#i a m paraphrasing but this is the gist

[freedom-in-sight]

Dream last night -

President Bush was doing some sort of official visit or speech and afterwards he appeared outside on this sort of hilly lawn in the dusk. He talked to me about something then I said "what do you think about the war?"

He said "Israel-Palestine?" (Like. Of course what else would it be)

I said, "no, the war in Ukraine."

He was like, I don't know about that war. (Like, why should i? - implied)

I was a bit annoyed he didn't know about it as it is important.

He said, "well, there are 2 scenarios. Either the US and allies wants to win and drive the bad guys out, or we are looking for a way to end it, slowly withdraw so we don't have anything to do with it anymore."

I said, "well. The 2nd one probably. Because we can't get to putin. It is unlikely we can get that far. We won't want to go all the way. We can get to the leaders in Donetsk and Luhansk, but they're just putin's people he put in place. It takes too much effort to get to him."

He said, "you should go into foreign policy."

I was happy that I could get this boost from his recommendation and gain some connections rather than starting from the bottom and I could fulfill my dreams of going into foreign policy and affecting world events.

[xortstories]

Contrary Writing Advice: Make Flat Characters

Wherein I give advice that runs contrary to commonly shared writing tips, because some short bits of advice get repeated without context until they become actively detrimental to the process.

Today, I'm telling you that your characters—protagonists, antagonists, supporting characters, the works—don't need to be complex and layered.

They can be flat.

I talked about this a bit when I reblogged some writing advice to disagree with it. I am not as contentious as I once was, but I will still pick a fight on occasion, and the subject of flat characters is one I feel very, very strongly about.

Now, let's make something clear. If you already read the linked post, you'll know the gist of what I'm saying here, but let's go ahead and define what I mean when I say a "flat character."

When I say "flat character," I'm somewhat facetiously doing so. I don't mean your character should be boring and lack detail. What I really mean is a character with a flat character arc. For those of you who don't wanna click links to go read supplemental material, I'll copy/paste part of my rant here:

What is a flat arc, you might ask? To put it simply (and to paraphrase K. M. Weiland), a flat arc character is not one whose purpose is to change and evolve over the course of the story. They are a character who has already learned "the truth" at the start of the story.

Readers and writers these days almost worship the idea of change arcs. A character isn't different at the end of the story compared to when they started? Bad character. Bad writer. Rewrite your story so your character changes. Then it'll be good.

But a flat-arc character does not exist to change. A change-arc character works well for a specific type of story, but not all good stories are about the journey of a character from one state to another.

Some can simply be about a character who is knows a "truth" about the world (usually a theme that the author wants to espouse or challenge) and uses that truth to effect changes in the world around them.

You actually see them more often than you think, though usually in supportive roles. The wise mentor character? Very often a flat character. Obi-Wan Kenobi (original trilogy) is introduced as a wise old Jedi master. He's a skilled teacher to Luke, who knows that teaching the boy was to be his calling. He spent his life watching over him from afar, and when shit hits the fan, he immediately jumps at the call he was waiting for.

He helps Luke get off the planet, teaches him in the Force, and when it finally comes down to the escape when Vader chases after them, he knows that if he wants Luke to live up to his destiny, then he'll have to sacrifice himself. He does so with dignity and confidence, because he has no illusions about his place in the world.

Obi-Wan is a complete character, from the moment we meet him. He doesn't grow in any significant way. His Truth is challenged by Vader, but he doesn't waver or doubt—he simply acts to remain true to what he knows to be true.

And he's a great freaking character.

Heroes can be flat too. People love to rag on Goku (who, admittedly, did go through a rather significant change arc in early-to-mid Dragon Ball, before Z), but he's a cultural icon because people love him. After his early change arc, he becomes a flat character.

His time training with Roshi, and the defeats he suffered in the World Martial Arts Tournaments, instilled in him a sense of respect for other fighters, hard work, a drive to improve, and humility. Once those aspects are established, he almost never wavers in them.

