#how do they react to losing?

[kiwi]

as a former escape room host i highly recommend doing an escape room as a first date. its a great way to learn how ppl react under pressure and how well they collaborate with you right off the bat. also more than once ive seen people enter an escape room as a couple and exit broken up LOL its a fantastic litmus test

[blaithnne]

Remember this post where I talked about how funny Host!Vic’s gender neutrality is? Well now it’s even funnier because this episode seemingly confirmed something I have suspected to be true for a while now, which is that fictional Vic Michealis SOMEHOW DIDNT REALISE THEYRE BI?????

[blakellyl]

the way a LOT of people reduce Bob to his traumas and illnesses pisses me the fuck off.

he does anything and "it's because of the trauma!!!" "it's because he’s mentally ill!!!" "he did it only because he's so anxious!!!" or maybe it's because that's the fucking way he is? the way he always was?? as a person??? just like a ton of other (perfectly healthy) people???? ??? he's a human being with his own personality and behavior.

Stop seeing him only as his disorders and traumas. He'd fucking hate it.

[dracodormiensnunquamamplectare]

Does anyone know of a leverage fic where Eliot does kill Moreau during season 3 before the team can get too close?

Like, in Big Bang Job, he says he was trying "to figure out a way around this, all right, maybe take my shot before--"

So he definitely considered it, even if it didn't work out that way. Does anyone know of a fic where they explore what would have happened if he had succeeded?

Cause like, Nate is not just gonna leave things lie if the big mark mysteriously dies before they can take him down. He's going to obsess about what happened.

And how would Eliot even explain his absence to the team anyways? Not just his alibi after the fact, but where does he tell them he's going when he first leaves town? How does he come back and act like everything is normal? Does he get back before the news and have to pretend nothing happened in front of Nate and Sophie, notoriously good people readers? Or does someone call him on his way home to tell him that Moreau is dead and he needs to come in to help figure things out?

How hard does Nate push them to solve this case? Are they worried a rival who might be even worse ordered it?

Do Parker and Hardison start noticing he's acting weird while Nate is distracted with the case and Sophie is distracted with Nate? Does Hardison find anything suspicious in his hacking about Eliot's movements that day? Does Parker, who tracks the rate people blink per hour and knows what they're all supposed to smell like and catalogs every tiny mannerism even if she has trouble contextualizing them, does she notice any changes in Eliot recently?

How does Eliot feel about it? He did it. He protected the team. He finally escaped Moreau for good. But he broke his oath, he killed again, he technically killed in cold blood no matter how dangerous and willing to kill them the victim may have been. And he can't tell his team, because they may know he killed in the past, but they don't want a hitter who is going to spend his weekends committing murder and making them complicit by not stopping him. And he can't tell them because they would demand an explanation, which would lead to how much danger they really had been in so very far above their league, which would lead to how he knows this so surely and intimately, which would lead to working for Moreau, and the Worst Thing.

Like, there's just so much potential there, so does anyone know of any fics that explore this premise?

[penumbra-mayhem]

And All That Follows (ch. 1)

aka: Let's Mitigate This Blast Radius Before It Gets Out of Hand

Alpha Gabriel Shaw dies and everything falls apart.

Ch. 2 // ao3 // 1.9k words

(TW: death, car accident, grief)

EDITS: small grammar stuff, formatting, and new title (formerly known as The Fall of an Alpha, but i hated that name so i chose a new one)

———————————————

Sept 3. 2017, 11:04 pm

Between the raging storm outside and the blaring tv in front of them, they barely heard the knock at the door. It was only on the second attempt did they notice, and even then it could have easily been dismissed as thunder.

Milo gave David and Asher confused glances. “You guys expecting anyone?”

David shook his head. Asher shrugged; he paused the game and tossed his controller behind him as he said, “I’ll get it.”

Milo stretched out in the newly available couch space, calling out, “Could you get more chips while you’re up? We’re almost out.”

“Get them yourself!” Asher retorted as he padded down the hallway, “Unless you’re too short to reach!”

“Oh fuck right off!”

Asher chuckled as he reached the front door. He didn’t bother looking through the peephole before answering, but as soon as he saw who it was, he wished he had. It would’ve given him a moment to steel himself.

