#if y’all want more info on these guys you can either check out the game or send me an ask 💪

[raetreaderarts]

It’s been a while since I updated you guys on the progress I’ve been making on R.E.M. Estates. The game is still being updated, I just haven’t had the motivation to work on it again for the past few months. But here are the new characters I created for it, you can find all of them in The City. I also added area-specific music, some new dialogue for old characters, and speaking of old characters I made new sprites for a couple of them which I’ll show in another post. In order there’s Dr. Hanahaki (he/him) Grandma Hazelnut (she/her) Pearl Peppercorn (she/her) and Pewter Peppercorn (he/him).

[meltwonu]

| 🍒 CH-CH-CHERRY BOMB! 🍒 |     [CHAPTER 4]

pairing; dom!seungcheol x camgirl!reader

this chapter’s notes; masturbation, usage of toys, dirty talkin’, a bit of a filler chapter after last weeks hehe🍒 as always, thank you again for your continued support for cherry bomb 🥺💕 I'm actually not sure if next week’s chapter will go up on time due to my work schedule for next week but I'll be sure to keep y’all updated! if anything it’ll probably go up on saturday instead of friday... 😭😭 But anyway, have a good weekend yall! 💕💕💕 stay hydrated!! 

chapters; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - ?

The weekend ends quicker than Seungcheol even notices and while he wakes up Monday morning already thinking about you and your show later in the evening; his face falters when he reads the message on your cam homepage.

‘Sorry everyone :( I think I caught a cold so I won’t be doing a show tonight… I promise I’ll make it up to you on Friday! In the meantime, I’ve uploaded some new pics in our members only room~ I hope it’ll tide you all over ‘til then! xx Cherry 🍒 ’

His first reaction is to immediately panic; reaching for his phone and texting you to get as much rest and sleep as possible. He makes a mental note to check in with you again later, finding that he’s already running late to get to work when he gets out of bed.

“Hey! Seungcheol-hyung!”

The said male turns around, placing the set of roller skates on the ground. “Yeah, what’s up?”

Jeongguk sits next to him on the wooden bench, legs stretched out as he passes Seungcheol an energy drink. “Nothin’, just wanted to say thanks for coming over on Saturday! We should try to do that again, except maybe we can go out for drinks or something? We can give it the good ‘ol college try, maybe bring home a girl, if you know what I mean~” Jeongguk wiggles his eyebrows at Seungcheol who rolls his eyes.

“Uh, I’m down for the drinking part but I think I’ll have to pass on the hookups.”

“Really? Why? Are you dating someone and you haven’t told me?”

Seungcheol thanks the gods that the roller rink is dimmed; neon lights and disco balls the only things keeping the entire place dimly lit when he blushes a deep crimson, face hot as he avoids the younger male’s gaze. “Nah, it’s just, I--I don’t think that’s really for me. I’m more of a, uh, relationship type of guy, y’know?” Also, I’m devoting my time and energy to someone already who isn’t really my girlfriend.

“Mm, makes sense!”

Jeongguk keeps Seungcheol company even on his break, the two chatting about various topics before he lets Seungcheol know his break is almost over.

“Hey, wait! Before you go…” Seungcheol is nervous for some reason, fingers gripping the suede of the rollerskate’s boot as he avoids eye contact again. “Um, this is gonna sound really weird but… Who’s ‘j__min’? I feel like I’ve seen that username before and it’s, uh, I’m just curious how you know them? Sorry if that’s weird, I just--I’ve been seeing them around pretty often.”

“Oh, that’s Jimin-hyung. He’s a friend of mine that games with me sometimes! I’ve never really met the dude in person before, but he seems nice.” Jeongguk nods, staring off into space. “He seems really busy all the time too. And he’s super active on social media, that’s probably where you’ve seen him.”

Seungcheol nods; the guy didn’t seem like any sort of immediate threat so he logs the information mentally for now. He’d just have to do some internet sleuthing himself when he got home.

“Oh, cool, okay! Thanks ‘Guk!” 

Seungcheol groans after the seventh pair of skates he’s cleaned, standing up to stretch and reach for his phone in his pocket. He checks the notifications, noting that you hadn’t texted back or read his messages yet.

A frown paints his features knowing that you were sick, but he makes another mental note to finally buy you that sybian now that his most recent paycheck had come in with it’s overtime bonuses. There were only a few more days until Namjoon came back which meant his extra pays would be over, a sad sigh escaping his lips at the thought. 

The day gruels on; Mondays were always the slowest days for the roller rink which meant Seungcheol spent most of the time cleaning skates and bumming snacks from the concession stand usually. He tries to not pry deeper into Jeongguk’s friends but the curiosity eats him alive so he makes an effort to stay away from the younger male for the rest of the day, this time.

Instead, he spends the day hiding in the employee break room any time he gets; only leaving when Yoongi decides to hide in there himself.

Your head feels like it’s going to spin off of your shoulders once you sit up in bed. The sun sits low in the horizon from what you can see through your bedroom window; noting that it must’ve been the late afternoon already.

You’d woken up with chills, head fuzzy when you’d sat up earlier in the morning. Knowing that you were at least somewhat sick, you quickly wrote up a little memo on your homepage letting your viewers know that there wouldn’t be a show later in the evening. Afterwards, you had quickly downed medicine before curling up under your sheets and going back to sleep. You’d vaguely been aware of your phone ringing on the nightstand next to your bed, but you prioritized sleeping instead, knowing that you had to get better before the weekend came.

You groan once you ease yourself off of your bed, dragging your feet as you make your way to the bathroom in hopes of a warm bath to make yourself feel better.

It’s almost 5PM which means it’s almost time for Seungcheol to finally go home. He checks his phone one more time before he pockets the device, putting away the last few pairs of rollerskates before he starts making his way towards the backroom. 

“Hey! ‘Cheol-hyung, can you come over here!?” Jeongguk yells over the music, arms waving him down frantically before he clocks out.

Seungcheol walks over, noting an unknown male standing with him. “Yes? Did you need help?”

“This guy, sorry I forgot your name?” The male laughs, eyes forming crescents when he smiles brightly at Jeongguk. “It’s Seokmin.”

“Right, right. Seokmin is asking if we’re hiring?” Jeongguk ends with a head tilt, unsure of the answer himself.

Seungcheol bites the inside of his cheek. Technically yes, they were understaffed even with Namjoon around. But Namjoon was also technically the one in charge of overseeing hiring positions. And while they technically should’ve hired more staff, that also meant Seungcheol’s overtime bonuses would be cut anytime they actually had the appropriate amount of staff.

“Uhhhh… I--I don’t think so? I’m not the one in charge. Our manager that decides staff and hiring positions is out of town indefinitely so…” Seungcheol trails off, hoping Seokmin gets the hint.

“Ahh… Should I come back another time then?” Seungcheol nods, frowning slightly. “Sorry ‘bout that man. But hey, why don’t you leave your contact info so we can call you? So you don’t have to keep coming back.”

Seokmin nods, beaming at the older male.

“Sure, that’d be great! Thanks!”

Seungcheol only feels slightly bad when he gets home that night, praying karma doesn’t kick his ass later for lying.

On days when you cancel your show are the days Seungcheol realizes he needs more hobbies than watching your cam shows and gaming all night.

Not that it’s a bad thing, he thinks, just that he could supplement his life with more.

He places an order for a few cookbooks alongside the order for the sybian, soft chuckles spilling from his lips when he realizes what an odd array of things he’s ordered.

Seungcheol manages to fill his night with meaningless tasks; finally cleaning his PC and settling in to watch a movie while he polishes off an entire pizza. He checks his phone a few more times, noting no new messages and he wonders if you’re really okay. A lightbulb goes off in his head, power walking back to his PC as he opens a new browser.

He bites his lip, typing in ‘j__min’ in the search bar to see what comes up. By nature, the username is unfortunately a lot more common than he anticipates and he ends up rifling through a lot of dead ends before he comes upon the profile on the same camming website you used and an instagram that seemed to be updated fairly regularly.

“Let’s see…”

Your body feels hot all over. Pin pricks on your fingertips as a bead of sweat trickles down your temple.

Now, you didn’t feel sick, you just felt incredibly insatiable. Again.

You weren’t sure if it was because your body had adjusted to a certain schedule, but you can’t help the way you toss and turn in bed; thighs rubbing together in hopes of alleviating the growing wetness between them.

Checking the clock, you note it’s already 10PM, close to when you’d normally be doing your show. You sigh, pushing your sweaty hair out of your face as you reach for your phone on the nightstand. You immediately notice a few text messages from Seungcheol; frowning when you notice the text messages were from the morning.

cheollie ✨: hey, baby :( saw your note, i hope you’re okay.

cheollie ✨: make sure to drink a lot of water and take medicine!

cheollie ✨: don’t push yourself too hard either okay?

The messages end there and you pout, unsure what to even say now that it had been hours since he’d texted.

babygirl 🍒 : cheollie… i only saw ur msgs now 🥺

babygirl 🍒 : im sorryyyyy i was sleeping so long but i feel better now!!

Seungcheol closes all his browser tabs before he realizes it, a smile on his face when he sees you’ve responded.

‘That’s okay, I’m just glad you’re okay and feeling better. Promise me you drank tons of water?’

He feels giddy, palms sweaty as he grips his phone.

babygirl: mmhmm! i did… i don’t even feel sick anymore 🥺 but…

babygirl: dunno… i’m feeling needy again… i think my body is used to my usual schedule...

Seungcheol’s body thrums with newfound energy and arousal at your leading comments. He’s unsure of what to say next, fearing he was going to say too much. But his phone pings again, eyes quickly flitting over your messages.

babygirl 🍒 : if ur busy its okay but

babygirl 🍒 : do u think we could cam? just u and me?

babygirl 🍒 : only if ur free tho!!

His fingers are tingling when he sends his reply, making it short and sweet before he places his phone down and makes sure his PC is running smoothly.

‘Of course, you know I’m always here when you need me. :)’

It takes a few minutes for you and Seungcheol to set up your respective spaces and in the meantime, you grab your laptop, propping it open on the bed next to you as you lay in front of it. You had debated on using your better camera which you used for camming, but you didn’t want it to be set up like a cam show.

Instead, you wanted a more intimate and casual video call with Seungcheol, so you made sure your webcam worked fine as you placed it on the sheets.

‘Video Call Incoming…’

You can’t help the blush that coats your skin nor the lust that fills your body as soon as you accept his call; his somewhat blurry figure coming into view.

“Hey, sweetheart!” Seungcheol beams at you through the grainy camera and you already feel yourself clenching around emptiness, words caught in your throat at how handsome he was and how truly enticing his voice was. “H-hi!” Rubbing your thighs together, you peer at the camera shyly. “I--wow, the pictures really… You’re so much more handsome on v-video.” You giggle slightly, leaning in closer to your laptop to get a better view of the silvery-blue haired male.

Seungcheol’s deep laugh filters through the speakers and your toes curl against the sheets.

“You should see me in person, maybe I’ll look even better then.”

You don’t deny that one bit; your own hands already itching to touch yourself. “Oh? Is that an invitation~?”

Seungcheol’s eyes pierce the camera, licking his own lips as you watch him  snake a hand down into his sweats.

“If you want it to be, sweetheart. But tell me about you, how are you feeling? Have you eaten already?”

Gulping, you watch as his hand seems to work slowly and out of view. “I--um, I feel b-better just… Dunno, guess my body’s just used to, um, y’know… A-and I haven’t really had much of an appetite...” You trail off, head still fuzzy from the cold medicines and now, Seungcheol.

In a roundabout way, it almost feels like you’re watching him do a show for you as you watch him slowly get off.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better, baby. But you know you should try to eat, okay? I don’t want you to get even sicker.” You nod, fingertips already at the edge of your sleep shorts. 

“I--c-can I touch myself too?” Seungcheol laughs lightly, nodding as he tilts his head back. “Of course, you don’t need to ask me for permission, baby.”

You grin at him, sitting up as you reposition the laptop. Your hand slides underneath a pillow, grabbing the small bullet vibrator you kept there. “Do you always keep a toy handy?” His voice is airy, teasing in the way he asks.

“Mmhmm~ You never know when you’ll need it~” You sing-song, shimmying your sleep shorts and panties off before you spread your legs in front of the camera.

The air gets knocked out of Seungcheol the second you spread your legs for him and him alone and he can’t help but imagine all the things he wanted to do with you. He watches as you tease yourself, fingertips only grazing across the areas he knew you wanted to be touched the most. 

“I can’t wait for us to finally fuckin’ meet.” He grits out.

A moan floats through the speakers of Seungcheol’s gaming PC, your saccharine voice music to his ears. “M-me too, wanna know what you’d do to me~” You giggle afterwards, pressing the vibrator to your clit as you spread your legs wider for him to see. Seungcheol’s hand around his cock tightens as he watches, an appreciative smirk on his face.

“Oh sweetheart, what wouldn’t I do to you.” You can’t help but slide your fingers through your wet folds listening to Seungcheol’s voice, whimpering when you finally slide a finger in. “Yeah? What would be the first thing? Tell me, ‘Cheollie~”

Even through the webcam quality, you can see the way Seungcheol’s eyes glaze over in complete pleasure. He licks his lips once, leaning in close so that you can hear him clearly.

“I know you probably think I’d get straight to the filthy shit, huh? Pin you to your bed and fuck you until you forget your own name or tie you up to the bedposts and make you beg for me to fuck you. But I wouldn’t. Because I wanna worship your fuckin’ body. I’d take it nice and slow with you, give you as many orgasms as you want.”

“F-fuck, Seungcheol, I–”

“You could use me for your pleasure, y’know? You deserve it. You’re such a good girl. I’d give you anything you fuckin’ want if you’d let me.”

Your choked moans have Seungcheol working his cock faster; nothing on his mind except for you and his impending orgasm. “Oh g-god, Seungcheol, I--fuck, yes, I want that~ I want you to--to make me cum as many times as I w-want!” You mewl, easily working in another finger as you pump the digits inside your pussy.

He smirks when he sees your grip on the vibrator loosening, knowing that you were already too lost in the pleasure to keep the toy on. “And I’d let you. Maybe I’d make you cum on my tongue first. Or would you want my fingers?”

“B-both! Puh--please…” You whine, legs threatening to clamp shut. You curl and scissor your fingers, thrusting them knuckle deep inside yourself as you chase the pleasure that overtakes your senses. “Please, ‘Cheol, tell me more~”

You watch through the camera as Seungcheol pushes his sweats down enough to get his cock into view; mouth watering as you watch it curve up to his lower abdomen.

“I know how much you love being doted on and being taken care of… So after I make you cum all fuckin’ night, you know I’d take care of you. Make sure you’re comfortable and cuddle with you when you’re tired.” His hips cant up into his closed palm, a soft groan on his lips. “And then when we wake up, I’ll eat you out. Nice and slow so you know it’d be worth it.” 

Seungcheol smirks, smearing the precum all over his shaft. “But I also know you like it rough and you like being punished like a bad girl. You like the idea of being tied up and teased and being fucked nice and hard too. I could take it nice and slow, build up the pleasure for you. Or I can take it nice and slow and tease you, I’d make you sit on my cock ‘n make you wait for it ‘til you’re begging me. Or maybe you would want an audience? Let them see you fall apart on my cock when you’re desperate to cum.” 

You press the vibrator against your clit again, Seungcheol’s name falling out of your mouth in a blubbering mess. “Oh--I--!!”

Your legs clamp shut, fingers halting their movements as you cum hard around your fingers. Seungcheol watches as your legs shake, his own hand running up and down his cock in quick motions as he chases his high too. You vaguely hear him groaning your name; the ringing in your ears overbearing as your orgasm continues to wash over you.

The sound of your quick and shallow breaths mix with Seungcheol’s over the speakers as the two of you catch your breath. You slip your fingers from inside of you, wincing when you turn off the toy and toss it to the side.

“Fuck, baby, I--”

“Y-yeah…” You quietly lick your fingers clean, knowing that Seungcheol’s watching. “I… that was the first time I… did that with s-someone…” You giggle tiredly, wiping the rest of your sticky fingers on your shirt.

“Really? Never?” Seungcheol’s surprised expression makes you giggle; his eyes round and mouth wide open as he leans closer to his webcam.

“Mmhmm! Just, y’know, it’s--it’s hard to get close to people sometimes…”

You had mentioned it off-handedly once while the two of you had been texting, that most of the dates you’d been on hated the fact that you cammed. There was always a possessive aura that was present and while Seungcheol would sometimes get a little jealous himself, he also knew it was your livelihood and how you supported yourself.

“Ah, yeah, I can understand.”

The two of you sit in a content silence, Seungcheol reaching for a few tissues to clean off the drying cum on his abdomen.

“Hey, ‘Cheol?”

“Yeah?” He peers up at the camera through his lashes, blinking rapidly as he watches you lay back down in front of your laptop.

“About what you said… earlier…” You pause, shyness overtaking once again. “I--Would you want to meet up? Like, for real? I mean--not--not like tomorrow or something but... Y’know, we can start planning?” 

Any words that come after that turn into radio static in Seungcheol’s head and he can feel his pupils shaking, nervousness already bubbling up inside of him at the prospect of actually finally maybe getting to meet you. 

“Seungcheol? ‘Cheollie? You okay?” 

Fuck.

“Huh? Yeah, yeah! I’m cool, I’m good, sorry, that--that caught me off guard.”

He watches as you talk animatedly, mind already going a mile a minute as he thinks over everything that needed to be done before then. 

“I’m really excited to meet you, ‘Cheollie!” 

[gamerwoo]

Hello friends, it’s Rocket!!! So I recently hit another really big milestone (honestly idk how I did it with my shitty updating schedule that doesn’t even exist, and lack of posting anything on here because of work lmao) and I really want to do something this time around to celebrate since I don’t think I did anything last time. But since I couldn’t decide on just one thing to do, I’ve decided to do a bunch of things!! So I’ll probably have this lil celebration thing going on for a little bit so I can get things done over a period of time instead of just trying to rush things out in one weekend. But more on that in a sec!

Before I get into the celebration stuff, I just wanna give a huge thank you to everyone who’s followed, whether you’ve been here since I was msvteenx or you just now followed me. I appreciate it a lot. And even if you don’t follow me but you reblog my content, thank you so much!! The fact that people like my writing makes me so happy I can’t even put it into words. And if you’ve followed me for any other reason other than my writing, I appreciate you as well!! :] 

But the biggest shoutouts to @neverknewgrey2016 @sadienita @akirabfs @hansols-yoda-boxers​ and @sunlightwoo​ for just being really great friends and always being super encouraging and my #1 hype people, especially lately when I hardly have the time to do anything but want to do all the things lmao. I love y’all and I’m really glad I met you guys and that I have y’all in my life 🥺💕

Okay, so onto the celebration stuff!

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CELEBRATION #1: STRAY KIDS IMPRINTED

Yup, you read that right. Ya girl is bringing back SKZ Imprinted!!! Which also means that I’ll be opening requests for this series!! However, I will be re-posting all of the old parts that I didn’t already use in other Imprinted series lmao. So some members won’t be up for requests.

These are the members you can request for:

Minho

Changbin

Seungmin

Jeongin

Requests are a first come, first serve basis. You can specify their mate, the plot, the genre, etc. Or you can be super vague and just say “hey can I have Imprinted [insert member here]” and I’ll come up with the rest!!

My only rule is no smut. I don’t have the time or energy to write that rn.

Requests for Stray Kids Imprinted will close when I receive a request for all 4 members. You can check who has been requested here.

♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥♡♥

CELEBRATION #2: Q&A

I know this isn’t something many people will probably engage in, but I still think it could be fun. Pretty much anything goes and I have to answer. So ask whatever the heck u want 😌

The only things I won’t answer are:

My real name/my full name

Where I live

Personal info about my family (such as their names)

Anything along those lines

Please be sure to start the ask of by saying it’s for the 8k celebration!! I’ll be answering them all Sunday (4/18) night!!!

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CELEBRATION #3: DRABBLE GAME

I think I do these every single time I do a milestone celebration lmao. But this time, instead of just finding one of those posts to reblog or link, you can request a specific au type (werewolf au, mafia au, ect) and/or genre and/or thing that happens in the drabble. Just make sure you include an idol you want!!

Groups/idols you can request for:

Seventeen

Pentagon

Exo

BTS

SF9

KARD

Stray Kids

Ateez

For example “single dad!Seungcheol picks his daughter up from daycare and tries to flirt w the worker but his daughter embarrasses the fuck out of him” or something along those lines. Basically, your request must have enough info for me to be able to write something with it lmao.

For drabbles, I’ll allow smut.

The drabble game requests will close either next Saturday (4/24) at 8pm EST or sooner if I get bombarded with them and can’t keep up lmao.