And as such, we get to see the effects of those beliefs on the world around him. In his fights against Tien in the tournaments, he pushes him and earns his rival's respect, and reignites Tien's sense of competition and fair play. His influence plants the seeds that help Piccolo grow more compassionate in his time training Gohan. His love of pushing himself against strong fighters keeps Krillin from killing Vegeta, who then goes through an immense change arc that stems, in part, from his desire to surpass Goku and his inability to understand how a low-class Saiyan could outclass the Prince of all Saiyans so regularly.

Basically, every single character arc that people love from DBZ can be tied back to Goku in some way. He is a catalyst for change everywhere he goes. Even in Super, where his character gets kind of assassinated, his presence still causes change in those around him, with Zamasu being the obvious example of how even a positive flat-arc character can cause negative change arcs in others.

As before, I could go on, but this post is way too long. I'll leave it at that, and just say that you should consider having at least one designated flat-arc character in your own stories. Give your story someone whose entire purpose is to be an inciting incident, who embodies a theme you want to push your characters to deal with.

It might just make your story a lot more interesting.

If you like my posts, feel free to buy me a coffee!

And if you're interested in seeing what I'm working on, check out my Blood of Dragons master post!

[ponds-of-ink]

Oh dear. We’ve got m o r e spoilers for the FNAF encyclopedia. Buckle up, because this is progressively going to be a doozy.

(1) Scrap Baby is mentioned to have rebuilt herself (which I kinda suspected anyway [along with her helping make Scraptrap but shh]). It is also brought up that she specifically chose some Halloween-y black and orange trimmings… I’m paraphrasing, of course, but the bringing up of Halloween is interesting. Mainly because that might give a timeframe for FNAF 6? Idk.

(2) No mention of Mrs. Afton anywhere in Ballora’s page, I checked. Cool new open-eye render, tho? Maybe? All I know is that it stuck to the ballet theme.

(3) Comparing Gregory’s 3D model and the new Crying Child art, it is looking a bit less likely that Greg-Bot is a thing— Especially since they have wildly different hair styles and eye colors [and face shapes? I think?]. Also, Crying Child is apparently who we play as in FNAF 4, but I say wait for Ruin or a FNAF 4 prequel game to confirm it.

(4) “The Blob” and “Burntrap” are not… Well… The Blob and Burntrap’s canonical names. Those names are literally listed as “Not Canon Name”, which is making me wonder what in the world their actual names are.

(5) Oh yeah, speaking of Burntrap… His section is phrased weirdly to me, but I think I get the gist. He’s basically another version of Springtrap haunted by Glitchtrap… Who came from the OG Springtrap’s code, since Scraptrap/Afton doesn’t get a mention here.

But, since William died in Scraptrap…

Did… Did the encyclopedia just confirm Split!Will or am I missing something? Well, something asides from the implication that Glitchtrap is in fact piloting Burntrap, which does kinda line up with this rambling reblog that I made recently.

Idk just take the bigger stuff with an understandable grain of salt until FNAF Ruin comes out. Legit, it’s too late in the night for me to process this. I am gonna be stunned if Split!Will is canon, though.

[redscharms]

I’m sorry but I’m just cackling here a little. Two Anons (though they might’ve been the same person really) didn’t enjoy some of my readings because they were ‘too vanilla’ and I made the guys seem boring apparently. I’m paraphrasing but you get the gist.

I know some fans like to believe that all their favorite idols are these ‘Alpha-males’ whatever that means and like to imagine that they all like to be called daddy in bed and just overall being d o m i n a n t.

Which isn’t necessarily bad as long as these fantasies are not directly involving idols as in asking them to act certain way or outright harassing them and preferably stays out of the Stockholm syndrome territory though this is a whole another story.

