#he just didn't want to be suffering anymore and jon pulled him out

[phinnking]

Was thinking about how eye-pocalypse avatars were dealt with after the fact (and how all that is described in tmagp) and it got me thinking about unwilling avatars, namely Jordan Kennedy (the exterminator guy trapped in ant hell that jon ..... "saves"). Assuming that we get to hear more about the post-200 archives universe (which i think we will considering there are some things that were left out in Georgie/Melanie's first description of it to Sam that would be very pertinent to what's happening now), it would be really interesting to either hear about/hear directly from Jordan. Because where would he go from there? Did everybody in the domains hate him too? Does he hate himself for it? Is he involved with the efforts going on in London now or has he tried to disappear and forget? Given the longevity of his character in tma and the fact that he's a unique case that we never really got to hear the proper "end" of, I wouldn't be surprised if he's at the very least mentioned again

[siriannatan]

It's not Always Sunny In California

I have no excuses for this story existing other than I find the idea of Jon 'absorbing' some of Damian's grumpiness funny. But that applies to many of my JOnDami ideas. I'm finally slowly going through all the DC fics I have in my google docs so I might be posting more random stuff than usually in the coming weeks.

“I was told California is sunny,” he said with an audible scowl. He showed the view of the stormy sea. “At least the kitchen is sunny if a bit damp,” he said smugly turning to Jon who waved at the camera with a wide smile.

“Can you stop, the poor bird has suffered enough,” Jon didn't even notice when Damian arrived. He hoped no one else did. He just looked up, five seconds away from crying.

“I'm sorry…. I know I should have refused. I tried telling Ma and Pa I don't eat meat anymore but they said it's nonsense and told me to pluck the chicken for dinner. Since everyone expects I'm about to introduce a girl and ....” With Damian around, the dam has broken. He was fully crying.

Damian stood there awkwardly for a second before sighing. “Let it all out Kent, but first let's get you inside and clean up,” he said, pulling at the least dirty with poultry part of Jon's hoodie.

“Dad will hear if I go in and then he'll see you and it'll be even more of a mess,” Jon shook his head and dragged Damian towards the barn. He used to love visiting his grandparents' farm. Now he'd much rather stay in Damian's painfully modern apartment.

Mostly because Damian was usually there too and he could cook what he wanted however he wanted. At home, everyone was weird about him converting to veganism. Damian ate vegan his whole life and was a picture of health. And with Jon being half Kryptonian sun filled any ‘holes’ more than well enough.

If only mom and dad at least could be normal about his preferences. Be it when it comes to food or lovers. 

In the barn, they sat on a hay bale. Jon kept a careful distance. Damian must have been so disgusted with him.

“Did you…”

“Kill that poor bird? Hell no,” Jon shook his head. He'd faint if he had to see it nowadays.

“No, I mean, did you tell them it's me you're dating?” Damian huffed fidgeting with his hands.

“I tried, Ma and Pa thought it was sweet of me to invite you but said I should focus on my girlfriend. Mom and dad looked ready to repeat the whole mess with Kon but turn it up to at least twenty,” Jon sighed and curled up. “I should have just moved in with you before they or B suspected anything.”

Damian hummed. Likely considering what they could do and pulled his phone out. “I have my car here, we could go to… umm… California? That should be far enough from Bruce at least,” he quickly proposed. “If your dad does the same as with Kon,” which, Jon thought with Chris around he just might, “we shouldn't have to worry about him. As for my mother… nowhere is too far and remote for her to find us. Hell, you don't even have to pack, I have enough of my own money to buy you whatever you want,” Damian's smile was borderline maniacal. 

Jon chuckled. That was a nice thought. Just the two of them and the sunny beaches of California. Scratch it. “I could try to sneak in a shower?” He offered.

Damian hummed. “Fine, but I don't care if you have to come out half wet and don't bother packing much, I can have Todd come in and grab whatever you want later, he owes me,” he said with a gentle smile.

Jon nodded and ran to the house.

Damian sat in the barn a bit. Looking at the door. He didn't need super hearing to know there was an argument happening. With a sigh, he went to his car. And waited. 

Jon soon burst out the front door. Tears once more welled up in his eyes. Hair wet. With Clark following close behind. That was enough for Damian to start the green Mustang. Could it outrun Superman? Hell not, but for Jon he'd do his best. 

Maybe he should have had some Kryptonite on him. Not that he arrived planning to run away with Jon. But he didn't regret the last-minute decision. They could try reconciliation later. When Clark and Bruce were willing to listen to them.

He wasn't listening. His blood boiling with anger and adrenaline. Why can't Bruce and Clark just accept them as they are? Together and happy? 

“Go, while he doesn't want to go Superman on us,” Jon said as he clambered into the passenger seat. Damian was already ready to reverse and get the hell out of dodge when Jon opened the door.

Clark yelled after them but didn't chase them, likely didn't want to cause a scene in Smallville.

“Seatbelts,” Damian complained as they drove out of town. Jon nodded, first tossing his bag to the back seat. And then fumbled with the seatbelts. “You okay?”

“Now? Who the hell knows? Overall? We'll see tomorrow,” Jon groaned, staring at the roof of the Mustang. “You?”

“I'll be fine no matter what happens if it's you I'm with,” Damian grinned. 

Jon cringed. “Sap. Don't you want to grab anything from the mansion? Or your penthouse?” He asked, one hand on Damian's thigh. 

Damian was silent. “I might have had a bag packed and ready in my trunk for months in case we had to vanish,” he admitted with that maniacal grin. 

Jon laughed. “Me too actually, just not in your trunk,” he chuckled. “Probably since Kon and Tim announced they're dating.”

Damian hummed. And both their phones buzzed almost at the same time. Kent's called Bruce. Who's probably looking for Damian who has long found and ditched all tracers B had on him.

“Let's drop by yours and grab anything else you want now, I don't think we're coming back anytime soon,” Jon groaned and only texted Kon.

‘On the run with Dami, let Tim know we're fine’ before turning his phone off. Removed the battery even. Same with Damian's. They'd probably need new phones to make finding them harder. Not that they could hide, Waynes were known all over the country even if they rarely left Gotham.

“Metropolis then wherever we want?” Damian asked, clearly relieved their phones shut up.

