#ELIAS WAS ALSO OBJECTIVELY WORSE OF A PERSON???

[honeysucklethornsandalligtrhorns]

'i'm fine with elias simps but i draw the line at lady mowbray you people have clearly never met old rich ladies-' i'm not in it for the money i'm in it for the senseless violence and killings. god forbid a woman do anything.

[agendabymooner]

mean ! max v. x ofc (hearth sister!ofc) - tltl series

"all you are is mean. and a liar. and pathetic."

summary: sylvie hearth and max verstappen didn't think that their friendship would come to the point where one of them would be attending a court hearing and earning money out of it. they also didn't think they'd come to the point where their friendship shifted into something more than "friendly." (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)

content warning: literally blurb/filler chapter, use of explicit language, brief court hearing scenario, spoiler: sylvie is getting a hot wheels shelf, shitty ex-friends, mentions bullying, defamation, protective!Toto, they're so in love and it's so apparent

note: mustang and cadillac are at it again :))) i also do not know much about where max's karting career as a child?? so forgive me if some of them are incorrect

masterlist

Sylvie Ford’s Former Racing Academy Issues an Apology Five Years After Her Expulsion, Claiming The Report of Misconduct Was False.

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen Addresses Sylvie Ford’s Expulsion from Their Academy - The young driver publicly expressed his guilt for believing the false information. 

Sylvie Ford Sues Former Academy Classmates For Defamation and Emotional Distress — The Defendants Hoping to Receive $1M each for Damages in their Public Images.

2017

“This complaint was filed by Miss Tilly Hearth on February 12, 2008.”

“Yes.”

“Can you please tell us more about the complaint?”

“I don’t know much, but from what I am told, it was against me.”

“It says here that the report was made two months after Miss Hearth entered the Rotax Max Minimax class. You have been constantly teasing her about her abilities in the tracks.”

“If that’s what it says there,” Matt Bauer’s face remained impassive as he continued to look straight ahead.

“Looking at the records, it’s almost as if there is a report filed against you, Mr. Elias Whittaker and Mr. James Hudson every other month for the same reason from the same person— which is bullying,” Sylvie’s lawyer, Alicia, said.

“Objection,” the man’s attorney said from their table, “argumentative.”

“It’s not, Attorney Peterson,” the judge said, “Attorney Mason is simply stating the reports’ reasoning. Unless you missed something while you’re reading the evidence?”

Sylvie sighed quietly, her chin resting against the table while listening. Her other lawyer, Kim Halloway, sat next to her. The man nudged her side lightly, making her tilt her head in his direction before shooting him a smile.

She was getting bored of the hearing. But now that she thought of it, Aimee and Stevie were feeling that way somewhere in the back room.

This was way worse than Legally Blonde if you were to ask any of them. But then again, the Hearth sisters never really expected to find themselves in the court at this early stage of their adulthood.

It was already 2017, and what was a better way to start the year than to find out that your sister was bullied and kicked out of the academy without your knowledge? Not even their mother knew what happened, just that she left the class and continued her education.

Sylvie was headstrong, and she never backed out of a challenge. After each time her sister Tilly reported what she saw, Sylvie merely shrugged it off. She ignored the boys’ behaviour so much that she couldn’t face the consequences of her mental health.

Her family had been disappointed, of course, because why would she hide it away? She would’ve gotten the help that she needed. But the disappointment didn’t last long. Instead, they all started to find a way to speed up the process of the hearing— finding the best lawyers in England and getting each evidence to support her case.

And when Max Verstappen promised he’d be there for her, he never lied. He spent his Christmas with Sylvie and her family as they worked together on stating the case and essential details. Max decided not to spend his time with Dad, just telling him he’ll spend his time in England with Lando. Victoria had flown in to spend the holiday with him and their mother, Sophie, but left after.

He spent so much time with her that he nearly pissed himself whenever Toto visited the estate with Tilly and their son. Toto still didn’t like Max, and it was apparent. Was it because he was a Red Bull driver, or was it because he was a boy who was acting way friendly with Toto’s sister-in-law? Max really couldn’t tell. Looking at the Austrian man who would immediately turn his way was hard.

Regardless, Max remained there. By the third day of the hearing, he was brought up to provide his testimony. He gave them everything that needed to be heard, including how his “friends” manipulated him and how he felt so guilty about not finding out sooner.

And speaking of friends, Matt Bauer and the other two tried reaching out to Max, but the Dutchman didn’t have it. He never looked in their direction whenever they were outside the court, only keeping Sylvie close as they walked out of the courtroom.

So yes, this was more boring than Legally Blonde. Because Max wasn’t there as he finished his duty and nobody could sass her beside him. This wasn’t the kind of hearing she wanted. She really wanted him to chat shit.

She might text him after this.

The lawsuit hearing ended when the jury decided that Sylvie Hearth won her case. Therefore, she was receiving £1.5 million from the three men. Of course, they were outraged, but it was their fault that they had acted like fools. They couldn’t use the “boys will be boys” as an excuse because they all knew that even Max and their other racing friends wouldn’t do something as stupid as falsely exposing their only female counterpart, who had been kind and honest to them.

Hearing his phone going off, Max Verstappen peered down at his screen and found Sylvie’s childhood photo and her specific ringtone displayed. He excused himself from his father, who had asked him where he was going. He merely waved off Jos, going outside to answer the call.

“Hello,” he greeted her. He really should have worn earplugs.

“MAX EMILIAN!” Sylvie screamed through the other side of the call, “WE WON BITCH!”

“YAY!” Max nearly jumped up and down in joy as his smile widened. “You won!”

“I’m a million and a half pounds richer, Max!” She cackled hysterically, “They’re paying me a million and a half!”

“Look at you!” He exclaimed, “And I thought Christian’s paying you well this year.”

“A million and a half…” she muttered quietly before saying, “You know what that means, Max?”

“What?”

“WE CAN GET A CUSTOM HOT WHEELS SHELF FOR MY FLAT!” Sylvie squealed in excitement. Max could hear the kicking of her feet from the other end. “Max! My collection’s going to be displayed!”

Max only laughed at her excitement. He definitely missed her. This Sylvie, he meant. He missed Sylvie, who would get excited over any ordeal. It could be her podium win or the downfall of their enemy— he didn’t care; he missed Sylvie like this. God, the things he would do to see her giddy face.

Maybe it was terrible for him to laugh at his ex-friends’ demise, but it wasn’t that bad if Sylvie got the last laugh. Perhaps next time, they shouldn’t treat anyone like that again— they’d still be able to keep half a million pounds in their bank account if they decided to do so.

[userkatekane]

OOOOOO the whole objects section for beau <3

DETAILS ABOUT OCS

💭 THOUGHT BALLOON — what is your oc’s MBTI, enneagram, and/or other personality aspects (if known/interested in)?

i have zero answers to this rn ONE DAY I WILL TAKE THE TIME TO DO THIS FOR HER

🚗 CAR — does your oc have a driver’s license? can they drive/operate any automobiles/machinery besides cars?

beau has a driver's license and a biker's license however she's a shitty ass driver and somehow a lot better on a bike??? she drives with the mindset of 'everyone else will move out of my way' and she likes to put her foot down, much to leon's dismay. if she wants to drive/operate anything else?? she just tries. she has a rather large 'fuck it what's the worse thing that could happen?' attitude to just about anything and it drives everyone close to her absolutely insane

✈️ AIRPLANE — does your oc like traveling, or do they consider themselves a more homey person?

beau loves to travel. they're a wanderer at heart. she's always going somewhere to do something. it's a perk of working for elias in TCOR or the role she plays in whatever franchise i shove her in. she always come back to the people she loves, though. they're home, as far as she's concerned. it's not a place it's a person

🎮 VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER — what are three of your oc’s favorite hobbies?

napping, meddling and hiking

💍 RING — does your oc have any piercings? do they want any (more) piercings?

nope and nope! tbh none of my ocs ever have them bc i have a great great discomfort about them

🖊️ BALLPOINT PEN — does your oc have any tattoos? do they want any (more) tattoos?

SHE'S GONNA HAVE SOME I JUST HAVENT DECIDED WTF I WANNA GIVE HER but then she'd want some more so yes

📚 BOOKS — what level of education has your oc most recently completed/is currently in (GED, undergraduate, grad school, phd, etc)?

in tcor, she's very well educated in all things of that verse but knows very little about the mundane world. in other aus, she's either dropped out of school early or she was to poor to get any education. she loves to read though, even if she struggles with it, and tries her best to improve her knowledge where she can. she LOVES to learn

🎻 VIOLIN — does your oc play any instruments? what is their skill level (beginner/intermediate/advanced/virtuoso/etc)?

beau plays the piano! and in tcor she also plays the violin as that's elena's instrument of choice and she'd often have beau play for her

🩹 ADHESIVE BANDAGE — does your oc have any physical and/or mental disabilities?

no physical disabilitise ( yet ) but she's riddled with adhd!

🩸 DROP OF BLOOD — what is your oc’s blood type?

universal doner babyyyyyyy

[edwinspaynes]

bottom 5 tsc books and characters

Do you want me to get flayed open?

Books (worst to best, subjective):

Queen of Air and Darkness

Lord of Shadows

City of Fallen Angels

Lady Midnight

City of Bones (though I concede that it is fun and I do enjoy it. It's just one of Cassie's weakest books, which is GOOD since it was the first one)

Characters (worst to best, subjective):

This is hard because obviously I hate, like, Sebastian as a person. But I think he's a great villain. This means that I am not going to include him. This list is not going to be the objectively worst people in TSC. It's my subjective least favourite characters. So It's going to be characters that I dislike based on a wide variety of factors. I'll explain myself next to each of them, but note that I understand they are not the worst people ever (unless they are).

Zara and Horace Dearborn. Atrocious one-dimensional villains. They're awful people and they have literally 0 layers or redeeming qualities. I'm lumping them together because they're basically one entity. I'm comfortable saying that they're my least favourite characters on both an objective and subjective level. Kill them.

J*lian Bl*ckthorn. Censoring his name because he has actual fans. He had enormous potential as a morally gray antihero. Would have probably thought he was a great character if he had gone dark. But he's just an absolutely awful guy that cc wants us to love and adore. He and Emma are super codependent. He's a toxic dickwad. He drugs his disabled uncle. He fucks over a vampire who was just selling some pizza. I was deadass surprised when he was worse soulless. Cassie botched his execution by making him a Good Guy and taking away his complexities at the end to make him a Pancake Dad. Horrible guy, horrible arc, mismanaged. Also, we're clearly supposed to love and adore him, which I resent.

[Redacted because I do not dare, but if you know me, you know]. Literally 0 interesting traits. No real development despite untethered potential. Too popular in the fandom. Too obviously The #1 Favourite of the creator. Way too much content but none of it gives them substance. Not an interesting character in any capacity, and if you do not love the character, you are deemed the Worst Person. This character actively ruins content for me. I have their name blocked on every social media platform. I'd get along with them in real life, and I like them in certain situations, but please free me from the content and social pressure that they present.

(and 5). Charles Fairchild and Elias Carstairs. I'm lumping them together because I have the exact same feelings for both of them. If I were given the chance to personally stab one TSC character, it would be one of them. They were abusive to my fave and they deserve to die for that. But I can't say I wish them out of the TSCverse because I think they're necessary backstory for Alastair, and they helped to shape him into the character that I love and cherish. So I am happy that they exist as characters, but I hate them as people and very much have a personal vendetta against them. I would yeet them from the universe if they were real because it would spare Alastair suffering. I will defend my son with my life.

[ash-morgensterns]

Post Chain of Thorns Rant pt.2

[pt.1]

Now that she no longer was busy treating Ari like shit and using women like objects, Anna was a lot more tolerable. I even liked the glimpses of her relationship with Matthew we got. Maybe if she could react like a person whose brother just died in her arms I would like her a lot better. And if we got to see her mourning in her own POV rather than in Ari's buried between paragraphs of her wanting to kiss Anna. 

Jesse came back from the dead, literally everyone and their mother knows it, yet his literal family barely bats an eyelid. The very same folks who had begged him to come live with them when he was a kid. Now to them, he's just 'Jesse the new strange boy'. The whole Jeremy Blackthorn plan was just cheap, I cannot believe it worked for as long as it did. This guy here is the spitting image of his father, yet when he showed up at a party full of people who had known him for years, they just drink up the American relative excuse just because apparently all Blackthorns look the same???? Also wouldn't they know Jesse as well considering he was running around London, possessed by a Prince of Hell and murdering Shadowhunters just yesterday??? Nobody found it even a little suspicious that a new Blackthorn just showed up right after that??? Whatever, the necromancy plot was just an afterthought and it showed. #Jesse and James best brothers-in-law. 

I absolutely loathed how everyone villainized Charles just because he wanted to keep his relationship with Alastair and homosexuality a secret. And then, to make things worse, he was literally forced into coming out by his own brother and his friend, and got treated like shit because he dared prioritize his career over any relationship he might have in the future. God forbid someone doesn't put romance in the first place right??? And don't even get me started on how everyone just dismissed him after he did come out. Because apparently 'nobody cares if he fancies men'!!! Where did Charles get the impression he would get ostracized if the truth ever came out??? That's so silly of him!!! I'm raging.

A few more thoughts about the book/plot in general:

Elias' funeral anyone???

CC totally forgot one of the characters was supposed to end up exiled at the Scholomance.

The Carstairs owe the Herondales because????

Wasn't there supposed to be a surprise baby that needed adoption?

Ariadne changed her name to Ari/Arati but we never get a last name. Does she keep Bridgestock since she made up with her mother?

After four completed series and six (that I can remember) dead siblings, I can safely say that the one who got the most (and better written) amount of mourning is Sebastian, of all the people.

These characters have such a black and white perception of the word and it's just annoying.

How TF did Charlotte manage to get pregnant, she is like 50… And twins.

Bridget coming into the fray last minute and starting to slay demons was insane. I love her for it.

