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#But maybe I'll do 3 eps back to back heh
sothischickshe · 2 years
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I think I might treat myself to the rest of the gg rewatch at least for s3, I neeeeeeed to look at the incentive convo 😋🍣🍶👀🙊😱🙏🥢
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dragon-creates · 5 months
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She Was Like A Sunflower
Read on AO3
1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12
UM!!! EP 2 WAS SO GOOD!!!!! GUMMI GOO😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭!!!!!!! Um yeah that's all I have to say, sorry this is late lmao. Hopefully I'll get back to a better schedule soon. Also, trigger warning for child abuse in the first few paragraphs in this chapter as it does go into detail with Jack's backstory. As always I will put (1) when it starts and (2) when it finishes. All I want is for my audience to feel safe so if this is something that you know you can't read please don't feel ashamed skipping this. Stay safe xx.
3. Seven
And I've been meaning to tell you I think your house is haunted Your dad is always mad and that must be why And I think you should come live with Me and we can be pirates Then you won't have to cry - Seven by Taylor Swift
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(1)
“Jack! Jack! Get out here you little shit!”
A five-year-old boy whimpered at the loud voice, crouching behind a garden shed in the backyard. He held his breath, begging for the voice not to find him. In his arms he held a small, trembling baby rabbit, its nose twitching in panic as they hid.
“You can’t hide forever Jack!”
The young boy had come home from school, wanting to get into the house and not bother anyone. He had to be good, he will be good! But sometimes, good didn’t seem to be enough. Even when he was ‘good’ they still hurt him…
That was when he saw Luke, kicking a baby rabbit in the front yard. The poor thing was limping, it had probably wandered too far from its mama, now Luke was torturing it for his own amusement. He begged Luke to stop, to do something else, but the teenager had gripped his face and growled at the child to mind his own business. Jack didn’t know why he did it, maybe it was a reflex from the sudden fright he felt, but he kicked Luke in the stomach, leaving the older boy winded. There was nothing but red-hot rage in Luke’s eyes, that’s how Jack knew how much trouble he was really in.
So he picked up the rabbit, ran through the house and out into the back garden, now he was here. He heard Luke’s footsteps on the grass. Jack held his breath, forcing himself to not make any sudden noise. The seconds were achingly long, his heart pounding against his chest as he tried to hear if Luke was approaching or not. The footsteps stopped, Jack squeezed his eyes shut, as though this were all a nightmare and he would be waking up soon.
Unfortunately he was very much awake when a hand grabbed him by the hair and through him onto the open ground, forcing him to drop the baby rabbit. “You think you can get away with that?! Huh?!” Luke mocked, kicking the boy in the stomach as Jack let out a cry. “Come on! Finish what you started!”
“I’m sorry Luke! I’m sorry!” Jack wailed as the teen kicked him in the knees. “It was an accident!”
Luke paused, a sadistic grin creeping on his face as a vile idea came to mind, “Accident? Heh, I’ll show you an accident.”
His eyes darted to the baby rabbit still limping on the ground and marched towards it. Jack looked up from the ground, pushing himself up as he scanned the grass for the rabbit. It was only when he heard a crunch and a distressed squeak did his heart plummet to the pit of his stomach. Luke stomped on the little rabbit over and over again, little squeals leaving it as it writhed in pain. “No!” Jack cried, trying to stand despite his aching limbs. “Luke, stop it! Please, stop!”
Luke ignored him, continuing his attack on the poor creature. Jack tried to stand as quick as he could, the blood rushing to his head as he swayed on his feet. By the time he was fulling standing it was too late. There was nothing left of the rabbit but a mangled corpse and a manic sneer on Luke’s face. The blond teen turned to the young boy, shrugging as it he only flicked a piece of dust off his shirt, “What? It was just an accident?”
Suddenly, Jack didn’t feel the lightness in his head anymore. He squeezed his fists, a rush of adrenaline rushing through his veins as he screamed, running to Luke and tackling him to the ground. The blond wasn’t expecting this reaction, letting out a screech as he felt sharp nails scratch across the skin on his face.
“How dare you!” Jack screamed, not ceasing. “He did nothing to you! Why did you kill him?!” There were stains of red, Luke grunted as he tried to stop the scratching but Jack’s hands were too fast for him to catch. “I hate you!”
When Luke finally caught one of Jax’s hands, did clarity start to fill the young boy, along with the fearful dread. He tried to run, but Luke’s grip was firm and bruising as he stood up. With his other hand, his fingertips tapped against the blood on his face, inspecting it closely. A small chuckle left the blonde, lacking humour and filled with nothing but bad intentions. And little Jack had nowhere to run and no chance to hide now.
“Luke, please don’t do this,” Jack whimpered, trying to pull away from the older boy’s hold on his upper arm.
“Too late,” Luke hissed, his head turning back to the large, ivory house. “DAD! MOM! COME SEE WHAT JACK DID!”
Jack’s blood ran cold. Luke was already a bitter, vile person, but even bad people had to learn their behaviour from somewhere. As for Luke, he had received it from his parents. The only people – other than Luke – Jack feared the most, “Luke, I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!”
But his cries fell on deaf, ignorant ears. Two adults rushed out the house, a man and women in their mid-forties with scowls that seemed to be printed onto their faces. Luke’s parents, the ones who had also adopted Jack.
The woman let out a sharp, horrified gasp, “You! What did you do to my son?!”
“Little bastard attacked me out of nowhere,” Luke threw the child forward, making him fall forward and land on his palms.
Jack barely had any time to gather himself before a rough hand grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and lifted him up. Luke’s father glared at him, a cigarette hanging up his lips as Jack tried to not breathe any of the smoke being forced down his nostrils. “You think I accept that behaviour in my house?!” He glowered.
“I-I’m sorry sir!” Jack wailed. “But he killed that bunny! He stomped on it till it couldn’t move! I just wanted to protect him!”
“All this over a stupid rabbit?!” The foster mother screeched. “You’re nothing but a little monster! Hurting my boy over a useless rodent!”
Jack’s eyes widened at what she had said. How cold and callous her words were. How she devalued the life of an innocent creature who couldn’t take care of itself. He turned his gaze to Luke, the boy holding a t-shirt his mother fished from the laundry basket and held it to his face. He was still grinning, blood staining his teeth, looking more like the monster that his mother was talking about.
“Get in!” The man growled, dragging the boy into the house again. Jack grunted as his feet scrapped against the ground with the sudden, harsh movement, feeling Luke’s eyes on him as the blonde’s father kept pulling him.
He didn’t stop until the boy was pushed into the kitchen and the door was slammed shut behind him. The man’s grip moved from the back of his shirt to his foreman, nearly cutting off the child’s circulation.
He took the cigarette out of his mouth, “This is what happens to little brats who act out of line.”
Jack gasped, the realisation of why they went inside finally setting in. His foster father didn’t want to risk any prying eyes, any witnesses to see what he was about to do next.
Jack struggled, trying to escape, but the man struck him across the face, his ring leaving a mark in the child’s delicate skin.
The cigarette moved closer to his arm, the young boy crying and writhing. The blunt hadn’t even touched him yet somehow he could already feel it.
The flaming end met his skin.
And Jack’s scream echoed throughout the empty house.
(2)
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Jax gasped, sitting up straight in his bed as he clutched his hand to his chest. He scanned the surroundings, even putting a hand to his forearm to feel for any scarring. His breathing slowed, relief settling when he saw that he was in his own room, and that there were no scars to be found. Just an armful of purple fur instead.
He felt a body stir next to him, Pomni had the blankets tucked around her like a cocoon. Jax didn’t mind, he got too warm most nights anyway. He settled back down, sliding and arm round her waist and pulled her close. He felt her chest against his, rising and falling with each breath. He matched his own with hers, letting it calm his racing heart. His eyes began to droop when he heard a small voice.
“Did you have a nightmare?” Pomni asked, peering up at him with sleepy eyes.
Jax sighed, he promised not to lie to her and he wasn’t going back on it now or ever, “Yeah, I did.”
“Are you okay? You wanna talk about it?” She attempted to sit up. He patted his hand against her waist, reassuring her that she was fine where she was.
“It was about my old foster family,” he told her. “Way before I met Winter.”
“Oh, babe,” she tucked her head under his chin, snuggling close. “You didn’t deserve anything that they put you through. I’m so sorry that you had to relive that in your head.”
“There’s nothing you gotta apologise for,” Jax kissed the top of her forehead. “Honestly, I don’t think about them a lot anymore. I know that sounds ironic cause of Luke confronting me back then. But they don’t mean anything to me, they don’t matter…but you do, more than anything.
He felt her lips smile against his chest, pressing a small kiss next to his heart, “You mean more than anything to me too.”
Jax pulled her closer again, feeling his eyes fluttering shut as sleep came for him once again, “Thanks little lady.”
“I am not a little lady,” she mumbled causing him to chuckle, his voice vibrating against her ear.
