#also me: proceeds to call them 'kid' one line down

[bo0tleg]

Maverick and Rooster aren't going to be able to immediately fall back to what they were. They care for each other deeply, and saved each others life on the mission, but this sort of shit needs time. One conversation isn't going to cut it with those two.

Look: I like the idea of them falling back into what they were before just as much as the next person, but that's.... not what realistically would happen. And that's ok! It makes sense for them not to know what to do with each other at the start.

For the record: I'm also not blaming anyone for writing fics about them immediately going back to the father-son or uncle-nephew dynamic because, because come on. It's cute as HECK! I'd just like to think about how to explore their feelings and hang-ups about each other in dept!

They're both stubborn fucks and this has been simmering for far too long for anything to be resolved instantly with a single conversation. Bradley un-learned how to talk honestly to people the day he left, and Mav's scared about what honesty can bring. They've sat on this pot for so long they no longer feel it burning their asses, and forgot what they put in the damn thing in the first place, so they stay there. On top of it. Still burning their asses.

Bradley holds onto grudges like it's a lifeline, and one mission isn't going to change that. He listened to Mav in the canyon because he rescinded what he had said with his actions. Mav said that he 'wasn't ready' but then chose Rooster as his wingman, communicating that he is ready and that he trusts him with his life. But that was a life or death situation that Rooster was both present in and could interfere in if he so chose. He saved Mav because he didn't want him to die, and they seem more inclined to deal with it back on the boat, but it's still a long road ahead.

What happened was they rekindled their care for each other, because neither had ever truly given up on it in the first place. Mav never stopped caring and knew it, Bradley did the same without knowing. This just so happens to be the first time they're forced to deal with each other since the fallout.

Just because they care about each other doesn't erase the history that's separated them for all of this time. In fact, it probably makes it worse.

Bradley thought highly of Mav, and he didn't live up to it. Mav wanted the best for Bradley, and did what he thought would be best. Their problems came from the root of care. And it's more bittersweet because of it.

Because of it, resentment and guilt have settled over their shoulders, respectively, and it refused to go away.

They talk, and they try, but it's still not great.

Mav is inclined to just sweep it all under a rug and ignore the lump it forms on the floor. Because of his guilt, he takes all of the blame and sugarcoats Bradley's part in said blame to try and make up for it. Bradley is just as fault as Mav is, but Mav doesn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

So instead of fixing things, they look slightly less crooked, but not entirely right. It's a 'their problem' not 'his problem'. They're both at fault, and they both need to deal with it.

Maverick refuses to give up any of the blame, and Bradley is going to refuse to take any of it.

Sure, Mav fucked up, but Bradley blew it out of proportions. Storming off and refusing to talk is a normal response, but not for fifteen years. He barely let Mav explain himself.

Everything "wrong" about himself he blames on Mav. He thinks that Mav fucked him up by breaking his trust as his father figure, so he doesn't trust anybody anymore. He thinks that him being completely emotionally stunted and sensitive to critique is Mav's fault because of the 'your not ready' comment.

Thing is, it's his own fault. It's his fault that he's been fucked up for so long because he never tried to fix what was broken. It's not Bradley's fault that Mav pulled his papers, but he threw away everything, everyone he had before because of a single (justifiable!) mistake. And he doesn't recognize it for what it is, and refuses the blame. Carting it all off to Mav instead of dealing with his own shortcomings.

Mav is aware of this (that Rooster refuses to take the blame), but agreed with Rooster in his analysis of the situation, and takes it all on himself, which is not a healthy mechanism for either of them. It pats Rooster on the head for somewhere he fucked up on, and overloads Mav with guilt that shouldn't be that intense and deep.

But they don't know this. So Mav isn't angry at Rooster, because he's blindsighted by his care.

Thing is, I want someone to be angry. I want someone to be offended on Mav's behalf because he himself won't do it. I don't know who it would be, could be a good number of people, maybe even a child OC.

For fifteen years Bradley left without looking back. He left, and Mav suffered. Someone saw that. Someone was there with him all or most of those years, sitting right beside him as his guilt grew with every holiday that went by, with every letter or call left unanswered.

The obvious option is Ice. However, I want to pull away from that option, because if Ice is dead (stay with me now) it only creates more conflict, more nuance to what's going on.

Bradley cut Mav out of his life, and it's implied that he cut out any association with him too. That includes Ice.

What if he never spoke to Ice either for those fifteen years? Ice died. Bradley went to his funeral. Bradley went to his funeral as a fellow aviator, as an underling obeying orders.

Bradley's face in that funeral was blank.

That is the face of a man watching the burial of someone he once could potentially have considered a father figure that he hadn't spoken with for fifteen years. And he's never going to be able to speak to him again.

At that funeral, I don't think he regretted it. Sad, maybe, but no regret.

The regret only hit later.

He got to mend things with Mav after the Uranium Mission and beyond, but that is no longer possible with Ice.

Bradley regretted what he did, how he neglected them for years, but he regretted it too late for one of them.

I think Brad probably ended up at Ice's grave at some point, and owned up to everything he didn't– couldn't– own up to at the funeral. And he fucking sobbed. Begged. Apologized, over and over.

This is the reason I suggested maybe a child OC, because if the child is Icemav's or just Ice's, Bradley's gonna have a warped perception of them. (Note: When I say "child" I mean that it was their child as in gender neutral for son/daughter, it doesn't necessarily mean the person in question should be an actual kid.)

Bradley's gonna see that kid as penance.

And they're gonna fucking hate him for it.

Bradley is going to look at them and see Ice, and they're gonna hate him for it. Their father is dead, and for the last fifteen years of his life he'd never been truly happy because this prick never bothered to own up to his mistakes. Not even at the funeral Bradley owned up to his shortcomings, and now all of a sudden he waltzes right back like he never left? What the fuck!

Bradley could have done this, idk like a week sooner? But he only came to his senses after Ice died. Their father died and Bradley barely looked like he cared is what they're going to think. But all of a sudden, he goes on a suicide mission and almost died and he's suddenly back? Because when his own life is in danger he changes his mind, but when Ice died he couldn't care less? What the fuck!

That man went to that funeral as a subordinate, not as the son he was.

The kid doesn't have the tinted lenses Mav has on about Bradley. All the resentment Mav doesn't feel, this kid is going to feel for him.

Bradley is going to understand their resentment because of Ice, and is going to focus on fixing that part with them, without noticing that the resentment isn't just because of Ice, it's about Mav too.

The kid is going to be pissed because they are not Ice. Bradley is going to be too worried about making it up to a dead man through his child that he's going to neglect the very much still alive man he ALSO has to make amends with.

But Ice didn't have a direct hand in pulling his papers, so Bradley understands his mistake with him (he shouldn't have cut him out over someone else's mistake). Mav, however, did have a direct hand and he's still bitter about it. And the kid sees it. They see him doing exactly that.

Bradley is focusing on the wrong thing, because he's trying to redeem himself in an impossible way, trying to answer to someone who no longer demands it.

He goes after it because the silence is a more comfortable answer than the conflict he's bound to face from someone who's still alive.

In the process, he's going to hurt Mav.

Bradley's gonna be so caught up in making it up to Ice (the one he can no longer make up to) that he doesn't think to properly make it up to Mav (the one he can still make it up to) because he thinks he has to.

Ice is gone. Ice is gone and there's nothing he can do about it. And If he'd just changed his mind earlier maybe there could have been. Admittedly, Ice still would have died, but maybe he'd have died more settled than he did. He'd have died with the knowledge that his son came back. That his son still cared. But he didn't, and Bradley hates himself for it.

So, he veers to the kid. He doesn't outright apologize other than the first time, but he's gonna treat them like either a piece of glass or a carbon copy of his father figure. Regardless, they're going to hate him for it.

It's not them he cares for, it's what he sees them as. They can see straight through his bullshit because there's no deep emotional connection there to blind them.

They could try to care and love for him for Mav's sake, but it'd be much better if it were on their own terms, that Bradley would care for them as them and not as Ice's child.

On top of that, the neglect Bradley has for Mav is humongous. And he himself doesn't see it because the resentment he feels is still there. Mav was the one who pulled his papers. He blames Mav for his own decisions.

He's alone, and he blames Mav. He doesn't let anyone in or near, and he blames Mav. But it wasn't Mav that made him shut everyone out, he did that on his own.

He hasn't thought about why Mav did what he did, choosing to believe what Mav claimed to be the reason. It's blatantly obvious that Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell of all people would never stop someone from going to the Academy because he thought they aren't capable. That's what they did to him, he's not going to do that to someone who is virtually his son.

Bradley was irrational and stuck to that irrationality for fifteen years. He used the emotional stuntedness he himself created as a guise to not actually process what happened. He refused to think about it, and still does.

He and Mav reconnected after the mission, but it's a frail margin. Bradley was more inclined to listen because he's confused that Mav cares at all. In his rage, he didn't notice that he did it out of love, and doesn't know what to do with it. The entire training, he's confused, pissed and uncertain all the while.

He still doesn't know the real reason Mav did what he did, and doesn't understand the love he still sees in his eyes. Rooster thought that he shattered everything he had with Mav when he felt, most of all cemented it with all the time spent in that state.

By the end of the movie, he knows for certain that Mav loves him, and understands that he, himself, never stopped loving Mav either, despite what he claimed.

Bradley wanted to be a pilot because of his dad. Goose wasn't a pilot. Maverick was.

The betrayal hit him harder because he wasn't running after Goose, he was looking up to Mav. He wanted to be like Mav.

And he became a pilot, even when Mav pulled his papers, even after having the person he did it all for ripped him into shreds. He still did it.

He still wanted to be like Mav. Deep down, he still saw him as a role model even through all of the repression.

But he still doesn't know why. He doesn't know why Mav did what he did, because Maverick himself refused to say why.

Mav isn't going to be doing great either. He fucked up, and he fucked up big time. He shouldn't have pulled Bradley's papers, period. I know about Carole, but still. He should have communicated with Brad about it, and they'd fight about it, but Bradley wouldn't have walked out to never return then.

To worsen matters, Maverick has a horrendous martyr complex that makes him take the brunt of Bradley's resentment instead of Carole, the actual perpetrator.

Over the years, he's blamed himself more and more every year that passed, but I don't believe he ever regretted it.

He fulfilled Carole's last wish. It didn't stop Rooster from becoming a pilot. He gave both of them what they wanted.

But he's trying to protect the Carole Bradley has in his head because he doesn't want to stain his memory of her as he did with himself. This has been discussed a hundred times over, so I will try to be brief.

Mav is scared that instead of him, Bradley's gonna resent his mother. His dying, cripple mother that said that in her death bed. His widow mother who saw her husband die in the skies and didn't want her baby boy to have the same fate. His sorrowful mother that had to watch her friend, someone she considered a little brother, keep going up into those same skies and hear all the whispers the people on the ground flung upon him because of it.

So he took it all on himself. Because he sees himself as expendable in favor of her.

So, safe to say he's not going to be the one to tell Bradley the truth. Because of it, Bradley's resentment is going to continue to fester.

After the mission, Bradley knows that Mav's not telling him everything, but he refuses to talk about it so what the hell is he going to do?

They fix things well enough for them to talk to each other, but don't make it too deep in fear of opening up more wounds instead of stitching the old ones back together.

Mav thinks this is as good as he can get. Bradley is annoyed at Mav's hesitance.

Despite mending things, Bradley is still going to think all of his problems are Mav's fault. And he's a petty bitch, so he won't let it slide.

He hasn't properly processed it due to the lack of information, and can't let go because of it.

He's going to slip in dry comments about how Mav affected his mental health and life because of what he did. He's going to be cagey about everything that happened in the in between. He's not going to know basic shit about Mavericks life because he refuses to acknowledge that he was wrong in more than one way.

And Mav's gonna fucking take it.

He's not gonna say anything, not gonna even defend himself because he thinks he deserves it.

Bradley is a stubborn fuck whose pride has been hurt once, and refuses to acknowledge that it could be hurt again. He's just like Mav when he was younger, but ten times worse in the emotional department (I have no fucking idea how he managed that, but he did).

So yeah, soon enough they're going to be balls deep in miscommunication with grudges held close to their chest.

Maverick wants to communicate but doesn't want to communicate a very important piece of information that could potentially make things better and Bradley straight up doesn't want to if he doesn't have to.

Which means they're going to come to a stand-still. And someone is gonna have to interfere.

If I were to guess, it'd either be Slider or Sarah (Kazansky). Regardless if Sarah is Ice's sister or wife (up to interpretation), she knew how important Mav was to Ice and obviously cares about him too from the few scenes we got of her. Slider also knows, and it's obvious he also genuinely cares about Mav too despite claiming otherwise.

I'd honestly vote for Slider to be the one to do it, simply because he'd also see the Ice favoritism and the Mav neglect, and would pull Bradley's ear about it to hell and back. Because he also knew Goose, and this... entire thing is not something Goose would be happy about, at all. Slider has a much more subdued connection to Bradley, so he'd have no qualms about calling him out on everything.

Especially if he ever found out that Bradley said 'My dad trusted you, I'm not going to make the same mistake.' I sorely believe Slider would end up in jail if he ever heard about that one.

If Sarah were the one to do it, she'd probably be more understanding and much less violent than Slider, but she'd be blunt. That's still someone she cares deeply for they're talking about, and she also saw all of it. She wouldn't sugar coat what needs to be said, but she'd be understanding too. Not you did nothing wrong kind of understanding, but a you had your reasons to be upset kind of understanding.

Either of them would probably do this without Maverick's consent, because that's the only way to get it done.

When Bradley finally comes to know exactly why Mav did what he did, he's gonna be in shambles. Not only for Mav, but for himself.

His entire life has been built around that single happenstance and now it's gone, he was wrong. He was so wrong. He can't go back to being the way he was, he doesn't remember how he was.

He's gonna have to start over, rebuild himself from the ground up to be someone better and spare everyone in his life the suffering. Everyone in his life has suffered the consequences of his resentment. He doesn't know if he can make up for it.

To start over, step number one is apologize.

This right here is were he finally lets his ego drop, and fully apologizes to Mav. Finally owns up to his mistakes to the person that deserves it most. He's not gonna leave Mav be, he's definitely going to demand a full explanation from him and then is going to scold him for it, but he's gonna finally fully let go of the grudge he held this entire time.

That's to say, everything isn't a sea of roses.

Maverick isn't the only person he needs to apologize to, and on top of it, Maverick is probably the only one who is going to let him down easy.

Bradley is going to be on a tight leash with everybody else for a while, and they don't have any hold ups about calling him out on his bullshit. He's going to need to learn how to take critique to improve himself rather than read it as a straight up insult that he's going to get mad about.

Maverick is going to need to learn that Bradley isn't going to up and leave, and that he shouldn't hold himself to such low standards. Not only that, he's also going to need to learn that Bradley is bound to make mistakes just like any other human.

