#cause i like reminising

[rabbitofharmony]

i need to start posting more of my guild wars stuff

[asoulwithadream]

TEASER REVIEW BECAUSE I'M DEAD

it's him. he's back. HE'S BACK. BESTIES HE'S BACK. i'm sick. his letter has caused my entire brain to shut down. "I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU. I LOVE BEING NEAR YOU. BREATHING THE SAME AIR" bestie how did you find ao3 in 1717? AND THEY GAVE US ALL THAT IN THE FUCKING TEASER TOO?????? dude he looks so fucking heartbroken– YEARNING RAAAAAAAH

THIS FUCKING SCENE— he CUSTOMISED THE TOPPERS TO LOOK LIKE THEM I'M CRYING SOBBING ROLLING ON THE FLOOR. omg omg omg omg they love eachother so much PLEASE. and poor sweet ed jesus he has been CRYING AND HE LOOKS SO EMPTY IM SICK IM DYING IM DEAD. i'm sick, i need the icu help. does this mean he's good at painting.

GOTH UNIFORMS. THEY'RE REAL. im so incredible sick frenchie has cat claws. HE HAS CAT CLAWS IM DYING. and JIM HAS A PAINTED BEARD and SHAVED SIDES. i'm actually going to burst into tears. my heart is going to stop at any moment. even FANG HAS A COOL NEW UNIFORM

i don't think i'm alive anymore at this point. THE PARALLEL. THE PARALLEL. and 9 guns he literally turned into the kraken. HE TURNED INTO THE VERY THING HE HATED HELP ME PLEASE (also did anyone notice the scene where he rose out of the ocean was very similar to potc??????? help??????) stede please stop looking lovingly out in the distance my heart has gotten enough beatings

competent stede in red. FABULOUS IM GOING TO CRYYY 2. izzy hands it's izzy isreal it's you PLEASE this is so reminisence of all the ao3 fics— izzy's finally realised what ed has become and needs to go find stede and bring ed back PLEASE HELP I'm GOING TO CRY IZZY AND STEDE BEING FRIENDS NO NO NO NO NO HELP HELP HELP HELP this is his road to self discovery and acceptance and love i'm feral

that's the same place mofos THAT'S THE SAME PLACE. THEY'RE CLOSE. omg they're going to end up FIGHTING EACHOTHER AREN'T THEY AREN'T THEY OR IS IT THE FIRST TIME THEY SEA EACHOTHER . (also, COMPETENT STEDE?????) HELP ME THEY'RE SO FIGHTING. OMG what if they're running TOWARDS EACHOTHER OKFLAIKHFL please this is insane i will cry david jenkins you have forsaken us all.

minnie what are you doing to stede. HE DOESn'T WANT IT. He'S UNCOMFORTABLE IN SUCH A STATE. LITERALLY THE NAME OF ONE OF THE EPISODES ANNE LEAVE HIM ALONE, (and do it to me) (please i'm desperate)

these two barbies are having the times of their lives.

im convinced that "susan" (whoever ruibo quan is playing) is a mermaid. buttons is being taught the way of the sea by her since she is part fish. she is setting him up with the ocean so they can make sweet love, instead of yearning like captain blondie and emo over there

WHO'S FALLEN IN A RIVER IN LEGO CITY. IT MUST BE SOMEONE ON BLACKBEARD'S SHIP MATES IS IT ED????? ED HAS FALLEN OFF A SHIP IN LEGO CITY. HELP ME WHAT IS GOING ON HERE. I NEED TO KNOW I NEED TO KNOW I NEED TO KNOW OMG THE REVENGE ISN'T SINKING ISN'T SHE??? PLEASE DON'T DO THAT TO ME

THIS IM SORRY BUT WEE JOHN IS LOOKING ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, ROACH HAVING THE TIME OF HIS LIFE, AND IS THAT PETE THAT MUST BE PETE IT'S PETE ISN'T IT IT'S BLACK PETE. we don't have enough content with pete. YOU KNOW WHY? or else it would have to include LUCIUS. HAH. got you there david

well. that concludes my current rant. other parts of the trailer have been excluded bc they deserve their own posts OR others have phrased it better than me LMAO (yeah because what i wrote is peak shakespeare)

october 5th can't come fast enough help me

**UPDATE: FULL THEORY BASED ON THIS

[wildissylupus]

would you mind shedding more light in the Wrecking Ball story? What you told us when I suggested space ranger could be evil has me very intrigued.

Ok so first up you do kinda need to read the Junkrat and Roadhog story to understand parts of the story I'm about to talk about cause this story is a direct follow up. Luckily that story is actively on the Overwatch Media page.

Ok now let's get into this story;

Starts off with JQ, Hammond, Meri and a bunch of other un-named Junkers are looking for parts to fix an aircraft. They don't find the part they're looking for and during the search they discover news footage of Null Sectors Attack, including footage of Null Sector attack Lijiang Towers. After finding nothing, Hammond goes to Lijiang Towers to get the part they need.

During this visit Hammond reminises about his time at the Lunar Horizon Colony. It's revealed that he was the only one in his family that the genetic experimentation worked and he always wondered why his family never joined him.

The scientist also used to place bet on him and presumably the other experiments.

After awhile of mistreatment Hammond escaped into the vents and while exploring them he wound up in Winston's room and they became friends after Hammond tried to comfort him.

Hammond isn't actually mad at Winston for taking him rocket idea and leaving him, at least not anymore, and the reason Hammond didn't try and reach out is because of Winston's new friends (Overwatch).

Like I mentioned in the Space ranger post we also meet the women who headed the project, who as I also stated, is a bitch.

Basically her and Hammond have a conversation and after that she tries to capture him, basically saying that "Winston may have escaped but you won't as your not legally a person".

It's also revealed that the other experiments are still alive on the moon, they were being watched by Horizon and before Hammond left he warned them that they were being watched.

This story honestly changed my view on Hammond, changing him from a character I couldn't care less about to one of my favorited characters. Also his and JQ's dynamic is so fun, they are total besties and I love them.

[yousta]

I'm not scared of love

I open up and if it's not enough

I don't reminise a swing like I'd miss,

Cause in the heart is art

when everyone else won't let it out, or wonder what's the art about?

I'm down here on earth, wondering what's it worth

but you could say the planets collide

when your spaceships arrived

I cried cause I got everything I wanted.

Eyes cute and wide

I'd show you heart till I've tried

I try when it feels right,

It's still like the night,

how you shine bright.

Despite being at cold night

to where I couldn't hang tight

in your warmth I'm curled,

I will make this our world 

[mangher-a]

“You haven’t laughed in a long time, and I guess I was staring ‘cause I forgot how that looked like.” //Lance

@nvrcmplt

a giddiness fills him that he can't explain. the smile reminisent of his laughter grows bigger, baring teeth and canines that are longer than a normal human should have. his face almost hurts. it'd been so long since joy seemingly bubbled up so freely, since his heart felt so carefree like it did in this moment.

"whazzat, man? makes it sound like i never laugh!" which was true, he really didn't, not as often as he used to like when he was younger. worries that an adult usually feels weighs heavy on him daily, with addition the need to survive and keep lance safe, protected.

it's eased a little, now that darc had found a small part time gig. it did give him more room to breathe, to relax, even though anxiety gripped him every time he had to leave lance alone. he still went. he needed to. it was all for lance after all.

the grin turns into a close-lipped smile, eyes shining with something akin to mirth, and maybe something else as he looks at his roommate, his friend, his.... his lance. darc finds himself far closer to the redhead than he thought, leaning even further into their personal space.

"i like your laugh the most," darius says, geniuinely. he inches a bit closer too, slowly. he licks his own lips as his eyes flick momentarily onto lance's mouth for a second, two, three, four--

he looks up, the smile still present on his features, though the look in his eyes is more intense, more... predatory in a sense. like he could eat lance if he was allowed to. darc stops just an inch or two away, his breathing slightly more shallow than earlier.

"i could never forget what you sound like. what you smell or feel like."

he feels his heart thundering in his chest, blood rushing to his ears muting most of the background noise, his focus fully on lance. darius puts a hand on his roommate's leg, unconsciously(?) giving it a firm squeeze.