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CELEBRATION #4: SMALL REQUESTS OPEN

For a short period of time, I’ll have requests open for small things, which include:

fake texts

headcanons (this goes for general headcanons but also headcanons for any series or fic or character I have that maybe you wanna know more about or add onto)

drabbles (see above)

reactions

mtl

And yes, smut topics are allowed.

Requests will close whenever I feel like closing them lmao :)

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Thank you guys so much again for 8k followers. I can’t put into words how much I appreciate all the love and support on my writing or just in general. I love you guys!! 💕💕💕

[jq37]

The Case File – Mice and Murder Ep 3

The Case of the Curious Clues

Before we start, a quick plea to Grant O’Brien: Please stop finding clues. I can only take notes so fast. You’re killing me Grant. Moving on...

We start off this episode with yet another flashback, this time to the final confrontation of Sly and his supposedly dead arch nemesis Fletcher Cottonbottom at Reichenbunny Falls (...Brennan please). Fletcher was using a local castle as a storage center for munitions but Sly tipped off the cops before they could be moved. They do some repartee back and forth before Fletcher, the madman, handcuffs them together and jumps off the edge. They hit the water but Sly is able to lockpick himself out and escape while Fletcher disappears beneath the waves. 

You know what I got from that story? No body.

Anyway, we jump back to the present where there *is* a body, Squire Badger’s specifically. Everyone in the room who isn’t a PC thinks that this must either be the work of ghosts or Mrs. M who was the only person in the room when it happened (allegedly). 

This is a crucial time for clue gathering and Brennan keeps everyone in initiative for investigative purposes. Now, *so much* stuff happens here that I’m not going to recap every single detail--just the major clues and the things that seem relevant. I’m serious, this is like the volume of info we usually get in the once per season later game lore dump ep but it’s episode THREE.

Daisy tries to find a secret door but critically fails. She clocks Gangie, a fellow criminal, and in the moment Rekha and Katie decide that they prob have worked together in the past even though they are very different kinds of criminals. 

Buck, who is outside listening to what’s going on in the room notices that his ankle knife is missing which is Concerning considering a man was just knifed to death. 

Sly has Lars guard the door (he opens it and Buck is discovered, whoops) and then rolls a NATURAL 20 plus NINE to investigate so Brennan just has to tell him literally everything. RIP to him and me. Anyway, here’s the rundown (along with some of the stuff other ppl got):

Mrs. M’s hands are covered in blood but she couldn’t have done it. Based on her personality for one and for other reasons we’ll get to.

The wound is much messier than it would be if a person stabbed themselves typically.

There is a note in Squire Badger’s handwriting that says “Sylvester Cross I am afraid” No indication of if that was the whole message or if he got interrupted (maybe Buck could figure it out with his handwriting checking skills). Daisy from across the room clocks that Sly’s name is written on the paper but can’t read the rest.

The knife is a hunting knife with a pronghorn handle--an animal not common in England but very common in Texas (and Buck is sweating obv).

There is a slight layer of charcoal type dust on everything on the big resolute desk in the room (which makes sense, ash from the fireplace) but there is parchment type dust on the bust of Barkus Aurelius (OK, that one’s good) on the table and that’s the only place that dust is. Ian later notices that the date on the bust is wrong. 

Speaking of, the desk (which we learn later was put in and taken out of storage once Loan Hall was modernized) is bolted to the ground and a lot of stuff has been thrown off it as if by a powerful force but Sly notices that it’s just the metal stuff like things made of silver or with screws. Stone things like the bust and other non-metal things have stayed put. Plus he smells ozone. This was the work of magnets, not ghosts, he concludes. And, for the record, Grant figured this out himself!

Mrs. M’s eyes are rapidly dilating. She is questioned about what happened and she says that she was told she was fired and would receive a small pension. 

(Not a part of Sly’s clue dump but Buck rolls a 24 with disadvantage to persuade everyone he didn’t do it but then 2 nat 1s in a row to see if Harding--who said he was standing outside the door--is suspect. Buck thinks he’s at most a stooge but he did roll a nat 1 so who knows?)

Anyway, back to Mrs. M. Gangie fully believes Mrs. M is innocent and scared. She doesn’t quite remember what happened for a couple of seconds in there and it’s clear this is not the first time she’s had missing time. Sly calls Longfoot (the bunny photographer) over to take a picture of Mrs. M which everyone is a little appalled at until they realize he’s making a point. When the flash goes off, she bugs out like she did in episode 1 and forgets that the picture was ever taken. Sly then has Dr. Magpie list the symptoms of epilepsy. It seems that Mrs. M had an episode triggered by the flash she mentioned seeing and then lost time. It’s possible that what she thought she saw after that she didn’t actually see.

[While Sly is monologuing this Rekha texts Brennan and gets a 17 to swipe the “I am afraid” note. Sly doesn’t notice.]

So if it wasn’t her, then who was it? There’s only one door into the study and anyone who walked in would have to have walked past Mr. Harding, Shellcrest, Calliope, and Tabitha (who is having a marvelous time being in the midst of so much drama). Ah, but who said there was only one door? Sly has Harding pull a sconce and a SECRET DOOR OPENS! Woo! Finally! It’s a classic bookshelf one that opens into the hallway and there is some extremely fine crushed glass under the door. Hmm.

Sly clocks that there is something under the desk but we don’t know what it is because Brennan texts it to him and it’s redacted. There are actually a couple of redacted texts that go around this ep so we are def missing information. 

OK, that’s more or less everything. 

Sly notices that the page is missing and Grant gasps while Rekha does an excellent job of pretending like she doesn’t even remember what paper is being talked about. Constance asks if it’s possible that Mrs. M totally made up the memory because of her epilepsy and between Dr. Magpie and Sly they determine that that’s uncommon but possible. Dr. Magpie says that everyone should leave so he and Sly can examine the body and Sly says that someone should watch Gangie at all times. 

At this point, Harding and Gilfoyle (the butler) say they should establish where everyone was at the time of the murder. A lot of the staff and guests have solid alibis cause they were in big groups/cleaning up together. But the PCs were off alone (or with each other) and had reasons to want to guy dead so they’re prime suspects. Sly even admits that he’s one too. Also everyone dogpiles Ian because Raph makes it so fun. 

Harding mentions the letter that was given to Buck (the one selling his shares in BB and giving voting writes to his rival Josiah) and asks him to read it. Buck reads it and gives a streamlined version of the truth, saying everything except for the part with the proxy vote. With a 26 he is able to allay everyone’s suspicions for now, but now he’s purposefully hidden the truth in a way that can be readily called out if anyone sees the letter or the contract which he resolves to find. 

Buster distracts the group so Daisy can “check the body for a pulse” aka: check the body for the contract. She doesn’t find a it but does find a key attached to a piece of red silk--something that would be weird for him to be carrying around instead of his valet. She figures this must open whatever locked drawer the contract is in and swipes it but Sly clocks her stealing it (his perception ties her sleathiness but an earlier Bless from Ian tips him over the edge--poetic).  

Calliope says that everyone is kinds suspect, including Sly, but *someone* has to solve this and Sly’s their best bet so everyone should just stay put and they can guard the exits. The butler says that, besides the front door, there are some towers that poke up above ground and a servant's exit/entrance by the elevator in the kitchen wing but they can lock down both and have someone guard the front doors. 

The butler is like, lmao yeah Sly I know you didn’t do it and I’m not gonna stand guard here but you know, everyone is keeping an eye on y’all. And then he leaves the PCs, Mrs. M, Constance, and Dr. Magpie in the room with the body. 

Lars is about to go watch the kitchen staff but, before he goes, Sly says to him that he saw Cottonbottom and is obviously quite scared. Gangie, who used to work for the guy, overhears and asks what’s going on. Sly assumes Gangie is playing coy but rolls high enough to know that he isn’t. He saw a starkly white Cottonbottom and one of his known conspirators doesn’t know he’s back? Perhaps it was a ghost after all. 

Case Notes

My 2 fave bits of this episode were “bad to bad bad bad” (and the further riffing) and Daisy throwing increasingly bigger books at Sly.

Even with a Nat 1, Sly gets a 16 on Investigation. Wild. 

I don’t think Rekha got enough props for her “Cross examination” line so I’m mentioning it here.

Brennan said the ozone question was still open--but I assumed it was like the electricity smell from an electromagnet. That would make sense, right? Maybe he meant they hadn’t found the source of it specifically yet?

Brennan says Buck’s knife is a pronghorn knife. I assume they’re made from the animal’s horns? Even if they’re the kind that fall off every season, is that weird? Or is it just like human hair wigs? Also, does this world have leather?

I love that the dice keep supporting the narrative that Daisy simply cannot get her shit together when she’s with Sly because he distracts her too much. Delicious. Their whole relationship is delicious. 

OK, I am a tiny bit suspicious of Calliope. It’s partially the way she took control of the situation near the end and partially the fact that she doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would be involved in this which would make her heel turn delicious. No hard evidence and obv she couldn’t be the person who actually stabbed a guy but idk. Just spitballing. I’m very curious about whether we’ve met everyone we’re going to meet more or less or if there are still outside people/hidden inside people. Because, in real life, a murderer could be literally anyone but in a story, you can’t just introduce a new villain all of a sudden at the end. Bad storytelling. Weak payoff. We’ll see how things start to pan out. 

[tsukidotcom]

Haikyuu HC to COVID-19 (Karasuno edition)

This is horrible 💀 im just so bored so I made whatever this mess is KFJSJDMSK enjoy

Hinata Shouyou

huh? isn’t it just the flu?

“No, hinata. People have died from it-“

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH-

goes bananas

whenever someone sneezes or coughs, his soul leaves his body as he runs away to sanitize/wash his hands for a miserably long time.

eats an expired can of peaches thinking it’s his last resort

lowkey happy school is closed because homework sucks

but also highkey hates it because now all volleyball tournaments are closed

then gets all angry when he realizes he’d have to do online school???!!?? like wtf he got jipped.

thinks they could still do volleyball if they did online calls cus if the school can do it,, then vOLLEYBALL CAN

will probably miss half of the class calls from oversleeping/forgetting anyway.

sheepishly ask yamaguchi, yachi or tsukishima for help on assignments/notes. (he will NEVA ask kageyama. he’s always in competition with him here!)

still practices volleyball 24/7 in his backyard or room (maybe even with his baby sister??)

He’s really good at practicing all by himself from practicing all alone in middle school—

but will probably go crazy being alone all the time with his family. he just wants to play volleyball with the team again.

looks up “what to do when you’re bored” or “what to do at home while in quarantine” on youtube

Kageyama Tobio

probably says he’s immune to the corona because he’s just better than everyone else

doesn’t really think it’s real until school shut down because of it

When he sees that corona is airborne he wont know what that means so he’d probably think it’s produced by air itself?? which makes him think air is trying to kill the human race?? and will be so confused as to why it decided to pop up now???

DESPISES online school. He had enough trouble understanding it from the gecko, so now he has to learn it basically all by hiMSELF?!?

And no way is he just gona email the teacher for help. If he does it’s gonna be only once in his lifetime. Anymore than that he thinks he’s doin too much. He doesn’t want his teachers thinking he’s dumb 😭

he says literally nothing during the calls he just tries to pay attention? and fails because he’s on a computer. in his room. alone. he’s bound to daze off or stare at a pen for 5 minutes.

Obvi still practices volleyball. Very much misses it. At least Hinata had his sibling to practice with him. tobio is a lone wolf in his household.

When his mom goes out to get groceries he gives her one of those doctor masks so she doesn’t catch corona.

Few moments later through the internet he realizes that corona is smaller than air molecules so if you can breathe through something you could still get it so he struggles for an hour thinking he just killed his mother

When his mom is back he keeps his distance in case she’s carrying the plague

omg did she just cough or am i imagining things no she definitely coughed she has corona oh oh god

In reality she was just clearing her throat.

is lowkey worrying about everyone and how they are 🥺 (yes, maybe even hinata).

thinks he’s science smart by calling it covid-19 than corona.

Asahi Azumane

He just worries about everyones health

like he just imagines the worst case scenario’s and starts to get really worried if people got it. Always checks on everyone and asks if they’re feeling any symptoms of corona ❤️

He’s either not gonna get it or he gets it and dies there’s no inbetween

but he’s jesus himself so theres no way he nor anyone in his bloodline can get it

is very happy to know that dogs can’t get it.

Takes online school seriously and tries his best

And is honestly so sad school just ended??? even if it’s temporary, he could be learning, playing volleyball, and going about his day instead of staying in a cage. he’s a third year so—how would graduation even go..?

always is up to date on the news !! and notifies everyone if anything important is added/changed.

Always tells everyone to stay safe! Whether through text or before ending a call.

only buys a lot of toilet paper from the fear of there being no toilet paper in stock since evERYONE IS BUYING IT-

Starts to try new hobbies that he put off for the longest time cus quarentine is rlly getting to him.

Is all out a family guy so he doesn’t mind the extra time with his family.

Nishinoya Yu

OAOAOAOAOAOAOAOAOAOA

420 blazin’

thinks going outside means you’re instantly gonna die from corona attacking your white blood cells (????)

but also probably doesnt care as he goes outside like everyday to run around and get rid of energy (and to practice volleyball, of course).

also why is it called white blood cells when blood is red ☠️ smh

Buys 101611018320129 bags of chips because that’s his comfort food

yay more gaming time!!!

Noya🐒: Tanaka do u wana play minecraft 2getr latr?

Tanaka🍌: HELL YEAH!!

doesn’t shower for three days straight because screw personal hygiene!! No more school!!! Can do whatever he wanted!! It’s basically summer!!!

until he’s forced to do online school.

Is def the class clown. Probably somehow kicks the teacher out of the call through a little bit of hacking.

“alright guys so i’ll be you’re substitute teacher for the day-“

tbh acts the same as he would in school. maybe a little more rebellious because, i mean, what is the teacher gonna do? send him to DETENTION? call his mOMMY?

Calls/spams literally everyone in his contacts because he’s so bored and lonely. Answer him!! Y’all will be on facetime for hours!!

He’s fun to facetime.

Will call you a loser if you don’t have an apple iPhone because then he can’t facetime you and facetiming is one of his favorite things to do to pass time (besides gaming)

HE A TRUE GAMER

Okay but he lowkey still tries at school for the sake of his grades and his future ;-; maybe calls asahi or sugawara for help??

always looks up his homework on the internet to see if he can get an answer key or something (he did that anyway even before corona but)

will do one subject for 3 hours thinking he’s finally done with everythinf till he realizes he has like 4 other subjects and needs to do those too.

Sending memes all the time

Tsukishima Kei

oh, what about corona again?

honestly could give NO fucks??. like ABSOLUTELY ZERO. nonxistent.

doesn’t even remember it’s still happening half the time.

is surprisingly very knowledgeable about corona.

he’s just smart and sciency¿ so he understands the ins and outs of corona like how it works and how its spread.

so if you tRULY want any update or background info on the corona virius, ask Tsukishima.

bitch don’t touch me you have rabies.

doesn’t care that he’s obligated to stay at home because he would have stayed either way. he very much likes being alone.

might go a little crazy cooped up in his room so he’ll hang with his brother/family or go outside before he says ‘okay that’s enough’ and goes back to his room.

isolation? oh okay *puts on headphones*

he rlly gonna be rocking it out in his room cus he can listen to music all day any day

developes a really bad sleep schedule since he had no way to get rid of the energy he got rid of at school.

still a huge tease so he says everyone has the corona virius.

is never online on social media which means he’s never up to date with his frIENDS. Doesn’t have a clue what those dipshits are doing and could care less (besides yamaguchi,, they probably facetime or call thru skype or something).

I bet the whole volleyball squad has a groupchat and honestly he puts all notifs on mute cus his phone keep goin DING DING DING DI DING ID DID IDKNG DING DIG

Brother: Omg why are you getting so many text messages?

Tsukki: Shut up

if he is online on the gc and he texts it would be simple replies like “Hi” “Okay.” “No.” “Goodbye.” and then he’s gone for another week

every first year is begging on their knees for tsukishima to give the answers or help them out and he obviously says: go do the hw yourselves idiots

besides yamaguchi!!!! again!! cus theyre gay for each other

maybe practices once in awhile with his brother or alone in his backyard but he doesn’t care

Tanaka Ryuunosuke

buys 101817 pounds of toilet paper because everyone else is? but not because of the same reason as asahi. he thinks toilet paper is the cure to corona.

GO STUPID AAAAAAAAA GO CRAZY AAAAAAAAAAA-

probably has a part time job at a grocery store so he still has to go to work 😭 i dont even know how he could have a job in the first place he’s probably always late-

still gamin with noya of course

GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM IM PLAYING MINECRAFTT

also buys like all the junk food thats in stock. and since he works at the grocery store he gets a ton of coupons and deals.

texts Kiyoko everyday goodmorning ❤️❤️❤️ and goodnight 😘😘 texts just to be left on read.

“i love it when she ignores me !!!”

scrolls through tiktoks for 1000 hours to pass time

School Is For Losers!!

similar to noya, he thought it was basicaly summer until he realized they were gonna be doing online school. literally had a fit and said he didnt wanna do jack squAt

Laughs so hard when nishinoya somehow kicks the teacher out of the call he’s like laughing so loud and hard he starts crying

all of the sudden has a better view on school

gets excited when he sees nishinoya on the call

makes funny and ugly ass faces when the teacher isn’t looking. everyone laughs and the teacher’s like 🤨

probably uses the green screen effect so he can change hus background (somehow) and accidentally misclicks a file so a girl wit a bikini becomes his background for .5 seconds before changing it to a cursed meme:

doesn’t get half the shit the teacher is talking about

but it’s okay because the half he doesn’t get is the other half noya gets

and the half noya doesnt get is the orher half tanaka gets

they’re two peas in a pod 🥰

until they try explaining it to each other and suddenly get confused?? mental malfunction ¿?

yeah im SMART!!!

s -

m -

a -

r - penis

t -

Daichi Sawamura

quite calm about the whole coronavirus

like he knows it is serious and understands how it is spread but he’s still calm about it??

tells everyone to sanitize and wash hands on a regular. and social distancing!!

honestly still wakes up like he does on normal school days and does all his academics just fine.

he even does gym activities (besides volleyball) for 30 minutes to an hour!!!! he be running on that treadmil! getting stronk!

does each subject on his own for 20-40 min each day. he’s really good at self discipline

makes sure sugawara and asahi are up to date on school work and will gladly help.

sadly can’t help the first years (and probably second years) because that info is deep in his brain and basically forgot how to do it after a year or two of not using it.

VERY VERY VERY sad that volleyball nationals are cut off. this is his last year and for it to be??? gone??? just because of some flu?!?! hates it.

he wishes school to go back and still has hope that school will go back to normal in a couple of weeks (even though it’s a slim chance).

asks the teacher questions whenever he has questions. He’s also vv considerate so he’ll ask questions he knows the answer to but asks them for anyone who’s confused ab it/wants to ask but is too shy. (literally i lov daichi sm)

Eats a healthy amount of everything

asks asahi for any updates on corona even though he’s quite up to date himself. he just wanna make sure he didn’t miss anything.

also doesn’t mind being around his family. he’ll do more chores around the house to help his parents out :> he’s literally perfect wtf

def does worry about everyone in the volleyball gc and anyone else he has contact with. Will also email classmates and ask if they’re doing all right. Even away from volleyball he’s a team player ☺️✌️

Is happy for the rest of the day when asahi tells him dogs can’t get corona.

Yamaguchi Tadashi

oaoaiquqhdkoaiaagadjsiwi?

doesn’t know what to believe anymore

keeps in touch with everyone!! always online 24/7 on social media, vball gc, you name it.

Literally everyone is acting so normal why are people so calm am i the only one worrying about this and the worlds future like this year has been really bad so far for not just me but the whole nation actually the entire world honestly like war almost broke out in january and now this corona stuff is really buttering my crissont the wrong way-

Even though tsukishima literally gives No Fucks, yamaguchi is the complete opposite.

like tsukki and yamaguchi call on skype and eVERY TIME yamaguchi starts with ‘how have you been? do you feel sick at all? have you drank enough water today?’ and so on

“What are you even worrying about?”

“Well...what if you get the corona virius?... it can be deadly, you know!! Thousands of people have died from it!!! The fact school is shutting down and people are panicking is making me feel like i should be panicking-“

Tsukki will then snarkily reassure him it’s fine and people their age are the least likely to get it bad.

Yamaguchi will feel a little better afterwords

“Thank you, Tsukki!”

Tsukki will ‘tch’ it off

Even though he gets really good grades he has triuble finding motivation to do any school work?? doing school work in his own home? 😐

His home was kinda a place he can chill whereas school is a place he can be fully focused

but now his home is ALSO school??!!?

