#and he normally doesn’t like to kill supernatural beings but man

[sqlmn]

Happy 2023 have OCs from a plot that is older than a decade. None of these are the main characters lmao.

Ladd Moore (the main focus here) is an ass. Like just that’s his main trait. He’s outgoing and rude and a bit dense but incredibly good with technology. He’s in the field department of the Supernatural Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and sometimes when at HQ, research grabs hold of him to help with some tech. Only thing is, that’s between research leads and him. No one else in fieldwork thinks Ladd should touch a computer and most research staff think he’s annoying and stupid. So when he volunteers to fix something no one thinks he’s serious and they call research up and they go down and see Ladd watching them and just have to say “you didn’t want to help out the field division?” And he’s like “they told me no”.

His older sister, Lass, is also in the field department’s staff. Madison (Mads) is in research.

The siblings actually have a pretty traumatic childhood which is why Ladd follows his sister to this career. She thinks he’s being annoying but he wants to protect her since he blames himself for ruining her childhood… while she’s scared that it’s her fault for ruining his. So they don’t have the most peaceful relationship and it’s tense between them at times.

[potato-lord-but-not]

ok humor me here- chnt au where mostly everything is the same except it takes place in the magnus archives universe ?? and yk I’m open to community speculation and yall adding on to this because I need more opinions !!!! unhinged ramblings under read more :^)

ok ok so camp here & there is a site that’s run by The Spiral, everything outside of that is practically normal, but the camp makes everyone believe that the events that go on here are actually not that weird. It could also be a place where the bridge between the fear entities and earth is thin, so that’s why there’s a lot of activity from several different entities.

At least once a counselor mentioned “why do we keep working here every year?” And Soren was never actually fired, which just adds fuel to the fire tbh.

Most of the counselors there are just marked by the spiral, but others are marked by different entities. Some might not be full on avatars yet, but still posses supernatural qualities (like Oliver Banks until his death). Rowan is an Eye avatar, and although it’s made a point that the eye can’t really see the future, that just makes Rowan’s situation that much more worrying. Soren, ofc, is an avatar of The End. Self explanatory. Jedidiah mighhhttt be Web aligned, or even The Lonely (now that I think about it he most definitely is the lonely in someway) but I’m not entirely sure what to do with him yet. Adam is a Flesh avatar, and maybe one of the only ones who actually knows he’s an avatar (besides maybe Soren and Lucille). Elijah seems like an End avatar, with him being overly obsessed with making sure Sydney stays asleep for the greater good of humanity. His trying to sacrifice Sydney was an attempted End ritual, and would’ve most likely failed w/o intervention bc Sydney hasn’t been marked by all the fears yet.

Sydney is this au’s Jon, he’s being led into the position of the antichrist by Lucille, who is The spiral avatar. So far Sydney has been marked by the spiral (working at chnt), the end (Soren, the gravediggress, and the mold), the hunt (… the hunt), the flesh (Adam), the corruption (the hive incident), the eye (the bonfire, Rowan), the lonely or the web depending of which Jed aligns with more, andddd I’m sure others that are slipping my mind rn.

Jed (more than likely on accident) cemented Sydney as an Avatar after he killed and reanimated him, and Sydney is able to stay fit at the camp bc he feeds off the unhinged Spiral energy it creates. I also think Sydney was marked by The End at an early age, and that’s why he was chosen to be the sacrifice by Elijah (even if he doesn’t realize it) and why he’s very into death and decay.

The Magnus Institute DOES exist in this au, and they (Jon n the gang) find out about this camp due to a tired looking young man who convinced his slightly unhinged boyfriend to make a statement with him about the strange place they work at over the summer (ps Juniper is Very spiral aligned, more so than the rest of them, thinks that the camp is actually pretty normal and doesn’t know what Rowan is going on about, and seems to live in a place that Jon later finds out doesn’t exist at all)

ummmm I think that’s it for now, let me know if you have anything to add or silly thoughts about it ??

[physalian]

“Why doesn’t the villain just kill the heroes?”

Ah, plot armor. If you want to be a real go-getter and think up a more creative way for the heroes to always narrowly escape death out of sheer dumb luck, the villain being too slow on the draw, or the villain simply not thinking of it in the moment, you have to come up with a reason for why the villain doesn’t just kill the hero.

Four examples today.

1. Zhao & Aang

In “The Blue Spirit,” Aang is captured by Zhao, a man normally not above anything to further his agenda, including murder. The Avatar is the largest obstacle in his way, second to the Earth Kingdom, and all he has to do to take Aang off the gameboard is to kill a twelve-year-old. He’s got Aang in chains, not quite powerless but harmless enough, and could do it quickly.

So why doesn’t he? Per Zhao himself, if he kills Aang, the Avatar cycle will continue, born into some random water bender that may take them years to track down. Sure, they’ll be harmless for a few years and the Fire Nation might get lucky and find them easily, perhaps even sway the new one to their side, but what if the waterbending Avatar is born into the Foggy Swamp? Or they end up having to kill them, too, and then have to track down an earthbending Avtar across the entire Earth Kingdom? Does Zhao really want to take that chance when he can just keep Aang alive? Just barely?

Of course not.

Killing the hero in this case might stop the immediate threat, but it will just delay the inevitable, thus it’s in the villain’s best interest to exploit a loophole while likely committing war crimes in the process. He gets to secure a Fire Nation victory and make Aang suffer for the rest of his life.

Ozai doesn't kill Aang until the first chance he gets, which just so happens to be the series finale. And we all know why Aang has a no-kill policy.

2. Sam, Dean & The Angels and Demons

Hahaha it’s the show known for its refusal to kill its heroes. We’re gonna ignore everything past season 5. There’s obviously meta reasons—kill the main characters and you have zero supporting cast that could realistically take over the show.

But in season 4, despite multiple deaths already for both of them, so begins the “if you die we’ll just bring you back” threat, because they’re angels and angels can do that. Similar to Aang, Sam and Dean risk a fate far worse than death if they don’t cooperate with Zachariah’s plans. He happily gives them both a slew of diseases and illnesses to get his way whenever he gets the chance and reminds them both that if they just kill themselves to escape the Apocalypse, he’ll happily revive them. The Demons won't kill Sam and Dean because they're necessary to further their own plans by breaking certain seals on Lucifer's cage, though they're not above breaking bones and killing bystanders.

Fate worse than death is a popular threat, but usually the heroes offing themselves is still a viable, if deeply unpopular, option. Supernatural removes it entirely and for such a simple little detail, it does a lot to make their survivability believable.

3. Batman & Joker

Ahh the age old furious rant by people who don’t understand Batman: If Batman killed his villains they’d stop busting out of Arkham and murdering innocent civilians, Batman has so much blood on his hands—

Babe. Babe, he’s a comic book character. By his very nature, he can’t kill his villains otherwise he’d have no rogues gallery. Comic books are like a giant board of Monopoly, going around in circles and occasionally having a timeout in jail.

But the in universe reason there’s no killing has been essayed about extensively and so has why Joker doesn’t try harder to kill him, but I couldn’t not include these two. Batman does not kill because he is not judge, jury, and executioner of his villains, most of whom have mental health issues and while they certainly know better and their crimes aren’t justified, his villains need actual therapy and help and medication, not death. Even those who he might agree must be stopped and there’s no other way except murder, Batman himself will not be the one to pull the trigger. He must remain a hero, so that no matter who he comes across in the dark alleyways of Gotham, they know he’s not here to kill them, be it criminal or victim.

Joker doesn’t kill Batman for a much simpler reason, and Heath Ledger literally says it: “I won’t kill you because you’re too much fun.” He does not need a more convoluted reason, he enjoys the game, the chase, the tug of war (most versions of him, at least) and to kill Batman would be to end his greatest form of entertainment, and the only person probably in the whole world who is neither afraid of Joker nor dismissive of him as simply a freak.

4. Optimus and Megatron

Optimus Prime and Megatron are very similar to Batman and Joker but with literal eons of history between them. In most serialized Transformers media, as opposed to movies where the plot is more urgent, Megatron both wants to win Optimus over and just can't quite let himself finally win. Who is he without his rival, after all this time?

Optimus is in the same boat, refusing to kill him because he's still holding out hope for Megatron's redemption, that there's a peaceful way to end this war (no matter how much collateral both leaders end up causing). Shit gets real whenever Optimus breaks the unspoken rules of their no-kill rivalry and Megatron gets incredibly pissy about it because he's in love.

—

Suggestions to workshop this plot hole in your own narrative:

The hero staying alive is absolutely paramount to the villain’s plan (in which case, you have to have rock solid reasons for why they keep narrowly escaping capture)

The villain is so confident in their plan that they don’t even consider the hero a proper threat

The villain doesn't really have a bodycount, but if they kill the hero, suddenly all the other powers that be will take them seriously and they'll have a huge mess on their hands

The villain is so full of themselves or so in love with their rival that it’d break their heart to have to kill them just to win

The villain is simply not capable of murder either physically or morally (perhaps because the hero is a child)

Killing the hero would make them a martyr and the villain would end up with a far bigger mess on their hands when the lone hero is replaced with an avenging army

The villain is too proud to simply kill the hero and wants to win fairly in a proper fight on the battlefield and not take the cheap and easy shot

The villain does not have a phyiscal form or real presence in the plot, acting through their minions, and their minions are incompetent

It’s simply not fun if the hero dies/the hero is the only one who understands them and they’d lose far more than they’d gain by killing them

The villain still wants to try and win the hero over and is so dedicated to this path that they regularly sabotage their own plans desperate to change the hero’s mind

The villain firmly believes in a fate worse than death and while the hero’s survival isn’t crucial to the main plan, they want the hero to watch their own failure/become the villain’s minion/ prisoner/ partner by the end

There’s a million examples out there to pull from and I could keep listing them all night. So long as whatever it is doesn’t come out of nowhere or open a plot hole of “why didn’t they just do that earlier?” you can get quite creative.

One last example that’s a personal favorite of mine to implement: In Eternal Night of the Northern Sky there aren’t too many opportunities to ask this question, but when it does arise, Villain A has Hero B as a meat shield, and while Hero B’s love interest, Hero C, is more than happy to shoot through them to incapacitate Villain A, the person they take orders from isn’t so reckless, which later leads to Drama and Issues.

[creepsopasta]

Do you have any general dating headcannons about Jack?

If that's too vague then maybe Jack dating someone who knows a lot about the supernatural. Like they're oddly chill about him being a demon and sometimes even give him tips about his diet of something like that.

I HAVE SO MANY DATING HCS FOR JACK I THINK ABOUT HIM ALL THE TIME. I LOVE EYELESS JACK A NORMAL AND SANE AMOUNT

General EJ Dating Hcs

• He doesn’t sleep, or he doesn’t really need to. It creates problems, because he will just sit there and stare at you while you try to sleep. He won’t move or speak or get up. He will just stare. And then he gets hungry after a while so he leaves.

• Absolutely miserable to sleep with if it’s winter. He is so fucking cold. He’s so cold he doesn’t feel hot when summer rolls around. The hoodie and jeans are a year round wardrobe for him. People look at him like he’s more of a freak than usual when they see him wearing heavy jackets in 102 degree weather.

• He smiles so wide. I am of the opinion he has a bunch of fucking teeth so when you make him laugh or smile he grins so big!!!!! He’s a great smiler

• Insufferably sore loser. He hates losing in any facet of life. He goes through multiple stages of grief before he’s just pissed the fuck off and he goes to your room (not even his fucking own he likes yours better) and locks you out and sits there for an indefinite amount of time. He might steal something out of there and you can hear him bitching to himself

• Cooks things with a ridiculous amount of seasonings. He doesn’t fucking care. Let him cook you someone’s livers with lemon pepper and juice and garlic salt and meat tenderizer and spices and nutmeg and chili powder and lime and basil and popcorn salt. The kitchen is fucking insane when he’s in it. But he’s cooking with love and human organs please accept it

• He shows affection in a very odd way. Pulls you in close by your shirt sleeve or jacket strings or belt loops or scarf or whatever. Just wants to feel you close to him sometimes.