"all that's left," the grip on lance's leg eases, moving up to barely mid thigh, where he gives him another squeeze, "is for me," darius puts weight on that arm as he leans over more,

"to figure out what you taste like."

[fruit-of-infidelity]

♱  DIABOLIK LOVERS: Haunted Dark Bridal ー Sakamaki Reiji | Maniac 5½  ♱

⌜ Scene: School Science Lab ⌟

Yui: Pour it in here?

Reiji: Correct.

Yui: And then, um… What was next?

Reiji: Good grief, is your attention span truly so short that you cannot remember even the simplest of instructions?

Yui: I’m sorry.

( I just don’t want to mess this up! )

( It’s a special poison, Reiji-san said. And for some reason, he asked for my help with making it today, at school. )

Could you just remind me once more…?

Reiji: Sigh. After you have poured these together, you are to gently stir the mixture by swirling the beaker until the froth dissipates into steam.

From there, you should also notice a change in colour.

Then, you will know that it is ready for testing.

Yui: Right!

ー Yui does just that. ー

Uwah! Just like you said, Reiji-san, it changed colour.

Reiji: There is one final step. Test the scent for me, what is it reminisent of?

━─┉┈◈ Selection ◈┈┉─━

　　❈  That's suspicious...

Yui: ( Whenever Reiji-san wants me to “test” something, I should be wary… )

…Can’t you test it?

That way… Y-You’ll be sure if it’s right or not.

Reiji: …Could it be that you’re suspicious of my intensions?

Yui: Well… don’t you usually test these things on me? 

Reiji: You are already testing my patience, so please do not test my cordiality; I simply ask that you bask in its fragrance a moment.

　　❈  Are you sure? ( ♥ )

Yui: …Are you sure that sort of thing is safe to do?

Reiji: Your faith in me seems to be lacking; I would not have entrusted this task to you if it would cause you harm, would I?

Yui: ( …Would you? )

I… Guess not, Reiji-san.

Reiji: I cannot blame you for being cautious, fufu. And yet, it is harmless request.

So, do entertain me.

━━─┉┈┈◈◉◈┈┈┉─━━

Yui: Well, it’s…

Flowery, and… Mm, sweet!

( For some reason, I can’t stop myself. It is such a pretty fragrance! )

Reiji: Then it has, indeed, worked.

???: Playing with your lab rat once again, are we?

ー Ryuuto walks into the room. ー

Yui: Ryuuto-san?

…!!

( Woah, suddenly my legs feel like jelly. And my stomach is… )

( Uu… butterflies, whenever I look in Ryuuto-san’s direction… )

( Has he always been that handsome? )

( …! Wait, what am I thinking!? )

Reiji: A shake in the knees, dilated pupils, a flushed expression…

At least, from the looks of you, Yui, this drug has worked.

Alas, I was hoping I would be able to experience your effects first-hand. However, with Ryuuto’s interruption, I am only an observer.

Yui: W-Worked? But, I didn’t even…

Ryuuto: An inhalant, Reiji? How sly of you.

I’d thought you would be too proud to trick your prey into drugging herself up.

Yui: Inhalant? You mean, just from taking in its scent, I…

Ryuuto: These “side-effects”…

 ー Ryuuto gets closer to Yui. ー

Yui: ( O-Oh no…! If he gets any closer, I feel like I might just explode! )

ー Suddenly, she clings to him! ー

( M-My hands! They clutched onto him without me thinking! )

I… I…

Ryuuto: …Fufu, it is an infatuation drug.

Yui: E-Eh?

Reiji: I am surprised someone such as you so quickly deduced that.

Ryuuto: Come now, is that any way to speak to your older cousin?

If anything, I am surprised you had hopes to be the victim of this infatuation; Could you not have simply bought the girl some dinner~?

Yui: ( Reiji-san… wanted me to feel this way about him? )

Reiji: Good grief… No, you are rather mistaken.

It is not that I desire this response from her. It is that she belongs to me and, therefore, it would be unthinkable to have any other “victim”.

It was simply your misfortune that her attention happened to be cast your way upon your arrival, and thus she was drawn to you…

Be grateful that the drug is only temporary. 

Yui: ( Despite how nonchalant Reiji-san seems… his eyes look angry. )

( Like it’s my fault for glancing Ryuuto-san’s way…! )

Reiji: You truly have a talent for being in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Not unlike our uncle.

Ryuuto: Well, curiosity did kill the cat, as they say.

However… Once our Pet can fathom letting me go, I’ll leave you two be.

✥ TO BE CONTINUED ✥

─────── ≪ °♛° ≫ ───────

←  [ ✥ Maniac 05 ✥ ]⎥ [ ✥ Maniac 06 ✥ ]  → 　　　　　[ ✥ Ecstasy 3½ ✥ ]

[mockingbirdshymn]

TUMBLR USER @fruit-kick THAT DOES NOT SOUND WEIRD AT ALL IN FACT IM HONORED

heres like. some of the things i keep in mind when writing grieving

the little things in grief

something i scarcely see written is the little things in grief. seeing things that remind you of the person causing you to nearly cry in public, but you can't. seeing people be happy with their family members/friends (depending who was lost) and being both jealous and miserable. wondering for years if you could have done anything, even though the chance of that is impossible, or blaming yourself for not noticing something.

the smallest things in grief are the most important. forgetting the person is gone and calling out their name, texting them about something important to you before realizing that theyre gone, setting an extra plate at the dinner table, entering their room. its things like that which are the most personal. the countless times ive done that, the countless times ive seen my mother do that.

it's not having the will to clean out their room. its not getting rid of any of their stuff ever, keeping their room as pristine as it was before they were gone. it's having nightmares of the death and waking up realizing youre alone. it's sleeping in that person's room for comfort. it's rewatching videos with the person who died in them, reminising over old times and sobbing. it's thinking "oh, ___ would love this!" while at the store before realizing. it's thinking you see them, but it's a coat hanger or a shadow or a chair in the dark, or something your brain tricks you into seeing.

obviously, as time goes on, this will lessen, and it wont last forever. eventually, this phase will cease. but when the grief is fresh, the little things will happen more often.

and the grief can be fresh for a very long time.

general things to remember/advice

don't make it quirky. for the love of FUCK, don't make it quirky.

try to portray the misery, the numbness, the seriousness of grieving over death. use descriptive words, metaphors of flowers, of death, or anything beautiful or ugly or both. use mystical words; death is an enigma to us all. one of the reasons death is so terrifying is because none of us know much about it. just that theyre gone.

"____ had seen death up close. They'd seen her cold grasp take away the person ____ loved the most. ____ sometimes wished they'd been taken instead. If only they were the one to stare death in the eyes and follow her into the inky void of nothingness. But no, ____ was cursed to sit on their bed, every day and every night, wondering what they could have done." this is an example of descriptive words and metaphors can be used to portray write the grief the character feels

instead of a simple 'i wish it were me', expand upon that. they don't wish it were them, they wished they were the ones to stare death in the eyes and accept their fate rather than the person they loved doing the same. it's more descriptive, i suppose

metaphors are your best friend when discussing grief and death (but make sure to not overdo them!!!!!!), as well as your characters little reactions to the enviorment around them.

ie this sentence in my fic's draft - "Harrison just continued staring off into the distance, at the frozen lake and families skating together on it. Preston could see a small flame of jealousy reflect in his eyes, but the ember faded into something sadder."

write about how your character views the world after the death. do they view it as cruel, as worthless to live in, or as something that should be cherished while they can? how does this affect how your character treats others, acts, talks? how does this affect their relationships? do they weaken them or strengthen them?

write the healing process as slow and gradual. if your fic is short, still make it a gradient. it won't heal right away. this healing can be from 3 chapters to 20. it depends on the story length.

keep your character in mind. if your character doesnt fit any of the things i mentioned, dont force yourself to change the character to fit my advice. instead, take it and warp it so if fits your character. model the grief around the character's personality.

all in all, there is no perfect way to write death and grieving. these are my tips, from my experiences both dealing with grief and writing about it for some time, but remember that everyone deals with and writes death in different ways.