The nightmare was at the back of his mind, his eyes gazing on the small jester curled up beside him. Luke didn’t matter anymore, his old foster family didn’t matter anymore. Thinking of them never did anything good for him, there was no need to focus on his past when his future was right next to him. He would talk about them if the situation occurred, he didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of secrets, but Pomni was all that mattered. And that was okay.
With one last sigh, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, joining her in a peaceful, blissful sleep. His dreams for the rest of the night were filled with the smiles of a certain brunette.
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Another day, another adventure. Everyone already had the same shared opinion of Caine’s adventures, but one of the worst things they all agreed on had to be mentally preparing themselves for whatever it was going to be. It was a process that had each one of them dreading for whatever Caine had created for them. Sometimes they were the most thrilling and exciting experiences they ever had, others were boring and had them wanting to go back to their quarters, but the worst ones had to be when they were left emotionally or physically scarred with the most haunting imagery that would be stuck in their minds forever. They never understood why Caine would create such adventures like those, how could he ever think they were fun?
Jax shuddered, hoping for at least a boring adventure instead of the awful third option. He turned to Pomni – who was busy talking to Ragatha – he definitely didn’t want her dealing with that type of adventure. She had already been through enough as it is. He knew that they were to keep a low profile, but he also knew that Caine was unpredictable. Whatever adventure was chosen, he was going to stick as close to Pomni as he could. The last time they were separated she nearly…
“Good morning my superstars!” Caine beamed, a juxtaposition to the circus members sleepy and dreary attitude. “Don’t I have just the perfect adventure for all of you today!”
“Wow, such a surprise,” Jax grumbled under his breath. The jingle of Pomni’s giggle at his sentence made him smile, making sure it was hidden from Caine.
The pair of dentures didn’t seem to notice, simply continuing with his speech, “I know you all miss your old lives as boring humans, so being the gracious ringmaster that I am, I decided to base our new adventure around one of your earthly activities I heard one of you mumble about – though I can’t seem to remember who said it.”
Everyone gawked at that. Caine so rarely laid any notice or curiosity to what the outside world was like, stuck in a firm belief that the circus was the greatest place to ever reside in. This was the first time that he mentioned basing an activity on the real world, what could he even imagine what said activity involved? But more importantly, what activity did he pick?
“I’ve done the amount of research that I felt bothered to do and created this!” With a snap of his fingers, there was a flash of light and the walls of the tent disappeared. Each member blinked, rubbing their eyes from the sudden bright light. When the brightness faded, they let out a small gasp at the scene around them.
An orange sunset, tall and long hedges and miles upon miles of fresh golden corn. Caine had created a cornfield maze. Other than the vegetable, Jax felt a tingling familiarity at the sight of the maze, the memories of falling asleep with a certain jester and dreaming about his best memories of his past in a place just like this. He looked to Pomni, she seemed to be having the same familiar feeling too. She turned her head to him, her eyes twinkling and her smile sweet. He returned it with the same warmth.
“Your goal is simple!” Caine interrupted the couple’s train of thought. “It will be a race between each one of you! Whoever collects the most corn by the end of the adventure wins…oh I actually haven’t thought about that. Um, what do humans usually win at these things?”
“Oh, well it ranges from a lot of different things,” Ragatha piped up. “It could range from prize ribbons, stuffed toys, sometimes even food. Something that most people can enjoy!”
Caine hummed, tapping a finger against the bottom of his jaw, as though he were deep in thought about a life changing matter rather than a prize for a silly game, “Aha! I’ve got it! The prize can be…water! Everyone likes water! Right?”
Ragatha cringed, not surprised in the slightest from his answer, “Sure Caine.”
“Well then, I’ll you all to get started superstars!” the ringmaster grinned, about to snap his fingers. “Oh I should mention, you’re all going to be separated until all of you have found an exit! Okay, bye!”
“Wait, what?!” Pomni paled, but her question was cut short but the familiar snap of Caine’s fingers.
Jax whipped round, his heart pounding. No, no, no! He promised her he would stay! He promised to protect her! He let his feet run as fast as they would take him, not letting the red and blue woman leave his sight for a moment. But she was quickly replaced by green, towering hedges covered with the yellow vegetable he had to collect.
Jax begin to pant heavily, panic filling him from head to toe. Would she be alright? They hadn’t left each other’s sides ever since they got their memories back, too afraid to let go as if they were afraid this were only another hope filled dream. Was she alright being on her own? What is something happened to her?
He took a breath, smoothing his hands over his ears until they sprung back up, picking up the basket placed next to him. Curse Caine and his sudden stupid rules. It didn’t matter, all he had to do was pick a few pieces of corn and find an exit. Maybe he would run into Pomni as well? Yeah, that’s what he had to focus on. Finding Pomni.
He plucked a piece of the edge, placing it inside the brown woven basket before walking down the path. He would find Pomni…
He will find Pomni.
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Knock, knock
“Come in!” a woman’s voice called through the door.
Riley’s wrapped her hand around the knob of the captain’s office door, with it creaking as it slowly swung open. A slender woman with warm, dark skin and brown locs sat at a table, reading through the files on her desk. Ever since Penny and Jack’s disappearance, it had thrown their entire case for a loop. But that was part of the reason why Riley was here.
“How can I help you Agent Reed?” she asked, looking up briefly before returning her attention to the papers.
“Good afternoon ma’am,” Riley stood straight, hands clasped together in front of her. The perfect picture of professionalism. “I’ve just come to receive a warrant to do a search.”
“State the place and case Reed, and I’ll see what I can do,” Rae nodded, sifting through the dozens of notes.
Riley bit her lip, praying this would work, “C&A industries ma’am, for the Penny Reed and Jack Bloom cases.”
Rae paused, the silence was somehow more deafening than Riley ever imagined it could be. The captain placed the papers down, looking back up at red-haired woman, “Weren’t you there a while ago for your case? Something about seeing if a possible witness was involved somehow?”
“Yes ma’am,” Riley nodded. “And I believe that he might be right. Which is why I’m requesting the warrant.”
“It’s also funny that you mention the case for your sister and Mr Bloom,” said Rae.
Riley raised a brow, “What do you mean?”
“We just received word this morning that the files for the missing persons cases that were related to C&A went missing. I was about to make an announcement but as you can see, because of the recent incidents I’ve become more swamped with paperwork that usual,” Rae sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Riley cringed, “It’s really become that bad?”
“Since Jack Bloom was connected to C&A, it’s opened a whole pipeline,” Rae told her. “Apparently, the company is extremely defensive with being accused of these sorts of things, and it’s not the first time someone disappeared on their property on in relation to them. However we haven’t found any proof that they were involved, so we’re still stuck in limbo until we find something to shut them down.”
“That’s why I’m asking for this warrant ma’am. There might be a chance that C&A have these files,” Riley explained. “Some of the cases had this company involved before, right? Not all, but some? Maybe this could be a good chance to see how they were connected to C&A?”
“You sure you got the right plan for this, Reed?” Rae questioned, raising a brow. Her tone was stern but not demeaning in the slightest. “C&A have a pretty tight record. One slip from us and they’ve got lawyers, attorneys, everything coming after us.”
“As long as we have the warrant, we have the right to say we’re allowed to be there,” Riley said. “I’m not going into this blind ma’am, I’ve got a plan and I know what I’m doing.”
“It’s not that I doubt you Riley, but I do know that this case is personal to you. Since it’s your sister going missing as well,” Rae took note of how the redhead tried not to stiffen up at the mention of her sister. “I just don’t want you going into this with wool over your eyes. I’ve been seeing how you and Winter come into work sometimes. Both of you would never stop grinning and smiling at one another, now it looks like you two have become strangers. I don’t want these cases getting to you to the point where you feel like you’re losing yourselves.”
Riley crossed her arms over her chest, gazing down to the floor as though she were a child being scolded. Every time she saw Winter’s face - downed and saddened from the past few months - she wanted nothing more than to kiss every inch of it. She knew Winter wasn’t ignorant to her attempts to avoid anything that attached Penny’s name to it, like retracting a hand from touching a burning flame. But she saw how it was affecting Winter. She knew that she was only trying to help, yet Riley kept turning away, kept refusing any conversation about how she was feeling. It was making things worse, she knew that. Yet the fear of watching Winter tear herself apart from grief and pain had imprinted itself on her mind, and she just couldn’t muster the courage to try and talk to her wife.
One day Riley promised herself, one day I’ll say something. Just…not now.
“Everything is fine ma’am,” she reassured Rae. “These cases are stressful, but not impossible.”
Rae hummed under her breath, fiddling with her ring finger before saying, “Okay, I’ll send to you later today. You better know what you’re doing.”
Riley grinned, a sigh of relief escaping her, “I do ma’am.”
She gave a quick nod to her superior, turning on her heel and grabbed the door handle before Rae called her one last time, “Riley.” The redhead faced her boss again. “I’m serious, be careful with this. C&A aren’t to be taken lightly.”
The captain’s voice was stoic, serious, holding deep truth that Riley was slightly nervous to ask about. But she knew that Rae was right, they had to be careful with this. “I will ma’am.”