• Super flexible. Wants to freak you out. Let him spider walk to your room. He is going to climb on the ceiling in the middle of the night. You can hear his bones. His back bends in ways that are wrong. He’s fucked up

• I think he smells like weed and copper. He’s killed in all of his clothes so they all smell like metal or they’re very stained. And I am a firm believer he smokes weed with Clockwork and Hoodie and sometimes Jeff after a job well done. So he comes home really high and covered in blood sometimes but it’s okay don’t worry about it. It’s cool. He might not even come home until the day after so he can avoid worrying you or you seeing him in that state

• Fucked up tangled hair. Always covers it up with his hood and it’s frizzed up and the ends are split and it’s mangled with blood and there’s miscellaneous substances sticking to it. And he just never puts in the effort to fix it. So he will often just get you to brush it for him and then he’ll get angry that it hurts. And it’s like what the fuck did you expect Jack? But he always greatly appreciates your help

• It’s likely that he gives you his clothes if he doesn’t want them/can’t fit them anymore. I’m not sure how desirable a hoodie that smells of cannabis and blood is tho but if you like it he wants you to have it

• Freakishly Tall. How’s the fuckin weather up there cocksucker? He could lift you all the way up to the goddamn Eiffel Tower. That’s why he has to lean down so his head doesn’t hit most ceilings and shower heads are taller than him so he has to sit down to take baths

• If you weren’t scared of him upon first meeting him (aka he tried to kill you), he would probably think that’s a huge fucking mood killer. “Really? You’re not scared? Kinda killing my vibe here, man… you’re not even gonna scream?”

• He’s downcasted. Dejected. Is he not scary anymore? Is that the problem? Are you just a freak? Do demonic, cannibalistic creatures frequent your room often? What the fuck are you just standing there for?

• He needs to find out what the fuck is wrong you. Which is why he’s going to stay in your house and pace around your kitchen. Stop trying to offer him food and advice on how to wash the blood off his clothes. Stop being yourself!!!!! Get away from him!!!!!!

• So fast forward to now and uh. He would kill for you. Like and subscribe for that

• Evil fucked up creature boyfriend.

[leverage-ot3]

okay I’ve seen a lot of posts about sterling just being crowley and. guys. the implications just hear me out 😭😭😭

bending lore slightly here BUT let’s say crowley’s body was once inhabited by a human and crowley is possessing the body (maybe he kills the initial inhabitant bc he doesn’t care)

but he still has the guy’s memories. he doesn’t bother keeping up appearances with his ‘ex wife’ because he is too busy building up his hell empire. BUT for some reason he can’t quite identify, he still feels something towards his ‘daughter’. he lets the divorce happen and doesn’t feel the need (or desire) to fight for custody, but he can never quite forget her, to cast her out of his mind for good

some hijinks ensue with the leverage team. it’s mostly because even a grind culture demon wants some off time every once in a while, and for him the insurance investigator stuff is more of a hobby. interacting with the leverage crew is very low stakes for him, and honestly, quite amusing. they aren’t on his level power-wise, but that ford character gives him the mental exercise he hasn’t experienced in, well, he can’t even remember

he can feel their frustration and anger when they learn he has become employed by interpol and feeds off it. it’s great, and relaxing in a way he is never able to achieve while conducting hell-related business

one year he gets wind that olivia is in a really bad situation associated with his ‘ex wife’s’ new husband. he’s selling vital hardware to terrorists, and while that might actually be the kind of chaos he would normally support or be entertained by as the king of hell, something feels wrong about letting olivia stay anywhere near that man

he calls upon the body’s adversaries. he wouldn’t admit it, even under duress, BUT he feels slightly fond of them. nate for the three dimensional chess they play, sophie for her ability to charm and disguise, parker for her chaos and slightly unsettling nature (it’s the autism swag and being bad with human interaction but he doesn’t know that lol), hardison for his unapologetic intelligence and eliot for his hardened violent past and take-no-shit persona (he’s fun to tease)

they perform exactly as he expected, right into his carefully crafted plan. and then olivia is under his care and things get more complicated. he keeps her FAR, FAR away from anything related to the supernatural (heh). no one can find out about her, ESPECIALLY not those imbecile hunter brothers (if for nothing else than the embarrassment in revealing he has a weak spot)

not sure how to work it into this post but I also want to add that somewhere along the way he develops feelings for nate and sophie. the frame up job is near and dear to my heart and you can’t convince me that isn’t fighting as flirting behavior. his interpol persona is more of a side hustle so to speak, but he finds it fun (relaxing, even) to fill that role. there aren’t any obligations of other demons, bothersome hunters, or anything like that. nate and sophie are low stakes, except, they aren’t, really. they make him feel things he can’t ever really remember feeling. his heart beats fast when sophie sat in his lap and cradled his face, his hands sweat when nate gives him that certain smug look. he’s exasperated by the way they can run circles around him like no one else has ever before. they annoy him and get under his skin in a way no one else can and it’s infuriating. but also not, at the same time. maybe he likes it

and then the long goodbye job happens

hear me out and suspend your belief here for a second, because I can’t remember if crowley supernaturally knows when ppl die/are dead or not.

so nate is in interpol custody and the interviewer is obviously out of her depth. (most people are, when it comes to nathan ford.) he walks in and pours the man a drink, but he’s fuming. somewhere along the way he came to care about the team. hell and suffering is literally in his (official) job description, but he can admit (only to himself) that he admires what they do. it’s not for him, not anything close to where his passions and interests lie, but he respects their drive and purpose. he is also aware enough to acknowledge that they are a family, a group of misfits that never belonged quite anywhere except to each other.

and nate fucking blew it up, ruined it, because his vice is being so obsessed with the end game that he is apparently willing to let his team, his family, the people that anchor him to reality, die because the ends supposedly justify the means.

not this time. not to sterling crowley

he is enraged. he can admit within the confines of his mind that he cares for nate, for sophie, even for the other three (though nate and sophie have somehow made it a hierarchy where they are more important to him. which he will dissect later in private. maybe.)

nate let them die, he let sophie die, and for what? the black book? hell below, crowley would have made things easier somehow, if he knew that this was where nate’s sights had lied. he would have prevented this somehow. he wants to have prevented this. he doesn’t want any of them dead and is too afraid to check and verify because that would make it real. the idea of sophie (or any of them) somehow making it to hell instead of heaven would probably break something in him he might not be able to reapir fully.

he yells at nate- he’s angry. hellfire burning in his heart because everything is ruined. the deaths aside (however hard it is to set them aside in his mind), nate will not recover from this, not ever. this will be the start of the end, he is sure. a miserable, guilt-ridden existence where he drinks himself to death and nothing will save him. it plays out in crowley’s mind in a thousand different ways that are beyond painful to conceptualize, even in theory.

the story starts to unravel and there is a game afoot. a solemn, miserable, infuriating game because the con is still in session because parker is alive and in the building- which sets another fire alight in his chest. ‘parker even know you got hardison killed?’ he rages for her grief when she finds out. he knows it will double when she finds out eliot has perished, too, because he isn’t fucking blind.

but nate is a brilliant man, lest he forget too quickly. they are all alive, and somehow still the entire crew slips through his fingers. he’s not even angry (he never would have been- he doesn’t actually try too hard to catch them. it’s about the game, not the consequences). he lets them keep the black book because he’s fucking exhausted and honestly, they more than earned it.

‘now we’re even. tell sophie to drive carefully’. they will never be even, not really. crowley would never admit or agree that being human is the superior state of being, but that have made him feel human in a way he doesn’t actually mind. they keep him on his toes and match him in a way unique to them, they remind him that there are other things than the realm of hell. not necessarily bigger than hell, but maybe just as important in a different sense.

watching the van drive away, something inside him settles. when he walked into the interrogation room that day he thought this was the beginning of the end. it’s not the end at all, not an end to anything. it’s a continuation of their story. maybe, he thinks, a beginning to a new era in it

[penny00dreadful]

CW for this chapter on AO3

Part 1/ Part 5/ Part 7 (Complete)/ AO3

Eddie was adamant they go to the library at the museum, now more than ever. It was urgent he had all of the information he needed for the fight ahead.

How else was he supposed to battle a supernatural entity that seemed determined to suck his face… in more ways than one.

They were all jogging up the stone stairs to the museum, Eddie at the front, followed by Robin and Steve, who were followed by the remaining Cowboys. 

They never made it to the library, however.

Because as soon as their group turned the corner onto the main museum floor, they were met with Eddie’s boss; the curator and—

“You?” 

Eddie stared at the man wide-eyed. The man who had met them at the opening of the underground temple after Vecna had been awoken. 

The one who had glared at them and told them they’d fucked everything up, which to be fair, they had.

“Me.” The man said, standing amongst the ancient artefacts of his people. “My name is Ardeth Bay.”

Eddie raised a hesitant hand in a little wave, haltingly introducing himself while everyone else confusedly did the same.

“This is all very pleasant, but what are you doing here?” Steve asked, hovering over Eddie’s shoulder like he wanted to jump in front, to protect him from… what? Small talk?

“I suspect,” the curator sighed, “the same thing you are doing. Trying to find information on this Vecna fellow.”

Eddie opened and closed his mouth, his entire world view trying to rearrange itself to make sense of what was happening.

“We are a part of an ancient secret society.” Ardeth Bay proclaimed to the room.

Oh, so we’re just going to brush over everything and jump to secret societies? All right. Okay. This is fine. Eddie thought to himself, a little hysterically at how normal everyone was acting about such a proclamation.

“For 3,000 years we have guarded the City of the Dead and the evil that lay inside of it. We are sworn to do any and all in our power to stop Vecna from being reborn into this world.”

Eddie bit his lip.

“Sorry about that.”

“Question.” Steve asked with a raised hand, trying to pull the attention off Eddie. “Why doesn’t he like cats?”

“Cats are the guardians of the underworld.” Eddie answered him, though the question clearly hadn’t been directed towards him. “You could have just asked me.” He huffed.

Steve pursed his lips, but didn’t answer him, his face still a little twisted in the same way it had been when he was snarking about Eddie dating the mummy.

“So we just get an army of cats together to scare him back to death?”

“No.” Ardeth Bay said, his expression serious, not indulging Steve in lightening the mood. “He will fear them until he’s fully regenerated. Then, he will fear nothing.”

“Great.” Eddie sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“How would he achieve full regeneration?” Robin asked.

“By killing every single one of us and sucking us dry!” Jason screamed in hysterics.

Ardeth Bay didn’t answer, just gestured in Jason’s direction, confirming he was correct while the rest of them tried not to indulge his panic.

Robin nodded to herself, glancing around the room, taking a mental inventory.

“Where’s Tommy?” Robin asked.

“Hagan?” Billy leaned back against the wall, his arms crossed. “Haven’t seen him since the mummy came back to life. I thought he was dead.”

“No, he’s alive.” Eddie said. “I saw him a few hours ago. Right before—”

“Right before we found Fred.” Steve nodded.

“He ran like a bat outta hell. You don’t think–?”

“Oh yeah, I do think. Tommy has no problem changing loyalty if it means saving his own skin.”

Robin pressed her fingers into her eyes. “Okay, great. Now we have that to worry about, too.”

Eddie looked between their mysterious new friend and his boss, figuring the easiest way to ask this question was to just be blunt.

“Do either of you know whether Vecna was a particularly horny man?”

The silence that followed his question would be almost comical if Eddie hadn’t been completely serious. Everyone around the room stared at him like they thought he’d finally lost it. 

With a great sigh, like his patience was still being tested, the curator responded. “Why do you ask, Munson?”

He was acting like Eddie was making fun of the whole situation. Not taking it seriously and yeah. His question might have been a strange one, but he was so super fucking serious. 

“Well…” Eddie hesitated. “I think he tried to kiss me.”

Ardeth immediately straightened up. “And it was you who read from the book?”

Eddie fiddled with the rings around his fingers.

“It was an accident!”

“How do you read a book by accident, Munson?” The curator almost growled, glaring at Eddie like he was a child insisting the cookies ate themselves. “You know what? I don’t care for whatever nonsense explanation you try to give me. It seems that Vecna has marked you as the sacrifice needed to resurrect the body of his lover.”

“So he is horny for Eddie?” Robin asked, poking around the ancient spears.

Ardeth tilted his head back and forth, considering. 

“In a way, yes.”

“Oh, well that’s…” Eddie placed his hands on his hips, sighing, “fantastic.”

“Sucks to be you.”

“Thanks, Robin.”

“Or… no wait, actually. Let’s think about this for a moment.” She said, coming around to stand in front of him. “We could use you as bait?”

“Nope.” Steve finally decided to speak instead of sulking in the corner, coming over to stand by Eddie’s side. “Not happening.”

