#too far out to say she might have powers which is how her children got them

[faellain]

The Accidental Baby Trap Incident

Summary: About four years after the events of First Class, Erik arrives at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters with two little twins who he didn't know existed. Thinking he doesn't know what to do, he runs to Charles, not knowing the state his old friend is in.

Snippet 3

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the next morning, erik tiredly takes the twins down to the kitchen, providing them a breakfast of orange juice, apple slices, and toast with butter. he drinks three cups of black coffee and eats a single apple slice. without him there, and with charles in a state, hank has forgone actual coffee for instant like a savage. it might as well be mud as far as erik is concerned.

"i hate toast," pietro tells him and briefly erik wonders how anyone could hate toasted bread.

erik sighs beleagueredly, "when i was young, i'd be grateful for any meal- wanda, do not turn your brother's toast into something else."

"yeah, i don't if i can do that again," she admits sheepishly, pulling the hand that was about to tap her brother's toast away, "i kinda don't know how i did it to the cookies."

"you're young. i didn't know how to master my own mutation till i was older and even then, sometimes i still needed help," erik assures her. wanda happily munches on her apples after that. pietro rolls his eyes.

he cleans up everything, wondering just how to start this day. it wasn't as if his children were full grown adults who he could toss into the danger room. he did not know where to begin training seven year olds. most mutants didn't even manifest until puberty... but his kids were early bloomers.

as he picks up breakfast, he hears footsteps coming around the corner. at first, he assumes it's hank. perhaps the other actually decided to emerge out of his lab at a reasonable hour. but hank walks with a heavy footstep from his mutation. these steps are light, stilted.

"oh!" he hears charles say, "well, uh, hello you two."

"you're the guy who punched dad!" laughs pietro, "you got 'im good!"

erik turns, "pietro-"

charles kneels down to speak with the children at eye level in their chairs, "he told me you have mutations of your own. what can you both do?"

"i run fast!" pietro exclaims before dashing out of his chair, leaving charles' hair whipping against his face. after a mere moment, he comes back with an empty glass which he offers to erik, "here, dad, you can wash this too."

"very impressive," charles tells him and pietro beams.

erik takes the glass as charles stares at it briefly before turning his attention back to the children. most likely it had come from his room. he turns and smiles at wanda.

"and you, little one?" he asks her.

"my powers are kinda funny," she admits, "i usually just use them to hold pietro in place or make things float when i get upset. but i turned snicker-whatevers into chocolate chip cookies yesterday."

finally, charles looks at erik, clear realization of just why erik has come to him finally dawning on him. pietro would grow to be an ordinary mutant, one who would need training and would excell, but not right away. wanda was like nothing they had ever seen before. charles turns back to her, nodding, and squeezing her little hands.

"that's very special. you both are," he tells her and then turns to pietro before moving back to look at both of them, "how about you two go and play in the yard? i have a tire swing out there you might like."

they both cheer and wanda looks at erik, "can we, papa?"

"go ahead. just don't go past the tree," he says. they promise, not that he trusts pietro to abide by that promise. but they both take each other's hands and dash off at wanda's speed.

charles stands, moving to make his own coffee, "they're lovely children… you never told me."

"i didn't know," erik replies, "magda didn't want my life for them."

"doesn't surprise me. vengenance, death of humanity and all that," charles murmurs as he pulls out a mug.

erik notices that he did shower at some point between their arguement and now. his hair lacks the grease and the smell has disappated in favor of the soap charles prefers. even years later, he could smell that soap and know charles was near.

"i don't understand her power," erik cuts to the chase, "i assumed she was telekinetic. and then one day she changed the color of her shirt by wishing it. and now the cookies."

"…you're scared of her," charles says, looking at him again. erik wants to die beneath that gaze.

"i'm scared of what others might do to her."

charles digs out one of the chocolate chip cookies from the pantry, erik resisting his desire to glibly remind charles that those are not a breakfast food. he sniffs it, stares at it before taking a bite and nodding in odd approval. at least his daughter didn't turn them into cookies that tasted bad.

"i suppose we shouldn't be surprised considering just how powerful her father is," charles says absently.

"perhaps only surpassed by a child of yours," hums erik, tiredly. imagning a child with equal or greater telepathic ability to charles is rather insane. he is perhaps the strongest telepath they know, even more powerful than emma.

charles laughs dismissevly, "that will never happen. i was careful before and i don't want one. i never did."

"you opened a school."

"yes. for school aged children with mutations like your children," he reminds erik, tone clipped as he stares at the coffee carafe filling up, "not babies. i shouldn't- it's one thing to teach children, it's another to raise them."

erik goes quiet. that he at least agrees with. at least he had a good example, but he knows a little about charles and raven's upbringing. mostly, frustratingly, from raven. charles knew everything about erik, yet charles hid his life, his pain from him constantly. even raven didn't speak much on their life outside of their inattentive mother who charles loved deeply anyway.

"hank invited me to stay the night after wanda changed the cookies," erik explains, quietly, too awkward. it's so strange to lack the helmet, but have charles in his arm's reach, yet not feel the other sharing his mind, knowing his thoughts. he would never let anyone else do that, "but we can leave."

charles shakes his head, "no. clearly we at least need to figure out what wanda's mutation is. do your- does raven know about them?"

"no," erik explains, "i haven't told any of them. to be honest, i've gone totally radio silent on them. i need to rectify that. give them some lie to keep them passive."

"you're the one who divided us," charles huffs, "it's not like they can tell you no. are you telling me you don't trust angel and raven with your kids?"

"i do," erik assures, "but we have other things on our plate. riptide is… missing. i had him investigating some possible mutants in vietnam and he's disappeared."

"disappeared?" reiterates charles, "should i be concerned? sean and alex were deployed early into this mess."

erik feels his heart speed up, "deployed?"

"sean got drafted," charles explains, "alex decided to enlist so he wouldn't have to go alone."

"and you let them just go? with the military?" erik snaps, "well, of course you did. you would. you and your peace."

"don't turn this into something it isn't," huffs charles, "i hadn't been taking the serum them. i asked sean if he wanted me to try and get him rejected. he told me no. they wouldn't be in any danger if you hadn't turned a million missiles on the government in cuba!"

"what you have always failed to see charles is that we were always in danger!"

charles turns on him rapidly, "not every human is the kind that hurt you."

"it is only a matter of time before they become them," erik snaps, leaving the dried dishes in a rack so he isn't tempted to throw them.

he can feel every knife in the shelf. their fields pull at him. the fridge feels like an atomic bomb, each little component awaiting his command. feeling the push and pull of the fields is his life, its his very nature. just as minds were charles'. but he's shut them out. where normally his feelings would be blaring loudly in charles' mind, he imagines himself as a giant black void to the former telepath.

how can it not be like losing a limb? then, of course, charles lost his legs. erik has lost so many things in his lifetime. his home, his safety, his parents, his autonomy… even charles himself. but he has never lost part of himself. even if they put him in a plastic cube, he could feel the push of magnets where the could not reach them.

"if that's true, then it is because you believe it so," charles replies, taking the carafe and pouring it into a mug.

instead of going for sugar or cream, charles grabs whiskey, angrily dumping it into the bitter drink. erik snatches it fromt he counter.

"i think you have had enough," erik tells him before dumping the entire mug down the drain.

"erik! goddamn you!" charles growls, shoving him almost childishly. his punch had been lucky and he never really had the stomach for true violence.

he takes charles' wrists, holding them tightly as he glares, "i said i think you've had enough."

"you do not get to waltz in here and pretend like we're still friends," charles writhes his wrists angrily, "you stopped being the erik i knew the minute you killed shaw!"

"shaw had to die!" erik replies, baring his teeth. sean had once teased him for his smile being shark-like, but he certainly feels it now. he feels like an angry animal with prey between its jaws, "you will never understand! do you think an absent mother compares at all to things he did to me?!"

charles attempts to kick him in the knee, but erik is stronger and while he doesn't let go, he does fall forward, pressing himself against charles and the counter. as he goes to start shouting again, he notices charles is shaking. he does not look like a frightened doe as one might expect from a doe-eyed man.

instead, he is defiant. there is fear in his eyes, something old, something that has nothing to do with erik. but in the face of erik's anger, charles does not waiver. his body betrays him, but he holds a brave face, a stalwart indignation like an immovable ship, anchored to a seafloor.

the first time erik had kissed charles, they had been sharing a bed as they went to meet sean. all of the two-bed rooms had been booked which left them with either one of them on the floor or both in the bed. originally, erik had planned to take the floor, but charles had pulled him up into the bed.

"you don't think about me the way most people do," charles whispered, the only light coming the street lamps flickering outside, "i don't mean to pry. i can't help it sometimes."

"what do you mean?"

charles smiled softly, rolling his eyes, "you'd think it very silly i imagine. but you always think my eyes are a different shade of blue. it's like you can't decide how to describe them. but you notice them when you think i'm being particularly clever."

erik had blushed, his very obvious feelings being laid bare by the telepath in bed with him. he had admired charles from the minute they had met. how could he not admire the first man to tell him he wasn't alone? the man who had saved his life?

"it helps that you are usually particularly clever when you're not being particularly foolish," erik managed to reply.

this time charles blushed, looking away. his teeth pierced those already pretty red lips slightly. oh. that bastard. he knew what he was doing.

"are you going to do anything about it if i am?" charles asked, apparently not realizing he was reading erik's thoughts. or, if he did, he clearly did not care.

they were so young then. their powers still felt so fresh and untrained, even when they had more control than most. a few items shuddered at that moment when erik did.

ignoring them, he ran a hand up charles' neck to cup his cheek, "i think i'm going to kiss you."

