#only it being a cop isn't really true

[lord-squiggletits]

"Rodimus is a better Prime because it didn't hurt for him to bond with the Matrix while for Optimus it did" headcanon/theory my beloathed.

One day I'm literally gonna snap and make a whole post addressing why what's wrong bc I'm tired of the inaccuracy and tired of ppl not understanding the Point TM of IDW and its version of the Matrix/Primacy and even more tired of people putting down Optimus in favor of Rodimus by essentially arguing that being unworthy means you deserve to be punished/put in pain bc you just weren't good enough to hold the Symbol of Ultimate Authority

[peony-always]

Dial Drunk

wolverine/logan howlett x afab!reader

words - 4k

tags: dp&w!Logan, damsel(ish)!reader, angst angst angst (he has so much potential as a sad wet tomcat), feelings (Logan isn't good at them), use of alcohol, canon-typical violence, !attempted assault!, implied assault

quick an: this is my first full fic!! the ghost of Logan's past hovered over my shoulder as I wrote this, loosely based on Dial Drunk by Noah Kahan but it's more of just an inspiration border creds to @/bunnysrph

Logan was pissed. Furious. He was so overwhelmingly angry with himself that his claws had extended and for a while, he couldn’t retract them. He finally got them to slide back under his skin when the cop standing outside his holding cell door threatened to put him in with the general population if he didn’t put his ‘weapons’ away.

That was the last thing he needed right now. He was already on edge, and being surrounded by people who hated him just for who he was would probably be his last straw. He sighed, slumping back against the dirty concrete wall behind him. He rubbed his temples, taking a few deep breaths to calm his once again rising anger.

He understood why he was in that stupid cell. Bar fights were enough to get a normal person arrested for being drunk and disorderly, but cops were always especially ready to arrest a mutant. He hated that he had let his animalistic side get him here, proving them right about how dangerous he was, but he could only take so much of that stupid guy in the booth behind him spewing ant-mutant hatred right in his face.

“Damn liquor,” Logan thought to himself as his head continued to throb. That in and of itself was enough to make him upset, as he was typically so well acquainted with alcohol that it never got to him. Tonight, however, he had drunk way more than usual, throwing back shots in the dingy bar a few blocks from his apartment as quickly as the bartender could pour them up.

The idiotic man he had beaten at the bar wasn’t the true cause of his anger though. That honor fell to his stupid, stupid brain. It was after the cops had wrangled him and shoved him into their stuffy, too-small cruiser that Logan had made his infuriating error.

The driving officer, a short and stocky man with a pudgy face, had looked back at him from the rearview mirror and said,” The guy you were fightin’, George, he ain’t gonna press charges on ya. He’s in and outta the lockup every other week, and he ain’t gonna be lookin’ for any more trouble than he’s already in. Plus, I think you’re more of a danger to yourself than to anybody else, goin’ around that drunk. You ain’t caused any trouble before, but we still gotta bring you in. Procedure, ya know. Got anybody you want us to call to pick ya up?”

Logan hadn’t even thought about it before your name came spilling from his lips. He hadn’t even realized what he said until they arrived at the jail and the pudgy cop pulled him from the back seat. “Her? Really?” the cop said, suspicion heavy in his voice. “She babysits my kids on the weekends, didn’t know she associated with drunk fighters like you.”

Logan snarled on instinct as he heard the inherent prejudice in the cop's voice before he realized who the cop was talking about. ‘No,’, he thought. ‘God, no.’ He hadn’t seen you in months, and he hadn’t been planning on seeing you ever again. He didn’t know why he didn’t tell the cop he wanted to change his call. He could have gotten him to phone Wade or Laura, they would have picked him up in a heartbeat. 

Maybe he didn’t say anything because he wanted to see you, to make sure you were okay after the long months you had spent apart. Or maybe he was just still drunk, forgetting the past and wanting you to take him home with you, to let him have his seat on the couch while he sobered up, drinking your fruity teas and eating the sickeningly sweet cookies you always bought from the local bakery. “Too much sugar and you’ll rot your teeth out,” he’d tell you with a lopsided smile, knowing how you’d respond. Every time he said it you’d prance up to him and poke a finger into his chest, grinning,” You’re already so sweet that my teeth ache, so what does more sugar hurt?” And then you’d lean up, pecking him on the lips as you move to go back to your tasks. 

His heart ached as that memory resurfaced and his head fell to join his back against the unforgiving chill of the cell wall. He tried to fight it (no he didn’t), but his drink-addled brain was unable to stop the memories of you from flooding back into his system.

Your first meeting, a year ago that felt more like ten since you had left. Logan had been stalking his way down the street, huffing and puffing, pissed at Wade for inviting people over and blaring music when he had known that day was Logan’s only day off for two weeks. He had grabbed his jacket and stormed out into the chilly New York evening, turning left outside their apartment as he made his way toward the nearest bar. He craved a stiff drink, damn Wade and Laura had hidden all of the alcohol in the house from him. They told him he needed to dry out, and he did. He knew it as well as everyone else, but it was hard. After years of drowning his guilt and grief in drink, it made him nervous to let go, to face his days head-on instead of looking at them from the syrupy brown lens of his old friend whiskey.

It was on his way to the bar that he heard it. A muffled cry, the sound of flesh hitting concrete, a grunt of pain. He took off in the direction of the sound, his hyper-sensitive nose smelling the fear lacing the air the closer he got to a dingy alley two streets over. As he rounded the corner, he saw you. Your hands were bound behind your back and there was a gag stuffed in your mouth. Your eyes pled with Logan to save you as your attacker dragged you across the ground, mumbling and lurching back and forth as he pulled you along,” Stupid fuckin’ whore. Women. Always gettin’ in the way of what I deserve. Maybe I’ll put you in the dumpster when I’m done with you, let you rot with the flies.” 

Logan’s nostrils flared as he surged forward, yanking your leg from the man’s grip and pushing you further away as your attacker spun to face him. “What the-” was all the scumbag got out before Logan clocked him, knocking him out with one punch. He really wanted to keep beating on the guy, but his enhanced hearing had him turning toward you as you shuddered, whimpers escaping the gag as tears rolled down your face.

He held his hands up, approaching slowly and kneeling on the dirty ground in front of you and gently pulling the gag from your mouth as you squeezed your eyes shut. You let out shuddering sobs as he reached around you to loosen your bindings, careful not to touch you more than he had to. He had experienced more than his fair share of trauma, and he knew how hard it could be to have someone be so close to you when you were going through it, so he made sure to lean back as soon as he had freed you.

However, you immediately proved his assumption wrong. You slumped down against him, your hands fisting his t-shirt as you sniffled and coughed. “Thank-thank you.” you stuttered as you tried to calm yourself. “Thank you so, so much.” Logan tentatively reached around you to pat your back,” You’re welcome, bub. Just doin’ what needed to be done.” As his hand tapped out a soothing beat against your back, you felt yourself begin to come down from the adrenaline rush of almost being kidnapped. You thought back to the man’s ugly words, sniffling again as you whispered, “He was going to kill me.”

Logan bristled immediately, his hand coming to a halt on your back. “Never would have let that happen, ya hear me. I’d have heard ya from a mile away,” he grunted and gently stood to his feet, pulling you up with him. 

“You live close?” he asked.

“Yes,” you replied. “Just down the street.”

He finally got a good look at you, and by God were you pretty. Even with bits of gravel leaving red divots in your cheeks and your eyes watery with tears, you were among the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. He shook himself out of his daze as you took a deep breath and started walking shakily down the street. He tried to stay close but not too close as you walked, following behind you and scenting the air for any more threats. He sure as hell didn’t want to put you through anything else tonight.

The two of you walked in silence until you finally stopped, turning to face Logan as you stood outside the lobby door of your apartment complex. You managed a slight smile as you looked up at him, “I’m sorry that I’m not inviting you in,” you said. “It’s just that this evening has been hellish and I’d like to be alone.”

Logan shook his head, stepping back, “No, no, I understand, I’ll be-”. You cut him off,” Come tomorrow around noon. I’ll treat you to coffee for saving me.” You said this forcefully, almost demanding him to do as you said. It shocked Logan, and a small smile made it’s way onto his lips. “Yes, ma’am.” You thanked him one more time and headed into your building, leaving Logan standing outside, staring at the doors, more curious about you than he had been about anyone in a good long while. 

He did show up the next day, letting you take him to a quaint cafe and buy him a coffee, plain black, which you teased him for. You spent what felt like hours asking him questions and telling him about yourself, and it felt so right, so natural for both of you. Just being there with you was enough to take Logan’s mind off of the things that haunted him, solely focused on your beautiful face and animated expression.

When you realized you had been yapping at this near-stranger for almost 3 hours, you figured it was time to go, gathering your trash and standing up, blush heating up your cheeks. “Thank you again,” you said. “For saving me last night and for letting me talk your ear off today.” Logan flashed you a small smile, tilting his head slightly, “How about the same time tomorrow then? My treat.”

He watched your face light up and thought to himself that he’d go broke buying you coffee if you’d just keep looking at him that way. You quickly agreed, telling him that you’d definitely be there if he wouldn’t mind you being a little late, as work was a little further than your apartment. 

And so it began, the two of you had gotten closer and closer, until a random Tuesday when you blurted out that you wanted to be his girlfriend, if he’d have you. After teasing you about your blush, he of course agreed, claiming that you had been his girlfriend for weeks and you had just noticed. 