[doodlegirl1998]

Hey so I got a question.

If the LOV were to rescue Eri instead of the Heroes, do you think it would make things more interesting than how it played out in canon?

Cause for me, I think it would. I believe it would make reforming them more believable including how the heroes would respond to not being able to rescue her in time.

Hey @theloganator101👋,

That is an excellent AU idea one that I actually hadn't thought of before so I had to really think of this idea / give it some consideration.

Yes, I feel like this would be a really interesting route to go down and help with the LOV's redeemability since them being nice to / taking care of her well would separate them from monsters like Overhaul really well.

I feel like they would either find a kinder way to try to extract her quirk to make more of those bullets (seriously why didn't Overhaul stick a cotton swab in her mouth or take a blood sample via a syringe rather than cut her up!? That was needlessly cruel and I will never get how some members of the fandom like that asshole.) OR they wouldn't try to use her at all after she shows signs of being traumatised like that.

Obviously people like Twice, Kurogiri, Spinner and Mr Compress would treat her kindly but I'd focus on Shigaraki, Dabi and Toga's reactions to her more considering they are the main 3 the narrative is setting up to redeem.

Shigaraki - It would be interesting for him to invite her to play games with him and Spinner. And perhaps to have him empathise over accidentally killing people and thinking of thier quirks as curses. (I have no doubt Shig, before AFO's manipulative B.S l, felt bad about how his quirk came in.)

Dabi - He would definitely be one of the most unfriendly members of the League at first. However, it would be interesting to have Eri around him to see if it reminds him of his repressed big brother tendencies and if being around her actually helps him realise that he does still care for Fuyumi and Natsuo. And that he does want more than burning Endeavor to a crisp.

Toga - it would be interesting if being around Eri helps her identify what she likes and reminises on outside her quirk / what her quirk wants. Since actually - what does she like? Is she into fashion? Did she have any aspirations outside her quirk? We don't know any of this about her so having Eri there to help give Toga this time to explore that would do wonders for her character. While also exploring the loss of Big Sis Magne (because Toga seemed close to her) yet her death was brushed over after Shig decayed Overhaul's arms and took his bullets.

As for the heroes losing Eri...

It would be devastating to both Izu and Mirio. It would interesting to see how they would all cope with such a loss especially if the raid still happened as well as the death of Nighteye and the loss of Mirio's quirk - just that Eri wasn't there. It would show to Izu the ugly side of heroics - that sometimes heroes lose! And it can be devastating as well as how to deal with that in a healthy way.

It would also be excellent development for the LOV if they came to the conclusion that it would be in Eri's best interest to be with the heroes and they put aside thier personal grudges to give her to them in the end. It would foreshadow the heroes saving the villains in the LOV by the end of the story.

While Aizawa could help with his Erasure to control her quirk, I think All Might or Midoriya Inko would have been excellent guardians for Eri personally.

[neurodivenport]

yall mind if iiii ocpost real quick

(under the cut!)

(fc is ellie thatcher!! i've used her twin sister, sophie thatcher as an oc before, but her oc is p much scrapped so shrug. they're not identical to an extreme level anyway) (just because her oc is scrapped doesn't mean my other bionic solider ones are tho!! i still love platt, jed, darcy and sylvie very much)

her name is indamira hines!! but they mostly go by indy (she/they)

they're an ef oc cause they are... a lot more fun to make lol

they're not a shapeshifter per say, just an animal morpher. like beast boy from teen titans, she can only turn into animals. since she isn't fully trained in using them, their hair color changes depending on what animal she turned into for the next few days after. she turned into a possum once and was old lady grey for a week

despite the fact that she has superpowers, she's not a superhero. they never really got into that. the only reason she runs into the crew is because their father is on the list of superheroes roman & riker are after. her father, unlike her, was a superhero, with similar powers to hers.

when the team got there it was too late, though. they had already took her father out. indy, now in a state of mourning, wants to get revenge on roman & riker & their family and ends up joining the ef team despite never wanting to be a superhero in the first place.

okok now that the lore is out. here's some fun facts

was absolutely the weird kid in school. kind of mean but not in an intentional way, just very blunt and earnest. (#allmyocsareautistic) also just has... weird interests anyway. they love spewing random facts about things they know too much about but it's always on the weirder more offputting side.

basically her personality is reminisent of like janis ian from mean girls but less intense

they make weird sculptures in their free time. just tiny, demonic looking, weird ass clay sculptures she has in her room. skylar is the only one on the team who genuinely loves it. she thinks they're funky

alongside that!! they're good at engineering. she started it with making sets for her clay sculptures but just found a love for it as well. sometimes chase finds them in mission command fiddling with his gear

one time adam visited and they went Bear Mode just to prove they could arm wrestle him but he got too excited about the fact that she turned into a bear to even arm wrestle her

basically their... character arc for me, is being in that blind fit of grief and rage over their father, but then realizing that that's not helping her heal. the ef team eventually helps her come back to earth and stay grounded in the life she finds herself in now. revenge is still on their mind, but its less wanting to murder roman & riker in cold blood, and more just wanting to get justice where it's deserved.

[magic-mint]

I wonder

If my exes ever feel like a little burst of emotion when they read my name, or see a text from me in a group chat they long forgotten I was a part of

cause while I haven't blocked any of them (we all ended on mostly chill terms) I still don't enjoy interacting with them

like I could not read their story for practically a year, and then I randomly do once

I wonder if they get shocked, or happy, or sad, or reminise (however tf you spell that)

I don't really care, I'm just curoius

If they feel any emotion readin my name, even if it's pure hatred or absolute happiness, I feel like I did a job well done to make them still remember me like that

[lyrics365]

Larks Tongues In Aspic, part I

Larks Tongues In Aspic, part I

If I only could decieve you Forgetting the game Every time I try to leave you You laugh just the same ‘Cause my wheels never touch the road And the jumble of lies we told Just returns to my back to weigh me down… We lay cards upon the table The backs of our hands And I swear I like your people The boys in the band Reminisences gone astray Coming back to enjoy the fray In a tangle of night and…

[permanentleigh]

I’ve got 2,068 screenshots in my sims folder.

Pick a number and I’ll post the pic and tag you with an explanation.

[homeofjonicles]

The Jonicles - Entry 20

It is currently the 31st of July, 2022 at 2:49 pm. Yesterday night, I went to go see an awesome school play that a friend of mine was in, and it's based off a movie about a shoe salesman taking his uncle on a trip to Monte Carlo for $6 million. It was a great time! It is also day #73 of my Jon Arbuckle hyperfixation.

Wow, my 20th entry in this series! That's... pretty impressive! But it's pretty shocking that there's only 20 so far, it really feels like there's been a whole lot more considering we're almost halfway to day fuckin' 80, Jesus! But it's exciting, and it's right in time for quite a special topic (i swear i say that in every other entry)...

You see that strip I have displayed up there? It may looks unremarkable to you; it's just a regular old Garfield strip. You may recognise the time it was published, and you may even have some memories associated with this strip, whether you grew up reading it in Garfield comic books or have simply seen it before. And those observations are all fine and dandy, but there's something else about this strip that I want you to focus on. Got an idea?

It's about the man. Not Jon, but the man standing right beside him. That unfamiliar yet also familiar looking man who can be seen petting Garfield incorrectly. He kind of looks like a member of The Beatles, but he also kind of looks like... someone else. Someone that I've definitely seen before many times... But this person is different, way different.

That person, fellow reader, is known simply as Frank, and this strip, published on the 23rd of January, 1980, is his first and only* debut in the Garfield canon. He looks pretty unremarkable, right? Just a normal one-off character created specifically for a punchline that would never been seen again.

Or, at least, that's what he'd like you to think, for I have a theory, a very dark theory that this man is the culprit. The culprit of what, you ask? This man is the one who KIDNAPPED Lyman and caused his tragic disappearance, FRAMING Jon by controlling the media to say that it was HIM who had Lyman locked in his basement and getting away with it! It was all him, I tell you! HIM!!