"oh, i very much hope you do."

kissing charles xavier had been so soft. both of them had considered sex that night, but had instead enjoyed the gift of exploring the other's mouth. later, erik would realize charles had been hoping for this because he tasted particularly like gum. he had pressed kisses along soft lips, nipped until charles' lips were swollen, they had gone for each other until both were breathless.

charles had let out soft little gasps and moans. erik had worshipped his lips, his cheeks, his neck. they were like two demigods, entangled, high priests of the other's temple. erik had wanted to devour charles whole. he'd been smooth, kind, gentle, but mischevious. that moment was a fairytale.

this is not like that.

this was a nightmare. from the minute erik's teeth had clicked against charles' own, he knew that it was. there was none of their old kindness to be had. erik hated charles' scratchy beard. he hated that charles clearly no longer knew what he wanted, instead fighting for dominance of the kiss. erik had at first pulled away only for charles to pull him back, bruise his lips, bite his tongue.

erik presses charles back harder, taking back his tongue and shoving it down charles' throat. he wants to choke him with it, he wants to make sure he can't breathe. their teeth click again when charles mirrors the tilt of his head as they both try to deepen the kiss.

did charles want to suffocate as much as erik hopes to do so?

erik pulls back when charles' breath doesn't stop despite that, tugs fiercely on his lip with his teeth. those paled lips look almost back to their former glory, but he even such ferocity has not revived their blushed hues.

"i hate you," charles whispers, voice cracking, bitter, "i hate you."

"the feeling, old friend," erik snaps mockingly, "is mututal."

they dive back in anyway, charles finally breaking a hand free to claw down erik's back. nail marks redden beneath erik's shirt. the action also earns him a hardening in erik's pants, making him smirk against the larger man's lips. instead of giving him what he's asking for, erik wraps a hand around charles' throat.

"if i did not need you," he snarls before trailing off, "do you know how easy it would be?"

it would not be easy. erik isn't even pressing down against charles' neck. all he is doing is holding it, the grip barely there. but- but it changes something in charles' expression. the fear that had disappeated returns. suddenly nails claw at his hand.

"let go, erik, let go."

"i thought you hated me. didn't you expect this?" asks erik, voice mournful as it settles in once again that charles simply does not know what he thinking. how he could never hurt charles like that again.

"please," charles suddenly begs, voice desperate, "please, erik, let me go."

erik backs away like he's been burned, charles turning quickly on his heels as he gasps for air as if erik had been truly choking him. he's running as best that his legs, still stilted, still obviously not walking the way humans with functional spines walk, can take him. without meaning to, he shoves past hank who has finally emerged for breakfast.

hank looks at erik, "what the fuck did you do?"

[thevoidstaredback]

So, I assume cores are like a ghosts version of autistic special interests, and assumedly not everyone becomes a ghost?

But what if Jack does, his core could be ghosts itself, and is one of the strongest fresh ghosts to be out there, one worthy of rivalling king Danny.

Oo! I like this. I haven't gotten too far into any world building, but let's see if we can do this some justice. I haven't ever written Jack, so this might be absolutely horrible. Also, most of my knowledge is purely fanon or what I made up on the fly.

Idk if this is what you wanted, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. <2

Jack Fenton had always loved ghosts. His parents read him ghost stories and myths and legends when he was growing up, his sister was very into the dark and macabre, and his brother even took him ghost hunting a few times!

Yes, the Nightingale family had been witch hunters, but an interest change came with the name change. It was a package deal, really. One that know one really registered until much later down the line.

At the end of his senior year, Jack meet Madeline. If you asked her, it was love at first sight. If you asked him, it was love at first fight.

Maddie, as she liked to be called, had been raised by her grandmother. The woman taught Maddie everything she knows about the supernatural, claiming to be a medium. No one ever believed her.

Jack had a friend throughout high school named Vlad. Vlad was, in every sense of the word, paranoid. He had measures against everything supernatural, metaphysical, real, ect. If you could think of it, he probably had something to counter it.

The three made quite the team in college. Maddie and Jack had applied to the same colleges, only going to the one that accepted them both. Vlad followed after them, saying that he didn't trust Jack to leave him on his own.

"Ridiculous!" Jack had whispered to Maddie, "He just doesn't like being alone."

Ghosts were the common interest between the three, having grow up around some kind of exposure, so when someone offhandedly mentions a theoretical way that a living being could enter the Realm of the Dead, well, they had to see if it was actually possible.

Which leads them to nearly twenty-three years later. Their research had gotten Vlad hospitalized, so he wasn't there to share in the success, but that hadn't stopped Jack and Maddie. They'd worked for years to build a portal into the Afterlife for the opportunity to study a real life ghost.

Their research, of course, had been shunned in many occult circles, but that's okay. Those guys were all quacks and crazies anyway. Who needs their approval?

Ghosts were the emotions of a formerly living being that had imprinted themselves on ectoplasm. The proof? There was a ghost attack on their college during their junior year. Everyone thought they had staged it because no one saw the ghost, but Jack, Maddie, and Vlad knew. They had gathered the small bit of glowing green goo to study it.

That glowing green goo had been what had powered up the portal when they got it build. They used it like a battery.

So why hadn't it worked?

Well, it worked eventually, but why had it taken nearly four hours after the initial activation of the portal?

Regardless, they had been right and now Amity Park was full of proof to prove themselves to everyone that had ever laughed at them! If only Vlad could've shared in the glorious moment. He's not dead! They just...lost contact shortly after Danny was born.

Jumping forward almost two decades, Jack and Maddie were sat down by their children, Jasmine and Danny. Apparently, Danny had been the one to activate the portal by dying. It was...a lot to process, but they were happy he had come to them, even if it had taken two years.

It made them rethink a lot of their thoughts over the years. But, you can't really teach an old dog new tricks, no matter how much you explain and demonstrate it.

They didn't hurt Danny! God, no. They'd already done that enough.

No, Jack and Maddie redoubled their efforts to study ghosts with the added intention of understanding them.

Everyone in Amity Park know that there's at least a 90% chance they'll become a ghost when they die. That is quickly lowered to a 50% chance when the understanding that intent matters in all situations, even death. Those who want to rest won't come back as a ghost. Those who have something to finish or do have a bigger chance of coming back. Maybe not with all their memories, but they might.

Maddie, when she died of a combination of radiation - because ectoplasm is barely radioactive, but consistent exposure for most of her life doomed her - and old age, wanted to rest. She had done enough in her life, so she was ready to leave it behind.

Jack, when he died of the same combination with the addition of pneumonia, wanted to be with Maddie. But he also wanted to finally finish what he and Maddie and Vlad had started all those years ago.

Upon his death, Jack remembered a conversation he'd had shortly after Danny had come clean about being Phantom.

"Dann-o?" Jack had asked one morning.

"Hey, dad," Danny had tried to smile, but he seemed so tired. He was always tired. Had he always been this tired? Was this a new thing? Jack was horrified that he didn't know.

Jack had sat down next to his son on the couch, not too close as to be imposing, but close enough to be comforting. "What's wrong?"

Danny took a very long time to answer, words seeming to fall apart in his mouth. "Are you and mom going to keep trying to capture ghosts?"

Jack blinked. Why wouldn't they? There was still so much to know! So many theories to prove or disprove! So much locked potential that no one was ever going to look into again simply because no one else thought it possible!

"I mean-" Danny scrunched his nose in thought, trying to piece the words together in a way that someone who couldn't read his thoughts or be in his head could understand. "You and mom have worked to study ghosts for basically your whole lives. But, now that you know I am one, are you going to stop? Like, are you going to stop hunting them - us - down? Are you guys going to keep trying to hurt us?"

Oh. Oh. He's- Danny, he's- he's worried that they'll hurt him? "Oh, Danny," he said, "It was never our intention to hurt you."

"But-!"

"But we can't just drop everything. We've been doing this our whole lives almost, like you said. What are we supposed to do if we stop it all?"

Danny didn't say anything. In fact, he looked devastated. Why..?

Oh. Oh.

"It's not like that!" Jack was quick to say, "We're-we're not going to hunt ghosts any longer. If anything, we'll probably just want to ask some questions? I don't really know. I'll have to talk to your mom about it some more, but- We don't want to hurt you, Danny. It was never our intention."

Danny had been very quiet and a bit distant for the rest of the week after that. Unless, he'd always been like that? But he opened back up a little while later.

Jack and Maddie had never really completed their research on ghosts, so it's no surprise that one of them would come back as the thing they spent their lives after. But now came the question of what Ghost!Jack's obsession is.

It's usually seen as insensitive to ask a ghost what their Obsession is. But, if you know what their Obsession is, most are beyond thrilled to share it with you, basically info dumping everything they know about the subject, sharing related items, and learning more with you. It's a fun experience for all involved, especially if two or more ghosts have the same or similar enough Obsessions.

Really, it shouldn't have been a surprise that Jack Fenton's Obsession was Ghosts, considering his life.

Once that was a widely known fact, though, some began to wonder what his core and powers would be. Aside from, of course, the basic power set that all ghosts get when they become a ghost.

Cores and powers go hand in hand with a ghost's Obsession. Sometimes they amplify one another, sometimes they compliment one another. Very rarely are they the same thing.

For example, King Phantom's core is ice, his Obsession is protection, and his powers relating to that of ice, mostly offensive and defensive focuses. Ember's core is fire, her Obsession music, and her powers are similar to those of the sirens of myths.

You get the idea.

Then again, the Fenton Family has never been normal, has it? Not even as far back as when they were the Nightingale Family.

King Phantom had figured out one day what his father's powers were, and, consequently, his strength. It was an accident, really! They hadn't seen each other in a while, and Jack's hugs were already monstrously strong before he'd become a ghost-

Who knew that ghosts could get shattered spines?

Jack Fenton, upon becoming the very thing he'd spend his life dedicated to, gained the ability to copy another ghost's power via manipulation of his core.

While most ghosts' cores were a single solid substance like ice or fire or shadows, Jack's core was ectoplasm. Able to change and adapt to his needs, not set in any one way.

Phantom was beyond glad his father, who became known as The Professor, was on his side.

Storyboard

[ckret2]

Hi! I think I found a typo in this chapter "makes it hard for him to relate to other..." I assume you meant "others"

I hope Gideon's parents don't mess up his childhood anymore than it has been. I think his friends would be able to help him out more than his family :( Maybe Bud should work at the alpaca farm too.

