#welp I guess we will see how far I manage to go

[vvatsondraws]

A tiny dragon to ring in the new year!

Hoping that this will be the start of something new... let's see how long it will actually last lol.

[the-coffeeaddict-tim-drake]

Just A Kid Next Door - Chapter 8

Bruce is finally back from being stuck in the time stream. Tim managed to save Batman and his loved ones. Now it is time for Tim to go home and rest. But the problem is that, Tim has no home. Or that's what he thinks so.

This will be a multichapter fic on how did Tim reconcile with his family. It will be full of angst, family feels and family shenanigans.

Masterlist

Here in the link to read the story in ao3.

-------------------------------CHAPTER 8---------------------------------

Jason was making his way back to his apartment after a tiresome patrol, but the former crimelord's mind was fully consumed by complex thoughts about his so-called family. He was clearly baiting on whether or not to go and see Bruce.

"I know you are following me, Dickward" Jason hissed, settling on the rooftop of a building.

 The figure behind him gave no indication of any acknowledgement. Turning back, Jason removed his helmet, his identity concealed by the domino mask which he always wore underneath his helmet and shook his head casually to get rid of sweat.

"What do you want? Did the Old man send you to keep an eye on me, making sure I fucking kill no one huh? "

"Why didn't to come to Manor?" Dick asked.

"Why should I?"

Dick let out a long sigh.

"Please, Jas-Hood. We thought we lost Bruce, we mourned for him, I know you mourned for him, so don't even try to fool me by saying you don't care."

Jason did not know what to say for that. Sure he missed  Bruce very much, but his ego was far too big for him to set aside the issues between them.

Did he forgive Bruce for what he did?

No. And he don’t think he ever will.

But did he understand why Bruce did so?

Maybe.

"I don't think the old man even wants to see me in the first place" Jason murmured

"Wha- No that's-" Dick was interrupted by the sound of blaring alarm coming from Jason's wrist.

"Welp, it was definitely not nice talking to you, but I gotta go. See ya dickface" Jason jumped of the building and grappled his way towards his apartment.

Jason did the best thing by installing sensor alarm all over his apartment so that he would know when Tim tries to break into his apartment next time. And he was correct. This time he is planning on locking that kid in his apartment till he gets his answers.

When Jason entered his apartment through the broken window, he was expecting Tim, but he was surprised to find three other figures.

The superman's clone ran towards Jason, and before he could react, Jason got punched in his gut.

"What are you doing here?" Superboy demanded, holding Jason by the collar of his jacket.

"You are the one to ask? It's where I fucking live, Cloneboy"

"What?"

Kon left Jason and took a step back.

"Why would Tim ask us to bring him here then?” Kon asked, to nobody in general.

"Where is he?" Jason inquired

"Who?" Kon gave a confused glance to Jason

"Brittney spears, duh, Big brain. I'm asking for Red Robin. “Jason scoffed.

"Don't even dare to take a step closer to him" Kon sneered, taking a step closer to Jason, trying to be intimidating.

Oh right, he totally forgot about the titans tower incident. Tim forgave him for that a long time ago. He was strongly under the effects of the pit. Guess his little friends didn't know about that.

"Look, we resolved tha-"

"We need your help" Wondergirl interrupted them, shouting from the kitchen.

"Look, I'm not trying to hurt Tim anymore. If Tim himself has brought you here, it might be of a reason, okay. Chill out and let me go"

Superboy seemed to think for a moment, before letting Jason go to the kitchen.

On his kitchen counter was Tim sprawled on, unconscious, and bleeding. His counter top was messy with blood dripping.

"Fuck" Jason muttered.

"Hewasstabbed" Bart said, swiftly coming near Jason.

Another day in the life of a bat themed vigilante.

"Scoot over" Jason said to Cassie, inspecting the wound.

Jason took over stitching the wound with ease, due to years of practice and experience.

"Care to explain how the fuck this happened?" Jason asked, his eyes focused on the stab wound.

"He was trying to take over a bunch of bad guys on his own, knowing he was clearly outnumbered, and got stabbed by one of them."

"He called for help?"

"Actually no, we came to Gotham to check on him, you know make sure he is alive and all, but couldn't find him so I traced him with the sound of his heartbeat." Kon told.

This did not surprise Jason at all. Tim is a fucking over independent and self-reliant idiot.  

"Why not bring him to the Batcave?" Jason asked, already knowing the answer.

"I don't know man, he woke up in the middle and strongly suggested to come here, which was quite concerning, given the fact that he was completely knocked out previously” Kon muttered, exasperated.

Jason cut the remaining thread with his teeth and carried Tim over to the guest room, laid him on the bed and started removing the rest of his suit.

“Stop staring and help me out, will ya” Jason said

“Oh yeah, right”

Meanwhile Jason removed his helmet and mask as Kon was removing Tim’s suit.

Cassie let out a loud gasp followed by Bart’s ‘Oh shit’

Lying on the bed in his underpants, Tim’s chest and torso had multiple scarring and fresh bruises, which by he looks of it seemed to have happened recently.

Kon was just staring at Tim, his eyes never leaving the scars and bruises which littered his friend’s skin.

But Jason...

Jason was angry, angry at the person who did this to his little brother, angry at Tim for letting it happen, knowing that his dumbass purposefully avoided asking for any help and he was angry at himself for not being there from him, not protecting his little brother.

“I uh, Why don’t we go the living room and talk about what actually happened, huh?” Jason suggested, trying to break the silence.

“Uh, yeah, that sounds better” Bart said, sounding unsure.

The three of them exited the room, Kon reluctant leave to Tim’s side.

“You too, Cloneboy”

“Yeah” Kon said, his voice laced with worry.

The four of them settled themselves in the living room comfortably, each of them nursing a cup of tea, courtesy of Jason because he is a fucking great host.

“So, cash or card?” Jason asked.

“For what?” Bart asked, stuffing his face with the junk food from his pantry, which Jason was sure he didn’t give to him.

“My Window, it’s broken”

“Aww man, aren’t you a son of a billionaire or something?” Bart asked, sounding offended.

“I’ve never seen Tim like this before” Kon interrupted, his eyes on the carpet and his tea left untouched on the coffee table, sounding defeated.

The whole room fell into silence.

“Yeah, it was dangerous, the way he fought, it was- it was almost like he didn’t care if he got hurt” Cassie broke the silence, her voice sounding small.

“He is so closed off, like I know he values his privacy but I’ve never seen him be this stoic. He shows no emotion, don’t care about himself, avoiding everything and everyone, it’s just – it’s so frustrating. I just, I don’t know what happened to him while I was – while I was dead, but he is not the same person anymore, I feel like he just gave up on himself” Kon said, angry at himself.

Jason didn’t know what to do. Superboy was correct. His brother is definitely not the same person anymore.

“I want him back… I just want my Rob back. The Tim who was awkward and just don’t know when to shut up, the Tim who puts everyone in their place with his wits, the Tim who never stops trying, I just- I want him back.” Kon said, sounding in the verge of breaking down.

Jason felt bad. He never knew how Tim used to be before, as he was already pretty messed up when the two were trying to patch up. But Jason knew he wasn’t this bad. The replacement has always been quite cheerful and irritating.

His brother seems to share a special bond with these kids, Jason thought.

Cassie was silently crying and Bart had long back given up eating, now pacing back and forth.

“What really happened when we both were dead?” Bart asked, pointing to him and Kon.

Honestly speaking, Jason didn’t know. The replacement just started distancing himself from others after his friends died, and Jason still don’t forgive himself for giving his little brother some space to grieve. He should have scooped Tim up and let him cry on his shoulder.

“We both were in a bad place after you died” Cassie said, wiping off the tears, which made Kon look at her intently.

“We just didn’t know what to do, we didn’t know how to grieve. It was so hard. We were just expected to continue living as if nothing had happened, as if we weren’t snatched two of our family members. The tower, which was an escape haven to all of us, became hell. Every wall, every window, every little things reminded us of how happy we were once.  Reminded us how everything changed in an instant” Now Cassie was shaking, her body wrecked by sobs.

Both Kon and Bart went over to where Cassie was sitting. Kon sat down on the carpet and took Cassie’s hands, massaging it and Bart sat next to her and threw a comforting hand around her shoulder.

“And it was hard, it was so hard…so I joined a cult”

“YOU WHAT?!?” Kon and Bart shouted at the same time.

Now Jason can see why Tim is friends with her.

“But Tim was worse…he was in denial, he was not ready to accept and he kept on going as if..., he pretended that everything was normal, just like how he was when Jack Drake died. But that was all pretending. Deep down, he was broken. He buried down all of his feelings. He was so crazy and in order to fill the void he started cloning you both and I came t-

“HE FUCKING DID WHAT?!?” Now it was Jason’s time to shout.

Sure Tim is a little weird and stupid but this whole cloning thing is just extreme level of stupidity, even for him.

Kon was as pale as a sheet of paper, his whole demeanour stiff. Jason feels bad for him. He knew cloning was a sensitive topic for the kid and hearing that his best friend tried to do that again was not an easy thing to hear.

The whole room was enveloped by silence, each person trying to accept what they just heard.

Kon was he one to break the silence.

“Was he- was he successful?” Kon asked, his voice shaking.

“…No, he would have, but then I found out, so I stopped him. We had a huge fight, which resulted in us leaving the tower.”

Kon let out a long breath in relief.

“I joined the cult after that and Tim went back to Gotham….and within a day, Batman was found dead.” Cassie said.

“And he got so crazy, he kept on telling everyone that batman was alive even after we found his body and buried him. He cut off all his ties with everyone, me, Dick, even Alfred. I tried to convince him, but he was not ready to accept. After that he just left Gotham.”

“But he was right, wasn’t he? Batman is indeed alive.” Jason said

“Yeah” Cassie said, her voice sounding small.

“That Bastard is always right”

Kon, Cassie and Bart ended up sleeping on the couch that night, all reluctant to leave their friend alone.

It was almost dawn when Jason decided to call it a night and let sleep take over him, but was interrupted by a notification sound from his personal phone.

Sighing, Jason rolled over to see who decided to text him at this ungodly hour.

Unknown number:

Todd, it is of utmost importance that we talk.

Jason:

What the fuck do you want now, gremlin?

Damian:

The matter of discussion is Drake.

Jason sat up, felling very awake.

Jason:

What about Tim?

Damian:

I discovered something that belongs to him… from his time as Robin.

Jason:

And???

Damian:

The content…is quite disturbing. I would very much like your assistance on this matter.

Damian:

We shall meet at the Drake manor.

Jason:

kk. See you in Drake Manor before patrol tonight.

Putting his phone aside, Jason tried his very best to fall asleep.

[melanieph321]

Gabriel Medina x Untamable Part 6/8

+18

I am aware that I am running out of chapters 😭. I might have to add two or three in order to complete my vision....

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Reader spends the summer with her first love, Gabriel Medina, for him to get a chance to know their three year old son. However, both Reader and Gabriel struggle to keep their feelings at bay.

Enjoy!

You didn't ride shot gun on your way home from the wedding. Rico was more than deserving of the front seat next to Gabriel. Last night, he was forced to babysit Nemo while the two of you were locked in your hotel room upstairs, doing unspeakable things to each other. Unspeakable but also unforgettable.

The way Gabriel eyes kept glancing at you in the rare view mirror told you that last night was still on his mind as well. His devious smile had you melting in your seat, a warmth spreading throughout your body. The best thing was to diverge your attention towards Nemo, whose car seat was facing your way. You pointed out the sightings along the way as the road passed you by. Particularly the birds in the sky. They fascinated Nemo the most. The vivid flapping of their wings made him giggle, resulting in blissful shouts soothing the car ride home.

"We're almost there." Gabriel said, slightly glancing over his shoulder. Rico had been dropped off minutes ago, his house located on the outskirts of Maresias. Although your grandma's house was still a forty-five minute drive away, you and Gabriel both knew that you and Nemo weren't going anywhere.

"Are you hungry? Should I cook something?" Gabriel entered his kitchen and lingered by the stove. He watched you where you stood in his living room, Nemo fast asleep in your arms.

"Maybe we should cook something in case he wakes up hungry." You replied.

"In the middle of the night?"

"Yes, in the middle of the night." You chuckled at the way Gabriel regarded you with a dent between his brow.

"Won't feeding him in the middle of the night make him fat?" He said.

"Not necessarily, at least if he hasn't had anything else to eat for dinner."

"Huh." Gabriel huffed. "My mother used to never let me eat in the middle of the night. Said it would make me fat like my uncle."

"Nor did she let me into your house when we were kids and yet hear I am."

"Well that's different." He smiled.

"Different how?"

"Welp, for starters my mother thought you were crazy."

"I was. At least when I came to you after my parents and brother died. I guess I just thought I would get more sympathy for it."

"Well, you know my mother. Sympathy isn't really her strongest suit."

"Tell me about it."

Gabriel's eyes were bright and glowing, where he watched you from the stove. You were rocking Nemo in your arms, his lips slightly pouted and his face scrunched up in a peacful grimace.

"Go put him to bed and I'll cook us something to eat."

You nodded and went to tuck Nemo into the bed in Gabriel's guest room. Upon your return to the kitchen, you were ambushed by the smell of something lovely.

"What are you making?" You took a seat at the table and watched Gabriel pour you a glass of red wine.

"It's a surprise" He said, handing you the glass.

You rolled your eyes at him but fell back against the chair, watching a man at work. Your man.

The dinner was lovely, with you and Gabriel talking about everything and nothing, sipping red wine well into the night. After his restless attempt to lure you into his bedroom, he eventually gave in to your plead to let you go. "I'll see you tomorrow, won't I?"