New Belial's pact about him and Herondales staying away from each other is totally tying in either the last TEC's book or TWP.

Anna and Ari already planning to adopt a baby feels incredibly rushed.

Forever be bitter that we never got to see Gideon's reaction to Jesse resurrection and them interact.

Congratulations to Sona for making it out alive when so many people (me included) gave her for dead.

Cordelia's relationship with both Herondale is totally rushed and built around nothingness. I wish CC would stop trying to sell either as "childhood friendships turned into more" because… it's simply not that. It's blatantly obvious that despite writing to each other for years (plus the occasional meeting) Lucie and Cordelia barely know each other, and James doesn't even have that… Am I really supposed to believe that it took him as little as her reading to him when he was nearly comatose with fever to make him fall in love with her?

It was very nice to see all the characters finally come together and interact as a group.

Lucie and Jesse best ship.

If Tessa hadn't been so stubborn about keeping her head under sand about the identity of her father and had acted accordingly (especially when Jem did all the research work for her and clearly warned her that her father was one of the Princes of Hell) all that mess about getting the Institute removed from their custody would have been avoided. Not to mention, she could have had her children learn how to defend themselves, insead of leaving them to fend off alone until the problem became too big to ignore.

The falling out for the necromancy plot was incredibly underwhelming.

I don't think we are ever getting another (accurate) family tree.

[greatqueenanna]

Hello, I have an ask about frozen. Do you think that if Disney went for men Elsa, anything would be different? Like, raising education, the "powers" training, or even the overall personality?

I take it you mean like, if Elsa was male? Or are you talking about mean Elsa? Like villain Elsa?

I'll go with male Elsa, I apologize if that's not what you meant haha.

In the sense of the make-believe Disney world where women can be Queens without any objections, I don't think that M!Elsa would be trained differently than Elsa. However, in terms of his personality and relationships, there may be some differences.

I'm gonna speak on generalizations - I know that not every experience is the same, and not all men and women act a certain way or even identify as one or the other. It's not my intention to offend anyone, and I'm not claiming this interpretation as a fact.

If you have your own thoughts, you can definitely share and express your own ideas. I'm definitely not an expert on this so haha.

Let's start with his personality. M!Elsa might actually be even more reserved and closed off than the Elsa we know. Given that men tend to hide their emotions a lot more and are even naturally expected to by societal standards, M!Elsa might actually be colder than Elsa and even harder to get to open up. M!Elsa's emotional magic outbursts may be more dangerous than what Elsa does, especially when it's out of anger.

However, I also see him being more of a show-off than Elsa when he is more comfortable with his true self and may want to show more powerful displays of his magic. In terms of his architectural design choices, he may have a more grand and intimidating ice palace, maybe it looks more like a fort than a palace. Given that Elsa loves revealing and modern clothing, M!Elsa would probably be the same - his ice outfits might look like what a male figure skater would wear (many fan arts or M!Elsa pretty much adopt this style).

His relationship with Anna may be very different as well. Sisters in general tend to be more intimate. M!Elsa and Anna would not be as intimate, I think. That doesn't mean that they wouldn't hug each other, but overall affectionate displays (like holding hands) may happen less often. M!Elsa would probably show his affection for Anna by playfully teasing her instead. Anna might also be more aggressive as well, punching his arms and things like that.

M!Elsa might also be even more overprotective of Anna and be a bit harsher as well. As children, Elsa and Anna were playmates, doing things together as a dynamic duo. Anna may treat M!Elsa less as a playmate and more as a protector and entertainer - especially given the age difference between them (if they were closer, they wouldn't probably have much of a difference from the regular Anna and Elsa).

In terms of the events of the films, in F1 there may have to be a different trigger that causes the eternal winter, given that Hans came to Arednelle specifically to try and marry Elsa. If Elsa is male, then Hans probably wouldn't have come. HOWEVER, if the world of Frozen allows same-sex royalty (Two Kings, Two Queens) then he probably would come to marry M!Elsa. In this case, then the film pretty much remains the same, but Anna may have an even harder time getting M!Elsa to open up to her.

In F2, the infamous boat scene might of been a lot worse lol, and M!Elsa would probably not tolerate Anna getting into danger for his sake at all and just leave her behind a lot sooner. Basically, if anti-Elsa people hate her now, they would probably hate M!Elsa a lot more haha.

His name would probably be Elsaros, Elias, Elson, Elijah, or Elton.

But again, these are just my ideas. You are welcome to share your own and even argue against mine.

[chaoticpinetree]

Sooo huh MAG 200, am I right?

That will be a bunch because I just had a whole ass essay of thoughts that I also shared with my friend so now just time to do it here as well lmao

(by the way, fun fact, she was in denial for a long time, she was so certain that they were sticking to the plan, that Martin was there, that he was sneaking on Elias from behind or something, meanwhile Jon was there alone the whole time)

But yeah he went alone and :C And they could've done this whole shit without their maybe-deaths because in the end it doesn't matter, what Jon wanted to do didn't work so the fact that he went alone just made it worse for them and :C I mean it's like aghhhh That situation obviously had no good solution, Jon thought okay well let's sacrifice our world to make sure the Fears die with it, others were like no actually fuck other worlds, let's save ours

And it's hard to blame any of the sides really for wanting to do what they did, like, 'oh wow Jon would you really doom this whole world' vs 'oh wow others would you really doom all the other worlds' like pots kettles doesn't matter it's the apocalypse, countless people are gonna suffer and the only thing to decide is who And it might be selfish to want to pass the Fears on to another world but how could they be blamed? Their whole world ended what are they supposed to do? Accept that their whole world is gonna die?

And on the other hand Jon's behaviour, running off by himself to kill Magnus and become the pupil of the eye, if we think of it just in that one world then oh wow he's the worst person alive! He literally wants to kill all the other people in the world! But well we're talking about someone who became very familiar with everybody's suffering throughout their journey and someone who understood more than others what it would mean to unleash the Fears onto other worlds. The fact that he's more aware doesn't make his choice the better one, there are no good choices, but it does explain why he chose that.

Besides, when he asks others if the suffering of other people is better when they can't see them, that was... A fair question. Again, not one that makes either of the options better, but it was a fair question, because here's the thing. It is easier to make that decision when they will never see the other's suffering. Like, they know other worlds exist because Annabelle told them so, but they don't know how many, they don't know how these worlds look like, what the people who live there are like, nothing, they're just these hypothetical 'worlds' in their head and now that the Fears are not in their world anymore... Well, 'out of sight, out of mind' is a cruel way to do things, but that's the thing that it does work and they can keep on living, maybe worried, maybe feeling guilty, but ultimately still able to lie to themselves that oh well maybe the apocalypse will never happen in the other worlds; never having to confront the people that they have doomed, whose lives they've destroyed.

Because like, the Fears were hurting plenty of people even before the apocalypse. The only thing is that before the apocalypse the fears were sort of picking on the weakest or most curious/stupid, most... Unlucky, I suppose. But like, all of these statements we've heard, they're just a fraction of all the stories that must exist, people who never went to the Magnus Institute, and hell those people who survived and never gave a statement are still just a fraction of people who just died, who weren't lucky enough to get away from that with 'just trauma' and just, well, objectively speaking, by saving their own world, they did ensure that so many more people will die. It will take more time, but they will die. So there's that.

But like again, who in their right mind would look at their own world being just overtaken by suffering and choose not to fix that, I mean clearly Jon, but well

And you know, if I were there, in these tunnels, immune to the fears in a way they were, having to make that choice, I too would probably choose to save my own world. Because ultimately that's how we're built, humans, that is, aren't we? Besides, our brains are not built to comprehend big numbers and that's an important factor. People really cannot understand how big a difference between a million and a billion is. They see three more zeroes and go oh well just a bit more! No, a thousand times more. And we have eight billion people in the world. That's already a number we can barely understand. When more and more billions of people from thousands of other worlds come into that, we simply cannot comprehend that.

Like, human brains literally count certain numbers up as 'a lot' you know. And that's not without its impact right now! Because if you see the amount of suffering you will bring to other worlds as 'well a lot, just like we have right now', it's... Easier to make that decision.

So I guess that's it for the morality and philosophy part

I think there's something they could've done better in season 5, as much as I love the whole thing overall

Because season 5 had a lot of episodes that were in the fear domains, spent mostly on the statements, but I think if the plot happened a bit faster so that they'd reach London faster, then maybe it would've been... Idk, better? Because by the end there were a lot of revelations that the characters didn't really have the time to, well, deal with them? Like, hey, Jonah is there, one option is that Jon takes over. Hey huh other worlds exist. Hey Jon remember that spiderweb lighter you had? Yeah well Web was literally using it to manifest tape recorders around you. Hey guys we need to decide whether we'll killing our world or all the others. And, ye, a bunch of stuff that I feel it would be cool to force them... For example if the journey back from Hilltop Road was a bit longer, maybe, a few episodes that were at the beginning of s5 to put there instead.

And another thing is that this 'other realties' thing very much was foreshadowed, but out of 200 episodes, it was I think in 2? Well mostly one but also as far as I know, a little bit in another one as well. And it would be too obvious if they did too many statements on it, yes, of course, but if they did at left a few more hints lying around in other episodes, I feel like it would feel like it was coming towards this end the whole time

Granted, it still definitely felt like it was coming towards an unhappy end because happy would just feel, it just wouldn't feel, you know?

And I guess those two things are my only 'major' complaints and I wouldn't really necessarily call them major... I mean it depends how you see it. I just think that a little bit more hints and a slightly different pacing of s5 could've maybe worked better. Maybe. But it still worked damn well and just. Yeah damn. Shit. Well.

So, uh. Let's just hope they're Somewhere Else and get some therapy they definitely very much need :C

[phoebenavarro]

i could be so good at love

for day two of @eliasbouchardweek! For the prompts alternate timeline and worship

the magnus archives, Tim/Elias, pre canon AU, 6000 words

Rating: E

Summary: Elias Bouchard takes one look at Tim stoker and immediately sees the potential of Tim to be one of two things: a liability likely to throw a wrench in his plans and cause all sorts of headache, or an ally driven by his deep sense of loyalty. Tim is alone, desperately seeking companionship, so Elias decides the best way to secure his loyalty is to seduce him. He just doesn't expect to actually like Tim as much as he does.

extended preview under the cut, find the full fic on ao3 here!

Elias sees the mark the Stranger left on Tim when he hires him. A quick scan through Tim’s surface thoughts tells Elias what he needs to know: how Tim came to be marked by the Stranger, and just how badly Tim is hurting. Tim’s psyche is a completely raw nerve, and he is driven purely by his sense of loyalty. That loyalty is to his brother, of course, and he has vowed to avenge him, because he couldn’t do anything to stop the Stranger from taking him. The man’s loyalty runs deep. It’s the only reason he’s still alive.

Elias takes one look at him and thinks, he could be useful. There’s a deep well of anger simmering within him that will be quite impressive when it’s released. The key here will be making sure that anger is directed at the Institute’s enemies, and not at Elias himself. He’s already making plans for his next Archivist, the Archivist following Gertrude… The Archivist that, if everything goes according to plan, will see the fruition of 200 years of work.

Tim is a potential candidate for the position, but that volatility makes him less than ideal. He’s better suited as an assistant, then. Elias already knows that the next Archivist will need to be kept in the dark, discover the secrets of the Institute on their own, but fumbling along with them in the dark may not suit Tim. He may grow impatient and impulsive. No, to ensure that Tim stays on the right side of things, he needs to gain his trust. He needs to become the object of his loyalty, and to do that, he’ll have to give Tim at least some information about the Circus. But that won’t be enough on its own. Tim is grieving, suspicious of others, and slow to trust. (And who wouldn’t be, Elias thinks, after an encounter like that with the Stranger?)

So Elias keeps a close eye on his newest employee. Despite his paranoia that anyone could be a Stranger, Tim is desperate for companionship, fleeting and superficial as his hookups may be. And my, Elias Sees that there are a lot of them. Over the course of one week, Elias Watches as Tim has sex with two men, one woman, and a gender fluid person. He Watches Tim put on fake smiles and turn on the charm in exchange for a bit of affection.

It’s sad. Elias fees a bit of sympathy for him, even as he also finds it pathetic. Endearing, but pathetic. (Not that Jonah was any different, in his youth. Perhaps he’s in no position to judge. How many men did he sleep with in his youth just to provide a small distraction from the crushing fear of his own mortality? Quite a few. Perhaps that’s why he’s sympathetic to Tim’s current state of mind.)

But if companionship is what Tim is craving, Elias is more than willing to provide. If he can get Tim to rely on him, he can harness that volatility simmering beneath the surface for his own purposes, rather than having it explode in his face. And well, Tim is fit. Elias would be lying if he said he wasn’t attracted to him, and anyway, he’s slept with people for worse reasons.

So, Elias puts his plan in motion. Early on in Tim’s time at the Institute, Elias strategically runs into him when he’s staying late, feeling vulnerable, and maybe having a bit of a breakdown. Elias is sympathetic, kind, and willing to listen as Tim spills everything about Danny, the Circus, and why he came to the Institute. Elias reveals just enough to get Tim on the hook, telling him that he’s heard of the Circus, it’s featured in statements in the past, and he’ll help Tim with his research into it. Obviously, Tim immediately wants to know everything Elias knows, but Elias tells him to go home, get some rest, and they’ll go out to dinner the next night to talk about it.

They do, and Elias tells Tim exactly what he wants to hear, what he needs to hear to see Elias the way Elias wants him to, as knowledgable but ultimately mundane, supportive, and the exact kind of authority figure Tim needs in his life. And he’s charming. He lets his eyes wander to Tim’s lips enough times for Tim to take notice. Tim’s been attracted to Elias since the initial interview, so it doesn’t take much work to coax that to the surface. And, Elias finds that Tim is pleasant enough to be around, underneath the fake smiles and forced jokes.

After they eat, after they do the pointless song-and-dance over who is going to get the check, (Elias wins that display of politeness by not-so-subtly telling Tim that he’s his boss, he can afford it), they stop on the sidewalk outside the restaurant.