So you're probably thinking "That's fucking insane, Jeremy, what the fuck". Some of you may even have your finger hovering threateningly over the call button for the Funny Farm. But hear me out! I have some reasons for why I think Frank is at least suspicious at best, and a cold-hearted kidnapper at worst! But before I get straight to the crazy bits, let's at least start by providing more context, yeah?

Lyman, God bless his soul, has been missing for 30 or so years, his last regular appearance being in 1983 before he stopped appearing in person altogether in 1998, only seeming to exist in the memory of the ones who were compassionate and worried enough to remember our fallen hero, lingering solemnly in the fog of our brains like a troubled ghost. From then, he's been mentioned from time to time by Davis, one time even providing funny reasons for Lyman's disappearance. Keep this list of reasons in mind, we're going to need them later.

For years, Lyman was completely absent, as if he never existed in the first place, and slowly over the years, more people started to notice, and more people began to ask why, with the worst of them possibly being Jon himself, as without Lyman, Jon's descent into mental instability became more and more apparent. Then, on the 14th of September 2012, after years and years after our beloved mustached fellow slipped away from between the panels of the strip, we got an answer, and it was called 'Long Lost Lyman', a four part special episode of 'The Garfield Show'.

You've probably seen the episode by now. Jon watches a show about this cryptid called the Zabadu, he and Odie reminise about Lyman, then they go on a search for him and eventually find the bloke. So problem solved, right? We finally got the answer we've all been waiting for. Lyman is perfectly fine and dandy, he's just been lovingly cosplaying as a creature on some place in my home country for years, and we finally got to see our boy again... right?

There's a theory many Garfield fans have about this episode, and it's that the Lyman seen in this episode of The Garfield Show... isn't actually Lyman. And listen! The two of them look COMPLETELY different! I went onna tangent about this in Entry 17, but I SWEAR, that man isn't Lyman! And the most telling thing is the eye shape. There's no way in Hell that you can fool me into thinking that this "Lyman" fellow is the man we knew and still love to this very day, no! You cannot convince me! That man is a FAKE, a PHONEY, an IMPOSTOR! That's not Lyman, that's... That's Liquid Lyman!

What does any of this have to do with Frank? Well, probably nothing, but I have my suspicions...

We all know Lyman disappeared in the early 80s, and guess who decides to show up three whole years before Lyman stopped showing up? Frank. And there's something about him that, you could say, "rubs me the wrong way". Look at how similar he looks to Lyman! If you took away Lyman's facial hair, he would look pretty darn close to ol' Franky here, wouldn't he? Frank looks so similar to Lyman, in fact, that when I remembered reading this strip as a child, I had completely forgotten about Frank and replaced him with Lyman in my head. And maybe you could chalk that up to a simple misremembering, but that really says a lot about Frank's similarities to Lyman, doesn't it? Almost as if he was trying to... replace him?

Oh yeah. I'm going there. Frank, you are mighty suspicious. Why else would you just casually show up unannounced and just happen to also be Jon's friend? You know that spot was already filled, yet you waltz into Jon's living space with your suspiciously Lyman-looking haircut. But you made one mistake, and that was laying your hand on Garfield in the first place. You made one crucial mistake that not even Lyman could make: petting Garfield incorrectly. And that brings me into my next point!

I have a sneaking suspicion that Garfield had a sneaking suspicion about Frank's sneaking suspiciousness! You see, the punchline Garfield lays on the strip, that last yuk Davis often relies on to get a chuckle of out of a reader, is a message. Frank not only pet Garfield wrong (choosing to stroke Garfield near the tail, a place of discomfort and irritation for many cats), but there was something so undeniably wrong about him that Garfield felt endangered. Cats typically will only attack people like that if they feel incredibly threatened, endangered or afraid, and compared to how Garfield beats up Jon, only really giving him a slap or a couple of scratches, Garfield REALLY fucked Frank up, proving that Garfield felt really threatened by Frank's presence. So, "Some people rub me the wrong way" could be seen as a... zeugma? Do I have the right word? Wait, is it a zeugma or a pun? Probably actually a pun... Or maybe it's neither of those and I have no idea what I'm talking about and you should ignore me. But regardless! Garfield's statement has two meanings, and he knows something's up with Frank. And right he is. All you'd have to do is to look into Frank's eyes to get the answer.

No, seriously. Look at Frank's eyes in the last panel! They're completely different! Do you see how they have a bulging circular shape like Jon's? How they have white bits? Something funny's going on, and it's with Frank's eyes, man. And I'm ruling out the possibility of Frank's suddenly changed eyes is simply an expression of pain or suprise, look at the second panel. That is the expression characters with dotted eyes make when they are shocked, and just look at Lyman or Irma, they do it too! Oh yeah, Frank does do this, but that doesn't explain how the biology and shape of his eyes completely shifted and transformed! Garfield must've fucked Frank up good to do THAT amount of damage that Frank's eyes changed completely! Eyes don't just... do that! Which means that Frank was either scratched up so badly by Garfield that his eye shape changed, or Frank was wearing a disguise!

I mean, there is a butler in the August 20th 1981 strip who looks suspiciously very, very close to Frank, say for the hair being slightly different. In fact, this bit of info is even referenced on the Garfield wiki in a list of minor characters, Frank being one of them! And considering the eerie, borderline inhuman anomaly that is Frank's eyes suddenly shifting, I'm willing to bet that the butler is actually Frank, and that he has been stalking Jon and Garfield on their way to this random unnamed vacation spot. I bet he doesn't even work there officially, he just showed up one day to get back at Jon by poisoning that burger he's eating. Scum.

So... With all that said, you're probably still wondering what all of this shit has to do with Lyman being kidnapped. Well, remember when I mentioned that Jim Davis provided comedic reasons as to why Lyman disappeared from the strip? Well, this has a lot of importance, because the very last one mentioned is, and I quote, "Don't look in Jon's basment!". This is quite a popular line that a lot of fans like to attribute to Jon kidnapping Lyman and trapping him in his basement, and while Jon indeed does have a basement (he even tripped down its stairs once in a strip), Jon wasn't the one who trapped poor ol' Lyman down there! No, Jon would never! Jon may be a little off the deep end when it comes to his mental state, and Jon does indeed have a kill count from when he ran over that mime, but Jon going as far as to kidnap his own best friend and keep him trapped in his basement? Absurd! In fact, I'd like to briefly talk about another piece of Garfield media that many have cited when it comes to the topic of Lyman, and that's a flash game called Garfield's Spooky Scavenger Hunt.

In this game, you play as Garfield to retrieve donuts from a spooky mansion for a prize. Right outside the mansion, you can find poor Jon shivering outside in the cold, and he looks to be in a near catatonic state. He's sitting in the fetal positon, and his face is one of both fear and absolute shock. His eyes are wide, unblinking and almost listless, and you can tell the poor guy has seen some shit. And what shit has Jon seen? Why, he saw his own best friend Lyman trapped inside the basment, of course! When you interact with Jon, he'll give you some tips, including the fact that Lyman likes muffins. From there, it can be inferred that Jon was terrified out of the mansion and sits outside, afraid of what lies beneath... And what lies beneath is FRANK! And you know why!? Because Lyman can be found in several different states thoughtout the game! Alive, held captive, and then DEAD, his decapitated head stuffed in an oven! And ON TOP of that, I'd go as far as to say that this game secretly hides the story of Lyman's dissappearance caused by FRANK HIMSELF! First, Frank kidnapped Lyman and took him to a spooky scary mansion, luring him in with his.... manipulation and DRUGGING him, starving him and cooking him! The man's a cannibal! The man's a FREAK!

