#'and a thief and a murderer as well. but i looked my victims in the face' AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Just started Medjed arc of P5R; here are my current thoughts on the characters I know so far:

Joker: Look, I know people say he's a "self-insert" but I really, really see a few very distinct personality traits in him. He's lost in thought a lot. He zones out. He's really goal-driven. He's clever. He's a risk-taker. He's wary of consequences. He takes a little while to trust people, especially adults. He's suspicious and easily annoyed. He's on your side. He wants to help. He's a snarky little shit. His compassion is as much his defiance as his bitter disdain. He's hesitant. He's confident. He's bluffing. His respect is earned. His assistance isn't. He's free. He's chained. He's larger than life. He's a dumbass dork of a teenager. Incredibly fun character to play as, 10/10. I love that you can actually see him becoming more confident as time goes on. His dialogue options also become sillier/snarkier/more teasing as he becomes closer with people. It's just fun. I have a lot more thoughts on him but I'm going to stop here. I'd love to do a bit of an analysis on him once I finish the game - I'd like to go back through his main story dialogue options and his idle and specific scene animations. Plus, they seriously popped off with his character design. There's so much I could say about that alone.

Ryuji: Ryuji, my beloved. I wish you were less horny in uncomfortable ways in some scenes - I think, as well as Atlus not knowing what teenage girls are like, they also have not... spoken to people raised by single mothers, or mothers who got out of an abusive relationship... but anyways, asides from that, I love Ryuji. I think his desire for popularity makes a lot of sense - he's only ever stood out in a bad way. He just wants to be liked, you know? And he doesn't think he's enough the way he is. He's trying his best. I need him to shut up so bad but also I hope he never shuts up, you know. He's genuinely so funny, and he's the most ride or die of anyone. Ryuji gets angry on everyone's behalf when they can't muster up their own anger yet. Everyone say thank you, Ryuji.

Morgana: I do not get the hate for this not-cat; he's so funny to me. He's becoming a little more aligned to the thieves' morality, which is probably for the best since at the beginning he was definitely down with accidental murder and totally open about his pragmatism. He actually encourages this in Joker. It's just funny. I love my emotional support not-cat bestie who sits in my desk at school then tells me to go strike shady deals with random people in back alleys. You can definitely see a change in Morgana though; he's becoming more excited about helping people for the sake of it (like Joker, he too has gained purpose), but he's also becoming more insecure.

Ann: She remains my favourite of the Thieves. If Ryuji is the original drive and Morgana the original method, then she is the original conviction. The strength to stand with victims. The desire to force those who hurt others to understand the feelings of said victims. She has the rawest fucking lines at the end of the Kamoshida arc. She loves Shiho so much, and I really feel like her and Joker are on the same page when it comes to things deeper than their surface level interests. Get you a friend like Ann fr. It's a shame that later scenes have her mostly just getting mad at the guys when they uhhh... act like horny guys towards her. Feels bad man, especially because I love the aspect of her character that wants to be more comfortable with her sexuality and have that be on her terms. <- That's really cool, actually! Why couldn't we do more with that...? As a note though, I seriously love her admiration towards female cartoon villains and that one mean girl model. I think that's so funny and also such a mood. I do not believe for one second that Ann is straight. I hope she becomes the sexy and confidant morally-ambiguous thief of her dreams, and also that she gets a girlfriend. It's what she deserves.

Yusuke: He's so dramatic. Do you expect me not to love him? I really loved his conflict during Madarame's arc - those revelations were absolutely brutal, and Yusuke really handled things well, all things considered. Again, like Ann, there were some raw lines in there. But then, of course, the slump on the other end, when the adrenaline wears off. That Yusuke's painting only showed the dark side of desire tells me that he is still grappling with the effects of all these reveals. He has a lot to process.

Makoto: I just think she's so cute. Her design is adorable. She's such a sweetheart. On the flip side though, while I don't find her as intimidating as the game seems to, I definitely would not want her mad at me. While, as I mentioned before, I found the lead up to her joining the thieves to be a little janky, the actual moment was great. I love that she has a support system now. She really needed that. I hope there are more scenes with her in group settings tbh. While I'm enjoying her one-on-one dynamics with Ryuji and Ann, I do feel like she doesn't really... gel with the group as well as, say, Yusuke did. I think they need to drag her out to more activities lol.

Sojiro: I still don't know yet? He seems like the tough love sort. I do enjoy getting to learn random coffee trivia from him, and it seems like he cares in a kind of gruff way. He also gets a lot of suspicious people coming by. Guess I'll find out more later.

Maruki: Again, I don't know much still. He's endearing and dorky. That salt bae thing still lives rent-free in my head. I feel his frustration with not being able to help more. I get it man. I will say though, the fact that we get to see scenes with the thieves and Maruki, with no Joker present, is... odd.

Kasumi: I... I don't know how to feel. She's too nice. She's too polite. All of her scenes are so weirdly convenient. I like her just fine, but there's something seriously off. I almost feel like she's an outlier on purpose, like she doesn't blend into the world. Unlike Maruki, who is new to Royal but blends into the story quite nicely, Kasumi really stands out, to the point it kind of feels like that was the intention. She is adorable, though, I won't deny that, and I do want her to succeed and all, I just... hm. I don't know how to feel about her.

Akechi: I could fix him (smack him upside the head). <- okay but seriously, he is so obviously suspicious, he so obviously knows about Joker, he's such a smarmy little shit. I would despise him irl, but he's absolutely the funniest character in the game right now. Everything he says has me either cackling or my jaw dropping at the fucking audacity. He's also really interesting to me. Love a character whose every line means three things rolled into one. He feels dangerous and weirdly endearing at the same time. What the hell is his problem (affectionate + derogatory).

Yoshida: YOSHIDA MY ABSOLUTE BELOVED. I love him so far. He's my favourite confidant right now. He just makes me so happy man I love him so much. Yoshida takes the hard road and he's got the conviction, but you need support from people to really turn your life around. Hey, that's kind of what the game is about, yeah?

Takemi: Oh I love her confidant so far. I don't know that she's one of my favourites, character-wise, but I was especially taken with her dedication to that medicine, and Joker's response to her saying that she doesn't suit everyone coming to her for medical help by countering her with an "it suits you". Very sweet. I'm getting close to finishing her confidant; I just need to level up charm.

Mishima: I'm almost done his confidant too! I actually enjoy Mishima's character. I feel like his downward spiral made a lot of sense, and I like that he's both helpful and made me feel a bit uncomfortable. I especially like that he's pulling himself out of that fame mentality by himself, without his heart being changed. We just gave his shadow something to think on.

Kawakami: Idk how I feel about this, but the perks are good. I'm curious about her though.

Sae: She seems dedicated to her job. Forming a confidant with her during the interrogation was something I did not expect and had me going "ohohoho". But man, some of the stuff she says to Makoto is way out of line... I'm glad she's at least aware as soon as it leaves her mouth, and I cannot imagine the constant stress and scrutiny she's under but... still. Girl. :/

Iwai: I'm going to properly start his confidant soon. He's cool. I feel like he's not nearly as scary as he makes himself out to be.

Ohya: Don't know much about her so far, but she's a disaster, and I will always enjoy a good disaster woman.

Lala: SHE'S PERFECT. I wish there was a mechanic where you could get advice from Lala-chan. She's looking out for everybody. She's good. :)

Chihaya: She told me I'm gonna die... :(

[teecupangel]

unhinged idea i had: desmond and the modern persona series. i am leaning on 3 or 5 because 3 matches desmond well with the whole death thing and it's my favorite in the franchise but also phantom thief desmond... i have no idea how we can incorporate this into ac but maybe desmond is a wild card??? possibly???

Here’s the Desmond in Persona 5 idea we had before and here’s the Desmond in Persona 3 idea we also had before.

Since you did specify Modern Persona series and Persona 4 has always been my favorite of the three, we’re going to go for Desmond arriving in Inaba in the strangest of way…

He was found dangled on one of the telephone poles, right arm heavily burned and unconscious.

He was in a coma for a week before waking up and he thought “they’d definitely give me to Interpol and I’d get taken by Abstergo if I tell them my real identity” so he pretended to have amnesia. So for a few weeks, he’s known as John-san.

And during those few weeks, he was allowed access to a phone to check the net and try and see if he can remember anything.

The first thing he noticed was the date.

2011.

Okay.

That was a lie.

The first thing he noticed was that there was no mention of Abstergo anywhere at all. No ads. Nothing.

So he didn’t even think he timetraveled a year before his death.

No.

Without Abstergo…

He was in a different world.

Fuck.

.

.

Unorganized Notes:

He had to be discharged from the hospital once he was deemed healthy enough and Dojima helped him find a home he can rent and work.

Work turned out to become an employee at Junes because, quoting the manager, Desmond’s foreign looks will attract customers. He works in one of the stands and that specific stand (selling grilled meat and juice) got a 50% increase in profit.

The actual real reason why Dojima helped Desmond stay in Inaba is because he’s super sus of him. His face and fingerprint came up zilch and he even asked ‘favor’ from an American government official (who may or may not be part of a certain intelligent agency) find anything about him.

He casually flirts with Adachi whenever he sees the police officer around Junes. Adachi always splutters and make a fool of himself while Dojima sighs and tells Desmond to stop screwing around. The reason why Desmond is trying to get under Adachi’s skin is because there’s something about him that makes Desmond feel… something. Like he should be looking at something but he doesn’t know what he should be looking at in the first place.

By the time Yu comes to Inaba, Desmond has been staying for three months… trying to get a feel of this world by pretending he was ‘relearning the world’. His Japanese is better know and not as archaic as it was before (he still doesn’t know which Bleed knows Japanese but he’ll take it).

Overall, he’s integrated himself in the small town of Inaba quite well.

Then the murder of Yamano Mayumi happened and Desmond gets roped in because she was found on the cables near a telephone pole, very similar to how Desmond was found.

The police is, of course, suspicious of Desmond. He’s connected to this, either as the first victim who survived or as the culprit/accomplice.

Desmond is definitely curious about what’s happening and that’s when he heard kids… well… talking about the murder.

Desmond wasn’t going to pass it off as kids being kids because he knows what teenagers are capable (Ratonhnhaké:ton being a good example and also Altaïr but Altaïr’s childhood was fucked up from the start in his eyes anyway) so he follows them.

… into the TV because fuck it, what’s the worst that could happen? He’d die?

.

In this one, Desmond serves more as their adult supervision who can’t fight because he has no Persona. They also leave him in the entrance and he’s annoyed by this until… the day Chie joins them after awakening her Persona, he hears a voice.

It’s a man clad in what looks like Assassin robes of some kind, dirty and worn out. Yu, Yosuke, Teddie, and Chie returned (without Yukiko because they need a break) to find Desmond and the hooded figure talking about how Desmond is powerless. He had always been powerless. Nothing has changed.

“All those sacrifices. All those suffering… and for what? You are still as powerless as you have always been, Desmond Miles. Even the strength you have now was never yours from the very beginning. Your strength exists because of their death.”