Luckily he understands the work, at least.

When he sees tsukishima on the call, too, he instantly says hello.

“Tsukki!! Hey!! 😁”

“Shut up.”

“Gomen, Tsukki.”

Yeah. Even when they aren’t at school, he’s still the same as always.

He takes extra care of his family and always stays in touch with other relatives. Especially grandpa and grandma. THE SECOND he learned elderly people are at more risk you bet your ass he’s calling them making sure they’re okay. He checks up on them everyday now.

He peobably practices volleyball a little, too. He’s more focused on schoolwork though.

Sugawara Koushi

Have you guys ate dinner yet? 🥺

obviously checking up on everyone

he would fail as a mother if he didn’t.

Actually reads in his free time?? He finally has time on his hands to read these books so.... here we are!

Wakes up at a scheduled time everyday (minus weekends. Maybe sleeps for an extra hour or so).

He dresses in pjs rather than actual clothes because he’s not going anywhere with this social distancing thing.

Always tries to lighten the mood when all the students are on the online call. Maybe crack some joke or innocently play around with the effects.

He still pays close attention in class and does quite well on his own. No help from his parents! He can do everything on his own! He a big boi!

Does homework really well, too. Probably does extra work or more work than needed just because it makes him feel good afterwords.

Honestly i can see him cooking in his free time. If he doesnt feel like reading or scrolling mindlessly through his phone, he gonna cook.

Will make the best cookies in the universe.

HAS A HECK OF A SWEET TOOTH. NOT A DAY GOES BY WITHOUT HIM GETTING HIS PRETTY HANDS ON SUM TREAT

Honestly isn’t too good with exercise so he might gain a few pounds or grow the smallest chub 🥺🥺🥺 he would be so cute omfg.

is realy involved with his family!! they play a board/card game every friday night and have the best time.

if he has a dog, cat, or literally any animal you know he’s gona be hanging with them since he has more time.

Still! Playing! Volleyball! I mean by now every boy is practicing at least a little bit. He would probably be in his backyard playing volleyball with his family. Theyy’d set up a net and everythin! They’re all rookies at it but he still cherishes the moments with them.

It’s honestly still practice. Better than nothing

He talks about how his family plays volleyball and everyone is so jealous like 😭😭 makes him more grateful hearing half the volleyball team saying they have to practice alone.

Watching youtube videos of random videos/vines making him giggling.

“Hey, Dachi, look at this video.”

IS A SWEETHEART STFU !!!

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S4 Ep 12: Pharaoh, a Well Known Magician of Darkness, Swears he Has Never Done That.

I just had the most disappointing cheesecake cup of my entire life, so lets talk about Yugioh. From weird dessert to weird desert. ha.

I mean OK. Sure. I mean they gotta do something while they look for Yugi in a desert that isn’t really known for it’s off-roading, but it also isn’t known for it’s card game scene so...

But then the show decided to fill even more empty time with Rebecca sharing this piece of info when I least expected it. Now. In S4.

Y’all I was SO surprised.

I know that the show is doing this for the people just tuning into Yugioh for the first time but...Man, I’m having flashbacks to that time Yugi didn’t tell anyone that Bakura freakin died for over 40 episodes until Marik had to do it for him.

Yugi never told the girl he gave the friendship card to, that his best friend is ACTUALLY a 4000 yo ghost that haunts his every move. (5000 yo? I forget how old he is)

Tea just patiently reveals all of Yugi’s deepest darkest terrifying occult secrets to Rebecca with a smile on her face the entire time.

That’s girl talk. Can affirm--this is what girl talk looks like.

(read more Girl Talk under the cut)

Her explanation on the show actually did not point out that there is a separate entity with a completely different personality, so I think that people watching the show for the first time would still be hella confused. Instead it was more “this is Yugi’s strong and handsome side which I clearly like WAY MORE, and this is the other one”

Like she kinda left out the part where one is a ghost.

So this scene basically takes away any tension that a 4-way love square would have brought to the table.

And that’s fine. I really didn’t need a love square that involves both a 12 year old and a ghost. For me, as a person who is immune to shipping, it just seemed wildly too complicated for the same writing team who have been trying to bury Kaiba and his relationship with that that paper card since they brought it up in S2.

But apparently no one in this square cares they all kinda like the same person and that this particular person is two people. And as they go on about what they like about Yugi, it’s clear that both girls have made kind of a perfect dream Yugi who...just doesn’t exist at all. Maybe if either of them actually went on more than one date with the boy, they would separate the dream from the reality and realize fully that, in actuality, Yugi and Pharaoh both are a human version of that “hang in there!” poster with the struggling kitten on it.

TBH I think the women in this show forgot they like Yugi, it was a very friendzoning style of conversation.

Meanwhile, Rafael’s giant arms only continue to grow even more muscular with every scene as he tell us the vague deep lore behind this necklace. It’s sort of like watching a webcomic written by a teenager. The muscles keep growing, and growing, but the characters have to keep getting distracted by lore, and then midway the lore drop, the writer goes on a hiatus because of finals and just never comes back so it feels like you’re stuck in lore limbo forever.

I do like that Pharaoh’s like “your necklace is evil, take that off” when he has also been wearing the Oricalchos necklace the entire time.

Maybe because it was just waaay too tempting for Yugi to look at that jewelry and NOT wear that jewelry? Yugi has kind of a magpie problem with accessories, as we all know, and I can’t believe this magpie problem has put him into mortal peril so many times.

And then the show finally does us the favor of explaining why some people go cray when they wear haunted jewelry, and others do not.

Which does not bode well for Ryou. Not like we ever hang out with Ryou enough to find out his personal balance between being a meek little Brishish(ish?) kid that likes to eat cookies and his demon form that likes to stab things. Like seriously, would have liked to know more about Ryou ever at all, but since Season 1 ended, he’s only Ryou for like...2 minutes at a time before he’s back to being wonderful, scene shredding, serial murderer asshole Bakura.

Also, unrelated note, WHAT THE HELL, ART TEAM.

Is that turtleneck just spray painted on??? Why does this guy ever bother with cards? He can just do some punches and probably accomplish the same damn thing and a lot quicker. This man is larger than...any other human that has been on this show.

And so it’s at this point that Rafael’s decided like “ahaha my master plan, I will make Pharaoh doubt himself” and it’s like...

...you actually don't need to give Pharaoh a push, he and Yugi doubt themselves so often they’d list it as one of their hobbies on their edgy Livejournals (because they would keep two)

This fight with Rafael was kinda frustrating, because while most villains make points where it’s like “oh, you were tortured underground your whole life because of something I did in my past life, yeah that checks out.” all of Rafael’s points had so little to do with Pharaoh and were...so easy to debunk...

Like I made the joke about Flat Earther’s the last recap but you know what? I can see Rafael being a Flat Earther. Straight up. You can tell him the sky is blue and he’ll start going off about how all of humanity needs to die because the sky is actually made of Meyer lemons.

Darts even decided to say this line.

Which I thought was mostly funny because Pharaoh still has no idea that thing around his neck can shoot lasers, but also funny because the only reason Yugi has friends is because he initially cursed them to like him in Season Zero. And that wasn’t even Pharaoh, that was YUGI. Rafael is just SO very late to this party.

So, he decides to give Pharaoh an Oricalchos card, and like...

And I don’t believed I capped this part of the last episode, but before they even started this game, Rafael was like “yeah I let Arthur go.”

So...there’s no reason for Yugi to be here anymore other than the bridge is out. There are NO stakes in this game. Other than...Pharaoh’s pride?

I guess it’s one of the problems of sharing a soul with a King who we’re 90% sure did some pretty effed up stuff at some point because he’s a King. That’s just what they DO, I’ve played Fire Emblem, I know how Kings work.

Like we could just sit down and make a list of things that Pharaoh and Yugi did that ended up really screwing him over. (And hearing that nitroglycerin air hockey happens somewhere in the manga does make me want to take a peek at it eventually but I have too much on my to do list)

Like for instance, there was that time he took a fireball for Mai thinking she was a decent person and she ended up killing over 20 people with a gas station and is now a Mad Max Style serial murderer racing down the 101, and actively trying to kill him and more specifically Joey Wheeler.

Or that time he took the ultimate bullet and died but left his tomb to the most asshole tombkeeper family cult known to man who like to carve tattoos onto children with old ass hot butcher knives for thousands of years.

Or that time he thought Namu wasn’t Marik when Marik had insane tattooed eyeliner and a millennium item sticking like 8 inches out of his back pocket the entire time. Could’ve saved him like...2 seasons of content if he just yoinked that item right then and there.

Or that time he actually tried to murder Seto Kaiba. Like actually tried to push his own classmate off of a steep ledge and would have done it if Tea hadn’t intervened.

Or that time he did...a lot of the things that Yugi did in Season Zero and the Manga.

I just feel like...this is our boy. He’s meant to be this gray area protagonist who is trying to do the right thing but at the same time does enjoy his dark tendency towards revenge. Yami is sort of like having the best of both worlds where you can be both villain and hero. He doesn’t need to be a polarizing force like Superman or something.

And...it feels a little bit like the narrative is trying to say he has finally stepped over the line of gray area and it’s like...he’s been here kind of a while, bud. But honestly, if it makes Pharaoh go a little Zero I’m here for it. Why not? It’s been a while, I want to see him go nuts again.

And I mean Yugi hasn’t had a meltdown in kind of a while, we were overdue. I assume that’s all of next episode is just Yugi freaking the hell out.

Anyway, if you just got here, this is a link to take you to the first episode where you can then read the entire epic in chrono order.

[diamond-song42]

Card Shark 111: Tough Questions

...and an announcement!

Greetings, my CCG-playing friends! Welcome back to Card Shark! Before I start the Shark today, I wanted to reveal some exciting CCG-related news: starting mid-September, I will be participating in Meticulous Talks’ Invitational Tournament of Champions! I’ll be clashing with and alongside some of the most successful MLP:CCG players in virtual CCG battles for the ages, and I can’t thank the folks at Meticulous Talks enough for inviting me. Dates where y’all can catch me are TBD - for more info on the tournament, you can check out the Reddit announcement right here!

...that being said, what does one run for a tournament such as this? Do you go for something tried and true (but still legal)? Or do you find an annoying niche like Thorax Mane/UR Novo/Meadowbrook’s Mask and run with that? These are all serious ponderings... that today’s Shark just happens to look at, though not in the same sense. It’s time to take a look at Friends Forever’s “Tough Questions!”

It’s a good thing the details of this card are certain. This is a Rare Blue/White Event that costs 2 AT, 2 Blue req, and 2 White req to play during your Main Phase. During your Main Phase, playing the Event triggers a Faceoff between one of your characters (that could be a Mane or Friend) and an opposing Friend or Troublemaker. Lose the Faceoff? Nothing happens (except you lose AT). Win the Faceoff? That opposing Friend or Troublemaker is banished. I don’t know about you, but I think that is a super nice range! Paying 2 AT with relatively low color req to banish something in this manner is great if you believe you can win the Faceoff. Most cards that can banish Friends so freely (as in, have no requirement as to power levels or cost) tend to be pretty costly AT-wise (Old Money, Particular Socialite, Queen Chrysalis, Evil Twin, etc.) or require a minimum of three types of color req (It’s Time to Be Awesome, Friendship U, etc). This card is, in my eyes, one of the few exceptions. As for banishing Troublemakers? I can name even fewer of those! Most cards focus on challenging Troublemakers during phases that aren’t the Troublemaker Phase or just dismissing them when defeating them is a harder option. But banishing in this way ensures that your opponent cannot get that Troublemaker back for the rest of the game (namely with a certain card called Grogar, Legion of Doom/Father of Monsters), while also nicely keeping it out of your way. Sure, the Faceoff could be considered an additional cost like the examples I’ve listed. But since you control the majority of the Faceoff, choosing both cards that, well, face off, they’re some of the easiest Faceoffs to win. (Unless you’re using Queen Novo, Benevolent Ruler, of course... but that’s a Shark for another day.) The answer is clear: this card can be both generous and loyal to your cause.

Now where were we with the actual “tough” part? There’s a couple things going on here that may hurt you in the long run. First, as with all Faceoffs, there is the chance you’ll lose it. Losing a Tough Questions Faceoff really doesn’t hurt you in any way like other cards that force Faceoffs such as Poetry Slam or Nightmare Moon, Blackest Night - you just waste 2 AT (which, despite me always saying every AT counts, might not be as bad as it sounds if you’re running cards like Rainbowshine, Gift Giver or even a certain new Set 12/New Dawn card) and your Event is discarded. This all could potentially be less significant, however, since I’ve already established that if you can control enough factors in the Faceoff, it can be easy for you to win. Second, believe it or not, there are quite a few ways to get around an Event like this, and I don’t just mean by having you lose the Faceoff. To give a few examples: Octavia, Harmony and Dissonance (which, fun fact, was one of the first Card Sharks, written while I was still working out all the kinks of the column) can cancel opposing Events, halting a Faceoff and keeping a potentially banished Friend or Troublemaker in play. Brian, One Swell Guy, can be retired in the place of another Friend that would be dismissed, moved, or banished. (Yes, the little guy prevents your Friends from being sent to the moon! He doesn’t just dismiss Resources!) He can’t protect Troublemakers, but the simple fact he can save Friends from being banished already makes him an unexpected force to be reckoned with. There’s even cards like Ember, My Way or the Highway that a player can exhaust to just stop a Faceoff. No winners, no losers, no Friends or Troublemakers going to the moon. All your prep to guarantee a surefire win in the Faceoff may be for naught with the simplest of things. Of course, everyone’s a critic - just be careful when you lay down your criticism.

Here’s a few more cards that float around in space distributing wings:

*Daybreaker, Blinding Light. If you have one of these in play and you don’t choose it during a forced Faceoff, either you have a super sinister techy plan or you forgot you had this in play. Daybreaker ADORES Faceoffs with her Competitive 3 (giving her 6 power during Faceoffs involving her) and her ability to score you a point when you win a Faceoff involving her. 6 power is a beast by itself, but the idea of scoring an additional point just by playing an Event and controlling almost all the details of the subsequent Faceoff? Feels good, man. If you want a similar alternate to use in this scenario, Scootaloo, Most Creative makes a decent substitute with her 4 Blue/White power, Prepared, and ability to score you an extra point.

*Autumn Blaze, Chatterbox AND/OR Spooky Ruins. I list both these cards and their similar effects here since they can be used in potentially different circumstances. Chatterbox forces opponents to flip one fewer card during Faceoffs with any characters with 4 or more power. If you’re targeting an opposing Friend with at least 4 power - and are forcing that opposing Friend to fight a character like Daybreaker, Blinding Light or Scootaloo, Most Creative - it’s almost a surefire guarantee that the unlucky Friend is getting banished. Spooky Ruins simply forces opponents to flip one fewer card during all Faceoffs. What Spooky Ruins has that Autumn Blaze doesn’t have to worry about, however, is the threat of Resource removal - and Spooky Ruins, in my experience, is a very frequent target of it. I think both cards could be valuable alongside Tough Questions - hence they are both listed here. 

*A Wrinkle in Time. Yes, it’s another Event to go with that first Event! This is one of my favorite Defenders of Equestria Events that I wish I had more reason to use. During a Faceoff, when your opponent flips something you don’t like, you can wrinkle them up and banish that flipped card! They then not only lose that card, but lose that power for the Faceoff and cannot flip another card unless they have a card that allows them to like Applejack, Carbo-Loader, Barrel Through, or Power Play. This is a good card to have when your opponent can control what they flip, especially during a Faceoff such as this where it’s a Friend or Troublemaker they really want to keep and will do what they can to keep them. Plus, wrinkly Rarity brings me a weird joy that I can’t explain. >:)

Thanks for reading another edition of Card Shark! I’m returning to my coverage of New Dawn next week that, so far, may be the craziest card I’ve seen come out of the set. How is it not a Super or Ultra Rare?! If spoilers are your thing, make sure you tune in next week to see my latest crazy column! Diamond out!

[thanksjro]

Eugenesis, Part Six Scene Four: Xenon Info-Dumps For Five-And-A-Half Pages

Alright, back to bullshit.

Galvatron is being a rude little turd to Xenon, calling his robot collection old and dusty, but Xenon’s too wrapped up in the Quintesson/Cybertronian lore to be bothered. Ultra Magnus just wants to know what the fuck he’s done with the Matrix.

You heard the man, out with it.

So, back when the Quintessons first started out, they were known as the Progenitors- yeah, I know- a quasi-organic race who went from caveman-level intelligence to full-blown hard sci-fi sons of guns at an incredibly rapid rate.  

Problem is, they didn’t get any further than that. They tried, sure. They tried real hard, for millions of years. Then, once their inspiration had run out, they started looking to other races to try and figure something out.

This just in, god is dead and James Roberts killed him by turning him into a glorified OS.

So, P.R.I.M.U.S. is encoded onto these geodes, and they become sentient. Sometimes they think they’re god.

Just like everyone else in this story.

Now that the Quintessons knew about these little god-doodads, they wanted one for themselves, to try and reverse-engineer the secret to immortality. They hired some guys called the Weavers to nab one for them.

This is some serious nerd shit, y’all. Galvatron agrees with me- he’s never even heard of any of the things Xenon’s droning on about. Neither have I- this is all Roberts at this point.

The Weavers brought back two geodes to the Quintessons, who promptly hid them away until the Masters cooled off a bit, since they were a little miffed about the thievery and whatnot. Then they noticed a couple problems: A) the geodes were encrypted to the moon and back, and B) if you so much as looked at the thing wrong it would purge the Lifecode completely.

Didn’t Optimus throw this thing at Unicron a couple times? Maybe the geode just doesn’t like you, Xenon, ever thought of that?

In order to decode the geodes, the Quintessons needed massive computers. Y’know, like God. But before they could really get a head start on that, the Masters’ nanobot enforcers showed up, blocking out the sky like a giant swarm of angry wasps. They wrecked shopped on Quintyxia- the old one, not the new one- and the Quintessons ran for it. They headed for the planet where they’d buried the other geode, but something went wrong with their hyperspace drive, and they didn’t arrive until two million years after they’d set off.

They dug for the geode, hit something metal, and that’s when the quakes started. The Quintessons left, thinking the planet was unstable.

At this point, Magnus is begging Xenon to just get on with it.

The Quintessons headed back to Quintyxia, to find that their lush, green world had been turned into one made of metal. Cybertron. Quintyxia is Cybertron. New Quintyxia is Quintyxia. It’s like that time Prince named himself the Artist Formerly Known As Prince.

Of course that leaves the question of why the nanobots didn’t just destroy the planet instead of… doing whatever they did to make Cybertron Cybertron.

So, Cybertron is a planet-sized computer, tasked with the sole purpose of decoding the meaning of life.

You know, I remember reading somewhere- and don’t quote me on this, because I can’t for the life of me remember where exactly- that Roberts has never read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Now, either he’s lying- which I don’t know why he would, the guy loves references- or this is just a weird thing the collective brain of the English population does, where they all jump to the same ideas in absurdist sci-fi.

When the Quintessons showed up on Cybertron, they were met with the results of the cracked Lifecode- the first Transformers (but they couldn’t transform, that was a thing that developed alongside the war.) They couldn’t do much of anything, really.

Well, now we know where the protoform babies in IDW come from.

The Quintessons, not ones to squander an opportunity, decide to use these fragile, helpless proto-beings as slaves.

Yeah, the Quintessons have kind of been the worst since day one.

They build brain modules, stick them in the ground- Seedlings, Xenon calls them- and watch as the planet wrapped living metal around them and built bodies.  

The Quintessons get pretty good at making the Auto-Bots, and get to a point where they’re drafting up blueprints for each solitary one. Blueprints that Xenon apparently kept, since he’s got all these copies in the pods right now.

If you couldn’t tell already, we’re going with the “the Quintessons made the Transformers” creation myth.

Of course, you make a big enough species, they’re going to need some corralling- that is, if you want to be an awful, controlling, overbearing parent. And the Quintessons definitely wanted that. So, what’s one to do?

…Look, it’s not that I necessarily disagree on a base level, but-

Xenon, you fucking neckbeard.

Because the Quintessons forgot that religion is not a one-set-outcome game, they were surprised to find that it had given their creations hope and will, things you really don’t want your enslaved masses to have.

The Covenant drove off the Quintessons, then fucked off into deep space to spread the message of Primus, with Maximo at the head of things. Maximo was the leader of the Cybertronian Empire and Megatron’s progenitor in the Marvel UK comics. They did leave someone behind to keep the masses within the faith- Primon. He’s important in the comics, just trust me on that.

Oh man, we’re finally getting some answers.