But how did he escape detection! Well my friend, Frank, in a twist of pure backstabbery, went and FRAMED poor innocent Jon Arbuckle! Frank was still in that mansion, which is why Lyman ended up dead so quickly and why Jon was so scared of going in there, because he was afraid of FRANK!!!! FURHTHER MORE! Frank got that misinformation out to Jim Davis himself and spread the lies and anti-Jon propaganda, then fled to Australia to become the Zabadu to cover up Lyman's disappearance! It- It all makes sense!! Too much sense!! And there is no reason I should have my doubts, I mean- I mean- HOW do you explain Lyman's eyes??? in the cartoon????? That's not Lyman!!!! How would that ever be Lyman!?!?!? But unluckily for Frank, people found out about the Zabadu, and when Jon finally found """Lyman""", Frank had to act like him in order to FOOL poor Jon, poor manipulatable Jon, and we've never seen the bloke since. Even now, Frank could be planning his evil scummy plans to KILL Jon and finally obtain Odie and Garfield!! I'm onto something, I KNOW I'm onto something! Frank, Frank, I know what you did, and I won't let this information go to waste. Frank, you are a monster, a freak, a cannibal and a murderer. You will face retribution for your actions eventually, and Lyman will finally see the light...

Alright, alright, that's enough. All stupid corny jokes aside, I really do find Frank quite suspicious. The way his appearances have always been quite mysterious to me, his eye shifting thing, and how Liquid Lyman exists are all very suspicous, but because of a lack of evidence, it's inconclusive. But who knows, maybe Frank did do it, and maybe Davis is sitting shaking his fist at his desk yelling "Darn! I thought he'd never find it out!", but that seems pretty unlikely. I think we all just miss Lyman that we come up with all these crazy stories as to where he went, and really, we all just want closure.

Feel free to adopt this silly Frankspiracy theory of mine. I like thinking about it just because of how silly it is and how weird Frank seems. I've got my eyes on you, Frank...

Last edited at 5:48 pm. Still don't know what a zeu-whatsit it.

Local idiot goes insane over fictional character, creates new conspiracy theory and ends up in an asylum

Cheers,

Your Local Jonnoisseur

Posted on the 31st of July, 2022 at 6:06 pm.

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

Thoughts on, Invader Zim Quarterly: Holiday Special

WEEEE WISH YOU A MERRY JINGLY WE WISH YOU A MERRY JINGLY!

Ahhhhh It’s out! I’m so excited!

But I always get excited when it has my man Membrane and my man Eric Trueheart involved with the comics. 

Also santa..   Tbh, I was excited and nervous about this quarterly. 

Excited because it has Membrane santa backstory...

But I was nervous because that it means they might bring back the santa-blob monster from the Holiday special on the TV... and The Christmas special is one of my least favorite IZ episodes...   I mean... I rewatch it occasionally, and it’s fun, but I’m just kinda used to IZ having more BITE in it’s satire if you know what I mean? The Christmas Special in the IZ universe doesn’t really say anything about the capitalism of Christmas... it’s not like IZ hasn’t made fun of capitalism before. (that’s the whole show)  The Christmas Special in the show just kinda fell flat of my expectations of what an Invader Zim episode should be....

The only thing I respect the Holiday Special for, is that it goes down the “Santa isn’t real” route in a kid’s show and sticks to it. (there’s no “real santa” that shows up and “solves everything”) All of the “Santa’s Helpers” confused the Santa mythos with the Christianity Jesus mythos. (”waiting one day for his return”) Which makes sense, since IZ is like dystopian future Suburbia Hell. I just kinda like that there’s no “real santa” that interfered to “fix everything” and that Zim himself ended up CREATING Santa when he didn’t exist previously. Like I find that kinda cool...

Other then that, I just kinda wanted something else from the Hoilday special then what I got. (It taking priority over scrapped episodes like “the trail” and “Ten minutes to doom” and “mopiness of doom” does not help it’s case in being one of my C-tier episodes...) 

So maybe this quarterly will fill the void of what I wanted out of a Holiday special? Well, let’s see. 

SPOILERS FOR THE QUARTERLY BELOW THE CUT

Ways to get Dana off-board immediately: Monster Santa is canon. 

I always never liked to view the special as canon for ways that it fell flat before.

And I had the excuse of saying that the snowman was an unreliable narrator and I could adapt it down the line in my fic as a different story. 

I just didn’t like the idea of Monster-horror-blob santa...  Like... Cool design... but he just kinda represents everything I disliked about the special...  (including the major inconsistency of when Tak’s ship got fixed...)

But then again.. I need to remember IZ’s lore isn’t as consistent as I think it is sometimes... 

Okay, fine. Monster blob santa real... what else you got for me, Holiday special?

FACE HUGGER SANTA! FACE HUGGER SANTA! I AM NOT INTO IT! 

WHAT?! WHAT?! WHAT?! NO. DANA HATES THIS!

Okay, kinda into it because this means that ZIM CREATED SANTA in this mythos... I am dying.... wait.. this takes place in the future then...soo...?

haoFhaGHAOhfgg 

It was all a dream?!  

GOOD.

my heart couldn’t take it if horror-santa was real... 

Also... that nightcap and bed... Does this mean we’re going to have an Invader Zim Christmas Carol?!?!?! I know that’s been adapted a schmillion times but I would be so into that.... 

Also... Flying... hamm...

Good ol’ Zim... Repressing those memories...  

Also this being the THIRD ETF reference in a quarterly, It can be very safe to say the Quarterly issues take place after the events of ETF.

Clembrane exists in the Quarterly, Membrane has robot arms, Zim remembers this (kinda)  Yeah this is definately ETF verse and it’s here to stay. 

Christmas Carol?! I’m down for this... and I can’t help but notice their claws look familiar

OH HOLY HELL I WAS RIGHT! THESE GUYS! I LOVE THESE GUYS?!

Why are you here tho?

I’m a bit lost on why these guys wanta take over the earth, but they’re hilarious so I’m just glad they’re here.

Also...   The Christmas Special is Schrodinger's Christmas... did it happen, or was it a dream, or the tales of a lunatic snowman... I guess I’ll never know. 

The issue goes on for an IZ Christmas Carol parody (heck yea) and the visions are all hilarious and I’m not gonna spoil them here... but...

Eric.... this is terrifying..........thanks I hate it. 

TINY DIB THOUGH! GHAOGHAHGAHAHA

THIS IS GREAT

THE MORE DIB SUFFERS THE MORE I LOVE IT!

“Though I am Dib and sickly father”

I’m dying XDDDDD

Also... What the fuck is Zim’s reaction here... 

I find it funny that Zim has put Dib into simulated realities before... (in the show and comics) and in the show, Dib is all powerful and in the comics, Dib is just himself and Zim is his brother..

But seeing a simulated Dib all weak and pathetic and chronically ill BOTHERS ZIM?!?!

That’s... well that’s interesting. 

Thought he’d laugh at this honestly, but he seems greatly annoyed... 

I CHANGED MY MIND! THIS IS THE BEST THING! 

(those who know me know why I’m dying over this)

YES!!!

ZIM DOESN’T LIKE WHEN PEOPLE FEEL BAD FOR HIM OR PITY HIM! 

(which confirms like a lot of my hcs and adds spicy kindling to my au much mad respect) 

This I find interesting...  Zim complepative over his lonely/abandoned grave. It’s like he really doesn’t know how to feel. It’s more of a numbness then a sadness. Or he noticed how empty his life is... 

He feels lonely and empty about it...  which tracks considering how Zim’s greatest fear in the Trial was to be deleted and never be remembered by anyone. 

I don’t know... This panel makes me feel things...

Johnen: Haha. Zim’s not that deep a character.

Eric: Hey for the Christmas special, let’s have Zim parody a Christmas carol and feel lonely staring at his own empty grave when he realizes no one cares about him or misses him.

Johnen: Cool. Do it. 

What are you two assholes doing to me, man?! I have feelings! 

AND ONCE AGAIN!

Zim hates pity and people feeling bad and sorry for him. 

Man this makes me so sad...  And it really feels like this issue looked into my brain again, cause I have some plans relating to Zim not wanting sympathy or pity from anyone later down the line (okay I’ll shut up about my au. We’re talking Zim here)

And of course, Zim breaks everything like he usually does. (this time on purpose)

Also nice callback that Zim remembered that Dib said he liked his boots one time in the Poop-wizard issue. 