This finally makes Desmond hit the hooded figure with a right hook and his hood falls off, revealing it was Desmond’s shadow.

But this shadow was old with the golden glow of the Apple on his skin. Desmond, of course, tells him that he wasn’t him and this turns into a boss fight with Yu and the team.

Desmond notices while they fight that his shadow’s fighting style slightly shifts at times and he recognizes each of those shifts because the tell were the small tells he knows his Bleeds would make. He manages to help the team defeat his shadow but telling them what his shadow’s move will be and it ends with Desmond accepting the fact that, yes, his strength did come from others but it was his to use as he sees fit. That he has to accept that the choices he made did mean his ancestors’ actions and sacrifices were for nothing.

And that…

he has to keep moving forward from that.

That’s how his shadow turned into his Persona and how he’s now able to join the team.

(I think for this one, Desmond should only have one Persona unlike in the other Persona ideas. He’s Arcana can still be the Fool because he is starting from the ‘beginning’ or he can also be the World/Aeon if you want to shake it up. His Persona can still shift into three ‘forms’ and his ultimate Persona makes him able to shift into 2 more forms)

[forthevillains]

Devil’s advocate

Murderer Albert Wesker X lawyer fem!reader

If you could go back to when you took the case - you would. You’ve barely gotten the degree to be a lawyer and your time was already about to be filled with work. You were great, you excelled in law, but after a few internship experiences you didn’t expect to be assigned your next client so quickly. It was unusual for someone so young be asked for something like that, not even talking about the amount of money your future client was about to pay.

You took the job almost immediately, glad you’ve caught someone’s eye, but only when you got to know what the case was, you realized how terrible your mistake was. You were to defend a man accused of a murder. Not only that, they also forgot to mention that all the lawyers he’s hired so far have given up. That’s probably why you were asked to do it and why they didn’t provide you with much information at first - so that you didn’t have a choice anymore.

No matter how much you tried to calm yourself down, the fact that you were to meet potential murderer almost gave you a heart attack. You were only an advocate to husbands and wives who either wanted a divorce or stood against it. Once there was a case where it was a thief you were to defend, but nothing as serious as this.

You walked your way through the hallway of the prison, ready to meet with your client for the very first time. Your hands were shaky, legs barely listening to you as you wanted nothing more than to run away, but you couldn’t. You were already here, you agreed to the job. You had to do this. What’s the worst scenario? You lose the case and he goes to jail, which would be well deserved if he was the murderer after all, right?

You were led all the way to the back by the guards where a chair has been waiting for you, only glass separating you from the man and you held your breath for a moment not to let out a gasp as you lay your eyes on him. He was nothing like you expected him to be. Your eyes were locked on his blue ones for a moment before they began scanning his face, his beautiful face. He couldn’t be older than 50, though it was obvious he wasn’t the youngest either. His blonde hair was slicked back, or at least attempted to as a few strands fell in his face. He had sharp features and his look gave away no emotion, absolutely none. He just stared at you, analyzing you.

"There you have him. Albert Wesker, what a son of a bitch.” As the guard spoke, you raised an eyebrow. It sounded as if he mocked you for even being there. "You’re free to ask him questions that you need, but I doubt he’ll cooperate.” And with that, both of the guards left you there with Wesker. With the mysterious man who looked as if no scientist in the world could study enough. He felt like someone unreal to you, too beautiful to even commit a crime as such he was accused of.

As you sat down you could still feel his eyes lingering on you, making you feel cornered even though you were the one that could always flee, unlike him.

"So, mr. Wesker, I am Y/N,” you introduced yourself and gave him a smile to ease up the tension. "I know probably everyone has said this to you, but trust me - I’m here to actually help you as much as I can. And I’ll do everything in my power to do so.” No, not everyone has said this to him. In fact, you were the first one and he took a mental note of that, yet remained silent. No matter how much he wanted to respond to you, he fought that urge.

You waited a second to see if he had anything to say, but as he just continues to burn you with his gaze, you gave up and continued. "So uhm.” You grew nervous. "I’ve been informed that the murder has supposedly happened at the victim’s household where your knife has been found right next to the body. Can you tell me more to that?”

Wesker’s eyes lit up at your question, but still - he refused to talk. It’s not like he was scared to do so, or that he wasn’t in the mood to talk, no. He liked to mess with people who came there. It was much more enjoyable to watch them struggle with silence rather than the truth or his believable lies. And seeing such a pretty little lamb like you be caught in his trap - he couldn’t let such an opportunity go to waste.

You waited again, expecting at least the slightest of answers, even if just a single word, but nothing came. Your frustration grew and the pen you’ve been holding in your hand to write down important notes seemed like your best friend in the world as you kept rolling it between your fingers to ease up the tension you felt. And he was watching that. Wesker watched every single movement you made as if he was watching his prey.

"Okay fine,” you said after a while of silence and that made him shot up his eyes back to yours. It felt as if he was piercing right through you again. You knew you’d be seeing his eyes in your dreams, or rather nightmares tonight if he didn’t stop doing it. "That was probably too much for a start,” you sighed. "We should probably get to know each other a bit more so that you could trust me at least enough to talk.” He didn’t need to trust you to speak up, but he enjoyed watching your cheeks flushed in embarrassment as you attempted to make him talk. He found it quite adorable.

"If you don’t want to say anything about yourself in return - it’s alright. But well… If you don’t like lawyers, it’ll perhaps calm you down a bit that I’m technically not the stereotype yet, because I’ve not acquired the ability to be that good of a liar for now, nor do I care about the paycheck more than my client’s comfort,” you chuckled at your own joke and even though you didn’t notice, the edges of his lips twitched upwards at that moment. You couldn’t even notice because he immediately went back to acting emotionless. But you were right - he hated lawyers. "Just two years ago I was still just a student and now I’m trying luck with what I’ve been told I’m good at. I live uhm… alone, with just a cat and a dog that are the closest to family I have. I also love to read, all sorts of books, actually, I might even bring you some if you’re a reader as well. Oh and my favorite color’s red." As you spoke, he watched you with admiration. Wesker was too surprised as who the hell sent him such an angel. You were by far the weirdest and sweetest lawyer that he’s ever met. Offering him your stuff only so that he wouldn’t die of boredom?

When you looked at him again, you expected at least a response to that, even if just a nod of his head. But as much as you got your hopes high, nothing happened once again. "Right… It’s okay, it’s okay.” You muttered, rather to yourself than him as you weren’t sure if he was listening at all. Though he was. He heard you loud and clear, his interest in you growing each second. "Now, can you at least tell me an alibi as to why you weren’t in the house of the victim? It would really help me, having something to work with.” It was clear the hope was slowly becoming nothing but a mist that’d soon turn into nothing.

Again. It was no use. Again and again, as you asked, he kept quiet. And you grew so impatient that you just got up and threw your notebook at the chair behind you with a loud smack. "Alright, I tried in here and obviously, you do not care, so I hope you have a good time in jail because I have nothing to defend you with.” You said, trying to sound rude, yet even then you couldn’t leave out wishing him good stay, not a bit of irony in your voice. You truly meant it. But as you were to leave - you finally heard his voice. And it felt so unreal you thought you were dreaming.

"I’m looking forward to it, dearheart.”

It sounded so good to you and you hated it. "Oh so now you talk?” You turned back to him and got close to the glass, placing your hands upon the desk before you so that you could lean even closer towards it. "Are you doing this for sport or what?”

Wesker only smiled, his eyes sliding lower, to your cleavage area before looking back up into your eyes. You gave him the perfect view as he was sitting before you and you were leaning forward. "Though I gotta admit you’d really look good in red.” Now you were done with him. That was the last straw. You shook your head, you couldn’t believe it. You got your things and left immediately. Little did you know that it was indeed just a sport to him. He was rich enough for the government to overlook his crimes, he was powerful enough to protect himself, he was smart enough to cover up any murder he’d commit. He didn’t need you, but the way he lived was quite tiring so he’s decided to have a little fun for once.

Something similar happened the second time you came to visit him, to gather more information to work with. It was useless, this man was inscrutable. Not only was he paying for your services more than he should, but he also made you feel desperate at how hard he was making it for you. He spoke a little more this time, but it was nothing even slightly connected to the case. What an asshole… All his questions considered only you, he did not let you know a thing about himself. You wanted to quit so badly. Only being in Wesker’s presence was unbearable as he kept giving you looks, basically stripping you off everything you had, including your sanity.

And even as your worries grew, the day of the trial has come. It had to one day, but you felt as if it wasn’t enough time for you. You had no idea what to do at all, sure you’ve read all the files containing as much information as other people gathered, but you still wanted to hear your client’s opinion, you wanted his voice included in yours as you spoke, you wanted to do him justice - whether that be losing or winning the case.

When you found your seat next to your terribly annoying client, you couldn’t help but look away dramatically. That made him chuckle.

"Nervous, dearheart?” Oh how you just wanted to slap him, no matter the tingles that spread in your stomach every time he spoke. His voice was deep, raspy, basically being the only indication of his age. But did you love hearing it. If only the words that kept coming out of his mouth were different…

"Not that I’m the one who should be,” you snapped at him. But deep down you knew he was getting to you. His words were like stabs to your back and you knew they’d lead to your failure.

Still. You tried your best during the trial. Though, it was difficult, having that man seated right behind you as you stood in front of the judge, feeling his piercing gaze on you even with your back turned to him. Wesker couldn’t have been more entertained. Whenever you turned to him to see his reaction to your words, it was all the same. The cold look of his eyes, corners of his lips twitching upwards with each word that left your mouth, knowing full well he’s guilty, knowing that you’re doing your best to cover up what he’s done. It was a funny game to him. Nothing but a game where he couldn’t lose whether you succeeded or not.

Halfway through, you seemed to have lost it all. You ran out of information, unable to argue, yet you still tried. Until finally, you were interrupted by the judge himself and you had to stop. The verdict was obvious. Albert Wesker wouldn’t be going home today.

And even though you should’ve enjoyed the bastard’s imprisonment, you felt bad about yourself. It was selfish, yes, but the loss meant no good for your career.

Your fists clenched at each side as you were sitting beside your beyond irresistible client.

"You did a good job considering you’re inexperienced,” he whispered towards you.

"Enjoy your jail time,” you proceeded to say through gritted teeth which only earned you a satisfied chuckle from him.

"Don’t worry about me, dearheart. We will meet again soon enough and maybe then you’ll reconsider your attitude.” The way he said those words so calmly made you shiver with unease. You had no idea that it was no threat, he just had informed you of his plans. A little sneak peak of what’s in store for you and you have no other way than to buy it.

The murderer truly came for you, just a few days later he stood outside your apartment, freed of all the restraints, waiting to finally get to know you on a deeper level and make you enjoy every single bit of his company that you’d be granted. You couldn’t say no, he’d make sure of it….

[bronx-bomber87]

Good Morning! Super excited for these next set of eps to review.

