#there's probably plenty here that's illogical

[mrwavellswaps]

The Principal’s Solution

When Mr Everett was called into the principal’s office to have a one on one meeting, this was the last thing he’d been expecting. “You’re firing me!?”

“David that’s not what I’m—” Principal Bryant was cut off before he could finish.

“What is it? Budget cuts? Because I sure as hell know I haven’t done anything to warrant this? I’ve worked for this school for years! I’ve never even had so much as a sick day!” David rambled on justifiably. After all he couldn’t see a single reason why they wouldn’t want him working as an English teacher here anymore.

Finally however, the Principal put an end to David’s ranting. “Mr Everett! Listen to me! You are not fired! If you had let me finish I was going to say that you’ll be relieved of your current position so that you may take a new one.”

David was a little confused upon hearing this. “What… like a promotion?” He asked, prompting him to wonder if Mrs Freeman, the current head of the English department, had finally decided to retire after spending an eternity here.

“Sort of. Though it’s probably not what you’re imagining right now.” Principal Bryant sighed. “Look. As you know we’ve been low on gym teachers at the school for a while now and with Mr Riggs leaving at the end of next week we’ll be done to only one proper gym teacher. That’s why I’ve decided to move you from the English department over to the Gym department.”

“W-what??” This hadn’t been what David was expecting at all. Moving from English to teach Gym instead? “But sir I’m not a Gym teacher. I teach English! I can’t just switch!”

“Oh come on, of course you can. The English department has plenty of teachers and trainee’s already. I’m sure it’ll do just fine without you.”

David squinted over at Principal Bryant, not believing that his superior couldn’t see the very clear issue with this suggestion. “What?! No, I mean that I have absolutely no idea how to teach a gym class! Hell, I haven't picked up a ball since I was a student. How the hell do you expect me to teach a whole class??” He complained and rightly so. From his point of view this decision seemed completely illogical. “Surely there’s someone else far better suited for this!”

Principal Bryant simply smiled across his desk with a strange glint in his eye that David couldn’t decipher. “Don’t worry Mr Everett. I already have a plan that’ll help you get perfectly settled in with your new position. Soon it’ll be like you never taught English at all.” He chuckled, confusing David en further yet also slightly peaking his interest. “As for the reason I chose you specifically… well you’ve already said it yourself. You’ve never once taken a sick day and you’re always on schedule, if not ahead of it. That’s the kind of dedication I’m looking for in the Gym department.”

Before David had the chance to question his boss any further, Principal Bryant jumped up from his desk with a look on his face that was hard to describe. He seemed excited as whipped open one of the desk draws and pulled out a laptop. The Principal flipped the laptop open and began tapping away, occasionally glancing up at David with an almost lustful smirk. It was a look David had grown all too familiar with over the years. He’d suspected for a long time now that Principal Bryant had a thing for him but he’d never spoken up about it in case he had the wrong impression. But the look he’d received just now, the glint of desire in his boss’ eyes as he glanced up at him, was unmistakable.

“Sir I-” David was cut off before he could speak.

“Ah here it is!” Bryant exclaimed before quickly spinning the laptop so that it faced the couch David was sitting on. “Now Mr Everett. I know you might have some doubts and concerns about this change but this training video I’ve put together should be more than enough to ease your worries. Now if you just sit back and relax for me, we can get started!” He said with a reassuring yet somewhat devious smile.

Once again David hardly had any time to protest before his boss clicked play on the video before moving out of the way. What he was greeted with was a purple and gold hypnotic spiral spinning at a swift pace. Going round and round in fashion so captivating that David couldn’t bring himself to look away. The spiral was just so alluring, so gorgeous to look at that the rest of the world around him just seemed to fall away. He didn’t even take notice of the Principal sitting back at his desk to watch what was about to unfold firsthand.

After about 3 minutes or so a voice began speaking to David through the video…

*Welcome to your one way trip from being a regular ol’ English teacher to becoming a strong and confident Gym teacher that your students and colleagues alike can look up to! My name is Mr Wavell and I’ll be guiding you through this experience.*

The masculine voice spoke with a warm soothing tone which helped to relax David even further, readying his body and mind for what was to come.

*Now let’s get started shall we David? Of course, being an English teacher, you should already know that having the right education and qualifications for the job is essential for becoming a teacher in any area. So let’s get that sorted shall we?*

David didn’t even flinch at how this video seemed to be addressing him directly. He simply continued to focus on the voice as the spiral continued to swirl in a 3D like manner. As if it were reaching out to him and pushing inside his brain.

*Of course we’ve gotta make some room for all these new memories and experiences so…*

It would’ve been impossible to describe what exactly he was feeling right now. It was like something reaching deep into his mind and sifting through his memories until it found what it was looking for. David’s mouth hung open a little as any memories he had of learning English at an advanced level past high school and training to become and English teacher were yanked right out of his head, setting his knowledge of the subject back to a much more basic level.

*Annnnd now to replace them with the proper ones.*

One cue David could feel his mind being stuffed with new memories. Ones where he’d taken basic and later advanced classes in subjects like sports studies and physical education until eventually becoming certified to teach to Gym. Even though these memories were seemingly fabricated, they felt so incredibly real that David found it hard to tell the difference.

*Good! We’re already on the right track it seems. Now all that advanced English mumbo jumbo is gone, you’re already well on your way to becoming a great Gym teacher. But of course what good is all your new knowledge on teaching sports and physical health if you’re not practicing what you teach? Let’s change that shall we?*

More and more memories to push their way inside David’s brain. Forced out were his memories of reading in his spare time and going to book conventions, replaced by memories of him going to a football club and running around a field with a bunch of other dudes throwing a ball back and forth while tackling each other to the ground. He could’ve sworn he’d never been that keen on sports and yet he looked back on memories of kicking a soccer ball around with some mates in his free time very fondly. Suddenly he could recall having played tons of different sporting activities and having loved all of them! He would even watch sports on the TV late in the evening all the time. He couldn’t imagine why he thought for even a second that he didn’t like sports. It was his entire life!

Principal Bryan watched on in astonishment from behind his desk as these mental changes also began to take a rather physical effect on David as well. David had of course always been a rather average guy physically. Having very little muscle on his frame and a small belly. However that soon began to change as any fat on his body started melting away after countless hours of playing sports. In its place some lean muscle began to grow, giving him a physique that reflected great physical health and allowing the suit David was wearing to fit his body in a much more flattering way. Upon witnessing this little transformation, the Principal couldn’t help rubbing his bulge underneath the desk. Completely enthralled by what the video was doing to David.

*Good, good. You’re already looking more and more like a man who’s ready to coach a bunch of jocks. But surely a man like you spends a lot of his time working out in the gym as well right? Lifting weights, Drinking protein shakes. You must’ve put on some noticeable muscle from all that.*

David nodded along to everything he was hearing as he started to remember spending a fair bit of his free time at the gym so he could pump up his muscles, once again causing a ripple effect in the real world. His suit began to feel tighter by the second as his muscles grew even bigger, stretching the fabric of his button down and khaki pants. Biceps threatening to tear his sleeves, almost as much as his pecs threatened to pop the top buttons on his shirt. Thighs thickening into trunks of muscle while his ass swelled up until his pants looked as though they were painted on. Seeing this, the principal had already unzipped his own pants and was jerking over his employee’s transformation.

*That’s it… Looking like a proper example of physical health already. But let’s add a dash of extra manliness to the body of yours shall we? After all, as a coach you’ve also got to serve as a pillar of masculinity at the school for everyone to look up to.*

A shiver traveled across David’s entire body as the next change took place. The small amount of body hair he had before increased as the hair on his arms and legs multiplied. Spreading up across his stomach and chest until he had a thick pelt of manly hair covering his body. However this change was largely unseen by the two men, besides a little chest hair poking out of David’s collar, due to his suit. Though it was impossible to miss David’s sudden growth of facial hair right after, his short beard growing thicker than before! Principal Bryant had always thought David would look hotter with a beard and damn was he right. However there was one last change that the Principal only noticed when David started shifting uncomfortably in his chair a little. His bulge was growing bigger. David was trying to adjust himself because his cock and balls were growing fatter!

*Now how about you show off some of those new improvements to your boss? Take off that tight button down you’re wearing David. I just know a man like you must hate wearing suits anyway.*

“Yeah… I hate suits…” David muttered to himself before practically ripping his shirt open, popping a few of the buttons in the process. The Principal’s eyes bulged at the mere sight of it, getting to see David’s hairy muscular pecs on full display now. “What do you think sir?” He asked his boss in a very monotone yet noticeably deeper voice followed up by him flexing and bouncing his pecs a little.

Bryant hadn’t realised just how personalised this video had been made. He knew that Mr Wavell guy was good but he didn’t realise he was this good. “Y-yes Mr Everett. You look great! Better than great even. You’re so hairy and… just wow. You look even hotter than before!” He was lost for words. Hardly being able to believe the hairy stud before him was the same man he’d watched from afar ever since hiring him. He couldn’t stop jerking his cock under the desk like a perv, leaking pre-cum while David flexed his arms a little to show off his biceps and hairy pits.

*I have no doubt Mr Bryant is enjoying the show right now but we’ve still got a few more things to do David. Next we’ve got to fix those clothes of yours. After all, what kind of Gym teacher wears brown loafers and suit pants?*

David nodded along, agreeing with everything the voice was telling him as his clothes began to change. The aforementioned loafers were first to be affected. They rippled slightly as the colour began to change, lightening from brown to slightly dirty white as the fabric started to alter. Laces formed on the top while the soles of the shoes became more padded. Before long David adorned a fresh pair white sneakers while his long black socks shrunk away into worn white ankle socks.

During this Principal Bryant leaned over his desk a little to get a better look at what was going on. He would’ve been more surprised at sudden change in footwear had he not just witnessed David bulk up in front of his very eyes mere moments ago. Instead Bryant watched on in curiosity as even David himself looked down to watch as his black suit pants were about to undergo a change of their own.

The belt had already evaporated into thin air while the cotton fabric of the pants was amidst transitioning into polyester. The colour began lightening significantly while the pants legs retracted, showing off more of David’s hairy calves by the second. Soon enough they’d shortened all the way up above his knees, showing off a good portion of David’s strong manly legs, while having gone from being black to light grey. Finally leaving the man with a suitable pair of shorts for his new job.

Bryant figured that must’ve been it until he noticed the discarded button down shirt wriggling a little. Sewing itself together, retracting the sleeves completely and altering its colour like everything else until all that was left was a blue tank top.

*There we go! Now you really look the part. I’d say you’re pretty much ready for your position now! All that’s left is make sure your loyalty to this job also translates to your boss Mr Bryant.*

The Principal was surprised to hear that. He hadn’t asked Mr Wavell to add this part but he couldn’t say he didn’t like the sound of it! Meanwhile David was sat having more orders and memories pushed into his mind. Orders to always do exactly as Principal Bryant asks no matter what. To serve him loyally as both an employee and a boyfriend. To be either as submissive or dominant as Bryant wanted him to be. In turn, memories then also began surfacing of David having dated the Principal for over a year now with the two even living together.

*Perfect. Now nobody will bat an eye when they see the two of you together in public. And with that I think your training to become the perfect Gym teacher for this school is complete! Bigger, manlier, more confident and completely subservient to your boss and now partner. I’d say my work here is done wouldn’t you?*

David once again simply nodded along with everything the voice told him, completely entranced.

*Now, this video is going to end momentarily and when it does you’ll believe you’ve always been the way you are now. A hairy sports loving gym coach. And you’re going to love every second of it. Thank you for listening and I hope Mr Bryant back there is pleased with the progress we’ve made today.*

With that the spiral faded and the video finished. David blinked a few times in confusion, glancing around the office and down at himself, trying to recall why exactly he was here again. “Sir… why did you call me in here again? And why am I shirtless?” He wondered, reaching for the discarded tank top.

“Leave it off.” Bryant responded quickly and to his delight David didn’t even question the order. He simply tossed the tank top back on the couch beside him. “Now uhhhh… I called you to um… tell you how good of a job you’ve been doing recently! As one of our few gym teachers you really put the most into your lessons. It’s very inspiring.” He praised the shirtless hunk before him.

David smirked, getting up from the couch and taking a few steps closer to the desk. “Oh come on, you don’t need to butter me up. If you called me in here for some fun then you just say so.” He leaned over the desk, soon quirking an eyebrow as he noticed his boss jerking his cock under it. “Mmmm looks like you already started without me.”