An officer was standing in the hallway, her dripping face starkly grim. Asher recognized her as a shifter from a neighboring pack.

“Evening. Beta David Shaw lives here, yes?” she asked.

Asher tightened his grip on the door handle. “Uh...yeah, he’s um my roommate.”

“Is he here now?”

“Can I uh, ask what this is about?” Asher replied, his voice cracking slightly.

“There’s been an accident.”

It felt like the ground gave out from underneath him. Like a blast of thunder had gone off in his chest.

“Hey, Ash, who is it?” David called from the living room.

Asher ignored him. “Gabe?” he whispered, eyes wide.

She gave him a small nod.

“Is he…just tell me, is he dead?”

She shifted her weight uneasily before nodding. “Yes.”

“Come in.”

He moved aside to let her in, closing the door behind them. “He’s uh, he’s in the…um...follow me,” Asher said breathlessly. His feet were like bricks as he led the officer down the hallway.

Milo and David looked up to see a very pale Asher hurry across the living room and practically cower in the corner.

“Who was…” the words died in David’s mouth as he and Milo looked over at the officer standing in the doorway to the living room, rainwater trickling down her coat and pooling at her feet.

David stood, an edge of authority in his voice as he spoke, “Officer. What can I do for you?”

“Beta Shaw, please, have a seat,” she replied.

He stayed standing. “What’s going on?”

“David…” Asher pleaded.

David’s eyes shot over and met Asher’s—they were already red and glassy. He lowered himself back onto the couch, then looked over at the officer as dread climbed into his chest.

She stepped forward, her voice stern but not unkind, “Beta Shaw. About forty-five minutes ago, Alpha Gabriel Shaw was in a car accident. He died on the scene.”

David had never really known grief before. Sure, his mom had died, but he had been too young to really know what was going on. A few distant relatives and pets had died over the years, too, but none of that had seemed to really affect him. The deaths of his grandparents had been sad, but not debilitatingly so. He'd begun to think that maybe death just didn't affect him that way. He thought maybe he just wasn't built to grieve.

It was instantaneous. It felt like shifting—a full and all-encompassing transformation. Grief ran like magic through his bones, warping his core and leaving him unrecognizable. Those in the room felt it—Asher especially. He almost reached out, almost said something, but David was already talking, his voice cavernous:

"Thank you, officer, for informing me of the situation. Where is his body now?"

The officer blinked in surprise, but quickly composed herself. "The coroner has taken him to the nearest morgue."

"I assume they'll want me there to confirm his identity?"

"Yes, but you don't have to go imme—"

"Can you take me?"

She furrowed her brow. "Yes, sir."

David moved to grab his coat, and Milo shot up. “David, wai—”

“Stay here, both of you. Don’t tell anyone what’s happened. I’ll call for an emergency meeting tomorrow morning,” David commanded, “I want to avoid as much panic as possible.”

And with that, he left, pushing through the doorway and into the hall. The officer took a deep breath before following.

Milo sank back down. The two heard the front door open and shut.

For a minute, they didn’t speak. The storm swelled outside, rattling the windows of the apartment. The pause music on the tv played over and over at a low volume.

Staring blankly at the wall opposite him, Milo mumbled, “We’ve gotta tell Tank.”

“We can’t. You heard David,” Asher croaked from his corner.

“David’s not in his right mind,” Milo retorted, his eyes beginning to burn, “Gabe is like a father to Tank.”

“…was,” Asher whispered.

Milo locked eyes with him, silently pleading.

"I...I'm going to the bathroom," Asher replied before hurrying down the hallway. He couldn't say yes, but he wasn't going to stop him. Especially when Milo was right. They needed to tell Tank before they heard it from anyone else or, god forbid, at the pack meeting.

Asher closed the bathroom door and leaned his weight against it as sobs tore through his body, robbing him of everything—sound, breath, strength. He slid down the length of the door to the floor in a silent, heaving heap as his mind spun.

He gave himself five minutes.

———————————————

Milo pulled out his phone, groaning in frustration as he struggled to read his screen, tears flooding his vision. He wiped his eyes with one hand as he pulled up Tank’s contact with the other.