You brought him around to your place, where you cooked with him, watched all your favorite movies, and made love. He brought you around to his place, too. You met Wade and Al, which prompted the discussion about his mutation and history. You took everything in stride, reassuring Logan that his past changed nothing, that you were still his if he was still yours. He found a job at a local community college, taking training classes and becoming one of the campus security officers. He quit drinking so much, instead relying on your perfectly brewed cups of coffee to get him through the day, only having a drink or two after work if you were feeling like it.

Logan had never been happier. It was like you were made for him. He took care of you and in turn, you soothed his battered soul. No one had ever touched him with the tenderness that you did, no one ever made him feel as good as you. His existence had become pure bliss and he felt he finally had a purpose again. 

Your lives went on this way for a year and three months, until, just like with every other good thing he had ever had, he ruined it. 

Logan had come to your place before you got off work, aiming to surprise you with dinner after you had complained of a particularly hard week. He had just stepped through the door when he stopped cold, smelling that someone was here, or had been here recently. It wasn’t a scent he recognized, and he prowled through the apartment, checking every room thoroughly for an intruder. When he found no one, he made his way back to the kitchen, still uneasy.

It was there that he saw the papers on the counter, one neat little stack that would change his life. He moved the blank paper on top and a chill shot up his spine. It was a photo of you, taken when he was sure you thought no one was watching. It showed you through the window of your apartment, a soft smile on your face as you put on a coat over your work uniform. He could even make out the locket around your neck that he had given you for your anniversary. 

He moved on to the next pages, letters detailing your entire life, down to how much your water bill had been that month. 

It was the second to last page that sealed his fate, his name next to a summons, a set of coordinates he was to come to or they would kill you. He quickly thought to himself that he could protect you from anyone who tried to hurt you, then immediately realized that that wasn’t the kind of life he had wanted to give you, always on the run and afraid for your life. No, he would have to end things with you and go take care of this mess himself. It broke him to think of hurting you in the way that he would be required to. You were so resilient, so passionate, and stubborn when it came to him. He would have to destroy all of that to get you to leave him alone.

And so, he sat down in the living room and waited, tucking the papers into his jacket so you wouldn’t see them. Dread filled his bones, dragging him down into the couch and he thought he might not make it out of your apartment alive.

It wasn’t much later when he heard the front door open, your lively humming filling his ears and making him feel so much worse. He stayed seated as you made your way through the apartment, shedding your bag and coat as you went.

“Oh, Lo! You scared me!” you said as you saw him, your hand going to your chest in mock shock. “What are you doing here before me?”

Logan swallowed and spoke, trying not to let his voice shake,”We need to talk.”

Your smile dropped instantly and you moved toward him, balking when he held a hand up to stop you. “Lo, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”

The look on your face was killing him, so he looked away as he spoke,”I want to break up.”

You sank down to your knees, squinting as you tried to get him to meet your eyes,” What? Lo, what happened? I promise we can figure it out together. You’ve just got to tell me what’s wro-”

“I cheated,” he said, cutting you off. “I don’t want to be with you anymore. I want to be with her.” As soon as he said it, he knew if he could just convince you that he had really broken your trust that way, you’d be done with him.

You laughed slightly, awkwardly,” Logan, that’s not funny. You shouldn’t say things like that. Did I do something wrong or make you mad? I’m sorry for whatever I did, but you really shouldn’t lie.”

The look on your face was almost enough to break his resolve, but the need to protect you won out over his impending grief, “I’m not joking. I’m done with this relationship and I’m done with you. I've found something better.” He felt so wrong saying those words, knowing you feared that you weren’t good enough for him.

“Lo-Logan, please, we can work this out. I can do better, I can be better if you’ll just tell me what you need that I’m not giving you. Please.”

You reached out and grabbed his sleeve, your expression pleading. Logan felt his heart that you had mended shatter back into a million pieces, standing up and ripping his sleeve from your grasp.

“Are you stupid?” he asked, injecting as much venom into his voice as he could. “I said I don’t want you anymore. I don’t want you stupid food, or your stupid gifts, or your pathetic love. I’m done. Do you hear me? Get it through your thick skull and stay away from me. I never want to see you again.” He turned away from you as he walked toward the door, stomping over his heart on the way.

He shook you off again as you grabbed his pant leg, still on your knees on the floor. Your voice warbled as you begged.  “Logan, baby, please,” you cried. “I can change I swear. I can be whatever you need. Just please don’t leave me. You’re my whole life. You make me so happy. I can’t-I can’t do it without you. Please.”

He risked one glance back at you, telling himself he needed to see your face one more time to remind himself why he was leaving. The sight of you on the floor, tears pouring down your cheeks, was killing him. He should have known that he couldn’t have you, that something would force him to leave, but he had foolishly hoped that he could spite whatever higher power kept hurting him by keeping you.

“Don’t come around,” he spat with as much vitriol as he could muster. “I won’t contact you, and you don’t contact me. Let’s make this as easy for you as possible. Just forget I ever existed.”

He didn’t look back again, didn’t watch you weep as you began to mourn what you thought would be forever, knowing you could never stop loving him, even now that he hated you.

Logan groaned, leaning forward against his knees as he came back to himself, his heart aching as painfully as it had when he had lived it the first time. After he had left you, he had gone to the coordinates on the papers he had taken from the apartment. They led to a rural town in Quebec, a place he couldn’t remember but felt like he had been before. There, he met up with a gang of mutant hunters who believed that somehow the universe’s Logan had come back from the dead. They tried to kill him again and threatened him with more violence toward you if he didn’t die willingly. Fat chance. Logan was a newly hollow man and had no qualms about tracking and slaughtering every one of the mutant hunters so that his kind could live in a semblance of peace. 

He stayed up north for a while, squatting in an abandoned cabin and letting his instincts rule him. That was better than having his every waking thought be filled with how he had left you broken on your living room floor, believing that he had betrayed you.

Eventually, he went back to Vancouver. Somehow, his job let him come back, and Wade didn’t pester him with questions (probably because Logan had almost bitten his head off after he asked the second one).

He had considered going to your apartment now that the threat against you was handled, but he knew that as soon as he found happiness with you he’d have to leave again. It was for your own good, really. He wanted you to be happy, and you couldn’t be happy if Logan was constantly walking out on you.

So he went to work and started drinking heavily again, which had led him to the inside of a holding cell, coming to terms with the fact that he would be there all night.

As soon has he had laid down on the hard metal bench he had been sat on for hours, he heard footsteps approaching. He turned his head and watched the cop approach, fully expecting him to say that you had hung up as soon as you heard what they were asking of you. Maybe you hadn’t even answered and Logan would get another call. 

What he didn’t expect, however, was for the cop to swing the cell door open and grunt at him, motioning for him to get up. Logan quirked up a brow as he stood, “Is it chow or somethin’?” he asked. The cop chuckled, “You sure you’d rather eat the slop they serve here than leave with the pretty little lady that came to get you? She signed your papers, so you’re good to go. And please, don’t come back.”

Logan almost stumbled as he processed what the cop had said, his mind racing as he sniffed the air. 

You.

You were here, close. Your scent was so strong. Logan’s heart clenched. He truly believed he would never smell you again, the sweet musk of your skin paired with your perfume. He slowly turned, and there you were.

You were soaking wet, your hair drenched and your mascara slightly smudged, a jean jacket falling from your shoulders. Something was wrong, though. You were hunched over yourself, almost cowering in his presence. Your hands shook as you pulled your jacket further up your arms. Logan would have thought nothing of it and assumed you were just cold if you scent hadn’t changed. He could smell fear on you, a fear he hadn’t come into contact with since the night you met.

You turned and started walking toward the jailhouse door, glancing over your shoulder to make sure Logan was following you. He caught up to you in a couple strides, staying slightly behind you to give you your space. All he wanted was to reach out and touch you, to hold you in his arms again, but he resisted. On one hand, he was immensely grateful that you had come to get him. On the other hand, he felt so guilty that you had come to save someone who had broken your heart.

The two of you walked out into the rain, Logan still following you. You led him to a small car, one that you hadn’t had when he left you. He didn’t move as you rounded the car to get in, assuming he’d walk back to Wade’s from there.

“Get in, Logan,” you said quietly. 

He took a deep breath as he opened the passenger seat and got in, leaning forward so as to get as little water on your seats as possible. “Thank you,” he said. “Really, you didn’t have to come get me. I don’t even know why I gave them your name. I’ve just had too much to drink and-”

It was only then that you turned to face him, your face illuminated softly in the hazy light from the lamps lining the street. He scanned your face, his blood running cold as he saw your black eye and split lip, your eyes bright red with shed tears. “Logan,” you said, cutting him off. You took a deep, shaky breath, “We need to talk.”

[jonathanrogersartist]

How 'The Acolyte' Disappointed Me, and Why the Themes of 'Star Wars' Matter

Someone recently commented on my 'On the Dark Side, the Jedi and the Moral Decay of Star Wars' essay with these words: 

"A lot of words for saying 'I don't like the newer media, but I won't get into specifics as to why.'"

Okay! I shall then finally clarify those specifics....

That first essay has, so far, been my biggest success on this blog, and it's attracted a number of interesting responses. Full disclosure: I wrote that fresh off the heels of feeling depressed over how the Acolyte ended, and after reading/listening to several of Leslye Headland's interviews, where she went into great detail about her ideas behind the show's choices, the themes she's trying to get across, and what personal baggage she brings to Star Wars. 

Why was I depressed?