We’ve reached the iconic and pivotal DOD eps. I’m nervously excited to review these. I want to do them justice. They are momentous for not just Chenford but the entire series. Rosalind Dyer is one of my fav recurring baddies. I loved Annie from Castle as well. Was psyched she would be joining The Rookie. This was a rare one where I got to use all the gifs I wanted to. Yay. Kid in a Chenford candy store haha Thank you to all the wonderful gif makers out there. You are the real MVP's. Let’s get this started :)

2x10 The Dark Side

We start with Lucy and the guys out for a post work drink. Armstrong is there as well. They’re talking about Jackson dating a celebrity. Asking how that is? Lucy says they’re happy if he’s happy. Nick calls her bluff and says ‘Liar.’ LMAO Lucy cracks and says men suck ha They sure can. That the single men in LA suck. That whenever they find out she’s a cop they freak out. (To touch on not dating a cop bit. It is only a mistake when it’s not Tim. Let’s be real.) Especially while she's still a rookie just not a good idea (cough Nolan cough) He was never a good decision though....not even a little bit. I'll die on that hill haha

Armstrong joins the convo and comes in with some solid advice. ‘Those aren’t men they’re boys. Real men are not afraid of a strong woman.’ Your real man just isn’t ready yet my dear. Nor are you. I really love this scene though. I enjoyed Nick a lot as a character. Poor Lucy she goes on her 'Sister Officer Lucy Chen' rant ha Classic. Oh the irony of this convo. In S5 she definitely isn't in a nunnery anymore heh. That is quite awhile away from this point though. Have to note how pretty she looks in this scene. Her outfit is simple but she looks stunning.

Lucy leaves the table to get another round. That’s when Lucy runs into Caleb….really unfortunate that’s his name. That’s my BIL's name haha He seems normal enough with his flirting with Lucy. Both of them being ignored for another drink by the bartender. He's making her laugh and appearing nice and kind. Ugh run Lucy run…Their moment gets interrupted by Lucy noticing a guy stealing tips. She walks away from the convo and apologizes. End ups arresting the thief. The way she takes him down is bad ass I have to say. (Tim would be proud) Says 'Surprise I’m a cop’ haha

Roll call comes around and they find out about Rosalind Dyer. A rare unicorn in their world. A female serial killer. She’s agreed to show them the 3 bodies that were never found. In exchange she gets life with no parole instead of the death penalty. Everyone’s day is now centered around this. Tim and Lucy discuss her past murders. Lucy telling Tim she was in college when they found the first victims.

That it was all anyone could talk about, wondering how a woman could be so barbaric? Tim shares his own story about it. How he worked a scene for the 4th victim. That he was advised not to look at the body. How he wish he hadn’t… The hindsight of watching this scene unfold right before they run into Caleb. It’s bone chilling to think about. Their convo being framed around this before he shows up.

Caleb shows up and Tim is immediately suspicious and does not like this guy. His face has me rolling the entire time. Gives Caleb a hard time about the word 'Perp'. His facial expressions I can not LOL Now part of this reaction is his cop gut. I truly believe that. Not trusting whoever this guy is for Lucy. His default is suspicion. The fierce protector coming out to play in this scene.

I think the rest of his reaction is him just not liking this guy being interested in Lucy. Jealously thy name is Timothy Bradford. Its seeping out of him and he can't stop himself. He's completely forgotten he's dating one of her closest friends in this moment. Written all over his face how territorial he’s being right now. I always love me some protective/jealous Tim. This scene and honestly this entire episode is full of that.

Lucy’s face is screaming ‘chill out’ the entire interaction. She's basically scolding him with her eyes above. They have a mini silent conversation with their eyes before the scene continues. If that isn't the most married look they've had so far. I love it so much. He definitely looks reprimanded in that second gif above. Tim is as transparent as person can be in this scene. Not even trying to hide it a little bit. Caleb has shown up and Tim's guard and protective nature are out in full force. Doesn't like this guy just showing up and sniffing around at all.

Caleb is clearly nervous around Tim (as he should be..) It's too funny he keeps trying regardless to talk to Lucy. Tim deftly snags the paper out of the air. She didn't have a chance of grabbing it. Caleb has to sense how much Tim doesn't want him here. He could not be less welcoming of this man. Tim reads the paper and he asks if Caleb has a last name LOL He says Wright. The irony of that last name...

I doubt our boy even knows why he’s reacting this way to Caleb. Only that he is and very strongly at that. All his feelings when it comes to Lucy are muddled and confusing for him. Yet he acts on them anyway. From the moment this guy showed up the green eyed monster was present. Tim continues to grill him. He asks what he does for a living? Says if it’s a screenwriter he’s going in a cell. He really hates screenwriters haha A theme through out the show for him.

Eric’s facial expressions during this entire scene truly is perfection. Look at the way he looks at Caleb as he leaves. If looks could kill he would be a dead man. Also you can see the mask on Caleb drop when he turns away from them (shudder). The immense distrust written all over Tim's rigid body language. You'd have to be blind not to see it. Both of their faces above are a summary of the entire scene. Lucy is happy to have caught the eye of a 'decent' guy. Tim doesn't trust this guy as far as he can throw him.

Tim doesn’t even think he’s done anything wrong till he turns around and sees her face. Kudos to Melissa for the great reaction. He says 'What?' All innocent like he didn't just drag that guy through the mud. Treat him like a criminal they deal with on the daily. She is so affronted and honestly confused as hell with his reaction. Her face basically saying 'What the hell was that?'

From the moment Caleb shows up to the moment he leaves Tim is NOT pleased with his presence. Lucy is truly confused as to why he is acting this way. She can’t put together why he was trying to kill that entire interaction. We all know Lucy included (deep down) this was jealously thorough and through. But she chalks it up to him being stressed about how crazy everything is right now. Sure that’s it Lucy…She demands the paper back with just her face and outreached hand. Tim is shocked she wants the number of this doofus. He relents and unwillingly hands it back to her. Almost rolling his eyes as he does so.

They’re driving in a caravan to the first burial site. Lucy is looking at Calebs online profile in the car. Tim snaps at her to focus. That this is going to be most dangerous day she’s ever going to spend on the job. Oh the weight of that comment when you know these eps….They both have no idea how true that’s going to be. Might seem like he’s mad when really he’s protecting her by getting her to focus. It’s his way of doing it. I also think it's a little frustration bleeding over from the whole Caleb thing. Not that he's going to put that together right now. Hell doesn't even realize how territorial and jealous he just was.

We rejoin Tim and Lucy once they arrive at the first spot. They're talking about Rosalind during this 'Hike' to find the remaining bodies. Tim asks if she’s less scary in the light of day? Lucy tells him no…but mentions how smart she must be. To have gotten away with this for so long undetected. Lucy smartly mentions there’s a play here they’re not seeing.

Tim tells her it’s just to jerk them around. Oh my love it is far more than that. Lucy is so sharp to observe this hike has to be more than just her deal. She is proven right when they find a fresher body in one of the grave sites with the old one. It’s obvious she has a partner on the outside they just don’t know who…

Lucy is looking at Caleb’s “profile” again. Watching a video of him with a puppy. Jealous/Protective Tim makes his next appearance. Could not be more obvious if he tried. Not a fan of her being enamored by this guy. He makes a snide remark saying I bet that’s not even his puppy. It’s scary how spot on he was with Caleb the entire time. It’s mainly from jealously and being protective of her, but it’s frightening how dead on his cop gut was. He turned out to right about everything with him.

Lucy naturally gives him push back and says she just wants to enjoy a cute puppy. That it’s been an awful day. Can't she just do that? Jealous Tim won't agree with her. So he is a little shit and says 'This your first decomp right? ' Watching her face go from happy to grossed out LOL Oh Tim. He knows how bad this smell is going to be for her and is enjoying it haha The way she follows after him is too funny. Melissa is also amazing at expressing so much as well.

The eerie part of this scene is it’s them being the ones to discover the DOD tattoo… There are so many forewarnings in this episode for her. For them. Literally smacking us in the face with them. That could’ve been her if things had gone wrong... Ugh my heart. They find out the newer victim was suffocated…What an awful way to die. I’m asthmatic and it gives me a pre-asthma attack just thinking about it.

A light hearted part of this scene is once again the lack of personal space. Ah personal space. They don't know her and never will. We're all ok with this notion. Nolan ends up getting Rosalind to lead them to the second site. They find a new body in it with a DOD Tattoo. The freshest one yet. They realize it’s every three months. That 12/09/19 is the the next DOD. John notes it’s 12/08 they have a day to find the next victim.

Tim and Lucy join Armstrong at the jail to search Rosalind cell once again. Trying to find some connection. A way her and this person have been communicating. Nick asks where her books are and they say they sent them back. He asks for every book she's read in the last 6 months.

They’re searching all the books and of course Lucy is the one to crack the code. I love it. Finds something in the binding. Its a coded piece of paper. She figures out the cypher fairly quickly. You know Tim loves how damn smart she is. He’s impressed. She figures out a name from the code. My girl. Bryan Coleman. Funny that doesn’t sound like Caleb Wright….

Harper and Nolan end up saving the next girl. They find out he’s been using the old abandoned zoo as his staging ground. What kills me is them saving her condemns Lucy. They stopped him from scratching that sick itch. Grey tells them all to go home and rest. Lucy spins around and tells Tim she’s just going to go home and crash.

Tim tells her that’s a mistake and gives her the advice that will haunt him in the next episode. Hell for quite awhile if I’m being honest. He will carry this moment with him for a long time. Says after a hardcore assignment she needs to blow off some steam. Find a way to decompress. If she doesn’t she’ll never get any sleep.

Lucy is super cute asking if he's really telling her to go get a drink instead? He tells her yes. Preferably a strong one even with another human being. We all know who that human being is going to be….Side note I adore the fact that he always opens the door for her. Doesn't even realize he's doing that. Just does it out of habit. Her real man standing right in front of her but it is far too early for that hehe

Literally makes me sick to watch her scene with Caleb. My skin crawls knowing where it’s headed. He took advantage of Lucy with her guard down. Her cop eyes we're retired for the night. Just trying to decompress. We go back to the station where Grey tells John and Nick they found a body at the old zoo. Bryan Coleman. Which can only mean one thing as we go back to Lucy. That Caleb is the apprentice….

She goes from giggly and relaxed to sheer terror in a matter of moments. He drugged her and Lucy is slowly realizing the situation she is now in. He also snags her phone before she can use it. Sadly she is over powered easily due the drug he gave her. Then sticks her in the trunk of his car. The ep ends there.