Bryant’s face went bright red but David didn’t seem at all phased. If anything he seemed turned on judging by how he grabbed his crotch through his new gym shorts. God it was weird! David really did believe they were boyfriends now… and he should be completely subservient according to that video. “Haha yeah I just couldn’t help myself. You’re just such a hunk David. How about you uhhh… show me just how much of a hunk you are? Flex for me again and show me why exactly the two of us are together.” He suggested, testing the waters a little.

To the principal’s delight, David did exactly as he was told. He placed one hand on his hip before tossing the other arm up into a strong bicep flex, smirking cockily as he did. He extended his arm out a couple times before bringing it back in to really show how the muscle bulged and peaked. After which he proceeded to do the same with his other arm. Flexing the bulging muscle for his boyfriend without a care in the world. And once he’d finished with his arms he moved down to his chest, grabbing at his hairy pecs a little before bouncing them as well. Showing just how large and meaty they were. He even turned around and did a double bicep pose to really show off the muscle in his back as well. But the part that really made Principal Bryant drool was when David stuck his tongue out while pulling down the back of his shorts to reveal not only his furry ass but also the fact that his underwear had also morphed into a jockstrap! “This is all for you daddy. It might be my body but you own it.” David stated.

“Well in that case, why don’t you get over here so I can smell those sweaty pits of yours.” Bryant found himself growing more confident with his commands and once again David obeyed without question. Walking around his boss’ desk and kneeling down slightly before raising up one of his arms to reveal one of his hairy pits. The principal wasted no time, shoving his nose deep into that armpit before inhaling generously. The scent was strong and musky due to the sweat David had produced during his transformation. Pungent even. But Bryant fucking loved it! He’d been dreaming of sniffing David’s pits for ages and now that he had the chance they smelt even manlier than ever before! He pulled out of one pit before ordering David to show him the other one. The scent of them being just so intoxicating. And to think he’d be able to smell these pits whenever he wanted from now on! “Fuck those smell good… you’ll need to let me sniff them again when we get home later.” He pulled away from musky pits only to give David’s pecs a quick grope, loving how soft the hairy muscle could be when relaxed.

“Of course sir. My smelly pits are yours to sniff whenever you please. I’ll even jog home later to make myself even sweatier instead of driving back with you if you’d prefer that.” David suggested while Bryant ran his tongue along one of the hairy pits, tasting the delicious sweat.

“Now that’s an incredible idea. I want you to be as sweaty as possible.” Bryant confirmed with a devilish grin. “But right now I want you to get down on your knees and suck my cock.” He continued, now fully confident in the power he held over David while gesturing down at the hard, leaking cock that was sticking out of his suit pants.

David looked down at the cock and then back up at his boss. “Anything for you sir.” He smiled seductively as he lowered himself to his knees. Soon finding himself knelt between Bryant’s legs and facing a pulsing cock that was ready to be worshiped. David didn’t waste any time, licking up and down the shaft before eventually wrapping his lips around the shaft, glancing up at Bryant with his deep masculine eyes as he took over half of it down his throat right away. Hardly even gagging when Bryant grabbed the back of head and pushed it down even further. Simply sucking on the rather thick cock as best he could, occasionally pulling off with an audible pop before jerking it for a while until he was ready to go back down on it again. It wasn’t long before the new gym teacher was deep throating the principal’s cock as if it were made out of candy, his bearded chin periodically tapping against Bryant’s nuts.

“Fuuuuck you’re such a good cock sucker…” Principal Bryant grunted in satisfaction. “But I don’t wanna cum just yet.” He added before grabbing David’s head again pulling him off the cock, precum drooling from his mouth. “Now I want you to show me just how much of a slut you are by pulling down those shorts, bending over my desk, and presenting that hairy ass to me.” He commanded with nothing but pure desire in his eyes.

David did just that, standing up and pulling down his shorts, briefly showing off the tent in his jockstrap created by his erection, before bending over the desk in front of his boss, displaying his thick hairy ass in all its glory to the other man. “How’s this sir? Like what you see?” He teased, waving his ass back and forth seductively.

Bryant didn’t even respond. His mouth went dry as his cock pulsed unbelievably hard. He almost couldn’t believe this was happening. And yet when he reached a hand out, the manly ass it rested on was most certainly real. He ran both hands across the two globes in wonder before pulling them apart slightly to get a look at David’s hole. Bryant found his face being drawn to it, slowly inching closer until he couldn’t help himself any more, stuffing his face between two hairy cheeks while internally thanking Mr Wavell for making this a reality.

The new gym teacher chuckled as his boyfriend and boss enjoyed his hole, eating it out eagerly. His enlarged cock bucking inside the jockstrap pouch under the desk as he felt Bryant’s tongue exploring inside his ass, tasting it with a seemingly insatiable hunger. David could tell the principal was really starting to get into now by the way he was smacking David’s furry ass cheeks.

Despite how much he was enjoying eating his new gym teacher boyfriend's ass, Bryant couldn’t ignore the calls of his dick any longer. After getting one last lick in, he stood up straight and looked down at the man bent over his desk with glee. This had been his dream ever since he first saw David and now he got to experience it with an upgraded version of the man. He rubbed his wet cock against the prepped hole, teasing the entrance with his tip.

Bryant looked around his office, checking that the door was locked and all the blinds were closed before grinning, knowing just how soundproof the room was. “Now. I’m gonna shove my cock up your ass and when I do you'll start moaning like cock hungry slut. Begging me to fuck like a submissive bottom who needs filling.” He instructed with a sinister smile.

“Yes sirrrOoooOOHHH FUUUUU-” David moaned out loudly in his deepened voice, hardly getting a chance to finish his response before getting speared by Bryant’s hungry dick. The principal didn’t go easy on him either, stuffing almost his entire length inside at once. “Fuck yeah sir!! Give me all that cock!” He shouted in response while Bryant started to pump in and out slowly. “Ohhh yeah I need it so badly! Keep going!” He begged.

Hearing a guy as manly as David was now begging to get his hairy hole fucked had always been one of David’s biggest fantasies and it definitely showed. He wanted to go slow but the more David moaned the more he couldn’t help picking up the pace. Slamming his cock in deeper, harder and faster with every thrust only to be met with even more slutty moans from the new gym teacher. “Yeah? You like that bitch? Mmmm fuck! Take my dick!” He responded while grabbing onto David’s hips firmly, allowing him to go balls deep with every thrust much to the other man’s delight.

“Mmmmmm yess sirrrr ooohhhhhhh yesss! Please… fill me with you load! I need it inside me!” David groaned in ecstasy as his prostate was slammed into over and over, causing his own cock to dribble excessively, dampening his jock. “Fuuuck! I need your cum so badly!” He squeezed his hole around Bryant’s member as best he could, enticing his boss to spill his load inside.

Fortunately for David, thanks to how horny Bryant was, it seemed he’d be getting his wish sooner rather than later. The principal kept up a strong, fast pace for a good while but finally the pleasure was starting to spike. His balls starting the churn as they prepared themselves. “Oh god…” He grunted, thrusts suddenly becoming less rhythmic. “Nrghh-fuck! I’m gonna… FUUUUUCCKKK!” Bryant roared as his cock exploded with one of the biggest loads he’d ever shot. Draining his balls completely inside the big manly ass before him.

“Yesssss! Give it all to me sir!” David moaned like the submissive slut that he was right now, simultaneously blowing his own load. Completely drenching his jockstrap as thick globs of cum forced their way through the fabric before dripping heavily onto the carpet below.

The two panted heavily for a moment after such an experience. Taking in everything that had just happened. David winced slightly as he felt Bryant slowly pulling his cock back until it flopped out, wet with cum and saliva. Bryant stood up straight again and looked down, admiring what he had before him. It really was a miracle.

“Alright, stand up properly for me David.” The Principal ordered and of course his slutty gym teacher boyfriend did exactly that. “Now turn around for me so I can get a good look at the mess you’ve made…” he smirked, licking his lips as he saw David’s cum covered pouch. He knelt down until he was eye level with the jockstrap before wrapping his mouth around the bulge. David’s cum tasted just as good as he’d hoped. Deliciously salty as he licked and sucked on the bulge. “Damn these balls of yours really know how to produce some amazing cum…” he complimented.

“Thank you sir…” David panted, still a little worn out. Yet he couldn’t stop a grunt from escaping his lips as Bryant squeezed his balls playfully.

With that Principal Bryant jumped back up onto his feet with a content smile on his face. As he did he grabbed the grey shorts that hung around David’s ankles and yanked them all the way back up over David’s crotch and ass. “There you go. Now I want you to go about the rest of your day with my load in your ass. Just imagine that my cum is fuel that keeps you going.” He smirked before giving David’s hairy bubble butt a hefty smack.

“Of course sir! I won’t spill a drop!” David claimed boldly before glancing over at the clock. “Well it looks like lunch is almost over. Guess I’d better start getting ready for my next class. I’ve got some students today that are just as eager about football as I am hahaha!” He chuckled.

“Well you’d better head off then Coach Everett. Wouldn’t want to keep the students waiting now would you?” Bryant smirked while stuffing his cock away in his suit pants again.

“Absolutely not!” David began making his way towards the door, grabbing his tank top and slipping it on over his head. “Well I’ll see you tonight babe after my sweaty jog home.”

“Can’t wait. And maybe tonight I’ll let you be the dominant one instead…”

David unlocked the door and pulled it open. “I like the sound of that.” And with that David took his leave, heading for the gym teacher offices as if he’d always worked down there. Not a single memory of ever being an English teacher left.

Now alone, the Principal found himself punching the air in excitement. This was better than anything he could’ve ever asked for! He’d have to thank Mr Wavell if he ever saw him again because he really went above and beyond. He couldn’t help but wonder what other sexual fantasies he could play out with David in the near future…

———

Little did Bryant know that Wavell had been present the whole time being the pervy warlock he was. Having watched everything that went down from the transformation to the sex. He had a fair reason of wanting to see if the experimental magic infused video he’d given to Bryant worked properly. “Seems everything went smoothly this time. Complete override of specific aspects of the subjects reality. Intensity of transformation magic perfectly balanced. Subject didn’t accidentally turn into a massive muscle giant hardly capable of moving nor is he aware of his former life. Seems like I’ve found the correct formula for these transformation videos.” Wavell muttered to himself…

[whateverfiction]

Welcome all, I present to you…..

The psychology of Mr.CIA, Clandestine Special officer, Russell Adler.

You ever wanted to understand such a man?

“We’ve got a job to do.”

Listen up, haters and lovers up alike. I’ve got things to say.

We all know how fucked up it is that you all love a man who brainwashed the person you play as. Listen, I admire him, I’ll admit. Do I simp? No. Cause’ for a first, I’m wanting to dig deep and see what makes a character tick.

I love to hate him and I love to watch him go.

So here we go…..

First off, the good ending.

Why does he shoot you despite you helping him after the revelation?

Well, there’s logic behind this when you dig into behind the surface.

1. He brainwashed you.

2. Everything’s a risk once the foundation of brainwashing was lifted.

What’s this got to do with anything? Plenty.

You see, why would he keep you around? He knows that no sane person will just be okay with it after they’ve come to terms with it. Bell doesn’t even have to come to terms with it in order to do anything remotely related to vengeance either. If he didn’t put that bullet in you, you would’ve been a problem. Bell, would’ve been a problem. I think Bell knew Adler was going to dispose of them once things blew over. The fact Bell pulls out their gun to match Adler says they don’t trust him and knew this would happen. If they didn’t have any distrust in him, that gun Bell pulled out, would never of been even reached for. You would’ve just stood there unsuspecting of it if you trusted him.

Adler did the right thing for his side of things. There was nothing illogical about it. But why? Why did Bell help? We know the cannon ending is the good ending after all.

However, Bell will be another post for another time.

Also him brainwashing you to begin with, perfect. Let me explain.

If you were him and you needed answers as time is of the essence and Bell was very close contact of Perseus, of course you’d do that to Bell. When you’re Adler and you know no bounds, you’re going to do something; anything. The problem was that we know Bell wasn’t giving him any info. Adler isn’t a quitter. We know Bell was brainwashed because no interrogation tactics were working.

Why not just say Bell didn’t know anything? Well, I say Bell refused to even speak a word during each method, like at all. That says from Adler’s p.o.v that they definitely know something. People who literally don’t know anything will be adamant they don’t know anything, begging for it to stop. Adler has probably interrogated several people throughout his over a decade hunt/battle for Perseus.