"Fine, tomorrow." He sighed but managed to steal a swift kiss, his lips pressing softly against yours. "Goodnight Y/N."

"Goodnight, Gabriel."

You fell asleep dreaming about Gabriel. About sweeping your hands through his dark curls while his head lay buried between your legs. You dreamed about his voice in your ear, low and rough, begging you take him raw, to give him another child. It was a dream from the deepness of your subconscious mind. But that dream was far from over as you woke up to your body being shrugged awake, Gabriel's voice speaking softly in your ear. "Come on, wake up."

"Gabriel?"

The morning sun warmed your face, and as your eyes slowly opened his shirtless silhoutte appeard before you.

"Come on." Gabriel smiled. "Let's go for a surf."

"What?"

He must have taken advantage of your drowsiness. You had no memory of leaving your bed, nor walking with Gabriel towards the water. Nevertheless, there you were, hand in hand, walking up the beach. Gabriel carried your surfboards in on arm, the other one squeezing yours tightly. A swell had come in through the night, leaving the sea with a set off waves waiting to be explored. A couple of surfers were already seen paddling out despite the exceptional time of day. You had left Nemo fast asleep but vowed to return before he even noticed that the two of you were gone.

"Here, you take this one."

"I..."

You eyed the surfboard that Gabriel set in the sand before you. It might have been freed of dust, it's wood polished to perfection, the board as good as new. However, you recognize its distinguished shape from the memories of your past. "My grandads surfboard!" You exclaimed, grabbing the board and laying it flat in the sand. Your hands stroke across the surface, feeling the wood. "Gabriel, how did you—"

"You brought them to me, didn't you?" He stood with his arms crossed, a smug smile on his lips.

"I....I completely forgot." You said, but remember when exactly you had brought the boards over. It was the night Gabriel's sister Sophia and her friend came over. You had stormed off with Nemo that night but truthfully regretet ruining Sophia's movie night.

"I'm...."

"Speatchless and medley impressed my my craftsmanship?"

You looked up, meeting Gabriel's lively eyes. Although you were left guilty for your latest tantrum, it was clear that Gabriel had left it behind him a long time ago.

"Shall we head out?" He said.

"Okay. But w... which one will you take." The surfboard with the pattern of a white lotus used to be your grandmother's, while the surfboard with the painted hill of a volcano used to be your grandfather's. You and your brother had spent hours in the water, learning how to surf those boards. Paulo had gotten so good and you....well you had also picked it up fast.

"I'll take the lotus." Gabriel said and bent down to grab it, tucking the baord under his arm. You did the same with your grandfather's board as the two of you then rushed towards the water.

You were surprised by how much you remembered. How surfing was much like riding a bike. Once you learned it, you simply couldn't unlearn it. You fell into the white wash more than Gabriel, of course. Gabriel, who was simply one with the ocean. Like Poseidon flowing along the rigid tubes of water, never not in control.

Your feet trembled as you returned to the beach. However, your rattling legs had nothing to do with your anxiety. It was simply the rush of adrenaline that had captured you, the fierce sensation flowing through your body and spreading like wildfire.

"You looked good out there." Gabriel said, in an attempt to praise you. It made you blush, his words causing a terrible heat to rise to your cheeks.

"Thanks. I almost forgot what that felt like."

"Well, I'm happy to have reminded you."

You were struck by guilt, your eyes falling to your feet.

"What?" Gabriel chuckled as he caught you mid flush. But as you refused to meet his eyes, he stepped towards you, his hand under your chin raising your head. "What's wrong, baby?"

His brown eyes regarded you with a soft depth, as if whatever had caused your suffering, he was willing to put an end to.

"You should teach him." You mumbled.

Gabriel tilted his head, not quite understanding you.

You bit your lip, heart throbbing in your chest. "Nemo " You nodded. "You should teach him how to surf."

Gabriel's eyes widened, struck by your words. "Really?"

You smiled, a wide smile. "Yes. I think he would—"

You were silenced. Silenced by Gabriel's mouth that pressed against yours. His hands cupped your cheeks while his lips drew you in with the help of his tongue, swiping at your bottom lip.

"Gabriel." You moaned.

He smiled.

"Gabriel, someone might see us."

The surfers out in the water were more than impressed to have Gabriel Medina join their morning session. Then they had spotted you too and didn't quite know what to make of it. The fact was that not many people knew of you. You weren't famous and intended to keep things that way.

"Gabriel." You gasped, a desperate plead for air as you pulled away from his lips.

"Sorry." He wiped his mouth. "I got a bit carried away."

You giggled and bent down to pick up your board. "Let's go back." You said, offering him your hand. Gabriel happily obliged and led the way back to his his house.

It was still early in the morning, Nemo most likely asleep.

"I'll go put these back in the garage. You can rins off around back."

While Gabriel returned the surfboards, you rounded the house until you stumbled upon a shower booth. A cute wooden booth like the one that they had on the beach for people to rins off the salt water from their bodies. What a luxury for Gabriel to have a private one in the middle of his backyard. Then again, he was a professional surfer bound to run in and out of the water several times a day.

"I hope the water is not too cold for—"

"My God, Gabriel!" You winced. He had barged in on you mid shower, your wetsuit hanging off the side of the booth.

"What?" He frowned, and even more so as you watched him step into the booth and out of his boardshorts as if to join you in the shower.

"B...but I'm naked." You said, shivering under the cold water.

"I know." He grinned.

"Hey." You hissed, covering your body with your arms since Gabriel clearly had zero ability to keep his eyes in check.

"Oh come on." He groand. "It's not like I haven't seen you naked before."

"Yes but last night was.....was...."

His grin widened, his hands finding your hips. "It was perfect, wasn't it?"

"No. It was a mistake."

"A mistake?" He laughed.

"Yes, never to happen again."

Something in the way he looked at you softened. "Why?" He asked, with the eyes of a lost puppy. His hair wet and flat again his forhead.

"Because."

"Because what?"

"Because, Gabriel. Just because"

He chuckled at your stubbornness. But at the same time, your hands weren't covering your body anymore. Instead, they were pressing against Gabriel's stomach. His abs bumpy underneath your palms. He looked down between your bodies and didn't even blush at the fact that his erection had sprouted, fully fledged, chaving against your belly button.

"Last night was...." He trailed off little, Gabriel's eyes on your breast, admiring the shape of them as if they were more than the average size.

"Gabriel?" You giggled.

"Huh?" He lifted his head, his eyes a bit foggy.

Your hand went to split his hair to avoid water from running down into his eyes. Your arms then rested around his neck, pressing his body and his erection harder against you.

"Fuck." He groaned, as the newfound pressure trailed down his naked spine.

"We don't have to do anything." He coughed. "We could just shower."

"Just shower." You hymned, letting the thought playfully run through your mind.

"Yes, just shower." Gabriel said but couldn't keep his mouth from nibbling your ear.

"That tickles." You giggled and clung to him even more.

Gabriel grunted in response and surprised himself and you by stumbling forward, pressing your back flat against the wall.

You gasped, loud and hot, as his mouth latched onto the skin of your neck, serenading it with soft kisses.

"Fuck, Gabriel."

He responed with a guttural noise, deep down in his throat.

"Fuck, Gabriel, I need...."

"Yes?"

"I need...." Your voice was high-pitched, his knee between your thigh exploiting your desire for his body. "We have to do it fast." You nodded. "Before Nemo wakes up."

It was all Gabriel needed to hear, that you wanted him too. As soon as you gave him your consent, your feet lifted off the ground, your legs wrapping around his waist as he pressed you harder against the shower wall.

"Gabriel, please."

He was a lost cause. A wild man with one desire. Gabriel had a hold of your body, and your legs had already spread before him. The water made it easier for him to enter you, although you were already terribly, terribly wet.

"Have mercy." You moaned, Gabriel's cock entering deep inside of you. He fucked you just like that, standing up. Your body wrapped around him, banging hard against the wall, rattling the booth with his every thrust.

Gabriel grunted and groaned, taking your glistening breast into his mouth. The pleasure was so immense, almost to a point of rapture. And when it came time for you to come you did it together. One collective sigh that was followed by the stillness of bird songs. The water got turned off, but still, Gabriel had you pressed against the wall, his cock still deep inside of you, perhaps where it always belonged.

"I love you." He said, the words spoken drunkenly and exhausted against your mouth.

You tasted him, your tounge swiping timidly across his bottom lip. "I love you too Gaby. I really do. Always have."

His breath was warm against your face. His laugh dark but youthful. "Good. That's good. Now let's go make some breakfast."

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

[agoodfictitle-shadowban]

From Vormir, With Love - Part 4

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Tags: strangers to lovers, love in space angst on earth, slavery mention, alien abduction, post Endgame, will add as we go on

Summary: As you're being chased you crash on Vormir. So far, so bad. But things take a turn when you come face to face with a marooned Black Widow.

Word count: 2.2k

A/n: The number of words get progressively shorter sdhbfuihfui welp hope you still like it guys!

It takes little time to tell everyone that Carol Danvers is on her way, and they look so happy. Tim's ears are all perked up, and the Mantis lady's eyes are all bright with… joy you guess, not knowing better. Even June grumpily admits that she's glad they're out soon. She's been feeling uncomfortable staying here; not because of the accommodations, mind you, but because of the constant rounds around the room from the soldiers that made her feel more in prison than anything else. It was understandable, but you keep reassuring her it's probably an effect of her trauma, and that you were safe.

Afterwards, and once you're sure your friend is feeling better, you go back to simply waiting, sitting next to Natasha who is keeping her cool facade but you can feel that she's impatient to get home too. You talk a bit, and share a meal with everyone when food is brought to you - along with the other people. You feel relaxed for the first time in five years, if you have to be honest, and your laugh when Tim dances around to catch his bread after losing his grip on it manages to get a small smile from Natasha. 

But those good times don't last when three soldiers approach you. You can see how tense they are, the way one of them has their hands hovering their weapon, and the others have no warmth in their voice. Maybe it's just your imagination, but one look at the others tells you it's not.

"We've seen Captain Marvel's heat signature on our sensors, she'll be there soon, please come with us."

You feel like you don't really have a choice, so with a nod, you agree. Before you can pick up your weapons, they signal to you.

"Leave those, you won't need it."

You share a worried look with Natasha, and she shakes her head to signal you not to grab it. She knows something is wrong too, but with all the civilians around, she also knows better than to put them in danger.

With that in mind, you all stand up and follow the soldiers. They guide you away from the mess hall into corridors until you reach one of the numerous landing bays. There, more soldiers are waiting for you and some train their weapons on you as soon as you walk in. A few feet away from you a woman in a suit and with blond hair was standing up proudly, also with weapons trained on her.

That was Carol Danvers, you guessed.

"See, your friend is here," the general said. "Now, surrender to us and no harm will come to them."

The brown eyes examine your group and upon falling on Natasha goes wide. There is a question in her eyes, and the answer comes in a nod from the redhead. It's her, she's alive. She's back. There are a lot of emotions in the eyes of the blonde, but mainly she stays serious, and nods back.

"What's going on?" You whisper towards Natasha after their silent conversation, and with the whole situation.

"Best guess? Carol and those guys aren't on the best of terms." This is rather obvious.

"And here I thought they were best buddies," you nervously joke.

"Just get ready to fight." You're about to protest that you're barely a fighter compared to those guys, but she shakes her head. "Just do what you did when we met."

Slowly, you nod. You held your own that day, and the past five years. You know you can be dangerous when provoked. You can do it.

Meanwhile, Carol is being her usual cocky self.

"You know, I could pulverize all of you easily, why should I surrender?"

"You could, but one of us would have the time to put down one of your friends."

"I barely know them," she shrugs, and Natasha knows it's a stratagem to destabilize them.

"Not even her?" One of the soldiers comes behind Natasha and pushes her forward with his weapon - something that resembles a rifle. Danvers frowns as the Avenger is brought in front of her. You can see cogs turning in her head, and she eyes your group before she makes a decision.

"Okay, I surrender." She puts her hands up in the air, just as her eyes stop on you, like she was talking to you, and you nod. You don't know what you agreed to, but you did. You exchange a look with Tim. You're both on each side of the group. If things go south– no, when things go south sounds more likely, you'll have to disarm three soldiers or at least make sure they can't shoot anyone. You just need a signal.

They put cuffs on Carol. Not yet. You hear the click. Not yet. The soldiers relax in a collective sigh of relief.

Now.

Natasha turns and kicks the rifle from the soldier behind her in the air, and you charge with all your strength against the closest guy, his rifle flying away, before kicking the weapon of another one away. Tim takes one of the soldiers in his massive hands and throws him in two others, stopping them from retaliating.

In this time, the redhead grabs the rifle she sent in the air and shoots the handcuffs from Carol's hands.

From there, it was a debacle for the enemy. Carol was shooting with her powers left and right, causing damage not only to the enemy but to the structure too. In the chaos, it was easy for you to grab a weapon and take care of any threat coming your group's way. When no one is left standing, Carol turns to Natasha.

"Where's your ship?"

"Bay E-12!" She answers and quickly you start making your way there. Now that you're armed, and with Carol, it's easy to make your way through the station. Although, as you pass the mess hall, Tim stops and look in the direction of your bags.

"We should grab our stuff before we leave!"

"We don't really have the time for that," Natasha protests, and Carol groans.

"You go to the ship, I'll grab your stuff. You, with me!" She points at you, and you can only straighten your back before you follow her. People are avoiding you and even make themselves small as you advance. Once there, you get your backpack and Junes, and then help move everyone else's. Luckily, no one had a lot.

You bring back everything to the ship, where Natasha already started the flight procedures. Apparently she could also learn just by watching. Still, when you arrive, she gives you your seat.