It’s a crazy stressful two-parter. So damn good though. I remember when this first premiered how hard it was to wait for the next episode. I’m pre emotional just thinking about analyzing the next episode. Can’t wait to do it though.

~~~~

Side Notes-Non Chenford

Wopez good scenes not many but really good. Wes clearing not handling his post traumatic stress well. Mixing his prescription with alcohol. Angela coming home asking if he was trying to kill himself. He says I don’t know… Not a great answer bud.

The whole Rosalind SL. It’s so dark but so good. Getting a deeper look into Nick and seeing some chinks in his armor. What he sacrificed to catch her. It’s very good. I enjoyed his character a lot and getting more depth with him as well.

Thank you as always to those that like/comment/reblog these reviews. It’s means the world to me. I love doing these and they take time to assemble. But they’re so worth doing to enjoy this rewatch together. I’m also enjoying the hell out of analyzing these eps and our beloved couple. I’ll see you all in 2x11 :)

[m1d-45]

spoken from the stars III

summary: voicelines characters would have in sagau! ft. zhongli, ayato, heizou, and two bonuses :)

word count: ~720

-> warnings: spoilers for liyue archon quest, minor spoilers for ayato and chongyun lore

-> gn reader (you/yours) and unspecified traveller (they/them)

taglist: @samarill || @thenyxsky || @valeriele3 || @shizunxie || @boba-is-a-soup || @yuus3n || @esthelily || @turningfrogsgay

< kazuha, wanderer || < masterlist > || lyney, lynette, freminet >

zhongli

about us: the traveller

the traveller is a brave and brilliant soul, and i wish them the best of luck on their journey. though, now that i think about it… i’m not certain they’d ever need my blessing.

about us: the creator

friendship lv. 4

even the strongest stone cannot withstand erosion forever. the winds of time and sands of memories past will grate at its surface, scraping away the smallest amount with every breath. there are, of course, methods to restore even the harshest of removals, but… *sigh* no mortal can undo time.

about you: worship

friendship lv. 6

everything that can be seen in liyue could not have been made without your blessing. i have shaped the harbor, created the coin around which teyvat operates, and yet none of it could ever have been done without you. i dedicate myself and my creations to you and your glory, and hope that liyue is to your liking. …i hope that i am as well.

ayato

about us: the traveller

the traveller has been a large and key part of overturning the vision hunt decree, and has assisted the nations of teyvat greatly. ive been meaning to invite them back for a game of chess, but they always seem rather busy… it can’t be helped, i suppose.

about us: the creator

friendship lv. 4

everything around us, from the evergreens to the fallen sakura blooms, was all planted by design. year after year, they sprout, bloom, and fall, always returning back to the posts they’d abandoned months before… perhaps that is true loyalty.

about you: worship

friendship lv. 6

when i first received my vision, i had taken it as a sign that it was time to find my own way. i had assumed i was to walk the path of commissioner alone, that it would be my lone light. i… was wrong. you were there. …for this and everything else, i pledge both my allegiance and the allegiance of the yashiro commission as well. should you need anything, trust that the entirety of my resources are at your disposal. it is the least i could offer.

heizou

about us: the traveller

ah, the traveller… an interesting character, with plenty of stories to tell. the hero of three of teyvat’s— oh, four? …well well, seems like they’ve been getting busy. with all the work they’re doing, i might be out of a job soon, haha.

about us: the creator

friendship lv. 4

here in teyvat, it’s impossible to truly measure the extent of a criminal’s transgressions, and hence impossible to ever be able to tell if a punishment was fit or not. a thief might have brought a family to financial ruin, and a murderer often scars more than just the victim. as a detective, it’s my job to account for strictly quantifiable crimes, but… it doesn’t matter. in the end, even the sneakiest of thieves will meet their maker.

about you: worship

friendship lv. 6

my success is often attributed to my intuition — typically by new officers who assume i can solve any case by simply looking at it — but this conclusion is entirely unfounded. every gift i have isn’t innate, it’s a blessing; one that i’m immensely lucky to have. what i’m saying is that i would never have gotten this far without you, and that i swear to repay this debt however is necessary. doushin shikanoin, at your service.

xingqiu

about the creator: penmanship

sometimes i wonder how the universe came to be. obviously such an event was powered by the strength of the divine, but… was an artifact used to channel this energy? if so, would it be more equivalent to a vision, or, say, a pen? do you think such a device could be adapted to work with vision users? wh— hey, leave my handwriting out of this! it’s a serious question

chongyun

about the creator: energy

do you think that if the creator were to visit a haunted location, that the evil spirits would be driven away? or would they be exorcised? obviously, they tend to run away when faced with my yang energy, but what would demons do when faced with the divine? hm…

[anonymousewrites]

A Study of the Heart and Brain (Book 4) Chapter Eleven

Father Figure! Sherlock Holmes x Teen! Reader

Chapter Eleven: Super Agent

Summary: (Y/N) and Sherlock get a shocking break in the case. Mary doesn't take it well.

            “You heard of that thing in Germany?” said Craig, typing away at the computer. Sherlock hovered behind him, and (Y/N) sat with Toby.

            “You’re going to have to be more specific, Craig,” said Sherlock.

            “Uh, Ostalgie,” said Craig. “People who miss the old days under the communists. People are weird, aren’t they?”

            “Mmm.” Sherlock didn’t have a response.

            “According to this, there’s quite a market for Cold War memorabilia,” said Craig. “Thatcher, Reagan, Stalin. Time’s a great leveller, innit? Thatcher’s like, I don’t know, Napoleon now.”

            “Yes, fascinating and relevant. Where did they come from?” Sherlock had come to Craig to figure out where the busts had originated from.

            “Well, I’ve got into records of the suppliers, Gelder and Co. Seems they’re from Georgia,” said Craig.

            “Where exactly?” said (Y/N).

            “Tbilisi,” said Craig. “Batch of six. One to Welsborough, one to Hassan, one to Dr. Barnicot. Two to Miss Orrie Harker, one to a Mr. Jack Sandeford of Reading.”

            Sherlock’s phone rang, and he and (Y/N) exchanged a look as he answered. “Lestrade, another one?” said Sherlock, putting it on speaker.

            “Yeah,” replied Lestrade.

            “Harker or Sandeford?” said (Y/N).

            “Harker,” said Lestrade, knowing better than to ask how they knew. “And it’s murder this time.”

            “That perks things up a bit,” said Sherlock.

            So now there’s murder. It could be Moriarty’s, but…it still doesn’t feel right. I feel like I would tell if it was Moriarty, thought (Y/N).

            “Come on, (Y/N), time to see the crime scene,” said Sherlock.

            “Before going to Reading?” said (Y/N).

            “Precisely,” said Sherlock.

            “Bye, Toby,” said (Y/N), patting him on the head.

l

            “Defensive wounds on her face and hands, throat cut, sharp blade.” Lestrade got right to the point as (Y/N) and Sherlock walked towards the body. “The same thing inside the house, the bust. Two of them this time.”

            “Interesting,” said Sherlock. “That batch of statues was made in Tbilisi several years ago. Limited edition of six.”

            “And now someone’s going around destroying them,” said Lestrade. “Makes no sense. What’s the point?”

            “It’s about destroying them,” said (Y/N).

            “Isn’t it?” said Lestrade.

            “No,” said (Y/N) bluntly. They looked at Sherlock and Lestrade. “It’s pretty obvious that someone is looking for something that is in one of the busts.”

            “I’ve been slow,” muttered Sherlock.

            “How do you figure that?” said Lestrade, looking at (Y/N).

            They cocked their head. “The first bust was broken in the light of the porch so they could see it. It wasn’t hard to surmise that the thief was looking for something.” They gestured to the body and the broken busts. “Since they’ve now destroyed five busts and left everything else in the homes of the victims alone, my theory is proven true.”

            “And Jack Sandeford of Reading has the last bust, so, if whatever was hidden wasn’t here, it must be there,” said Sherlock. “We must hope there wasn’t anything here if we’re to catch the culprit.”

            “I told you it couldn’t be Moriarty,” said (Y/N). “It was all too obvious.”

            Sherlock sighed. “I know, I know.” But he smiled fondly.

l

            “I could—”

            “No,” said Sherlock.

            “But—”

            “No,” said Sherlock.

            He was keeping (Y/N) with him, even if they had to wait until midnight and the wee hours of the morning. There was a murderer who would be coming to Jack Sandeford’s house for the final Thatcher bust, and Sherlock wouldn’t let (Y/N) go off into danger by themself, even if they wanted to check for signs of people coming.

            (Y/N) sighed but quieted.

            Finally, the clock hit ten. The entire house was dark, and the pool they waited by was the only source of illumination. (Y/N) remembered the last time they’d been at a pool was with Moriarty. It had been just as dark and fraught with danger then.

            And as a door slid open and a shadow passed into the living room, the danger arrived. The thief grabbed the Thatcher bust, and Sherlock turned on the light.

            “It would be much simpler to take out your grievances at the polling station,” said Sherlock.

            Instantly, the thief turned, gun raised. Sherlock moved it to the side (to the side opposite (Y/N)) and knocked it to the ground. The thief swung the bag of tools at Sherlock, but he blocked it. (Y/N) grabbed it and wrenched it from him. It slid across the ground. The thief pivoted and elbowed (Y/N) in the chest. They stumbled back.

            Sherlock and the thief exchanged blows. The thief grabbed for Sherlock’s collar and tried to slam his head on the counter, but (Y/N) slammed their leg into the back of his. The thief stumbled, pivoted, and lunged. Sherlock grabbed the thief and his mask. The thief slipped free and faced the pair.

            “You were on the run,” said Sherlock. “Nowhere to hide your precious cargo.”

            The thief kicked at him, and (Y/N) hit his side with a cutting board. The thief grabbed it when they swung again and threw it at their head. (Y/N) ducked.

            “You find yourself in a workshop, plaster busts of the Iron Lady drying. It’s clever,” said Sherlock. “Very clever. But now you’ve met us. And you’re not so clever, are you?”

            “Who are you?” said the thief.

            “My name is Sherlock Holmes,” said Sherlock.

            “(Y/N) Holmes,” said (Y/N) simply.

            “Goodbye, Holmeses,” sneered the thief.

            He ran at Sherlock and tackled him through the window. The glass shattered, and the pair fell into the pool. Under the water, Sherlock and the thief fought to get to the surface. The thief was also trying to keep Sherlock’s head underwater as he coughed for breath.

            (Y/N) scrambled to the side of the pool as the thief pushed Sherlock’s head into the jacuzzi and kicked him. The thief’s head reeled back at the force, and Sherlock got the chance to scramble out of the pool. Sherlock pulled (Y/N) back to the kitchen while the thief pulled himself out of the pool to run at them. (Y/N) grabbed the bust of Thatcher, swung it, and hit the thief in the head. He went sprawling across the ground.

            “You’re out of time,” said Sherlock, breathing heavily. “Tell me about your boss, Moriarty.”

            “Who?” groaned the thief.

            “I know it’s him. It must be him,” said Sherlock.

            “You think you understand?” sneered the thief. “You understand nothing.”

            “Well, before the police come in and spoil things, why don’t we just enjoy the moment?” said Sherlock. “Let me present Interpol’s number one case. Too tough for them, too boring for me.” He took the bust and smashed it. “The Black Pearl of the Borgias.”

            (Y/N) looked at the flash drive lying on the ground. They frowned. It had “AGRA” written on it, just like Mary’s flash drive. (Y/N) knelt and picked it up. They looked at Sherlock. “It’s just like Mary’s. Identical.”