Bradley is still gonna fuck up in some places, but he's gonna be better at recognizing it. Mav's also gonna fuck up sometimes, but he's going to get better at accepting it and moving on.

With time, Mav is going to call Bradley out on his bullshit too, and Bradley is going to do the same when Mav starts doing his 'I'm less important than other people' shit.

They're going to be sad about it because they think that the reason the other does some of the things they do is because of themselves, but that's a story for another time.

They try. That's what matters.

[rcmclachlan]

I love how it appears that Tommy is the grounded, well-adjusted foil to Buck's devil-may-care adrenaline junkie, but I also have to remind myself that Tommy was the guy who was asked to steal a helicopter and fly it into a category 5 hurricane on a hunch, and he was like, "yeah, cool, let's go."

Buck probably thinks Tommy's a rational, responsible adult, because he's so considerate and he owns a house and he's so methodical when he takes Buck apart in bed and he's got a 401k and a Roth IRA account. The helicopter heist flight was definitely an outlier.

But eventually he learns the truth: Tommy's batshit insane.

Like, they're hanging in bed one morning and Buck's on his phone trying to solve the math riddle Hen sent him, and he laments the loss of his lightning-enhanced skills. And Tommy, turning the page on the WWI biography he's reading, absently says, "At least you got them. All I got was 30% hearing loss in my left ear."

Buck slowly lowers his phone and demands an explanation, and Tommy, still focused on his book, tells him about when he was struck by lightning. Both times. The second time he was in the middle of a hoist and winch rescue trying to get to the captain of a sunk fishing boat in the middle of open ocean during a storm. Tommy holds his place in his book with his thumb and shows Buck the picture Lucy took of his Lichtenberg burn—it spans the entirety of his back and goes halfway down his arms. Buck stares at it, stunned, then takes the phone and book out of Tommy's hands, tosses them on the floor, and proceeds to suck Tommy's brain out through his dick.

The first time Buck goes to see Tommy at Harbor, Tommy is still en route back from a call, so Buck gets to talking to two people named Nico and Dana who've worked with Tommy since he arrived. Buck sheepishly apologizes for putting Tommy in such a dangerous position with the hurricane.

Nico and Dana look at each other and snort. Nico puts his hand on Buck's shoulder and is like, "Dude, that is not the craziest thing Kinard's ever done. That's not the craziest thing he's done this year."

They tell him about his legendary but batshit NATOPS check maneuvers and how no one's ever been able to figure out how he can do a barrel roll in low altitude in a transport bird.

They tell him about the time he and Donato were called to a high-rise gas explosion, and they casevac'd an unconscious, pregnant woman who ended up going into labor. Tommy got back there and, with the power of WikiHow on his side, delivered a healthy baby girl halfway to LA General.

They tell him about the time he sustained a concussion while landing a malfunctioning helicopter in the baseball field of a middle school, and yet somehow found the strength to host an impromptu AMA to three hundred kids about what being a pilot's like while he munched on tater tots and waited for a rescue.

They tell him about the time he was flying with a probie at night in an area with uncharted power lines that got tangled in the rotor, and how he slung the probie under his arm like a tote bag and dove out of the helicopter right before it exploded.

They tell him about the time Tommy and Nico were called to a cliffside mansion where some foreign dignitary's daughter was being held hostage. Tommy ended up HRSTing out of the helicopter and onto the scene, and then proceeded to beat the hell out of the guy, get himself stabbed, and give the SWAT team so much shit when they arrived that the 217 has an honorary table every year at the Backdraft Ball.

When Tommy finally shows up and disembarks, Dana's halfway through a story about the time they were all called to Shasta County to help with the Carr Fire in 2018, and as soon as Buck sees him over Dana's shoulder, he shouts, "You flew into a fire tornado?!"

Tommy's expression goes a little hunted and he holds up his hands placatingly, like, "In my defense, I tried to find another way around it—"

And Dana's like, "The fuck you did. You looked me dead in the eye and said, 'You know what would be funny?' And then you banked right into the whirl."

"It's not like you tried to stop me," Tommy says accusingly, ignoring the way the side of his head is starting to smoke from the intensity of Buck's stare.

"Well, no, you were right: it was funny," Dana says with a shrug.

That night, Buck rides Tommy slow and vicious and makes him recount every detail of the fire whirl flight before he'll let Tommy come, and the entire time he grips Tommy's head and forces him to hold Buck's gaze and thinks, I can't believe I ever thought you were normal. You're insane, you're out of your mind, you're perfect, you're perfect, you're perfect for me.

In the afterglow, practically humming with satisfaction, Buck bites playfully at Tommy's chest and says, "So this is what Lucy meant when she texted me that you and I match each other's crazy. Hell, after everything you've done, I think the only thing left to check off your list is, like, aliens."

And Tommy's entire body freezes and he falls very silent very suddenly. Buck lifts his head to stare at him, like, "You've gotta be kidding me."

"Evan, for legal reasons, I need you to change the subject."

[avesque]

can i please request a drabble with i pushed everyone away because they weren’t you + neteyam? thanks.

of all the girls — neteyam

INCLUDES best friends to lovers. angst to fluff. 0.7k words.

NOTE i need him so bad. you can request a prompt of your own here! (also the great war part i might come out this thursday/friday. i promise i see those asking to be tagged, i will not forget u here is a big kith mwa) OH AND HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY i love you!

neteyam finds you all alone by the docks with your feet submerged in the water. it’s a quiet afternoon and the others are out and about with tsireya and other metkayina kids.

he finds his palms sweaty the second he settles beside you.

you don’t bother to look at him. it makes his heart squeeze painfully as your gaze stays fixed ahead, over the reefs and the horizon that he thinks you’ve mentally reached home.

you cut him off just as he’s about to break the quiet.

“why’d you leave?”

to others, it might sound nonchalant. but neteyam has known you for more than a decade; can read you like that back of his hand. there’s a bite to your tone that makes his heart climb up his throat.

you place your palms behind you and lean back but you do not look at him.

“you left,” he says. “i followed you.”

“no shit,” you scoff. it makes him wince. you always did hang a lot around lo’ak.

he swallows his nervousness.

“listen—”

you’re quick to rise to your feet. “well, i need to go.”

neteyam calls your name.

“i don’t want to hear it.” your tone is cold, biting. if he didn’t know better, he’d think you’re leaving behind snow rather than the sand you’re kicking off as you walk away hastily.

he follows you just as he has for the past twelve years. always behind you, always watching. waiting.

he snatches your arms once he’s caught up and something spears through his heart when he finds tears brimming in your lash line.

“no,” you seethe, wriggling free from his hold. “you leave me alone. go back to ayrona since you like her that much, huh?”

neteyam heaves a deep sigh, latching on to your arm again. gentler, this time. softer. consoling.

“no.”

you scoff again. the metkayina girl had shown interest in neteyam ever since you got here, always there, always lingering. it makes your skin itch, your blood boil. you’ve been watching them all this time, how she seems to enjoy those breathing lessons with neteyam. remembering it makes you want to scream.

but ayrona wasn’t the only one. back in the forest, before you had to flee, you heard other girls’ names tied with neteyam’s from hearsay. you did not have the heart to ask him about it, afraid that the confirmation will break your heart more.

ayrona is just the final straw.

but this is wrong. the lone tear that cascades down your cheek is a burning shame. neteyam is not yours.

at times, you feel like you may stand a chance, against all these other girls and against all odds. you’ve been toeing that line between friends and something more, touches lingering more than they should have, gazes softer and sweeter than most. but nothing has come of it.

you fear what you thought could have been was just a miscalculation on your part.

neteyam holds your cheek so delicately, thumbing away the salt on your cheek.

“oh, y/n.” his voice is honey; says your name like a prayer. you close your eyes, clumped eyelashes still spilling tears. “ayrona—” your stomach plummets, “—is a friend. just like tsireya.”

you sniffle, shaking your head and leaning away from his hold. but neteyam is quick, placing his other hand on your chest, right where your heart is.

“you,” he breathes, “are so much more.”

he rests his forehead on yours and he pulls you close.

“do you want to know why i told rey’nin to stop?”

rey’nin was the omatikaya girl who, despite the people’s disapproving stares, had pursued him.

“the others too,” he adds and proceeds to enumerate the girls who have shown interest in him. something warm lands on your cheek and you belatedly realize neteyam has placed a kiss there before he’s pulling away.

nimble fingers glide over your eyelids and your eyes flutter open to see gold staring right back.

“i pushed everyone away because they weren’t you.” he says your name again, this time, like a promise. “you are the only one my heart beats for. i see you. i always have.”

[lenaboskow]

If you truly believe that Tommy hasn't changed, why would Chim and Hen keep hanging out with him (Bobby Begins Again)? Also, there's the fact that Tommy, for the most part, wasn't an instigator. Rather, he tried to keep to himself and not be involved. It's clearly a shitty thing but no uncommon, especially in toxic work environments. Was he dickish? Sure, would Chim think highly of somone openly racist? Based on the latest episode (spoiler: his interaction with Gerrard) he clearly uses the words "good to see you haven't changed" which I think it's intentional to show that Tommy (unlike Gerrard) changed.

You're entitled to your opinion, and you can also hate Tommy for no reason. No one is going to force you. I think saying you just hate him for no reason would be better than trying to build a narrative that the show clearly disputes. Last but not least, Lou giving his headcanons for the character he portrays isn't that uncommon. In fact, many actors do, and it helps them get more into character.

lol i wasn't going to answer this but then i read the "wasn't an instigator" line and i just had to. let's take a look at some of the things tommy said or did in the begins eps...

in chimney begins, he starts by saying "did you forget to tip the delivery driver?" though not explicitly stated, it's implied to be racially motivated because they had ordered chinese food, and chimney is asian. then he proceeds to actively participate in the isolation, once saying "you still here?" to chimney as they return to a call. the most notable time is during the locker room scene where chimney is trying to reach out an olive branch, and tommy actively pushes it away, saying he doesn't think about chimney enough to hate him, but if he did he was sure he would. the only time chimney gets a semblance of an apology is after he saves tommy's life, and that's a messed up way of thinking, no matter how you spin it.

then, we have hen begins. oh boy. gerrard makes comments to hen, and chimney stands up for her, while tommy is standing by letting it happen (this isn't instigating, but it's a notable mention). then, we have "new york bitchiness is a compliment?" which, wow okay. that entire meal he participated in the conversation while chimney tried to drive it away. finally, i know a lot of people think tommy was the one to turn gerrard in, but the way he looked pissed off in hen's speech at the end, and the way he looked like he didn't want to apologize makes me think otherwise.

i don't know what happened off screen for hen and chimney to be friends (or at least civil) with him now, but i do know that recent events have shown tommy is still the same dickish (your words) person he was in the begins episodes, this time without the racist and sexist undertones. some examples include, but are not limited to:

calling buck "kid" and telling him in a condescending tone that eddie was allowed to have more than one friend

the closet comment

leaving buck at the curb the way he did

the bachelor party

the way he acted at the ceremony (looking like he was waiting for buck to stop talking and "enjoy it while it lasts)

so i think it's safe to say i'm not just "building a narrative". the show is proving that tommy is still the same person he was before, he just toned it down.

finally, i'm not even going to touch lou because that story is rapidly developing and i can't keep up.

[licorice-tea]

I’m A Ghost Of You, You’re A Ghost Of Me Pt. 4

Pairing: Roronoa Zoro x reader

Content: strawhat reader, gender neutral reader, drinking in a bar, one mention of virginity (in a jokey way), mainly just reader and zoro talking, brief mention of fighting/canon typical violence, a tiny bit angsty, hurt/comfort

Word Count: 1.3k

A/N: this part is kind of like reader and zoro’s first date! just a lot of talking and some angsty feelings about failure :/ but with comfort! also i’ve never been to a bar or drank a ton (im 19) so im sorry if the descriptions of alcohol are inaccurate (but also zoro canonically drinks an insane amount without actually getting drunk so idk.) also im not really sure where i want the series to go from here so… leave suggestions? anyway, enjoy! <3

Part 3

Reverse Mountain and the encounter with Laboon served to bring you closer to your new crew in a matter of hours. Though you were the last to join in the East Blue, it felt like you’d already known them all a lifetime. Your place on the crew comes naturally to you as you work in tandem with the others to overcome these obstacles.

After the long day and several brushes with death, the Straw Hats arrive to an island called Whiskey Peak. The inhabitants, surprisingly, seem enthralled with your arrival. They welcome you all with open arms and invite the crew to free drinks and a night of fun at one of their bars. It’s a little suspicious to some, but you (being on the more naive and fresh side) see nothing wrong with it. And so, you all happily go along with their invitation.

Which is how you found yourself here: sitting on a barstool with a line of shot glasses before you.

“Gonna drink all that yourself?”

You look up and smile at the voice- Roronoa Zoro. “Nope, it’s for you.”

He sits besides you, “2… 8… You got me 10 shots?”

“I wasn’t sure what you drink. Besides, I said I’d treat you.”

You tell him what each drink is, he picks out 5, then slides the rest toward you. “Drink up, y/n.”

“Oh.. I, uh… I don’t really drink.” Especially not 5 shots at once, at that.

Zoro shrugs, “‘s your tab.”

You watch as he downs all 5 of the drinks he’s chosen, eyes wide in surprise that he was able to do so by the end. Then, he looks at you expectantly. Steeling yourself for what’s to come, you nod with a sense of duty and face your 5 shots. “Here goes nothing.”

The first burns a little, but it’s nothing you can’t handle (despite the look of disgust on your face.) The second has you coughing- only because you took it right after the first, of course. Zoro barks out a laugh and pats your back. You wave him off, “I’m fine, I’m fine…” and pick up the third. Still chuckling, he grabs your wrist (with the hand that isn’t rubbing your back in circles) and lowers it down to the table.

“I was kidding, don’t drink more than you can handle. Takes out all the fun.” He proceeds to down the 3 remaining shots, completely disregarding his previous statement.

“Well, you sure make it look easy.” The annoyance in your voice is evident.

“I’ve got a high tolerance. But you,” His arm is now resting on the back of your seat, and you feel a finger poke you square in the back. “are a lightweight.”

“I- hey! I am not a lightweight. Taking 8 shots just like that isn’t normal, you know.”

“Yeah, I’m better than normal.”

A soft smile spreads across your features. “You sure about that, Zoro?”

“Wh- Of course I’m sure. Why, you don’t think I am?”

You shrug, feigning nonchalance in order to mess with him. “I don’t know… that guy over there just finished his 12th drink of the night, sooo…”

“What guy? You’re kidding, I swear-“

Laughter erupts from your chest, similar to his own fit when you struggled to down the 2nd of your 2 drinks.

“Oh. Ha-ha, real funny y/n.”

“God, you’re so easy to mess with! What happened to the stoic swordsman I met on the beach last year?”

He shrugs, “Same guy.”