Because the show's finale ended with the deeply problematic implication that Osha, by killing Sol and joining Qimir, has achieved true self-actualization. As Leslye herself put it, it's a 'positive corruption arc.' Interesting way to phrase it. 

Furthermore, Vernestra's actions that frame Sol for several murders, all to protect her own reputation, and to avoid oversight by the Senate, confirmed one of the things that I was really worried this show would do as soon as we began learning plot details, which is that it's leaning into this very persistent edgelord take that the Jedi are actually big ol' bastards not worth seeing as heroes. 

It's the Dave Filoni gospel of the Jedi Order as a morally broken and fundamentally hypocritical institution, a decaying monument to religious hubris, who brought about their own destruction with their arrogance and so-called rejection of emotion making them lack empathy. 

This is, as many of my followers know already, a giant misreading of George's storyline in the prequels, and what he was actually telling us about the Jedi's philosophy and code. And in my experience, it gets us some vicious pushback when we try to inform fans of it, even if we back it up with proof of George's words. 

George really did intend the Jedi to be the ultimate example of what a brave, wise, and all-loving hero should be, and are very specifically inspired by Buddhist monks. They do not 'repress emotions': they learn to regulate their emotions, so as to not let the negative ones feed the Dark Side, and they have the moral fortitude to focus on their spiritual duty. They're professionals that have dedicated themselves to a higher calling, and who still feel and display the same emotions we all feel, unless I watched very different movies from everyone else. We see that Jedi characters can still crack jokes, cry when they are sad, become scared or anxious, feel strong love and loyalty to their peers, and can even be righteously angry in some situations BUT always knowing when to pull back.

The Jedi of the prequels were victims of manipulation by Palpatine, and were caught in between a rock-and-a-hard-place with the Clone War, and they were ultimately destroyed not by their own actions, but by the treachery of Anakin Skywalker, who failed to overcome his own flaws because he refused to really follow the Jedi teachings, and was gaslit by Palpatine for decades on top of that. 

Leslye's take on Star Wars, based on how she wrote the story of the Acolyte, is that "yup, the Jedi were doomed to destroy themselves by being hypocritical and tone-deaf space cops," and she also outright compared them to the Catholic Church (this reeks of Western bias and misunderstanding of Eastern religions). The one that really stunned me, was when she said she designed Qimir to be her own mouthpiece for the experience of being queer and suppressed, who isn't allowed to just be her authentic self in a restrictive world. Which, to me, implies that Leslye wanted to depict the Dark Side as actually a misunderstood path to self-actualization that the Jedi, in keeping with their dogma of repressing emotions, only smear as 'evil.' 

Let me remind you all: Qimir is officially referred to as a Sith Lord, by Manny Jacinto, by Leslye, etc. And what are the Sith, exactly? 

Space fascists. Intergalactic superpowered terrorists. Dark wizard Nazi-coded wannabe dictators, whose ideology is of might-makes-right, survival of the fittest, and the pursuit of power for power's sake. To depict followers of this creed as an analogy for marginalized people who have literally been targeted and murdered throughout history BY the real-life inspirations for the Sith.... I find revolting and tone-deaf by Leslye. 

SO.... seeing how that show ended, and reading up on how Leslye intended it to be interpreted (Osha's 'triumph' over the 'toxic paternalism' of Sol/the Jedi in general), really put me in a funk, because deep down, I could just sense that this was not at all compatible with the ethos of Star Wars. It made me go on a deep-dive into the BTS of the writing of the prequels and George's ideas about the Jedi, and it's how I discovered the truth that Dave Filoni has been pretty egregiously misrepresenting George's themes for several years now, usurping George's words with his own personal fanfic about the motivations of characters like Anakin, or Qui-Gon, or the Jedi Council, etc. 

His influence on the franchise has caused this completely baseless take on the Jedi to become so widespread as to rewrite history for modern fans. Who are utterly convinced now that this anti-Jedi messaging WAS George's vision all along, and they get real mad at you if you show them actual proof of that being a lie. 

And the Acolyte is perpetuating this twisting of the very core of Star Wars. This is what I meant by the 'moral decay of Star Wars.' 

The Star Wars saga was made by George Lucas in 1977 to accomplish these specific tasks: 

To remind people of what it really means to be good.

What evil actually looks like, and how it comes from our fears and greed.

To teach kids how to grow up and choose the right path that will make them loving, brave, honest people that stand up to tyrants.

To give the world a story that returns to classic mythological motifs and is fundamentally idealistic, to defy the uptick in cynical and nihilistic storytelling after the scandals of Vietnam and Watergate broke Americans' belief in there being such a thing as actual heroes anymore. 

THAT is the soul of Star Wars. That is what George meant for this remarkably creative universe to say with its storytelling. But I sincerely think that what the Acolyte told, was that morality is relative, the heroes of this saga are actually bastards, the fascist death-cult is misunderstood, and a young woman being gaslit into joining said death-cult is a triumphant girlboss moment. When it actually comes across as the tragedy of a broken person choosing the wrong path that will only make her miserable, full of hatred and powerlust, and hurt innocent people along the way. 

The Acolyte betrayed one of George's most critical lessons: that the Dark Side ruins people, and if you want to truly become your best self, you must choose the path of Light, and the Jedi are the ones who have best mastered that path. So if the future of Star Wars is to continue framing the Jedi and their teachings as some corrupt and immoral system that is making the galaxy worse, then I would rather stick to rewatching the classic scripture of Episode 1-6. George wrote a complete and satisfying story, that is thematically consistent, and in my opinion should have been allowed to rest. 

I will not hate on new fans that love the new material, but I will pity them if they really think any of this is actually faithful to George's vision (they may very well simply not care, either, which troubles me too), and I am afraid of a show like Acolyte teaching young people to see the Jedi's philosophy as wrong, and the Sith as having a point. 

(P.S. I have a moral duty to clarify this, given the discourse around the show: No, this is not a problem with 'wokeness,' or diversity, or representation; that side of the fandom is very sick in the head and not to be taken seriously. 

It's a problem with Leslye's themes and tastes as a storyteller, being fundamentally against the ethos of Star Wars and how it soured the entire show in hindsight for me... a show that I was actually really liking, before the finale dropped its thematic nuke.)

[kinkymagnus]

Ever thought about reversing things, making Alec the warlock and Magnus the shadowhunter? And then thought about all the kinds of sexy magic Alec could use on his shadowhunter love?

Like, I love Magnus with magic. The way his twists his wrists and wiggles his fingers and ... he is just so graceful in his movements when magicking around. But, sometimes I think about the reverse as well, and,... yeah...

ok im gonna be real i actually despise swap aus. not really sure why but i hate them a bit

[goodolreliablejake]

I remember reading a review of Disco Elysium back when it first came out that analyzed the Union something along the lines of "the game isn't as clever as it thinks it is by making the union members the corrupt bad guys, which would have been a tired subversion years ago."

And it just makes me think that Evrart and Manana are so clever that they even fool a lot of the players. At the risk of stating the obvious at this point, these two know exactly how to use society's prejudice to their advantage. Reminds me of two great pieces of advice from two great tricksters:

"Don't forget what you are. The World will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used against you" from Tyrion Lannister, and Mr. Wednesday's insistence that the easiest person to fool is someone who thinks they're clever.

How does Evrart manage to keep tabs on everyone and everything in Martinaise, despite being cloistered and immobile? Surely it's not that he's stationed his smartest lieutenant at a perch that gives him a bird's eye view of the entire district directly adjacent to the office and telephone--after all, that's just a lazy Mesque, a rootless Boiadeiro who believes in nothing but self-interest.

Then you take one look at Evrart--this fat, disabled man with a lazy eye and a slimy disposition. No one would believe he's a hero. He wants you to feel clever for seeing through his lies; he wants you to hate him. After all, aren't fat, disabled people greedy and lazy? The powers that be can control a man who wants to line his pockets: literally, controlled opposition. A man like that only speaks of seizing the means of production as an empty promise--hot air--because to do more would be a dangerous, idealistic proposition, of greater benefit to the line worker than the union leader skimming off the top.

I think there are really only two moments that we get a picture of the real Evrart: in his moment of triumph after seizing the docks from Joyce--and in Easy Leo's story of the two brothers who protected him in school.

You can't trust a word Evrart or Manana say, but that's not because they're corrupt, it's because they're true believers dedicated to the cause, and they're talking to a cop.

[charlietheepicwriter7]

Always a man, a city, and a lighthouse...

"Robin, Red Robin, stay back for a minute," Batman said as he dismissed everyone for patrol. "I have a new mission for you. Dozens of civilians have gone missing around the decommissioned Gotham City Lighthouse." A few clicks and the Batcomputer displayed a map of the Upper West Side, a highlight on the lighthouse. "I want you both to investigate the building. Everyone who's gone missing entered the lighthouse, but nothing has been found by the police. I suspect that the lighthouse is being used for gun smuggling, but we need more information.

"That's where you two come in."

Or, I've been reading too much of @virgamsysxvolumes 's Lucky Rush AU, and wanted a true Bioshock AU for dc x dp.

Underneath the city, in the vast and endless caverns beneith Gotham, lies the subterranean city of Amity. Amity was the pet project of the mad scientist couple, the Drs. Fenton, to investigate the effects of ectoplasm on humans, but with the help of their best friend, Vlad Masters, they transformed Amity into a Technocracy City filled with scientists, and completely lacking in morals.