Do you think Gideon chose to open the tent of telepathy himself? Or has Bud been pressuring him into making money from the start? I think it could go either way depending on how the bolo tie really works. He'd still be pressured into stuff in a way though which sucks.

Not a typo actually, it was meant to be Joy trailing off mid-sentence: "makes it hard for him to relate to other [kids]," but she petered out mid sentence and switched to a statement that makes it sound like it's not Gideon who's at fault, it's the other kids ("And honestly, I think most of the children are jealous of his talents"). I might could edit that to make it clearer that that's her trailing off.

Even though she's the more passive parent, and even though she's clearly afraid of Gideon's temper, she's still one of his enablers. And one of the ways that manifests is in blaming other people for Gideon's failings.

Honestly I think establishing the Tent of Telepathy was little of both. There's a mention in the previous chapter of Gideon starring in his dad's car commercials when he was younger; I think that's how he got his start in the spotlight and learned how to weaponize being cute, doing stuff like this:

When he got the mystic amulet, it was a natural progression. First Gideon starts using it for "magic tricks," maybe to impress other kids; next his dad goes "now that's something, can you do one of those tricks in our next commercial?"; next the commercials turn out to be a hit, so Bud gets the idea to do live shows at the dealership—lure people in to see Lil Gideon do magic, then try to sell them cars while they're there.

And so far Gideon's having a blast with it, he's always been pretty comfortable with the commercials because it's just what their family does and doing the magic shows is fun.

But it accelerates from there. At some point, other "tricks" get incorporated into the show, starting with your garden-variety cold reading, then escalating to spying, and that takes over as Gideon's main act. Now he's not just a clever child stage magician, he's a child psychic. The shows become popular enough that it occurs to Gideon's parents that he could make real money off them rather than just using them to advertise cars—and like, Gideon's a kid, making money from performing sounds exciting to him, he sees no downsides.

Maybe Gideon starts getting some serious attention at that point. Maybe a TV station from Portland does a little feel-good news story about this small-town child psychic; maybe he gets invited onto a local talk show; and that's when the idea of the tent of telepathy and/or touring comes up.

At this point, Gideon's probably been around the amulet enough that it's started to corrupt him—now he's getting hungry for the power and influence his new celebrity gives him, now he's the one going to his dad saying he wants to do even more shows and bring in even bigger audiences. But that only speeds things up. Without the amulet, Gideon might have gradually gone down that path by himself; and his dad, certainly, would've kept looking for opportunities for Gideon to perform as a child psychic so long as Gideon still seemed like he was having fun with it.

And that, I think, is the saddest part of it: at the start, Gideon was having fun with it. Bud wasn't thinking "I can make money off my kid," he was thinking "wow, my son has a talent. He could be rich and famous before he's a teenager. If he's really lucky, he might be set to retire before he's an adult and the whole family will be financially comfortable; but then if he wants he could keep on performing as an adult. Think of the possibilities! Sold-out theaters! A permanent residency in Vegas!" And even though Bud acted as Gideon's agent, i figure his mom felt the same way.

A parent whose kid REALLY loves gymnastics might get them a gymnastics coach, send them to contests, and if they keep winning, help them train for the Olympics. A parent whose kid REALLY loves singing might record them singing, put their videos online, start talking to agents about helping their kid record an album if some of their videos go viral. Bud's kid REALLY loved performing for an awed audience and all the attention and admiration it got him, so Bud set up more shows, arranged for him to start touring, got a tent, produced merch...

Kids who eagerly dive into Olympic training for a sport they love often have it take over their lives, and when that dream is passed—you're not in Olympic condition forever—many don't know what to do with the rest of their lives and regret pouring everything into one obsession. Kids who go into the entertainment industry for a talent they love are entering a world where the talent is very frequently abused and exploited and everyone's scrambling to try to make a living, and children are even more easy to exploit. A parent can support or even push a child toward making their talent a career, and genuinely think they're doing their child a favor; and it can still be terrible for the child. AND it can still slowly creep into the parents themselves exploiting their child as it becomes easier and easier to just live off their income, even if that wasn't the initial plan.

And by the time Gideon was arrested, his parents had poured so much into his budding career that they need to restart trying to bring in a sufficient income outside of that.

Gideon's career wasn't awful & exploitative from the get go. He was an active participant, he understood (insofar as a child could) what was being asked of him and what he was getting out of it, he liked it, he wanted more. At the peak of the amulet's influence on him and during the months after it broke when its effects still lingered, he was calling the shots, he was in charge. And it's not like the amulet was mind-controlling him; that was Gideon at his worst, but it was still Gideon.

To an extent I think his parents still feel like he's calling the shots. Seeing your child as your breadwinner is a messed up position and somebody needs to shake some sense into his parents, but they didn't end up there deliberately. Like boiling a frog, they ended up there too gradually to notice.

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep3 Musings - Loumand

Last post, I promise; I needed another nap; this ep's a freaking rollercoaster. And these two queens nearly gave me a stress ulcer!

DEBATABLE, Louis. I can think of FAR worse vamps than you, love.

Why're y'all having this whole conversation where anyone can hear?

They got Sartre's wall-eyes down; good makeup this season, team! 👌

DreamStat's a Loumand bed-death truther, jfc. 😭

I wanna know EXACTLY what Armand sees--or "feels"--whenever DreamStat pops up in Lou's head. Cuz he clearly knows precisely where Les is; he looks right in his direction. But does he HEAR Les too? (God I hope not, this song would've had me SEETHING--Back to Hell with you! 😅)

"Oh dear" indeed; I was HOLLERING.

SAM WAS DEVOURING THIS SCENE HOLY GOD GO AWAY DEMON

Armand looked PISSED, I was scared for Louis' life! And he DOES know, actually, yes Lou. I can almost GUARANTEE that he knows PRECISELY where Lestat is AT THIS VERY MOMENT, yes Lou.

If only you knew.... 😬

Claudia's suffered more than Christ. And nice cut to Daniel sneaking around with Raglan James as Armand talks about Furies punishing "human wrongdoing." It's really interesting that Armand told the lawyer that LOUIS is the owner of the paintings. Is he the owner of the penthouse too? HOW MANY DEEDS DOES HE HAVE, ROLIN?

I wonder what AMC might be saying about Loumand's art collection, not just wrt what we know about art heist!Armand (which we'll likely see a nod to in Ep4 at the Louvre); but also wrt what we know about Dubai's godawful neocapitalist hellscape economy, and Loumand's "moralizing" about Parisian black markets in S01E02.

I wonder if that's the excuse Armand'll give the coven when Louis shows up for dinner in Ep4--very much NOT dead; and rips out Santiago's tongue.

WILD voice-over, cuz you KNOW that's what Santiago was thinking, too, LOL. (You wish, Francis.) But yes: Louis' finna end your whole career. XD

Another TERRIFYING jumpscare from the coven, like in Ep2 with Annika. Louis, I am shocked & appalled--can you not HEAR all these vamps planning your bloody murder around you? CLAUDIA! WTF!?

But this is how you know Armand's true personality--he hates getting his hands dirty. He kills all the time, but he makes his victims' deaths pretty. He'd rather sit back & let Lestat/Louis come in and wreck his whole coven, even though he has the power to just light those mofos up all on his own! I wish AMC emphasized a bit more that Armand not only writes/directs the plays--he's an ACTOR, too. And istg he's an expert at PRETENDING to be helpless, meanwhile he's the strongest vamp that's NOT one of the Children of the Millennia (thanks to how well Marius made him).

Armand, that is LOW; waiting until Claudia's stuck under the oaths b4 you tell her she's guilty of breaking Great Laws she doesn't even know about yet. WTF?

How TF you gon' hold Louis accountable for following the Laws when he wasn't even allowed to be in the effing room when they were read!? He's not even a member! WTF! (I get it--any rogue vampires are subject to death, yadayada; we know it's a stupid policy.)

I love how he plans to leave by himself here--it had nothing to do with picking "another one" over Claudia. He just didn't want to hold her back anymore. And his presence was causing problems. 😭 It's so cute that Louis' stipulation about London was that if it's "too large" he'd leave and go to Ireland (?!?)--he's become agoraphobic or something? He just wants to be alone in his hermit hole--MOOD. 😭

Good to get confirmation that the Fire Gift here is Armand and blessedly NOT Santiago--so why's he zooming around in the sewers?

Look, sometimes folks make terrible first impressions--Lestat was being hella racist, Louis' always playing defense, Armand was finna kill Louis in a gay public park. It happens.

Foreshadowing like crazy, as usual.

WILD thing to say. I'm gonna cry, please stop.

(What kinda hypocrisy is that, when you were made young your dang self!?) She's already 30+ years old--maybe she'll last a little longer if y'all (read: sexist, racist, ageist, ableist, etc society) don't eff around tryna make her life even harder! But AMC's deliberately cutting Claudia's life in half, compared to the books, cuz misogynoir's real and Claudia gets NOTHING out of vampirism, not even a fair chance. And y'all let her into the coven KNOWING how much she loves y'all, and KNOWING y'all were gonna kill her. EFF THIS WHOLE COVEN, ARMAND INCLUDED. (Lemme calm down--this kind of betrayal is exactly how Lestat must've felt in S01E07; I get it; they're getting a taste of their own medicine. But LESTAT EFFING HAD IT COMING. The coven should've just told them: y'all got til sunrise to GTFO our territory, you're not welcome here. This whole bit's unnecessary.)

THE PARALLELS ARE PARALLELING

SKILL ISSUE. Cuz Louis' got the least power, and he's finna clear that whole bish out in just a couple episodes. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Louis, love, ARMAND DON'T GIVE A EFF ABOUT RAISING SOME OTHER MAN'S OFFSPRING. This is the call of the wild, as Alphas KILL the children their stolen Omega brides had for other Alphas/Betas, so he can restart the gene pool with HIS DNA instead. I know y'all had National Geographic back then already--READ A BOOK, Louis, it's what you're best at.