“I'm not opposed to California. Maybe not LA proper, but I think we can find a nice place along the coast,” Jon smiled relaxing into the fake leather seat. “Though, anywhere works if it's with you,” he added and they both laughed.

Bruce luckily didn't yet make it to Damian's apartment. Jon suspected Jason and Roy were playing interference at the manor. Damian packed more clothes, luckily Jon had a lot at his place. Anything they had in the bathroom. Meanwhile, Jon cleaned up his kitchen from anything that could go bad.

“How are we getting to California? I know you like your Mustang,” Jon asked, luckily Damian didn't get any pets since Titus and Alfred the cat’s funerals. 

“We could make it into a road trip?” Damian offered. “We never saw much of the world did we?” They didn't have much chance to experience normal teenage things. Like road trips…

“No, the biggest trip I ever had was rushing with you to fucking Lazarus Pits where I ended up having to fight your mother without most of my powers,” Jon admitted with a sigh. A road trip sounded great. “We could stop at any bullshit attraction we see,” he smiled, imagining Damian experiencing roadside attractions he saw only on TV.

“Test roadside motel beds?” Damian snickered, raising a familiar red bag. So Talia didn't give up even after Jon bested her in hand-to-hand combat. All thanks to Damian's training.

“Don't expect much unless we stop at a fancy one in a bigger town,” Jon joined with a smile. “Come on, whoever's keeping Bruce at bay won't be able to do so for long.”

Damian nodded and so with a couple more duffle bags and a bag of snacks they returned to the Mustang.

“Say Jon, would you retire with me? Not entirely. Just no active patrols, we'd help if aliens are invading,” Damian suddenly proposed. And Jon smiled.

“I fought your mother for you, I'd expect you're aware I'll do anything for you right?” 

Damian sighed. “You know I love you right?” He said with the most genuine smile an ex-assassin could muster. 

“I knew even before you first said it out loud,” Jon nodded.

First stop? Whatever roadside motel they got tired near. The bed? Two out of ten. Broke too fast. Damian covered it smugly as the poor front desk clerk tried not to die. It wasn't every day someone in a suit worth more than half of the building showed up and broke stuff.

They got new phones in the first bigger town they stopped in and Damian posted a photo of them leaning against the Mustang in the middle of nowhere. Not-so-subtle hickeys were still present on Damian's neck. Jon's arm loosely wrapped around Damian's shoulders. Damian's arm around Jon's waist. His hand dipped into his jean's front pocket. “Hitting the road with my special person,” he captioned. It quickly got a lot of traffic.

If Tim and Kon came by to check on them then they were telling no one.

It took Damian and Jon almost a whole month and many broken roadside motel beds to reach California. Montecito to be precise. In the meantime, they filled Damian's Instagram with photos from all over. Damian in a sun hat Jon got him as a joke next to random art installations. Random nice views they stopped near. Jon with his bucket hat covering most of his face but with a wide smile. Random animals they met at rest stops. Sunsets and sunrises. 

All in all the media loved Damian and his mysterious, but never tagged in any photo boyfriend's road trip. Called it the most romantic thing since Bruce proposed to Selina once and in response Damian posted a photo of his and Jon's hands connected into a slightly crooked heart.

Of course, his private messages and email were filled with messages from both of their families but he just ignored them. Well. He straight-up deleted them. 

“I'm not listening until they apologise properly and stop trying to force me to be someone I'm not,” he said solemnly one day. Jon was driving and Damian decided to clean up his email.

“Who's trying now?” Jon asked, internally betting on it behind Dick. He's been most vocal in comments on Damian's Instagram.

“Richard, I'm seriously considering blocking him on Instagram, he's annoying,” he scowled but didn't yet do it. Just shoved his phone into Mustang's glove box.

Jon nodded, humming in agreement. It was Damian's idea to leave Jon's identity secret even if everyone who was close to them…. Well once close to them. Knew exactly who Damian was with.

The public would have a field day if they knew a billionaire's son had run away with the son of award-winning journalist Clark Kent and Lois Lane. It'd be more scandalous than when Tim and Kon, Wayne and Luthor, announced they were dating. Not that they could hide forever. There were some posts by strangers who saw them with Jon's face uncovered on Twitter. Not that Jon cared about the whole hiding his identity thing. But he'd do anything Damian asked of him.

When they were getting close to Montecito, Damian rented a house for them for the first few weeks. Until they found a house, he said with a grin. They made it to the rental in the middle of the night. Bags barely in the door. Not bothering to change. A happy tangle of limbs, as they immediately passed out.

When Damian woke up Jon was already out of bed. He groaned in annoyance and looked for his phone. By some miracle, it made it to the nightstand. It was almost ten in the fucking morning. With a groan, he buried his face in the soft pillow once more. Just to hear the doorbell just a few seconds later. With an even more annoyed groan, he went to the door. 

To find Jon with shopping bags. “There was nothing in the kitchen and I assumed you'd be hungry,” he said as Damian quickly let him in. He appreciated his boyfriend’s effort with a smile and a hum.

“Should we announce the road trip is over?” He asked as Jon unpacked the couple of days of groceries he acquired.

“Sure, why not, feel free to include my face,” Jon beamed a smile that made it up for California being damp and cloudy.

Damian quickly grabbed his phone and did something he did rarely even during their trip. He recorded an Instagram story. 

“I was told California is sunny,” he said with an audible scowl. He showed the view of the stormy sea. “At least the kitchen is sunny if a bit damp,” he said smugly turning to Jon who waved at the camera with a wide smile.

“We got here at like midnight, just an hour after booking, we're lucky the key was here,” Jon pouted for a total of one second. Hand running through his damp hair. “I thought my boyfriend might appreciate a breakfast. Anyway, I'm going to change,” he huffed but was still smiling as he walked out of the frame.

Damian turned the camera to a mirror to give his fans, apparently, he had those, a smug smirk. “My boyfriend’s the best,” he bragged before ending it. 

So what if he had to cut it? It was worth the absolute hell that was unleashed under his post of two steaming coffee mugs. And on Twitter as he amusedly scrolled both while waiting for Jon to join him for at least a sip of coffee before he went to shower himself.

