#plus something based on a weird dream i had a while back

[retro-system]

if i dont write any of my ideas down soon i'll never write them

[doctorbitchcrxft]

Simon Said | Supernatural Series Rewrite | Dean Winchester x Reader

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader (Eventual ? )

Warnings: mind control, canon violence, canon gore, consent lines blurry bc mind control but nothing happens to the reader, mind control attempted suicide

Word Count: 5301

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“I don't know, man, why don't we just chill out, think about this,” Dean said, trying to soothe his brother.

Sam had another vision while he was washing his face a state or two back. Dean was having to be the level-headed one at this moment because Sam was a complete basketcase. “What's there to think about?” the latter asked.

“I just don't know if going to the Roadhouse is the smartest idea,” Dean replied.

“I agree. I like ‘em, but I don’t trust any of them enough yet to tell them about this,” you said earnestly. 

“Guys, it's another premonition. I know it. This is gonna happen, and Ash can tell us where,” Sam protested. “Plus, it could have some connection with the demon. My visions always do.”

“That’s my point,” Dean said. “There's gonna be hunters there. I don't know if going in and announcing that you're some supernatural freak with a— a demonic connection is the best thing, okay?”

“So I'm a freak now?”

You gritted your teeth awkwardly.

Dean slapped Sam on the thigh. “You've always been a freak,” he smiled weakly. 

You looked at Sam concernedly, and it seemed he couldn’t keep still even if his life depended on it.

“Sam, it’s gonna be fine, I promise,” you said. 

He looked back at you, offering a small smile at your attempt to comfort him. You could tell he was unconvinced.

***

When you arrived at the Roadhouse, Jo bounded up to you and the brothers. “Just can't stay away, huh?” she grinned to Dean.

You fought the urge to roll your eyes. You knew your jealousy was baseless but still could barely hold it at bay.

“Yeah, looks like. How you doin', Jo?” the older brother asked her.

Sam hurriedly asked, “Where’s Ash?”

“In his back room,” Jo replied.

He brushed past her wordlessly.

Jo turned after him, watching him go. “And I'm fine…”

“Sorry, he's, we're... kind of on a bit of a timetable,” Dean explained, following after his brother. You nodded and gave a closed-lip smile to Jo, who returned it, before heading after Dean.

You arrived at a door labeled, “ Dr. Badass is: IN.” You snorted at the sign, and Sam knocked on the door. “Ash? Hey, Ash?”

Moments passed; no answer. You knocked, this time saying, “Hey, Dr. Badass?”

The door unlatched and opened a crack to reveal a stark naked Ash. You averted your eyes, feeling intensely uncomfortable.

“Sam? Dean?” Ash sounded high. “Sam and Dean. And (Y/N). Hey, (Y/N).”

You laughed awkwardly, still turned away from Ash standing in the doorway. “Hey, Ash. Um. We need your help.”

“Well, hell, then! Guess I need my pants.” He shut the door, and you and the brothers turned to move back to the bar.

Sam described the scene from his dream and drew a logo of the bus he saw in his dream. Ash sat at a table with his homemade laptop and somehow found the logo based off Sam’s drawing. “Well, I got a match. It's the logo from the Blue Ridge bus lines in Guthrie, Oklahoma.”

“Okay. Do me a favor—” Sam began. “Check Guthrie for any demonic signs, or omens, or anything like that.”

“You think the demon's there?” Ash asked.

Sam nodded. “Yeah, maybe.”

“Why would you think that?”

Dean gruffly replied, “Just check it, alright?”

You shot him a look, as did Ash. He obliged, though, and said, “No, sir, nothing. No demon.”

“Alright, try something else for me. Search Guthrie for a house fire. It would be 1983, fire's origin would be a baby's nursery, night of the kid's six month birthday,” Sam said.

You looked around for eavesdroppers, only to find Jo cleaning a table nearby and watching your group.

“Okay, now that is just weird, man,” Ash protested. “Why the hell would I be looking for that?”

Sam pulled out a beer and set it next to his laptop. “'Cause there's a PBR in it for ya.”

Before Sam could finish his sentence, Ash replied, “Give me fifteen minutes.”

You sat next to Ash as he continued his work, and Dean left to get a beer from Ellen. Suddenly, REO Speedwagon’s “Can’t Fight This Feeling” started playing from the jukebox. You turned your head to the source of the sound and found Jo sauntering over to a horrified-looking Dean at the bar. Your blood boiled, but you just looked back at Ash and his computer. However, you didn’t register anything he was saying or scrolling through.

All you could think about was Jo’s attempted flirting with Dean. Technically, neither party were doing anything wrong; you and Dean had agreed to be friends for the time being. But you were furious at the thought of the two of them together. How disrespectful would that be for Dean to get with Jo days after saying he wanted you and agreed to be friends for now? Your jaw clenched, and you clutched your beer tighter.

Sam snapped in front of your face. “(Y/N), let’s go.”

You broke out of your thoughts and grabbed Dean’s jacket, pulling him along with you.

“See ya, Jo,” you called over your shoulder, stomping out of the bar with Dean in tow. 

Dean chuckled at you, gently shrugging you off him. He stooped down to your level and whispered lowly, “Jealous?”

You jerked away from him, cheeks heating in embarrassment. “No.”

He just smirked in response and kissed the side of your head. “Sure, sweetheart.” He then walked ahead of you to the Impala. 

You froze, flustered and unappreciative of the effect he had on you. “Dean—!”

***

“Sam, you can’t tell me Lord of the Rings is better than Erin Brockovich,” you argued with the younger brother. The two of you had been locked in a heated debate on your favorite movies of recent years, and these two were the next in question.

“(Y/N/N),” Sam started, “Lord of the Rings is based on six books of Tolkein’s experience in World War I, and Erin Brockovich is—”

“Two hours of fuckin’ perfection,” you cut him off. “Julia Roberts acted those other bitches under the table.”

“But the worldbuilding, (Y/N), it’s not even comparable!” 

“Yeah, if you stick around long enough to learn about it. It’s a snoozefest from start to finish,” you giggled.

He scoffed. “Okay, what about—”

“If you two keep talkin’ film nerd, I’m gonna kill myself,” Dean grumbled.

“Killjoy. If it’s not eighties horror, you’re not interested, huh?” you commented, crossing your arms over your chest and leaning back in your seat. 

Dean’s eyes met yours in the rearview mirror. “Did you actually read anything back there, or….?” 

“I did, thank you very much.” You pulled the stack of papers on the seat next to you into your lap. “Andrew Gallagher. Born in ‘83, like Sam. Lost his mother in a nursery fire exactly six months later, also like Sam.”

“You think the demon killed his mom?” Dean asked.

“Sure looks like it,” Sam responded.

“How did you even know to look for this guy?” Dean asked you.

“Well, Sam’s visions have all been attached to the demon or the other kids—”

“Like Max Miller, remember him?” Sam cut you off.

Dean scoffed. “Yeah, but Max Miller was a pasty little psycho.”

“Well, yeah, but my point is, he was killing people,” you began.

Sam continued, “And I was having the same type of visions about him. And now it could be happening all over again with this Gallagher guy.”

Dean asked, “How do we find him?”

You blew air out through your pursed lips. “Don't know. No current address, no current employment. He still owes money on all his bills; phone, credit, utilities—”

“Collection agency flags?” the older brother questioned.

“None in the system.”

“They just let him take a walk?”

You shrugged. “Seems like it. There's a work address from his last W-2; about a year ago. Let's start there.”

***

You and the brothers stopped at a coffee shop dressed in your “formal attire” to question a girl you knew to be friends with Andrew Gallagher about his whereabouts. 

“You won't get anything out of Andy, guys. I'm sorry, but they never do,” she said.

“ ‘They’?” Sam asked.

She tilted her head in confusion. “You're debt collectors, right? Once in a while they come by. I don't know what Andy says to them, but they never come back.”

“Actually we're- we're lawyers. Representing his Great Aunt Leta. She passed, god rest her soul, and left Andy a sizable estate,” Dean lied. “Are you a friend of his?”

“I used to be, yeah. I don't see much of Andy anymore.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

A man came up behind the bashful woman. “Andy? Andy kicks ass, man.”

“Is that right?” Dean questioned.

“Yeah. Andy can get you into anything. He even got me backstage at Aerosmith once; it was beautiful, bro.”

The woman turned to him. “How about bussing a table or two, Weber?”

“Yeah. You bet, boss.” The man named Weber turned away.

“Look,” the woman sighed, “if you want to find him, try Orchard Street. Just look for a van with a barbarian queen painted on the side.”

“Barbarian queen?” Dean’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“She's riding a polar bear. It's kind of hard to miss.”

***

She was right. It was incredibly hard to miss. You and the Winchester boys sat in the back of the Impala, having caught sight of the blue van with the aforementioned painted on the side of it from across the street.

“I'm sorry, I'm starting to like this dude. That van is sweet,” Dean grinned. He turned to his brother. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Sam, you look like you're sucking on a lemon, what's going on?”

The brunet sighed. “This Andrew Gallagher, he's the second guy like this we've found, Dean. Demon came to them when they were kids, now they're killing people.”

“We don't know what Andrew Gallagher is, alright? He could be innocent,” the older brother argued.

“My visions haven't been wrong yet.”

“Sam, you’re not one of them, if that’s what you’re concerned about,” you said.

“(Y/N), the demon said he had plans for me and children like me,” he replied. “Maybe this is his plan, maybe we're all a bunch of psychic freaks, maybe we're all supposed to be—”

Dean scoffed. “What, killers? So the demon wants you out there killing with your minds, is that it? Come on, give me a break. You're not a murderer, Sam! You don't have it in your bones.”

“No? Last I checked, I kill all kinds of things."

“Sam, that’s different,” you chimed in. “We kill shit that’s already dead. Or… undead. Or… not human— What are you looking at?”

“Got him,” was all Sam replied with. He nodded toward a man walking down the road in a robe, sandals, and baggy pants. The man in question blew a kiss up at a beautiful woman in lingerie leaning out of a window and waving down at him, got a coffee from some random guy he was passing, and then, shook hands with another. 

“That's him. That older guy, that's him, that's the shooter,” Sam rushed out, referencing the man Andy had shaken hands with.

“Alright, you keep on him, we'll stick with Andy. Go.” Sam got out of the car at his older brother’s command.

“We will?” you asked, climbing over the front seat. 

“C’mon, sweetheart.” Dean followed Andy— who had just climbed into his ostentatious van and began to drive off— closely. 

A few minutes of following the man into a suburban area later, the van stopped in the middle of the road and approached the Impala. You discreetly handed Dean his gun from the glovebox and tucked yours into your jacket.

Andy leaned into the rolled-down window of the Impala. “Hey.”

“Hey, hey,” Dean replied.

“This is a cherry ride,” Andy grinned. “Man, the '67? Impala's best year if you ask me. This is a serious classic.”

“Yeah. Y'know, I just rebuilt her, too.”

“And who’s this gorgeous lady you got next to ya?”

“Oh, I’m (Y/N),” you smiled, suddenly not feeling right.

“Hey, can I have the car? And her, if she’ll let me?” Andy asked you and Dean.

“Sure, man,” Dean grinned, getting out of the car to let the man into the driver’s side.

“Hi, handsome,” you smiled, draping yourself over Andy’s shoulder. You weren’t quite sure what was happening to you, but you knew you weren’t fully in control of what you were doing.

“Take it easy,” Andy told Dean before driving off with you.

“Where ya takin’ me?” you asked him, still mentally horrified by the effect he was having on you. 

“You’ll see,” he grinned, and you settled into his shoulder as he continued to drive.

***

About ten minutes later, the man driving you around received a call that seemed to really upset him. He drove a little faster and parked the car moments later once you’d arrived in front of the café you’d first gone to when you rolled into town.

“Baby? What’s wrong?” you asked, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Uh, I—” he paused, sighing. “Stay here, okay?”

“Okay!” You sat patiently with your hands folded in your lap, waiting for him to come back. You suddenly seemed to realize what you’d been doing and looked around yourself, trying to gain your bearings. You were relieved to see Dean and Sam approaching you. You jumped out of the car and leapt into Dean’s arms. “Dean! What the hell, man, he full-on Obi-Wan-ed us!” You let him go and hugged Sam. “What’s wrong, dude, you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

“That guy, um, from my visions, he stepped out in front of a bus. Right after he got off the phone,” Sam explained. “We’re thinkin’ Gallagher called him.”

Your brows furrowed and stomach dropped. “Oh.”

“He would’ve had to be on the phone with you in the car,” Dean added. “Was he?”

You shook your head. “No. I mean, not until a second or two before he ditched the car and me in the front seat.”

“Did he… do anything to you?” Sam asked. 

You shook your head.

“A real Samaritan, this guy,” the brunet quipped.

You turned to Dean talking to his car. “Oh, baby, I promise I’ll never leave you again.”

“Do you want a moment alone with her?” you deadpanned to Dean.

“We have a special bond,” he said after a pause. He turned back to his car. “She just doesn’t understand us.”

You rolled your eyes, trying to suppress the smile tugging at the ends of your lips. “Anyway, he didn’t give any kind of a command over the phone. If anything, he was upset when he answered his phone not ten minutes ago. I don’t think he’s our guy.”

“Either way, how are we going to track this guy down?” Sam asked.

“Not a problem,” Dean smirked.

***

“I’ll give you that, his ride isn’t exactly ‘covert’,” you said upon finding the van again. 

Dean pulled a small crowbar out of his jacket and pried the doors of the van open with it. The opened doors revealed a disco ball, fur rugs, a tiger painted on the wall, several thick books, and an enormous bong.

“Oh. Oh, come on. This is— this is magnificent, that's what this is. Not exactly a serial killer's lair, though. There's no... clown paintings on the walls, or scissors stuck in victims' photos. I like the tiger,” Dean chuckled in awe.

“Dean, he tried to kidnap me. And he kidnapped your car. Can we stay focused, please?” you deadpanned. You looked down at the books. 

Sam picked one up. “Hegel, Kant, Wittgenstein? That's some pretty heavy reading, guys.”

Dean picked up the glass object lying next to them. “Yeah, and, uh, Moby Dick's bong.”

***

Sam and Dean bickered over whether or not they thought Andy was guilty as you zoned out in the backseat. That was, until, the man in question hit the passenger’s side door, startling all three of you.

“Hey! You think I haven't seen you three? Why are you following me?” He asked, his voice reverberating strangely in your ears.

Sam calmly began to explain. “Well, we're lawyers. See, a relative of yours has passed aw—” 

“Tell the truth!” Andy’s voice echoed in your mind.

“We hunt demons,” Dean rushed out.

Andy jerked back in surprise. “What?”

“Dean!” Sam scolded.

“He’s telling the truth,” you jumped in. “That’s Sam. He’s Dean’s brother. I’m (Y/N). I met their dad on a hunt, and, uh, here I am! I follow them everywhere because they’re my best friends and the only real family I’ve ever had, and I’m terrified of losing them, and I followed them to you.”

“(Y/N), shut up!” Sam chastised, turning to face you. 

“I’m trying,” you said.

“He's psychic. Kind of like you. Well, not really like you, but see, he thinks you're a murderer,” Dean continued, “and he's afraid that he's going to become one himself, 'cause you're all part of something that's terrible. And, I hope to hell that he's wrong, but I'm starting to get a little scared that he might be right.”

“Okay, you know what? Just leave me alone,” Andy said.

“Okay,” Dean nodded.

Andy walked away from the door, and Sam followed. You and Dean clutched your heads.

“Holy fuck, that hurt,” you groaned.

“Did you really mean that?” Dean asked, clutching the bridge of his nose.

“What, that this hurts?” you scoffed.

“No, about me and Sam.”

“Dude, he made me Professor-Xavier-level spill my guts,” you grumbled. “I couldn’t have lied if I tried.”

Dean gave you a confusing look, but you got out of the car, feeling embarrassed. Sam held up a hand, warning you not to come any closer. You could vaguely hear Andy and Sam arguing about the origins of their powers and the doctor’s death, but all you could focus on was what you’d just admitted.

“(Y/N)—” Dean started.

“No, Dean.” You looked up at him. “We can talk about it one day when this is all over. Just… for now, let’s not.”

He didn’t say anything, but eyed you curiously. Before either of you could say another word to each other, Sam began to collapse to the floor. You and Dean ran to him to catch him and lowered him to the asphalt.

“Sam? What is it?” Dean asked his brother, shaking him.

“Look, I didn't do anything to him—”

“We know you didn’t,” you told Andy.

Sam snapped to attention. “A woman. A woman burning alive. A gas station, a woman is gonna kill herself.”