Eddie turned his head to glare at him. “Who says you get to make decisions for me?” He poked Steve in the chest. “You were trying to set me up on a date with him ten minutes ago. Isn’t this what you wanted?”

Steve just scowled. They were gearing up for another bitch fight, a back and forth that would no doubt irritate everyone else in the room, but before they could even start, everyone’s attention was diverted.

The room was steadily being thrown into darkness and as they all looked up to the domed skylight above, they saw the moon slowly being covered in darkness.

An eclipse.

They were rapidly running out of time.

They ended up back in Eddie’s apartment, everyone tearing through his things looking for the Book of the Dead.

“Where is it?” Billy snapped at him, practically overturning his couch.

“Well it’s not under there.” Eddie snapped right back, on his knees, rifling through the luggage he’d brought back from the expedition.

“If you don’t have it then who would?” 

Eddie looked up at Robin. 

“You, I would have assumed.”

“No.” She shook her head. “Not me. Who did we last see it with?”

“Didn’t that pompous guy have it?” Steve asked.

“The Egyptologist?” Eddie pondered. “I think he did, actually.”

“Then he’s in danger.” Jason looked up from his exploration of Eddie’s drawers.

“Alright then.” Eddie pushed himself to his feet. “Let’s go get him.”

“No, no, no, no, no.” Steve stopped him with a hand to the chest. “You are not going anywhere.”

Eddie’s mouth hung open in outrage. “Excuse me–?!”

“We have just had a conversation about a horny mummy looking to sacrifice you, I am not letting you leave this building.”

“Oh, really?” Eddie crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at him. “And how exactly do you intend to stop me?”

He stepped forward, intending to shoulder past Steve but Steve ducked, unexpectedly catching Eddie around the middle, and before he could do anything to stop it, he found himself thrown over the caveman’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“What are you— Harrington! What do you think you’re doing?! Put me down!”

For the second time in recent memory, Eddie found himself being thrown by Steve.

But at least this time he was tossed down onto his own soft bedding rather than being thrown overboard.

Steve barely spared him a glance as he turned his back.

“That is how I intend to stop you, Eddie.”

Before he could even push himself up to sitting, Steve had stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

Eddie was on his feet and storming forward before he could even breathe, but he was half a second late in reaching the door, the lock clicking just before he made it.

He grabbed the handle, trying to wrench it open but there was no give to it.

“Harrington! I’m not playing any of your fucking games! Let me out of here!”

From beyond the door he could hear Steve ordering Billy and Jason to stand guard and calling Robin after him as his voice got quieter under Eddie’s constant shouting and pounding at the door.

“Billy! Jason! Open this fucking door right now!”

“Sorry.” He heard Billy let out a satisfied exhale as he sat down, the creak of Eddie’s overstuffed couch a familiar sound to him. “You heard the man’s orders.”

Eddie kicked the door. Hard.

Steve ducked unexpectedly, catching Eddie around the middle and before he could do anything to stop it, he found himself thrown over the caveman’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“What are you— Harrington! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Steve had one arm curled around his knees, steadying him, while the other gripped the door handle tight, slamming it closed behind the two of them.

“Put me down!”

For the second time in recent memory, Eddie found himself being thrown by Steve.

But at least this time he was tossed down onto his own soft bedding rather than being thrown overboard.

He had expected Steve to turn and stomp his way out of the room.

What he got was somehow far more terrifying and exhilarating than that.

He was left wide eyed and breathless as Steve leaned down low over him, nudging his way onto the bed with a knee at the side of each of Eddie’s legs.

“What– what are you doing?” Eddie asked in a hushed whisper, not wanting to disturb the atmosphere building around them. He was leaning back on his elbows but as Steve slowly began to lower himself, bringing their faces closer, Eddie let himself sink down to his back.

“This, Eddie,” Steve whispered to him, his breath fanning out over Eddie’s lips, a hand coming up to rest gently against the side of his face, “is how I intend to stop you.”

Closing that final bit of distance, Steve’s lips met his and though Eddie was below him, Steve still managed to worm an arm around his waist like he weighed nothing, pulling them flush together.

Eddie’s heart was pounding in his chest but there was no way he was going to hesitate any longer than it took for his brain and his lips to catch up with what was going on.

His eyes slipped closed, and he kissed back, hard, his own hands coming up to tug at Steve’s hair.

Eddie’s legs developed a mind of their own, winding their way around Steve’s middle and clamping on tight, punching a low groan out of him that Eddie happily swallowed.

Steve pressed in further, his tongue gently pushing into Eddie’s mouth and his pelvis grinding down, hardness meeting hardness and they both broke away to exhale, strained between them.

“Eddie. I’ve been thinking about this for so long.” Steve breathed between them. “Been thinking about you for so long. Eddie.”

He tipped his head back, mouth hanging open on a light moan as Steve ground down again, pressing them together and Eddie’s eyes nearly rolled back in his head at the feeling of soft lips against his throat. 

“Me–me too.”

“Eddie.”

Steve exhaled his name against his skin, like he couldn’t help it.

“Eddie.”

He kissed his way back up his neck and across his jaw before sealing their mouths together again.

“Eddie!”

Eddie opened his eyes, pillow below his head and the expected weight of Steve leaning over him.

But the eyes looking back at him weren’t the warm hazel ones he was expecting, but instead a bright electric blue.

Eddie tried to shove himself backwards, tried to scream but his mouth remained occupied, sealed against the man's own above him.

He could see nothing but blonde curls and angular features and his scream felt pulled from him, inhaled. 

Like the breath was being stolen from his body.

Every moment he pushed away, he felt his muscles become weaker, darkness starting to pull at his vision again while those eyes became steadily brighter.

“Eddie!”

His bedroom door banged open, splinters of wood flying and Steve swung forward, landing on the outstretched leg he had used to kick it open and break clean through the lock.

“Get off of him!”

Eddie felt like all of the air had been sucked from his body, dragged out of him, his lungs crumpling from the pressure as the figure above him finally unsealed himself.

The next second he breathed in, inhaling like the moment before implosion, feeling it extend the whole way down his body.

He fell back to the pillows, his body having been lifted slightly with the force of the extraction. He tipped over the edge of the bed, coughed out a mouthful of sand, and breathed in air like a drowning man.

 He looked up, Steve had Asy in his hands, holding her up in Vecna’s direction.

She looked as pissed off as he had ever seen her, spiked fur and claws out, but not directed at Steve.

She hissed and yowled so loudly that Eddie felt it ringing in his ears.

The otherworldly screech that came from the man above him only added to the noise but as Asy swiped for him, he dematerialized around them, spinning himself into a swirl of sand and blasting himself out of the window.

Eddie breathed heavily in the silence around them, putting a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes.

Great.

So the horny mummy had made his first move.

“Eddie? Are you okay?”

Steve was hovering over him, his brows pinched in concern but his posture hesitant, so different from how he had looked in Eddie’s dream–

Oh fucking Christ.

Eddie had dreamed of him! 

What the fuck was wrong with him?

He lifted his eyes again, up to Steve.

Steve, who was looking down on him, all big hazel eyes and chest hair and moles. 

There was a blush rising to his cheeks. 

Nope. He was absolutely not going to be thinking about that right now. 

He sat up, the collar of his sleep shirt falling open, practically hanging off his shoulder.

Eddie tugged it back into place while Steve stared up at the ceiling, apparently finding it very interesting to look at, a deep red blush crawling up his neck.

Robin just raised her eyebrows at him.

“‘M fine.”

He snatched up his trousers from where they had been tossed over a chair and tugged them on.

“I’m getting really sick of unexpected kisses.”

Steve let out an offended noise, his head whipping around before his eyes went wide at the sight of Eddie buttoning up.

He turned his head away again.

“So you’ll call that a kiss, but not mine?”

Eddie grinned at Steve’s back.

“Jealous?”

He couldn’t see what expression was on Steve’s face but he could feel the stare he was giving Robin, some kind of silent communication that she just rolled her eyes at.

Unfortunately, the answer as to how Vecna had managed to get into Eddie’s room when he had two guards at the door was that the guards were no longer at his door.

At least not alive.

Vecna had sucked the life from the two of them which at least explained how he was less corpse and more man when he snuck into Eddie’s room like a giant fucking creep.

And honestly, Eddie was over it at this stage. He was over unwanted kisses and undead corpses and sacrifices and plagues. 

He was just fucking over it.

He stormed back up the stairs of the museum, just wanting this shit ended. Robin, Steve and Ardeth, who had still been at the museum, were on his heels, scrambling to keep up.

“Eddie, wait!” Steve called after him.

Eddie had the benefit of long legs on his side, able to clear multiple steps at once in his rush and pure irritation.

“When I’d read about the Book of the Dead before, I never really took it seriously. I mean bringing people back to life?” He scoffed. “Sounded like nonsense. But now that I’ve seen what I’ve seen, there’s a chance the Book of Amun-Ra will have a way to kill him. We just have to find it.”

“And you’re going to find it, are you?” Steve snarked. “It’s not like people have been looking for that for hundreds of years.”

“Thousands.” Eddie quipped right back.

“Right. Thousands.”

There was a low murmur coming from outside, getting closer as Eddie finally found his way to the huge stone tablet, the sound of a crowd forming, a slow chant becoming clearer and clearer the closer they got.

Vecna. Vecna. Vecna.

Great, just what they needed. 

An enthralled crowd.

“Are you sure you need to be here for this?” Steve asked, his back tense as he looked over the railing of the upper section they were on, down to the lobby.

“How else do you expect me to read this if I’m not here?” Eddie muttered, tracing his fingers along the hieroglyphics. 

“Robin could have read them. We could have gotten you somewhere safe so you’re not…” Steve huffed to himself, “...kissed again.”

Before Eddie could answer, Robin chimed in.

“Wouldn’t have worked. I understand alphanumeric texts better. Eddie’s the expert when it comes to logographic writing.”

“Okay. According to the Bembridge scholars, the Golden Book of Amun-Ra was supposed to be located inside the statue of Anubis.”

“But that was where you found the black book?” Ardeth asked.

“Right.” Eddie nodded. “They mixed up where they were buried. So if the black book was actually inside the statue of Anubis, then the Golden Book has to be…” Eddie trailed off, taking his time to make sure he was translating correctly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Robin wave him along impatiently, trying to get him to hurry up.

Eddie dismissed her with a wave of his own hand, trying to keep his focus.

He’d been focusing so hard he didn’t even flinch when he heard the door to the museum slam open and the unmistakable sound of the crowd start to filter in, lowly chanting to themselves. 

“Keys.” Robin held her hand out urgently to Steve, who threw her his car keys without a second of hesitation.

As soon as she caught them, she was off, tearing down the corridors of the museum in the direction that would lead her to the back entrance, where Steve’s car was parked. The one they had used to get here.

There.

Eddie had found it, finally.

“The Golden Book of Amun-Ra is at Hamunaptra inside the statue of Horus.” He turned back to what was left of their party with a huge smile, his eyes landing on Steve. “Take that, Bembridge scholars!”

Steve’s smile in return was something soft and a little proud if Eddie was reading it right, making something squirm with satisfaction in his belly.

The feeling only got worse when Steve grabbed his hand and pulled him along the corridor, keeping him close as the three of them followed the same route Robin had taken while the sound of footfalls got ever closer.

Outside the museum, Robin was waiting with the car, sitting behind the wheel and practically bouncing in her seat, urging them forward.

Eddie made a dive for it, throwing himself face first into the open top back seat, Ardeth following smoothly behind while Steve pulled some kind of hero move, vaulting himself over the passenger door and into the seat next to Robin, who slammed her foot down on the gas pedal immediately, Eddie still rolling like a pinball in the back.

The crowd was slowly shuffling around the corner and through the museum doors and there, pushing his way through the middle, was Tommy, eyes ablaze as they landed on Eddie, who had finally managed to sit up, poking his head out over the back seat, hair flying around him in every direction.

Tommy puffed his chest out and let out a scream of “Vecna!”

Sand immediately began to swirl around the museum, slowly whirlpooling and condensing down into a vaguely human shape standing next to Tommy that was lost to them when they turned the corner and sped down the road.

“Why the fuck did we ever trust that guy?” Steve shouted at Robin over the wind rushing past them.

“Hey!” Robin pulled the wheel around, trying not to hit anything, her driving more erratic than smooth. “He was your pet, not mine!”