            “She destroyed it,” said Sherlock, staring.

            “She?” The thief lifted his gun from the ground and looked at them. “You know her.” He cocked the gun. “You do, don’t you? You know the bitch.” He lifted the gun.

            Sherlock pushed (Y/N) behind him so that he would be shot, not them.

            “She betrayed me,” said the thief. “Betrayed us all.”

            “Mary,” said Sherlock. “This is about Mary.”

            “Is that what she calls herself now?” said the thief.

            Sirens wailed outside the house. “Armed police, you’re surrounded!”

            “Give it to me,” snapped the thief. “Give it to me!”

            “I’m going in,” announced the police. “I want to see your hands above your head.”

            “Nobody shoots at me!” snapped the thief. “If anyone shoots, I kill this man and this kid.”

            “Put down your weapons. Do it now!” said the police.

            “I’m leaving this place,” said the thief. “If no one follows me, no one dies.”

            “Lay down your weapons,” repeated the police.

            “You’re policemen. I’m a professional,” said the thief—no, super-agent like Mary. He looked at Sherlock and (Y/N). “Tell her she’s a dead woman. She’s a dead woman walking.”

            “She’s our friend, and she’s under my protection,” said Sherlock. “Who are you?”

            “I’m the man who’s going to kill your friend,” said the agent. “Who’re Sherlock and (Y/N) Holmes.”

            “Not policemen,” said (Y/N).

            Bang!

            The agent shot the light and escaped in the darkness.

            (Y/N) looked at Sherlock. “I told you it wasn’t Moriarty.”

            Sherlock sighed.

l

            Sherlock and (Y/N) waited patiently inside the old church. Outside, rain pelted the ground, and wind whistled. The door creaking open was swallowed by the sound of thunder. Mary stepped into the room with a smile.

            “I am an idiot. I know nothing,” said Sherlock.

            “Well, I’ve been telling you that for ages,” said Mary.

            “For the record, I knew more than he did,” said (Y/N), pleased.

            Sherlock grumbled, but the pride in his eyes wasn’t disappearing any time soon. (Y/N) was growing so clever, and he couldn’t be happier for them.

            “That was quite a text you sent me,” said Mary. “What’s going on?”

            “I was so convinced it was Moriarty, I couldn’t see what was right under my nose,” said Sherlock. “Expected a pearl.”

            (Y/N) lifted the flash drive up to the light. “Got this instead.”

            “Oh my god, that’s a…” Mary stared with wide eyes.

            “AGRA memory stick,” finished (Y/N), nodding. “Like you gave John, but this one is someone else’s.”

            “Who?” said Sherlock.

            “I don’t know,” said Mary. “We-We all had one, but the others were…Well, have you had a look at it?”

            “We glanced at it, but we prefer to hear it from you,” said Sherlock.

            “Why?” said Mary.

            “We know the truth when we hear it,” said (Y/N).

            Mary swallowed and took a deep breath before steeling herself. “There were four of us. Agents.”

            “Not just agents,” said Sherlock.

            “Polite term,” said Mary. “Alex, Gabriel, me, and Ajay.”

            “Rosamund,” said (Y/N). “A.G.R.A.”

            Mary smiled sadly. “You’re quick.” She looked at the flash drive again. “There was absolute trust between us, and the memory sticks guaranteed it. We all had one. Each containing aliases, our background, everything. We could never be betrayed because we had everything we needed to destroy the others.”

            “Who employed you?” asked Sherlock.

            “Anyone who paid well,” said Mary. “Oh, we were at the top of our game for years, and then it all ended. There was a coup in Georgia. The British government in Tbilisi was taken over, lots of hostages, we got the call to go in, get them out, there was a change of plan, a last-minute adjustment.”

            “Who from?” said (Y/N).

            “I don’t know,” said Mary. “Just another voice over the phone. And a codeword. Ammo.”

            “Ammo,” repeated (Y/N).

            “Like ammunition,” said Mary, but she shrugged. She had never confirmed since it was just a codeword. “We went in, but then something went wrong. Something went really wrong. We were betrayed. People knew we were there and began shooting at us. I was separated from the rest and barely escaped. That was six years ago. Feels like forever. I was the only one who made it out.”

            “No,” said Sherlock.

            “What?” said Mary, furrowing her brow.

            “We met someone tonight,” said (Y/N).

            “The same someone who was looking for the sixth Thatcher,” said Sherlock. He plugged in the flash drive, and the computer displayed the agent’s face.

            “Oh my god. That’s Ajay. That’s him,” said Mary. “What, he’s alive?”

            “Yeah, very much so,” said Sherlock.

            “I don’t believe it. This is amazing,” said Mary. “I thought I was the only one, I thought I was the only one who got out. Where is he? I need to see him now.”

            “Before you gave it to John, did you keep your memory stick safe?” said Sherlock to Mary.

            “Yeah, of course. It was our insurance,” said Mary. “Above all, they mustn’t fall into enemy hands.”

            “So Ajay survived as well, and now he’s looking for the memory stick he managed to hide with all of AGRA’s old aliases on it, but why?” murmured Sherlock.

            “I don’t know,” said Mary.

            “Tbilisi was six years ago, where’s he been?” said Sherlock.

            Mary shook her head, unsure.

            “Mary,” said (Y/N). “There’s one thing you have to know. Ajay wants you dead.”

            Mary let out a laugh. “Sorry, no, no, ‘cause we-we were family.”

            “Families fall out,” said Sherlock.

            “He thinks you betrayed him,” said (Y/N). “The memory stick would be a way to track you down.”

            “Well, he’s just trying to find me. He survived,” said Mary, not wanting to believe it. “That’s all that matters!”

            “We heard it from his own mouth,” said Sherlock. “ ‘Tell her she’s a dead woman walking.’ ”

            “But why-why would he think I had anything to do with our betrayal?” said Mary. “That’s insane.”

            “It’s what he believes,” said (Y/N).

            Mary exhaled slowly and sat down. “I suppose I was always afraid this might happen. That something in my past would come back to haunt me one day.”

            “Yes, well, he’s a very tangible ghost,” said Sherlock, rubbing his sore side.

            “God, I just wanted a bit of peace, and I really thought I had it,” said Mary.

            “No, Mary,” said Sherlock. “You do. I made a vow, remember? To look after the three of you.”

            “Sherlock the dragon slayer,” said Mary.

            “We’re here to help you,” said (Y/N).

            “Stay close to me, and I will keep you safe from him, I promise you,” said Sherlock.

            Mary looked at him, searching his gaze. Her own hardened. She stood. “I have something I think you should reach.” She held out a paper.

            (Y/N) peered over Sherlock’s shoulder as he unfolded it.

            I’m sorry, it read.

            A moment later, the fumes kept trapped in the paper reached their senses. The world swayed, and (Y/N) stumbled back. Sherlock fell onto his butt, and Mary gently guided (Y/N) down to the ground.

            “There you go,” she said. “It’s alright. It’s for the best, believe me.” She took the flash drive from the computer. “You just look after him till I get back. I’m sorry.” She headed out the door, leaving Sherlock and (Y/N) drugged on the floor.

            “Dad…” said (Y/N), hating the feeling of heaviness, drowsiness. They couldn’t put thoughts together, and they could barely move. Their mind was slow, but their heart was beating up a storm as panic gripped their chest and lungs due to the drugs coursing through them. “Dad…!”

            “I’m here,” said Sherlock, pushing the words out as he grabbed (Y/N).

            He felt heavy, but he pulled them closer and hugged them tightly. He knew Mary; he knew whatever she used on them would wear off soon. He also knew (Y/N) feared drugs, being drugged, and all the sensations that accompanied drugs. So, like a father, as their father, Sherlock held (Y/N) close.

            “I’m here,” he promised, holding them tight.

            (Y/N) squeezed their eyes shut and buried their head in Sherlock’s chest. They were safe with their dad.

Taglist:

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[swamp-adder]

"The London criminal is certainly a dull fellow," said he in the querulous voice of the sportsman whose game has failed him. "Look out this window, Watson. See how the figures loom up, are dimly seen, and then blend once more into the cloud-bank. The thief or the murderer could roam London on such a day as the tiger does the jungle, unseen until he pounces, and then evident only to his victim."

"There have," said I, "been numerous petty thefts."

Holmes snorted his contempt. "This great and sombre stage is set for something more worthy than that," said he. "It is fortunate for this community that I am not a criminal."

"It is, indeed!" said I heartily.

"Suppose that I were Brooks or Woodhouse, or any of the fifty men who have good reason for taking my life, how long could I survive against my own pursuit? A summons, a bogus appointment, and all would be over. It is well they don't have days of fog in the Latin countries--the countries of assassination. By Jove! here comes something at last to break our dead monotony."

Holmes: You know what would make this day more exciting? Getting murdered!

[thenixkat]

[id: A panel from a black and white comic showing a group of people looking at the news paper and commenting on it while the main characters, Ted Kord and Tracey, in the background talk to each other about what the other people said.

Narration box: Later that day...!

Random citizen: Scientists don't care what danger they expose to the world! The threat of nuclear annihilation isn't enough! Now they made it possible for an invisible killer to run loose amongst us. That Kord's behind it, I know it, I feel it in my bones!

Tracey: Because you're also a scientist, Ted, you're being switched from victim to an evil mastermind! /end id]

[id: A panel from a black and white comic showing a Startled Ted and Tracey and several citizens from behind as a partly invisible thief runs past with loot in hand. The thief's gloves, boots, goggles, belt, and lines connecting these pieces are visible.

Ted: Tracey, that's the stolen suit! I've got to get after him!

Tracey: No, Ted, he's got too big a lead! If you don't catch him, who would believe that you really wanted to stop him?

The Spectre (the thief): The way I planned my getaway, I'll lose anyone who comes after me! /end id]

[id: Three black and white comic panels. In the first, a pair of cops talk as Ted Kord and Tracey arrive on the scene. In the second, one of the cops notices Ted and talks to him. In the third, an angry crowd talks about Ted while he and Tracey are in the foreground.

Cop: We lost him at the junkyard, Lt. Dunn, but we're keeping up the search! Lt. Dunn: Call it off, he's gotten away! Well, look who turns up as a spectator This can't be just a coincidence! Ted: What could it be then, Lt.?

Lt. Dunn: It could be to establish an alibi or to see how the operation went to plan future jobs... why are you here, Kord? Ted: If you're convinced of that, then nothing I say will make any difference to you! Come on, Tracey!

Citizen A: That's him, that's Kord! The papers are afraid to come right out and say so, but my social club believes he's mixed up in that murder and I'll bet in this robbery, also! Citizen B: I believe it, too! I have an instinct about those brainy types. /end id]

[id: Two comics panels. Ted and Tracey leave the scene while the angry crowd points and shakes their fists at them. The second panel has a montage of news reports on tv, angry faces, and people reading newspapers. The text on the newspaper reads: Invisible menace to the world. The role of Ted Kord?

Citizen A: You scientists are always causing trouble for the world! You're all mad! They should put you away before you destroy us! Ted: Save your breath, Tracey, you can't reason with emotion. It doesn't think, it only feels.

Newscaster: The Specter, as that irresponsible creation of science is being called, has finally struck and who can guess how long his reign or terror will last! It should make sane men wonder how far man should be allowed to probe the unknown areas of nature. Do we have to know everything?