"Alright everyone, buckle down, we're going 0 to a 100 in a second."

"A 100 what?!" Tim asks at the expression, and you almost find yourself explaining before Natasha focuses you on the command board in front of you.

When the ship leaves, you're followed by Carol outside, guiding you. She's easily as fast as the ship. No wonder she barely took any time to reach you. It takes little time for the ship to get to the hexagonal door, and luckily, no one is following you when you get through and arrive somewhere you've never been, according to the star chart. You stop the ship a bit further away from the arrival point and June takes care of letting Carol inside via the depressurized locker. She is barely in when she throws herself around Natasha.

"You're alive! How?" She takes a step back and looks at the redhead, making sure she's not hallucinating.

"I don't know. I woke up… I was at the bottom of the cliff."

The exchange tickles your curiosity; you still had no idea what Natasha was doing on Vormir at the time, nor how she ended up there alone. You frown, but don't interrupt as you listen with rapt attention.

"I have so much to tell you, you need to know what happened." The joyful reunion suddenly feels much more serious, and like you're intruding. You turn to everyone and grab the bags Carol brought back inside.

"Okay everyone, get yourself set up," you half order everyone to disperse them and give Carol and Natasha a bit of privacy. You give them one last look before you leave them alone.

-

You are en route to the next jumping point and after your adventures most of everyone is sleeping. Carol and June are awake, swapping stories in hushed tones - turns out Carol is immune to June's caustic remarks -, so you decide to go to the cockpit to check on the ship. When you arrive there, you're surprised to find Natasha sitting in the pilot seat, her knee under her chin and her eyes red from crying. You approach slowly, like you would with a predator, and gently grab her shoulder with a soft hand.

"Natasha?"

"Y/n. Sorry, I didn't see you there." She starts unfolding her body to stand up, but your hand makes itself firmer and forces her to stay in place.

"Don't worry about it." You let go of her, only to sit in the co-pilot chair. "How are you doing?"

She snorts and sniffles. "I think it's obvious."

"I don't know, you could be overjoyed," you joke, and she rolls her eyes before you ask more seriously:

"What's happening?"

"There was a battle for the stones, and Tony sacrificed himself." You only vaguely understand what she was talking about, if you have to be honest, but you feel for her. "He is such an overzealous idiot. Or was, I guess." She snorts. "But I'm one to talk."

You have no idea what she means by that, so you simply take a deep breath and slowly rub her back. "I'm sorry." Your hand moves from her back to her shoulder and she takes it without thinking much.

"Thank you. It's hard to wrap my head around it."

"Of course. Is there anything you need?"

She shakes her head. "No. Just… stay her?"

You nod and adjust your hand position so you're slightly more comfortable. Her grip tightens, and you get the type of support she's looking for; silence, understanding, kindness. Someone's simple, soft presence.

And you do your best to be that someone.

-

It only takes 24 hours to arrive at the next jumping point, the one leading the Earth. Before you press the button that would make you go through the hexagone, you turn to Carol.

"C-53. You're sure?"

"Let me think." Her eyes squint and she pretends to think. "Yep, pretty sure it's the good one."

"Okay. Everyone takes a seat, we're taking the door." You take a deep breath and gets the ship to speed before you go through the jumping point.

And see Earth appear in front of you.

A tear rolls on your cheek.

After five years, you're finally home. You power the ship to approach the blue planet, emotions swelling in your chest. You hear people talking in the background but all you can focus on is the approaching land, until Natasha puts her hand on your shoulder.

"I know a place where we can go."

You nod and take the coordinates she gives you, following them until you're above the trees' limit. There you're able to see a house next to a barn and from there it's easy to find a place to land. Once you land, you turn to everyone with a smile.

"Welcome to Earth."

An unusually emotional June wraps her arms around your neck and you hug her back with a smile.

You are finally home.

Natasha smiles at the display, in that brief, tender way she reserved only for some special people. You notice, your heart skipping a beat, and mouth a 'thank you' to her with emotion in your eyes before June releases you. Without her, you would still be looking around in space. You could kiss her. You want to kiss her, you realize, and look away.

Oh no.

You want to kiss her.

-

Carol is the first one to touch the ground, followed by you. When you do, you notice a man approaching the ship with his arms pointing at it.

"Carol! What is this in my backyard? Who is this in my backyard?!"

"Sorry birdie, not my fault." She smiles and looks back towards the ship, Natasha finally appearing in turn after almost everyone came out.

"Then who–" he starts before he can stop, and Natasha is in front of him.

Natasha, who he thought he had lost. Thought he was responsible for losing. But no, she was right there. Right in front of him like nothing had happened, like he didn't lose his most important battle on that cliff.

"Nat–" he can't even manage her name before he runs at full speed towards her and crashes in her arms. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, it should have– should've been me. But you're here. How are you…?"

"I woke up on Vormir, I don't know…" She hugs him back, without a hint of hesitation.

"Tony, he tried to bring everyone back. I guess it worked to some degree." He finally let go of her, his eyes red with unshed tears. She doesn't look any better, only imagining what it must have felt like for him. "Shit… Tony–"

"I know. Carol told me everything."

He nods, then finally looks at everyone else. You give a small wave as a form of hello, as a chorus of mumbled hellos come from the rest of the group.

"We're going to have to bunk, won't we?" Natasha asks jokingly.

He looks at her and smiles. "Yeah. Come on everyone, let's get you settled."

[beauty-and-passion]

TMA - Chapters 71-80: And now?!

Hello everyone, and welcome to the end of season 2.

It took a while for this post to come out, but it's finally here and oh boy, I cannot wait to see what will happen. What will Jon find in the tunnels? How many more mysteries will be uncovered? And how many more questions will arise?

Only one way to find out.

<< Main Masterlist < Previous post 

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MAG 71 - Underground

Welp, saying that this start was disappointing is an understatement.

Not only we have the most useless statement until now, which is basically the fear of being buried alive mixed with the London Tube, but also Random Dead Guy no. 247. In the end, not even Mrs. Górka cared about her own statement. Wow, that’s probably a new record of indifference.

At least I am glad to see Jon is slowly coming back to his senses: he’s sure there is someone human in these tunnels but, instead of going down again on his own, he chose to wait for Basira’s assistance. Thank you, Jon, for still valuing your life.

But wait, is there really someone human in these tunnels? Could it really be the umpteenth Lukas, hidden for killing reasons and killing reasons only? When I said it, I was joking, I didn’t expect my words to come true. If it’s truly a Lukas, I might die laughing.

_______________________________

MAG 72 - Takeaway

Meat is back. And it’s more supernatural than ever.

You know, I’m starting to enjoy the supernatural meat. It’s a weird little thing, there are too many people involved with it and I can’t fully understand what kind of supernatural shit it is, so I’m curious to see if we will understand it a bit more.

Well, not that this statement really helps with it. I mean, in addition to meat, it also gave us:

a kid who wrote MEAT IS ME, so I supposed he’s the body of the supernatural meat. Or maybe not and he’s just a red herring.

John Haan, who died, or maybe not because apparently no one can die.

Tom Haan, who was in MAG 30 and killed himself but, guess what, he’s alive as well.

Mr. Goodall maybe is part of the supernatural meat too, considering that his ankle should’ve been cut and he should’ve lost a few fingers but he did not.

So… I suppose Jared Hopworth isn’t the meat and that the meat and the boneturner are different supernatural shits. There are too many shits in this world, I hope we will have a full list one day.

Speaking of supernatural shits, it looks like it’s the end of the run for Maxwell Rayner: Basira is going to arrest him.

Yes, sure, I totally believe the police can get him, considering he’s the Dark or whatever name has his supernatural shit. What do you bet he will mysteriously find a way to disappear/escape?

Also… why doesn’t Jon want Daisy’s presence? Does he fear she will beat Rayner so much to kill him? Or is Daisy some supernatural shit as well?

_______________________________

MAG 73 - Police Lights

Contrary to my expectations, the police truly managed to stop Maxwell Rayner. Or did they? *dum dum duuum*

But let’s start from the beginning: what was Rayner/the Dark trying to do? Was it trying to find a new host in Callum Brodie? Considering that Maxwell Rayner was very old, I suppose that the supernatural shit wanted the youngest possible host. But why this child in particular?

Second: is Rayner truly dead? We also saw Natalie Ennis from MAG 25 who was missing and seemed dead. And we already know about the tendency of these little shits to die multiple times and always come back to life.

Third: why is Jon so sure that the story is over and Maxwell Rayner is actually, truly, 100% dead? He knows others survived. He knows these shits tend to come back to life. What’s different with him? 

Speaking of Jon: so he thought about quitting but…

"It’s not an option, of course. I’m in far too deep now. I get the impression that to quit would be giving up whatever small protection I seem to have here. I just wished... I don’t know."

Do you know what that reminds me? When I talked about Jane Prentiss, I said she went to the Institute because that’s what prey do when they feel threatened: they hide behind a bigger predator. Here, Jon is basically doing the same: he’s relying on the big predator’s protection to survive.

And yes, of course now it’s too late, damn you, Jon, and damn your curiosity. We got the most important lesson in MAG 2, literally at the beginning of the series, and the lesson was: don’t get involved in any supernatural shit. And what did you do instead, Jon? Uh?

But seriously, I’m starting to get scared. Not only he’s getting too involved in general, but with the statements too and I fear he’s connecting with Big Brother in more ways I still cannot understand.

_______________________________

MAG 74 - Fatigue

Holy shit, this statement was a trip and I loved it.

I liked Jane Prentiss’ statement so much because it was a stream of consciousness and I like this statement for the same reason, even if the two streams of consciousness have very different focuses: Jane’s was mostly about her own emotions and thoughts about the Hive, while Lydia Halligan’s statement is more of a collection of images, facts, events, memories and nightmares mixed so much you can't distinguish what's real anymore. And there are vivid images and recurring elements too, like the billboard.

Mmmh… now that I think about it, I probably like it so much, because I try to achieve something similar with my writing style. I always try to show the story with vivid images, but I also want to show the character’s thoughts and ideas through vivid/symbolic/evocative/recurring images. That’s because I want to keep the POV as close to the character as possible, so the reader can know them through their own mind, thoughts, thinking patterns and yes, writing style (which should vary depending on the character).

This statement does a great job of making me know Lydia Halligan better: it makes her an interesting character and some images are so vivid, I can still feel them. Like when she lays down on the tarmac and says it’s warm and soft. I can still feel the warmth and the small “grains” against my cheek.

And then, among all these beautiful images, we get a tall guy with curly blond hair and holy shit, Michael?!

Yes, it looks like my Boyo came back from the war and he’s still adorable, creepy as fuck and weirdly interested in this woman. Why? Was it just messing with her? Or was it trying to connect with her the way other supernatural shits try to? It didn’t look like Michael wanted to “eat” her as it was last time with Mrs. Richardson, after all.

Thank god, instead of going down the tunnels, Jon put on a camera. Thank you, Jon, for using your brain.

And the camera showed him not just Not!Sasha doing Not!Sasha things, but also… a middle-aged guy with a case, who comes, picks statements from the archives and leaves?! Uh? Who the fuck is this guy, now? I thought it was a Lukas hiding for killing reasons or maybe some weird supernatural shit… but who is this guy now? A supernatural businessman/thief? What is he stealing? And how the fuck can he move the floor away and put it back? What supernatural shit is he? The Ghost? The Ghostly Thief? I’ll call him Ghostly Thief.

_______________________________

MAG 75 - A long way down

Holy shit, Michael Crew is back! And he’s the Vast or the Lightning or whatever the fuck he is. By now, I have no idea. All I know is that he’s scary and he… uh… searches for people to give them nausea and… idk, throw them from a window? Zap them? He’s still very mysterious and I don’t really understand what is he doing, less alone why and how.

And even Jon isn’t so sure. More or less:

It looks like my suppositons were kind of true: the Leitners change people. Either because they make it easier to connect to a supernatural shit or for other reasons, they still play a role.

Also, Jon is a bit confused: Robert Kelly didn’t meet Michael Crew, but Simon Fairchild. So either Simon and Michael are the same person (just at different ages), or Simon Fairchild truly is the Grandfather of the Vast, while Michael Crew is the Vast.

Or maybe Michael is the Vast and Simon is just another fucker who pretends to be something he’s not. No idea, but I can’t wait to better understand.

Basira! You’re back! And you stole a goddamn box of tapes. This woman is truly the most badass of them all: the police cover for the other agent’s death? Well, fuck them, no more loyalty given, time to steal as much as possible and give all the tapes to the obsessed Archivist.

Honestly? I’m thrilled. I know we will find the real shit now. I know Gertrude’s tapes will blow my mind. And I really REALLY hope to find out stuff like the structure of this world, the existence of these supernatural shits and everything else.

_______________________________

MAG 76 - The Smell of Blood

Once again, a useless statement. It’s just “Melanie gets into a haunted train carriage and gets hurt by a psycho/ghost/guy and stuff about blood”. Not the most interesting thing ever.

But at least the plot evolved a little bit: Melanie will now go to India to learn more about ghosts (goddamit Melanie, and here I thought you valued your life. But nope, Jon’s influence got you and now you also think self-preservation is overrated) and, most importantly, she planted the seed of doubt about Sasha. She remembered the real one and now, finally, Jon is starting to truly suspect about her. Does that mean Not!Sasha will be the final boss of this season? Will it be unmasked?

_______________________________

MAG 77 - The Kind Mother

Omg a declaration about the Not-Things! Another one! This time, it was an insufferable mother replaced by a kinder version.