“Would you like to come back to mine for a drink?” Elias asks. It’s not subtle; Tim knows exactly what he’s really asking.

Tim raises an eyebrow at him. “I don’t know if that would be appropriate,” he says, but the corner of his mouth is twitching upwards.

“Oh no, probably not,” Elias chuckles, “But I won’t tell if you won’t.” He grins.

Tim eyes him for a moment before shrugging. “Yeah, why not.”

And oh, Elias is looking forward to taking him apart, to watching him cry. They’ll have to work their way up to what Elias Knows Tim needs, but Elias is patient, and he has plenty of time.

Elias pours them both a drink when they get inside his house, taking a sip of his own and using the opportunity to rake his eyes up and down Tim’s figure, the well-fitting pants showing off his ass, the shirt unbuttoned just far enough to see his clavicle and a bit of chest hair.

“Nice place,” Tim says, taking clear note of the antique furniture. “Being head of the Institute really does pay, huh?” He also takes a sip from his glass, checking Elias out in turn. Elias preens under the attention. It’s been a while since Elias has been stared at with such an avaricious gaze, and it feels good.

“Not quite as well as my home might suggest,” Elias says, “I inherited most everything here.”

“Well, that makes me feel better about my salary, then.”

Elias chuckles. “I’ll have you know, that salary is highly competitive for academia. How else would I get people to work for me?” He sips his drink.

Tim laughs. “We both know that’s not the only reason.” He takes a considering sip, “But it helps.”

A genuine smile slips onto Elias’s face. Damn, but he’s charming. Elias reaches for Tim’s hand and gently pulls him closer.

“Is this okay?” Elias asks, wanting to appear concerned about the power differential between them, “I don’t want to take advantage.”

Tim laughs. “This is not even close to the worse decision I’ve made this week.” He places a hand on Elias’s cheek. “You’re not taking advantage,” he says, softer, and Elias smiles.

[beholdme]

All the Many Shades of Gerry - Chapter 15

Chapters: 15/19

Fandom: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Gerard Keay/Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood/Gerard Keay, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Gerard Keay/Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist

Characters: Martin Blackwood, Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Gerard Keay, Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), Sasha James, Gertrude Robinson, Elias Bouchard

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Library AU, Librarian Jon, Artist Gerry, Trans Male Character, Trans Martin Blackwood, Canon Asexual Character, Asexual Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Ace Subtype - Sex Positive, Polyamory, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Romantic Fluff, Falling In Love, Boys in Skirts, Kissing, Demisexual Gerard Keay, Minor Character Death, Past Character Death, Canon-Typical Child Neglect, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Flirting, Minor Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist/Tim Stoker, Adventures in Hair Dying, Happy Ending, Banter, Gerry has a lot of sass, Gerard Keay is Morticia Adams, Jon is a very grumpy Librarian, Martin adores them anyway.

Summary: In which Gerry is a kaleidoscope and Jon and Martin can’t help falling in love with him.

He happens to love them back.

Find it on Ao3

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

Almost a year into their relationship, Martin's lease comes up.

There's brief romantic talk of them all moving in together, but they're all attached to their own spaces, especially with Gerry needing to keep his art studio, and it trails off without any real resolution.

When Martin's landlord doesn't want to renew and he essentially has no choice but to find a new place to live, he panics.

Jon is with him when he opens the letter, and witnesses the heartbreak on his face, a look far more appropriate to the death of a loved one than to having to move house.

He understands though. This is Martin's first home. The first rent he paid, the first freedom he claimed. The first place he had whispered 'I love you' to Jon, and the first place Gerry had pressed his lips to Martin's.

Jon is settled in his own flat in a more practical way. It's close to the library, Gerry's bar and also to Martin's bookstore, but he still understands Martin's heartache, even if it is detached from his scope of personal attachment.

As Jon takes the time to think things through, he knows they're being silly. When was the last time he had commuted to work from his own flat? And if Martin had to move anyway, why shouldn't the three of them be living together? Gerry would happily spend every spare second with them and frequently tells them so.

At their knock, Gerry opens the door in a pair of leather pants and not much else, hair faded out from navy to a soft violet.

He physically reacts to see Martin tear-stained and Jon frowning intensely at his side.

"Why tears? Who do I need to murder?" Gerry mutters darkly as he draws Martin inside and into his arms.

"He has to move out of his flat," Jon tells him angrily, still standing in the doorway.

"Oh, love." He whispers, rocking Martin gently.

"It's so stupid to cry about it. It's just a shitty little flat." He hiccups into Gerry's chest.

"Fuck that. We all know better than that. That flat was important to you," Gerry retreats further into the studio, dragging his weepy partner with him and leaving Jon to shut the door. "And you're important to us, so here's the plan. Gertrude and I are gonna dig up some dirt, we're gonna have a little chat with your landlord, and he's gonna agree to sell you your flat. Problem solved."

Martin laughs wetly as he is deposited in the cushion pile and Gerry follows him down to sit in front of him and take his hands.

Jon strips his jacket and scarf off and tosses them on the couch (the biggest indication of his upset, really, as he normally always meticulously hangs things up), before flopping down on the floor with them. Martin and Gerry offer a hand each, and they sit in a triangle, connected.

"Gerry, you can't blackmail my landlord into selling me my flat." Martin starts, voice still choked with tears, "Not least of all because I can't afford to buy it anyway. I already have a business loan, not to mention all the debt from before my mother died."

Apparently able to sense any great excess of emotion, Luna and Saturn wander in and both attempt to curl up in Martin's lap. Jon takes Saturn, leaving Luna to her tearful human. Martin smiles gratefully and disentangles his hands to pet behind her ears.

There's silence for a moment as they consider Martin's words. Gerry opens his mouth, closes it, then decides to say what he wants to anyway. "I could lend you the money. Or give it to you. Whichever you prefer."

The look on his face could be accurately described as casually angelic, and he reaches out a hand to stroke Saturn benevolently.

Martin and Jon stare at him, stunned.

"What do you mean?" Jon eventually prods him, incredulously.

Gerry opens his mouth to respond, but Jon senses the sass coming and adds, "A real answer please," rather firmly.

"Fine then," Gerry mutters, rolling his pretty teal eyes. "I have some money in savings. And in investments and stuff, I'm not actually irresponsible, despite what my appearance might imply. And the years I spent galivanting about the county. And Europe." He shrugs, rambling on, "Okay, maybe I am irresponsible."

His partners stare at him for a moment, then exchange a look.

“Define some money?” Jon says, poking him in the ribs. Gerry tells them.

“What!?” At Jon’s exclamation, Gerry blushes from the roots of his hair, and all the way down his bare chest.

"Where did you get it?" Martin finally asks.

"From selling my paintings?" Gerry responds, but it comes out as a question, and he rubs his burning neck in embarrassment.

"And," Jon says, voice carefully neutral; having regained some sense of composure, "why do you keep your job at the bar if you have enough money to casually offer to buy Martin a flat?"

"Don't feel left out Jon, I'll buy your flat too." Gerry offers, smiling at him beatifically.

"Gerry…" Martin lets out his name in the significant tone of voice that lets him know this is a 'serious conversation'™ and to get his shit together.

"Okay, okay," Gerry flaps his hands uncomfortably. "At first it was just because I was convinced that the painting money was gonna dry up and I didn't want to be left in the lurch. I've always operated anonymously and that made it hard to make money as an artist, it was only when Gertrude joined the crusade that I found any success. She insisted that people would buy prints online, and she was right. The digital art and prints were really popular, and it led to people wanting the originals." Gerry pauses and shakes his head in disbelief. "And Gertrude always has to be extra about everything, so she sold them at fucking auction instead of pricing them, which made me seem edgy and exclusive."

"You are edgy and exclusive," Jon interrupts to insist, a slight petulant edge staining his voice.

"Thanks," Gerry mutters, still blushing. "Anyway, so then I had all this money, but I was convinced it wouldn't last and now it's been years and it's only gotten worse and I was panicking so Gertrude took half the money and helped me put it into investments, which have mostly been pretty successful too, so now I have all this fucking money that I don't know what to do with, so Martin, would you like a flat?" Gerry ends his monologue slightly hysterical and Martin laughs out loud at the slight desperation in his voice.

"Do you even own this flat? I've been wondering how you could possibly afford it." Martin asks him, gesturing around at the massive space in one of the most up-and-coming parts of London.

"Yes, it's one of the only significant things I've ever actually paid for with the art money. You know, to do art in."

"And were you ever planning to mention this?" Jon queries, sounding slightly put out. He frowns down at the cat, instead of his ridiculous boyfriend. Saturn decides at that moment that he's had enough belly-rubs, and without warning, sinks his claws in, bites Jon's hand and then scurries off. Jon glares at his fluffy black tail as it disappears up the stairs and Gerry tries very hard not to laugh at him.

"Jonathan!" Martin scolds him, pushing his shoulder gently to regain his attention. "Gerry doesn't have to tell us about his finances."

Jon pouts even harder.

"Jon's right, I should have said something. I just didn't want it to be a big deal." Gerry responds, voice quiet and unusually reserved. He looks a little adrift and helpless, and they can see just how uncomfortable the money talk has made him.

Jon sighs and dislodges the stick from up his ass. "It's not a big deal, love, I'm only surprised. I'm glad it's out the way now." He collects Gerry's hand and presses a kiss to his knuckles.

Gerry relaxes and tugs Jon closer to kiss him, before offering the same to Martin.

They all sit in comfortable silence for a few moments, digesting the day's many revelations.

“Not that I’m not incandescently happy to see you both, but why did you actually come over?” Gerry asks eventually.

“Oh,” Martin sits up straighter, remembering their original objective. He looks down at the cat in his lap, stroking its back in an effort to distract himself. “It’s a little awkward actually.”

Gerry raises his eyebrows, thinking of what could make Martin feel awkward after all the things they’ve done together, occasionally right where they are currently sitting.

"Do tell." Gerry urges him. Martin and Jon share a look. Gerry rolls his eyes at the pair of them. "Come on, guys, whatever it is, just tell me. It can't possibly be that bad. Unless you're breaking up with me? Because fuck that."

"No, Gerry," Jon says, sounding amused. "The opposite."

"The opposite?" Gerry asks, frowning.

"Yes, the opposite," Jon tells him more firmly. "We were thinking," Martin makes a small nose at this, "that is, I was thinking, that since Martin has to move anyway, the three of us should finally take the plunge."

"You know," Gerry mutters peevishly, "I love riddles as much as the next overdramatic goth with a young adult book obsession, but could you please spit it the fuck out."

"Jonthinksweshouldallmoveintogetherhere." Martin finally rushes out, breathlessly.

"Martin, baby, those are separate words."

He takes a deep breath and tries again. "Jon thinks we should all move in together, here, with you."

Gerry sits up taller abruptly, a wide grin spreading over his handsome face. "What, really? You actually want to."

"Well, yes," Jon says, although his voice still sounds nervous.

"Okay great. Luna and Saturn are gonna love this." Gerry jumps up excitedly. "So I know you guys like having your own personal space, and I always have my art shit everywhere, but I've been thinking and I think we can make you both comfortable here too."

Martin and Jon share a perplexed look at Gerry's sudden frenetic burst of energy.

"We'll be comfortable here no matter what," Martin rushes to reassure him.

"Hush," Gerry speaks over him. "We both know you're just saying that because you feel like an inconvenience. But you're not and we all have to make this our home. Come, come on, I want to show you."

Gerry grabs a hand from each of them and drags them behind him and around and under the wide stairs that lead up to the loft space.

He leads them to two doors under the stairs, leading them into one. It's a large storeroom, technically, and Gerry has filled it with extra paint, canvases of many different sizes, and a plethora of other painting supplies. There aren't any windows, and the industrial light makes the space look stark. The scent of oil paint and turpentine is pervasive, but homey since those are things they associate heavily with Gerry himself.

"They're both the same. I've been thinking that if you two ever did want to move in here, you could take one each. A creative space just for yourselves, or your own bedrooms if you need some space once in a while. If you want them." His typical self-confidence is slightly lacking, the nervous twist of his fingers belaying his nerves at the admission.

"Oh Gerry," Martin says with something akin to wonder in his voice.

"But aren't you using them?" Jon asks, never one to let romanticism come in the way of practicality.

Gerry shrugs, "I've been thinking of having cupboards installed in the studio space and moving all this in there anyway. It will be more convenient for me when I'm working and it will be worth it to have you here all the time."

Gerry pauses, brow furrowing. "I've also considered moving the art studio in here so you two don't have to trip over my art stuff all the time."

Martin and Jon both understand the significance of that offer, knowing that Gerry's favourite things about this place are the high ceilings, giant windows, and natural lighting at most times of the day and even at night.

"You would be willing to give up your art space for us?" Martin asks in some wonder.

"Well yeah, of course," Gerry says as if it's obvious. "We'll all have to share the bedroom then, but the living space will be bigger. Whatever you would prefer."

"Just like that?" Jon's blunt incredulity finally tips Gerry off to their shock.

"Oh come on. I obviously haven't been a very good boyfriend if you two don't already know that you're more important to me than painting." It was the most romantic thing Gerry could say to anyone, really.

Martin kisses him, tearing up again.

"What did I say? Don't cry, love." He reaches up to wipe the tears away, and Martin offers him a wobbly smile.

Jon goes over to kiss him too. "You love us more than art."

"We're going in circles here. Yes, I love you both more than literally anything." Gerry is starting to wonder if they're being obtuse on purpose.

"We love you too," Jon tells him emphatically.

"Of course you do. I'm delightful." They all dissolve into laughter at that, the weighty mood breaking with it.

"So do you think you'll both be happy here?" Gerry asks when the laughter has faded.

Even standing in the mildly dusty storeroom and breathing in paint fumes, Jon knows the answer already. "I think we might be able to make it work."