Random citizen: Imagine an invisible army of killers! We'd be wiped out in her sleep! Who could stop them!

Newspaper reader: It's a plot! The scientists want to rule the world! /end id]

Charlton Portfolio (1974)

I do love Ted Kord, in his civilian persona getting so much shit and being hated by the public who've decided that scientists are evil.

[thefisherqueen]

All right, reading The Bruce-Partington Plans this evening! Two more stories after this and I've caught up with Letters from Watson :)

In the third week of November, in the year 1895, a dense yellow fog settled down upon London. From the Monday to the Thursday I doubt whether it was ever possible from our windows in Baker Street to see the loom of the opposite houses. It blows my mind how normal this kind of heavy, extremely unhealthy smog was in this time. Makes me wonder what in another 100 years people will have going like "You lived like that?!" (I hope it's parking lots and highways and office buildings)

But when, for the fourth time, after pushing back our chairs from breakfast we saw the greasy, heavy brown swirl still drifting past us and condensing in oily drops upon the window-panes, my comrade's impatient and active nature could endure this drab existence no longer. He paced restlessly about our sitting-room in a fever of suppressed energy, biting his nails, tapping the furniture, and chafing against inaction. Bored Sherlock Holmes, oddly cute

“Look out this window, Watson. See how the figures loom up, are dimly seen, and then blend once more into the cloud-bank. The thief or the murderer could roam London on such a day as the tiger does the jungle, unseen until he pounces, and then evident only to his victim.” Oh my, Doyle was really in his tiger fangirl fase when writing these last few stories

Well, well! What next?” said he. “Brother Mycroft is coming round.” “Why not?” I asked. “Why not? It is as if you met a tram-car coming down a country lane. Mycroft has his rails and he runs on them. We'll get to meet Mycroft again! :) Also, quite a funny image, Mycroft running on rails

You told me that he had some small office under the British government.” Holmes chuckled. “I did not know you quite so well in those days. One has to be discreet when one talks of high matters of state. You are right in thinking that he under the British government. You would also be right in a sense if you said that occasionally he is the British government.” And this was me thinking that the BBC series had sucked Mycroft being this whole goverment mastermind out of their thumb. So that's canon?:O

“Well, his position is unique. He has made it for himself. Nice parallel between the brothers here!

“There has been an inquest,” said I, “and a good many fresh facts have come out. Looked at more closely, I should certainly say that it was a curious case.” “Judging by its effect upon my brother, I should think it must be a most extraordinary one.” He snuggled down in his armchair. “Now, Watson, let us have the facts.” I just love this interaction. Holmes being all excited and trusting Watson to tell the important things to him :)

So the case is about a dead clerk that was found - murdered, in all likelihood - carrying some seriously important papers. Which he himself had stolen. And some of which were again stolen of him. Intriguing.

I'm hoping for some fun investigations in tunnels and along train tracks (I hope our men are careful)

If the papers were guarded with the same 'super secure' protective measures as the secret papers we've seen so far, they couldn't have been hard to steal

The actual official guardian of the papers is the famous government expert, Sir James Walter, whose decorations and sub-titles fill two lines of a book of reference. He has grown gray in the service, is a gentleman, a favoured guest in the most exalted houses, and, above all, a man whose patriotism is beyond suspicion. I already don't trust him. At least it's not a colonel?

“Has the fact been verified?” “Yes; his brother, Colonel Valentine Walter, has testified to his departure from Woolwich, and Admiral Sinclair to his arrival in London; so Sir James is no longer a direct factor in the problem.” But his brother is! Very suspicious

“Well, well!” said Holmes, shrugging his shoulders. “Come, Watson! And you, Lestrade, could you favour us with your company for an hour or two? Off they go!

It was one of my friend's most obvious weaknesses that he was impatient with less alert intelligences than his own. Savage, Watson

Watson, we have done all we can here. We need not trouble you any further, Mr. Lestrade. I think our investigations must now carry us to Woolwich.” No don't leave the creepy tunnels and train tracks yet :( I want more adventure

No theories yet. I can't figure out what Holmes means by points and curves and not wanting to investigate the train's carriages

“That should be helpful, Watson,” he remarked as we took our seats in the Woolwich train. “We certainly owe Brother Mycroft a debt for having introduced us to what promises to be a really very remarkable case.” It's 'we' and 'us'. They are so Together

“The end is dark to me also, but I have hold of one idea which may lead us far. The man met his death elsewhere, and his body was on the roof of a carriage.” That explains a lot: why there was a loud thud, why the clerk hadn't a ticket, and also why there was no blood on or near the tracks

The house of the famous official was a fine villa with green lawns stretching down to the Thames. As we reached it the fog was lifting, and a thin, watery sunshine was breaking through. A butler answered our ring. “Sir James, sir!” said he with solemn face. “Sir James died this morning.” Oh! There's a second murder victim?

“It was this horrible scandal,” said he. “My brother, Sir James, was a man of very sensitive honour, and he could not survive such an affair. It broke his heart." Ah, of course, no murder but the mysterious victorian Death by Sadness disease. If he really is dead. Btw, I don't trust the brother

I have a theory: mr. colonel learns of the top secret papers because likely his scientist brother can't keep his mouth shut, either convices his brother to take the papers home, or he steals his key and takes them himself. Anyway, Cadogan West catches them being all suspicious and impulsively (he was hot-headed) follows them to try to stop them. Which doesn't end well, he knows too much so he's murdered, and they place 7 of the papers upon his body so he can take the blame. Of course the brothers cover for each other

Arthur was the most single-minded, chivalrous, patriotic man upon earth. He would have cut his right hand off before he would sell a State secret confided to his keeping. It is absurd, impossible, preposterous to anyone who knew him.” Always trust the opinion of his fiancee. This young clerk was innocent

My friend's face grew graver still. “Anything else?” “He said that we were slack about such matters—that it would be easy for a traitor to get the plans.” Poor security. Why am I not surprised

“We were to go to the theatre. The fog was so thick that a cab was useless. We walked, and our way took us close to the office. Suddenly he darted away into the fog.” “Without a word?” “He gave an exclamation; that was all. Clearly no planned theft then.

“I'm afraid,” said Holmes, smiling, “that all the queen's horses and all the queen's men cannot avail in this matter.” He had spread out his big map of London and leaned eagerly over it. Holmes is a map nerd! Same, Holmes, same. Now the question: what clue did he find from the map?

All the long November evening I waited, filled with impatience for his return. At last, shortly after nine o'clock, there arrived a messenger with a note: Am dining at Goldini's Restaurant, Gloucester Road, Kensington. Please come at once and join me there. Bring with you a jemmy, a dark lantern, a chisel, and a revolver. Danger date! Love it. No clue what a dark lantern is

Try one of the proprietor's cigars. They are less poisonous than one would expect. That is not reassuring at all, Holmes

When I found that the leading international agent, who had just left London, lived in a row of houses which abutted upon the Underground, I was so pleased that you were a little astonished at my sudden frivolity.” So the colonel was innocent this time? Or did he still steal the papers, and then sell them to this agent?

We must bear in mind that Oberstein has gone to the Continent to dispose of his booty, but not with any idea of flight; for he had no reason to fear a warrant, and the idea of an amateur domiciliary visit would certainly never occur to him. Yet that is precisely what we are about to make.” “Could we not get a warrant and legalize it?” “Hardly on the evidence.” They are going to break in! Exciting!

He sprang up and shook me by the hand. “I knew you would not shrink at the last,” said he, and for a moment I saw something in his eyes which was nearer to tenderness than I had ever seen. The next instant he was his masterful, practical self once more. Awww :) Be gay, do crime, boys!

“A fairly complete record, Watson! If we could only get at the man at the other end!” He sat lost in thought, tapping his fingers on the table. Finally he sprang to his feet. Colonel! I haven't given up on my theory yet

I think we might drive round to the offices of the Daily Telegraph, and so bring a good day's work to a conclusion.” I guess that Holmes wants to lure the other accomplice out by placing a new message

But some of these days you'll go too far, and you'll find yourself and your friend in trouble.” “For England, home and beauty—eh, Watson? Holmes you flirt

“By George!” cried Lestrade. “If he answers that we've got him!” “That was my idea when I put it in. I think if you could both make it convenient to come with us about eight o'clock to Caulfield Gardens we might possibly get a little nearer to a solution.” We're nearing the conclusion :)

One of the most remarkable characteristics of Sherlock Holmes was his power of throwing his brain out of action and switching all his thoughts on to lighter things whenever he had convinced himself that he could no longer work to advantage. I remember that during the whole of that memorable day he lost himself in a monograph which he had undertaken upon the Polyphonic Motets of Lassus. For my own part I had none of this power of detachment, and the day, in consequence, appeared to be interminable. The great national importance of the issue, the suspense in high quarters, the direct nature of the experiment which we were trying—all combined to work upon my nerve. It was a relief to me when at last, after a light dinner, we set out upon our expedition. This is a wonderful bit of insight into their characters. Watson is anxiety-inclined. Holmes is able to switch that off to a perhaphs unsafe level - anxiety helps keeps you alive, after all, not good to not have it at all.

The man glared round him, staggered, and fell senseless upon the floor. With the shock, his broad-brimmed hat flew from his head, his cravat slipped sown from his lips, and there were the long light beard and the soft, handsome delicate features of Colonel Valentine Walter. The colonel again. I fucking knew it. Careful, Watson, if you can find more words for his beauty you might faint yourself

I did not murder him! I'm innocent! I only did nothing to prevent it and then did not call for help and then helped get rid of the body!

Some weeks afterwards I learned incidentally that my friend spent a day at Windsor, whence be returned with a remarkably fine emerald tie-pin. When I asked him if he had bought it, he answered that it was a present from a certain gracious lady in whose interests he had once been fortunate enough to carry out a small commission. Cadogan West's fiancee gave Holmes a present? That is so sweet

Another fun read. I couldn't care too much about the fate of those papers, but it was a good case. The yellow smog and trains and tunnels added a lot of atmosphere. And Holmes and Watson interacted very cute in this story

[science-slapfight]

ROUND 1 POLL 1

7. Suspicious Stew (He/Him, Xe/Xem) @hilaomart

Stew is the reincarnation of a thief and swindler who died from poison. This untimely death leads him to an early interest in various poisons and their effects on the body. Fearing his own untimely death, xe begins to drink his experiments in small doses to give himself an immunity to the substances. His lack of basic lab safety led to an incident in which he lost his right eye, leaving a large chemical burn over the right side of his face. Other than this, for a while, he was relatively normal. After an incident with another mad scientist in which he was the unwilling subject, Stew began to lose himself in his work to cope. Xe branched out into the broader fields of biochemistry and potion magic, experimenting on himself to avoid putting anything else in the position he was once in. Xe got a job in a more normal lab to pay the bills, occasionally stealing equipment and materials from his job for his own home lab. He began to sell potions and poisons on the black market to fund his work.