Adler is an enigma, let’s keep that in mind.

We know everything yet nothing about him. Bell only knows him from what he’s let them know via the implanted memories. We don’t have a lot to go off of.

However, there is one thing….

We have to go back to Vietnam.

Most of his roots are there and I will find them.

I have to.

See you next post.

[quillsinkwell]

Here's a post I've been drafting for a while!

So I was chatting with my brother about Ruin, explaining certain lore bits to him.

And he's not digging what they're doing with the Mimic, because he chooses not to read the other FNAF books and it doesn't make sense to put the next main villain in a book that's optional to read.

And I've been seeing similar thoughts while scrolling through the FNAF tag here

So I thought I'd share a theory me and my brother came up with one night that doesn't require the books!

Is this canon? Probably not? But it's more satisfying to me and my brother and maybe you'll like it more

Ok, so we're operating under the Princess Quest ending, meaning that Burntrap wasn't canon.

And we saw Glamrock Bonnie's body, so that also dispels the mini theory that Vanny had Bonnie destroyed to make Afton's new body.

So let's be hypothetical here and say Mimic doesn't exist.

So Afton's body has been mutilated and set on fire twice by this point. It wouldn't be too illogical to assume that the body at least was completely destroyed.

But Glitchtrap is a digital entity, given life through his scanned circuit boards.

What if since Vanessa got freed, he couldn't make a new full suit for himself and was limited to just an endoskeleton.

Plus, Glitchtrap is a digital entity, so it makes sense that he could pull recordings of Gregory's voice and mimic them.

Plus it would explain how the endoskeleton had some power over the V.A.N.N.I network, enough to jam it's signal.

I'm supposing that Glitchtrap, using his technical prowess, created the V.A.N.N.I network to have control over the Pizzaplex.

But since Gregory freed Vanessa, she created M.X.E.S and used the same network to lock Glitchtrap underground.

(That's why it was hovering over the Princess Quest arcade cabinet)

It also gives an explanation for our ending that doesn't involve Gregory betraying Cassie.

Glitchtrap might have lost control over Vanessa, but it wasn't confirmed he was washed out of the system.

He could have hacked the elevator and mimicked Gregory's voice to make Cassie think her friend left her for dead, and since Cassie has had plenty of face time with the Vanny mask, he could be trying to turn Cassie against Gregory, and into his new minion.

Is this canon? Probably not.

I just thought it would be cool to share it with folks who weren't satisfied with the books and the canon.

Heck, I kinda like this more than the canon, and I like the books being somewhat canon.

[literaticat]

Romantasy is a trend, I know. And writers shouldn't just chase trends. But with romance consistently being the most popular genre--is it illogical of me to believe this trend might have some staying power?

I think if that's where your writerly passions lie, by all means write it. Romance and Fantasy generally are not "trends" they are just categories -- combining the two might be considered evergreen in a way, rather than "trendy" -- so if you are just passionate about making fantasy a little racy (or romance a little fantastical) -- I think you're fine.

But here you are talking about Romantasy the Trend -- I guess books like Iron Whatever and Throne of Whatever, big ol grownup things that are currently dominating the bestseller list and that I don't want to read and certainly don't rep? Yeah. Well, that's a trend, and I promise you that all trends end -- but also, pretty much all trends do come back eventually, so, whatever I guess. :-)

At the moment, it does feel like every editor is asking for that kind of book. Of course! But the thing is, actually, the publishers have been buying romantasy for years (which is why there's SO MUCH OF IT showing up now -- it takes years!) -- and there is plenty more already scheduled to come out in 2024-25, etc. Those books are already bought. In other words, hopping on a trend NOW would probably not be a great, because let's say it takes you six months or whatever to write the book, polish the book, etc -- well, if you are going out to shop it in late 2024 or early 2025, the earliest it could be published is like, late 2026-2027.

Putting on my Psychic Hat, I predict the following: Romantasy will continue selling well at the bookstore for a while. Probably what seems like a fairly long while. And publishers will continue to buy it. At some point, maybe in six months, maybe in a year, or who knows -- AT SOME POINT -- the pipelines will be absolutely chock full of it (if they aren't already) -- and there will be new Romantasy scheduled out through 2026-2027 and beyond -- and it is at that point, when it seems like every new book is a Romantasy book and there are still more coming, that the bubble will burst. Why?

Because the bookstore will have been FULL of Romantasy and people talking about Romantasy and whatever whatever for YEARS at that point. There will be so many titles that the power of any one has been diluted -- it will be much harder for those new books to break out and find an audience because there will be so many of them. Consequently, they will stop selling as well -- again, dilution, right? Not to mention, people like new things! People get sick of the same stories! People want a break, even when they love something!

So anyway, those big giant hits we have seen in the past year won't hit so big anymore. Publishers, realizing that suddenly their cash cow isn't cashing and the pipeline still has too many cows in it, will pull back dramatically and be like ANYTHING BUT ROMANTASY PLS. And something new will start to trend. Twas ever thus.

...

(Mind you, big giant authors will continue to have an audience and have new books I'm sure, so THEY are fine -- and publishers might be into TWISTS on the trend -- so if you really want to write a romantasy, by all means go for it, just maybe give it a little something "extra" to it so isn't a carbon copy of what already exists!)

[mbti-enemies]

hey, guys! fellow INFP here, I used to have this loathe towards my own type (slash myself in general) too a few years ago

I think it came mostly from some stereotypes I used to hear a lot of back then, stuff like "crybaby", "too sensitive", "manipulative", "dramatic", "self-centered", "selfish", "loonies", "antisocial", "illogical" or things like "INFP's forgive but rarely forget", "INFP's moral standard are too high/unreal", that "we're too obsessed with idealism", "we're stuck in the past", "we victimise ourselves all the time"

and these comments used to really get to me, I'd overthink it for an unhealthily amount of time, specially because I was in a really dark place back then and I'd see myself relating to most of these definitions. I couldn't even focus on all the plenty of good things people had to say about me because when you hate yourself it's is just hard to believe in any perspective that's different from yours.

but then I started working on it, I was so done with hating myself and surrounding myself with toxicity all the time, I'd prioritise everyone else but me, I'd neglect my own happiness and needs until I had a breakdown, pushed everyone away and started this cycle all over again.

It's mentally exhausting and you can't take care of anyone if you don't take care of yourself first, you must always be your first priority and offer yourself the same kindness that you offer to other people.

there's this quote from a book that says "we accept the love we think we deserve", and it's true! once you realise all the good things there is about you and how lovable you are, no one can convince you otherwise, all you need is your own validation, be happy with who you are, clap your own baby steps and stop damning yourself for every tiny mistake you've done, and I promise you'll attract all the good people who will love and accept you for exactly who you are!

people who won't think of your sensitivity as "drama"

you are allowed to feel, you're not "too much", you're allowed to be overly happy and excited over the smallest things, you're allowed to cry when you feel like it even when it seems like "there is no reason to", you're allowed to feel pain over things that you thought you'd be over by now because it's been so long, you're allowed to take time for yourself, to try new hobbies, you're allowed and you should set up boundaries! you're allowed to cut people off when you don't feel good around them, you're allowed to use your voice and stand your ground.

take care of yourself, drink water, eat everyday, try journaling, take long showers once in a while, listen to music, look yourself in the mirror and tell that person looking back at you that they're worthy of every good thing in this life even if you don't believe it (yet). and if all you did today was survive, I'm proud of you for that, and so you should be! I promise you things will get better eventually even if it doesn't feel like it rn. you're amazing and shouldn't accept mediocrity when you are this beautiful human being in and out <3

I'm not perfect and neither are you, there are some days that I see myself falling back into old habits, days when I don't feel lovable, when the highs feel too high and the lows too low, days when I disassociate way more than it'd be considered healthy, etc etc, but you know what? things always get better at some point.

I now have friends I can always count with!

I force myself to share my problems even when I want to stick myself in a cave and never come out again because the world suddenly feels like a horrible place to live in, and I feel like no one cares about me because everyone is probably too busy with their own problems. I promise you there are people who care, you just need to allow them to love you because believe it or not, you are lovable. let them know you need help, or just a hug sometimes.

and you know what's funny? some of my closest friends are also INFP's and I'm so happy that they exist! here are some amazing traits about INFP's: (based on my own experience with them and being one myself, because you're allowed to see and knowledge your valuable traits... I know , shocking)

INFP's can be: empathetic, generous, open-minded, creative, passionate, thoughtful, deep, carrying, intense and vulnerable in the best ways, so very understanding, poetic, kind-hearted etc etc etc

you guys are amazing and I'm very proud of you! (this is for every one who needs to hear it, even if you're not an INFP) <333 have a good way, a great week and an even better life!

(For the earlier infp askers)

Infp, this is the sweetest, truest thing. thank you so so much for taking the time to share this <333

HEAR HEAR

also I think this is gorgeous advice even if you’re not an infp, if you’re struggling with low self esteem, and literally everything else

[myenterpriseisparked]

ENT TnT prompt!!! (no pressure)

T'Pol takes Trip to the jazz club by the Vulcan compound on Earth

DELIGHTFUL IDEA THANK YOU uh, Anon 😉

AO3 Link here

----

Trip hadn't been so sure about the whole "dressing up like it's the 1920's" thing when T'Pol first told him about the jazz club she had liked before she had been assigned to Enterprise and he had suggested it as a date night idea. She said it was something many people did when attending and, though it was not required, she felt it would "enhance the evening and the enjoyment of the musical style." It sounded incredibly illogical to him, but he was willing to don a fedora and early 20th century suit if it would cause her to loosen up a bit.

Now, standing in the hotel lobby, watching her come down the stairs in an elegant, knee-length black and silver dress with her short hair styled in finger waves that suited her so very well, Trip was sure this had been the right idea. Absolutely sure. In fact, he had never been so sure of anything else ever in his whole entire life.

"Are you ready?" She tucked her clutch between her side and one of her silk-glove-covered elbows, which caught the lights above them in a lovely way.

"Uh-huh." Trip said, smartly. He swallowed, mentally smacked himself, and held out an elbow, offering her a smile. "You look stunning."

T'Pol slipped her hand into his elbow, looking away. "Thank you," she said quietly. Was that a green tint in her cheeks? "Your attire suits you as well."

"Well, thank you kindly," he drawled, grinning even more widely.

They walked, arm-in-arm, in comfortable silence, breathing in the cool night air and relishing the closeness. This was the first time they had really been on a proper date in... well, Trip supposed this probably was their first proper date ever, which seemed a bit ridiculous since they were fully married now with a baby girl at home. Nevertheless, before Elizabeth had come into their lives they had never had a proper chance to actually go on a date aside from movie nights in the mess hall and since Elizabeth had arrived, they had been busy buying a house in Florida, figuring out how to care for a baby, and getting married in both of their cultures.

Aside from being their first date, this was the first chance they had had to really breathe in almost 6 months. Hoshi was watching Elizabeth for the next 24 hours, so they would have plenty of time to enjoy a break without getting too anxious about being away from their precious baby girl.

Trip could hear music in the distance now, something swingy and swoopy that he could just barely make out. He glanced down at T’Pol, who could likely already hear it with those superior, pointed ears of hers. Judging by the fleeting, excited glint in her eye, he would wager his earlier supposition was correct.

They rounded a corner and the lights from the club spilled out the front windows and door to bathe T’Pol in a glowy, warm light that made her cheekbones impossibly more defined and her hazel eyes lean more towards green than usual. Trip bit back a grin and opened the front door for her with a slight, dramatic bow. She shot him a look as she stepped through the door, but he could see the mischief playing across her features anyhow. 

Trip stepped in after her and immediately felt about 50lbs lighter. Every inch of this place was utterly and purely alive.

There was a stage towards the front, where a saxophone player was on her knees at the edge, playing a snazzy, upbeat tune supported by the other instrumentalists behind her. A group of people gathered right at the stage edge to hoot and holler their appreciation for the saxophone’s tune. Further away from the source of the music were people dancing, some true to the 1920′s form, others swaying with more modern moves, but no one, not even the handful of elderly couples, was still for even a half moment. At the edge of the room, tables were scattered and filled with people laughing and clapping and clinking glasses in celebration of life and love and music itself. Above the dance floor, decorative red silks and lights cast everything in a soft, rosy glow that felt more electrifying than warming. 