Or at least, that's how it was ten years ago, before the creation of Plasm (the Adam replacement), a neon green goo that's basically meth that gives you superpowers. Everyone from the top scientists to the lower working class starting doping on Plasm, which gave people the ability to control fire, create hallucinogenic spores, summon bats, etc. Vlad, the mayor, was deposed in a cue let by the Fentons and the city descended into anarchy, with people from the surface getting lured down from the lighthouse so they can continue their experiments.

The Fentons are 100% not good people in this. Jack is in charge of all the technological advances in Amity, while Maddie has created human/ghost hybrids--the Little Sisters of the story--that can naturally harvest ectoplasm from dead bodies to use for experiments. Once everyone's hooked on Plasm, the Little Sisters are in danger from acting Splicers, so she creates Big Daddies to protect them.

Danny is the only Little Brother, and Jazz is the only Big Sister. Vlad turned them both into monsters as revenge against the Fentons for the cue, but the couple didn't really care, with Jack barely acknowledging he has children, and Maddie acting like they were never turned into monsters to begin with. Not sure about ages... Jazz is probably the same as her canon age, but if Danny is still 14, he looks 10, tiny and malnourished and pale.

Tim and Damian are trapped in Amity after an automatic system determines them as good test subjects. The AI filters out any cops, so that's why the police never found anything. The elavator brings them down into the city, showing a sweeping shot of neon in the darkness of the caves, and the boys figure out pretty quickly something is blocking their calls.

Tim gets super injured early on. I think, a Jack Fenton booby trap (that exclaims that it's a Jack Fenton Booby Trap moments before activating, which should be funny, but isn't when death lasers are being launched at him.). Damian gets captured, and that's when Tim is contacted by Vlad, who is our Atlas stand in for the game, only Tim immediately realizes that this man is sketchy af.

But unfortunately, in order to rescue Damian, Tim has to splice himself with Plasm. Maybe its for fire-wielding, or telekinesis but Tim can't get to wherever Damian is being held and, while torn, splices himself to save Damian.

Damian was kidnapped because his exposure to Lazirus Waters made a Big Daddy think he was a Little Sister, so it brought him back to the Casper Academy, which is where Little Sisters drop their harvests off in the care of William Lancer. Lancer looks after the girls because Maddie Fenton is too busy, but it's against his will despite him caring for them all. He's trapped in the building, can't leave or he dies. He's actually relieved to know that Vlad is still alive and trusts him, because to Lancer he was just a good mayor who was overthrown and the Fentons are the real bad guys, just look what they did to their kids!

This is where the batkids first learn about Danny and Jazz, although they don't meet them until a while after this. Danny actually ends up being the one leaving Plasm out for Tim every time he rescues a Little Sister. (Sidenote, they end up killing people while in Amity. While both do have death counts, the problem with Amity is that they have to use stronger and stronger levels of force to get people to go down, leading them to escalating and killing quite a few).

Lancer points them to communications to get their comms working again, and that area is run by Damon Grey.

At some point after comms are back on, the two learn that Red Hood actually came in after them after hours of no communication and has been captured by Maddie Fenton, who intends to turn him into a Big Daddy.

In late story, it's revealed that Jack Fenton was murdered before the cue even happened, and that the Jack Fenton they'd been communicating with the entire time was an AI assistant created by living Jack to keep his work going. The cue was actually retaliation from Maddie and the Jack AI for murdering Jack.

The story would eventually end with Tim, Damian, and Jason freeing all the Little Sisters along with Danny and Jazz.

[vampirae]

Astrology Observations

I've seen many people saying that air mars are less likely to be aggressive or getting physical in a fight, in part it's true but not all. Gemini mars will say hurtful things or straight up ridicule you that you'll need weeks to recover from it. Aquarius mars will shout and be so damn aggressive in their speech that you'll get immediately afraid of them, the type to really make you consider calling cops on them. I mean you could do, they wouldn't fucking care, they're here to cause drama. Meanwhile Libra mars, oh damn, if they're angry af, they wouldn't ponder, they'll straight up punch you the face. This happens because of their cardinal nature, which essence is dynamic, action oriented, starting up things. They can and would get physical, and really really scary.

Libra mars values peace, but people mistake them and their intentions to maintain it. If you need to slap some bitch to achieve some balance or calmness they would do it. Even through war you can achieve peace, not only by being tolerant and comprehensive or bottling up rage.

About cardinal mars, they're the most dangerous, you should really be afraid to anger them. When they're angry, they're so focused on their feelings that they don't see anything else or don't think about consequences. Also they're the least to get angry, except in youth, or aries mars. You think a Cancer, Libra or Capricorn mars wouldn't beat the shit out of you? Or wouldn't think about murdering you brutally? They can and would do it, if they lose control over themselves.

Furthermore, they have a such exciting and sensual nature, they need intimacy on daily basis and could get even really offended if they're advances are being refused or if you don't satisfy their needs. Really sluty bitches.

Also the types to get into BDSM, usually great Switches or Doms.

Honorable mention is Scorpio mars, another sluty placement, though they perform well in all BDSM roles. Also need a lot of intimacy, to the point they may get crazy or overworked if they don't get it, it's even more frustrating if they have feelings for someone or a partner. They just need to feel like they're drowned in pleasure or they will go crazy. Great partner if you look for someone wild but loyal, basically the best babyboy/master/babygirl/mistress. A big off for them, I've noticed is ménage a trois, orgy, and whatever implies changing partner. They don't love the idea of sharing their sexual energy with people they hold no interest/feelings.

All cancer men placements love boobies, not only venus or mars. Also it's not always about an abundant bust, it's also about the color, how firm they are, the form etc. They take into account so many details lol

Meanwhile libra placements men look for the booty, in this case you have to not be plain. It's not about big booty too, just to have some, they even like smaller booty too but well shaped.

Taurus mars men can be pretty libertine, sometimes even cheaters. They just enjoy attention from others, and are kinda "generous" with their dick. Similar to Sagittarius mars.

Now changing subject, there's a big debate about which of the big 3 it's the real you, well from what I've noticed it's pretty easy to spot. You have to consider your rising as the most important because without it you even wouldn't have houses etc. It's literally your life path, the choice you'll do, how you'll act etc. Literally this mf isn't only about how sexy or beautiful you're it's about how you'll fuck up your life or how you'll succeed. Plus you have to consider if you have more masculine or feminine signs in your big 3. Let's say you have your sun and moon in masculine signs but your rising in a feminine sign, what will happen? Easy, you'll be reserved, shy, you need your time to get to know people but you can dwell well in social situations and could easily make friends or gain sympathies.

Stelliums also make a huge impact, the more planets you have in a sign the stronger the impact will be, even more if you have personal planets in. So about the aforementioned topic, look at your rising sign, at your stellium sign + the feminine or masculine sign of your big 3 and Stellium. Let's say your big 3, you have a majority of masculine signs but you have a stellium in a feminine sign, how will you act? Easy, you'll try to maintain a balance or just go in cycles, one period you're the hot bitch running the show and then start your sexy mysterious hermit era.

I know that polarities (yin/yang) aren't talked about that much, but they have a huge impact on your personality, exactly like dominant modalities, elements etc.

[the-alarm-system]

Anti-Endos are not your Enemy

No, I'm not making this to say that endo systems shouldn't defend themselves from them when they are attacked(they have the whole right to) but I'm saying that actively going after anti-endos is very pointless and heres why:

Anti Endos have NO REAL SYSTEMIC POWER. They are not an enemy, they are an obstacle that we can choose to ignore when it comes to real and true activism. I think it's valid to mention them every now and then, as I would be a hypocrite if I didnt think that lol, but to make them the main target of your plural activism is just not efficient. The only ability they have is to separate the community even more, so if we were to ignore them and go after a larger target they are just another system that's being exploited by THE system. Personally in my practice, I found it better to give them compassion rather than do our best to hurt them. Many, not all, anti-endos are CDD systems projecting their pain onto others because of feelings of brokenness that were perpetuated by the psychiatric system, trauma, and constant plural stigma.

Here's the thing, even if we do not share beliefs, NONE OF US HAVE SYSTEMIC POWER AS SYSTEMS. To CDD systems; You're another insane person in the eyes of others. To Endogenic systems; You're another insane person in the eyes of others.

SINGLET NORMATIVE SOCIETY HATES ALL OF US

YES EVEN YOU, THE ONE WHO ENDURED THE WORST FUCKING TRAUMA OF ALL TIME, SINGLET SOCIETY HATES US TOO

We are not real to singlet normative society, we are all fakers and you calling endogenic systems fakers isn't going to make you any more real to them. While we sit here arguing about anothers validity, there are professionals with actual SYSTEMIC POWER arguing that DID isn't even a real thing in the first place. There are cops and psychiatrists stuffing plurals into prisons or psych wards because we are viewed as DANGEROUS TO SOCIETY. There are plurals that are dying because being plural in a singlet-normative society is intrinsically dangerous no matter your fucking origin.

Anti-Endos are not real enemies, they're in fact insignificant to the movement because nobody believes them either. Yes even the most harmful ones like aspen, do you really think singlets believe they're real? No, aspen is as fucking nonexistent as the rest of us in the eyes of psychiatry and singlets. Defend yourselves of course, but remember who your true enemy is. It's not another system.

Signed Ardyn

[sunflowerandstrawberryspice]

CARMEN SANDIEGO? In 2024? It's more likely thank you think! Please excuse the shit quality for some reason I wasn't allowed to upload the normal pdf and I had to upload a fucking screenshot???