Incredible. After all of that Louis said Lestat never broke him. BENT BUT NEVER BROKEN, that's right! 💪😤

Boy, we're not talking about some little (unrequited) CRUSH over a man you only knew for a few months (which you've CLEARLY not gotten over yet). Louis was MARRIED to the man for 30 YEARS. This is his MAKER. Lestat knew his whole family; went to the Black cookouts and everything! They literally built a home AND business together! They raised a child together! WHATCHU KNOW ABOUT THAT!?

And that's LESTAT'S DAUGHTER TOO--how much can you possibly love EITHER of them while planning to knock her off!? I can't listen to too much more of this. *hands Louis the torch and scythe*

Beautiful end of this STACKED episode. Incredible work, AMC! Jacob acted his PANTS off; he excels at the trembling voice, agonized facial expressions, and utter mental breakdowns. He's pulling DEEP within him, holy god; it's so raw, it's almost hard to watch. EMMY WHEN?!

[msfbgraves]

The first Godfather movie is on Y*utube for free now! I rewatched it and it was just as great as I remember, so on to Part 2. But then I went on redd*t to check out some Godfather threads, and was disappointed to see so much discourse on who was hotter, Apollonia or Kay. And why there is so much hate against Kay, mainly because she is “too feminist” and “educated”, doesn’t “obey or support” Michael, and that she’s not as beautiful as Apollonia. All in all a disappointing experience. I didn’t see any male characters reduced to how handsome they were or were not : /

Let me help you there, then, Nonnie - of course Michael was destined to become the new Don - he is far prettier than Fredo, Sonny or Connie. And Vito was prettier than Don Fanucci all along! 😎

All this "Kay isn't good enough for Michael" discourse - he pursued her. Both in film 1 and 3. And the only time I felt Kay was weak, was when she said yes when he returned. Imagine, here is your war hero boyfriend who says he wants a clean American life... and then he shoots two people, leaves the country, ghosts you for a year, tells you he has become a career criminal and then proposes marriage. She should have said no, she really isn't open to this, but is this man, who she knows has people killed with no repercussions, a man she can refuse? As little as Vitelli could really refuse Michael's request to court Apollonia. The first thing Michael says to him is: "If you don't do what I want, I will kill you, and what I want is meet your daughter."

But alright maybe love isn't rational. Maybe they loved each other still. Kay really wasn't suited to mob life and that is on Michael. He knew who she was and it didn't matter, he wanted her. He had barely a clue who Apollonia was, her with no English and he with broken Italian. It didn't matter, he wanted her. Kay would have been perfect for Michael Corleone, aspiring senator, which is what he was when they met. But he didn't care Kay was not suited for who he was now. Why didn't he grieve Apollonia and find another mob wife? Why didn't he remarry after their divorce? Even when he proposes Kay is already reluctant and Michael pushes and pushes and pushes. She must represent something he actually does want, still.

But it's always the woman's fault when relationships don't work out, isn't it? No Kay wasn't a good mob wife. She didn't want to be one. She got out with her children - that is something Michael never managed. And Apollonia is something many men imagine they want, but when they have it, they get bored. I am not saying Apollonia wasn't intelligent, but if you get told to completely erase yourself into motherhood, which means you can't offer more than comfort and sex - that's not enough for a lot of people. And it's not like these women wouldn't have had more to offer but everytime they try they get shut down. And what you get then is Carmella, which may have suited Vito - that man who craved domesticity above all else - but even Sonny and Michael needed more input from her than she could give. So Michael fell for the total opposite. And maybe Apollonia was a fierce presence who might have become to Michael what Connie became, but we can't know. We don't know what she and Michael talked about. We know she was very beautiful and made Michael laugh, and she may or may not have had a slight independent streak. That's it.

I feel that they might have worked because they clicked emotionally and Apollonia knew the life. But Michael didn't look for someone like her again. He looked for Kay, again and again and again.

If she doesn't suit him - and no, she doesn't suit a Don - Michael should try to figure out what itch he was trying to scratch with her. Oh, and that obedience shit - in my experience, boys who go on about that are deeply insecure about something. They couldn't get a well trained dog to obey them, let alone a person!

All these men who think they're owed power while being unwilling to do what they'd have to to obtain it, always want women to fawn. Men who have what it takes to gain power, should they aspire to, usually spend time honing a skill. They rarely throw their weight around putting others down. No matter where they start, the bottom or the top - they put the work in. Michael did, Sonny did, and Fredo mostly complained. As much as we see anyway. If Fredo had done a good job with what he was given, or would have found himself an opportunity, he would have won Michael's respect. Not position,but respect, like Tom. Instead Fredo demanded respect for his position as an older brother.

That's the type of man who whines about having women obey him.

[h0bg0blin-meat]

Here's more... cuz I realised I'm really good at it 💅✨lol

Yama: Many may think he sounds rough while in a way he does... But also he sounds like he's there to take you home. Exactly like your mother who came to take you home after the first day of school when you were anxious. His sound is comforting, it's to guide you back home.

Agni: whatever he speaks, he apeaks with a passion. A passion you'll feel is burning like the sacred flames. It have a certain warmth to it yes. You'll feel the safe fuzzy feeling you get sitting around the campfire. But when he's angry his voice will engulf you whole, give you no spac to escape and burn you fully.

Dyaus: Well... He just sounds... Vast. You'll never figure out where exactly is he speaking from, even if he's standing just infront of you. And you'll also never know which ear you heard him from... Was it left? Or was it right? His voice kinda sounds like an akashvani (lol pun intended) he takes his time while speaking and his tone is unchangeable to say the least.

Alakshmi: She sounds like she's in despair. She sounds hateful, sad and it will give you a sense of emptyness. Like as if you are sure you failed your interview but just the news haven't reached you yet... Anxiety is not the term to explain her voice but it's like that. It's empty, it's hateful. You won't want to listen to her again...

Ashwin Kumars: This two are what you call typical twin voice... They sound so similar yet so different. Their voice is like the soothing ointment you apply on your wounds, a bit straight forward but got a nice comfort to the voice. When they speak to you they speak in sync, completing eachother's sentences... It almost feels as if you just woke up from sleep after a horrible feverish night. You'll automatically feel better if you listen to them.

Vac: She sounds like every and any type of sound you can ever imagine.. You would be utterly confused trying to figure out what exact tone she's speaking in. But at the same time it's easy to understand. As if you're a child who doesn't know how to speak yet... And you're trying to pick up the words your parents are asking you to speak.

Shukra: Knowledged. If anything he sounds knowledged, but also most of the time he sounds strict like a teacher. But when he's not angry he's calm and you'll actually enjoy listening to him. But also like his graha's atmosphere his voice have a certain density to it. As if the dead might rise again listening to him (lmao bad pun sorry)

Ila/Sudyumna: There's a duality in their voice... When he's Sudyumna he sounds regal and poshed just like a prince. With softer tone and sweeter accent. But when Ila, she's a bit rougher.. even if not as royal as her male self, still sweet though.

Yamuna: Her tone is slow and she takes her time speaking just like the Yamuna river, it's sweet and enjoyable to listen... As if a storyteller from some far away land is telling you the tales.

Rudra: Powerful, sharp tone. A bit loud... Kinda like wild animals, but not bad. He speaks fast as if he's a storm or he's in a hurry. His tone will give you the feel of a hunter chasing down it's prey, it's like a lion's cry majestic and can scare you on occasions..

Savitr: His voice is pleasant to hear, a reassuring tone, just like a gaurdian. It's a bit deep and have a heavyness to it, as if protecting you from something... But at the same time it's warm like new sunrays hitting the baby plants on the morning.

Ayyappan: His voice is boyish, and sounds innocent yet as if it holds all the knowledge of this earth. It sounds like the soft jingles of temple bells or the laughter of children running around. It gives a somewhat a sense of nostalgia to you

Shani: Straight forward and sharp. A bit too sharp for liking. Also whenever he speaks it's as if he knows, now what he knows that you'll never know... His voice may sound a bit like, as if he's criticizing you.. which he maybe is. It got both the ability to scare you or make you feel safe.

YOU DID IT AGAIN!

YOU CAPTURED ALL OF THEM SO PERFECTLY. I ESPECIALLY LOVED SHANI'S SJDNEFJN he really be one of those brutally honest dudes lmao

[sokkastyles]

Hi I do enjoy you takes on different avatar related stuff including the all of the royal fire family.what I wanted to ask is if you think it would have been better if Ursa was dead?

I feel like it would be and make sense narratively. She had very sensitive information about how Ozai got to power and when zuko is walking away Ozai try’s to get zuko to say by calling him weak but that no longer works so he used his mother to manipulate him he even smiles at seeing it work. But he’s just trying to waste his time. Plus it also add to the idea of found family like imagine Katara telling zuko “we are you family now” ohh we even get a zuko Aang parallel too. Idk maybe i just don’t like how Ursa was handled in the search. Sorry for how rambling I got.

What do you think?

Ursa might as well be dead as far as atla is concerned. I refer to her plot as fridging even though she is not technically dead because she nopes out of the narrative the same way she would if she were dead, and tbh I don't think the writers ever had much intention of bringing her back into the story to begin with. I'm glad she's not dead and we do get that line from Zuko at the end demanding to know where she is, but as far as the Search is concerned, that might as well not have happened.

I think you make a good point about her having sensitive information, which is enough of a reason to explain her absence without all the spirit bullshit the Search introduces. Ozai was absolutely trying to manipulate Zuko about Ursa when he told Zuko she did "treasonous things," and I could have believed that Ursa could have stayed away out of guilt, because of how Ozai made her complicit in his crimes, especially the ones against her children. We didn't need Ursa losing her memory to explain her absence, and that's one reason the Search felt empty.

