#I love a man who also loves to psychoanalyze his favorite characters

[naomihatake]

In search of freedom (Ch. 3)

3. A change of heart

Chapter 2 ; Chapter 3 ; Chapter 4

⠀⠀⠀⠀She's been searching for freedom her entire life and everytime she thought it was laying right in front of her eyes, she was mistaken. She was running around the East Blue, seeking herself and her dreams, meeting people she never forgot. No matter how much she traveled, she could only catch a glimpse of peace before realizing everything would crumble at her feet.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Maybe it was destiny that brought her on that ship with three strangers — foolishly, that's what she tried to believe when the moon shined beautifully and hope settled in her chest, squeezed by the same ribcage where feelings were blooming.

Pairing: female!reader x OPLA Zoro Roronoa.

Warnings for this chapter: anxiety, tarot readings, canon typical violence, tension, mutual pining

Word count: 8k (um? It wasn't supposed to be that long, but I'm not unsatisfied at all)

Theme song: “Hoist the colors” by Bobby bass (click on the link)

A/N: I tried my best to add Zoro's perspective in this part. I don't know if I did a good job or not, but I'm experimenting with writing specific characters and personalities. I think I understand him a tad bit more than I did last time — in case you haven't noticed, I love psychoanalyzing my favorite characters and Zoro is one of them. The last chapter felt quick paced because of the fight, but this one is slow paced; I wanted to stretch the tension that way.

The reader is referred to as "Witch" because I have no intentions of using "Y/N".

I'm open for comments and opinions <3

"He has quite the bounty on his head," the witch commented as she looked at Buggy's wanted poster. 

Zoro's fingers gripped tighter at the hilt of his white sword after he huffed. 

"I should've killed him."

"And how were you supposed to be paid for it when you're a wanted man yourself?" Luffy laughed at him. 

Another huff left the swordsman's lips and he averted his eyes with a scowl. 

"I guess that's also right."

He tore the poster from the wall and squeezed it in his fingers, the paper getting destroyed right in front of his eyes. 

"Stupid clown," he muttered. 

A light chuckle got his attention; the witch who stood with her arms crossed right next to him didn't seem lively at all. Ever since they stepped on land in the Syrup Village, color drained from her face and she was constantly fidgeting and playing with her fingers. It was weird; the swordsman didn't spend much time with the other three, but they weren't impossible to read. 

She didn't seem the type to be so awfully quiet. She had smart comments sitting on the tip of her tongue and it wasn't necessarily hard to make her smile; if anything, Luffy's smile was so contagious and it influenced her greatly, Zoro observed. The straw hat wasn't the only one in that situation — each one of them was. The witch somehow knew what to say and how to treat them, how to approach a topic. 

Maybe that's why she was called a witch. For the life of it, Zoro didn't like to read between the lines and his usual blunt personality drew people away because they misinterpreted it as rudeness. Did he care? Not really. So why did he suddenly think too much about it? Why was he thinking of ways to get a word out of her mouth? 

The woman his eyes were fixated on didn't hear Nami when she appeared, coming back to earth only after Luffy nudged her side with his elbow. 

"Let's go find a ship."

She only nodded and followed along, burying one hand in the pocket of her pants. He saw when she bought a pocket knife from a stand and hid it. Zoro guessed her fingers were always curled around the knife for safety reasons, even if her fear seemed irrelevant — nothing was suspicious in that village. 

They were the only suspicious people around there. A navigator who is a thief, a green-haired tall man with three swords attached to his hip, a pirate who wore a straw hat and a beautiful witch. 

Beautiful, indeed, even if that word alone didn't do the woman enough justice. Not only the way she looked was pretty, but the way she carried herself, how stable she was on her feet, the sparkle in her eyes, the taunting mischief of her gentle smile. 

A smile that has been gone for half of a day, now replaced by anxiety. Even a blind man could see the unsettling feeling she was carrying. 

Zoro didn't realize when he took the opportunity of looking at her hair bouncing with each step after he chose to walk behind them all. He shook his head and shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants, moving his gaze away. His mind shouldn't be wandering on useless things. 

Nami stopped in her tracks once they reached the dock. 

"We don't need something flashy, we have to sneak it out of here without anyone noticing."

"You mean we're gonna steal a ship?" Luffy furrowed his eyebrows. 

"Yes?" the navigator frowned. "Wasn't that obvious already? How else are we gonna get a ship?" 

"We can ask for one!" he beamed.  

"So you think that just talking with someone would bring us a ship?" 

The witch only sighed and shook her head at the other two's argument. 

"Fine," Nami gave in after looking for too long at Luffy's puppy eyes. "But if it doesn't work, we do it my way." 

"Deal."

Instantly, he walked away in search of a ship. 

"So, what's the actual plan?" Zoro asked nonchalantly. 

"You two look around and see how lax the security is around here. I'm gonna look for a ship and if we have enough luck, we will bribe Luffy into stealing one."

"I wish you luck," the swordsman smirked. 

That's how they split up, Nami heading in a different direction while the witch walked straight up ahead with one hand still in her pocket. He approached her after a few long steps, merely looking at her from the corner of his eyes. 

"If you keep walking around so stiff, people will guess we have something to hide."

"The only thing I have to hide is a pocket knife. On the other hand, you have three swords and no one looked at you suspiciously yet." 

Finally, she said full phrases. However, there was no change in her expressionless face. 

"What's up?" he fully turned his head towards her. 

"Hm?" 

Those beautiful eyes looked up at him curiously. 

"Is someone suspicious?" he asked. 

"No, just the air." 

Once again, she turned her face away before he was able to read what she was hiding. It didn't seem like something big or dangerous, but she was definitely acting shady. 

On top of it all, she wasn't exactly paying attention to her surroundings, since she didn't notice the two marines walking around the corner. Zoro wrapped an arm around her middle and placed a palm over her mouth, shoving the both of them between two buildings. 

Her fingers grasped at his wrist and if she wouldn't have reminded herself to let go of the knife, she could've cut him. 

"You could've just warned me," she whispered to him after she moved his hand away. 

They both noticed their situation way too late. Her back was pressed against his chest and his arm was holding her securely next to him. His fingers burned her skin even through the large shirt she was wearing. The air got knocked out of her lungs and for a moment, she remembered the second reason for her unsteady feelings — him. The pirate hunter she didn't like thinking of because it was better that way. 

When Zoro noticed the marines went away, he let go of her, even if too slowly. He let his suspicions get the best of him. 

"What are you hiding?" 

The witch — who just grabbed at his arm to move it away —  was in that moment frozen on the spot. 

"Nothing important."

From behind her, he couldn't see the way she frowned. 

"You're like a walking ball of anxiety." 

"I told you, it's just a shift in the air. Nothing important," she gritted her teeth, getting irritated. 

Why was she distant? Did she think he wouldn't believe in her intuition? — that's what she'd probably call it. 

She moved away after what felt like years, but her shoulders relaxed. It seemed like she figured out God-knows-what. 

"I don't like the energy. It feels like I'm gonna die soon."

"Did you see a black cat?" 

"No, I feel something crawling up my throat."

She resumed her walking and he kept up with her for the second time that day.

"Everything seems fine. I saw only those two marines and they were awfully relaxed," Zoro changed the topic. 

"Then, just like Nami guessed, the security isn't exactly top class," the witch responded. 

They walked around in silence, spotting Luffy on a ship with a goat figurehead. The swordsman could see the happiness bouncing around the straw hat who just called out at them. 

"Guys! I found it!" 

"Did you think for more than two seconds before choosing it?" the witch arched her eyebrow, amused. 

"Actually, one glance was enough to know this was the perfect ship for us."

"Why am I not surprised you were right?" Nami sighed. 

"He will sell it to us," Luffy pointed at a young man who walked behind him. 

"Um, actually, this is not for sale," he tries to smile, rubbing at the back of his neck in embarrassment. 

His golden-brown skin glistened in the early sun rays, which most probably meant he was working on something. 

"And I'm not a salesman," he added. "But my friend owns this ship." 

•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•┈┈┈

They found out his name was Usopp and the friend he was talking about was a girl who was celebrating her coming of age on that day. Kaya not only invited them to dinner, but insisted they could sleep over, considering they were “Usopp's friends”. The witch was still getting used to being called a friend or comrade, since she doesn't remember the last time that word was met with serious intentions. 

The girl's mansion was… big. It was like a labyrinth and even if Zoro was bad at directions, she thought it started to rub off on her the moment she walked towards the dressing room after taking a bath. The lights weren't particularly bright and the sun was setting by that time. The curtains were tied together, leaving space for the warm golden lights to bathe the hallways. 

Mystery clung to each artifact and painting. It was beautiful, yes, but there was a certain aura of that place that unsettled her. 

Not to mention the staff — she never thought it would come a day when she'd say “these people are weird”. For the past two years she's been traveling alone around the Blue East and she met dozens of people, one more intriguing than the other. However, that butler was suspicious. She wanted to believe he was just a father figure for Kaya and he was protective of her, but she couldn't. 

From the moment when she entered the dressing room — she's surprised she even found it —, she decided to answer some questions of her own. 

She shuffled her tarot cards in her hands, meticulously arranging each card that fell, putting them in order. It was confusing her — it was the second time she does the same thing, with the same question in mind, and she received the same ambiguous answer. Why did the cards have to be particularly hard to guess on that day? 

She ran her fingers through her hair and ruffled it, accidentally tugging harshly enough to make her frown deepen, but she held back a hiss. Maybe some pain would help her focus, instead of letting her mind waver. Luffy, who sat cross legged on the carpet, just like her, was analyzing her reactions because he had no clue what she was doing. 

"What do you see?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"Why are you whispering?" Zoro asked. 

The swordsman hasn't moved since he came into the dressing room and sat on a comfortable chair. He flexed his arms when he crossed them over his chest and threw one or two glances at the swords leaning against the armrest. 

"I don't know," Luffy whispered again, snapping his head towards him. 

She didn't pay attention to them at all. She had to admit that she felt better than an hour ago, before having the opportunity to take a bath, the reason why she was wearing a dressing gown only. It was so soft and the material felt perfect against her flushed skin, her collarbones exposed entirely. 

She was completely unaware of the gaze locked on her. The woman had no clue a specific swordsman was thinking more than he usually does. There was an inner battle he couldn't fight by using his three swords style. He occupied himself by focusing on the material things; the carpet was soft. 

Just as soft as her body when he glued her back to his chest to avoid those marines. 

"What do you think?" Nami smiled proudly after she appeared from behind the room divider. 

"You look like Nami," Luffy shrugged. 

The witch chuckled at the response. She didn't smile once since she entered that mansion, but she couldn't help her reaction. Instead, she raised her head to the orange-haired woman whose shoulders fell at the answer she received. 

After a few seconds of thinking, the witch decided to give her a real opinion:

"It compliments your body, but it isn't necessarily flattering — maybe you can find a few other options?" 

Nami nodded, moving around to search for something else. 

"I kind of feel bad for Kaya… she must feel lonely in such a big house," Luffy commented. 

The witch decided to avoid the conversation, her eyes stuck once again on the few cards splayed over the carpet. She took in a deep breath and then sighed. It made sense, but it didn't feel like a complete answer. She decided to turn the rest of the deck upside down and take the card on the top. 

"Dammit," she cussed out. 

It confused her even more, so she just put the card back in the deck. 

After a minute of spacing out, she managed to focus on the other three in the room. 

"Rich people don't feel emotions the same way we do," Nami said flatly. 

"She seems kind, though," the witch hesitated as the words left her lips. 

"That's a big word," Nami probably rolled her eyes, considering her tone. 

"Probably. She seems better than the butler, by the way."

"Have you guys seen him before?" Zoro asked, shifting in his seat. 

Immediately, the witch moved her head towards him. He answered a question she didn't even ask and her fears felt validated for a brief second. So he also found that man suspicious. 

"No, but I don't like him at all," the witch responded firmly. 

"How come you can talk so easily about people you just met? No offense."

Nami was still looking around for a dress when she talked. 

"It's not that I'm being judgmental — I can't assume what those people did or not. However, tell me, what about the staff makes you go 'oh, yes, they're good people'?" 

"Good point," she pulled her lips together in a straight line. "They're weird." 

The shuffling through clothes stopped, which meant Nami found something. Except, it wasn't for her, but for the swordsman who caught the caramel silky shirt that was thrown into his lap. 

The witch let out another long exhale and closed her eyes. She hoped she could ground herself in a way or another, despite the unhelpful air surrounding the entire house. It was suffocating and it felt as if there was a heavy press on the crown of her chest, making it hard to breathe. 

Seconds passed and the only thing she found in the depths of her thoughts was doubt and uncertainty. Nothing felt right, but she couldn't point out exactly what gave off that kind of aura. Slowing down her breathing didn't help either. 

By the time she gave up and huffed, Nami and Luffy were out of the room. She saw the glimpse of a red silky dress pooling around someone's legs. Said person was Nami, surely. 

A dress. Maybe it would be easier to hide a knife in her thigh holster. 

"You're staring at these cards like you're gonna find out something, but I doubt you found anything," Zoro got her attention. 

Once again, her fingers gripped at the strands of hair. Putting her confusion into words left a lump in her throat. 

"I don't know what's going on and it's annoying. I don't have time for life lessons."

"Going on with what?"

"This entire mansion, maybe?" she looked at him. 

His gaze made her skin tingle and she didn't know if she welcomed that foreign sensation or not. Everytime he talked, he managed to get her out of her thoughts, and she was both grateful and angry about it. For some reason, his stoic personality was safe in that maze. 

"The butler is hiding something, that I know for sure," she whispered this time. "I never saw him, but something doesn't feel right at all. Protecting Kaya? It sounds like bullshit to me, Zoro."

She was stubborn about the opinion she has of that man and maybe it was wrong, but did she really care? 

The swordsman didn't expect the sound of his name rolling off her tongue to stir something inside of him. It almost stung, her voice craving words in languages he's never spoken on his ribs. He paid attention, even if on a normal day he wouldn't listen to superstitions and the words of a probably insane witch. 

Except it sounded like she was the most sane of them all. 