And yes, I noticed that Gertrude said this “Not Thing” could be “an aspect of The Stranger”. Well, it looks like we have another name for these supernatural shits. After the End, the Hive, the Vast and the Boneturner, we have the Stranger.

Even more interesting is that this “Not Thing” isn’t the Stranger itself, but “an aspect”. So these supernatural shits can appear/show themselves in different ways. So I suppose that the weird twisted corridors are aspects of Michael and the black shadows from MAG 63 are aspects of Maxwell Rayner. This reduces the number of supernatural shits (which is good for my memory), but since I still don’t know how many actual supernatural shits there are, I really really want a full list.

Holy shit, Gertrude labeled this statement as “Changeling / Imposter”?! Just like I called Not!Sasha! Great minds think alike? XD Or maybe Gertrude is just a more practical lady, compared to Mr. “let’s pick the most evocative, poetic and dramatic names for these shits”.

But hey, despite Jon being a bit dramatic in his naming choices, at least he’s a clever guy and immediately realized that yep, that’s not Sasha, that’s a fucking imposter. And he wants to kill it! Oh gosh, Not!Sasha is truly going to be the final boss of season 2! Can’t wait to see this new battle unfold.

_______________________________

MAG 78 - Distant Cousin

Oh, so we immediately found the statement Gertrude was talking about. And it’s about another one of these Not Things that is being imprisoned by the table. Uh, that’s interesting: so the table/the Spider Gang is effectively a potential “predator” of this supernatural shit.

This makes me think that:

maybe these supernatural shits are not all equally powerful gods, but some might be the “predator” of someone else. A sort of “water beats fire" kind of situation. Maybe the Spider Gang can destroy the Stranger. Maybe the sick guy can defeat the End. Something like this.

In MAG 51, while talking about the Not Things, Not!Sasha said: “It didn’t sound like the sort of thing that would want to be bound to an object.”. At the time, I thought it was because they didn’t like the table/spider stuff. But it looks like they don’t like it, because it’s an effective enemy that can bind them. Love how things work in retrospectn TMA's author truly had things planned in advance.

Oh, I love the pure rage in Jon’s words: “And now I see you.”. This man is so done, I can't wait to see him go apeshit. After 78 episodes with people waking up and choosing violence, Jon decided: “You know what, now it’s MY time to wake up and choose violence”. And if I stan others doing it, I stan Jon even more.

But first, he had to save Tim and Martin’s lives, because he might be a bit of an ass, but deep down he’s a good boy and wants his friends not to risk their lives again. Awww.

And speaking of good boys… my Boyo Michael is back and holy shit what the fuck is happening. Jon destroys the table, which of course was a stupid move - goddamit Jon, haven’t you heard the statement? I thought you wanted to use that table to bind Not!Sasha! Why the fuck are you destroying it?!

And then… Michael is all soft laughs, while he reminds Jon that hey, there’s only one way out :) you might need my help :) tell me you want my help :) He’s creepy and adorable. I love him.

But also: what will happen now?! What will the next episode be? Did Jon enter one of Michael’s weird corridors? I need to find out!

_______________________________

MAG 79 - Hide and Seek

HOLY SHIT ALL THE STUFF THAT HAPPENED HERE.

As it was for season 1, the second to last episode of this season is incredibly full of elements. I will try my best to analyze them:

*

Martin and Tim are my precious boys

Oh, I love their dialogue: we get to see more of Tim’s resentment towards Jon, sure, but we also see him speaking words of truth and saying what I’ve been saying for two seasons:

“I’m pretty sure it would stop Elias firing John even if he decided to try actually running the place for once.”

See? I’m not the only one who thinks Elias does nothing else besides being suspicious af and keeping his ass on a chair all the time. He’s so bad at his job, even his subordinates know it.

Elias’s lazy ass aside, we also get to see more of Martin’s thoughts and gosh, when he wants, this man has an attitude and I stan.

I mean, look at how he scolded Tim:

But also, bless his soul, all Martin wants is to everyone to live in peace and be happy. I hope his wish will come true and this series will end with them being happy - first, they will probably go through hell, but in the end they deserve some peace, come on.

*

Michael is a sassy queen

I love Michael. He’s such a sassy queen, always with a smile in his voice, even while saying creepy, scary shit.

And yes, I know what TMA’s author is doing: he wants me to think Michael will “eat” Martin and Tim. But you know what? I don’t believe it. We lost Sasha, fine, but she was the most “useless” character. These two are basically co-protagonists. Can two co-protagonists die now? With three more seasons to go? If they’ll ever die, I suppose they will around season 4. Dying now would leave the entire story on Jon’s shoulders only for three entire seasons. Seems a bit too much, imho.

Or maybe more people will come and take their place? But then what? Season one dies one person, season two dies two people, season 3 dies three people, season 4 dies four people and season 5 dies everyone? Nah, don’t think so.

Also, Michael is my Best Boyo and I love him and I don’t want to start hating him, so I really REALLY hope he will not kill them. Please Michael, please be a good boy, please keep them in your weird corridors but do not kill them.

*

Opposite supernatural shits!

"God, I’m an idiot. Smash the table, kill the monster, stupid! Lazy, sloppy assumption. Of course the table was binding it. The table is webs and spiders. Spiders are something else. They don’t help each other, they oppose, they... they weaken. It was caught in a web, and I... All the pieces were there. And I just... I couldn’t see it."

Wow, didn’t expect a confirmation of my words so soon! It looks like I was right when I said that these supernatural shits work in a “water opposes fire” kind of situation. Glad to know I was right.

*

Big Brother has a lot of eyes

"So the monster got its friends to carry the table all around, and it still got to take faces and scare people. Then one day it was sent to the house of its enemy, which had the biggest eyes you ever did see. The monster was sent there to steal all its secrets, but it was sad because it couldn’t scare anyone any more."

Okay, so:

The Not Thing has friends who carry the table around. And we know their friends are Breekon & Hope Delivery, because they carried the table in the Institute.

The enemy with “the biggest eyes you ever did see” is clearly Big Brother and holy shit, I was right when I said it has one million eyes or something. And it looks like they’re all pretty big. Scary af, love it.

The Not Thing was sent to steal Big Brother’s secrets. What kind of secrets?

Speaking more of eyes, Not!Sasha reconfirms the eye theme, by saying that:

“I wear you, will I really become the Archivist? Rob the eye of its pupil?”

Which means:

Big Brother truly has eyes

Jon is somehow Big Brother’s pupil - maybe in more sense than one. He’s not just his beloved human, but his literal pupil, because Big Brother can look at the world through his eyes.

*Gravity Falls intensifies* *Stanford Pines intensifies* *If this thing is triangular I’m going to explode*

Is this how Big Brother connects to the Archivist? Is this the crimson fate? Is this Jon’s destiny? Becoming a means through which the supernatural shit can express itself?

*

The Unknowing!

"You’ll miss the Unknowing, of course, but you wouldn’t understand it anyway."

Okay, now, what the fuck is the Unknowing. A supernatural shit? But Not!Sasha talked about it, as if it’s an event rather than a being. So, what is this? What does Jon have to understand? I don’t remember exactly where, but there was someone else in the past who said something similar about “not understanding it”. I’m so curious!

*

Interlude: voices, vibes and sounds are top tier 

I don’t talk about this enough, but gosh, the cast is made of great voices only. Every word is full of passion, they convey all emotions so well and I love them all so much <3

I can feel Martin’s rage when he raises his voice. I can feel Jon’s regret when he says that, despite knowing the truth now, he still can’t remember Sasha’s face (that part broke me, so beautiful, so desperate, it was amazing).

And you can feel Jon’s fear when you hear Not!Sasha’s voice approaching, closer and closer. You can hear the tears in his words, the regret when he says he’s sorry about everything, his urgency when he tells his friends to leave the Institute.

And Not!Sasha’s voice? The distorted, echoing effect is amazing, it makes it 20x scarier. And it looks like Not!Sasha’s real shape is like “a stretched person”, so my mind immediately made the connection:

This series is starting to become suspiciously similar to Mandela Catalogue. And if Gravity Falls ended on a positive note, Mandela Catalogue looks like a tragedy and I fear TMA will lean in that direction.

*

And now, who the fuck are you?

So, after founding Jon, after him literally begging to live, Jon is saved by… bricks? Shifting bricks? I mean, after thinking about it, I realized it meant something like “a whole wall shifting”, but when I heard it the first time, I thought that someone was throwing stones at Not!Sasha and, apparently, that was enough to kill it. It was hilariously funny.

But I can’t even take a sigh of relief for Jon still being alive, that I am suddenly greeted by a “mysterious figure” who wants to have a chat with Jon.

And when I read it, my first comment was: “and now, who the fuck are you?”.

Then I connected: this is Ghostly Thief! The maybe-human middle-aged man who shifted the floor to enter and exit the tunnels and steal stuff. And he wants to talk! We will have answers! Fine, probably we won’t have all answers, but we will have something!

_______________________________

MAG 80 - The Librarian

HOLY SHIT GHOSTLY THIEF IS JURGEN FUCKING LEITNER ARE YOU FOR REAL?!

Sorry, but I was a little… a-hem… surprised. Yes, let’s say I was surprised.

So not only the Norwegian fucker just appeared like nothing, but he gave answers and hints and holy. Fucking. Shit.

But let’s start from the beginning:

*

The missing two books

So:

The Seven Lamps of Architecture by John Ruskin is the book that helped Leitner “shift” the floor and the structure of the tunnels. That’s why Jon found everything weird and complicated: because Leitner was deliberately messing with the architecture of the tunnels.

A Disappearance removes you from the world, but if you read some parts, it hides you. And that’s how Leitner has been able to stay hidden until now. Very clever.

Three years ago Leitner went out and Gerard found him and beat him to death. Not only this proves Gerard is a hero and a mood because I would’ve beaten this fucker too, but it somehow confirms my man Gerard truly died. I am devastated.

*

“The reverse Pandora”

“I saw myself as a guardian, a reverse Pandora, gathering the evils of the world and locking them away.”

I appreciate the change that happened in Leitner from the angry little man described in MAG 35 to the guy he is now. And speaking of MAG 35, now I can understand why he was so obsessed with the idea of the hidden library: he thought he had a mission. He thought he was the chosen one. And he wanted to store his books safely, without them “reacting” to each other.

And wow, he did his job so well, he collected 978 volumes. Nine seven eight. I thought we would’ve had a collection of… 20 volumes at least. My supposition was pretty far from the truth, lol.

*

The attack

Just like Pandora opened the vase and all evils flew out, so all evil books have been set free by a sudden attack, who involved:

“Thomas McMann was stabbed through the throat by something with too many teeth and limbs like knives.”. - The Boneturner?

“Mary Johnson was pulled into a cavernous maw that opened beneath her.” - The Dark?

“Gregory Todd ran into a door that shouldn’t have been there.” - Michael.

“A great hand reached down through the roof and plucked away Leandra Toulouse.” - The Vast?

“And there was one other assistant pulled into a great, pulsating pile of meat.” - the supernatural meat.

If I am right and those five worked together, something must’ve happened back then. How and why did Michael become neutral? Are they on the other side of the “war” that’s going on?

*

The origin of the supernatural entities

Holy shit, I asked for a backstory of these entities and I got a backstory of these entities. Mr. Sims, TMA’s author, thank you for listening to me and providing me with the answers. I appreciate this sort of “time-delayed connection” we got.

And you know what, it’s an interesting backstory. It’s fascinating to imagine these beings that are not in our universe, but “adjacent” to it:

It’s a very exciting concept, because it can be explored in two different ways:

These beings are curious and they want to enter our universe, because they see it as their property/a place in which extend their dominion. To circle back to the ant analogy, it would be a bit like a human trying to “open” the anthill for their needs, because the anthill is on their property.

These beings feel like they are trapped, “glued” to our universe. They feel like they’re forced to move towards it, to interact with it, because there is nothing else in the space where they live. Because there is nothing else, besides this place. And maybe they hate it, they resent it and they do not care about anything and anyone: all they want is more space to move.

I hope we will have more of these beings talk about their place, their feelings toward our universe and their goals, because it would give us a wonderful insight into how they see it. Maybe their point of view is similar to 1) and they’re more possessive/curious. Or maybe it's more similar to 2) and they’re bitter and resentful. I really hope we will know more about this.

*

Everything revolves around books

Again, I was kinda right: the books can help you to connect to these beings, because the books are their essence. A bit like surging into their power a bit.

And the monsters are not minor supernatural shits: they’re parts of these shits, like muscles. Again, it reconfirms these beings re not 200 but less - which is good for me - and makes them even more eldritch-esque and weird. Really liked it.

*

Many new names

Wow, I almost got Michael’s name too, didn’t I? It’s not Mr. Distortion, but simply the Distortion.

And he’s not exactly a supernatural shit, but part of it: a “lying power” called the Spiral. That’s probably why he’s associated with fractals too. Pretty cool!

Also: this helps us understand why Michael has so many issues with identity. It’s because Michael isn’t an entity, but part of it. It makes sense, it’s so logical! I love when things fit so well in a story.

*

What a surprise, hold onto your seat, you won’t believe it…

Hear me out, guys: Elias killed Gertrude.

I know, what a shocker, I can't believe it, it’s not like he had “I KILLED GERTRUDE” written all over his face.

Joke aside, he did it… because Gertrude wanted to burn down the Archives? She woke up and chose violence! Like everyone else! I stan this woman even more.

And yes, I want to give Elias the same treatment Gerard gave Leitner.

*

Elias and Big Brother

…

Did Leitner just casually tell me that Elias is Big Brother?