With that, she walked out the office, straightening her blazer. She whipped her phone out of her pocket, typing quickly once it was in her hands.
I got the warrant Samual
Be ready
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Riley had told her to wait, just until things were set in stone. But Amber had never felt so restless in her life. Here she was, waiting in her living room by her old computer, with both of her daughters out of reach. Was this really what was expected of her to do? Nothing? For god’s sake! Penny was trapped inside a literal video game and she was supposed to wait?! How could any mother simply do that without complaint?!
Amber groaned, burying her face in her hands before standing and walking to the kitchen. She at least had to do something to keep her mind busy, maybe some tea would help. After all, if she had anymore coffee she was sure she would only get more agitated. She opened the cupboards, her eyes roaming each corner before landing on a familiar yellow box. She reached her hand in to fish it out, sighing with slight melancholy when she saw what type of tea it was.
Chamomile, Penny’s favourite.
Penny who completed half of Amber’s heart with Riley. Penny who wanted others to see the best in themselves when they weren’t able to do so. Penny who had gone through hardship after hardship only to end up in a place that forced her away from her family and into a state of terror.
No. Amber wasn’t going to stand by. She slammed the box onto the counter and marched out the kitchen and up the stairs into the hallway. She could figure out a way to help, even if it was just a little bit. When she made it up the stairs, she reached up to a little strong connected to a trapdoor on her roof, pulling on it carefully as a ladder slid down.
Amber couldn’t remember the last time she had been up the attic, it had seemed it had been decades ago since she stored the last childhood memory of the girls up here. But it held what she needed with the plan in her head. She climbed up the ladder, poking her head up through the trapdoor as coughed from the leftover dust from the wooden floorboards. It had definitely been a while since she had been up here. She lifted herself up inside, taking out her phone to turn on her flashlight. Despite the length of time, she knew where everything was placed and kept in here. Time to get to work.
In a few minutes, Amber had packed a box full of long-lost belongings way back from her time, hopefully it was what she needed as she climbed down the ladder and shut the trapdoor. She made her way back downstairs, placing the box on the coffee table once she was in the living room. She placed her hands on her hips, where would she start? She peered down at the box, filled to the brim with gadgets, old software and objects that she and the girls used to use in a time where technology wasn’t so advanced. She picked up a walkie talkie and a string of fairy lights, perhaps she could start with that. Amber had a long way to go, but still, at least she wasn’t waiting anymore.
She just hoped that this would work a little bit, as long as it helped bring Penny home.
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Pomni sighed as she picked up another piece of corn, placing it in her basket. She did panic when she was separated from her fiancé and the others, but so far the adventure didn’t seem to be too hectic. Just a peaceful stroll in the fields while picking corn. She smiled, breathing in the fresh air – as fresh as simulated air could be at least. Doing this reminded her of similar activities she, her mother and sister used to do when they were younger. To get away from work, school, chaos, her father. To just have a day where they could focus on making happy memories. Well, it worked.
It almost felt normal, but…she wished this was something she was doing with Riley and her mother. Riley would lift her onto her back for a ride, despite her younger sister’s protests of not being a child anymore yet would still cling to her like a koala. Amber would be pestering the girls in a way to make them smile, perhaps picking up one of the pieces of corn and waving it like a sword as she chased her daughters.
Pomni gripped the handle of her basket, a shaky breath leaving her lips. She missed them so, so much. She just wanted to go home. She wanted to feel the waft of the warm oaky smell that hit her every time she entered her mother’s home. She wanted to be squeezed in one of Riley’s protective hugs. She wanted to explore every area of her childhood home, to make sure that each place was burned into her mind so she would never forget it ever again. “I miss you guys,” she whispered under her breath, despite the isolation of where she stood.
She shook her head, she had to get a grip. Right now she had to focus on completing this adventure so she could get back to Jax and figure out the next step of their plans. Just as she was about to reach for another piece of the vegetable, a small blue butterfly fluttered out from the leaves and stems. Pomni let out a yelp at the sudden appearance, tripping and falling back, the corn spilling out of the basket as it toppled to the ground. She kicked her feet, backing away from the bug – the last time she was near a butterfly she nearly…
She started to tremble at the memory, internally scolding herself for getting frightened by a single insect. But the feeling of the cold water forcing her down, down, down – burning her lungs as the simulated feeling of being unable to breathe wouldn’t leave her brain. Her chest started to heave with each panicked pant as the butterfly inched closer, fearing that it would glitch if it touched her again and send her into another spiral.
It got closer, she shut her eyes, bracing for that painful static when-
“Don’t be afraid.”
Her eyes snapped open, scanning the area. She swore she heard a voice, like it belonged to an older woman. But it was just her and the butterfly.
“It’s not going to hurt you dear,”
There it was again, “Who’s there?!”
“Just someone who wants to help.”
Pomni scoffed, disbelief curling her lips into strained smile, “How can I trust you if I can’t even see you?”
“I’m sorry. I wish you could, but the rules of this game won’t allow you to see my face. Not anymore.”
The jester raised a brow. Here was a voice, a voice so different, so foreign and unlike anything she had ever heard in the circus before. But for some reason, it didn’t seem bad to trust it. Despite it not actually being her, the voice reminded her of the soft tone her mother used to use to comfort her.
Pomni gulped, looking at the butterfly again. It was simply floating there, no threat lingering in the slightest. Maybe, just maybe. She lifted her hand, her face cringing as she turned away, shoulders stiffening in case that glitch did happen. The tiny feet of the bug landed on her finger. Nothing. No pain, no glitch, just the butterfly resting there as it waited for the jester to make her next move.
She opened her eyes, she was okay. She looked up, trying to detect where that voice came from, “Thank you.” It felt silly, sitting in the dirt as she called out for someone she couldn’t see, but sillier things have happened in this circus. She looked back at the butterfly, letting it crawl across her hand, “Sorry for getting scared earlier. You seem like a friendly guy. I’m sure Kinger would like you.”
The butterfly seemed nice, and it was gentle, but why did the one from before glitch? And why was there a voice this time telling her not to be afraid? With each passing day since she got her memories back, more questions kept opening up. She stood up, picking up her basket and placing the small bug inside, “Guess we’ll need to figure you out later. Hope you don’t mind the corn, I don’t want Caine finding you just in case anything happens.”
The butterfly didn’t seem to mind, already laying down on top one of the vegetables like it was a bed. Pomni smiled, lowering the lid and continued her trail. Now this was definitely going to be an interesting story to tell Jax. She just hoped he was okay.
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Jax grumbled as he hit another dead end. He had given up picking up corn a long while ago, settling for trying to find Pomni instead. But each path he took only seemed to lead him down the wrong way, as though the map of this adventure was mocking him. He gripped his ears, pulling slightly. “Easy adventure my @ss Caine,” he muttered under his breath. This was just getting tedious now.
He heard a rustle behind him, making him jump like the type of animal his avatar was. Perhaps it was one of the others? Or maybe Caine added a last-minute boss to try and make things more interesting – yet harder for them. But no, instead it was…him?
At least it looked like him, but much younger. He looked about he was no older than three, his hair shorter while wearing soft clothing stamped in little train patterns. What was going on.
“Come on sweetie!”
A new voice rung out. He looked up, a young couple came up behind the boy, reaching out their hands to him. “We have to start the maze!” the woman said, smiling at the child.
“Okay mama!” the young boy giggled, clutching his hand into hers as the wandered further into the maze.
Jax blinked, his feet trailing behind the trio. He felt like a dog on a leash going after them. Who were these people, why didn’t he remember this? Were they his…his parents? But they couldn’t be possible, his parents left him in social services ever since he was, well, the age the younger version of him here was. But then again, his earliest memory was him in a car going to his very first foster home, nothing before that.
Maybe, just maybe. They weren’t like anything like he pictured them to be, they seemed nice to younger him. Perhaps something else happened, perhaps he really used to be loved.
And so, he followed them. Tracing their lefts and rights, wherever they would go. They seemed like good people, laughing at their little boy’s antics and playing along with whatever imaginary game he came up with. He even felt himself smiling, a tear even escaping his eye at the long-lost image of the family in front of him.
Eventually they stopped, the couple sharing a look before starting down the young boy. Jax froze, what was going on? There was another rustle, a small rabbit jumping out of the stems of corn as it ran down the path. “Honey look!” the mother pointed with a grin. “What’s that?!”
“A bunny!” the little boy replied with excitement, jumping up and down on the spot. Jax’s stomach began to churn.
“It wants you to play tag with it,” the father said. “Don’t leave it waiting.”
“Okay!” the boy nodded, taking a few steps but pausing when he saw his parents weren’t following along. “Aren’t you playing as well?”
“We’ll meet you at the end of the maze,” his mother said, her tone loving despite the dread of this situation building more and more. “You’re a big boy now, I’m sure you can do it on your own.”
“Oh yeah, I can!” the young Jack looked so happy saying that, so unknowing of the true danger he was put in. “I’ll see you soon! Come back little bunny!”