Xeir hubris began to catch up to xem. One incident in his lab with a dangerous substance led to permanent damage to his body as well as the loss of his right arm. The various mutations he gave himself were slowly making him less and less human as his morals slipped away. He experimented with the art of creation, bringing abominations of flesh to life. Xe began to rob graves and steal corpses to experiment on. He was becoming what he feared the most, though xe didn’t have enough humanity left to care.

Stew is a strange little guy. He’s quite unnerving and dare I say, suspicious. He’s protective of those he cares for to a dangerous degree. Xes awkward, finding trouble in social interaction due to years of self isolation. He’s doomed by the narrative and only half aware of it. Besides his scientific endeavors, xe enjoys practical jokes, skateboarding, and the company of whatever family he has left.

Also he does like cupcakes <3

Relevant Links: https://toyhou.se/9067965.suspicious-stew

14. Edgar Gahds (He/Him) @kursed-curtain

Edgar Gahds is a 19 year old forensics scientist (and absolute sweetheart, but don't tell him I said that)

CW: Blood n death n organs, etc in his description. He is a mad scientist after all!

- He's a huge fan of gothic horror novels like Frankenstein and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and he essentially bases his entire career on them!

- He has a fascination with how humans work. That's why he took up forensics! It means you can look at corpses without getting in trouble!

- He's so excited about blood and organs! He has models he plays with during court cases sometimes. He doesn't think of it as playing though. It's expressing himself!

- Edgar's experiments mostly consist of murder victims because wow there are a lot in this universe. A lot.

- He loves animals and dislikes animal testing :(( he's not against human testing tho lmao go ham

- He loves horror movies and the makeup and special effects that go into them!

(He's my Ace Attorney OC but I didn't wanna deter any potential voters!! ;) he's simply a silly guy!)

(Also Edgar loves a good red velvet cupcake haha)

Relevant Links: https://www.tumblr.com/kursed-curtain/712085998004305920/ledger-de-maine https://www.tumblr.com/kursed-curtain/tagged/%40edgar%20gahds

(Image credits: @hilaomart and @kursed-curtain, respectively)

[pyropsychiccollector]

Thoughts on Ace Attorney?

Ace Attorney and Professor Layton were the main games I played in the mid-2000's, outside of Pokemon. They weren't bad, although I confess Phoenix wore on my patience a bit (his origin story is very lackluster). He got better in Trials and Tribulations, but I definitely was not a fan of the spirit medium elements in the series. Call me old-fashioned if you like, but I generally prefer grounded court dramas. Stuff that doesn't heavily involve channeling spirits, seeing victims' final moments, or even magical bracelets.

... Although the last one could be explained pretty reasonably, I think. So I tend to cut Apollo more slack than Phoenix, who's more like a bull at a rodeo and goes where he pleases. I'm also in this apparent minority of people that didn't fall in love with Maya at first sight... or thirtieth sight... or... Yeah. lol Don't get me wrong. I'm cool with loveable goobers. There's just... a number of things that I don't like that much about Maya. The medium stuff is one thing, the running gag of getting kidnapped or framed for murder is another, she doesn't help Phoenix understand crime scenes or law better (she's literally a teenager in that first trilogy, and still a kid at heart in Spirit of Justice), and this incessant shipping with Phoenix by her cousin Pearl is one of the most uncomfortable things I've had to suffer through... XD It's just my opinion, but Phoenix feels more like an older brother to Maya and Pearl. They're related to his old boss Mia, and it's cool he wants to look out for them... I just don't ship Phoenix x Maya. That's just me~...

That said, do I have Ace Attorney ships? Ehhh... A few. I'm not too passionate on shipping in AA. I like Phoenix x Iris. I like Phoenix x Franziska. Mia x Diego, of course. I don't mind entertaining Miles x Kay when Kay grows up a bit (for some reason I vibe a lot more with Kay than Maya, probably just the fact she's a 'thief' and not a medium~...). Gumshoe x Maggey is alright. I like Apollo x Ema. Apollo x Athena is fine. I wouldn't mind Bonny and Betty joining the Wright Anything Agency, though I don't necessarily ship them with anyone... Maybe Apollo, if I was so inclined. Rayfa is cute, but she's a kid. No pedos in this house, no sir. (人◕ω◕)**

I honestly have no ships in the Great Ace Attorney duology, though. I'm neutral to Ryunosuke x Susato, I don't object to them. They are cute. I just don't ship them cuz my mind's on the lovely plots and characters of GAA~...

If I had to do a tier list for Ace Attorney games... Let me see...

Tier 1 (Masterful) - Great Ace Attorney 1&2, Ace Attorney Investigations 2, Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright

Tier 2 (Great) - Trials and Tribulations, Spirit of Justice

Tier 3 (Passable) - AA1, Investigations 1, Apollo Justice, Dual Destinies

Tier 4 (Abysmal) - AA2 (Justice For All)

Obviously, not a perfect tier list. A couple titles in the 3rd category are close to Tier 2 level, there's just some aspects of each game that take away my enjoyment somewhat. I loved Rise from the Ashes in AA1, and I liked the ending of Case 4... I enjoyed Edgeworth's flashback case in Investigations 1 (Detective Tyrell B A D D~). Apollo Justice had sleek designs and a more tempered protagonist I thought. And Dual Destinies introduced Athena and had mostly okay cases....

It's just. The rest of AA1 was meh to me, outside the last two cases. Investigation 1's Case 5 was dragged out so unnecessarily. Apollo Justice's Case 4 felt short to me and tried covering way too many bases; not to mention he kept getting shunted to the side by Phoenix, getting led along by the nose. And Dual Destinies, well... Overall, I just wasn't wowed by the writing. Phoenix was brought back, and Apollo and Athena took backseats; they had cases, but they weren't anything to write home about. By the time you hit the case at the space center, I'm barely sold on the bonds they have. XD Although I will say this: Attorneys interacting are much better than spirit mediums thrown into the mix. For all the criticisms we can throw at Phoenix, Apollo, or Athena depending on people's biases, it's nice to see the Wright Anything Agency get a staff again... Athena might not be level-headed like Mia, but I feel she'll get there in time. In her own way. Apollo's rebuilding a whole judicial system in a foreign land, so his arc's pretty much over. lol

I'd love for more Miles adventures. See more Agent Lang, Judge Courtney, even Prosecutor Debeste... But it's up in the air if they'll ever do a 3rd Investigations game. I've already been proven wrong about ever getting an official localization of Investigations 2, so I'll shut up since Capcom's been on a roll recently. (人◕ω◕) Took them some thirteen years, but they finally brought the best Investigations game over. Or will, in a month's time. Honestly, though? I'll probably be stubborn and favor the Scarlet Study fan translation. That's been around for the past decade, and they worked hard on it. I can almost guarantee you their fan translation will have fewer typos than the official one... But I'm looking forward to having Investigations 2 on a portable console. So. I'm sucking it up. (人◕ω◕)

I've rambled on enough, but the gist is that I'm more for plot and characters in Ace Attorney franchise than shipping. XD Not too surprising that what ships I do have tend to stray from the mainstream favorites (Phoenix x Maya, Miles x Franziska, the yaoi and yuri which I don't touch... and yes, I'm aware of the absurd amount of that in the fanfic community...). I'm built differently from most people, I guess. (人◕ω◕)

And I'm aware some people will have different opinions on my tier list for the games, too. Fite me. I stand firm. (人◕ω◕)

[snaitf]

Rathbone Holmes, attempt #2

So I asked @blistering-typhoons about Rathbone Holmes awhile back. I tried getting into it in high school, and couldn’t get past how dirty they did Watson, cause Watson is my absolute favorite. BUT, I had seen their unironic delight at the adaptation and wondered if there was something I had missed. Even Granada Holmes, which is undeniably fabulous in terms of adaptation, had some hit and miss episodes. (The Last Vampyre. Why.) Maybe I had just had a bad, or at least particularly egregious, example.

Typhoons gave me three episodes to try out. I will go over them, and my impressions. I try not to give egregious spoilers in my discussions, but be aware they likely exist in some way.

The Pearl of Death

Okay, this is a fun and solid adaptation of The Six Napoleons. The fact that the thief/killer/monomaniac busted up a bunch of china to obfuscate the fact that they were after the plaster busts is actually a nice double blind that provides an additional hurdle before the picture becomes clear. The inclusion of the Creeper is kind of… weird? Is this a Creeping Man reference?? (looks it up) nooo, but apparently the Creeper had… his own spin-off?? What?? EXPLAIN your reasoning, 1940s Universal Studios.

I simply MUST, very briefly, go off about the knife book trap. It’s… look, it’s objectively silly. It’s an Adam West Batman level of silly trap. But, since we don’t actually see what the asshole is doing with the gift in the hallway before giving it to Watson, it’s set up as an homage to the Dying Detective, which means we get like 30 AGONIZING minutes of Watson just-barely-not springing the trap. (Note - I’ve looked back at the episode and it’s barely 5 minutes. Why am I so obsessed with this scene lmao). If I had realized it was a sproingy dagger rather than poison, I think I actually would’ve been less stressed. Because LISTEN, if there is ANYTHING I LOVE, it is a DYIN AU where Watson accidentally springs the box trap. There are surprisingly few of them out there, at least that I have found. Katie Forsythe did an excellent one. (if you know of any more PLEASE SEND THEM TO MEEE).

So much digression, sorry. All of this to say, Literally up until Holmes walked in the room, I wasn’t completely convinced they weren’t going to turn the tables on us with the music box trap. Like, the tension was absolutely obvious, but I felt it!

And now we get a little bit into my impressions of this Watson.

This Watson is… I can’t read him as dangerous. I have a hard time believing “former army doctor” from this chap. He’s affable, a bit absent-minded, and fiercely devoted to and protective of his Holmes, but when push comes to shove, would he brain a blackmailer with a chair? I dunno. (If there is in fact a later episode where he actually brains Milverton with a chair, PLEASE.  PROVE ME WRONG THAT WOULD BE SO FUNNY). But I think what I like to take away from this Watson, which I’ve seen in a LOT of fanfic and which seems like a touchstone of Sherlock Holmes mythos, is this: it’s nearly impossible not to like Watson. Where Holmes can range from purposefully insufferable to intensely unlikeable, Watson is just. A good man. He’s just a good guy that I’d like to sit down and have tea with. Part of that is the “I’m just the humble narrator” everyman of the original stories, but. I dunno. There IS something about this Watson that’s incredibly likeable.

I think the reason the knife book trap hit ME so well is that the idea of THIS Watson falling victim to a trap set for Holmes is especially galling. This guy?! Who misplaced a paper clipping he was in the middle of gluing into his commonplace book? You’re gonna ACCIDENTALLY murder THIS MAN? The stupid knife book got me where the “You MURDERED my best friend!” bluff at the end of the episode absolutely did not. XD

Anyway, Holmes walks into the room and immediately knows the book is a knife. On to Lestrade.

I didn’t think it was possible, but somehow they’ve done Lestrade even dirtier than Watson in this adaptation. Like… yikes. I know the early stories had a lot of contempt for the Yard, but come on!! It’s the SIX NAPOLEONS! Lestrade’s opportunity to say “look, there are no actual hard feelings, we actually LOVE you at the Yard.” You don’t gotta make him… just, the worst. Although, I have to say the sass-off between Lestrade and Watson is very fun. It’s about the only bit of fun Lestrade gets to have.