"It probably won't make sense for you, but he's lying about something. He's not just a butler," she continued after glancing back at the cards. "He's fooling everyone and he's doing it well. This isn't what I'm actually concerned about — there's another lie I can't point out. The cards don't help. It feels like I'm being deceived, but for a good reason."

"By who?"

"I don't know. Or maybe I just want to avoid the answer."

She always hated her suspicious nature, the way her trust could be gained only by a few, and all of these people have been gone for years. She shouldn't be like that, it would be better if she'd have some faith in the people around her, if she'd allow herself to believe in them and their words. The ability to trust was a desire — something she wanted, but didn't have. 

Zoro's body tensed and his frown deepened when he realized she was suspicious about one of them. At the same time, her attitude didn't match up because she seemed to despise her own suspicions. 

Why was he so concerned about her? Yeah, right, he has no clue. Amazing. Perfect. 

"I hate this," she muttered under her breath. 

The witch put all of her cards in the deck and threw it on a chair after she stood up. Her eyes fell on the variety of clothes and she wondered what the fuck she was doing there in the first place. 

Why was she there? She didn't promise to stay with Luffy. She had the opportunity to remain in Syrup Village for a while and then leave, just like every time. What was she doing in that mansion, looking at too many clothes hung in a huge room? 

"Aren't you also gonna change?" she said without turning towards him. 

"Do you even trust us?"

The question had the same effect as the tight embrace she was pulled into a few hours ago. Her breath hitched and she hesitated, fingers clutching at the material of her dressing gown. 

The truth was other than what she thought of this entire time; yes. Yes, she did, and that was the most dangerous situation of them all. 

"I wish I didn't," she whispered. 

It was inexplicable, the faith she had in humanity after meeting Luffy. She would clutch at her heart and talk about how humans don't deserve her trust, she would talk for hours about how mischievous people are, that they adore taking advantage of others. 

So it was normal to despise that feeling of longing, the desire to get attached to people, the need for a connection. It was normal to fear a bad ending and it was even worse that she thought such a thing couldn't happen anymore. 

That was why the tarot cards confused her. They told a story different from the one her soul knew. What betrayal? What secret? Who was in pain they couldn't express? And why did she get the feeling that it wasn't exactly betrayal? 

Her answer probably satisfied Zoro, since he got up from the chair and took a black suit he noticed minutes ago. He didn't say a word, but his shoulders were relaxed again. 

•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•┈┈┈

The witch was the last one to arrive downstairs, in a room that seemed like a living. She found it uncomfortable to wear a dress in a house filled with strange people, since it held her speed back and it wouldn't be exactly easy to defend herself. She opted for a dress she could move in, only squeezing her waist and chest, fluttering around her knees. It was long enough to hide a knife in her thigh holster. Getting discovered wasn't on her to-do list, but she had to ensure her own safety. 

While she changed, her mind wandered… would any of them help if something happened? Her guess was that yes, they'd jump into action. 

Without noticing, after she walked down the stairs, she gravitated close to the swordsman. She was with her back at one of her comrades, never out in the open, sharp eyes scanning each corner of the room. The table in the middle was strong, she figured out after she tapped her nail over the surface. If there were guns involved, she could use it as a shield. 

"You should try these!" Luffy spoke with his mouth full of cookies as he looked towards her and Zoro. 

"I have everything I need right here," the green-haired man responded with a smirk. 

There was a glass of cocktail in between his fingers and he took a long gulp, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. Only now, the witch took her time to gaze at the expense of his shoulders, the suit fitting him perfectly. Considering how casual he dresses, it was surprising to see that kind of formal attire hugging his body so deliciously. The usual cockiness of his smirk was still present, just like the hand shoved into the pocket of his black suit pants. 

Roronoa Zoro was more attractive than she liked to admit. His sharp jawline and the smallest bump at the base of his nose, the tall stature, those deep brown eyes sparkling in the light of a candelabra — damn, he looked like he'd been sculpted by the gods, despite the lack of belief he had in such almighty beings. The air was tight when she inhaled and she almost felt bad for ogling at him — almost, because the first time she met him, she was busy sweeping the floor with some Marines. 

A feeling of control and steadiness oozed out of him, pulling her closer like a spell. For the briefest moment, her shoulders relaxed at the reminder that she's not alone there, that there are three other people she can put an ounce of trust in. That was the least she could do at that time. 

With her arms crossed loosely over her stomach, the witch watched the interaction between Nami and a businessman — he looked and acted exactly like one, but lacked the mischief. 

She missed the glance the swordsman threw at her, a look that lasted for too long to be friendly, but short enough to miss it. No, he thought to himself before taking another gulp of the liquor in his glass. He doesn't have time to indulge into such things. 

The witch sighed at her own observations; she should unwind for a little while. She picked another glass of cocktail that was on the table and sipped, furrowing her eyebrows. 

"It's sweet," she mumbled, surprised after licking her lips. 

"Don't confuse sweetness for how strong it is," Zoro chuckled. 

That simple sound made her heart skip a beat or two, bringing an uncomfortable sensation in the pitch of her stomach. 

"Beginner's mistake, I suppose," she shrugged. 

Too bad she wasn't exactly a beginner. 

The talkative Usopp and Luffy stopped, which caught her attention; these two were the loudest people she's ever met in her entire life. Kaya was walking down the stairs, her slim arms curled around one of Klahadore's — the butler. 

Only now, the witch took her time and looked at her. The pastel pink dress drained the life out of that girl, as if her pale skin didn't do that enough. Her cheeks were sunk and her smile seemed fragile like glass. She still remembers the cough that ripped through Kaya's lungs like an old knife. 

Usopp looked at her as if he saw his dream before his eyes. He was love-struck. 

The witch smiled at the realization. A puzzle so easy to solve.

The only thing Luffy loved as much as his dream and crewmates was food. Behind the door where the stairs ended, there was a big table filled with too many plates to count and a variety of dishes. His eyes sparkled as if there was gold. 

A simple minded person, indeed, and maybe that was for the best. 

She couldn't rest. She was on high alert, her heart beating faster each time her eyes glanced over at the butler. The fork in between her fingers stabbed the meat in her plate once in a while, but the knot in her stomach was difficult to undo. The only reason why she managed to remain steady was the swordsman who sat to her left and — by some powers bestowed by the gods — felt steady and safe. His presence pulled her back to reality, stealing her attention. The witch has never been more glad not to be alone. 

"We wanted to talk with you about a ship," Luffy said with a big smile on his face. 

"Right," Kaya smiled back, letting her fork down. "Usopp told me you are sailors."

"We aren't sailors, we are pirates."

Damn it, Luffy! 

The witch gulped, squeezing her eyes shut at their captain's excitement. This was about to end very badly. 

•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•┈┈┈

The dinner ended abruptly. Kaya had a coughing fit and she wasn't feeling well, meanwhile, the butler blamed it on Luffy, who got on the table and had an entire speech. They weren't welcome there anymore and were supposed to leave at the first hour in the morning. 

The witch found each opportunity not to be alone, aware it wouldn't be in her advantage in case something happened. When she saw Nami head back to their guest room, the witch followed her. She needed to change out of that dress into something she could run and fight in, like her usual clothes. 

After locking the door behind her, she looked at Nami who was already slipping her arms out of the sleeves of that beautiful red dress. 

"I didn't get to tell you that you look stunning in that, by the way. Definitely the best choice," the witch mumbled as she averted her eyes to offer some privacy. 

"Not really the moment to talk about dress up, is it?"

"I know, but some compliments wouldn't hurt anyone, right?"

Wrong, apparently, since Nami stilled in her tracks. The witch decided to sit in silence for a while, while she changed from the dress as well, pulling on a plain t-shirt and some comfortable jeans she tucked into her boots. 

The woman was aware of Nami who was moving behind her, now holding a pillowcase in between her fingers. It was clear she tried to move fast and leave the room before she could be noticed. 

"Wanna be petty towards that rude butler?" 

"It's not like anyone would notice. She's filthy rich," Nami mumbled through gritted teeth, disappointed about being caught. "Do you have eyes at the back of your head, by any chance?"

"Nope," the witch accentuated the p sound. "Just associating the rustling with the source." 

"Did you eat some kind of sensory devil fruit?"

"Got born with it," the woman joked lightly. 

Only then, she turned towards Nami, who stood tall, head tilted towards her. The witch was convinced about the suspicion she had while doing that tarot reading, but this time there wasn't a turmoil in her chest. The thunderstorm stopped, despite the clouds still covering the sky of her mind. 

"Be careful roaming around with a pillowcase in your hand. We'll get in trouble if anyone catches us, especially the staff. They're creepy as hell."

"The girl hissed at me," Nami scoffed. 

"Gods," the witch placed her hand on her forehead and shook her head. "Do you have any guesses about where the others might be?"

"Zoro drank like two bottles of alcohol, so I'll suppose he's searching for more."

The witch smiled softly at the response, despite the fact that she missed the undertone of Nami's answer. 

"Don't tell me you were curious about Luffy or, worse, Usopp."

"Hm?" 

An intelligent retort. The witch gulped down and looked away, biting at the inside of her cheek. 

"I mean, Luffy gets himself in trouble all the time, it's not hard to find him."

"Are you acting stupid with me?" 

Nami was grinning like the devil itself. Dammit, did she really have to be so observant? 

"I'm pretty aware I'm smart, actually, so I don't get where this comes from," the witch whispered. 

There was a hue pink covering her cheeks and she was fidgeting with her fingers behind her back, doing all of these gestures unconsciously. She felt like an idiot at that moment, she had to admit. 

Then, as if lightning struck her, she widened her eyes for a brief second. She didn't even know why she was there, in that mansion, surrounded by strangers she wanted to put her trust into. 

"What are you thinking of?" Nami asked. 

"None of us promised to become a crew," she shook her head. "It doesn't matter."

The navigator narrowed her eyes at the witch whose shoulders fell, the shyness she felt earlier deflating. 

"It looks like it matters to you, though."

"That's exactly why I'm saying it," she smiled sourly. "Gotta make myself believe otherwise." 

Silence stretched between the two of them. Two women who had stories and feelings to hide knew when to stop from asking questions, even if it would end up bloody later. It was clear both of them wanted to avoid sensitive subjects, even if the witch barely noticed when Nami started being the interrogator. 

"Be careful, Nami," the witch smiled at her sincerely. "Usopp may be good at bluffing, but I'm better at playing the innocent. If you need someone to gaslight the shit out of the butler, just tell me."

I know what you do is wrong, but I believe you'll make a wise decision by the end of this all. I believe in your reasoning and I hope you can put your trust in me as well. 

"Noted," and with that, the navigator left the room. 

The witch almost got lost in that labyrinth again. She wanted to go to the kitchen, place where Luffy most probably was, but maybe she walked down a bit too many stairs and headed to the wrong side of the mansion. 

She saw a tall figure in the dark basement where barrels full of wine were arranged with utmost care. She furrowed her eyebrows when she saw Klahadore standing in the way, making one step back. Face to face with him was Zoro, who was ready to draw his sword out of its scabbard, but he quickly got hit in the back of his head by someone.

The witch's eyes widened, but she received the same treatment by someone who managed to sneak behind her back. 

•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•┈┈┈

Her head ached, sending daggers all the way to her forehead. The witch let out a guttural groan and her hand flew to her nape, caressing the sore spot.

When her eyes opened, she was greeted by the dead body of Merry, the business man she noticed at the dinner. She flinched, scrambling to her feet, which wasn't an intelligent idea. Her vision blurred black and she felt dizzy, suddenly unsteady. If not for Zoro's grip on her arms, she would've fallen ungraciously on her butt. 

"What the heck?" she mumbled. 

After a few seconds that felt a bit too long, she couldn't understand exactly why it was so cold in that place. Her chin tilted back so she could look up at the night sky. 

They were at the bottom of a well. 

"We have to get out," Zoro spoke in a gruff voice. 

He sighed heavily and let go of the witch, while she looked at him with the face of are you fucking serious? 

"How?" she spoke without thinking. 

After a failed attempt to escape by using a long rope with a big hook attached to it, she tried using her short knives to stick the blades in between the rocks; it didn't work either. 

There was only one option left and she was speechless. 

Her heart sank when she watched Zoro grip at the rocks. He was strong, yes, definitely stronger than her on the physical side, but what if he couldn't climb up? What if he would fall? 

Then I'd catch him. We either die here together or we get out together. 

Her mind was set. She watched him carefully, gulping when she watched him struggle. His weight might do some damage if she dared to be reckless enough to catch him, but he was the only one who could climb those rocks. If she would've tried, she'd surely fall.

Just like she supposed, his fingers didn't grip well enough at one of the rocks and his feet slipped. He lost his equilibrium and wasn't fast enough to clutch onto another rock or stabilize his foot in time, and he fell back. 

Maybe that witch was more reckless than anyone would've guessed. On top of it, she was selfless enough to believe that if he managed to get out and get help, it didn't matter what happened later, so she tried her best to mitigate the impact.

She was right — air got knocked out of her lungs when his body fell on top of hers and she groaned, but at least he didn't break some ribs. Her arms were wrapped around his waist and her fingers clutched at his shirt. Pain traveled through her body quickly and didn't disappear, but the adrenaline paid off. 

"Are you alright?" she asked him in a hurry. 

"You're insane," Zoro concluded, exasperated. 

His back was glued to her chest and he tilted his head to the side to look at her. Maybe, for once, he was right about her. 

"I'd rather break one of my ribs. You're the only one who can get us out," she argued with a frown between her eyebrows. 

The witch looked away and blinked. She didn't want to focus on how hot the air felt, despite the bone chilling cold in that tight space. The butterflies in her stomach could be ignored if she gathered enough self control in time. 

However, Zoro didn't move. He seemed troubled, completely out of it as he continued to look up at the night sky with a scowl on his face. His entire body was tense and he was deep down in his thoughts, especially since he didn't move a finger since he disagreed with her idea of "helping". 

As if struck by lightning, he got back up, following the same steps from earlier. 

"Be careful." 

He stopped in his tracks right after his fingers gripped at some rocks. 

"Move away if I fall again."

