#8. Document storage

[adeelseo]

Safety Deposit Box

# Outline : Safety Deposit Box

1. **Introduction**

   - Definition of a safety deposit box

   - Importance of safeguarding valuables

2. **History of Safety Deposit Boxes**

   - Origins of protection deposit packing containers

   - Evolution of security features

3. **Types of Safety Deposit Boxes**

   - Bank vaults

   - Private vault facilities

4. **Benefits of Safety Deposit Boxes**

   - Secure storage

   - Protection from theft and natural failures

5. **Choosing a Safety Deposit Box**

   - Factors to take into account

   - Comparison between bank vaults and private vault facilities

6. **How to Rent a Safety Deposit Box**

   - Process of renting

   - Necessary documentation

7. **Items Suitable for Storage**

   - Valuables to preserve in a protection deposit container

   - Items not advocated for garage

8. **Safety Deposit Box Regulations**

   - Legal aspects and policies

   - Responsibilities of the container owner

9. **Maintaining Privacy and Confidentiality**

   - Confidentiality regulations of vault centers

   - Personal privacy issues

10. **Accessing Your Safety Deposit Box**

    - Authorized get admission to methods

    - Emergency access protocols

11. **Insurance for Safety Deposit Boxes**

    - Understanding coverage coverage

    - Additional security measures

12. **Costs Associated with Safety Deposit Boxes**

    - Rental prices

    - Additional costs and concerns

13. **Alternatives to Safety Deposit Boxes**

    - Home safes

    - Digital garage options

14. **Security Tips for Using Safety Deposit Boxes**

    - Best practices for safety

    - Regular preservation and assessments

15. **Conclusion**

    - Recap of the significance of protection deposit bins

    - Final thoughts on safeguarding valuables

---

# **Safety Deposit Boxes: A Comprehensive Guide**

Safeguarding your valuables has become more critical in a state-of-the-art, unpredictable global world. One of the most dependable methods of protection is safety deposit bins. These stable storage devices provide peace of thoughts by imparting a fortified area to keep essential documents, valuable heirlooms, and valuables.

## **History of Safety Deposit Boxes**

Safety deposit packing containers have rich records dating back to when people sought secure places to save their assets. The idea has advanced over centuries, with banks and private entities enhancing security measures to satisfy the growing demand for secure storage solutions.

Read More: Pinterest

## **Types of Deposit Boxes**

There are commonly two types of protection deposit boxes: the ones housed inside financial institution vaults and people provided by personal vault centers. Bank vaults are usually handy during everyday banking hours, while private vault centers may also offer prolonged admission to hours and extra facilities.

## **Benefits of Safety Deposit Boxes**

The number one gain of protection deposit packing containers is their exceptional protection. These containers are designed to face theft, fireplaces, and herbal disasters, offering a haven for your most treasured possessions.

## **Choosing a Safety Deposit Box**

When choosing a protection deposit box, it's essential to remember elements such as size, accessibility, and price. Conducting thorough studies and comparing alternatives will ensure you discover the right match for your desires.

## **How to Rent a Safety Deposit Box**

Renting a safety deposit container is a truthful procedure that usually requires legitimate identification and a condominium settlement. Once rented, you may be granted exceptional right of entry to the field and its contents.

## **Items Suitable for Storage**

Safety deposit containers are best for storing files, wills, deeds, insurance regulations, rings, uncommon collectibles, and other valuable items. However, certain objects, such as perishable items and dangerous materials, aren't appropriate for the garage in these packing containers.

## **Safety Deposit Box Regulations**

Various policies govern the usage of protection deposit boxes, ensure compliance with legal requirements, and shield the pastimes of both box proprietors and vault facilities.

## **Maintaining Privacy and Confidentiality**

Vault facilities prioritize customer confidentiality, employing strict privacy guidelines to guard the identities and possessions of field proprietors.