Xenon admits that the Quintessons didn’t come up with everything; there were parts that they just straight-up ripped out of the geode’s owner’s manual.

Oh. Well. That’s… underwhelming. Xenon’s really just dumping the entirety of the Cybertronian religion into the trash at this point, isn’t he? This info-dump has been going on for five pages, and we still aren’t done.

Turns out that kill switch code was pulled from the geode too- 4/11.002983712 is its serial number. That’s like if you called your dad by his first name and then immediately died afterwords.

But whatever happened to that second geode the Quintessons buried on the other planet?

Yeah, that turned into Unicron.

Turns out the virus that wipes the Lifecode from the geode messed up, and made the geode want to kill literally everything in the universe just for being alive.  

Well, isn’t that all just fine and dandy~!

Because the Quintessons didn’t realize what Unicron’s whole deal was at first- the vore-planet had learned how to lie at some point before they met up- they worked together for a time.

At this point the Quintessons had gone from being quasi-organic to something more cybernetically-dependent, so that might have also made things a little difficult in the baby-making department. Or not. I don’t fucking know, things are just happening at this point.

MOTHERFUCKER DO YOU KNOW WHAT BOOK YOU’RE IN

THERE WILL BE NO HAPPY ANYTHING

Storytime’s over, back to the present day. Xenon’s going to take these podded robots and populate New Quintyxia with them. They won’t fight, they’ll be actual, normal people who don’t wage war.

Xenon must have gotten some new glasses, because that’s one hell of a rose-tinted worldview he’s got there.

Ultra Magnus at this point just asks for the Matrix back so they can go home. Xenon says “nah, but check this out tho” and powers on the pod-bots.

Xenon, that’s gross. Don’t make Galvatron and Magnus watch you be weird with the power of granting life, man.

All the robots wake up, stand, and stare up at Xenon, who’s floated up to the ceiling on his power trip. They… aren’t supposed to do that.

Turns out the Matrix is a friggin’ liar, and only promised power because it’s actually Unicron in there. Well, damn.

Galvatron shoots Xenon. Good.

Shoulda sprung for the waterproofing on your Uggs, Mags.

Galvatron’s on a roll, now. He aims at one of the zombies and fires, and they all go down, thanks to their interlinked minds. Crisis averted, I guess.

Magnus, though not happy with Galvatron’s wanton destruction of innocents, has bigger fish to fry at present; he’s convinced that the Matrix is still inside God. Boy oh boy, is he wrong, but the narrative demands he at least tries. He sticks his hand into the computer, up to the shoulder. That’s not good heavy-duty machinery safety.

Well, shit. He’s been possessed by a higher power.

You know, now that I think about it, there’s a good chance that Xenon putting the Matrix into God messed up the killswitch code, and that’s why Prowl had to use a wasting disease to try and end it all. Not really relevant at this exact moment in the story, just a thought I had.

Galvatron, having had enough mystical bullshit for one day, shoots his arm clean off, severing the connection. Magnus drops like a stone, and Galvatron bolts as everything starts coming down around them.

Oh no, Magnus is gonna be our first victim, isn’t he?

Magnus follows after Galvatron, leaving his arm. Hope he doesn’t run into any aqua fortis on the way back to the Trident, because his Pretender shell is beat all to hell.

Then Xenon pulls himself together and stops being dead.

Sigh.

This was ONE section.

[thelastarchangelaskblog]

Session 16

This is our most recent session! Our DM ( @the-grey-hunt) titled it “Oh Boy Guys” in her session notes after we were done, which goes to show just what...uh...happened.

A lot. An...unexpected amount. Including something our DM didn’t expect to happen for another three plot points but I don’t know what she was expecting with that curve ball she threw at us. (Her status on Discord is now back to RECALCULATING.)

Anyway, our entire party was present but for @imagine1117, which was a bit...unfortunate.

So what happened anyway?

**

(Read more.)

It’s still raining outside, and we’re no longer in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s headquarters and have never been in Ankh before but really do need somewhere to stay.

@heliocentricgeometric: I'm thinking about what this anxious weirdo would do.

Tony just asks a random gnome where an inn is that they can stay at, and they’re directed to a nice boarding house that has 3 rooms we split between the six of us. Once we’re dried off, we reconvene in one room to discuss S.H.I.E.L.D.

Zira is adamant that she’s joining but no one else has to. Rhodey ( @rebaobsessions) is just as adamant that she’s not going to join it alone and DJ (doxblogsstuff) agrees.

But what about Tony? He’s not a fan of joining a shady organization, although he doesn’t specifically list his reasons for why. He does state he’s willing to ally with them as an independent contractor.

Tony: I'm not going off by myself.

Rhodey: Good.

DJ has doubts about this plan, since he doesn’t think Fury will agree to an independent contractor role.

DJ: Cranky Pants made it sound like it was a black-and-white choice. I don't know if he's been paying attention, but there's a lot of grey out there.

Tony: Shady organizations that think in black-and-white aren’t organizations I want to join.

Bob ( @thechaoticwave​) hasn’t agreed to joining either! He states he needs more information and just left with more questions after talking to Fury and getting some answers.

There’s a meta joke among us about the fact that Bob occasionally also has the name Tony and he and Tony can make a detective club. Zira suggests Tony become a detective and the joke spirals from there.

DM: Tony & Tony Private Detectives

thechaoticwave: Tony-squared.

Dox: T-squared. Their calling card is a t-square nailed to the door.

Back in game, Tony is stating his own decision shouldn’t affect anyone else’s, but Rhodey doesn’t want to leave him alone.

Rhodey: You’re not going anywhere without me by your side.

Tony: I’m not asking you for that.

Rhodey: You don’t get to ask or not ask me that— It’s already given, Tony. It’s already given.

(MY HEART, GUYS)

The conversation doesn’t really have a resolution since Bob still needs more info and Tony is resolutely not joining S.H.I.E.L.D. We wait for the rain to stop before heading down and do some errands.

DJ wants to visit the store his relatives have here since it’s an Artificing store. He invites Tony since it’ll be cool for Tony to check out. Tony agrees to come along but will have to leave for his own errands.

DJ asks the head of the inn where his relatives’ store is, actually using their name. He tries being stealthy but it’s not quiet enough to get past our groups’ passive perception.

There are...reactions among the players.

DJ last name reveal.

inu: wait WHAT WAS THAT

Everyone else: JAMJAR

There are Jar Jar Binks gifs going around in the lurking chat, and Tony in-game is going what very, very quietly.

In the meantime, Zira is interested in why DJ is wanting to go shopping and what is this about holidays?

Zira: We need to jump back. We need to jump way back. What holiday?

An explanation later that involves the practice of gift giving.

Zira: Does this mean I should be getting gifts for you? I don't even know what you like! I mean...explosions?

Some other folks are like...I don’t know if I can find a good gift since I’m terrible in real life. (coughrebacough)

inu (in lurking chat): Now I have an idea for DJ's gift.

Everyone else in voice chat: Oh no.

We do eventually find our way to JamJar Jar Jar Artificers.

The proprietors: Welcome to Jamjar Artificers ...Have I met you before?

DJ, their relative: I'm Junior.

Madi and Mani are the twin proprietors of a store that sells absolutely nothing made by actual artificers. Tony is familiar with almost everything in the store and is an actual artificer. The stores’ contents are also super expensive and we don’t have the funds because our DM hasn’t provided us with a ton of loot drops...

Zira: Being hunted for sport actually doesn't pay very well.

DJ: I could have used a little more gold and a little less near death experiences.

Madi and Mani would really like DJ to buy this cat figurine that has been in their store for absolutely ages. (Please guess which cats this figurine is modeled after. Please.) It’s still 75 gp but they’re willing to knock down the price!

After some more exploring, Tony eventually gives DJ everyone else’s money bags and leaves on his own errands.

He manages to find his way back down to the first floor, upon which he...senses a little something...a little something familiar.

It’s Balthazar.

Balthazar is here.

Balthazar is physically here.

He’s here and painting a mural on the wall!!

Tony has absolutely no idea what to do, but he’s too curious for his own good to just leave without acknowledging his brother in some way. It’s been two years since he’s last seen him in person!

Tony says something nice about Balthazar’s painting, getting his attention. Balthazar turns to him, presumably about to say something nice, 

There’s a moment, and then Balthazar sees the signet ring Tony has.

Balthazar: What’s that ring you're wearing?

Tony looks down at this ring he has always worn and never even considered.

Tony (to himself): Oh shit.

Balthazar tries some kind of spell but Tony aces the wisdom save.

Balthazar keeps asking where Tony got the ring from. Tony is absolutely truthful that it’s his ring and he stole it off a table and not any fingers. Balthazar is incredibly doubtful and suspicious of this because his brother would never let go of that ring and why does Tony have it

I want it to be known that everyone in the lurking chat is losing their minds over Balthazar being physically present and ALL OF THEM IN A STORE AND NOT PRESENT.

Bob ends up leaving because he’s uninterested in what the rest of the party is doing. Zira follows after him.

thechaoticwave rolls a Nat 20 on perception.

DM: Bob, you go up to the balcony, look down, and see this dude about to throw hands with Tony.

Bob flies down, and Zira is right on his heels to see what’s up and is like HEY, WHAT’S GOING ON. This gets everyone else’s attention, and soon they’re all trying to find their way down to the first floor.

Bob interjects himself smack in the middle before Balthazar can throw any punches. His presence is enough for Balthazar to back off a little, but he’s still insistent on the ring being his brother’s (Gabriel) and why does Tony have it?

Bob makes the offhand suggestion that maybe Tony’s his brother! :D

The rest of the group sprints to Tony’s defense, and Balthazar is now faced down by a 6′6″ tall aasimar with sharp teeth, Rhodey who has a ton of weapons, a bird, JARVIS, and a halfling. (Luna is off to parts unknown.)

Rhodey asks Tony if he knows what’s going on here. Tony just nods because anything else would be a lie, wouldn’t it?

Balthazar is now amenable to moving this conversation somewhere more private because Tony isn’t having this discussion here.

They go into a side alley. Balthazar reiterates that the only reason his brother wouldn’t have this ring would be if he was dead.

Tony: He’s not dead.

Balthazar: And how do you know that?!

Tony: Because...he’s me.

There’s...a stunned pause. Helio is accidentally ejected from voice chat while Bob is trying to give Zira a high-five.

And then Balthazar is instantly in denial because how???

Zira: Well, is he your brother then?

Balthazar: NO!

Balthazar is insistent he’d know if Tony was his brother. He’s spent enough time with his siblings to know them! And Tony doesn’t look like any of them!!

This means...is Tony under a disguise??

Helio: 465 is now in the front y’all!

reba: Oh, NO

465 is mad. She is so mad, guys. She demands to know what Tony’s real name is. If that’s even his actual face!!

Tony doesn’t answer, just says they need to go somewhere private if he’s going to do this. Balthazar leads them to his place because he doesn’t want to be led somewhere unfamiliar.

Tony takes off the amulet, and it’s Gabriel.

Helio: Can we pause for a second

DM: Yeah, let loose.

(three to four simultaneous meltdowns)

Balthazar is having emotions. Gabriel is having emotions. Everyone else in the party is just probably in varying stages of wtf-ery and 465 is apparently startled enough and Zira startled enough that Zee is back in the driver’s seat because 465 and Zira are now fighting.

Zee: Mr. Tony... Gabriel. Mr. Tony-Gabriel.

Balthazar eventually tells everyone to make themselves comfortable. He’s found solace in a chair himself.

thechaoticwave: Bob just flops down as soon as he says make yourself comfortable.

DM: Like, on your stomach?

thechaoticwave: Yeah.

Zee is super talkative and introducing herself and the Zira collective to Balthazar. DJ puts a hand over her mouth. He’s wearing the gauntlets of ogre strength and I think Zee licks it?

DM: It tastes like metal and dead people. The dead person is mostly on the inside.

Balthazar swears a little as Gabriel talks; he doesn’t like what he’s hearing.

Zee: That was a bad word. Also is your shirt broken?

Balthazar: No. I'm hot.

Zee: Why don't you take it off?

DJ: Zee, darling, Mr. Balthazar looks a little stressed out right now. Why don't we not critique his clothing choices right now?

Balthazar: If you’re going to call me Mister, use my last name Quill.

Gabriel keeps telling Balthazar about what happened back home. That he left because he if he hadn’t then he probably would have gotten himself killed. And he’s going after the ones who left to join the Horned Crown.

Balthazar looks like he doesn’t want to hear this and doesn’t know whether to believe this. He’s curled in on himself in the chair.

Gabriel eventually reaches out, but something he says upsets Balthazar and he withdraws. Gabriel doesn’t try again.

Gabriel tells Balthazar they’ll leave and are heading to their boarding house. Balthazar can find him there and bring Hannah if he wants.

Balthazar snidely asks if he’s going to skip town. Gabriel glances over to the group and Rhodey and DJ are very adamant on going LIKE HELL with their eyebrows.

Gabriel puts the amulet back on and leaves before anyone else does. Rhodey eventually follows after, leaving Zira, Bob, and DJ to follow.

Rhodey tries to touch Gabriel’s shoulder, but Gabriel actually flinches and puts space between them. Rhodey doesn’t try again.

They end up back in the boarding house. Rhodey and Gabriel are in the room they share. Rhodey lets him know he can take time to think and Rhodey’s here if Gabriel wants to talk. And that he still trusts him and loves him.

There isn’t a verbal response from Gabriel, but he does nod.

Rhodey rolls a Nat 1 on insight against Gabriel’s 19 (17?) for deception. It’s...uh...bad.

Rhodey leaves the room, closes the door, and starts crying against it because he thinks something really awful, guys.

I’m just going ahhhh in the voice chat because owwww

DM to inu: This is your bed that you made and you're going to lie in it.

Zee and DJ find Rhodey crying against the door. Zee is instantly jumping to comfort and gives Rhodey a hug.

reba: Helio, your characters are too perfect and you have three of them.

DJ shoves Rhodey aside while he’s hugging Zee. Zee and Rhodey head downstairs for some water while DJ goes to talk to Gabriel.

DJ: Oh my god, you are so fucking DUMB

Gabriel doesn’t respond to anything. DJ accidentally injures him on trying to pull his hands away from his face because he rolled a Nat 1 and so the gauntlets catch on Gabriel’s skin. He’s rubbing at the wounds angrily but still kindly and is telling Gabriel to go talk to Rhodey because he was crying.

Gabriel: You’re a good kid.

DJ: I’m an adult.

Gabriel: A good kid.

Gabriel goes downstairs, but Rhodey and Zee are sitting together and drinking some water. Zee has managed to cheer Rhodey up some, and Gabriel doesn’t want to bother them.

Zee catches sight of him and waves him over. Rhodey catches sight and raises a hand. Gabriel makes to go to a corner table and Rhodey droops.

Only DJ is there and keeps poking Gabriel in the back, but JARVIS headbutts him because that’s just rude and stop poking Gabriel! DJ hauls Gabriel off to Rhodey and Zee because he’s not leaving them to not talk about this!!

DJ: Zee, sweetheart, let's go over and talk to Neil and Luna, who is invisible. Because Rhodey and Tony need to have a conversation like two adults.

Gabriel sits down but has a chair of space between them. Neither of them speaks. 

inu: Two guys at a table sitting in awkward silence.

DM: Two bros sitting in a hot tub.

Rhodey gathers his thoughts and eventually tells Gabriel he’s still there for him.

Rhodey: I still trust you. I still love you

Gabriel: You don’t know me.

Rhodey: Are you going to say that, after all we've done? That it’s all a lie?

Gabriel: ...no.

Gabriel tells Rhodey it was a mask. Rhodey doesn’t like hearing this. He wants to know if everything about them was a lie. If anything was real.

Gabriel tells him a little about leaving and that none of this was intended. That he made attachments he never intended to make but he’s made them.

Gabriel: I don’t want to leave.

Rhodey: And I definitely don’t want you to go.

Gabriel: Then...I guess we can try.

(There is a part where Rhodey says he loves part of Gabriel already. Can’t he love the rest? my heart)

Rhodey reaches out a hand, and Gabriel gives it a look before grabbing hold of it. He’s holding it pretty tightly, and Rhodey’s squeezing back just as hard.

And that’s where we end the session!!!

see, so much happened

[amynchan]

Comma Rules (American style!)

Guys.  I’m still an English tutor.  Commas are one of the biggest things that I deal with.  I’ve gone over them so many times that I’ve come up with five big rules to follow when it comes to commas.  I’m going to give you a $50 tutoring session for free cause I want y’all to know this stuff.  It will help you absolutely nail that paper when you go back and edit.  (Or raise that story up a bit!)

Introductory Element

Bubble Phrases

FANBOYS

Lists

Elaboration

1) Introductory Element

This is just a word or a group of words that introduce a sentence and give it some context.  You gotta have a full sentence to start with for this to work.  For example, here are some sample sentences to start with:

That chair is blue.

He disagrees.

I learned that teachers are really strange in the staff room.

My sisters and I went out of town.

All of these sentences are full and complete on their own.  But, if we wanted to, we could add something to each of them.  Try this on for size:

According to this child, that chair is blue.

However, he disagrees.

When I got in trouble, I learned that teachers are really strange in the staff room.

Last Saturday, my sisters and I went out of town.

Each of those introductory elements give context and you can tell because you get that comma. When it comes to your essays for class, you’re probably gonna use phrases like “According to ____”, “For example”, “However”, etc.  Stuff like that.

Number one, check!

2) Bubble Phrases

Listen, I know there’s an actual terminology for this, but I can’t, for the life of me, tell you what it is.  I can explain it, though.  It’s where you interrupt your thought to bring your audience additional information. Like number one, you gotta start off with a complete sentence.  Here are a few to work with:

My mother refuses to go into the ocean.

Dr. Brown told us to sit down.

Marinette’s earrings are never far away.

Like before, each of these sentences can stand on their own.  But let’s stick some extra info in the middle:

My mother, who is deathly afraid of the ocean, refuses to go into the ocean.

Dr. Brown, the new teacher on campus, told us to sit down.

Marinette’s earrings, her precious miraculous, are never far away.

The ‘bubble phrase’ is an additional phrase that clarifies or explains the set of words right before it and is surrounded, or bubbled, by commas.  You can slip it in literally anywhere.  If you want to tell if you’ve done this correctly, take the bubbled phrase out. If the sentence works on its own, you got it.  If not, it needs more tweaking.

If you’re using this in a paper, it’s usually because you’re clarifying who wrote what or why you should listen to a person.  Something like this:

“Dr. Brown, head of such and such’s anthropology department, wrote, “….” (citing stuff).”

This one, once you got it, is something you can slap literally anywhere.

Number 2, check!

3) FANBOYS

This is one that most people are at least familiar with, but most of the kids who see me can’t, for the life of them, remember what they’re for.  I’m here to remind everyone what they are.

First:  FANBOYS is an acronym.  Here’s what it stands for:

For And Nor But Or Yet So

The fancy term for these words is ‘coordinating conjunctions’, but it’s just a fancy term for ‘words that put two sentences together.  To use these, start off with two sentences that can work on their own.  Here are some examples:

My class is so boring.  I learn things.

I never wanted to go swimming.  I never learned.

Jason wants to try a new recipe.  I want to help.

Each of these examples are fine as they are, but this is about how to use a comma in a specific way. This is how to smash these kinds of sentences together using a comma and one of the FANBOYS:

My class is so boring, but I learn things.

I never wanted to go swimming, so I never learned.

Jason wants to try a new recipe, and I want to help.

This just helps give your sentences some variety and lets your teachers know that you know what’s up. To check if you’ve used this one right, take the comma and FANBOYS out and replace it with a period.  If it still works, you got it.  If not, it needs a bit of tweaking.

Number 3, check!

4) Lists

This is one that most students parrot back to me a lot, so the examples I have are very simple. However, there is one aspect about lists that most people don’t really get:  every item in the list should be able to go right after the word that kicks the whole list off.  For example,

Mom wants me to buy milk.  Mom wants me to buy bread.  Mom wants me to buy carrots.

I wanted to write on journalism.  I wanted to write on gaming.  I wanted to write on the wonders of the universe.

Izuku loved his mom.  Izuku loved All Might.  Izuku loved his life.

If you want to transform these into lists, you just go as so:

Mom wants me to buy milk, bread, and carrots.

I wanted to write on journalism, gaming, or the wonders of the universe.

Izuku loved his mom, All Might, and his life.

Sometimes you still need to check if you’ve done this correctly, so breaking up the sentence every now and again to make sure that all the items fit isn’t a bad idea.

Note:  don’t @ me with that Oxford comma (the last comma that goes with the ‘and’ or ‘or’).  It’s not really required, but I use it because it’s consistent.  If you don’t wanna use it, you don’t gotta, but just make sure that you follow the ‘every item in the list should be able to fit into the sentence’ rule.