He ran off, chasing the small rodent down the path. Jax shook his head, this couldn’t be happening. Why would they let a kid go off on his own?! What were they thinking. As the boy wandered further down the path, the smiles on the parents faces dropped, grief and tearful fear replacing it instead. The man placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder, rubbing it reassuringly to try and rid some of the guilt that was possibly building inside her.
She nodded to him, taking a deep breath before turning on her heel and walked away in the opposite direction of her son, her husband doing the same. Jax’s heart plummeted, “No, wait!” He cried out, but it only fell on the deaf ears of a forgotten memory. “Don’t do this! Come back!”
He turned in the other direction, that younger version of him was on his own, going after the rabbit in a wild goose chase, to never see his parents again. He chased after him, there was no way this could be true, there was no way.
He saw the boy in front of him, his small form contrasting again the setting sun in the distance. Though this time he wasn’t chasing a rabbit anymore. “Mama! Papa! Where are you!” he wailed, rubbing away tears on his chubby cheeks. “I wanna go home!”
Jax began to shake his head in disbelief, this couldn’t have happened. His parents, they really…left him.
His eyes darted back to where the boy was, but he was gone too, leaving him alone in the field. No parents, no younger him nothing. He was completely and utterly isolated. The rabbit from earlier suddenly jumped out in front of him again, making eye contact with the taller avatar. His nose twitched as the two maintained eye contact, Jax’s eyes blurring with panicked tears.
The rabbit tore off again, leaving him stunned in place, “W-wait! Where are you going!” He chased after it again, just like how his younger self did. “Why are you doing this?! What’s going on?!”
The rabbit didn’t make a noise, it only kept running. Jax did the same, his lungs burning and mind spinning with more questions building as tears streamed down his cheeks. Why was he remembering this now?! How did he even get these memories?! Why him?! Why was this happening to him?!
Why did his parents leave him behind?! Did they just not love him enough to keep him?! But they were crying! They had to have loved him, right? Otherwise they wouldn’t have done that! Or maybe they just couldn’t have them in their lives. He didn’t have a place with them, in the world outside or this world in this game. He was pathetic, useless, he deserved all the bad things that happened to him. HE DESERVED EVERY PAINFUL THING THAT CAME HIS WAY-
“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” he screamed, his fingers pulling on the fur on his scalp.
He skidded to a halt, gawking at what was in front of him. His old foster house, where he grew up. It was tattered and broken, the complete opposite to how it looked way back when in appearance, but remained exactly the same with how it made him feel. He sniffed, his hands clutching at his chest as his heart squeezed painfully. There was a reason he was here, wasn’t it? To finally get his comeuppance for every bad deed he caused in his life. For how he acted to others in his past life, to how he treated the others in the circus, and how he hurt Penny.
The house creaked along with the stinging wind that made Jax shiver, as though it were whispering him to go inside. He should go inside.  He lifted his foot, about to take another step-
“Jax!”
He stopped, turning back. Pomni’s voice rung out to him in the distance, “Jax! Where are you?!”
She was looking for him.
She cared about him.
She loved him.
Jax smiled, rubbing away the access tears that stained his cheeks. Maybe there was a reason for him to hurt like this, but there was also a reason to keep fighting. Pomni. He looked back to the house, the churning feeling ebbing away slowly though not fully disappearing. Perhaps forgotten things were meant to be forgotten.
He turned on his heel, running back into the maze. He had a jester to find.
The house abandoned once and for all.
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“I’ll say it before and I’ll say it again,” said Samual. “This feels just like a movie.”
Riley rolled her eyes as the car pulled up to a corner near the building of C&A. She was fully aware of the déjà vu she was getting, but this time she had the proof in front of her and a case to fulfil. “You go in first and go to the room where the files are. Wait for five minutes then text me to come in,” she instructed to the boy. “If we’re gonna do this, we need to make sure that Jason doesn’t get suspicious.”
“He might be already,” Samual admitted. “After I brought you here, he’s been acting kinda funny.”
“Well we’ll just have to be as careful as we can,” Riley said. “Just do what I told you and come to me if anything happens, I’ve got your back.”
Samual exhaled, mentally preparing himself as he stared at the building ahead of him, “Alright, here goes nothing.”
He climbed out the car, making his way over and inside the tall building. Riley waited until her phone pinged before jumping out herself and making her way over. She did the usual routine of what she would do whenever she got a warrant - go in, check in with the receptionist and have free reign of her search. She took a mental note of how uneasy the receptionist looked when she saw the agent again, Samual was right about Jason being at edge since her last visit. His glass house didn’t seem to be as stable as he wanted it to be anymore.
She made her way to the elevator, checking her phone to see where Samual said he would be waiting for her as the doors shut behind her. As the elevator creaked and shifted as it lifted up, the looming hidden threat of this place started to dawn on the redhead. This company had possibly managed to cover up the disappearances of so many people for nine years, including its own CEO and his wife. And now Penny and Jack were in the belly of the beast as well.
She understood why Rae was so worried with messing up, one mistake could quite literally cost someone their life. Hers, Samual’s, her mother’s, anyone. She had to be careful. The elevator dinged, opening their doors as she stood out and saw Samual at an open door down the hall, signaling for her to come towards him.
Riley nodded, remaining as casual as possible until she reached the room and Samual shutting the door behind her. “Alright, where do we start?” Riley asked, clasping her hands together.
“It should be on this computer,” Samual told her. “Jason doesn’t like keeping stuff like that on his own computer in case he gets caught.”
“So he’d rather have someone else take the fall, how chivalrous,” Riley muttered sarcastically.
“Tell me about it,” Samual muttered. Riley looked over at him with amusement, this was the first time she actually heard him have a bit of an attitude. He sat down, cracking his fingers and rolling his neck as he logged onto the computer. “Okay, I can do this.” He pulled a bag onto his lap, the C&A logo on top as he pulled out a USB. “I snuck into his office the other day. And before you get on at me for doing it before getting the warrant, Jason was gone for the day and it was the only time in the security guards schedule where they weren’t watching his office the whole time.”
“Holy shit kid,” Riley laughed. She should be mad, really she should. But goddamn she couldn’t help but be impressed. “You have guts. So, where exactly are these files in the USB’s?”
“These USB’s have old games codes,” Samual replied. “Sometimes if we have any unfinished demos, we store information in them to make sure other competition don’t try and steal it, to put it in a place where no one would think to find.”
“And if the case files in the USBs, then Jason can carry them around wherever he wants,” Riley finished.
“Yup,” Samual sighed. “Okay, I think I know what to do here.”
In just little time, the kid had managed to open a whole different part on the USB, old coding and files appearing and scattering over the screen. Riley felt as though she had to take a step back from how intense it seemed, but Samual was unfazed a focused, still clicking and typing as though this were as simple as clicking a browser away.
“I got it,” Samual spoke up eventually, turning to Riley and holding his hand out. “You got the other one?”
“Uh, yeah,” Riley reached into her pocket, taking out another USB and placing it into Samual’s hands.
“If we take everything off this, Jason’s gonna get more suspicious,” Samual told her. “I can make copies for you to take back and from there we’ll try and figure a way to get it loaded into the game back at your mom’s place.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Riley agreed, watching him work as she glanced at the door every so often.
It felt as though hours went by, but eventually, Samual had done it. The files were copied and put into the other USB. They had done it. “We got it!” he exclaimed, a small cheer in the back of his tone.
“Looks like it,” Riley grinned, putting the USB back in her pocket. “I gotta get going, before your boss finds out what’s-”
The door slammed open, another feeling of déjà vu and piercing cold fear shooting down Riley and Samual’s backs. “What are you doing back here?!” Jason growled.
Riley sneered at him, crossing her arms as she stood in front of Samual. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice, “I have a warrant to check this place out since the files for our cases went missing. And since your name is the main one on Jack Bloom’s case, that means I have to search the place. AKA, doing my job.”
“What gives you the right to speak to me that way,? Jason sneered.
Riley scoffed, “Other than the fact that I’m trying to find people I care about, you don’t get to speak to me that way either.”
“Oh really?” Jason raised a brow. “I’m sure your boss will disagree.”
He stepped aside, revealing the disappointed face of Captain Rae, almost looking tired as she stepped into the room. Riley paled when another face appeared in the door – Winter. “Winter, Captain Rae, what’s going on?” Riley asked.
“We got a call from Mr Wood that you came here under the guise of a warrant to steal game codes for their rival companies,” Captain Rae sighed. “And since I’m your boss, I had to be taken away from work to make sure my agents aren’t fucking up.”
“Excuse me?!” Riley’s eyes widened, appalled as she started at the man beside her boss, who seemed to be getting smugger when Winter spoke up.
“One of the employees here managed to find Samual taking out property from Mr Wood’s office before calling you,” Winter told her. “They were concerned that you were using the cases in order to make C&A look bad.”