‘OMG. I guessed Damian's man was hot. We saw all the short sleeves and shorts in Nevada, Utah, and Texas posts. We knew he was built. But a pretty face and a cute smile? I'm deceased’

‘I have no clue who this guy is but I know we have the new hottest InstaCouple’

‘I have no clue who's luckier, Damian, the mystery man or us to witness glimpses at their perfect life’

‘U guys saw his neck? Littlest Wayne's grown up’

Damian chuckled as he swapped to Twitter. Or whatever it was called, he was not relearning app associations. Instagram was to be cute with Jon. Twitter was to call his family morons. He posted the link to his story there. Of course, Richard was crying in his post about his little brothers being stolen. Likely referring to Tim putting his foot down and finally moving out.  Damian quickly confirmed it on his new favourite brother's Twitter and congratulated him. Mentioning he had to find a place ‘now that we made it to the final stop, #california #whymustitrain #atleastihavecoffe

Hashtags like #DemonWayne #isthatahickey #californiaslucky #whosthosguy #damiansboyfriend were quickly trending and Damian was pretty smug about it.

“We're trending on Twitter,” he announced with a grin.

“Of course we are, you're pretty famous,” Jon chuckled and took a sip of his coffee. “Go shower I'll make breakfast and a second round of coffee,” he smiled and Damian grinned.

“Pancakes?” Damian requested and Jon confirmed with a nod. He was taking another sip of coffee. “I love you so much,” Damian chuckled.

“I'll do my best to make it Instagram-worthy,” Jon chuckled. He enjoyed Damian's Instagram era. Sue him.

“Anything you make will be,” Damian grinned and went to shower.

When he returned, wearing more than likely one of Jon's shirts, they didn't unpack anything so he was grabbing blindly in their messy bags, breakfast was ready. And Damian would wight anyone who called it not Instagram worthy.

He did take a photo of it with their intertwined hands next to their stack of pancakes. Captioning it ‘Breakfast. Rest. House hunting.’ With #bestboyfriend. And only that one.

The comment section has melted.

‘Too cute, I died and went to heaven’

‘So true love is actually real? Dick's divorce didn't kill it?’

‘#blessed’

‘Couple goals’

‘Where do I get a relationship like this or like Tim and Kon’s?’

‘Damian’s the luckiest Wayne. Handsome, cute and cooks!?!’

Damian grinned over his pancakes as he watched the comments come in. ‘Start looking around Kansas, though I'd recommend getting a good, fast car’ he commented just to annoy Clark and Lois who might see it or not.

[aflyingcontradiction]

The Magnus Archives Relisten: Episode 194 - Parting

Martin: Right now, as far as I can see, we’d just be swapping one self-important, floating, hollowed-out terror zombie for another!

... ouch. So Martin does react with insults to severe emotional pain sometimes! And here I thought there was one weakness we didn't share!

Jon: But that might still help. I-I could… rebalance things. Destroy the avatars, make it so that the people suffering most were the ones who, who deserved it.

Does ANYONE deserve that?

Jon: What happened to “Kill Bill”? Martin: You weren’t meant to enjoy it this much!

Ah, so it's fine to sic your boyfriend on the other Avatars, but only as long as he's SUFFERING while killing them. That's healthy!

Martin: That wasn’t fear, it, it wasn’t even anger. It was envy.

Okay, that is disconcerting!

To live his life. What did that even mean anymore? What was there for him that wasn’t simply avoiding the cruel barbs and snide judgements of the old man?

Oh, that hits weirdly close to home. I mean, I've never been subjected to someone quite as judgmental as this literal nightmare, of course, but being around judgmental people does something to your brain (at least when you're me and judgment is terrifying because it kind of hurts in a way that is only comparable to physical pain). You forget what you actually WANT to do!

Mary, she seemed nice, but somehow too long. Jenny seemed to have a good sense of humour, but… half of her was backwards. Hannah didn’t seem to have anything wrong with her at first glance, but her profile smelt of rotten meat.

Okay, "dating profiles in the nightmare apocalypse" is kinda funny.

Melanie: Pull your head out of your arse, stop trying to use it as a bloody antenna, and actually try thinking!

I love the phrasing here!

Jon: They’re going to Hill Top Road.

Now there's a wham line to end the episode on!

My impression of this episode

The idea of "anxiety as the Eye" is interesting, definitely! And a bit nauseating, though that may be the body horror aspect first and foremost. At any rate, that's an aspect of the Eye that no statement has focused on so far, I think? As for the non-statement part of this episode, I enjoy seeing the Martin/Jon conflict (oh, that sounds bad, but it's just the most interesting part of their relationship!). And then there's the whole Annabelle "kidnaps" Martin plot twist - so yeah, this might not exactly rank in my list of favourites, but it's a pretty decent episode.

[shyrose57]

Brothers anon, sorry this keeps taking me a while to send, been very busy lately.

He only had a hunch at first he was his ancestor but later talking with Karl confirmed it. I have yet to decide, I think he probably will just so I can focus more on the current events and not his past. 

He solely relys on his instincts when around other endermen. Although when around Ran he relys more on his social interaction skills. Though he still does certain things (like no eye contact, he leaves two blocks for Ran as a show of care and harmlessness, and sometimes warbling at Ran) due to his instincts. For other enderman it generally works out well, they mostly leave Ranboo alone anyway. But for Ran, he doesn't care much.

He is aware of Enderwalk Ranboo, mostly cause Phil warned him about it. His interactions with Enderwalk Ranboo are mostly Enderwalk Ranboo entering his room and trying to get close to Ran only for Ran to really full heartily growl and lash out at him when he gets close. Then Enderwalk Ranboo whines and leaves. Ranboo is hesitant but welcoming and open to Ran all the time, mostly because holy shit its another enderman hybrid, he thought he was the only one! And Ranboo can tell the two share a bit of similarities but mostly just thinks its because there both enderman hybrids. 

Karl manages to convince the Artic Commute to leave the two alone and once they leave starts to question Ran. Only to pretty often get cut off by him asking a retaliation question. Ran is angry and desperately wants to know everything, Karl is scared and wants to know everything Ran knows. So they eventually come to a agreement where Karl asks a question, Ran answers then he asks a question and Karl answers that. After a while of this they come to an agreement to wait til Ran is fully healed to start to find a way to get him back. And in the meantime Karl'll explain his timetravel stuff and how Ran got here, hoping to get the Commute to agree to help them find a way to get Ran home. 