“Hm…” You’ve noticed that he seems to get a little defensive when you bring up that night. “Why don’t you want to talk about that night?”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Zoro. C’mon, you can talk to me… We’re crew mates, right?”

He doesn’t say anything for a few moments; just looks down at the bar. “I failed. Plain and simple.”

“Oh…. because you didn’t bring me back to my island?”

“Yep.”

“I don’t think that’s the same as failure, you chose to-“

“You don’t get it, y/n. I couldn’t force you to go back. I wanted to, I was going to, but I couldn’t.”

“…Not to toot your horn, Zoro, but you’re plenty strong. I would’ve put up a good fight, but I’m not sure I would’ve won-“ You pat your arrow quiver, “especially not at such a close distance.”

“No. I really couldn’t.” Frustration begins to seep into his tone. “I couldn't find the- the strength or resolve. And I still don’t know why, but if things hadn’t just worked out in the end like they did…”

“But, they did, Zoro. And, I still don’t really understand what you mean, but just because you go against orders doesn’t mean you’re a failure or anything like that. You’re your own person.”

“I’m my own person who wants to fulfill my duties.”

“Even if it meant doing the wrong thing?”

“… I have my limits.”

“So then why are you beating yourself up over one task you didn’t carry out, especially one that wasn’t morally right? I’m biased, of course, but still…”

“’Cause I didn’t see anything wrong with it. But I just couldn't do it. I couldn’t have done anything that night if I’d wanted to- it’s like I was…” he trails off, shaking his head instead of finishing his sentence.

“Like you were what?”

Zoro shrugs. “Stunned.” If he were more of a romantic in his manner of speaking, he would’ve added something along the lines of “by you; by your smile and the way you move.”

“Hm. Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad that you were. Or else I’d still be kicking it in a boring old house with boring people.”

He exhales sharply in a dry laugh. “Hmph. My pleasure.”

The rest of the night, which both of you seem to have forgotten is technically your first date, goes by in a flash. Zoro has another bottle and a half of sake, which you pay for while wondering how one person can drink so much and not seem inebriated. Soon enough, most everyone in the bar is knocked out- save for you, Zoro, the bartender, and a few stragglers.

“You haven’t had anything to drink all night.” He observes.

“Those shots were more than enough.”

Zoro shakes his head and waves over the bartender. “What’s your drink?”

You smile bashfully. “A shirley temple, please.”

He pays for your drink and the bartender whips it up in no time. “I thought I was supposed to be buying your drinks tonight.”

“You bought me 10 shots, then 2 bottles of sake; I won’t take offense. And, this non alcoholic garbage is cheap.”

“It is not garbage.”

“Fine, it’s just a kid’s drink.”

“It’s not for kids! It’s virgin.”

“Oh yeah?” He chuckles, then mumbles under his breath. “Bet you’d know a lot about that.”

You shove his shoulder with a scandalized gasp. “Zoro!”

He laughs once more, loud and bright and so full of joy that you can’t help but giggle along with him.

[9w1ft]

lord you made me feel importunt..

so basically… i feel like taylor is singing from karlie’s perspective in WCS. and i think she is addressing two people— taylor and josh.

i imagine this song as the culmination of a lot of arguments and negotiations between the three of them over the years about how to proceed with things. i think it’s not too wild to imagine that karlie has been caught in the middle of the two of them a lot, in terms of emotional labor. i don’t have a specific time pinpointed for this song but maybe it is the “night i nearly lost you” that taylor talks about in the great war. it was karlie finally reaching her boiling point, and airing her grievances at both of them.

judging by interviews and karlie’s overall persona and demeanor, i think that karlie is the type of person who puts others before herself, and doesn’t easily let things get to her. so i imagine that when she does get angry enough to raise her voice, that it’s very jarring and would stick with you.

here is a selection of lines that i draw parallels with, which, in aggregate, make me think wcs fits more in the kaylor narrative than anything about jm:

years of tearing down our banners // tore our banners down took the battle underground

living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts // i knew you’d miss me once the thrill expired

if i never blushed, then they could've never whispered about this // they whisper in the hallway, "she's a bad, bad girl"

if you never touched me, i would've gone along with the righteous // touch me and you’ll never be alone

and if i was some paint, did it splatter on a promising grown man? // you paint dreamscapes on the wall

i keep on waiting for a sign // you never gave a warning sign (i gave so many signs)

stained glass windows in my mind, i regret you all the time // you say what a mind, this happens all the time

i miss who i used to be // remind her how it used to be

the tomb won’t close // spineless in my tomb of silence

memories feel like weapons // we can plant a memory garden

some other small points are..

i think she sings with a certain tone to her voice that reminds me of karlie. her emphasis on the word “important” reminds me of how karlie famously pronounces that word funnily, and there are a few expressions that remind me of how people in the midwest/southern united states speak “damn sure never would’ve” “but lord you made me feel” “god’s honest truth” “god rest my soul” etc

plus, karlie was introduced to josh at 19 years old so. there’s that parallel too.

so given these things i think the first verses might be addressed to josh and the second verse to taylor and maybe the third is to both of them. “if clarity’s in death than why won’t this die? years of tearing down our banners you and i” at her and “living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts give me back my girlhood it was mine first” at him

and a sidenote: following a similar framework i actually think it’s possible that illicit affairs is also from karlie’s perspective directed at the two of them.. “don’t call me kid, don’t call me baby”

i also think it’s sort of important that both of them are older than karlie, in terms of the dynamics. i feel like maybe it had made karlie feel like a toy or pawn or not listened to… or that the way they talked about what karlie should do—their style of communication when risk assessing—might have felt too clinical at times. the muse as object. and over time, perhaps she looked back and wondered, was this right? should i have gone along with everything like i did? or was it just what i grew up knowing?

listening to the song this way makes me incredibly emotional.. getting so close to being together publicly indefinitely, all the praise and centering of karlie as the hero and centerfold of taylor’s life during 1989 era, only for the backtracking and erasing. one might also say we were starting to get flickers of this with early lover era. years of tearing down banners.

so yeah… and, we count renegade as written from her lover’s perspective because of the tn tweet,

so i think it’s not that far out to assume she wrote other songs with karlie’s perspective too

just this idea of taylor taking the time to explore her muse’s perspective.

so yeah, this is my thought.

[davekat-sucks]

Eridan is the most heterosexual man in Homestuck.

Despite his vanity to look awesome in front of his others due to his status as a highblood and a funny if wweird looking art of him crossdressing for a calendar, Eridan is actually the straightest guy in Homestuck in general. He probably would have beat out John Egbert if it weren't for his "i am not a homosexual" line.

Eridan is said to be creepy by the cast and the fandom. If Homestuck were around today's current gen, he would rightfully be labeled as an incel. Eridan is desperate for connections, with love in particular due to his home planet putting emphasis on quadrants being an important part for his life. That if he doesn't follow it, he gets culled as punishment for remaining asexual as an asexual species. Now let me ask the fandom this, has there been a GAY incel ever?

Most would only call out incels to men who are only interested in female companionship. And who fits this bill? That's right, Eridan. Most of his important moments had always come from being around with another girl. In one of Eridan's earliest appearance via Pesterlog, he's talking with Kanaya, a WOMAN. The first relationship as kismesis is with Vriska, another WOMAN. His pale mate is also a female, whom he had a crush on for so long. Beliving that she and her are superior because of their blood color and sea dweller status. And he would be the server client for Nepeta in Blue Team, whom he tried to flirt but was rejected.

He would then try to rile Rose Lalonde to get her to be pitch with him. Eridan challenges Rose on her use of dark magic. She mirrors Eridan in a way that both have an interest in wizards and magic. Then he would proceed to try and give Jade his rifle. A rifle that would find its way to the bunny that Jake gives as one of its weapons. She also noted that he was one of the trolls that always hit on her and implies he has been doing this for some time prior to the Beta Kids starting the game. She even teases him for his failed attempt for flirting with Rose.

Sure he would have a male friend like Karkat, but it's only for shared interest about gossiping quadrants from there other friends, with Kanaya being the one he mentioned when speaking directly to her. Then we get to Sollux and people would say that shows he is gay or bisexual. The only notable moment between him and Sollux were only two duels they had. But it always come back to Feferi having to step in to stop and chastise Eridan. Sollux was also willing to KILL Eridan for good this time to stop him from getting Jack to find the trolls. Neither Sollux or Feferi thought about of how would Eridan even reach Jack in the first place without method of transportation or the fact that it would technically be Vriska herself that lead them to their deaths instead.

Eridan wins the duel by knocking down Sollux, but it's not as significant as him killing Feferi. The top potential heiress troll. An heir. A future queen. Her death would be and is taken more seriously because she is the troll that is above everyone on the meteor. Even with her ideals of equality and change, Feferi would still be one that decides what is good for the people. And that's one of Eridan's worst crimes. Not him killing lusus to feed for a bigger lusus. Not him being racist towards lowerbloods. But him killing a lady who would have to be future ruler.

His next big moment would also be him destroying the Matriorb. He would get his wish for success in genocide. Genocide being killing all hope that his kind would ever get to repopulate. We don't know if Jack would have found and destroyed it if Eridan wasn't the one to do it. But it likely he would have destroyed it or the Matriorb would be lost and forgotten after Kanaya's death. Some could say that Eridan destroying the Matriorb was a mercy kill. Since this Matriorb was also something that The Condesce needed to bring her race back. If the Matriorb had been around by the time the meteor shows up, she could have just taken the Matriorb with ease and her plans would have succeeded much earlier than expected. In a way, Eridan getting rid of the Matriorb was a good thing if it meant in the future, the bigger bad couldn't get it and forced her to find an alternative method to get it. Which means he also indirectly had been involved in another woman's plans. A woman that started and was the root for his ideals of racism. The caste system he looks up to and was molded by.

And when he is technically brought back as Erisolsprite, he does nothing with Jake despite their shared Hope aspect.

Overall, Eridan's important or great moments had been because the presence of a female with him. Even at times when it is not depicted as flirtatious, he is known because of his actions towards a woman. Directly or indirectly. His connections have been mostly been tied with a girl.

[justyourtypicalwriter]

ask game ✨ for uhh everyone you wanna answer these for: 👿🧸🏳️‍🌈 :3

Omg this didn’t save before

👿-How do they cope with ableism?

Wendy:

“You don’t look like you’re disabled.”

“Mmmm well by saying that *proceeds to go on a thirty minute rant about how that harms the community by making more people believe stereotypes*”

Stan:

I feel on a good day he’d just ignore, ignore, ignore until the problem goes away. On a bad day he might have a bit of a panic attack but it is what it is

Kenny:

He’d laugh, maybe make some semi inappropriate jokes about it for the most part. That is until someone tries to grab at his dog, I feel like he’d have a complete mood switch and start spewing out their full name and address and doxx them or something😭

Kyle:

“You don’t look like you’re disabled.”

“You’re nose doesn’t look broken-“

He then proceeds to get them both kicked out of the store

Bebe:

Would call the ableist person every slur under the sun and record herself doing so to post on TikTok…or stomp on their foot if she’s in heels

Cartman:

Doxx them but also make death threats against their families. Where do you think the doxx list came from?

Clyde:

Probably show off some kinda goofy ass thing he can do because of his hyper flexibility like the hEDS king he is to scare them off…then whine about it later-

🧸-Do they have a comfort item?

(THIS IS CREEPY BC I WAS JUST WRITING ASSIGNING THE KIDS COMFORT ITEMS😭)

Wendy:

This big ass fluffy hoodie that’s honestly big enough to cover her like a blanket. It’s one of those fleece lined ones with a hood too

Stan:

Oof uhm I was gonna say Sparkys dog tags because he wears them a lot after he dies but I have a feeling he should have something else too…

Kenny:

I’m surprised I haven’t mentioned this one before but it’s a little odd. It’s a hand sewn stuffed possum made from scraps from his friends old clothes. Kenny got hand-me-downs from them on occasion and knew that they weren’t exactly Karens style, so he repurposed them

Kyle:

Soft things. Preferably stuffed animals (in specific this stuffed fox he has). He seems like someone who’d appreciate soft things like that

Bebe:

A plush deer she was gifted from Wendy! It’s cute and has a pink bow!

Cartman:

His goofy ass dolls and stuffed animals. Live laugh love Clyde Frog

Clyde:

Idk he seems like a weighted blanked type guy. When he was little he probably tried to used one to build a blanket fort or something. But it didn’t fucking work because they’re WEIGHTED and Clyde’s a dumbass, instead it collapsed the whole fort and probably knocked a chair ontop of him

🏳️‍🌈-A random headcanon about them and their disability

(I’m just gonna answer more from the list lmao😭)

Wendy:

😺 - Is there anything they enjoy about being disabled?

Designing gear designs for Nike! Especially if it’s a bad day and she can’t really do anything

Stan:

❤️ - Would they have any advice for someone else struggling with their disability?

‘Someday you’ll find someone who wholeheartedly believes that you matter’

Kenny:

🌞 - What does a 'good day' look like for them? Is there anything they like to do on their good days?

Picnics with the rest of the m5 at Starks Pond! Just being able to look at the animals with Butters, or swim in the pond with Stan, or listen to Kyle point out all the different types of plants or roughhouse with Cartman is what he cherishes the most!

Kyle:

📋 - Are they diagnosed? Do they want a diagnosis?

Kyle is diagnosed! Not like he wanted it, the motherfucker just wanted to be treated normally

Diabetes at 4, PTSD & ARFID at 11, and POTS at 13

Bebe:

🌻 - Do they do anything that helps manage their disability? (Ie medication, hot and/or cold patches, set sleeping times, ect)

Salty snacks EVERYWHERE. I kid you not there’s some kind of salty food stashed in almost every room of her fucking house

Cartman:

🧑‍⚕️ - Do they have a carer or anyone who helps with their disability? What are they like?

I guess I’d have to say Dolly. She’s a little rat shit but she adores him and he adores her

Clyde:

🦾- How does their disability effect their daily life? How do they overcome some of the struggles thrown at them?