## **Accessing Your Safety Deposit Box**

The authorized right of entry to a protection deposit container is usually granted upon presentation of legitimate identity and adherence to installed safety protocols. In case of emergencies, designated approaches make specific prompts to gain admission to the field contents.

## **Insurance for Safety Deposit Boxes**

While safety deposit packing containers offer exceptional safety, obtaining coverage insurance adds further protection against unforeseen situations such as theft, damage, or loss.

## **Costs Associated with Safety Deposit Boxes**

The cost of renting a protection deposit container varies depending on elements, including extra services provided by the vault facility. Budgeting for apartment expenses and any associated prices is essential to ensure you get the right of entry to your container.

## **Alternatives to Safety Boxes**

For those looking for alternative storage solutions, domestic safes and virtual garage alternatives provide feasible options to standard safety deposit containers.

## **Security Tips for Using Deposit Boxes**

To maximize the security of your protection deposit box, adhere to satisfactory practices with ordinary inventory exams, update the right of entry to protocols, and maintain confidentiality concerning box contents.

### **Conclusion**

In conclusion, protection deposit packing containers are fundamental equipment for protecting valuables in an increasingly uncertain world. Whether housed within financial institution vaults or private centers, those steady garage devices offer peace of mind and safety against capacity threats.

---

### **FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)**

1. **Can everyone get entry to my safety deposit container?**

   - No, Access to your protection deposit field is restricted to authorized people precisely by you.

2. **Are safety deposit boxes insured?**

   - While safety boxes are not insured, you could reap insurance for the contents stored inside them.

Three. **What takes place if I lose the vital thing to my safety deposit container?**

   - In the event of a misplaced key, vault centers have protocols to assist you in accessing your box.

Four. **Can I get admission to my protection deposit container after banking hours?**

   - Access to safety deposit packing containers housed within financial institution vaults is usually restricted to banking hours, even as private vault centers may additionally provide extended entry to alternatives.

5. **Are there any objects prohibited from being saved in a protection deposit container?**

   - Positive objects, including perishable items, firearms, and hazardous materials, are typically prohibited from the garage in protection deposit containers.

[reasonsforhope]

HOLY SHIT THEY DID IT

TRUMP HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH SEVEN COUNTS OF FEDERAL CRIMES

"Donald Trump said Thursday [June 8th] that he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.

The Justice Department did not immediately publicly confirm the indictment. But two people familiar with the situation who were not authorized to discuss it publicly said that the indictment included seven criminal counts...

The indictment enmeshes the Justice Department in the most politically explosive prosecution in its long history. Its first case against a former president upends a Republican presidential primary that Trump is currently dominating, and any felony charges would raise the prospect of a yearslong prison sentence...

The indictment arises from a monthslong investigation by special counsel Jack Smith into whether Trump broke the law by holding onto hundreds of documents marked classified at his Palm Beach property, Mar-a-Lago, and whether Trump took steps to obstruct the government’s efforts to recover the records.

Prosecutors have said that Trump took roughly 300 classified documents to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House, including some 100 that were seized by the FBI last August in a search of the home that underscored the gravity of the Justice Department’s investigation...

The investigation had simmered for months before bursting into front-page news in remarkable fashion last August. That’s when FBI agents served a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago and removed 33 boxes containing classified records, including top-secret documents stashed in a storage room and desk drawer and commingled with personal belongings. Some records were so sensitive that investigators needed upgraded security clearances to review them, the Justice Department has said."

-via WTOP News, June 8, 2023

[commodorez]

I still believe the craziest form of computer program storage format from the 1980s is the cassette tape. Logical I get it but to store entire programs on little tape (that I only remember using to play music) is just crazy to me. Idk

Agreed, cassette tape for data storage was really clever. The concept had its heyday was the 1970s in a wide variety of encoding schemes for different computer platforms. It did persist into the 80s, mostly in Europe, while the US switched to floppy disks as soon as they were available for systems. The majority of my Ohio Scientific software is on cassette.