Another is that as you said, she might as well be dead, narratively. I mean, I'm glad she's not, but she's served her narrative purpose so reintroducing her to the story feels pointless. She serves as part of Zuko's coming of age story and Azula's downfall and both of those arcs were completed at the end of atla. What the comics do with her doesn't really add anything to the story because those comics are not meant to progress the story, simply churn out dollars while keeping the characters stagnant.

[koolaidoverliving]

Could you talk more about Candy Pop and Night Terror? What are they like in your AU? How did Candy Pop seal Night Terror?

AAAAAA (spontaneously combusts) YES! I CAN ALWAYS TALK MORE ABOUT CANDY POP AND NIGHT TERRORS, THANK YOU—their story in my AU doesn't stray too far from umbra canon, but there are major differences. it's a LOT to take in and there are terms you might not even know. i'll have like a glossary at the end of the post. HAHA

again this is just my rewrite. please refer to danceofangels' post if you want to learn more about the canon candy pop. it's a fun read, too. :)

CW: Violence, Sexual Trauma

So when a malevolent entity gets sealed away, the only way to free them is by breaking the object which they're sealed into. This is how Candy Pop freed Night Terrors for the first time.

BEGINNING

Candy Pop—being the son of Jesterca and Calicifur—had it in him to seal away powerful entities, and this included Night Terrors. Before the Genyr/Serant war, Candy Pop encountered him. He lurked silently among the Genyrs, preying on Candy Pop in particular. I'm not sure on the details yet, but this is how it goes: Candy Pop and Night Terrors got into a small fight; Candy Pop managed to send Night Terrors in a mirror inside of an artefact shop.

Years passed and Night Terrors was hardly a threat, but now there was a new problem—Serants. I won't get into the war because that's a separate post on its own, but I will say that Candy Pop got into a tedious fight with one of the commanding Serants. This fight moved into the artefact shop. Candy Pop defeated the Serant, but he was mortally wounded.

Candy Pop collapsed on the floor, legs too weak to support him. His vision began to blur at the edges; everything felt faint and his body went numb. He couldn't even tell how much blood and mucus he was coughing up. Just as darkness overtook his vision, he heard the muffled voice of his girlfriend, April Fools.

He turned around. She was inside of a mirror, begging for Candy Pop to help her. Her pleas echoed in Candy Pop's mind. With the last of his strength, Candy Pop punched the mirror, shattering the glass, freeing April...

...No.

That wasn't April. April was dead.

Candy Pop freed Night Terrors.

Night Terrors despised Candy Pop for sealing him away, for stopping him from achieving his goals. Now, that same jester was in front of him, wounded and shaking with fear—sadness, anger. He tried to take Candy Pop's soul, but Candy Pop, in a feeble attempt to seal him away, fused their souls together.

FUSION

Okay, great! Night Terrors has to share a body with this stupid jester now! Night Terrors has never been more pissed off in his life (note: this is a hyperbole). The two of them venture out to the human world after massacring every inhabitant in the Forest of Light.

A majority of Candy Pop's life would be spent in the Abyss, a dark void where he's tormented by the wails of damned souls. Meanwhile, Night Terrors does one of three things. One, breed. Two, add souls to his cluster. And three, gain cult followers. But whenever Night Terrors slept, Candy Pop would be out roaming, making connections with humans, taking care of Night Terrors' children. Candy Pop still wanted to experience the joys of life. He's an optimist at heart, even though his entire life's been bent over and fucked.

Candy Pop isn't safe for long. Night Terrors suspects that Candy Pop's making connections, and he brainwashes his children into hating Candy Pop. They watch Candy Pop while Night Terrors is asleep.

Night Terrors often—when he's out of energy—forces Candy Pop to carry out his plans. This includes harvesting souls and sleeping with women himself. Candy Pop doesn't want to; he's never had a physically intimate relationship with anyone (his relationship with April Fools was purely chaste). He despises having to entice these women he doesn't even love. Candy Pop breaks down sobbing and apologising. Night Terrors finds it pathetic, really.

The only reason Candy Pop obeys Night Terrors' command is because he's well aware of how badly Night Terrors can hurt him and his allies. Candy Pop is willing to strip away his innocence, willing to hurt himself; because if he's patient enough, Night Terrors will grow weak and Candy Pop can seal him away.

SEALING

3,000+ years pass and Candy Pop is still fused with Night Terrors. His soul corrupts gradually, but he's become less of a doormat over the years. Instead of waiting for Night Terrors to fall asleep, he begins to fight for control. Candy Pop's rebellion and their constant inner battles are factors to the end of Night Terrors' reign.

The modern era is when Candy Pop seals away Night Terrors. They have one final battle, internally; two souls fighting for control. Night Terrors is approaching hibernation with the lack of souls they've accumulated due to Candy Pop's resistance. Candy Pop knows this. He planned this. He's well aware of Night Terrors' wavering strength.

I haven't exactly coordinated the details for this, but: Candy Pop successfully performs a sealing technique to seal Night Terrors away. Because they were fighting in the same body, Candy Pop's best option was to seal Night Terrors into his own heart. Therefore, if Candy Pop's heart were to leave his body and break, Night Terrors would escape again. They're technically one in the same, it's just that Night Terrors can no longer take over.

Traces of Night Terrors' personality remain. Candy Pop's soul is still corrupted and he still harvests souls to stay alive. In addition, he has to fight off the Anathemas who try to kill him.

okay, this is the best summary i can give. i tried to keep it brief, but i can always elaborate on these bullet points if you want me to. just ask! i am always willing to talk about this guy, hehe.

extra info: candy pop, in the present, is living with nathan the nobody. he's not infected by the slendersickness nor is he working for slenderman. his role in the story is a supporting character for nathan and jason. candy pop has a shit load of racked up guilt. he blames himself for everything. after all, he broke the mirror containing night terrors. candy pop doesn't look into mirrors anymore. it brings back bad memories. his appearance is the one night terrors used to trick all those humans. he can't stand to look at himself without feeling sorry for all the shit night terrors did. candy pop also struggles with hypersexuality due to night terrors' influence. it's a way to cope with all of the sexual abuse, and he regrets it 10/10 times. really, he despises his body, his voice, every minute detail about himself... but he's the genyr of amusement! a colourful jester! and jesters aren't sad, right?

GLOSSARY

Jesterca - Candy Pop's mother. She was the first Genyr of Amusement and a famous wariorress. She disappeared shortly after Candy Pop was born. Her brother Payazo Pop watched after him in her absence.

Calicifur - Candy Pop's father. King of Dhokkalfers (dark elves). He was locked up after Candy Pop was born, but escaped during the war.

Genyrs - Fairies who specialise in sealing away malicious entities.

Serants - Vampiric demons who have terrorised Genyrs for centuries. Most of them were wiped out during the war.

Anathemas - Night Terrors' brainwashed children. Also referred to as "The Chosen". They don't like Candy Pop and their main goal is to get rid of him.

[kvnex]

PART 1: THE BASICS

What is your full name? Kane T. Franklin

Where and when were you born? Sept 7,1997 Memphis Tennessee

Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.) His morthers name is Kayla Franklin, she’s unemployed because he takes care of her. In the beginning she wasn’t much of a nurturing type of mother. But over time she developed this personality where she only wanted the best for her children and the best is what she did. She did whatever she had to do for Kane and his sister and for that he’s thankful. She’s a bit on the rough side she’s been through a lot a she’s seen a lot so she can tend to come off a bit more harsh at times but it’s all love. As for his dad his name is Maurice Halsten, didn’t know him, didn’t like him, didn’t care about him.

Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like? Yes he has a younger sister, she’s very sweet and nice almost too good to be true in so many words. She’s the complete opposite of Kane but she stands on business when it comes to her big brother.

Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people. Bel-Air, big ass house nice yard neighbors kinda far apart. Lots of rooms, lost of space, basketball cout all of the things a bel air mansion would have.

What is your occupation? He's a Rapper

Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks. 6’0 tall, don’t worry about his weight, it’s enough. Black male, brown eyes with black hair. He likes to think of himself as a hood rich dresser, he can jump fresh any day of the week with just a simple fit to throw on but he likes to have things that others dont tend to have so that it sets him apart a bit from others. Tons of tattoos on his arms and hand and neck. A scar on his face that’s fading but it’s from when he was younger and got cut in the face by a glass bottle.

To which social class do you belong? Upper

Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses? He's allergic to oranges but will risk it cause he likes orange juice. No diseases or any other phyical weakeness

Are you right- or left-handed? Right

What does your voice sound like? Deep but not Barry white deep, like regular deep southern drawl or should I say a Memphis accent.

What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently? I’m good or it’s whatever, what’s that word shortly

What do you have in your pockets? Money and a lighter.

Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics? He has an obsessive behavior but at the same time he plays it very nonchalant when he feels like people playing on his head top. But at the same time he can be very nonchalant or not care which tends to annoy people.

PART 2: GROWING UP

How would you describe your childhood in general? His life wasn’t sweet at all actually, it wasn’t the best but it could have been a lot worse. He lived in the hood so we all know what that’s like, shoot outs, gangs, drugs and jail things that he seen on a daily basis. But his grandma tried her best to keep him on the right path even though it didn’t last too long because he still ended up doing what he wanted.

What is your earliest memory? Seeing his uncle get shot…traumatizing.

How much schooling have you had? High school diploma

Did you enjoy school? NO

Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities? Life skills were taught by the streets.

While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them. My cousin Tat, he was a get money type of nigga, he had the respect of the hood and I wanted everything that he had. I always looked at him as a bigger role model than all these other people, because tat was getting money, he wasn’t just a regular drug dealer tat had the south really in control. He was powerful and I wanted to be exactly like him until he got shot, then I just lost all hope on who I wanted to be like because he changed his whole life after that.

While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family? Yea his hating ass uncles and Aunties.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A drug lord

As a child, what were your favorite activities? Football

As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display? He was a jokester, always the funny bad lil kid no matter where I went.

As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like? He was very popular due to him clowning all the time and mostly his cousins, he didn’t have many outside friends. Niggas was frauds for real.