But it’s not exactly within the framework of our reality and I’d just like to remind that ‘vanilla’ doesn’t mean boring. Not everyone should have a kink or a sub/dom preference because it’s not a necessary trait to have to enjoy a sexual activity or experience. To each their own, you know? ;)

And tbh if you don’t like that I made him sound so ‘boring’ you can always imagine him the way you want seriously what the fuck was that about ahahah

[nicoandlevi]

and this is the last i'm defending myself to some rando who doesn't know me but i'll say this i've seen actual racism involving characters in the roswell new mexico fandom. people hating on maria deluca because she's black and because she gets in between a m/m romance (one of the male characters is bisexual) so you got biphobia and racism colliding there. she gets hate and loads of it. nico is getting criticism, there's a difference

okay I’ll actually answer this because I do watch rnm **spoilers ahead**

from what I’ve seen (at least the few people I follow) their issue isn’t with the fact that she’s black, that she gets between Michael and Alex. earlier in the episode, Alex (who is openly gay in the tv show) said that he never felt comfortable with women in a sexual setting (paraphrasing but you get the gist of it) but then Maria kissed Alex without asking him and consent wasn’t really given

[tapperplushiemama]

Also, there’s a thing I read once (I forget where, but it’s good advice) said (and this is somewhat paraphrased, because I only remember the gist, not the exact words):

“Want it?  Then have it - but just a little bit. “If you have a little of the unhealthy snack, then you get a taste of it to satisfy you.  But if you try not to have it, you’ll wind up eating around your craving and find that you’ve eaten more than you would have if you’d actually eaten the unhealthy snack.”

So it’d be like “I want some peanut M&Ms, but I know that candy isn’t healthy - yeah, the peanut ones do still have some good stuff because peanuts, but that’s still probably more sugar than I should have, so what’s the serving recommendation on the bag?  Twelve pieces?  Okay, so I’ll have three or four M&Ms and also get some carrots to go along with them.”

(And the only reason I used peanut M&Ms is because my grandma had bought a bag of those recently and they were close enough for me to grab the bag and check the serving size.)

always bothers me when "improvements" to unhealthy diets are all about taking tasty things away rather than ADDING new things. like. add new tastes and new flavours and MORE NUTRIENTS and vitamins

there was some awful show on for encouraging middle class mothers to take their eating disorders out on their children and it was like "oh well, this snack doesn't taste as good as my usual one, but it's healthier"

so get one that??? actually tastes as good?

like this thing of. you know this food that you like and enjoy eating? why don't you toss all that out and eat stuff you don't enjoy as much or want to eat?

that's unhinged to me.

like i just think the process of discovering newer, healthier foods should be ADDITIVE, where you're exploring new tastes alongside your usual ones, slowly broadening your palate and your preferences, rather than punishing yourself for "unhealthy" food

[jechristine]

I don’t know if you remember a scene in M&M where Marie was talking about how no one really wants to hear from celebrities about social issues. They just want you to put on that expensive gown and pose on the red carpet. I’m paraphrasing, but I think that was the gist of it. I feel like Z helped Sam write that monologue. There was a point where people were getting sick of celebrities speaking up because it felt performative, even if it wasn’t. People started saying Z was annoying for always speaking out, and she’s not a real activist, and I also remember many people commenting that she should just be quiet and donate money. I think that’s what she does now.

Hm sounds like a version of “shut up and dribble” line that conservatives use to degrade sports players who take a knee. I know most celebrities are idiots, but I also think there’s a little too much policing around who gets to be counted as an activist. I think most irl activists want more vocal support from wherever they can get it, and like it or not celebrities have loads of people’s attention and trust.

And if we’re talking about this specific context of the writers’/actors’ strikes—which we’ve sort of gotten away from, but let’s bring it back—I think that that’s doubly so because it’s celebrities’ own unions, it’s their fight. Be an activist! Let’s not make the perfect the enemy of the good.

[ourpickwickclub]

What the hell did Adam say

Ask 2:

What happened on the voice?

Adam’s contestant Reagan Strange didn’t appear on stage tonight, and Carson mentioned a couple of times that she was under the weather but that she might be able to join them later. She ended up in the bottom 3 and if she had been feeling well, she would have had to sing for the instant save. Instead, she did not sing and they cut to her in the audience, sitting next to her mom and wrapped in a bathrobe. Dave and Deandre, the other two in the bottom 3, both sang for the save. When it came time for the coaches to talk up their contestants, Adam basically said “you sang like a champ, Deandre, but my heart breaks for Reagan and I have to encourage everyone to vote for her. I have a special relationship with her, and I have two little girls at home. I’m using this opportunity to speak up for this little girl because she wasn’t able to sing to save herself.” (I’m paraphrasing, but that was the gist of things.) After the commercial break, Kelly spoke up in support of Deandre and said that he had delivered a great performance. Then, when the instant save happened, only one of the three could be saved, and guess who it was? That’s right: Reagan, the one who hadn’t even performed tonight, won the save.