Also, it ends? I guess this quarterly has a few shorter stories this time... which I’m fine with. 

Also, Zim should consider Green and Blue like D-list friends at this point and just invite them in for some fundip or something (come on, Zim, it’s Christmas.....) 

GASP!?!?!

LITTLE MEMBRANE!!!

AND GRANDPARENTS CONFIRMED!!! 

Wait... so his Parents are scientists too? Is that why he always wanted to be a scientist?

But then wait.... If Membrane inherited Membrane Labs from his parents... Why is HIS FACE the brand of the Company?..... There’s so much Membrane-face brand merch in the show. (it decorates his home..) 

Like even if they were dead, if his parents founded Membrane labs, I feel they’d still be the face. of the company... (that’s how a lot of corporate faces are these days... they show some old dead guy who made the company as opposed to the son who inherited the Company.... Like everyone knows who Walt Disney/Mickey Mouse is, but unless you pay close attention to that kinda thing, not everyone knows who the current chairman or CEO is in the modern age....)

I just find that a bit odd. 

Anyways... I feel people can still do what they want with Membrane’s parents and get away with it. I’m not changing my “his parents were farmers” headcanon. Sorry comic..

BUT I LOVE THEIR DESIGNS.

I love how Membrane looks a lot like his mother, and his father is just BUFF GAZ with a pipe.... Truely legends. 

GASP!!!

COLLEGEBRANE COLLEGEBRANE COLLEGEBRANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOOKOUT DIB, THIS IS YOUR FUTURE!

I FUCKING LOVE HOW OILY HE LOOKS.. AND IT ADDS UP CAUSE...

The Membrane Men when they don’t shower or bathe in months.....

Someone help these two.

(thank god Membrane got better at personal hygiene.) 

Also Teenbrane STILL has his human arms and not his robo-arms.

This means he loses his arms later in life...  YUSH HORRAY FOR HEADCANNONS BEING VALIDATED!

He didn’t lose his arms in a shark accident when he was a KID! It happened WAY LATER!

NICE!

OH MY GOD HE IS BABY!

HE IS SO SHY AND ACKWARD! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

I LOVE HIM!

He is just... all sweat and hiding his work but also very passionate and spiteful. 

Like you can see who he grew up to become, and you can also see how a kid like Dib came out of a man like him...

But I love social anxiety awkward early twenties/late teens Membrane... He is a baby! 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

MEMBRANE ;w;

Basically, Membrane knows that Santa isn’t real, but he doesn’t want to be mad at his parents so he harbors a grudge on Santa instead... THAT’S SO SWEET I’M CRYING  TTmTT

LIKE THAT IS SO SWEET AND I’M CRYING!

(also I love how me and Ceph understand Membrane’s character too well that the gesture he does in the 2nd panel here are reminisant of our fic so many times... Like we have his mannerisms down and I love when the mask slips from Membrane and we get to see a real person... augh soo good) 

WHO GAVE THEM THE RIGHT TO MAKE MY MAN THIS SAD?! ONLY I CAN MAKE HIM SAD!

MEMBRANE TTMTT

AUUUGHH

Also probably guessing the parents are dead...   I’m just laughing at their designs... 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Yes you are, Professor Membrane... Don’t let anyone tell you different. (actually, please do) Well, I mean,  At least you’re trying and get progressively better.

(also... this probably means everytime Dib has asked his Dad for a dangerous weapon to fight Zim with, Membrane just gives it to him no questions asked and I’m doing a MAJOR concern about this man’s parenting skills... get help please good sir!) 

Also, Dib really saved the day again here (like he did in Dib’s big day)

Dib called about destroying santa when Membrane was in one of his lowest points...  He hides it really well...   Especially from his children..

Ah..  I loved that one.

But I’m a huge Membrane Simp though.

I did find the stuff about Membrane’s parents a little weird... like I said regarding how Membrane’s face is the brand of Membrane labs...

Could be true that they were other scientists and that Membrane founded Membrane labs later... but that seems highly unlikely... 

Also... Why does the house look that hug when in the christmas special, it looked kinda like...well... just not that, and kinda more humble from the interior and not some big rocket lab...

So yeah... AMAZING character building for Membrane (which I eat up)

Hilarious Grandparent Designs. But I still prefer @esthyradler​ ‘s Grandparents. The superior Grandparents.

Anyways... The Quarterly was GREAT! 

I kinda find it funny the Zim story is the weaker one of the two again... But I honestly blame the Christmas Horror blob connection and the Christmas Carol parody. 

Or maybe my Membrane Bias is clouding my mind here.  I do have Zim bias but sometimes Zim can frustrate me. There’s just so many times Zim can do and say the same things you know? Zim is my baby, but sometimes his denial and annoyance with everyone can be very predictable at points. Zim was just way more fun in the last quarterly than this one. 

With Membrane it’s more of a blank slate what to do with him cause he ony started really mattering as a character since ETF. Yes, I do love show Membrane, but I admit he wasn’t exactly a character then. More of a presence and excuse for why Dib had access to lab equipment. With Dib’s Dilemma and this Hoilday special, the Quarterly folks seem determined to turn him into a fully realized character with the rest of the cast and I’m extremely excited to hear that!

(Computer issue/backstory WHEN?!) 

I don’t really have ratings or systems for these but hope you liked my thoughts.

Merry Christmas everyone.

[littlx-songbxrd]

‘any ask’

I went to visit my old spanish teacher today and she was helping her students do a project she gives every year where they create a review of an essay and highlight 6 arguments in it. Now I remember this essay because it literally gave social critic using food. Like it literally just critiqued political parties idiologies with a bunch of typical food and references to culture and I was reminising cause I remember doing that work and I love that essay.

She literally told me she had to change it next year. Because no one in the entire grade she teaches understands the references to their own culture. No body. 120 students and not a single one. She had to basically give them a small class ON THEIR OWN CULTURE just because none of them remembered. None of them were taught

She said by next year she'll have to change it because because the incoming generation is so americanized they can barely reference their own traditions.

And she was looking at me with such sadness, i am genuinly so concerned for the future generations.

Havent been able to stop thinking about it since i got home.

[retroateez]

Prophecy - Chapter Fifteen

remember when i said chapter 14 would be the last of the year? i lied ;) think of this as an end of year gift from me to you, as a thank you for all the support and love you’ve all been giving my silly little story. - hades x

words; 3827

prophecy masterlist

tag list; @hewwo-from-the-other-side

"You want me to teach you magic?" Yunho splutters over the counter, his jaw dropped as he stares at you in disbelief.

You nod.

"Well, little lady, I'm afraid I cannot help you."

Your confident demeanor falls, your posture slouching and curved mouth pointing into a frown.

"What?" you demand. "Why not?"

Yunho sighs and after a moment of hesitation, leaves the counter and steps through a doorway that leads to the back of the shop, motioning you with a scar-littered hand to follow him.

You heave up the wooden slab that allows you access behind the counter and follow Yunho's quick pace. The blonde apothecary leads you down a set of worn, stone stairs, and you find yourself in a dingy, cold basement.

The basement is scarcely lit, with a couple of iron brackets mounted on the wall, each baring a lit torch that radiates a flickering, orange light throughout the room. Yunho's giant shadow dances on the wall, and suddenly he becomes the opposite of the bubbly apothecary you knew before.

A workbench is pressed up against the left wall, bundles of chamomile flowers and small piles of marshmallow root thrown chaotically across the surface. The wooden chair is shoved carelessly to the side, and you can see on the chair legs how worn and damaged they are from scraping across the cobblestone floor. On the opposite wall, are tall, oak shelves similar to the ones upstairs in the shop. Packages of twine and string and burlap sacks and rolls of parchments are scattered messily upon each shelf, almost as if Yunho had unpacked his things in a rush.

You stop walking abruptly, as Yunho bends down and fumbles underneath the workbench. You watch as he slides his slender fingers on the underside of the wooden table, squinting his eyes and poking his tongue out as he searches what he's looking for.

"There we go." He mumbles lowly, just as you hear a click and he stands up straight.