The car jolted again, skidding a little across the road before she got it back under control.

“Jesus, Robbie.” Steve was white knuckling the dash in front of him, “Need me to drive?”

Eddie was clutching onto the headrest in front of him, trying and barely succeeding in keeping himself from being thrown around, Ardeth doing the same.

“This isn’t me!” Robin grunted as the car shifted again, skidding out in a far more terrifying and uncontrolled way.

As they spun out, sand started to kick up underneath them and when Eddie whipped his head around to see what was happening he caught sight of a river of sand, writhing and undulating in and out under the wheels of the car. 

With one last terrifying spin, the car tipped. Two wheels bouncing up against the pavement and the front crashing into a water fountain, bringing the car to a sudden halt.

Eddie was thrown forward, over the seats and into the front, landing in a crumpled heap between Steve and Robin, the two of them trying to shake off their own impact into the steering wheel and the dashboard respectively. 

He was vaguely aware of the ever constant chanting of the crowd getting closer but he was finding it a little difficult to pay attention to, his head still spinning, even as Steve took his arm and helped to guide him out of the car.

The crowd was still approaching, still chanting as the four of them backed away until they had nowhere else to go, a stone wall stopping their retreat.

Steve plucked a burning torch from a bracket on the wall and waved it in front of them, trying to stop the crowd from their continued approach, Robin and Ardeth holding revolvers aloft, but they needn’t have bothered.

The crowd parted for a man who stepped forward clothed in a flowing fine linen blouse and an intricate pleated linen kilt, tied at the waist with a large jewelled belt. His bright blue eyes were lined with kohl and his bright blonde hair hung in swooping curls atop his head. 

Vecna.

Fully regenerated.

Seemed like he’d been snacking since the last time he and Eddie had come face to face.

Steve, Ardeth and Robin stepped together, placing Eddie firmly behind them, blocking him from sight.

Tommy shuffled along at Vecna's side, eyes darting between all of them.

When Vecna opened his mouth to speak, Tommy translated for him and Eddie had to wonder if it was just for Steve’s benefit because both he and Robin could understand him easily, and judging by the expression on Ardeth’s face, he could too.

“Come with me, my love.” Tommy said after Vecna spoke. “It is time to make you mine, forever.”

Eddie scowled and poked his head out over Robin and Steve’s shoulders.

“He said ‘for all eternity’, idiot.”

Tommy’s lip curled and he opened his mouth to snap back but when Vecna began to speak again, he switched track almost immediately, translating again.

Vecna stretched an arm out towards them.

“Take my hand,” Tommy said, “and I will spare your friends.”

“Bullshit.” Steve spat.

Eddie brought a hand up, resting it on Steve’s shoulder and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

“Have you got any bright ideas?”

Steve didn’t move from where he was, still standing in front of Eddie like a statue. 

“I’m working on it.”

“Well,” Eddie sighed, hating himself for having come to the conclusion that he had. That this was the best way forward. That without Steve and Robin and Ardeth, the world would definitely be doomed. And that the best way to make sure they stayed alive was to comply… for now.

He stepped around Steve, allowing his hand to drag across his shoulders and down his arm, taking his hand momentarily.

“You better think of something fast because if he turns me into a mummy, you’re the first one I’m coming after.”

“What– Eddie!” 

Eddie ducked low, slipping under the arm that Steve threw out to try and stop him.

He stepped forward, taking Vecna’s hand and felt himself get pulled in close, curled into Vecna’s side, almost lovingly.

Eddie’s eyes didn’t leave Steve, who looked like he was ready to set the world on fire, pulling his revolver out and taking a step forward.

“Steve, wait!” Robin and Ardeth grabbed him by the arms, pulling him back between them and Eddie held a hand up to stop him as well.

 “Stop, it’s okay, Steve. He has to take me back to Hamunaptra to perform the ritual.” He lowered his voice, almost imploring him to keep a level head despite his own heart thumping loudly in fear. “You have time.”

There was a tense moment where Eddie wasn’t entirely sure whether Steve was going to listen to him, Ardeth whispering into his ear, repeating the same thing. It looked like Steve wasn’t even sure if he was going to submit, but eventually he took a step back, though it seemed to take a great effort to do so.

“I’ll be seeing you later.” Steve growled, pointing his torch directly at Vecna, who just smiled at him, placid and confident. 

Eddie felt himself being pulled, almost dragged away and even though he’d conceded to this, it was difficult to make his legs comply.

He looked back over his shoulder where he saw Tommy approach Robin, reaching into her pocket to pull the puzzle box out.

Robin glared at him and suddenly raised her fist, faking out a punch to the face.

When Tommy flinched back, Robin grinned at him and Tommy turned his back, following after them.

“Kill them!” Vecna shouted to the crowd.

God damn it, why had Eddie expected anything different?

“No!” He tried to pull away as the crowd closed in, blocking him off from his friends but Vecna’s grip was unfaltering.

He would have bit and scratched and clawed his way out. 

If he had to resort to dirty tactics, he would. 

He would have popped Vecna’s fucking testicles under his knee if he’d had the chance, but he didn’t.

Eddie’s senses were assaulted, sand swirling around him and he could feel it getting sucked into his mouth, up his nose, in his eyes, in his ears and everything around him darkened. 

Part 1/ Part 5/ Part 7 (Complete)/ AO3

Happy birthday @hbyrde36

My biggest thanks and much love to @pearynice and @hitlikehammers for the beta work with this and to the @strangerthingswritersguild for their motivation!

[nights-at-crystarium]

Fragments - episodes 19-22 author notes

You can find similar breakdown posts on older episodes in my pinned!

Obligatory ShB spoiler warning.

First off, the two panels that took a silly amount of time just because I wanted to reflect Vivi’s impressions on the city.

Episodes 18, 19, 20 open up with Vivi being concerned with the most pressing matters:

Can’t fight if you ain’t pretty (or got just 1-2 outfits to be pretty in, that won’t do either)

I still really like the panel above, especially their pose. Episodes 19-22 show how they gradually get rid of physical boundaries. They didn’t even touch back when they first met (episode 15).

Vivi’s casual about physical affection with friends, just one of his core things.

Of course Vivi would trust and choose the company of a pixie, a supernatural being, over a (presumably) human who only reinforces Vivi’s worst opinions on humanity at that point in time, concealing himself and swimming in secrets. Get rekt nerd.

At least Vivi isn’t openly hostile, just.. Dismissive? I saw some other WoLs who outright hate Exarch for abducting the Scions and almost getting themselves, the WoL, killed at Ghimlyt Dark. Vivi, however, just wants to be left alone.

Tfw the love of your life is being stolen by your dear friend. Or vice versa? Or both at the same time? Anyway, Vivi and Feo Ul form a new cool kids' club and Exarch isn't invited.

Can't relax in your favorite secluded spot for a godsdamned moment without some pesky dragoon randomly popping out of nowhere.

While I hc Exarch being able to sense living presence around the Tower, imagine doing that 24/7 for every person. I like to think that he learned to filter it out, turn off/on at will. And while he's in a public place, with his glamour up, he doesn't need to upkeep the "radar", he's just chilling and is possibly lost in thoughts, and that's why Vivi startles him.

This scene bears more symbolic meaning than plot importance. And, uh, some foreshadowing? Forelighting? x'D While Vivi doesn’t fall (heh) for his savior, he’ll reflect upon this at a later time.

Vivi’s normally careful and stately. Yes he’s an elf but he do be carryin’ himself like a cat. There’s a lot of control and assertion behind his trademark nonchalant posture. So, NORMALLY, this wouldn’t happen. Maybe he got distracted by the shiny? And where’s Feo Ul?

Exarch, however, the man that chokes on air unprompted, in a moment like this acts before he could think. As some people correctly noted, the old man’s QUICK. The “screentime” stretches out as Vivi’s life almost begins flashing before his eyes, while for Exarch it's gotta be a mere second or two.

I’m extra proud of the colorwork here. As if blood’s gone from Vivi’s face, as if his entire body went cold, but life slowly returns to him, starting with that hand. You bet this’s brimming with subtext.

Exarch uses his left hand over the right, for better friction and probably because he doesn’t like the attention to his right hand.

I like that this panel’s caused confusion, it worked as intended :9 An all too vague dark joke that almost cost Vivi his life. In his head it went like “yeah anyone can fly once, when they’re about to go splat”, but he wasn’t only preoccupied with the jumps, but also didn’t KNOW yet that he HAS TO speak with a fae like almost with a child, or a lawyer. Simplest terms. No ambiguity. EVER. They’ll misinterpret you unwittingly, or on purpose.

And so they did. Or didn’t? Feo Ul’s spent a long time offscreen, but whether they chose not to help, or even gave Vivi a little push, will forever stay a mystery because why not.

Lesson learned.. On both sides.. Hopefully. Also, fret not, Exarch WILL say fuck one day, one day~

Vivi's lucky. Incredibly so. He's aware of it, doesn't see it as anything special, like you don't see anything special in being able to read this. Perhaps jumping up an unknown structure while being accompanied by an exceedingly curious and mischievous creature is risky even for his kind, but Vivi's so used to getting away with so many things that he doesn't stop to consider it for the tiniest moment.

The first genuine exchange of smiles.

Silver lining: now they have better chances at getting along and returning to that world-saving duty.

Update from January 2024: I came back here to tell you something that took me so long to realize about episode 20′s description:

And all he saw was the Light, and then he knew that Death wore white in this world.

I randomly popped off with this prose, which on itself is a cool thing, but now I realize the extra meanings it could take on. Thinking about 5.x and Elidibus has me feeling unwell in the best way. THAT VIVI ALSO WEARS WHITE HERE IS UH. A coincidence. But it also kinda works as the Warrior of Darkness becomes somewhat of a local Reaper in the First, and then, well, then we have that Light corruption arc :3c

Vivi's calm and tender enough for a pixie to trust him with their wings.

Feo Ul ate and drank several times their size, and all that hero talk.. Ugh. Time for a nap.

Drawing this made me yawn at least 3 times. You’re not immune either.

He’s activating his scanners :>

Vivi's definition of nice is "not nagging, begging or preaching, and using bare facts and logic to convince the hero to do the hero thing".

Literally the next page if you’re reading in order :’> Riiiiiiiiight. That hero thing.

We don’t question whether Vivi invited his loveliest branch, or if they invited themselves. The fact is, they’re there and Vivi’s totally cool with it.

Exarch must be watching. And probably foaming at mouth as Feo Ul keeps leading in the race for Vivi’s heart. They don’t only earn the hero’s trust, but get in his bed and, gasp, brush his hair.

Vivi's getting comfy in his role somewhere between a disney princess and Feo Ul’s pet.

A writing-related tangent incoming, but, since you’re here, I assume you’re already somewhat interested in this kinda stuff.

So, there’s the script, the plain text that waits to get illustrated. The screenplay, if you will. I don’t just sit down and draw enough random things to fill a few pages, I approach this as an actual cohesive serialized story.

I changed a good half of this episode when I began storyboarding it. In the initial script from some months ago, Vivi said "I slept so well". Something about this didn't sit right with me. It’s the most basic mistake of telling instead of showing. I asked myself, would he, a person who takes good sleep and dreams for granted, say that out loud? Nah. I removed that bit, and drew him stretching deliciously. He also asked Feo Ul if they guarded his dreams, they smiled vaguely but warmly just like in the finalized version, but then Vivi simply muttered "I could get used to this" and gave them headpats. I decided to elevate this scene by adding this tiny rollercoaster, which brought Feo Ul's greyness to the forefront, and thickly hinted that Vivi doesn't only sleep well, but has nice dreams that he probably starts cherishing after this.

To be fair, this isn’t super important for the main plot, I just wanted to highlight the difference between Vivi and Exarch, the latter being in a hate-hate relationship with sleep. Vivi’s affinity with dreams is a door I like to keep open for the possible future story (talking post-EW events).

Now you know this’s the face they make before going apeshit.

Imagine if this prank didn't exist and instead Vivi simply said "I slept so well, this's so important to me". I’m proud of the writing muscle I’m growing on the fly ;w;

Ardbert's chance to act and feel normal, thwarted in the next few seconds.

I'm so glad that people are picking up on this!! “Hey man” is Vivi’s way of providing whatever comfort he could. An illusion of normalcy. He’s emotionally intelligent when it matters.