"I won't move and you won't fall." 

It pushed him at the edge, mingling with the memories flowing through his mind about his long lost friend, about the girl whose strength he admired so greatly it made him move again. For a brief second, he thought of himself as a coward for overthinking the process. He either got out alive and managed to get her out as well, or they were both doomed — there was no in between. 

Steadily, a tad bit slower than before, he climbed up the wall. His body ached at the effort when he was more than half way through and he would stop for a few seconds before making another move, clutching at another rock that would get him higher. 

Despite being so low, several meters under the ground, her trust in him didn't waver. Her heart squeezed with worry, but she wanted to follow her instinct and how much she believed in him, even if it was unusual. Maybe it was because of his stubbornness, since if he was set on something, there was no way of stopping him. 

He lost his equilibrium for a fraction of a second. Her breath hitched, eyes widening, his name stopping on the tip of her tongue. 

His foot slipped and some dust fell to the bottom of the well, next to her. She breathed out in relief when he was quick enough to grip at another rock. 

The witch didn't doubt him one bit when he finally got out of the well. He kept the rope he found in the well at his waist while he climbed up, so he could help her get out too. 

From up there, Zoro held tightly onto the rope, just as tightly as she did, even if her fingers hurt and she didn't exactly trust her body to be strong enough. She gripped at the cord and climbed the stone wall, gritting her teeth whenever it seemed like she might fall.

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Repeat.  

It was a slow process, which was worrisome from her perspective. She advanced, but the longer she struggled, it felt endless. 

For the record, she believed in Zoro more than she believed in herself — she didn't have low self-esteem either. 

"Look up," he reminded her firmly. 

He prompted his feet into the ground and held tightly, waiting for her. 

"Trying," she mumbled to herself. 

Slowly, she got closer and closer to the exit. Zoro bent his torso and curled his fingers around her forearm, managing to help her out. 

"Fuck," she cursed. 

Her breath was labored and she was sweating heavily, a droplet falling from her temple to her jaw and down her neck. She let herself on the grass, her arm still in his hand. 

"I owe you my life," she breathlessly mumbled. 

Unconsciously, her fingers were clutching onto his arm for support, even if her knees trembled from the tumult she went through. 

"We have time for that later," he brushed it off. "We have to find the others." 

"That butler isn't new to killing people who stand in his way. We better hurry before he chops us off." 

"His name is Kuro. He was the captain of the Black Cat Pirates and supposedly died three years ago, when Axe-Hand Morgan killed him — the Marine Captain we encountered back in Shell Town."

The swordsman kept his grip firm on her, carefully bringing her back to her feet while he talked. 

"I saw his face on a wanted poster some time ago, but since he was presumed dead, no one cared anymore."

"He looked very much alive to me," the witch retorted. 

"I was with Usopp when I went to get wine and he managed to escape from the butler. Maybe he went to search for help, even if I doubt any untrained person could harm these pirates. Luffy was in the kitchen, eating some weird blue food." 

Zoro let go of her and walked in the opposite direction of the mansion and she looked at him confused.  

"Oi, Zoro, the house is the other way—"

Then, when she looked at the path that went through the forest surrounding the mansion, she felt a pull towards it. She furrowed her eyebrows and continued staring.

"You go that way. Nami is surely still inside."

"You just said I went in the opposite direction, though?" Zoro arched his eyebrow at her. 

"Usopp searched for help, but if we think about it, Kaya said he has a lot of stories to tell. He's bluffing a lot, even if with no bad intentions. Maybe he found someone — if there's no sign of life on the path, come back."

"And you?" 

"I'll find Nami and Kaya somehow." 

Zoro didn't believe in superstitions and higher beings, but he trusted her instinct, so he headed the other way. The witch opened the door slowly, making no sounds. She slipped inside and looked around for an insane pirate who hisses — these two were creepy. 

The young woman flinched when all the light suddenly disappeared and behind her, a heavy metal wall met the floor, stopping everyone from moving in or out of there. Fuck. 

She gripped with both of her hands at the daggers she held at her hip, holding them securely. With slow steps, the witch made her way through the house. The big candelabrum hanging from the ceiling marked the way to enter and leave the house. To the left was the kitchen and to her right was the living room. The guest rooms and dormitories were upstairs. She still remembers which one was her room for the might and the bathroom. 

If she didn't want to die there, she had to quickly figure that place out. 

She heard one single step from the stairs and her attention shot up. Sham looked at her perplexed, but grinned widely. 

"You were supposed to be dead, little mouse."

"Don't confound me with your food," the witch held the knives tighter. 

Instantly, the woman jumped at her with a mop in her hands. The witch dodged the attack with a knife and the one that followed, bending her knees to avoid getting hit again. She tried to cut Sham's leg with her knife, but the maid was fast, jumping back in time. 

Zoro, if you get lost on the way back, I'll wake up from the dead and kill you, she thought to herself. 

"Captain Kuro will kill Kaya tonight and there's nothing you can do to stop him." 

Sham's wooden mop clashed against the witch's dagger and avoided the knife which almost sunk into her shoulder. Sham attempted to make her fall by kicking her legs, but the witch made a light jump before she could fall. 

It would draw attention to her and the cook might appear out of nowhere, but the witch sheathed one of the knives and pulled a pistol, aiming at the hissing woman. 

"I'm too fast for your shitty guns, girl."

Yeah, sure. It was her time to grin at Sham. 

Her eyes followed each of the maid's movements, moving her arm just in time to shoot her side. Sham was lucky enough to move out of the way, but the next bullet scarred her upper arm, another hiss leaving her lips. 

"Fuck."

Aw, the kitty was angry. 

The witch widened her eyes when she saw Sham pull a sword that seemed more suited for decor. She had to dodge the next attack, the blade almost touching her neck when she stopped it with her knife. 

"Hey, Sham, do you need some help?" 

The witch gulped at the new voice. It was the cook. 

"I don't really think so." 

The witch jumped back before her neck got cut, breathing heavily. She had to block other attacks while she attempted to find a weak spot, an opening to shoot and do it well. 

The witch groaned when the blade left a deep and clean slice on her left upper arm. It stretched horizontally on the side. The shock almost paralyzed her and blood was quick to flow down her arm. 

She tossed a knife through the air, the tip sinking straight into Sham's right arm. 

A weight sound caught her attention and she turned her head towards the metal wall behind her that was slowly being lifted up by strong arms. Who the fuck could—

Oh, right. They had a bulky swordsman as part of the crew. 

"Took you long enough," the witch muttered through gritted teeth. 

Luffy bent down and smiled at her widely. 

"Sorry for that."

"Keep apologies for later. Go after Kuro — he wants to kill Kaya." 

Zoro followed the straw hat, straightening his back when he got inside. His eyes narrowed when he saw the crimson liquid covering the witch's arm, drawing his swords out. He could use the adrenaline pumping through his veins against the man who launched an attack at him. 

"Go, Luffy. We'll keep these two occupied," he instructed. 

The scent of blood filled the witch's nostrils. She aimed the gun at Butchy and the bullet flew right next to his ear, stopping him from hitting the swordsman. Sham was bold for taking the knife out of her arm and running towards the witch with the weapon in her hold. The witch stumbled and her back glued the floor, both her hands gripping harshly at Sham's arm, stopping the tip of the knife a few centimeters above her eyes. 

"You little bitch," the pirate hissed at her. 

The witch kicked the maid into the stomach with her knee, pushing her off of her. Luffy disappeared and the sound of blades clashing against each other filled the room. 

Zoro used raw strength whenever he attacked Butchy, his swords almost cutting through the man with swift gestures of the wrist, elbows angled perfectly. He had more fighting experience than her and it showed, so she was more than just happy not to get sliced in half by the other two. 

She cussed when she remembered she had only one revolver, the other one left in the room. She had three bullets left. 

Her head got cloudy when she quickly got back to her feet, her breathing labored. She was tired and the only reason why she ignored her bleeding wound was the adrenaline. 

This time, when Sham attacked with the mop, the witch only moved to the side and took advantage of the opportunity to cut with the knife through the flesh, the tip sinking deeper and deeper into the maid's stomach, until her body went limp. 

The witch let Sham fall to the floor and stepped back. She felt her pulse pump through her head, slowing her down. She tried to focus on breathing evenly and eventually not passing out. 

She heard a loud thump — the cook was down and Zoro sheathed his swords. He didn't break a sweat, or so it looked from her blurry perspective. 

A sound rang through the air sharper than her daggers and it lit her on fire. The sound of her name being spoken with worry latched onto Zoro's voice. 

He walked down two or three stairs at once, undoing the bandana from his head and wrapping it around her wound. She hissed when he knotted the material tightly in order to stop the bleeding. 

"Thanks," she whispered, her body still tense. 

•┈┈┈•┈┈┈•┈┈┈

"Don't mention it," Luffy smiled widely at Kaya. "We couldn't have let him hurt you or deceive people anymore."

If it wasn't for his rubber body, maybe they wouldn't have gotten out alive, but luck sided with them again. 

"I could never thank you enough, but this is all I can do for you now."

The witch stared at the goat figurehead of the ship Luffy was enamored with. Kaya talked, but the words weren't registering in the woman's ears since a small little creature curled around one of her legs. The black cat mewled sweetly and begged for attention, a luxury it received quickly. The witch crouched down and petted the animal with a smile on her lips, brushing her fingers over the soft fur. The cat purred loudly, rolling on its back and pawing at the woman, greedy for affection. 

"How's your wound?" 

When she lifted her head, her eyes met Zoro's. One of his hands rested on the hilt of his Wado Ichimoji and the other was stuffed into the pocket of his jeans — she learned that was one of his most relaxed stances. 

His bandana was still wrapped around her upper arm and the bleeding stopped long ago. She didn't get the chance to properly clean her arm or tend to the cut, but she felt content. 

"I'll care for it on the ship after we set sail," she said in a soft voice. 

Yes, that was the voice that made his heart hammer in his chest, he remembered. Finally, after a day filled with anxiety and panic, he could watch her shoulders relax, even if he wasn't exactly pleased with her lack of attention. 

"Let's go!" Luffy shouted at them. 

The witch stood up, wincing at the smallest movement of her arm, and that didn't go unnoticed by the swordsman. 

She still avoided his question, he concluded. She said she'll care for the wound, not how it felt. 

He tapped the hilt of his sword repeatedly and took a decision he didn't know if he'll regret later, following close behind her. 

Tag list: @emelia07 @dimplewonie @tfamidoingwithmylife @murnsondock @the-skys-musical-echo @conspiracy-crows @hallow33nz @ramae17 @gaslysainz @bunntsu @katt58 @katiemrty @hopefulrascalstatesmantoad @freyademartel @boofy1998

[narwhalandchill]

how are we feeling about this project amber update

assuming this is in relation to childe bc who the fuck else JWDJWJKDJKW anon im so sorry if not. also so so sorry for how out of hand this got. i am simply unwell about him.

But! Well. there certainly are thoughts

(obviously 4.6 datamine of arle SQ and her voicelines; This Will Not Spoil Anything Abt The Main SQ Plot, i only discuss the relevant parts. also some p Heavy negativity towards fanon ooc at the start youve been warned dont @ me)

(i mean i didnt even read anything of the SQ but The scene w childe so idek the main plot of the quest rly either lmao. tho go at ur own risk if u wanna check the dialogue out; its the 2nd quest log but it does hint at the greater story)

TLDR: how i feel abt his appearance in a vaccuum? quite solid despite the briefness, actually. accounting for the way fanon is 100% likely going to be reading into this and turning it into the Lets Infantilize Ajax Even More 2024 championship? conflicted.

in other words; a certified labyrinth warriors moment - theyve expanded on childes character in a very interesting and quite a compelling way and while i Do like the potential in what im seeing from hoyos end theyve also done it so that its going to be misinterpreted to hell and back by fanon so i kinda have an immediate jaded love-hate moment going on JJWJDKJDKJWJDWKJ

its literally just labyrinth warriors flashbacks - that event has some of my ALL TIME favorite insights into who ajax is and how he views the world and himself but when the event came out all everyone cared abt was to warp it into baby boy stuck in scawwy paper boy dungeon dehumanizes himself by calling himself a weapon and doesnt love himself he is such a sad trauma meowkitten 🥺🥺so yeah

bc like lets look at this properly for a bit; okay he went back to fontaine to look for skirk still somewhat injured and waa waa my 286 month infant baby cannot Make decisions like that!!!!!11! which is to say. i am tired of him getting this shit every time.

is it smart of him to get on the move immediately with just the bare minimum of rest? no. do i like that hes straining himself before proper recovery? not particularly no. do i feel the particular need to psychoanalyze this grown man and feared warrior whos 100% survived Way Worse in Way More Extreme Situations for it? hell fucking no.

while not at all the course of action a medical professional would approve of. from childes POV its perfectly logical hes priorizing going back for skirk when its literally the FIRST TIME shes showed up in like. a Decade. when hes been looking for her all this time are you kidding me 😭😭😭 but fanon must keep fanoning for their widdle baby girl so what does a hater like me know

anyway. seething and venting over im gonna try to avoid bringing up how much i hate this kinda infantilization of ajax now im sorry for bringing it up so much on ur innocent ask anon KJWDJKWKJDJDKWJKD. neutral discussion moment. i Promise

so it seems that theyre going for the pulcinella-is-shady-about-ajax (and prolly his family) angle for good and like. personally for me as long as the only real source of that claim was scara (a cynical edgelord who doesnt believe in non-exploitative human relationships, mind you) i was rather skeptical towards just instantly drawing that conclusion, but well. with the scene in arles AQ it appears to be sth theyre building towards

i actually really fucking loved that scene bc while theres outsider perspectives (scara obvi; and even arles line for him has that vibe. and ppl still take that shit face value 💀💀) and a lot of fandom assuming childes like. completely clueless and naive and ignorant towards the potential risks involved with trusting pulcinella. this is actually a very clever demonstration of quite the opposite? and showcasing how despite his aversion towards schemes and lies hes still intelligent and knows the kind of people hes dealing with when it comes to his fellow harbingers

like. childe has a negative opinion of arle based on what pulcinella has told him about her because at face value many of her deeds are in heavy conflict with his values of loyalty and family. and because he does not have the further context behind her actions and what the HotH under her is really like. Obviously hed hold a very hostile and wary view towards arlecchino

(ESPECIALLY when with all this biased intel hes still going to run into kids from the house!!! and then hes going wtf? these are good kids. what the hell is that knave doing with them??? blink twice if you need help i will start a civil war for yall like thats how he is with kids!!!!)

so YES. pulcinella has given him if not false then at least misleading intel based on the political tension between himself and arlecchino and the wider HotH. and childes taken that at face value! sure! he is close with pulcinella of course he would!