A mix of annoyed, angry, relieved, and homesick (cause Tubbo reminds him of Jackie). Bit of both, he wants to know whats going on and where Ran came from, but is also just curious about the other hybrid. Tubbo heads to the Artic cause Ranboo hasn't been over at all in weeks, keeps saying he's to busy and how something interesting happened at the Artic. So Tubbo gets tired of it and decides to head over to find out whats keeping Ranboo from visiting. Ye medic Eret, I was originally thinking of medic Bad but I think I may try to include the Egg in this somewhere so he's not a option. They have a mutual relationship, no one there really has a reason to dislike him or to heavily like him, but they all get along whenever they meet. Eret learns by Phil contacting him for help, cause while Techno and Phil both know some health knowledge they don't know enough to properly treat Ran and make the call to call in Eret to help, both trusting them enough to keep this secret between all of them. Karl learns because of Eret actually, Eret comes to Karl for help to see if he has any enderman biology books and half handly mention how a enderman needs help, leading to Karl asking if its Ranboo or Edward, the no he gets in response alarms him enough to back Eret into a corner and force him to tell him who was there that needed help. All Eret said was a dark enderman with green eyes, which reminds Karl of Ran and gets him panicked enough to go see if its him. Tubbo knows cause he gets impatient of waiting for Ranboo to vist so he vists with no warning, leading to him meeting Ran while looking for Ranboo. Its kept hush hush cause their all unsure of how the rest of the SMP would react to having Ran there, especially when it's revealed he's from the future. 

He did. He's not having fun. Karl used too but not anymore since he's time travled so much he's gotten used to it.

Partially, he understands all common though is only able to speak a medium amount, mostly due to his mouth and vocal cords are just unable to make some words or sounds needed to speak it. When that happens they basically play charades. He is still Technos roommate and is happily helping Ranboo in anyway he can. 

------------------------

They steal anything they can get their grubby hands on. It actually goes pretty well as well shockingly. They mostly steal anything that looks expensive, though they manage to find a bunch of raw material like gold, iron, and even diamonds and steal all of that. And they get far enough no one can find them at first. 

Thats exactly what happened, they make eye contact, hear a ruckus from nearby, make eye contact again, then fucking book it away from the sounds. 

The most trouble the group makes is when Grievous makes fun of Porkums hat and gets punched for it. 

Honestly with all the wars and battles that go on in the SMP he probably doesn't even bat a eye, its probably normal for him. 

First thing Jackie does is complain about everyone being taller than him. I imagine Pogtopia being abandoned for years hasn't left it in a very stable state. So Jackie just steps in the wrong place and gets sent tumbling down, with rocks falling after trapping him. 

All happened after they met Karl, but all happened at different times. So for example, the Wild West where thrown back 3 years after meeting Karl. While for the Haunted Mansion crew, they where thrown back months after meeting Karl. Even though they've all met him before their reactions are slightly different depending on how long ago they met Karl. Again for example Sherman and Jon Jon greeted Karl like a old friend and were happy to see him again. While all of the Haunted Mansion crew greeted Karl with questions as they more recently saw him so didn't feel the need to say hello. Cause Isaac and Karl are both in Kinoko Kingdom, where Karl holds all of his books about the time travel journeys, Karl is able to bring Isaac to the books and show him the City of Mizu Book, along with the others that explain who they people he was with where. Plus Isaac just doesnt really have a reason to not believe Karl as he has never lied to him or anything.

Im guessing you mean after the search party is formed, then its actually Ran found first since he's so close. Karl has to try to convince Ran to join them so they can count him as found and then take him to a holding type area. Ran refuses at first and Karl gives him a ultimatum that he either goes with them and gets to go home or stays here forever. He eventually agrees to come with if he gets to search with them, and reluctantly Karl agrees. Karl does what any of the Tales people joining them on their search, but much to his dismay more people insist on joining them. Ran also actually has information on the Bandits but refuses to give it until they find Jackie, cause he has a bad feeling that something happened to him. Ran actually has his left hand bandaged cause a massive piece of glass went through his hand. Jackie will eventually get his arm in a sling due to a broken bone. Ranbulter and James suffer hypothermia and have to be taken care of by Bad (the Egg doesn't exist in this au). Zack slips trying to get away from the Bandits and twists his ankle. Sherman breaks a finger trying to get out of the ravine. And Benjamin gets a slash on his leg after trying to run from Drowned and getting grazed by the trident. Both sides goals are getting back home. Though it's harder for the Tales cause not all of them get along. Karl gets worn down over time and slowly becomes more distressed and hopeless about getting them home. And all the stress builds up til he just snaps and sadly, quite a few people are in the line of fire when he snaps.

From Future To Past AU:

What led to him suspecting Ranboo to be his ancestor?

Do certain blocks have certain meanings, then? For Endermen?

Enderboo sounds very sad and put-out. How is he generally in this AU, seeing as Phil's aware of his existence at the least? How does Ran feel about his visits, and what are his thoughts on when it happens? Are Ender hybrids rare in general, if he's so surprised to see another one?

How'd Karl convince him? How do the two currently view each other, and what were their previous interactions beforehand, if Ran's reaction to him was so upset, and Karl was spooked? How do they get along after?

How does the rest of the Arctic react to Tubbo's presence, and how do our two Endermen feel about the possible tension-considering Ranboo's closeness to Tubbo, and Ran being reminded of Jackie. What are you thinking, egg-wise? Why does Eret go to Karl for books? Is his library well-known?

So Karl could possibly help Ran out with the effects? Or is at least aware of them? Or no?

Charades with them all sounds like so much fun, honestly. Can you imagine it?? And good! We need more Edward around!

---------------------

Tip Of The Iceberg AU:

Good for them. Do they end up having to return the stuff later, or no?How does it go when Las Nevadas realizes who the thieves are?

Common sense isn't dead! Huzzah! Absolutely hilarious image though.

Good for Porkums, honestly.

That is also true! And really funny image, once again. Eret's just like- 'ah, my window, mysteriously broken. Again. Absolutely shocking. Whatever will I do.' Completely deadpan while they pull out supplies from a chest kept nearby for this exact thing.