..But he should’ve also considered that Feo Ul can and will ruin the vibe :’>

Another screenwriting thing: this episode lacks an establishing shot, i.e. the obligatory zoomed out view on everyone in the room, but I think this’s a rare case of “less is more”. Along with the light vs shadow, it reinforces the feeling of separation. Vivi and Feo Ul are shown together, interacting, doing cute stuff, while Ardbert’s alone. Sorry not sorry for the hurty :’>

This’s all I’ve got for now. Thanks for reading and paying so much attention! People start to notice and analyze the things I’m weaving in, and it’s the best kinda interaction I as a creator could wish for.

[seiya-starsniper]

Rating: Teen || Chapters: 2/5 || Word Count 3.5k/??

Summary: The Dead Boy Detectives run into a familiar pub while out on a case, and Crystal has to contend with an unfortunate event from her past.

AO3 Tags: POV Multiple, Hob Gadling gives live advice to a bunch of teenagers, while helping them solve cases, that's it that's the fic, also he maybe plays matchmaker for his hot mess bestie

Chapter 1

Read Chapter 2 below, or using the link above on AO3!

--------------

Hob Gadling considers himself to be a rather open minded man. He's lived hundreds of years, and seen thousands of strange and unusual things in that same amount of time, so the chances of something catching him completely off guard are rather slim in the year 2024.

The last few days, however, have proven that there are still many, many things that can surprise him. 

One of those things being one Charles Rowland, who is currently waving at Hob from the entryway of the New Inn.

Hob normally doesn't like to get involved in anything having to do with the supernatural, and especially not anything related to the type of work that Edwin and Charles do. He'd met them purely by chance after some asshole with delusions of grandeur had tried to frame him for a series of murders. He’d sent Edwin and Charles on a wild goose chase in a poor attempt to cover his own tracks.

Hob thought that once they caught the real murderer together and cleared things up, that would be the end of things. But then, Hob kept getting involved in their cases over the years, all of them entirely on accident. Eventually, somewhere between the fourth and fifth poltergeist, Hob decided he might as well figure out how to defend himself against supernatural entities, and maybe make himself useful for these poor boys too. They certainly needed all the help they could get.

Hob had been glad to hear that Edwin and Charles had recently gotten some sort of amnesty in exchange for continuing to help ghosts and other souls move on. It was good work, what these boys did. Hob has seen ghosts that haunted the same places for centuries finally be to pass on into the afterlife thanks to them. And now, they not only had permission to keep going, but had gotten more help to do it too.

The addition of Crystal to their little crew had been a surprise, and Jenny an even bigger surprise, though the latter seems less interested in solving cases, and more in making sure Crystal doesn't get herself killed in the process.

Still, Hob's only ever seen the teens all together in some sort of group, never alone, and he's definitely never seen Charles without Edwin. From the moment Hob had first met the two ghost boys, they’d always been a singular unit in his mind. And yet here Charles was, alone and looking strangely expectant while trying to appear casual as he waits for Hob to close out the tabs on the last remaining lunch hour patrons.

“Everything all right?” Hob asks when Charles approaches him once his last customer leaves. 

“Of course!” Charles answers, his signature smile bright on display. “I was just in the neighborhood and wanted to say hello. And to thank you again for the assist the other day.”

As a ghost, Charles is technically always in the neighborhood, so Hob knows that that’s not all that there is to his visit. It also hasn't escaped Hob's notice that Charles specifically picked the one day Jenny wasn't working the kitchen this week to drop by the pub. He clearly doesn’t want anyone to know that he’s here.

But Hob knows by now how to deal with skittish teenagers. Even dead ones.

“Well I'm almost done here and then I'm gonna head upstairs for a cuppa,” Hob says. Mark’s going to be here soon to relieve me of duty. Happy to have some company if you have the time to spare for an old man.”

“Oh! Yeah sure, I'm not busy,” Charles says, and cute that he’s still trying to pretend that he hadn’t come here with a purpose, when his eagerness is so clearly written all over his face. “Don't need any food though, as you know.”

“Sure, sure,” Hob replies, waving his hand dismissively so Charles can head upstairs ahead of him. He's going to make a cup of tea for Charles anyways. The boy always seemed to love the steam that came out of the mugs, even though he’d never admit it out loud.

Mark comes in exactly at 2:00pm, and Hob chats with him for a few minutes, before he clocks out and heads upstairs to his flat above the pub. Charles is already waiting for him in the living room, and Hob immediately sets to the task of warming up some hot water in the kettle and grabbing some mugs for tea.

“So how are things at the agency?” Hob asks as he waits for the water to heat. “Busy as ever, or more so now that you’ve got yourselves a psychic?”

“Definitely busier,” Charles says. “Crystal’s been a massive help with our cases, we're solving them even faster than before.”

“Good,” Hob replies, just as the kettle clicks, letting him know the water is done. “I’m glad she’s using her powers for good nowadays,” he adds as he brings the two mugs over to the couch. Charles looks surprised by the extra mug, but accepts it without a word. Hob doesn’t expect him to drink any of the tea, of course, but as predicted, Charles seems to fall into a trance watching the steam rise out of the cup.

“Thanks for not giving her too much of a hard time,” Charles says when Hob sits down in the recliner across from him. “She’s been really down on herself lately for everything in her past.”

“I can only imagine,” Hob agrees. He knew a thing or two about wanting to reinvent oneself and burning away the past. He’s had hundreds of years to do so after all. In fact, it could even be argued that Crystal was far ahead of where Hob would’ve been had he been in her shoes. The girl he’d met a few nights ago was so different from the one he’d met a year ago in court that Hob would’ve thought she had a twin instead. 

“Seems like you two get along well,” Hob notes after a brief silence has passed. Charles perks up immediately, taking the opening in the conversation.

“We do,” Charles replies, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “She’s amazing.”

“Yeah? So are the two of you a thing then?” Hob asks, and would you look at that, turns out ghosts can blush after all. 

“I—maybe?” Charles says, his voice pitched higher with uncertainty. “I don’t know, actually. I mean, it's, well…complicated I guess?”

“How so?” Hob asks. He’d suspected there had been something going on between them, it was obvious in their body language, and how they gently teased one another throughout the night after the banshee had gone. Now Charles is talking like a man newly in love and completely besotted.

“Is she giving you mixed signals?” Hob follows up when Charles doesn't answer.

“No!” Charles exclaims, shaking his head. “It’s me really, I’m—I don’t know.” He sighs in frustration and runs a hand through his hair. “I thought for a while that’s what I wanted and then Edwin—” he suddenly cuts himself off, a small amount of panic now crossing his features.

Ah. Now the reason for Charles' visit suddenly makes itself clear. Crystal clear even, but Hob keeps that terrible pun to himself. 

“So Edwin finally told you how he felt about you?” Hob asks, deciding to rip the bandage off now and quell the strange awkwardness in the room. Charles’ head whips up so fast Hob feels his own neck start to cramp up in sympathy.

“You knew ?” Charles asks. “But Edwin said he’d only figured it out when we were in Port Townsend!”

Hob shrugs. “Sometimes, things are easier to spot when you’re not in the middle of them,” he replies. “But it was pretty clear that, at the very least, Edwin considered you the most important person to him. It's not surprising he fell in love with you too.”

“You really think so?” Charles asks. “Because I don't—I’d never really thought about it before, you know? He's my most important person too, but I never thought that we would be more than that. But now that he's said it, I can't stop thinking about it.”

“Yeah?” Hob asks. “Does it bother you that he feels that way?” A shake of the head. Good. “Do you ever think you could return those feelings?”

“I don’t know, and that’s the problem!” Charles cries, his voice pitching near to a whine. He stands and paces around Hob’s living room, and Hob has to try not to laugh into his tea. Teenage problems were always the same, whether a live or dead.

“To be honest, I’m still really into Crystal,” Charles starts, “...but then after everything with Edwin, and what happened to Niko, I started thinking, well, how long will that really last? Crystal’s alive, I’m not. She’s going to—she won’t—she’ll eventually—”

“Grow up?” Hob offers when the teen can’t find the right words. “Grow old, hopefully? Live a fulfilling life with someone else that’s flesh and blood?”

“I—yeah. Ideally yes,” Charles replies, though it's clear the thought bothers him by the way he scrunches his features. “But also, what if us being together puts her in too much danger? What if she—if what happened to Niko happens to her, I couldn't bear it, Mr. Gadling.”

“Hob,” Hob corrects the boy gently. “I've told you before that you don't need to call me Mister anything, makes me feel way older than I already feel,” he adds with a laugh. Charles gives him a half smile and just shrugs helplessly. Some habits were impossible to break, it seemed.

“And those are perfectly reasonable fears to have,” Hob continues. “Crystal is her own person though, and you need to take into account that she might find the risk worth it. And to be honest, I feel like the risk to her life is the same, whether you two are romantically involved or not.”

“Yeah, I suppose you're right,” Charles agrees, flopping back down onto Hob’s couch and staring back into the still steaming mug of tea. “So do you think we should give it a go, then?”

Hob shrugs. “I think you two like each other,” he replies, “but whether you think a relationship is worth it is up to you. Does Edwin know about you two?”

“He knows—some stuff yeah,” Charles replies sheepishly. “I had told him I liked her way before he, you know, confessed to me and all. And like, even afterwards, it seems like he’s fine, but I really don’t know if it’s all actually fine, or if he’s just trying to act like he’s fine just because I look fine but he’s not really fine and what if I’ve mucked everything up or—”

“Hey, slow down, Charles,” Hob interjects, and the boy’s mouth clicks shut immediately. “From what I can see, nothing has changed between you, so I wouldn't worry about it,” he adds, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. “Besides, you and Edwin have been together this long now, you've got more than enough time to sort things out, one way or the other.”

“Yeah,” Charles agrees, his voice now wistfully soft and clearly full of affection. “When we were in Hell, I said that to him,you know. That we have eternity to figure it all out.”

“Did you now?” Hob asks, now smiling himself. “Sounds like you two are on the same page then, as per usual. Now you just need to make a decision yourself and Crystal.”

“Yeah…yeah you're right,” Charles says, seeming to come to a decision. His back straightens and he sits up, his signature smile back on his face. “Edwin and I may have forever, but Crystal doesn't and it's rude to keep a lady waiting right?”

“Absolutely," Hob replies.

Charles leaves shortly after, promising not to overthink everything and let his feelings come naturally to him. Hob is fairly certain he knows where things will land eventually, and he's sure Charles does too. It doesn't make the journey to get there any less worthwhile.

[jane-john-doe-tournament]

John Doe (Malevolent) Propaganda:

Spooky gay eldritch disaster (am I doing this right?)

Could have chosen any name for himself and picked John because a kind person called him that :)

fractured piece of an eldritch god that shares a body with a private eye after being fractured. chooses the name John Doe after said private eye goes into a coma

Because he’s an eldritch god who wants to feel human and who overcame a lot of obstacles and dangers!!! He sincerely cares about the main character!!! And he chose a name himself! Isn’t he cute??? He lost his body, he almost lost his memory, he fought for his right to exist, he loves animals, he loves his friend Arthur and I love him!

Being an ass, friendship, spooky supernatural stuff, he’s got it all

My man heard the name John Doe, realized he didn’t actually have a name, and just. Took it for himself.