[ollieofthebeholder]

leaves too high to touch (roots too strong to fall): a TMA fic

Tumblr tag || Also on AO3

Chapter 42: Sasha

Tim’s going to wear a hole in the floor of Rosie’s office if he’s not careful, Sasha thinks, pacing back and forth like this. Rosie watches him with undisguised interest. Martin watches too, his face pinched with concern and arms folded tightly over his chest, although Sasha doesn’t know if he’s more worried about Tim or Jon or both. She probably could Know, with a little effort, but she decides it doesn’t matter right then. She also doesn’t want to pry into her friends’ heads like that.

God, she wants a shower. She feels like she’s covered in some sort of thin, viscous oil, soaking into her skin and making her itch all over. Like just being in proximity to Elias Bouchard makes her dirty.

The worst of it is, he’s not wrong, exactly. Not about her, anyway.

She wonders if he regrets choosing Jon now. He’ll never admit it out loud, of course, but if it’s true that the only reason he chose Jon was because Jon was already marked by the Web, he must be looking at the four of them and wondering if she would have collected more marks faster had she been in charge.

You’re like Gertrude, she thinks idly, staring at the closed door between Rosie’s office and Elias’. She never hesitated to use the people around her, even the ones she cared about, if it served her purpose…

She blinks. Where did that come from?

She turns her attention from the door to Tim, his shoes squeaking on the floor as he turns at the end of his nineteenth cross of the office. Resolutely shutting the Eye out—which is a lot harder than it is anywhere else, and she wonders if that’s because the Head’s office is the locus of its power or just because she’s a little frayed right now—she studies his face and tries to decide if he’s angry or upset or some combination of the two. He definitely looks like he’s close to tears, but she can’t tell if it’s from frustration or from rage…or maybe guilt.

There’s guilt mingled with the worry in Martin’s eyes, too, and Sasha doesn’t need the Beholder to know why. I thought I heard you telling Jon you…smote it. Probably what Martin actually said was Jon Prime smote it and Elias, thankfully, didn’t hear properly or wasn’t paying enough attention. Or he can’t actually hear, per se, he just reads the lips of those around him and pieces it together from there. After all, he has Jonah Magnus’ eyes, not his ears or his tongue.

Still. They’ve got to be more careful.

Tim is passing the door for the twentieth time when it opens and Jon steps out, shutting it behind him with a tad unnecessary force. He looks tired and upset and slightly cranky—in fact, he looks exactly like he did the first few weeks in the Archives, when he was trying to be professional and irritated, or pretending to be irritated, at everything Martin did. Martin and Tim both start towards him, then stop, probably out of deference to Rosie’s presence.

“Let’s go,” he says shortly. “We have work to do.”

The other three fall into step behind him, like something of an honor guard. Fortunately, the only person they encounter on the way down to the Archives is Manal, who offers them a tentative smile as they pass and seems relieved when Martin, at least, automatically returns it. They reach the Archives without a word being spoken and cluster around the assistants’ desks, all of them seemingly at a loss for words.

Tim finally breaks the silence. “Now what?”

Jon looks down at his feet. Sasha thinks he’s embarrassed or ashamed or something until he says softly, “I hate to ask, but could one of you run home and get me some shoes?”

Sasha glances down, startled. She’s not sure how it didn’t occur to her that Jon is barefoot, but he doesn’t even have a pair of socks shielding his feet from the ground. Walking around the Institute is probably only possible because of the diligence of the cleaning crew, but no way will he be able to make it home if Tim didn’t drive today, unless the other two carry him. And his feet must be cold.

Martin and Tim exchange looks. Sasha doesn’t have to be able to read minds to know that neither of them really wants to be away from Jon right now. Rather than force either of them into martyrdom, she says, “If one of you will lend me your keys, I’ll do it.”

The surprise on Tim and Martin’s faces is only equaled by the sheer gratitude on Jon’s, which makes Sasha realize that I hate to ask didn’t mean I hate to impose but rather I don’t want either one of you out of my sight right now. Instead of commenting on it, she just holds out her hand.

Martin recovers first, reaches under his shirt, and pulls out a well-worn lanyard that was probably once a vibrant neon rainbow with a key on the end. He lays it in her hand. “Thanks, Sash.”

“Sure.” Sasha loops the lanyard around her hand and smiles. “Be right back.”

The sun is making a pathetic attempt to come out, but for the most part, it’s the same as it’s been all day. There aren’t many people about, which is probably a good thing, because Sasha uses the opportunity to test the range of her Knowing ability—seeing how far away from someone she can be and still pluck a secret from their minds. It’s extremely invasive, which Martin will probably ream her out for when he finds out, and it’s feeding into the Eye, which Tim will probably ream her out for, and honestly both of them should. But she does it anyway. Partly because she’s hoping that if she does it, she won’t have so much of an urge to read her friends’ minds—it seems ruder to steal from them than from strangers, and she knows that’s not a good sign—but mostly because it keeps her mind off of thinking too hard about Jon’s current state, or what Elias might have said to him when they weren’t there, or the implications of Martin still wearing a single key around his neck the way he probably did when he was a small child left to fend for himself by a father who cared too much and a mother who didn’t care at all.

Despite the fact that she’s still wearing kitten heels and a pencil skirt, she manages to get to the house, retrieve a pair of shoes from Jon’s room, and get back to the Archives in about forty-five minutes. She enters to find Jon sitting on the edge of Martin’s desk, cradling a steaming mug of tea; Tim sits backwards in his chair, arms folded and chin resting on them, while Martin sits more or less normally. They’re talking quietly, but break off and look up when Sasha comes in.

“Hope these are actually yours,” Sasha says, handing Jon the pair of trainers she brought and a pair of socks. “Everything in the closet looked too small for them. And here’s your key back, Martin.”

“Thanks.” Martin slips the lanyard around his neck and tucks it under his sweater again.

“Martin and Tim have just been catching me up on your research for the last two weeks,” Jon tells her, setting down his mug and contorting to put on the socks. “I—I am sorry I wasn’t here.”

“Not like you asked to get kidnapped,” Sasha points out. “And it’s not like you haven’t made sure we know our jobs.”

Jon snorts. “Tell that to Elias. He seems to think you need…guidance.”

Tim’s eyes spark. “He said that, did he?”

Sasha purses her lips in thought for a moment. There’s a lot they need to discuss, but they’ll never be able to be sure, now, that they aren’t being watched. She knows it takes effort for Elias to actually see what’s going on in the Archives, and she’s pretty sure that up until now he’s mostly focused on Jon and ignored the other three, but she doubts that’s the case any longer. Unless they can time their talks with his schedule, to be sure he doesn’t have the attention to spare them…

Curiosity, a desire to experiment, overcomes caution for a minute, and she casts her mind up into the Institute, reaching for that buzzing feeling she gets when there’s a secret to be known. And she aims it at Elias’ office. She doesn’t expect it to work, not really, but—

Ah.

Sasha gasps. Her knees buckle with the sudden rush of energy leaving her, and she catches herself on the edge of the desk. Tim and Martin both jump to their feet, but she waves them off. “Fine. I’m fine.”

She had it. Just for a second, a momentary brush, a quick surface skim, withdrawn hastily before his attention can be caught and focused, but she actually did it. She’s amazed at her own audacity and astonished at her good luck…and aware that, while she still has to be wary of the information she just obtained, there’s a good chance it’s accurate.

“Tunnels?” she suggests, pointing at the trapdoor. They may not have time for a longer discussion.

Thankfully, the boys don’t object or question her. Jon finishes tying his shoes and slides off the desk, and the four of them hasten down the steps to the tunnels. Sasha gets the usual queer, dizzy feeling of being cut off from the Eye—worse than usual, but then, she is pushing the boundaries of her abilities—but it’s a relief for once, because it does at least mean Elias isn’t watching them.

At the foot of the steps, she stops and turns to look back at the others. “Sorry for being so abrupt, but we didn’t have much time. I figured you could get their statement down here without Elias overhearing, and…we can talk.”

“Probably wise,” Jon admits. “Are you okay?”

“Fine. Bit tired.” Sasha isn’t about to admit that she needs Tim and Martin’s statement, probably as much as Jon does. Not yet. “Come on, let’s see if the Primes are awake.”

She leads them to the room the Primes usually stay in and knocks on the door. “It’s us. Are you decent?”

“Come in,” Jon Prime’s voice calls back.

Sasha pushes the door open. They’ve obviously been having breakfast, which Sasha almost feels guilty for interrupting, but it does appear they’re almost done. Jon Prime looks wary. “Is everything all right?”

“Yep. Look what the cat dragged in.” Unable to hold back a grin, Sasha steps into the room and out of the way, exposing Jon.

Jon Prime makes a noise somewhere between surprise and relief. In an instant, he’s up and wrapping Jon in a hug. Jon looks momentarily startled, then hugs him back.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I couldn’t—I couldn’t See you.” Jon Prime takes a half-step back and studies Jon anxiously. “Are you—never mind, I know how you’ll answer that. How are you feeling?”

“Tired,” Jon answers. “On edge. Scared to hell and gone. You know, the usual.” He pauses. “But glad to be back.”

At the sound of Jon’s voice, Martin Prime smiles, looking relieved, and gets to his feet. Jon’s a little more hesitant to accept his hug, to Sasha’s eyes, but he does anyway. “When did you get back?”

“Oh—an hour ago? Hour and a half?” Jon shrugs. “Two at most. Michael—well, not Michael anymore. Michael tried to kill me but couldn’t…I’m sure you know that story.”

“Intimately,” Jon Prime confirms. “So Helen took over, did she?”

“Yes. Brought me back to the Archives.” Jon sighs heavily. “I had maybe five minutes of peace to enjoy being home and—and safe before Elias called us up to his office.”

Martin Prime’s smile melts immediately. “What did he want?”

“To be a smug bastard,” Tim says.

Jon Prime looks from one to the other. “Why don’t you explain?”

“No need.” Sasha leans over and reaches into Jon’s pocket. Before he can do more than flinch, she pulls out her tape recorder and waves it at them with a smirk. “Say hello to my little friend.”

“What—how did you—” Jon stares at it.

“I still had it on hand from lunch. Didn’t end up using it, the guy didn’t have anything helpful, he just wanted an excuse to flirt, so I knew there was nothing on it. I figured if Elias talked to anyone alone, it would be you, so I slipped it in your pocket just before we went in. Just, you know, in case we needed evidence later. Figured if it was important, whatever’s behind these things would switch it on.” Sasha peers through the window at the tape. “Looks like I was right.”

“You, Sasha James, are positively devious.” Tim’s slight frown indicates he’s not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

Sasha starts the tape rewinding. “While we wait for this to spool back, Jon, do you want to try and get their statement about Friday? You know, so Elias doesn’t find out about these two?”

Martin Prime tilts his head to one side, then turns and hesitantly reaches out with a foot, kicking something hard and plastic on the floor. “I think that’s a yes.”

Sure enough, a battered tape recorder sits and waits. Jon sighs and nods. “Can’t hurt, I suppose.”

They settle down in a lopsided circle, and Jon Prime slides the tape recorder over so it sits between Jon, Tim, and Martin. Jon takes a deep breath. “Statement of Martin Blackwood and Tim Stoker, Archival assistants at the Magnus Institute, regarding the thing that was not Diana Caxton. Recorded direct from subjects—” He hesitates.

Sasha realizes Jon has probably lost track of time. Softly, Martin says, “Seventh of March, 2017.”

“Statement begins.” Jon takes Martin’s hand on one side and Tim’s on the other. “Whenever you think you’re ready.”

It’s so much more than the bare-bones description they gave her first thing that morning, and Sasha listens intently, her own recorder forgotten. Martin’s remembered fear—for himself, for Tim, for the two students—is an almost tangible thing, like hot liquid running down her throat, filling her. When Tim describes Jon Prime overpowering the Not-Diana, it suddenly gets so much more intense. Her whole body thrums with energy.

It’s intoxicating.

“Statement ends,” Jon says, once Tim falls silent. He squeezes their hands tightly, seemingly without being aware he’s doing it. “God.”

“Yeah,” Martin agrees. “It was—it was a lot.”

“I’m impressed you managed to not tell Elias about any of that when he asked,” Jon mutters.

“Well, I mean, I didn’t lie. Not really. I did have my eyes closed the whole time, so it’s not like I saw any of that.” Martin cocks his head at Tim. “And we didn’t really talk about it over the weekend or anything.”

“I spent most of it passed out,” Tim tells Jon. “All that…it took a lot out of me. We ended up listening to one of the tapes—uh, it was Mr. Skinner’s statement, about the forest in Wales, actually.”

“I suppose it was inevitable,” Jon Prime murmurs. “I am sorry, Tim. I didn’t—I’ve never been around anyone else with Beholding powers, not really, so I had no idea how me using them would affect any of you.”

“It didn’t affect Martin,” Tim points out. “It’s just because mine relies on being able to see the marks and the—I guess it’s the power of the fears, too. There was just so much energy being drawn on, and I was so strung out I couldn’t stop it. Honestly, I don’t normally—we’re cut off from the Eye down here, I didn’t think my abilities would work.”

“I should have warned you that they do. Just…not always as well. They’re a bit easier to control, I suppose.” Jon Prime runs a hand through his hair. “Are you all right now?”

“Yeah,” Tim says softly, but he’s looking at Jon, not at Jon Prime, and Sasha knows with a surety that has nothing to do with the Beholder that he can only say that because Jon’s back. The expression on Martin’s face says the same. He clears his throat and adds, “Like I said, I spent most of the weekend sleeping. We took it easy on Sunday.”

Martin nods. “We were mostly okay today. Little bit of a headache when Helen brought Jon back, but that wasn’t so bad, really. Not…you know, not like actually being in those corridors.”

Jon shudders. “God, that was…”

Martin Prime hums in agreement. “Trust me, not being able to see it doesn’t make it that much better.”

Jon Prime wraps his arm around Martin Prime’s shoulder; Martin Prime responds in kind, and the two lean into each other, as if they know they’re going to need the strength from one another in a moment. “Sasha, has that tape rewound all the way yet?”