Number 4, check!

5)  Elaboration

Basically like 1 and 2, elaboration commas are there when you wanna add additional information onto a part of the sentence.  This, however, happens at the end of the sentence and can actually be kinda tricky, which is why it’s last.  I’ll show you a few examples:

The girl wanted to go swimming.  Swimming was a bad idea because she just ate.

The dog woke her owner up in the early morning hours.  This made the owner very cranky.

Gimli held a great amount of pride and rage in his body.  This was surprising because it was so small.

Note that each of the second sentences start either with the last idea of the previous sentence or the word ‘this’, which refers to the last idea of the previous sentence (ie, swimming and waking the owner up and holding an unholy amount of pride and rage). This is crucial for the elaboration comma, which can be used as follows:

The girl wanted to go swimming, which was a bad idea because she just ate.

The dog woke her owner up in the early morning hours, which made the owner very cranky.

Gimli held a great amount of pride and rage in his body, which was surprising because it was so small.

A comma + which means that the next part of the sentence will refer to what you just talked about.  Don’t use the comma for elaboration on words like “because” or “such as” because those words tend to continue a phrase.  “Which” tends to go after a completed thought and starts a new phrase, which is why it needs the comma.

A little complicated, but that’s it.

Number 5, check!

.../.../.../

Now, there are more ways to use a comma, but these are the ones most people have a lot of trouble with. So…  go forth and place your commas correctly, my friends!

[harperxfitch-blog]

oh my gosh, is that (HARPER FITCH)? oh yeah! i heard they identify as (NONBINARY) and are sometimes called the (WISEACRE), but i could have sworn (THEY) were (ZOEY DEUTCH). they’re (21) and a (JUNIOR) who studies (MASS COMMUNICATIONS & ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES) too, right? word on the block is that (THEY) are pretty (PASSIONATE, OUTGOING, EMPATHETIC, & AFFABLE)... but i heard they also (INFAMOUS, EGOTISTICAL, IDEALISTIC, & OVEREMOTIONAL). almost like (CHRISTA CARLYLE), yeah? they remind me a lot of (COFFEE STAINED CUPS, RAINSTORMS, ORGANIZED BINDERS, & PROTEST SIGNS). do you think they could have been the culprit? rumor has it that (THEIR POLITICAL PROTEST ABOUT ANIMAL RIGHTS WAS SHUT DOWN).

What’s up guys, I’m Bria, this is my baby Harper!! I’m so so SO excited for this rp, y’all have no idea. I’m gonna give a bit of info about them below, but like this post if you’re interested in plotting and I’ll jump into your DM’s!!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Harper is a LOT. They are definitely an activist at heart, and have been reprimanded by the school staff several times for going overboard with organizing their protests. They politely fight back, of course, with even more protests and/or social movement about how our voices are stronger than those of the school board. Honestly, they’re A LOT it kinda drives me insane. But yeah, they have good intentions.

Harper is born and raised in Leighton, by the way, so we can definitely plot connections! They were named after Harper Lee, author of TKAM, so that might give you a little bit of an idea of the type of parents they have. Home life is honestly good, Harper doesn’t have it too rough or anything like that. If anything, they’re highly aware of how good they have it, and that’s a strong reason they are so vocal in their protests and movements.

Harper works at the watering can, and is in like FIVE clubs, and if you try telling them that they have too much on their plate they will honestly fight you. But yeah honestly, give me all those connections in clubs and stuff like I live for that.

As a vegan for over ten years, and an animal lover, Harper was....pissed (to say the LEAST) about the animals being in the fair yet again. Of course it was too be expected, but they’d honestly had enough. And went as far as to get #FreeBetty trending. For reference, check out this post!

This kiddo is big on school spirit as well so like,, spirit week??? Football games??? PeP RALlieS?!? You can bET they’re 110% the first one there, showingn school spirit and reminding everyone else to bring their A game.

They love their coffee, succulents, going zero waste and honestly yeah they kind of sound like the biggest headache but deep down Harper is a good person I promise.

Some Wanted Connection Ideas!!!

Classic ride or die pLEASE

Frenemies/enemies

People Harper tutors!!!

Childhood friends (this could work if your character also grew up in Leighten)

Unrequited crushes (it could go either way!)

Friends with benefits could be interesting/fun!!

I’ll add more on as I think of it, and I’ll make an official page at some point as well!

[jacktherph]

Actually, instead of a shoutout, could we get your opinion on the rp please? Thank you!

hi there @kismetrpg! i’m happy to give you an opinion. since you didn’t specify private, i will post this on my blog. feel free to ask me to take it down if that was a mistake.

NOTE: all opinions expressed here are mine, jack’s, belonging to jack. i make no claims to knowing what is best for every group – i only offer advice based on my experiences, what i’ve seen in the community, and my personal knowledge. no one person knows what is best for you or any group other than yourself; because you were the one who put all of this together in the first place. so take everything i say as a suggestion, and remember that you have accomplished so much!!

and if you have any questions, want feedback on something specific, or want elaborations on anything said in this opinion, don’t hesitate to message me!!

this isn’t just an opinion, it’s a shoutout and a rec! @kismetrpg looks like a really cool new supernatural-themed rpg set in new orleans, y’all!! with a unique lore, awesome factions, and tons of different species to take on, this is an rpg worth checking out!! they open on january 5th!

start: 1.20 | pause: 1.21 - 1.25 | end: 1.36TOTAL: 12 minutes to read all pages (please don’t take this as a measure of anything, I simply time myself and am a speed reader)

Before I say anything about the group and pages, this is a blanket recommendation: Read up on Apostrophe Rules and go through your pages with an editing eye. I’m definitely guilty of mixing up my apostrophe rules sometimes but I definitely noticed a lot of mistakes in pages like your plot. Fixing these can improve the overall professional atmosphere of your group!

My first impression was this: this is definitely a group I would have considered joining when I was looking for rpgs to check out!! You have a lot of lore, great details and descriptions provided, and the blanket plot seems really interesting. This is a fascinating looking roleplay, so I want to give you my kudos. Well done! The main is very clean, minimalist, if that’s what you were going for. All attention is definitely diverted to the heading image. Unfortunately without seeing the advertised “supernatural rpg” font, I wouldn’t know this group has supernatural intentions based solely on looks. I don’t know if you planned/wanted that, but I wanted to include that in case you were so inclined. Your sidebars are clean-cut and to the point and will, no doubt, fill up with things once you open I’m sure. I do like the blanket trigger warning on the top of the About–I don’t know if some might deem it entirely necessary, but you want potential members to know what they’ll be looking at before they delve into your info, and I respect that.

A word on your Navigation: I don’t know if, in your theme, you can divide the navigation up more than by two headings, but if you can I would recommend it. Personally, I would divide it into: “Before Application,” including plot, rules, app, forms, etc / “Lore,” (or similar title) including your info on the Council, Silence, bestiary, locations, etc / & “After Applying,” with what you have. If that doesn’t appeal to you, I would say just try and reorganize the links? Why I say this: because jumping around from lore, lore, to app info, to lore, to form info, all in the top was kind of confusing for me. I get having the most important things first but it did seem a bit mish-moshed.

Your Plot is spot-on. You gave me background, you gave me current happenings, you gave me how things went down, and that’s excellent. One thing: think about including a paragraph on when/how/why the Council was formed? I think that would wrap it all up nicely and send a potential member into the “Chapter One” section seamlessly. Because I was suddenly like “wait who are these guys?? Where did they come from??” when I saw their name. Just a thought. As a writer I adored how you put it in as a “Chapter.” Something about the word choice really made me feel like I was entering at the beginning of a story by applying.

Your Rules are standard and fill every criteria for base lsrpgs that I, personally, am aware of. Your last bullet-point in “God Modding” however brought up a curiosity that you might want to think about putting somewhere in your lore: the rock-paper-scissors effect of the supernaturals. Who beats who? Who has a natural weakness to who? Etc etc. Just something to think about? I like that your Activity Check window is 48 hours. Very appealing to people who want to join but also worry about Check limits. QUESTION: At the top of your Rules, you say this is a “canon and original character roleplay.” What canon? I couldn’t find a fandom influence–not a blatant one. If you don’t mean from a fandom, you might want to rephrase to avoid people applying with fandom canon characters. If you mean YOUR canon, might I suggest “an original canon and original character roleplay” instead?

I don’t really feel like I can give an opinion on your Lore pages – after all, the Lore is yours. But it all reads very simply, cleanly, and to-the-point. I feel like if I have any questions they are easily answered by hitting up the main, too. (And as an admin of an rpg with a lot of lore, just be prepared to answer questions that are answered already, semi-often. It happens, am I right? ;) ) Something that would be cool: snippets from the Holy Book of the False Silence. HERE a popular video game, Dragon Age, wrote actual verses from their in-world “scripture,” maybe you could too. It would be very immersive and exciting for people who are Followers!

I love your Location page – plain and simple. There’s pictures, info, territory info, even economy info! You really did your research on the Big Easy, huh? That is great because it can mean potential members will feel immersed. I also like that you included a form for new locations to be added; it makes the members feel more included for sure.

And your Bestiary makes me melt. Firstly, I love the theme. You provide a great deal of information and also the essentials needed; a good balance for people who have a species in mind and people who are species-shopping! Great images, great aesthetic too. But one thing: the Bestiary is very dark compared to the main and all other pages. That struck me. Would you consider going lighter with it, or going darker with the main? Something to give it a balance.

Your app is smart and clean – asks for the necessary info on the character but that’s it. I don’t really understand what you mean when you say “Be calm!” at the top but if you like it, it doesn’t change anything. Simple apps have their benefits for sure, especially on the person reading and reviewing them. Personally, I’d recommend adding a question or two unique to your group, but that’s just a suggestion. It works well either way.

So about your Follow List… it confused the hell out of me, I’m going to be honest. Some characters had blogs, some links were dead, who are these people? As I understand it you haven’t opened yet? I’m a little lost at what to say here because I don’t want to make assumptions, ramble, and be wrong. So if you want to talk that one out together, feel free to message me! Otherwise, that confusion is an outsider’s opinion and might extend to potential members as well. Your Events Blog showed information from 4-5 years ago though, and I’d recommend either archiving it or deleting those posts because it does make a knee-jerk implication that you’ve already begun things.

My FAVOURITE THING about this rpg: your plot and lore. While supernatural-themed rpgs are still pretty common in the rpc, you took your idea with a fresh heart and great twists and the vitality of it is definitely something that I can see giving you a good membership, as well as great stories to thrill those members with. Main plots, side plots, factions; all things that make a great lsrpg in Jack’s book™.

My LEAST FAVOURITE THING about this rpg: you have a lot going on–a good thing–but somehow when I return to the main it feels a bit… hollow. Maybe that’s because you’re still prepping and not-yet open. Maybe that will change when you get events and plots going. Unfortunately I can’t quite describe it, and please feel free to disregard this as rambling, but I feel like something needs to solidify this group in my mind and heart. Something in the story, perhaps, that leaves me craving to know what will happen. But you’re probably working on that with your plots, I’m sure.

Overall, this is a group with potential brimming from the proverbial cauldron. You have a lot going on and a lot to finish up and already some great generated interest. I think anyone who looks at this group can feel like they have a new world to play in, but also the comforts of the supernatural rpg genre to form a community within. I wish you the best of luck, admin!!

Sincerely,Jack

[hockey-jews]

For anyone who wants to learn more about Judaism! Also, kind of a post about how to deal with some Things and Stuff. This is a long post so I’ll put it under a read more for those interested:

This is really for an anonymous message I got that described struggles with things that I think many of us struggle with or have in the past: not being “Jewish enough” in the eyes of other Jews due to your heritage being on the “wrong” side (read; on your father’s side), yet still experiencing antisemitism from goyim. Not learning very much, if anything, about Judaism as a child but wanting to learn more as an adult. Not being comfortable with some traditions or laws of Judaism because you are a) a feminist b) LGBT c) an atheist. Living in a place with few to no Jewish spaces. Not feeling welcome in the Jewish community due to any or all of these things. 

Book recs!

If you’re the kind of person who enjoys reading (or can at least tolerate it) I highly recommend these books! They’re all books that I have either read/started reading/or plan on reading. (Please keep in mind that none of these are Jewish texts such as the Torah or the Talmud and that I do understand the importance of such religious texts but am not recommending them because I feel those are obvious sources of information)

A Bride for One Night if you aren’t familiar with the Talmud, it’s a collection of writings and explanations of Jewish laws and traditions and it’s old as balls. The author of this book, Ruth Calderon, takes a bunch of Talmudic stories and makes them into these wonderful beautiful stories that are easier to read than the original ones from the 3rd and 6th centuries. Even if you don’t know anything about the Talmud this book is so fascinating and fun to read. 

The G-d Who Hates Lies is literally perfect for you if you have issues with how women are viewed and treated in the most traditional sense of Judaism. It’s a really great criticism by people who are extremely qualified to make those criticisms (both are rabbi’s and I think they both have doctorates in theology, specifically Modern Orthodox Judaism, which makes for a really cool viewpoint). I can’t find anything about the third author of this book, who is a woman, but it’s comforting to know that a woman had a part in this as well. Obviously these people love Judaism, they just want to see it adapt to modernity. Just in general it’s a really thoughtful book that challenges dogma. 

Jewish Literacy was recommended by an anon (thank you!) The rest of the title is “The Most Important Things to Know about The Jewish Religion, Its People and Its History” so like. Ya get what ya see here folks. HOWEVER I did see a review that mentions there is some Islamophobia and hostility towards Jews who are antizionist. It does genuinely look informative and I haven’t read it myself so I can’t attune to whether or not that review is accurate, but maybe be cautious if you read this in knowing that the author may not be objective. 

Book of Mercy made me openly weep and feel something tender and weird in my heart and like. Okay so it’s not informative so much as it’s a book of poetry by Leonard Cohen (he was Jewish if you didn’t know!) He calls his poems “modern psalms” and honestly this would be a good read even if you aren’t religious at all because his writing is just so gorgeous. But it does have references to Judaism and his identity as a Jew 

Understanding Judaism is really a “building blocks” kind of book to me, if that makes sense? It’s really informative but also really basic and is fantastic for people who know very little about Judaism or just want a well presented understanding of the core aspects of the Jewish religion. Even if you aren’t a Jew who’s looking to learn or someone who is considering conversion it’s still a good book if you’re interested in world religions regardless of your faith or lack thereof. (man I’m starting to sound pretentious lmao I just mean like, if you’re an atheist or Catholic or whatever, it’s pretty interesting and also this guy is kinda dorky-funny so it makes for an easier read than some other books about religion)

Shmooze I think this is meant to be more for a group to read an discuss, and like, also maybe meant for a younger audience (I’m talking about teenagers so not really that young, but if you’ve been reading dull infodumps by 90 y/o Jewish rabbis with doctorate degrees this is gonna be a change of pace lmao) I should mention that I’ve only read like two pages of this book because I saw it at Barnes and Noble and just kinda briefly checked it out so I don’t know a ton about it but it stuck in my head and the reviews look positive so 

Obvious I don’t think you have to read all of those because I haven’t even read all of those so maybe just check one of them out if it seems like it could be helpful to you. 

Judaism here on tumblr dot com:

Okay so like. This is really my personal diced onion so take it however you will but keep in mind that this really only reflects things I’ve come across and how I feel. 

Obviously there are a lot of really great blogs about Judaism but I don’t have any specific ones to recommend I’m sorry :O I really really hate ~Discourse~ and like, in-depth arguments about the Holocaust because I get so wrapped up in it and let’s be honest, tumblr is all about the discourse and ignorance. That being said, I like to follow other people who are Jewish and blog about whatever because that usually leads to safer discussions and also is a great way to find really helpful thoughts and discussions by other Jews about topics like being LGBT, being a woman, being an atheist, etc. These are just nice to read and also if you aren’t familiar with certain Yiddish or Hebrew terms that are commonly used it’s a good way to see how and when they’re used in certain contexts. 

I’m going to tag anything like this that I post here as “good info” just so me and anyone who wants can find this stuff easier. No they won’t necessarily have anything to do with hockey. 

Also please be very careful when you’re reading a post that is presenting certain things as facts, always double check what someone is saying because misinformation is spread so quickly, and it’s almost always unintentional. The things that I find genuinely helpful/safe/fun involve opinions, common feelings and experiences, little personal stories and jokes, cool stuff like that. 

I’m Jewish on my father’s side :0

Me too boo. Unfortunately that’s an unending discussion, and one that is often held by matrilineal Jews and doesn’t actually include patrilineal Jews, nor does it consider our thoughts/feelings/experiences. Without sounding like an idiot, it is absolutely buckwild to me that there are people who have been raised Jewish, have never known anything other than Jewish tradition, have been subject to antisemitism, but still aren’t considered Jewish. 

And then this is where I see matrilineal Jews who hold this viewpoint bring up Reform Judaism, which is one of the three main branches of Judaism and does recognize patrilineall Jews as Jews. I’ve seen some discrepancy as to whether or not patrilineal Jews had to have been raised Jewish in order to be considered Jewish. This is all well and good for Jews like me whose family practices Reform Judaism, but for patrilineal Jews who wish to practice in an Orthodox or Conservative synagogue, it gets tricky. 

Basically, yes this is a huge topic that inspires a lot of disagreement, and that sucks, but here’s what it comes down to. No one else is allowed to make you feel inferior because of your heritage. So many people, even modern Orthodox Jews, recognize that certain aspects of Judaism need to adapt to today’s society. I don’t want to offend anyone here, but I really do feel that most matrilineal Jews who don’t consider us Jewish are extremely hypocritical (for a lot of reasons but mostly like...y’all really follow every aspect of Jewish Law? Like do you really? All of it? Girl do u? Or are you maybe just being elitist). Learning about your heritage, talking about shared experiences, combating antisemitism, these are all things that are fair game for you (especially for the anon who said they were atheist) and going to Shabbat services, praying, participating in holy days. That’s all yours if you want it, bubbeleh. 

Can I be an atheist Jew?

Sure you can! I, personally, am not an atheist so I wasn’t comfortable finding specific resources about this because I don’t really know much about it? It’s fine with me if you’re atheist that’s none of my business, I just don’t want to direct you to a bad source. But yes, many Jews are atheist, many are secular, I’m sure there are many here on tumblr. It’s absolutely okay, Judaism is an ethnoreligion, and while you may experience Judaism different than the rest of us, you’re still a Jew and still belong. 

Here’s an excerpt from a short lil synopsis of Judaism:

These three connotations of Judaism as a monotheistic system, as a literary tradition, and as a historical culture are sometimes viewed separately. For example, there are Jews who see themselves as culturally Jewish, but who are also non-religious or atheist, often identifying more strongly with Jewish “peoplehood” than with traditional understandings of God and Torah. Even so, all Jews would recognize that these three points of reference have shaped and guided Jewish experience through the ages.

Jewish “peoplehood” that they talk about is like. Culture, customs, food, art, history, etc. 

One last little note on this, you’ll hear a lot that Judaism focuses more on actions than on beliefs. This is an excellent article that is pretty short and worth reading that I want to include because I think that even if you don’t believe in G-d or even if you are seriously questioning, the focus on just. Doing good. Actively doing good things and trying to be a good person (I know that’s objective but bear with me) is a such a huge part of Judaism that you can try to incorporate into your life without having to subscribe to any sort of dogma or beliefs that you don’t hold. “Judaism is certainly a faith-based tradition. Belief in G-d is central to our religion. It just isn’t a prerequisite. If you are Jewish, you are so regardless of belief.” 

But I’m a feminist....

As you should be. This is probably another personal statement you gon’ wanna take with a grain of salt, but I think Judaism, especially in the last 50 years or so, has made huge strides in this. Especially Reform Judaism, but that kind of goes without saying. 

Example, my synagogue was founded as a Conservative synagogue. Our website still says we are. I’m not actually sure tbqh, like I said, my family are Reform Jews, and so are most other families in our congregation I think but this is literally the only synagoge for like hundreds of miles so. Anyways our rabbi is female (Rabbi Shaina!) and she does great work, we all love her. She’s really adament on teaching kids that gender shouldn’t keep you from anything, that Judaism is for all Jews, that it should enhance our lives. She wears a tallis, lays her tefillin, and reads from the Torah. 

My point here is that while this isn’t like, the end of misogyny in Judaism as we know it, it’s still a big deal in most religions to have a woman as their religious leader, essentially a position of religious power. For men to accept a woman as a religious leader is not something that is super common in most religions. And we’re like, a tiny congregation over a hundred miles away from anyone else, technically a Conservative synagogue, that’s super loving and accepting of a feminist running our shit... female rabbis are super common and I think it speaks a lot to how we’re progressing as a religion. Reform Judaism is going to be your best bet when it comes to tolerance but knowing that all three of the main branches are progressing, at least with this, is really comforting to me. 