— M

[neotericbitch]

don’t shoot the

Messengers get to come as far as the gates. There's a rigorous screening process, though not one person could ever tell you what it entails. It’s basically a battle to get through the camping troops - anyone who screams or begs enough, or clearly has no fighting capabilities, or even if they’re holding a really obvious letter, are the ones most likely to get through. Or killed.

China Sorrows didn’t want there to be any confusion. The three messengers she sent were all very clearly marked. Only one got to the gates, and it is that same one that Abyssinia gazes at now. Scrawny, weak-willed thing, but not a Neoteric. A strict follower of the guidelines of their magic, guidelines that someone made up someday and declared it the only legitimate way of conducting things from that point on. Unsuitable for her army.

Abyssinia smiles very sweetly at the mage, but does not open the gate. They’re backlit by the setting sun, flanked by loyal Neoterics, clutching a plastic cylinder - and shivering like a leaf. Must be the company Abyssinia keeps, as she can’t imagine anyone ever being intimidated by her appearance. She’s much too tiny and cute. It’s a very good thing to appear unthreatening. Keeps people from seeing her coming. Yes, must be the company. Tall, dark and terrible Lord Vile with several Necromancers trailing after him to keep him from killing her; Cadaverous Gant, a devil of a man enjoying his recent return to youth; the finely dressed woman with the beast in her hand, Razzia… There are many like them standing by her.

“Message from Roarhaven?” chirps Abyssinia, much like a bird.

“From Supreme Mage Sorrows,” the mage replies, opening the cylinder and taking out a piece of paper, rolled neatly into a scroll. They pass it through the bars of the gate, and Abyssinia gladly takes it.

“Ooh,” she says, weighing it in her hand. “Bound paper, very nice.” She holds the scroll above her head. “Who would be willing to go without magic to read this to me?”

“I will,” Gant immediately jumps in.

“Not you, my lovely,” says Abyssinia just as quickly, swatting him off her shoulder.

A Neoteric standing beside the messenger reaches out, and the scroll is passed back through the bars. As the paper is unravelled, the sigil secretly activates, but all present can see the hint of a glow leave the Neoteric’s fingers.

“Do I...read the whole thing?”

“A paraphrasing will do fine.”

The messenger seems uncomfortable with this, but says nothing as the Neoteric gives the gist of the letter.

“Right. Basically she’s already caught word of Valkyrie Cain being here, wants to open communications for her release, willing to negotiate a trade maybe, uh - or at least see that she’s alive and well. Via your next Global Link appearance. Have Cain make a cameo, or something along those lines.”

“Ah! Fair enough. How nice of Supreme Mage Sorrows to have sent word. So courteous of her to want to communicate with us. At last, a dialogue can be had.” Abyssinia raises her voice a little, not that anyone has had much trouble hearing her up to now. “Finally, everyone! The discourse has commenced! Negotiations are about to begin!”

The Neoterics whoop and cheer. A wave of shadows from Vile sweeps Abyssinia up so that she can be seen by the gathered crowd, and she waves both arms and laughs. The messenger mage attempts a smile of their own as Abyssinia is set down and starts to walk away.

“That’s... This is wonderful news. I will return to Supreme Mage Sorrows with your response immediately.”

“Hm?” Abyssinia looks over her shoulder. “Oh, there’s no need for that. I have my own way of sending messages. Thank you for offering, though.”

“You’re...you’re welcome.”

She repeats her sweet smile, this time squinting her eyes a little too much. She resumes her exit, though not before nodding subtly, but significantly, to Vile - and then Abyssinia disappears from sight.