BUT. THEN. he returns to fontaine and seeks arlecchinos help looking for skirk. and observes her behavior and modus operandi for himself as well as the kids. does he go "nah she must be just hiding the crazy evil shit i would never distrust pulcinella" and leave it at that when reality doesnt completely match his expectations?

NO. because when offered the opportunity through the traveler asking about the HotH childe immediately capitalizes on the opportunity to prod for answers and see if pulcinella is lying to him!!!!

and hes so fucking smart with the way he does it too???? i LOVE his intelligence. the entire thing is so simple yet elegant; it Completely relies on his reputation as the kinda gullible harbinger whod Never scheme or hide Anything to indirectly affirm or deny his suspicions. he doesnt Need to Pretend to care about the possibility of arle betraying the kids bc he genuinely does!! and when she pushes back against the accusation he doesnt Need to fake admitting to her that well, actually, its all just rumors so he could be completely wrong. and so on. like he navigates the entire thing so effortlessly. and whats the end result?

childe has Confirmation of pulcinellas possible ulterior motives in action AND that arlecchino is a much more reliable ally than he initially assumed. all the while appearing as just The Straightforward 11th. like obviously id need to hear it voiced first to be sure but in text it v much gives the impression hes almost kinda just. playing up the threats towards arle and being "dumb" on Purpose?? to get the answers he wanted out of arle without appearing like hes fishing for anything particular. and i just hhhhhhhhhhh

i love when he does this so muchhhh!!!!!! 😭😭 he doesnt need to become some machiavellian schemer to be able to strategize !!!!!! he avoids scheming bc he Dislikes it not bc hes incapable of it like this has Always been the case Since Liyue AQ and i love whenever they show that side of himm . my Beloved

so anyway. while i do still think the like "pulcinella is bad and has his family hostage" is still kind of a generic plotline and i hope the writing regarding the whole thing wont ultimately turn out to be sth That simplified and black and white. its p clear theyre doing Something with pulcinellas motivations and as they are. im Really glad theyre letting it show that childes not just some completely passive party being manipulated in this all. he Is thinking abt this stuff and his position among the harbingers. ig we shall see where it goes - not the greatest fan of the concept still, but canon text supports it becoming a thing way more than when it was just scaras word we had for it. hope theyll surprise me positively w how they go about it!

then briefly for the rest uhh

also loved arle and childe just shittalking the rest of the harbingers it was amazing. i wasnt expecting this kinda dynamic between them at all but its great lmao. also i wanna see childe hang out w the HotH kids

as for project stuzha; so we dont really get anything solid on it other than being summoned back to snezhnaya for it is apparently a Big Deal. but still very interested. let my man have his endgame significance Trust

childes appearance was obviously v brief ultimately but that was clear from his leaked linecount to begin with - i am pretty satisfied with what they seem to have done w him. like its not The Best but also i wasnt expecting his lore to get some massive expansion in another harbingers SQ . the worst i feared was that it was just going to be a flashback of arle returning his vision which did Not happen so massive W. i am super hyped to hear this scene voice acted proper and happy to see him again, i really hope he gets to appear at least once more in an interlude or dains quest or something before going on hiatus again but idk if thats too much to ask LKKWJDJWDJWD

also: i am never changing my namecard after this patch drops. oh my godddddddd its So Fucking Beautiful 😭😭😭😭

But. Yeah. lots of good stuff. unfortunately lots of it will get misinterpreted and fanon will get obnoxious about it. but i still love getting to see him again and i am speedrunning that namecard day fucking one mutuals and/or followers in EU please add me (UID 711090267) ill need coop buddies for the world bosses

thank youuuuuuu for the ask i hope this monstrosity of a monologue doesnt scare u off 💀💀💀

[twistedtummies2]

Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - Number 14

Welcome to A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes! During this month-long event, I’ll be counting my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more!

SLEUTH-OF-THE-DAY’S QUOTE: “You attacked reason. It’s bad theology.”

Number 14 is…Father Brown.

Originally created by author G.K. Chesterton, Father Brown is one of the most famous detectives in English literature. Having said that, I must immediately make a confession: I’m not THAT well-versed (perhaps surprisingly) with the original “Father Brown” short stories Chesterton wrote. I’ve read some of them; specifically, I’ve now read all the ones collected in the book “The Innocence of Father Brown.” (My favorite is “The Invisible Man,” which, for the record, has absolutely nothing to do with anyone named Griffin). However, beyond that, I’m not especially familiar with the original writing. I also have not seen either of the two English-language film versions I know about (one played by Walter Connolly, another by Alec Guinness), both of which were based on the story “The Blue Cross.” And I should also immediately state that I have seen only one episode of the TV series starring Kenneth More from the 1970s, which I know has been highly lauded in years since.

So…since it seems like I am unfamiliar with nearly EVERYTHING that has brought this character into popular culture…how DO I know Father Brown, and why is he so high on the list? Well, because there is one version of the character and his universe that I am VERY familiar with: the most recent TV series adaptation of the stories, which began in 2013 and is still going strong today (with a new season coming this year). This show, simply and appropriately titled “Father Brown,” stars Mark Williams (whom many may recognize for playing Mr. Weasley in the Harry Potter films). While it frequently changes a LOT from the original Chesterton stories, the show is still EXTREMELY good. In my opinion, it modernizes the stories in a way that is pretty decently handled, so that even if you haven’t read the originals, you can still get a lot out of what’s being given to you. The spirit of Chesterton’s work is still intact. Much of what I say here will be informed by Williams’ portrayal of the character, which is why I wanted to make all this clear right off the bat.

Father Brown is an example of what might be called “the busybody detective,” or even more appropriately “the accidental detective.” What I mean by this is that he’s not in any way officially tied to the police; in fact, the police frequently see him as a nuisance, who gets in the way of their work and often makes them look like fools. He also never makes a career or a proper hobby out of his detective work. Being a detective just…kind of happens to him. Father Brown, on the surface, is a simple and humble local priest; a God-fearing, God-loving man of the cloth who is charitable, good-hearted, and at times seems sort of fumbling and shambolic. He’s not someone, therefore, you’d expect would make a great sleuth.

A great sleuth, of course, is exactly what this mild-mannered Catholic priest is. Father Brown’s rather simple demeanor belies a steely will, an even more steely faith, and a very cunning and alert mind. He typically ends up playing detective not so much out of a desire to one-up the police or some obsessive desire, but simply because he notices something amiss and begins to question why that is. His greatest assets as a sleuth can be summed up as two simple attributes: common sense, and, above all, human empathy. Father Brown doesn’t necessarily look for fingerprints or psychoanalyze criminals like a forensic profiler, but simply notices things that don’t make sense and then tries to make sense of them. He uses his understanding of people’s personalities, looks at their character traits and ideals, and uses them to his advantage; if he feels it isn’t in someone’s nature to shoot in cold blood, he follows his instinct, and he’s usually proven correct. If he sees someone showing some weakness or vulnerability, he latches onto that to try and sway them. He tries to redeem his enemies more often than he tries to ruin them. Contrariwise, this man also knows when NOT to trust people. While he’s noble and forgiving, Father Brown isn’t a pushover. In fact, the Williams version is revealed to be a war veteran; he’s seen some action (and horror) in his lifetime. This, combined with his devotion to the confessional booth, means that he knows very well that people are not perfect. With that said, despite being a religious soul, he isn’t superstitious, and tries to be tolerant of others with different beliefs. In short, Father Brown seems to understand that good people are good people, and tries to find the good in everyone, even those he seeks to defeat. Whether you’re spiritual or not, he’s not only a good detective, but arguably a good role model: I think a lot of us wish we had a Father Brown in our lives.

Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 13!

CLUE: “Are you with me? You might even be way ahead of me.”

[bookbitchx]

Hello again 😊 I knew i was gonna love chatting with u hehe

These are things that makes me wish anyone else would've written ACOTAR tbh. Her lack of planning and her retconning of characters so that she remains politically correct in current political climates is gross. It's been a pattern I've noticed, but it makes sense considering shes a zionist, but anyway 🥱

I do enjoy the world that she made and I think its an interesting concept to view a centuries old clusterfuck like the IC through a 20 yearold lense. But I wish it had a morsel of taste. Each of the books in this series left me wanting more, especially rereading as an adult.

So to compensate for the parts of the books I hate I just pretend its not upsetting me by psychoanalyzing the characters 😂 Rhys is one that I have a love/hate relationship with for that reason. He is genuinely one of the worst love interests ive seen be this popular in a long time and he has made the worst choices i have ever seen written and then defended by the author.

Feyre however, I would argue is his perfect partner for how awful he is after SF and CC3. But I wish a better author had written this book so we could've seen a decent redemption or a proper Rhysand villain arc. I think this series would've been so much more interesting crossover wise if it had been with tog and had been a mock feysand villain arc. Maeve has daemati powers, so making her an ancestor of Rhysand's through the HL bloodline would've made sense. Hybern could've been a mock villain to lure the reader into a false sense of security and think maybe the NC ARE good guys?

Nesta and Elain join Aelin's circle to take them down after they attempted to seize the dread trove for themselves under Amren's advice, (they dont like her having it clearly). And the emotional climax of the series is Feyre leaving him and joining her sisters, which leads Rhys to pull a tamlin by in turn going to koshei. Could even get Bryce quinlan in to fullfill a life debt to Nesta by using the horn and Feyre's fire powers to give Aelin her magic back somehow, and nesta never has her magic taken back by the cauldron?????? The cauldron had Amren in it and it should've been written that she had to sacrifice her true Daglan immortality to be with Varian. Boom full fucking circle.

But nope, we have Miss Maas.

thanks janet for ruining what couldve been my favorite thing >:^(

but a part of me hopes the Elucien book will include Tamlin's side of the story and Elain confronts Feysand for their *waves arms* everything. And taking Nesta and the Valkyries with them, they deserve better. it wont happen tho, so I'll read fanfic instead.

-🤠

Heyy again!

I get where you're coming from. I liked book 1, the way Feyre (and us, in a way) was discovering the SC and a little bit of Prythian as a whole, and I liked Feyre, who was this badass huntress, who had her own opinions, doing what needs to be done, etc... I mean, she went UTM knowing full well she wasn't coming out alive, but she still did it bc it was right, and she wanted to save her man.

Where THAT Feyre went, I'll never know.

As you said, It's an interesting concept seeing everything through a 20 year old's eyes, or it would've been for me if she hadn't started taking everything they said as truth.

Even though I haven't read any CC books yet, my friend spoiled CC3 that Nesta didn't actually lose her powers? That it was more of a bargain with the Couldron, but yeah, it would've been interesting to see crossovers between the series. I think Aelin, Manon, and maybe Lysandra would absolutely despise Rhysand. I would a 100% read a fic with what you described.

As for the Elucien book, like I hope she does good by Lucien because he, out of all the characters, deserves it.

I'm not holding my breath on Elain ever confronting Feysand bc as Rhysand once said, 'Elain is Elain', but a girl can hope.

Also, if Nesta and the valkyries ever become one of Rhysand's legions, I'm pulling a one woman riot before burning the book.

On another note, feel free to DM if you want to continue the conversation or if you're more comfortable this way, I don't mind that either.

🫰🏼

[patzweigz]

For the first impression ask thing: feel like I gotta ask about Kent Mansley. And/or Lucky Luke!

send me a character and i will tell you my...

kent mansley

First impression - it was like being struck by cupid's arrow. i've told the story before and long story short, i rented the iron giant for the giant. falling for kent was completely unexpected, doubly so given he gave me nightmares as a child (the chloroform scene). one moment dean was asking a character-introducing question and the next... well the rest is history.

Impression now - he is hands down my favorite character. i love this rat bastard so much...

Favorite moment - uhhhh everything? but maybe his phone call with rogard, i love watching him get chewed out and react like the worm he is.

Idea for a story - oh. dude. i could probably just tell stories about him for the rest of my life if i wanted.

Unpopular opinion - i like him? that's not common. but what's perhaps less common is liking him BECAUSE he is awful, not in spite of it. no woobification here folks.

Favorite relationship - kent and dean :) it's a horse movie where kent is the horse.

Favorite headcanon - one word: freckles.

lucky luke

First impression - it was through the art of capomontone, who is an incredibly skilled animator. it was her fan art that got me interested in the series.

Impression now - i still love him! probably my second all time favorite character? i wish more of the current focus of the franchise would be on him rather than the daltons (not that i don't like them).

Favorite moment - oh man there's probably a few i could pick... maybe the time he just wordlessly beat the living daylights out of elliot belt from the morris run, and perhaps when he reacted to jolly being shot in the most recent book? or when he's psychoanalyzed by the psychiatrist in the dalton's amnesia... or just the entirety of the dashing white cowboy, the rivals of painful gulch, or the bride of lucky luke. anything that brings out a lot of unfamiliar emotion in him i suppose!

Idea for a story - my little pet evil luke au. i would love to do a bonhomme-style story where he has to confront his role in the US settler-colonial project-- not in any sort of ham-fisted way, of course, hence the whole evil self from an alternate universe deal. plus also Evil Luke Sexy

Unpopular opinion - i like him more than the daltons; i think luke kind of suffers from the same problem as superman (a character i also love), where people see him as an infallible goody-two shoes when that is even further from the case for luke than it is superman.

Favorite relationship - luke and waldo badmington!! and platonically, luke and calamity jane.

Favorite headcanon - that he is mixed race; personally i see him as half belgian (mom) and quarter mestizo and comanche (dad).