“That’s bullshit!” Riley snapped. “My sister is involved in these cases, do you really think I would risk her safety over fucking game codes?!” Riley was treading on dangerous waters, and she knew it. But no one messed with her sister, especially not some big shot who believed he could get away with this.
“And what exactly is in that computer over there?” Jason pointed out, his tone slightly mocking. Riley’s face fell as she glanced towards the monitor. While she was glad that he didn’t know about the spare USB, she knew that this looked really bad.
Samual stepped forward, “It was my idea!”
Everyone turned to him, even Jason – his face darkening.
Samual gulped as he continued, “I wanted to help Miss Riley with the case and decided to do some unethical routes in order to help her. You can even check the USB, the game codes are still there.”
Jason hummed, pushing past Riley as he, Rae and the others made their way to the computer. Riley nearly sighed with relief when the appearance of the game codes was still there. To the others, it looked like normal files that you expected to find at this company. But to Jason, it meant that his secret was still safe. He straightened his back as he turned back to the others, a faux grin on his face, “It seems that I was mistaken. I do apologize for wasting your time Captain Rae. I just wanted this whole mess taken care of, we wouldn’t want to go to court over this after all.”
“No, we wouldn’t,” Rae retorted in a monotone voice. “We’ll be on our way, thank you for your apology Mr Wood.”
The four walked out the room, Jason’s stare burning on their backs as the door was shut behind him. Rae halted, spinning back round as she went face to face with Riley, “I told you not to be stupid!”
“I wasn’t ma’am,” Riley froze, immediately reverting back to the professional position she was back when she was asking for the warrant. “I did as you told me to. Search with the warrant and try to find out what was going on. I didn’t know he was gonna pull that shit.”
“This isn’t a game Riley, Jason Wood can and will do anything he can in order to keep himself and C&A at the top!” Rae hissed. She stepped back, rubbing her temples to dispel the approaching headache. “Did you at least find anything?”
Riley opened her, mouth about to reveal what she found when clarity struck her. How exactly could she explain this without sounding crazy? She almost didn’t believe Samual when he told her about this, so how could she explain this to her captain? And the files still looked the same as they did from the computer, no other person would be able to tell the difference about how they looked unless they had the tech knowledge that Samual did. All it would show was exactly what Jason had tried to frame her about, “No, I’m sorry.”
Rae exhaled sharply, “Next time you’re gonna be reckless, think twice before landing yourself in hot water, Reed.”
Riley lowered her head to the ground, “Yes ma’am.”
Rae sighed turning back on her heel and walked away.
Winter came up behind her wife, sharing the same scowl as their boss, “We’re talking about this when we get home.” She didn’t let Riley say a word, already walking away and towards the elevator.
Riley rubbed her eyes, this was not how she wanted her day to end. Samual came up, fiddling with his ring finger awkwardly, “I’m really sorry Miss Riley.”
“It’s fine kid,” she mumbled. “You just get home and call me if you need me.”
Samual nodded, not wanting to prod any further as he walked away as well.
Riley just wanted to fade into nothing there and then. What type of hell was she getting herself into?
.
.
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Winter tapped her foot as she waited in the living room, dressed in a pyjama tank top and shorts with her hair tied into an uneven ponytail. Riley was half an hour late. She already had a habit of obviously avoiding a situation, but this was out in the open with how hard she was trying now. Winter groaned, picking up the bottle of wine of the coffee table in front of her and poured it into a glass, she didn’t want to be sober dealing with this.
She let the liquid run down her throat, relieving some of the stress when she heard the door open. Finally.
Riley shut the door behind her, setting down her bag when she noticed Winter eyeing her down, “Where’s Percy?”
“Asleep,” Winter retorted, setting down the glass. “We need to talk.”
“Listen, I know how that looked back there,” Riley started. “But it wasn’t what you think it was.”
“Really? Riley a CEO of a billion-dollar company almost got you fired!” Winter exclaimed, setting down her glass. “What am I supposed to think?!”
“Everything I’ve been doing was to find Penny and Jack,” Riley told her. “And you really think that I would so something like that?”
“Of course not, but you’ve put me in a corner ever since Penny went missing and left me to gather dust!” Winter cried. “Now all of a sudden you’re sneaking into buildings and won’t tell me why, other than to just blindly trust you! Riley that isn’t fair! You have to tell me what’s going on!”
Riley peered behind her, grimacing at the empty wine glass on the table, “Have you been drinking on a work night.”
Winter placed her hands on her hips, refusing to back down, “I only had one glass, you know that’s all I have on work nights. And it won’t be enough for me to be distracted from this conversation.”
“I’m just thinking about Percy, okay?!” Riley groaned. “Sorry that I want to protect our son!”
“Oh please, not everyone is your father Riley,” Winter growled.
The redhead stiffened, her jaw tightening, “Back down, now.”
“No!” Winter shook her head. “You’re hiding something from me and I know it. All I want is to help you, but you act like I’m nothing but an annoyance to you. And now you’re pulling this shit and nobody will tell me why, not even you! You never keep secrets from me.” Winter’s voice broke, clutching the fabric of her tank top on her chest. “You’re hurting so much and it’s killing me seeing you like this. So why?! Why are you hiding things from me? What did I do?! Why are you allowed to protect me but I’m not allowed to do the same for you?!”
Riley wanted nothing more than to cry and bring Winter into her arms. Everything her wife said was true to a fault. She wanted to tell her about Jack, she wanted to tell her all her plans, she wanted to tell her how the grief and fear of Penny disappearing had been eating her alive for the past few months-
Percy’s cry broke her from spiral, alerting the two mothers. Riley sighed, “I’ll get him.”
Winter tried to stop her, “Riley-”
“Winter, please,” Riley��s voice was soft and desperate. “Please. I just want some silence.”
The other woman sniffed, backing away from her wife. Guilt churned in Riley’s stomach as she watched her wife face away, hearing her light sobs. This was for the best, at least she’s safe. With that, she went up the stairs to her crying baby.
Winter curled up on the sofa. Never before had she wished for her brother as she did now.
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Jax gasped as the maze disappeared. He was still chasing after Pomni’s voice, but apparently Caine had announced that Gangle was the winner and brought them all back. He nearly fell to his knees when he saw the jester, she was okay.
“Well that adventure was certainly…an adventure!” Caine boomed. “I don’t fully understand your silly human activities, but tomorrow we’ll return to our regular schedule of fun, fun, FUN!”
“Yeah, yeah, great,” Jax said absentmindedly, his eyes still on Pomni as the jester looked at him, relief in her eyes as well.
“Good to hear your positive spirit Jax!” Caine grinned, about to lift his hand and pat him on the back when the rabbit flinched, arms arched over his head to protect himself.
Everyone gaped at that, Jax never flinched. Pomni brought her hands to her mouth, she knew what that meant.
“I, um. Jax, are you alright?” Caine asked, his tone much softer than it usually was.
Jax blinked, everyone was staring at him. He lowered his arms back to his sides, “I’m fine.”
Pomni bit her lip, he was anything but fine.
Even Caine was surprised by the rabbit’s actions, “Uh…right. Anyways I’m gonna…yeah I’ll just go.” The AI floated away, leaving the group in their stunned silence.
Jax ignored them, rushing to Pomni and dropped to the ground, wrapping her tight in his arms. He was shaking like a leaf, whatever he had seen in that corn maze had left its mark on him. She uncurled herself out of his embrace, holding his face in her hands as she lightly stroked his cheek. “Come on,” she held out her hand.
He hesitated for a moment, before his fingers intertwined with hers. She pulled him up, picking up both of their forgotten backets as she led him back to her room. The others were still staring, but she didn’t care. Right now, Jax needed her.
She shut the door behind her, letting him get comfy on her bed as she put the baskets back down and joined him on the red and blue mattress. “What happened?” it was only one question, but he could hear so much behind it. I’m here for you, tell me anything and everything, you’re safe.
“I-I think I saw myself in that maze?” he said. “Well, myself but younger, much younger. And my birth parents were there. I know, its stupid and stuff like this happens sometimes but…why do I remember this now? I thought I was okay with my past. Now seeing them, it only what makes what my foster family did to me even worse.”
Pomni was silent, taking in every part of what he said, “Show me where it hurts?”
He peered up at her, it had been a while since she said that to him. But both of them knew that what she did next helped more than he could imagine. He raised his arm, the same one that his foster father used to burn his cigarettes on. She held it gently in her hands, pressing gentle kisses to the appendage.
Tears trailed down the dried stain on his cheeks, his arm trembling slightly. She was so careful with him, giving him the kindness that the adults who failed him could never give him. “I know this isn’t much,” she mumbled against his fur. “But I love you more than anything. Those people never deserved you. I wish I could erase all the pain they caused you. All I hope than when I do this.” She pressed a kiss to his wrist. “You know that I’ll be with you despite everything.”
His breath staggered for a bit, it was so long since he felt the overwhelming feeling of being genuinely wanted by someone. His hands cupped her cheeks, pulling her closer and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was messy, frantic but neither of them could pull away, they needed each other.