The messenger takes an instinctive step back and bumps into a person. They’re no longer flanked, more like completely surrounded. With wild eyes they look from face to face, then back through the bars at Gant and Razzia as they depart. The messenger’s gaze finally settles on Vile. He has not moved.

Their mouth is dry and it takes forever for their lips to part. “I’m sure you know the saying about not shooting the m--”

A spear of shadows cleaves right through their skull. The Neoterics scream with delight.

[huntedvideo]

he just doesn't understand. that's the hardest part about how agent m is treating him. if he didn't like rookies, agent f could understand that. if m had bad experiences with partners in the past, that would clarify these emotions to f. the problem was that there was no explanation ; not one the other agent would readily make available to f, and that was the most frustrating part. if he knew what the problem was, maybe he could fix it. make the situation less tense, less stressful. but m would rather bitch and moan and pretend like his partner didn't know what he was doing, when m knew damn well f had been at the top of the training class he had went through. 'no shit i know what a kylothian is. believe or not, we went through the same boot camp,' once f had found out that his parents had been a part of such a large organization - once he realized he was a legacy of some of the best agents the men in black ever had - f knew he had a duty to follow in their footsteps. so he studied, and learned, and made sure that he could help where he was needed. agent m was making that very fucking difficult for him.

there's a long pause where f just stares at m, eyes squinted slightly, wondering what he could say, what come back he could possibly give to make m back down, before he realized it wasn't worth it. m was right about one thing - they didn't have time to stand around, stand off with one another, when the entirety new york could be at stake. ' zed was right about you, y'know, ' f sniffs as he turns away from m, shaking his head as he began to walk in front of the other toward the subway station. 'as soon as i got partnered with you, he let me know how stubborn you are. and he told me how many agents that you've ran off for being - well, y'know. th'worst,' he may be paraphrasing, but that was the gist of it. hands slid into his pockets as he continued. 'but i'm not going anywhere, so if you're so done with me, feel free to request a transfer. otherwise, shut up, and let's just get this done,'

you're   lucky   you're   built   like   a   fucking   tree   ,   thought   the   agent   ,   though   he   knows   better   than   to   spit   out   something   so   mean   toward   someone   who's   supposed   to   be   his   partner.   pfft   .   .   .   partner.   it's   insulting   that   the   MIB   would   ever   saddle   him   with   a rookie   to   watch   over.   he's   been   doing   this   job   far   longer   than   many   of   the   people   he   sees   at   headquarters   nowadays   &   he's   pretty   confidant   he   can   take   on   most missions   on   his   own with little help.   he   tried   to   tell   zed   of   this   hundreds   of   times   ,   but   the   man   is   almost   impossible   to   convince.   he   claims   mason's   biggest   flaw   was   his   inability   to   work   with   others   ,   a   claim   the   agent   finds   downright laughable.   the   job   he   had   before   this   forced   him   to   work   with   others   &   depend   on   them for support.   look   where   that   got   him   ?   when   it   mattered   most   ,   they   all   either   ran   off   or   threw   him   under   the   bus.   if   not   for   his   own   strength   &   observation   ,   he   would   have   died   when   those   aliens   attacked   the   theatre   that   day.   sure   ,   maybe   the whole experience left him   a   little   bitter   ,   but   he   doesn't   want   to   have   to   babysit   a   new   agent   ,   especially   one   that's   already   catching   up   to   him.   he   also   doesn't   want   to   risk   anyone   else   getting   hurt   ,   especially   if   this   threat   is   as   serious   as   people   say.