[transhawks]

Lmao, it always goes back to those Prohero Arc connections and clarity I swear. And people wonder why I’m so obsessed with that arc for this single reason. I think one of my favorite things is the character development you’ve been going through. Perhaps the real iconic narrative arc all along was Rani turning into a passionate AfoHawks spokesperson. *chefs kiss* the pOETRY 🎶

LISTEN. YOU DONT GET HOW FUCKING WEIRD THIS IS????? 2020-21 I was off roleplaying my dhampir!keigo, infiltrating AFO's coven and stupidly falling in love with his ward sacrifice Fae/Werewolf!Tomura and failing in killing him (Tomura cursed him to hell and back and Jin didn't help with his curse, fucking fae :/), but like WE NOTICED when we roleplayed Keigo FINALLY meeting AFO that like....the whole dynamic changed. There wasn't anything non-platonic (except keigo whining in the local monster support chat that the vampire lord of the area was boring af because real vampires throw massive masquerade balls that turn into orgies) but just....Hawks was at once at extremely high alert but also far more honest than he'd ever been. The pleasant and quirky local surfshop clerk/ditzy halfvamp schtick melted. This was a weapon. And not just a weapon; this was a vampire who could see the world just like All For One could, if he'd just flee the coop his human raisers had stuffed him into. Like the similarities in thinking jumped out. Of course Keigo wasn't exactly like AFO but I still remember that our tomura RPer had Tomura specifically mention (once they got all the files from Hawks's treachery/spy chats) how much Keigo sounds like sensei. It was fun! And it made it stick in my mind that surprisingly, Keigo and AFO could interact interestingly. This was bolstered by that chapter in 2021 where Keigo begins psychoanalyzing him, too. It was so interesting seeing him try to think like him. But you know, it's not like I expected canon to explore this. Even in the beginning of the war, I didn't. Something to note is that for the majority of the fight, All For One's own hubris and bias towards very flashy destructive quirks has blind-sided him to Hawks and his role in this war, by which I mean (and I can back up) is that most of the hero effort has indeed been carried on Keigo's back or orchestrated. It took until AFO got rewound to realize how much Horikoshi was setting them up. Endeavor barely mattered between them. And then...well, they started talking. Focusing on each other more. What am I supposed to do, ignore it????? It got heavier and heavier, the panels mirroring each other, converging at times, etc. Just Horikoshi doing excellently for a pair of people I never imagined would interact. And now we have Keigo laying on the ground, defeated, stripped of all that he believes he is, as All For One asks him if he's tired and then leaves with his wings, saying in the end he couldn't protect anyone. Too fast for his own good. Hubris.

LIKE??? HOW AM I NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THE SPOKESPERSON?????? i am a simple man, I like rich dynamics and cool framing and horikoshi feeds me regularly.

EDIT: was about to publish this but got a similar ask

Oh yes I absolutely loved the quietness of this. First he tells him to get out of his way and then, like, "Haven't you done your best?" It's a solemn moment, surprisingly, and I hope the anime does it justice in a year or two. And the god imagery! Ugh! i have SO MUCH to say on this but you have to wait because im doing a Big Meta again lol.

As for HPSC prez Keigo, part of me thinks that would be a Bad End. Or bittersweet at most. I remember misinterpreting one of the vol extras to mean that the HPSC was essentially grooming him to eventually replace her and there's something very fucked in that thought. I do however think he might do something with kids!

[boxchewr]

no give me the essay i want to see it. take your time tho.

yes my liege as you command

CRACKS MY KNUCKLES so. i've always rlly liked him since 2012 when i played b2w2 for the first time but this Autism FixationTM on him only rlly started recently after i got rlly into the pokemon humans in general thanks to legends arceus and ingo. and already he's taken up so much of my brain space LMAo. i think his design is really solid, his battle music is great and really reflects his coldness and capabilities without being straight-up menacing like ghetsis's or something, i love that he just appears in an unrelated game (sun and moon) and just hangs out. i'm also just in general particularly weak for scientist/nerd type and fruity twink ass bitches to begin with. the perfect storm

THE BIGGEST reason why i like him though is like. in general the main reason why i love many characters Is just. analyzing them. picking them apart aspect by aspect. placing them under a microscope and studying them like a dissected frog in science class. psychoanalyzing fake pixel people is my favorite pastime ever ESPECIALLY when said fake pixel people are sort of fucked up and sick in the head (/pos)! Which he is. and i love that he is because that makes him so interesting to ponder like a wizard does his orb

he's like a puzzle to me. both games he shows up in he's not really explained at all. just shows up all mysterious and only vaguely hinting at anything relating to who he is or his past. all he explains is that he's a scientist and he's working to try to bring out 'the true potential of Pokemon' (without even really explaining what that exactly entails either). man just pops out of a fucking blown up hole in the wall of a sewer, mumbles to himself while waltzing out, and then goes "hey watch this" and uses his techno geek shit to move a bunch of stone crabs on a busy road and then battles you and then shittalks plasma when he loses. and that's how you meet him. no further explanation required. he proves himself as a very smart, capable man, powerful in battles and very determined to his goals but he explains no more about that. nothing at all

but what really gets me? he's the perfect center point between n and ghetsis from the first black and white. while he's technically an antagonist of b2w2, he's never really. antagonistic. the whole game he's polite and friendly to you, giving you advice/items and helping you even when it's revealed that he's spearheading team plasma now, he never once goes after or is rude to the protagonist or anyone besides ghetsis (which, fair.) unlike other villains like ghetsis or giovanni or even beloved fan favorites archie and maxie. who all sort of go "oh this stupid kid ur getting in my way Get out of here this weak ass child is being such a pain in the ass." he keeps himself very emotionally distant from the whole debacle and outside of the whole fight between team plasma and everyone else generally, and is only there because he knew ghetsis beforehand and he wanted to exhaust every option of his research before coming to a conclusion. he's not emotionally invested in team plasma at all (and actively disagrees with their message), nor does he really care what working with them and firing a Fucking Freezing Lazer at opelucid might do to the people who live there. his one and only care and focus is science and finding the absolute limit of what he wants to push and research. a powerful absolute neutral force, which is a complete dissonance to n and ghetsis from the first game, where n is a force trying to do absolute good but is misguided, whereas ghetsis acts like he cares about the world but is really manipulating everyone to do absolute evil and take over. he also is the exact opposite of n in some ways as well, being that where n in the first game wanted to release all pokemon believing pokemon and humans needed to be seperate; colress knows that pokemon and humans belong together and help each other to new heights. but then he. takes it MUCH further into extremes than the protagonist + others would generally agree with, which causes its own set of problems

his alternate depictions + USUM appearance also are extremely intriguing to me with this all considered. ESPECIALLY his pokemon adventures/SPECIAL depiction whoo boy he's fucking nasty in that manga. he's such a snarky manipulative cunning backstabbing little shit in pokespe that takes ACTIVE GLEE in freezing over most of unova. way more than just one city, IIRC the amount he says is about 70% of the entire region? kicking his little feet at his desk and giggling like a schoolgirl as he actively, purposefully causes mass destruction and death on an unimaginable scale. and it's so intriguing to think of what differences could have happened between game canon verse and pokespe verse that could have changed him that drastically. especially considering in USUM, he's generally doing a good thing? without really explaining why either. he's just strolling along behind you zapping the rainbow rocket executives back to their worlds, shittalks ghetsis, and then dips LMAO seemingly without any reason to be doing so. just because he can? to spite ghetsis even if it's not his ghetsis? it's the right thing to do? he admitted in b2w2 he didn't care if unova was destroyed with his inventions if it helped further science so if it was out of the goodness of his heart, what changed him from that to now? what would make such a powerfully and firmly neutral force turn to the side of active good or active evil when he previously showed no care of doing either? his goal is firmly science, and whatever he has to do to achieve said science--whether that's helping the protagonists, team plasma, aether foundation, he doesn't care who he helps or what he's doing as long as long as they can help him. so that intrigues me so much thinking about the exact experiences he'd need to go through to have that goal shift to doing active good OR active evil. he's so fascinating to me like a microbe in a petri dish and i will study him as such and fill in all the wonderful many blanks that game freak left for me

but yes tl;dr: man is so firmly neutral and mysterious yet his non-b2w2 depictions show he's capable of active good as well as horrid purposeful evil and it's so interesting to think of how he got there. or how he even got where he is in his introductory game. he explains nothing about himself and is a very perfect middle ground between the goals of n and the goals of ghetsis. he has a million mysteries that i want to investigate him. i want to put this stupid set of pixels in the shape of the internet explorer logo under a very large microscope and study him intimately. he's such an interesting addition to the cast of unova and presents his own very unique questions and ponderings with his character. also he's very pretty and handsome and a fruity fucking dork ass loser and i'm violently making out with him as we speak

[thatfraudcassandra]

Over the news of And A Movie, i found myself waxing nostalgic and even contemplating rewatching Community, but there is nothing like revisiting an old Twitter hate thread I made that doused me sober. (I bite Annie's head off a little in a case of internalized misogyny but hopefully it's clear that Dan Harmon is the real evil)

My 2020 hate speech:

WHY I HATE COMMUNITY: A THREAD

In the last month, I started bingeing Community and loved it. It was fresh. Meta. Made recently and so hopefully it was progressive as FRIENDS was 2020-offensive. Also I had already finished B99 and The Good Place and it was the next best thing.

In episode 1 they established Britta as the cool girl: she wouldn't date the hot guy because she's not shallow and let's face it, Jeff doesnt get the redemption arc that Jake did in B99. He didn't get over his assholeness like Jake did. Season 6 ended and Jeff was still shit.

Anyway, Britta is my favorite character. Season 1 saw her protesting causes, being a hypocrite over most of it, but totally relatable because who isn't a hypocrite right? At least she CARES. She empathizes with people. She later shifts to psychology wanting to help people. She often psychoanalyzes her friends which they hate, but she is often dead-on. Jeff and Pierce's dad issue? She called it. Abed's inability to move on after Troy left? She helped him with it. Troy's paralysis over breaking up with her? She helped him come to terms with it.

And yet, over the seasons she has been written as the "worst" character, often regarded as a meme rather than a real person. She's the only one who doesnt get to redeem herself over the seasons. (Jeff didnt redeem himself in my eyes but most would think he didnt need saving). Even Pierce redeemed himself by dying of dehydration after giving his seed away--can be construed as a selfless act. Britta never stands up from it. She is constantly put down by the group, with Annie constantly kneeling down her neck. They make jokes about her, uses her name as a synonym for "wreck" or "make worse". She exists mainly as two things: an antagonist in the Jeff-Annie relationship and a subject for every anti-woke sketch Dan Harmon wants to incorporate in the script.

Britta helped people. Britta cared. She did not compete with others, not even Annie even though Annie never stopped being insecure about Britta. She was best friends with Shirley. And yes, she made stupid decisions--Subway Rick and Honda Rick, Jeff, and Vaughn. But she genuinely cared. Unlike the rest of the group who were manipulative and found ways for the rest to cater to their whims, Britta usually didnt force anyone to do anything for her. Yes, she was vocal about her causes, but they always shot her down and except for the Guatemala bit in S1 I don't remember they ever supported her. Meanwhile, they went through claymation in Abed's breakdown, that whole s4 ending where Jeff had his own, Shirley even got her to man her shop, and Annie, well, I could think of a lot of times where she coerced the group into something. Such a poorly written character with so much potential.

And then Annie. She starts out grating my nerves. She's childish, manipulative, she literally stomps her feet and cries out like a toddler when something doesnt go her way. Dressing her up in slacks didnt make her mature. Over the seasons I went from being slightly annoyed to hating her but by the middle of season6, I just pity this character. Clearly, Dan Harmon fucked her up the way he did Britta. The writers probably didn't know how to write a multidimensional woman. Britta was reduced to a stupid, impressionable woke millennial, and Annie was just the slutty child. She was so oversexualized it didn't matter to me that Jeff stayed away--he clearly wanted to get into Annie's panties anyway. And she liked being viewed as a sex object. In the episode where they film a sci-fi movie for Chang, she shows up in a tight one piece that shows her breasts and Jeff clearly gets mesmerized. Britta calls her out "thats what you chose?" And then when Annie reaches INSIDE HER CLEAVAGE for an improvised laser bomb that Abed didnt write, Britta says "youre making it more difficult for every woman out there". Because it's true. Her loving being reduced to a sex object means it's okay for everyone else to be oversexualized. Annie retorts that she's just improvising, to which Britta says "IMPROVISE POCKETS!" She never made more sense than that moment.

I also hate how self-serving Annie is; remember the bottle episode? How about the one where Chang is cast as Mr. Miyagi? Or the party in the apartment episode. Or the one where they tie Prof Cornwallis up. Or the attack ad episode. Ugh. I hate her so much, but she is still the most well-loved character because SHE HAS BOOBS and she's hot. Innocent and sexy. The fact that so many people like her means there are so many misogynists, so many Dan Harmons in the world. And Britta? No one likes her. She says uncomfortable things. She doesnt dress like she's gonna blurt out "spank me daddy" any second now.

These are two women victimized by a series creator who probably didnt have much luck with women. Dan Harmon consistently shat on his women characters because he didnt understand them outside of his own relationships. Here is a guy who got married probably as a publicity stunt. He divorced her a year later and is now involved with a woman 12 years her junior. 12 years. Now you know why he kept pushing that creepy Jeff-Annie angle. And he's racist and ageist, you already knew that. Chevy Chase left famously because of it. And while Yvette Nicole and Donald didn't say it was the reason, throughout the season Dan poked fun at their race "did you ever 9/11 anyone?", Pierce once asked Abed. It's cringey. The whole thing is.