Andy’s voice rose significantly in pitch. “What does he mean, going to? What is he, what is—”

“Shut up!” you and Dean told Andy.

“She gets triggered by a call on her cell,” Sam continued.

“When?”

“I don't know.” Dean helped his brother stand as he continued talking, “But as long as we keep our eyes on this son of a bitch, he can't hurt her.”

Andy raised his hands up in surrender. “I didn't hurt anybody.”

“Yeah, not yet,” you said. Your head jerked toward the sound of a fire engine roaring and flashing by you on the highway next to you.

“Go,” Sam told you and Dean. The two of you sprinted to the car and headed off to follow the firetruck.

When you arrived, you were disheartened to see the first responders trying to put out the fire, keep civilians away, and recover the charred body of the woman who had died.

Dean immediately called Sam. “Hey, it's me. She's dead. Burned up, just like you said… Like minutes before I got here! I mean, the smell hasn't even cleared. What's up with your visions, man? This wasn't even a head start… Listen, you were with Andy when this whole thing went down, so it- it can't be him, it's gotta be somebody else doing this… What else is new? Well, we'll dig around here, see what else we can find.”

You and Dean roamed around talking to first responders and bystanders, posing as relatives of the woman who’d died. It was one of the things you felt guilty about in your line of work; posing as relatives of the dead to get information felt disrespectful to you. But alas, you had to, in this case.

You and Dean drove in silence back to the lot where Sam and Andy were talking on the bed of a broken truck as you rolled up. 

“Victim's name was Holly Beckett, forty-one, single,” Dean explained to Sam.

“I called Ash back at the crime scene,” you began. “Said he found a Holly Beckett who gave birth when she was eighteen, back in ‘83. Same day you were born, Andy.”

“Andy, were you adopted?” Sam questioned.

He nodded as if it were obvious. “Well, yeah.”

Dean glared pointedly. “You were? And you neglected to mention that?”

“Never really came up,” Andy deadpanned. “I mean, I, I never knew my birth parents, and, and like you said my adopted mom died when I was a baby— do you, do you think this Holly woman could actually be my m—”

“I don't know,” you explained. “I tried to get a copy of the birth records, but they're hard copy only, sealed in the county office.”

Andy smirked. “Well, screw that.”

***

You and the brothers went through the drawers of file cabinets searching for phone records as Andy began leading the guards out of the room.

“Probably shouldn't have left you kids in here,” the guard said.

Andy rubbed a hand over his back. “No, it'll all be fine. Alright? Just go get a cup of coffee.” As the guard left, he continued, saying, “These aren't the 'droids you're looking for.”

You and Dean grinned. “Awesome,” the older brother said.

“I got it,” Sam said. “Andy, it's true. Holly Beckett was your birth mother.”

Andy looked like he’d been punched in the stomach. “Huh. Does anyone have a Vicodin?”

"No Vicodin. Weed, though," you told him, offering him a joint from a pack of pre-rolls in your jacket.

Andy considered but shook his head.

“Dr. Jennings was her doctor, too, I mean, he oversaw the adoption. You have a solid connection to both of them.”

“Yeah, but I— I didn't kill them,” he rushed out.

“We believe you,” Sam told him.

“But uh, who did?” Dean questioned.

“I think I got a pretty good guess,” Sam replied. “Holly Beckett gave birth to twins.”

Andy’s jaw dropped. “I have an evil twin.” He looked to you. "I may take that joint now."

Sam began flipping through another folder of documents. “Holly put you and your brother up for adoption. And you went to the Gallagher family, obviously, and your brother went to the Weems family from upstate.”

You looked over at the zoned-out Andy. “You okay? Still with us?”

He shook his head and looked over at you. “Um. What was my brother's name?”

Sam flipped to another page. “Here. Um, Ansen Weems. And he's got a local address.”

“He- He lives here?!”

Dean pushed a few buttons on the computer. “Let's get a look at him. Got his picture coming off from the DMV right now.”

“Dean, you can barely work a toaster. How’d you find his picture from the DMV?” you asked.

He just glared at you in response. You could tell he was messing with you, though.

You pulled the paper off the printer, eyes widening as you recognized the man in the picture. “Hate to kick you while you're freaked,” you said. “Take a look at that.”

When Andy caught sight of his friend from the café Weber looking back at him from the printed off image, his jaw dropped even further in shock.

***

It was a race against the clock to find where Weber had taken Andy’s ex-girlfriend, Tracy— the woman you spoke to at the diner— after Sam had another vision about her jumping off a bridge. Sam’s visions were getting more intense and painful; poor guy. Andy directed Dean to the bridge Sam described from his vision, and the four of you climbed out of the car in unison.

“(Y/N), Dean, you should stay back,” Sam said.

“No argument here. Had my head screwed with enough for one day,” Dean leaned against his car next to you. You watched Andy and Sam head to fend off Weber when you got an idea. “You got a Remington in the trunk? Or an FR F2?”

He smirked at you. “Have you met me?”

***

You and Dean found a spot in the trees far enough away from the scene below to get a clear shot at Weber without being able to hear one of his commands. Dean only had one FR F2, and you convinced him to hand it over to you. You were a damn near perfect shot and could easily take this guy out.

You lined up your shot, smiling smugly when you centered his head on the cross in the middle of the scope. ‘Gotcha,’ you thought. Suddenly, his head turned to you. He said something you couldn’t hear, but it was enough to get you to tuck the barrel of the rifle under your chin.

“(Y/N)! Stop it!” Dean tugged on your arm and managed to wrestle it away from the trigger when another gunshot rang out. As you came back into full control of your body, your breathing labored. You dropped the gun and collapsed backward into Dean’s chest, and his arms circled you as you turned your face into him.

“I got you, I got you,” he assured you as you wound your hands around his neck and buried your face in his chest.

“C’mon, we gotta get Sammy,” Dean said, pulling you down the hill to the bridge with him. 

You found Sam passed out on the floor and sat with Dean while he did his best to wake his brother up. When he did finally awaken, the paramedics had begun to arrive. Andy’s skills were clearly developing given the way he spoke to the police about the incident.

“He shot himself. And you all saw it happen,” he told them. All of the policemen nodded in affirmation.

The paramedics fixed Sam’s shoulder and wrapped a disposable blanket around Tracy’s shoulders. You watched Tracy’s frightened gaze that she couldn’t quite meet Andy’s eyes with. You knew she wouldn’t ever see him the same, and that broke your heart a bit. Andy seemed to understand that, too.

“She won't even look at me,” he noted.

“Yeah, she's pretty shaken up,” Sam gently responded.

“No, it's— this is different. It's, uh, I never— I never used my mind-thing on her before. Before tonight. She's scared of me now.” His face fell as the words left his lips; as if it became real for him.

“Hey, Andy, I hate to do this, but um, we have to get out of here. Here. I wrote down my cell.” Sam handed him a piece of paper with his phone number on it. “You don't have to be alone in this, alright? If anything comes up, just call me up.” 

“Wha- what am I supposed to do now?”

“You be good, Andy. Or we'll be back,” Dean stated firmly.

“Looks like I was right,” Sam said as you walked back to the car with the brothers.

“About what?” Dean questioned.

“Andy. He’s a killer after all,” he responded.

“No, he's a hero. He saved his girlfriend's life, he saved her life.” Dean pointed to you, his voice becoming firmer.

“Bottom line, he wasted somebody,” Sam argued.

“No, dude,” you jumped in. “He’s not a foaming-at-the-mouth psycho, though. He was pushed into that. All of us would’ve died had he not.”

“Weber was pushed too, in his own way. Max Miller was pushed. Hell, I was pushed by Jessica's death.”

You scoffed. “What’s your point, man?”

“Right circumstances, everyone's capable of murder. Everyone. Y'know, maybe that's what the demon's doing. Pushing us. Finding ways to break us,” Sam continued.

You considered Sam’s words. “I agree that everybody’s capable, but—”

Dean cut you off. “Sam, we don't know what the demon wants, okay? Quit worrying about it.”

“You know, I heard you before, Dean, when Andy made you tell the truth. You're just as scared of this as I am.” Sam turned to his brother.

Dean scoffed. “That was mind control! I mean, it's like, like, that's like being roofied, man, that doesn't count.”

“What?”

“No. I'm- I'm calling do-over,” the older brother responded petulantly.

You giggled. “Are you five?”

“Doesn't matter. Look, we've just gotta keep doing what we're doing, find that evil son of a bitch and kill it,” he told Sam.

The brunet sighed, “Yeah, I guess.”

Dean’s phone rang through the uncomfortable silence. “Hello? Ellen. What's going on? Yeah, we'll be right there.”

***

When you arrived at the Roadhouse, Jo eyed Dean wantonly. You were repulsed, but you stomached your jealousy and pushed forward to Ellen. “What’s going on?” you asked her. 

She motioned for you to sit at the bar. You did so, confused. 

“Jo?” Ellen called to her daughter from behind the bar. “Go pull up another case of beer.”

“Mom,” she groaned.

Ellen stared her down. “Now. Please.”

As Jo left, Ellen leaned across the bar in front of you and the boys. “So. You uh, you want to tell me about this last hunt of yours?”

Dean shook his head. “No. Not really. No offense, it's just kind of a family thing.”

“Not anymore,” she responded. She dropped a stack of papers on the bar in front of you. “I got this stuff from Ash. Andrew Gallagher's house burnt down on his six month birthday, just like your house. You think it was the demon both times, don't you? You think it went after Gallagher's family?”

Sam answered before Dean could. “Yeah, we think so.”

“Sam—” Dean scolded.

“Why?” Ellen asked.

You began, “Ellen, you’re lovely and all, but this really isn’t—”

She cut you off. “You mind your tongue with me, girl. This isn't just your war, this is war. Now, something big and bad's coming, and it's coming fast, and their side holds all the cards. Now, at best, all we got is us. Together. No secrets or half-truths here.”

You eyed her warningly as Sam spoke. “There are people out there, like Andy Gallagher, like me. And um... we all have some kind of ability.”

“Ability?” Ellen asked.

Dean rolled his eyes, uncomfortable.

“Yeah. Psychic ability. Me, I have, um, I have visions. Premonitions. I don't know, it's- it's different for everybody. The demon said he had plans for people like us.”

“What kind of plans?”

“We don't really know for sure.”

“These people out there; these psychics— they dangerous?”

You and Dean jumped in quickly. “No.” Dean finished by saying, “Not all of them.”

Sam eyed his brother. “But some are. Some are very dangerous.”

“Okay, how many of them are we looking at?”

“We've been able to track a clear pattern so far. They've all had house fires on the night of the kid's six month birthday,” Dean explained.

“That's not true,” Sam told his brother.

You turned to him, confused.

“Weber? Or Ansen Weems, or whatever his name is— I looked at his files, and there was no house fire. There's nothing out of the ordinary,” he explained.

Ellen took yours and Dean’s shock as an opportunity to rejoin the conversation. “Which breaks pattern. So if there's any others like him, there'd be nothing in the system. No way to track 'em all down.”

“And so who knows how many of 'em are really out there?” Sam added.

Jo walked up behind you and the boys.

“Jo, honey?” her mom said. “You'd better break out the whiskey instead.”

Series Rewrite Taglist: @polireader @brightlilith @atcamillanorrman @jrizzelle @insomnia-bookworm @procrastination20 @mrs-liebgott @djs8891 @tiggytaylor @staple-your-mouth @jesstherebel @rach5ive @strawberrykiwisdogog @bruhidkjustwannaread @mxltifxnd0m @sunshine-on-marz @big-ol-boat @mgchaser @capncrankle @chervbs @simpingdeadcharacters @nesnejwritings @stillhere197 @tearsforhan @take-it-on-the-run @iloveyou2mia @maxinehufflepuffprincess @ohgeehowdigethere @seninjakitey @berarenado @s0urw00lf @princessleahorgana @quarterhorse19 @isla-finke-blog @silverdoragon @karacaroldanvers @gayandfairycore @examishbookwyrm @star-yawnznn @real-sharena-h @fandomloverrr @metalmonki @onlyangel-444 @yu-winchester @benniwiththefanni @daisychaingirl @immagods @missmieux @yoongi-holland @littledebbieinabigworld

[thetruthwilloutsworld]

🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨

Spoilers if you haven't watched the Season Finale

Parade.com

Paulette Cohn Jan 17, 2025

'Outlander' Author Diana Gabaldon Weighs in on the Shocking Season 7 Finale (Exclusive)

The bestselling author reveals how she helped shape that unexpected ending. Plus, her favorite moments from the episode.

If you’re a book reader like me and not just a TV watcher of Outlander, the Season 7 finale was quite the shocker. It hinted that baby Faith, Claire (Caitríona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser’s (Sam Heughan) child, didn’t die in France and that Master Raymond (Dominique Pinon), who was prominent in Season 2, had something to do with the mystery.

“No part of the ending is from the books, save that Frances's mother's name was Faith,” bestselling author Diana Gabaldon, who created the Outlander novels the series is based on, tells Parade.

In the books, soon after Fanny (Florrie May Wilkinson) comes to live with the Frasers, she shows Claire her tiny cache of possessions, including a locket, with an indistinct miniature of a woman with dark brown hair, and the name "Faith" engraved on the cover. So, while the series changed the when and where Fanny showed Claire the locket, the event did take place in the books.

Courtesy: STARZ

Also, according to Gabaldon, “They totally made up the [use of the song] ‘I Do Like to be Beside the Seaside’ in Season 2 and re-used it here.”

She indicates that it will come into play in the prequel Outlander: Blood of My Blood, as well, but that since that series won’t premiere until this summer, it’s too early to discuss it.

“I agree that the ending of 716 is flat-out weird, partly owing to their (evidently) having exhausted their budget,” Gabaldon continues. “They could have made a more convincing visitation by Master Raymond with blurry special effects, rather than having him just walk through the door and stand there. Better to have kept it soft-focus and leave it up to question as to whether he'd actually been there, or perhaps Claire imagined or dreamed the whole thing. But easy for me to talk; I don't have to figure out the logistics.”

Then she adds, parenthetically, (“I'm frequently pleased that I can do things easily in a book, that are incredibly difficult [not to say expensive] to do in a visual medium. A book is a remarkably useful [and economical] way to tell a story.”) That's not to say that Master Raymond showed up in this manner in either An Echo in the Bone or Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, upon which Season 7 was based.

That said, Gabaldon did have some input into the idea and maybe something similar will show up one day in one of the Outlander spinoff novels she writes, like the Lord John Grey series, especially if she does a book featuring Master Raymond, who is an interesting character. Or if she changes her mind and maybe does a second graphic novel. The first one, The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel, features Jamie Fraser.

Sam Heughan

Courtesy: STARZ

“They actually did get the (general) idea from me, though,” she admits. “When chatting with [showrunner] Matt [Roberts] about All Things plot wise, I mentioned that if I had written a second graphic novel (I didn't, for assorted reasons), I would have shown what actually happened after Faith's presumed death at the Hopital des Anges, and how/why Master Raymond resuscitated and nurtured the baby secretly, but wasn't able to come back with her before Claire and Jamie left France. So, they liked that idea and ran with it.”

Because Outlander is ending with an eighth season that will be only 10 episodes long, and Gabaldon has a lot more story, Season 7—as mentioned—was a combination of An Echo in the Bone and Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, which together are more than a million words of adventure and story.

“The show had 16 hours; just listening to the (very good) audiobook versions takes more than 90 hours, which tells you something about how much has to be left out,” Gabaldon points out. “It's amazing that they're able to make a comprehensible (and usually very good) show, using no more than 20 percent of the book version of the story. (On the other hand, a visual medium is also economical, insofar as they can capture thousands of words of description in a few seconds of film.)

Sam Heughan, David Berry, Caitríona Balfe

Courtesy: STARZ

“Naturally, I have my favorites among the episodes: Ep. 708 and the two battles of Saratoga, for instance, and the parallel stories of Jamie and William [Charles Vandervaart], and some of the later episodes in the second half of Season 7—I love how they handled the accidental triangle among/between Claire and her two husbands, with the collateral damage to Lord John. <g> In re which, while I love and admire all of the actors, who did a remarkable job with this season, my kudos to David Berry, for Lord John's adventures in the last few episodes of 7B."

There’s no word yet when Outlander Season 8 will begin airing, but it has finished filming, so possibly later this year. The Outlander: Blood of My Blood prequel has been announced for this summer.

[whitepine-estate]

Okay, so this theory is partially based on VEX1N's Whitepine theory.

I'm gonna start with the most normal part, and the part that can most easily be taken as kinda a mini theory. Basically Pyroscythe has tuberculosis. All the symptoms line up (coughing, vomiting, etc) and Whitepine's a period drama, TB is pretty common in those and adjacent genres, plus was an actual threat back then.