with   a   huff   ,   mason   sighs   ,   giving   his   fellow   agent   an   icy   glare.   ❝   as   if   we   can   really   just   stand   here   &   fuck   around.   do   you   even   know   what   a   kylothian   is   ?   ❞   every   agent   that comes into the MIB is at some point   debriefed   on   the   mission   that   brought   back   the   infamous   agent   k.   if   agent   f   didn't   know   at   least   that   bit   of   history   ,   then   he's   definitely   not   prepared for what they're about to face.   ❝   if   the   rumor   about   a   kylothian   military   officer   roaming   the   subway   station   is   true   ,   then   we   are   about   to   lose   hundreds   of   new   york   commuters   to   a   fucking   plant   that   could   make   audrey   ii   shit   its   pants.   ❞   he   presses   himself   up   against   the   hand   that   prevents   him   forward   ,   still   glaring   up   at   his   partner.   ❝   you   may   think   you're   hot   shit , rook   ,   but   this   is   a   whole   new   world , & i ain't talkin' disney.   you   should   just   call   for   back   up   &   let   me   handle the rest.   ❞   he   takes   a   step.   ❝   now   move.   don't   make   me   neuralyze   you.   ❞

[yourdashinguncle-blog]

with great power . . .

aka i wanna talk abt this line some so ur gonna come on this ride with me.

so, a little history on this line that may or may not be Common Knowledge: ben wasn’t the first person to say it in spi/der - man canon. in fact, at first it wasn’t said by anyone, it was just a narrative block towards the end of an early spidey appearance. while it was established early on that ben would give peter sage advice, he didn’t explicitly tell him anything about the link between power and responsibility until closer to the turn of the century.

(  and though it’s most famously known as the sp/ider/man quote,  it’s got biblical roots, and has been paraphrased by historical figures [ie winston churchill] for a minute now but thats not the point of this post // it could be the point of this post because in canons where it is said by ben it makes a statement about him being historical / literary minded but anyways  )

the versatility of this line is one of my favorite parts of it though. of course, when weaved into the story at hand, it has a very specific meaning   (  like in the 2002 movie, when it refers specifically to peter’s fight with flash  ),  and in the general gist of the franchise, it’s meaning feels even more heavy handed  (  to have the spider powers is to be responsible for keeping people safe  ). 

but i wanna talk about this line specifically in the context of where ben is coming from with it but in the vaguest of senses because we don’t really know anything about the m/cu’s ben, the circumstances of his death, or his relationship with peter. 

because ben doesn’t know peter is super - powered. when he says this to peter, he isn’t trying to make some grand point about how important it is he uses his new abilities for good. he’s not addressing any ‘powers’ of peter’s that wouldn’t be that of a regular teenage kid. and i think that’s where all the potential power in it comes from. it could be applied to peter’s life in so many ways, all of which i think ben would have wanted him to consider: in the context of his coming of age, of his life as a white man, of his above - average intellect, and of his life in general  (  as its a philosophy ben has always had, regardless of your situation, that to simply be alive in the world is a power, one that gives you the responsibility to put good into the world  ).

modern interpretations sometimes reveal this phrase while peter and ben are arguing, changing the sentiment. it’s heavy, for sure, but i don’t think its supposed to be as menacing as it’s made out to be. to ben, it’s always been invigorating. it’s not a punishment, a sentence to a life of duty, but a reminder that they can make a difference.  it’s a call to action,  to ben,  we all have the power to take that responsibility and do good with it.

don’t think this lesson is single faceted. don’t think it’s meant to scold. ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ is a lesson important not just in the context of peter’s life, but all of our’s, i think.

[keplercryptonomica]

OKAY liveblogging didn’t work out BUT: pilot screening summary (part one) incoming

starts w samuel campbell looking very indiana jones and cutting his hand etc. mysteriously in a cavern! he then gets chased by a monster + eventually falls down, loses his flashlight, and the screen goes black as the monster catches up to him

john is having dramatic vietnam flashbacks on the bus back home, bumps into mary (who is coming out of the movie theatre) + they have a silly ol meet cute—mary is broody and quirky and reveals she didn’t see a movie, just went in to buy snacks but she “heard the book was better.” the interaction ends w/ mary giving john her good and plenty box bc he zones out and says something like “haven’t had these in… two years” (mary says something along the lines of “see you later, soldier boy” and then walks away)

john goes home to the winchesters garage where we meet his mom! (milf) she stops him from coping w a beer as soon as he got home + asks john what he wants to do now that he’s home