I’d have to say random dislocations although there’s plenty of shit his ass has to deal with every day

[aceofspades-sml]

A few notes from today's newsies show / random new things I didn't notice before because why not

At this point I am not even trying to make something organized just bear with me

Newsies 29/07 matinee - Lindsay Katherine

When Buttons steals apples at the beginning he throws one at tommy boy who was kind of sulking on the side. Tommy boy then proceeds to do a little victory dance and reappears 10 minutes later with the apple still in his hand

It was my first time seeing Forbes Pulitzer and oh my god he is so evil- like he is evil, he knows it and he's having so much fun with it I love him for that

You know that singsong voice that's just like "take this in your face" ? Yeah that's pretty much how Bobbie says "and guess what ? He got elected"

Jack having to physically restrain Race from beating up the Delanceys when they first appear, then sighting when Race goes toward them anyway. He then tries to restrain Finch and Albert from joining race with basically the same amount of success

"Who's gonna tell Pulitzer uh ?" "I guess you do mister president" cue race silently encouraging Davey from the side

Also oscar and Morris just sitting above the newsies for the whole scene before wwk

Finch and Davey bonding over their anxiety for the "we can't beat up other kids" scene- then Finch attemps a spit shake with Davey, who nervously reaches out for a glove in his bag, puts on said glove and only then proceeds to shake Finch's hand

Then Finch just hanging on his own for the beggining of WWK

All "who wants Brooklyn" reactions, featuring tommy boy curled up on the ground, Buttons and Mush (?) putting their bags on their heads and Romeo putting his cap on his face so he just looks like the creepiest guy ever

"What's the last strike you organized" in the most deadpan way I ever saw Lindsay kath you will always be famous

Basically the entirety of watch what happens because I love Lindsay

Jack having to restrain Race from throwing hands when Davey does his "if you look and see Brooklyn then they're with us" thing

When specs is on lookout and when asked if he saw anything just goes "nothing" and when the others start booing him he adds "I am sorry !" in the most "well I can't do anything about it !" voice and I just think he deserves a hug

After Buttons threw down his papes Tommy boy came back to oscar and Morris who just reassured him for a little while but didn't push him back toward the newsies- instead he ran back to them on his own to yell at Splasher who just joined the newsies

When jack goes on for the name call in Seize the day and Davey tells the others "no wait !" before being the first to join Jack

During the fight Finch and Romeo just hang out in woodside to watch what is happening, then when mush gets hit they rush to the stage to help him

And then later on when Crutchie is gets beaten up, Finch tries to run back to him and Romeo has to physically restrain him while screaming "FINCH NO IT'S TOO LATE" with his whole chest

Then Finch runs away and Romeo just yells his name again before he starts to run as well

Just everyone making a "what the hell" face during the auspicious scene

"I dunno about thaAT"

Then again "what the hell attitude" but more annoyed for the erster scene

Davey's "oh yes above. the fold" attitude just gets more and more excited every time at this point he's just folding the pape in every way possible to show it to Jack

"We. Are. Inevitable." Ryan is having so much fun with this line I love him

Katherine visibly trying to justify herself in Pulitzer's office except no one lets her talk

Oscar and Morris beating Jack up in the back of the stage during the scene change

Brooklyn's here was cool as ever but I almost died laughing at the beginning because there were only three of them. Like they still slayed but I found it super funny for some reason because Spot and Ritz were just bonding on one side of the stage while Pips was vibing on the opposite side

Then mark and alex joined in for the dance break after the name call so that was fun

Also for the borough call it was incredibly funny as well because there was only one guy in each borough

Davey's anxiety at the beginning of the rally >>>

Tommy boy being the most eager one to see jack I love him

"how many days can you go without making money" the way Jack just says that to Pips face broke my heart

Finch booing Jack with his whole chest

The way every newsies just pass in front of jack but meanwhile Race is specifically making his way to him to shove him back

"you never asked for my real name" "well I didn't think I had to" - an actual quote by francis "jack kelly is the name my mother gave me" sullivan

Jack's reaction to "My father owns the tribune" and "and proud to be a part of your revolution" will never not be funny

Race and Spot spending a solid five minutes hanging out in the back and holding hands before once and for all

Also Henry (the new swing) joined in for once and for all so that was pretty cool

Hannah's incoherent screaming on the phone- kudos to Bobbie for nailing it with a sore throat

"I am told we once shared a carriage ride" *turns to Davey* "I TOLD YOU"

The future will be bright and prosperous in Les's hands 😌

The expression of pure euphoria on Finch's face when he sees Crutchie and the way he, Albert and Race rush forward to hug him

"Snyder the spider" - cue Tommy boy having to physically restrain Race from beating up Snyder

(yes this show features a lot of everyone having to physically restrain Race)

Ryan was given the sandstorm line and chose to serve

The only reason Les was looking at Jack and Katherine kissing was literally only because he got bored of Davey talking to Crutchie

"so are you in *points at Wiesel* or are you out *points at Katherine*"

Anyway if anyone cares I am in love with Lindsay's Kath that's all

[hoperays-song]

Buster Moon's Total Sing 2 Crime Counter

And we're back again with Buster's lovely crime spree, this time in Sing 2! The numbers had to be estimated way more here than in Sing 1, mainly cause we have no idea how many people are in the room at any time in the theatre so just roll with it cause I'm lowballing stuff. I'm also not a lawyer so this is about as legally sound as the first one.

Anyways! Let's gooooo

-----

Traffic violations (x3)

Say it with me everyone, waving through traffic on a bike is a traffic violation! Seriously, its like he needs to nearly cause six wrecks within the first five minutes of every film.

Harassment 

Following someone and chasing their vehicle down and then proceeding to talk to them through a car window after they ask you to leave them alone is, not no one's surprise, harassment.

Public Menace

Okay, yes, I'm bringing this back again, but how would you feel if you're driving and in the lane next to you, there's a weird guy on a bike screaming into a taxi window? I, personally, would be fearing for my safety. So I'm adding it.

Trespassing

Grey area because there was no signage we could see but the backstage of where Ash was performing was private property that he likely wasn't supposed to be on so I'm gonna count it.

Trespassing

Buster sneaking around inside the Crystal Tower was trespassing, especially since Karen, the receptionist, insisted he leave previously and said she would call security if he didn't.

Aiding and Abetting the Delinquency of a Minor

Now, since time has passed between the two movies, I'm only gonna count one of the younger teens (Johnny and Meena) as 17 or younger, so take your pick. But, either way, Buster did convince them to trespass in Crystal Tower.

Aiding and Abetting (x5)

And this is for convincing the rest of the troupe to trespass in Crystal Tower.

Breaking and Entering

Buster does proceed to jangle doorhandles and finally find one thats open to break into the backstage of the auditions. Which could count as both breaking and entering or potentially just entering, but still a crime.

Aiding and Abetting (x5)

And then he convinces the rest of the troupe to do the same...

Aiding and Abetting the Delinquency of a Minor

Including at least one kid. Man, Buster loves aiding and abetting charges doesn't he?

Unsafe Working Conditions (x150)

Now I'm not sure just how many people were on set daily at the theatre, as it has to include construction crew, cleaners, dancers, pr agents, the troupe itself, and stage crew, so we're just going with 150 and rolling with it. Buster put them in unsafe working conditions by knowingly lying to Crystal, who was obviously not the safest guy to be around at this point, therefore potentially putting all the employees at risk.

Breach of Contract/Fraud (x13)

Say it with me now, lying in a contract is bad. You are breaking the contract. For example, claiming an employee you do not have as your employee, like say Clay Calloway, is illegal. Doing so over and over again is continuing to commit that crime.

Fraud 

This is more along the lines of lying to the cleaners to get them to not say anything and to help them, therefore withholding essential information from them. And continuing to lie to other employees with the same effect.

Endangerment (x212)

Okay, when he was doing the show, he knew how dangerous Jimmy was. He knew he was willing and able to kill people. He put everyone in that audience and on that stage in danger by doing that performance.

Endangerment of a Minor

And that included at least one kid! We don't know the ages of all the dancers, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was a 17 year old in there. Just be glad I'm not including the piglets.

Final Crime Count for Sing 2: 397 individual crimes!

Buster, I know that's less than Jimmy but still, come on man. You don't need to up your crime total every movie.

[lucienarcheron]

HOFAS Thoughts and Review!

This is also my review on Goodreads. Naturally, this is full of spoilers so proceed with caution!

4 star read!

This was a wild ride from start to finish. I found that you jumped right into the action and it literally didn't stop. The crossover with ACOTAR was very info-dump but I didn't mind since a) I don't remember anything lol and b) we needed to make the connection. I really loved seeing Nesta and Azriel in this different element. Given the timeline between ACOSF and HOFAS being about 3 months, I loved that Azriel and Nesta now know how to fight together and Nesta is so in touch with her powers. I love seeing how their friendship has bloomed.

Bryce is a menace and will forever be one. She's one of Sarah's MCs I relate to the least and therefore needed to warm up to her more. I found that in this book, I could despite a lot of her arrogant moments that will rub people the wrong way. I love Quinlar's love but didn't appreciate that she minimized Hunt's reaction to basically reliving much of his trauma with the first war. I'm glad she apologized and got to the point of understanding him but it left a little meh of a taste. The ending scene where he goes after her had my heart in pieces!! Through love, all is indeed possible and I love they were always with each other through it all.

Bryce basically being the High Lady of Dusk and controlling the land was amazing! I loved seeing those scenes. Saitha being the one to kneel first, declaring her as queen? Loved that. The two fae kings dying an awful death? Fabulously done! Hunt mf Althar removing his own slave halo and then removing Isaiah's while calling out that governor lady on her shit??? ADORE! Jesiba's everything in this book? I salute you, queen! Sabine's death??? The Under-King's death??? Literally had me gasping so much.

Ruhn my love, you will always be the Crown Prince of the Fae and that soundbite will always be on repeat every time I see your name lol.

Ruhn x Lidia's romance fell very flat to me. I love Ruhn and hated everything he had to go through but Lidia's character felt out of left field for me. I expected better/different? We find out out of NOWHERE that she's a mom of twins and suddenly, that's her whole personality. She went from this badass agent to everything being about her kids. There is NOTHING WRONG with her being a mother but why couldn't she be a mother AND care about the cause because it's the right thing to do? This was a missed opportunity in my opinion. I also felt like this was very self-insert of Sarah being a mom to have to include another character having kids. The constant talk about all these traumatized idiots having babies is getting on my last fucken nerves tbh. They have a million years to live so can we, I don't know, let them LIVE for five seconds without the absolute need to "start a family"? Let them go to therapy damn it. Sarah constantly writes about how awful it is that fae are obsessed with breeding and whatnot, yet every single of one her characters talks about babies...pls sarah, I beg. Give me ONE otp that doesn't have children. I know she's a HEA author which is what I love about her and her romances but it doesn't always have to end with kids and I just wish we'd see that more. Ruhn and Lidia did not strike me as characters who would be parents at all but now, Ruhn is a stepdad to the Hind's secret twins? It's very weird to me but I hope maybe down the line, we get to see Lidia realize that she is a whole person outside of being a mom. Aside from all that, the rescue scene was amazing. I loved seeing her destroy that asshole she had to endure and I just want to say, Aelin would be cheering mad hard at her for it! It felt like Lidia's fire abilities, the stag relation, and her son's name were all a nod to TOG and I loved that.

As for all the other characters, I really enjoyed seeing Ithan come into his own even though my guy was making mad stupid decisions along the way. His moment with Connor will always have my heart! l also loved the little bits of Ithan and Perry so much! Tharion my love, you will always be famous for making the most desperately dumb decisions before passing that one brain cell you have to Ithan but you know what? Sathia is going to be great for him and I ship it with my whole chest. Ari was wasted in this book and her ungrateful attitude annoyed me. Sigrid's whole plotline was pointless. Declan and Flynn are the best buds and I love them so much. Baxian, you are a gem! Pax being the one responsible for the actual HOFAS while being a healer who is making those antidotes was a great twist and I love it for her. The little fire spirits were so cute and their little moment with the viper queen made me cackle. The Viper Queen can suck it but I am also so very curious about what will happen now considering how that scene ends with Tharion/Ari/Sathia/Colin. I have a feeling all these characters will be showing up again in the future and I'd be excited to read how that will go. I have a feeling it might be done ACOSF style - in that, it'll be standalone in the CC world.

Bonus Chapters:

Bryce, Azriel, Nesta - hilarious and also so cute how Nesta was fascinated by the music playing from Bryce's phone. Azriel doesn't have a mate or partner so let that be clear LOL. Also Nesta already thinking about babies makes me wanna die tbh.

RuhnLidia - It was cute that she proposed and Ruhn is such a little dork crying left and right hahaha.

Quinlar - Hilarious how the big strong thunder boy was scared of those little dolls HAHA.

Ember/Randall - This made me want the Archeron sisters to have a mother figure so badly! The moment with Nesta and Ember hugging was so sweet in the book. I know people are mad at Rhys for yelling at Nesta but y'all...the whole world was at stake and that was a scary decision to make on Nesta's part given how the Pyrthian is STILL traumatized by the Asterie. I don't love how much he yelled but I get it.

Despite having parts I didn't like, I did overall really have fun with this. I think Sarah always does a great job with the action scenes in the end and giving us that found family connection. I could do without having the whole girl boss/girl power white feminist nonsense constantly shoved in our faces but alas! As I said, I still really enjoyed it! It had a lot of moments that pulled on all my emotions as every SJM book does. I will always enjoy what she puts out because I take it all at face value and read it to have fun. Sarah always knows how to enjoy her writing and you can tell while reading and for me, that's more than enough. The lore/plot is secondary to the characters for me and that is always how she sucks me in. She writes compelling characters who have amazing adventures and friendships that you feel through the pages and I will always enjoy that. Can't wait for more books! Here's to hoping we hear something about ACOTAR soon especially now that Bryce gave both swords back to Nesta! Can't wait to see how it plays out!