Now onto the more insane part. Okay so one of the things that VEX1N points out is how the wound on Mysti's neck resembles a bite mark. TB was also associated with vampires and vampire attacks in the past. When Mysti asks Pyro if he had a bad dream, another symptom of vampire attacks, he dodges the question. I'm saying that the killer in Whitepine is a vampire. This is out there I know that, but hear me out. (most of the evidence for this comes from both the New England Vampire Panic, and Dracula, also random bits of vampire lore I've heard)

First things first, there's pretty clearly something wrong with those woods. All the shots lingering on them, the ominous sound design, there's something off. When Pyro is staring out his window, we see that his room seems closer to the woods than other spaces in the house. This means that if something malicious were in those woods, he'd be the easiest person to get to. The camera is also always in some kind of corner when Pyro's alone, almost like its stalking him.

Mrs. Hemlock is pretty clearly dead. It's implied she's been dead for a while (or at least a few months) given no one mentions her and her piano is in the basement. While I can't prove she's a vampire, at least not from ep 1 alone, its plausible. If we do go with the "Pyro's TB is caused by a vampire" theory, then that does point to Mrs. Hemlock being the cause as it was thought that if one family member fell to vampirism, more would soon follow. She'd also circumvent the whole "needing to be invited" thing cause it was her house.

While this is the part I'm even less sold on, it could also tie back to Ivory. Her habits remind me of two bits of vampire lore. The first one is how if you spill poppy seeds in front of a vampire they'll stop and need to count them all. While its more specific than what she does, it fits how she follows things to the letter. Does this mean I think Ivory's a vampire? No, I think she might be a dhampir. Dhampirs are half vampires, they can live like normal people and don't get burned by sunlight. However, in some superstitions they have "a dark mark on the back like a tail." While Ivory's tail isn't particularly dark, it felt wrong to not call it out.

The second thing it reminds me of is how, in Dracula, vampires can control people through force-feeding them their blood. This could also explain Ivory's weird way of carrying out orders.

I'll admit the Ivory stuff is probably the weakest part of the theory, overall it relies a little too much on obscure lore, but when I heard there was a possibility it could be a monster, I couldn't not mention vampires. I'm almost 100% certain Pyro has TB though.

idk if we're allowed to sign off but in case we are -🌊 anon

(Yup! Sign offs are completely allowed!)

As a lover of vampires, I adore this theory so so much - Plus, I’ve become a bit fond of Pyro too over the past few days.

I don’t honestly have anything to add, this is great plus I love the explanation behind Pyro’s vomiting and that he’s the easiest to get to from the forest to absolute bits - Would love to hear more thoughts on this theory. Particularly on your theory of how she might’ve died after acquiring vampirism!

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Changing Seasons

A brief interlude of sorts before we get into the next big plot section! Sprinkles of some things here and there, thank you to @gigi-the-bear for the watering can :)

also! thank you so so so much to @shiphappen-s!!! you're an icon and i adore you

anyways let's watch ethan realize with horror that he's still crushing on chris >:)

Read on Ao3

Warnings: none

Pairings: winterfield (we're getting there)

Word Count: 4170

It takes a period of readjustment for Ethan to get used to the whole, y'know, having-a-body thing. Rose is more than happy to help.

It's not a cell, Chris had said gruffly when he brought Ethan to this tiny room, it's yours. You can—you know, decorate it and all that. If you want to.

Ethan had known that Chris isn't the most emotionally available of people, but having him shuffle awkwardly in the door sounding like an RA explaining the concept of a dorm room was just this side of borderline hysterical. He'd thanked Chris and asked about the bathroom, the laundry, all the normal things he'd ask if he was staying at someone's house, and when Chris had left, it had taken approximately three minutes for Rose to text him saying that yes, she knows the rooms here are bare as hell and yes, she was figuring out a way to drag him out to go shopping.

"I don't think you and I have the same going-off-base permissions, sweetie," he'd tried to say, but Rose had glared at him.

"I didn't have them either until Chris yelled at people. He'll yell at them some more."

No, he won't, Ethan had tried to say, but he'd just smiled and let Rose pepper him with questions about what he wanted his room to look like. Apparently there were things he hadn't even considered when it came to interior design—he'd never really had someone ask him what his color palette was before, aside from at his wedding, but that wasn't something he wanted to think about. Not after his conversation with Mia.

God, Mia…he loves her, he knows he'll always love her, but things were…he's not sure he'll ever be able to reconcile the two halves of Mia he thought he'd known. One of them had never been real, not entirely. He'd been part of her fantasy, hadn't he? That dream of a white picket fence, happy marriage, he'd been part of that. An accessory at worst, a willful fool at best. And learning the truth, diving into this world of bioterrorism and wretched creatures headfirst, just for the chance at having some of that back, then having something, anything, it was a rude awakening.

And, you know, dying. That'll put a damper on anything.

"You're drifting off again."

"Sorry, sweetie."

Rose huffs and leans against his side. He wraps an arm around her shoulders and holds her close. He can't say he's upset at how cuddly his daughter is, not when Chris had muttered something about Rose not having a lot of physical affection. Plus, he's missed out on sixteen years of cuddles. He's gotta start making up for those somehow.

"What were you thinking about?"

"Just…wondering how my life got here."

She shifts, putting her chin on his shoulder. "Yeah. I get that. Are you…do you regret any of it?"

Wow. Going hard with the big questions. "I don't know, Rosie. I'm…I wouldn't give you up for anything, you know that, right?"

"I know, Dad."

"And that's—that's kinda it for me." It's not, and they both know it, but Ethan will not make his daughter deal with his bullshit if she doesn't have to. She's his kid. That's not her job. "That's what's most important to me."

Rose squirms, wrapping her arms around his waist. The two of them sit there for a while, just enjoying each other's presences. Then she snorts.

"What?"

"I just—sorry, it's stupid."

"I love stupid."

"I was thinking about how we're gonna decorate your room and how mushrooms are like, everywhere right now?"

"They are?"

"Yeah. It's like a—it's just a thing right now."

"Is it anything like that weird mustache thing that happened years ago?"

"A what? What weird mustache thing?"

"I don't even really know what it was, it was just—they were everywhere. Like the stereotypical mustache was on T-shirts and coffee mugs and keychains…it was bizarre."

"Wait—" Rose sits up— "like, just a mustache? Like the—oh, God, what's an old thing with a mustache—"

"Hey!" He shoves her lightly. "Who're you calling old?"

"You, you old man! Was it like—the Monopoly guy's mustache?"

"I can't tell whether I'm more upset or relieved that Monopoly was your go-to 'old' thing."

"Okay, Monopoly's not, like, that old but it's an old board game and almost no one plays the classic one anymore. There's so many of them now."

"How many of them are there now? It's gotta be in the thousands."

"Easily. But was I right? Is it that sort of mustache?"

"Basically." He shakes his head, holds his arm back out for her to nestle against his side. "But I interrupted you. Mushrooms?"

Rose settles back against him, her hand gripping the edge of his shirt. She probably doesn't realize she's doing it, but the feeling warms his chest all the same. "Yeah. And I thought it'd be funny if your stuff was all mushroom-themed."

Ethan chuckles. "I think we'd give Chris a heart attack."

She snorts. "Imagine his face."

"Does he still do that thing where he's trying to be sincere—"

"—and he just looks really constipated?"

It's Ethan's turn to snort, turning his face to cover his mouth as Rose cackles freely next to him. "Maybe one mushroom thing, then. Just for fun."

"You're gonna need, like, boring stuff too. Like clothes and sheets and stuff. Wait—" and suddenly she sits bolt upright, turning to face him— "what about a computer and that sort of thing? Chris was only able to get them to give me a laptop is 'cause my teachers said I'd need it for school—"

"Hey, hey, sweetie, settle down," he soothes, quickly bringing her back into his arms—God, he's never taking getting to hold his daughter for granted again— "we'll figure that out when we get there, okay? It's okay, calm down, I don't need a computer right now anyway."

"But then what're you gonna do? Just stare at the wall all day?"

She makes a good point. But he's got a sneaking suspicion that the BSAA is going to be way less inclined to do him any favors versus Rose.

A problem for another day.

"Maybe I'll start reading again. Had a few books on my list that I never got to check out."

"Like what?"

They talk about books for a while. It's nice. It's really nice. It almost feels like they haven't missed sixteen years in the worst way possible. They're just a father and daughter, sitting on his bed, talking about books.

He could get used to this.

***

Rose has a shit-eating grin on her face as she holds out the bag. It's the only thing that's been vaguely gift-wrapped. Ethan takes it, warily glancing at Chris over her shoulder. Chris offers the most exasperated I-Have-No-Idea shrug he's ever seen and well, looks like he's on his own.

He gives her a narrowed-eye look as he carries it over to his desk—they did give him a desk, a notebook, and some actual books, to his surprise, and Chris had mumbled something about getting him a laptop too. He peers through the tissue paper and muffles a snort.

"Okay, so you clearly understand why this is funny." Chris looks between him and a now cackling Rose as Ethan pinches the bridge of his nose. He quickly schools his expression into something approximating neutral.

"How much do you know about taking care of plants, Chris?"

"Uh—not that much."

Rose quickly catches on and makes herself stop laughing. "You know, how it's important to make sure they have enough sunlight? Nutrition?"

"Water?"

Chris looks back at him with a deadpan expression. Without breaking his gaze, Ethan slowly lifts the watering can from the bag, turning it so Chris can see the cartoony mushroom on one side. Chris's eyes dart to it.

He snorts.

He tries to cover it up with a cough but Rose calls out a triumphant ha! and swats his shoulder. And then, well, then Ethan can't stop himself from laughing at it too, proudly putting the watering can on one corner of his desk and holding out his arms to Rose. She lets him hug her, still giggling, as Chris shakes his head.

"I gotta water my dad, Chris."

"I was considering asking for a humidifier in here. It's really dry."

Chris is about to say something when there's another voice from down the hall. He turns and Leon appears next to him. "What're you laughing at?"

"Those two." Chris waves at them.

"Oh? What's the joke?" Rose, still giggling, picks up the watering can to show him. Leon looks at it for about two seconds before he's nodding sagely. "Nice new decor, Winters. Always thought you were a real fungi."

Ethan's grin widens. Rose groans and Chris just glares at Leon like he's done the worst thing in the world. "I was thinking of asking for a humidifier too."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, but it's gonna have to be a small one. You know, considering there's not mushroom in here."

"Oh my God, shut up," Rose grumbles. "That was bad."

"C'mon, sweetie, don't be a spore loser." He chuckles when she punches his shoulder.

"Chris, make them stop."

"Rose, I'm gonna tell you this and you need to understand that it's the goddamn truth, okay?" Chris folds his arms. "I've seen a lot of impressive things done over the years, but nothing in this world or the next one is gonna be able to stop Leon from making stupid jokes. Nothing."

"You're making it sound like you don't appreciate my sense of humor, Redfield."

"Yeah, it really sounds like he wants you to button up." That one gets him blank looks. "The early part of a mushroom's life cycle is called a button."

"Dad!" Rose groans as Leon's eyes gleam.

"You and I are gonna be really good friends, Ethan."

"No cap?"

"No, no, no." Rose claps her hands over her ears. "You can't make a shitty mushroom pun out of not using slang correctly, stop it."

"I've missed out on sixteen years of embarrassing you, sweetie, I gotta start making up for that somehow."

Rose scowls at him without any real heat and makes a grab for the watering can. Ethan snatches her up around the waist, laughing as she squeals in surprise. It quickly turns into squeaky fits of laughter as he peppers kisses all over her face until she's batting weakly at him to make him stop.

"This is my fault for getting you the watering can, isn't it?"

He presses one last smacking kiss to her forehead. "Yep. Totally is, sweetie."

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Chris relax a little as he and Leon watch them. Leon leans over and mutters something too quiet for him to hear, but Chris huffs and turns away—wait.

Wait.

There's no way that Chris Redfield is blushing right now, right?

But no sooner does he turn to look, Chris is already blustering something about training or going somewhere and hustling them down the hall and Ethan barely has time to glance at Leon, who just claps him on the shoulder and starts talking with Rose about…something.

It lingers in his head for the rest of the day. Chris couldn't have been blushing. Not only does that completely go against everything he knows about Chris Redfield, but why would Chris be blushing? Leon doesn't strike him as the type of person to say something crude or crass just to get a reaction out of someone, and Chris doesn't seem like the type of person to get flustered by that sort of thing anyway. Maybe it was something embarrassing Chris did? But then why remind him of it right then?

He shakes his head, resolving to not think about Chris Redfield blushing anymore. It probably didn't happen anyway.

It also is probably completely unrelated to the small humidifier that turns up outside his door a few days later. The one that fits right on the edge of his desk next to the watering can.

He feels Eveline shift slightly under his skin and it feel suspiciously like she's rolling her eyes at him.

***

Ethan tries not to pay attention to the files he can see over the doctors' shoulders when they run their tests on him, but sometimes he can't help it. Especially when said doctors are doing a really bad job of whispering about his similarities to someone they're only referring to as W.

Which, really, isn't all that clever. He can tell it's short for someone's name. Part of him wants to tell them that they need to pick another letter because his last name begins with a 'w' too, but that would probably just make them clam up and insist on running more tests. And with his laptop still under heavy negotiation, frankly, he's bored. He's not gonna blow his chances of learning something interesting.

He manages to sneak one decent glance at a screen as he's walked back to his room. There are two files open on the monitor, one with his face, one with another that looks…vaguely familiar. His eyes dart to the name at the top.

Albert Wesker.

He's pushed out of the door before he can see anymore—or let them know that he did see it—but the name rings a bell somewhere. He's pretty sure he's heard Chris mention the name once or twice, and it came up in some of the reports he'd managed to glimpse before Romania, but something…something else.

When he's in his room, he feels Eveline shift like she's trying to show him something. He closes his eyes, lying back on his bed, and feels her start to nudge different memories toward the forefront of his brain. He's back in the village, moving through the barren, snow-covered ground, across that cold bridge to Heisenberg's factory. He can't help the slight swoop in his gut as the images flash past, hands clenching and missing fingers throbbing with phantom pain. Eveline pauses, unsure, but he pushes onwards.

He settles on the memory of that giant wall with all the photos on it. His heart clenches at seeing the Lords again, Mother Miranda, God, even that picture of Mia with Rose…

Focus, he can almost hear Eveline hiss.

He feels his gaze drawn up to a corner, past a picture of Chris's face—had he even noticed that the first time around? Heisenberg had called Chris a boulder-punching asshole, so clearly he sort of knew him, but why was he there? He keeps going, looking at the photos connected to Chris, until he lands on a photo of a man with sunglasses.

His eyes fly open.

It had been a different photo, to be sure, taken way after the other one, but the same man.

Who was he? Someone related to Chris, obviously, though probably not family—then again, he hadn't even known Chris had a sister until recently, and no, they were very much not done with that conversation. If the doctors had his file…a bioweapon, then.

Eveline shifts again and this time he can feel her hesitance. He tries to reach back, reassure her somehow. This time the memory is far more visceral; Ethan winces when he catches sight of a giant Eveline looming over him in the sunlight of Louisiana. It's blurred with Eveline's memory of it too, of seeing him there on the ground, of being riddled with pain—this time it's his turn to get them to focus, we're not there, we're not there, it's over, it's okay.

His—their?—gaze lands on the weapon.

The Albert, he remembers someone calling it and—oh.

Oh, this was complicated complicated.

He figures that probably means it's a good idea not to try to talk to Chris about this right now, and definitely not to tell him about that picture on Heisenberg's wall.

At least not yet.

***

He's wrenched out of a deep sleep with the feeling that something is wrong. He sits up, scrabbling at his chest with blunt fingertips, trying to figure out what's going on, closing his eyes tight to try and see—

Oh. Oh, his baby's crying.

He squeezes his eyes shut and pushes, trying to focus on finding Rose in the network, letting her know that he's here, he's right here, he's gonna take care of her, and he can feel the responding twinge from her that she can see his words. Her voice sounds as it always does like this, as though she's speaking through bubbles.

"Dad?"

hi sweetie, are you okay?

Instead of replying, she fumbles for something and a few seconds later, his phone rings. He scrabbles for it.

"Hey, Rose? Rose, sweetie, what's going on? Are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?"

She sniffles—oh, his poor baby—and he can hear fabric rustling. "Y-yeah."

"I'm sorry, sweetie. It's over now, you're okay. Everything's okay."

"I—I miss you."