I LOVE HIM. MY SON. HE’S TRYING TO CHANGE AND BE BETTER AND :(((( He’s a fragment of the soul of the King in Yellow (god of trickery and suffering iirc??) that gets trapped in a book in our realm while the rest of the King stayed in his own separate realm. When a human named Arthur Lester opens the book they get linked and John gains control of Arthur’s eyes & kills his partner (oops!). They proceed to go on a quest to find a way of separating them because neither likes the situation, and at first John (or The Entity, which is what he’s called at first) just wants to trick and use Arthur, and control his entire body (through the first season he also gets a hand & a foot) even though he doesn’t remember being The King In Yellow at the time, but Arthur makes him change and become more human. His turning point is when Arthur is shot and falls into a coma for a month. They get treated at a hospital and while John waits for Arthur to wake up so they can carry on, the body itself still gets taken care of. The time John spends alone, contemplating on humanity & everything he’s seeing and learning from Arthur, as well as the way a certain nurse speaks to him every day (specifically, she greets him good morning and good night, despite the body being unresponsive, John still hears because he is an entity linked to the body) and calls him John (they didn’t have ID on when they were found so they were classified as John Doe), changes his outlook and plans for good, and he asks Arthur to call him John; from this point on he admits he cares for Arthur, looks for his wellbeing too, and in general attempts to be a better person and to live for himself. The rest of the podcast (ongoing!!) explores Arthur & John’s relationship, struggle to survive, adventures in the eldritch… All while tackling each of their issues with themselves and each other and watching them both grow. John in specific learns to be the person he wants to be, how sometimes you’ll take a step forward and two backwards; he can be cruel and manipulative sometimes but he still tries. Personally I love his journey, it’s very realistic and you can see he is trying his best, and how he wants to be better than he was as the King In Yellow, and how much Arthur has changed him and how much he cares about him because of that; and how he’s slowly growing into being his own person :) if it ends badly ill cry so hard but!!! he’s John Doe because that’s the name he was being addressed as, and he’s made it his, and being John means he’s no longer the King and that he wants to be different, and John can fail or make mistakes but it’s part of who he is now, and that’s what matters. I am So Normal About Him

JOHN DOE (Malevolent) SWEEP

Jane Doe (Team Fortress 2) Propaganda:

Soldier’s name, Jane Doe, emphasizes the core aspects of his character. We’re given sparse, mostly comedic, details about Soldier’s past, having been rejected from every branch of the U.S. Military. Soldier represents this parody of the idea of a U.S. Soldier. He’s taken every trope to heart and blown it up, but gotten it slightly off. Hence, his name is a reference to an unidentified person, someone without a real identity, but skewed slightly to the left from just being your standard John Doe.

Rejected from every branch of the military. Used sour-cream to found a racoon sanctuary in his ex-roommate's new castle. Has lead poisoning. Him and his fiancee are like if Gomez and Morticia Addams were meathead jocks. Strips naked and douses himself in honey in order to fight things like bears and killer robots. Collects severed heads. I love him.

[slocumjoe]

What do you think the companions opinions of ghosts and supernatural things are?

You know, I've actually done this before, years back!

Looking back on it now, I have some differing ideas, having spent more time really thinking these dudes over and writing about them. So,

COMPANIONS AND SPIRITUALITY 2; ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

Cait; Surprises herself when she realizes this, but she believes in God. Not just agnostic, she believes in the Christian God. It never occurred to her until one day, when she caught herself and realizes that this was the belief she held. Her parents weren't religious, so it didn't make any damn sense to her. She just sorta defaulted to it. Obviously, Cait is not religious, but yeah, she kinda assumed a Christian mindset. Just never cared. Once she catches herself, becomes staunch atheist, but that shift was sudden and kind of wobbly. Its a "Wait, what do I actually believe in?" moment. As for cryptids, no. Maybe ones before the war. But as for the post apocalypse, anything is possible, so, why bother with trying to make it all mysterious?

Curie; Avid hater of cryptids and Aliens, but fascinated by religion. You ask her for her opinions on the topic, and she'll break off into a sociological discussion of the nature of religion and faith, and what's she's noticed in the apocalyptic modern era. You ask her if she believes in religion, and you can see her eyes go all blue screen of death, Ms. Nanny body or no. For one, the Ms. Nanny programming would never allow her to form an opinion on that. For two, the programming also kind of held everything in place. In a synth form, where her brain is looking for her own answer, but her instinct/programming remnant is looking for coded-in pre-recorded responses...it's a good way to send her into a kind of crisis. The move from metal to meat doesn’t do her any favors, here.

Danse; A loose agnostic. He sees no need to argue about it, but he doesn't believe, but he also doesn't...disagree? Danse's stance here is "we'll never know so what's the point." He tried religion, and he'll pray in...dire circumstances...but if you ask, he'll call himself an atheist. He'll also go into the sociology and go all nerd on you, but where Curie almost physically can't have an opinion, Danse doesn't have one and doesn't feel the need for one. If he needs God to be real, he'll hope for it. Otherwise, nah.

Deacon; would fuck with Buddhism. Would be that annoying dude at the Whole Foods check out buying hummus who holds the cashier at obligation-point to talk about karma. Normally this would be a Deaconism, an inside joke. Not here. This is a genuine Deacon. He'd also be very interested in all religions, but Buddhism is the one he's most likely to consider, if not partake in. Aliens and cryptids? Uh...Deacon likes to have fun, so yeah, but he's probably not a hardcore believer. He's just being a silly goose. Will double down and go full tinfoil hat to be obnoxious, but doesn't really put stock in it.

Gage; nah and nah. He was raised catholic and it didn't take. Or, maybe it took too well, or in the wrong way, depending on your perspective. He still privately considers Sunday to be special, but he doesn't act on it. Cryptids, also nah. Same reason as Cait. Have you seen what radiation does to animals? To people? Why the fuck would anything be surprising? "There was a giant moth the size of a man on my house!" Shit, that means the runoff from the nuclear power plant from up north has reached the watering holes. "I saw a large, hairy man!" That was probably Gage himself. Fuck sake. "There was a man with a goat head!" Thats a Pack member, which is arguably worse than what you think you saw.

Hancock; Religious in the traumatized way. The begging for God to kill you if you deserve to die but nothing happens, so clearly death is too good for you, kind of religious. Hancock has mental breakdowns in churchs, screaming at the remains of the cross in the middle of the burnt pews. Hancock is religous when thematically appropriate and suitably unhinged. Cryptids, he likes the fun of it, but seriously, if Hancock starts mentioning God and crucifixion, you need to check on him.

MacCready; Hardcore no on the religion, hardcore yes on the cryptids. This man would have Bigfoot bumper stickers. He would be on the reddit threads. I don't even know what to write here. Do I need to justify? You know. You know MacCready is a Bigfoot truther. Aliens? Don't talk to Bob about aliens. He'll hold you hostage in a story about the time he went camping up in [insert North Eastern Forest Here] and definitely saw [insert North Eastern Alien of Cultural Importance Here]. This man would go ghost busting.

Nick; religious, but like, very low key about it. He's not a praying man, but he does think the Big Man Upstairs exists. Mostly because there's so many times in his life where he's certain someone is laughing at him, and whatever dumb situation he's gotten himself into now. Does go to church every so often, and steps lighter in the ruins he finds. Aliens? Nope. Cryptids? Nope. Ghosts? Yeah, absolutely. He doesn't buy into those haunted house attractions, but he believes in the afterlife, and that some folks might get lost on their way there.

Piper; no religion. No aliens. No cryptids. Hard facts or fuck off. At least, thats what she says. But the moment something rattles in the basement at 2 in the morning? Piper is superstitious. She doesn't believe, but she's not gonna play chicken with demonic possession or alien abduction. Now, she has some ghost stories, but she doesn't think they're ghost stories. "Yeah, turned out the person I'd been talking to was legally dead for 30 years. Kinda weird." "Piper." "Say its a ghost and I'm throwing my drink at you. Who doesn't fake their death every once in a while?"

Preston; raised religious but didn't take. It's not that he believes in ghosts, it's that Preston has a good head on his shoulders. This man Knows when Something Is Wrong. Preston might not have the highest PER, but he knows when to get the fuck out of somewhere. Aliens, cryptids, whatever. Preston doesn't even know if ghosts are real. He just knows that some places don't forget what happened to them. If you're ever in a weird location, use him as a "back in the car right fucking now" meter.

X6-88; no religion, aliens, or cryptids, whatever. However. Very prone to believing tall tales. Myths. Legends. Mothman? Genuinely thought that was just a species of moth. He thinks they're bullshit, provided the info is being provided with air of literalness. If you open with "yeah, there's this story of a giant half man, half moth creature," he knows its a story. If you go, "There's a giant moth from Virginia that eats people", that's just what moths are like. Why would he assume there isn't a carnivorous moth? Gets very, very upset whenever someone pulls one over on him like this. By someone, I mean Deacon. Its always Deacon.

[t0ast-ghost]

Watching Star Trek TOS for the first time, and here are my thoughts on episode three (Charlie “X”)! (I didn’t do episode two cause I just wanted to watch it but I love Bones)

- so far I really like the kid

- Kirk shut up, let Charlie talk

- oh no he’s frightened by the door :(((

- girls do not look THAT different, getting some bad vibes from you Charlie

- BONES!!! (Why does he stand like that, it’s so curved)

- “I want people to like me” oh god they gave this boy anxiety

- He’s learning about the patriarchy, like Ken

- Kirk making Bones tell Charlie about puberty, he looked so defeated

- SPOCKS EYESHADOW!!!

- Charlie gets a Kirk assigned father, it’s not Kirk himself but he did assign Bones to do it, can’t you see the man is tired Jim?!?

- why is she being mean to Spock in verses? Nvm this is fun and he’s enjoying her singing

- HE SLAPPED KIRKS BUTT WHAT

- “there’s no right way to hit a woman.. you know man to man.. uhh… you understand, Charlie?” That was the worst way to try and explain anything, Kirk

- “I put meatloaf in the ovens, now there’s turkeys, real turkeys” then Charlie’s little laugh

- aww they’re playing chess together, normal husband activities

- “you smell like a girl” “I feel hungry… all over” back the fuck up Charlie

- stop trying to get Bones to explain stuff to him, Kirk

- this episode is just so icky, one issue is that they can’t just have an adult conversation and they can’t explain anything properly to him, they’re just telling him no and that he’s wrong. It’s a good example of how concealing information doesn’t allow people to find their own morals but instead creates a bunch of rules which can be easily broken if the person doesn’t believe in them because they don’t understand the logic behind them. (Not saying that the boundaries they’re setting for him are wrong, he just can’t understand them because they’re not explaining shit)

- SHUT UP SAM HE’S TRYING- oops Sam’s gone

- damn that German expressionist lighting tho, like something out of metropolis

- I FUCKIN DARE YOU KIRK, PICK HIM UP SEE WHAT HAPPENS

- okay Kirk saying it’s his choice is good cause at least he’s teaching him that these things he does are his own actions

- “short tempered, because he doesn’t understand” cause you won’t explain shit without mind games and metaphors

- Spock and Bones DO NOT want to get involved

- when Charlie’s explaining what he did to the Antares Bones looks absolutely terrified (Bones sitting like that on the table is… I have many thoughts)

- OH NO UHURA!

- Don’t you dare call Spock Mr. Ears

- “Teenager with supernatural abilities realizes his full potential and decides to use it for evil NOT CLICKBAIT”

- Why would you do that, why would you turn her into an iguana

- GET HIM!!! Wait no! Janice!

- “I love you” “you don’t know what that means” good for her, fuck you Charlie

- He gave Kirk period pain

- “cause you need me to run the ship, and I need him” Spirk? It’s more likely than you think

- this slide from Bones

- “I don’t think you can handle anymore, you’ve reached your limit” Spock and Bones start fucking shit up immediately for Kirk

- Kirk was so ready to punch a bitch

- nice fucking try Charlie- oh Kirk is defending him- nvm he still gets yoinked

- imagine if Charlie becomes Q lol (is that a thing? Are they related?)

- well that’s done now… where’s Scotty, Sulu, and Checkov? (Sulu appeared shirtless in the credits as I wrote that)

Thanks for sticking around again :)

Here’s a link to the first ramble

And all the other rambles

Below the cut is some thoughts I had on the second episode

Some thoughts on episode 2 (The Man Trap):

- it was kinda funny seeing Jim be like “she’s old as fuck, just like Bones”

- I didn’t realize that was where “he’s dead, Jim” came from and my dad quotes it all the time

- it was interesting that even the creature referred to themselves as an animal

- McCoy in the ending where he really didn’t want to kill somebody he loved even if they were just the image

- would not want to be the person to explain what happened to her to Bones

[itsclydebitches]

I haven’t read a whole lot of TMA fic, so I’m sure this already exists somewhere, but I really want a time travel fic where Jon goes back to Gertrude’s era.

So it’s 2007-ish, before his younger counterpart has started working at the Institute, but years into Elias and Gertrude’s tenure. They’re having a normal day serving the semi-omniscient fear god when a fucking full-fledged avatar of the Beholding - complete with a small mountain of tapes - falls through a rift in space-time and crash lands on Gertrude’s desk.

(Season 5 Jon might have decided not to kill Helen and instead used her to get here. If he ever sees her again they’re going to have A Talk™ about her choice of transportation.)

For the record, a hot mess of a man falling from the sky indoors is only like... the eighth most interesting thing to happen to Gertrude this week. Still, it’s clear he’s not entirely human - one gets a sense for these things, even without a giant eyeball’s help - and she’s got a knife on him faster than you can say “Statement.” This doesn’t seem to faze the man.