Trip looked around in awe. This place was wonderful, of course, but it was never a place he would have thought T’Pol would come to voluntarily. She might enjoy herself if brought here with the rest of their crew, perhaps, but to have chosen to come here on her own on more than one occasion? And to bring him here?

He glanced down at her, lit in that glow from all around them, the sparking of the crystal glasses and sequined dresses catching in her eyes like the stars they sailed when they had first met, and realized that he might just be truly seeing T’Pol for the first time.

He liked it.

With a bit of a flourish, he held out his hand, which she took without question, and lead her to the dance floor. He didn’t know any of the dances and neither did T’Pol, but they moved their feet and watched the other couples dancing around them until they were at least in-rhythm and feeling a touch breathless as the heady, floating feeling of engaging with music took them over and carried them off into the night.

As they swung and moved, her cool hands kept a steady grip on his (he wasn’t sure at what point she had abandoned her gloves and clutch), moving their bodies closer together and back apart as she picked up the dances faster than he did. A green flush rose in her cheeks and in the tips of her ears in a way that made her somehow wholly alien and completely familiar to him all at once. There was a freedom to her movements that was a bit odd to see coming from T’Pol - or, at least, it should have been, but to Trip it seemed to be the most natural thing in the world, the way she spun and dipped to the music.

The song finally came to an end, leaving them standing there, breathless, hand-in-hand, and inches apart as everyone around them clapped. Realistically, Trip knew they were clapping for the music, but he couldn’t help but feel as though the applause was for them.

The next song started, something slow and sweet, like the molasses his grandma used to put on pancakes in lieu of syrup. Now this was something Trip knew how to dance to.

He placed his hands on T’Pol’s hips, drawing her impossibly closer. Through their bond, she knew to put her arms around his neck as he led her in a gentle sway. Having caught her breath, she laid her head on his chest and sighed. He dipped his head to press his cheek to her forehead and closed his eyes. After a few moments, T’Pol looked up at him, close enough to breathe the same air, eyes like glowing embers in the dim.

For a moment, their noses seemed to dance in time with their feet, occasionally brushing as their gazes migrated between each other’s eyes and lips. In a breathless fraction of a moment, their lips met once, twice, and lingered on a third kiss, spilling over into a number of others that broke them from the rhythm of the music until, some time later, the music ended.

The crowd was applauding again as Trip rested his forehead against her own.

“I see why you like this place.” He said softly, with a slight smile.

She pulled back just enough to look up at him. “I’m pleased that you are enjoying yourself.”

“I’m enjoyin’ you enjoying yourself.” He reached up to brush a wavy strand of hair from her forehead back into her otherwise immaculate hairstyle. “I’m glad you showed me this, this thing that you love.”

She tilted her head as mid-tempo song began. “Do you wish to continue dancing?”

He grinned. “As long as you’re leading? Darlin’, I could dance all night.”

[naturalrights-retard]

The day after President Biden declared the end of the “pandemic,” we learned that in another illogical move, the administration still kept the vax requirement for travelers. And I had dinner with some neighborhood friends who made it through without vaccination, which came with plenty of challenges for us, but we made it. This is an account of three very different perspectives.

I was a bit taken aback at first, but once I had some time to reflect, I was not too concerned, knowing that I practice Whole Foods, Plant-based nutrition, and my immune system should be pretty robust. I have never taken a flu vaccine either, for I realized they are completely futile. By the time the lockdowns hit, I became somewhat concerned but remained skeptical. My first emotional reaction was the analogy with the German occupation of my native Holland in World War 2, flashbacks almost, although I was not there. I was born right after the war, but I grew up with endless stories of living under occupation, and books and movies were starting to be made, so there was imagery galore. It was a lockdown scenario, with curfews, windows blacked out against air raids, etc. Plus, my own father lived several years in hiding in the attic of my grandparents on my mother’s side.

Some friends were very concerned, and I recall discussions with one friend in particular, where I took a stab at some back-of-the-envelope actuarial analysis based on the reports from the Diamond Princess. My first observation was that I was more interested in the 83% who did not get infected than the 17% who did. I also took note of the fact that the average age among the passengers was quite high. In short, I intuited fairly quickly that there was a strong age-dependent aspect to the whole thing.

Soon after, the first report from John Ioannidis came to my attention, and I remember that reasoning it out this way calmed my friend down quite a bit. Soon I began to use the subway again, and the battlefront now became about the masks. Early on, I learned that if there even was an airborne virus, it was too small to be hindered by the masks, so once the initial shock wore off, I started to leave the mask off whenever I could. I noticed on the street being greeted by people, and I did not know who they were sometimes, and I had to really look twice to recognize them with their masks on.

In fairness, my skepticism about the vaccines was immediate, as I was raised by an MD father who was a vaccine skeptic, and I only ever took one childhood vaccine. Granted, a few years ago, I went to Angola, and the Yellow Fever was mandatory; plus, at that time, I followed my doctor’s recommendation on some other vaccinations that seemed reasonable. With what I know about vaccines today, I would either not take the trip, or I would at least avoid any vaccines other than the strictly mandatory ones.

Gradually, with intensive reading, I came to realize that there probably was no “novel coronavirus” anyway. The 83% on the Diamond Princess were the tipoff that this supposed virus could not be all that novel if 83% did not catch the infection in a confined environment. Even people sharing cabins where one got it, and the other did not, underline the notion that there was some level of immunity already.

In early ’21, I very deliberately decided to rely on my natural immunity, and overall good health. In March, I did contract “Covid,” and I memorialized it here. Mostly a nonevent, really. Just take care of yourself in a common sense way. Since then, my focus has been more on supporting people emotionally who decided to stay unvaxxed, for it was not easy. Curiously, in the large family of my girlfriend, we saw over the holidays that it was the medical people who refused, including retiring prematurely, but the vaccinated people had the most health problems. Meanwhile, the unvaccinated were fine. Even her own daughter accused her mother of throwing away her medical education. I have become fascinated by how different people came to their decision.

One of my friends wrote this:

The last three years weirdly feel like a blur.

Physically I am good, but mentally I have utilized so much energy trying to understand what happened.

The censorship and fear tactics that were used are historic.

I knew from the beginning I didn’t want to participate in taking any government-made substance. I prefer to stay away from drugs and utilize more natural products and herbs as preventive medicine.

I prayed every day, and every day, I knew I was doing the right thing for me.

What I learned from this historical event is sometimes you have to look evil in the eye and smile.

I smile every day now, knowing I did what was best for me.

And the other person reported it to me as follows:

He had a sort of a one-day flu in early 2020, and did not worry about it too much, for he was fine the next day. Months later, he learned of a loss of smell and taste as a presumed symptom of Covid-19, and this was confirmed with an antibody test. He did not have work commitments at the time that forced him to get vaccinated though somewhere along the way in ’21, he had an argument with his doctor, and declined the vaccine, because he figured he had natural immunity anyway, and he was on guard because it was all too rushed, and all the incentives and promotional efforts just did not sit right with him. There was also little or no health information, only crazy incentives, or mandates. He also began to see how there were such stark differences in testing policies from one jurisdiction to the next. It all did not add up to him.

Then, in the fall of ’21, someone in a black community group came to him with a notice from his employer about mandates, and the person did not want to get vaccinated. My friend googled lawyer, attorney, vaccine, job, mandate, and nothing came up, and he sensed something was rotten in the state of Denmark. He went on high alert, for normally you can find a lawyer for choking on chewing gum, or anything else.

Clearly, this friend also made it successfully to the other side of this vaccination campaign, without having to go along with the program, but the pressure in NYC has been extraordinary.

Since this dinner, I also became even more aware that the rates of vaccination in NYC are high, but that they show marked differences by borough, and if anything, Brooklyn leads the city in showing more capability for independent thought, with the Bronx only second, amazingly, Manhattan seems to have only sheep, reporting a 99% vaccination rate.

One thing is for sure, I had personally gotten the impression that in Brooklyn, significant numbers of people had stayed unvaccinated, so my own informal reporting lined up with the reports from the administration. All in all, the Bronx did not do too badly, but sadly, New York City overall had high vaccination rates; according to recent CDC data, Brooklyn and the Bronx were at 77% and 78%, respectively. Staten Island also, but both Manhattan and Queens had very high vax uptake. Manhattan is very high also on the boosters, at 48% as of 4/20, about double the rate of Brooklyn, Bronx, and Staten Island.

Certainly, the differences between the boroughs of New York City are pronounced enough that this should make a worthwhile study in its own rights. Nationally, it is interesting how the matter became politicized, which is the last thing we should want if this was about public health, but it seems that, in general, the blue areas have the highest vax rates. All of which aligns very well with the statistical findings of Prof. Denis Rancourt in Canada, which show that it was politics, and the differing public measures, not a virus, that determined the outcomes. In general, the worse the lockdowns, the worse the results, which only makes all the sense in the world, since the whole Covid regime was completely backward, and Sweden remains the poster child to show that less was more. At this stage, we can only hope that we will learn a lesson and that this level of mismanagement will not be repeated any time soon.

As the insane pressure wanes, you now start to hear the stories about the ones that are unvaccinated. To me, this is again comparable to the experience in Holland after the German occupation in 1945. After the liberation, first, you started finding out who was in the resistance or not, but a few years later, you knew that many of those stories were false, or at least exaggerated, for many people who had been collaborating with the German occupation now were eager to cover their tracks. If that pattern holds, soon, people will be bragging about how few shots they took, or maybe none at all. Meanwhile, for those of us who saw it coming, it is just sad that not more people listened. Much suffering could have been prevented.

[mlwritingprompts]

Submitted prompt: Outside Perspective

I remember back in the day where class salt was really popular there were plenty of fics off someone from outside the show joining Mrs. Bustier's class and shredding Lila's lies. Painting everyone else as idiots for ever falling for in the first place.

Usually it was Felix are one of the Annoying DC guys but. How about something kind of like this that's just a lot more considerate of Lila's skills and The Class.

So a new kid moves to Paris and Starts attending Mrs. Bustiers class. And this new kid meets Lila, and hears about the things she falsely claims she did. And to them, it sounds like the most ridiculous b******* they can possibly think of.

So they try their best to confront those lies. They do their best to poke holes at all her stories, do their very best to show everyone how wild, out of proportions, and illogical these stories seem. But they can't convince anyone in class (except Adrian, Marinette, and Alya)

And the new kid finds themselves surprised at how logical The Class' fefutes are. Nothing their classmates have said in return to their arguments had any visible flaw. The class is making pretty much perfect sense.

They say that it's too big that not only Lila met Jagged stone but he wrote a song about her? "We've all met Jagged Stone. In fact, Juleka is his faughter!"

The new student struggles to believe that, but the entirety of the rest of the class says they were there when Jagged Stone visited them.

They say it's weird that there were no articles about a child saving a celebrity's crocodile and getting injured? "Good. Celebrity newspapers are the worst. Lila probably wouldn't want articles about her anyways."

They say Jagged Stone has a pet crocodile and not a cat? This statement inspired many raised eyebrows, and a deadpan reseponse of, "People can have more than one pet. People can change pets."

(I mostly use this lie because it's the most memorable one. You should do that about other lies too.)

Everything the new student (and the salty part of the fandom saying the class are such idiots) can think of to refute Lila is perfectly refuted by the class without issue.

They almost started to believe Lila themselves. They started to think they were going mad. But eventually, they talk about it with Alya and Marinette.

And they tell him they know that Lila is Lying. They both agree that Lila is lying about some of what she said. How do they know that? They can't say. They can't provide any solid evidence.

Also, they don't exactly agree on what she lied about. Marinette seems to think that Lila says nothing but lies, and even her name isn't real, but Alya doesn't agree. She knows Lila lies about a lot of things, but she does believes Lila about some things, mainly that her mother is a diplomat, and that she has several disabilities.

They fight over it a lot. Marinette says that if Lila lied about being best friends with Ladybug, then Lila probably lies about everything.

Alya says she can't believe that Lila lies about her disabilities because she can't believe anyone will do that. They can't be allowed to doubt the credibility of someone's disability claim just because they lied about other things or, in Marinette's case, because they don't like them.

(Obviously it's very important to paint Marinette in the wrong here for saying Lila is lying about being disabled. And no, you cannot have Lila be lying about being disabled, that's an ableist myth that just stops actual disabled people in real life from getting the help we need. Lila has tinitus and tourettes and whatever else she says. )

Other events start to come up, and the conversation gets a lot more stormy. The new kid has no idea what they're talking about any more.

Eventually the new kid coughs loudly to interrupt, and Alya and Marinette stop fighting about that and remember the new kid is still there.