Talking with UK vs. US Commodore 64 users in particular will highlight the disparity in which storage mediums that were commonplace. I've got a few pieces of software on tape for mainly the VIC-20, but I rarely bother to use it, because it's slow and annoying. To be fair, Commodore's implementation of data storage on tape is pretty rock solid relative to the competition. It's considered more reliable than other company's but Chuck Peddle's implementation of the cassette routines are considered quite enigmatic to this day. He didn't document it super well, so CBM kept reusing his old code from the PET all the way through the end of the C128's development 7 years later because they didn't want to break any backward compatibility.

The big thing that really made alot of homebrewers and kit computer owners cozy up to the idea was the introduction of the Kansas City Standard from 1976. The idea of getting away from delicate and slow paper tape, and moving towards an inexpensive, portable, and more durable storage medium was quite enticing. Floppy disk drives and interfaces were expensive at the time, so something more accessible like off the shelf audio tapes made sense.

I've linked two places you can read about it from Byte Magazine's February 1976 issue below (check the attribution links).

You might recognize a familiar name present...

There are a few ways to encode binary data on tape designed to handle analog audio, but the KCS approach is to have 1's be 8 cycles of 2400Hz tone, and 0's be 4 cycles of 1200Hz tone. I say cycles, because while 300 baud is the initial specification, there is also a 1200 baud specification available, so the duration of marks vs spaces (another way of saying 1's and 0's), is variable based on that baud rate. Many S-100 computers implemented it, as do a few contemporary proprietary designs.

The big 3 microcomputers of 1977 that revolutionized the industry (Apple II, Commodore PET 2001, and Tandy TRS-80 Model I) each have their own cassette interface implementation. It kept costs down, and it was easy to implement, all things considered. The Apple II and TRS-80 use off-the-shelf cassette deck connections like many other machines, whereas the original variant of the PET had an integrated cassette. Commodore later used external cassette decks with a proprietary connector, whereas many other companies abandoned tape before too long. Hell, even the original IBM PC has a cassette port, not that anybody bothered to use that. Each one used a different encoding format to store their data, rather than KCS.

Here's a sample of what an OSI-formatted tape sounds like.

And here's a Commodore formatted tape, specifically one with VIC-20 programs on it.

I won't subject you to the whole program, or we'd be here all day. The initial single tone that starts the segment is called the "leader", I've truncated it for the sake of your ears, as well as recorded them kinda quietly. I don't have any other tape formats on hand to demonstrate, but I think you get the idea.

You can do alot better than storing programs on tape, but you can also do alot worse -- it beats having to type in a program every time from scratch.

[ms-demeanor]

Since some people might want a Mac, I'll offer a Mac equivalent of your laptop guide from the perspective of a Mac/Linux person.

Even the cheapest Macs cost more than Windows laptops, but part of that is Apple not making anything for the low end of the tech spectrum. There is no equivalent Mac to an Intel i3 with 4 gigabytes of RAM. This makes it a lot easier to find the laptop you need.

That said, it is possible to buy the wrong Mac for you, and the wrong Mac for you is the 13-inch MacBook Pro with the Touch Bar. Get literally anything else. If it has an M2 chip in it, it's the most recent model and will serve you well for several years. Any new MacBook Air is a good pick.

(You could wait for new Macs with M3, but I wouldn't bother. If you are reading these guides the M3 isn't going to do anything you need done that a M2 couldn't.)

Macs now have integrated storage and memory, so you should be aware that whatever internal storage and RAM you get, you'll be stuck with. But if you would be willing to get a 256 gig SSD in a Windows laptop, the Mac laptop with 256 gigs of storage will be just as good, and if you'd be willing to get 8 gigs of RAM in a Windows laptop the Mac will perform slightly better with the same amount of memory.