That annoys the fuck out of Gertrude.

Meanwhile, Elias has nearly passed out from the supernatural alarm bells going off in his head because the Ceaseless Watcher’s special little boy is here!!! What does that mean? Hell if he knows, but this man is ALIGHT with the Entities’ marks, just dripping with the power of the Eye, and Elias finds he has the sudden urge to drop to his knees before this stranger, something he’s only ever done post-Watcher’s Crown.

(This might be a Jonlias fic, whoops.)

Elias, seeing The Archivist for the first time: 😍😍😍😍😍

Gertrude, seeing The Archivist for the first time: 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

So after introductions Jon is all, “Yes, I’m an eldritch monster that’s forced to feed off the trauma of others, but I’m your eldritch monster. Please, Gertrude, I’d like nothing more than to carve out Magnus’ heart with you so he can’t destroy the whole fucking world.”

Elias, suddenly experiencing true fear for the first time in decades, feeding the Eye and being fed in turn and basically entering a feedback loop where this powerful stranger threatening to murder him is the hottest thing he’s ever Seen: !!!!! 💖💞😱!!!!!🤩😊💚!!!!!

And at first Gertrude’s like hell no, not having any more goddamn avatars in my archives thank you, but then the trio passes young intern Sasha James (shhh don’t worry if that fits the timeline) and Jon looses it. The hold that the Stranger had on him in his original timeline has broken and he’s able to recognize this as the real Sasha - her face, her voice, her very panicked looks towards her bosses as this random man sobs into her shoulder. And Gertrude’s like dammit, clearly The Archivist still has some of his humanity left. No true Fear monster would ever willingly be that embarrassing.

After prying Jon away from Sasha and promising her a raise to avoid any HR reports, they get the whole long, traumatic story out of him, but any plans to just permanently kill Elias kinda... sputter out. It’s a little bit of a Web thing, a little bit of a time travel thing, and a little bit of Jon just feeling... wrong when he considers it, no matter what he’s told Gertrude. It’s similar to when he let Annabelle live, though Elias has done absolutely fuck-all to earn his mercy. This confuses Jon, though it’s pretty far down on his list of worries.

The good news is that Jon’s mere presence puts a permanent wrench in Elias’ plans. He’s never going to repeat the ritual to open the door, obviously, and good fucking luck marking another archivist while he’s Watching. Given Jon’s suspicions that he became semi-immortal after waking from his coma, he’ll be Watching a damn long time, you megalomaniacal bastard.

The bad news is that since Elias can no longer plot an intricate manipulation, he’s decided that the next best thing is to just convince Jon to bring about the end of the world willingly.

By wooing him.

Elias: “We can be Kings of a ruined world together, Jon~”

Gertrude: “I am not paid enough for this.”

So begins the office romance comedy of Jon’s nightmares, where instead of hating him for ruining his world domination plans, Elias is smitten - in a suave, very creepy kinda way - and has decided that he’ll simply wait Jon out, wearing him down until the inevitable day when he realizes that they were meant to be. A full-fledged Archivist was dropped into his lap, ranting about how he out-foxed a future version of Elias, tormented by his own monstrosity, and people expected his narcissistic ass to not fall head over heels with his own creation?? As if.

Jon is Not Having A Good Time.

Originally when he landed here he was all, “Where is my Martin whom I love so dearly? Where is the support and companionship that I crave?” But after ‘bumping into’ him a few times outside the Institute, Jon comes to the bitter conclusion that whatever connection they had is gone. He recalls Martin’s firm belief that they never would have become a couple without all the trauma they’d been through and though this time around Jon definitely doesn’t hate him... he doesn’t love him either. Oh, he loves that he exists, seeing Martin whole and blissfully ignorant of the Fears helps heal something in Jon, but it takes him a very long time to admit that he’s too nice. Too caring. Too tentative in his insecurity. Jon grinds his teeth and admits in the privacy of his own thoughts that he was attracted to a bastard version of Martin, one who showed off a little bit of his own monstrosity, was connected to his own domain, could cut just as cruelly with his words as Jon could with his powers... Meeting with him now over coffee, inches away, Jon has never felt farther from him. This Martin simply isn’t a part of the world that created Jon.

Good, he decides and firmly steers Martin away from the Institute. Thanks to some blackmail and Peter Lukas’s money, Martin finds himself with a caretaker for his mom and the promise of a full ride through whatever creative writing program he can get into.

Meanwhile, Elias is of course stalking and spying on Jon whenever he can, doing the metaphorical equivalent of doodling hearts in his notebook whenever he catches a glimpse of why Jon no longer connects with Martin. He’s a bastard avatar with shitty morals and, frankly, far better taste in poetry. Open your third eyes, Jon!!

Gertrude, who avoided sacrificing Michael after a stern talking to from Jon: “You sure you don’t want the Spiral to eat you, kid? Anything’s better than watching this clusterfuck.”

Michael: 🙃🙃🙃

After a while the Institute settles into a new kind of normal. Jon, Gertrude, and Michael defend the archives from the slew of enemies they’ve both amassed, stopping the occasional ritual in their free time. Jon has long come to the conclusion that the Fears couldn’t have originated here - not with the Eye being unable to see its own creation - so starving them in this reality at the expense of their world wouldn’t serve the greater good. The best they can do is continually contain them - which they’ve gotten real good at. Elias continues to bother Jon with a fervor that’s almost admirable (he can see how this guy managed plans for upwards of 200 years) and waffles between playing the Mysterious Boss archetype that he’d used on Jon the first time around, and just giving in to the utter adoration he feels whenever Jon is in the room. It’s clear he’s long since started worshiping Jon rather than the Eye and the Eye is... totally fine with that?

Gertrude: “How did you get the Ceaseless Watcher to treat you like a favored child?”

Jon: Trauma?? 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

After seeing how much happier Martin is, Jon guides the rest of his former assistants away from the Institute, Sasha included. It helps, a little, but it also makes him even more isolated than he was the first time around.

Gertrude realizes this, so when Elias’ flirting - “I’ve found a fresh statement for you, Jon. Oh do stop glaring, it’s just a bit of chloroform. She’ll wake up soon. You can’t be satisfied with stale writings for forever” - starts inducing more fond annoyance than fear or horror, she becomes #Concerned.

Gertrude: “You realize that desensitizing you to his actions was the point all along, right?”

Jon: “Mmhm. But is it still manipulation if I know it’s manipulation?”

Gertrude: “You cannot possibly be considering this.”

Jon: “Would it help if I admitted that dating Elias wouldn’t be the worst decision I’ve ever made?”

Gertrude: “NO.”

The thing is, Jon liked Elias before he revealed himself to be an immortal body-snatcher hell-bent on creating... well, hell on Earth. He liked the soft academic exterior, his careful words, love of organization and attention to detail, the dry humor, cutting intellect, those suits that likely cost more than three months of his salary combined... In fact, Jon is now in a place to vividly remember the embarrassment he felt while interviewing for the archivist’s position, too busy avoiding looking at Elias’ lips to catch the hungry glint in his eye.

Of course, that Elias only exists as a veneer... though what was Jon’s “I’m just a normal man going grocery shopping, please ignore my scars and aborted grab as I resist demanding a statement from you” if not a veneer of its own? Where did their ‘real’ selves begin and their conscious choices end? The most awful thing about all this is that Elias is right. Oh, not about them being Kings of a ruined world, but about how no one but another avatar can truly understand an avatar. By this point Jon is years past his coma, fully at peace - or at least, as at peace as he’ll ever get - with the fact that he chose to live as a monster rather than die as a human. That means Knowing things at his leisure... though he tries not to catch anything private. It means Compelling others to provide him with more knowledge... though he’s careful with his questions around friends. It means Feeding off of others’ worst moments in life... though Jon restricts himself to statements that Gertrude has collected first, so that he never haunts anyone’s dreams. And it means spending the majority of his time with other monsters and monster-aligned allies... though Jon plants his feet firmly in his human morals and refuses to budge.

If he can navigate all that, why not this too?

Elias has said more than once that he would make Jon the worst version of himself - said with such glee and promise as to almost, almost sound like something Jon wants. Jon figures that the worst version of Elias, from his perspective, would be to look a bit more human.

“We can bring out the worst in each other,” he agrees one day, followed by a shark-like grin.

Elias hasn’t the faintest idea what he’s just gotten himself into.

And that feels wonderful. Manipulating him into being a marginally better person who doesn’t bring about the apocalypse might actually be more satisfying than stabbing him. The Elias of Jon's original timeline would have HATED this and that makes Jon do a happy little wiggle whenever he thinks about it.

Gertrude: “You’re leashing a fucking dragon, Sims.”

Jon: “Better than letting it roam free.”

Gertrude: “Just so long as he doesn’t chew through the reins.”

Jon: “Yeah well, I’ll be the first one burned if that happens” and he holds up his charred hand with a shrug.

So begins the most messed up courting ritual the world has ever seen. Do they work as a couple? Oddly enough, yes. Amazingly well, in fact. Is it a healthy relationship? LOL yeah right. But then that’s rather the point. Jon gave up on that the day he acknowledged that, yes, a part of him liked being the most powerful being roaming a hellish landscape - liked not being vulnerable for once. Back when he’d first joined the Institute, post-breakup with Georgie, Jon couldn’t even imagine someone liking him enough to grab a drink after work. He’s past pretending that having the cult-like devotion of a lover, the favor of a Fear god, and the grudging respect of everything else that goes bump in the night isn’t really fucking nice.

Sometimes Elias plays the part of a compassionate human for Jon, as a treat. Sometimes Jon let’s Elias bask in another’s terror, as a treat. Sometimes Jon is Jonathan Sims and sometimes he’s The Archivist. “Let’s rule a burned-out world together” becomes a staple request in their relationship, with Jon always giving Elias the equivalent of a pat on the head and a, “Sure, honey. Maybe next week.” They find something like balance that way.

Plus there’s Gertrude, perpetually in the shadows with an arsenal of weaponry and the promise to obliterate them both if they ever go too far. She reminds Jon of his grandmother when she threatens to fuck them up in the afterlife if they ever make her kill them.

Something, something, dysfunctional eldritch found families are beautiful?

Jon and Elias have achieved something akin to an uncanny, domestic bliss when Elias points out that this body won’t last forever...

Jon Does Not Like the idea of Elias kidnapping another innocent.

However...

Jon: “You know Jurgen Leitner is living in the Institute’s tunnels, right?”

And they lived ever after. The “happily” is highly subjective.

Bonus:

Post-apocalypse!Jon meeting with Original!Jon to warn him away from the Institute, painfully thin ever since his coma, hip-length hair streaked unnaturally white, a slew of scars covering every available bit of skin, the slightest green glow behind his eyes, somehow looking supremely confident and powerful while also embodying the most Awkward Academic you’ve ever seen: Hey.

Og!Jon: G-good lord!

Jon: It’s okay. You can say ‘fuck.’ Please say ‘fuck,’ Jon. We deserve it.

[thepersonperson]

I don’t think you can isolate the kanji 夫 the way you can with 厨 in mizushi. In English, it would be as if we were to interpret the word “salesman” to carry a secondary meaning of “sales husband” or “sales lover” because the word “man” in English can also mean husband or lover in isolation, per Merriam Webster. Like that’s just not how a native speaker would interpret those words or construct a pun. I think Gege uses bonpu because it’s a specific Buddhist term, like Sukuna’s not only calling Gojo mid in a general sense, but also specifically a person who has not achieved spiritual awakening.

Prev Related Ask

Oho! But why not anon? Why shouldn’t I isolate the 夫 in 凡夫? Wordplay is a very flexible thing across all languages.

In English you give me the example of “salesman” -> “salelover”. And I don’t think that’s quite right. What’s going on here is much more like “red rum”=“murder” from The Shining.

(Spoilers below the cut.)

A native English speaker coming across "red rum" in isolation would not think to combine the two words and read it backwards. The context of The Shining is what makes us realize there’s more to it than “red” and “rum”. Upon reflection (in the mirror) the “red rum” becomes “murder”.

This doesn’t mean the “red rum” is only “murder”. The clever thing about this wordplay is that both readings represent something in the story.