[drinkingbitterboy]

alright. i have emotionally recovered from miles posting on instagram this morning, which truly threw off my plan to do a little concert recap bc i was busy yelling at my phone/on tumblr. as you do.

a couple notes:

i don't really do concert photos; literally took a grand total of 4 during the actual show. so sorry, don't have much there!

i did not get a poster :( turns out they ran out before AM even went on stage?? i'm sad, but not too pressed bc really i'd much rather have a good view than wait in the merch line.

here we go!!

so getting into the arena was kind of a shit show lmao. we rolled up around door open and the line stretched 5 city blocks and doubled back on itself; it was mostly organized but asshats loved to pop in when the line got broken up by the streets. took us almost an hour to make it our five blocks and the line behind us was still just as long by then. at least folks waiting by us in line were nice! beyond nice conversation the true highlight was outfit spotting. shoutout to the absolutely dedicated guy who showed up in the full on fwn clown outfit complete with face paint by himself. in this weather! found a couple folks dressed exactly like the car alex (again, why are you wearing a blazer in this weather) and you know. felt real old about it seeing some of the other concert outfits. i'm sorry, not to be judgemental of the tiktok girlies, but holy shit. i managed to out myself once as a weird fan about it bc i had "inside knowledge" aka i saw the ig stories james and davey posted lmao. i'm so sorry i'm incapable of holding it in when i want to correct someone. had a grand time talking to some people in line next to me around my age; one of them even had an old sias shirt from seeing them live back then! good bonding about "hey what have you done since they announced this album?" one guy switched jobs twice, we got married, and the other couple had a baby. jfc.

further highlights include the person who wrote the batphone and cheeseburger notes, a couple other car truck bits i didn't take pics of saying things like "who the fuck are the arctic monkeys", and the true comedy of whoever designed the tickets. big mike wazowski energy

fontaines dc sounded great! a lot of folks around me had no clue who they were, though. so the crowd wasn't too excited overall. also i have no idea who put together the playlist in between sets bc it was nuts.

and then: the big reveal (that i then updated tumblr on)

i'm really surprised the whole set made it! the anticipation before they took the curtain down was absolutely palpable. also, didn't get a picture of it but at one point someone had a giant pole and was trying to poke something right at at the top of the frame of the screen. no idea what that was about but it was hilarious. not pictured: the bonus screens on either side of the stage.

an aside: my partner is fucking hilarious. every time a roadie came on state with an instrument he'd go "i don't think that one is a monkey." he also generally calls them the "monkfys" anyway bc he really latched onto that clip aksdjfs

so this was interesting! they didn't show the body paint symbols at all on any of the screens; instead, they showed this colorful wheel thing.

and then the actual show. oh my word. opening with sculptures was absolutely my dream and honestly i don't have words for what it's like to see alex in person. he's absolutely captivating. hypnotizing. one of the most amazing things is watching how he proceeds through the show--how he goes from suave and put together with his choreographed arm movements for emphasis and his little things like the little bubble pop in that song. and then he starts to loosen up (along with his hair), we get the silly dramatic theatre kid during cornerstone and do me a favour, and by the time we hit body paint he's just completely letting loose. even when they played much of the usual setlist and i obviously know the music super well--better than anyone else around me--it was still absolutely thrilling to just be there and listen to the music and sing loudly and jump around until we felt the floorboards creak. they felt really high energy last night! turns out coming off of a break is good for them!

related, getting to watch the transformation into the poofy lion hair in real life is incredible.

i must admit, i am not immune to things like alex waving in our general direction to the crowd and walking over to our side of the stage and all of the charming bits. just can't help it.

otherwise, the only other person i could consistently see was nick - we were standing stage right, maybe 15 yards back? so you know. gorgeous as always. i'm sure jamie was wonderful also in his insane leather jacket -- didn't see him at all lol. i managed to get a very convenient window to center stage so i actually saw alex a decent amount. worked out well because i couldn't actually see the screens super well. i'm short. here's the only two pictures i actually took of the band, right at the beginning:

and now for the rest of the setlist -- we all know they played a lot of the usual suspects. as expected, much of the crowd was pretty young and very invested in only AM and the hype songs. i didn't mind; at least i wasn't the only person screaming for perfect sense (weren't a lot of us, i was the only one in my general area, but that's alright. i don't care.) my spouse was entertained by the person next to us who looked up the spotify set playlist in between every song; he was like "why look it up? if you don't know the songs well enough to identify by intro then how is the list supposed to help?" anyway, holy shit when is snap getting out of the playlist? and yet even though i was not thrilled by it it was still so fun to sing along.

4 out of 5 had a really funny bit at the end while he was just kinda ad libbing lines. "four stars out of five, not quite there yet, but almosttttt." teddy picker and view from the afternoon were absolutely fantastic, too. and then we get the basic AM bits again, though turns out the crowd was also really hype for fluorescent adolescent. 10/10

i was so goddamn loud for perfect sense. shoutout to the spouse again for only knowing that song bc i learned to play it and then played it constantly bc i wanted to manifest it aksjdflaskdj

he was constantly saying "very nice. very nice. very good" in between songs, which was adorable. "hope you're having a lovely evening, folks." as my partner put it: "very good. that's him like yes, i've met my crowd interaction quota for the night"

and then of course we brought out the drama for do me a favour and cornerstone. i cracked up that there were already gifs of the "forcing a smile" bit by the time i got home.

mirrorball started with alex conducting the stings again. i love it so much. also makes my musician ass miss performing lmao. but really, i can't get over how good mirrorball is. it's so dramatic, so emotional, then the actual mirrorball reveal??? i cried. it's insane. it's beautiful. it's honestly indescribable. i generally don't like people filming a lot or taking tons of pictures but you know what? mirrorball is an exception. holy mother of god.

and then 505!! i know i mentioned this earlier but really??? the mirrorball is only lit up like this for 505 and then they pull it back up?? there better be a mirrorball for me, he says, then we pull it down for the very miles song, and then they get rid of it???????? i had some thoughts.

our end of the stage got a bit distracted during do i wanna know bc we had someone go down in the crowd and had to call someone over to help. good news is that they were pretty close to the wall/barrier so it was easy to make space. even so, i realy can't get over how good that guitar sounds.

and then body paint. we've all seen videos of the extended outro and really, truly, it's just a life-altering experience to watch it life. it sounded incredible, it looked incredible with the rainbow lights, everyone looked like they were having a blast. i am a little biased bc i'm so attached to that song i'm getting tattoos about it on monday lmao. but man. not over it.

and finally the encore. ONE POINT PERSPECTIVE?????? i was NOT expecting it and absolutely lost my shit. unfortunately at this point bc we did some shifting around i no longer had a good view of anything. so it goes.

dancefloor, as always, was an absolute jam. bonus points bc now it's forever associated with our wedding. and r u mine had the place going nuts bc you know, the AM only folks, but really, i am also not immune to how hard that song goes.

all in all, that concert was absolutely incredible. i had an absolute BLAST and it was such a joy. i loved getting to be loud and truly did not care that there were bits where i was the only one who knew all the words. even my partner who is only really a tangential am fan had a really good time. they sounded amazing. i'm absolutely still on a high from it. hopefully the transition to a smaller venue again after the huge stadium tour was nice for the band, too!

and now time for some more coffee.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Can you do it?

Of course I can. Unlike you, I am more than capable. My talent's include Ultimate Game Analysist, Ultimate Historian, Ultimate Theorist, Ultimate-

Yeah, yeah, I get the picture. Also, I'm the Ultimate Gamer, not the Ultimate Game Analysist.

I play games. I rarely ever think too hard about the story unless it's really good. Even if they're not, I still enjoy them.

But go on! Hit me with your best shot!

Alright...

The story starts with a man named William Afton, who moves from England to a town called Hurricane in America with his wife and three kids; His eldest son Michael, his younger son Evan and his daughter, Elizabeth. He meets a man named Henry Emily, and after forming a friendship, the two of them open an animatronic-themed family diner called Fredbear's Family Diner. The problems begin when one day, Henry's daughter, Charlotte, is having a birthday party at the diner. The other kids are mean though, and they lock her outside. William then arrives at the diner, drags Charlotte into the alleyway, and murders her. It's unclear why he does this, though it is rumored he was tired and drunk, and had been having a fight with Henry over management of the diner. Now, Henry built an animatronic called The Puppet made to watch over his daughter, but while this was happening, the Puppet was stuck inside a box. When it gets out, it goes outside to try and protect her, but not only is it too late, it's raining, so it ends up breaking down. Charlotte's spirit then latches onto the Puppet's body, and possesses it. The next part of the story focuses on Afton's sons, Michael and Evan, the former of which is abusive to the latter. On Evan's birthday in 1983, Michael and his friends shove Evan into Fredbear's mouth as a prank. However, one thing they did not know is that at least two of the animatronics, Fredbear and Spring Bonnie, contain a device called Springlocks, which allow these animatronics to be cranked open as suits. This was an idea by Henry and Afton to save on management funds for the animatronics, but there is a catch. If the Springlocks get loose on the animatronic suits, they fold back in and crush the person inside them. This is exactly what happens to Evan, who's skull is crushed after Fredbear practically bites his head off; he goes into a coma, and dies a week later. As if it wasn't the case before, William Afton reaches his breaking point following Evan's death, and starts using the Spring Bonnie suit to lure children into the back rooms of the diner, and then kill them; then proceeding to hide their bodies inside the animatronics. He's successfully able to kill 5 children before he gets caught, but due to the fact that no one can find the children's bodies or any evidence of his crimes, Afton gets away with it. After their deaths, Charlotte Emily, possessing the Puppet, starts putting the spirits of the dead children in the animatronics they were stuffed in. Which means by this point in time, the Puppet, Freddy Fazbear, Chica the Chicken, Bonnie the Bunny, Foxy the Pirate, an unused Golden Freddy costume, and Fredbear, are all possessed by the ghosts of the children Afton murdered, with Fredbear being the only exception, as he is possessed by Even Afton. Even though he is able to avoid prison, William Afton is fired from his own company as a result of the scandal. He then proceeds to open up his own business, Afton Robotics, to work with this sister company called Circus Baby's Pizza World. At some point down the line, Afton discovers this material called Remnant that is produced when young children die. Remnant allows one to preserve their soul after they die, and this is what allowed Charlotte, Evan and the other kids to possess the bodies of the animatronics, and using it, you can effectively become immortal. Afton then starts creating robots like Circus Baby and a few others designed to kill children, so that he can harvest this Remnant. However, another problem arises, when one day, Afton's daughter Elizabeth, gets too close to Circus Baby. With Evan now dead and with Michael having left the house, Elizabeth is Afton's only remaining child, and with this, she is then indirectly murdered by Afton's own hand. While the details after this incident are still unclear, supposedly, Afton loses what little remains of his sanity and ends up killing his wife, and puts her inside another animatronic called Ballora. This is still only tentative and theorized stuff though, so it's up for debate. Regardless, Circus Baby's Pizza World is closed before it even has a chance to open, and William Afton is all alone and on the loose. Flash forward to 1987, and there’s a new pizzeria open called Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. The animatronic suits the deceased children possess are stored safely in the back room, and the new animatronics, including Toy Freddy, Toy Bonnie, Toy Chica, The Mangle, and Balloon Boy are equipped with facial recognition software designed to detect the faces of criminals. This is implemented in case William Afton ever comes back, but it proves ineffective. Afton returns, and with no Springlock suits to hide in, he instead uses the empty Golden Freddy suit, since it’s unused, broken, and mostly empty. He kills another 5 children, which thanks to Charlotte Emily in the puppet still being present, possesses the spirits of the animatronics that I just mentioned. This is the second missing children incident focused in on Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. The place is then forced to close down, but before that point, they hold one last party on November 14th 1987. During this party, it is suspected that Jeremy Fitzgerald, the protagonist of Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, becomes the victim of the Bite of ‘87, after moving to the day shift and having his frontal lobe bitten off by The Mangle. The restaurant is closed down for good, and a few years afterwards, suggested to be somewhere in the 1980′s, William Afton sends out a message to his only remaining family member, Michael Afton, and tells him that his sister and mother are trapped inside the now closed Circus Baby’s Pizza World. Michael goes to Circus Baby’s in the hopes of setting them free, which is now an automated establishment. They think he’s an employee, so Michael poses as one and spends a week there while the building attempts to reopen, until he is tricked by the animatronics, and attacked by a scooping device, similar to the one inside Baby that killed Elizabeth. During the week Michael works, the robots in the facility, including Baby, Ballora, Funtime Freddy, Funtime Foxy, as well as a few others, tear themselves apart and reform themselves into a mash of animatronic parts; adopting the name “Ennard”. When Michael gets scooped, he is injected with Remnant and completely scooped out of his insides. Ennard then uses Michael’s body as a suit to escape the sister location. After they escape, Michael effectively becomes a walking corpse, then vowing to find his father and end his suffering. The first place he tries is the new Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, which opens in 1993, which also happens to be the original location of Fredbear’s Family Diner, and uses the original cast of Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy, as well as refitting the original Golden Freddy suit, but they never actually use him. The original Spring Bonnie is also housed here, but is unused and rotting. Michael was blacklisted from Freddy’s history after the death of his brother, so in order to land a job at the place, he uses the name Mike Schmidt, the name of the protagonist of the original Five Night’s at Freddy’s. However, the possessed animatronics mistake Michael for his father and spend the week trying to kill him. After his week is finished, he is fired, and the place once again gets shut down. Michael unfortunately never finds his father, but William Afton DOES come back to the original location. Because of Michael, he now knows that the kids have possessed the animatronics, and fearing for what they might do, he goes to Pizzeria after it closes down to dismantle them. Every Fazbear Location has a room that is off the map and invisible to the animatronics, which the company typically uses for storage, as well as to hide the victims of the springlocks so they bleed out without the children seeing. William hides in this room, coming out to dismantle the animatronics until all four of them are torn apart. However, once he does this, he releases the spirits of the kids who attack him. With nowhere to run, Afton hides inside the rotting Spring Bonnie suit, in hopes of scaring the kids off. He laughs as he thinks he has them cornered, but the Spring locks, which have loosened over time, fail, and he gets crushed inside. Afton has spent years prior injecting himself with Remnant, so when he’s crushed, he comes back to life, thus marking the birth of the series’ most infamous antagonist: Springtrap. Afton doesn’t have a will of his own though, and is locked in the room until 2023, with the opening of Fazbear’s Fright. Fazbear's Fright: The Horror Attraction is the location in which Five Nights at Freddy's 3 takes place. The attraction is a replica of the old Freddy Fazbear's Pizza located inside a local amusement park, meant to revive the decades-old urban legends that surrounded the establishment. Outfitted with old animatronic parts and suits, as well as dim lighting and true-to-life décor, patrons would walk through the building like a haunted house, reliving the nightmare of 30 years ago. Afton, having spent another 30 years rotting inside of the Spring Bonnie suit, is transported to Fazbear’s Fright. And as luck would have it, the one filling the role of the night guard for the establishment, is Michael Afton. Taking the opportunity before he misses it, Michael sets fire to the building and burns it down with William inside it, using the establishment’s faulty wiring as an excuse. When Fazbear’s Fright burns down, William is killed and the spirits of the original 5 deceased children, who have been possessing Michael throughout the week he was working there, are set free...Or so he thought. As it turns out, William survives the fire and rebuilds himself with the parts that were left over inside the building, and escapes. As things stand, Charlotte Emily possessing the Puppet, Elizabeth Afton possessing Ennard, and William Afton possessing Springtrap, are all out roaming the world. Ennard gets tired of being controlled by Elizabeth, so he spits her out. Elizabeth then rebuilds herself into a new version of Circus Baby called Scrap Baby. Ennard then discards the clown mask and takes on a new Freddy-shaped face, now going by the name “Molten Freddy.” Molten Freddy also has the spirits of the 5 children possessing the Toy animatronics inside it. After all this time, Henry Emily finally learns what’s been happening over the past few decades, and decides to take it upon himself to settle things. At an unspecified time after FNAF 3, he devises a plan to bring all the animatronics into one location, including Springtrap, Baby, Molten Freddy and the Puppet, so he can destroy them and set them all free once and for all. Henry creates an animatronic called the Lure Encapsulate Fuse Transport and Extract device, also known as L.E.F.T.E or Lefty for short, modelled after Freddy, to find the Puppet possessed by his daughter, and capture her. When Michael finds out about this, he goes to the fake Pizzeria that Henry created for his plot, luring all the animatronics together in one place. Henry then locks down the building and burns the whole thing down with himself, Michael, Elizabeth, Afton’s wife, Charlotte, William and the remaining children inside Molten Freddy, freeing all of their souls from the torment. William’s soul is sent to hell where the children are free to torture him for all eternity, but the story of Springtrap doesn’t end there. Some time before his death, William uses his genius mind to scratch his consciousness and memories in binary code into the electrical components of some of the animatronics. The big problem with Henry’s penultimate plan was that Fazbear Entertainment was no longer in his own hands, and was actually still running as it’s own company at this point. Some time during the events of the other games, an anonymous games developer was hired by Fazbear Entertainment, then later hiring a different company called Silver Parasol Games to create the Freddy Fazbear Virtual Experience. The purpose of these games being published was to make it seem as if the events of the previous games were fabrications and old wives tails, and to discredit the real stories of the children getting killed. The issue arises in the computer chips that Silver Parasol Games were provided by Fazbear Entertainment to scan in, in order to make the animatronics in the virtual world appear more realistic. And as you might have guessed, William Afton’s consciousness is thus ported into the game, practically bringing him back to life within the world of the game. Now known as Glitchtrap, Afton programs himself the power to take over the body of the tester, so he can bring himself back to the real world. He tries taking over the body of a dev named Jeremy, but after deciding that Jeremy is a poor candidate, he possesses his body and forces him to commit suicide by using a guillotine paper slicer on his own face. The second person he tries to possess is the unnamed protagonist of FNAF VR: Help Wanted. This fails, and the dev is able to defeat Glitchtrap and lock him away. However, before this happens, Glitchtrap finds another host named Vanessa, and eventually settles on using her. After the VR experience, as well as an additional Halloween themed DLC, Fazbear Entertainment then commissions the creation of a giant mall called Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex. During the run time of the Pizzaplex, multiple animatronics are switched around and the tragedies begin yet again. This leads into the events of Five Nights At Freddy’s Security Breach, and the events that preceded it involve an unknown specimen, Patient 46, and Vanny, Vanessa’s villainous alter ego under the control of Afton, reprogramming the animatronics' systems and make them more deadly. Alongside this, another 9 unnamed people go missing, likely all children, as well as multiple missing therapists, likely killed by Vanny. While the original lineup of band animatronics at the Pizzaplex includes Glamrock Freddy, Glamrock Bonnie, Glamrock Chica and Roxanne Wolf, Bonnie is eventually replaced by Montgomery Gator. With how the game says this happens following a night where Bonnie went down to Monty’s designated area, the golf course, before his disappearance, as well as how his physical appearance in Security Breach’s DLC, Ruin, shows he has claw marks across his body, it’s highly likely Monty dismantled or damaged Bonnie beyond repair, so that he could replace him in the main cast. Roxanne Wolf, or Roxy’s reason for taking Foxy’s place in the main cast is never given a reason. One night, after the Glamrock animatronics have been reprogrammed, Freddy Fazbear malfunctions and breaks down on stage. When he wakes up, it’s revealed that he was placed in low power mode, which likely saved him from Patient 46′s reprogramming. Also, he discovers that a young, homeless, orphaned, anonymously registered boy named Gregory, the protagonist of Security Breach, has been hiding inside his chest. Freddy resolves to help Gregory escape the Pizzaplex before Vanny and the animatronics can find and kill him, and they discover that the Pizzaplex is built on top of the fake restaurant that Henry Emily created to lure Afton and the others years prior. Vanny locates Afton’s corpse in this building and uses the recharge stations for the Pizzaplex animatronics to reanimate his body, effectively bringing him back to life. However, before Afton can return and start killing again, Gregory and Freddy stop him, and he is killed by a creature called the Blob. The Blob is very similar to Ennard and Molten Freddy, as it is an amalgamation of several animatronics that are possessed by the 9 people that went missing. Security Breach has several endings, but the “canon” ending that results in Afton’s defeat results in Freddy and Gregory escaping and sitting on top of a hill, staring into the sun. It is likely that with the eventual destruction of the Pizzaplex, Vanessa’s spirit is freed from the clutches of Vanny and Afton, but this is not guaranteed. Lastly, we come to where we currently reside in the story with Security Breach: Ruin. At some unknown time, Gregory befriended a young girl named Cassie, the daughter of one of the Pizzaplex’s engineers. Apparently, the story goes that Cassie had her birthday at the Pizzaplex, but none of her friends showed up, leaving her to become friends with Gregory, who comforted her, and for Roxy to do the same, becoming Cassie’s favorite animatronic. After the Pizzaplex is shut down, Cassie gets an SOS from who she believes to be Gregory, and goes to the ruined Pizzaplex to rescue him, as he has somehow ended up trapped under it. In reality, it turns out to be a trap created by an animatronic called the Mimic. The Mimic is first introduced in the Tales from the Pizzaplex storybooks, and is a hyper-intelligent animatronic created by Edwin Murray to care for his young son while he worked. The mimic has the special ability to copy the behavior and voice of anything it observes, as well as change its form to fit into any animatronic suit. After Murray’s son David dies via vehicular manslaughter, the Mimic tries to imitate David, after learning his mannerisms and habits through his interactions with the boy. Edwin loses it and bludgeons the mimic to death with his fists. A week before Christmas, Fazbear Entertainment sends a small team to the abandoned factory to "clean up a mess." The team believes they are expected to finish Edwin's projects, and while doing so they come across the remains of the Mimic. From the waist up it appears to be functional but it doesn't move, so the team decides to complete it by attaching legs from a nonfunctional animatronic onto it. Then, the Mimic comes to life and kills each of them in ways eerily reminiscent of innocuous behaviors it had seen from Edwin and David. Several more people come to the Pizzaplex for various reasons in the Tales from the Pizzaplex storyline, and the Mimic begins to claim more and more lives. It’s suggested that prior to the events of Security Breach, Vanny discovered the Mimic under the Pizzaplex and deemed it a problem, so she developed a system called the M.X.E.S to imprison it. However, during the events of the DLC post the original game, the Mimic poses as Gregory, mimicking his voice and pretending he's trapped in the Pizzaplex so Cassie can unknowingly free it. Once Cassie deactivates the M.X.E.S, the Mimic escapes and tries to kill her. In the supposed “canonical” ending, Roxy protects Cassie, then Cassie tries to escape via an elevator. The real Gregory contacts her through a loudspeaker, and tells her that it is not her fault. However, he also says that bringing Cassie back up to the surface will be a huge risk, as the Mimic will also follow them. And after apologizing, the wires to the elevator get cut, causing Cassie to fall into the depths of the underground. Her fate, as well as the Mimic’s, are left unknown.