So my friend convinced me to watch Carmen Sandiego and since he's watching ALL of Ninjago for me I thought it was the least I could do to watch four season of a show with a pretty decent concept but uh... yeesh, don't get me wrong the show is really fun but lord have mercy does it have problems especially the last two seasons which were just so wildly disappointing to me. It went from a show with an interesting look on morals to pure pro-cop and mostly black and white thinking so quick (that not mentioning the breaking up a found family full of people with abandonment issues) it was honestly just so disappointing so me and the friend who introduced it to me decided to rewrite it! (I will not be animating nor do I plan on doing more than MAYBE a comic or art piece here and there because my chronic pain ridden ass can not handle that much lol)

The main goals are to:

1) Flesh out characters that aren't Carmen and actually give them reactions based on their lived experiences and how they might realistically react instead of what the show needed to move the plot along

2) Having characters other than Carmen be actually relevant to the plot the main one being Chase Devineaux who we're gonna kind of have as a parallel to Carmen (trust me yall) as kind of a "What if Carmen didn't have her friends/family to ground her and fall back on" but for all the Chase fans out there (gods I hope there's some other than me) he will be getting a happy ending but bro is getting put through the RINGER first

3) Have both A.C.M.E (now standing for Administration for Containing and Monitoring Evil) and V.I.L.E be the bad guys. Also just as an extra bit of fun we're making VILE a full blown cult, they were very cult like in the show so we're just gonna make it one. Both are going to be very morally questionable and while it'll take a bit longer for ACME to show it's true colors don't you worry they definitely will ;)

4) We're doing canonical lgbtq+ rep, I know the show teased a lot of relationships and really only gave yall background gays not to say thats bad but we can do better than just a brief shot of a damn taco truck. I mean like come on in a story about a young woman going against the government for the greater good why not put some rep into it ya know!

5) We're making it light sci-fi, not like SUPER high tech but definitely beyond what we've got currently, as shown with Carmen's prosthetic, and don't worry I'm doing my research as a disabled person I know how it feels to be misrepresented or ignored so I want to make sure I'm being realistic

6) PLAYER ISN'T GOING TO BE A CHILD! I don't know if this bothered anybody else but to me it was really weird that this 16 year old's only friends were in their 20s!

Alright I think that's what I'm gonna say for now, I'd love it if yall tuned in for updates if your curious since this is a passion project for me and my friend and we're having a blast writing it!

As always I am still working on stuff for Ninjago cause I could never abandon my one true love, currently there's a Pixal drawing in progress (it's giving me hell T-T) something for Cole and Geo, and something of Sora MAYBE even Euphrasia if I'm feeling up to it.

Having said that I hope yall have a great day/night and PEACE OUT!

[acuteobserv4tion]

One of the reasons I love Elemental.

They literally never once in this entire movie ever said that "We're all the same." Never even hinted at it. The point was that the two main characters wanted to be together despite their fundamental differences.

There's literally 3 whole dedicated scenes about it. Where they touch for the first time. Where they talk about Ember's future. Where Wade tries one last time to reach out. I'm so confused why people just ignore this.

Everyone keeps saying it's "Zootopia dressed like Avatar" even though that's not true. It's that same type of thinking that left Dreamworks' Megamind in the dust after Illumination's Despicable Me came out. Just cause they both have a "bad guy" as the protagonist who "talks funny."

It's that same mindset that would have left Coco (2017) out to dry simply because Pixar's "Coco" and 20th Century Fox's "The Book of Life" (2014) both revolve around The Day of The Dead and the main characters like music. Yes, that was a thing.

Remember when people accused Coco of being a Book of Life Rip-off? It's like nobody cares about storytelling, development, execution, or any of that stuff.

This movie isn't black and white rascism like Zootopia. Elemental focuses on immigration. It focuses on sacrifice. It focuses on family. It focuses on preserving culture. And it focuses on love.

It's not a girl trying "to make the world a better place" or a cop case. There's no main villain. Prejudice is just a part of their life. It's just something they have to deal with. And they also appreciate each other's differences.

Another thing that I see pop up again and again and again is, "How are they touching?" "That ruins the rascism allegory." "It's a bad allegory cause the elements will literally destroy each other if they touch."

I just sit there thinking, "Did they even watch the movie? Did they not see that beautiful scene under the bridge where they addressed that issue?"

If you notice throughout the movie, each element has to consciously keep themselves together. The only exception being Earth. (Unless I forgot some earth person in the background who was falling apart)

Air, Water, and Fire will also all change with their emotions. Yet people, both within and out of the movie, only care about what Fire could do. "How come Fire isn't burning this right now? The thing with the flower flashback doesn't work."

Fire isn't the only one capable of being dangerous. Water can cause accidents when they cry and even floods if they lose control. Gale was literally a lightning storm when she was upset.

The Vivisteria was said to be capable of surviving in any environment, even Fireland. Yet the water security guy was still afraid of what Fire could do. The only ones who don't have to work to control themselves are Earth. (Which I guess is why they're kind of just there in the movie living their lives)

That's why it's so amazing what happens under the bridge. Wade and Ember both make a conscious effort to be gentle with each other. They make the effort to find an in-between. It was a whole thing. Why do people just ignore that whole scene?

This rant really got away from me.

[nataliesscatorccio]

about kevyn tan. like, why did this burnout goth kid elect to enter The System despite being so fringe in his youth? kevyn is first presented as our suburb 90s version of alternative gender expression, but he wears the goth title the same way he wears the cop title. loosely, ill fitting. this guy? really? on the surface he seems likable, but! but. he is always trying to be the most "inoffensive" in an offensive party, no matter which side of the line on. (he doesnt say anything when nat is harassed by the boys in the car, like he doesn't say anything about the out of line "undercover" work Saracusa does on the Sadecki case). he only takes on either role (goth/cop) because he thinks it will impress a girl. in a show centered so much around girlhood, womanhood — we have travis, who starts out immediately (begrudgingly) taking this very Masculine role in all the regular teen boy ways he's been bullied into but then also in the grown man ways he has to in his father's absence, for javi. and we have kevyn who is experimenting with a more Feminine self expression. they both suck at it. natalie has to cut the ring off of coach martinez's finger for travis to bring it back to javi. natalie has to tell kevyn not to use sharpie on his nails. but then javi goes missing for travis, and natalie goes missing for kevyn. without javi, travis can begin to slip into this honorarily Girl role that he was never allowed to before, a role he is more comfortable in. (travis' angry outbursts through the series are almost always linked back to moments when he is being asked to perform Manhood, vs the peace and comfort it brings him when someone else relieves him of that burden. like nat asking him not to go on tai's hike, and the sex scene where hallucination lottie holds him gently, opposed to how much nat saying "I want you so bad" scared him off). while travis is studying the blade coming into womanhood in the wilderness through his loss of bodily autonomy, through adhering to the rituals they begin to set (the laws of the wilderness/girlcode) and finally his emotional and bloody participation in the birth of shauna's ("their") baby... kevyn is in society coming into manhood by the laws of civilization, now that he no longer has nat to, yes, guide him but more importantly to wear the uniform for. travis wants to be a part of girlhood. kevyn covets girlhood, the same way he covets nirvana. he doesn't actually care about it, he just wants it to be his and nat's thing. he liked it better when it was just them. he begins his descent to cop (derogatory) as travis begins his ascent to deadwife (affectionate). later when nat tells kevyn that he and travis were a lot alike, it's true and it isn't. they have the same middle point, but only pass by each other briefly on their way to opposite ends of the spectrum, where they were headed all along.

[waters-and-the-wilde]

hehe scenario. jupeter coming out the other side of All That with a bit of 'wow you're just straight up a bit codependent but maybe that's actually the best-case scenario for you right now carry on fellas'

oh they've Had Their Talk in the aftermath, and, okay, it's agreed that they are Not Doing Romance because Nureyev needs Time To Grieve and it would be better to Take The Pressure Off Of Being In A Relationship and they will Reevaluate when Nureyev's had a chance to be a guy who doesn't have to worry about where his next meal is coming from. but also Like Hell is Juno just going to Leave Him Alone after all this. and the result is that they spend the Big Crash just. completely unhinged about each other. Nureyev's shot past 'feeling vulnerable around Juno scares the shit out of him' and well into 'raw nerves and gaping wounds and compound trauma and feeling vulnerable about literally anything and everything all the time and being around Juno is integral to not spiraling into the abandonment hell vortex'. meanwhile Juno's like 'holy shit Nureyev is letting me be there for him. this is already incredible progress'

u think they were insufferable on the Carte Blanche well. on the Carte Blanche Nureyev was still working on things like trusting Juno enough to let him back in at all and he Had An Image To Maintain and lots of Private Stuff to Deal With and Juno was still figuring out how not to be a prickly ass all the time and 'when is it appropriate to give your bf his space when your default mode is to Investigate Shit' and none of that is a going concern right now