The new kid asks "H can they just believe her like that? What she's saying is so outlandish!".

And Alya replies "Their suspension of Disbelief is on the floor. We literally have a magical super villain here. And even before that no one here had a normal life. There's nothing that is too weird for them to believe."

They also tell him about how Adrien knows that Lila is lying. And they go confront him. He says some weird annoying stuff about "taking the high road" and "turning the other cheek" and the new student has gained quite a disdain for him.

And yeah that's all I have.

[paperbunny]

S2, E2: The Clue feat. A Companion To Owls, Pt. 1

Not a meta, just a tribute.

Episode 1 Part 1

Episode 1 Part 2

(Fashion) Bildad née Crowley looks amazing. No notes.

(General Omens) This seems like it is shot to look like an old movie. Very Ben Hur, or 10 Commandments vibes. The wigs and costuming and framing is all very Vibey.

(General Omens) Can't help but notice that they are standing in front of a Great Divide. Also Bildad has 10 stripes on his robes. AVAUNT.

(Domestic Moments) There's a familiarity here. They last saw eachother during The Flood. There's already some kind of trust, or common ground. Neither is freaked out by the appearance of the other, and there's a dialogue without animosity. This is not The Way Of Things. They aren't Friends yet, but they are friendly.

(Aziraphale the Company Man) Clearly he's here to do his job. He didn't expect Crowley so I suppose he could have already had plenty of experience with intimidating other demons, as per the guidebook that we see Furfur has. Even so, he already shows that he can step in and out of The Show. Where was I? Avaunt.

(VFX) I love the effect for Angel!Aziraphale. It's beautifully done. And if you see how minimal of a set they were working with here, it's even more impressive.

(Aziraphale the Company Man) Definitely didn't expect that Satan and God were having tete a tetes. I love that he took the permit to get checked out.

('Allo 'Allo 'Allo) Muriel at her desk job. She's probably so excited to be useful.

(Fashion) Muriel doesn't have a pointed collar. She only has a round gold collar. Aziraphale has five pleats on his shoulder. Michael and Gabriel have wide and intricate collars. Not pointed exactly. Maybe we are seeing something like fractals? The higher up you get the more complex your collar gets? Maybe not, Micheal's collar is more loopy. Az seems to have 11 points on his collar.

(Aziraphale the Company Man) He is nervous to disagree, and yet he does. He clarifies what they mean and tries to (gently) tell them they are possibly wrong. He's still not up for getting in trouble, exactly, but he's not comfortable just letting things happen and following orders.

(Jim!Gabriel) K is the 11th letter. Jim, you know what alphabetical is but not what an author is?

(Aziraphale the Comfy) Our favorite hobbitty little introvert has someone in his space. It's so disconcerting. Do you let Jim!Gabe continue the madness and reshelve books in an insane and illogical way? Yes, yes you do because it is keeping him busy. But also you hate it and it is Wrong. I love cranky Aziraphale. He's soft, not weak.

(Aziraphale Insights) He knows immediately that there's something weird about Jim!Gabe singing. Angels don't seem to have any connection to music (another Az divergence) and it's not something there is any general reason to know. It's Unique Information of Undetermined Origin.

(Van Life Crowley) I wonder how far from London Soho this street is supposed to be? In real life it's in Edinburgh, which would be quite a commute. He's asleep in the Bentley and it looks even more uncomfortable than his usual positions.

(Crowley the Dork) Shax tells him that he's in trouble. His response is to go all Movie-narrator. I really didn't understand what a big dork he is the first few times though this.

(Crowley with a Purpose) Shax isn't sure that he knows he is being threatened. He's already been approached by Beeze, as a sort of good cop, so now Shax is playing bad cop. Do they know they have both approached Crowley at this point? Oh and the plants DO SHAKE. Poor Crowley has a tell. He's scared. The plants can sense it.

End Part 1

[10:24]

[pebblysand]

Hi! Been a massive fan of castles since I first came across it in dec 2020 (wow time really flies!) and it's been living rent free ever since... a quick question about authority and mentorship. harry's relationship with authority develops from opposing it, to learning how to play/manipulate it, and eventually becoming THE authority as head auror. does his relationship with robards shape this, or does robards act more as a mentor generally? thanks! PS WIP game - cheeky request for "smoke" xx :)

first, omggg are you joking? i cannot believe you've stuck with me for so long. december 2020 is old school. it's like... before giulia died?! i think i hadn't even broken 50 kudos yet. that is such a long time ago and i am truly honoured that you're still here ❤️. i remember i got what was probably the best, longest, most incredible comment i ever got around that time, and i still remember it. you guys are the OGs and i honestly cannot thank you enough for sticking by me all this time. it means more than you could ever imagine.

secondly, what a brilliant question. i think, yes, you're totally correct in your analysis. and, i would say, it's not only his relationship with "authority," in a hierarchical sense we're talking about here, it's his relationship with power in general. and, specifically, with power when it is held by others over him (or over those he cares about), in a way that he perceives to be unjust or illegitimate. there are plenty of authority figures in the books (dumbledore, mcgonagall, lupin, etc.) who he never really opposes. that is because, in his mind, they have earned their stripes and "deserve" to be in the position they're in. it doesn't mean he trusts them (that's another issue), but he doesn't oppose them as much as he does when he doesn't feel the power is justified. harry is the archetype of someone who doesn't respect authority just because it's authority, and power just because it is power. he hates it when people have some sort of power over him, and his respect very much needs to be earned.

and, you're right. in the first books, he definitely almost exclusively opposes frontally power he feels is illegitimate or unjustified, even if it would make his life much easier not to. he opposes snape, the dursleys, the prime ministers, etc. then, i think in book 6, you sort of see him start to ... play with it a little bit. slughorn holds a form of power over him with his secrets, and he learns to get what he needs from slughorn with a fair bit of luck. then, he really comes out of his shell in book 7 with griphook who he cannot fucking stand, and still manages to deal with in a sort of efficient way. he's not quite there yet, but he learns to deal with power in a bit of a "useful" way.

it was definitely something i wanted to continue in castles. especially because (and this might be tmi) this is one of the ways in which i am So Much like harry. as a teenager and young adult, i was So Difficult and opposing and rebellious with authority i thought was illegitimate. i could not stand the idea that people could be in a position of power and not have earned it and i didn't know a way to deal with it that wasn't confronting them head on, often in front of witnesses. i remember an incident where my former manager made decisions that were clearly bad and illogical and i shredded her to pieces in an argument in front of a dozen teammates. harry and i can be very different at times but that, god, i know what that's like.

and, i think part of me growing up and "adulting" was me starting to understand that doing this is often very counterproductive. and, i will admit this readily: i am far from perfect. there are still instances where i snap. i still have very much a problem tolerating and playing with what i believe is illegitimate power, but i am getting better at it. and, because castles is about growing up, too (and because, as you pointed out, harry goes from hating the "power" to being the "power"), i thought it'd be an interesting (and, frankly, therapeutic, lmao) thing to write about.

and, so, yeah, you're right. harry is learning, too. he is going through those phases of sometimes lashing out (still), and sometimes manipulating. that is very intentional on my part. most of the time, he doesn't quite know what he's doing, but he's trying to be a bit less of an idiot, which frankly is still the stage i'm at (😆). and, yes, i think his relationship with robards is interesting because yes, i think robards does end up becoming the mentor he needed. he is no nonsense and doesn't care, but he still does kind of care, and is very good at steering harry in the right direction. with robards, i also wanted to create a situation where giulia was set up as his mentor by the auror office, but she never ended up being that. giulia is a friend and a teacher, but not a mentor. robards is. and in my experience, it's always like this irl, isn't it? you get set up with people as "mentors" but they never do end up mentoring. it's the people you're not paired up with that end up doing it, and so i wanted that for the fic, too. (a lot of this fic has a subtext of what it's like to enter the professional world and your first job, but this post is already way too long and i will not go on that tangent, lol).

i also think an interesting relationship to talk about here (and then i promise i will shut up) is kingsley. because there, harry's relationship to kingsley's power itself changes. at first, kingsley is very legitimate in his mind, and he doesn't have any desire to oppose him. then, as we know, his vision of kingsley changes overtime, and that's when his gut-reaction kicks in. he lashes out. storms out of his office. gets into stupid press rows with him. but then he's like: wait, this guy's not that bad compared to the other guys and also, i need something from him, so i need to work with him. it still leaves a bitter taste in his mouth, and he's still not super sure how he feels about it, but this is very much him learning to play with power more efficiently than he ever has before.

i think, as i get further into the fic, one of the things i'm looking forward to playing with is that last part that you pointed out: becoming the authority. first, i'm very interesting in how he will deal with being in middle management. it's literally the worst job in the world, where your reports blame you for decisions made by other people, and i am so looking forward to seeing him figure that one out. then, him being the authority, making the decisions, and having to live with the consequences they have on other people. i think that part will probably come easier to him, but that part also comes when hermione becomes his boss, which imo is a super interesting dynamic. i can't divulge too much, but it (obviously) is something i'm super interested in.

.

and, finally, your snippet ❤️:

She tells him about the whole thing over tea while he smokes a cigarette out the window. He’s resolved to quitting about five times in the past month, but only lasted a day or two. It’s the interviews and the politicking that’s doing his head in.

i love having fun with harry and his "addiction" to cigarettes. it's this thing where: it's bad but not really bad, and it started as a joke but now he just Can't Stop. honestly, i think he becomes one of those people who are constantly trying to quit, but can't really ever do it haha.

[shivrcys]

I was reading @mc-critical​‘s post about the meaning behind the colours of Hürrem’s dresses, and the green ones in particular. And I think there’s something to say about how Hürrem and Kösem each relate to seasons.

Hürrem is primarily associated with spring. This can be seen in her symbolic animal being a bird, her theme song being a lullaby about a mother bird who protects her young, her association with youth and childishness and the way in which she relates to family. All of which are symbolically linked to spring. And rebirth is an important theme with her character, and with the symbolism of the phoenix. Even her element - fire - has an association with spring. Her death episode, which iis of course significantly focused on her and her life, uses the season as much as it can.

Hürrem’s seasonal journey is interesting. She joins the harem in autumn (September 1520) and she dies in spring (April 1558). Which implies that much of her experience of life at Topkapi was symbolically winter. And this is fairly accurate given what happens to her. She seems on a surface level to be more fortunate than her enemies, but that is not the case. People try to kill her multiple times But the transition from autumn to winter and finally to spring also highlights both the themes of death and rebirth within her character and her qualities of resilience and perseverance. She survives the harshness of winter and comes out on the other side.

There is another interesting element to this re. Mihrünnisa’s speech before her death. She says that ‘her winter is ending but that Hürrem’s is beginning’. And notably Hürrem agrees with this. Which is interesting because in the context of Hürrem’s experiences, it does not make sense. And yet it’s clearly a moment that the audience is expected to take seriously on a thematic level. Hürrem’s ‘winter’ started a long time before episode 126. It’s just that a lot of what she went through was things that she could not be very open about. This happens just after Cihangir’s death. And so Mihrünnisa could be referring to that. And from Hürrem’s perspective, this moment is not unique in that she lost a loved one. She has already lost plenty of them. It’s not even the first time that Hürrem lost a son. What does make Cihangir’s death unique is that this is the first time that she can properly and fully grieve a family member. She does not have to ‘stay silent’ anymore. So while she is in a more secure position, this is not the changing of the seasons for her.

So it isn’t specifically Cihangir’s death. More likely thematically it is meant to be both Cihangir’s and Bayezid’s deaths. Even though this happens after Hürrem dies. That said, this is also fairly weak considering that the idea that Bayezid’s death is either Hürrem’s fault or some sort of karmic punishment for her is a stretch to say the least. There is very little that she could have done differently in her circumstances to save him. But this does seem to be what the show is most likely going for. Because Magnificent Century is an inconsistent and illogical mess a lot of the time. And this is probably the case here. It seems to just be a part of the show’s attempt to villify Hürrem and the lack of nuance in that.

Another thing to note is that episode 134 leans in significantly to the seasonality of spring. Much of the episode takes place in the garden, the theme of rebirth is present and there is an emphasis on the theme of family. There is a contrast between ep134!Hürrem and ep1!Hürrem because now she has a family and loved ones around her as she dies. There is a focus on what she built and what she rebuilt. And she is at peace knowing that she will never have to see any more of her loved ones die.