[rottiens]

How did you feel about homelander and stormfront? I really wished we could see more of what stormfront was doing in that lab. But I think you’re the first person I’ve seen that likes homelander (outside of liking how he’s written as a character) I have great disdain for all of the seven except for the original noir. And I appreciated the responses you gave to my other questions regarding homelander! I’d love to hear what about him you think is appealing? I personally love Antony Starr I think he’s doing an amazing job portraying homelander and of course I love the nuances of the character

i also wish to see what else stormfront was doing in that lab, i would like them to maybe show more about that in the future although i must watch it again because i dont quite remember, maybe it had to do with what was going on in the lab in gen v (let me know if you saw it)? but i will watch those eps again to keep my mind fresh

and i never liked stormfront especially around homelander because she made him much worse, she pushed that evil side of him to such an extent that you see him in some scenes "impressed" with her actions and that's a lot to say about HL (like when she talks to ryan about racism towards white people 😭 and further distorting the reality of the facts to confuse ryan, this woman lol) and maybe it's hypocritical of me to say i don't like her when i like HL but i feel he can come up with charisma, for people on the outside who admire him and you as a viewer too, you can come to like him because he is charismatic (the smile, how he presents himself to others, the hypocrisy in terms of kindness, he is made for people to adore him) and I also love his twisted humor but I can't rescue anything about stormfront, she is so extreme and there is nothing about her character that I like. and like i said, her and homelander are just worse, but the sex my friend? 🤌🏼 i loved every single scene between them lol she just matcheted his freak so well, i know he misses her for that and to my understanding their relationship was especially based on that

im so curious now about what makes you like noir…its his story maybe…i feel like they didn't give us much of him but what they did give us was so meaningful and emotional and sad at the same time, what he had to go through to finally die like that

and baby lskdk i'll try to be as honest with you as possible, psychoanalyzing myself but not spreading myself too thin. antony plays a big part in me liking the character, if it was another actor it probably wouldn't have the same effect on me. so points for the face. out of that,

1) in the beginning i hated HL so much lmao the first season was just horrible, i couldn't watch him because i hated him, every trait of his personality was (is) horrible. same in season two, especially knowing what he did to butcher's wife that man had (has) to go down.

2) it all started in season three and soldier boy where they show us more of who homelander is, jhon. we meet his son and they show us of that more human side of him and that's when i realize the imperfections that the strongest man in the world has, in the end he is nothing but human, and there is nothing i love more than when they justify a villain correctly

3)dont get me wrong, i still hate him and i keep waiting for his downfall but he is still among my favorite characters of the boys because he seems to me such an interesting and complete character, his nuances, his complexity, his fears, his insecurities (i like how they work that little by little in the seasons) and what makes me love him with the same intensity i hate him, is how human he is deep down inside. his psychological problems and his need for affection seem so well achieved, and dealt with in the series that i am drawn to him. and the icing on the cake was that scene with barbara, his character is so well done chefs kiss mwah. it is so sad to see everything this kid had to go through, all he has known is terror so it is the only face he can show.

4)kinks. ✋🏼✋🏼 what can i say???? 👆🏼 homelander activates my predator prey kink + so many others. and a horny person can't think well their decisions 😞 and again, antony and his so good acting, hes so so so good, his facial expressions and tone of voice and aaaaand physique ofc plays a very important part.

thank you very much for asking 🥺 i tried to be as brief as possible sorry lskdkd

[jenyifer]

Been debating in my own head who my favorite only friend’s character is because idk I like to psychoanalyze myself for a change. So is it Boston or Nick…. Or Ray. So let’s do some brain soup.

Humm I want to say Boston because I spend an ungodly amount of time wondering what he is thinking. It’s hard. Neo is doing a fantastic job it’s just figuring out what everything means. He’s a good puzzle. I love that Boston is honest. He also reminds me of my eldest bro who was a terrible man hoe. My brother once broke up with a girl because she was too smart for him academically. My brother did eventually calm down and loves his family. So I can’t agree with Boston’s actions all the time but I want him to grow into a good guy.

BUT YOU KNOW WHY THAT IS? Because I love Nick and my poor stalker baby is obsessed with Boston’s inner self too. I feel immense comradely for Nick. Im also a nerd who works on computers. I love Nick’s type of crazy for Boston. Nothing can sway him from loving Boston and truly that would be a dream. I want to protect Nick and Boston so fiercely. I love his friendship with Sand. I could talk about Mark’s performance all day. Have you noticed how his right eye twitches when he’s very stressed? What the hell. Nick gets so little screen time or background but he is my chaos boy.

Then there is Mr. Pakorn who I share many many many things with. More than I’d like to admit or am comfortable with. Now he gets on my bad boy list often but he’s played by Khaotung so how can I not root for him. Khao’s little micro movements glances allowed me to make up many posts about him and boston being besties even though that’s not really in the script. But anyways Ray & I make lots of shitty mistakes especially to those I love out of fear. No matter how upset with Ray I look forward to his puppy dog eyes every episode.

I guess the answer I’ll settle on is Nick? Because it’s the least painful answer it’s two in one? maybe? And I made him my icon! Do you know how hard it was for me to switch it from Yoongi? BTS is life but Only Friends is rn. Anyways who would you pick?

[scuttle-buttle]

Chapter 11

WC: 2077

Rated: E

Chapter Tags: full on angst, discussions of emotional trauma, mild depictions of blood/gore, mentions of self h*rm & su*cide, mentions of child abuse, discussions of physical disabilities, institutionalization, some dialogue & plot canon to TV show, hurt/comfort

🧠

The rest of the conference went by much like the first day did. Both you and Laszlo bought a few books for your collections. An ease had settled over your conversations with the help of Sara and John's presence; you spoke more freely with each other. You tell yourself it is not because he's going soft on you or vice versa, but rather that you have found yourself in this imaginary bubble where you happen to get on well. It's inevitable that it will pop once you’re back at school and Laszlo will revert back to his usual callous state.

Laszlo. It still felt odd to think of him like that, rather than by his title. You couldn't lie, it gave you a sort of thrill. Even in your dreams you had only called him by his honorific. Thankfully you didn't have another dream after Friday. You couldn't escape the feeling that you'd said something incriminating in front of the man in question. So you chose to pretend it didn't happen.

Monday morning came and you headed to the train station. Once again he had secured a private cabin for the journey. This time you came prepared with a book since you had yet to replace your broken phone.

"Thank you again for inviting me to this, I really enjoyed myself. It was really nice of the department to foot my travel expenses, the hotel was really fancy. I may have helped myself to a mini-bottle or two," you joked.

"There is no need to worry about the department's finances; they were not involved."

You pause. He paid for you? Laszlo did say he would take care of the arrangements; but the four-star hotel, the private compartment train tickets, the admission to the conference, and every meal? Shit, that must have been a fortune, hundreds of dollars at least.

You don't know what to say, so you settle for an awkward "oh." A moment passes before you add "I appreciate that, um, I can pay you back. Might take some time but I can."

The professor is flippant in his reply. "There is no need, it was well spent for the research and knowledge acquired." He opens his book signaling the conversation is over.

You lick your lips. Fine then, I'll just consider it payment for emotional suffering and damages of the last eight weeks.

The first few hours of the journey were spent reading one of the new books you picked up at the convention. Occasionally you would peek over the pages at the professor. He was engrossed in his own selection; sometimes he would pause to write down a thought.

Around the seventh hour of your journey you had given up on reading anymore in favor of looking at the fields outside. The silence was comforting.

Laszlo had trouble concentrating on the book in his hand. He saw you as a conundrum. One minute you could be sociable and teasing with your comments, then next you were biting at his throat with your quick wit and fierce ideals. He decides that he wants to know what made you into who you are today. Now is as good a time as any.

His eyes on you cause a tingle up your spine but you ignore it. Laszlo breaks the silence; "may I ask a personal question?"

"You just did," you answer, still peering out of the large window. He huffed once, amused. At his following silence you face him. You raise your eyebrows to signal him to go on with his question. Curiosity grows at the thought of what he intends to ask.

"Twice now you have made implications of a traumatic past," he begins.

Bubble popped.

Interrupting, you snark "is this the part where you psychoanalyze me, doc? Because trust me, I've been through enough of that." You pick at the lint on your jeans.

Laszlo tries to choose his words more carefully the next time he speaks. "What I mean to say is, the first afternoon in the classroom where you defended that student you implied you had been witness to a trauma. You then displayed signs of anger and embarrassment before leaving prematurely. Yesterday you mentioned having entered a psychiatric facility. As an alienist I can't help but find myself curious about your experiences."

You slide your eyes to meet his from across the cabin. Your face is devoid of any emotion. "We all have our demons. Even you can't argue with that."

Your jaw clenches. Everyone had warned you. They all said he would try to worm his way into your head to figure you out. All the reviews, the gossip, everything. It was a big fat 'I told you so'. You give a pitiful laugh at the situation. "You know, everyone told me that you would pull this stunt."

He seems confused by your statement. "And what is that?"

"That you'd get inside my head and try to figure me all out or whatever. You already know I googled you beforehand, what everyone says about your methods. By now I assume you've done a little research yourself. I promise you there is nothing exciting here," you scoff and point to yourself.

"You would be correct in your assumption." You chew at your cheek as he starts. "I do know some of what happened in your past. Yet I also know that society likes to dilute the truth into something either more palatable, more entertaining, for people to consume greedily. What I want to know is what you have faced. How you have not allowed the experience to overcome you so much so that your humanity is erased like the characters I lecture on."

Eyes closing of their own volition you are thrown back in time to that night so many years ago. You didn't talk about it anymore. Bitsy knew of course, but that was the extent.

Laszlo waits. He knows this is likely to push you over the edge if your history with him means anything. Quite frankly, anyone would be tossed to their limit at his interrogation had they gone through what you had. John always told him that he needed to work on his bedside manner; that he had a habit of coming on too strong in his pursuit of learning the intricacies of the human mind. But your earlier comment about being sent to a so-called 'nuthouse' rubbed him the wrong way. It left a bad taste in his mouth. He needed to know. He needed to understand.

Laszlo can imagine the reprimand that he would receive from John and Sara for this. Just as he considers apologizing for his intrusion you open your eyes.

"She was fine. None of us suspected anything was wrong. I came home from having dinner with some… boy, and she had locked herself in the bathroom. She- she must have started over the sink and moved to sit on the side of the tub. She was hunched inside it when I got the door open. I pulled her out. Blood was… everywhere." Your voice is clinical as you explain.

"After, I shut down. So I checked myself into a psych ward a few days later when I couldn't get the feel of her blood off my hands. It's slippery, you know. And it smells. You wouldn't think so but it does." You clear your throat. "I did the therapy, took the meds they prescribed, all the standard treatments. Later I started watching true crime documentaries. I'd heard about exposure therapy so I figured the more I saw the gore, the less the image of my dead roommate would bother me. And it did help. The nightmares stopped after a while, I came back to school. I was better, just not the same.” You had watched the passing landscape as you explained. Turning to face him you speak again. “That's why those pictures didn't bother me. They weren't anything I hadn't seen before."

He contemplates you. The discovery and subsequent loss of your friend in this manner would no doubt cause lingering effects to your psyche. A stain that would forever remind you. "I offer my sincerest condolences. I do not presume to know what that would be like to experience, but I am glad you sought help afterwards. To make the choice to alleviate yourself of your own suffering where possible.”

As he says this he realizes that your anger towards the idea of being enslaved to unconscious impulse makes perfect sense. It explains why you focused so much energy on defending your belief in free will. That you have the power to choose how you carry your joy, your anger, your healing. It reminds him of how he held onto his own guilt and hurt, ignoring how it festered within him for so long. He feels as though he needs to share a piece of himself with you.

“I played piano as a child, quite well too. My mother hoped I would someday make a career of it. I vividly remember playing Mozart’s Concerto for Piano No. 20 in D Minor at a holiday party when I was seven years old. It was my favorite to play.... It requires two hands." You finally look at him. "My father...” He pauses to gather himself.

Now it is the doctor that cannot meet your eyes. As you listen you feel your confusion grow. How could he have been a talented pianist if he only had full use of his left hand? Unless..., the realization dawns on you just as he continues, his words slow.

“My father had two sides. One loving and the other brutal, the two often coexisting. It was something as trivial as putting me to bed, I recall... A game of tug of war. We were laughing…” He inhales a sharp breath. Already you can feel the tears begin to blur your vision. “I don't remember if he was drunk or if I said something that offended him. He must have pulled my arm behind my back.” Laszlo exhales shakily. “In small children, fractures can often affect…” he trails off, unable to finish. You can hear how he barely holds himself together.

Your heart aches for the broken man that sits in front of you. He never let on how much his arm bothered him, at least not within your presence. Suddenly you don’t see him as this rude, insufferable, obsessive man, but instead as someone that spends his life trying to protect himself. He projects his own anger and hurt so that he may, just for a minute, forget about his own demons. He wants to help others even when he feels he cannot bear to help himself.

But unlike you, he has to live with the physical reminder of his past every day of his life.

You stand and move to sit on his right side. Before allowing yourself to think too much of your actions, you place your hand atop his own, curling your fingers around his palm and squeezing delicately. You don’t bother wiping away the tears on your cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Laszlo;” the whisper is barely heard above the sound of the train. A second passes where you fear you have overstepped and offended him by touching the affected limb. When his thumb tightens against the backs of your fingers you know he is not. He holds you in place.

“You asked me how I kept my humanity. How does anyone really? We learn to take what we get and we carry it in a bag. Sometimes you have to drag the damn thing behind you. But eventually the weight gets less and less if you allow yourself to move forward, even if it’s still there with you all the time. I dealt with what happened years ago and it does still haunt me. It’s easier now than it was, but… I- I suppose I’ve learned from you too. Sitting in those lectures and hearing you talk. We can either let it haunt us for the rest of our lives… or we can accept it… and use the memory of our pain to help ourselves and others.”

“I’m not sure the choice is entirely in our hands.” His tone is mournful.

You turn to smile at him through your tears. His own eyes are bloodshot. “I disagree. If it weren’t, if we didn’t have the freedom to choose that, we’d all be murderers.”

Tag list

@hardlyinteresting @lorna-d-m @livvyshmiv @somethingthatsaysbubbles @greeneyedblondie44 @unbeatablecurlgirl @apparrio @marchingicenotes7 @anteroom-of-death @bruhidaniel @lemairepstuff @thehuiabird @zemosimp05 @alindeluce @iamnotthecatladynextdoor @laura-naruto-fan1998 @trelaney @boneheadduluc @i-am-dead-inside-666 @fictionlandslanddreams

[volcanolotus]

answer ALL of the hyperfix asks for mappy. if you wish.you can skip any you want.but heres an excuse to say so many words

OMG OK SO SINCE I ALREADY ANSWERED SOME OF THE QUESTIONS HERE’S A LINK TO THOSE IF YOU’RE INTERESTED 

AS FOR THE REST

📃 what is the plot of your hyperfixation? and is it a movie, game, show, etc? 