When and with whom was your first kiss? Middle School, Tati

Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity? No, Tati

PART 3: PAST INFLUENCES

What do you consider the most important event of your life so far? Most important…probably going on my first sold out tour a few years ago.

Who has had the most influence on you? Currently? Nobody, everybody cool though.

What do you consider your greatest achievement? Sold out shows, best feeling ever for an independent artist.

What is your greatest regret? Not trying hard for what he knew he wanted, things could have been way different.

What is the most evil thing you have ever done? He's not a evil person but life happens and you gotta survive it so yea.

Do you have a criminal record of any kind? Yea, assault charges and some other things.

When was the time you were the most frightened? Couple of years ago, he was spiraling out of control. Unable to really see life and the bigger picture, he was living and thinking for in the moment. Could have ended badly but reality kicked in.

What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you? Nothing

If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why? He would listen more to the things that people were telling him to better his life. So being less hard headed.

What is your best memory? First real vacation with his mama, grandma and sister. They didn’t go far but they went to New York and his grandma was hype as hell. She always wanted to go, so when he was able he took her. Brought her everything she wanted, she was happy as hell so for him that was all he needed to see.

What is your worst memory? As a kid seeing his uncle get killed, nothing tops that bad memory.

@la-resources

[good-to-drive]

thoughts on the Harrison-Boyd-Clapton live triangle???

Oh god I have SO many thoughts lol. I was actually just talking to my best friend about this, but to put it simply I see the whole situation as an example of two people who truly love each other not belonging together because the particular ways in which they're broken go together too well.

But, to put it less simply:

I tend to think about it from Pattie's perspective, and I've always thought of her as having pretty severe eldest daughter syndrome, i.e. she was taught to value her worth by what she could provide to others. Her parents weren't super involved and she took on a lot more responsibility than most kids her age, especially when it came to her younger siblings. This quote in particular stood out to me when I was obsessing over Pattie a few months ago:

(Not sure where that's originally from btw, I've had the screenshot forever but based on formatting I think it might be brainy quote).

It's often a red flag when people say they felt older than their years, and doubly so when they were in some way parentified. We often reenact the role we played in our childhood family system in our adult relationships, and in Pattie I think this lead her to be extremely giving and self sacrificing. To the point where I'm not sure she was even aware that she HAD emotional needs, much less knew how to assert them.

To that end, although I obviously like George quite a bit, there's no denying that -- especially as a young man -- he was an incredibly needy person. (I actually think all the beatles were sort of black holes of emotional need tbh, at least in their youth. Partly because of childhood trauma but also because they were living a life that's larger and more extreme than any human being was meant to live.)

Pattie's tendency to sacrifice excessively dovetailed perfectly with George's tendency to need excessively, and as a result he totally eclipsed her entire self, until she felt utterly lost. That's neither of their fault, btw. Neither of them was emotionally mature or self aware enough to realize what was happening.

(Not to mention George was cheating like a dog and Pattie was taking it on the chin even though she knew deep down she deserved better. But former parentified children often put up with a lot of shit as adults because they believe it's their responsibility to do so.)

Then Eric comes along and literally tells her it's her fault he's addicted to heroin and if she doesn't leave George he'll die and it'll be all her fault. Aside from the fact that this is literally emotional abuse, it's also an even darker and more powerful black hole of neediness than George. And as someone whose sense of self has been eclipsed and who only knows she matters when she's of service to others, it was basically impossible not to fall into that black hole.

For his part, I think Eric was far more concerned with taking something from George than being with Pattie. I don't know enough about him to know why he'd feel the need to do that and I also really dislike him so I doubt I'll ever find out. Pattie said he got bored of her pretty much as soon as he "had" her, and tbh that doesn't surprise me.

It was honestly such a tragic thing for Pattie to be driven/dragged away from George -- personally I believe they always loved each other (she referred to him as her soulmate in her autobiography, and George made sure she knew as long as he was alive she'd have a financial parachute) -- but I also genuinely think they had to lose each other in order to find themselves.

Pattie couldn't stay in a relationship where she was fulfilling the same self sacrificing role she played as a child, and although it was a long and painful road she seems to have really found herself and found peace. She's never explicitly said this, but often people without a strong sense of self need to be on their own in order to learn how to value themselves, and she did spend a long time unmarried after Eric.

And, although George was gutted by the breakup, he was no more capable of expressing love in a healthy way than Pattie was. If they had stayed together I doubt he'd have grown into the wise and self possessed person that he ultimately became, because he simply wouldn't have had to. (Plus he never would have found Liv and I love her just as much as I love Pattie.)

In the end their relationship is fascinating and tragic to me because the things that drew them to one another so deeply were also what ultimately doomed them, and yet in the shadow of that loss they became the people they were meant to be and found their happy endings.

Thanks for the ask, and sorry for the novel 😁

[warningsine]

As Russian artillery rained down on the Ukrainian city of Kherson last year, one girl found a surprising way of processing the horror that was taking place. She passed the time in a bomb shelter playing the stark, many would say depressing, video game This War of Mine.

There is a critical burden for every Ukrainian this winter. For her, it is trying to make sense of a terrible conflict. For Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, it is getting the weapons and international support to fight Russia and keep strategic momentum on his country’s side. For his soldiers, it is trying to keep morale up and stay warm in freezing temperatures. And for the almost 8 million Ukrainian refugees that the war has created, it is trying to rebuild lives in foreign countries.

A disproportionate number are doing so in Poland, which has registered more than 1.4 million of them for temporary protection, the largest number of any EU country, according to ReliefWeb.

The country’s particularly strong solidarity is replicated across Eastern Europe. Warsaw resident Konrad Adamczewski puts it down to proximity: “This was a war that broke out in a neighbouring country. You could immediately see people coming to Poland for shelter.”

The company he works for, 11 bit studios, made the bestselling This War of Mine. The unnamed Ukrainian girl in the basement got in contact at some point last year to thank them for the help the game gave her.

11 bit studios has been showing its solidarity since the beginning of the war in other ways, too. Within hours of Russia’s campaign, the company launched a fundraiser. For a week, all proceeds from sales of This War of Mine would be donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross. Some $850,000 was raised, far exceeding what the company had expected. “The impact was huge. We were very happy we could contribute, but it was also hugely sad that in 2022 the message of the game was once again so vivid,” Mr Adamczewski told me.

It was a remarkable achievement financially. But, as Mr Adamczewski went on to say, it is only when you look at the content of the game itself that you realise quite how apt the campaign was on deeper levels. “We developed this as a game about peace. Immediately we saw people commenting online that the scenes of innocent people suffering unfolding on the news looked like This War of Mine.”

The game is, after all, entirely about war, but barely about soldiers. Instead, civilians are the protagonists in an unnamed conflict, as they try to survive and not lose hope in the process. Winning, if it can even be called that, is not triumph in battle, but just to survive until the end of the siege.

The setting is loosely based of the siege of Sarajevo, one of the longest in modern history, in which non-combatants were often forced into otherwise immoral acts to survive, be it hoarding resources, theft or even violence. But if the game had been released in 2022, Mariupol, Bakhmut or Kherson could well have been the inspiration.

Now the game is helping children outside Ukraine as well. At the end of 2022, it was officially included in Poland’s curriculum. Teacher Ilona Starosta says she uses it in her classes because of its many perspectives. “Students wonder what it means to win a game like this. Does winning mean surviving? Does it make sense to survive at all costs?”

These questions are not delivered in abstract debates. Players might be in the shoes of Adam, who struggles to get medicine for his ill child as he tries to untangle his own mind from severe shell shock. Or they might be journalist Malik, who has to balance the need to broadcast life-saving information with not angering a censorious military.

For Mr Adamczewski, the potential for explaining these dilemmas makes gaming a uniquely powerful tool for learning: “When children study literature, there is often a question of what the author had in mind. But in games, you become the author.”

The depth of the game has caught global attention. In the UK, London’s Imperial War Museum features it as an installation in its War Games exhibition, which opened in September. Curators placed it next to artefacts that captives made during the Second World War to create a sense of normality during extreme hardship; they include a teapot, given to an English prisoner of war by a Polish comrade, and improvised cigarettes. In the US, the game is featured in New York’s Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition Video Games and Other Interactive Design, which also opened in September.

However much renewed attention the game is getting globally, it remains a success firmly rooted in Poland. Like many other places in Eastern Europe, the country has a remarkably creative independent gaming sector.

As a developer, Mr Adamczewski says that the arrival of personal computers in the 1980s was a radical opportunity to learn more about life outside the communist bloc. More simply, people also wanted to use them to play games. With no access to ones developed in the West, people started developing their own. This wider wave of tech curiosity and the chance to start afresh after the fall of the Soviet Union are reasons that Eastern Europe has much better internet connectivity than richer western European countries.

But more than just a leading economic asset, the region’s gaming sector is becoming a cultural one, too. In the case of This War of Mine, to remind people that war has a terrible, complex impact on civilians. It is far too soon to say if a video game will ever reach the renown of All Quiet on the Western Front or Dulce et Decorum Est, classics that will explain history's worst moments for generations. But if one ever does, it could well come from Eastern Europe.

[loveofmyknife]

Live Blogging the Burrow’s end finale but it’s all in one post because I can’t be bothered to reblog the same post 10 times. So like… pre-recorded blogging I guess

Spoilers. Obviously.

- loving the finale outfits! Especially the caution tape accessories!

- hey girl hey! Poor Teedles is taking all of this very well and we love them for it. I too would rather face possible death than have to babysit my boss’s children

- someone really should go check on Simon

- love how Tula is advocating for a nonviolent solution and ends it with “and we should definitely track down and murder Phoebe”. It’s nonviolent except for one specific person (being?)