The House of Fear

I promise this will be shorter than the previous entry. And honestly, I’m kind of bummed about that. I WISH I had more to say. But I have to be honest.

A 1940s-era locked room mystery, in a big isolated house that they can’t leave, where the guests are picked off one-by-one, and two guests have to join forces and wits to stay alive and get to the bottom of it? I’m sorry, but the whole time my brain was going “Ah man, I want to be watching And Then There Were None.”

I am entirely biased in this point, I have to say. When I was a kid, I was sent for several summers in a row on a week-long visit to my grandmother. She had some frankly incredible stories - if she’s to be believed, she potentially met Nikta fucking Kruschev on a vacation abroad. I regret that it was hard for Young Snaitf to really connect with her, except in one topic: mysteries. We had wildly different tastes in a lot of things, but on those week-long visits we both found out that no one in the house would object if an episode of Murder, She Wrote was on the TV, and we both genuinely loved the Rene Clair adaptation of And Then There Were None. If you haven’t watched it, I cannot recommend it highly enough. The whole opening sequence establishes every single visitor to the island - their quirks, foibles, and flaw - without a single line of dialogue. It’s masterful.

Against the double barrel shotgun of nostalgia and a genuinely masterful adaptation, I’m afraid House of Fear holds no contest for me. Watching this episode just made me think of Grandmother Marie, and made me want to watch the movie. Sorry, ya’ll.

Pursuit to Algiers

Typhoons called this the “Big Daddy herself” and I can’t say I disagree. I really, REALLY liked this one.

The initial set-up of random street- and pub- people feeding Holmes clues and cryptic warnings was so incredibly effective. It was off-putting, how very blatant it was to both Holmes and the audience. I believe they were trying to use Watson to juxtapose with the innocent reaction, but honestly the fact that he didn’t pick up on the sinister vibes just came off as weird. Unless his “I don’t like fish and chips, sorry” is his way of brushing them off. “No creepy murder pubs for US today, sorry.” Unfortunately for him, they’ve managed to intrigue Holmes.

I like that Watson’s loyalty really gets to shine here. The plot is explained, and it’s one they genuinely can’t turn away from. And then a perfectly reasonable explanation is given as to why they have to separate, and Watson is just Not Having It. When the fish factor is so high that even this Watson calls bullshit, you KNOW it’s bad.

Typhoons referenced a very specific and emotional scene, and I’m so sorry typhoon. I fucked up. I was paying attention to the notice board, where the name of the boat was inscribed, and I ABSOLUTELY LOST MY SHIT about the fact that we’re on the Friesland! WE’RE ON THE DUTCH STEAMSHIP FRIESLAND. (I don’t know how I didn’t put this together until this very moment, forgive my shit listening skills) and I missed at least half of the emotional impact of this scene. I have to agree, though. There is this… weight of “what am I to do now?” that I really wish we’d gotten a little more time to sit in. Maybe a Watson left to his own devices would still befriend the singer lady and find out about the stolen jewels. Alas, Watson is given about five seconds to absorb this development before he’s pulled in another direction.

Anyway, none of these reviews is very comprehensive, and I didn’t take very many notes, so all I have is this last impression that I wrote down: Here we see a Watson that’s a step behind Holmes, because that is where Holmes prefers him to be. They didn’t have to make him stupid to put him there. And he was genuinely part of the plan the whole way through, in a classic (if assholey) Holmesian way: Holmes does not tell him the whole plan, so that Watson’s reactions will be genuine. I feel that this worked particularly well in Pursuit to Algiers, in a way that managed not to irritate me. Well bloody done.

in summation: I think I see the appeal.

[mmmmalo]

In revisiting Remele, a prolific plagiarist, the standout element to me was the object of her art heist: a paraphrase of the famous Silence of the Lambs poster, depicting Clarice Starling's shocked face with her mouth covered by a moth. I watched the film and looked over some reviews to sift for parallels and found 2 points from Roger Ebert written 10 years apart. From his 2001 retrospective review:

Compromised confidence hits even before the character select screen: MSPAR asserts that drifting episodically from friend to friend is "the only way to live", a phrase that to me undercuts the cool enthusiasm with a trace of resignation to a life of scrambling for survival. Remele then suggests, repeatedly, that her own air of confidence is overstated: there is an instant game over if you call her work derivative. Remele is not worried about the plagiarism charges, but she should probably get back at that reporter just in case. Her successful adaptation to new problems twice compels Remele to muse that she would switch careers, were she not so good at art -- a thought that perhaps betrays doubt about her abilities. After co-murdering a purpleblood, MSPAR wonders aloud if they can "interpret [their] adrenaline shakes as euphoric overload", and Remele replies "me too!".

So Remele and Clarice share a lingering self-doubt, doubtlessly worsened by working in an environment that constantly questions their legitimacy. Of course Remele *is* an actual plagiarizer (the moon's a pale thief), which makes this all a little funny, but in Alternia's bad-faith rhetorical context, undeniable illegitimacy can be apprehended as insult instead of fact. Moving on to Ebert's original 1991 review:

The Death's Head Moth on the SotL poster is, among other things, an emblem of such "unwanted male attention". The skull on its back composed of nude women, borrowing the arrangement of Salvador Dali and Phillipe Halsman's "Voluptate Mors". Within the film this association is drawn by juxtaposition: while the moth skull is being unveiled, a man with an intense stare hits on Clarice; the moth's cocoon is discovered in a dead woman's throat as men photograph her nude body; and of course the cocoon was inserted into her throat by a killer who skins victims to create a woman suit -- that last point, denoting a predatory female impersonator, leads to the film's lasting transphobic reputation, despite the film's glib dismissal of Buffalo Bill as a sort of trans-trender for an additional layer of illegitimacy. Anyway,

On Remele's duplicate, the Death's Head Moth is replaced by a winged purple blood. This catches my interest along two axes:

Remele's art gallery is primarily patronized by purple bloods. Their presence on the art piece could imply that their gazes trouble Remele in a manner akin to the gazes that follow Clarice? The association of the audience (via diegetic entities aligned with the 4th wall) with a phallicized gaze runs through Homestuck back to at least Problem Sleuth... the SotL reference seems a decent enough manner to pepper that motif into a Hiveswap context. Plus the audience's gaze tends to be racialized with Homestuck, so the hip-hop affecting purplebloods capture that quality as well.

Much like in Silence of the Lambs, the moth/butterfly's metamorphosis is leveraged as a transgender allegory in Homestuck. Not relitigating that here, read Slurquest. But with that in mind, and considering how deeply Remele's stereotype Vriska was interwoven with Egbert's gender question, I'm inclined to think the constant questioning of Remele's legitimacy invokes transphobic as well as misogynistic policing

That's about all I can get out of the comparison. Good night all

[spider-xan]

Chapter 2 - Search for Mr. Hyde

“There must be something else,” said the perplexed gentleman. “There is something more, if I could find a name for it. God bless me, the man seems hardly human! Something troglodytic, shall we say? or can it be the old story of Dr. Fell? or is it the mere radiance of a foul soul that thus transpires through, and transfigures, its clay continent? The last, I think; for, O my poor old Harry Jekyll, if ever I read Satan’s signature upon a face, it is on that of your new friend.”

And the lawyer set out homeward with a very heavy heart. “Poor Harry Jekyll,” he thought, “my mind misgives me he is in deep waters! He was wild when he was young; a long while ago to be sure; but in the law of God, there is no statute of limitations. Ay, it must be that; the ghost of some old sin, the cancer of some concealed disgrace: punishment coming, pede claudo, years after memory has forgotten and self-love condoned the fault.” [...] “This Master Hyde, if he were studied,” thought he, “must have secrets of his own; black secrets, by the look of him; secrets compared to which poor Jekyll’s worst would be like sunshine. Things cannot continue as they are. It turns me cold to think of this creature stealing like a thief to Harry’s bedside; poor Harry, what a wakening! And the danger of it; for if this Hyde suspects the existence of the will, he may grow impatient to inherit. Ay, I must put my shoulders to the wheel—if Jekyll will but let me,” he added, “if Jekyll will only let me.”

Chapter 8 - The Last Night

“Ay, ay,” said the lawyer. “My fears incline to the same point. Evil, I fear, founded—evil was sure to come—of that connection. Ay truly, I believe you; I believe poor Harry is killed; and I believe his murderer (for what purpose, God alone can tell) is still lurking in his victim’s room. Well, let our name be vengeance. [...]”

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Hry Frank, can you play an hour of Skyrim and tell me everything you did in that hour. Also, tell me what kind of character you made.

Okay, so I get a character named "Ancano" who's a human thief and your basic generic warrior guy. He's got no talents or anything, the only thing that's set up for him is the generic "wake up in the morning, go to the guard station, go on a little quest to get back an item, talk to a guard, talk to another guard, stab an enemy, go back, talk to the main quest giver." That's basically the first two hours of the game as well as most of the quests, although there are some more unique quests after that.

And then after you do a few more quests and do a little more wandering around, they throw the quest "unusual suspects" at you and it's like "Hey come back here and let's play a little 1920s crime game, solve a crime!" But the crime is "How did someone kill one of the many mages in town by poisoning them?" And the only leads are some guys who say "my best friend was killed by the dark brotherhood and a giant butterfly was seen flying around, and also the victims were young women," and so you talk to the dark brotherhood people who say "We are not responsible but it is possible we know who was the killer of the mage," and you just go "Wait, who was the killer of the mage, tell me who was the killer of the mage, weren't you responsible for the murder of the mage" and they say "Dark brotherhood = secretive" and then you look around and you find the killer, and it's this old lady who's part of a cult of murderer fans of the "Harvest God" or something? "I was told to kill this mage because my friend left me a note that said 'Harvest God kills mage' so I killed her with a poison made of the food mages don't eat," etc.

So okay, maybe she knew the Harvest God kills mages, but does that rule out all mages? Is she going to kill her own wizard husband and kids too? "She's like, a Wiccan, right? I mean, she has magic and seems to worship a god she thinks is just a god, which is totally pagan." Turns out she's, like, a confirmed Wiccan, and the people who were saying this were all okay with it and so you end up going "Well, there's your murderer, she's a Wiccan woman who poisoned a mage because she thought she was a witch, despite being a witch herself" and then you go off and talk to some of the people in the Order of the "Dawnstar" and you find out that they belong to a cult that thinks that stars and moons and all that stuff are gods and so it's like "This is what happens when people who worship stars get angry at people who worship mages, they start murdering mages, and they tell themselves this isn't murder" and then you capture the killer and you get sent off to her cult compound to see what's up.

And there's this lady there who is doing this whole thing about "We are not pagans, we're just worshippers of the sun, we are not responsible for this crime" and then she puts on this hat that makes her look like a giant sun. (You can buy sun-themed hats from various merchants in Oblivion)

So, do you have any questions about the first hour of Skyrim?