...That’s it.

Holy $!-!17...

[kae-karo]

I saw your tags on the link click post and I love your theory that this isn't the first time lu guang has saved cxs. Would you happen to have the energy to expand on that? I'd... 👉👈 like to hear your thoughts (only if u want to though)

HELLO THANK U FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND ON THIS (for context - x) don't get me wrong i ADORE the sentiment in that post, but i am SO far down the "this isn't the first time lu guang has saved cheng xiaoshi" path that i can't come back lmao

before i say anything else, BUCKLE UP cause i have absolutely zero tangible proof and any canon reasoning for this is a stretch that would make a rubber band look rigid, but i can't stop thinking about it and i'm having fun so here we go

first and foremost: hat guy is a time cop ("cop"). hear me out, i promise this is relevant.

also sorry his name is liu xiao lmao (ignore the moment i thought his name was lu xiao and was about to be like he is the physical manifestation of lu guang and cheng xiaoshi's melding of their powers and/or their lovechild and/or their future combined self and/or- etc u get the idea)

AHEM. okay so. the first number of times we see liu xiao (as a kid and a friend of li tianchen) he seems relatively normal? although he does make a comment that stood out to me when i first watched ep9, where he says "i believe in the near future, you will definitely encounter the opportunity to become a hunter". when tianchen asks if they'll meet again, he says "surely we will" - and then, when they do, he reminds tianchen that he said they'd definitely meet again

he proceeds to comment (when tianchen asks if he has any choice) that "it seems everyone has only one path in their destiny, but in fact, it is made up of countless parallel lines...sometimes we want to change it, but we can't." - this specific phrase is spoken over lu guang's memory of watching cheng xiaoshi get shot.

and of course, we can't forget liu xiao's critical line "i wanna bring all parallel lines together, to turn all uncertainties into certainties." i think that's beyond metaphorical, i think he can not only see (in some sense) the parallel lines of a person's fate/futures/etc, but can manipulate them. or, rather, can corral them all into a single line, a single destiny, a single path for every person

now brief reminder that li tianxi was able to see lu guang's memories when she looked at the pic (revealed in ep12) - and she immediately started crying. i know the implication in that moment (ep10) was that she was experiencing lu guang's pain from the wound, but what if it was more than that? what if she saw his memories, too - in ep12, he implies that he went back to the beginning, presumably the start of the season, effectively, to prevent cheng xiaoshi from dying (hence all his careful planning through the season)

also real quick can we talk about how the passcode to his phone was the time (and date?) he went back to save cheng xiaoshi? THEE moment of "he is worth more than my rules". whether this is the first time or the thousandth, i'm still unwell

OKAY so anyway i think i've established that liu xiao has some fascination with timelines and, more precisely, with paring them down to whatever he's determined to be the Correct or Perfect timeline (ie establishing 'certainty') - this is why i call him a time cop like i don't think he's actually executing on some authority i think he's just decided that he has the power and that he wants the world to operate according to his certainties.

ones that lu guang has fucked up by saving cheng xiaoshi. possibly more than once.

for my next act, lu guang's character sheet:

yeah can we talk about age: ? like excuse me ?????? i'm also intrigued by the unknown blood type, but let's ignore that for now lmao

back to his unknown age - why the hell would this be unknown if he's just a guy? cheng xiaoshi has a normal age in spite of his abilities, right? and lu guang's ability is only to view the 12hr surrounding a photo, right?

WRONG. well, right, but also wrong. BEAR WITH ME OKAY cause we're jumping to qiao ling's experience in ep12 now - the moment she held onto tianxi when she died. where we saw...something travel from her to qiao ling. her memories? or her abilities?

now perhaps u, like me, recall lu guang's solitary moment in ep12 where, while covered in blood, he looked at his phone, his eyes turned cheng-xiaoshi-gold, he clapped, and he zoomied back to the past. because he was holding cheng xiaoshi when he died. and thus inherited his power.

OKAY SO why the fuck does that matter !!!! WELL I'M GLAD U ASKED. because we have no problem with cheng xiaoshi's age, right? he's done this 'jump back in time' thing a bunch!!! for 12hr at a time, and then he's back!

okay, but what happens when lu guang, who acquired cheng xiaoshi's power, jumps back to a time before he had cheng xiaoshi's power? now what? how would he jump back (or even be forced back) to his present body and time if he no longer has that ability? wouldn't he now be forced to re-live the hours, days, years after going back to make a change?

in his words, he went back to the beginning, thus he'd have to relive the whole thing, but now, he can make the Right choices this time to protect cheng xiaoshi

but what's a week (or a couple days or whatever it was) in the grand scheme of things? how would his age be unknown if this is the first and only time he's ever done it?

(critical caveat that 'the beginning' could absolutely refer to something far earlier than just the season's start - it could be the beginning of their relationship, for all we know, but let's start here for the sake of keeping this...i'd say manageable but we're well beyond that i am YAPPING)

if his age is so impossible to define, i think it could very easily fit to suggest that he's done this before - possibly many times. so many times that to suggest he's only as old as his physical body would be utterly ludicrous

okay but what in the world would make him want to change fate so often, for so long, so many times? what would make him go against his own rule (*i don't think this was always a rule for him but bear with me, we'll get to that)? well, we know the answer to that :)

so, i don't think this is the first time he's gone back in time to save cheng xiaoshi. i don't think it's the first time he's held cheng xiaoshi as he dies, because that's the way he would've acquired his ability in order to do this (an argument could be made here that he's hidden some facets of his own ability and that he's always been capable of this, but i don't think it was an accident that we saw qiao ling Acquire tianxi's ability)

in fact (if u thought this was all crack theory up to this point, hold onto ur horses) i think the first time he went back in time to save cheng xiaoshi was (seriously, hold on tight) when cheng xiaoshi died with his parents when he was a kid

that's right i'm going all the way baby. i think cheng xiaoshi was supposed to die when he was a kid. why the hell did his parents leave him all alone? to go on some random trip?? like we all agree this is peculiar right???? how does NOBODY know what happened to them, where they were, etc?

now i could go into possible scenarios (lu guang was a kid, too, and didn't know what he was doing, lu guang knew EXACTLY what he was doing and that it would have consequences, lu guang didn't even know he HAD any abilities til he tried to save cheng xiaoshi, the list goes on) BUT the gist of this being: i think lu guang saved cheng xiaoshi. i think he went back in time (into his own body) and figured out the right choices to make (maybe after many tries) to ensure that cheng xiaoshi didn't go with his parents. that he stayed home, for whatever reason, and survived

now why do i believe this, you may be asking? because it's fun, of course !!! and because we have no idea what happened to his parents yet, so i'll continue to theorize in the meantime lmao

you could also alternatively suggest that the going back in time to save cheng xiaoshi doesn't start until after they meet - i mean, hell, look at the situations they get themselves into just within the span of two seasons, they are RIFE with danger. like, cheng xiaoshi could've died MANY times !!!!

but honestly what really sells me is - going ALL the way back to the post that i linked at the start - lu guang didn't hesitate. not only did he already know, but he had no qualms with immediately (still covered in blood) going back to before and doing this all over again. unlike qiao ling, who does not appear to realize she has tianxi's ability, lu guang seems to immediately understand that he has cheng xiaoshi's. that just smacks of experience

(also, an aside: what photo did he use? how far back did he go? there's another route of course - did he go so far back that he's relived his life to such a notable degree that calling him whatever age of his physical body would be missing a notable number of years? in which case, one could argue that this could be the first time, though his immediate knowledge of acquiring cheng xiaoshi's remains unexplained. ANYWAY i digress)

okay back to the point here - lu guang immediately knowing that he has cheng xiaoshi's ability and using it without hesitation, though he does comment on how he broke his own rule. and it sounds like a first-time thing, but consider...

what if this is the first time he's broken it since making the rule?