However, that’s an extremely one sided view and doesn’t really show the issue as a whole. This super short article (? not sure) is a bit pessimistic in my mind but presents the other side of things and gives a good explanation of the traditional sources of misogyny in Judaism, so this could further your understanding as well. 

By no means are we perfect but we’re workin on it. Look into Jewish Feminism though, if you have the time. That article is just a lil intro to the topic. 

I’m Q*eer/LGBT and I’m not sure y’all are gonna be cool with that...

Well this one’s a doozy. 

I’ll kick this right off by presenting an article that is objective and does not reflect the author’s opinion, just lays out the issues at hand. It also has some links to other good pieces, including one cool story about a transgender man, Rafi Daugherty, embracing his role as a father and details his experience with pregnancy and giving birth. I should mention that I am cisgender so I’m interpreting this article through a different point of view, but it really does make a point of celebrating Rafi and his daughter and sharing their story. It does include a little cultural background context, but this is a positive story that I think deserves to be shared :) 

Then there’s this statement from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism that confirms its absolute acceptance and support of LGBT Jews. 

On the other side of things, there are still homophobic and intolerant Jews. Conversion camps were not just a Christian thing, there were Jewish conversion camps as well, which is horrific. Idk what to say because I think homophobia and transphobia in Judaism is really similar to what you would find in Christian settings. 

I’m bisexual and I feel completely welcomed by other Jews who know this about me, and I certainly don’t feel any less Jewish because of it. 

I live in a place where Jewish spaces are rare.

I really hate to disappoint with this one but I don’t have any specific sources or anything like that. Alls I got to say is that’s why the internet is so great? I really don’t feel like that’s helpful at all, but I think for the most part, the Jewish side of tumblr is pretty accepting and welcoming. Obviously that’s not always gonna be true though idkdjaskfl;dj

I spose with this one I wanna encourage anyone who has any good resources for involvement or something like that to reply to this post or drop by my inbox and let me know! Or maybe just your thoughts on some Jewish spaces you’ve encountered? 

I hope this was helpful

In conclusion, don’t let anyone make you feel less Jewish. Your sexual identity, gender identity, and even your belief in G-d doesn’t take away from your Jewishness. I’d like to say that since I started delving into Judaism a little more I’ve found a lot of peace. And yeah that sounds cliche and also vague but it’s really a breath of fresh air to learn about my family and know more about this community. Also if you’re comfortable with or willing to try prayer, even if you’re atheist, it can be a good way to decompress sometimes, a really therapeutic kind of way to voice your thoughts and feelings and reflect on them. 

There’s so much information and culture to delve into but it’s so so worth it to learn and I’m really happy for you that you’re interested in getting more in touch with your Jewish roots. 

If any of these links don’t work and you’d like to see them let me know!

[jq37]

The Case File – Mice and Murder Ep 4

The Case of the Puzzling Painting 

Welcome back to Loam Hall where our Sylvan Sleuths are still hanging out in a room with a dead body. When we left off, Gangie had been snooping into Sly’s conversation about Fletcher Cottonbottom and now, he uses his Criminal Contacts feature to see what he knows, if anything, about a recent return. With a 26 he knows that his family used to be well respected but after the whole business with the insurance fraud and Sly busting it, the family kind of fell out of favor. So Fletcher was in a weird position where he was rich and a part of high society and had enough dirt on everyone to get them to do things for him but couldn’t actually show his face because he was disgraced. Gangie also knows that it’s rumored that Fletcher’s weapons running scheme was actually a front for moving art. 

With regard to more recent news about Fletcher, Gangie was never in direct contact with him but he knows that 3-4 years ago, his most trusted henchmen started going missing--people attributed it to some kind of “Cottonbottom Curse” and that rumor is part of why Gangie decided to get out of dodge in the first place.

Buck does an insight check on the rest of the PCs and, with an 18, doesn’t clock anyone there as especially suspicious (Lars isn’t there but like..it’s Lars). Ian tries to give Squire Badger his last rites but ends up pulling the knife out, putting it back in, flapping blood everywhere with his feathers, and sending Constance into a badger rage. Buck tries to help smooth over things, claiming his big screw up was a new style of avant garde church ritual (Ian appreciates the support--who ministers to the ministers, you know?) and in the process sees his knife for the first time. Which, you know. He obviously suspected before but never nice to see.

While this is going on, Daisy sneaks off to try and check on the secret door and everyone sees her do it/eventually follows her but we’ll get back to her once we check in with Lars who is en route to the kitchen. Once in the hallway, they do a perception check and, on a 15, there are 3 doors and Ally gets to pick one. There’s a kitchen where Gilfoyle is talking to a group, a door where someone is crying behind it, and a door where they can hear nothing. Ally, the galaxy brained genius, goes for the quiet door. That’s the money door and with their ears pressed against the door, they can hear Edwina and Carolyn--the two mice maids that overheard Buck’s conversation with the Badger--whispering about what happened there and wondering if they should pay back the money they were paid to by Buck.

Gilfoyle walks out and sees Lars snooping but on a Nat 20 deception check, Lars is able to play dumb and skate by suspiciousness. Also, with a dirty 20 perception check, when the mice maids leave, Lars sees that they’ve been stealing silverware. 

OK, back to Daisy who is getting to the séance room as quickly as possible. She has two rounds before people catch up to her so she’s trying to make the most of it by Investigating the painting she noticed was bolted to the wall earlier. She first rolls an 11, getting no new information. This is so frustrating to her. She’s good at this dammit! But being around Sly is rattling her terribly. She has feelings for him--strong ones. But she isn’t herself around him. How can she be with him if he makes her so unlike herself? Her introspection is enough to earn her advantage from Brennan on her second roll and boom! 25! Daisy is back. 

With that roll, she notices that the eyes in the painting actually move and can be used as a spying post on the other side. Then Sly runs in and they start bickering immediately. Daisy throws a crystal ball at him and absolutely brains him on a nat 20--the first combat roll of this very RP oriented season. 

Buck and Ian are still in the room with the body for the moment and Buck asks Ian about the first few names on the list Gangie gave him. There were a bunch of members of the Burrows family--a working class family that all died of a consumptive illness. And then the Diggories who died in a carriage accident. The connecting thread? All badgers. Buck then zooms away to follow Daisy, Ian follows, and Lars, seeing them as they leave the kitchens, also follows. 

So all the PCs are in the séance room now and they kinda have the sense of, “OK y’all, we’re all screwed but we’re al screwed together so we better throw our lot in with each other and start working together so we don’t die because no one else here is on our side.” Buck proposes an alliance and they all agree to share info. Sly asks about Buck’s knife and Buck admits it’s his but says he didn’t do it. Sly believes him--not because he wouldn’t do it but because he has no motive (that he knows about anyway. Buck doesn’t spill about the contract). 

Gangie shares the list of names from before with the whole group.It’s like half badgers and then some other critters (full list here). Sly doesn’t share any of his secret info Grant got texted. Daisy and Buck don’t share about the key (though Sly you’ll remember sat her steal it). Buck does however mention his suspicion about the fact that Gilfoyle wasn’t around when Squire Badger gave his speech and Daisy does the same about the fact that he said he would call the cops but the cops haven’t arrived yet. Lar’s remembers that Jez’s husband is gunning for at seat in parliament and wonders if this is related somehow. Daisy mentions the eyes in the painting and everyone is like way to bury the lede dude! Especially when they’ve just all spilled their secrets. Everyone checks on the painting and with a 25 Gangie can intuit that this is probably used to spy on rich people when they’re mid-séance and vulnerable and spilling secrets (which he doesn’t share but Daisy comes to a similar conclusion on her own). Buck on a 23 can smell ledgers (idk how but the DM said so and I’m reporting it) and guesses that that’s where the Squire’s real office is which means that’s probably where the contract he needs to find and destroy is too. 

 The group makes a list of their loose ends which are what’s on the other side of the painting, what’s up with Fletcher, and the smell of ozone. Plus Ian remembers that the date on the bust in the study is wrong and shares with the class. 

Lars tries to get to the other side of the room by ripping the painting off the hinges with a very impressive 26 but there is fully a wall behind it and the noise brings Gilfoyle, Harding, and the Badger kids running. Lars notes that in the stone behind the painting it says “⅓”  and then hurriedly puts the painting back. Daisy thinks that might refer to a secret third floor or basement accessible by the elevator (but my first thought was that there were 2 other spying paintings in the house somewhere).

Everyone in the room hears the Gilfoyle and co. coming and try to act natural. There is a group stealth check that they all tank so heavily that all the suspicious staff and kids need to do to suss them out is roll above a 5.

AND THEY ROLL A TWO. 

With that, Lucretia appears, totally buys that they’re doing very important spiritual work in there, and in fact guards the door for them. They use the privacy bought by their very vigilant sentry to plan their next steps. Sly, Daisy, and Ian will check out the study while they rest of them check out the elevator. As they exit, Lucretia asks if they got the answers they needed out of the spirits.

Oh yes, says Daisy, echoing Lucretia’s nonsense prediction from last episode. Either something good or bad might happen. Either way, I’m excited! 

Case Notes

How baller of a player move is it to say a line so poignant that the DM is forced to let you roll with advantage? I have been on the other side of that as the DM and it’s so great. MAD respect to Rekha for that. AND THEN THE DICE COOPERATED. You simply love to see it. 

The other best Rekha line is Daisy to Sly upon being called out about stealing the key in his normal, coy, quippy way: You saw me bitch.

Shout out to Grant also for being constantly on as Sly. The guy is on point always. Impeccable.

I am SO SO SO happy Daisy and Sly are on the same mission team. If I was friends with either of them I’d be like, “This is a toxic relationship, they make you too crazy.” But as an outside viewer I want them to be within crystal ball throwing distance always.  

The question I’m sure we’re all asking: Is Brennan enough of a minx to invoke the butler did it trope? I know everyone at the table is thinking it even if none of them have said it outright. I figured the reason the cops haven’t showed up yet was the storm but who knows?

Two pieces of housekeeping, only Buck and Gangie know what the room behind the painting is with their high rolls and, after the bit of passing it back and forth with Buck, Daisy has the key. 

I really can’t do the bit about Gangie’s mom justice. I wish there was a comedy Emmy for actual play DnD shows so D20 could get the accolades it deserves just for that bit. 

Brennan indicated that the conversation between the mice maids was the most interesting info (Gilfoyle convo to staff was too public to be juicy/they could get the info from one of the many gathered staff people and crying is info on its own--though I am curious about who the crying person was) but I’m wondering what he meant by that. Because the fact that Buck paid them might be interesting if Buck did it. But we know he didn’t. Is it the fact that they were in the room at all? Again, info that the party knows if not Lars specifically.  The fact that they were stealing silverware? What’s Brennan’s game here?

[amanda-teaches]

LARP and the Real Girls

Summary: What would Episode 8x11- LARP and the Real Girl have been like with another cop around to catch Dean’s eye?

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Word Count: 8745 (I know, I know. Blame the wordy SPN writers).

Warnings: Canon-level violence, some swearing, near-death experience/angst

A/N: This is my first time doing an episode rewrite and it’s of the Season 8 episode: LARP and the Real Girl for @wi-deangirl77’s Fave SPN Episode challenge. It’s an exact rewrite of the episode with a reader character added in, so that’s why it’s so long. I hope y’all like my twist on it! Caveat: much of the dialogue in this fic was taken directly from the script. All credit goes to the Supernatural writers!

Before you’d worked in Farmington Hills, Michigan, you’d been a detective in New York City. If anyone had asked, you would’ve sworn you’d seen it all- every grisly way to murder someone known to man. But this, this one was new.

Even to you.

Ed Nelson, a seemingly mild-mannered nerd of an insurance-claims adjuster had literally been torn apart - in his own bedroom. You and your boss, Sheriff Jake Miller, had been the first on scene, but that hadn’t lasted for long. Not after the arrival of two incredibly sexy FBI agents.

You were immediately on guard. “So, Agents Taggart and Rosewood, what exactly brings the two of you to our small-town crime scene?”

“Now, hold up there, Y/N,” Sheriff Miller drawled out. “I’m sure these boys just want to help. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, sir,” the taller one, Agent Taggart, said respectfully. “We’re just here to help.”

You snorted derisively. “Yeah, I bet.”

The slightly shorter, yet still towering man, let out a quiet chuckle under his breath. When you shot him a glare, he had the gall to wink at you.

“And, you can call us Sam and Dean,” Agent Taggart continued, before he turned to your boss. “So, Sheriff, how about that tour I asked for?”

“He can do that,” you answered qucikly. “But, only if I keep your partner company while he does.”

“I work better on my own,” Dean replied, that cocky smile still gracing his face.

“Well, good for you, Agent, but as long as you’re in my crime scene, you’re going to be staying with me. Got it?”

His smile widened as he dropped his gaze to the ground. “Whatever you say, Officer.”

Sam and the Sheriff took off to the bedroom, while you followed Dean into the kitchen. You paused for just a second to admire the way he walked, his legs slightly bowed in the middle, before you noticed the strange device he was holding. It had a long antenna and bright flashing lights on it.

“What in the world is that thing?”

He looked back at you for a brief moment before answering. “Oh this? It’s just one of those high-tech FBI things.”

You laughed softly as a smile spread across your face. “High-tech, FBI things, huh? What does it do?”

“It measures, um, EMF.”

“Like from thunderstorms?”

“Yeah,” he said, agreeing a little too easily. “Thunderstorms.”

“Mmhmm….” you whispered, moving to stand by him. “And, that’s relevant how?”

“It’s, uh, it’s not,” he stammered, quickly closing the device and shoving it back into his suit pocket. “Let’s go meet the others.”

“Whatever you say,” you whispered under your breath as you followed him out the room. That was a little weird.

As you joined Sam and Sheriff Miller in the victim’s bedroom, you saw Dean discreetly shake his head at his partner, but you tore your attention away from them to listen to your boss share what he’d learned about the victim’s last call with Lance Jacobsen. “The two of them talked together for 15 minutes, and then Lance sent Ed here all kinds of angry texts. Some of them were your typical threat stuff, but some were a little weird.”

“Weird how?” Sam asked.

“Like, uh... ‘You shall bleed for your crimes against us,’ followed by the emoticon of a skull. And, uh, this beauty – ‘I am a mage. I will destroy you.’ These kids today with their texting and murder. My men just brought Lance into the station for questioning.

Sam started to open his mouth to speak, but you beat him to it. “Then, let’s get down there and talk to him.” You started to walk towards the door before turning back to the men. “You coming, Agents?”

Dean smiled again, making your heart instinctively skip a beat. “Oh, we wouldn’t miss it for the world, Officer.”

Once you’d made it back to the station’s interrogation room, you let Sam and Dean take charge. If the FBI agents so badly wanted to run this case, then you’d let them. That was, until the point where they inevitably messed up and you had to take over.

Like, right about now, when your suspect was blubbering all over your interrogation table.

“Lance?” Dean asked, in a gruff attempt to calm him down. “Lance, just – just breathe. Just breathe. You're fine.”

“We just need to ask you a few questions,” Sam added. “Try to calm down.”

You smiled comfortingly at Lance as he somehow managed to take a deep breath and wipe his eyes, but you mostly stayed quiet while Sam and Dean questioned him about his texts.

“No,” Lance yelled antsily. “I mean, they were from me, but they weren't from me me!”

Dean frowned at him while you struggled to hold in your laugh. “Did you really think that sentence was gonna clear things up?”

“I'm sorry,” Lance said with a sigh. “This is all a big misunderstanding. Those text messages were from Greyfox the Mystic to Thargrim the Difficult.” When he noticed the confused looks on your faces, he elaborated. “Our characters in Moondoor. Moondoor is a game that Ed and I play. We're LARPers. Live-action role-playing?”

“Right,” Dean muttered. “LARPing. Good times.”

“We play Moondoor every other weekend at Heritage Park. All the info about it is on our website.”

You suddenly stood up from where you had been leaning against the wall. “Wait a second. Did you say Moondoor?”

“Uh...yes,” Lance whispered, clearly a little freaked out by your abrupt interest.

“Your queen at this Moondoor wouldn’t happen to be Carrie Heinlein, would it?”

Lance visibly brightened at the sound of her name. “Why, yes! That’s our beloved queen.”

Your heart dropped. “Dammit,” you whispered before fleeing the room without another word.

Once you’d made it out into the hallway, you pulled out the phone and speed dialed your friend’s number as fast as you could. “Carrie, it’s me. Call me as soon as you get this please. It’s important. Seriously important.”

“Everything okay?” Dean asked as he closed the interrogation room door to join you in the hallway. “You seemed pretty upset just now.”

“It’s fine,” you mumbled. You started to wave him off but then reconsidered. “It’s just, Carrie, the queen, she’s my roommate and best friend. I knew she did this Moondoor thing on the weekends, but I didn’t know exactly what it was all about.” You paused for a second, a hitch coming into your throat. “If she really knew the victim, she’s going to be devastated.”

Dean reached out and placed a gentle hand on your arm. “Y/N, I’m sorry.”

“Thank you,” you said quietly. “It’s just, if she knew these guys, I want to be the one to tell her about Ed’s death before anyone else can. I owe her that.”

As you felt Dean squeeze your arm gently, you looked down at his hand and then back into his warm, comforting eyes. There was just something about him, something different, something magnetizing.

FBI agent or not, he was impossible to resist.

Just as you opened your mouth to speak, Sam exited the interrogation room, breaking the two of you apart. “You two okay?”

“Uh, yeah,” you muttered, trying to wet your suddenly dry mouth. “What now, Agents?”

“Let's check out the Moondoor website,” Sam said. “See if Lance's story checks out.”

Dean cleared his throat and looked away from you quickly. “Good plan, Sammy. Let’s do that.”

“Okay…” Sam whispered hesitantly, clearly sensing the strange vibe that hung between you and Dean. “Let’s, uh, let’s go then.”

You all but ran to your desk computer and pulled up the Moondoor website. Sam and Dean took up positions on either side of you, with Dean leaning just a little too close for comfort. “So, uh, here it is.”

Sam leaned down to read over your shoulder. "Welcome to Moondoor, Michigan's largest LARPing game."

Dean scoffed slightly, his breath right next to your ear, sending shivers down your body. “And I thought we needed to get out more.”

You clicked on the picture gallery, scrolling through until you found pictures of Lance at last night’s feast.

“There's our guy,” Sam stated.

“I guess that officially means he couldn’t have killed Ed,” you mumbled, scrolling through a few more pictures.

“Huh,” Dean chucked. “It actually looks kind of awesome.”

Sam shot Dean a look, but you couldn’t help but agree. Carrie had been begging you to join Moondoor for months, but you’d never had the time. Looking at the pictures now, you kind of regretted that choice.

“All right, there's a video,” Sam said. “Let’s watch it.”

You pulled it up and let it play, pausing only when it got to an image of your roommate.

Dean stared at the screen in disbelief. “Wait, is that…”

“Yeah,” Sam whispered. “It’s Charlie.”

“Charlie?” you echoed incredulously. “No, no, that’s my roommate. That’s Carrie.”

Dean and Sam shared another look before turning back to you. “Y/N, I think we need to have a little talk.”

“Wait just one second,” you yelled as you paced back and forth in the small break room that was the only place in the entire station where the three of you could have some privacy. “You’re saying Carrie’s real name is Charlie?”

Sam shrugged slightly. “Well, that’s not technically her real name, but that was her name when we worked our case with her.”

“I don’t believe this!”

“Well, it’s true, Y/N, whether you like it or not,” Dean said, a bit of an edge coming into his voice. “Charlie helped us out with a case about a year ago and then she disappeared. I guess she came here.”

“Why would she lie to me? I’m her best friend!”

“It’s complicated,” Dean admitted. “The case we worked together was...unusual. After it was over, Charlie couldn’t use her name anymore.”

“So, what? She’s like in witness protection or something?”

Sam smiled and flashed Dean a knowing look. “Something like that.”

Before you could ask them what the hell they meant by that, Sheriff Miller burst in the room. “Y/N, Agents, come quick! It’s Lance. He’s dead.”

By the time you, Sam, and Dean had seen the body and watched the surveillance video, it had become abundantly clear that the only thing that connected these two deaths was Moondoor and the strange tree tattoo on both of the victims’ arms. There was only one course of action left to take: head to Moondoor and talk to Carrie, or Charlie, or whatever the hell her name was.

The three of you arrived at the Moondoor Camp by late morning. You’d been there a few times before, but only ever briefly and with Carrie. Darn it, Charlie.