Tank was somewhere loud; he could hear it through the phone.

“Miles, what’s up?” Tank all but shouted.

“I need you to come to Ash and David's,” Milo rasped.

“What? Wait-wait, gimme a sec,” Tank said. He could hear them pushing through a crowd, then the sound of a door opening and slamming shut, followed by the shush of rain. They must have moved outside.

“What’s going on? Are you hurt?” Tank asked.

“No I just…I need you here. Now.”

He could hear the panic in their voice. “...I can be there in twenty—no, fifteen.”

“No! Don’t speed. Please, Tank, drive slowly. It’s late, it’s raining, it’s not—” Milo held his phone away from his mouth for a second as a sob slipped out, “It’s not safe.”

Tank must’ve heard it. Their words shot out of their mouth as they strode into the rain, “Is David there? Ash? I swear, Miles, if you’re hurt and not telling me—”

“Tank, please,” Milo begged.

“Okay! Okay, I’ll be there soon.”

“…we’ll leave the door unlocked. Drive slow.”

Once they hung up, Milo put his phone on the coffee table. He bit his clenched fist as tears pooled in his eyes and his chest convulsed.

————————————————

Everything was happening too quickly; David couldn’t keep up. One minute he was getting into his car, ready to follow the cruiser in front of him to the morgue. The next, he was looking down at a shrouded body, being asked if he was ready.

Ready? Fuck no, he wasn’t ready. He wasn’t ready for any of this. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Gabe wasn’t supposed to die suddenly, in his prime, leaving his 24-year-old son to pick up the pieces. Leaving him an orphan.

Orphan.

The word made a desert of his mouth. He was alone. Entirely. His last safety net. His last pillar of support. His last corner to hide in. Gone.

David was bare, flayed open for the world to see. He’d never felt so exposed, and it made him panic. But there was no time to panic. He was still the Pack Beta. He still had a job to do. And for as long as he could, he’d throw himself into it, fully. So David chiseled a hard look onto his face and nodded.

The sheet was pulled back.

Everyone always said David looked like his dad. He took so much pride in that comparison. But in that moment, he saw no resemblance. He didn’t have an out-of-body experience, seeing himself on the table. He didn’t spiral at the sudden realization of his own mortality spurred by the likeness of his dead father.

Because that wasn’t Alpha Gabriel Shaw, revered Founder of the Shaw Pack.

That wasn’t Gabe, loyal friend and loving father.

The body before David was just a man, battered and broken beyond repair. It felt wrong to claim this husk as his father, felt like a lie.

But David had a job to do.

“Yes, that’s him.”

————————————————

When sound returned to his body and his sobs were no longer silent, Asher muzzled them with a frantic hand. He couldn’t let Milo hear. He had to be there for him. Once his self-allotted time was up, Asher rose on shaky legs. He pressed a washcloth to his face. He straightened his clothes. He smiled.

Leaving the bathroom, Asher went down the hallway into the kitchen and began to heat some water. He pulled down mugs. He got out tea. He waited. He poured the water. He wiped his tears. He smiled.

The mugs clinked in his hand as he carried them into the living room. He set them on the coffee table. He placed one tea bag in each. He sat next to Milo. He smiled.

“You get ahold of Tank?”

“Yeah,” Milo croaked, “They’re coming over.”

“Good. That’s good.”

He smiled.

————————————————

After ten minutes, Milo’s phone began to buzz.

Asher removed his arm from around Milo’s shaking shoulders and grabbed the phone off the coffee table, handing it to him. Milo cleared his throat before answering.

“Tank?”

“Is he dead?!?”

Milo could hear the storm on their end, along with cars rushing past them. Were they still driving? He prayed to whoever or whatever would listen that they'd at least pulled over.

“Wh-what?” Milo stammered.

“I saw his fucking car, Milo! Smashed up in the middle of the fucking intersection!! Is Gabe fucking dead?!?”

Asher gaped at Milo; Tank wasn't on speakerphone, but they were shouting loud enough for him to hear.

“ANSWER ME MILO!”

Milo glanced at Asher, who was vehemently shaking his head no. Not now. Not this way. Wait.

“…yes, he’s dead—”

“And David?!”