enter time cop hat guy (i hear u, i promised this was relevant), aka our boi liu xiao who wants to create 'certainties' by (presumably) eliminating branching possibilities in some regard to create single paths/fates/destinies/etc. for lack of a better way to phrase it, a single timeline where everything can be predicted and accounted for (yeah...i suspect we'll be unpacking some of his trauma in s3)

now, different choices mean different outcomes - different timelines, a long list of uncertainties. i think liu xiao aimed to stop that. i also think that his ability gives him some kind of godlike manipulation over timelines (how else would he speak with such confidence about making this future a reality?) assuming, of course, that he has no interference from others with similar abilities

enter lu guang, who has now - potentially multiple times - messed with liu xiao's perfect timeline, one wherein cheng xiaoshi dies (not necessarily with intentional malice, just by virtue of securing whichever certainties liu xiao wants). this, of course, is a problem for liu xiao

and perhaps he makes lu guang's life a living hell - hey, why not go all the way? perhaps he makes a point of manipulating the timeline to kill cheng xiaoshi in new and horrifying ways, again and again, just to watch lu guang play this pathetic game trying to save him by going back in time. perhaps it's entertaining, for a while, but he grows tired of it eventually

so, he proposes an agreement: he'll stop trying to kill cheng xiaoshi, but lu guang has to agree never to manipulate his perfect timeline again (or something similar, you get the idea - they reach a ceasefire of sorts wherein they both, to an extent, get what they want)

thus, the rule was born - whatever they do, they cannot ever change these critical nodes. so long as lu guang adheres, liu xiao won't try to kill cheng xiaoshi

but then someone else does. someone else succeeds. and lu guang breaks his side of the deal, he changes the timeline. he knows exactly what he's doing, what he may invoke, but he does it anyway (i'm fully writing my own au of this story at this point lmao but hey, hope ur having fun if u made it this far)

and so liu xiao returns from abroad, because he has a score to settle

[don't ask me why s3 is set in london and they look like they're teaming up, i'm all for a 'forced to work together' arc but how that fits in with this wildly out of pocket theory is beyond me lmao]

anyway hope u enjoyed this delve into my silly goofy theory !!!! thank u deeply for the ask LMAO

[enihk-writes]

[dancing in the dark, in the pale moonlight]

pairing: baek cheon x afab!she/her!reader

summary: fuck that stupid ass job that almost cost you your relationship, am i right?

word count: 5.54k

[01] ║ [02]

content warning: an attempt at the reader's life // reader's injuries are gory (kinda) // mentions of someone (not the reader) being buried alive // misogyny as per the product of the era // reader talks a little on religion and the afterlife

author's note: i started writing this the moment i posted the other part because my brain was still working in high gear and all... i'll have to postpone my other baek cheon fic for a while,,, i wrote topics in that one that are a bit toooo heavy for me rn. i researched on fashion through the dynasties in china for like,, one short segment on the story. so anyways... if my guess is correct hwasan timeline is most likely inspired by the sui or tang dynasty during the 581-907 AD which means that the spirit here is going to be from the qin or han dynasty around 220 AD and most martial artists uniforms come from this era iirc. i feel like i might not actually use this research too closely,, but i had to put this in to tell yall about what i found lol...

[PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION! I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY TRIGGERS CAUSED BEYOND THIS LINE]

═══════════════

by the time you arrived at the deserted manor, the clock had struck midnight. and in a few moments, the spirit or spirits behind all the bride murders would be making their appearance.

chief...

the vice-captain starts, uncharacteristically. they've always been on the quieter side, never really talking unless they were spoken to. you raise your eyebrows, curious about what got them to speak up.

chief, please be careful.

you smile softly, tussling the vice-captain's hair.

i will.

you look around for a moment. hm, looks like you'd have to put in your best effort tonight, as the oldest since these kids relied on you. with a flick of your hand, everyone on site dispersed to their assigned positions, waiting for their next orders.

you stood all alone outside of the bedroom, waiting patiently for the critters to grow quiet. animals, after all, are said to have a keen sense for things outside of the human realm.

finally, the long-awaited silence fell onto the empty courtyard and you slide open the doors to the room — stepping in carefully. your padded feet barely making a sound as you walk into the carpeted room. from where you stood, you could see the shadows cast by the sparse furniture under the dim moonlight. you hadn't decorated the place, not really seeing any need to.

click.

the doors to the bedroom had been slid shut. you fold your arms behind your back. the spirit should be here soon.

hehehe...

a tinkling laugh swept past behind you in the dark bedroom.

you grip the short blade hidden under your sleeves, honing your senses to pin down the other presence with you at that moment. it was harder than anything you've done before, were you dealing with something far bigger than what you were capable of?

no. you had to snap out of that thought. if not you, then who would get rid of this vicious entity? those kids were still too inexperienced, you shouldn't grow disheartened now.

sighing, you walk around the room, stopping by the open window, looking up at the moon hanging in the cloudless sky.

how peculiar, it seemed the longer you were staring at it, the heavier your eyelids felt. it was almost bewitching, looking at the moon, you wonder if it was a trick of your hearing or was the moon calling you to move closer towards it? and also —

wasn't the room growing awfully cold?

your body reacted faster than your mind did, the blade whistling as it cut through the air to slice at the shadow forming behind you.

an ear-piercing hiss came from the shapeless being, slowly backing away as its features took form in the body of a girl no older than sixteen. she clutched her neck, and though the cut was shallow, she certainly looked like she felt the pain from it.

how dare you cut me!

she yells and lunged at you, catching your neck in her hands as she pins you to the ground, the furniture around you clattering away from the impact. you were sure you could've heard a bone crack in you.

keugh...!

you felt the air leave your body, you tried to breathe but it was hard, with the way her hands pressed down on your throat. how was a dead spirit this strong? your fingers grip the blade tighter, cautiously getting it ready so she wouldn't see.

with a swift action, you stabbed into the girl's side and she retreated to the furthest corner of the room with an almost animalistic growl, all while glaring at you.

you throw the ripped veil off your head, the flowers falling off and your hair coming undone. you stood up, wincing at the dull throbbing in your head, your vision going blurry for a moment — curse your anaemia for acting up now of all times.

you crazy hag! i can't believe you fucking stabbed me!

okay, now that was just straight-up disrespectful.

hag?

hag?

oh, so the insane bride-killing ghost that died at sixteen years ago, even before you were born, wasn't the hag — but you were? you were the hag? where the hell was the justice in that, huh?

you roll your eyes and sigh. no, you shouldn't be swayed by your short temper, you shouldn't let the spirit find an opening to attack you. remember — you had to finish the job before the night ended and the spirit got away.

you walk towards the girl in large strides, arms raised above your head, ready to strike her down with the purification sword. you didn't want to think about how much worse it could get if a spirit that didn't know how strong it was found out about its strength. not leaving a trace of their presence after such a gruesome act? you shudder from the thought.

the girl begins to cry.

you tell yourself that this was all an act, but it was hard to convince yourself. especially when the spirit had curled herself into a ball, shaking in fear, her eyes peeking out from her arms to look at you like a scared little girl.

your movements falter.

that was a mistake.

a hazy, clawed hand unfurls from behind her and reached out to slash at your chest, right where your heart lay. you stagger backwards, the cut had been deep enough to have you cough up blood. as your open wounds stained your already red dress darker, the shadow lingered at your feet, seemingly trying to collect your blood.

you tried to move back but you weren't fast enough.

the girl lunges at you again, but this time, her spirit went straight for your core, in a final attempt to possess your body and finish you off, probably.

as you fought to stay conscious amidst the myriad of voices assaulting your mind, you think back to something your master told you in passing when you were still in training.

something about spirits and their last will?

silly girl, every spirit has a last will. and not everyone knows what to do with that will. their grief takes the form of vengeance and i can only hope you know what to do when you ever come across a restless soul like that.

═══════════════

you wake up facing a young village girl.

gasping, you stumble backwards and hit a hard surface. but, it was weird. well more accurately, it felt weird. you were sure you were in a wooden house, so the walls would be rougher, so why did it feel fuzzy?

wait. the girl didn't seem to see you.

you walk cautiously around her, looking at her features carefully. her skin was tan from the time she spent under the sun, it was a little uneven and spotty in some areas. she was just a teenager, and that was kind of expected. you follow her gaze and see that she had been looking at herself in the mirror.

you wave your hand in front of her eyes to get a reaction out of her. she didn't seem to notice.

you blew air to see if she would hear it, but not even a single strand of her hair budged.

defeated, you try to swing your arm and slap her back — only for your whole arm to phase through her body.

ah?

your mouth hung open in shock. your whole arm went through a person, have you truly died and become a spirit?

no. that wasn't it. you reason with yourself.

this was the ghost's doing, and she wasn't here with you right now. this scene unfolding before your eyes, could they be a clue on her, or were they a distraction to fool you?

a horse whinnies on the road outside the girl's window. a barrow wheel squeaks as it turns, the horse's feet clipping noisily on the pavement. you peek past the wooden panes, eyeing the passing residents. their clothes were all plain and coloured in dull or muted tones. the texture looked rough. this wasn't a well-off part of town.

you look at the village girl. her hair was slicked back and tied into a low bun. her clothes were a little worn and a little dirty at the hems. her hands and feet calloused from the years of hard labour.

小燕！

the voice of an older woman calls from another part of the house, wiping her hands on her apron, the girl fixed her appearance one last time before she scurries towards the direction of the voice, while you stayed behind in the room

xiao-yan? as in little sparrow?

my name is actually 春燕 (chūn yàn). my mother just likes to call me xiao-yan at home.

the ghost had been standing next to you, her voice still edged on hostility but was softer now, nonetheless.

your mother?

the person calling to me.

the ghost walks out of the room as you trailed behind, looking past to see the old woman sitting on a chair by the doorway. needle and thread in hand, patching at tattered clothes. her crows' feet settling deeply on her features.

my xiao-yan ah... please be careful on your way out... come home before dark okay? don't make me worry okay?

you worry too much ma.

the village girl, or rather, the human incarnation of the spirit next you chirped as she made her way out the door. you wondered what the spirit was trying to show you, was this her life story before she crossed the bridge into death?

you kept your mouth shut, not wanting to ask more questions. the spirit continued to narrate.

i forgot everything about my time alive, except for this one day.

a sigh.

everything went wrong all in this one day.

═══════════════

you blink your eyes slowly, now walking alongside the village girl and the spirit. to your left you could see the sprawling acres of farmland and the town bustling with life below. looking ahead and past the hanging branches stood a towering gate.

no one had to tell you that this was where the lord's family lived.

the girl was led to the main hall where the lord and lady of the house resided. you and the spirit followed closely behind, passing through the countless maids and attendants working around the compound, it was fascinating seeing how no one could see or sense either of you. two beings who were not a product of this era, your bloody clothes and the ghost's tattered ones, you both stood out like sore thumbs.

it was silent. muted, almost, in the main hall. the lord and lady sat side by side as their son stood by his mother, his hand resting reassuringly on her shoulder.

do you know why we have called you here today?

the lord asks, gravely.

no, my lord.

the village girl shakes her head, confusion swirling in her eyes, as she sat on the ground, kneeling before the family.

the lady grows agitated, she leans forward in her chair, opening her mouth to spew a tirade of grievances when the young master of the house gently pushes his mother to lean back in her chair.

let me, dear mother.

the village girl feels her heart race from his smooth and velvety voice. she'd only ever heard about the young master through rumours and quick glimpses through the crowd, so to be this close to him, the other girls from the village would be shaking in envy. she quietly notes that he was much more stunning up close — she must be really lucky today.

perhaps she had been staring for too long because the young man had cleared his throat awkwardly.

miss, i assume you must have heard about my older brother?

she nods, remembering the procession from earlier that year.

yes, may the first young master rest in peace.

the room grows silent to pay their respects to the deceased.

the young man spoke up again.

we are worried for my brother in the afterlife. he died without ever getting wed. we don't really want him to be made fun of by other spirits in the afterlife you know?

the village girl grows confused. she wasn't sure what he was getting at. what has the marital status of a dead man have to do with her?

the fortune teller we consulted has calculated that you are the best marriage candidate for my oldest son. so we want you to get married to him as soon as possible. by tonight if time permits.

with her voice shrill from agitation, the lady of the house sits up, fist shaking in the village girl's face, unable to contain her anger at the young girl's supposed stupidity.

the village girl on the other hand, felt her jaw go slack, she tried not to let it hang open from the shock of her lady's words.

marriage? to a dead man?

she's heard of horror stories of young brides being buried together with their deceased husbands whom they had married before his life expired. but those were supposed to be just stories! not an actual practice... right?

miss, i don't know what you might be thinking. but i assure you that this marriage will not be as morbid as it sounds. take it as any other marriage ceremony, except without the groom. you just have to sign papers and be my brother's bride on official documents! after that, you and your family will be rewarded handsomely for the trouble. this won't take over a day!

sensing the village girl's worrying silence, the young master interjects quickly, wringing his hands trying to close this deal as soon as he can. the faster their family gets this done and over with, the faster his life can continue from this standstill. his thinking was truly like a businessman's.

hearing that her little contribution would be compensated generously, she didn't think twice before agreeing to the suspicious deal. if it was like that then, when she goes home with the money, her mother wouldn't have to work anymore.

well, if that's the case, let's start the preparations now. the faster we get this done, the faster we can all go on with our lives.

the lord finally spoke up and with a clap of his hands, the room was filled with attendants, most of them surrounding the confused village girl. helping her to her feet in hushed tones, taking her away to presumably prepare for the ceremony that night.

the spirit follows the crowd and you hesitate following behind. the whole exchange felt off to you. surely, if you stayed here the family might let something slip, something that would prove your suspicions.

though you didn't have much choice in this matter. the features of the people in the room began to melt and drip, the scene morphing rapidly to the next part of the spirit's memory.

that's right, you had forgotten again. everything you saw was from the spirit's perspective. anything else beyond that was all up to one's imagination. was there really nothing you could do?

you hated this feeling.

this feeling of knowing something is going to go wrong, yet being so powerless to stop it from happening.

═══════════════

imagine having to sit in a tight space with a spirit, and a memory fragment who doesn't know you and the spirit exists. there was only that much space in the palanquin, and your knees touched the spirit's even when you were hugging them to your chest.

sorry about the space...

you try to start a conversation. but the other just wasn't interested, opting to stare at the image of herself — the village girl sitting across the both of you in this tiny palanquin. you look around the boxed space, noting the shoddy workmanship. looks like those nobles were really in a rush to get this done and over with.

the wind picks up and the curtains flutter upwards.

the night scenery was beautiful but—

this isn't the way to the lord's house?

the village girl mutters. and you had begun to think the same. sitting up with your senses heightened, you try to make out where the attendants were taking the girl. the spirit continued to remain unfazed.

something bad was about to happen. wasn't it?

the movements stopped abruptly, and you felt the palanquin being set down on the ground. the curtain slides open, a slender hand reaches out to guide the village girl sitting inside.

don't take his hand...

you try to tell the girl, you didn't like the heavy smell of incense and dirt surrounding the area. but of course, you were nothing more than a spectator to this whole ordeal.

you watch on helplessly next to the spirit as two footmen threw the village girl into the freshly dug-up pit. the fortune teller circles the pit, tossing water into the hole as she chants mantras of matrimony. all while the village girl calls for help, begging tearfully for mercy and her life. the overwhelming feelings of her fear washing over you again and again, knocking the air out of your lungs at each crashing wave, your heart squeezing tightly in your chest.

it seemed as though this just wouldn't end, as you watched the dirt fill up the hole and the poor girl's voice grow tired and hoarse, the pain grew from your heart to the tips of your fingers and dropped down to your stomach, swinging up and down like a pendulum continuously, making you even more nauseous than you already were.

but finally.

finally, the ordeal stopped. the sensations you felt lifting and leaving your body in a heated mass. everyone stayed silent at that moment, letting the sins of what had occurred sink into them. no one spoke, no one dared breathe a sound under the moonlight, lest the spirit of the village girl heard them.

there was shuffling and low greetings of reverence left the people's lips as they all stepped aside for a hunched-over man in heavy white robes to make his way to the edge of the covered-up pit. you could tell from where you were knelt over in pain that he was an exorcist similar to you.

he mummers prayers and covers the ground in talismans written in red ink, bells shaking with each step he took. binding chains reaching up from the scattered talismans to wrap around the spirit taking shape above them. poor girl, even in death, she wasn't allowed to rest in peace.