His chest aches and he's up and out of bed in a second, going to the door before remembering that it's locked, they won't let him out without an escort, and he's overwhelmed with a wave of uselessness. The world narrows down to the cold metal under his hand and the sound of his daughter sobbing through the phone. "I'm right here, Rosie, I'm right—I'm here, okay? I can't—I can't come to you—I can't get out but I'm here, okay? I'm right here."

"C-can I—" she sobs— "can I come to you? Please?"

"Yes, yeah, of course you can, sweetie, come—come here—c'mere, I'll—how do you get to me?"

"Ask—ask the—is there still a guard outside your door?"

Yes, as a matter of fact, there was. A guard that was currently asking if he was alright. He thinks he manages something about Rose having a nightmare, wanting to come see him, please, let me see my daughter, and too many minutes later there's a muffled sob on the other side and he's going to break this door down if it means getting Rose in his arms—

The door flies open and there's a bundle of fabric and blonde hair throwing itself at his chest and he wraps his arms tightly around his baby girl and pulls her close, stumbling back to sit on his bed, his mouth pressed to her ear as he shushes her and rocks her back and forth.

"I've got you now, sweetie, I'm right here, see? You got me, I've got you, you're safe. No monsters can get you. I'm gonna protect you. I'll keep you safe."

Rose just sniffles and buries her head in the crook of his neck. He runs his hand through her hair, scratching the back of her scalp, kissing her temple. He pulls her into his lap and the two of them just breathe each other in for long moments. Eventually, she sags into his grip and wraps her arms around him too.

"Hey, Rosie," he mumbles, "you feel a little better?"

"Mhm." She sniffles. "I really, really missed you."

"I missed you too, sweetie."

"I wish—I wish we didn't have to do all of this."

"All of what?" Rose just flaps a hand at the door—ah. Right. The door that's still open with the guard looking in on them with a worried look. "Oh."

"You got Jack, though. He's nice."

"Yeah. Jack's nice." One of the few guards that actually seems to treat Ethan like a person. Like he doesn't agree that Ethan's basically locked in like a test mouse. "Thanks, Jack."

"I'm not gonna keep a kid from her dad," Jack says, smiling as Rose's little pink nose peeks out over the crook of Ethan's arm. "Are you guys alright?"

"Better now."

"Better now," Ethan agrees. "Are…can Rose stay here?"

Jack sighs. "I have to let the captain know that she's here, but I'm pretty sure he'll be fine with it."

Rose curls up a little more as Ethan starts moving them toward the middle of the bed, fussing with the covers until she's tucked in up to her chin with his arms around her. He can hear Jack talking quietly with Chris on the phone, glancing at them every so often until he's laughing at something.

"No, Captain, you don't need to come, they're alright." He raises his eyebrows. "You wanna talk to them yourself?"

Without waiting for a response, he walks over and holds out the phone. Ethan takes it, holding it close so Rose can hear too. "Chris?"

"Ethan." He can almost hear Chris sagging in relief. "Are you both okay? Is Rose alright?"

"She's okay. Just a nightmare."

"'M fine, Chris," Rose mumbles, snuggling into Ethan's side, "I'm okay now."

"Okay. Good. That's…that's good." There's the soft rustle of fabric over the phone. "Are…you should stay with Ethan tonight."

"Can I?"

"Shit, Rose, yeah, stay with your dad after you've had a nightmare. That's fine."

Rose slumps against him in relief and Ethan can't help but do that same. "Thanks, Chris."

Chris grumbles something that he can't quite make out before he's wishing them a good night's rest and asking him to hand the phone back to Jack. He tells Chris to sleep well too, handing the phone back to Jack, who winks and closes the door.

"Do you think you can go back to sleep?"

Rose shuffles. "Maybe."

"You wanna cuddle with me anyway?"

Rose doesn't reply—teenagers don't typically like to admit that they want to cuddle with their dads—but she snuggles right up to him anyway and he grins, kissing her forehead. "Dad?"

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"You're not gonna leave again, are you?"

Oh, his poor baby…

He shifts so he can take Rose's face in his hands, leaning down so he can kiss her cheek properly. "No, sweetie. I'm not going anywhere."

He thinks, as Rose finally starts to drift back to sleep, that he might've just threatened the universe.

Oh, well. It should know better by now.

***

He honestly thought he was over it.

He thought he'd burned and salted the earth. He thought he'd razed it so nothing could ever grow there again. He thought the world had done a pretty good job of beating it into his head that it was impossible, stupid, hopeless.

But then they were outside in one of those small courtyard things one afternoon. They'd been talking about nothing, not really, and Leon and Rose had started talking about this movie they'd seen. Something about assassins and dogs. Then onto something about tropes and story structure and character arcs, and then Leon had mentioned it.

Something called 'fridging.'

"Wait, what? What's that?"

"You know, how a male character's wife is always killed or something to further his man-pain story?" Rose had flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Sometimes it's his sister or his mother or something like that?"

"Basically the character dies for no other reason than to further the male character's storyline," Leon had added, "like…oh, God, like every action movie ever."

"It happens a lot in superhero movies? Or in, like, certain types of TV shows?"

"Give me an example."

"Uh…did you ever watch that old show about the drug lords?"

All three of them had groaned. "That show isn't old, Rose," Chris had said.

"It came out, like, more than ten years ago, that's old."

Leon had winced. "Yeah, though, uh, Jane in Breaking Bad, that's an example."

"Or like—most superhero movies? When the female character makes this, like, big sacrifice that's supposedly an arc for her but really it's just to get her out of the way so that the male characters can feel bad about it?"

"Huh." Ethan had stared at the ground for a few seconds. "Did I get fridged?"

Silence.

"…what?"

"If our lives were a movie or whatever, did I—did I die to fuel Chris's man pain?"

Now, in the grand scheme of things, was this an appropriate thing to say? No, probably not. Was it kind of insensitive? Probably more than kind of. Did it make any sense once he said it out loud? Only a tiny bit.

But Chris had burst out laughing.

Fully bent over, gasping for air, tears in his eyes, laughing so hard it echoed off the buildings around them. Then Rose had started laughing too. Then Leon. Then all four of them were struggling to breathe as Ethan kept going— "you really had your own story line and everything! I broke your nose once and then practically died in your arms—"

"Stop," Chris wheezes, "stop, Ethan, you're gonna kill me."

"I don't think there's a fridge big enough for you, buddy."

And he's off again, head thrown back, and—and—

And Ethan can't help but stare.

Because Chris looks years younger. Sure, there are still wrinkles where there didn't use to be, but they're laugh lines. And his cheeks are bright red from exertion and he's grinning at Ethan like he still can't believe he can laugh this hard, and then it's softening slightly but he's still smiling like he's glad Ethan isn't dead, like he's glad he's back, like he's…he's…

He thought it was over.

He comes to the screeching conclusion that it isn't.

[styrmwb]

I Beat ENA: Dream BBQ (for now)

I AM DRATULA

2025 might be the year I have played the most indie games, ever. I almost feel like I'm padding my "games beaten" list at this point.

Anyways: ENA. I remember watching the videos a while back, getting it in my recommended list on youtube, and I had two thoughts: 1. This is weird as shit what the fuck is going on; and 2: This feels like a video game

Well, lo and behold, a game is real! While I wouldn't say I was like, actively looking forward to it, I was quite surprised and happy to hear that it dropped, and it was something that I wanted to get my hands on, even after watching a friend play it. It's not a long experience, as it only took me a couple hours to beat it, and a little over 6 to 100% it, but it IS only the first of a few chapters.

WHAT is this (+ Gameplay)

You ever seen LSD: Dream Emulator? Imagine that, with quests, talkable NPCs, and an equally confusing story. That's what ENA is. I remember when I first watched the videos (I believe I first saw Extinction Party) my thoughts started at the egglikes Vinny Vinesauce used to play YEARS back, just very strange walking simulator, OCCASIONALLY interrupted by a CD-I cutscene; animation splayed over the 3D landscape. Playing Dream BBQ, it feels like just that. To make it more of a game, they also added in quests, and multiple paths, on top of just exploring the world and meeting the wacky characters. I think they successfully translated the feel of the videos into video game form, plus extra. Which is funny, cause the videos had video game feel. It's like a weird, reverse engineering or something. Reminds me of my favorite game: LEGO Prince of Persia: The Game. The video game based off the toy set based off the movie based off the video game.

Because of what the videos are, and how the video game managed to translate that, while the gameplay might be simple, it's EXACTLY what I expected, in a good way. The multiple paths and how they intersect, as well as the openness of the world leading to you Not necessarily having to start quests before you can progress them leads to quite a bit of replayability, which is only enhanced by the achievements and supporter edition collectables. Speaking of...

Bonus Content

There's a certain vibe Undertale has. You remember all of the odd secrets, like Gaster, or hallways that would only sometimes appear? That same vibe is what Dream BBQ's achievements and collectables give off in how they work. You're probably never going to get most of the achievements in a first, casual playthrough because of how WEIRD and SPECIFIC they are; and the collectables are usually hidden in very strange corners of the world, some that are a little more reasonable, others that are just like... WHY would you go there. For a game like this, it's perfect. Even if I got really frustrated at some of the parkour needed, or how some bits are just like "stare at the roof for 10 actual real life minutes". It's incredible what game devs can have players do with the promise of achievements. "Please jump off the edge of the map multiple times until a dog randomly appears" < statements generated by the absolutely insane

Beyond the Gameplay

I'm hesitant to just call this section "story", since I can't really do a deep dive in how the story was written or anything. ENA is a very artistic series, and the game is no different. It's not very... straightforward. It is, kinda in a way. It's enough for you to be able to follow everything to play the game. I'm not really sure exactly how to say it, but there's more than what's just said, and it's up to you to interpret it. Kinda like other indie projects that might get eaten up by Game Theory, there MIGHT be implied "lore?" behind everything, and other bits might be like more traditional art, where the meaning depends on the consumer (player in this case). That's part of the fun of the videos. That's part of the fun of the game.

The plot is centered around finding "THE BOSS". Many people exclaim they are THE BOSS, before being denied said title, and we learn to get to THE BOSS, we gotta find these genies to clear away the smoke blocking the island THE BOSS is on. I think that's as simple as I can make it. Chapter 1, which we have access to, is centered around finding one of what seems to be 3 genies. Here comes the part where it gets weirder. The genie is the bathroom. The bathroom has many lines where it sounds like a religious experience. There are people searching for the bathroom, which you need to create life to get to, but others go to a party known as the purge event where they turn into dog creatures and get eaten, where if you do this and take the wrong path the g-bathroom is dead. Make sense? No? Awesome. But there's meaning here! Even if I'm not smart enough to get all of it! When you reach the genie the right way, she gives you a desire. There is the correct option of clearing the smoke, but the others are asking for forgiveness, for happiness. And she speaks like a church chant. The bathroom has 2 stalls with a confessional window. The whole thing clearly is an allegory for like, seeking forgiveness, what people do to find god (the bathroom), how going down the wrong path LITERALLY makes it so you cannot get forgiveness. I'm not the person to really deep dive this, that's Game Theory's job, but there is something here for interpreting art, and that's kinda awesome. It's also why I can't really be traditional about talking about the story. Something I'm very interested to see if the next chapters expand on are the themes of war; how ENA seems to be connected to being an east Asian war veteran? The outfit, the intro seeming like a bombed village, some of the music, how everyone seems to absolutely hate her (even the genie saying she does not deserve forgiveness). There's something here for both in-universe lore, and what it artistically represents. Something about the horrors of war, something about the pain a soldier inflicts and what that does to them, as well as what others think of that. They're cooking something.

Very Strange Characters

Here's something I can be a little more confident on talking about. The cast of idiots this world is inhabited with. 70% of the joy of this game is walking around and talking to new weirdos. I won't talk about Everyone, cause that's... a lot. But I'll mention some of my favorites.

ENA is a different entity than the ones in the videos, being part salesperson and part "meanie"; but the base concept of the character remains and is still just as enjoyable. I really like her visual design, especially that strange "realistic" form; curious to see where they go with it.

Froggy is a very fun support character; mostly his voice acting and animation style is what gets me. He looks 90% smoother than anything else and it's slightly unsettling but in an awesome way. Can't wait to go get beers with him after work

DRATULA! 1: he's funny. I love how annoyed Froggy gets with his constant insistence that he is Dratula. 2: my mans is voiced by Vinny Vinesauce himself, and that's half the joy I get from this character

The fucking CD-I Shaman that lives inside the seal house is the best character in the game. His voice acting is outstanding, he's essentially a literal representation of what I think of when I think this series, and he's Quite Funny (as well as like, the only dude nice to ENA)

There is a secret character hidden behind a wall. A blue polygonal gorilla named Nonkey Jong; he has like, over 100 lines of dialogue, and an achievement if you read them all. He Talks Like This All The Time And It Is Very Funny His full name is very special, and his life story is fascinating.

I think the last character I really have any kind of large opinion on is Theodora, the gen[bathroom]ie. Such a cool representation of a godly figure, with her speaking greek in like a... church-y choir style? I have no idea what the word is and my light googling didn't help, but it really adds to that religious vibe. The creepily smooth animation when it shows her full statue form, with the hollow eyes is some of my favorite animation in the entire game.

All of the characters in this game are very creative, each with a (mostly) unique animation style, each speaking a different language; it's weird, it's enthralling, it's amazing.

Art and Music

I mean, as I've said, the art of this game, both literally and... educationally? interpretationally? metaphorically? is the most important part of the game. I'd say it IS the reason to play it. I feel like I've already pretty much said how special the visuals of the game are, but just to kinda summarize, I love the fusion of 3D and 2D, I love the wide variety of animation styles, the vastly different landscapes and textures used; it's a chaotic mishmash, and it works.

The music I believe is made by the same people that made the tracks for the videos, and their work is still very good. It's just as all over the place as the visuals are, yet still matches the vibes perfectly. I'm quite partial to the title screen, the music that plays as you climb up to the bathroom, the music that plays in Seal House that sounds like Zelda and increases the similarities, and the song that plays in the dying area post turning off the smoke (that's also a callback to the first video Auction Day)

All It Takes Is A Place And The Right Food

My 4th indie game in a year; what have I become?

This was a "simple" experience, but one I quite enjoyed. Honestly, the main complaint I had is I didn't think it was a Deltarune situation going in, and I was kinda sad it ended where it did. I'm excited for the rest of the game to be opened up. A good short walking simulator with lots to explore is good for the soul.

I'm glad that an actual video game was finally made; it feels like this was the inevitable direction with how playable the videos felt. I linked two of em up above, but also check out Temptation Stairway (the longest one) and Power of Potluck, the last two videos. You'll get the vibes of the game right by watching them, honestly.

10/10. A perfect playable representation of some very, very strange videos. I just wish more was available now.

[lovecolibri]

Kristen Reidel wrote 8x14 along with two Lone Star writers 🙃

Okay, thing one, LS mostly had an Owen Strand problem, and that affected the writing, plus I think I remember reading something from Tim about specifically wanting a different vibe from that show than OG (don't quote me on that). These are apparently the writers from 8x12 which I personally enjoyed so I'm not sure that's a reason to doom.

Thing two, you'd better believe I almost pulled something with how hard I rolled my eyes seeing KR is fucking back, like, she replaced mostly Ravi but also every other instance of another better fitting character for a storylome with a white woman self-instert character to make cheating drama with Buck over a gf that no one liked anyway. She sidelined Chim and handled JLHs maternity leave in a shitty way (even if Boston as an episode itself was good the lead up was shit, especially compared with how we are able to clearly see Eddie and keep him involved now over multiple episodes). She wedged what was a deeply important and delicious Eddie storyline into little bit scenes at the top or end of episodes and barely gave it focus because she was too busy trying to force new characters in that there was not space or need for. We got half-assed parental "redemption" arcs that boiled down to the kids having to apologize, we got the weird sanctification of Shannon, the sperm donor arc that could have been good played for laughs and weird sexual jokes based in inaccuracies Buck wouldn't have made, and the coma dream which again could have been good but instead was two conflicting storylines trying to eat each other as they tried to say one thing while doing the opposite. And that's not even touching on the gross blackout arc centered on a rapist instead of the firefam saving people, or her lackluster "disasters" or abysmal finales. So I get the immediate upset about her being back, believe me!

HOWEVER. She is not the showrunner or co-showrunner anymore, and the writers work around the storyline they have been given. The main issue with her episodes were that SHE was the showrunner planning the episodes and she has zero imagination, and a big disinterest in most of the firefam except for a) Buck and whatever sexual situation she could put him in while deeply misunderstanding him as a character because she was obsessed with shitty drama, and b) Athena because she was obsessed with making a gritty cop drama and NOT a rescue show built on hope and heart. If they are doing a cop/military heavy episode I guess it makes a kind of sense to bring her back for that as the episodes she wrote fully under Tim's original run as showrunner weren't complete disasters.