You almost jump out of your skin, at the sound of loud rattling, clanking, and finally the ear-splitting screech of wood raking against stone. It's only when the cacophany of noises stop that you realise that the shelf, is not a shelf at all.

The entire back panel of the shelf is gone, as are the contents that lay upon it.

Instead, there are more steps, which lead down into an impossibly darker room.

"Go on." Yunho points to the new entrance, indicating for you to go down the steps.

"Are you perhaps short of a marble?" You scoff. "Go down there and let you kill me? I don't think so."

"If I wanted to kill you, I would've done it a long time ago." A darkness clouds over his eyes and you swallow thickly. "Now go."

This time you decide to listen to him, and you take a hesitant step downwards.

The walls are damp, with trails of moss coating the steps and buried inside the cracks of the stone. You take it slow, not wanting to slip and let your guard down in case Yunho changes his mind and does decide to kill you.

"What are you waiting for?" His impatient voice comes from behind you. "Do you really think I would hurt you?" There's a twinge of pain as he speaks, and you feel slightly guilty for even thinking sweet, innocent, doctor Yunho would be capable of something like that.

Once you're down the stairs, you squint to try and make out the shapes in the unlit room. You spot something circular on the floor, but you can't make out what it is. It's too dark to see, but the smell of dust and ancient damp invades your nostrils. Yunho hasn't been down here in a very long time.

There's a snapping sound from behind you, and the torches in the room suddenly light themselves.

Despite the light, the room is still eerily dark. You can barely make out the furniture in the room. There's what appears to be a desk, covered in cobwebs but still much tidier and more organised than the one in the basement. There's a (real) shelf too, full to the brim with thick, leather-bound books which, if you squint hard enough, you notice have holes chewed out of the spine. Lastly, upon the ground and painted sloppily in white, is a five pointed star within a circle.

"Yunho?" You whisper. "What is all this?"

He ignores you and paces over to the table. With his sleeve, he sweeps away the dust, and picks up a worn, tattered notebook. Yunho hands you the book, and you read the cover, confused.

"Laredia Academy of Magic?" you read. "You're a mage?"

"I was a mage." he corrects you.

"How do you just stop being a mage? Just unlearn all the magic?" you joke.

"No." Yunho's face is deadly serious, and your smile falters and your blood runs cold. "I was cast out, and my mage rites were revoked."

You stand awkwardly in silence, biting your lip and finding sudden interest at the dirt scuffs on the tips of Yunho's black boots.

"Yeosang and I went to the same magic academy," He explains. "In Laredia, just north of the Seventeen kingdom. He was in the class above me, because he's older, but every single student knew about Yeosang."

Yunho grabs a chair from the darkest corner of the room and sits down on it, pointing behind you at another chair you hadn't noticed. Once you sit down, he continues.

"I always wanted to be a mage. It was my absolute dream, and I knew that basically anybody can do the most basic spell, so I trained hard every single day before I was even old enough to apply to an academy. Hundreds upon thousands of wishful mages and sorceresses are turned away from academies because they lack true magical talent. Luckily, I passed the entrance exam and the initiation tests, and I got in.

"The professors said I was a natural, that I had magical skills they hadn't witnessed in centuries. I was only four months into my first year at Laredia before they moved me up a class. And that was where I met Yeosang.

"We butted heads at first," Yunho chuckles fondly, remembering all the fights he and his elder got into all those years ago. Reminising the scars and spell marks scattered across his body. "We were both exceptionally good at magic, I would argue Yeosang was better than I. I would never have admitted that in my youth, but he was much more controlled, sensible with his talent than I was.

"Everything was a competition between 'Sang and I. Theory exams, practical classes, potions and herbology. Anything you could study there, we always strived to be the best. Eventually we became both good friends and rivals... It was fun and games for a few years, you know? I think at one point we were almost as close as brothers..."

Yunho begins to trail off, a sad look filling his walnut eyes as they glitter in the flickering light.

"Did something happen?" you whisper softly. He nods slowly.

"I...I pushed it too far in our last year. That was the year the academy would prepare you for mage work, I was to be sent out to the kingdom of Streyden in the east, and become King Chan's magical advisor. Yeosang was on track to be a professor at Laredia himself, and he was, for quite a while.

"Yeosang possessed so much more than I did when it was time to graduate. He was better at spell-casting, he was absolutely phenomenal at herb identifying - ironic now given I run an apothecary actually- but there was nothing Yeosang could be bested at, and it drove me utterly insane. It evolved into more than a friendly rivalry, more than just healthy competition. It became an obsession, nd so I went out searching for what my heart yearned for the most; more power.

"I found it quickly, too. I was directed to an elven clan that resided deep in the southern forest, under the impression they were gifted in regular magic, and they could teach me any spell I desired. So of course, I went. I was young, stupid and incredibly naive to believe it would've worked. And foolish to think that I could've gotten away with it."

Yunho sighs deeply, leaning his elbows on his knees and hanging his head between his legs. He rubs his hands over his face roughly, and your gut tells you Yunho's story isn't about to get any better. You watch him, and you try to take in everything he just told you. You knew that Yeosang and Yunho had been friends for a long time, but you had no idea they went back this far.

"The elves were agents of the arcane arts alright," Yunho spits bitterly out of the blue, causing you to jump in your seat a little. "Their dark magic consumed me entirely, contaminated my soul and tainted every fibre of my being. I knew I was ruined the moment I agreed to train under them. I was... so aware that everything they were teaching me was so wrong. Yet it was everything I had dreamed of, and more than anything I knew it would allow me to beat Yeosang.

"This elf clan had roots in the fire elementals, so they all were wickedly powerful pyromancers. They taught me almost everything they knew, and I couldn't believe how tame the magic at the academy was. I trained in dark magic with the elves for months, until our final practical exam came around.

"We had to duel with another member of our class, I can't remember the name of the boy who had the misfortune of being paired with me, seung- or seong- or something like that. I was absolutely positive I would win, but he was fast. Too fast. I wouldn't be surprised if the idiot had sought out the same thing I had."

Yunho pauses somberly, his broad, built shoulders drooping where he sat, and his face moulding into a sad, distant frown.

"Everytime I close my eyes, all I see are flashes of fire." Yunho whispers, staring at the floor. "I remember the feeling, but not much else. I- I can recall quite literally exploding into flames... It's like a bubbling cauldron, and it just keeps boiling and boiling until it gets so hot it bursts. And It felt like burning lava was pouring out of every single pore and hair follicle in my body."

The apothecary nibbles his bottom lip, shaking his head bitterly at the ground beneath his feet.

"It was so painful. I've broken countless bones, been on the recieving end of spells cast by the most powerful of mages, and yet I have never experienced pain like it.

"I can't believe I even have the gall to say it hurt." Yunho scoffs. "I can't even begin to imagine how much pain my duel partner was in.

"The academy realised straight away that it was dark magic. I hadn't fooled anyone in the slightest. The explosion had set the entire courtyard alight, all the trees, the furniture outside, even a couple of the students themselves, everything within a short radius of me. It was a tornado of flames, swirling round and round and I could easily have killed everybody that was there. The professors were on high alert though, they had to be during student duels. They rounded up the other students, and teleported themselves to safety in seconds.

"Everyone except for me, of course. They must have decided that my punishment for dabbling in the dark arts was death, and so they left me there to burn alive. Students weren't taught how to teleport at that point either, so I could do nothing except sit and watch the flames eating away at my skin."

"You're still alive... obviously." You chime in. "How'd you get out?"

"Yeosang." He replies simply.

He tells you how Yeosang fought and argued with the professors of the academy to forgive Yunho and let him live, almost getting himself expelled and his teaching job revoked. He explains how the professors refused to help Yunho, and how Yeosang risked his own life to save him.

"He spent weeks healing my burns, keeping me hidden away in his dorm room." Yunho breathes. "He nearly got kicked out too, but the academy knew he was too good of an asset to let go. I told him he was a fool to help me while risking so much in the process, but he's a good man. Despite all the competitions and tension between us, he's always been a good friend."