Listen, when I said that everyone is a supernatural shit here I was joking. It was a joke, IT WAS A JOKE-

Holy shit, we got Big Brother’s name too! And yes, I could’ve guessed it: it has eyes, of course it’s called the Eye. When it'll be called The All-Seeing Eye, I will start to fear it’s really Bill Cipher.

*

The Stranger and the war

Oh, so I got it wrong: The Unknowing it’s not an event, but just another name for the Stranger. And this Stranger shit seems pretty important, considering they’re all looking for it.

Speaking of “they”, Elias replies that “we” will stop them. So I suppose that “they” and “we” are the two sides of the war Michael talked about chapters ago. And considering what Leitner said before, I suppose these two sides are:

The entities that attacked Leitner and his assistants, aka the Boneturner, the Dark, the Distortion, the Vast and the supernatural meat.

Elias/the Eye, the Lukas family and their supernatural shits. And maybe someone else?

And then we have the Stranger in the middle - oh, and let’s not forget the spider lady, the supernatural fog and the End. On which side are they? Also, Michael switched and became neutral, so maybe something else happened and the sides changed even more? Nnnngh, I want to know!

*

Killers, killers everywhere

And then, just like nothing, Elias kills Leitner on tape, by beating him to death. Holy shit this man might be lazy when it comes to the job, but he’s ruthless when it’s time to kill.

Also, fuck you Elias, now who will give me answers? I was a bit angry with Leitner for tricking me, but he was willing to talk! And cooperate! And after explaining himself, I was forgiving him too! Fuck you again.

Martin and Tim my beloveds found a way to come back to the Institute! (thank you, Michael, for not eating them) And the first thing they find is a dead man in Jon��s office.

... They’re totally gonna believe Jon did it, aren't they?

_______________________________

In conclusion

Holy shit what an ending!

We got Leitner, we got answers, we got more mysteries.

And now? I have no idea. Will Jon run from the law? Will he hide at Basira’s place? Will we see him in prison? Will Jon be able to explain himself? Will Martin and Tim realize how dangerous Elias is and beat him to death before he does the same to them?

And what about the Stranger? Will we see it? Will we find out even more about these supernatural entities?

I really don’t know. And I love when a series does this to me: after the season 1 ending, I could’ve predicted a few things, like that Jon would’ve found out who was Gertrude's killer. But now? Now I really have no idea! And I can’t wait to be surprised by what will happen.

TMA’s author, Mr. Sims, you truly are one of a kind. I approached this story with a mild interest, then my expectations rose. Now, you gave me actual backstory and explanations about these supernatural entities.

Next I want to see how you developed all the given premises. I know there are still three seasons to go, but a good story should drop elements on the way. It’s like building a palace: the foundations are here, we just need more planes to be build on them. And then, all these planes should start to converge and be stable enough for the conclusion. But we’ll talk about that in due time.

For now, thank you Mr. Sims and thank you all for following me in this little adventure. I will come back with season 3 very soon, but in the meantime take care of yourself <3

>> Next post

(How about a coffee? ☕)

_______________________________

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[stacotto]

*Inhale for four, exhale for four* Alright, let's get into it.

Guess we'll just start at the start, Asticassia is far more wrecked than we could see at the end of episode 20, death count is probably in the scores if not hundreds, and the survivors are basically in a refugee camp. Earth House and Suletta out here doing their best to make everyone comfortable, which automatically makes them the GOAT house. Petra's alive...ish! Mio's President now, for whatever that's worth, Quinharbor is a bombed-out crater, and those slimy Peil crones somehow managed to once again pull the "we didn't know this unethical thing was being done right beneath our noses" card (even if they really didn't know until someone else told them, I wouldn't put it past them to want a piece of that pie). More on them later.

The meeting between Earth House, Guston, and Belmeria is a perfect example of what I like to see in an infodump; nothing is said that characters in the room should already know, everything is news to someone. I really really dig now Suletta handled relaying her nature as a clone, and maybe feeling a little smug that my headcanon that those flashes of Eri's memories of the Vanadis Incident really were a full memory share between the two. And of course, Suletta understanding that there is probably no reasoning with Prospera, but no unnecessary angst beyond that. I like it, it's refreshing. Also hot damn, we've been theorizing about a "Caliban" Gundam for months and this is not what any of us expected but I'm not complaining; it really is thematically appropriate that Prospera's creation would be piloting the machine named after Prospero's servant.

Now to the real spectacle of the episode: The Space Assembly League charging headfirst into something they should know could not possibly end well. To paraphrase what I've been saying about Quiet Zero ever since episode 16; "You may have your guns, but I control all the triggers". You literally cannot fight against it with any conventional weapon. The only way to fight against the QZ Data Storm network is with a Gundam of your own, and Sophie Pulone showed us exactly why even that is a toss-up. The more I think about it, the more I feel we're building up to a reveal that Suletta may have actually inherited her sister's affinity to the Data Storm, it just might need a little push to fully manifest.

Miorine really cannot catch a break here. She may be President, but that pales in comparison to the world falling apart around her. Quinharbor is in ruins. Her father is still in a coma. The League has popular support to dismantle the Group by force. It's really telling that Sarius is the one telling her "Look, I'll take the L on this, you keep the Group together" but she completely refuses to sacrifice anyone else, one of my favorite tropes when done well. It'll be interesting to see what her next move is.

Ah, Elan Ceres Number 5. Curious as to how he went from Ur's cockpit to sneaking around Asticassia but that's neither here nor there; he's finally given up the act (and genuinely apologized to Suletta, that was good) and is joining up with the heroes for the final act, which I appreciate. He says "no Gundam" which does pique my curiosity as to how he's going to contribute - Enhanced Persons are no doubt chosen by the Peil AI for piloting skill, so I doubt that he won't be piloting period - but I do get the distinct feeling that he's going to pay the CEOs and Elan Prime a visit...with bullets.

Welp, guess we know who's piloting the Schwarzette whenever that comes up now; Lauda about to follow in the infamous footsteps of one "Graze" Ein Dalton. I do kinda hope that someone can snap him out of it before it's too late; most likely candidate is probably Petra if she can wake up soon, given that A) He's definitely going to try and kill Miorine, so that knocks her out, B) there's no way he's going to listen to Guel after learning he's the one who killed Vim (even if it was by accident in self-defense), and C) Suletta is still the "Mercurian Wench who ruined everything" in his eyes. If he can't be reasoned with, Guel's probably going to have to kill him, I'll put my chips on that.

We in the endgame now.

[cozza-frenzy]

Welp. Guess there's nothing else for it at this point... I'm feeling brave tonight, and I plan on riding this wagon until it crashes into something and explodes, so here we go. Content Warning for childhood trauma and mental health issues. If you want to skip this part, I'll indicate further down where it gets a bit less "dark", but further down is something about me I feel like y'all should know.

I'm Terry, as quite a lot of you know. I'm 35 years old, and for most of my life the inside of my head was... a very, VERY noisy place. It felt like I was constantly accosted by intrusive thoughts, weird compulsions, memories from my past that randomly blindsided me and disappeared just as quickly down the "memory hole". This stemmed from a huge amount of abuse I suffered throughout my childhood; experiencing bullying at school, in shared spaces, and at home. I learned over time and a lot of therapy what was causing at least SOME of this and got names for it. C-PTSD (Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Dissociative Amnesia. Some of it, I even blamed on my autism. I figured having a constant sensory overload inside your own head was just how things worked for people like me. And then, a little over a week ago now... I hurt someone unintentionally, got very upset at myself, and had an extremely bad migraine. And while I wasn't conscious, somebody else woke up. Someone who, it turns out, I could talk to... and they were very, very happy to see me. There was another one, too, who was very scared but eventually came out when they realized we weren't going to hurt them. And from there, they started to grow... telling me who they were, and why they were here. (This is where the 'darker' stuff ends.)

So, yeah. I haven't had an official diagnosis yet, but it's looking extremely likely that I have OSDD - a type of DID, or Dissociative Identity Disorder, also known as Multiple Personalities. The specific symptoms I'm showing mean that the 'alters' - the various personalities - don't have amnesia, so we're all aware of each other and can co-operate on tasks. There are five of us so far - me (Terry), Chaos, Taffy, Hyi and "Roses" (who for personal/privacy reasons is going by a pseudonym in public spaces for now). Collectively, we call ourselves the Magical Mystery Box, or the Magbox/Mbox for short. If this is a problem for any of my followers; as usual, y'all know where the door is. I literally do not care if you unfollow. I'm not here to participate in any self-DX or discourse bullshit, we're literally just trying to cope with the fact there are now multiple gremlins (affectionate) running around inside our shared head, and we've had to learn How To Human all over again because we somehow managed to suppress this until NOW. I'll let my "alters" introduce themselves in a separate post - rest assured, they are all nice! But yeah, uh… surprise! Turns out we're a system, and I'm actually multiple people wearing a metaphorical trenchcoat. I'm going to bed and hopefully don't regret this...

[thessalian]

Thess vs Raintrace

Welp, did it again. Managed to avoid any and all actual main quest. And the side quest I was really aiming for. And the collecting bits I logged back in to do in the first place. Because sometimes I am Like That.

Okay, I am going to head in a Talanah-ward direction. I could just fast travel to that campfire I picked up near the meet-up point, buuuuut I'd really like to get a few more campfires in the area. Maybe pick up that black box on the way. Also ... the map says there's something up there, and the interactive map online says it's another black box and I don't know if I have it or not. So I'll start there.

Well, either the interactive map is lying to me or I somehow got this black box already. Because there is not one there. However, there is a chunk of greenshine. Not much, but made scaling the mountain worth it.

And gliiiiiiiiiiding down--ofuck.

Apparently my stealth armour is not yet so good that things don't notice me when I drift by. Really need to hunt a frostclaw or two at some point. Anyway, I can just hide in this bush until the Clawstriders go away.

Yeah, I checked the hunter bunch but it wanted me to do too many specifics that weren't "target it in its weak spots from hiding until it's dead". I am, however, going to scan and kill that Tremortusk because I understand I'll be seeing one as part of main quest and I want practice.

(I do love it when their weak spots are, like, bigger than I am.)

Right. Black box. And... Why are there Apex Stalkers fucking everywhere right now?!? What did you Oseram lunatics do?!?

Yeah, you can have the missile launchers but I KEEP THE STEALTH FIELD GENERATORS. Okay? Okay. ...Wait. Wut.

So off I go to chase after a guy who was in turn chased by a Thunderjaw. I mean, I get that those buggers can be persistent, but ... what was one even doing here? As we can plainly see, those things crunch the everloving shit out of the ecosystem.

Oh, hi, GAIA. ...Cauldron this way, you say? Well, I'll keep an eye out but I might well end up with a Thunderjaw up in my business soon, so--

Oh. Thunderjaw is dead. But so is Oseram dude. Poor Oseram dude. Aaaaaaaaaand he doesn't have the key on him. ...Okay, either he threw it somewhere as a weapon or something with manual dexterity pickpocketed him--

Yep. Fuck. Clamberjaws. NO I WILL NOT USE THE DISC LAUNCER THANK YOU. Poonk time is now.

One ... and two ... and three right off the damn wall. I rule. Now. Do any of you little fuckers have the key? No. Guess I'll have to go to your nest or whatever. Because of course I get a climbing montage.

...Okay, this is not their nest, but I have a feeling that the approach of the main door of Cauldron: CHI is going to involve, "You can't get in that way; find another entrance" and "another entrance" will be this perfectly triangular hole in the cliff face. But there's no way to climb past it so up the other way.

Key! Okay, back we go.

...Okay, via a couple of campfires and-- Aaaand that rebel camp.

"You're gonna make me work for it, aren't you?" Yeah, well, making you come to me is compensation. You jackasses spread across the camp and I generally kill you all from such long range that I underestimate how far away you were and then spend fifteen minutes looting your corpses. Nice to have one of you close for a change. *silent STRIKE* Also melee is for chumps unless you're absolutely sure where your target is. kthnxbai.

Right. So, back to Danur via a couple of campfires, a rebel camp-- And that question mark.

That question mark is ... a Sunken Cavern, patrolled by Watchers and an acid Clawstrider. Yaaaaaaaaaay. Maybe I'll come back another time.

Here you go, Danur-- Ah, yeah, none of you are in shape for scavenging. Yes, I can do that.

Behemoths? No problem. There's the stomping grounds for one right over there and--

Oh. You want ... different Behemoths. A long way away. Right. Anything a little closer?

Well, you're sending me underwater fairly close to where I have to be to help a friend of mine, so ... yeah, okay.

But first I'm going to go settle down in that shelter. Night is falling in-game, night has fallen out of game, and there is a rebel camp ripe for the picking just across what used to be a highway from my spot. I could probably shoot about half of them without getting out of what passes for bed. So it'll be a nice little bit of hyperfocus-plus-wakeup in the morning.

And then I am going back via the salvager guys because there's a greenshine slab not far south of there and I need it to upgrade a new bow. I have a Sharpshot bow that fires Plasma arrows and Tear arrows. The Tear arrows I might use. The Plasma ones ... meh.

...See, this is why I never really get anywhere. There's always one more thing I need. I need the greenshine slabs. I need that Frostjaw up north. I need bass bits. I need carp bits. I need moonfish bits. I need duck bits.

(Okay, to be fair, I no longer need duck bits. Spent a lot of my jungle time shooting ducks out of the sky for feathers and wishbones. It's a thing.)

Anyway, yeah, the collecting and the crafting is Zen and kind of my jam. Just there are so many kinds of Zen-jam for me in this. Hunting ducks and owls. Hunting machines. Systematically picking off rebels in their camps with them wondering where the fuck the arrows are coming from. Just ... I shouldn't Zen out so much that I don't get the actual story quest done.