I absolutely immediately lowered my expectations as a precautionary measure, but I'm not going to doom or anything too much until we see what the actual episode is like. And we know Tim can and has previously forced her hand about putting important scenes in, like the two foundational scenes in 4x14 that actually allowed Chris and Eddie to be a part of their own major storyline. She didn't think the Buck/Chris convo or the will scene were needed, but she was overruled, and that was when Tim was already on his way out after FOX shut down his bi Buck/Buddie plans. With ABC clearly giving the show the green light on that front, I don't think we need to be worried. I think that the worst that will happen is it becomes a boring cop drama without the heart and main character connection which hits the big emotional beats 🤷🏻‍♀️

[tiger-lily-55555]

Here to bring you some Oc asks hehe! You mentioned some new guys so they’re all for both Pharsec and Astrapel!

11) What was your inspiration for your OC?

20) If they fight, what's their weapon of choice?

23) Is your OC reliable? Can I call them up at two in the morning if I have a flat tire?

Hello! Thank you so much for the asks!

First I should probably mention that these ocs are for an original idea/story of mine and not Hollow Knight - I'm still fleshing things out but they're both from a world where dreams are created, with Pharsec creating nightmares and Astrapel researching realism from whatever memories make it into their world.

Okay, so starting with Pharsec, his design actually came from a weird dream I had. All I could remember was being in a purple-grey desert, and a purple figure in a top hat and cape bowed at me, the same way someone would after finishing a stage performance of some sort. I developed him and his design overtime from there, basing his design on bugs and reptiles. I came up with him around the time I got introduced to Invader Zim, so his eyes are definitely inspired by that.

While Pharsec was pretty easy to design, Astrapel had a lot more redesigns over time. His colouration is based on the northern lights, with the sparkles on his scales resembling stars. This fits with his personality and interests a lot more than his original design which was pink, turquoise, and yellow - the space theme fits much better than the previous printer ink colours, though I did keep his eye the same. His physical features are a mix of a lion and a snake, with a fuzzy mane and paws with a long, serpentine body.

Neither of the two of them fight necessarily. When confronted, Pharsec is much more likely to just run away. If things did get physical, he'd probably use the environment to his advantage over a specific weapon - he's good at improvisation. If worst comes to worst, he does have some shapeshifting abilities, plus he's got some sharp teeth and mandibles plus a pair of mantis-like limbs he keeps folded up most of the time.

I feel like Astrapel would say something like his weapon of choice would be knowledge - his job and passion is research-related, and he would try to use logic and talking things out over a physical confrontation. That said, he's not the most confrontational person and can be quite anxious and a people-pleaser, so it's not likely that he'd even try to fight if things come down to it. He does have claws and fangs, though, but those would probably be used only in a life-or-death situation.

Finally, for the last question, I would say both Pharsec and Astrapel are reliable, but in different ways and for different people. For example, while Pharsec will always try to be there for the people he cares about, his 'help' can be chaotic at best, and causing a whole bunch more problems at worse. Meanwhile, Astrapel is one of the most reliable people at his workplace, but with the increasing workload is starting to be at the detriment of his relationships with others and himself.

Taking the hypothetical situation of calling them with a flat tire at two in the morning, Astrapel would probably be up doing some extra work, answer immediately, and then call a someone who has the knowledge to help, such as a towing company, and stay on the line with you until everything's alright. If that doesn't work, he would offer a ride, though after dropping you off he'd have to get back home to finish whatever he was working on. Pharsec, on the other hand, would take a few rings to pick up, say that he's on it, and then show up half and hour later in a stolen car with slushies while blaring something like Lemon Demon from the speakers. So you'll get a ride and a slushie, but may also be considered an accomplice in vehicle theft.

[hello-nichya-here]

Since you're the MJ expert, I have a question for you about a thing that's been confusing me. You said he was a shy guy that wasn't comfortable getting too explicitly sexual and didn't like how his brothers treated the women they slept with, but that he also flirted with fans and the In The Closet video is just him getting it on with a model. Was he really not okay with that kind of stuff or did he just say so because he didn't want another stain on his reputation?

I am far from an expert, but let's hope I can help you understand it better.

The part involving the fans is kind of comparing apples to oranges.

Michael didn't like being forced to hear/see his brothers having sex with fans in the same room he had to share with them, not just because he was a kid (raised by a VERY religious mother) but also because who the hell wants to be in that situation? It's awkward and kinda gross at best, and a severe violation of boundaries at worse.

And Michael's disaproval of how his brothers behaved wasn't just about the sex itself - it was about his brother's spying on women to see them undress without their consent, or ignoring a girl's discomfort when she wasn't fully okay with having sex next to a 7-year-old, or taking a fan's virginity and then IMMEDIATELY kicking her out of the room and telling her to never try looking for them again, or treating the girls so poorly Michael was scared they had been raped.

This is all very different from cheeky flirting and taking a fan's number - which was the level of flirting Michael was comfortable with, at least on camera. And considering all the women that were involved with Michael at some point, some of which were not exactly on good terms with him after it, not once ever described him being disrespectful or cruel like his brothers, and claim that he was indeed shy and VERY insecure but did still like to flirt, I'd say neither one nor the other was an act for the cameras.

Plus, there's the obvious factor of "A 40-year-old man that has actually flirted, dated, slept with women and has been married and divorced twice is not gonna behave the same way as a child/teenager that is constantly being forced into situations he has repeatedly said he is not comfortable with (be it dealing with relatives that are having sex with someone literally right next to him, or being locked in a room with two prostitutes because some weird adults having a problem with a 15-year-old boy being a virgin)"

But you are correct for assuming some of Michael's public behavior was based on him (and his managers) wanting to have more control over his image and wanting people to see him as something not fully accurate to the real MJ - you just picked the wrong part of his behavior to question, because the shyness was always genuine, but the sexual stuff sometimes wasn't.

Michael had been target of gay rumors for a LONG time - from the mid 70s till today. And while nowadays an artist being gay, or at least seen as such, would not be a big deal, back then it was a scandal - and Michael had been getting labeled as a bad influence by some conservatives because of his "ambiguous/feminine/androgynous look."

The Bad Era was him starting to embrace a more edgy, masculine, very clearly straight and sexually active persona - they even chose the girl for the "The Way You Make Me Feel" video based on the fact that Michael thought she was hot and she had a major crush on him. He was still supposed to be single, to avoid ruining the fans dream that one of them could totally be his wife someday, but he was now not just allowed to desmontrate interest in women, he had to prove said interest did in fact exist.

The Dangerous Era was supposed to be the follow up to that - and "In The Closet", which is about a secret affair, was originally meant to be a duet between him and Madonna of all people, but that ended up not happening because:

1 - She was FAR more comfortable with being VERY explicit in her lyrics and videos than he was.

2 - She wanted to toy with the "In The Closet" concept, by presenting as male while Michael would present as female - which was the exact opposite of what MJ wanted, since the ironic name of the song is a very clearly meant to subvert the public's expectation that at any second Michael would be coming out as not straight.

3 - Their personalities did not mesh at all, and Michael genuinely did not like Madonna.

When that plan was scrapped, they went for a different approach, that would be faking the "reveal" of a secret, scandalous affair between Michael and the girl that provided the vocals for the song, with "In The Closet" sort of being the "couple's" response to the media speculation - but that idea also ended up not being used.

So, they settled for Michael just picking a model he liked, and the two of them having fun on camera - and even though Michael enjoyed hanging out, working and flirting with Naomi, he also said, in a private conversation with a friend that he had no idea was being recorded, that he did not like doing the more explicit parts of the video, and some scenes (like her basically grinding on his lap) ended up being cut.

He was also NOT happy about how the crew kept telling the girl to get more aggressive and touch him more despite not wanting to because Michael was repeatedly saying to everyone present that he wasn't comfortable with that (seriously, IMAGINE the outrage a situation like that, with the genders reversed, would cause today).

Then the disaster happened. The false accusations of child molestation were all over the media, and the gossip went from "Hahaha, is MJ a faggot?" to "Should he be in jail forever?"

From that moment on, whatever privacy Michael was still desperately holding onto went right out the window. His relationship with Lisa Marie Presley became public, as well as the fact that he had been making moves on her while she was still with her first husband, and the two of them were repeatedly asked "Okay, but do you guys actually fuck?" and very much not believed each time they confirmed it.

Their messy divorce, Michael's second marriage (that was all about him getting to be a dad, with the wife not even living with him and the kids), and their on-again-off-again affair/relationship during said marriage was also very public.

So while I do think Michael's cheeky flirting with fans later in life was genuine, just like his first marriage, it's pretty clear that there's a reason everyone suddenly got to take a look at his private life - it was further proof of his innocence.

[whatyourusherthinks]

My Adventures With Superman Season Two Review

AND WE'RE BACK! If you don't know what we're doing here, than go read my Season One MAWS review, but I'm just gonna keep trucking along!

Season 2 Episode 1 'More Things in Heaven and Earth'

Interesting dream opening, and I like that Clark and Lois are still being cute. But hold the fuck up a second. Jimmy is in charge now? Him selling his YouTube channel to the Daily Planet made him one of the bosses there? Is this implying he's like a partial owner or something? ...Actually I'm okay with this. But why is everyone giving Clark shit for a "lame" date idea? Why do they care? This is why no one likes you Cat! And Jimmy, you were there in the first season and saw Clark way over plan his first date with Lois. And you gave him shit about it. So why are you doing the opposite now? Not only is this entire Valentine's Day plot just their for some no really funny jokes, but I'm more annoyed about that than the entirety of the Daily Planet staff being super investing in Clark and Lois's love life honestly. Jimmy was such a good wingman before! YOU CAN'T DISTRACT ME WITH A REFERENCE TO THE ORGINAL SUPERMAN MOVIE SHOW!

Oh hey the guy who becomes Cyborg Superman is in this episode. That will totally distract me from this weird opening. I do like that Jimmy tries to cheer Lex Luthor up, which he takes as inspiration to become evil. I'm gonna get more into it later, but they do a very interesting dichotomy. I like their version of Kryton in the show, it's another thing I'll get into later as the show reveals more about it. I'm bummed they aren't going to give Superman a Fortress of Solitude, it seems like something they were setting up in this episode, but I get why and I can't blame them for making this choice. I just think it would have been cool. Especially since Jor-El is super cool in this episode. Also, any guesses about who the "enemy" the could not defeat is? Given that those Kryptonian soldiers are killed by a laser that seemed to change directions, the Kirby-dot accents on said laser, and what the planet looks like from space, I think it's Darkseid/the New Gods. That would be hella dope. All the villains in this episode are kinda dumb. Slade has officially fallen into "goon" territory, and Damage... I'm pissed at what they did to Damage. Maybe if the show goes into his backstory in a later episode it could still make him work, but right now they took a antihero with an interesting and complicated relationship with both Superman and the US government and made him Big Punchy Bad Man.

Season 2 Episode 2 'Adventures With My Girlfriend'

Hey this opening is kinda cute, with Waller hyping herself up and bring General Lane cof- Hold the fuck up again, how does Ivo have the Parasite suit? Superman tore him out of the suit and they left the remains in the park, did Task Force X capture him again and stick give him the Parasite tech again? Even though last time he destroyed their base and Waller herself admitted he was going insane? Why would you not keep him out of the suit until you need him to be Parasite? He's not even restrained that well they just leave him in a cell! Ivo aside, this episode is the beginning of something that bothered me throughout the entire season. Lois and Clark spend the entire season needing to talk about various things, and the show just doesn't let them have a moment. It just makes for the most annoying kind of cheap drama. So do you hate the show now? What? No! I still love the characters and the writers know what they are doing with Superman himself. Case in point, this episode is basically Superman versus the Prison Industrial Complex. And it's great. There was more subtle social commentary in the last season, but they make it more in your face this season. Which I have absolutely no problem with. Break my nose with your ACAB propaganda Supes! Plus Lois and Clark are super cute while they are investigating together. I also had a little freak out when Atomic Skull showed up. Yes, he a random Task Force X goon with no set-up, but a) his backstory in the comics is sorta dumb so skipping it works for this character, and b) he just looks so damn cool! A creepy looking destructive force is all you kinda need from AS, so he's good. Also, I like Jimmy's subplot. The laugh Perry White give when Jimmy says the interns aren't aren't listening to him cleansed my soul, and I like that the Newskid Legion and Steve are trying to kill each other in the background. And is this first episode where Superman uses his super-breath? Cool. Also, FUCKING CALLED IT! EVERYONE DID! I DON'T CARE BUGGNUTZ I'M STILL SMART!

Season 2 Episode 3 'Fullmetal Scientist'

Oh HELL the fuck yes! This episode introduces STEEEEEEL~ And Cyborg's dad? That's a cool easter egg. But for real though, Steel is a super dope character and I am so glad they included him in the show, even if he looks dumb. This is what I mean when I say I don't mixing CGI and traditional 2D animation. That CGI mech body with the cartoon head sticking out looks completely ridiculous and makes all of Steel's motions look really weird too. I wish they gave him a mech suit like what Deathstroke has just with a more comic accurate look, or at least a helmet for this new one so he doesn't looks like an egg on a Gundam. I like John Henry Iron's design outside of the suit, I love that he's even bigger and broader than Clark is. I also love how Clark is a huge nerd about him too. And he's Flip's uncle? Okay, sure. I also like what they did with Metallo. It's vastly different to the comics, which is great. In my opinion, the only thing that Metallo has over, say, Cyborg Superman is the kryptonite heart thing, and even then it's not super interesting. Metallo instead being a bunch of drones which Lex improves their power cores with synthetic Kryptonite is a cooler idea. I wish they looked more different than the Task Force X or Kryptonian robots, but I like that they have laser-railguns. Railguns are awesome. I think the forcefield power Clark gets in this episode is cool. It's kinda in the comics, he has a bioelectric aura that just for hand-wavium for dinguses who are like "How can Superman lift a plane by it's nosecone without destroying the plane?" or "How can Superman's clothes stay intact when he's in an explosion?". But as far as I'm aware it's just something that's always on, he doesn't control it. But it's a power that makes sense for Superman to have. Way more than something like "Super Muscular Control".

Now for my problem with the episode: This episode that really made me mad about General Lane not realizing Clark is Superman. THEY'VE BEEN LIVING TOGETHER BETWEEN AND DURING THIS EPISODE AND THE LAST ONE HOW DID JIMMY FIGURE IT OUT AS SOON AS HE MET CLARK BUT A HEAD OF A BLACK OPS TEAM TRYING TO HUNT DOWN SUPERMAN DOESN'T. I wouldn't get so mad if the rest of his identity wasn't so reasonable. The only people who Clark interreacts with as both Superman and himself are Lois, Jimmy, his Parents, and General Lane. (Also I guess Ivo too, but a) they don't establish that he does know Superman's identity or not, and b) even if he doesn't know he's insane because of the Parasite suit so it's explained away that way.) And only the general doesn't know. HOW? I get that he sees Clark as a screw-up who doesn't deserve to date his daughter, but he's shown to be very smart, tactical, and always making plans. And you're telling me he would never even consider that Clark and Superman are the same person? HE VISITED THE KENT FARM AND A SPACESHIP RAISED UP FROM BENEATH THEIR CORNFIELD. Also, don't be surprised if a there is an episode next season where Clark is forced to interview/be in proximity to Lex Luthor and has to not give away his secret identity, only for either Lex to figure it out anyway or for Lex to completely dismiss Clark because he's too "wimpy". Given how the show has handled Clark's secret identity so far, I could see it going either way. But I think it would be way more interesting if Lex actually knows and plots to expose Clark as well as take him out.