“David wasn’t in the car. But Tank, I need you t—” Milo was cut off as the line went dead, “Tank? Tank?!?”

Asher grabbed Milo's arm.

“They-they hung up," Milo whimpered, "At least I think they did. I hope they did…oh god." He called Tank again. It went to voicemail.

"Fuck!" he yelled, throwing his phone across the room.

Asher rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes, scrubbing away the hot tears before they fell but no doubt turning the lighter patches of his skin a blotchy red. He put his arm back around Milo as he fished out his own phone from his pocket and called Tank.

Voicemail.

He hung up and tried again.

Voicemail.

Milo growled and stood up abruptly. He grabbed his coat and moved towards his phone.

“Wh-where’re you going?” Asher stammered.

“To Tank’s place,” Milo replied, picking up his phone, “You stay, in case they come here.”

“Milo, it’s still really bad out there, maybe you should wai—”

“I’ll have to call one of Colm’s old coworkers, find out where the crash was.”

“What? Milo—”

“I need to drive by it. Maybe Tank’s still there. Or maybe,” Milo’s breath caught in his throat, “maybe they crashed too. I don’t know. So I’ll drive by there on my way to Tank’s. I’ll text you when I get there.”

Milo was out the door before Asher could speak. Alone, he crumbled, sobs overtaking him once more.

[incomprehensi-bull]

y'know i don't believe i've ever seen anyone talk at length about randall and alphonse post-MM. i've been thinking about them a lot recently. they should get to be friends again

[inadvisablebutinevitable]

I cannot express how much I want Amalia day to just be a little girl. Like yes she’s going to be that annoying overly-competitive kid who throws fits if she thinks a rule is unfair and judges kids who don’t play sports but also let her chew on her hair elastics!! Let her make friendship bracelets and steal her mom’s makeup and beg her parents for sleepovers!! Let Amalia Day get weird and loud when she’s with her close friends and let her sob for hours when they fight over the most trivial things! She quotes memes and begs for more YouTube time and drags her parents to the new despicable me movie. She uses her father like a jungle gym and climbs in her mom’s lap when she’s tired!! When Wymack picks her up from summer camp she runs towards him in excitement and jumps in his arms!! She blabbers nonstop about every single exy practice to her parents as soon as she gets in the car and gets more excited as she keeps taking!! She’s a baby!!!

[gingermintpepper]

I saw it in your tag game post that you're also fond of the Apollo-Heracles conflict 👀 for a myth that appears in only a couple of sources, it sure has a lot of presence in the vase paintings (no seriously, everytime I think I've seen the last of it, I find ten more)

SO do you have any favorites among the paintings that represent this story??

OMG OMG THIS ASK IS A GIFT. IT IS A GIFT THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LETTING ME TALK ABOUT THIS

I also think it's extremely interesting that it's a story so popularly portrayed by vase paintings and in such a variety of ways!! It's certainly one of the stories that gets left out of written compilation of Heracles' legend a bit (which is a shame, I think it's a fantastic story) but Apollo had a very peculiar relationship with Heracles in general that I just kind of find amazing (and very, very funny).

Apollo is not a god with any legitimate grudge against Heracles, but he does argue with the mortal a bit like he argues with his favourite brothers 😂Part of why I love the story of Apollo and Heracles fighting over the tripod so much is that it is such a little brother thing for Heracles to be upset with the proclamation his elder brother has given him and so, he throws a great fit, taking up the chair and declaring that he'll just give himself a better prophecy! And Apollo, instead of being a marginally professional big brother, decides to fight him for it until their father has to break up their cat-fight. Like was that not just the plot of the Homeric Hymn to Hermes? Is this not exactly how Apollo treated Hermes when he was a child and now those two are inseparable? 💀

Because of this, my favourite vase paintings tend to be the ones that highlight the personal squabbling between Apollo and Heracles the most. There are some very elaborate ones that have the full host of them - Athena, Heracles, Apollo, Artemis, usually a dog and a doe, I've even seen a couple that had birds and plants etched on them, but the simplest ones that show Heracles about to bonk Apollo with his club out of frustration or depict Heracles nyooming away from Apollo while Apollo (presumably) yells curses about how he's going to fling Heracles head first into Tartarus for daring to take his things? Yeah, those are the premium big brother/little brother things I'm looking for.

