have come back but it was probably enough of them #that she didn't have the resources to resurrect them herself #so they let ankarna bring them back instead #definitely kipperlilly probably ruben and oisin potentially jace(?) #if any of the others survived they could have been pressured into it later but eventually #the rest of the party is serving the rage god and lucy is the last holdout #so they kill her thinking it'll force her hand but it doesn't work #I also think it would explain why kipperlilly was so confident the bad kids would fail the last stand #if HER party nearly got wiped out being overwhelmed by monsters and they were obviously way more capable (/s) #and it would really twist the knife for them to not only survive but completely ace the exam #anyway many thoughts head full etc etc

[leotanaka]

JUGHEAD REALLY GOT CHERYL TO TAKE A PHOTO OF HIM POSING WITH A BOMB AND THEN HAD THAT PICTURE USED ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE NEWSPAPER OMG!

#jughead jones #riverdale #riverdale spoilers #i need to know if they both did this and who's idea it was if they did and #if it was jughead who wanted this image how on earth did he convince cheryl to take that picture lol #also jughead literally said that the fbi & army took credit but obviously they didn't if they used that image to tell everyone what happene #he has always been an unreliable narrator...

[thetarttfuldickhead]

”I talked to Southgate yesterday.”

The sun is not yet up; Jamie is dutifully stretching his legs in the cold yellow of a streetlight when Roy suddenly speaks. It’s the first thing he’s said all morning, except for gruff commands of run and ten more and fucking higher, Tartt. 

“Yeah?” Switching legs to work on his other calf, Jamie tries for a casual tone, fails, and doesn’t much care. “What about?” 

Roy gives him a look: the fuck do you think? There’s no heat in it, though. Rarely is these days, and that thought is a glowing ember in Jamie’s chest, equal parts joy and amazement.  

For a moment, Roy doesn’t say anything else. Jamie completes his stretches and straightens. Waits, with heart hammering hard, hard beneath his hoodie. 

“He got in touch two years ago,” Roy finally offers, seemingly adressing the streetlight. “Before the Euros. Asked about you, what sort of player you were.” He glances at Jamie then, face carefully blank. “I told him the truth.” 

That… hurts, unexpectedly. Not because Jamie is surprised, really, or because it is unfair, because he isn’t and it’s not, but still. It stings, though not as bad as it had back then, and for different reasons. 

He wants to make a joke, say something glib to chase the taste of resigned dismay and shame away: he opens his mouth; closes it again. Looks away from Roy and is grateful that the other man seems content to leave it at that rather than going into the details of just what he’d told Southgate. Fair or not, Jamie thinks he can do without hearing it. He can imagine it well enough. 

Roy is studying him, like he’s expecting Jamie to protest or complain. It feels a little bit like a test, maybe. Jamie remains quiet. Fiddles with his sleeves for something to do with his hands as the silence grows longer and the morning colder around him.   

And perhaps it is a test after all, because after a moment Roy nods slowly before starting to talk again. “Anyway, yesterday I called him up to let him know that those things I said two years ago weren’t true anymore, and that I didn’t want any of that to be held against you now.” 

Jamie’s eyes snap to Roy’s face and he opens his mouth to speak, but Roy holds his hand up, forestalling him. “Now, I have no idea what’s going to happen so I don’t want you getting your hopes up, but I’m telling you this because if he calls I want you to be prepared, because he’ll be asking about that stupid shit you pulled, what the fuck you thought you were doing, and I need you to be on your best fucking behaviour, okay? Don’t grovel, but none of that fucking cocky bravado or defensive bullshit either. You were a prick, you understand that now, and you’ve worked fucking hard at being better. Got it?” 

Jamie nods, quickly, eagerly, because yeah, yeah, he can do that. Would probably be up for a bit of grovelling too, if it increased his chances of being called up. Fuck, he’ll say whatever he has to say, spill his whole fucking heart if need be to prove that he can be the best fucking— 

Suddenly, he frowns. Roy notices and raises his eyebrows. “What?”

“Should I… “ Jamie pauses, uncertain. “Should I tell him, you know, about me dad? I mean, if he asks why I left City to do a TV show, what do I say?” 

Roy considers that for a bit. It occurs to Jamie that Roy probably doesn’t actually know why Jamie ran out on City the way he did; Jamie certainly never told him, and he doubts Ted did either. But he can probably guess the rough shape of it anyway.

“Gareth’s a good man,” Roy offers at long last. “You want to tell him the truth, you tell him the truth, he won’t say a word. Don’t try to use it as an excuse though.” 

“I won’t,” Jamie says with a small scowl and a flash of annoyance, because when has he ever? 

Maybe Roy realizes as much, because his face softens into something almost apologetic. “I’m just saying, because I don’t want any of that old stuff getting in the way of you being called up now.“ He pauses, like he’s hesitating over whether to keep on talking or not. Settles for keep on talking, apparently, because he adds, without looking at Jamie, “You deserve it.”

Three words, and enough for the ember in his chest to roar into open flame. Jamie can feel the heat of it reach his face; gentle warmth in the February chill. “Thanks, Coach.”

--- 

The call comes two days later. Taking it has Jamie running late for training and when he finally rushes into the dressing room Roy lays into him with enough venom to make the other players carefully back away from them. Still, Jamie can’t do a thing to quell the grin on his face.

“What the fuck are you smiling at?” Roy snaps. 

“Southgate called.” He’s a little surprised to hear how dazed he sounds. Feels like he could fucking fly, but the words come out almost hushed. 

Roy immediately stills. “And?”

He should savour it, perhaps, the triumph of this moment. Take a second to marvel at the sight of Roy – Roy fucking Kent – holding his breath as he waits for an answer, but he can’t, he can’t, it’s too big, to happy, too fucking good, and he can’t hold it in. “He’s calling me up.”

#was trying to rewrite my old ficlet locker room conversation II to better fit with what we got in canon #that didn't work and this happened instead #apparently i’m stupidly obsessed with how this whole thing went down #and what part roy played in both then and now #i want ALL THE VERSIONS #what little i know of this process i know from #The (in)Complete Guide to Britpicking and Finer Football Details #by scoatneyhall and belmottetower #whatever i mucked up i mucked up on my own obviously #jamie tartt #roy kent #pre 3x10 #roy & jamie #ficlet #my stuff

[front-facing-pokemon]

#absol #they look happier than umbreon which is strange to me. umbreon being all sad and angry while absol #known widely as The Edgy pokémon‚ is like. smiling a little bit. they're vibing they're totally fine #they're glad they got to be in rescue team #you go girl. go off‚ absol. even in rescue team they didn't feel like they had a Super cohesive tie to the story besides Being There and #helping and whatever but maybe that's just rescue team being my least favorite pmd game. but maybe that's part of *why* #if i'm right. i might not be right. maybe i just didn't pay enough fuckin attention in rescue team. there's *two of them*. someone out there #must like them enough for there to be a remake. and i know the general pmd community considers rescue team better than the 3ds games bc they #'re all nostalgia-driven like all pokémon fans and think that the older games are OBVIOUSly better even though the 3ds titles are #total masterpieces just like the rest of pmd. i'm not gonna complain abt this here bc i think the general pmd fanbase on tumblr are like #generally pretty nice and appreciate the 3ds games. y'all are nice here. elsewhere it gets scary. luckily everywhere else is crashing and #burning before our eyes. score. although apparently tumblr is also trying to given the whole “collapse reblogs” thing they're doing?? #big yikes. hope that doesn't happen. anyway