This is how I do, apparently. And now I will wind down with, like, Logic Town or House Flipper 2 or something.

[dream-meister-translations]

WOLF GAME

PHANTOM THIEVES & THE THREE MAPS - PART 3

━

[ The sound of footsteps running ] 

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : Phew...I didn't die...That was close...Looks like I got away from those guards...

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : Man I seriously thought I was gonna splat on the ground...

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : Alright, I may have escaped from the guards, but I still need to get out of this building and meet back up with the others.

My name is Yukinari Shimotsuki. I am seventeen years old. Although, you probably already know from what you've read so far, I am a Phantom Thief. The current mission is to steal the Black Diamond. 

I had managed to steal the diamond safely, but during my escape, I made a crucial mistake and got separated from the others. 

[ Rustling noises ]

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : Alright, at least the Black Diamond is still safe in my pocket...

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : Welp, I guess I have to find a way out of here. But the radio's busted...I can't contact the others...

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : I dunno what to do...

SECURITY GUARD B : He's not here either!

SECURITY GUARD C : He must be hiding somewhere! Search again!

SECURITY GUARD A : Understood!

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : Oh fuck. They're still searching...

??? : It's only a matter of time before they find you~♪

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : What the!?

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : Wh-Who are you!? 

??? : Hehe~ Don't look so surprised, Yukinari~♪

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : How do you know my name? Wait..That voice...It couldn't be...

RINTAROU MORI : Ta-da~♪

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : It's you!

RINTAROU MORI : It's a big surprise, isn't it, Yukinari.

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : R-Rintarou!! What the hell are you doing here?

RINTAROU MORI : Isn't it obvious. I'm a Phantom Thief too. I received the same orders as you guys did~♪

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : The same request as us? So, you're here for the Black Diamond too?

RINTAROU MORI : Yup! But in the end, you guys beat me to it and stole it first. So unfortunate.

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : I see...But if that's the case, why are you here? Why haven't you ran away?

RINTAROU MORI : Well...I couldn't get away in time and got trapped here just like you♪

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : How are you being so carefree about this!?

RINTAROU MORI : Hehe~♪

His name is Rintarou Mori. He is sixteen years old. He operates with a different Phantom Thief group than us. He always has a smile on his face, but he can suddenly change into a very scary and serious mode in an instant.

You never know what he's thinking...

RINTAROU MORI : Hey~ Yukinari~♪

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : Yeah...?

RINTAROU MORI : I know this is kinda sudden, but, I don't think we have time for idle chatter. Lookie.

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : Huh...!?

SECURITY GUARD A : There they are! 

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : Oh shit! They found us!

RINTAROU MORI : I'm gonna make my escape before you do! See ya later~♪

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : W-Wait...! Rintarou! Don't leave me behind!

[ The sound of footsteps running ] 

A few minutes later...

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : Hah...Haahh...Hah...Hey, Rintarou! Wait up! You seem to running full force, but do you actually know the way out? 

RINTAROU MORI : Of course~ I've prepared an escape route for moments like this. 

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : I see... S-So, um, is it okay if I go with you? 

RINTAROU MORI : Yup!

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : You won't ask for something in return, right?

RINTAROU MORI : Nah, of course not! What do you take me for~? We might be rivals, but sometimes we need to help each other out, right? We are Phantom Thieves after all~

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : Rintarou...

RINTAROU MORI : Now, let's get out of here!

YUKINARI SHIMOTSUKI : Y-Yeah!

[diaoedia]

[ANIMAL WELL - 1]

My experience so far with this game is fantastic. The art is so DAMN good. I loved pixel art, and this pixel art feels so alive. The environment, the particles, the vines, the animals. Loving it all.

Start the game with no knowledge about anything, come straight from the flower. I am a cute brown ball. Expert of unconventional tool. I found the egg room with the peacock, i guess we will collect eggs and when finished the peacock will do something. Then I just go around nothing special, solved some simple puzzle. Then I took the disc. That was scary the cat? Or something else idk. It chased me, I ran around hopelessly and died. Welp later I come across the fake disc and swap with the disc. It just the first moment for me but see how things connect is really satisfying.

So what i gather so far is that we a deep somewhere with many types of animal, a "well"? The feeling that everything here gives is strange and mystical, but really inviting us to the world that is full of secret,

I have been wonder around clueless for like an hours because of the switch block, like it a screen separate to four by switch block. So i go around solving the puzzle and then stuck. I tried to go backward but the difficulty spike up if you try to do that. Still plausible but nearly impossible. There are many ghost mouse that float around and bounce to stuff. There are some cute birds that led you ride to. Thank to my frustration, I found out you can jump and ride the frisbee. It was the first AHA moment for me in this game. But yea the reason that I was stuck because there is a secret button hidden. That part is dark and bunch of the segments is unlit. I might need to find something to light those candles.

After that everything went smoothly. I just go around and got 7 eggs. That was impressive for me feeling focus for hours, I was in the zone. All the puzzle wasn't too hard. But the game feels big. Lots of locked door, unreachable places. Showing glances at the bigger picture.

I went down to the dark zone with air that contains many faces, dark and scary stuff. Go up to the hedgehog and chinchilla. The chinchillas run toward me. That was scary but the frisbee managed to push it. But later at a boss fight it touched me and did not hurt. So yea chinchilla cannot hurt you. But can act as an platform. I also fought against an chameleon, seahorse. And I found the ostrich but it was too intimidating so I did not try to solve that room. And the crows was loud and will kill you if you press the red button.

Overall for this session, a lot of things is in this game. Hidden places, locked door and puzzles everywhere. An intricate map of secret, that is also slowly revealing itself. And figuring it all by yourself is sooooo pleasurable. Not to mention the creativeness of the tools. Frisbee? Slinky? Bubble? The potential is unlimited. Riding the frisbee was the first enlightment for me, what else. Oh and you can basically infinite jump with bubble wand too. I was proud when I got the timing right.

Really looking forward to extraordinary thing that waiting for me to figured out.

[honey-milk-depresso]

That Charm Shop In Liyue (Various Liyue Characters)

Fresh early morning in Liyue and someone has already entered your shop house. What type of charms do they wish for?

“Good morning!”

“Ah, good morning, Miss y/n,” a deep voice greeted you back.

Ah, so it’s Zhongli again.

He’s a regular customer, he comes here to see and perhaps buy one or two or all of your charms, pottery and other handmade trinkets you had made.

“Have you come here to see the charms? Have you thought of buying some?” you questioned. Most of the time, he didn’t bring the money, to which a certain someone would come in to his “financial rescue”.

“This charm,” he pointed to the brown and gold six flower knots that had a few auburn and burnish jade beads attached to the tassel, “what was the inspiration of this charm?”

“Ah that one. This charm was inspired by the Liyue god himself, Rex Lapis. It’s to bring about prosperous opportunities and benefits, find a trustworthy and loyal partner..” you spaced out.

Zhongli chuckled to which you snapped out of your own dreamy daze.

“Ah, well, that’s for mostly me and the other ladies who hope for a partner like that. Ahehehe..”

Zhongli simply gave you a small smile. “I’m sure you will.”

“Ah.”

He took a good look at the charm again. “Perhaps I shall hang this outside of the funeral parlour. So Hu Tao wouldn’t be constantly asking me how our profits are doing.”

You giggled at his remark. “Miss Hu Tao’s just worried about her company is all. I’m sure she meant no harm!”

“ Putting that aside, I would like to buy this charm.”

“Did you bring your wallet?”

“Let me-”

“No, he didn’t . Let me help you, Mr Zhongli.”

There comes Mr Zhongli’s walking wallet, Childe.

He’s the one who ends up buying the charms and other things Zhongli wanted to buy.

“Good morning, y/n! How are you this morning? Remembered to eat breakfast? If not I got some.” Childe placed a bento on the wooden counter in front of you.

“Did Xiangling made this?”

“Yeah. She said you should really eat up. She noticed how you were getting a lot more locked up in that little working studio of yours.”

“Is that so?” Lately, you’ve been getting more engrossed in your own charm making and crafts for your shop. You had so much inspiration for the past few weeks.

“ You have to remember to take care of yourself, y/n.”

“Yes, yes. Of course. I’ll make sure of it.”

“You better. Welp, me and Mr Zhongli gotta buzz. See you around, y/n!”

“Bye Childe and Zhongli!”

========================== “Ganyu?”

“Ah! Miss y/n. How is everything going so far?”

Ganyu is not a buyer, but she comes in to patrol. She seems to really enjoy being in your shop to just chat with you, and you of course didn’t mind having to talk to her. Who wouldn’t?

”Great and normal as per usual!” you chuckled stupidly.

Ganyu giggled. “Well that’s great to hear!”

“So are you still taking lessons from Xiao?”

“Yep, still am.”

“How are things going?”

She sighed. “Alright I guess. It’s just a tad bit tiring. But I can manage.”

“Well remember to take breaks every now and then. Don‘t overwork yourself.”

“Thank you, y/n. Take care!”

“You too!”

========================== “Need help?”

You yelped in surprise as you almost toppled the box of charms you were carrying towards the trade boat.

Xiao would appear randomly out of nowhere in the evening to check up on you, for who knows what reason. It’s not that you don’t mind the adeptus’ company, it‘s just that he should really just stop startling you every 5 seconds.

”Oh! Xiao! Um, yeah! Thanks..”

He simply huffed and took the boxes from your hand, carrying it and loading it on the boat.

By that time, you scrambled back into your tiny shop house and took out a plate of his favorite dish; almond tofu.

“Thought you might have come back from your missions. Here as thanks for protecting Liyue and...er helping me carry boxes?” you chuckled awkwardly. He simply grunted. “It’s the job of an adept to protect Liyue. ” Yet he took that plate.

This softie.

You simply smiled and rolled your eyes a little. “Yeah, yeah, of course.”

“Hmph.”

Xiao glance back to the Inn Verr worked in.

“I should get going. And thank you for... the meal.”

”It’s no problem.”

He put on his mask and leaped onto your roof before jumping back to the inn.

You had to admit. He looked really cool doing that.

==========================

“Oh, Lady Ningguang?”

“Hello, dear y/n.” She smiled warmly.

Ningguang sometimes came here to buy your charms, or simply just browsed your items while having conversations with you. Sometimes, she gives you small gifts when she leaves. She wasn’t a regular customer like Zhongli, but she definitely wasn’t a rare sight to encounter, well, at night mostly.

“I actually have an invitation for you.”

”An- an invitation??”

Now that’s something new.

“Yes. I‘m inviting you over to Wangshu Funeral Parlor for some tea. I think you need a well deserved break.”

“Oh. Well, you’re very kind Lady Ninggaung, but I’m not quite sure.” Why that place though?

“Come on now. I insist.”

You sweat dropped. Ningguang sure is persistent.

”Well, I guessed it can’t be helped..”

She beamed.

”Wonderful! Be there at 7 in the evening. Here’s the invitation.”

She handed you a white paper that had words engraved in gold. “Thank you, Lady Ningguang. I’ll be sure to come!”

” Likewise.”

===========================

“Okay,” you mumbled to yourself. You had just set foot outside of your shop house, dressed nicely and presentably as can be for your chat with Ningguang.

“Y/n.”

”Ah! Xiao stop scaring me like that!”

He simply shrugged.

“Where are you going?”

“Wangshu Funeral to meet up with Lady Ningguang.”

Xiao’s eyes widened ever slightly. “Oh yes, it’s 5pm...”

“ What was that?”

“Nothing. Come, I shall help you go to the parlour.”

“You know you don’t have to, Xiao. I’ll be fine. It’s only the evening.”

“No, it’s unsafe during this hour. I’m following you regardless.”

==========================

“Huh?”

“Surprise!”

There stood not just Ningguang, but Zhongli, Ganyu, Childe, Hu Tao, and so many others. Even Keqing was there. And Qiqi and Xiangling!

“Wha- What is all this??”

“It’s to say thank you for always being out for us!” Yanfei exclaimed.

“Out for you..?”

“You’re shop has always brought a peace of mind to many of us, and we thank you for being a friend when we felt down, even if it was unintentional or indirect, we would still like to thank you for being there for us to be invited in your open arms, and for the hard work you have put in,” Zhongli stated as he bowed slightly and took your hand ever so gently, enough to make your cheeks dusted in pink over the charming gesture.

“O-oh, I, um, I never knew that...ahehehe...Well...I’m glad to hear that!”

“Mhm! This party is also for you to relax and hangout!” Ganyu smiled.

You glance at the table that’s filled with dishes of food.

“The food...”

“Don’t worry, y/n! There’s plenty of food to go around! You’ll get the lion’s share obviously!” Xiangling said.

“Yeah, we also bought you gifts! Or at least, I bought half of the gifts on that table over there,” Childe stated as he pointed to a table on the left just loaded with gifts, “not to make it look like you’re birthday, but, ehhhh, yeah.”

“Hmm?”

You looked at all the gifts, the food and everyone else who loved coming to your shop house. What did you do to deserve these wonderful people. You tear up a little, overwhelmed by emotions that couldn’t be explained through words.

“H-hey! I didn’t mean to make you cry!!”

“Way to go, Childe.”

“N-no,” everyone else looked at you worriedly. 

“I-I’m just really grateful for all this.... and you guys mostly. Thank you for also being there for me...” you smiled.

Xiao just smiled a little, but it was sincere.

Zhongli went up to you and gently cupped your face up, rubbing your tears away with his thumb. He smiled warmly at you.

“Likewise.”

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Dream or Flashback? [Start]

[Tokyo, Japan, 2009, 13 years ago]

...

PUHUHU!

AHAHAHAHAHA!