we cut to john in a dark field w an envelope, which has the MOL mark on it, and a key w an anti-possession charm. an unnamed demon sneaks up behind him and demands he give it to him—but! he’s interrupted by mary, who shows up to fight the demon. john tries to help and there’s a bit where john and mary accidentally punch each other a few times until mary yells at john to stop helping. she eventually bests the demon w a bunch of rapid fire punches, then pushes him into a vat of holy water and exorcises him (but not before the demon can reveal a) samuel is missing, and b) someone mary knew named maggie is dead). john has a “demons are real???” freakout, reveals the letter contains the last message from his dad + mary and john walk off both wanting to find clues ab their dads

we see the outside of a MOL clubhouse; mary has spray painted a devil’s trap near the door (we saw a can roll out of her dropped bag during the meet cute) and asks john for the key she knows is in his back pocket. they enter the eerie and dusty clubhouse, which is Deserted. john wipes off a book, which says men of letters and cues a “who?” conversation between john and mary. john finds henry’s old locker and everything in it (the combination to get in was john’s birthday) is just how henry left it. while john has a sentimental moment, mary finds a file samuel was looking for, containing the schematics for a monster box (kind of like a handheld, simpler ma’lak box). john asks what they should do next, and mary says her dad mentioned someone named ada—but that she tells john that he doesn’t want to get involved in the life. he asks for her name, and she reiterates that he should lay off and lead a normal life (paraphrasing here, but that was the gist). as she walks away, john yells out his name, to which mary responds “go home, soldier boy” and stalks away.

the next scene shows someone we assume to be ada in her texas bookshop; the lights flicker, and she grabs her anti-possession charm as she starts to run, but (again, in spn fashion) it’s knocked out of her hand as she trips and her eyes turn black.

the morning after, mary is standing next to her car + john excitedly approaches w two coffees; mary scowls and repeats again that he doesn’t want to be involved in the life, but john reads her the news article ab a missing ada + admits this is the only lead he has to find out what happened to henry. mary only begrudgingly agrees when john hands her a coffee and says “i thought you’d like it just like your world view: dark as night.” mary smiles and finally gives her name, then the pair drives to the lawrence library, where we meet latika. she seems vaguely taken aback / enchanted by john, and seems to be the awkward and fumbling yet charming type. mary rushes around the room grabbing supplies and mentions that her and john are working ada’s case—latika mentions that she wants to come, but mary urges her not to, saying she gets scared too easily. latika mentions that mary should at least accept help from carlos, something that outrages mary so much she storms out the door. there’s a quippy line from latika to john about how “she does that sometimes.”

john presumably follows, and the two head to texas. on the drive there, john experiences more war flashbacks—mostly centered on a close friend who stepped on a landmine right in front of him. he sees him in the rear view mirror and jumps, telling mary he thinks he’s haunted. she gently informs him of her emf meter, which isn’t registering any activity, then asks john what he thinks he’s seeing. he tells her, including an anecdote about how he had the small silver cross that remained after his friend’s death implanted into his arm. (for the life of me, i can’t remember if this happens now or later when mary is talking w latika, but) mary solemnly nods and shares that she sees the faces of all the people she hasn’t saved.

upon arrival, the pair break into and quickly search ada’s bookshop; mary mentions that it smells like sulfur, and she finds a string board left up by her father. she has a sad moment of wondering why samuel wouldn’t have told his family what he was doing, and john posits that he wanted to protect them (this doesn’t seem to comfort her). but hark! a demon appears outside to interrupt the moment

before the demon can do much, a van (not dissimilar to the mystery machine) screeches up, and we hear heeled boots click as carlos arrives on the scene—he squirts the demon w a holy water water gun, walks in a circle around her to sprinkle salt, and hands john an exorcism written on the back of a sandwich shop menu. john accidentally starts to read the recipe out loud, and carlos exasperatedly corrects him. once the demon is exorcised, carlos throws his arm over john (i can’t remember if this happened before or after the exorcism but i’m putting it here) and says something along the lines of “congratulations on your first exorcism, jonathan! now let’s find you something better to wear”

hello tumblrinas i am @ the winchesters panel, prepped and ready 2 liveblog