Everyone else: Where are we? Are we in danger? What happened?

Jackie: How dare you all be taller than me.

That's not good though. How do they and the others react to that?

Have certain events of the Tales been altered then? Seeing as some of them would be dead otherwise? Or were they revived when they were thrown back in time?

How do all the Smp members react to these random people who popped up seeming to know Karl? 'never lied to him' implies Issac knows Karl a bit more beyond just meeting him now, so what's with that? Is he just naturally trusting of him, or do they know each other?

How does that first interaction go, not just between Karl and Ran, but with the others with them? What information does he have on the bandits, and how did he get it? Similar past as before, seeing as Jackie remains so important to him?

Poor Tales. None of them are having fun, huh? Where are they all housed after this, and what are relationships like as of now? Do the groups stick together from era, or with whoever they just get along with best? How do they interact with certain Smp members?

And what happens both during and in the aftermath of Karl snapping?

[janekfan]

aah i just sent this prompt but tumblr told me it didn't send so if it sent twice ignore this!! so prompt: how about early s2, where jon is pulling away a bit but the others are concerned about it more than angry, getting a horrific migraine. like "has to leave a team meeting early" horrific. and the others know he wants to be left alone and try to respect it, but eventually they can't just ignore it anymore. <3 if you don't like this i can try again!

Oof, migraines. Amiright??? This is based on a personal experience of mine I had in college :D

My whole floor thought I was dying and almost dragged me to the hospital.

Thank you @taylortut as always for giving me such great ideas! :D

Looking back, Jon felt incredibly foolish.

Insisting that he could persist through his day without taking medication for headaches when it resulted in the same outcome every time was the very definition of insanity.

But, in his flimsy defense, they never started out badly and he got so caught up in his work that by the time he realized what was happening, it was far, far too late to do anything but suffer it out until it ended. Which is how he found himself here, now, nearly completely blind in his right eye while Elias droned on about workplace safety and considering recent events it seemed laughably mundane because yes, back strain from lifting incorrectly certainly outweighed a sentient worm queen trying to devour your assistants.

Filled with a desperate desire to rub away the disorientating blind spot, Jon let his focus slip over his employees.

Tim: bored. Not doing anything to hide it and Jon supposed he was at fault for that too, because he was certainly not paying Elias any mind.

Sasha: attentive. Most likely thinking of something else entirely while she nodded along to the lecture notes at the appropriate places.

Martin: engrossed. Despite his suspicions, mostly due to the constant checking in with him about how he was feeling, and really, maybe that was on him because maybe that’s what coworkers did after bravely surviving an onslaught of supernatural entities together. Despite them, he found it. Pleasant? Pleasant. That he would commit the effort to pay such careful attention.

Jon: quickly realizing this meeting would not be finished by the time the majority of the pain struck him like an oncoming lorry. By his estimations, based on when he first noticed the aura as a funny spot in his peripheral he tried to see around, he had roughly three minutes left.

Elias continued to endlessly intone while the buzzing lights continued to beat down on him and Jon fought against closing his eyes against them both and their ceaseless stabbing. Two minutes. Probably less and the anxiety which accompanied knowing almost exactly when he was about to be incapacitated rose like a tide and threatened to drag him under. Jon began to shake minutely as the agony manifested like an icepick in the back of his head and spread its grasping, greedy fingers. It took the rest of his very limited restraint to stay silent and keep breathing; shallow and slow, controlled and careful because the nausea was beginning to set in and throwing up during a staff meeting was at the very least, unwise.

But oh he needed somewhere silent, somewhere he could hide in total darkness and not move until he was able to force himself to sleep, to sleep, to sleep because that was the only way he’d found to make it through to the other side.

“Jon?” He was standing, blinking unevenly, fighting with himself and his desire to shield his face with both hands. The sound of his name was too loud. So loud and the murmuring of the others in the room created a beautiful sensory nightmare and if they knew his head was about to split open would they really be speaking so loudly? Doubtful. Martin. Martin wouldn’t at least.

“I’m leaving.” Inadequate, but he didn’t have the wherewithal to elaborate even if in his right mind he wouldn’t. And this wasn’t even the worst of it.

Each step was a rung up the ladder of agony and he’d taken to trailing a hand against the wall, not trusting his quickly dwindling balance and equilibrium. Rudely, without his express permission, a sob snuck past his clenched teeth and he just had to make it down the stairs, into the archives. Into the dark. The cot was still in document storage and the room would be dim and quiet and he could sleep. Please, let him sleep. Trembling so badly he could barely work the door handle, desperation doing its level best to claw its way through his ribcage, Jon began to panic. Gently, gently, gently, he closed the door behind him, trying to breathe because not breathing would make it worse. The buttons at his throat were so tight, the vest, while comfortable this morning was strangling him and he fought his way out of it like a tiger before all but tearing open his collar.

Sh. Shh. You’re alright. Shaky. Ill. But alright and you will be alright. Jon collapsed to the cot, sighing at the momentary relief laying down provided but there was still so much light and it was like glass behind his eyes even though they were closed as tightly as he dared close them. The blanket that had been left behind was very contradictory, too much and not nearly enough, and when it brushed the bare skin of his arms it felt like sandpaper but he wanted more of it. More weight so he could relax without feeling as though he was going to drift away because who even knew which way was up anymore? If he hadn’t left the meeting, he could’ve asked.

Don’t cry. Do. Not. Jonathan Sims. It made it worse, so much worse so he kept his tears trapped behind a false calm. Each time he’d thought he would die from one of these or at the very least prefer it and each time he woke the next day groggy and sore and exhausted, useless for anything except more sleep. He dropped his glasses on the floor, hugged his middle with one arm and threw the other over his face.

Please, please, please.

Just go to sleep.

“I’ll thank the rest of you for continued attention.” Martin nodded absently, worried. Jon didn’t just walk out of meetings. And he’d been so pale, rubbing his temple and wincing. A bad headache? He got those sometimes.

Didn’t like to be bothered about them either.

He caught Tim staring at him over the table, done with his paperclip sculpture for now it seemed, and he nodded just slightly toward the door with a questioning look. Martin just shrugged discreetly, now too distracted to pay attention to whatever Elias deemed important enough to waste their time with after an attack on the archives. Needless to say, the rest of the hour passed excruciatingly slow and as soon as they were released, Martin headed straight for Jon’s office, momentarily confused when it was empty.