There’s also a contrast between the day of Hürrem’s death in episode 134, and the beginning of episode 135. When Hürrem dies, it’s a vibrant spring day. Episode 135 opens with Süleyman at the balcony as snow is falling. So it is as if her absence changed the weather, and symbolically changed the season back to winter. The warmth that she represented and the protective force that she was for her children is now gone. And her death is another step in the downfall of Süleyman as he becomes more jaded, depressed and cruel.

The seasonal themes are a lot stronger and more straightforward with Kösem. To her spring represents her innocent childhood in the Greek islands. She spends time with other children and she holds a lamb in what is presented as an idyllic setting. But this also sets up a strong contrast that only reinforces the themes of sacrifice within the short scenes we have with her in Greece. Her kidnapping is presented as a sacrifice, and the parallel with her death in episode 60 is very telling in this. She is in the vein of a type of character in Greek tragedy: the innocent maiden who is sacrificed. Such as Iphigenia, Polyxena or Cassandra. Even at her happiest and most carefree time, she is still doomed by the narrative.

Her summer is her time as Ahmet’s Haseki. She has him and her children and she is happy. And it’s a time she idealises later on, along with her childhood in Greece. Symbolically therefore much of season 2 is autumn.

Winter is a very symbolic season in terms of Kösem’s tragic arc. The losses of her loved ones are often associated with winter. Ahmet dies when it is snowing. It is a particularly harsh winter when both Mehmet and Osman die. And Kasim’s death takes place in the winter as well. Kösem even comments that she has come to dislike the season because something bad always happens in winter. Episode 60 also presents a contrast between her idealised childhood and innocence to the ‘storms’ of her adult life, that being implicitly associated with winter. So the implication is that episode 60 is her personal winter.

The main difference is that where Hürrem’s story is one about resilience and rebirth, Kösem’s is fundamentally a tragedy.

[pesterloglog]

Autoresponder, Jane Crocker

Act 6, page 5037-5044

timaeusTestified [TT] began pestering gutsyGumshoe [GG]

TT: Hold up.

TT: Before you go any further, there's been a change of plan.

GG: Really?

TT: Well, not a change of plan so much as an acceleration.

TT: Everyone needs to get into the game sooner than expected. There is a new unaccounted for variable.

TT: Particularly for Roxy and Dirk.

GG: What is it?

TT: They are probably going to die if they don't join the game very soon.

GG: Shucks!!!!!

TT: Hey, I'm upset about it too, but let's watch the fucking language.

GG: Ok, what do I do?

TT: Install the server. I downloaded it to your computer along with a few other crucial system upgrades when we established our connection.

GG: Upgrades? What upgrades?

GG: Wait, is that how this stupid "Delirious Biznasty" application got on here?

TT: No comment.

TT: Install and run the server.

TT: You will be connecting with Roxy. I will have Jake connect with Dirk. Setting up the chain like this will be important.

GG: Why?

TT: It seems that I again have no comment.

GG: Sheesh.

GG: Very well then, Mister Zipperlips.

TT: I don't have lips. You just said something laughably illogical.

TT: How typical of someone who isn't a fashion accessory of immeasurable intelligence.

GG: Whatever! Let's curtail the horseplay this once while I help Roxy.

GG: Ok. I installed it. Now what? Should I run it?

TT: Yes. That copy is programmed to connect automatically with the client she's running.

GG: Okey dokey. Doing that now.

GG: Hey, I can see her room! :B

GG: That's a really nice room there.

GG: But where is she?

GG: Hah, her drink is still there. So she can't have gone far.

TT: Oh snap.

GG: I don't see her anywhere in the rest of the house.

GG: I see plenty of plush wizards and window gizmos, and... pumpkins? Really, Roxy?

GG: What an unusual house design. Are all homes in the future like this?

TT: You mean the ones that aren't under water? Yes. They are all almost exactly like that.

GG: I just tried messaging her. But no response.

TT: I'm sure she's out cruising the hood, probably messin' with the locals.

TT: Maybe attempting some ill advised drunken heroics.

TT: Pretty tight numerical probability of that, I just decided with unfeeling precision.

GG: She said things were on fire when we last talked?

GG: Actually, she said the whole neighborhood was burning down, if I recall.

GG: But judging by the view from her window, it looks lovely outside.

GG: What exactly is the danger I am saving her from here?

TT: Zoom out.

TT: Way out.

GG: OH NO!!!!!

GG: Roxy, where are you??? :(

TT: We'll track her down.

TT: The important thing to do now is deploy all the devices quickly, so the house will be ready to jet the moment she gets back.

GG: How do you know she's not hurt?

TT: That is statistically remote.

TT: Given that I can track the coordinates of certain devices she carries, and they are presently in motion.

TT: Really, the fire is not the most significant threat, or even the drones.

GG: Then what is?

TT: Do you see the red stringy stuff coming from the sky?

GG: Oh...

GG: Yes.

GG: What IS that??

TT: If sources are to be trusted, and my calculations are reliable within a 0.001% margin of error, it's a bunch of super deadly red shit.

TT: No time to get into that now though. Just deploy the devices quickly.

TT: You know the drill.

GG: Right. Let's see.

GG: There's hardly any space in here to put anything. I'll have to make some room.

GG: I don't want to damage any of her belongings though.

TT: That would be unconscionable.

GG: WHOOPS!

GG: Dag nabbit. This trackpad is AWFUL!

GG: Lousy dad computer.

GG: Why does he have to buy his computers at the Dadly Depot?

GG: Why does he have to buy EVERYTHING at the Dadly Depot?

GG: I really need to keep looking for him soon. Thinking about our expeditions to the Dadly Depot is making me miss him.

TT: You really need to hurry up and deploy that junk instead of that.

GG: There. Those seem like suitable locations for the equipment.

TT: Yeah.

GG: Hey, where's Lil Seb?

TT: Just wandering around. Fidgeting and stuff.

TT: You know how he is.

TT: Just stay at your post until Roxy gets back.

GG: I think he went through the door.

GG: He just disappeared on that platform!

GG: I think it might be some kind of transport device, that works via teleportation.

GG: A kind of "transportalizer," to coin a completely silly and novel term.

TT: That's great. Now sit back down and wait for Roxy. She'll be home soon.

GG: But I think that's where my dad went too!

GG: I have to follow him.

TT: No, Jane. Do not follow the rabbit.

TT: Let's cool it with the Wonderland shit already. How much further through the damn looking glass do you even need to go?

GG: It'll be fine!

GG: I'm bringing my computer with me. I can tend to Roxy's entry along the way.

TT: This is an atrocious idea.

[skinni-girls-eat-books]

Saturday Nov 11th, 2023

7am I have received some dumb ass news. I will be relying on this journaling shit HEAVY ASF until I can get therapist tbh. Literally wtf. How do you go from having a curfew to a weeklong sleepover at your gfs house. I have no idea how this family works anymore wtf. They don't have shit for morals and I'm sorry they don't know how to raise their kids. You think they've had enough of them to it figure out by now. Some of these are thoughts from last night. But more and more I don't want to be a part of this family, or have kids in this family. They're all really fucking shady and I want to be comfortable bringing my kids around their relatives, something I basically never had growing up. It's just another reason to stop thinking this stupid shit about getting back together bc it's really damn hard to imagine these people as grandparents, aunts and uncles like they're all really fucked up. Shit sucks but it's a harsh reality, and I've always seen the good in people, so I like them, but I can see their flaws and obviously know what not to like about them. Some people are just fucked up, and it's looking very genetic here. I'll just leave that there lol.

8am gotta get ready for work and to go see live music later! Bringing a change of clothes but if I need to come home between that's ok too I have plenty of time, I'm just bringing the clothes so I have options ❤️ let's have some fun!

5pm hello I got Starbucks and have been chilling in my car listening to NPR. I have only ingested caffeine today and I THINK that's why I right now feel very anxious. Plus I have to poop but I probably won't/ can't do that until I get home bc I will not be using a portopotty at this festival lmao. It feels so good to actually identify logical reasons (and illogical) for why I am sitting in my car feeling so anxious. Going to get out now and walk around even tho I feel shaky and nervous ik it's just my circumstances right now lol. I should probably eat something.

I need to remember that the best part about my situation is that I can enjoy the positive aspects of friendship without having to deal with the dumbass tomfoolery that made being in a functioning relationship absolutely impossible. He brought up his bike and it all came flooding back all the shit that I really disliked. The pure obsession with something so expensive and dangerous. Like good for you! I'm glad that doesn't affect me PERSONALLY anymore but talk all you want! Because I'm busy doing my shit that I enjoy and value lmao without having to suffer the consequences of your insane obsessions :) I won't be around the next time shit doesn't work out. I'll be straight up chilling probably with a jack n coke listening to an indie band while you're in financial distress bc you never took anyone's advice that actually cares about your future. Ok rant over haha

630pm Holy shit I just had a burger so good I'm sweating. Gigglewaters Speakcheesey Burger wowowow

Haha I want to text him badly. Why? He left me on open with no response to me having a good time without him. I know he's ok. I wish he here with me, but he's not and I never could make him come with me. He doesn't care to listen to what I like and literally has no original thought about it. He's so lame, all talk and no walk. Heard you loud n clear, lmk when your shit takes off. I miss the idea of having someone to go to these things with, but that's not him, it's me and my imagination lol. If I invited him to this, yk where he'd be? With his bike friends. He wouldn't want to just sit and chill w me, his ADHD brain just wouldn't let him I guess. I love him but he's not the one clearly bc he would've already wanted to leave as soon as the sun went down, or he'd be texting another girl or guilt tripping me into buying some overpriced shit from the vendors instead of *just enjoying the music peacefully and chill* he was always stressful to bring to these things bc he could not pay for anything that he wanted like his own meal and it turned a chill event into resentful burden. Always one-sided effort to do anything seriously. Now look at me. I can stay however long I want, sit wherever I want, not have to worry about entertaining a grown man seriously. It was like having a toddler but he was supposed to be my equal partner. If I wanted a baby, I'd have a baby, not a "bf". The end. Wow this journaling rocks!

[jeweledlegacy4r]

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The issue is whether we should make changes to the situation in order to spare future generations from having to cope with it or whether we should leave it as is so that they can learn from it. If there are multiple potential heirs, we can decide whether to have it fixed or repurposed (that brooch, for instance, could be turned into a necklace).

[crossroadsdimension]

In the time between her last and next adventure, Cross decided to spend a little time in Old Sharlayan before continuing on to Thavnair. Tataru had something in mind involving a trip of her own, and while she prepared for that, there were a few things in the city that seemed to want her attention.

Finding Omega with a working voice hadn’t been expected, but...well, he was there to help with a language no one could parse. And helping him understand a little more how they were as a people was a much better way to get the translation than fighting him in some form again.

Although, she could probably kick that minion form and kill him a lot more easily than that giant war machine he once sat in.

(”You were M-017?” Cross repeated in shock.

Omega blipped curiously.

“Sir took over the shell you left behind after you left.”

“Yes, that was mentioned in your report. Another illogical action that I will require data to understand.” At least Omega didn’t ask about G’raha.)

The message that waited at the end was worth it, though. It brought hope to her heart -- hope that there were other people out there, who had not succumbed to the despair the Endsinger attempted to bring to the universe. Perhaps Meteion was now doing what needed to be done, to bring hope to all stars. Or, if this person had sent this message and lost their hope, they would soon find it again.

It made Cross think of the Ragnarok, hidden in Labyrinthos, and what stars could be waiting out there beyond the great expanse, waiting to be explored.

At the same time, though, there were plenty of places left to explore here...and potentially be left alone at the same time. Cross had seen a familiar Lalafell in Thavnair, and she wasn’t keen to find out what that meant just yet. Old Sharlayan could hold her attention, first.

[ladylynse]

Dimensional Displacement [FFN | AO3]: Danny has a love-hate relationship with the Fenton Booo-merang. This time, it didn’t do him any favours. This time, it knocked him through a portal—and from what he can glean from the Water Tribe siblings he meets, odds are, there’s a reason for that.

-|-

For @geronimo-alonzi as a thank you for donating to my ko-fi. (Yes, they won my fic giveaway, but I finished this one first.) Loosely based on this three sentence fic.

-|-

Danny had been clobbered in the head by the Fenton Booo-merang more often than he’d like to admit, let alone count, but this was the first time it had knocked him through a portal.

That wouldn’t have been a particularly bad thing if the portal hadn’t immediately closed behind him.