The Shining is about an alcoholic man, Jack, losing his mind while isolated at a decaying hotel for work and trying to kill his family. It's his son that starts saying "red rum" early on in the story. (The hotel is also haunted because it’s built over the graves of murdered indigenous people and there's other supernatural stuff going on. I think that’s important to know too.)

Rum, a type of alcoholic drink, is a nod to the root cause of Jack’s problem, the alcoholism. Red is a recourring color in both the book and the movie that seems to represent a lot of things within the narrative. The red on cheeks flushed in drunkness or anger, the blood of those spilled within the hotel’s grounds, a warning sign of danger… “Being in the red” is also a problem for both Jack and the hotel’s finacial state. (And Jack’s mental state too.)

Murder is the danger Jack poses and the reason the hotel exists in the first place.

It’s also noteworthy that a child (Jack's son), who is probably too young to fully grasp concepts like death at the hands of a caretaker, is trying to communicate this danger in 3-letter words that aren’t understood by the adults around him. He’s also copying or mirroring what something else is telling him.

It’s a warning of what’s to come and why it is happening while reiterating narrative themes, but that requires both readings. There’s not one reading or the other, both are happening at the same time. And the only way we can conclude this is by considering the rest of the story.

And if you want to see really abominable wordplay that just breaks all the rules in Japanese, please read Umineko. It’s spoilers to discuss how insane and niche it is, but it make sense for the story because the characters are unhinged weirdos that enjoy screwing with people in esoteric ways that drive you and the people they’re tormenting crazy. (Those who have read know Exactly what I’m talking about.)

(Very mild Umineko spoilers.) Being able to solve the ridiculous wordplay riddle in Umineko requires that you understand the particular neurosis of the character that created it. This character loves both Japanese and English word games and literature. Even though the riddle is written in Japanese, you use that knowledge of this character’s westaboo tendencies to recognize that some of the kanji are secretly representing English letters. And those kanji have to be isolated and read a different way using hints contained within the riddle. (Aka no native speaker would think this way normally. There’s a good reason this thing didn’t get solved for YEARS. Massive Spoilers for proof of this. Shout out to the one person who managed to do it before the solution was released, well sort of.)

I’m using all these weird examples because this is the particular kind of freak Sukuna is. If it were any other character, it would be reaching. But because he is a literature nerd that bends and breaks the rules as he wants, his Dismantle and its kanji doubling as cutting to understand/solve, and the fight being framed as a date, there is a very real chance he meant the mid husband on top of the ordinary/unenlightened readings (religious connotations too). All these readings are to be taken at the same time because Sukuna truly is [redacted] Umineko.

[its-haughty]

made a new story and cast of characters because i’m insane…

Welcome to Full-Body Attack!! A parody of the action hero/super genre where instead of this super charismatic hero who needs to save his city from evil bad guys, it’s just this tired guy who’s armed with a shovel and infinite revives… …The only thing that Shane shares with a true hero is the unbridled determination and selflessness which he sometimes takes to the extreme.

World building and info on shane under the cut

WORLD BUILDING

Parasites live in this world like animals do, however they’re quite rare and were only recently discovered only a few decades ago… There’s still up incoming science related to their existence because of this

Parasites can talk and can only hold powers if they fed off a human/host, using them as a power source - parasites choose humans in particular as they’re one of the most long lived organisms while also being entertaining

When someone has a parasite attached to them: they require more food, sleep, and are just abit more tired than the average person

Mentally handicapped people are the ones most prone to being attached to a parasite as they’re more vulnerable and can stick around unnoticed by their host much easier (the symptoms of having a parasite in some cases don’t feel very noticeable as the person may already suffer from lack of sleep for example)

Usually Parasites don’t make themselves known to their host right away… To ensure they can live their life relatively conflict free!!

BUT when parasites do become noticed by their host whether the host has caught on or the parasite accidentally poked their head out of smt- they almost always strike a deal: To grant the host a power that matches the host’s personality (eg: vigilance = supernaturally strong senses or hearing) in exchange the host must let the parasite live inside them to keep their power

So because of this, parasites and humans try/normally have a symbiotic relationship where both parties are happy

In the city that Shane lives in, Mako is the ceo of two companies: a public and well known pharmaceutical company and a private crime fighting organisation called Symbiosis. Hiring hosts and training them to become heroes in order to take down villains who cause havoc to cities all over different states

———

SHANE AND PERRY

Tired, reserved and very chill guy who wants a good nap and enough money to pay for himself and his family. Complete opposite to Perry who’s mischievous and has a thrill of action. The two bicker a lot but they’ve grown fond of eachother and have a good friendship!

While Shane doesn’t care about himself, he cares a whole ton about his family and his sister, Nadia. He’ll care for himself if it’s for someone he loves. However, Perry does care a lot about Shane, at first it was for the sake of his own survival but it started to devolve into genuine endearment to the man!

Had Perry for awhile since childhood but was unaware he did until adulthood during a freak accident. While driving to his parent’s house to visit his sister, he’d accidentally ram into a deer which would’ve killed him if it wasn’t for his absolute determination and desperation to stay alive for Nadia… It’s then he’d strike a deal with Perry to grant him the ability to come back after death. Not all heroes come from badass origins stories.

But nevertheless is a pretty sick power, Mako thought so too, offering him a job to be an action hero! Shane would take the offer and now it’d kickstart his new life of zany Villain of the Week adventures

Shane is a huuuge nerd deep down and a part of him also likes to pretend he’s this sick ass hero…. Perry indulges this

Does want to do good if he can, his moral backbone is flawed if money is on the line but if he realises the villains aren’t all bad either then it feels kinda bad to beat them up, right? wait maverick what are you doing here

[youchangedmedestiel]

My thoughts just after finishing Supernatural

One year ago on this exact same day I finished SPN. I watched 15x18, 15x19 and 15x20 in a row. I just ate dinner between 15x18 and 15x19 (weird dinner). After watching episode 15x20, I wasn't that pissed off about the end. It changed now, because I got the time to think about it.

See, I knew Cas wouldn’t appear in the last two episodes, but somehow I still hoped that the deal with the Empty wasn’t the reason, because he deserved to be happy. As I progressed through season 15 I felt it coming, even though I was hoping until the last second. And when I got to episode 15x18, I understood that it was this deal that was going to kill him but I didn't know how. That confession scene destroyed me but anyway I went to eat my dinner while being destroyed and then I came back to SPN to watch the last two episodes, knowing I wouldn’t see Cas anymore.

Then came episode 15x19, I've read often that people prefer to ignore 15x20 and I can totally understand (Dean deserved to live free and happy), but 15x19 is NOT a satisfying ending for me, because Cas is still in the Empty (well maybe not, but we don’t know that yet) and I just can’t, he can’t stay there, dead, I can’t accept that.

This is what allows me to appreciate 15x20 a little bit. But it’s not the only reason, because in this last episode I spotted several empty bottles of alcohol in Dean’s room and you all know why. He misses Cas, for sure, at least it’s my headcanon because I need it. Plus, he doesn’t stay long alive after Cas’s death, there is no real timeline. He couldn’t ask Jack to bring him back because Jack told them he wouldn’t intervene anymore and left. So maybe their hopes to get Cas out without Jack were at zero. But I’m sure Dean searched in the bunker’s library when he had the time to before he died. He searched for a way to get Cas out. And then he died (unfortunately, it still hurts). 

Which brings us to episode 15x20. The end of SPN is “good” in a sense that Dean wanted Sam to have a life, a normal apple pie life, so it’s a happy ending for that, because he achieved his goal but HE DESERVED to have that too, for himself, that or anything he wanted, not only for his little brother but FOR HIM AS WELL. 

AND ABOUT CAS? Well about Cas, especially the crumbles we got with “Cas helped” I totally understand why people feel pissed about it, I kind of feel like that too now. But when I first saw this scene, I was happy to hear about Cas because I already knew he wasn’t in the last two episodes so I wasn’t going to be as disappointed as people that waited to see the episode when it aired.

We learn that Cas remade Heaven (with Jack’s help) to do a Heaven Dean deserves, and I - for me it was like Cas fucking succeeded to give Dean what he deserved. He not only saved his life multiple times, but also told him he loved him, made him believe that he did and gave him freedom (for a short amount of time, I’m really pissed about that for sure and I’m sure Cas is too, like he wasn’t expecting him so soon) but he also changed Heaven for him, to make one he deserved.

HE CHANGED THEE ENTIRE HEAVEN FOR THE MAN HE LOVES. I’m going to cry writing this, because that’s like the greatest love story ever told. And yes I would have done things differently, but I can’t and with what they gave us I do what I want. And we have an angel of the Lord, that rebelled against Heaven and that was dead, being back and building a new Heaven for Dean to enjoy eternity with the people he loved. He knew Dean was made of love and he needed a space to express it, and Cas gave it to him (with Jack of course) but damn *typing with tears in the eyes* that still hits me soooo damn hard. Because when someone love you enough to tell you they do without excepting something in return, sacrifice themselves while doing it without having an answer about whether their feelings are requited, and remake Heaven for you to have the afterlife/eternity you deserve, nothing can beat that. THIS here, this is what grabs my heart and clenches it every damn time. The greatest love story ever told. No one, NO ONE can change my mind.

[starry-blue-echoes]

I was thinking of honor bound and dhampir gio raised by lisa lisa au combining.

So you got gio being raised by lisa lisa as well as ( her somewhat adopted son) Caesar. Plus his brother but actually nephew Joseph, Josephs wife, and josephs husband who is literally like a god.

Needless to say gio grew up well loved but also in an extremely bizarre (ha i had too) environment. Lisa and ceasar teaching hamon and how to safely use it without injuring himself. Joseph teaching him every trick he knows. whammu can teach him about being a warrior and maybe even how yo use his dhampir side. And suzi most importantly can teach him how to be an actual functioning member of society.

Giorno would definitely be an interesting (and powerful) fella.

Also imagine lisa gets released early during her hospital trip cause she manage to sneak in some secret hamon healing and she cant find gio so she asks whammu check on him. So like in the middle of brunos gangs betrayal this LITERAL GOD LIKE BEING just roles up. And little giornos just like :D “uncle wham!”. While everyone else is losing there fucking minds. Whammu finds the gangs betrayal of the boss an honorable venture and is just like dam guess ill join ya

Diavolo never stood a fucking chance

GHDBFHDHRHRG W H E E Z E -

Y E S

YES TO THIS COMPLETELY

And also don’t forget eventually the Kujos coming to visit on occasion too and Jotaro teaching the kid about Stand Stuff. By the time Giorno’s 15, he’s VERY well versed in all manner of the supernatural and how to handle it. Heck, he wouldn’t even be as malnourished as usual compared to the vampiric Gio AUs because Wammu would be able to set him up with the same food sources he had from the SWF

As for canon……. holy shit is it going to go absolutely off the rails insane

Giorno is just. A complete and absolute anomaly. Nobody has the faintest idea what the FUCK his Stand does. Does it give him abnormal speed? Strength? Walking on water? The golden electricity??? The plants?????? But then what about the bugs and frogs???????????

And then Giorno is. Like, barely affected by The Grateful Dead because extended lifespan and jazz. (Admittedly he wasn’t super sure about that one at first, but he put the pieces together pretty quickly)

and THEN the panic at one point, probably during the Baby Face fight, Giorno looses a bunch of bits and pieces. Everyone’s freaking out over the fact there are literally H O L E S inside him, but he just looks at them and goes “oh. Oh, yeah don’t worry that’s going to grow back” and they just look at him like “what the fuck do you mean it’s going to GROW BACK-”

And ofc. Wammu showing up.

And naturally, the Bucci gang start freaking the fuck out. While Wammu is likely wearing “normal” clothes, they do very little to hide his actual size, being about 197 cm of pure muscle. He could likely snap them in half even without a Stand, and they assume he’s sent by the Boss……

Only for Giorno is run full speed and glomps him. The man doesn’t react in the slightest, he doesn’t even budge, however instead of looking angry or even displeased, he looks down with a warm smile and picks Giorno up like he’s a little kid

and then while they’re still trying to figure out what’s going on Giorno hits them with the bomb that is “this is Wammu, he’s my brother’s husband :D”

Also, I’d image that Wammu would be……. VERY touchy on the whole “father willing to kill child for power” thing going on with Trish because…… well *gestures at the whole Kars and Esidisi thing*

I bet by the end of this adventure Wammu’s going to be asking his spouses how they’d feel about adopting yet another daughter