“Not there?” Martin shook his head and Tim frowned in concern. “The cot? Maybe he needed a lie down?”

“You’re probably right.”

“Still strange.” He nodded in agreement, already headed to check, knocking quietly on the worn wood.

“Jon?” Martin swore he heard something suspiciously like a whimper before his voice floated through the door.

“Yes, Martin?” It was strange, off, wavery? The tail end of a gasping breath.

“You just, you left in such a hurry.” He’d give anything to open the door and see for himself. “Are you feeling well?”

“I’m. Yes, Martin, I’m, I’m alright.” Jon was many things, a good liar was not one of them, but he was the type to lick his wounds alone, preferring not to show any vulnerability and Martin would respect it. “Bit tired.”

“Okay, I’ll. Check on you in a bit then. Bring some tea.”

“Yes, alright.” Despite his worry, Martin smiled at the tiny familiar spark of frustration.

When Martin spoke his voice seemed to echo in the hollows of Jon’s bones, reverberating into his head and only exacerbating the throbbing pain, not even really aware of what he was saying, just trying to get him to go away so he could be as still as possible in silence. The more he moved, the more it felt like his stomach was trying to turn inside out and the fear of moving, of being sick, of causing himself more hurt, made tears sting at the corners of his eyes, made him itch where they slipped down his face.

If it would just stop for a moment. If he could just fall asleep. Calm down. Stand to have anything against his skin right now.

He wanted to be alone and not be alone. Wanted Martin or Tim or Sasha to, to, he didn’t know, just wanted. The strange disconnect from his physical body was maddening, confusing, and he wanted so badly for it to please stop.

When Martin looked up, Sasha was so close to his desk he startled. He hadn’t heard her but she looked worried.

“I don’t think Jon is feeling very well.”

“I don’t think so either.”

“He’s been in there all day.” Tim joined them. “Maybe we should check on him again?” Martin looked at the clock. It had been hours since he’d talked to him and he had yet to reappear.

“You’re probably right.” This time, it was definitely a hurting sound and Martin decided it was for Jon’s own good to let himself in. He’d only just recovered from Prentiss, what if the stress had made him ill? “Jon?” He was curled into himself on the cot, clothes in disarray, vest discarded and half the blanket piled atop his face. When the door closed, Jon clapped his hand over his ear, the other tangled into his button down so tight Martin was afraid he’d pop the buttons. “You’re shaking.”

“Mmartin…” the barest exhale, pleading. “S’loud…so...so loud…”

“Okay, okay, what’s wrong?” He knelt beside him, resting his hand over Jon’s. “How can I help?”

“Jus’...jus’ need t’sleep.” Shuddering, his breath caught, was released, uneven, fast, gasping. “Can’t.” He decided at that moment that sound should never come from Jon again, not if ever he could help it and the fingers that had been digging into his greying hair were now clutching Martin’s.

“Okay. I’m coming back.” Jon seemed to collapse inward like a star and it was hard to leave him but he’d seen migraines before and it had been hours since what he guessed was the onset. “Tim, do you have any paracetamol?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Jon’s not well, of course.”

“Figures.”

“This time I really think it wasn’t his fault. These things sometimes come on suddenly.” Tim grumbled, digging through his desk and heading with Martin to the breakroom for some water, waiting while he brewed a strong black tea.

“He gets a pass. One time, Martin. This one time.” While the tea cooled Martin retrieved a few cloths from the drawer and a bowl of water.

“He needs quiet. Everything is really overwhelming right now. A lot of input and nowhere for it to go.”

“You’re the boss, Marto.” With a jaunty salute, Tim followed, staying calm and quiet, kneeling down to Jon’s level before whispering a greeting. “Hey. Gonna get you fixed right up.”

“Nnng…okay.”

“Jon? We’re going to help you sit up.” With no refusal forthcoming, Tim and Martin shared a look of alarm before lifting him as though he were made of spun glass and he buried his face in Martin’s soft, well worn jumper. “Good, Jon.” Martin pressed his palm against his forehead and found it cold and a little clammy, his clothes clung slightly with sweat and it seemed like he had trouble coordinating his limbs.

“Hur’s…” trembling, his muscles spasmed randomly, and Tim had to help hold his hand steady enough for a dose of paracetamol while Martin followed quickly with the bitter tea, washing the taste away with a sip of water.

“Okay, love. Doing such a good job. Almost done.” More tears. He went to nod, instead ending up with his head hanging, neck too tired to hold it up any longer and Martin eased him back down onto the pillow. “Let me know if this is too much.” He wrung out a flannel and smoothed it over his eyes, pleased when Jon groaned in slight relief. Tim stroked his hair, soft and slow, and together they waited, watched his shivering gradually stop and his breath deepen into sleep.

Sasha met them outside the door and Martin stepped further down the hall, just in case they were loud enough to wake him.

“Well?”

“He’s asleep, bad migraine.” Martin winced in sympathy, “and hopefully he’ll sleep through until morning.”

“That’s a relief.” Collectively, they agreed. Jon had been under a lot of pressure lately and while he’d never been one to confide in them often even those moments were becoming rare

Jon felt heavy, tired and slow, and when Martin opened the door with a mug of tea in one hand and a plate of toast in the other, he reasoned that he hadn’t dreamt the entirety of the day previous. Which meant he did sit through most of Elias’ dry speech about safety.

Embarrassing. To have walked out like that.

“Martin.” The memory of gentle hands and a soft voice made him flush.

“Jon, how’re you feeling?”

“Better, uh, much better. Thank you.” Sitting up was only somewhat a chore, the dizziness faded into the background for the most part. The fogginess was expected and would last a few days but for now he accepted the tea graciously, eyed the toast suspiciously, and settled on another round of painkillers and a few mouthfuls until he thought he might be pushing it. “Thank you, Martin.” He’d been in a bad way and at his wit’s end before he and Tim essentially rescued him. Passing back the empty mug and setting the remaining toast aside, Jon decided he deserved a lie in especially considering he was in that fragile inbetween where turning his head too fast would trigger another one. “If you see Tim before me, would you pass on my gratitude?”