One minute, he’d been minding his own business in the Ghost Zone, coming back from a visit with Frostbite that Jazz must have forgotten about if she’d sent the Booo-merang after him. (Sam was stuck with her parents at some fancy dinner party thing somewhere and Tucker was working on designing a computer game for his comp sci assignment, a class neither Sam nor Danny was in, so it had to have been Jazz.)

The next minute, Danny was…. He didn’t even know where he was. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere. He’d caught the Booo-merang before either he or it had hit the ground, but once he’d righted himself to look around, there was no familiar skyline or something equally useful to him. There were only trees and rocks and dirt roads as far as the eye could see, even from a considerable distance up in the air.

Well.

That wasn’t quite fair. He could see a silver river cutting through the trees in a path roughly parallel to the road, but in terms of helpful things, he was coming up empty.

He didn’t even know which direction he’d need to fly to get to a city. It was too light out to see any distant glow of city lights against the scattered clouds, and all he could smell when he breathed in was fresh air and pine needles and something else—moss? The general mix that was pretty much mulch on the forest floor?—that was decidedly natural, not the signs of human activity he’d been hoping for. Sure, following the road or even the river would get him somewhere sooner or later, but what was he supposed to do, pick a random direction or go eenie meenie minie moe?

Danny did another loop above the trees, looking for some sign of anything, and came up with nothing.

“Come on!” Danny yelled at the patch of blue sky where the portal had closed. He spun in a circle, the Booo-merang clutched tightly in his fist, but it didn’t pull in any direction, and he didn’t catch so much as a glimmer of the familiar green of the Ghost Zone. “Just open up again already!” It was as effective as he’d expected it to be, which was not at all, but screaming out his frustrations made him feel a bit better. “Now! Please?”

Unsurprisingly, the portal didn’t listen.

Out of appealing options, Danny threw the Booo-merang. Logically, he knew it wasn’t the Infi-Map. Logically, he knew that the universe did not often do what was convenient for him, even if he sometimes got incredibly lucky in a fight. Logically, he knew that the chances of the Booo-merang deciding to reprogram itself to find portals just because it had done it this one time (likely coincidentally) were slim to none.

Illogically, he didn’t expect the stupid thing to circle around and hit him in the back of the head again.

Danny cursed and landed to retrieve the fallen Booo-mang from the roadway, muttering under his breath about how much he’d like to just dismantle the thing and hide the pieces. He wouldn’t, of course. It worked too well to risk Sam, Tucker, and Jazz losing the ability to find him if they really needed to. It had been dicey enough the few times his parents had decided to try to ‘fix’ it, only for disaster (Vlad) to strike in the meantime.

That didn’t mean Danny couldn’t fantasize about bashing it against a rock, though. There were plenty of those around.

“That’s a weird looking boomerang,” someone said from behind him, and Danny nearly jumped into the air right there.

He didn’t, mostly because he was getting used to Sam and Tucker trying to surprise him, but it was a near thing.

He wasn’t used to people sneaking up on him. His ghost sense was reliable, Dash made more noise walking around than even Jack Fenton, and, well, most of the people who hunted him couldn’t be subtle if they tried, especially since a good chunk of them liked hearing their own voice. He’d only ever really had to worry about Jazz, and self-preservation in the face of tickle attacks had given him the ability to be extra sensitive to her presence whenever she was in a certain mood.

The two who’d caught him by surprise now must have come from the trees on the other side of the road, and he hoped that meant they hadn’t seen him do anything particularly ghostly. Granted, neither of them was screaming, so he should be safe. They didn’t look terrified, either. Wary, maybe, but not scared.

Danny guessed that they were both somewhere around his age. Siblings, by the looks of them, but probably not twins even if they’d both decided to leave the house wearing oddly styled blue clothes today, at least compared to the usual jeans and T-shirt combo Danny was used to seeing. Unless he wasn’t anywhere near the States anymore? Or unless he’d been flung through to a different time. But the boy had spoken English, and it hadn’t sounded funny to Danny’s ears, no lilt of a foreign accent or strange phrasing that he associated with Shakespeare or something.

The girl was his height, the boy a bit taller, and they were both staring at him.

They probably thought he was the one who was dressed strangely.

The boy pointed. “Your boomerang,” he repeated. “It looks weird.”

The girl elbowed him in the gut—none too gently, judging by his immediate wheeze—and hissed, “Sokka!”

Yeah, those two were definitely siblings. And even if the girl wasn’t older, she definitely had the annoying (and annoyed) sister tone down pat. Danny had heard (and been on the receiving end of) the same from similar exchanges with Jazz more than once.

“Sokka’s going to apologize, right, Sokka?”

The boy frowned and then threw up his hands. “Right. I apologize for saying your boomerang looks weird. It looks interesting.”

The girl stepped on his foot, and he yelped. “What was that for?”

“You know what that was for!”

“It’s fine,” Danny said. He still wasn’t entirely sure what was going on. Maybe the portal had dumped him out in the middle of some historical re-enactment thing. Granted, there should really be more people around if that were the case—or at least hidden cameras. He was better at spotting them now. Vlad and his creepy spy tendencies aside, Danny had gotten good at noticing (and avoiding) cameras so he didn’t let his secret get caught on tape. (There were a surprising number of places in Amity Park not under video surveillance, or at least not under real video surveillance even if they had fake cameras out; he could practically transform in the middle of the street sometimes.)

Still, nothing about this felt staged. It didn’t even feel like one of his enemy’s tricks, some giant setup that was meant to trap him or whatever. That’s not to say Danny was wholly convinced this meeting, whatever it was, was merely chance—he didn’t particularly trust Clockwork not to arrange things as he saw fit without warning anyone—but it didn’t feel overly contrived, either. There was just….

Something felt off, and he couldn’t explain what it was.

“It’s fine,” Danny repeated, since the two were looking at him dubiously, but the familiar phrase felt strange on his tongue, almost like—

Wait.

“Okay, this is going to sound like a weird question, but where are we?”

The boy, Sokka, blinked. “Did you hit your head or something? We’re in the Earth Kingdom. Or, wait, do you mean where in the Earth Kingdom? Look, if you need new supplies, there’s not much in the last few villages, but we’re about a day from—”

The girl elbowed him again, and he fell silent. Danny could see the growing suspicion on her face for what it was, could see suspicion settling on the boy’s face as well, but he wasn’t sure if it was because he’d asked the wrong question or because he’d asked something at all. He’d been paying attention this time, watching Sokka’s lips, and Danny didn’t have to be a good lip reader to know that he hadn’t been saying the words Danny had heard.

Well.

More accurately, he hadn’t been saying them in English.

And Danny, in answering, had somehow not been speaking English.

That was not, as far as Danny was aware, something Clockwork could do to him.

He didn’t know a ghost who had power over language, though, unless the Ghostwriter had something else up his sleeve and this mess was it. Nocturne would be able to pull anything in a dream, but Danny couldn’t see why he’d bother including something that would be an obvious tell like this, so it shouldn’t be him even if he had decided to come back. More likely, it was someone he hadn’t fought before, someone who had targeted him, seen an opportunity when the Booo-merang had hit him and seized upon it to throw him…here.

Wherever here was.

The Earth Kingdom, apparently.

“Um.” The girl still looked like she expected him to start fighting, and her stance…. Danny didn’t recognize it, but he did know that she looked ready to move at any moment. Her brother had taken her cue and, while Danny hadn’t been paying attention, pulled out a boomerang of his own. That couldn’t be good. “Look. I know how this sounds.” How he sounded, more like. If he had some accent he couldn’t hear because he wasn’t speaking their language properly, whatever it was, this had to be a setup after all.

Someone had sent him here to be dealt with. By this world, this dimension or construct or whatever it was, if not necessarily by these two people.

Granted, Danny wasn’t sure why someone would go to the trouble of letting him understand and be understood in the first place if that were the case, since he could get in just as much trouble without speaking the native language.

Surely he wasn’t actually supposed to help someone here, right? This wasn’t even his world. Or the Ghost Zone. Whatever was going on here was most definitely not his business.

Except now he was in the middle of it, so if there was something going on, it would be beneficial to find out what it was sooner rather than later.

This wasn’t some Jumanji kind of thing where he’d been tossed into a game and had to do whatever it was to get out again, was it? It didn’t feel like the time he’d gone into Doomed, but that had been intentional, and this….

Okay, no, he didn’t have enough information to speculate, which meant he needed to get some information out of these two in order to get somewhere. “I just…. I was kidnapped and dumped here for some reason, and I’m trying to find my way home.” That was close enough to the truth that it shouldn’t raise any red flags. Hopefully. “My name is Danny.” Introducing himself as Phantom, even in ghost mode, wasn’t something he wanted to do when he had no idea how these people felt about ghosts. Besides, it wasn’t like they’d ever see him as Fenton. He just needed to stick to the ground and pretend to be a normal human being, which he could most definitely do—at least when the sun was bright enough that his slight glow was basically nonexistent. He doubted it would be terribly noticeable even under the cover of trees.

“Danny,” the girl repeated, not relaxing her stance. “That’s an unusual name.”

Sokka just cocked his head at Danny. “Why would anyone kidnap you?”

It was spoken like it was an innocent, thoughtless question, something that could be brushed away with a laugh, but Danny could read an underlying tension in each of their faces. Sokka was waiting on his answer, and so was his sister. Danny’s response might very well determine what happened next.

Consequently, Danny didn’t miss the fact that Sokka didn’t offer up any potential explanations that he could jump on.

Another lie wasn’t going to do him any favours, not when he knew so little. “I don’t know.” He could guess, but he didn’t know. From the looks of it, though, these two wouldn’t be satisfied with that. Chances were good they wouldn’t be particularly satisfied with his suspicions, either, which was that someone wanted him out of the way for whatever they were planning—or maybe that someone had decided they wanted to have a little fun with him at his expense, if world domination wasn’t on the table. “My parents are inventors. Maybe that’s why?”

“That doesn’t explain why whoever took you would leave you here,” Sokka pointed out, and Danny wished these two weren’t so smart. “If you were taken because you were valuable, you wouldn’t have been left behind unguarded.”

“So maybe they kidnapped the wrong person and realized that I wasn’t who they wanted?”

Sokka exchanged glances with his sister before murmuring, “We can ask Toph. I mean, it’s possible they found us, but if he is really a Fire Nation plant picked solely for his eye colour, they’d have at least dyed his hair and given him some normal clothes.”

Danny decided not to ask who the heck picked people for something based on eye colour and not skill or merit or experience or something normal like that. Aside from derailing the conversation from anything potentially useful, Danny was pretty sure Sokka hadn’t realized he’d been overheard, and it wouldn’t be in Danny’s best interests to let them know how good his hearing was.

Still, he took the opportunity to tuck away the Booo-merang before they could ask any questions about it that he wasn’t up to answering. Maybe it would make him seem like less of a threat if they didn’t think he was ready to use it as a weapon—not that he knew how to use a boomerang as a weapon, but he was pretty sure Sokka hadn’t pulled his out to see which of them could throw it farther or throw it properly—and maybe then they’d trust him enough to answer his questions. Hopefully. He was perfectly willing to meet this Toph if it meant figuring out where he was and how to get home, especially since it would be easy enough for him to cut and run later.

The movement was enough to draw the attention of the siblings, though, and both pairs of eyebrows rose. Had they not expected him to make what he hoped would be taken as a gesture of trust or were they wondering how the heck he’d gotten it into his pocket? Maybe they thought he was trying to hide it, which wouldn’t help matters at all. Then again, if they thought that he thought it had been a subtle move, then maybe—

No.

He had to stop doing this. He didn’t know enough about these two to try to guess their thoughts, let alone what actions they might take against him.

Danny shifted on his feet, glad they hadn’t jumped to attacking and that they weren’t even asking questions about the Booo-merang, since practically anything about it would be difficult to answer. At least they hadn’t seen him flying. Even for people familiar with ghosts, unknown ones tended to be cause for concern until their threat level was assessed, and Danny didn’t want to invite trouble and immediately find out what this world had that messed with ghosts. Sure, he wanted to know what could hurt him here, but finding out while it wasn’t actively being used against him was infinitely preferable.

“Where did you say you were from?” the girl asked after a beat, even though they all knew he’d never said anything about that.

“Nowhere you would know,” he hedged, which was true enough.

“We travel a lot,” the girl said, and her brother snorted.