'sometimes you gotta be a little bit mentally ill to handle the mental illness' they have so much separation anxiety and they are clipping their carabiners together. hooking pinky fingers and following each other when one needs to do something in the next room. where's Nureyev? sitting in Juno's lap again. his ass is experiencing 'nervous system doesn't know how to respond to the sudden removal of constant crushing dread and just goes fucking haywire at unpredictable intervals'. he gets random-ass panic attacks and there's only so much the breathing exercises and the grounding exercises and self-soothing techniques can do compared to 'Juno is here and he's fine and he's safe and he is more than happily providing prolonged physical contact' to get him to calm down on a physiological level

meanwhile Juno's like 'i chased this idiot across half the galaxy because he wouldn't ask for help and had to deal with him being all stone-faced and cold about it, do I look like i mind that he's clingy now? a lady does not need his personal space at this time. a lady is living for this. a lady is also maybe feeling clingy have u considered that'

everyone who isn't rita (idek who. melee? the other vivopolis refugees??) is assuming they are just getting a very bad grade in taking it slow and are barely humoring them about it. and neither bothers with denying the boyfriend allegations but it's not bc it's true it's they're just. too exhausted to get defensive about it

rita: and i mean they ain't actually smooching too loud in the kitchen or whatever

melee probably: he just came out of Juno's room wearing Juno's shirt

juno: he's a thief that's his shirt now

(12 hours earlier:)

nureyev: (shows up to juno's room at 3am) im sorry for waking you i had nightmares about [the bomb/the carte blanche raid/dokana capturing you] i just needed to see that you were alive and make sure im in the reality timeline and then i will go back to-

juno: get in loser we're watching bad cops

rita: hi mista' n do you want some of this blanket

nureyev: that's very kind but im afraid im

juno: yeah hold up he's like really sweaty im gonna get him a clean shirt

nureyev: you really don't need to-

juno: how are you even still standing up when you're shaking like that

nureyev: that is. an excellent question

juno: anyway welcome to the club i fired rita like an hour ago bc i had nightmares about her dying on the asteroid

rita: i had one where i was gettin chased by this big stompy plant monster with lotsa teeth and i had to distract it by throwing all my snacks behind me and then i was outta snacks and then i was up getting more snacks when mista' steel fired me

rita: you know i think only reason i ain't got separation anxiety about mista' steel is because we spent all that time in the ruby together while we were chasin' after you and that gets a gal over it real fast

juno: thanks rita :P

[st4rbe0m]

SUMMARY ▸ 20 years ago, a gruesome murder shook the town hard. A type of murder that should've never happen, much less in their quaint town. A lovely family killed in cold blood with an unforgiving axe wielding maniac - a mother, a father and a little girl. It's been 20 years down the road, hasn't it? Then why are these 11 teenagers stuck in a loop of the same day, being haunted by a little girl who died 20 years ago?

PAIRING ▸ Park Jongseong (Jay) x reader ; additional pairings between characters as well , multi chapter story

TAG LIST ▸ open!! send an ask to be added

WC ▸ 2.5K

WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTINUE THE BODY SEARCH ?

▊ yes -> CHAPTER 4

▊ no -> CHAPTER 2

BODY SEARCH MASTERLIST

A/N: happy enha comeback day!! i absolutely loved XO lmfao I really needed that fresh cute enha concept after all the vampires and blood. Moonstruck is just INSANE I'm so glad it isn't an intro LOL. Also the insane bf looks they served in the MV like !!! I too would like to go on a rooftop date with Heesung maybe 😞

Jake’s pupils are blown wide as he stares directly into the black abyss of where a normal girl’s eyes would be. A girl who wasn’t covered in blood maybe. A girl who didn’t possess superhuman strength and didn’t want to kill them in the most creative ways possible. It’s also the only thing he sees as the bloodied hand of the Red Girl, as the group had imaginatively named her, clutched his white school shirt. The fingers easily lifted him with dexterity, and casually flung him across the art classroom where he hid, his neck brutally impaled by the wood of the easel. 2 down, 8 more to go. 8 out of the 10 people who had been, against their will, sucked into this sick game. The Body Search.

The Day before as the Same Day : 10AM

Jungwon is nervously pulling his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he looks at each of the members of this little horror club, none of them meeting his eyes. He can’t really blame them, watching how their foreheads creased in worry and concentration as they scanned through all the evidence and information Jungwon had presented spread across the library table - newspaper articles, old books and heavy paperbacks all laid out for them. 

“So you’re telling me, that this little girl is using us because the cops never found her body when she was murdered? What does that have to do with us? Why do we have to find her body?”. Sunoo is exasperated, but mostly filled with concern. How many nights would they have to continue dying, only to wake up in the same day? “The parts are stashed across the school you say?”. It’s Giselle who interrupts, Heesung beside her rubbing her arm up and down in an attempt to comfort his girlfriend. But how could you comfort someone knowing that they were gonna die a painful death in a few hours time? 

“Why can’t we find them now?”, the deeper voice of Riki asks, and Jungwon just sighs when he explains, “That’s the game. It’s only at night. And you have to run from her. Honestly, even I don’t know more. Based on the books, that's how it’s done. And based on the news reports, she’s the only victim that checks out.” 

“It’s quite horrid though, what happened to her, is it not?”. Y/N’s voice is sort of shaky when she says this, the girl slightly worried about all the people surrounding her. “To be dismembered this horribly after that man kills your entire family, only to have your corpse go missing? She must not be able to rest peacefully.” Humming along, Jay added, “That’s true for sure. It’s quite tragic what happened to her”, making eye contact with Y/N as he did, his chocolate eyes gleaming with pity for the little girl. “But what I also don’t get is why she’s trying to kill us, when we’re just helping her rest easy?”.

“That’s what confuses me as well!” Jungwon added enthusiastically, and he just gestured at the books around him. “That’s the one thing I couldn’t find in here. Why is she trying to kill us?”

“Point is then, that we have to find her body parts right. Okay then.” As Park Sunghoon had disinterestedly made his entrance, he left the same way, hands shoved deep into his pockets and a scowl adorning his handsome features. Jake and Jay sprinted behind him, the two walking beside him, harsh discussion being whispered between them. Soon after the group adjourned, jarred by the discoveries Jungwon had brought forward. Sunoo and Riki went off towards their respectful classes, while Jungwon and Y/N walked together on their own. After contemplating it for a while, Y/N cracked open, and spilled what she saw to Jungwon - the well by the chapel and the hands. The flower pot. Jungwon nodded along, clearly disturbed by what she told him - and confessed to a similar vision he saw in the washroom, of a bloody hand reaching at his foot from under a stall. 

“Why do you think it’s only the ten of us who were chosen? We have dozens of students here, and yet all ten of us have nothing in common.” Jungwon asked inquisitively. “Hmm, I’m not sure. Maybe that’s the objective. Finding the most different people to put into this game. To slow us down maybe.” 

Jake had his lips pursed tightly as he continued witnessing the heated debate between Jay and Sunghoon. “We’re your fucking friends, dipshit! You can tell us anything man! But ghosting us for days on end, cutting off all ties? That’s low.” Jay spat out in anger towards Sunghoon, who’s forehead displayed a vein visibly ticking in annoyance. “I can’t fucking do anything okay!” Sunghoon just shouts back, the walls he built cracking down in the face of the confrontation of the friends he’s had since elementary school. “Ice skating and basketball. This and that. I’m fucking sick. I’m sick of the coach pushing this competition on us. It always ends up with me compromising one over the other, only because of how greedy he is for the medals, for the medals he never won. I’m a tool! A tool he projects on and I hate it! And most of all, I’m sick of the way I'm starting to hate both of them.” Sunghoon heaves a large breath after the last sentence, crumbling down to his knees as he does, while Jake and Jay stand there in shock, and sadness. It’s always been this trio of theirs. Ever since elementary, arms linked. The three could take over the world. Slowly inching towards Sunghoon, Jake ran his hand soothingly over Sunghoon’s back, and soon Jay joined, letting the silence and the weight of Hoon’s confession settle over them.

1AM : Current Day which is the Same Day

Jay and Y/N found themselves together in a classroom again. However, this time it seemed deliberate, and it was. Jay wanted to keep an eye on Y/N. To keep the girl close to him so he could keep her away from harm’s way - even though that was quite impossible here, in this twisted game they found themselves in. The lights were turned on in every classroom they could find on that floor, and the pair crouched around shelves trying to find any clues about the whereabouts of the dead girl’s missing body parts. “You know Y/N, for someone who declared themselves queen of tag when we were five, you don’t seem that good at your job”. The time the two spent in that classroom had opened up to a conversation and light hearted jokes, which blossomed to a budding interest as the two conversed, with Y/N not treating it as a conversation with her crush that would usually leave her as a blushing, stuttering mess, but rather, as a catch up with an old friend. An old friend whom she’d liked since middle school, with the kindest smile and the most wonderful humor. “Aw Jay, do you want to steal some of my Princess Pony bandaids again, just in case you get hurt again?”, Y/N teasingly jabbed back, to which Jay gave a genuine laugh and said, “Not my fault the bandaids looked good. Smelled good too.” The lights above them blinked once. Then again. Sensing danger, the two ran after sharing the same look of horror, and went into the storage room that was often used to keep supplementary books. Flicking the light switch inside the room that seemed to fail to light up, the two could only use the light from the illuminated fish tank in the room. That’s when Y/N let out a rather loud gasp, startling Jay who asked her fervently, “What happened?”. Pointing at the fishtank, they both saw the single forearm, tinged brown and covered in decaying bruises and yellowish veins, floating in the water. The lights in the main classroom seemed to flicker even more aggressively now, blinking angrily as the feet of the Red Girl came into view. Both of them knew what they had to do. Reaching into the fishtank and grabbing the severed arm, Y/N and Jay ran into the classroom, the Red Girl running towards them at the same time. “Chapel Y/N, now!”. Wielding a chair Jay had picked up, he madly swung it at the Red Girl just before she could reach Y/N, pinning her down against the wall, exerting all his might to make sure Y/N got away with enough safe distance. Turning slightly back, he looked to double check. Immediately, the Red Girl used this opportunity to jam the metal leg of the chair right through Jay, blood gurgling and spilling out of his mouth, as his eyes watered and went slack, falling completely to the floor. 