Season 2 Episode 4 'Two Lanes Diverged'

THIS EPISODE MAKES ME WANT TO CRY! Not just because the first half of the episode is the sweetest friendship with Clark and Jimmy, not just because the darkest hour and the ending of this episode are gut wrenching, but also because we get Lois's backstory and it's so sad watching her try to connect to a guy who's such a dick AAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHH Alright, calm down Hayden Christensen. *Sniff sniff* You can't make me. Oh dude Toyman is in this episode! I mean barely and it's pretty much just an easter egg but his teddy bear exploded so I'm gonna count it. Why do you even like a guy called Toyman so much? He sounds lame. Gee, I don't know why'd I like a guy who's whole gimmick is Dr. Jekyll except he makes armies of killer robots- Wait. Wait. He's working on a tiny robot model of the Brain. Was he a member of Cadmus? Did he design the Brain's mechanical body!? WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE CONTINUITY?! Oh hey, this is the episode where they really establish Lex and Jimmy's relationship. Lex Luthor in this universe is like an evil opposite to Jimmy Olsen, and that's brilliant. I mean it totally make sense, right? Jimmy's Superman's Best Pal, and what's the opposite of a best friend? A worst enemy. I'm probably way over explaining this, but I like it a lot. I don't think these two characters have had a lot of crossover in the comics WRONG Read the 2019 run of Superman's Pal: Jimmy Olsen. Oh, uh... Sure, this seems right up my alley! (And I do remember one issue where it's revealed that Lex's biggest fear is being Jimmy Olsen, so there's that.) ANYWAY My point is that it's a cool angle to take these two characters and I hope they deepen it in future seasons. Also haha the show does another plot thread that sucked in BvS and works so much better here. Zack. I don't know if this is going to revealed as a lie, but Lex's motivation is really interesting. It's by no means unique to the show, but other stories usually spice it up with "he's jealous of Superman" or "he's cRaZy" and I don't really think he needs that. Paranoia is enough of a motive to plot murder. Also the fight at the end is dope as hell, I love that all the Star Labs gadgets they showed off earlier in the episode come into play and that metal backing track was awesome. I don't even have any nitpick for this episode. This is one's really good.

Season 2 Episode 5 'Most Eligible Superman'

On from the best episode of the season so far to the worst... But let's be positive first. This episode introduces Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl. And her and Jimmy are in love and have the cutest frickin' date and they are OTP! They better hook up for realsies next season I swear to Rao! Calm down, you're hyperventilating. Also, didn't know Wonder Woman has an enby villain. That's cool. So is the fight at the end. But the main plot of this episode is Clark having to pretend he's single so he doesn't accidently reveal his secret identity and also because Cat Grant is an idiot and Lois gets jealous because I guess Clark was supposed to violently reject this hot billionaire flirting with him while also pretending to be single and also because Cat Grant is an idiot. There's some funny moments I guess, but all this dumbassery is just to facilitate Clark and Lois breaking up at the end of the episode FOR ABSOLUTELY NO REASON. Roan Lois breaks up with Clark because she felt overwhelmed and her insecurities took over after her Father left in the previous episode and she felt not good enough for him. Not saying it was aa good reason, but that's why it happened. ...Okay fine, but the next time they see each other they pretty much hook back up, so what is even the point? It's just annoying because most of the time the characters act reasonably and this just feels so contrived and without purpose. Look at Perry's face in the opening after Cat bursts into his office. That is my reaction to this entire episode. Also, there is a bizarre continuity error. Hank Henshaw (the guy who becomes Cyborg Superman) said he had a wife in the first episode of the season so why is he one of Metropolis's most eligible bachelors? Bleh, I'm just gonna kick this one aside and move on.

Season 2 Episode 6 'The Machine Who Would Be Empire'

Okay okay, shake it off. Let's start with saying this is my favorite version of Supergirl I've seen in anything ever. Admittedly, I'm not a huge Supergirl fan to begin with. She's fine, but I've never read or seen anything that makes me go nuts for her. (Although I've heard the Tom King's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is really fucking good and I love his Miracle Man limited series. It's on my reading list.) But this Supergirl is amazing. Probably the smartest thing the show does is have the first episode with her super cute date with Jimmy, because it let's me overlook some of the mean stuff she does to Clark in this episode. But even then, you see her softer side. I like that she's really into exploring and seeing other planets, and I like that Clark immediately starts making fun of her when he finds out she has a crush on Jimmy. It's okay, she get him back. Their sibling dynamic is something we never get in the comics, and I love it. They're cousins. Whatever, get my meaning. I also like how Kara's a massive dumbass. Like it's not really her fault, she's been manipulated by Brainiac since she was born and part of that is he stunted her education, clearly. But the rest of the gang are pretty smart, both academically and emotionally, so it's a good a character who has no idea what she's doing. Ever. (And before anyone jumps up my ass, yes she obviously knows more about Krypton stuff than anyone else still alive, so she's not an idiot technically. But for like 90% of the plots this show has she'd be completely out of her depth.) And hey, speaking of Brainiac, I like what they did with him too. While it would have been cool if he did the bottling cities from the comics, but I still like his motivations. And him being Kryptonian is cool. I like the way he looks, his personality ("With ambitions so small they could fit inside a cradle"), and I like that he can possess Kryptonians. There's a cool symbiosis between Kryptonians and their technology as a whole, it's very transhumanist, I dig it. Also, I noticed Krytonians always have their powers, even on Krypton, for the first time in this episode. I kinda like that change actually. It makes sense with the ultra-conquering empire that they changed Krypton into, and it gives Kara an interesting argument for her perspective in the episode. Also, IS THAT A FUCKING GREEN LANTERN? A THANAGARIAN? A PARADEMON!? THEY LOOK FUCKING AWESOME!

Season 2 Episode 7 'Olsen's Eleven'

Oh hell yeah heist episode! And the Brain and Monsieur Mallah are back?! AND MALLAH HAS HIS BERET!?! This has gotta be the best episode of the season! Also, Livewire has a butch girlfriend now?

All seriousness, I love this episode. I love heist movies, my favorite characters are back, I thought the twist of the episode was great, the final fight was awesome too. This show makes the power of love cool. I feel like half the time "the Power of Love" just like brings someone's partner back from the dead or is a healing power, but I love it when a) the story shows that powerful love can be between anyone, not just romantic partners, and b) the power gives a character a strength boost or drives them to perform an insane feat of endurance. They do it a couple times this season, and they are usually the best moments of their episodes. I also like that Lois admits she was dumb in 'Most Eligible Superman', and I like Jimmy trying to prove he can solve most situations just by talking to someone. The backstory/explaining stuff montages are a cute extra animation style, but I don't care for the big-eyed expressions Livewire gets in some parts. You've already bitched about this in previous episodes. Yeah true, but if the show keeps doing it... Wait that nursing home has the name "Silver Age" that's hilarious. What was I talking about? How it makes no sense that Lois has the Kryptonite shard from the data ball. Oh yeah, how does she have that? It was in Clark's ship and I thought it got destroyed at the end of 'More Things in Heaven and Earth'. Didn't Task Force X get it? That's why they could make Kryptonite weapons and change the Metallos' power core. Okay, I had to go back and check, but Jimmy picked it up the shard and put it back in the ball at the end of the episode, but Slade still had some remnants on his sword that they must use to synthesize more. So not a plot hole.

Season 2 Episode 8 'The Death of Clark Kent'

Flash Bulletin! We got a name drop of the Black Mercy in this episode, which guarantees that Alan Moore absolutely has to hate this show. I, on the other hand, like this episode. Even though like the a quarter of the episode is basically clip show, and the way Kara says Kal-El was starting to grate on my nerves. But forget all that, 'cause JIMMY AND KARA ARE SITTING IN A TREE, WELL KARA'S PROBABLY FLO-OA-TING! Ow my ears, calm the fuck down dude. Shut up you don't have ears, you're a manifestation of my DID. Also, it's another kinda heist-y episode except instead of stealing something, they are rebooting Brainiac or something. Also Brainiac is really sassy in this episode and I like it. ("Now let's find your weakness. So I can kill you.") I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but I really like Brainiac's voice. The voice acting in the show as whole is alright, but the soft, lilting voice Michael Emerson gives him is perfect for the character. I like that Brainiac's plan is to mental break Clark so he can possess him, it's a perfect encapsulation of Clark's emotional journey and also there's an awesome Torquasm Rao refences with how he fends off Brainiac. (At least I think it's a Torquasm Rao reference. It could just be a "Power of Love" thing but it should be a easter egg.) I feel like he could have used memories of Ma and Pa to fight off Brainiac more easily. Eh... Could he have? He tried that with Kara and she easily shook his faith with them. Plus he's in his early twenties and is obsessed with Lois, she's probably the only thing on his mind like 65% of the time. And I super love the dark ending. Everyone on this website has already lost it over Possessed Superman, and yes his moob window is funny. But I actually like way Brainiac poses and moves while possessing Clark more than that. He's very regal, and every action seems calculated. Both Clark and Kara aren't uncoordinated at all, but Brainiac makes them both look like bumbling children. It's really creepy. And his speech at the end. Ugh his speech at the end. Not only is it the best worldbuilding information we get about Kryptonians, but that moment where he tells Kara he loves her right before smashing her into the floor is the best low point in the series.

Season 2 Episode 9 'Pierce the Heavens, Superman!'

Okay... So far the episodes with Superman's name in the titles have been the least good of all the episodes. Does 'Piece the Heavens, Superman!" keep the track record? Well it has a reference to Superman's pet Sun Eater from All Star superman in the first scene of the episode, so obviously it's the best episode so far, duh. I feel like your enjoyment of the show is too reliant on easter eggs and references to the source material. Didn't you knock Deadpool & Wolverine for the same thing? First off, use that title sparingly, I don't want to attract any unwanted guests. Secondly, both MAWS and D&W's use of easter eggs I think is symptomatic of the same thing, which is the writers understanding of the characters and the source material. Clearly both the writers of this show and that movie have done their research and understand what people like about both characters. The difference for me is that one is an pop culture icon representing the ideals of heroism and is a character everyone can and should look up to, and the other is a purposefully obnoxious meme that people like because they are stupid. Superman's the second one right? ...Yeah, now fuck off. But seriously, this episode is dope. I like time loops concepts, I like that Clark and Lois fall for each other all over again when they lose their memories of each other temporarily, and I absolutely love that when Lois realizes she can't be removed from the Black Mercy, she just becomes a pain in the ass for Brainiac. The B-Plot is awesome too. I love that the Daily Planet immediately formulates a plan to rescue Jimmy and Lois after they get arrested, and I love Steve's pep talk for Kara. Y'know, I take back what I said in the last post. I like this Steve Lombard. (Cat still sucks though.) And the end of this episode is probably the coolest "Power of Love" moment, not even just from this show but for anything I've ever seen. Sure, it's a little cheesy, but I am not gonna hate a couple in love working together to overpower a seemingly impossible challenge set to pop-rock.

Season 2 Episode 10 'My Adventures With Supergirl'

And this season's finale is DOPE! First, spoiler warning. Second, I like that all the villains are helping fight off Brainiac with Superman (which is something that happens in the comics from time to time but is much more cool here since it feels like they all want to help rather than have to). Third, the animation in Superman and Supergirl's fight is amazing, might be the best animated fight in the show. Even Brainiac postulating looks extra. And the music that plays when Clark says "Let's bring you home Kara." is so fucking good I can't even. And holy shit, I was so convinced that they were gonna kill Kara in this episode. I'm so happy she's gonna be back for the next season, seriously, she's my favorite character in the show, especially after this this episode. The episode ending with Kara and Clark playing catch in Smallville was perfect. Just like last season, I cannot wait for the next one! It's gonna have Superboy!

[nei-ning]

Been having long weird dreams recently. In one dream I bought little Lars (Tekken 8) figure to a 5yo boy since his mother didn't buy it to him.

In other dream dead hamsters, apparently my pets which I had forgot to feed, became bloody mass and then turned into tiny monkeys!

Last night I had long weird dream. At first I tried to buy a gift to my sister's best friend since she got married. I found NOTHING! As my last effort I tried to buy her a bag of noodles but I didn't get them either! However, I got myself nice little Machamp figure, ahah!

Then, in the same dream, I was in huge bathroom sitting on the toilet already with pants on when Cid (Final Fantasy 7 (remake)) came in to use other toilet. He chuckled at me saying I could do my business and added "Ladies first." I playfully snorted back at him saying I will NOT do that nor even drop my pants as long as he is there. I think he left and gave me my private moment.

Next I was outside and near my local market. This new fusion version of Goku and Vegeta was there (a version which, for my knowledge, doesn't exist here on physical world since I've never seen that for in anime / movies). He was nuts without a nose, this weird spark in his light yellow eyes as he kept going on Krillin, telling all kind of things. Krillin left and the fusion time ended, Goku and Vegeta separating. Vegeta was in his normal form but Goku was actually Vegito (if I remember the name right). He kept talking while I was shown small tree near my local market (that tree doesn't exist). It had big dark green leaves and it made light orange flowers, big ones, and they turned into pumpkins! Vegito kept explaining to Vegeta, who kept nodding with little grin, how they both can manipulate that tree with their thoughts, making it bloom and produce those pumpkins nonstop since those pumpkins were special. They were able to cure dementia and other disease which I don't remember anymore but it was something which doesn't have medication at all.

This same tree also had something to do with Cid and, apparently, you could romanticize him with it! :'D

Dream kept going on and next I was outdoors at the base of little path which went up,past huge red rocky walls. My sister and brother were there with me and I tried to tell them this same dream what I'm telling here now. However, my bro kept interrupting me and my sis didn't pay much attention to me either :'D She was holding a gargoyle statue. It was sitting with wings open, keeping a crystal ball between it's legs. I said "Oh wow, that's amazing." when I saw it. Sis put it on one stone shelf and this gargoyle multiplied. Now there was 3 of them, them all being connected to each other, sitting in a row. I think they all were the same looking and in same position as the first one.

At the end of the dream, now that I was able to tell my dream to my sister, I actually, somehow and by accident for sure, had ended up romanticizing Cid with that damn little tree and it's pumpkins! :'D But it was nice to get cuddles from him! I always thought he would smell bad since he smokes and all that but no, he didn't smell bad at all! Plus he had great humor, ahah! I giggled so much with him :D

Lastly: I also was checking my bank account in my dream, noticing I had got some bonus money 4,111€! I hope this is a good sign! Also, during the dream when I was near my local market, I saw a luggage outside which was black but it was FULLY covered with big clear diamonds! Maybe another good sign?

[hearthandheathenry]

so I’m not sure if this is a sort of ask you’d be able to help with.

I’m very much a believer in mundane before magic. Things like do I have a headache from the lights or is the energy bad in a room? yknow

Anyway- in my head I know it’s silly, and that it’s just my hormones from being on my period- but a part of me thinks that’s it a bit of an interesting coincidence that the peak of my period was on the solar eclipse. This month I’m a few weeks off than regular and it sucked wayyy worse than usual. I was running hot all day and the eclipse was awesome but at night I had a bad fever. I was feeling my emotions worse than normal.

And- again here’s the part that I doubt the most/ think it’s probably just my brain making it up- I cannot for the life of me stop dreaming and daydreaming and thinking about this person I’ve not seen before. Now I’m no stranger to dabbling in more casual manifestation and attraction of friends and good opportunities. I’ve prayed to different gods or left offerings while asking for a friend or someone who could be a partner. The god I’ve been recently making offerings for and researching is a lesser known one from antiquity. Very much fertility and weather- I wonder if now my periods will just be worse since starting my worship lol.

In the back of my head I sorta wanted to do something on the eclipse anyway. It’s not a specific person, but I can’t stop thinking about this gorgeous person. It started when my period started but it’s continued after it. Again this is where I doubt the most since duh I just keep thinking about my ideal guy etc, but, I also had some weird dreams, a lot of imagery of Set from kemetism and birds and this person all jumbled together. Plus while out and about I saw a lot more Egyptian imagery and birds and romantic symbols and shit. It’s just in the very back of my head that I’m thinking maybe my past manifesting/spell work efforts are gonna pay off. Or maybe even someone is doing something and attracting an energy and I happen to be more sensitive to it. Idk just weird coincidences that have been irking me.

Sorry if this ended up being a weird ramble but I really wanted to write out how I was feeling and thought fuck it might as well send in an ask since I never really have much to say.

feel free to not respond if u don’t wanna 👍

also props to ur blog it’s very informative much luv :)

I didn't realize I received an ask, so sorry for the delay and thank you for your patience! I'm always happy to chat or give my 2 cents about anything!

First, I absolutely believe the eclipse can affect your period, so no worries there and it's not crazy or anything. Our menstrual cycles are based on the lunar calendar, every 28 days or so (some are just slightly longer or shorter, but the average is 28 days) and if the moon can affect the tides so completely, it absolutely can affect us humans who are 1 made up of a bunch of water ourselves and 2 are also energetic beings that can be sensitive to magnetic changes like any other being. There's some really cool research videos from NASA showing the magnetic fields around earth moving with the eclipse, feel free to check them out! Everything around us, especially large things with massive energy like the sun or moon, can absolutely affect our bodies! I'm not sure if you were in the path of the eclipse at all, but I'm in northern Illinois and we were at about 93% totality by me and even with that, you could absolutely feel it whether you were inside or not. My husband, child, and I all got huge bursts of energy and it was very overwhelming. My husband described it as an anxious feeling as he's not yet super in touch with his bodily feelings and energy and didn't enjoy the experience, but I could tell for me it felt very neutral but overwhelming, so I leaned into it and used to get excited and get things done. It was again though, very overwhelming, which is why a lot of people don't enjoy eclipses or claim they're chaotic energy. A huge burst of energy will always feel weird! Everyone around us and anyone who we spoke to absolutely felt the same. SO, in conclusion, absolutely could your menstrual cycle be affected.