═══════════════

you blink, wincing at the bright sun shining into your eyes.

the spirit stands next to you, chains holding her down on the ground. you didn't have to look to see that you were both above her grave.

i was so stupid, believing all those lies. my mother collapsed when she heard about what happened to me. she couldn't pay for the house and she eventually died in an alley without anyone finding her corpse until days later when rats had already gotten to her. maybe if they had given her that money they promised to me, i wouldn't have been as angry about dying like this.

the spirit clenched her fists, teeth gnashing together in rage.

as if burying me alive wasn't enough, they called a fucking exorcist to cleanse this area, all because they were scared i would come and bite back at them for doing this to me.

the spirit's voice grows more irritated.

it's not fair! it's not fair! why do they get to die and move on to the afterlife? why did they get to continue to live their lives like my blood isn't on their hands? why did they get to have a happy marriage, a healthy baby watch their children and their children's children grow up to have their own families like my life was just... was just...

the spirit, no — chun-yan, began to cry, her back heaving as her sorrowful wails pierced your heart. she was just a girl. she was just a little girl barely on the cusp of adulthood. how could anyone be this cruel to her? how could the heavens let this happen?

you reach out to hold her in your arms, letting her cry her dead little heart out.

you wished things could be better for her. you truly did, however, what about all the innocent lives she had taken in vengeance? she still has to atone for that action.

it was abit of a shot in the dark, she didn't tell you nor did her memories reveal anything to you. but to free her spirit, you had to fulfil a wish of hers, this was the one and only shot that you had with this. if you got it wrong, you might have to go through a harsher method of exorcism. you hoped it wouldn't go to that stage.

yan-ah.

the girl sniffles.

chun-yan.

hm?

she asks you her eyes watery and tired.

is this the wish you had while you were dying?

you ask, throwing over the red veil slightly tattered at the edges, somehow still in your possession. you smooth the crinkles over the girl's head like an older sister would on her younger sister's big day.

═══════════════

the memory was collapsing.

you look around the dark space around you, taking a while to register that you were back in the bedroom where this whole thing first began. you lean back with a sigh, your head was starting to spin, you were sure that by tomorrow, you would be down with a fever.

chun-yan stood up, making her way to the vanity with a mirror at the other end of the room. she looks at herself for a long time in the mirror. a strong gust of wind blows through the open windows, toppling the remaining standing furniture. the curtains billowed in the currents, hiding chun-yan behind them.

your worries subsided when the winds died down and brought down the curtains with them, revealing chun-yan now dressed in proper wedding attire. a clean and crisp red veil, a long and thick wedding dress made of red silk with golden decorations embroidered into the fabric. the girl's hair was done up in two half buns with fresh peonies and flower buds woven into the thick tresses.

you bite back from making any noise. your heart swelled with a bittersweet feeling. you wished chun-yan's mother, the little old lady who you've only caught a glimpse of, could see her beloved daughter like this too. you rub your nose, sniffling.

...it suits you well.

chun-yan looks longingly at the moon, and then turns her gaze towards you. fidgeting, she asks quietly.

am i going to hell now?

yeah. you are.

your shoulders drop and you look at her sadly. you wished you could give her good news. you wished the world to be more fair, but you weren't god. you were merely someone who built bridges for spirits to cross over to the afterlife, in the end.

because i killed all those people... right?

you nod.

is it going to be scary?

probably.

chun-yan fiddles with her thumbs, picking on her nails.

mother always told me that bad people go to hell. and i became a bad person that's why i'm going there... right?

chun-yan... listen.

you ponder for a moment, you didn't really want to send her off with this heavy feeling.

sometimes, good people also go to hell. and it's because these good people made a mistake... and then another... and then another without stopping or thinking about stopping. and when they realise that they have been doing all these terrible things, they feel bad and if they are willing to atone, i think they should be allowed that chance to change...

you pause.

chun-yan... remember that you are going to hell to repent for the lives you have taken wrongfully. it's not because you were always meant to go there... i think. i hope that's not the case.

what did you want to say, what were you trying to say?

you weren't sure but, you wanted to ease the girl's burden a little.

hm.

chun-yan hummed. taking in your words. it seemed like she had understood something you hadn't. but whatever it was, it must have comforted her.

she stood still, flames growing at her feet. she didn't move or wince from them, letting it grow bigger and engulf her in it. as she disappeared along with the hellfire, she gave you a nod, perhaps as thanks for keeping her memories in your heart. you bow your head in reply, keeping it down until the crackle of the blaze grew quiet.

═══════════════

chief!

good god, who was it yelling so loudly in the morning?

chiiiieeeeffff!

heavens, were they crying? why are they crying like you were dead?

chief... don't die...

even your calm and collected vice-captain? now what was going on?

you try to sit up. emphasis on try, because for some reason you had been swaddled in layers upon layers of bandages. the smell of herbs crushed and rubbed onto your wounds and bruises was overpowering. to put it lightly.

ugh. what's going on.

chief!

the chief is awake!

you're still alive... huhuhuuuuuuu...

a chorus of ecstatic shouting and sobs was heard across the crowd gathered around you. judging by the voices, your best guess was that everyone there was the kids in your unit. seeing how happy they were, you must have passed out after the events of last night. truthfully, you barely remembered stumbling past the doors of the bedroom and into the vice-captain's arms.

all's well, ends well.

now, if the emperor would be so kind to give you a month—

no. a year, off work... you think you would be his biggest supporter. hell, you might even work for free.

but that aside, you think there might just be something you were forgetting right now.

═══════════════

baek cheon had volunteered to keep watch for that night. he barely slept since he came across you in that wedding attire. he was trying not to cry, but he's sure the junior brother sleeping across him must have heard him tossing and turning and borderline sobbing.

it was a little embarrassing to face everyone in the morning with his eyes puffy and face swollen. thank god chung myung wasn't with them this time, or baek cheon would have never heard the end of it.

he sits on a rock further away from where everyone else had set up camp. they were next to a stream, the sloshing of the water and the cackle of the firewood breaking apart soothed his senses. he thinks back to the times he had spent with you when the moon hung high in the sky just like this.

he sighs, leaning back against a tree with arms crossed — his fingers gripping his sleeves as he thinks again about the encounter with you the other night. you looked so pretty in a wedding dress, was he being too delusional when he dreamt about a future where you were wearing that for your marriage to him?

he sulks by himself, feeling jealous of the person he made up in his head, the person that he was sure you were going off to get married to.

he thinks the guy would be a little closer to your height, so that it made sharing kisses easier. the guy might have nicer hair, fluffier and maybe a little matted so you'd have a reason to run your fingers through it. your husband-to-be might have a more childish personality, much like yours so that the both of you would be on the same wavelength. he thinks the guy might also be mature enough, like you were so that you and him would ground each other. the other guy might have nicer skin that was soft and smooth and unblemished. his eyes would be fierce but gentle all at once, the shape of his eyebrows would be thick in a single stroke...

he realised the image of the guy was looking a little too much like chung myung.

tsk. that's no good, he was starting to get even more pissed off and upset.

cheon-ah!

this was no good. he was starting to hear things because of how much he missed you.

cheon-ah!

how was it that he could replicate the sound of your voice in his mind? truly, the yearning of a man in love was so fascinating.

cheon-ah!

baek cheon wonders if he was going crazy for thinking the voice was growing closer to him. poor guy didn't even get the chance to look over before he felt the full weight of somebody colliding with him. his arms instinctively wrapped around the other's waist, his body recognising that it was you faster than his mind would.

you're here?

he asks, bewildered.

baek cheon couldn't wrap his head around how you got to him so quickly. did you really abandon your husband-to-be at the altar like that? for him?

listen to me baek cheon.

the man nods mindlessly, revelling in the warmth of your being so close to his — he was barely listening, let alone registering what you were saying right now.

maybe he should steal in a kiss.

his hand find its way to the back of your head, pushing you down to have your lips meet his. whatever you had been rattling on about died in your throat, muffled sounds of shock morphed into soft sighs. you pull away, moving to sit more comfortably on his lap, legs swinging on either side, straddling him.

holding back a laugh, your arms circle around him, pulling him closer. he hadn't heard a thing you said from having his head up in his own clouds. what were you going to do with this man?

cheon-ah... did you hear what i was saying?

you ask, peppering kisses on his cheek, brushing his hair out of his eyes. baek cheon shakes his head, still very much starstruck.

tsk, tsk...

you tut disapprovingly, pinching his nose, breaking him out of whatever fantasy he was deep into. he looks at you, wide-eyed and a little offended by your gesture. he sulks when he meets your unimpressed stare.

i'm sorry... i'll listen well this time...

he whines quietly. not wanting to lose you to some other man again.

the other night, when you saw me in the wedding dress... it was for an assignment... you ran off before i could tell you about it... my poor baek cheon, tell me you didn't lose sleep over that?

his eyes widen.

an assignment? so... you weren't getting married for real?

the melancholy settling in his bones lifted instantly, his gloomy expression brightened, and his eyes started to sparkle. he didn't care about acting borderline pathetic these past few hours, you weren't getting married to someone else! and that was all that mattered to him right now.

what's going on in that pretty head of yours?

nothing... i... i'm just so happy that i still have a chance...

he mutters the last part of the sentence, hoping that you wouldn't hear it. but you did, of course you did. he can't have let the nature of your occupation slip from his mind now, has he? your squeal of excitement reached his ears, barely registering the flurry of kisses you were raining down all over his face.

cheon-ah! you like me enough to want to marry me? ah! my lovely baek cheon, hehehehe...

you were acting a little strange, he noted. were you ever this affectionate? what's going on?

he catches a whiff of the herbs slathered under your bandages, your forehead brushing past his cheek felt hot in the feverish sense. one closer look at you and he could see your eyes glossing over along with the sniffling you had been trying to hide.

no way... was the great inspector... sick?

you whine, throwing your head back as baek cheon desperately tries to catch you from falling head-first on the rocks. your temperature was rising and your head had begun to spin. no wonder it did, after all, you did run out of the room you were to carry out your bedrest in — without any food in your stomach or any breaks from what happened with the exorcism last night.

you just knew you had to clear things up with baek cheon, the feeling of leaving the misunderstandings in the air, weighing at the back of your mind consistently.

ugh. it was embarrassing to have him see you in this out-of-character state. maybe when you got better, you will have to meet up with him again to talk about your relationship more seriously.

for now though, you just needed him to know how much you liked him back. and that you weren't going to get married to someone else anytime soon.

baek cheon though?

he's going to have to worry about how to explain why you were here to his martial brothers, and also bring you back to your unit somehow. but that was none of your concern, was it? you were already knocked out from the fever catching up to your body.

[vikenticomeshome]

Cyberchase - Zorgon the Evil Wizard

Let's talk about the Zorgon The Evil Wizard. This was a Cyberchase villain who was only featured in the singular chapter book, "The Search for the Power Orb". We've seen wizards and witches in Cyberchase before, such as Stumblesnore, Melvin (brother of Merlin), and Wicked.

So, we know what to expect, right?

Before we get to see Zorgon, we already know that this is going to be very bad. He lives on a Cybersite called Mount Doom, so he's a clear reference to Sauron from Lord of the Rings. Digit is terrified of him and horrified at the idea of going to Mount Doom. Zorgon is presented as the second most feared being in all of Cyberspace, just behind The Hacker. This was a comparison to The Hacker from 2003 as well, before his villain decay.

We get to hear about some of his exploits. I'll block the picture for now, since I have a higher-resolution one coming up.

Once, he turned all the inhabitants of Solaria into pigs. Then, he held hostage all of the water from Shangri-la in a small test tube until he was paid off in cybergold.

The Solaria one is pretty cruel since pigs can get sunburned. The Shangri-la one is something truly special though. The implication here is that he went up against Master Pi and his soldiers and won. I know that The Hacker took over the site once, but it seems like Master Pi allowed it to happen because he wanted to give Buzz and Delete the golden drop test (Keep the jar sealed for peace, or take out the golden drop for infinitely doubling wealth). The idea of Master Pi paying someone off is unthinkable.

Anyway, what does he look like?

Where do we even start? I've never seen a wizard with a double-pointed hat. That has to be an attempt to imply demonic horns. He's also just so tall. I'm going to assume that Digit is about 2-3 feet tall. Let me try something.

Ah, so, if we count the hat (and we should, since I think he may actually have horns under there), Zorgon is between 8 and 12 feet tall. There is a point later on where he shrinks them down to the size of mice, but it takes place after this picture. How is this guy second to Hacker in any contest?

But what does Zorgon do when he discovers the kids have slipped into his house?

He proceeds to trap them with a spell and then test out a new potion he just made up on them. It shrinks them down to the size of mice. He does not take them seriously as a threat in the slightest. This is one of the few times that the kids have been affected by magic/potions from Cyberspace as well. Recall that they were unaffected by Wicked's "Spell of the Mean Green", and they were immune to magnetite poisoning.

And then he sends his Cybercat Zird to eat the children.

Thankfully, Zorgon has not been keeping his equipment maintained. They find a potion that turns anything it touches to stone, and they use it to turn Zird to stone, so we know that Zorgon can do that.

The kids desperately search for a leaking barrel containing a potion that will let them grow big again.

We have a potion that causes anything, metal included, to burst into flames and disappear. We have a potion that causes any object to sprout brown hair all of the place. I don't want to know what he intended to use those for.

The kids find a potion to get big again. However..

I couldn't find these words anywhere, so I suspect they are gibberish. Given an earlier line about how no one who has entered Zorgon's cave has ever returned, I assume he was going to kill the kids here.

The kids defeat Zorgon when Izzy dumps a random potion on him. It could have been a death potion for all he knew.

Yeah, Zorgon had a brainwashing potion so powerful that it worked against him. How was this guy second to The Hacker again?

As far as I know, Zorgon has never appeared beyond this point. Presumably he's still out there, brainwashed into being nice. I guess he's not really a villain anymore, but what does he do?