They parted when the need for air was too strong, with Jax holding her close so Pomni could hear his heartbeat. His head was still swarming, spinning. But her simple touch was all he wanted to think about. All that he needed. The bad stuff wouldn’t go away. However for now, this was enough.
“There’s one more thing I need to tell you,” Pomni mumbled.
Jax pushed off her hat, pressing his nose to her hair as he hummed, “And what’s that?”
“Well,” she separated from him again, the rabbit already missing her warmth as she picked up her basket from the maze. Lifting the lid, she picked up the little butterfly as she cupped it in her hands. “I found this little guy during the adventure. But the way I found him? You’re gonna want to sit back for this…have invisible people ever spoke to you in this place before?”
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Fairy lights were strung up, an old tape recorder and radio were placed together on the coffee table, and a walkie talkie was held in Amber’s hands. Hooked into the recorder and radio was a large wire leading to the computer. Amber clenched her fists, it was now or never.
She turned on the walkie talkie, “Penny? Are you there?”
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notallwonder · 3 months
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Posting my reactions to the new CM episodes late though I've been watching as the episodes have come out. They've just been sitting in drafts.
Without further ado.....
CME my beloved and beloathed!!
spoilers beneath the cut, but mostly nonsense
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really loving JJ (always) and Tara (yes ma'am)
and Emily, my Emily, dear emily. Yes, drag Rossi girl.
which is not to say I'm not happy to see Penelope too
Are JJ's eyebrows darker I think?
tiny crumb for the jara folx - JJ reassuring Tara with "you're hot..." (correct)
LOOOOVE Luke manhandling Tyler's injured shoulder while berating him. Luke!!!!!! <3
not JJ saying that they're "boned" lol
this interrogation scene with JJ and voit....... My single thought: "JJ hot. Hot hot. Wheweee hot!! 🔥🔥🔥 Hot lady!" just very grateful for the many shots close on her face
Emily with this teenager...empathy! connecting with a youth! I think of children of the dark (part of me is always thinking of children of the dark)
Emily giving Rossi the stink eye!! Let him have it!
Lollll Tyler Green deserves this stakeout awkwardness
ooh! rearview mirror Acting!
I do be enjoying Emily saying "fuck that noise". Still waiting with bated breath for her to get a moment to fully unleash that anger instead of shoving it down. She's a professional! And she's fucking furious!
heh heh...fart joke. at the expense of veganism
Tyler you little shit.
I'll be honest, I'm confused about these Utah cases. Also who were they staking out and why? I'm a distracted watcher. But already these first two eps are wayyy better than the start of s16. A touch of awkward exposition here and there but these eps are more rich in plot & character stuff, and the dialogue is better. yay! Obv they didn't have to do so much heavy lifting since s16 established almost all of what we're dealing with now, but I hope the improvement also is a reflection of better working conditions for the writers & producers.
oh boy, I do NOT LIKE voit saying JJ's name LMAO How Dare! Want to punch him!
Am suitably intrigued by the social contagion/conspiracy theory conceit! The mind games and planting/nurturing seeds of self doubt.
Emily apparently blaming herself hard for Bailey's death & thrown off her axis. Girl could probably use a rage room.
I do love this show, I do. My precious carousel of disappointments.
I thought maybe i'd have a hard time transitioning back to cm land after being trapped in a swirling vortex of firefighter shows for months, but guess what. I'm back and more mesmerized by JJ / AJ Cook than ever.
0 notes
standardquip · 5 months
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Black Lagoon Live Reacts
A compilation of discord messages as I watched the entirety of Black Lagoon over the course of ~1 week. CW: racism(?), spend a lot of time talking about nazis and swastikas, also mentions of child trafficking and sexual violence
Bonus: learn a little bit about my time in the US Navy
wow black lagoon's OP's lyrics are… something
Somehow, Revy is not at all how I pictured her being based on AMVs
…. is this SBMA they did mention subic bay…. 🤔
ok I'm just going with my headcanon of this being the philippines it feels right
Also it's kinda weird this is a place I have been to this anime would hit a lot harder had I seen it closer to the time I got out of the navy
weird word choice I mean I'd probably like it a lot more back then
ep1 of black lagoon is over The ED is curious 👀 I will continue more eps later
[someone asked for clarification about what I meant about the "when I got out of the navy" thing]
It was super exciting to see shows that took place in places I've been I have a feeling that outlaw bar is based on SBMA in the philippines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subic_Bay_Metropolitan_Authority (I guess technically the location is subic bay freeport zone, but we just called it "the sbma" )
We stopped there every deployment to stock up on supplies and it was so dirty that eventually I just stopped getting off the ship because it wasn't worth it
I also really was into any anime that had anything to do with Kyushu, which is where the home port was (Sasebo specifically) I was stationed on an LHD (amphibious assault ship) and our base was shared with JSDF ships We didn't interact with them much, but I went to their cafeteria once
Anyway, it was just cool to be like "Hey I recognize XYZ" in anime Same as anyone noticing their local areas, I assume
It just got extra cool points because "my places" were more "exotic" in relation to my american peers, I guess
Nowadays I have so few emotions it's like "Oh, cool…. anyway" Also it's now 10+ years ago. So it feels kind of dumb to keep holding on to those memories. Especially when it was barely 3 years of my life
ep3 of black lagoon cambodia Another place I've been :heh: just wear the shirt, Rock, you fool
ep4 is about nazis
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I wonder if this was intentional.
I just got back from my neighbors They talked for an hour 😩 I am back to ep4 of black lagoon
Idk how many eps I will watch today It seems like a good show but it is again, episodic ok these are clearly nazis They call themselves nazis they heil hitler but their armbands have some symbol other than the swastika
… why bother?
this story continues to ep5 So guess I'll watch that one too ok they specifically mention hitler but they don't actually do the hand motion
they use the iron eagle
eh…. If you want to censor the most offensive parts, then why not use something that is based on nazis instead of actually nazis but with weird symbols? or maybe this is a real symbol I'm unfamiliar with?
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oh They just did the hitler salute for real now they're singing some nazi marching song idk if it's real or not but why go through all of this and still not show the swastika?
oop there it is
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Revy is supposed to be chinese? wtf doesn't look that at all At least Rock looks japanese-ish starting ep6 ok this is not as episodic as I thought
ep6 is the "die nazi scum" episode
ep7 some lady is editing porn videos lol
yeah you fucking go, Rock! Love this character shift
[someone says: "Black lagoon is weird. Surprisingly philosophical given that it's advertised as dumb action"]
That's surprisingly accurate.