(Photo. Marie-Lan Ngyuen)

(Photo. Museo Claudio Faina)

Also the one in the Theoi.com archives is a real classic - perfect energy.

[naetles]

YOU'RE SHITTING ME

[sugarpasteltmnt]

Oki oki because Néon Void lives rent free in my head, I wanted to try and design a happy ending! Post story Leo.

Few notes:

- His right arm has been replaced by a prosthetic (Cus I SEE HOW YOU REACT TO ARMLESS LEO, I SEE YOU)

- His pants were made by Mikey, they’re supposed to emulate Mirabel’s from Encanto, with embroidery from each family member. Idk how to do that so use your imagine a bit ahahah.

- Since his shell is kinda ruined from the Krang, he can no longer wear his sword strap. Instead, Splinter gave him two Kanzashi for his mask he can pull out and turn into his swords in battle.

- Def had some Future! Leo inspo as well, scarf covers some of his nastier scars.

- His new mask emulates his kitty mask a bit :)

- His right eye was permanently changed cus of the Krang.

Anywizzle! This was just me having a bit of fun for a more healed and happy Leo :)

WAAAAAAA!!!! !!!!

just. oh my gosh. he is. spectacular. like. WAAOUGHGH

you put so much thought and care into this utterly amazing concept i am BLOWN AWAY!!!! I'm insane for the details. The coloring. The flow. The poise. The embroidery is such a sweet and lovely touch oh my god (APRIL'S GLASSES I'M SOBBING!!! I SEE U!!!!)

and his MASK???? This is. So Big Brained. I absolutely adore it. It's amazing. I'm just. w ow

[camgoloud]

he still has his tonsils. by the way if you even care

[mys0419]

Hi! Since this blog is cool, I wanted to share something that might be hot takes. I think people forgot that the irony of Kris as a character is that we don't know them, and they have (so far) no intention on giving us intel. The only way we were able to get information on Kris, is by talking to people who knew them, like Noelle, Rudy, Toriel. We learned so far that they pranked Noelle a lot, were probably inspired musically by Dess (and looked up to her a lot), that they like their friends and ready to protect them in need, etc... But then, the part that everyone seems to forget, the things that are hidden from us. Because while we have the "happy parts of Kris", we don't know anything about the rest: why do they have a knife, why are they hiding stuff that defines their personality, even if it has nothing to do with what they are doing with the people they are in cahoots, what are they like when no one is looking at them. And then, there is these lines in Chapter 3, after beating the Shadow Mantle Holder:

There! That's what I wanted to see!

Flickering red, like pretty little flames...

Your eyes can't hide it, Kris. Without play...

The knife grows dull.

This is weird to me, and I never saw anyone comment on that. Why does this character knows so much about Kris? Especially what no one else seems to know? It's kinda the same with Ralsei. Because of all the emotional scenes in Chapter 4, people forget to mention that he never really told anything new. He said he "knew about the rules of the world" and "how the prophecy ends", but it's clear throughout the chapter, he had/has no intention of saying anything. To put it simply, what I'm saying his that he confirmed he knew stuff, but no WHAT he knew. Again, he's definitely not evil, but he's dishonest, and even if it's to "not hurt" Kris and Susie, the truth might've been better told sooner rather than later. The reason why I say these are hot takes is because since everyone is agreeing that "Carol is manipulating Kris" and whatnot, and that people are already drawing the ending of the game, people forgot that we are basing this on the partial image we have of Kris (a kid who liked pranks, likes their friends, is goofy/stupid, depressed, etc...). We don't know what's the other side of their person, nor the plan itself. I'm not saying Kris is evil (because I don't see how that would make sense regarding how they act towards Susie and Ralsei), but I'm saying that viewing them as the "poor kid being a victim of life left and right" might be wrong, and kill the nuance and mystery of Kris being a strange kid and character as a whole, not just a depressed teenager. Same thing with Ralsei, he definitely has more stuff to say, stuff that could/should be told, and the fact that people are already dropping characters as their definitive personnalities and motives is pretty wild to me (we are only at the Halfway Mark...there is still so much that could happen) Sorry if I sounded stupid.