Now, in regards to the imagery you've been experiencing and you looking into kemetism, I did a little digging myself since I'm not super familiar with kemetism and I found some pretty interesting things! I started off researching the God Set(Seth) since you mentioned him, and noticed the egyptianmuseum.org had mentionrd him being associated with eclipses, not just storms and such, but even more than that he had a long-standing tiff with the God Horus the Younger who ultimately bested him and took over his late-fathers throne. Horus the Younger was represented by a falcon and associated with healing, protection, the sun, and the sky. I'm not sure if this is the God you were making offerings to, but perhaps he is the one answering your calling and you are getting glimpses into a little about him and his journey to steer you towards recognizing who is answering you. They do say that if we focus on something we want, we begin to see it everywhere, even if we don't want to, but also many spiritual people who reach out to their Gods and Goddesses report seeing representstions and messages from them before they realize who is trying to communicate with them. So, perhaps Horus the Younger is the one trying to make contact with you. Or, if you've been manifesting a good partner for yourself, perhaps the man you've been seeing is closely tied with Horus or perhaps follows him spiritually. Or maybe he even just embodies the good characteristics of the God and your brain is choosing to represent him in this imagery. There's a lot of "what ifs" from an outside perspective, and only you will know what rings true to you and your situation. Hopefully some of my ideas and such will spark some clarity on your situation and you will figure out what messages you're receiving from the universe to continue on the path you want to lead. I definitely implore you to open your heart to the messages and synchronicities that appear to you in your life, as our guides are always walking along side us in our journey and the universe whole heartedly supports you in every decision you make. Not everything is a sign, but if it feels like it is, then it probably is. Learn to trust your gut and lead with instinct and be open to the energy around you, and just use your brain to keep you in check from becoming too far gone so that you can still be safe within your reality, instead of held back by anxiety or worry about simply being weird.

On another side note, just with the period and everything, I personally implore you to also maybe use this as a sign to learn more about your menstrual cycle if you've been working with fertility gods and your cycle was suddenly changed by the eclipse! There is so much us women aren't taught and we usually find out ourselves as adults doing research. Understanding the phases of our cycle, what's going on in our body and with our hormones, etc are all things that can lead us to better health, better periods, and a better understanding of ourselves biologically AND spiritually (you'd be amazed at how much power a woman holds thanks to her cycle). There's also so many cool unexplainable things that happen in regards to a woman's body and our ability to create! Did you know at the moment of conception when a sperm meets an egg that there's a flash of light scientists can't explain? Did you know that breastmilk is so complex and tailored to each baby and feeding that we can't reproduce it in a lab? Did you know that your energy levels directly follow your menstrual cycle and affect everything you do from weightlifting or exercise to needing to eat more or less to needing more or less sleep? Theres so much knowledge we've lost that women are now reclaiming and teaching and I love every part of it. I think every woman (and man tbh) should go on a journey of learning about their own fertility cycles and such.

Hopefully this was at least a little bit helpful for you! Best of luck on your journey!

[hexaliamapreviews]

Celeste Map Reviews #23

5 very different experiences coming at ya! MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS FOR A VERY CRYPTIC PUZZLE MAP DOWN BELOW!! SKIP THE SECOND REVIEW IF YOU WANT TO TRY IT YOURSELF!!!!!

FIRST! - Your Story/My World from SSC3! - Once again my wheel thinks that 8% = 30% and I crack open the ssc3 to clear off an easy map yet again! This time it was the interesting looking map (based on the entrance) from before. I read some of the ssc3 prompts and this one was to base the map on a poem about growing up if I recall correctly. Indeed, throughout the map a poem is gradually told to us line by line. It was a pretty nice poem, and the music had a kind of "nostalgic night" feel to it which definitely fit. The main gameplay of the map is split into 4 sections. The first section has some dream crystals and 4 keys scattered around to collect. This map is all about environmental routing, as in you've got to figure out how to get where you need to go with limited resources (core inventory and not a lot of dream crystals), which leads to some puzzlish sections. It's a bit out of my comfort zone, but I managed the first section pretty well, tho backtracking to get a screen transition or similar definitely eats up time and is a bit boring. The second section is larger and features more dream crystals and the new seeker refill! This will make Maddy part seeker which turns the seeker barriers solid and gives her one shot at breaking red blocks. More of the same routing puzzles are here too, including small conventional gameplay segments to nab some keys. I got stuck on the final puzzle which required BOTH special refills to pass but I think that was a cool little bit too. The third section is the largest and has dream jellies in! There are several things to do to get the keys here, including dashing through solids with the help of the dream jellies. I liked this section! It was fun to take the jelly across the area to find everything. Finally, the 4th section is like just the final room; a bit routey but more of a final skill challenge. The map ends on a 'heart'warming final line, though there is a berry here too! It was a bit weird with the portal core block speed thing, but the big bell at the end was very cool! By the way, I liked the deco in this one, feels like a natural environment with a bit of intrigue. Overall, it grew on me as I went along, 7.9/10.

SPOILERS FOR PUZZLE!! FINAL WARNING!!

SECOND! - Maze of Glass by tobyaaa! - skqw had blood on their hands but I eventually managed to see the light! This map is a true and true cryptic puzzle that very clearly warns you to get the pen and paper out. Once I did it was time to hop in and- oh. It's one of *those* kinda things is it? I saw something similar in the 9d moonberry checkpoint where you traverse a maze of identical rooms with subtle differences until you stumble into the right room, not very enjoyable. This map however takes this concept and turns it into a banger escape room. The maze is constructed from identical plus-shaped rooms with teleporters in each cardinal direction. Obviously we've gotta explore the maze for a bit and note down what leads where. It's a pretty expansive area so get lots of paper. After a while of noting down "gardens" and "bell caves" and such I got my first hint room. This room is the end of the maze with multiple entrance points and contains a note which hints us towards the solution. It took me a WHILE to understand it so for a long time I finished off discovering every room but then I was left hopeless as I didn't know where to go next. The note mentioned a commutative property which I understood, being the rooms that can be traversed back and forth. I also knew of the distinct area types, but not the resemblance. After a little while, I looked into who even recommended this thing into my wheel in the first place, and it was SKQW!!! Cheeky chancer even called it "pretty chill". Yeah! Chill like how the Sahara desert is chill! That is to say it's NOT chill!! I got some hints from skqw tho and combined with a second wind to finish the puzzle I went about trying to redo my map. It was like 1-2am at this point but I wouldn't be defeated yet!! EVENTUALLY I deduced the structure of the areas! 6 areas, 6 rooms each, and similar in structure! That meant I was able to easily explore each area on their own before teleporting to another! I still got stuck on the resemblance for a bit, but I figured out the "order" by trying to "speedrun" reaching the note. After trying some dash codes to no avail, I did eventually figure out the resemblance! The areas looked like the exits! The order is important for that reason. After inputting this special "code", I was OUT!! YES! But it wasn't over yet. I was in a massive room that I could explore using the maze thing as a vehicle and there was a switch in there too! It turned the area i could see between black and light blue... After some thinking it hit me! The switch gate! of course! It was a pattern matcher! I filled in the blue correctly and visited the hint room one last time... The switch gate moved! I could finally escape! After 6 hours the maze had come to an end and I was free! I felt SO good for figuring all that out! I also felt hella tired since it was past 3am at that point! But overall, that was an incredible puzzle! I'm not even sure about what more to say, it took my brain to hell and back, but I came out the other end and survived! That's like 2.5/2.5 for tobyaaa's cryptic mapping! 9.4/10

THIRD! - City in My Ass by goopvendor! - Part of the Technical Difficulty map pack, here we have a gm challenge all about weird zipper funnies! I downloaded the pack after a wheel spin on my first unsuccessful night of Shattersong Silver at 12-2am. Apparentely the falling block map is better according to goop, but I just had to check out this map because of the very enticing city aspect, and definitely nothing else. I was thrown into a pretty cool vibe, with goop's familar mapping structure, decent deco, song was a nice listen... The main focus of these maps is the gameplay, and this one was pretty interesting! There's a whole load of funky interactions and tech at play here, like block-boosted dashes to setup supers and hypers, zipper-boosted cornerboosts, boosted zipper-wall jumps, and even down-dashbounces! Each room (of the 9 total) has something unique going for it, and it was mostly pretty fun to get through. Overall, smirk emoji, 8.8/10

FOURTH! - Shattersong by Hydro! - SHONG SILVERRRR!! The wheel rolled "random sjgm silver" and so I braced myself for the 1/17 pumber odds. Luckily, I got Shong, a piss easy standard cuz of that legendary jelly ch- PAH! LOL! WE GO FOR THE BEEF IN THIS HOUSEHOLD! No Major Skips is a high t5 if not t4, pretty backloaded but somewhat consistent overall (for most rooms). Of course since this was a chance to replay shong I'll briefly give my thoughts on it. It's great! A replay now that I'm better at the game really helps show to me how cool this map is! The short-but-hard rooms work great for this map, and I love the running tech theme of cassoosts and bhops which makes things feel pacey, especially given some of the tight time-windows for making everything work. The atmosphere is nigh unrivalled in sj, and oh god the song! One of sjgm's best of the ost! The map contains 9 main rooms (and 5 berries but fuck off that make it like a t1 to do lmao), split into 3 movements each with different time signatures to the cassette beat. The silver berry teleports us to A2, past the tutorial. This one is like alright, being the first room, though the cassoost at the end is quite annoying. A3 would have been awful if not for the strat that nullifies the turnaround in the back half; that being said, some timings are still hard. Next is the first transition room that usually isn't a huge deal... if not for the strat that uses a moosted ultra from the last block to skip some of B1!! It's kinda hard to do which led to a lot of funny deaths but overall worth? B1 is mostly pretty easy and fun, B2 is fucking EVIL. Thankfully there's a strat to free-ify the jump at the start. BUT! The cassoost on green is FUCKED! it worked so little that a good half of my clears here just jumped normally and narrowly missed the spinners. It got a bit better near the end of the grind but it was definitely a chokepoint. B3 is cheesed to hell to avoid 2 hard downdashes and it's on to Third Movement! C1 was hard at first with the triple bhop but after I adopted the strat it was a bit better. C2 IS MY PERSONAL HELL! 3/27 SUCCESS RATE! It's by FAR the hardest room for me with so many tight inputs! I'd have been screwed if not for the 2-lap strat in hecc's fcs! Cadenza is like hard, but with strats it's decently consistent though there's lots of tiny adaptations to be done in the moment. Overall, definitely a backloader. I got plenty of runs to final third, most getting murdered by C2 of course, and that led to this taking 19 hours across 3 days, but after 2 Cadenza deaths I did eventually manage it! I'm still happy that I took the NMS route and stuck it through! Hydro has been defeated at last! I struck her down with my Blade of Resilience! Rejoice! 9.1/10

FIFTH! - Clouded Memories by Sapphire_Xer0! - "low" expert map featuring cloud zippers! This mod caught me without a certain helper dependency, More Lock Blocks, so that was an interesting highlight. As for the map itself, it's a pretty exploration of memories, with 5 sections of unique music, all of which create varying atmospheres, and I think they all do the job pretty well! The map generally gets harder as it goes along, having the cloud zippers, one-use bumpers, red bubbles, then introducing double refills, cloud refills and dash through spikes at the end. Sophie's trademark short rooms once again cook here, and most rooms are good fun! The last 3 were quite routeful and I definitely did them all wrong but I liked the composition of it all. Overall, go play! It deserves some love... 8.6/10

wow what a lot to say huh?

[baconcolacan]

Chaotic ask but Stay Tord and Regimen Tord swapping Tom’s for a week?

If they even manage to last that long together

I wanna do this with their 40 year old versions because its funnier in my head lmao. Idk what writing style this is, kinda weird kinda eh??? Anyway, Regimen Tom's side is a bit long bc that boy is sad.

Stay Tom: Stay Tom is an absolute nightmare for Regimen Tord, especially because he has so much knowledge on how RA operates, there's some differences but the base knowledge is basically the same. Not only that, but this Tom is so highly trained and can counter any of his attacks with ease, his countermeasures mirror his own, and he can only guess that this Tom's Tord actually personally trained him. He can see his cautiousness in him. It also really doesn't help that this Tom likes to call him 'Red Brat' He spends the majority of his time basically playing defense to ensure this Tom doesn't meet with any rebel groups, because he is 100% sure this Tom is ABSOLUTELY able to take him down with less time and effort, and more of a threat, than his own Thomas, because he's more experienced. Plus, ah, he apparently can turn into a giant....monster..... Tom manages to kick his ass in less than 2 days.

Regimen Tom:

It was really weird suddenly appearing in front of a kid. It was also really awkward when that kid started to wail and cry. Then it was extremely terrifying when fucking Tord Larsin suddenly came bursting into the room holding a gun and glaring at him. Then it was back to weird, because the kid screamed 'DADDY!!' and ran up to Tord Larsin as if he wasn't a threat at all. What the fuck??? Okay so, after some really awkward and stilted explanations, suddenly he's on the couch, the kid is staring at him, he's holding...hot chocolate?? Or, no, it tasted really familiar....

....Hot chocolate Baileys with peppermint schnapps. Exactly how he likes it. His go-to comfort drink when he's feeling particularly stressed. Again. What the fuck?

So apparently, universe jumping?? Wow yay, maybe he did have a huge mental breakdown and finally went insane, but thats what this Tord says (and wow he's really old), and the kid is still staring at him by the way, yet somehow it doesn't feel at all like it usually does. Cold, prickling, and suffocating. And...well, now that he's looking at him...even this Tord's staring didn't feel bad. Didn't feel...suffocating. It's muted, withdrawn, and guilty. Well....maybe this mental breakdown was a special one? Something...comforting before he... Next few days feel weird, and hazy, like he's walking through a barely coherent dream. Things seem brighter here, the colours more saturated, and yet unfocused, like he wasn't meant to see too much of it. He passes by a few photos, but chooses not to look when he first saw a face resembling his own, smiling so bright as if he was actually... ..happy.....

That kinda hurt, but oh well, it's his dying thoughts so whatever. The kid's name is Arthur, but he likes being called AK for some reason. AK has been consistently waking him up and walking around with him in this weird too bright little cabin for the past few days. He says he looks like his 'Papa'. Is it weird if he used to think that, if he had a son, he'd call him Arthur too? Old Tord, as he calls him in his head, avoided him for the first two days. Eventually though, he stopped disappearing every time Tom came into a room he was in, he'd tense up sure, but he stopped acting like his ass was on fire and Tom was the one who lit it. For some reason...he's really intrigued by him. So he stares at him, most times. Eventually, Old Tord kinda just shuffled towards him one day while he was seated at the breakfast bar and actually sat next to him. Tom stared at him from the corners of his eyes of course. Old Tord kinda just squirmed in his seat before he said: 'I hurt you....didn't I?'

Tom thought about it, and decided; 'No? Unless you 'jumped universe' or whatever.' Old Tord looked pained and shook his head. 'It's still me,' He said. 'A version of me at least...And I hurt you....' The way he said it made his heart do something funny. He placed his hand on the bar, palm side up and just looked down to the side. Tom was surprised that Old Tord knew how to ask for this, how to ask if he could hold his hand without saying anything, then again...if the pictures were any indication, of course he would. He puts his hand on top of Old Tord's own, and the other gives him a quick squeeze before letting his hand go lax. 'I'm sorry,' Old Tord said, and his voice was so constricted Tom thought he was going to suffocate for a moment. 'I am so so sorry, Tom....Everything that happened to you was never your fault.' Light squeeze. Let go. 'I don't know how much weight this has, but I am so so sorry....' Old Tord still didn't look at him, which was a huge relief. Because he really doesn't know what to do if he saw him crying. The kid- Arthur- appeared again. He was hugging him from behind. Old Tord just kept a loose grip on his hand, he had his hand over his eye, he was shaking. You know...for his dying thoughts, this wasn't so bad, he figures. At least...it's comforting.

[fruitsofhell]

       An idea I’d been working on for a second was that Morpho Knight isn’t the only grim reaper of the Kirby universe, and more just fills the specific niche of taking the souls of warriors. It came from reading the novel where Meta Knight falls into hell, which explained that he came just for the purpose of taking the souls of strong warriors, (something that was then canonized in KatFL). Which is fun cause it opens up the idea of like a little pantheon of reaper butterfly characters for specific niches.