By all outward appearances, it was like your basic Renaissance fair, except all of the people there were pretending that they actually lived in Medieval times. Dozens of people were milling around, but your attention was drawn to a man standing in front of the stocks. You rolled your eyes once you recognized him. “Gerry…”

Dean looked over at you and then back at the man standing in front of an imprisoned Shadow Orc. “What, you know that guy?”

“I guess you could say that. He tries to pick me up every time I’m here. Fancies himself a real ladies man.”

Dean laughed. “He’s not, I assume?”

“You assume correctly,” you agreed with a soft smile, earning another heart-stopping wink from Dean.

After concluding his business, Gerry began to walk away, but Dean stopped him. “Excuse me. Hi. Uh, you are a LARPer, yeah?”

“I prefer the term ‘interactive literaturist,’” Gerry said before he noticed you. “Ah, Lady Y/N! You have returned.”

You frowned. “Hi, Gerry.”

Gerry flourished his hands dramatically. “I do not know this Gerry of who you speak. My name is Boltar the Furious!”

You rolled your eyes while Dean continued. “Right. Uh, I’m Special Agent Rosewood. This is special Agent Taggart.”

“Hold!” Gerry yelled. He pulled down the hood of his costume and dropped the pomp and circumstance in his voice. “Um, guys, we're not doing the whole genre-mash-up thing this weekend. We only do that every third month.”

“It’s not a genre mash-up, Gerry,” you groaned. “This is serious police business. We need to see Carrie.”

“Serious police business?” Gerry scoffed. “With those fake badges?”

“These aren't fake badges,” Sam said quickly.

Gerry smiled smugly. “Uh, yeah, they are, and they're very good, but, um, well, the I.D. number shifted to 10 digits with, uh, two letters mixed in at the end of the year, and, uh, the seal's from last month. Really good work.”

You looked questioningly at Dean as Gerry continued. “It’s just – it’s a tournament weekend, okay guys, so you got to follow the rules. If there's no rules – chaos. Resume!” he yelled, before pulling his hood back on. “If you would like to join the army of Moons, the queen is always on the lookout for new squires.”

“Yes,” Dean said. “Right. Uh, we would like to see your queen now, please.”

“Well, the queen's calendar is booked up months in advance. But if you wish to witness what's in store for you in her army, her highness is overseeing new squires on the pitch as we speak.”

Sam and Dean nodded and started to walk away, but you grabbed their arms and pulled them aside. “Woah, woah, woah, Agents. Is what he said true? Are those fake badges?”

Sam looked down at the ground while Dean smiled at you sheepishly. “Uh, kinda, but we’ll explain everything, I swear.”

“I can’t believe this!” you yelled. “Did you know I could arrest the both of you right now for impersonating an FBI agent?”

“We know,” Dean said, holding up his hands. “But, just give us a chance to explain, please. I promise, once we find Charlie, everything will make sense.”

“It better,” you growled. “Or I’m going to haul the both of you right back down to the station, this time, in cuffs.”

You led the way up to the practice field where Charlie was overseeing the swordfighting. You recognized her right away, easily defeating all of the other squires with her favorite sword, but you didn’t make a move towards her. A part of you wanted to cheer for her, but, with the uncertain place that everything stood, you didn’t really know if you should.

So, instead, you, Sam, and Dean decided to wait by the edge of the field for Charlie to finish her fight. As soon as she defeated her opponent and removed her helmet, the crowd broke into cheers.

She began to address the crowd about the missing men. In the middle of her address, she spotted you and flashed a smile, but, the second she saw Sam and Dean, her face fell. “Oh, blerg,” she muttered before turning back to the crowd. “Uh... The queen needs some royal ‘we’ time. Talk amongst thyselves.”

Charlie stalked away to her tent, signaling you to follow her, but you stopped when Dean bent down to pick up the foam sword. “Nice balance,” he muttered in awe.

“Dean!” you chastigized, drawing his attention. “Two dead men, remember?”

“Right,” he whispered, still holding onto the sword. “Let’s go.”

Once you reached the tent, Charlie turned to you with a plastered-on smile. “Y/N! What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to see you, Carrie, or should I call you Charlie?”

“So, they told you,” she moaned as she sent Sam and Dean a glare.

“Yeah, they told me. Why didn’t you?! I thought we were best friends.”

“We are, Y/N! That’s why I couldn’t tell you. It’s...it’s…it’s...”

“Complicated. I know, I know.”

“It’s way more than complicated! Those two,” she yelled, gesturing at Sam and Dean, “are the reason I had to become Carrie Heinlein. They killed Charlie Bradbury and now they’ve killed this identity too.”

You started to say something, but you were lost. “Wait what?”

Charlie turned to glare at Sam and Dean, her hands on her hips. “I guess you didn’t tell her everything.”

“No,” Dean said with a sheepish smile. “We figured we’d leave that to you.”

“Would someone just tell me?!” you exploded before the energy suddenly drained out of you, making you plop down into a nearby chair.

Charlie sat down in front of you, a look of compassion on her face. “Y/N, these two aren’t actually FBI agents.”

“Well, I knew that much. Who are they?”

“They’re monster hunters.”

You dropped your jaw. “They’re what?”

“Monster hunters. And, if they’re here, that means monsters are here.” She turned to face Sam and Dean. “Why do I have such bad luck? What am I – some kind of monster magnet? Is there such a thing as a monster magnet? You know what? Don't answer that. I don't care. What I care about is not getting my other arm broken... or dying.”

“I’m so confused…” you whispered.

“Well, you won’t be for long,” Charlie vowed. “Because we’re leaving before these two get us wrapped up in whatever monster hunt they’re on. I'm dropping my sword and walking off the stage, bitches. Have fun storming the castle.”

“Charlie. Charlie!” Dean yelled, drawing her attention. “You can’t leave. Neither of you can. Greyfox and Thargrim – uh, Ed and Lance – they're not missing. They're dead.”

Charlie turned to look at you, and, despite the lies, your heart went out to your best friend. “They’re right, Charlie. I have no idea what the hell is going on, but I do know this: two men are dead and it’s my job to catch their killer. I need help.” You stopped and looked at Sam and Dean. “From all of you.”

“Drawn and quartered and bleeding out?” Charlie shuddered at the table the four of you were sitting around. “Please stop talking again. So what do you think did this?

Dean frowned. “Well, aside from the, uh, mark, and them both being LARPers, there's really not much else to go on.”

Charlie picked up the picture of the tree symbol on the victims’ arms. “Wait, I've seen this before. It's a Celtic magic symbol. At least it was in my favorite video game. Does that help? Can Y/N and I go now?”

Sam shook his head. “It's a start, but no. Um, listen. What can you tell us about Ed and Lance?”

Charlie shrugged. “Good guys. Two of the best members of the queen's ever-shrinking army.”

"‘Ever-shrinking’?" you asked.

Charlie nodded. “My kingdom has had a lot of bad luck lately, probably 'cause of me, but maybe it's tied to this. A month ago, one of my guys had both her ankles broken before battle. Before that, I had three people have hospital-worthy accidents while at home. You think there's any connection there?”

You and Dean looked at each other and shared a subtle nod while Sam continued the questioning. “Did they have any enemies in common?”

“In real life? No. Everyone gets along famously. In the game, though…” Charlie got up and walked over to the map of Moondoor. “...they had tons of enemies. Red reps the followers of the Moon – my peeps. Green's for Elves, blue's for Warriors of Yesteryear, and black's for Shadow Orcs – total d-bags. This weekend is the Battle of the Kingdoms to see who wears the Forever Crown. This weekend, each faction is definitely an enemy of me and mine.”

Dean stared at the board in excitement. “You know, if you, uh, move your archers back and your broadswordsmen to the west...

Charlie stared where he was gesturing, her excitement growing to match his. “Huh. Fight the warriors.”

“Yep.”

“Hey, good call.”

“Thanks,” Dean said with a smile.

“What about the southern wall?”

“Guys!” you and Sam yelled at the same time. “A little focus please?”

“Right. Sorry,” Dean said, while Charlie looked down sheepishly.

Sam took over the talking while Dean and Charlie continued to quietly move the figures around on the map. “So maybe, uh, someone from one of the other kingdoms got ahold of real magic and started using it to weaken your army.”

“But why not just come after me?” Charlie asked. “And why the escalation?”

“We don’t know,” you responded. “That’s what we need to find out.”

“And by we,” Dean announced, “you mean Sam and me. We will canvass the kingdoms. The two of you should get out of here. We don't want you to get hurt.”

“Whoa, wait,” Sam said, holding up his hand. “Charlie knows Moondoor a lot better than we do. We need her. And, Y/N’s a cop. She could help.”

“Sam, I think we can take care of a bunch of accountants with foam swords.”

“We need all the help we can get, Dean,” Sam argued back. “People are dying.”

“My point,” Dean stressed, “which is usually yours, is that they should get somewhere safe and get back to a normal life.”

You decided to push back. “Hey, wait just a minute, Dean. This is my case. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I want to leave,” Charlie admitted, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Thank you,” Dean announced triumphantly.

“Wait second, Winchester. I want to leave, but the queen, she has to stay. I mean, Sam is right. People are dying. That can't happen on my watch. And you know what? I am tired of running. I like my life here.” She moved to stand by you. “I like my life with Y/N. I'm gonna stay and fight for it.”

You smiled gratefully at her as Sam’s phone rang. He spoke briefly on it before hanging up. “So, the toxicology report came back on Lance. Nothing. But the medical examiner said his body showed clear signs that he was killed by belladonna.”

“The porn star?” Dean and Charlie asked simultaneously.

“No, not the porn star,” you groaned with a roll of your eyes.

“The poison,” Sam added.

“Oh,” Dean and Charlie said, again shrugging simultaneously.

You rolled your eyes even harder this time as Sam continued. “Um, however, they couldn't find a trace of it in his system.”

Dean nodded. “Just like they couldn't find ropes in Ed's apartment.”

Sam turned to look at Charlie. “Charlie, I'm gonna need to borrow your laptop.”

Charlie shook her head. “There are no laptops in Moondoor.”

“I knew I didn’t join this thing for a reason,” you muttered.

“What?” Charlie yelled. “There are rules.” She sent a wink your way. “But there is a tech tent four tents down.”

“Okay,” Sam said. “How about you guys go canvas, and I'll dig into these accidents and this mark?”

“Okay. I'm gonna need the full wiki on where you guys have been. But first,” she added, turning to Dean and you, “you're gonna have to ditch the suits if you're gonna walk and talk with the queen.

A little less than half an hour later, you were standing in a small alcove off of Charlie’s main tent, adjusting the pleats on your long, medieval dress. “Why does Charlie get to wear pants but I have to wear a dress?” you grumbled.

You took a deep breath before walking back out into the main room where Dean and Charlie were waiting. Dean had his back to you, but he still took your breath away in his outfit.

His form-fitting pants hugged his lean legs, highlighting the muscles he built up from years of physical activity, or hunting as you’d learned. Your eyes travelled up his toned, tunic-covered back and swept over the chainmail and arm guards that somehow made him seem even more ruggedly handsome.

You let out a labored breath as you continued to stare at him. Boy, were you in trouble here….

Before you could think anything else, Charlie noticed you and smiled. “Y/N, good! You’re ready.”

Dean turned to meet your eyes and you could hear him breathe out a strangled wow the moment he saw you. Well, at least you were having just as much of an effect on him as he had on you.

You flashed him a smile. “Hey, Dean. Nice outfit.”

“Right back at you,” he said with a grin.

Charlie moved her gaze between the two of you with a sly smile and a raise of her eyebrow. “Wow, you two, get a room!”

“CHARLIE!” you yelled, while Dean smiled and looked down with a blush. “What the hell?!”

“Oh, come on, like it wasn’t obvious,” she mumbled under her breath.

You shook your head and gave her a pointed glare as the two of you followed Dean out of the tent. Dean stopped briefly to pick up a wooden sword before the three of you continued on with Charlie as your guide.

You hung back a little during the walk, scanning the crowd as you listened to Dean and Charlie catch up. You kept your face neutral, smiling only when you overheard Dean call Charlie a hero. You knew that even though the only thing you knew for sure about Dean was that he had lied to you, you instinctively trusted that he was a good man. Moments like this just reinforced that.

Charlie stopped frequently on her way around the camp, asking people here and there if they recognized the picture of the tree symbol. She seemed to be hitting all the major groups: the followers of the Moon, the elves, and the warriors. The only group she hadn’t asked were the Shadow Orcs.

“The Shadow Orcs,” Charlie said. “Last group on the list, impossible to find.”

“Wait,” Dean said, suddenly remembering something. “I know where we can find one. We met him on the way in, Y/N, remember? The guy in the stocks.”

“Yeah,” you answered with a smile. “The guy with the fake teeth.”

Charlie grinned right along with you. “Perfect. Maybe he can tell us what the frack this thing is.”

You, Dean, and Charlie took off towards the stocks where the Shadow Orc, Monty, was still locked up. “Death to the queen! Death to the usurper!” he yelled forcefully.

Dean drew his wooden sword and hit the stocks with it, earning a growl and a “Death to her manservant!” from the Orc and a surprised look from Charlie.

“What?” Dean asked, looking at Charlie. “Well, there's no laptops in Moondoor, there's no Geneva Convention, either.”

“I’m with Dean,” you agreed with a nod, leading him to flash Charlie a self-satisfied smile before he turned back to Monty and held out the picture of the tree symbol. “Hey. Have you seen this?”

“Yeah, of course,” he said quickly before realizing what he’d said and trying to backpedal. “No. No, I haven't seen it.”

Dean immediately put his sword under Monty’s chin, causing Monty to let out a startled cry. You leaned down and looked him right in the eye, offering him a small smile. “Hey, I’d answer his questions if I were you. He doesn’t exactly respond well to being lied to.”

“Okay,” Monty yelled in a panic. “It's the Shadow King's family crest.” Then, he remembered his role, getting his Shadow Orc bravado back. “You'll never find him in the Black Hills.”

Dean turned to Charlie. “Black Hills?”

“The forest behind the playground. Come on,” she answered, tapping Dean on the arm before walking away. You threw Monty a whispered ‘thank you’ before you and Dean rushed to follow her into the forest.

Once you were partway down the path, Gerry, the man who had helped you when you’d first arrived rushed over to the three.

“My queen. There you are. I've been searching everywhere for you.” He turned and looked at you with another appraising smile. “Ah, Lady Y/N. It brings me pleasure to see that you have decided to stick around.”

“I’m sure it does, Gerry,” you muttered indifferently.

“The name is Boltar the Furious!” he shouted angrily before he realized who he was talking to. He paused to regain his composure and turned back to Charlie, nodding his head in Dean’s direction. “Has this... oaf attempted to harm you with his blasphemous metalworks?”

Charlie frowned and brushed him off. “Boltar, he's with me. This is my new... handmaiden. We seek an audience with the Shadow King.”

Gerry dropped his mouth and shook his head in surprise. “Uh, these hills are not safe. I beseech you, my queen, you should return to camp.”

Dean nodded and turned to face Charlie formally. “He's right... your worshipfulness. Uh, may I have a moment before you take your leavings?”

Charlie agreed and the three of you walked away from Gerry so Dean could drop the act. “Handmaiden?”

“He was suspicious. I panicked,” Charlie insisted as you broke into laughter.

With a long sigh, Dean ignored you and kept right on talking to Charlie. “All right, look,” he growled. “You take my phone. Find Sam. Y/N and I will find the shadow dorks.”

“But I can help!” Charlie assured.

“Yeah, you are helping by finding Sam. Y/N and I will handle this. Now, go.”

You waited for Charlie to walk away before you and Dean turned back to Gerry. Dean flashed him a smile. “Lead the way to the Orcs, Bolty.”

Gerry frowned. “Speak when spoken to, handmaiden.”

“Shut up, Gerry,” you snapped, earning a laugh from Dean and a grimace from Gerry. “Just take us to the Orcs.”

An hour later, you, Dean, and Gerry were on your way back to camp, having made no progress in your search for the Shadow Orcs.

“Well, that was a bust,” Dean groaned. “You sure the Shadow Orcs are even out there?”

“For a handmaiden, you certainly ask many questions,” Gerry chided. “Yes, I am positive. They're just very good at hiding themselves.”

“So, what do we do now?” you asked, brushing the forest dirt off of your dress.

Gerry smiled triumphantly. “A plan has sprung to mind that will draw the Shadow King to us. We shall take the Shadow Orc held in stock, offer him up as a prisoner exchange.”

Dean grinned. “Draw him out and beat him down. I like your style, Boltar.”

“Y/N and I shall retrieve the prisoner. You,” he added, gesturing at Dean, “tend to the queen's laundry and chamber pots, and then meet us back here.”

“Um,” you interjected, holding up your hand, “I think I’ll stick with Dean.”

Gerry frowned. “If you must,” he acquiesced before walking away just as Sam was walking up.

“Nice outfit,” Sam remarked with a laugh as he took in Dean’s costume.

“You love it.”

Sam turned to smile at you. “Y/N, you look beautiful.”

“Why, thank you, Sam,” you replied with a blush.

Dean immediately frowned and stepped closer to you. “Stop flirting and get on with it, Sammy.”

“Right,” Sam said, smiling and backing off. “Well, while you were, uh, playing dress-up, I found out that the mark…”

“Belongs to the Shadow Orcs,” Dean finished with a smile.

“Yeah. And they're using fairy magic.”

“What, like real fairy magic?” you asked. “Are you guys serious?”

“Deadly,” Sam answered. “Whoever gets marked with this ‘Tree of Pain’ gets magically ganked.”

“Oh my gosh...” you whispered, holding your head in pain. “I’m gonna need a serious drink when this is all over.”

Dean placed a comforting hand on your shoulder before turning back to Sam. “All right, how do we stop it?”

“Find whoever cast the spell, and take them out. No more whammy, no more marks. No more marks, no more dead bodies.”

“Okay, well, perfect,” Dean announced. “Our, uh, pal, Boltar the chatty, is getting the, uh, Shadow Orc prisoner. We're gonna do a little prisoner exchange, try to draw the king out of hiding.” He stopped to smile. “It was my idea.”

“Yeah, sure it was,” you scoffed, earning a surprised glare from Dean.

Sam, on the other hand, ignored your comment and looked back and forth between the two of you, as if only just realizing that someone was missing. “Where's Charlie?”

“What’re you talking about?” you asked, suddenly alarmed. “Isn’t she with you?”

“She was with you.”

Dean shook his head emphatically. “No, I sent her to you.” Noticing Sam’s blank expression, he began to walk around frantically, calling out for your friend. “Charlie? Your highness?”

He checked her tent before turning back to Sam. “You know what – she's got my phone. Try it.”

Sam pulled out his phone and pressed a button, shaking his head when there was no answer.

“Well, then where the hell is she?” Dean yelled, looking at you with a worried expression.

What had happened to Charlie?

Gerry and Monty the Orc had rounded up some flashlights in exchange for joining your search through the forest for Charlie. Gerry, knowing the terrain, led the way, while Monty, Dean, Sam, and you followed.

“I swear, if anything's happened to her…” Dean declared threateningly.

“It’ll be okay,” you whispered to him. “She’s strong. She’ll be okay.” Without thinking, you reached out and grabbed his hand for comfort. He looked down at it in surprise, but, before you could rethink your decision and pull your hand away, he returned your squeeze, interlacing his fingers with yours.

You were too startled to do anything more than put one foot in front of the other as Sam took over the talking. “Dude, we checked all the tents. We'll talk to these guys. We'll find her.”

As Gerry and the others stopped in a small clearing, Dean released your hand and straightened up. He opened his mouth to speak until he was interrupted by Monty, the Shadow Orc, cawing like a bird.

“Uh...what is he doing?” you asked softly, but before anyone could answer, similar bird calls echoed back through the trees and three Shadow Orcs stepped into the clearing.

“Well, that answers that question,” Dean muttered with a laugh as Gerry took the lead with the questioning.

“Greetings, heretics.”

“You should kneel before me, cur,” snapped the Orc with the Tree of Pain crest on his tunic.

Dean stepped forward, clearly growing annoyed with the play-acting. “All right, why don't you let me...”

“Silence!” Gerry yelled, making Dean stop in surprise. “Now, before we exchange, a few announcements.” Gerry dropped his exaggerated voice as the Orc removed his fake teeth. “Um, there is a peewee-league soccer playoff game tomorrow on the alpha field. We don't want to freak out the mundanes, so we got to move the Battle of Kingdoms to the beta field.”

“Seriously, Gerry!” you yelled. “My best friend is missing! Could you focus?!”

“All right. That's it,” Dean growled, drawing his gun. “You know what? I'm gonna do this the old-fashioned way.”