You nod solemnly in agreement. Even from the first moment you had met the platinum haired mage, you knew he possessed a generous soul. From saving you after the storm, housing, clothing and feeding you, teaching you to help heal people and allowing you to earn real, official qualifications, getting caught up in the prophecy mess you had caused and not complaining about it once. Yeosang had done so much for you, and yet here you are, repaying him by sneaking around and doing the one thing he refused to help you with.

Guilt squirms around in your stomach and latches on to your flesh with it's poisonous claws,  puncturing your organs and pumping your insides full of toxins. It meanders its way through your body until it infects your bloodstream, flowing through every limb and vein until it hits your brain and starts to fog your senses and stain your conscience.

You have to keep telling yourself it's for a good reason; learning magic will help you in the long run, you just know it. It's just a shame that Yeosang doesn't understand that.

"You said Yeosang was a teacher at the academy, right?" You blurt.

Yunho nods. "Yes, for a few years."

"Then why does he refuse to teach me if he's literally qualified to do so?"

"He hasn't told you about what happened while he was a teacher, has he?"

You shake your head.

"It's not my place to tell you, Iris. Yeosang would kill me if I did." Yunho stands up with a grunt, brushing his knees off with the palms of his hands. "He'd also kill me if I taught you any magic behind his back, and I owe my life to him. So, I will not be teaching you any magic either."

"What?! Hold on!" You jump up in protest, glaring angrily at the giant man before you. "That's not fair! What was all that about then? If you were just going to say no?!"

Yunho grabs you by the shoulders, abruptly stopping your rage fueled ranting.

"Because I wanted you to know how thirst for power, particularly magic, can be incredibly dangerous."

"Well, I'm not as foolish as you." You snap aggressively, not noticing the twinge of hurt written on Yunho's face.

"You may well be right. But I still won't be helping you."

"Fine." You shrug, giving up. "Fine. Thanks for your time anyway, Yunho."

He bows politely to you, lifting up an arm and motioning to the steps for you to leave. Wrapping your arms tightly around you, you hurry up the stairs of both the secret room and the basement, until you're at the front door of the shop.

Yunho resumes his signature position of elbows on the counter, leaning forward, cheeky grin and puppy dog eyes shining brightly.

"Just... be wary, Iris. You can't trust everyone in this world."

You smile shortly, offering only a curt nod before you grab the handle of the door.

"Thanks, Yunho. See you around."

"Farewell, little lady."

The bell tinkles above you when you gently pull the door open, and chimes again as it closes after you slip your way out. You walk back to the castle at a brisk pace, keeping to yourself and keeping your gaze fixed on the ground.

Only when you feel safe enough, do you untangle your arms from around your torso, glancing down at the thick, leather-bound book you smuggled underneath your sleeves. Wiping the remaining dust off the cover, you read the bold, imprinted words;

LAREDIA ACADEMY OF MAGIC.

"Once a thief, always a thief" You grin proudly.

-----

You figured the best place to hide your stolen goods was in plain sight, which is why you are skimming the library shelves for the smartest hiding spot. You find a pile of books hidden away in the corner which didn't look too dusty, thinking that if there were to be completely dust-free books in the neglected library, it would look too suspicious. You slide Yunho's book at the bottom of the pile, making a mental note to come back later and properly skim through it.

"Where have you been?" Yeosang demands when you casually stroll into his workspace.

Hongjoong had given Yeosang and Wooyoung a study to work in, after his own had become a mess and entirely overwhelmed with parchments and hand-drawn diagrams. You throw yourself comfortably onto the bench opposite his desk.

"Just in the gardens," you reply coolly. "Hanging out."

"Is that so? How come I couldn't find you there then?" Wooyoung's voice comes sharply from the doorway, where he stands with his arms folded, leaning against the door frame as he looks at you with a deep frown.

"Maybe you just didn't look hard enough." You shrug.

The elf says nothing, but you can feel his gaze burning into the back of your head.

Yeosang ignores you both, too absorbed in studying the papers before him to listen to you and Wooyoung squabble.

"Still no monster?" you ask.

Yeosang shakes his head. "I was certain we would find one," he sighs. "But there's been no sighting of any sea monsters or creatures in decades."

"The ball is in two days," Yeosang continues. "Hongjoong expects something significant from us before then but we have nothing to offer him. He had patrols out investigating anybody remotely suspicious, I heard the guards interrupted a group of drunk dwarves playing cards... they were not impressed. But there hasn't been anyone new in the city or any of the villages in the kingdom. Nothing."

"If it's destiny, then maybe us looking for them is the problem. What if we just wait for them to come to us?" You suggest.

"Then what if destiny says we have to chase them down?" Yeosang counters with a stressed hand through his hair. "Either way, we're stuck."

Wooyoung crosses the room to peer over the diagrams for what must be the thousandth time in the last two weeks. He and Yeosang mutter lowly to each other as they read, pointing and drawings and shuffling through papers. You can only sit with your head hung low, staring miserably at the floor as the feeling of uselessness settles in your bones.

You're so tired of offering nothing. Of being no help to anyone. All people do is look after you while you wander around getting in people's way.

Suddenly, you're on your feet, and you're striding through the hallways to the library you've become so familiar with. You heave the doors open and hurry over to Yunho's book that you hid only mere hours ago, stuffing it under your shirt and creeping out of the library, and down the steps.

You refuse to rely on others. You refuse to have other people look after you. You refuse to be a liability. It's time to start fending for yourself, starting from now.

You locate the somewhat hidden door you took out of the castle earlier, and instead of turning out the door, you carry on down the hallway.

Eventually, the hallway leads to a large, empty room made entirely of cobblestone. Perfect for practicing magic. You found the torch you had used before, and lit it with a match you had forgotten about in your pocket. Once lit, you set the torch in a wall bracket and kneel down on the floor underneath it.

Rustling underneath your shirt, Yunho's book falls onto the ground with a dull thump, which bounces loudly off the walls. You hold your breath, panicked, but luckily nobody comes. Opening the first few pages, you read over Yunho's messy scrawl, taking in the drawings of hand positions and words in a language you don't understand.

You flick through more and more faded pages until you come across one that catches your eye. You look at Yunho's drawing, trying to match your own hand to the one on the page. You stick your right hand out flat, fingers together, and palm facing upwards. Then, you pull your four fingers back so the fingertips are pressed against your palm. Keeping your fingers in place, you rotate your hand so the back of your hand is now facing upwards, and rapidly flick your fingers out in front of you, presumably where the receiving end of the spell would be.

You repeat the motion over and over again, gradually building speed so after a while, your actions are fluid and less clunky. Next, is the hard part; learning the spell.

"Feainn ichaer?" You whisper, reading from the page. "What on earth does that mean? What language is that?"

Maybe exploring the library for some language books would be a good idea, you think.

But for now, you say the phrase aloud over and over again, not even knowing if you're doing it right but acting as if you're fluent in whichever language this is.

Once you feel like you've got it more or less right, you decide it's time to pair the speech and hand movements together.

Nervousness takes you by surprise then, and you have to readjust your kneeling position on the ground three times before you're ready. Taking a deep breath, you stretch your hand out like before, and you can feel the words on your tongue.

You feel it then; a rushing sensation in your stomach, burrowing past your organs and hurling itself up towards your lungs. It burns slightly as it travels, almost in the same way that hot milk burns as you swallow it, except instead of going down, this is coming up, flying past your lungs and sliding up your throat and crawling through the gaps between your teeth.

"Feainn," you pull your fingers back, and turn your hand over, the burning feeling spreading down to the tips of your toes and the tips of your ears, and you're convinced you can smell smoke. You close your eyes to focus on the spell, ignoring the sting of the fire licking at your veins and the boiling of your blood inside your veins, ignoring the loud thumping ricocheting around your eardrums, and ignoring the way your entire body begins to vibrate and ignoring the way it feels like you're about to explode at any moment. "Icha-"

"What are you doing?"

Your eyes snap open.

i just wanted to note that the language used here is elder speech from the witcher 3: wild hunt. i did not make it up myself, and it does not belong to me! just a note to cover my own back lmao.. thanks for reading!