Sasha starts. She’s honestly forgotten about it, but glancing down, she sees that all the buttons are popped out. “Oh! Yes, it’s—it’s ready. Are you?”

“As we’ll ever be, I suppose.”

Sasha pushes the PLAY button and slides the recorder to the middle of the circle, and their boss’s smooth, oily voice oozes into the room. As the conversation continues, she watches the Primes’ faces. Jon Prime goes steadily more ashen, while Martin Prime’s goes from red to purple to nearly black. Tim and Martin are largely silent, but when they get to the part none of them were in the office for, all the color drains out of Martin’s face and Tim covers his mouth with his free hand and turns away.

The tape clicks off. There’s a moment of silence before Martin Prime chokes out, “That bastard.”

“God,” Jon Prime whispers. “I never—I didn’t—” He closes his eyes and turns his head, half-burying his face in Martin Prime’s chest. The simple movement seems to drain a lot of the rage out of Martin Prime; the color recedes in a blotchy fashion from his cheeks, and he wraps both arms around Jon Prime, cradling him protectively. It almost makes Sasha smile—Jon Prime is objectively one of the most powerful beings in the world, and Martin Prime still feels like he needs to protect him, or even like he can. Then again, from the way Jon Prime curls into him, it’s pretty clear that Jon Prime feels that way, too. “He never directly threatened any of you. Not to me. I-I don’t think he—when he told me to consider people things to be used, it wasn’t to my face. It never occurred to me that he might have hurt you to get me to comply.”

“Jon, why do you think he dangled me as bait in front of Peter Lukas?” Martin Prime sounds bitter and angry, but he softens when Jon Prime flinches against him. “Of course he knew you cared. It’s why he told you not to bring Tim to the Unknowing, because he knew that would spur both of you into letting Tim go, and he could play on your guilt over whatever happened after. Everything he did, at every turn, was directly targeted at getting you to step up and get marked, because he knew you would do anything to save us.” He sighs heavily. “I just—never expected to hear him say it.”

Tim snorted. “I should have just shot him when I had the chance.”

“No,” Sasha and Jon Prime say in unison, Jon Prime’s head jerking off Martin Prime’s shoulder, eyes wide with fear.

“You believe him, then?” Jon says quietly. “He really is—killing him will kill all of us, too?”

“I still can’t Know that,” Jon Prime admits. “But—it’s not a risk I would want to take. Not until—I mean, we have a plan. It just…needs work. I think. But I’m still not sure if killing him would actually trigger some sort of supernatural dead-man switch.”

Sasha shifts a bit. The urge to keep her secrets is still strong—but Elias’ taunt rings in her ears, and she knows she has to push past that. She can’t be what he expects her to be. What he groomed her to be, in a sense.

“Actually,” she says, “according to my research, it won’t.”

Five heads snap around to look at her in surprise. Martin Prime is the one to finally speak. “What do you mean?”

Sasha smiles mischievously. Now that she’s said the first part, the idea of sharing the rest of it seems…positively gleeful. Because in a way, it’s spilling a secret Jonah Magnus thought could never be known. “I’ve been looking in to the heads of the Institute, you know that. Trying to figure out how he picked his successors, what the criteria were for it, that sort of thing. And the one that bothered me most was Thomas Fitzwalter, the fourth Head. He was only in charge for a few months—he became head of the Institute in September of 1940, then was killed in a bomb attack in March of 1941. It always struck me as odd that the Eye didn’t warn him about the bomb.”

“It can’t really see the future,” Jon Prime says, but he sounds a bit uncertain.

“No, I know that, but then I learned something else interesting. The previous head of the Institute, Virgil Warrington, was found dead in his office, by Fitzwalter, who just sort of assumed the position of Head because nobody else really wanted it at that time.” Sasha runs a finger over the edge of her tape recorder. “It took me a while to find the details. I mean, it was the middle of the Blitz, there was a lot going on, and obviously it was a lot easier to bury details and destroy records back then than it is now. But—well, I actually got Basira and Daisy involved. I didn’t tell them why, obviously, but I’d mentioned to Basira what I was looking into, and it turns out she really likes that sort of stuff. And since she’s not police anymore, I reckon she needed a project, something to focus on to keep from going mad. Anyway, point is, they were able to find a police report that escaped destruction, deliberate or otherwise, and it turns out Warrington didn’t die of heart failure or a stroke or anything. I mean, it was probably what they told people, he was quite elderly, but…”

“But?” Jon prompts.

Sasha’s grin broadens. “He was murdered. Shot, actually. According to the report, it was a Luger P308, which was a primarily German model, so the official unofficial report is that he was probably killed by a fifth column agent. But there was never any evidence, any proof. Even the type of gun used—they didn’t exactly do ballistics reports at the time, they would have just said he was shot with some kind of pistol. The information on the exact model came from Thomas Fitzwalter.”

“So you think—” Tim begins.

“I think he killed Virgil Warrington. Who knows, maybe he was a German spy. Maybe he killed Warrington because the Germans had decided that the knowledge in the Institute was too dangerous to be allowed, or because Fitzwalter figured out that Warrington could read minds, or maybe Warrington tried to blackmail him knowing Fitzwalter was a spy and Fitzwalter killed him to keep him from talking.” Sasha’s mind is racing, and she’s getting more and more excited as she talks. “Or Fitzwalter was exactly who he seemed to be and just got frustrated and angry with Warrington, or the whole situation. It’s probably telling that Thomas Fitzwalter, before he became the Head, was actually an Archival assistant.”

“Which means he was trapped, too,” Martin says, realization dawning in his eyes.

“Mm-hmm. But anyway, my theory is that Fitzwalter killed Warrington, and since he was the only one around, Jonah Magnus’ eyes…somehow got transferred into Fitzwalter’s head. I don’t know how that works.” Sasha looks quizzically at Jon Prime.

“I don’t know, either, and I have no desire to,” Jon Prime says, running a hand over his eyes. “But—that’s actually not a bad theory. And you think that’s why he didn’t last long?”

Sasha nods. “Yes. I think Fitzwalter wasn’t his choice for a successor, Richard Mendelson was, but Fitzwalter was there when he died, so the transfer was automatic. And for whatever reason, he couldn’t just do the transfer from there to Mendelson. Maybe he just wanted it to look natural. Which means he probably did know the bomb was about to hit, and he deliberately held back from going into a shelter.”

Tim looks like he’s about to be sick. “So if I had shot him…”

“He’d have claimed one of us as his new body. Don’t know which. I don’t know if he can direct it with that few people in the room or if it’s just whoever is nearest or what.” Sasha digs her fingernails into her palms to keep herself grounded. Trying to pluck that from their boss’s brain probably won’t work, and it will be far too risky anyway. It might overload her own brain to the point of killing her, and the surge of power might hurt the others, too. But oh, she almost hurts with the desire to try.

“But nobody else would have died.”

“I doubt that,” Martin Prime says. There’s still residual anger in his voice. “If you’re right, then no, he’s not a literal dead-man switch. I’ve kind of had my doubts about that anyway, ever since Jon mentioned that Archival assistants can leave if the Archivist dies. Especially since staff outside the Archives can quit. Nobody is actually bound to the Institute. Most of the staff can come and go as they please, and the Archival assistants are bound to the Archivist, or maybe to the Archives. Doesn’t quite matter, they’re technically the same thing. But killing Elias probably wouldn’t cause a—a mass extinction event or anything. Especially if Fitzwalter murdering Warrington didn’t wipe out the whole Institute staff in one go.” He takes a deep breath. “But you really think Jonah Magnus would have let the rest of you live? Especially if he gets the memories of whichever body he inhabits? You’d all know too much. Plans or no plans, you’d have to die.”

Jon Prime inhales sharply and covers his mouth with one hand. “Oh, God.”

Jon shakes his head firmly. “No. Absolutely not. Not happening. I won’t let it.”

“It won’t,” Martin assures him. His face is paper-white, every freckle and scar in stark relief, but his voice is firm. “Because we’re not going to test this theory, right, Sasha?”

Sasha flinches, but honestly, she’s glad Martin knows her well enough to call her out on it. “I…might need some redirection if I start getting antsy, but no. No testing it. Maybe once he’s dead we can find out for sure.”

“Can you kill him, though?” Tim asks. “Without…you know, getting possessed?”

“I—I think so. It’s—we have to kill Jonah Magnus as well as Elias Bouchard. Or at least Elias Bouchard’s body,” Jon Prime adds, his voice soft and a little ragged. He leans more into Martin Prime, who gathers him somehow even closer and rests his chin on the top of his head. “I don’t know how much of the original Elias is left, if anything. I think destroying his eyes ought to do it.”

“So, what, stab him with a couple screwdrivers through the eyeballs, Jonah Magnus dies and Elias Bouchard is free?” Tim swallows. “I can try that.”

“He won’t let you get close enough to do that,” Jon Prime says. “Even if you all master the ability to hide things from him completely, he’ll never let you within arm’s length. The gun would have been your best bet, but you’d have had to shoot both eyes out instantly.”

Tim shakes his head. “I’m not nearly that good of a shot.”

Jon worries at his lower lip. “I think we need help with that. W-with learning to hide things from him, I mean. We’re trying, and I think we put him off a bit, but…the more we learn, the more I’m worried we’re going to let something slip and the whole thing will be up. I-if he finds out about the two of you…”

“The whole thing goes awry,” Jon Prime completes.

“I’m more worried about what he might do to the two of you. I know you can handle yourself,” Jon adds quickly, “but if he catches you off-guard, you might not have a chance. O-or if he…I don’t know, floods the tunnels with gas or something. I just—I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

He says this last bit so softly that it probably wouldn’t be audible at all if the tunnels didn’t echo. From the look he gives Tim and Martin, Sasha is willing to bet that he’s thinking about how he would feel if either of them got hurt because of him, and how much worse it would be for one of the Primes to lose the other now.

For just a moment, Sasha wonders what it’s like to feel that way about someone else. She knows what it’s like to care, of course, she’s fond of Jon and Martin and Tim, and the Primes. She’s beginning to rather like Basira as well. And there’s her Uncle Wade, who was the one constant in her life for years and for whom she’d do just about anything. But the kind of bond the Primes have, or that it’s becoming increasingly clear her boys have, is beyond her. She’s long over the oh my God do people really feel like this attitude she took towards sappy love stories in her secondary-school days, she understands the concept of romance, but she’s also long ago realized that it’s not something she’s ever going to experience herself. And, honestly, she doesn’t feel like she’s missing anything. Usually.

But right now…right now she almost wishes she could experience that. She’s not sure how much of it is clinical curiosity and how much of it is an actual desire for herself. It doesn’t change the fact that she almost wants, just once, to look at someone the way Martin is looking at Jon right now and know what that feels like.

“I’ll do my best,” Jon Prime says, and it actually takes Sasha a second to remember what they’re talking about. “It’s mostly instinct, though, so I can’t make any promises. But I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I can ask. Anything to—” Jon breaks off and tightens his hands around Tim and Martin’s. “Anything we can do.”

“Not right now,” Sasha says, looking around the room. “I don’t think any of you are up for it right now. You all look knackered, especially you, Jon.”

“Yes, but I don’t know if we can risk coming down here again any time soon. He’s going to be watching us for a while, I’m sure.” Jon sighs. “He probably knows we’re down here now.”

“No, we’re safe. He had to take a phone call from Peter Lukas and that had his attention,” Sasha tells him. “If we knew his schedule, we could work around it. I bet it’s all in the computer.”

Martin Prime frowns in Sasha’s direction. “The phone call wouldn’t have been. How did you—Sasha. You didn’t.”

“I just wanted to see if I could,” Sasha says, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. “I didn’t think it would actually work. I mean, I was sort of practicing on the walk when I went to get Jon’s shoes, to see how far away from someone I had to be in order to get their secrets, and Elias’ office is kind of at the edge of my range, plus there are so many walls in the way—”

“Sasha.” Jon sounds upset, almost scared.

“I know. I shouldn’t have done any of that, but—” Sasha sighs. “It’s like I told Tim and Martin earlier. It’s happening more and more without me trying, and it’s harder and harder for me to stop it.”

“God, was that only today?” Martin murmurs. “Feels like forever ago.”

Martin Prime’s mouth flattens into a thin line, but it’s Jon Prime who speaks. “Trust me when I say that at this point, you can stop it. You just have to want to. It’s an addiction, Sasha, just like any other kind, but that’s only for now. The more you lean into it, the more it will progress beyond that and into an actual, literal need. And when you get to that point, you won’t be able to stop. And it won’t be easy to subsist on what’s…acceptable. I-I have a hard time living on nothing but old statements.”

Sasha squirms a bit guiltily. Jon takes a deep, careful breath. “Sasha, if you promise you’re just going to look in the system—”

“I promise.” Sasha means it, with every fiber of her being.

“Then…okay. I think you’re right. I don’t know that I’m up to much right now.” Jon looks down at his lap. “I got a statement off of Michael before—well, before—and then this on top of it…I’m a bit overwhelmed. And I could use a good night’s sleep.” He sighs heavily. “Besides, we’ve got to try and dig up Gertrude’s notes. Anything she had going about the Unknowing. I-it’s not that…I know we know what you’ve told us, but we have to—”

“No, I understand,” Jon Prime assures him. “You might start with her laptop. It’s hidden in your office. You’ll know where to look, I think.”

Jon looks up, then slowly smiles. “I think I have an idea.” The smile droops slightly, and he adds, “But that can wait for tomorrow. Today, I think we—we call it a day early. Go get a drink or something. After all, what’s Elias going to do—fire us?”

“That sounds good,” Martin says. “Will you two be all right?”

“We’ll be fine. We’ll see what we can unearth that might be helpful for you tonight,” Jon Prime says. “Go. Get some rest. You deserve it.”

“Be careful,” Martin Prime says.