Buy a small external hard drive and hook it up so Time Machine can make daily backups of your laptop. Turn on iCloud Drive so your documents are available anywhere you can use a web browser. And get AppleCare because it will almost certainly be a waste of money but wooooooow will you be glad it's there if you need it.

I get that you are trying to help and I am not trying to be mean to you specifically, but people shouldn't buy apple computers. That's why I didn't provide specs for them. Apple is a company that is absolutely terrible to its customers and its customers deserve better than what apple is willing to offer.

Apple charges $800 to upgrade the onboard storage from a 256GB SSD to a 2TB SSD.

A 2TB SSD costs between $75-100.

I maintain that any company that would charge you more than half the cost of a new device to install a $100 part on day one is a company making the wrong computer for you.

The point of being willing to tolerate a 256GB SSD or 8GB RAM in a Windows laptop is that you're deferring some of the cost to save money at the time of purchase so that you can spend a little bit in three years instead of having to replace the entire computer. Because, you see, many people cannot afford to pay $1000 for a computer and need to buy a computer that costs $650 and will add $200 worth of hardware at a later date.

My minimum specs recommendations for a mac would be to configure one with the max possible RAM and SSD, look at the cost, and choose to go buy three i7 windows laptops with the same storage and RAM for less than the sticker price of the macs.

So let's say you want to get a 14" Macbook pro with the lowest-level processor. That's $2000. Now let's bump that from 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD to 32GB and 2TB. That gets you to $3000. (The SSD is $200 less than on the lower model, and they'll let you put in an 8TB SSD for $1800 on this model; that's not available on the 13" because apple's product development team is entirely staffed by assholes who think you deserve a shitty computer if you can't afford to pay the cost of two 1991 Jeep Cherokee Laredos for a single laptop).

For $3000 you can get 3 Lenovo Workstation laptops with i7 processors, 32GB RAM, and a 2TB SSD.

And look, for just $200 more I could go up to 48GB RAM and get a 4TB SSD - it costs $600 to upgrade the 14" mac from a 2TB SSD to a 4TB SSD so you could still get three laptops with more ram and the same amount of storage for the cost of one macbook.

I get that some people need to use Final Cut and Logic Pro, but hoo boy they sure are charging you through the nose to use products that have become industry standard. The words "capture" and "monopoly" come to mind even though they don't quite apply here.

"Hostile" does, though, especially since Mac users end up locked into the ecosystem through software and cloud services and become uncertain how to leave it behind if they ever decide that a computer should cost less than a month's rent on a shitty studio apartment in LA.

There's a very good reason I didn't give mac advice and that's because my mac advice is "DON'T."

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

1970 Chrysler 300 Hurst

One of the great unknowns about the 1970 Chrysler 300 Hurst is exactly how many cars were built. Estimates put the total as low as 485, and as high as 502 cars. Regardless of what the figure actually is, the car itself is a pretty special piece of machinery.

The 300 Hurst is a giant of a car at 19′ in length. All of the Hursts rolled off the production line finished in Spinnaker White. The cars were then shipped to the Hurst factory in Warminster, Pennsylvania, where a substantial transformation was performed. The first change to be made was the removal of the standard Chrysler steel hood skin, which was replaced with a fiberglass unit. This featured a decorative hood scoop and the obligatory set of recessed hood locks. The deck lid was also removed, and once again, a fiberglass replacement, complete with a spoiler integrated with the rear quarter panels, was also installed. The White paintwork was complimented by the addition of Satin Tan highlights and contrasting pinstripes, and the wheels were adorned with the same Satin Tan color in the centers. This Hurst is a clean car, with a small area of rust visible in the lower section of the driver’s side front fender, and surface corrosion present on the car’s underside. The Spinnaker White paint appears to be in good condition, but there has been some deterioration of the Satin Tan paint on both the hood and the deck lid. The exterior trim and chrome all look good, while the tinted glass is close to perfect.