- Lucas is just doing his best as a congested little boy. Somebody get him some mint! (Bint)

- “oh, mommy has so much bloodlust!” is an excellent line

- again, Brennan is unhinged, and also maybe wearing pink lipstick, which I think adds to the vibe

- Thorn being concerned for Dr Steel is so indicative of his character. He just wants to protect his people, and even though they’ve only known this human for a few hours, she is one of his people

- I DID NOT KNOW HE COULD DO THAT

- love a good title drop, but this plan seems very hastily put together. I am concerned

- persuasion- “-OR ELSE!” … ok intimidation

- gasoline lasts for however long is narratively relevant

- how many stoats does it take to drive a truck? Apparently at least 5

- I mean as far at Nat 1s go operating a gear shift as a rodent makes sense

- viola is holding this group together by sheer force of will

-oh fuck human magic!

- new map! New map!

- Oh fuck “human” NECROMANCY!

-kinda sad that Carlos isn’t playing Wennabocker on the board in some way but it obviously makes sense from a practical standpoint

- the minis!!! So cool!

-“grandma casts sounding” oh no…

- box of doom strikes again

- 40 points of damage is insane

- Lucas no! I love his little hat but no!

- hate when the BBEG rolls a Nat 20

- 69 hp…nice

- not Lucas!!

- oh Tula is never going to forgive herself for this and I have Thoughts about it

- Phoebe really is just a situation at this point

- That is exactly what a 12 year old would say when beating up an eldritch horror

- yeah I’d say hitting the ground really hard is a reckless attack, Ava

-109 damage! Jesus fucking Christ

- oh it’s some eugenics shit, okay

- Dr Steel coming to the rescue!

- I love using a bunch of skills and mechanics to get the desired outcome. Casting a spell, moving out of range of counterspell, and disengaging an opportunity attack all at the same time just to be able to fireball this meat suit

- I also would not recommend hitting a nuclear reactor with fire

- “no that’s okay” was such a power move

- “I DEBONE THAT MOTHERFUCKER” yes you do, and somehow that invents cooking! I love it

- Nat 20! “THATS! MY! WIFE!!!” Viola has taken out 4 giants in a single round. She is a badass. She is a warrior. She is my hero.

- oh yeah, Dr Steel was just standing there for all that

- We may be experiencing a tragedy but at least they’ve also invented ice cream

- LUCAS NO!

- ok yeah i might be sobbing a little, what of it?

- I like that Ava can have a little magic as a treat

- I personally welcome our new stoat overlords

- babies!

-Get it, Tula! But seriously I like that she really got to process life without being just a widow and a mother before moving on

-baby’s first word: viscera. This is cannon

-Ava’s doing great, and her life is in her own hands. She’s completely overhauling the local law enforcement and creating triple A

- Dr Lila! She’s a nuclear physicist now!

- Did not expect Jaysohn to go for an Airbud plot line but I’m not mad at it

Closing thoughts: I loved it! I think the ending was pretty abrupt but taking out the BBEG in like 2 rounds will do that so I can’t fault them for it. I would have loved for at least one of the party to take over Education, and I think Tula was kind of set up for it but I’m glad she gets to just enjoy life now instead. I can’t wait to see tomorrow’s Adventuring Party and I’m super excited about next season!

[momonica05]

Jack Jack - my tav for the "jack of all trades" achievement!

My urge to info dump about an oc won so now please, meet my son: Jack Jack (I don't know how to make a good blog post on tumblr, so I apologize if the images are a little too big)

JJ wasn't born a tiefling. He actually came from a family of humans, but he has no recollection of it outside of his father and grandparents, whom he hates with all his heart

At the age of 6, his father disobeyed his patron (for a good reason, but he doesn't know that, hehe). But instead of punishing his father directly, JJ was the target. He was turned into a Mephistopheles tiefling that day, and his family was horrified. He remembers the look of pure hatred and fear from his grandparents, shouting at him, saying he was now a devil. He doesn't remember his father's face, but he remembers his fingers, pointing at the door, and his husky voice "get out"

Since then, he had to live at the city of Baldur's Gate all by himself. He had some friends, partners, and even a mentor (which the dream visitor had taken form of)... but he never got back what he lost that day: love and identity

He spent a good portion of his life, mainly his adolescence, trying to "fit in". He even cut his horns off, which he regretted later down the road as he's now more confident in who he is. Beeing cursed by a devil at the age of 6, as one might imagine, was no easy feat. And aside from gaining an appearance that everyone deemed as "hellspawn", he also gained powers. Powers in which he can not control very well, but powers nonetheless (sorcerer wild magic)

After a whole life of stealing, performing, trying out magic and needing to run because uh oh you accidentally sumoned a troll in a bar! He... well, his life continued shit, but he never gave up. He had some not so trustworthy friends, but hey, as long as they're not a devil or a warlock, he's a very social guy!

Before he was captured by the mindflayers, he was actually planning on traveling around! He wanted to get all his skills worked on. Maybe study a bit more of his magic, as a wizard.... maybe becoming a bard with his musical talent... hell, maybe he'd finally accept his calling for the rogue life! The opportunities were endless!

That is until, of course, he got a tadpole in his mind... but eh, he was planning on traveling one day anyways, so why not use this as an excuse? (definitely not frightened at all haha what do you mean?)

So far, he's really enjoying his adventure! Here's what he thinks about each companion:

Lae'zel: heh, she wants to kill me! (nervously sweating and trying to do what she says because he's terrified, but also really likes her interrogation methods!)

Shadowheart: she's hiding something. She ain't fooling me...

Astarion: he's also hiding something, never EVER trust the snobs from the upper city.... unless, of course, you want their money/sleep with them. (thinks Astarion is a less hot version of him, with how similar they act. Except JJ actually has a soft spot for children and little rascals, so he'll always help them. He's more chaotic good)

Gale: i really liked him and wanted him to teach me how to do magic safely, but never mind! He just ate my magic spear, which doesn't seem very safe...

Wyll: he makes me angry with how he challenges my morals, okay? you shouldn't be nice! You're a warlock! (has a mental breakdown watching Wyll get transformed like he did and wonders if his father was a good man like Wyll all along)

Karlach: I was deadset on killing her... turns out she's not a devil! just a person like me! i really like her (wants to kill Zariel and enter rage like Karlach one day)

BONUS:

He knew damn well what he was getting into but opened the door anyways and said he was gonna write a smut about it (he's batshit insane)

Anyways... I guess that's it. That's all I have for now, I haven't progressed much into the game... sorry if his information is a little scattered around, I don't have it organized and probably didn't mention somethings (he chose his name, for example)

[haru-chi]

-might have a little spoiler-

I won't call this a solid theory more than "what if" kind of scenario or some thoughts going on in my mind a bit ..

it's about Matoba Seiji ...

don't remember what actually triggered this idea but I wonder ..

was the Matoba leader before Seiji his father ? it's mostly yes but I don't remember this actually said outright anywhere before, was it mentioned it was his father ?

anyway, do you remember that one phrase that Seiji love to keep saying alot either to Natsume or Natori ??

I know Seiji hated mostly because of this line of thought and how he can be messed up when it comes to that ...

this whole scene got me thinking alot that I felt him saying this here followed by this ..

don't know about you but this whole scene and dialogues felt to me it holds more weight than it looks like .. it felt it has some deep personal meaning to him than it seems which is why that led Natori to ask that question, if he ever wanted to stop being an exorcist ...

now, what does that mean exactly ?? I thought alot and tried to understand the hidden meaning and unsaid words, but it never clicked, nothing did which led me losing my mind for a long time ><

not until we learned more about him and Shinobu in the current storyline and something clicked

Seiji is the younger while Shinobu the older right ? she should've been the future leader of the Matoba ... do you remember why she wasn't picked or favored as the next leader ??

it was because Seiji was more powerful than her, he has such a talent that she can never have that even though some believed she's better overall because Seiji is hard to control but for the future of the clan Seiji is the best choice in the end.

also, it might've been clear who's the leader fav child is if we hadn't heard about Shinobu till now and that little Seiji was talking about the leader taught him this and that sometimes.

"use the tools available. the capable get things done and those who can't should stay out of the way"

this line might actually be about him and his sister, something the Matoba leader before him taught him (his father mostly) which he followed through himself with his children.

he used them as mere tools for the future of the clan, at that time the clan was pretty weak and about to lose their position in the exorcist world. between the two only Seiji hold the key to give them the glory they sought again so no matter how good Shinobu was, no matter how hard she might've worked, all of that will never amount to anything. just because Seiji was far more powerful than her. Seiji having bad manner and attitude than her ? hard to control ? simple just fix it by teaching him. right ~

back then I couldn't fully grasp the meaning of his expression here, but now I feel I get it better. I mean if all his father taught him is using people as tool or how to be cruel and never care what other think (he used his own children as tools and Seiji experience it firsthand yaay) .. having a teacher who teach the true valuable things ?? such an option was never there for Seiji and never will at the time.

"How long is he going to continue to pretend to be normal ?"

Seiji was never normal because of his power and natural talent, he was bound by duty and have invisible chains on his life and true desire just because he was this powerful that he got used as a tool and by none other than his father and on top of all his sister hated him for it too.

on the other hand Natsume has the same power as him or far greater than him yet he's free and not shackles be this power of his unlike him.

this is a "what if" kind of random thought and ideas and we don't even have any kind of direct/indirect info so all of this is pure assumptions on my part. it refused to leave me ever since it clicked so why suffer alone, just thinking about Seiji and Shinobu is just yeaah -heavy sigh-

[little-demy]

The more I look at the White Lady's abode, the more I realize it feels like a mockery of the Hollow Knight's sacrifice. Sorry about me bashing on the white lady but she is the biggest hypocrite. I get that she is depressed from having birthed so many kids to die. That I understand and sympathize with. What I don't sympathize with is how, she knew the Hollow Knight would fail, know that the Pale King was near working himself to death to save the kingdom, yet you pretty much undid all his hard work by leaving him alone, not even checking up on him, sealing yourself in bindings in a mockery of your child's sacrifice which has a purpose unlike yours which is just you feeling guilty and not doing anything to repent, you also straight up left the entirety of Hallownest to ruin in it's time of most dire need. Yet you still go out of your way to ask one of your children to go and put themselves in a prison to replace their sibling in containing a god when the kingdom has fallen to ruin. Are you just petty? I'm not saying the radiance shouldn't be locked up, no no... I'm saying you're foolish for not trying to be there for your husband who all of Hallownest is believing in. Then again, you're as delusional as you are blind. No wonder Hornet is such a psychotic disaster if you were her mother. I wouldn't be surprised if she felt uncomfortable with physical contact due to the white lady not really giving it back in return.