ep 8 of black lagoon Making good time here we've entered the child trafficking episode
[someone mentions having to drop "The Great Pretender" due to a child trafficking arc]
eh it's just one kid and it's not sexual I wonder if the great pretender is worth watching (for me) though
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wow revy cleans up good
oh this isn't revy? :skeptical:
ep9 of black lagoon has been started
ep12 I love how multi-cultural this show is This ep is pretty racist though 😂
lmao boob sweat man I'm flying through these eps I guess that means I like the series I was going to start ep 13 but actually 12 was a good stopping point so guess I'll go to bed instead Bed being mindlessly scrolling through reddit til sleep comes, that is
I'm watching black lagoon ep 13 now grey haired twin kids who might be incestuous? Oh hey Thailand yet another place I've been
ep14 they shot the dogs 😔 we've reached the sexual child trafficking plot
One of the random side characters sounds like bender from futurama and that's a bit weird
ep15 wow 2 grown women who are bounty hunters / mercs and super strong split up and one of them flips out about how she can't walk to her car alone lmao what
alright so Black Lagoon actually mostly takes place in Thailand near the border of Cambodia and not SBMA at all. So of course I immediately assumed Pattaya just because that's where I've been lmao and basic google searching says I'm not far off. Black Lagoon takes place in a fictional city named Roanapur and it has a big buddha statue. Reddit claims the main theories of the location this is based on is Chanthaburi or Trat. One reddit user says that buddha statue is probably Hua Laem Pagoda, which is about 2 hours from Pattaya :wheeze: Man I really wish I watched this anime closer to my Navy time What would Navy me say about this show? this ep really is… a lot a bit too real with the horrors of child trauma :(
Oh the ED changed instead of Revy leaving her boots behind It's a girl in a nightgown oh it's the twins how sad :( ep16 time to counterfeit USD "What is it witht his city? Everyone looks so damn shady" haha Oh, sweet summer child. That's just Southeast asia lmao "Mister elvis"
oh hey the blonde nun with the sunglasses is voiced by the owl witch VA in owl house
LOTTON THE WIZARD :wheeze: (and of course he's got gray hair) ep17 the nun's name is eda how coincidental with owl house 😂
"That room's worked the last 4 times out of 7!" Ah ha A perfect 4/7 score heh
this show has a ton of strong ladies and no obvious fan service Except this episode This side character has had so many random panty shots ep 18 the localization in this is great 😂
lmao lotton the wizard is just as stupid as the name implies Love how that joke paid off WHAT A TWIST bullet proof jacket stupid american damaging the engine of the boat he's on in the middle of the goddamn ocean
ep20 lmao, of course its Roppongi
ok I think I'm done with black lagoon for the night idk if I want to go to bed yet but I'm kinda over black lagoon for now
I really don't feel like watching anything right now but I realized tomorrow is my last day of freedom before my parents come back for a month so I kind of have to finish the show now or else I most likely won't finish it at all so here we go with ep 21 of black lagoon oh this is scarred lady's flashback/backstory ep
ep22 dumb girl who's never seen danger is convinced she's strong enough to lead a band of yakuza unsurprisingly, she gets captured and starts to realize how out of her depth she is when they argue about how they're gonna rape her
Hell yeah Revy shows idiot man how much of a weak bitch he is YuGiOh's Tristan uses katana to slice bitch ass's gun IN HALF More news at 11
schoolgirl calling Rock OUT she decides to stay in the dark world and stick with the yakuza boss thing I wonder if she'll show up later ep23 scarred lady has been trying to take over japan It seems to be working looks like schoolgirl is going to stay in the picture for the next few episodes at least
really don't know what to think about Rock's whole identity crisis thing part of me wants to say he's a fool but the other part wants to say "he's 14 and this is deep" we're on ep 24 now out of 29
…. I've decided rock is an idiot
ok rock is an idiot but at least he's not completely delusional like Yukio/schoolgirl damn she killed herself the ED changed to rock music lol
I have 4 eps of black lagoon left but I am absolutely not feeling it There's just no urge to finish, no specific thing I am waiting to learn about or see happen Unless I force myself to finish today, I am 99% sure I will never pick it up again
finally starting ep25 of black lagoon Let's see if I finish this today
they should make some kind of gun maid anime they really honed in on a niche here
ep 27 grey haired wizard dude is back and he is absolutely stupid and I love him
oh no she's gonna kill the boy 😭 roberta's story is the most captivating of this series ep28 oh he got saved… lmao the wolf sounds for her LOL just kick grey haired guy right in the balls like nothing and continue on
ep29! the last one wow a revy flashback That was… something this play is falling apart I distinctly remember the major taking the gun back from the kid in the previous episode
I don't know what's going to happen here but I assume it's going to be a horrifying blood bath of all parties ewwwwww her finger
…. alright I might be too dumb to get the ending so I am just left disappointed and confused buuut I finished it So there's that, I guess
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cabbageslost · 7 months
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Live Reacting Live Action AtLA - ep 3
DANGER: Spoilers all up in here. Keep scrolling if you need more time to get to this spot in the series (or if you just don't care what I think about it. LOL)
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If you're sticking around, let's get ready to ramble on about things that cross my mind as I watch episode 3.
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Hmm, well this would have been a more effective "surprise" if they hadn't been showing Azula's actress for ages. Clearly this resistance group hadn't watched the marketing.. lol.. I do appreciate Azula being more obvious that she's a young teen.
"I might even listen to them" (Aang, about the NWT bending teachers).. now that would be a change. Ha!
I'm very meh on the way they've gone with Zhao. Random crew of Zuko reminds me more of Zhao.. heh.. But mainly the working-together (well.. supposedly together, we know he's a weasel) is throwing me off. I loved the one-upsmanship of the bad guy vs bad guy thing.
MY CABBAGES!
Always bummed we never got to see Toph in Omashu. Not that that fits this series at all, since she's not here yet bu...
Hold up. Teo/Mechanist are in Omashu, not an air temple? Unsure about this. They better put some of the fun of Omashu episode back in here. We didn't get penguin sledding, havent yet gotten mail chute sliding.. or even Bumi's trials of craziness. There's time yet though.
Azula as a crackshot archer. Hmm, wonder if she'll be one of the YuYan? Could be an extra layer when we get to the Blue Spirit part, if it's similar.
Hook swords comin' out, time to kick fire nation spy bootie! (I'll cheer for you until you go for innocent people, Jet. Assuming they left that bit in.) Also.. rest of the Freedom Fighters. Woot! Not as cool with the choice to not have Sokka there to be skeptical about it.. but then he's needed with the Mechanist, so.. Maybe he and Aang will be added in later?
Hmm, is Aang the one going to know Jet's leading shady dealing? Go little dude!
Oookay, Azula getting Zhao on her side.
Loving the sibling fight lol and I'm glad to be seeing a little more assertiveness from Katara. That temper we all loved from the first one. (even if she's wrong here lol)
Hooray for a fun Aang-Zuko fight
Well, I got my slide moment. Don't feel as fulfilled since it's high-stress rather than light-hearted joyride reminiscing.
MY CABBAGES! (will always warrant a comment)
Oh no, a cliffhanger? Well, I need sleep so it'll have to keep on hangin.
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Overall, I could see how they were working in things from Jet and from the Northern Air Temple (obviously), and from the Waterbending Scroll (the learning of the water whip).. just sticking it in this. Mainly though, it's a huge letdown to fire up an episode called Omashu and NOT get to see Bumi. And stripping most of the fun things from the episode - Aang's old man costume, him on the mail chutes, his Bumi flashbacks. Or even from the other episodes referenced.. I quite loved the showboating glider competition between Aang and Teo at the temple. Bumi better still be allowed to be a delightfully offbeat crazy old man in the next one. I don't want it fun all the time but man.. you can't take ALL the moments that spark joy. Don't be reverse-Kondoing this. LOL You've got to leave me with more than "well, the fight scenes looked cool and the music was on point." The other part that got taken away was Katara absolutely laying into Jet when she found out he was crooked. I absolutely love her strong personality, and I'm sad we have really not gotten to see it much yet. Fingers crossed ep 4 will bring me everything I want.. but tomorrow. I'm tired.
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luckydragon10 · 2 years
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KinnPorsche Ep04 Lines of Power
Hello, I’m back to call out lines of power, staging, and framing in the latest episode of KinnPorsche.
There's so much. I can't possibly call it all out, but I'll hit biggest highlights, now with actual IMM logo watermark. Isn't Philippe adorable? 🦩
More of LoP: [Trailer], [Ep01], [Ep02], [Ep03], [Ep05]
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📢 ALERT ALERT! Parallel found!!! Remember the scene from Ep 03 where I pointed out the teensy tiny line of power above Porsche's head during the Mes beating?
This damn shot is exactly the same with the tiny line above Kinn's head, the darker half of the screen to the left, and the lighter elements on the right. *eyetwitch* This show, tryin' ta kill me.
(I have a feeling I'll start finding more parallels like this. Maybe later on I'll have enough to pull them together in a special post.)
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*mutter mutter* damn mirrors *mutter mutter*
You know? I really don't care about the lines dividing the screen in top and bottom (heh, top and bottom, heh), but the POOL reflections, unf. This show has an obsession with mirrors, and it's absolutely nucking futz.
The symbolism is kind of off the charts. Just...think about inversions, and reversals, and opposites, and hidden selves and...okay, you get the idea.
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That beautiful, beautiful line between them, dividing them. In this case, it's a clear separation of dislike.
There's a LOT of this sort of vertical dividing in this episode.
Speaking of which...
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Credit to @moerusai for help with this one. I was scanning and scanning. I knew there had to be something in the Porchay Kim scene but kept missing it because it's subtle and brief. So I called in mo for backup.
See the speaker? The edge of the speaker creates a softer, subtler dividing line between the two young'uns.
I'm so soft for these two. You have no idea. 😭😭😭 C'mon, darlings, you can break down that measly little barrier!
And then there are these assholes...
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Dividing line. Diving line. FUCKING DIVIDING LINE. Shot after shot, WTF. Okay, okay already, we get it. They are NOT on the same wavelength yet, geez.
These two have issues, and it's everyone's problem, including theirs.
ALSO: In the first and third shots in this set, Porsche has a lighter background. And in ALL of the shots, Kinn has a darker background, especially that last shot. This is a reversal from Episode 3 of the scene where Kinn tended Porsche's gunshot wound, when Porsche had the dark background and Kinn had the light background.
*mutter mutter* mirrors and reversals and opposites and foils *mutter*
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Kim, I'm glad they let you out of the cage for a little bit this episode, but I'm sad that they immediately put you back in it. Oof, look at those railing posts acting like prison bars!
This dude is so trapped by circumstances. Kim, darling, it's gonna be okay (I hope).
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I try to keep the pics mostly in order of appearance in the episode, but the 10-pic limit for posts is real, so here we are.
I put these together as examples of Kinn and His Fucking Throne Habit. He's SO good at it. Everywhere he sits, he turns it into a throne.
In the sauna, he's in the higher position, in the best lighting, and that line on the left in particular is pointing right at him.
At the auction, will you look at the curved shelf behind him? That damn shelf points right at him and helps draw attention to him, as do the highlights on the top of the blue bench, plus he's very center in the frame. Even in this busy shot, he claims visual focus (while competing with the glow lamp of doom).
I desperately need to see this throne thing reversed in the future, to see a moment when he ISN'T in the king's seat. It's the only way I will feel peace and balance.