*Izuru Kamukura wanders the streets of Tokyo, looking for something. Or rather, just mindlessly walking until something shows up. He walks past several Monokuma’s, who are tearing guards and bystanders to shreds.

High security...and for what...? No, I know full well why...

*He keeps walking, until he comes across a familiar figure.

Hm? Is that who I think it is?

...

AH! Kamakura! My homeslice, breadslice dawg! What’cha doin’ out this far!? 

Noisy...

C’mon, just happy to see you outside o’ your man-cave! Wherever that is...

It’s a boring place...but so is this...

Yeah, yeah, heard it all before. So, what’s the deal?

Let’s just say that even I get a little curious when I wake up and the sky is red.

OH! Right! I gotcha now! But I set this up a couple days ago. How long’ve you been sleeping?

...

Alright, you don’t wanna say. I get that! In any case, these are my new devices. They’re filled with a boatload of shit and toxic chemicals that Mikan gave me. It’s designed to launch all that shit straight into the atmosphere, and pollute the entire planet! I’ve already got Miss Sonia, Akane and Nekomaru carrying these things around to other countries too.

You’re good at teamwork, I’ll give you that much. 

Yeah, well, you can’t destroy the world by yer’self, can ya? Kinda why Enoshima hired us?

(I.e. Brainwashed you, but saying that would be bothersome.)

Oh? And you wanna know something else?

...

HEY! Hey! Where’re you going?

I thought you were finished...

You could've at least said goodbye! And no, I wasn’t finished! I was gonna talk about these babies top of the line defense mechanisms too!

...?

*Curious, albeit only a little, Izuru approaches the giant machine.

*WHIIRR!* *RATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT!* *FWOOOOSHH!*

...

*The toxic machine suddenly starts shooting bullets, saw blades and flames at Izuru when he tries to touch it. Effortlessly, he dodges all of the incoming attacks and retains a distance. When he’s far enough a way, the machine powers down.

Well? What do you think?

...4 out of 10 at best.

AW WHAT!?

Well, it failed to even singe my suit...plus, what if the people fighting against the tragedy find out a weakness?

Actually, it’s funny you should say that.

*Kazuichi suddenly pulls a small metal block out of his jacket pocket. It just about fits in his hand.

This little thing right here is a key that automatically shuts the machine down. It’s for emergency purposes.

Why create something like that? It gives the people hope, doesn’t it? If they somehow manage to get that off you, then your machines are as good as finished.

Hehe, yeah...that’s the point...

...?

I’m gonna have someone hide this thing somewhere in the world for me. Then, eventually, someone’s gonna find out that I “lost” the key. Then, they and a bunch of other people are gonna race to find this key, before I can find and destroy it. Don’t you see? It’s all fun and games really!

And let me guess. You’re actually going to know the true location of the key, and are going to act like you don’t. Then, when you get to the key and destroy it, they’ll lose every ounce of hope left within them when they realize that they were just pawns in your game?

CORRECTAMUNDO! Damn Izuru! You’re a genius!

Of course I am...I’m talented.

Alongside that, we got state of the art tech, stuff salvaged straight from-Hey! Where’re you going!?

To continue my walk...I’m done with this conversation.

Hmph...welp...there he goes...

AH!?

*After going through his strange dream, Hajime suddenly lurches awake.

Hajime? You ok?

*Accompanied by only Chiaki, he gets up out of bed.

Sorry...slept in today...

It happens to all of us. Still, you could put on some pants.

!?

*She whistles, as Hajime quickly gets dressed.

You’re very funny.

And you’re very attractive~

...

Just take the compliment grumpy-gus.

Also, remember, you promised everyone that we would talk about our plans today. Makoto, Kyoko and the others have already left, so have Shuichi and his friends.

Yeah, about that...I don’t plan on going back on my word, but also...I might have just gotten a new idea.

How come? Did you...have another dream?

...

More like a flashback...I’ll explain later...

[thejustmaiden]

So out of nowhere I was tagged and quoted by a SR shipper for a blog of mine posted in August of last year. Talk about throwback but, hey, gotta appreciate that level of snooping. 😉

Back in the day I actually used to encourage discourse amongst Inuyasha fans- both shippers and antis alike- but I've since realized that it's a lost cause. But for you, @feministmetalgreymon , I'll grant this exception. Just 'cause it's been a while so why the hell not. haha

I want to assure you, however, that nothing you say will ever convince me that Sesshomaru and Rin are meant to be together romantically or that the story intended it so. Nor will you find any validation here. You can ship them for all I care, but please for all that is good and holy while I have your attention try- I mean really try- to understand why it is so many of us Inuyasha fans are so against this pairing in the first place (newsflash: it's not about ship wars), and why we believe a romance between the two of them is completely and utterly out of character.

For those of you interested in reading this, the blog of mine in question that the above shipper mentions in their counter-argument is here for reference. It's titled "Jaken = Rin's Dad?" I'm going to try and keep this short, but I'm also making no such promises. After all, I'm not exactly known for my brevity. haha Now let's get crackin'!

Like you, feministmetalgreymon, did for your recent blog here where you took screenshots of mine to address certain parts, I will be doing the same and dissecting yours accordingly.

[Snippet 1]

I worked with kids for many years as a teacher, and many people in my family have too or still do. Two of them happen to be just over 5 feet which is quite short for the average adult woman living here. I've also worked alongside many a women of short stature, and never did I hear any of them complaining of issues with their students having difficulty differentiating them from their own peers just because they were short as well. I'm sorry but that's just ridiculous. Kids are quite smart and pick up on a lot more than you seem to give them credit for. Height is not the only characteristic they look at to determine who's an adult and who's not, and it's foolish to suggest otherwise. So unless you're a babysitter who's still in their teens and/or who has very childlike features or behavior then I'm afraid what you're getting at is total hogwash. This is just another example of how you shippers offer nothing of real substance to your reasoning, it's only ever cherry-picking or strawmanning from you guys. Stop deflecting from the real issues please, because this certainly isn't one and only winds up being a complete waste of time for all parties involved.

[Snippet 2]

Okay, calm down now. I wasn't insinuating that relationships between parents and children can't change over time in terms of how they get along. Of course that's possible, as all families experience their fair share of estrangement and abuse. What I was speaking about was in reference to the overall dynamic between the two. Because a bad mother or father can still be viewed as a parental figure to their child even if say they're not in said child's life anymore. Since Sesshomaru and Rin share a healthy bond- and just a friendly reminder that in my blog I even said that he doesn't have to necessarily be labeled her father but that a romantic relationship later would still be inappropriate- I didn't deem it necessary to address what you brought up. Plus, it kinda, umm, misses the point?? Please, let's stay on topic. And it's not captured in the screenshot, but stop acting like there isn't a small part of them that idolizes their parents at some point during childhood. Just like you mention later on how it's normal for kids to have innocent crushes on adults that they eventually grow out of? Well, guess what, the same concept applies here. Kids eventually learn that their parents are far from perfect and make mistakes too. Rin is so damn young in the OG series though that we never even get to see her reach that maturity level.

[Snippet 3]

LOL! Alright, okay, so the "unbreakable bond" bit you're mentioning was actually me quoting you sessrinners. Did you not catch that? I literally spelled it out. *sigh* The whole point I was making is that shippers like yourself make hypocritical and contradictory statements all.the.goddamn.time. One moment you guys claim that Sesshomaru and Rin were essentially strangers and meant very little to each other, only to say in the same breath a few seconds later that they were destined to be together and their bond is like no other. I agree, their bond is special, but why must that mean they're going to fall in love?

That is the root of the matter here. Too many animes/mangas have romanticized this older adult man & young girl growing up falling in love trope that it's become way too normalized and widely accepted across the world- and yes, in some cultures more than others. Sadly, you lack the awareness to recognize how this all works. You know how we know that? When we see that you shippers are so desensitized to sexualized images of girls in the media that you share posts like this one below which *subtly* imply a future romance although one half of that pairing is still just a child in the pic and then try and pass it off as cute. That's like super fucking problematic and it scares me that you can't see that (or deny you do). 🤢

After all that's said and done, Sesshomaru leaving Rin in the village with Kaede is to me the strongest indicator more than pretty much anything else he's done for Rin that proves he is her adoptive father. It's so funny to me how you somehow see the exact opposite though. 🤔 What I think is happening is that you got yourself on some squeaky clean ass shipper goggles fresh out of your little echo chamber. Because I hate to tell you, but what you're fantasizing is what you want to see and not what's actually there on screen or was written into the story. I'm strictly talking about Inuyasha and the manga of course. [For the TL; DR version skip to the last paragraph.]

Parents looking after their kids is what parents are supposed to do. A good parent will do anything to keep their child safe and ensure they are cared for, so what he did for her by leaving her there was in her best interests clearly. Besides, as a babysitter, you more than most people should understand that parents aren't always able to be there for their kids so sometimes others gotta step in to help. Haven't you heard of the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child?" Which in Rin's case is literally true! 😂 Sometimes kids are even sent off to stay with grandparents and that's who raises them instead. Or maybe they have to temporarily live with an aunt or uncle because their single parent's job requires they work out of town 4-5 days of the week so they're hardly home. But that doesn't mean that the parents care or love their kids any less, and it's foolish to assume that Sesshomaru must have thought very little of Rin simply due to the fact that he made the decision to leave her in the village. Come on, y'all are acting like he abandoned her there!!

It's just given the circumstances Sesshomaru finally came to learn that Rin traveling with him was no longer safe. I also like to think it's because he wished for her to live a more normal life and to learn how to fully trust humans again. Plus, continuing to travel with him as young as she was would have proven dangerous and unwise. Now for you to know all this and still manage to turn his past actions towards her while she was just a child into a romantic gesture is what boggles my mind. Regardless of how you look at it, from my perspective or your own, Sesshomaru is in the wrong. Either he's a father figure who impregnates his daughter at the young age of approximately 14. OR he's this man she used to travel with who maybe isn't a father to her but who nonetheless basically rapes her since kids her age can't consent to sex with an adult. Idk about you but it sounds to me like nobody here wins with either scenario we're given. In other words, you should be just as mad as we are. If only one side didn't choose to forsake their morals they know we both have in common for the sake of a ship. Welp. 🤷‍♀️

I agree, incest is disgusting but that's not the only problem we have with this pairing. A romantic bond forming between Sesshomaru and Rin would also constitute as grooming.

You realize that over the years he visited her in the village that he brought her gifts too and essentially watched her grow up right before his very eyes, right? I mean, I know you do, but I really shouldn't have to explain further why pursuing a romantic/sexual relationship with each other is plain and simple wrong. And before you say it's not because he didn't have any malintent, please understand that considering their history and power dynamic up to then that yes this is still considered grooming even if Rin supposedly "wanted it" or "made the first move." Whether you consider him her father or not, as the adult who took on a role resembling that of a caretaker in her early life- a critical developmental time for a child- Sesshomaru is obligated to turn down any advances by Rin and most definitely should not initiate any himself. As the first close adult figure she's had in her life since her parents died, it's unfathomable to imagine how Sesshomaru could go through with taking advantage of this young girl who was under his care and supervision since they met. To think he could be capable of betraying that trust sickens me to the core.

This. Now THIS is how a parent/guardian or a similar adult caretaker (babysitter, teacher, etc.) talks to a child. And, in turn, this is how some young children talk to adults. You'd be insane and delusional to deny it! We see it in our everyday lives, do we not? From where else do you think our stories draw most of their inspiration? Yes, obviously these fictional universes have aspects of fantasy that don't exist in the real world, but so how then do you suppose we're able to relate to them? The reason for that being is because these stories are written by people for people, so naturally there are going to be real life aspects embedded throughout. Sure, a little escapism doesn't hurt as we don't need to take everything so seriously, but ultimately we all need to recognize that the messages in the stories we tell matter. Most stories possess a combination of both light and dark themes, but when it specifically comes to the latter we gotta be careful with how we tackle this in children's media since kids are far more impressionable.

So if at the center of a story we have two of the main protagonists whose mom is basically their same age and to top it off she knew their dad when she was just a girl and who just so happened to help raise her, wouldn't you say that's beyond fucked up or at the very least so fucking weird? Like why would we think it's even remotely okay for our children to watch this garbage?? Really think about it. Try and be objective for once and think about how it would sound explaining this storyline to an outsider who's never watched IY or HNY. Well, antis have tried this before many times and we always get the same reaction: Ewww!

Like I said earlier, if you wanna ship it then fine, but 1) please stop seeking our approval or trying to change our minds - your ship wish came true didn't it, so why do you need us to validate it? 2) even though it's not canon, respect that we don't support this sequel portraying pedophilia in a positive light. It's harmful af to not only allow but glorify the continuation of sexualized images of young girls everywhere. And I shouldn't have to say this, but just because this trope is popular as you say does not make it right. Lolicon themes in the media have been an issue forever and it needs to stop. Yes, even some people in Japan or "the East" would agree. Shocker!

We're pissed off and rightfully so because Yashahime's TV rating is 14, not to mention it airs at the prime time kids in Japan watch TV after getting home from school. That's Towa and Setsuna's age, true, but if Rin being the mom when she's like only a year older than them (please don't argue w/ me about the math- antis have so far been right every time with it) is straight-up disgusting and not something we should be supporting or endorsing. Rin's a whole ass child!! Please don't start with the "but times were different then so her having kids at 15 is acceptable" argument either, because we've already debunked that and every other single excuse you guys throw at us. Besides, how or why would you expect young viewers to know these historical "facts" anyway, especially if as you suggest fiction doesn't affect reality so what does it matter? Yet here we are, arguing over a fictional show in real life almost a year and a half into the "Sesshomaru fucks?" sequel being announced. My ass, your ass, hell all our asses fiction doesn't affect reality!