Which I will talk about a lot now.

       So building off that I thought about Morpho’s actions and how it seems he specifically shows up when a character has long overstayed their mortal welcome and needs to be taken away, or needs to have a “final battle”. Given the nature of how Soul Bosses work and how Forgo himself was in that state before Morpho came and got him, I figured the idea was that in the Kirby universe character’s souls can linger on and get lost when they’re still filled with too much emotion and a will to fight on. Thus needing to be tracked down and forcefully taken away by a reaper. It’s easy to imagine this happening with warriors, who are likely to die in fights still full of energy and vengeance, but also power seeking maniacs drunk off power are commonly turned into soul bosses within the games.        Another part of it I thought of though is how much “judgement” is emphasized in Morpho’s descriptions, so obviously that’s an important part of why reapers would exist beyond souls just wandering off. Warriors are probably very tricky to judge because their job includes spreading death and destruction, and you have to weigh that against the good they brought as well as intended to bring with it. And back to the theme of those power hungry maniacs, while some of them were clearly vain like Sectonia, you have Haltmann who started just with the wish to bring back his daughter before he went down a path of corruption.        And Morpho’s origins had always been hard to think about for me, the most obvious idea at first was that it was the same species as Galacta, Kirby, and Meta, but his appearance couldv’e just been because of absorbing Galacta. But then KatFL comes around and he’s still an orb with wings which is in line with our description of their species. As well as the fact that Forgo manages to get “Chaos” powers it previously never showed off only after escaping Morpho... I think it made a strong case for Morpho being soul matter, the way Kirby is heart matter and Zero is dark matter. It’s power’s seemed in line with the idea of how Kirby and Zero represented their specific elements.        (Also as an aside, I wondered if Elfilis would be dream matter, but if Kirby, Zero, and Morpho are our bases for this species... it would not make sense. Plus like I said, it only got the “Chaos” powers related to Astral Void after interacting with Morpho. So no in my opinion.)

Headcanon Starts Here:

       ANYWAYS, thankss to KatFL I’m very sure Morpho, and subsequently his reaper pals, are all a form of Astral Void. But unlike Kirby (Heart Matter) or Zero (Dark Matter), they’re weird trans-dimensional shadow orbs. Which is how they can teleport, turn into butterflies, and break the rules of space-time in order to judge souls across the universe. A butterfly of a certain type comes to everybody who dies, but these bad boys only really make true appearances when things are special. The butterflies work kinda as just pieces of them spread across time and space, and they can appear from them at will as long as they have enough power.        There’s probably far more I could hypothetically make (it would be fun to make a whole rainbow of them), but these are the ideas I have now based on the qualifications of being needed to wrangle troublesome souls and/or those souls needing careful consideration. They also have roles in the actual underworld, which is probably where they consciously spend most of their time as their butterflies go about bringing souls to them.

       All the reapers regard eachother warmly, as being an eternity old makes it hard to keep grudges, and they see eachother sort of as friends or coworkers. Unlike Heart Matter and a lot of other creatures in the universe, they don’t have a burning need for deep attachment and they spend lots of time completely solitary from eachother. They sometimes have small rivalries and running gags though. A big one is how Morpho had been looking forward to claiming Galacta Knight’s soul for most of the warrior’s life in order to punish his hubris, but once he got sealed outside of space-time that became rather impossible - much to Morpho’s despair and the others’ amusement.        The reapers are also completely sexless, and regard themselves as genderless. They just pick up whatever mannerisms or characteristics they feel suits their niche, like Morpho adopting warrior-like traits that could be read as masculine, and Shepard adopting caring and nurturing traits that can be read as feminine. They mostly refer to eachother by name or maybe as “it”, but adopt the pronouns of any peoples or mythologies who regard them as well. To a patriarchal culture the King reaper would be thought of as a man inherently, but to cultures like the Ripple Star fairies who are matriarchal they’d refer to it as a ‘she’.        Most cultures across the Kirby universe pick up on the connection between the butterflies and death, but interpret them in different ways. Some base their versions of them on accounts of their true forms, and some make up characteristics from scratch. The ancient Halcandrans were very familiar with accounts of Morpho and the Artisan as a culture who valued both valor and ingenuity. The fairies of Ripple Star are most familiar with the Shepard as a species of children, and the King who comes to take their queen. Some cultures like the Jamba whom are very absorbed in their own beliefs actually attribute others, such as Astral Void, to ferrying the dead. Which surprisingly holds a tiny nugget of truth as the reapers are spawn of it.

       And speaking of Astral Void, the reapers do tend to pay extra close attention to their fellow voidspawn cousins. Morpho watched Galacta very carefully from a young age, knowing that he would be a truly great warrior but blinded by ego. He did try to scare the guy into not developing a god-complex, but Galacta was stubborn and only saw death’s warnings as challenges. Ever since then he’s watched Meta and Kirby very carefully, and is actually a big fan of Kirby due to him quickly becoming such a humble, merciful boy. Zero created a similar problem for King, and it waited very very patiently for his unimaginably long reign as the god-king of dark matter to be ended by everyone’s favorite pink ball of peace.        They’re not able to communicate directly with other beings, only with their souls, which isn’t very easy to reach in life. Even when appearing as Morpho did in KSA and KatFL, it wasn’t able to talk to others, but it could finally talk to Galacta’s soul in it’s head. The only way they can make appearances like Morpho did to the living and healthy is by using a dead or dying soul, and to those in that state already they can appear like that when casting judgement. They can also control souls of the dead as ghosts to do their bidding and send messages too. But that’s fun stuff for my HC writing. I’ve rambled on long enough.

TL;DR - Morpho is the Knight of Hades, and I thought up a King, Shepard, and Artisan of Hades who have their own niches of souls to guide and judge. They’re genderless, solitary, hyper-dimensional shadow people who are interpreted across the cosmos as different pantheons of death gods. They’re cool with eachother and even look out for their fleshling void-kin, but don’t interact with mortals outside of death matters. Morpho is an exception with it’s shenanigans cause Gala and Forgo cause hard times.

[helplesslydevoted]

I Heard From The Heavens: Chapter 1

A/N: Hi friends! First of all WOW I’m writing this based off a day dream, on a 6 hour flight at 10pm. So bare with me. I too have fallen head over heels for our hot pilot and decided it was time to come out of my three year long writing hiatus (three years y’all, please be gentle I’m still getting back into the swing of things). This will be a series if y’all like it (I hope you do) and I’m always open to suggestions! Also I’m so sorry about the weird text breaks, once I transferred it over to tumblr I wasn’t able to fix them. Love y’all!

Overview: Anya (could also be a self insert), a young women in her late twenties, carries the weight of the world as she attempts to juggle a social life, her job, and raising her five year old nephew. The pair moves to North Island expecting to start a fresh and quiet life. What Anya doesn’t expect is a certain handsome Lieutenant to waltz into their lives.

Warnings: Language…I think that’s it for this chapter?

A night off. Finally.

A rare occurrence in Anya’s life. Her new life.

Being just shy of 29 and new to North Island (famously known as Fighter Town USA to the locals) going out to bars should be apart of Anya’s weekly agenda. Her girlfriends tried to drag her out as much as possible when she was back home, but juggling a career and a kid and a million stressors that no one should have to carry, she barely ever agreed. She’d hoped to reignite her social life once they had landed somewhere safe and were settled, but being away from all family and support Anya found it more difficult than originally planned.

“Oh my god Anya respectfully SHUT UP.” Her best friend Jules spat at her over the phone earlier that Thursday afternoon, “Just find a sitter online, dress sexy and go get drunk for a night. You deserve it. Danny will be fine”. A deep groan rumbled from Anya’s throat at the demand.

“It’s not that easy and you know it. I already got a sitter for tomorrow night to give myself a breather, but wasn’t planning on being gone for more than an hour or two. I’m rarely away from D and he might freak out. You know how anxious he gets. Plus I know nobody here, what if something bad happens? What if I get kidnapped or jumped?” Jules’ high pitched laugh echoes over the phone followed with deep sarcasm “Hey at least you’ll be setting some kind of action. Maybe your kidnapper will be hot.”

“You’re impossible” Anya managed to say as she tried not to giggle. “Besides, I’m very content with my life right now. Not looking for a relationship every five seconds like some people I know.” Anya could hear the eye roll from the other side of the line” Plus it doesn’t matter anyways. What guy my age wants to date a girl with a kid?” She wondered out loud. “A good one. The right one. You just gotta find him”. There it was. A rare seriousness from Jules Henderson.

A beat, a deep breath and an agreement followed.

“Fine. Just one night, and I’ll finding someone to go with. I’m not dumb enough to go alone.” Cheers were heard from Jules side as Anya hung up. “What the hell did I get myself into with her” She mumbled to herself.

Mentally preparing for the usual Friday buzz at work, Anya took extra time whisking her boy off to school. Daniel was a brilliant kid, always eager to learn and do the best he could. While other kids were screaming or picking their noses, he would stare at the chalkboard in his kindergarten classroom with wide bright blue eyes of wonder. His innocence and caring nature made it even harder on Anya to watch him continue to grow up in a harsh world. She was reminded of that especially as he waddled with excitement into school this warm Friday morning and she took a few moments to sit with her thoughts before buckling up for the hectic day, and setting out with a separate quest to find a buddy to go out with that night.

Working as a teacher made it especially difficult for Anya to find friends her age in the staff. All her coworkers were either in their early or late days. No in between. Greenville High Schools principal was young and could let loose, but Anya decided it was too soon to ask her new boss to go out partying with her. And the 74 year old Mrs.Mill who taught AP English across the hall definitely did not want to set foot in a bar. So the spiteful choir teacher was pulled aside with an invitation during their lunch period.

Miss Emily Connor is the human form of a bubbly personality, Anya decided after their first few run-ins. Her bright smile and 70’s-hippie-style made her approachable, but she would never miss out on a chance to voice her opinion. And boy was it a loud one.

“There’s a bar by the beach called the Hard Deck that I’ve been to a handful of times. Cute little joint. I teach guitar lessons from 5-6:30 but can meet you there at 7.” Emily suggested, and Anya couldn’t help the smile the grew wide. “Sounds perfect. I’ll see ya there”.

That’s how she ended up in her favorite outfit, walking into the beloved bar full of excitement for freedom and anxiety from leaving Danny with a young babysitter and a long list of instructions. It was a wild Friday night full of tourists, locals and men in uniform. Emily bought Anya a drink and about an hour into the two of them chatting about work and students they’re sharing, the air halted as the blasting music from the jukebox came to an abrupt stop. Within moment, a piano across the bar from the ladies came to life and everyone seemed to drop what they were doing to gather around and sing along to an unfamiliar tune. Anya was both amused and confused all at the same time. Had she moved to a town straight out of a musical where everyone somehow knew the words to songs, and got together to sing them? Never the less, Anya reminded herself to relax and enjoyed the scenery.

“Live in the moment darling” Anya’s grandmother used to constantly remind her.

Anya could not see who was causing all the fuss, and as soon as the rest of the patrons joined in the singing, she no longer could hear him either. Not that she cared, she was just there for the ambience. It wasn’t until the piano stopped and the massive roar of applause and cheering calmed down that she was able to catch a glimpse of the maestro. He was tall, light brown hair curly hair that matched a thin mustache laying above his lips, and aviators resting on the arch of his nose. An old fashioned Hawaiian shirt laid on his broad shoulders and his bright smile held Anya’s attention for longer than she’d consider socially acceptable. Normally she wouldn’t consider mustaches attractive but holy shit this was a first.

“Not bad looking huh?” Emily’s voice snapped her back to the present. Anya just smirked and took a sip of her drinking, hoping to change the topic momentarily. “Not bad at all. Why didn’t you tell me the pool of men here is like a pot of gold?” Emily giggled at Anya’s response and the ladies ordered another round as she did her best to avoid continuously glancing at the mystery man. Although she was unsuccessful multiple times.

Confused as to why he was playing pool and drinking with multiple people in pilots uniforms but not wearing one made it even more difficult for Anya to try and silently figure out who this man was. He had removed the aviators which gave her a small glimpse of his facial features that she hadn’t been able to see before, but from across the way in a crowded room it was difficult to make out his details. However, her train of thought and secret investigation were cut short when she went to peek another glance at him and caught him staring at her. And he didn’t look away.

Bradley Bradshaw had met his fair share of beautiful women, especially being a decorated naval pilot, but nothing had prepared him for this. He had simply looked around the room while waiting for his turn in 8-ball but forgot all about the game when he laid eyes on the most beautiful women he had ever seen. It’s like the whole world dimmed around him and the only light left in the bar was on her. Rooster was never one to stare, but for the life of him he couldn’t look away. It was only a matter of seconds before her eyes locked on his, and for the first time in his life, Bradley was absolutely speechless.

Anya’s cheeks became tomato red and she quickly diverted her attention away from the stranger, who she felt like she’d known her whole life. Suddenly, the room was all too small and the atmosphere was way too hot. Feeling like she couldn’t breathe, Anya excused herself from Emilys presence and stepped outside for some air. Roosters eyes never leaving her as she slipped out of the jumping room.

“Dude what the hells wrong” Phoenix’s voice finally pulled him back to his body. “Hangman just hit three holes in a row and you haven’t even moved.” Suddenly uninterested in the game he was so invested in moments before, the pilot quickly pulled himself together and walked away from his friends “Sorry, I’ll be right back guys”. Protests and groans from the group could be heard as he walked away, but Bradley couldn’t care less as he stepped into the warm evening air.

The sun set on the horizon and the only light left were fairy lights strung outside the bar and a few tiki torches the led way to the beach. Anya took a deep breath as she looked out at the ocean and listened to the faint sound of music from the bar mixed with waves crashing on shore.

“It can get pretty overwhelming in there huh?” The unfamiliar voice was startling at first and caused her to whip her head around, only to find the man she had been so infatuated with only minutes before. Anya wasn’t a shy person necessarily, but flirting or even talking to handsome men had ever been her strong suit. “Yeah I guess you could say that.” She simply responded and offered a small smile which caused a pull on the corners of Roosters mouth. “Either you’re new around here or have somehow managed to avoid this joint in our small community.” He said, a bit too quickly hoping to divert her attention from his noticeable blush. “New” she said with a shrug, looking down at her feet.

“I figured. There’s no way a beautiful girl such as yourself could live here and somehow escape my knowledge”. They were both taken aback by Roosters surge of confidence, and Anya couldn’t help but let out a tiny laugh. “That was cheesy.” she said through a smile. He chuckled at her response and ran a hand through his hair, “It really was, I’m sorry”.

A few moments of awkward silence passed before it was Anya’s turn to break the chain. “So um, that was some show back there.” She muttered out with hesitation. This earned a laugh from the man in front of her. “Thank you thank you, I find the patrons enjoy it and it tends to lighten the place up a bit. Plus my friends have fun with it.”

“So are you in the navy like your friends?” She asked, pushing.

“I am, yes.” Bradley remembered his manners, finally. “Lieutenant Bradley Bradshaw, but everyone calls me Rooster”.

“Rooster huh?” Anya smiled and he went weak in the knees.

“Yeah it’s a call sign. We’ve all got ‘em.” He took this opportunity to step forward and offer a hand to shake, but just as Anya opened her mouth to exchange her name a voice called after her.

“Hey your phone keeps going off and I’m about to throw it in the ocean.”

Ah shit, Emily. AH SHIT, Danny.

Anya offered an apologetic smile to the man and met Emily halfway across the patio, grabbing her phone and seeing multiple texts from the sitter saying she needed to get going before curfew. She groaned and turned towards the handsome stranger.

“I’m sorry but I’ve gotta go. It was nice meeting you Bradley.” She said before spinning on her feet towards the bar. “You can call me Rooster ya know.” He called after her. She stopped right before opening the door to the chaos and called over her shoulder “No I don’t think I will.” With that she disappeared into the crowd.

It took his mind a second to catch up before his feet took off, chasing the women who was escaping. Both pushing through the mob of drunk folks dancing along to the juke, it was not an easy breakaway. Payback stopped Rooster halfway through the room, wondering why he’d bailed on them so quickly, but he just sputtered out a quick apology and an “I’ll be right back” before continuing his mission. By the time Rooster had gotten out the front door, she was already climbing into her car across the parking lot.

“Hey, I didn’t even get your name!” She turned to him, the moonlight outlining her features. God she was breathtaking.

With a smile, Anya simply replied “Guess you’ll have to find me again.” And with that, she was gone.