In contrast...
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Everybody puts Vegas in the corner. Because he deserves it, the sleazebag. (But he's very good at being a sleazebag, and we appreciate that. Thank you for being our villain so we can hate you.)
This framing is shit. The dude in the foreground and the lamp weaken Vegas's attempt to sprawl with his arms and take up space. Nothing is pointing to him, and the foreground dude's mysterious floating head is much more interesting than Vegas. Plus, he just looks shrunken.
He's small. He's powerless. And he haaaates it, precious.
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RESCUE MISSION!
These shots have such a feeling of tightness and claustrophobia to them. They're crowded, with tall verticals that make the characters seem hemmed in, trapped. And in the third shot, the closeness of the characters and the camera add to that sensation. All of this framing adds to the anxiety and tension of the moment.
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Sorry, no smexy scenes this round, but I might do a special LoP meta this week for something I've been tracking that also appears in the smexy scene.
In the meantime, here, have a bonus:
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Charmed. He has been fucking charmed. Is there something about the Kittiswasd bloodline that's like catnip for the Theerapanyakul brothers?
Kim's line of power is his stupidly happy smile.
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Other KP LoP breakdowns: [Trailer], [Ep01], [Ep02], [Ep03], [Ep05]
And here’s color theory from my friend @antique-forvalaka: [Hidden Messages], [Kinn + Porsche], and see the ends of posts for more color theory links.
We have all sorts of meta going on, from costuming from @chaoselmo to vocal analysis from @yeetlegay and even good humor with product placement from @biochemjess. Always more coming from the IMM!
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draceempressa · 3 years
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When I read the translations of the newest update of EP 6, the thing that comes to mind in me is when Rook tell Ortho how regretful he was that he didn't notice Vil's pain that led him to overblot. However....
Rook Hunt: I sometimes jump out of my skin when I dream about that day when Vil Overblotted.
Rook Hunt: I thought I was staring at him closer than a mirror, closer than his five million magical camera followers. 
Rook Hunt: I was standing next to him, watching him.
Rook Hunt: I don't know if his overblot could have been avoided if I had reached out to him.
Rook Hunt: To think that maybe we could have saved them would be a terrible conceit.
Rook Hunt: Vil’s anger, his despair, and his loneliness…and everyone else’s too.
Rook Hunt: I'm here so I can say, "I did all I could do."
Rook Hunt: Oh. Not for anyone else. For my own aesthetics.
I really wanna point this out. Rook, I know he ain't a perfect friend, and I know this time he's trying what he can for Vil, and he finally get to point out his mistake in not seeing Vil's pain and do something about it, I appreciate that. I'm fully aware now he isn't that fully perceptive enough to know what people are thinking. 
BUT, he has no right to say he did what he could do. He did all what he can do just now, but I can't say the same thing back in EP 5. Cause honestly, he never really did anything to get Vil to at least pacify his insecurities, he literally just standing there watching Vil get eaten by his insecurities yet he never done anything. It's just like how Trey tried to ignore Riddle's tyranny all cause he has a strained past with his parents. Rook understands Vil's desperation in wanting to outshine Neige but he seems to fail to realize that Vil's self doubts of his own beauty is eating him away and he did nothing to stop him. He only acted when Vil loses it and attempt to kill Neige. I know Rook said that even if he tried to stop him, he won't make a difference, well even if Vil will end up being stubborn, that's his choice, at least Rook tried. But Rook didn't try, he literally did NOTHING to stop Vil. Only at the end where they lose (when Rook voted for RSA) is when he console him. 
But hey, this is just a game. Vil overblotting will happen, with Rook or the others interfering or not. I'm glad Rook get to realize his mistake and try to make up for it, even if his shenanigans just to show how he cares for Vil is too hard to handle. Here's what I can say, 3 years isn't enough to know a person deep down. 
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I'll say the keyword here.
Rook Hunt: Oh. Not for anyone else. For my own aesthetics.
Look here. this one here. This is the keyword to the situation. Aesthetic. Rook, first and foremost, before everything, is an art connoisseur. Like sure, his definition of art isn't just about the physical ones, it does include personality, per se, but he clearly is that neurodivergent art connoisseur who see beauty in everything and the want to appreciate everything as if they are an art, even if they are living being close to him, more like, if they are living person near him. My homie, who is an art student, said, it would be hard to try to understand Rook if you're not an art person, who see beauty in everything.
But i will rebuke one point here. It's not that Rook didn't get Vil, no. But getting back to his "art person as his whole personality" idea, he finds beauty in the idea of being killed by Vil. Or the idea of the unyielding Vil finally breaks. He finds the idea itself artistic, you see. Not that he doesn't get Vil, no, he does.
Sure, as you say he finally realized his mistake.but it wasn't "he didn't realize Vil was breaking" per se, no, because he would have. It was more about "my selfish taste in aesthetic, wanting to see more sides of Vil is doing more damages on him in the long run and I would rather save him now rather than sating my thirst (heh) for aesthetic, so I can enjoy more of his aesthetic later" Different than Trey's coddling of "he already suffered enough so I don't call know how to call him out without hurting him", Rook's mistake is more "oh this is beautiful too . not bad to see vil sometimes like this, let us savor the aes tad bit more" , in the audience/artist sense.
Not that he enjoys vil's suffering per se, but for him, vil's overblotting is simply another struggle Vil have faced everyday and it's not any less beautiful even if tad bit more surprising. It's why he didn't try to pacify Vil, because the man himself doesn't exactly want help and Rook knows that much. Rook watched from the sidelines is out of his own artist/audience instinct as much because he knows Vil himself doesn't really want people to get too close and coddle him.
Trey is Riddle's friend, yes we know they are textbook osanajimi (childhood friends). But relationship between Rook and Vil are definitely not textbook friends, even if they ARE friends, they are more like relationship between the art and the artist (see also: pygmalion and galatea, those kind of stuff) .
Yes, all of this sounds so screwed up for a neurotypical, for our world' standard, and neither I will say Rook is right in letting Vil broke. I'm just here to explain his aesthetic, what he lives for , how he see things, and while he is wrong, not in the way you think he is.
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tag 9 people you want to get to know better!
Got tagged by @ambeauty @undertheknightwing & @escapism-through-imagination THANKS DARLINGS!
Favourite colour: Hmm, tough choice. Never really had one before. But I'd say definitely those 4 speak to me the most right now 🖤💙💜💚
Currently reading: First book in The Witcher series: The Last Wish. But 95% of the time fics are more important to read, especially when legends like @wonderbatwayne or @escapism-through-imagination drop something
Last song: Scream My Name by Tove Lo form The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Soundtrack. It's the song I got a quote from for the title of my most recent fic "When I'm Dead And Gone, Will They Sing About Me?"
Last series: Just finished watching the newest ep of a Star Wars show The Book of Boba Fett but I'm here ONLY for my boy Din Djarin and his son baby Yoda Grogu and only started watching when they appeared, otherwise didn't really give a shit. Other shows currently on my tv schedule: Euphoria, Superman & Lois, Batwoman, Legends of Tomorrow and Walker.
Last movie: just yesterday I finished 4-part documentary about Janet Jackson. I recently did a Harry Potter + Fantastic Beasts marathon and that prompted me to continue this and binge all YA sci-fi/fantasy adaptations of the golden era of last decade, aka books and movies I grew up on. Now on my list is The Maze Runner trilogy. Then Hunger Games. All 3 Hobbits and Narnia. Maybe I'll add Divergent to the mix, idk
Sweet/ savory/ spicy: All of the above, I guess. Depends on the dish
Currently working on: I just dropped a fic so I'm taking a tiny break from creating content so I can catch up on consuming it. But I have two ideas I'm going to start working on soon, I just need to decide which one do first. Also, there are drawings I want to make, but my digital pen feels heavy in my hand these days. The right time need to come and it will, it always does.
Three ships:
Dickkory obviously, forever my number 1. My beloved parents. Mr. and Mrs. Sexy.
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Barchie from Riverdale (although I finally gave up on this shitshow altogether so I'm only checking online what's happening with my favs instead of suffering through whole episodes. They're together now but I decided it's not worth it to sit for an hour wondering what the fuck am I even doing, watching this parody of a teen drama) because of childhood best friends to lovers excellence and look how soft and romantic they are!!!
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Lyra and Will from His Dark Materials. My babies, I miss you, come back to me soon. I know you will break my heart, but come back anyway.
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First ever ship: I think Robin and Starfire from Teen Titans (heh, coincidences don't exist okay?) - that was the first ship I was fully invested in, that's how I discovered fanfiction, through them. Also, I'd say it would be Cornelia and Caleb from W.I.T.C.H. I had no idea what shipping even was back then, I was like what, 7? I think even the term didn't exist yet. But I felt a really strong pull to them.
Currently consuming: Mint tea
Currently craving: my mom's homemade pizza
Tagging: not many of you left since everyone around is doing this game but here we go - @legendsofentity @wonderbatwayne @nooowestayandgetcaught @mycaptainjones
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