Am I pretty much saying it's the white lady's fault hallownest fell to ruin?

Yes, she may not have been the sole reason, but God damn is it a solid one. She was in a position of power and had already gone beyond the point of turning back. May as well commit to it and try to be there for him when he needed it.

He likely feels like he failed and felt ashamed of it. Feeling guilty and putting himself in a prison of his own making in his own mind. Do I think he is dead? No, but he is damn close to it, to the point where he is likely catatonically depressed and miserable. Don't even get me started on Dryaa either.

The fact that she died protecting the White Lady makes her sacrifice feel like a waste when she doesn't even acknowledge anything outside of her hiding place. Dryaa is also implied to be fiercely loyal to the White Lady too. Heck, in the original drafts the queen was meant to be dead and you would fight a rampaging Dryaa.

So yeah, I want to see Shadow make the white lady own up to her mistakes. Unn at the very least seems to be genuinely weakened, all because this sorry house plant snake is sitting in her own world. Do I think she is a good person?

She could be, but I don't have the best opinion on her. Overall, shadow and the White Lady are going to have a conversation that might end up with the White Lady on the losing end overall, Shadow most certainly will be nettled by the white Lady, yes, but that is going to be nothing in comparison to the failures of the white lady. You are a queen, yet you have done nothing.

Shadow and White Lady interaction is still being planned, I keep changing things every few days tbh, lmao

I'm still trying to understand White Lady and Pale King tbh, reading here and there and observing canon lore implications etc. Personally I think they are unique and complex, thus I often got confused how to approach them. I understand your view on her though!

Shadow and White Lady might be not in good term though, with how WL refer to both THK and Ghost will definitely will step on Shadow's landmine. And through Ghost-Shadow relationship, WL would see that she's still wrong about Vessels being empty. But how the scene will goes is still something far in the future so I'm kinda changing here and there while planning😔

[i-am-bitterly-jittery]

On Death’s Doorstep (pt 33/?)

[<<First],,,,[<Prev],[Next>] [ODD Masterlist]

Word count: 1407

Rating: Teen

Pairings: platonic Remy&Virgil&Patton, background Anxceit

Warnings: I mean, if you’ve read the rest of this fic then I don’t think there’s anything major or new in this part

Begin section 4: the home stretch

~~~START~~~

As far as afterlives went, Remy’s probably wasn’t going too bad, especially when one considered that she was alive. It could be going better for sure, she could have a bio dad who wasn’t a supervillain, she could not be forced to live in a building with said supervillain bio dad and his supervillain friends, she could have not died at all, but she was now on a first name basis with her favorite superhero — who was not only not homophobic, but actually gay — so always a silver lining. 

And Virgil’s son was adorable. 

“–And when you get to the top you have to jump!” The five-year-old explained to Remy as she pushed him on the swings in the playground that the supervillains apparently had on the roof of their building. 

“Patton, buddy, please don’t jump off the swings, you could hurt yourself,” Virgil begged from the neighboring swing that he was using as a seat. 

“Um, but if I get hurt you can make it better,” Patton reasoned sensibly. Children were smart, Remy hadn’t realized how smart they were before — probably because she’d never really been around children younger than her. 

“But it would still hurt,” Virgil emphasized. “And it would be scary. For all of us.”

Patton seemed to think about this very seriously before deciding “ok, daddy.”

“I could jump,” Remy mused. The last time she had been on a swing set, she hadn’t been able to fly; it might be fun to jump from the apex of her swing. 

“No, because you would get hurt and it’d be scary,” Patton explained. 

“Remy can fly, kiddo,” Virgil said. “So she can jump off of things and be alright. But you can’t so I don’t want to catch you trying.”

“Um, but I can fly!” Patton declared. 

“Prove it when you’re not on the swing set and then we can talk, alright?”

Patton pouted but made no move to prove his claim. 

Soon, the kid grew tired of the swing and asked Remy to help him stop. Once the swing was stopped enough, he jumped off and ran for the big slide. Remy took a seat on his abandoned swing. 

“How are you feeling today?” She asked Virgil. He’d been sick, and this was the first day since Remy had first been brought back that she hadn’t seen him involuntarily teleport or accidentally bend light. 

“Tired,” he said honestly. “But better than I have in a long time — like I’m whole again, y’know?”

She didn’t really, but she couldn’t imagine being unable to access her powers for months on end. She nodded. 

“What about you?” He asked. “How are you feeling– careful, kiddo! Watch your step! –How are you feeling about everything?”

Patton’s laughter carried over the playground easily. 

“It’s weird,” Remy admitted. “Really weird.”

She studied the fingers on her left hand. Two of them weren’t hers, but they responded to her commands like they’d been there her entire life

“I’m really sorry.”

Remy shrugged. “Nothing you could have done — about any of it. I’m sorry I took your bed.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to get much use out of it anyway,” Virgil chuckled. 

While Virgil had been sick, Remy had spent a lot of time with Gemini — who was actually two different people which made so much sense that Remy was a little mad at herself for not realizing it sooner — as her primary babysitters. At the time, she honestly would have preferred that they just left her alone, but looking back on it, she was glad she wasn’t alone for those first few days. 

It was an adjustment, but at least her stepdad wasn't here. She missed her mom. 

“Roman’s offered to let us switch apartments with him,” Virgil continued. “He’ll take the third floor and we can have the fourth. He’s got two bedrooms, so it sounds like a good deal, but we’d be closer to Logan’s apartment, so you can say no if you want.”

“Don’t know what difference it’d make,” Remy muttered petulantly. “He already does whatever the hell he wants.”

Virgil chose not to comment, though whether that was his way of agreeing, or just letting it slide, Remy wasn’t sure. 

“Daddy!” Patton screeched, barreling into Virgil’s legs. “Can Janus come over for dinner please?”

“Uh,” Remy was fairly certain she wasn’t supposed to notice the hesitant glance he sent her way. She understood that if she had such a problem with Logan, she ought to have at least a little bit of a problem with the other villains in the house, but she was actually warming up to them. 

Plus, there may or may not have been a notebook hidden under Remy’s bed at home, filled with her Knightcaster/Serpentine fanart, and she might be geeking out a little bit about the fact that they were actually dating on the inside. 

“I don’t mind,” Remy answered as nonchalantly as she could — which must have either been too much or too little based on the suspicious look Virgil leveled her with. 

“Alright, bud,” Virgil said once he’d decided that Remy was telling the truth. “Why don’t we go ask them. Do you want to come, Remy?”

“Can I stay here a little longer? I promise I can find my way back on my own,” she tried to make her joke lighthearted, but the sympathetic smile Virgil shot her told her she’d failed. 

“Take all the time you need, kid,” Virgil answered. “C’mon, kiddo, let’s go see Jan.”

“YAY!” Patton shrieked, taking Virgil’s hand and pulling him towards the stairwell. Virgil waved at Remy one last time before he and Patton were gone. 

Now alone, Remy slumped over. She wanted to go back in time — before her death, before she became a vigilante, before her mom met Mike. 

Maybe even before her mom left Logan. 

Life is so simple when you’re young, and right now Remy felt old beyond her years — maybe Logan had gotten her transplants from an older body, maybe that’s where all this newfound age came from. 

Remy started swinging, her gaze fixed on the clear blue sky. There was nothing stopping her from leaving; there was a whole wide world out there, and no one but the people in this building would be looking for a deceased teenage vigilante. She could start over somewhere, anywhere. 

She thought back to what Patton had said and jumped at the apex of her swing. She allowed herself to drift steadily upwards, thinking maybe she could just drift away; instead, she found herself running into an invisible barrier about twenty feet up that got ahold of her, and pushed her gently around towards the edge of the building before plopping her back onto the roof, like a slow, invisible slide. 

Curious. 

A barrier like that must have a generator somewhere, so logically, Remy went to look for it. It wasn’t on the playground, so that left the garden, or Logan’s work area. While Logan’s area was the obvious choice, he also probably had all sorts of security to get into it, so Remy checked the garden first, just to be sure. 

It wasn’t in the garden. 

There were security cameras watching the fence that divided off the roof — similar cameras had been set up in Virgil’s apartment the first night Remy had been there, though those had disappeared by the second night — but Remy decided to ignore them. Let Logan be mad at her if he wanted, Remy didn’t give a shit. 

The fence was reinforced, but the gate seemed to just have a keypad as a security measure. For an eight digit code like the pad was asking for, there were one hundred million possible combinations one could try, and Remy definitely didn’t have the time — or the patience — to try them all. 

She put in her own birthday, and when that didn’t work, she put it in the European way. The gate opened. 

Inside were some stargazing equipment, a station that looked to be monitoring the weather, some locked cabinets, and a large generator. 

Remy considered the generator for a minute. It would be easy enough to disable — then she could go anywhere. 

In the end, she left the generator untouched. Patton would be sad if she failed to show up for dinner, and she’d hate for him to end up hurt if no one thought to switch the generator back on after she was gone. 

~~~END~~~

Didn’t give this one my usual editing process ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Not sure how long this section will be (don’t currently have an outline other than I know what the next two chapters will be) but we’re just gonna get into it. Might end up being on the longer side, contrarywise, might end up the shortest one, who knows? Certainly not me :)

I will do my best to neither rush the ending, nor drag it out

ODD taglist:

@royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple @arsonic-knight @misunderstood-shadowling @lost-in-thought-20 @remy-the-lemon-berry @jinxcrafter @apinkline2715 @gothfoxx @donutsarepartybagels @xoaningout @meganmoneky14