You didn't sound stupid at all, Anon! I read through all of this, and I can only say this is such an accurate and interesting analysis of Kris' character, and honestly, you're completely right about the fandom dismissing their true personality and goals over what the story of the game does with them.

Rambling incoming!

Like you said, we're only on the halfway mark, and things might change in ways we never expected, but overall, I wanted to make it clear that I don't think Kris is helpless at all. We have seen how smart and cunning they are, and how despite working with Carol and the Knight, they still are doing things that benefit their own goals against their best wishes. I want to put emphasis on working with, because while Carol is obviously coercing them with a certain promise they made, they are not refusing to act following orders. (BUT again, they slash Toriel's tires, they leave the door open, they hit harder in the knight fight when their friends are down, etc etc. Clearly on their own agenda that we don't know about.)

We don't know what this ultimate goal is, but they are not clueless about how to go with it. I can only imagine the hurt and anger they must've felt when the prophecy called them a cage. What they wrote for Susie on the dinner window. What they talk about with Ralsei.

And that's the other thing! They talk with Ralsei alone and often. Ralsei most likely knows of our influence on them, and is the only one in the entire game that could possibly comfort them because he Knows. How he feels about Kris is clear. He cares about them and grew fond of them as a person, but how he feels about us is kind of a mystery. I wonder if he knows which actions and words Kris say come from them and which come from us...

And as I see it, I think Kris has always been strange. I mean, from the little tidbits we know of their past, they're the only human growing in a town fully populated by monsters, I think anyone would feel at least a bit isolated in that situation. We don't know for how long this soul control thing has been going on either (Noelle mentions "Recently," but during the first chapter, she doesn't mention Kris acting off.. Were they already being controlled before? If so, by who or what? And another thing, they already had the cage and the mysterious stain of blood in their room, AND they already knew exactly how to tear out their soul, and the fact that they can't go without it for long...) so that obviously contributes to how we perceive their personality.

They are clearly traumatized too and actively trying to forget a certain event that sent them to therapy while they were younger. They enjoy knives (or perhaps finds comfort in the protection they give?), but end up scared of swords after the soul outright attacks them after the mantle fight. In the weird route, we find Noelle, who is most likely the only positive link they have to their childhood, and manipulate her into being a murderer and doing as we wish. What I mean by this is that we are taking even the smallest things they have that give them individuality and taking them away from them.

Each chapter that releases we know a bit more about Kris and the relationships they had with both lightners and darkners alike. But I have a feeling we will never manage to truly know them, and honestly, they don't owe that to us either.

[brionysea]

when max is depressed we know something's wrong because lucas says with his words that he knows something's wrong but when mike is depressed we don't think anything of it because will's right next to him rolling his eyes about how stupid straight people are

[ganondoodle]

i know im an overemotional, overreactive pathetic little wimp about my hyperfixation, and i dont even mean that derogatory, i think its both my best AND worst quality, im well aware of it, especially in moments when im already stressed i have a hard time to get my brain back into control, im so well aware of it that i HAVE been managing to learn how to deal with it actually which is why, instead of letting myself spiral any further, i went to bed to let my brain calm down

and it worked!

i still hate the live action zelda thing, i still think it WILL be bad, and it will still negatively affect how i feel about the franchise as a whole, i am not spiraling out of control about it though, which i think is a win in my book, some people hate that i say my opinion at all though, more on twitter than here so hey, im grateful to not be called pathetic to my face bc i said something someone might decry as too 'weird'

[fyodorsushankaaa]

im defending atsushi with my whole heart against to my friends (?) who say atsushi is a dumbass

[inkandarsenic]

15 year old me would’ve lost her shit and I’m just. Here. And I don’t know what to do with that. I don’t know how to feel. One Direction was quite literally everything to me for my middle and high school years and knowing that it will never ever be the same now is shocking. Waking up to the news that one of the boys I was so obsessed with is just gone is shocking. And while I mourn the person Liam was and what he meant to me during those years, I also just don’t know how to, to grieve? To be upset? I just feel kinda numb tbh. I don’t quite believe it yet