“‘Course I will” Martin retrieved the dishes and turned back before closing the door. “Sleep well, Jon.”

[janiedean]

I have to tell you something but PLEASE, please, don't be mad. I love Brienne, and I loved her with Jamie, and I'm mad and sad that they didn't get to have their happy ending...but I don't think his ending was shit. Or OOC. First at all, book!Jamie is not TV!Jamie: his relationship with Cersei is different, not as sick or manipulative. He loves his siter and is loved by her in a more "helthier" way: in the show she told Tywing the truth about them, and it's huge considering the love for power1/?

He watched her lose their 3 children, he learned about her walk of shame to get back to Tommen, he witnessed Robert’s humiliations. I think he would have stayed with Brienne if she knew his sister was safe, but he couldn’t be happy if his siter died and he did nothing to save her. He needed to be that person, otherwise all his growth would be lost, and he would have dragged Brienne in his spiral, and he didn’t want to make her miserable. To me he is still an honorable man, bc when there was a chance to do something, he did it: he killed the king to save KL, he fought the dead army, but over and over he said that the Lannister army didn’t stand a chance against the dragons or the Dathraki, he was not a fool. His speech was not about NOT CARING, it was about knowing there was nothing he could have done. He did good, he was good, and till his last moment he tried to be honorable, he tried to be the person Brienne inspired him. P.s.: Still heartbroken that he died, but I think there is some poetic justice with Cercei crashed by the symbol of the power she tried lo long to hold.

anon, I appreciate that you’re being nice and I appreciate that you’re trying to find some sense in this entire thing, but… okay, I’ll go over it and please don’t take me as *me* being mad or whatever but I don’t think a few things were clear here so I’ll try to do it now:

jc in the show is not healthier. it might be different, but it’s not and the fact that it might have been less obvious doesn’t mean that they didn’t drag that toxic mess out for four seasons when it had no reasons to exist. now: I was down with looking at it until s4 because that was book canon and I can deal with book canon. I had to look at three more fucking seasons of that toxic abusive mess happening and I don’t know if it’s obvious or not, but if I have one thing, like one in the universe that I can’t deal with, that I hate and that makes me feel sick more than anything else it’s emotional/psychological manipulation. and show!jc has that in spades and I can’t. like, as it is right now I’m pretty damn sure I’d take reading explicit thramsay fic that ends horribly with annexed detailed fanart than even rewatching five seconds of a scene where those two are in the same frame and is2g if they had kissed at the end of 8x05 I’d have thrown up. please for the love of everything if you think it’s better than book canon your prerogative, but don’t come at me informing me of that because I can’t. especially not right now;

I honestly can’t give much of a damn about the stuff c. suffered when 80% of that is her damn fault and I’m especially talking about tommen who only did that because she gave zero shits about his opinion in anything but we’re supposed to think she’s a good mother or that she cares which makes me especially sick because people have decided that for her out of nowhere when we all know how much leeway they give catelyn for that and I’m honestly done with it, and maybe it’s not inconsistent that he’d care, but it’s inconsistent how they wrote it;

because I mean if they showed some half-regret over leaving brienne or she was mentioned or if the entire thing was addressed instead of spending four episodes building it up and then did in four minutes what it took six feet under an entire season to do with nate and brenda back in the day is bad writing, has no consistency, it also murdered tyrion as a character because I can’t believe that in the span of two episodes he goes from I’m happy that you’re happy to WELL I DON’T HATE MY SISTER SO MUCH JUST GO TO PENTOS when ah, wait, c. sent bronn to kill both of them?

also ‘who ever cared abotu the innocents’ or whatever the fuck that line was??? wow, that’s all this asshole has ever cared about in canon to the point of losing his reputation for it not counting c. or tyrion at least in the very beginning of the series when everyone thinks he’s an ass, and I have to buy that this episode was halfway decent writing?

also: even if I was okay with jaime’s ending - which I could have been if at least it amounted to something because that entire episode was a plot hole after plot hole (where’s widow’s wail? he waves WITH THE FAKE HAND??? WTF??, did he ring the bells so he actually helped destroy the city without knowing dany would lose her shit through jon connington’s ghost possessing her? if bran didn’t rat him out bc he had A ROLE TO PLAY what was the damned role since he hasn’t done anything until now that warranted it??? just the first four) and he didn’t even… help cersei or take her out like he literally was there to just give her some basic human comfort and rocks fall everyone dies, what’s the sense of it?? -, anon, this entire narrative leaves brienne horribly;

because sorry but in the best of chances she’s not pregnant and someone lies to her and tells her jaime went there to stop cersei and tried to be honorable (which given what they made him say about not caring for the innocents makes it bad writing but nvm) and she can think okay, I waited years for the right guy to trust/open myself to and then he left me like that but at least he did it for a good reason now will I ever trust anyone again, maybe, and I assure you that getting over such a thing is not too easy, but that would be the best option. mid-bad option: she still thinks he did it for the right reasons but she’s pregnant so hey, she has an illegitimate child from a man who left her like that to go into a senseless death making her believe she was wrong about him and breaking her heart and she has to play single mother in tarth without him or maybe she can hedge knight along with the kid or leave him with pod or smth but that doesn’t look good on jaime either. or worse, she’s pregnant and she finds out he went just to die with cersei and didn’t even mention her or anything to tyrion along the way so she did all of the above…. for a guy who at the end of it as the narration puts it just went back to die with c. and a kid he didn’t even know might be real or not when she could have given him what he always craved/wanted/needed and left her like that? like, anon, even if it was a good ending for jaime, there is no bloody way that brienne gets out of this mess of a season with a dignified ending unless they somehow manage to pull a miracle out of their arses and sorry but their writing has been so bad that I honestly doubt it, not even david milch showing up like the calvarly could salvage this crap of a finale, and for all characters tbqh, not just them;

on top of that, sorry but it passes the message that brienne, only rep. in this show for nonstandard attractive people who spends years thinking she’ll never find love and suddenly thinks she can be happy with the guy who also fulfilled her greatest dream and opens herself up to him putting her vulnerability on the line (and while I don’t really think the whole virginity thing is that much of an issue since she actually did manage to give it to the guy she wanted it does mean something in this context)…………. shouldn’t have done it because wow, left like that without a second thought and without being addressed in the next episode at all by at least tyrion who has spent the previous four episodes either admiring her or trying to get her and jaime together never mind jaime? wow, I mean, I surely signed up to see the character I always saw myself in getting this shit treatment by people who obviously didn’t understand either her or jaime at the bottom of it for as much as I still think 8x04 did it right until the end?