OK. The plot of shiftylook mappy is.

Mappy loses his job as a cop because of some Goro related shenanigans leading to him destroying priceless artwork. So he needs a new job. but guess what? GORO is back and he’s got a job opportunity and an opportunity for Mappy to snatch up because he IMMEDIATELY lets Mappy know that he’s in the process of committing crimes. so Mappy takes the job because he sooooooo badly wants to be the one to put Goro in jail. he’s obsessed with the idea, frankly. So he spends the series working as a security guard and finding out what Goro’s up to.

 ✨ what draws you towards your hyperfixation? what is interesting about it? 

I Love Psychoanalyzing Mappy. I think if he met me and i explained his brain to him he’d be upset. In general though, the comedy never fails to get me, and the improv feel of the show’s dialogue is a nice change of pace from like everything else. I love the way Kris and Scott bounce off each other and that really shines in episode 4 when it’s just Dig Dug and Mappy in the desert. and just about any scene with just the two of them. best buds!!!!!! 

🎥 do you have any favorite scenes from your hyperfixation? 

WHERE DO I FUCKING BEGIN. 

oh my god. I have a near 17 minute long compilation of scenes that live in my head rent free but some of my favorites are (in no order)

The scene where Goro tries to insult Mappy with the world’s worst insult and Mappy’s trying to put into words why the insult sucks but then gives up.

The scene right before that where sky kid is Lying Very Terribly about being at the gym

“Attention all Nyamco Employees..................................... Named Mappy. Attention all Nyamco employees named Mappy if your name is Mappy please report to Goro’s office immediately. If your name is not Mappy you are not required to report to Goro’s office at this time. Please Mappys only.”

Dig Dug lifting his shirt to reveal a 6 pack, to which Mappy goes “oo...”

“Prince OUT.”

“Hey you prince out too, my man.”

“....................You’re an idiot............”

“Maybe i should fire you.”

“Yeah maybe you should.” (THIS IS EPISODE THREE AND MAPPY’S ALREADY HAD ENOUGH)

“Look I didn’t hire you to pry into my affairs.”

“Actually you DID hire me to pry into your affairs.”

“... That’s a completely DIFFERENT set of affairs.”

The entire scene in episode 7 where Mappy’s prodding at Goro about how he said that he was his best friend, which ends with Goro saying I love you, and refusing to acknowledge or elaborate upon questioning.

Dig Dug laughing at a man who literally just died because he’s high key salty that Goro allowed him to dig for buried treasure and not Dig Dug, to which Mappy shakes his head disapprovingly the entire trip back to Goro’s office.

Tarosuke’s entire appearance.

Goro testifying against HIMSELF in a court of law.

Sky Kid dropping an F bomb in court

Goro’s ending speech, concluding with him and Mappy laughing maniacally together and dig dug falling over lifelessly.

 💔 tell us about one of your LEAST favorite characters and why you dislike them.

Richard and Keith are so annoying. I literally can’t stand they ugly asses. but they do make for good comedy moments in my head unfortunately

 💎 are there any fun facts or trivia that you would like to share? 

Two livestream interviews came out recently, and this isn’t really a fun fact but Kris just talking sounds SO MUCH like Mappy that i wanna make animatics of the livestreams just for funsies. 

Another fun fact is that one of the pieces of royalty free songs used is also used in the dance recital dvd i have, but that’s only relevant to me personally. 

Instead of calling him Taizo Hori, they opted for Dig Dug’s full name to be Diglas D Duglas, which i’ve seen like 65 spelling variations of. 

There are some expressions Goro makes that never reappear in later episodes and i wish they appeared more.

We could have had it all.

the nyamco office building is based on the real life namco building! Furthermore, “Nyamco” is Goro’s original name. He’s only called Goro in the localization.

💢 what do you NOT like about your hyperfixation? is there something you would want to change about it?

Not to be cheesy but i don’t like that it ends.

... Ok. It’s actually good that it ended but it ended so EARLY. i can tell they wanted to do more and gradually pan out with more details of Goro’s plan being uncovered, but unfortunately if you don’t know any better it feels rushed and you won’t understand why that is. 

I ALSO DON’T LIKE HOW BATSHIT INSANE THE LORE IS DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU DECIDE TO TAKE SERIOUSLY.. Me and my friends spent hours trying to figure out where Mappy took place and several details contradicted each other. There was also The Universe Debacle, which took a total of 5 pages to explain. Except i’m lying because that was really fun i love overthinking. But it WAS a lot. Shiftylook is not known for its consistency.

I don’t like the way they draw Mappy’s head. he looks like undertale jerry. fidget spinner lookin ass.

I wish the prince appeared more, also.

[panevanbuckley]

hi bestie I heard u don't mind asks and I randomly got into casmund and it's been my most favorite thing to think about their marriage, but idk where to put my love so I hope you enjoy this 😩😩😩 lmao I'm so sorry tbh

like just imagine the amount of times one of them comes back to their quarters all exasperated, Edmund bursts through the door like, u will NOT believe the face of the guy Susan is considering marrying, and she's only doing it to form an alliance. and he rambles on to Caspian about it and they have late afternoon tea on the balcony, now genuinely discussing it and downright psychoanalyzing Susan.

"Susan - in her infinite wisdom - tends to plan her every step, ten steps ahead if she can. But you, Peter and Lucy, you're all pretty... You've been known to make rash decisions."

Caspian used to hold back with his criticisms for his brother and sisters in law, careful not to accidentally cross a line, but now he knows Edmund wants to hear his thoughts, even if his judgments are harsh. They aren't harsh today though and he speaks gently. "Might be she feels she stands out."

Edmund has assumed the position of a tired man catching a long overdue break, leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees and only tilting his head to watch his husband talk.

"Ah, so she's being stupid on purpose."

Caspian laughs softly. "Although, yes, actually. I think she might be."

"What, seriously?" Edmund asks incredulously, reaching over to see if Caspian's tea cup is empty and making motion to fill it up.

"Well, when shit gets real, the three of you may as well race each other; who will offer to sacrifice themselves first. Susan doesn't do that, not usually, right? Her instinct is to take a step back, think it through, look at the situation globally. Someone who can't see her virtues, like she herself, could mistake her for something of a coward."

"Besides," Caspian continues when Edmund only huhs and stirs his tea with a spoonful of honey, "from what you tell me, she changed the least. Lucy's more serious when she needs to be, Peter's better at listening, you're you. Obviously the best sibling."

Naturally, Edmund needs to make sure he's sweetened the tea enough so he dips his middle finger in a licks it ostentatiously.

"Aw, Eddie. I'm not just stroking your ego." Caspian smiles, about to stroke Eddie's ego more. "No one can piece together a lost cause quite like you do."

At that, Edmund blushes boyishly, looking at Caspian through his lashes. "Thanks." But even more so than the compliment, he relishes Caspian's insight. He can always rely on his siblings but there's nothing as relieving as bitching about problems to his husband who's the only man to always know what to say, even when he doesn't.

ASHJSK- BABE! OH. MY. GOD.

I'm fine.... I'm so okay right now. not a puddle on the floor at all. nope.

okay, but seriously, the line 'Edmund has assumed the position of a tired man catching a long overdue break, leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees and only tilting his head to watch his husband talk.' is now single-handedly the cause of my death. because, I mean, I saw the ask. I saw you say 'their marriage'. but I was NOT prepared. something about 'to watch his husband' has absolutely SENT me into an emotional, fluffy pit of feels!!

this entire ask is pure gold and I am absolutely on board with you directing your casmund love this way because I have nobody to rant to about them and they literally own my whole dumb heart (along with, like, five other ships atm but it's whatever).

I absolutely adore the idea of Edmund pouring Caspian more tea, the two of them bitching about anyone and everyone (yes, even family members!) with each other. but also them trying to understand Susan's actions, still worrying over her even if she's being stupid or doing something they disagree with. that's real family love right there and I'm here for it!

we will not talk about Caspian calling Edmund 'Eddie' and how that's is so freaking adorable (and also how I've just realised that I have a strange, unintentional, love for characters called Eddie because what?! seriously, out of any characters, there's like 6 in my top 10 that can be nicknamed Eddie and that's sort of freaking me out right now!)

you should so write fics! especially of married casmund!! that's something I've ben craving since I discovered this ship, just some pure, married fluff, but I can't seem to find many fics that aren't angsty and break my heart at the end 😭

please, feel free to always drop by with anything omg! this ask has literally made my entire night 💕

[kirbyspits]

A lot of Makorra shippers only moved on because they’re afraid of being called homophobic for not shipping korrasami. I LITERALLY saw someone on Instagram yesterday call a makorra shipper homophobic just for saying korrasami came out of nowhere. Also, Korrasami shippers LOVE to bring up the "popping bottles" backlash to make fun of makorra shippers. I left the tlok fandom in 2014 bc it was so toxic as a teenager, but now i’m 23. I’m no longer afraid of shipping something i always loved.

Ah, yes, I realized I didn’t address the fandom's toxicity in the last ask, but I’ve spoken about it before. I don't talk too much about the past because I was at the edge of the fandom back in 2014/2015. I was aware of fights, but the discussions I saw were moreso on bi-erasure. I saw one post saying it was wrong to ship Makorra. I remember being really confused about why Makorra was actually problematic, but I didn’t appreciate being told who I can ship the only dark-skinned woman protagonist on a major television network with. Why are you forcing me to ignore Mako and Korra’s relationship? Book 1 is practically about Mako and Korra, all other characters be damned. Me preferring the story of one pairing and a popular romance trope, second chances, is not wrong, and no one would know how I view the LGBT+ community based on who I ship in one show.

I ended up leaving the community because I was disappointed with season 4 in general. When Korra was released on Netflix, I figured it was time to rewatch the series again (plus, I’ve been binging all my favorite romance anime). So imagine my shock when I created a new Tumblr and Twitter account to rant and rave about TLOK, and I saw nothing but hate and name-calling in the Makorra tags. I saw people casually throwing around the word “homophobic,” and one person said people who don’t like Korrasami are just misogynistic. 

I just wanted pretty pictures, and people are out here psychoanalyzing shippers! So, I dug through some blogs and to feel more grounded with this fandom I didn’t recognize. After reading through their commentaries and experiences, I actually became more upset at Bryke than the teenagers/children who comment on Makorra posts saying how much better Korrasami is or accuse Makorra shippers of being homophobic. 

Yes, I truly believe these comments are mostly coming from people in their late teens and younger, at least in 2020. I can’t speak on 2014/2015, but since we were younger, the early 20s/late teens, I wonder if our age group was also the loudest. Don’t get me wrong, adults can be horrible people and can get really nasty. However, every time I look up the rudest commenters' profiles, they were teens. When one Korrasami shipper wrote “screw Makorra” on my AMV, I figured I’d have some fun trolling them until I clicked on their profile and saw a child. Needless to say, I ignored them and reflected on how parents are allowing their babies on TikTok while my parents freaked out at the idea of showing my picture on FB growing up. 

*I’m not still mad about that*

Also, while it doesn’t give anyone an excuse to make such a strong accusation, part of me, as a straight person, feels like I can’t get too upset because I also become very aware of my privilege. The space I’m in is a majority of young LGBT+ fans (at least on Twitter where I’ve seen the most toxicity). Some people see TLOK as their safe space and imply why should there be Makorra shippers when they have all these other cis/het shows they can engage with. It doesn’t work like that, of course. TLOK doesn’t only feature Bi characters. They’re POC/Indigenous, women, and Korra has dark skin. That’s a lot of marginalized communities. Makorra/TLOK is my comfort show, not because she’s with a man, but because of the reasons I just listed. Also shipping Korra with Mako doesn’t mean she’s no longer bi. She’d still be attracted to women.

Here’s who I am upset with tho, Bryke. Mostly Bryan. While Makorra shippers called out Korrasami shippers for cyberbullying, the focus seemed to be on Bryan for making it seem like there was something wrong with them for not finding Korrasami’s narrative satisfying. It was especially sad to read bloggers who identified as being part of the LGTB+ community saying Bryan’s hetero-lens dismissed their experience and then having to defend/proving themselves to anonymous messengers. 

Fans saw it as a betrayal. They saw it as the go-head for the rude Korrasami shippers to harass Makorra artists because they “didn’t watch the show correctly.” When the creator, the person you admire, also puts the blame on you, that kind of pain is on another level.

Korrasami shippers played a huge role in kicking Makorra shippers out of the fandom, but we can’t underestimate how much Bryan’s statement is a slap in the face. He used his characters and social justice as a shield for reasonable criticism. Just because we say a story is bad and Asami is grossly underwritten doesn’t mean that we’re against the idea of Korra and Asami being a couple. 

Of course, I’ve seen some very problematic statements from Makorra shippers. After all, homophobia is real. However, aside from the actual bigots, people have no issue with Korrasami. They just wanted a stronger connection between the girls. Many people seem to think Makorra shippers were looking for more romance, but we know we couldn't expect that. We can expect more screentime, musical cues, and more emotional support, which most people can see as platonic, but be romantic if you really want to. Mako’s interactions in book 4 can be seen as platonic, but all of us Makorra shippers saw it to be romantic.

Popping bottles! I completely missed that joke in 2014 and I discovered it this year. I agree it’s pretty annoying, but I become a troll and say I’m popping bottles for my Makorra moments. I don’t get any engagement, but I don’t seem to lose followers for it. Maybe popping bottles represents “straight-baiting?” I don’t get it why it’s so funny after all this time, but we’re Makorra shippers. We’re the joke 🙄

Anyways, to wrap up, lately, there seems to be a bit of a shift on Twitter. When I first created an account. I stayed in my little corner live-tweeting about TLOK and Makorra. I had to stop looking at the Makorra tag because it was so negative. Now, I’m seeing people admit they’re cute, and then saying they’re platonic soulmates. I’ll take it, although, as one commenter said, “that’s boring!” 