Y/N ran and ran, determined to get to the chapel. That’s when she saw the faces of NingNing and Giselle, sweaty and looking towards her, with an urgency in their eyes when they spotted the arm with Y/N. But as quickly as the look appeared, a look of fear washed over their faces. The Red Girl. Taunting Y/N as she took a few steps, smiling madly. Then, she began sprinting, sporting the same blood-curdling grin. Giselle jumped to action, pressing down hard on the button that began pulling down the shutters and gate of that hallway. “Are you mad, Y/N is out there!” NingNing screamed. “So what, do you want to die too?” Giselle retaliated. “Come on Y/N!!” NingNing urged, holding her hand out for Y/N, as the gate kept lowering, its mechanical groaning deafening against the quiet of the night. Sliding against the smooth floor, Y/N made it in the nick of time, with the hand in tow, gate dropping just before the Red Girl could cross over. Standing up, with Giselle’s back facing the gate she looked to the two girls and explained, “We need to get this arm into the coffin.” Grudges for how the two were ready to leave her out there could be settled later. This was more important. Nodding, Giselle said, “Yeah, for sure, let’s go.”. The metal of the gate moved up, metal bending unnaturally as a red hand appeared underneath it, grabbing Giselle by the ankle and pulling her down. The entire thing happening before Ning Ning and Y/N could even register it. A pool of blood appeared immediately, spreading down from under the floor, as the hand reached out again to grab Y/N this time, screaming as she went under, the hand flying into the air and landing onto the floor as it happened. Not wasting a second, NingNing grabbed the arm like hell. The coffin right in front of her as she reached the chapel, she frantically searched which arm it was that fit the cream colored molding. As soon as she placed the arm down on the coffin’s bedding, the Red Girl launched herself on NingNing’s shoulders, deftly snapping her neck in two, NingNing’s vision going immediately black, as the last thing she was a rotten hand lying on white cushions. 

The four are gathered again by the stairwell. “Sunoo and I didn’t make it quite far the second time. She seemed to find us quite immediately.” “Yeah, neither did I. I handled the Red Girl so Gi could escape”, a sheepish Heesung admitted, rubbing nis neck with one hand while Giselle clasped the other, squeezing it in appreciation. “Same, I stalled her so that Y/N could- hey did you get the arm in?”, Jay asked, spinning to face Y/N, startled by the spotlight on her. “Uh, I got killed right after Giselle.” “I got the arm in, don’t worry.” NingNing reassured the rest. “We’re one arm in guys. One body part down.”

“We can’t keep doing this blindly guys. We’re gonna need a plan” Sunghoon said. “I’d much rather go into this with a structure than just get gutted all the time.” A plan was required, that was true. And with the same idea, all nine of them turned their heads to look at Jungwon, who’s eyes widened. “Right, so now everyone needs me. Come to the library at lunch. I have a plan.”, the boy with glasses assured with a confident smirk on his face.

The scene felt almost familiar, with the way they were all huddled around the library table. This time, Jungwon had a blueprint map of their school spread out, and two markers in his hand. Enthusiastically the boy presented, "I give you the Rocker Mix Plan!", as he gestured with jazz hands on the map. Blankly the group just tilted their heads at him, failing to understand what the boy was talking about. Clearing his throat from the awkwardness, with a single red marker, he colored in the room Jay and Y/N had found the arm in. "Okay guys, look. Jay and Y/N found the arm in this room right. So this room is cleared. I've also noticed that the Red Girl also seems to be attracted to sound and lights. And we just have to use that to our advantage." "The PA system", NingNing said with a gasp, eyes widening in realisation as she slowly understood Jungwon's plan. Snapping his fingers at NingNing in joy, glad to have found someone who has caught on to his plan, he exclaimed, "Exactly! We play whatever music or something through the PA systems to distract her, or confuse her. That way we can search the rooms more easily. And then we report back on which rooms we've searched and cleared." "Jungwon you freaking Einstein genius. Have you registered for the Mensa? I think you should", Jake said with a laugh and awe, slapping the boy on his back in praise, which made Jungwon beam in pride. "Let's start off with this first, and adapt as we go."

Deciding to boost the morale up, Riki just cheered, "What's a creepy little girl to us, bro? We got this! Lets fucking do this!", he hollered, which was met with a harsh shushing from the librarian paired with a stern glare that made Riki just cower away.

The group giggled at this youngest's antics. They weren't going to go into this blindsided anymore. This time, they were gonna be prepared.

[goldenamaranthe-blog]

First Tears: Chaggie

Chaggie Week of Firsts - Day 4

In the Morningstar mansion (castle, it's definitely a small scale castle) guest bedroom where Vaggie is sitting up in bed with fresh bandages. Charlie is sitting on a plush chair at her bed side. The remains of a shared lunch sit on a platter on the bedside table.

Charlie: Soooooo.... Pa-pa-pa... (taps her hands against the edge of the bed) How are you feeling?

Vaggie: Honestly, I'm doing much better. (clears her throat) I probably should have said this earlier, but thank you. For all the help. I'm not used to... well... any of this.

Charlie: (beams with sunshine sparkles) It's no problem! Really! Actually, you being here has been amazing!

Vaggie: I've literally just been sleeping and being a leach.

Charlie: YOU'RE NOTHING LIKE A LEACH!!! Ah! Sorry. You're not a leach, Vaggie. I've appreciated your company. (softens and stares down at her hands on the bed) It makes the estate feel less... lonely.

Vaggie: (eyes soften) Hey.

Charlie: (looks up at Vaggie) Hmm?

Vaggie: (gently places her hand on Charlie's) I get it.

Bedroom Clock: Tick! .... Tick! .... Tick! .... Tick! .... DONG!!!

Vaggie: (blushes and looks at her hand before quickly tearing it away) Sorry! Sorry. I probably should have asked first.

Charlie: (blushing so hard her cheek circles disappear - thinking: I'm never washing this hand again - before snapping back to the present) NO!!! No! It's fine! Fine! Really! I've already manhandled you while you were topless, it's only fair!

Vaggie: (remaining eye nearly pops out of her socket as she blushes harder)

Charlie: (stomach drops) NOT LIKE THAT!!!! Like from when I've helped you bandage your back!!! I haven't been sneaking into your room at night to cop-a-feel!!! I swear!!!

-Awkward Silence-

Charlie: (trying her damndest to save the conversation) H-Have you ever wondered why.... pineapples don't wear sunglasses?

Vaggie: (blinks in sheer shock at the sudden shift in conversation) Pineapples don't have eyes.

Charlie: But imagine if they did! They'd be the coolest fruit around. Speaking of cool, do you know what's cool? Penguins. They waddle around like they own the ice.

Vaggie: Uh-huh...

Charlie: And then there are those random thoughts that pop into your head! Like, why do we say "heads up!" when we really mean "duck"?

Vaggie: (rolls her eye as she slowly untenses her shoulders) ......I've got to be dreaming right now.

Charlie: (completely misses Vaggie's statement) Oh! D-Did you know that the universe is expanding? It's like a giant balloon getting bigger and bigger, except there's no clown making balloon animals out of stars.

Vaggie: Pfft! (covers her mouth) Charlie, please...

Charlie: Okay, okay, I'll stop... After I tell you about this amazing deodorant I found! It smells like vanilla mixed with a hint of honey, and it mixes perfectly with my cherry apple shampoo and body wash! I smell like an apple pie!

Vaggie: (whole face goes blank) Did- .....Did you just say you smell like an apple pie?

Charlie: Um... yes? Isn't it delightful?

Vaggie: ....heh

Charlie: Vaggie?

Vaggie: Hehehehe...

Charlie: Vaggie, are you okay?

Vaggie: (bursts into laughter so loud that it makes Razzle and Dazzle jump up from their naping spot in the windowsill) I cannot believe you're real!!!

Charlie: (undignified pout) Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?

Vaggie: (doubles over in laughter as tears stream down her cheeks) You... you smell like an apple pie!

Charlie: (pout sets deeper) Hey, don't make fun of me!

Vaggie: (still laughing and wiping away a tear) I'm sorry! I just... I can't believe you actually said that!

Charlie: (smiling back before pretending to scoff haughtily) Well, it's true! And it's not just any apple pie, it's like... gourmet apple pie!

Vaggie: (gets sent into another round of giggles) You're the Princess of Hell for fuck's sakes, Charlie!

Charlie: (trying to hold back her own laughter) And I smell A-MA-ZING!!!

Vaggie: I shouldn't be laughing! That shampoo and body wash you gave me makes me smell like a pina colada every time I shower!

Charlie: (laughter finally bursts passed her lips) Maybe I did that on purpose! Make you smell so good I want to drink you down!

Vaggie: (still giggling) What? You want me to take a bite out of you while you drink me in or something? I don't think you taste as good as an actual pie, Charlie.

Charlie: (snickering) Wanna find out?

-Pause as the world goes silent-

Charlie: (blushing) I-I mean....

Vaggie: (arches an eyebrow and smirks) Maybe another time, princesa. We did just eat lunch.

Charlie: (steam billows out of her ears as she undergoes a full body blush) Hoooooooh-oh-okay.....