He’s still looking in Sasha’s direction, more than at any of the others. And as she pushes herself up from the floor, Sasha finds that she can’t meet his eyes, even if he can’t see the look in hers. She knows his caution is meant more for her than the others. They’re going to keep each other from falling too far, and they’ll try to help her, but in the end, they’re weaving a safety net and she has a knife up her sleeve. It wouldn’t take much effort for her to surreptitiously cut the fibers and fall through.

About the only thing stopping her right now is the knowledge that, if she does that, they’ll assume they just didn’t weave the net tightly enough and it’s their fault. The trouble is that, deep down, she’s pretty sure that eventually she’ll get to the point where the lure of the pit is stronger than the need to make sure her friends don’t blame themselves. She needs something a little bit stronger than a net to keep her grounded to humanity.

She wonders what Basira is up to right now.

[vitanitf]

stats --

name: caelan abiodun leu

faceclaim: mason gooding

age: 22 years

pronouns: he/him

sexuality: bisexual, biromantic

birthday: july 28th

zodiac: leo

abilities: power fists, enhanced agility 

occupation: cashier and stocker at a record store

traits: satirical, arrogant, protective, aggressive, unfaithful

likes: music, parks, buffalo chicken pizza, record players, tequila, remixes, brick structures, bbq chips, flirting, earbuds

dislikes: being irritated, therapy, itchy sweaters, ants, long nails, rain, swimming, cinnamon, sporks, orange juice

biography --

caelan was a good kid. scratch that, he was a great kid. when he was small, he always followed the rules set in place. he always offered to help out, didn’t complain about chores, or anything for that matter. he was always smiling. always using his manners. but he was so angry. it started out small enough. he’d get frustrated and sigh dramatically. he’d start kicking rocks along the sidewalk. slamming his bedroom door when the slightest thing pissed him off. it escalated into his teen years. yelling, throwing objects around his room. a fist through the wall was the tipping point. it was when everyone seemed to realize that something had to be done. the rage was almost to be expected; he was half vitani’s child, after all, and his father was much worse. vitani began to wonder if she’d done something wrong. for cae and yara’s childhood, they’d been overly protective. taught them how to take care of themselves, made sure they knew the world was not a friendly place, but they had tried so hard to stop the two of them from being jaded the way she had been. elias was the answer. maybe it wasn’t the best answer or even a right answer, but vitani was at their wit’s end, and it was the town that had helped her the most. most of caelan’s live had been spent moving around. never settling into a town for very long before they were gone again. fake ids, made up pasts. he didn’t understand what they were running from, he and yara weren’t allowed to know anything. they were just expected to go along with it. but he was getting older and angrier, and he didn’t want secrets kept from him any longer. california wasn’t his first choice of places to be, but at least it was somewhere he could settle for once, and it was clear that vitani wasn’t just suggesting the idea. their mind was made up. practically against his will, he packed what few belongings he had and moved to the apartment that had been rented out for him halfway across the country. he started anger management and group therapy because he’d promised he would. he might’ve been a dick sometimes --- most times --- but he was a man of his word. over time he found a job working at a record shop to cover his personal spending habits, and he actually began to appreciate the town for what it was. that didn’t mean he started doing better, though. it would take several hands to count the amount of fights he’s gotten into, random houses he’s woken up in after blacked out nights of binge drinking, careless hookups and school suspensions. he’s trying to do better, he really is, but he’s began to wonder if any amount of love and support will ever be enough to fix him.

connections --

babysitter: vesper vasilikas. the only one that was allowed to watch the kids when they were little. also the only one he trusted to call to bail him out of jail when he was arrested a few months back. she’s family. cousins: all of ‘em. vitani always enforced the idea that family is important. he cares about his cousins, but he couldn’t say they’re close. it’s not because he doesn’t love them, it’s because there’s some sort of wall getting in the way of him being close to anyone. *coworker: any gender, any age. they work together at the record store. they could get along and goof off on the job or hate dealing with each other, however we wanna work it. *enemy: any gender, any age. he hates them with a burning passion. it doesn’t take much for him to dislike someone, but he really wishes they’d just fall off the face of the earth. *ex fling: any gender, any age. he’s hooked up with a lot of people, so your character can definitely be on the list. ex on bad terms: january jones. because caelan is not a good boyfriend, and he’s sorry. but he’s also probably not all that sorry. sorry. *ex on good terms: any gender, any age. they’re still friends. maybe friends with benefits sometimes. it was probably nothing serious, because he doesn’t really do serious. but they had fun, and he still likes talking to them from time to time at least. frenemies: artemis zervos. he cares about art, he really does, and he appreciates the banter. whether he’ll admit that or not is a different story. kind of ex: perry van dort. they weren’t exactly official, but they were something. as opposite as they were, it somehow worked. he has no hard feelings towards perry.  parent: vitani leu. caelan loves vitani, but the overprotectiveness is annoying, and he’s bitter that they practically forced him to move to cali. he doesn’t understand why they won’t just be upfront with him instead of keeping him in the dark his entire life. *ride or die: any gender, any age. give him someone he can wholeheartedly trust and drag along to anywhere. someone who joins in on the trouble instead of trying to talk him down. we’d say bad influence, but let’s be honest, cae’s the one doing the influencing. sister: yara leu. his baby sis. he’d do anything for her, but her positivity can be a bit annoying at times. would he change it for the world, though? no. she deserves to be happy. he just can’t see life the same way.  therapy ‘friend’: amira foxworth. possibly one of the few reasons he always showed up to group therapy. they’ve been hanging out outside of sessions with other people, and he always ends up just wanting to talk to her.

* open connection, this could be you !! hmu.

[elledritchorror]

I can have little a self-indulgence,,, as a treat

Some cute lil season 1 stuff ft. Jon and Georgie still being good buds, Martin getting to meet Georgie, and Jon being just a little chill (the influence of good company methinks)

Martin really was trying to be careful about moving the boxes. The problem was, he didn’t realise there was a whole other ceiling-high stack of them all set up haphazardly behind the first, so when the first came toppling down from the extra weight of a hidden box behind, he dove for the first clear space. Which was into the wall of boxes, not out of. The sound was cacophonous and Martin almost couldn’t believe it could be so loud, then one of the final boxes fell by his foot and spilled open, showing not just paper statements, but a heavy metal case that popped open to reveal about a dozen tapes. Great.

He tried to push some of the boxes aside but it became apparent very quickly that Martin’s little safe hole within the stacks of tumbled cardboard and steel was rickety, and could very well all come down on top of him. Which meant he needed help. Which meant he had to call someone with the key to the archives.

Which meant he had to call Jon.

Luckily enough his phone was still in his pocket and not left on the desk somewhere. Lucky again, Jon answered on the third ring.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Jon. It’s uhh, it’s Martin.”

“Yes I can see that, Martin. Why are you calling?”

“Well you see I uhh. Well. I need a bit of help?”

“Why? Are there worms? Martin are you safe?”

It was probably a deeply inappropriate time for Martin’s inside to melt into jelly but the clear concern in Jon’s voice - concern for Martin - well, it did things to him.

“I’m fine for the moment but I’ve made a mess of some of the boxes here.”

“And that requires my help because?”

“Because there are way more than I thought and they’ve all fallen around me and if I try to do anything then they might fall even more.”

“All around yo- how did you manag- Martin are you in the far back room in document storage?”

“Yep.”

“The one with the rows of boxes against the wall?”

“Didn’t realise it was more than one row until it all came down on me.”

“Christ, alright I’ll be there as soon as I can. Do not move, there are sealed cases in there and they’ll do some damage if they fall on you.”

“Yeah, I uhh, had a near miss. Trust me I am not going anywhere.”

“Alright, I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

“Thanks, Jon.”

The phone beeped but Martin didn’t worry too much about Jon’s ire. A few weeks ago he would have been in a panic but after the issue with Prentiss and Jon’s immediate belief - not to mention finding a way to keep him safe - well, he knew that any upset would be temporary. Still, that left him twiddling his thumbs in an enclosed space for a while.

It seemed to take both more and less time than he expected but eventually Martin heard the heavy doors to the Archives creak and then thud. He sagged in relief, then realised he almost moved too far and stayed very, very still.

“Martin?”

The voice that called was not Jon’s. It was higher pitched, and much more mellow.

“Uh, hello?”

“Hey! I’m Georgie. Jon went to get the dolly to help cart some of this out of your way. Don’t know if it’ll help but we’ll need it eventually. I came to let you know we’re here.”

Georgie had a nice voice, Martin decided. She was cheerful and comforting, and Martin still had no idea why she was here.

“Oh, uh, t-thank you!”

“No probs. I can hear Jon now, give us just a second and we’ll get you out of there.”

Jon did arrive then, the squeaking of the ancient dolly cart wheels more than made up for his naturally soft step.

“Martin, stay still. We’re going to try to shift some of this now,” Jon called and Martin gave him the affirmative and did as instructed.

It took a little bit of jiggling and shifting, but finally Jon and Georgie seemed to have a plan of attack. Martin could tell that they knew each other well, and were clearly very comfortable around each other. Was Georgie his girlfriend? Surely Jon would have mentioned her at some point if she was, but then, he was a very private person. Finally, Martin’s musings were interrupted by more instructions.

“Alright Martin, this part that’s sitting over you is in some kind of arc, we’re going to have to let it topple so when we pull, you come straight out, got it?”

“Got it!” Martin called and tensed, ready.

“Alrighty then Martin,” Georgie called. “On three. One, two-“

On the three, Martin dashed out of the crack that Jon created just in time to hear the crash of cardboard, paper, and multiple metal cases all falling into one another. It almost didn’t register compared to the sight he was greeted with.

There they were: Jon and Georgie. Georgie had a grin just as sweet and fun as she sounded, her dark skin and wild, curly hair seemed to fit her personality perfectly. She wore a band t-shirt and casual jeans and really, she just looked like the kind of person anyone would want to be friends with. Jon, on the other hand. Well, Martin was used to Jon appearing at work in collared shirts and neat jumpers, maybe a cardigan and a tie. He looked nothing like that today.

Jon wore tight jeans that Martin noted had a handful of strategically cut holes in them, the frayed edges flicked out softly in a way that looked artfully dishevelled. Over the ankles of the jeans were dark leather boots with silver-buckled straps. He also had a band t-shirt of some kind, but it was cropped just enough that Martin could see a tiny sliver of deep olive skin over the tied up sleeves of the flannel that he wore around his waist. He looked good. He didn’t look like the Jon that Martin had come to expect though.

“Are you alright, Martin? You look a bit flustered. mate.” Georgie laughed when he startled, but it wasn’t mean. She seemed like the living embodiment of good-natured and already Martin wanted to know everything about how she knew Jon and how they were so obviously very comfortable in each other’s space.

“Oh! Yeah, yeah I’m fine, thank you. I uh, I really appreciate it. Sorry I didn’t realise Jon was out with anyone when I called I hope I wasn’t uh… interrupting anything?” Martin trailed off in an awkward question at the end but damn it, he was really curious. Possibly also a little nervous about the answer. Possibly also a little jealous. Or a lot jealous.

Georgie laughed again, loud and bright. “Nah, mate, not for years now. Just going to lunch.”

Oh okay. They weren’t dating. That was… fine. There was no reason for Martin to have an opinion on it and he certainly wasn’t relieved. He also was not remotely interested in how Jonathan “wouldn’t know an overture of friendship if it slapped him in the face” Sims managed to stay close with his ex. Except all of that was a lie.

“Oh! Well, I’m sorry for interrupting lunch plans,” Martin said, but she waved him off.

“No problem, Martin, seriously. I’d much rather come down here now than find out later we left you at Tim’s mercy. Or worse, Elias.”

Martin shuddered at the thought of Elias finding him trapped under a pile of boxes. He always seemed perfectly pleasant when you spoke to him, but the moment he left it was like everything he’d said left an awful taste in the mouth despite being objectively kind. And that was the least of Martin’s worries if Elias found him, the most of them being discovered for an incompetent and fired.

“There’s no reason to bother anyone else with it, anyway. We were close by, it’s easy enough to come get you,” Jon said and that… was the opposite of Elias, actually. Seemingly brusque but with an underlying kindness.

“Speaking of coming to get you, do you want to come get lunch with us? I know there’s a whole situation on and I reckon you could do with an afternoon out of this place.” Georgie grinned at him and despite being invited explicitly because of the Prentiss thing, Martin didn’t feel like a burden or an unwanted tagalong. Not to Georgie at least.

“Oh, well, uh, I w-wouldn’t want to uh, to impose. I’m sure y-you and Jon uh-“ Martin cut off when Georgie stuck an elbow into Jon’s ribs. Jon, who pinched her quickly on return but still… smiled, just a little.

“You’re not imposing, Martin. She wouldn’t have invited you if it were a problem.”

Martin felt quite certain that he was going to melt into the floor at any second. Georgie came to his rescue.

“Come on, my treat! I got a new ad deal with my podcast so I’m swimming in it for the next… I don’t know, about four days,” she laughed.

Before Martin could even try to stammer out a response she took him by the arm and pulled him in step with her. Jon fell in on Martin’s other side and they made their way out of the archives to the tune of Georgie’s gentle teasing. He looked thoroughly out of place between these two in his pastel blue cardigan and worn slacks, but he didn’t feel like he didn’t belong. So rather than dwell on his nerves, or the worms, or Jon’s arm so close it could brush against his own on every other step, Martin let Georgie lead him and Jon through easy conversation all the way to the car.

[twisted-leader-of-something]

Ramshackle’s Polarity - My RSA OCs

So, I must say, some things are [N/A] in this Profile because of a reason I willl state. Sorry for any inconvenience! 