The 300 Hurst was a premium car at a premium price, so naturally, it required a premium interior. In this case, seat upholstery was available in a single type and color. Continuing the exterior theme, the color is Saddle Tan, and the material is leather. The plush front seats are not standard 300 items but have been pilfered from the Imperial parts bin. While the original intention was for a Hurst shifter to be part of the interior features, this is something that never eventuated. The interior of this Hurst is close to perfect, with a single discolored spot on the dash pad being the most obvious fault. The rest of it presents in virtually as-new condition, and as befits a luxury car, it is loaded with luxury touches. These include air conditioning, power windows, six-way power seats, cruise control, a remote trunk release, and I think that there also might be an 8-track player hanging under the dash.

The 300 Hurst was the biggest of the muscle cars, and as such, it needed a big motor to get it moving. In this case, it is the TNT 440 engine, pumping out 375hp. The Hurst also features a 727 TorqueFlite transmission, a 3.23 rear end, power steering, power brakes, heavy-duty rear springs and front torsion bars, and sway bars. The exhaust was a full dual system, ending in quad tips. This Hurst hasn’t seen a lot of recent use, and documentation confirms that between 1986 and 2019, it managed to accumulate a grand total of 20 miles! Since being removed from its climate-controlled storage, it has undergone a meticulous mechanical check and recommissioning, and it is now said to run and drive perfectly. The owner does suggest that while the tires look good, they are pretty olds, and replacing them might be a good idea. He also says that the Hurst may need mufflers fairly soon. The car does come with a fair collection of documentation, including the original Build Sheet and Window Sticker, a pristine Certi-Card, Owner’s Manual, as well as dealer paperwork and other assorted items.

While there has always been some question surrounding the build totals for the 1970 300 Hurst, one thing is certain, and that is that there are less than 300 cars in existence today. Pristine examples can fetch sums in excess of $30,000, and even a rough example in need of restoration can still sell for anywhere around $13,000. This one doesn’t need a major restoration, but it does require some cosmetic work. I’m not sure where bidding is eventually going to go with this one, but I would suspect that it will be somewhere around the low to mid $20,000 mark. Even at that price, it probably wouldn’t be a bad buy.

[ultimate-chickennougat]

| Your Salaryman Husband | (Vol 8)

Vol 1 Vol 2 Vol 3 Vol 4 Vol 5 Vol 6 Vol 7 (Not Required) Vol 9

Salaryman!Kento x Housewife!Reader

You see your husband in his glasses for the first time...

Word Count: 1.3k

CW: SFW, domestic fluff, fem!Reader, reader wears a dress, Gojo is mentioned (a lot).

A/n: I haven't posted a new volume in weeks, my sincerest apologies! This one was a bit rushed, but I'll be back with regular installments.

Due to the nature of being a sorcerer, Nanami didn’t have many photos of his time at Jujutsu High. Most of the few that had been taken were stuffed into dusty boxes in storage rooms, that none of his former classmates and colleagues wanted to touch. 

That pattern continued into adulthood. His hatred of his work as a salaryman (a job he eventually came back to), and as a sorcerer, caused him to not appreciate having documentation of those moments. Other than from the unannounced snap of a camera from Gojo, or on a particularly important occasion, his face was rarely captured before he met you.

His stance on the matter didn’t change, but instead there were plenty of memories he wanted to have preserved. In fact he bought a camera just to bring on outings with you, taking pictures of the two of you together and the beautiful scenery of the parks and forests you visited. 

He quickly returned to his former job after meeting you, but during that short period in which he was a sorcerer, he made sure to take pictures of himself whenever he went to any place that was interesting and to let you know that he was safe while he was there.

Without the intent of actively pursuing high grade curses, Nanami made many other lifestyle changes, including retiring his glasses. He still stumbled upon lower ones from time to time, but the absence of his glasses had no effect on exorcising them. At the beginning, he kept them tucked in his pocket just in case he might need them, but eventually they slipped into a box of old memorabilia and got stuffed into the bottom of his closet. 