Look, I do apologize if the tone of this blog came off as snippy or condescending at times. I do not wish you any ill will, it's just I'm not really sure what you expected to get out of all this besides maybe getting on my nerves perhaps. haha A lot of you shippers have been desperately scrambling to interact with us, lurking in our tags, jumping onto our posts screaming canon and getting so defensive even though you sought us out first. We've been sticking to our tags, so how about you stay in your lane too. By the way since we're on the topic, have you seen Twitter or Reddit?! SR shippers there are the actual worst and many Inuyasha fans (not just antis) have complained of not feeling welcomed to engage in fandom spaces anymore. Shippers swarm them and scare them off simply because fans don't like your ship and refuse to accept it. It's pathetic, really. No one should ever be bullied or harassed just because they don't like something you might. We're all fans of Inuyasha, aren't we? So let's act like it. Yashahime on the other hand, you guys are welcome to that pungent heap of trash. Fans have a right to criticize it too, but if you like it then good for you, so keep on liking it and don't mind us.

I'm almost done, but real quick back to Jaken! Let's not forget about how the official Yashahime website- which came out after my blog, mind you- described Jaken. This translation isn't the best one available but it's the only version a fellow anti friend could track down. They do recall a better one done by a native Japanese speaker who was also an anti, and that member confirmed that Jaken is indeed called Rin's babysitter. So you see, I was right in my interpretation. In the original post I did compare Jaken to a brother, but after talking to others (some comments can be found under said post) I did acknowledge that he's more of a reluctant babysitter who's not related. And if he's not at least a brother to Rin, then he's definitely not her father.

At the end of the day, the creator Rumiko Takahashi has the final word. Which is guess what? Hogosha. 💖 Probably should've just started out with that and saved us all the trouble, huh? Good day/night to you.

Papamaru bids you adieu now. 🤞

[idolish7imagines]

RE:Purpose (Re:vale x Reader) Chapter 2

summary: You're an assistant for idols and producers in the music industry, but getting a job with the famous Re:Vale takes a strange turn..

.::.

The concert was relatively easy to deal with. It was nothing you hadn't done before. Yuki teased that you should come into his dressing room to help him get into his outfit, to which Okarin gave him a slap on the wrist before telling him to get changed already.

You had two water bottles ready for the tired idols after they would return backstage. Surprisingly, Momo was sweating bullets as he gladly accepted the water bottle. It was harder to see how much singing and dancing took a toll on them from sitting in the audience, you guessed. 

"Good work, (y/n)-san." Yuki complimented you, patting his face delicately with a cloth.

You were taken aback how they casually chose to refer to you by your first name, but they were celebrities so what could you say against it? 

"I-im sorry about them, you don't mind them calling you that, do you?" Okarin walked up and quickly tried to cover his idols' potential rudeness.

You shake your head. At the corner of your eye, you see the blue-white haired idol stretch his arms and slowly regain his energy. He downed the water so fast it was almost concerning.

"Welp, that's another one down everyone! Thank you for your hard work!" Momo took your hands into his as he thanked you. Okarin was clearly displeased with how chummy they were getting with you without your consent first.

Yuki flips his hair. "Well, nothing went wrong, so I suppose Gaku-kun picked someone trustworthy." 

"Mhm!" Momo agrees. "He wasn't kidding when he said It was someone cute too!"

You didn't know what your mind could focus on first. The fact that Gaku told them you were "cute" or that Momo reaffirmed it. Nervously, you look away from them and swallow a gulp you'd been holding.

"(L/N)-san may not want you so close to them." Okarin gives an equally nervous smile. You thought It must be such a hassle for him to keep these two under control.

"It's no big deal. They knew what they were signing up for, right?" Yuki rebutted.

You raise an eyebrow subconsciously. What did that have to do with working for them? Did they do this to all their staff?

"By the way (y/n)-chan, did you bring all your stuff?" Momo asked, gaining a puzzled expression from you in response.

"I wasn't aware I needed to bring more than myself here..I'm sorry." You bow, a bit embarrassed something like that would have slipped your mind.

"So you didn't bring your clothes and stuff?" The blue-white haired idol looked saddened.

"..huh." You cocked your head to the side in confusion.

"Did Gaku not tell you that you're going to stay with us for a while?"

There was a slight ping in your chest hearing those words, a beat of awkward silence following after. There was no way he was for real..

"WHAT?!" You screamed, echoing through the walls and frightening nearby workers still packing up.

Yuki and Momo covered their ears, their manager pinching the bridge of his nose in response to all of this.

.::.

Momo's car was big and spacious, which was a bit odd to you considering he was one person without a family to haul around as far as you knew. You sat in the back seat, right behind Yuki on the passenger side.

"So he didn't tell you huh, he must've been forgetful that day. I can't imagine he'd mislead you on purpose." The silver haired man broke the silence.

He was right, you knew Gaku wouldn't do that to you for a laugh or anything. While you were still annoyed, he was a pretty busy guy after all and probably had a lot on his mind.

"Could you please explain the full job position?" You politely ask, still trying to keep a professional composure.

"It's exactly what it sounds like! A personal assistant; that just happens to also include staying with us for a couple months." Momo's voice trails off at the end, realizing how that could be an inconvenience for you.

Months?! You shriek inside your head.

"We're going to Hokkaido for a couple of jobs and Okarin is having a few issues of his own so we'll need some extra help. One or two of our staff quit the other day as well so there's that as well. You don't mind, do you? It's not like we won't pay you well." He bluntly states, making eye contact with you through the rearview mirror.

You hug your arms against your torso, still unsure about making a decision like this, and at a moment's notice at that. A couple of jobs required you to move closer to the location, but nothing like this. Though Yuki did have a point, taking a job like this would have a substantially bigger paycheck than your previous jobs.

This couldn’t be that bad, could it? Maybe it’d be worth it.

“I’ll do it.” 

“Yaayy!” Momo cheered. “Though, I really wasn’t kidding when I said you’d need to pack your things. If you want, I can drive with you back to your place and you can put your stuff in my trunk.” He offers.

“No, I don’t think that will be necessary, but thanks.” You decline. What was he so happy for? You’d just met him an hour ago..

“In any case, please take care of us! And we’ll take care of you too. Welcome to the team, (y/n)-chan!”

[shima-draws]

Part of me really wishes they’d focused a bit more on Varian’s redemption arc;; they kinda wrapped it all up in one episode and it felt sort of rushed? I would have loved to see more of Varian coming to terms with the things he did and realizing how wrong he was and how awful he’d treated everyone in Corona--but he’s still holding onto that pain and the betrayal that turned him into a villain in the first place. That sort of torn feeling between “Yes, I need to take revenge for what they did” and “No, I’ve gone too far, I need to make up for my mistakes”.

Clearly this is something Andrew could take advantage of, because Varian obviously hadn’t made up his mind yet, and dangles the “Obviously you’re conflicted about this so you can still be friends with everyone after we wipe their memories and start fresh” option in front of his face. And Varian, alone and trapped in a jail cell, probably wouldn’t have hesitated to go along with Andrew’s plan, being so young and impressionable and ready to please just about anybody. And when he was presented with the option, with the chance to be friends with the people he once loved so dearly...of course he would go for it, because deep down he’s still desperate for their approval. It’s a win win, he can take revenge and then wipe the slate clean.

By the time Rapunzel comes back to Corona Varian already seems to have fully accepted that he messed up, badly, and he wants to make up for it, but doesn’t see any other way around it other than going to the extremes again. I would have liked to see this inner conflict pushed even further, maybe with Andrew taunting Varian that listen, we’re all you have, we’re all you have to turn to, we were the ones that picked up the pieces and gave you a new purpose and if you betray us here you’ll have NOBODY, and be all alone again. And Varian knows this because he firmly believes Rapunzel and the others won’t ever forgive him, so he’s caught in a battle of morals, “Do I help the only people that actually ever LISTENED to me or save the kingdom at the cost of being abandoned again”. And in the end his good side wins over the bad, and he decides that hey, everyone may still hate me but I won’t make the same mistake twice, I’m going to make the right decision this time. And that in turn moves Rapunzel into forgiving him and knowing that he truly regrets hurting her, and that she can start to trust him again.

Another thing that they really glossed over was Quirin’s rescue;; I know the fans hypothesized for AGES what the note he wrote said, only to have it be an anti-climactic “I’m proud of you, Varian” when it could have been SO much more than that. Maybe information about the Brotherhood or some ancient secret kept about Zhan Tiri, maybe even any of Quirin’s knowledge on the black rocks and the moonstone. It felt really disappointing when it was just oh yeah Quirin’s proud of Varian but we all knew that already! And ofc that’s a driving factor to Varian’s character arc, wanting his dad to be proud, so being told that was definitely important, but there could have been more.

And I guess his rescue was sort of a let down too since it’s been building for an entire season, and then Rapunzel just swoops in and gets him out in two seconds flat and is like welp. That was easy. IDK I just think there could have been more drama around it--I would have loved to see an episode focused solely on Varian and Rapunzel, maybe they have to venture out and get a special artifact or something that works with her hair incantation to break the amber, and during that time they start to rebuild their friendship and actually talk things out fully. (I mean they kind of hit on some of those points in Be Very Afraid but not ALL of it.) They’d probably bring up Cass, too, and Varian tells Rapunzel if there was still a chance for me after all I did, then there’s a chance for her, too. And after lots of danger and perils they manage to get what they need, and by then they’ve completely mended their friendship, and Raps comments on how grateful she is that Varian’s back by her side again and it’s SOFT. And then after that they free Quirin--something that came of teamwork, something that would feel a lot more satisfying than what we were given. That would round out Varian’s redemption as a whole, helping Rapunzel, giving her advice, and taking his own part in saving his father rather than just having Rapunzel do all the work. 

TLDR Varian’s redemption felt really rushed ESPECIALLY considering how much work they put into his story arc in the first season so it wrapped up in a really anti-climactic way (and there’s also the fact that he’s such a big fan favorite so we would not have minded a longer redemption arc for him?) along with Quirin’s rescue and the note being kind of a letdown and this is how I would have made it better

[myundeadgayson]

okay, now i’m actually watching Joel’s 3rd Episode of Last Life and let me give some of my favorite moments (spoilers ahead!):

THE NEW SKIN!!! HE’S LEAKING BLOOD MAGIC. THAT’S SO COOL, DUDE. the potential for how creepy that looks is EVERYTHING TO ME!!

the dynamic of him and Scar is just. Wonderful to me.

it’s a bit poetic how Scar, the first to reach his Red Life in the previous season and spent the rest of the series living with a Green Life, is now living near the 1st Red Life of this season.

guess we’ll see if they make it as far as Grian and Scar did last season with this dynamic.

anyway, the fact that any time they communicate, Scar breaks some blocks between them like it’ll help. it’s an effort! and it does make Joel laugh, thus bringing some good vibes!

it makes me think that perhaps Scar is the only one left to see the good in Joel. considering they were closest to each other before Joel lost his lives, i think this is Scar clinging to the one ally (the one friend) that he had/has despite all the dangers.

even if it puts himself at risk, Scar REALLY wants to keep what small ties he did have to someone else. (he’s a bit lonely.) and i think it makes Joel feel better knowing at least someone out there doesn’t fear him entirely. it can’t be easy being ostracized from everyone else for something you couldn’t control.

their tentative friendship gives me life.

moving on, Joel cheering about Lizzy!!! SHE AVENGED HIM!! WE LOVE IT HERE<3333 (rip Pearl tho)

AJDKHSGKDJH GRIAN’S SCREAM PLSSSSS

MANS SCREECHED SO LOUDDD. I’M AJSHLKJHSGD. THAT WAS AMAZING TIMING.

Grian: [talking to Scott and Pearl] yeahhh, he set the trap up wrong ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Grian, not even 10 minutes earlier: [casually watching Joel set the trap wrong and not saying anything] yeah, that’ll 100% kill them:)

Etho and BDubs askghdSKHKDG. PLEASEEE. That part is SO FUNNY.

JUST ALL OF 17:22 to 17:35 is just THE BEST THING.

awwww!! well at least we spared Big B!

eh, we could have totally tricked Big B into the trap with enough convincing, but it’s all good. i’m happy we spared him!

Joel, casually sees a forest fire: oh this looks fun:) let me join in:)

IT’S THE FACT I KNOW THAT SCOTT CAUSED THE FIRE TO BURN THE TREES OUTSIDE HIS WALL. AND I WAS WONDERING IF HE ACTUALLY PUT THE FIRES OUT AFTER. WELP, GUESS NOT.

we love Scott SMajor. support your local gay arsonists.

NOT JOEL GOING TO SET THE SOUTHLANDS ON FIRE AFTER. SCOTT, WHAT HAVE YOU STARTED.

well... Scott did say those walls looked very flammable. Joel just proved it was true.

technically that means that Scott didn’t burn down the walls like the Southlands probably expected, but he DID indirectly influence it.

i’ll count that as a win for Scott.

“everyone can’t have walls. i need ways in.” -- Joel Beans, 2021 right after committing acts of terrorism

HE LEFT A TRAIL OF FIRE PELASEHGJKWS.

HE’S LIVING HIS BEST LIFE COMMITTING CRIMES AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I’M HAPPY FOR HIM.

he’s a little unhinged, but it’s fineee:)

KSDHLKG HE STILL MANAGED TO SHOOT MARTYN. GOOD SHOT.

“be careful martyn, my second name is legolas.”

okay, that’s the end. that was such a ride tho. i’m thriving and i can’t wait to see what happens next with Red Wizard Man.