Elias Winterbottom

Full Name: Elias Faye Rosetta-Winterbottom 

Nickname(s): Eli (by many people at RSA)

Twisted from: Eleanor Fay Bloomingbottom [From Godmothered]

Gender: Male

Species: Brounie, a type of Fae

Age: Not Officially Stated due to no one asking, but according to Lilia, he is defiantly younger than Malleus

Birthday: February 2nd

Star Sign: Aquarius

Height: 5′5 or 165.1 cm

Eye Color: Hazel Green

Hair Color: Golden Blonde 

Homeland: Plains of Flowerage

Family: Great-grandaunt, Grandfather, Grandmother, Father and Mother, Step Brother [Bruatar/Bindumat Nelson] and Sister In-Law [Alette Nelson], and Twins Nefillings and a Nephew (Status Unknown)

Dorm:  [ N/A - Not Enough Information about Royal Sword Academy ]

School Year: Second Year

Class: [ N/A - Not Enough Information about Royal Sword Academy ]

Occupation: Fairy Godparent/Student

Club: [ N/A - Not Enough Information about Royal Sword Academy ]

Best Subject: Home Economics

Dominant Hand: Right

Favorite Food: Anything with Watermelon or Watermelon Flavor and Seafood

Least Favorite Food: Anything with Pumpkin or Pumpkin Flavor

Likes: Being Kind to Other People and Set Ways to Do Things

Dislikes: Violence, Mean People and Some Forms of Technology 

Hobby: Making Crafts

Sexuality: Aromantic

Unique Magic: ‘Let’s Make Magic Happen!’ - For as long as Elias wishes it, Elias can induce any amount of confidence that he wishes in any animate object he chooses when he simply says the person’s name and “I need you to believe in yourself!”

Talent: Making Others Smile or Uncomfortable

Personality: Elias is often described as a ray of sunshine who often doesn’t understand personal limitations or modern things and is often described as old fashioned by most who meets him, due to his kindness that often get really out of hand and will get him into trouble. Elias also is described as overbearing at times due to his kind nature, and he acts really childish despite being a Fae and older than most people he meets. But, most people that know him agrees that Elias also is super positive to where even in the bleakest of times he still smiles and is sees the positives in life, which is even to a fault. And he also has motherly qualities that are often only come out with very young children. But, despite being a good person, Elias has shown he still has his Fae qualities, like his pettiness. But around Kinsey he is often like a child, trying to please him not matter what it is, no matter the task. 

Background: Born and raised in Plains of Flowerage with most of his family nearby him, Elias grew up most of his life surrounded by lots of love and support from a family that for the most part sheltered him from the world due to his sibling, later named Bruatar, that his mother stole when Elias was little for Elias to have a sibling since Elias asked for one that was illegally changed into a Fae and had to be kept from the world in order for the family to not get into trouble with the Fae authorities. Elias had a sheltered, but decent childhood considering the time he was born, that is until his family encountered trouble when Bruatar ran away from home after discovering the truth of where he came from and ran off to find his real family. Which, he later did and for a long time cut off contact with his family and then after years and years of non-contact contacted Elias and had him come into the human world and meeting his family, which Elias was more than happy to have despite being half-Fae half-Changeling and his family not really liking him which he later on discovers from overhearing a conversation and then hasn’t spoken to since. Elias then became inspired to work with all kinds of children, especially human children since he had not interacted with them and went to a school called “The School of Godparenting” to become a Godparent, a type of Fae that watches over a human for most of their lives which Elias found was about to be shut down, but determined to work with human children searched for a child to become a Godfather of, and found Kinsey Wallace and turned the live of Kinsey and his family around and saved the School of Godparenting and then taught there for a while until Kinsey and Paisha managed to get into Royal Sword Academy despite their severe lack of magic to which Elias agreed to give them magic in exchange for spending time at RSA, since he had heard about it being a fancy school and wanted to  see what it was like. 

Kinsey Wallace

Full Name: Kinsey Wallace

Nickname(s): Kin (By Elias and serval others at RSA)

Twisted from: Mackenzie Walsh [From Godmothered]

Gender: Male

Spices: Human

Age: 17

Birthday: June 27th

Star Sign: Cancer

Height: 5′6′14 or 167.99 cm

Eye Color: Hazel Green 

Hair Color: Copper Red

Homeland: Land of Pyroxene 

Family: Mother (Status Unknown), Younger Brother, Girlfriend [Joanna Bells] (Deceased), Two Adoptive Sons [Joan and Miri Bells-Wallace]

Dorm:  [ N/A - Not Enough Information about Royal Sword Academy ]

School Year: Second Year

Class: [ N/A - Not Enough Information about Royal Sword Academy ]

Occupation: Dorm Leader/Part-time Journalist

Club: [ N/A - Not Enough Information about Royal Sword Academy ]

Best Subject: Writing

Dominant Hand: Right

Favorite Food: Donuts

Least Favorite Food: Takeout Foods, mainly Pizza

Likes: Things Clean and Orderly, Things Going His Way.

Dislikes: Parties and Lots of Work to do.

Hobby: Writing

Sexuality: Straight

Unique Magic: [N/A - Kinsey isn’t a Natural Magician, he’s actually an Deal-Bound Magician, so therefore he cannot gain a Unique Magic unless it is given to him by Elias, which is currently banned]

Talent: Either Getting Lots of Work Done or Making A Situation Worse

Personality: According to Paisha, Kinsey was once described as a toxic person to be around due to what stress he was under in a news station job he hated during his junior high school years that affected his life until Elias stepped into his life and became his fairy godfather and made him a better person, but Kinsey still has a pessimistic mindset that will show itself when Kinsey is under enough stress. But for the most part, Kinsey is a mostly optimistic person who despite responsibilities given to him always is smiling and trying to be positive while being realistic at the same time. He is often seen with Elias floating somewhere nearby him with a sigh and a tired expression despite how much respect he has towards Elias from how he speaks.  

Background: Born into a stressed household of a single mother within the Land of Pyroxene, Kinsey grew up for the most part decently okay with pessimistic views of the mother due to his mother’s lack of optimism despite his father’s trying to help the situation until his younger brother Paisha was born, to which Kinsey’s father got a divorce soon after due to Kinsey’s mother’s increasing pessimism which was believed to be undiagnosed postnatal depression and unfortunately did not get much custody over the two boys. So, Kinsey spent most of his young life either taking care of his younger brother Paisha or rebelling against his mother by going to lots of parties with shady people which Kinsey said was retaliation for his mother for ‘ruining his life’, which have led many, many mistakes that Kinsey admits he regrets and had enforced Kinsey into becoming a mostly pessimistic and bitter person because of a situation beyond his control with hints of kindness here and there until Kinsey met Joanna, a woman that really changed Kinsey’s point of view due to her optimistic and kind but realistic attitude which Kinsey wanted in himself. Over time, Joanna really changed Kinsey’s point of view on life and taught him many things, and eventually the two started dating and fell madly in love. Which ended after years of fun times, that Kinsey still has good memories of to this day, when Joanna got into a huge car accident that was believed to be caused by gang activity in the area. Which first Kinsey into miserable and often angry person enough to Kinsey back into his old habits until he met Joan and Miri, which where Joanna’s children which Kinsey then promised he’s take care of, because his guilt of the loss of their mother ate at him until he adopted them, which subsequently got him kicked out of his mother’s house because of his mother claiming he got someone pregnant and for a while lived in a long-stay hotel with Joan and Miri and had a job at a news station that quickly made him stressed out due to a terrible boss, lots of work and the stress of wanting to do more with his life with Paisha helping raise the children. It was then Elias stepped into his life, and changed his life by trying to help him out with his life, which worked for Kinsey as well as Paisha, Joan and Miri and fixed the problems the family had and continued to be a presence in the family’s life. Then, Kinsey received a letter to attend Royal Sword Academy due to Kinsey’s hard work during his school years after Elias got his life together, which at first Kinsey wasn’t sure about until he finally met his father again, who was more than alright with contacting him and taking care of Paisha, Joan, and Miri while Kinsey was at RSA. But, Kinsey had another huge problem: He didn’t have enough magic to get into Royal Sword Academy despite being invited, which you’d think is impossible, but it happened. So, Kinsey made a deal for magic with Elias, that as long as Kinsey attended RSA, he’d have magic as long as Elias could attend as well. Later on, Pasha was invited, and Kinsey expanded upon the deal he had with Elias.  

Paisha Wallace

Full Name: Paisha Wallace

Nickname(s): Shasa (by Elias and serval others at RSA)

Twisted from: Paula Walsh [From Godmothered]

Gender: Male

Species: Human

Age: 16

Birthday: August 1st

Star Sign: Leo

Height: 5′4′4 or 163.57

Eye Color: Hazel Blue

Hair Color: Light Blonde

Homeland: Land of Pyroxene 

Family: Mother (Status Unknown), Father, Older Brother, and Two Nephews

Dorm:  [ N/A - Not Enough Information about Royal Sword Academy ]  

School Year: First Year

Class: [ N/A - Not Enough Information about Royal Sword Academy ]

Occupation: Vice Dorm Leader/Student 

Club: [ N/A - Not Enough Information about Royal Sword Academy ]

Best Subject: Modern Application of Magic

Dominant Hand: Right

Favorite Food: Bagels

Least Favorite Food: Scarps/Wasted Food

Likes: Driving Motor Vehicles, His Father, Brother, and Nephews 

Dislikes: Untangling Things, His Mother

Hobby: Being with Domesticated Animals

Sexuality: Pansexual

Unique Magic: [N/A - Like Kinsey, Paisha is not a Natural Magician but a Deal-Bound Magician, so unless Elias gives him a Unique Magic, which is currently banned, he cannot get one]

Talent: Spilling the Tea on a Situation

Personality: Paisha is often the definition of “I legitimately don’t know what’s happening but let’s roll with it” to those around him, despite being a decently intelligent and good person with a good sense of humor or knack for spilling the tea in a situation. 

Background: Born into the house of a family in shambles within the land of Pyroxene, Paisha grew up most of his life in a household that wasn’t the best for him, that even he recognized even at a young age. But, despite his mother who wasn’t the most encouraging or greatest to be around, he did learn to be a decent person and to be better than his circumstances thanks to a lot of his friends he had, especially one older mutual friend he knew for a short time he that said he moves a lot. He often was the middle ground between his mother and rebellious brother when the two fought, and often got in trouble on Kinsey’s behalf. Which, didn’t make him bitter towards his brother, it actually made him really depressed, which thankfully didn’t turn into something out of control since his friend caught it early on but he still does have issues with his esteem and how he views himself. For the most part of his life, Paisha was doing alright in life until Kinsey met Joanna, and then Paisha admits his life got better knowing his brother was happier until his brother’s girlfriend died, and Kinsey fell into a deep depression and adopted two sons, Joan and Miri, which then Paisha agreed to take care of happily since he figures it might help his brother out, but in reality it made the family problem worse. That is, until Elias stepped in and changed his life, to which Paisha then decided to keep a positive influence in Kinsey’s life instead of watching from the sidelines and did his best to keep Elias in the family when Elias tried to leave. Later on, Kinsey was invited to Royal Sword Academy and was worried about how the family would live, which Paisha was able to help with when he asked Joan, the closest to Elias, to help out with their situation, which worked out. 

[senpai-no-lie]

Dark Deity Chapters 1-5 Thoughts

Bought Dark Deity last night and played the first 5 chapters before I looked up and realized it was 2:30 AM lol. Available on Steam and on sale for like ~$20ish, so definitely worth checking out if you like tactical RPGs. I’ll put some general thoughts here and then some more specific ones under the keep reading to keep this post from getting to big. I think for the price it’s at, the game is well-polished and fun! Sometimes the sentence structure/flavor of the exposition text is a bit basic, but I just remind myself it’s not fair to compare it to a AAA game. 

I’m not sure if it’s because I was using an Xbox controller or what, but I noticed the game glitching out several times when I was trying to use the button to hop between units on the battle map. Unplugging my controller did not help, so I am tentatively assuming it’s a game problem. Another couple nitpicks I have is the text size being on the small size and the lack of variety with the loading screens. 

The text size is a complaint I have with most games in the genre; it’s just more noticeable with DD because I have to play it on the computer/HDMI it to my TV rather than on the Switch or DS I can hold inches from my face. The loading screens, I just wish they had more than the king on the throne, the world?, and the first four characters training to cut between for loading screens. The King one is especially weird because it was used in the opening exposition dump, so seeing it over and over when the King doesn’t show up again until post chapter 5 just didn’t jive with me. Obviously I’m not expecting visually impressive loading screens, but just the character sprites or game tips would’ve worked fine for extra variety (or a black loading screen with the logo. The load times aren’t that long).

More detailed thoughts below, since I might talk about things that could be “spoilery” for people who want to go in blind as possible. 

First of all, I’d just like to put my prediction out there that I think the King killed his own dad. I base this on nothing but vibes. 

Art and Character Designs: 

I love the character portraits and the pixel sprits they use during gameplay/combat. Very cute and reminds me of older FE games. The HP bars being little potion bottles is also very charming. I loathe how plasticky FE 3H looks, so it warms my heart to play a game in the same genre that doesn’t look like that. Also hot take, but I really do prefer the limited voice acting to every line being voiced. It’s a little disappointing that the combat animations for weapons don’t change when you select a different weapon, but every one of your units has a unique battle sprite and getting promoted changes their look. Enemy sprites, for the most part, are the same character (generic guy), but that’s fine. 

Characters and Supports: 

I don’t have too much to say about characters right now except that I like them. Too early to tell if there’s any shipping material, but I like each character as an individual and I find all their designs to be pleasing. I’ve started unlocking supports (I have most of my characters’ current support logs filled to C), and it seems like some of them might only unlock after a certain chapter, because I see an ! for Irving and Elias, but smashing the A button doesn’t let me see anything. Also wanted to say thank GOD for useful archer characters. Been burned by fucking FE:SD Gordin and FE:RD Edward just sucking monkey butt after their intro chapter, and I’m very pleased Garrick and Sophia are tactically useful. I haven’t had any deadweight characters yet, I’m happy to report, though it is only 5 chapters in. 