Someone led a Makorra Week back in October, and it was really nice! I have feeling people speaking up on the name-calling and reminding people that we’re talking about 2D characters helped. We just want to be left alone and enjoy the scenes we have in the show, art, and fanfiction. 

Keep shipping who you want! Don’t let any stranger shame you for your shipping preferences, especially in fiction! I’m so happy you feel more comfortable shipping these two dorks! You’re not alone! I’ve been a Makorra shipper since 2012, and while I find Korrasami cute (I love Korra, and I love Asami), Makorra is my OTP. I really like them, and I think they were meant for each other.

[emachinescat]

I've decided to watch MacGyver from the beginning (again), and I'm live tweeting the experience with every tweet tagged with #savemacgyver. I thought it would be fun to share my collected thoughts from the episodes on here as well.

My Thoughts on S1E2, "Metal Saw"

Seriously love the music in this show!

THE FREAKING BELT GRAB. You can tell they've done this kind of thing before.

I always love it when Jack and Mac have heart-to-hearts in the middle of super intense, dangerous situations. Like... it's sweet, but time and place, guys?

"Hi, I'm Jack." Nervous Jack is bebby.

Ew, sweat. Like, I know it's "realism" to have sweat stains on clothes in situations like these, but that's one bit of realism I can always do without. Gross.

Is that a bit of PTSD I'm seeing with Mac there on the couch? That's a kind of realism I can always get behind.

Riley finding Mac and Boze in that compromising position will never not be funny. "But he was on top." I love Riley more every episode.

Riley is a really good liar from day one.

I love the joke about ex-cons benefiting from being in relationships with stable people (i.e., fake boyfriend Bozer), then the immediate cut to Bozer with his whole arm inside the vending machine. Great stuff.

Love the Riley and Bozer bonding... right up until the cringe-tastic "Slide me your digits."

"Soon, I'm gonna woo you the same way Romeo would have wooed Juliet if they had Snapchat back in the Renaissance." Bozer and his surprisingly accurate pickup lines. The Renaissance did in fact start in Italy around the 14th century, when R&J is thought to take place.

I love all this psychoanalyzing of Mac. "Adapting is his survival mechanism." Also I'm living for Jack sticking up for Mac to Patti.

"This place has been searched by everybody and their dog." Is this a Texas thing or an old guy saying? Either way it's great.

Nothing beats the early days of Mac and Jack. Nothing. I wish we had gotten more interactions where Jack has to parent Mac: "Stop touching that. Look at me." ❤️❤️❤️

Jack so concerned about Mac and putting on the kid gloves = everything I could have ever asked for and more.

Jack has such a big heart. Poor guy, the look on his face when he sees that the reporter is actually Sarah...

Paperclip sculptures: When I first started watching the show, I thought they were lame. Now I miss them so much. Does that mean I've gotten lamer or that they were always cool and I was always lame?

"Closest time I ever came to coming home in a box." Oof. This line hits different now, and not in a good way.

I just love how Jack is this big tough ex-Delta who is so open about his emotions, particularly with Mac. And the way Mac reassures him... Their bromance is top-tier.

"Oh, like when they invented fire!" Another zinger.

Mac grabbing that giant cigar right out of that dude's mouth 😂😂😂

Love some good fight-scene Mac whump! 👏👏👏 And bar fights are always a blast!

Riley with the car door - such a boss. "What? You told me to stay in the car, and I did."

I've seen some people say they don't like S1 Mac's hair. I kind of dig it, to be honest. He looks like he's 5, but I love it.

Mac has made a lot of DIY cutting torches in his time, but they never get less impressive.

Jack trusting Mac to save Sarah while he keeps watch is just *chef's kiss*!

These early episodes have so many MacGyverisms. One right after the other. It's awesome.

I've never been a big fan of the dark either, Mac.

The first scene with Mac and Sarah is so beautifully tense and whumpy (he way he scrabbles for purchase, gasps for breath, that hitch in his voice as he tries to squeak out Jack's name) that I had to rewind and watch it again.

The hopeful disbelief in her voice: "Jack Dalton came for me?"

Sarah can kick some serious ass. I can see why Jack likes her. Too bad she's about to lead him on the rest of the episode, while actually having a fiance...

Sarah: *leans out of car, shooting her weapon with deadly, terrifying precision* Riley: I agree, this woman should not have kids. 😂 Everything that comes out of Riley's mouth is gold.

Riley asleep in the back of the car while Mac sits quietly and Jack and Sarah have a sweet moment is like mom and dad with the kids in the backseat. Except mom has a fiance and hasn't told dad yet, even though she's had ample opportunity.

Because seriously, Sarah. It's not that hard to tell him the truth. Giving him those big eyes and flirting with him, thinking he has a chance is just cruel. I have never liked her character, and this is why.

Mac and Jack giggling about Jack's crush on Sarah like middle-school girls is life.

"You're just gonna have to let that go." Man, I love their relationship.

Gosh, the scene where they find Luis always hurts so badly. These early episodes did not play around.

"There isn't always time to beg some suit back home for permission to do what's right." I'm not a fan of Sarah, but I love this line. Also, this is pretty much the synopsis of the whole show.

Riley's hair used to be so LONG! 😍

The loyalty of these three! And I love the OG trio so much.

This sleazy guy in the computer place makes my skin crawl.

Love how Patti's like, "Mac will be back by then." Not Jack, not Riley. Just Mac. Can we say teacher's pet? I actually lowkey love this though.

"Who is this guy?" Much like Doctor Who's "It's bigger on the inside," I never get tired of people being equally amazed and confused at the stuff Mac can do.

I've never been the biggest car chase junkie, but Barrios jumping over the car using that log in the road is pretty dope.

Sarah's rage is chilling. And Jack talking her down breaks me every time.

Again, I love the loyalty of our team. Everyone sticks up for each other, ending with Mac's totally unbelievable but still somehow 100% genuine "It was me. I forced them." TOO good.

First mention of Oversight this early. Just thinking about who it is that doesn't like unsanctioned ops just makes me 😤 I wonder if the writers knew who OS was at this point or if it was a later development.

I do wish we could have gotten more conspiratorial, approving Patti. She's so much better than expressionless, bland Patti.

The way Sarah never told Jack about her fiance Jeff (who is in fact a cinnamon roll but still a discount Jack) pisses me off. "I tried to tell you." Yeah, right. It's not that hard to say, "Yo, I'm in a relationship."

Jack NEVER should have found out about Jeff the way he did. There's no excuse.

It's not okay, Jack. She did you wrong. You didn't deserve that. Stand up for yourself, man. Gosh, he's so broken here, and I hate it.

"At least we have each other... Don't look at me. I know how weird it sounded." THESE TWO I SWEAR 🤣🤣🤣

Poor Mac. I do love how we get his obsessive tendencies so early in the show, and how they keep coming back, even as late as season 5. As someone with clinically diagnosed OCD, this makes me feel seen and I love being able to relate to my favorite character.

Love the found family antics at the end. Riley and Bozer making dinner while Mac and Jack play basketball? Perfection.

Lol, Bozer calling Riley a "caramel goddess" has such Schmidt/Cece vibes from New Girl, and I dig it!

Ew. More sweat. I know some people find sweaty men attractive, but that is NOT my vibe. I prefer my men clean and freshly laundered.

The way Riley glances back over her shoulder at them as she walks away, as if to make sure they're really there, that this is actually real!!!

"That's not even... that's true, actually. That's sad." Jack 🤣 Also, "I'm hungry." Big mood.

As a Grandpa Harry stan from the OG show, I eat up any mention of him in the new one. I just wish we'd gotten more of that wonderful man in the reboot. Still, I'll take what I can get!

I'd honestly forgotten how much I enjoy this episode! So solid, full of bromance, found family, and lots of good-natured bickering. Can't wait to watch the next one, hopefully tomorrow! In the meantime, please keep fighting for our show! Together we can #savemacgyver!

If anyone wants to join me in my re-watching and tweeting adventure, please do! It's my way to take about an hour a day in my busy, busy life to commit to the #savemacgyver movement. (And to enjoy my favorite show yet again!) If you do tweet as you watch, make sure to tag EVERY tweet with ONLY #savemacgyver so we can keep that hashtag trending! :)

Thanks for letting me share my (numerous) thoughts on this episode. This was really fun, and I hope it's something you all enjoy, too. I'd love to know what you all think of the episode in the comments! ❤️

[dancedance-resolution]

for andi mack week, i made this uquiz: who are you in the andi mack cinematic universe?

an anon asked me to post all the possible answers (sorry that i lost your ask haha), so ive included screenshots and image IDs of all the answers below the cut! :)

Image IDs of the answer possibilities:

in jonah's band - when you see jonah beck drawing band logo ideas during study hall, you feel like it's fate: you've always wanted to be friends with jonah, and you've also always wanted to be a part of a band! so you introduce yourself to him at your shared lunch block, and soon, you're the bassist in Otter Galaxy, a five-person band consisting of you, jonah (guitarist), buffy (singer), walker (drummer), and kira (trumpter). you all collaborate to write songs from all sorts of genres, and you develop close friendships with all of your bandmates. fourteen great songs later, jonah introduces you to a man named bowie, and he helps Otter Galaxy record their first whole album. buffy's girlfriend andi designs the album cover art, and kira's girlfriend libby runs the band's social media and marketing. Otter Galaxy reaches its career peak--so far, at least--when they perform a setlist of originals and covers at shadyside high school's homecoming dance. you're glowing the whole night, so happy to have made these connections and produced such amazing art with all these humans you love so deeply.

attending an olivia rodrigo concert with amber - you've always made fun of your friend amber for calling into every single radio station ticket giveaway, but when she manages to win ten tickets to olivia rodrigo's sour tour, you immediately rescind all teasing comments. you can't begin to thank amber enough when she announces that she's taking you, andi, buffy, cyrus, iris, kira, maria from the basketball team, and (reluctantly) her brother tj to the concert. the afternoon of the concert, everyone heads over to the kippen household to dress up and prepare for the concert. ms. kippen drives everyone, herself taking the tenth ticket, and everyone manages to fit into her minivan in a mostly legal seating arrangement (andi may be on buffy's lap, and iris may be crouching in the center section of the car, but hey, at least no one's in the trunk!). the concert itself is electric. despite never having endured heartbreak, cyrus sobs at every single song (but, not to worry, tj's there to supportively hold his hand the whole time). andi and iris sing along so passionately that it's a miracle they haven't lost their voices; you and kira share a pink cotton candy that's bigger than your face! by the end of the concert, everyone's exhausted from the rush of adrenaline and joy, and the car ride home is pretty quiet as everyone basks in the sated feeling. you all sleepover at the kippen house, constructing an elaborate maze of pillow forts in the living room before dozing off. you and your friends end up sleeping in 'til noon, when ms. kippen finally wakes everyone up with the smell of homemade pancakes.

gardening with cece - when andi invites you over to help with the gardening, she fails to mention what a serious matter you've just agreed to undertake. with a cold pitcher of lemonade as your sustenance, you and andi join cece in her meticulous plant upkeep duties. cece is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge about the various flowers spread about the garden, and she offers you her gardening cap when she notices how you're squinting under the hot sun. but don't let her kindness fool you: when cece somehow ends up in a passive-aggressive conversation with the neighbor about the location of some plumerias, cece swiftly dons her weapon of choice--the garden hose--and mercilessly discharges its cold water. the hose fight quickly turns into a fun opportunity to cool off, and soon, you and andi are collapsed in a muddy heap of laughter as cece chastises you for wasting water.

andi's lab partner in chemistry class - despite being an art-focused school, saava also has incredibly strong academic programs. alas, this is very unfortunate for you, as you aren't the best at science classes--so you're relieved when you're paired with a really kind and bright girl, andi, for this semester's chemistry labs. andi always manages to bring a certain magic to the routine and rule-based chemistry class, turning graphs of hydrogen levels into colorful maps that remind you of the astrology posters your friend libby likes to paint. and it's like andi's creativity unlocks your own imagination--with andi's help, you turn your simple coffee-decaffeination lab into a rube goldberg machine that creates splatter art! soon, your formerly most dreaded block becomes an exciting opportunity to collaborate with your new friend to make increasingly complex machines, sculptures, paintings, and other forms of art. your final chemistry lab of the year--an exercise in pH measurement that you and andi turn into a mixed-media installation that comments on the shift of identity many students experience when coming to a new school like saava--even gets featured in the "best of saava" monthly magazine! chemistry still may not be your best subject grade-wise, but thanks to andi's friendship and support, you find that you've learned a lot this year, and you really value the time you spent in this class.

psycholanalyzing beloved fictional characters with cyrus - on the first day of highschool, your first block class is the one you're looking forward to most--psychology. there's only one other freshman in the class, so you make sure to sit next to him. his name is cyrus, and soon, you and cyrus are bonding over your shared interest in the "childish" tv shows that your older brother teases you for liking. "if your brother teases you for watching them, why don't you come over to my place, and we can watch them together?" cyrus offers one day, so that afternoon, you head over to his dad's house. he introduces you to his dad and his step-mom sharon, both of whom are therapists (no wonder he knows so many answers in psychology class!), and you're super excited when they let you and cyrus flip through their paper copy of the dsm. sharon makes a bowl of popcorn for you and cyrus to share, and then you start watching pbs kids shows together, consulting cyrus's online copy of the dsm to jokingly psychoanalyze some of the characters from "arthur." ("technically it's a pirated copy of the dsm," cyrus explains bashfully, "but i was too scared to click on the illegal pdf, so i had my friend buffy save it for me.") after a few episodes of gleefully pathologizing fictional characters together, you hear cyrus's boyfriend tj knock on the front door. tj joins you for two more episodes of "wordgirl" (you find out that his favorite character is chuck the sandwich-making guy), and then the three of you eat dinner with cyrus's dad and step-mom before both you and tj have to head home. cyrus hugs you both, thanking you for coming over, and as you wave "bye," you feel so grateful for your two new friends.