“What Katara means is, try us. If we can help you get back to your family, what do you have to lose?” Sokka offered Danny a grin, and his stance had visibly relaxed, even if he hadn’t put his boomerang away. It might be just for show, especially since he still had a weapon out, but at least the girl hadn’t drawn any knives or something like that. “Look, from one guy to another, you don’t need to make up some crazy story if you’re a runaway or something like that. We’re basically runaways.”

“We’re running towards something, not away from it.”

“We were almost runaways.” To Danny, Sokka added, “Gran caught us, but she let us go.”

Katara rolled her eyes, and Danny looked between the two of them as Sokka continued talking. It was obvious that they’d changed tack for some reason, no doubt trying to get him to trust them, but the blatant switch made him uneasy. Did they not realize how obvious that was or was this just their usual dynamic?

“I’m from Amity,” Danny eventually interrupted. He knew from the way that they were looking at him that neither of them had forgotten he had yet to answer the question. He’d already told them they wouldn’t know the place, so technically he could’ve said Amity Park, but for all he knew, these two had been sent to get information out of him, and the less he told a potential enemy, the better.

Come to think of it, maybe he shouldn’t have told them his real name, and maybe he should’ve just made up a village name rather than dropping heavy hints about his hometown.

“Which is near—?”

Danny ignored Sokka’s prompt. He didn’t even have a good enough idea of the geography of this place to make that up, especially when there was a chance they knew the area, runaways or no. “Do you know where I could get some water? I haven’t found any since I woke up.” That wasn’t true, but they wouldn’t know that unless they were getting some more intel about him from someone unseen.

The siblings looked at each other again, and then Katara faced him and said, “We’re headed to the river. Come with us. You can get your water, and we can share our catch if we get anything.”

“Wait, I didn’t agree to share my meat!” Sokka exclaimed. Katara’s only answer was a dirty look, but it was enough to have Sokka subsiding into grumbles.

“I’m not hungry yet,” Danny said, which also strictly wasn’t true, but he knew he didn’t need to eat much.

“You might be hungry by the time we’re finished,” Katara said over Sokka’s griping.

Danny hesitated, trying to figure out how weird it would be if he made up some excuse not to go with them. What were the chances that this was a trap when he’d brought up the river—or at least water—before they had? It wasn’t that he thought they’d be able to take him out if it came to that, even if Jazz had more experience fighting normally than he did, since he typically relied a lot on his powers when he could.

These two might be better fighters than him—there were almost certainly better hunters, given how silently they could walk—but he’d always have something like intangibility in his back pocket if it came to it, and they wouldn’t. Still, when it came down to it, he wasn’t used to fighting humans. What if he didn’t pull his punches enough and seriously hurt one of them?

“You can tell us about Amity,” Katara added. “We’ve never been there.”

Danny really hoped that was true and that there wasn’t a place in this world called Amity that they knew well. Still, when they started walking, spreading out so he was always in sight and they never had their backs to him, even when they hit the trees on the other side of the road, he kept pace with them. “It’s pretty much like you’d expect.” Except for the ghosts. At least his ghost sense hadn’t gone off here. Yet. “This is probably the farthest I’ve ever travelled from home.” He couldn’t get much farther away than a completely different dimension that (probably) wasn’t as connected to his world as it was to the Ghost Zone, anyway—unless he counted when he’d time travelled, but he wasn’t about to bring that up.

Katara opened her mouth to ask another question, maybe to press him for details, so Danny cut her off. “What about you two?”

They looked at each other again. How many times were they going to do that? Hadn’t they already decided how far to trust him? Danny knew it wasn’t very far, but they’d clearly decided he wasn’t going to straight up attack them at this precise moment, so even if they didn’t tell him the whole truth—

Sokka gestured at their clothes. “We’re Water Tribe.”

He said it like it was obvious, like Danny should’ve known already, but of course it explained absolutely nothing.

“Southern Water Tribe,” Katara added unhelpfully, despite Sokka’s frown. “We wanted to see the world, and now we are.”

As cover stories went, it was better than Danny’s. Barely. “Right,” he said, wondering again why he’d been dumped in the path of these two. “It’s a nice world to see.”

Somehow, that was the wrong thing to say, because they were both looking at him like they’d expected him to say anything but that. “What?”

“There’s a war on, you’re supposedly kidnapped and dropped off somewhere in occupied territory without any of the proper paperwork, and the best you can come up with is it’s a nice world to see?” Sokka turned his incredulous look from Danny to Katara. “He cannot be Fire Nation. This kid is more sheltered than Toph was supposed to be.”

Danny, who had stumbled at the word war, kept walking and hoped they hadn’t noticed. If they had, maybe they’d think he’d tripped over a tree root or fallen branch or hole or something. They weren’t following a trail, so that was a perfectly reasonable explanation, right?

“It’s all right,” Katara said as she reached out to touch his arm, and, okay, from that gentle tone, which was a complete change from anything earlier, it must mean she had noticed, knew he hadn’t tripped over anything in the terrain, and—from how she was looking at him now—thought it wasn’t surprise that had tripped Danny up, either. “Trust me, I know what it’s like to be a little naïve until you have a chance to leave home for the first time, but unless you’re got a camp around here, you’re not prepared at all.”

Sokka finally put his boomerang away and smirked at Danny. “We at least left home with supplies.”

“Did you have to run without any warning?” Katara asked, giving her brother a pointed look.

“Oh, uh, kinda.” Danny winced, knowing that had to sound like a lie. “I…I didn’t really plan on leaving when I did. This just…happened.”

Sokka raised an eyebrow, but Katara said, “You don’t have to worry. We’re the last people who would turn you in to the Fire Nation.”

Right. So the Fire Nation were the bad guys, at least according to the Water Tribe and, if he was putting things together correctly, the Earth Kingdom, where they were. Meaning the Fire Nation had invaded the Earth Kingdom if this was occupied territory. Danny thought about asking why these two had come into occupied territory themselves and then decided he didn’t want to risk getting into a discussion that would show off how little he knew. If they had decided he was a runaway who knew practically nothing about the world, well, that worked in his favour.

“Thanks.” Danny wasn’t sure what else to say. “Why are you helping me, though? Won’t that put you in danger?” That had to be a fair question in this situation.

“We can’t help everyone,” Katara said quietly, “but we can help some people, even if it’s just a tiny bit. Sometimes, that has to be enough.”

Danny really didn’t know what to say to that, because she certainly wouldn’t understand if he said he knew the feeling, so he smiled weakly in thanks and let the conversation drop.

They were still watching him, but they were more subtle about it now, and it didn’t look like they were watching him more closely than they were watching everything else.

Being downgraded from a threat was a win, though. Danny hoped he didn’t do anything to mess it up.

“There’s no shame in being a refugee,” Sokka said after a moment. “Being from a richer family might’ve bought you an isolated childhood, but it wouldn’t guarantee your safety.”

“We won’t try to hold you for ransom if you tell us where you’re really from,” added Katara.

Danny glanced at her. “I said I was from Amity.”

“I could say I have a platypus bear as a pet,” Sokka interjected. “That doesn’t make it true.”

“We know what it’s like, thinking you understand the way things are and then realizing how little you know,” Katara said quietly. “It can be overwhelming.”

“And it would explain why you’re in your nightclothes,” Sokka said. He’d come in range of Katara’s fist, but he danced out of the way as she swung in his direction. He hadn’t even needed to look at her to know it was coming. “You didn’t know enough to keep your valuables hidden and got robbed your first night on your own, didn’t you?”

“I—” Danny knew it was an excuse for his ignorance being handed to him on a silver platter, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep up with a lie like that when he knew so little. “These aren’t my pajamas,” he said instead. Let them believe what they wanted to believe; that would make his life easier. Even if it blew up in his face somehow, he could truthfully say he’d never said they were right.

They might be suspicious that he hadn’t outright denied it, but then again, he’d already told them something a lot closer to the truth.

“Uh huh.” Sokka glanced at Katara again, and she gave a slight shake her head that Danny didn’t understand.

“Let’s get you some food and water first,” Katara said. “Then we can see about finding you other supplies.”

Danny decided not to point out that they’d already told him it was slim pickings for supplies around here. Not that he had the money to pay for anything, but Sokka had already guessed that. Besides, they thought he was running around in his pjs.

Judging by the sour look on Sokka’s face, he’d evidently translated his sister’s words to mean that she wanted to give him some of their supplies, something Sokka clearly wasn’t sure he approved of.

Katara must have had similar thoughts on Sokka’s expression, since she murmured, “It’s this or bring him with us, and you know what’s safer.”

Katara might not have minded that Danny could overhear her last words, but Sokka closed the distance between them, pulling his sister farther away from Danny before hissing, “It’s not the only option, and you know it. We can’t afford to give away any of our supplies, and just because Toph can make sure he’s not coming in with the intention of stabbing us in the back, doesn’t mean he wouldn’t blab to anyone once he figures out who we’re travelling with. You know as well as I do that that wouldn’t take very long.”

“He’s just kid.”

“Technically, like Aang keeps reminding us, we’re just kids. Who very much cannot afford to so much as drop him off in the next village. Show him the river and teach him how to catch and cook his meals? Fine. Picking him up as a stray when he’s not bringing anything to the table? Not fine.”

“He’s lost.”

“So? He’s not hurt. He’s already in a better position than some refugees. He’ll survive until he can walk to the nearest settlement. Then he can try to get help from people who can actually give it.”

Katara bit her lip and slowed to a stop. “There’s something else.”

“What?”

Danny very much wanted to know the answer to that—what had Katara figured out?—but he tried not to react so they didn’t know he’d been listening in. He deliberately turned away and stared around the trees instead, a mix of deciduous and evergreen. He couldn’t pick out any specific types of trees—nothing distinctive like oak leaves that he could see—and, as far as he could tell, the woods were utterly devoid of critters. He had no idea if that was because this world wasn’t real or if it was simply because all the animals in the region had had warning of their coming and hidden accordingly.

Danny knew his disinterest wouldn’t be very convincing, but if he was lucky, they’d think he’d given up on trying to eavesdrop.

“There’s something…off about him. Not necessarily something wrong, but something different. I can’t…. When he asked about water, I wanted to make sure he wasn’t hiding any on him or nearby in case it was a trap, and— He didn’t feel the same as you or me. I can’t explain it. Toph might have a better idea than I do. Or…or Aang.” The last word was a barely audible whisper.

“You think this might be a spirit thing?” Sokka’s response was closer to a suppressed shriek than anything else, and Danny winced.

“I think he might be spirit touched,” Katara answered, and Sokka’s sharp inhalation was painfully audible. “I wasn’t good enough back then to notice anything about Yue, but—”

“Fine.” Sokka’s voice had gone flat. “I don’t want to shun someone and accidentally anger the spirits. I’ll teach him to fish. You go back and interrupt advanced earthbending practice and pick a meeting place, but make sure everyone’s packed in case this doesn’t go the way you think it’ll go.”

“I know to be careful.”

“We all know to be careful. Some of us just need more reminding than others.”

Katara didn’t say anything else, but she must have nodded or done something similar because Danny heard Sokka stalk back over to him. “Katara’s going back to talk to the rest of our group about what we might be able to spare,” he said as Danny turned back to face him, “and I’ll show you how to fish in the meantime. If you don’t catch anything, I’ll give you one of mine.”

Danny wasn’t about to admit that he’d overheard their entire conversation, so he smiled and said, “That sounds great, thanks.” It didn’t stop the uneasiness from settling in his gut, though. Sure, now he knew these people believed in ghosts, and Sokka’s response made it clear he didn’t want to get on their bad side, but Danny had no idea what being spirit touched meant. He didn’t know if that was seen as a good thing or a bad thing.

More to the point, if it was a bad thing, he didn’t know if these people had something suitable with which to attack spirit touched people, since if they did, chances were good that it would work on him.

He was not lucky enough to get a free pass here.

Still, the odds were good that he’d be able to escape if they did attack since he’d know to be on watch for something, and he wasn’t about to turn down an offer of food. He had no idea when a portal would open and he’d be able to go home. Until then, the best he could do was survive.

He’d survived this much, and his life had hardly been a walk in the park since the accident, let alone before. He wasn’t about to let some ghost fling him into an unknown world and succeed in taking him down. He needed to get out of this to kick their butt and prove to them that they couldn’t get rid of him that easily.

Assuming this wasn’t all a series of genuine coincidences and not the result of the careful manipulation of events.

Danny didn’t want to think about that, though.

He had a much better chance of getting home if there was someone he could beat, and he was going to get home.

Somehow.

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