Difficulty: 

I appreciate that they have three different difficulty options, and looking over all the menus, there looks to be a lot of potential replayability because they allow you to randomize items, recruitment, and weapons iirc. I chose the middle difficulty, and thus far it’s been smooth sailing without being a cakewalk. Can confirm, because I am a hasty person in tactical RPGs, that when your units are defeated, they do not die; they merely lose a random stat point. I lost both my mages during chapter 4 lol. Another thing I noticed is that there really isn’t a tutorial and the game doesn’t necessarily “pause” to explain mechanics to you. This game is definitely for people who like FE or other tactical RPGs, but even so, I think for most if it you don’t really need a tutorial. I just wish it was more clear in the beginning how the different weapons work (there is no weapon durability, from what I can tell, bless) and the different types of classes/damage types. For example, I promoted Elias during chapter 5, and based on my choice (there are 4 promotion options), he went from being a spear user to using axes, but I don’t fully understand how much that really matters. 

Chapter 5: 

This gets a special section because it’s most fresh in my mind and I wanted to chitchat about it. The gemstones are obviously going to be important later, but a henchman of a presumable Future Big Bad pretending to look for it for his father and then three Mysterious Ladies also looking for it and that leading to a big battle is kind of funny. Worse reasons to have a battle, and also Brooke is hot, so welcome to the team. I had assumed that the three ladies you were asked to promote wouldn’t be permanent members of your party, so while I stand by my promotion choices, I still wish I had known you’d be keeping Brooke beforehand. The map design of chapter 5 is... interesting. It took me a bit to figure out what the fuck I was looking at, and that the colored circle things were portals I and the enemy could use to make it further on the map. The map design did make it very easy for Garrick and Sophia to do some impressive chip damage, though. 

So far, the map objectives have had a nice variety, as had the layout of the maps. I wish it was easier to tell which unit is the commander/boss you must beat, and it was easier to look at your units’ skills while at camp. I have no idea what button it could be, because I’ve tried them all. I do appreciate there is a zoom-in and zoom-out feature on the battle map, however.  I like how the weapon system works and it was fairly intuitive to figure out how to forge/strengthen weapons. I do like feeling like a genius/sense of discovery from figuring out a game’s mechanics, but they could’ve fleshed out the tips section a bit further all the same. 

[cathoderaytubez]

yall are so blinded by sexy elias brain rot that you completely disregard that older women are sexy too??? do yall think they turn to spotty wrinkly babbling hags the minute they pass 40? Even if they are spotty and wrinkly that doesnt make them unattractive to boot. Yes this is about gertrude robinson.

Gertrude Robinson is described as "An old woman, probably in her fifties or sixties (MAG162)" which is just above the middle age-range. Elias, as described by Jonny, is about middle aged, so he's just a tad younger than Gertrude. (I'd personally mark him at about 47 to 49 since he was likely in his twenties when joining the institute in his original Elias "Stoner" Bouchard form. ) So I've always been curious why people glorify the attractiveness of Elias but not Gertrude since they're similar in age and objectively Gertrude is a better person than Elias.

I'm not saying Gertrude is a saint but shes not Evil. She's your typical morally grey character who's ideology was "ends justify the means" which contrasts our protagonist who evolves into someone who cares about what hes doing AND what itll lead to. Elias, however, is the main antagonist and is also NOT morally ambiguous since his motives are shown to be completely selfish and based in his own dark intent. he.... literally started the apocalypse by taking advantage of jon and for some reason he's just like... better than Gertrude?

I'm quite used to the demonization of female characters in fan spaces and I guess if it was going to be anyone I'm glad its gertrude who is already dead and Did occasionally do shitty things as opposed to just being a woman who is existing. however it's unfair to somehow insinuate that shes worse than Elias-- and to round back to my original point-- incredibly out of pocket to assume shes ugly/uglier than elias because she's literally not even old enough to be his mom, she could reasonably be his sister lmao

anyways Gertrude is total gilf. please draw more Gertrude. I care her.

[lunartearrose]

Timsasha pleas (you know who this is)

OH HECK YES listen the moment u said timsasha i IMMEDDIATELY knew what i wanted to do so like. prepare for incoming angst and an alt timeline!

read it on ao3 here!

it got super long but also here it is under the cut!

Squish squish squish. 

Tim did his best to ignore the disgusting sounds of worm death under his feet as he ran to find a safe place. The best thing he could find for defense in case of more worm infested zombies was a flag pole with a rather sharp end - a fairly poor excuse for a weapon, but he figured it could at least leave a gross, corruption-ridden fleshbag confused enough for him to run more. And dear god, he hopes not to run into Jane again…

Before he knows it, he sees a sign dangling over a door up ahead, reading “Artifact storage.”

‘Oh that’s just great.’ Tim thought. It was the last place he’d ever want to hide in, but nonetheless he ran right in.

 It seems the worms weren’t daring enough to come in, but he heard someone walking deeper in the corridors of cursed objects. Steeling his nerves, and keeping that flagpole handy, Tim walks further into the cramped darkness. He kept careful eyes on his surroundings, keeping his eyes on everything he could, while avoiding brushing up against the things that sit in this space. He wonders what made it tough to hear what was ahead… was it the echo?

“I see you!” a familiar voice echoes around him, sounding close. 

He’d know her anywhere. It was Sasha. He picks up the pace, not caring what his weapon of poor choice brushes up against, just wanting to see a familiar face in this madness.

“I see you.” a… voice calls. It felt familiar. But it felt so wrong.

He rounds the corner as a struggle begins. The sight before him was nothing short of a nightmare to look at. Whatever was happening instantly caused a migraine to look at - but something deep inside him refused to let him shut his eyes. He felt like whatever this was had simply been another monster attacking, and he knew Sasha was in trouble. Between the bright, pulsing colors and hands gripping the person in front of him - no - people in front of him? There were two. But one of them was Sasha. He was so sure. They were fighting… and he had to act fast-

“SASHA!” Tim calls out for his trusted friend.

“Tim!” two voices call out, one a bit delayed. The image of both the struggling people flickers and ripples, as if reality just couldn’t handle the two existing at once.

But he saw what he needed to see. One figure’s reality seemed to twitch, spasming into elongated limbs and crooked features covered in frayed cobwebs. Tim didn’t need to think twice, and ran forward, plunging the sharp end into the figure that did the awful twitching. The sound it made was like that of plunging it both into a body and a foam square, strange but sickening all the same, as he shouldn’t have been able to just pierce it like that. The creature takes its hands off Sasha, whom he was now a hundred percent sure was her, and grips the end of that flagpole. 

“A brave one, aren’t you?” the warbling voice growls at him, now unsure of who’s form it wants to take. Who’s life does it wish to steal now?

Tim gives the pole one last quick thrust before abandoning it and picking up his injured friend. With Sasha in his arms, he runs like hell as the half finished monster gives chase, howling with laughter

“C’mon! That really hurt, you know! If you drop her then I might just spare you!” it shouts at him. 

“Fuck off!” Tim retaliates, and suddenly he feels like he’s losing his breath as the monster repeats his words and catches up dramatically.

“Such a coward! Always running away!” they mock, but it’s too late. 

Wise to the trick, Tim doesn’t respond, forcing himself to run faster. He’s aching, feeling the scrape of sharp claws that almost caught up, but he keeps going. This isn’t just his life at stake...

Tim doesn’t dare to look back, praying to reach a door, not even bothering to note the out of place yellow of the door he busted through. He ran, and ran, and ran, his surroundings a blur, until the adrenaline finally begins to ebb. His running slowed, his legs shook, heart pounding as he does his best not to fall, placing Sasha’s unconscious body on the shifting floor. He wasn’t sure if the need to cough or vomit was worse.

The entity that so kindly let them in and let the monster lose itself watches on, wondering what Tim will notice first. The answer soon comes as he looks over the girl he was carrying, a girl the distortion knew had a name. Once. They watch as Tim swears and fusses over the scratches on her chest, trying to use whatever he had on hand to slow the bleeding, noting the especially strange wound over one of her eyes, that traveled down her cheek and into her hair, still looking as if it were a glitch in reality itself. 

“Sasha! Sasha, stay with me, please…” Tim says to her.

And soon, with enough shaking and pleading, this Sasha girl opened her eyes. She struggled to sit, and Tim helps her, keeping the pressure on her chest wound. 

“Tim…” she mutters softly, “I…”

“Thank god, you’re awake… how do you feel?” he asks.

“Pain…” she answers softly, “Please… get help…” 

“Right, of course.” he says, finally taking a good look around him, “We’ll- ...oh.” 

This gets a chuckle out of the distortion avatar. The two look back at him, and Sasha whines in fear while Tim scooches away from him as fast as possible, not letting go of his dear friend for even a moment.

“We’re fucked, aren’t we?” Tim says.

Michael humms for a moment. “Well… you dragged in a fine meal a little while ago. I suppose I can let you leave just this once…”

“Great! How do we leave?” Tim says, suddenly finding the strength to stand whilst holding Sasha.

“Just keep walking.” Michael replies, pointing in another direction, “You’ll find an exit eventually.”

“Thanks dude. Would love to stay and chat but we need a hospital.” Tim says, running off the way he was told to go.

Once again, Michael simply chuckles to himself, and walks off to find out if the Archivist was faring any better.

…

Tim and Sasha were let out at the front of the institute, where police and ambulances had arrived. Sasha had to be taken to the hospital, and Tim never left her side. Thankfully, her vitals were still intact and all she needed was some stitches and something to help the pain. As for the strange wound over her right eye, it was certainly addressed, but the doctors soon found messing with it both caused Sasha pain and caused strange, unfavorable things to happen. The best they could do is give her an eye patch, and let it rest. Only when she could stay awake would Tim allow them to treat the scratch on his back. He didn’t want to leave her side, and she really didn’t want to be left alone. 

Once Tim was patched, he sat back down in the chair pulled up by Sasha’s hospital bed. “How you feeling?” he asks her.

“I’m feeling like an idiot for yelling ‘I see you’ at a monster, for one thing. Other than that, I’m at least not hurting too badly. How about you?” Sasha replies.

“I feel the very same way for not looking where I was running. I really thought we were dead in that moment…” Tim answers.

“Yeah. I thought that too… but we’re safe now, at least.” Sasha says.

She quietly reaches for Tim’s hand and holds it. Tim gives her hand a gentle squeeze in response, watching as she glances out the nearby window.

“I… really thought that was it for me, when that thing grabbed me. I’m glad you came around when you did.” She says.

“I’m glad, too. Really, I don’t know what I’d do if you ended up dead…” Tim replies.

“What was going through your head?” Sasha asks.

“A lot! It was confusing for a while, I don’t know exactly what I was looking at, but… definitely in the end, if that other guy hadn’t let you out at least, I was just afraid we’d never get to see each other again. And really couldn’t handle that thought. I think a lot of what drove me was keeping you alive.” Tim replies.

There was a bit of a pause. She squeezes his hand, and he squeezes back in turn. It was a bit difficult to have the right words to say to something like that.

“I think we both need a vacation after that mess.” Sasha says. 

“I agree. I think everyone’s going to need a break after hell broke loose…” Tim replies.

“Yeah… you think we could go somewhere together?” Sasha asks.

“...Like as a group of assistants or…?”

“No. Just you and I. I could use a really long one, and like hell I’ll take it alone with the week I’ve been having.”

The idea of a vacation with Sasha really made Tim happy. He couldn’t ask for anything better than that, and he honestly didn’t want to leave Sasha’s side either. Even if they got to escape that hell dimension, there was no guarantee that the entity of bullshit squiggles didn’t let the monster out too. 

“I’d be glad to join you, Sasha. Let’s hope Elias gives us a nice, long break.” Tim says.

Sasha nods. “Let’s hope.”

After that, they fell into another little moment of silence. Sasha listened to the little commercial playing on the tv, eye wandering around the room. Each time someone walked by outside the door, she couldn’t help but feel a bit tense. She tried to take her mind off that unease, focusing on the tv, and the warmth of Tim’s hand. She’s fond of how he’s always there for her, especially now.

“Hey Sasha?” Tim says.

“Yeah?” She replies.

“I… I think I want to tell you something.” 

“Alright then. What is it?”

“Well… this whole experience made me think-”

Unfortunately, Tim doesn’t get to finish his sentence. A Nurse opened the door, explaining that someone was looking for Tim. Tim sighs, and tells her to send them in here. The Nurse nods, and soon after she leaves, Martin enters.

“Hey Tim! I was looking all over for- o-oh.” Martin says.

Tim gives a short wave with his free hand, and so does Sasha. He asks, “What’s the matter?”

“I didn’t realize you were visiting someone, that’s what!” Martin replies, then glances over at Sasha and says, “I’m sorry for barging in, ma’am…” 

Sasha snickers. “Ma’am?”

Tim scoffs, “You don’t need to be so formal with Sasha, Martin. We’re all coworkers here.” 

“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t realize. N-nice to meet you, Sasha! Um, what department do you work in?” Martin asks.

Now, it’s very apparent that something’s wrong. Both Tim and Sasha are now starting to get very worried.

“You’re joking, right?” Tim says.

“Martin we work in the same department! The three of us are Jon’s assistants!” Sasha says.

“What? Thats- no, that’s impossible!” Martin says, clearly confused, “It’s only ever been the two of us helping Jon out, just Tim and I. Elias is still searching for a third…” 

“That’s not true, though! Don’t you remember Jon’s birthday? We brought him a cake, scared the hell out of him? Martin, you have to be joking…” Sasha says.

“No, I- I’m sure I’d remember if you were there… you guys arent joking, are you?” Martin says.

“Look, I have proof she works with us!” Tim says, taking his phone out of his pocket, “I’ll find a picture of the four of us, I know I took one recently.” 

But try as he might, after several painful minutes of searching his phone, he came up empty. Determined to be right, because hell, maybe that monster just screwed with the memory of those in the institute, Tim marches over to the nurse and asks if she can get ahold of Sasha’s medical records. If there’s anything you can’t argue with, it’s records.

But according to their records, Sasha James didn’t exist.

The only one who ever knew she existed was Tim.