[deconstructthesoup]

Thoughts on a Hatchetfield/Fantasy High crossover

So, I know the odds are good that I'm sending this into a very niche void, but I also know that these fandoms overlap, so... yeah. Basically, this is a world where the Bad Kids (and I guess pretty much every character in the world of Spyre, but the Bad Kids are who we're focusing on) are seemingly normal humans living in Hatchetfield, with all the weirdness and danger it entails.

Let's get into it.

Fabian: He's a rich kid living in Pinebrook, the star quarterback of the Nighthawks, and is one of the most popular kids in school due to being rich, good at sports, and surprisingly nice---and he's dating Ragh, though that's something that's a bit on the down-low due to them worrying they'll get kicked off the team and Ragh not being quite ready to come out. Honestly, Fabian really shouldn't be tied up into the spookiness, if you take him at face value... except for the fact that both of his parents are very much tied into it. Haleriel's family has been in Hatchetfield since the beginning, and while they're not tied with the Church of the Starry Children or the Hatchetmen, they do have some serious occult connections. And Bill... well, as far as everyone knows, he's an Irish fencer who got into the big leagues, retired, and took up pirate LARPing in his spare time. All of that is true, except for the fact that he is, in fact, an actual seventeenth-century pirate who got on Tinky's bad side and wound up in 2000s Hatchetfield. Fabian doesn't know about this yet, but he will.

Gorgug: The result of a secret relationship between two Abstinence Camp junior counselors, Gorgug was originally raised in secret in Witchwood Forest until he was three, when he was found and promptly put up for adoption. By then, he was already unusually large, strong, and angry for his age, but he still found a loving home with the proprietors of Thistlespring Mechanics. Gorgug thankfully never got to the monstrous level of Lil' Gerry, and he can pass for a normal kid if you ignore his height... however, he has been homeschooled for a good portion of his life due to constantly having manic outbursts that took years to learn how to keep under control. When he finally goes to Hatchetfield High, Fabian and Ragh take him under their wing---if only because they took one look at him and realized that he'd be perfect for the Nighthawks---and Gorgug definitely begins to shine due to having friends. Still, though... you can never really get rid of how Witchwood Forest changes you.

Riz: Now, he is very much aware of all the crazy, scary, and inexplicable things that go around in Hatchetfield, to the point of becoming a paranormal investigator---YouTube channel and all. His mom isn't really sure what to make of this, but she's a cop, she's busy, and it mostly keeps Riz out of trouble. As far as he knows, his dad worked for the military, and he assumes that he died in combat (in reality, though, Pok was a PIEP agent who got killed by Blinky). Riz has a part of his paranormal investigator business that's open to him taking on cases for others, but people don't tend to take him up on the offer, and he's usually investigating strange happenings by himself. That is, until...

Fig: Unlike in canon, Fig has always known that Gilear was her stepdad, not her real dad, but she still considers him her dad---mostly because that for a good deal of her life, she grew up thinking that her real dad was a deadbeat who left her. After Gilear and Sandra Lynn get divorced, however, Fig decides to finally start looking into her biological dad... and she discovers that he didn't skip town as she initially believed, but he went missing shortly before she was born. The case went cold, and all that's known is that he was attempting to stop the Honey Festival---specifically, the pageant---before he disappeared. Fig, who's recently developed an interest in the occult, realizes that there's something sinister going on there, and she hires Riz to help her find out the truth. (Vague spoilers: Gorthalax---or, well, Gordon T. Ax---is alive, but he's been trapped by Nibbly as punishment for successfully interfering and saving the Honey Queen)

Kristen: She's essentially the Grace Chastity of this universe, just without the crazy---church girl, teacher's pet, yet actually a nice person who doesn't really realize just how messed up her parents' beliefs are. Though she doesn't know the details about the Black & White, her parents are part of a group that are descended from the original Hatchetmen, and they've taught her that anybody who has The Gift is inherently evil. Of course, Kristen has always had the power to magically heal others, and she's kept this hidden from her parents her whole life---which becomes harder as her powers start getting stronger. And then she starts having a sexuality crisis and a crisis of faith, triggered when she befriends the niece of Hatchetfield High's new guidance counselor. So, yeah, Kristen's not having a good time.

Adaine: Her family recently moved to Hatchetfield from London, supposedly because her dad's job changed. In reality, her parents are devout followers of Wiggly and the other LiB, and they know that Hatchetfield is the focal point of their power (and no, Alewyn doesn't know about this, but she does know more about the spooky stuff than she's letting on). For her part, Adaine has psychic powers similar to Hannah, right down to having Webby as an imaginary friend, but she keeps this secret from her parents... mostly due to the time when she was little and told them about Webby, and the reaction was pretty negative. On top of her powers, she's also struggling with her anxiety disorder, her gifted kid complex, and the general stress of going to a new school in a new country... so, it helps when she gets adopted by Kristen and Fig at the same time, and Webby immediately takes a liking to them both. Through Fig, she meets Riz, and then she meets Fabian at one of her parents' awful functions, and he introduces her and everyone else to Gorgug... and the Bad Kids can begin.

I've got a lot more ideas about this---mostly involving Ayda, Arthur Aguefort, the O'Shaughnesseys, and some fleeting concepts about The Seven---but that's for another post, so... yeah.

[em-sars]

My Top 10 (actually 9) Dramione Fic Reccemmendations:

I am not a terribly avid reader of angst-filled fics (sorry, Manacled fans). This list will be mostly romcom / fluffy, major slow burns, and Draco POV. I have included a few more serious fics, but they are just so well written / interesting, that they made my list. Without further ado, and in no particular order, my Top 9 Dramione Fics:

1. To one one's surprise, and not being overhyped at all (I'm completely serious), is Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love. This one needs no description due to its popularity, so I will only add to the hype. I have always been a fan of adventure-romance (e.g. Romancing the Stone, Princess Bride, Stardust, Love and Monsters, Shrek, A Knight's Tale, and, not to get repetitive, The Lost City), but this was the first fanfiction I read with such dedication to an interesting, funny, and, at times, suspenseful story. I also love seeing Draco fall first and his unreliable narration in Hermione's feelings for him. I adore the characterization of / relationships between characters (not just Draco and Hermione) as well as the way the author develops the existing magic system. It is definitely a slow burn with misunderstandings. I'm not a big fan of misunderstandings after they are together because I think it's lasy, and I will stop reading it. In this fic, however, the author makes sure that the 'will they won't they' isn't over done.

2. A Cosmology of Blacks, Malfoys, and Assorted Individuals. This one is in process, but updates are consistent, and I am hooked. Draco POV only. Not only does this fic have the best name, it also includes many anecdotes of Black history (particularly focused on Narcissa, Andromeda, and Bellatrix) while also tying in a romance plot. The story begins with Andromeda confronting Narcissa, and the Black family to be reunited. Draco meets Hermione again for the first time post-graduation, but something is wrong with Hermione's magic. They slowly become friends and Draco develops feelings. This one is on the angsty side, but it's nothing dark or war-based. It is decidedly cosy. I absolutely love any fic that casts a parallel between Andromeda and Ted and Draco and Hermione (I also love supportive Harry who compares them to his parents).

3. The Disappearances of Draco Malfoy. This is another popular one that deserves the hype. This one was outside my comfort zone as it is fairly heavy on the angst. BUT I think it is a really imaginative retelling of DH. If you are unfamiliar, the author rewrites the end of HBP wherein Draco accepts Dumbledore's offer of help. He is then forced to accept the protection of people who hate him and whom he hates. This is a true Enemies to Friends to Lovers story. It has a mixed POV. This story is full of mystery, suspense, plot twists, romance, and angst. This is another one that explores the magic system in an interesting way.

4. It Happened in Egypt is another romcom adventure fic. It is funny, mysterious, and action-packed. In this story, Hermione is in Egypt on a 'holiday' and runs into Draco who is drunk and has been robbed (no wallet or wand). As the author says, this fic is a love story to the Nile and Egyptian Mythology. Great for history lovers. And while this story is a relatively quick burn, there is still a major chunk of mutual pining.

5. Scary Partner Privilege is another in progress piece, but it is so creative. It is Draco POV. He and Hermione (a no-nonsense-to-the-point-of-rudeness cop) are paired as elite aurors. Each chapter is a different case like in Brooklyn 99 or other cop shows with the overall plot of their tumble into romance. This Hermione is a complete BAMF, and Draco is a darling.

6. Distance is a split POV fic. Hermione is a new Unspeakable and Draco is an auror who hasn't been given a real case. They end up teaming up to investigate a mysterious magical figurine. Another adventure fic set in the Indus Valley. Such a fun concept. Another one that is a good read for history lovers.

7. Lavender Scones and Second Chances is the final in progress story I have on this list. This story is mostly here for vibes (cosy) because the research that brought them together is more periphery than anything. But it is still a sweet story that I am excited to watch develop.

8. Love and Other Historical Accidents is Jane Austen meets Harry Potter. Hermione and Draco get sent back to the late Georgian / early Regency period in magical Wiltshire. Lots of classic Austen tropes and plot lines. It is an established dynamic between them, and Draco is already in love with Hermione.

9. Soft As It Began is a unique story wherein Harry vanished the day after the Battle of Hogwarts. Almost 5 years later, Hermione, with help from Draco (they are investigative journalists), travels around Europe looking for him. This story plays with the story of The Three Brothers and the Deathly Hallows. I just love all the characterizations in this fic.