anon, I appreciate your optimism about that narrative, but this episode was so badly written that it managed to about destroy the narratives of characters that weren’t even in it (sansa and brienne, and let’s not even discuss sansa because lmao), to have every single person but davos and possibly jon but meh behave ooc given what half of their lines said if not their actions because even if we take jaime’s actions as your reading (legit) what they made him say was still atrocious and ooc and same for tyrion, let’s not even touch dany or sandor/arya or really anyone that wasn’t davos. I cannot, in all good conscience, find anything good about this mess because it was badly written. period. even if we decide that the plot and motivations were fine and we try to make them make sense the way you did, the execution was shit, the dialogue was shit, it looked like they weren’t even trying, it did a disservice to every single character that was in it except davos who was there for five seconds to smuggle stuff and I honestly, honestly, cannot even find the force of will to try to make sense of it.

this entire season has been a gigantic plot hole, it wasn’t coherent within its own narration see ep. 2 clashing with ep. 8, 90% of what happened post 8x02 was for shock value without giving a single fuck about making it look in character and making the characters behave nonsensically - and I don’t mean just jaime, I mean all of them to serve the undoubtedly wtf shocking ending they have in plan for us which if I guessed already I’ll hate with the force of a thousand suns, and I’m honestly done with trying to make sense of this thing because nothing makes sense anymore. I appreciate that y’all are trying but I give up. I can’t make sense of a narrative that goes like ‘we’re doing this because it’s cool and if it doesn’t add up with everything we did before who gives a fuck’, and I honestly can do without trying to find a silver lining in a show that has totally twisted the message of the books and turned into an angst fest for which everyone has to be miserable at all costs or it’s not good tv, and that’s the last I’m going to say about this specific matter because:

a) I’m tired, b) I want to finish my spitefics and ignore this mess ever happened and concentrate on doing something that makes me happy, c) if I just keep on thinking about how bad this was IN GENERAL I wish jaime was my #1 problem I just feel worse and I don’t need it, d) the fact that they did brienne this dirty and she wasn’t even in this episode is really leaving the worst sour taste in my mouth and it’s already bad enough that I have to hope her ending is only 80% crap and not 100% crap, I honestly can’t with discourse that tries to find any basic sense in how this episode was conceived and executed beyond my problems with jc, jaime’s writing and the fact that they managed to get wrong one of his three most basic character traits that has nothing to do with brienne or jb for that matter.

thanks for being polite and nice about this and I swear I’m not mad but I honestly can’t with this episode and I would appreciate if from this point on anyone could refrain from trying to make jc sound better than it is where I can see it/where I can’t blacklist it because it’s really not a good idea right now. thanks again and have a possibly nicer than than mine. ;)

[blondiewithamic]

Renee looked down at the guy on floor after she got jon back as he covered his head feeling a little sorry for him even though he was a dick about hitting on her he definitely didn't deserve the beat down he was getting, when jon spoke renee looked up at him again, "but babes!" She tried to argue but he had already grabbed him and was starting to pull him outside making her sigh as she threw her hands in the air. She wasn't gonna follow them outside she didn't wanna see Jon beating someone that couldn't even defend himself anymore but when Joe and colby finally walked past her to break it up she glared at them, "about fucking time." She said to them as they passed her, she was pissed now. She walked past everyone that was running outside now as she walked back to the locker rooms, deciding that her time at nxt was ending and she was just ready to go the whole situation had pissed her off, no one wanting to help her keep Jon back, jon continuing to beat the guy into a bloody pulp even though he obviously was suffering a concussion at that moment, seth and roman not helping her until they were ready and now everyone running out to see the fight. Once she was in the female locker room she slammed the door shut in anger knowing she would be alone because everyone was either watching the fight or talking about the fight, she changed back into her jeans and shield hoodie before packing up her stuff around the locker room before sticking her phone in her back pocket, she was mad at herself now for catching a ride with jon, colby and Joe to the training center she was definitely mad at all three of them in that moment and decided to ask one of the girls for a ride back to the hotel. The door opened pulling renee out of these thoughts and smiled when she realized it was nattie who had came to check on her, "can you just bring me back to the hotel?" She asked her and of course she happily agreed.

Jon always turned back to his old ways when things pissed him off, he turned into a little street dog just fighting for his life against anyone that wanted to try and fight him back like this scrawny little rookie that though he could even step up to the plate against him. All the guys in there were aware of the situation knowing they were both an item and this rookie was obviously pushing his luck and they were more than happy to see a little creep like him get his ass handed to him so no one broke it up, they all considered it a ‘receipt’. There was nothing going through his head other than making this guy on the floor bleed for thinking he could treat any woman like that never mind his own girlfriend. When she pushed Jon back sweat dripped down his brow and he didn’t even look at Renee his eyes were still locked onto the guy on the floor and the moment this little bastard started coming to and rolling around on the floor shielding his head Ambrose’s engines started again and knew Renee couldn’t stop him and there was no stopping him “Naw babe, he ain’t getting away easy.” Jon said to her, practically frothing at the mouth and his eyes blood shot. He made his way back to the loser and grabbed the shirt he was wearing, dragging his almost limp body through to the fire exit, throwing his body out the doors hearing his slam to the ground but attempted to get up by holding onto the nearest car. As Jon dragged him outside Roman and Seth were watching from the ring, leaning their forearms on the top rope but knew if they didn’t stop him Jon was going to do something stupid so Roman groaned before getting out the ring followed by Seth and they both headed outside, Dean at this point was on one knee pummelling this guy in the head, blood from both skewed across the concrete. Roman grabbed Dean with all his strength and pulled him away “Come on for fuck sake thats enough!” Roman yelled at Dean to get through to him and Colby got in front of Jon putting his hands on his chest to keep him with Roman “It isn’t worth it man!” Colby said to him and Jon was bleeding, spitting everywhere like a deranged lunatic. “Scumbag!” Jon yelled as some of the other rookies surrounded the guy on the floor.