“Dean, don't,” Sam warned.

“What?”

“Come on...” he pleaded.

Dean frowned, clearly past annoyance. “No, I'm –”

Gerry stepped forward to diffuse the situation, ignoring your signal to stay out of it. “I told you there are –”

“Shut up,” Dean snapped before stepping forward and pointing his gun at the Orc. “All right. I need real answers. This here is a real gun, see?”

To emphasize his point, Dean shot at the ground.

“Whoa! Whoa!” the Orc cried, holding up his hands. “Hold! Hold! Geez!”

You stepped up and put your hand on Dean’s back. “Okay, Dean, I think he gets the point.”

Dean lowered his gun slightly but kept his eyes on the Orc. “Now, start talking. Where's the queen?!”

“I don't know!”

“Yeah, well, your little family crest there tells a different story, pal.”

The Orc looked down at his shirt in disbelief. “This?”

“Yeah,” Dean said sarcastically. “That.”

You stepped forward, ignoring the appreciative stares from the Orcs as you did. Dean, on the other hand, growled at them in warning. “Where did you get the design for that crest?”

“Uh, I got sick last month after this thing just appeared on my arm. I thought it looked really cool, so I turned it into my family crest. I mean, after my dermatologist said it wasn't malignant.”

Sam stepped forward to join the two of you. “Dean, he's not our guy. He's just another vic.”

The Orc nodded vigorously. “My name is Max Hilby. I'm an attorney. I have no idea where the queen is, but if you let me go right now, I won't press charges. I promise. Um…” He paused to take of his fake ears and hold them out to Dean. “Here. Uh, take them. Please.”

“That won’t be necessary,” you replied. “You can leave now. This is official police business.”

When the Orcs hesitated, Dean waved his gun to the side. “Go. Go! Go!”

The three Orcs took off running and you and Dean turned to face Sam, Gerry, and Monty. Monty took out his fake teeth, his face falling when he met your eyes. “Is the queen really in danger?”

Dean nodded, leading Monty to straighten up with resolve. “Okay, we got – there was something odd down by the creek. It's this weird tent. It's not one of ours. It's kind of creepy.”

“Why are you being so helpful all of a sudden?” Sam asked.

“Look, I harbor an epic crush on the queen,” Monty admitted. “Maybe you could put in a good word for me when you find her.”

“I don't think you're her type,” Dean said with a smile as you laughed in agreement.

“What?” Monty asked, clearly confused. “You mean she's not into Orcs?”

You rolled your eyes and drew his focus back in. “Monty, this creepy tent you mentioned. Where exactly is it?”

A few minutes later, you, Dean, and Sam, had ditched Monty and were well on your way to the tent. Unfortunately, unlike Monty, Gerry wasn’t so easily deterred.

Dean glanced back at him, a frustrated look on his face. “Why don't you take off, Bolty? We got it from here.”

“Yeah,” you added. “We can handle this.”

“A handmaiden and a time traveler rescue the queen? I think not, kind lady.”

Sam grimaced. “Look, this isn't a game, Boltar. The queen, our friend, is in real danger. You could get hurt.”

“I will not leave my queen in peril!” Gerry announced, but, before you could argue any further, the four of you arrived at the tent: too late to turn back now.

Dean and Sam pushed the flap aside and entered the tent quickly, leading the way with their guns drawn. You were expecting to see Charlie tied up, or worse, but you definitely weren’t expecting what you saw: Charlie sitting on the bed, full-on making out with her captor.

Dean loudly cleared his throat, breaking them apart.

“Dudes. If the tent is rockin', don't come a-knockin'.”

You stepped forward. “Charlie! You’re hooking up?! What? We thought you were in danger.”

“I was,” Charlie insisted as her companion got to her feet.

“No, it's him! My master! Run!”

“What are you talking about…” you whispered as the three of you turned back to look at Gerry, who was removing his hood. Too slowly, you realized what the woman meant: Gerry was the one behind all of this.

Dean and Sam raised their guns, but Gerry acted faster. “No guns in Moondoor, gentlemen. Gilda, if you please?”

The woman’s face fell, but she quickly moved her hand, turning the guns into feathers that fell to the ground.

Dean lifted his hands up and moved to step in front of you. “Well, now what, Gerry?”

Gerry’s face scrunched up in anger. “My name is Boltar the Furious! My plan was, after getting rid of all of my competition, to win the battle tomorrow, convincing the queen that I should be her king.”

Charlie sighed and rolled her eyes before looking at Gilda.

“But then Y/N and you two idiots showed up, and I was forced to improvise. Rescue the damsel in distress from Orcs, become king, kill you both – that'll work, too.”

“What about me, Boltar?” you asked, stepping past Dean to turn on the charm. “You gonna kill me too?”

“I could never do that, Y/N. I’ll just wipe your memory, right along with the queen’s. Then, you can return to Moondoor at our side! Every king needs a mistress.”

“Ew, gross…” Charlie muttered as Dean grabbed you and pushed you back behind him.

“You can’t have her,” he growled menacingly.

“You won’t have much of a say when you’re dead, now, will you, handmaiden?”

Dean glared and stepped forward, but Sam stopped him with a raised hand. “So why did you go from hobbling to murder?”

Gerry refocused his attention, flashing back to his plan. “Greyfox and Thargrim became part of the honor guard. They got close to the queen, but they did it by breaking the rules – paying off other players with real money, rather than Moondoor currency. They were cheating.”

“Oh, and using magic isn't?” Dean snapped.

“Magic is a part of Moondoor.”

Charlie stepped forward, suddenly angry. You tried to grab her arm, but she evaded you. “What is your problem? Why would you hurt people? This is just a game.”

“There is no game!” Gerry shouted. “There is only Moondoor! I came here to be different, to get away from my crappy life, to be a hero, and guess what.”

“What?” Dean asked sarcastically. “You were a loser in the real world, and you're a loser here? Shocker.”

Gerry glowered at him. “Would a loser track down a real book of spells and compel a fairy to do his bidding?”

“It depends,” Sam muttered. “How'd you get it?”

“eBay.”

Dean rolled his eyes and leaned down so only you could hear him. “You got a gun on you?”

You shook your head slightly. “Nope. This dress wasn’t exactly made for packing.”

Dean sent a silent head shake to Sam who nodded and cleared his throat. “Look. It doesn't have to be like this, Boltar. Just hand over the book of spells. We can work this out.”

“This will all work out…” Gerry muttered as he bent down to pick up a fake sword. “After I remove you from the playing field and wipe Lady Y/N and the queen’s memories.”

“And, what?” you asked, stalling for time. “You’re going to kill them with that thing?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Gerry said with a smile. “Gilda?”

Gilda sighed and closed her eyes, only for the fake sword in Gerry’s hand to turn very, very real. Sam and Dean immediately began to move, Sam going for Gerry while Dean covered you.

Gerry looked almost bored as he gestured at Sam. “Gilda, the big one.”

In an instant, a suit of armor came alive, grabbing Sam from behind. Charlie took the opportunity to charge at Gerry with a fake sword, but he easily threw her on the bed.

“Y/N!” Dean yelled, picking up a fake sword of his own. “Get Charlie and get out of here!”

He rushed forward, swinging at Gerry, but Gerry’s real sword easily cut Dean’s in half. You and Gilda ran to Charlie while Sam continued to struggle with the suit of armor and Dean did his best to block Gerry’s attacks with a metal shield.

“Gilda!” you cried. “You have to do something. He’s going to kill them!”

“We can't stop him. The book – you must destroy it.”

You looked back to where Dean and Gerry were still fighting. A book had fallen to the floor by their feet. “Charlie, the book!”

You both moved in an instant, with Charlie reaching the book first. She lifted it off the ground and held a dagger over it. “Hey, Gerry. I'm the one who saves damsels in distress around here.”

“No!” Gerry yelled. He turned to stop her as she raised the dagger over her head, but you moved to block him, standing right between his sword and Charlie. At the exact second that Charlie’s dagger hit the book, Gerry’s sword pierced your abdomen.

“Y/N! NO!!!!” Dean screamed, running to you as your body buckled, bathed in the bright light from the book. He reached out his arms and caught you, strong and steady, pulling you into him in one fluid motion.

“Dean…” you whispered softly, the pain in your abdomen spreading quickly.

“Just hold on, Y/N,” he pleaded. “You’re gonna be ok. I got you. Just hold on.”

“No!!” Gerry yelled, blanching when he’d seen what he’d done. “No, Y/N, no…”

In an instant, his blood-stained sword turned back into a fake one, only for a freed Sam to immediately snatch it and use the butt to knock him out. Charlie dropped the book and rushed to your side.

“Y/N! No….”

“Charlie….” you breathed out, unable to say much more. Dean’s arms tightened around you. You were fading fast.

Tears started to gather in Charlie’s eyes as Sam dropped to his knees by her side. “Y/N, I’m so sorry I lied to you about who I was. You’re my best friend, I should’ve told you the truth, I should’ve…”

“Shhh...It’s okay. I don’t blame you, Charlie. I love you.”

“I love you too,” she cried as you turned your eyes to meet Dean’s.

“Y/N, please, don’t…” he pleaded, his voice coming out gruff and labored with unshed tears.

“It’ll be okay, Dean. I wish we had more time, but it’ll be okay.”

“No!” he yelled. “You can’t die! Not now, not like this.”

“And, die she won’t,” Gilda announced, moving to stand by Charlie. “Allow me.”

Charlie moved aside to let Gilda hover her hands over your wound. As you and Dean watched in awe, your wound healed magically, taking all the pain away in an instant.

“Thank God,” Charlie breathed out while Dean hung his head in obvious relief, his hold on you decreasing slightly but not breaking.

With Dean’s help, you carefully sat up and looked at Gilda. “Thank you,” you stammered, your voice full of sincerity.

Gilda smiled. “You are the one I should be thanking. Thanks to all of you, I'm free of the spell. You saved me. This was the least I could do to return the favor.”

Dean helped you stand up while you returned her smile. “So, what now?” you asked, leaning into Dean as you regained your strength.

“Now, I return home. The Hollow Forest is forever in your debt. I must return to those green hills now. I will take my former master with me. He must face a fairy tribunal for his sins.”

“Wait,” Charlie yelled as she grabbed Gilda and pulled her into a heated kiss. “Thank you.”

Gilda smiled one last time before disappearing in an array of twinkling, shimmering lights. Gerry’s body disappeared right along with her in a puff of smoke.

“Call me... maybe?” Charlie shouted into the air, inducing a laugh out of you, your body shaking softly against Dean’s.

“Come on,” Dean said, taking your hand and gently leading you out of the tent. “Let’s get out of here.”

By the time you made it back to the Moondoor camp, it was nearing midnight, and you were exhausted.

Despite your assurances that you were healed, Dean had insisted on carrying you the last half mile, only letting you walk when you hit the edge of the forest. He accompanied you to the tent Charlie had procured for you, only truly letting his guard down once you were safely inside.

“Y/N, are you sure you’re okay?” he asked tentatively.

“I’m fine, Dean, I promise. Gilda healed me completely. I’m as good as new.”

“Okay, but…”

“Dean,” you whispered, stopping him with a feather light touch to his chest that immediately quieted him. “It’s over. I’m okay.”

“Okay…” he breathed back, matching your whispered tone with one of his own.

“So, what happens next?” you asked. “I mean, I’m assuming you two leave again, right?”

“Yeah,” he admitted, stepping closer to you and gently placing his hand on your cheek. “But, I’m sure we’ll be back. I mean, with both you and Charlie here, why would we stay away?”

“Right,” you muttered quietly. You tried to look down, but Dean held your chin firmly.

“Y/N, this is not going to be the last time we see each other. Not even close. Trust me, now that I’ve met you, I have no intention of letting this go.”

You could feel your face brightening. “Really?”

“Yeah,” he echoed with a smile. “But, promise me one thing.”

“Yes?” you asked breathlessly as Dean moved even closer, until his lips were just inches from yours.

“Promise me you won’t go around getting yourself stabbed anymore.”

You started to laugh lightly at his words, but you sobered up when you saw Dean’s intense expression. “I’m serious, Y/N. I know we just met this morning, but I care about you. I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if Gilda hadn’t been there. If you died…”

“Shh…” you murmured, holding one finger up to his lips. “I promise.”

Before Dean could say another word, you leaned up, closing the short gap between the two of you, and claiming his lips in a passionate kiss. He wrapped his arms around you, walking you backwards to the bed before lifting you up slightly so you could wrap your legs around his strong thighs. You fell together onto the bed, a tangle of legs and arms coming together as one for the first of you hoped would be many times to come.

The next morning, you, Sam, and Dean were back in your street clothes, walking through the camp with Charlie, you and Dean hand in hand.

“So what's next for you, Charlie?” Sam asked. “New town? New identity?”

“No way,” Charlie laughed. “I’m staying right here, with Y/N. If the last 24 hours have taught me anything, it's that escaping isn't what it used to be. No more replacement characters for me. I got to face reality from now on. Sadly, reality actually includes monsters, but what are you gonna do?” she added with a smile. “If I can ever be of help to you guys, let me know.”

“Will do,” Dean said. He glanced down at you. “Especially since we’re going to be coming back here pretty often.” You smiled as he turned back to Charlie. “And you, uh... you're good?”

“Apart from the fact that you blocked me from banging a fairy, and I'm about to go lose my crown in battle, thanks to my army being decimated? Yeah. Totally good.” She turned around, holding her hands up in a Vulcan salute. “Smell you later, bitches.”

You laughed as Charlie walked away and Dean snaked his arm around your waist. “You know, I might have an idea of how to help Charlie keep her crown.”

“Oh yeah?” Dean asked. “And what’s that?”

You pulled away from Dean and extended your hand back to him. “Follow me.”

He followed you with a laugh, Sam close behind, and twenty minutes later, the three of you were standing on the battlefield, dressed in full army garb, ready to help Charlie defend her throne.

Dean, with the long-hair of his wig fluttering in the wind and his face painted red and white, stood in the front, addressing the army with the speech from Braveheart.

“It’s the only one he knows,” Sam muttered, his hair in a ponytail as he stood next to you and Charlie.

“And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance. Just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they will never take…”

“Hold!” yelled a squire, interrupting Dean’s speech. A frisbee sailed onto the field, followed by a man running after it.

“Uh, my bad,” the man yelled before running away.

Dean rolled his eyes and turned back to the squire, getting the signal to continue. He raised his wooden sword and shook it in the sky. “...our freedom!”

“Our freedom!” you echoed, holding your sword up in solidarity as you took off running at Sam and Dean’s sides. You knew that, while this battle might be fake, it wasn’t going to be the last you ran into at Dean’s side.

You couldn’t wait.

Forevers- @hamartiamacguffin @mrsdeanfuckingwinchester @katymacsupernatural @impandagrl @cyrilconnelly @impala-dreamer @castielhasthetardis @jarpadandjensenaremyheroes @shotgunintheimpala @be-amaziing @jalove-wecallhimdean @there-must-be-a-lock @mysterious-398 @hannahindie @emoryhemsworth @ohmychuckitssamanddean @wi-deangirl77 @carryonmywaywardcaptain @ericaprice2008 @just-another-winchester

Dean Tags- @akshi8278

[austinpanda]

Dad Letter 040421

4 April, 2021

Dear Dad--

Happy Easter to y’all! If I hadn’t known it was Easter, I’d have found out when Zach tried to go to the store for groceries, and the store was closed. We needed toilet paper, so he stopped at a convenience store to see if they could help, and the convenience store was closed too. (Fortunately, our friend, the plant scientist guy, was keen to help out, and actually drove the 1/8th of a mile to our place to bring us some. Who knew science guys were so selfless?) Oh, I should point out something else he recently did for me. He learned that Wal-Mart had openings for vaccination appointments for those over 50, and he signed me up. In order to sign up, you need a Wal-Mart login and password, and I don’t have either, because fuck Wal-Mart. But he offered, and then, when I chafed at asking him to go to all that trouble for me, he suggested I really should let him do it, so I did. I gave him my info, he set up the appointment, and I should get my first shot on Tuesday at 6:00 a.m. (I took the earliest slot available, just to avoid a crowd.)

By the way, I had to consult the internet to find out what exactly Easter is a celebration of. I didn’t happen to know with specificity. I knew Jesus was in there somewhere, but TV doesn’t show Jesus movies on Easter, it shows The Ten Commandments, which isn’t a Jesus movie; it’s a Moses movie. So I asked myself what I thought Easter was for, and all that came to mind was Jesus coming out of a cave and seeing his shadow, six more weeks of winter, ha ha. (Perhaps I should know this, but what can I say? My parents were kind enough not to make me go to Catholic church every Sunday of my childhood.) The internet educated me about the holiday. It’s also called Resurrection Sunday, and it’s hard not to hear that in my monster truck commercial voice: “Resurrection sunday, Sunday, SUNDAYYY!” It commemorates Jesus’ resurrection, three days after he died from the crucifixion by the Romans. Easter is also called Pascha, although I do not know by whom, so I checked. “Pascha” is the transliteration of a Greek word, which is a transliteration of an Aramaic word, coming from a Hebrew word for Passover. So...I still don’t know who calls it that. Greek Aramaic Hebrews?

Anyway, no store means no groceries until tomorrow and borrowed emergency toilet paper. No stress! We got it sorted out. Guess I’m ordering us a pizza for dinner. And I will be getting an income tax refund that will prevent us having to eat cat food for a little while longer. That’s good, because the amount we owe in state taxes is about $850, and the state of Maine is going to suck that amount out of my checking account on April 15th, so...hopefully the federal refund will have arrived in time to cover the state tax bill. I don’t mind paying taxes. I like having roads and schools and shit.

So...I’m just waiting for the casino job to start. I haven’t heard from them since a couple of days after they offered me the job. They said they wanted to move forward with the process (in other words, you got the job!) and they started the background check process, I had to get a pee test to make sure I’m not on heroin or cocaine or anything really fun, and I started filling out the 30-page gaming license application thingy. Had all that done in 48 hours. Then I emailed the HR person and said I was ready to bring in my shit and get it notarized, and was told to just hang tight while they do their thing, and they’d contact me. That was March 18, so...two and a half weeks ago, roughly, and I haven’t heard back. This has now become, for the second time in a row (Penquis did this, too.) a Schrodinger’s job. Maybe it exists, maybe it doesn’t, but the only way to find out which is to ask, and that may affect the outcome in a direction I don’t like. It’s hard to maintain aloof and cool and enigmatic when you’re sending an email saying, “Are y’all still hiring me or what?” My better course of action is to assume they’re working on it, because they usually are, it’s just that they’re doing lots of other stuff too, and it doesn’t behoove me to pester them about it. I’m thinking I’ll give it until the 3-week (since I last heard from them) mark, then I’ll email. Surely they didn’t find anything incriminating in my background or in my pee…? I haven’t experienced enough excitement in my life to have anything incriminating in my background or my urine.

All this means that, despite the fact that nothing is really happening yet, it’s a much busier and more eventful state of boredom than ever before. Not vaccinated yet, but I’m about to be. About to get a bill for $850, should probably be able to cover it. Got a job, but...only kinda, and I don’t know when it starts yet. Our most exciting recent purchases were: Zach got a blender so we could make smoothies, and I got an electric can opener, because the manual, hand-crank can opener we were using stopped working. Then the battery powered can opener I got to replace it didn’t work worth a shit. Now we have one that plugs in, like the real grownups use, and we can resume our lives as test pilots, with broad shoulders and big balls, living life in the fast lane. Actually, the can opener is nice, because Zach’s hands don’t work very well (we’re thinking he’s got carpal tunnel pretty bad) and mine are starting to work less well. (I assume because I’m OLD and I’m entering the arthritic period of my life.) Seems like modern can openers recognize when they’ve opened the can completely, and stop automatically. I expect this will come in handy in case I begin to open a can and fall asleep before it’s through.

So, for the next week, I’m going to formulate a plan to contact the casino, to ask them if I’m still to be employed by them, while retaining my suave, enigmatic idiom. I’ll get my first vaccination shot on Tuesday morning, after which I assume...nothing will change, because I still need the second shot, and Zach still needs both of his, and we still need face masks. It’s okay, though, because it seems like the shit’s actually happening now. We might actually be able to start seeing our friends again within the next month or so, and maybe eat at a restaurant again, or see a movie in a theater. I, for one, could use a professional haircut.

Oh, you’d mentioned sending a six-part movie? Yes, I’d certainly love to watch it! And thank you in advance!

I will surely have more news by next week, whether it’s about the job, or my trip to Wal-Mart for my Fauci Ouchie. In the meantime, I hope y’all have a very good Easter, and I hope you got your grocery shopping done yesterday, like we should have! All my love to you both!