Despite your rigorous cleaning routine, it was still by chance that you stumbled upon that box. Nanami always kept his closet neat and organized, and there was never anything wrong with it every morning when you picked out his tie for him. Instead it was Nanami who asked you to take some of them out and place them on the table, as Gojo was going to pick up some pictures to show his students.  

You pulled out the white file boxes, all uniform with the labels “Jujutsu High” on them. Each was brought to the living room and placed on the table, waiting for whenever Gojo was going to come by. 

A whole hour passed before you touched the boxes again. In that time you had made some tea and started on dinner, before curling up on the couch to finish your embroidery. But, Gojo hadn’t given a time and was notorious for being late. He was a busy man, after all, so there was no reason not to try and help him out a little. 

Instead of sifting through old boxes, you figured if you could grab the pictures and place them in a neat stack, it would save him some time (and your husband some stress from having Gojo go through his things). 

As you could expect with your husband, the insides of the boxes weren’t dusty at all. Other than a few marks on the sides, probably from moving things around, everything was perfectly in order. Along with that, all the photos were preserved in sleeves inside a book that you easily removed. 

Flipping through the pages, you couldn’t help but let out a giggle at the sight of Nanami’s old birthday photo with his classmates at Jujutsu High. You recognized Ieiri, who was your doctor as per Nanami’s recommendation, and Gojo of course, though the others were unfamiliar to you. 

For you it was also a trip down memory lane, seeing as some of the photos you had only glimpsed at in the past, and you remembered all the stories Nanami had told you about his time as a student and a sorcerer. You placed the book firmly in the middle of the table, about to close the lid as the clock hit 5:30 P.M, when Nanami got home. 

Just a few minutes later he was walking up the steps and into the house, being greeted by you just like every day. To him, it was the perfect way to come home. It had already been a few months since your marriage, and he couldn’t imagine getting bored of it decades away, let alone any time soon. 

Nanami held you in his arms, that were sore and tired from a long day of typing and flipping through papers at the office without much time to stretch. You could hear his heartbeat soften while he relaxed. 

“Welcome home, darling,” you smiled, trying to help him feel at ease. Of course, your presence was more than enough to do just that. “I’m glad to be home,” he mumbled, lowering his shoulders and letting you go freely. “Has Gojo come by yet?” you shook your head, to which he nodded. “Knowing him he’ll show up in the middle of the night,” Nanami groaned, rubbing his forehead. 

“I put the photobook on the table, is that what he wanted?” you asked. “Yes, thank you,” he joined you, where you were flipping through it. “I remember when you told me about this,” you showed him the picture of a birthday cake, baked just for him by Gojo. “I didn’t realized Gojo was the one who made it,” he could see the honest surprise on your face. “Hmm… I must have left that part out…” he frowned, recalling how embarrassing it was at the time, though it was a fond memory. Nanami pulled one of the unopened boxes towards him, taking the lid off as you continued looking through the photos. 

Nanami paused when he saw the glasses. It had been a while, but they were still familiar to him. So much so that he popped them right on, his eyes quickly adjusting to the new shade. “Kento?” you tilted you head at the sight, while he turned to look at you. “Yes, my love?” he pulled them off his face so you could see him properly. “Are those old? I never knew you wore glasses,” you pointed to them in his hand. “They’re for Jujutsu sorcery, to watch curses,” he brought them to his face.

“Ah, I see,” you hummed when he put them back on. “What do you think?” he asked, smirking as he saw you examine him. Your hands started fidgeting with the ribbon of your dress, as you stared right into his eyes though you couldn’t see them. “You look very handsome, darling,” you stated meekly. That was a true statement, but there was still something you felt was off. 

“I can’t see your eyes,” you continued, “Unless you’re really close, that is.” Nanami stepped a bit forward, lightly biting the inside of his lip. “And would you like to, my cute wife?” he asked, fully intending to have you blushing at his words. He bent forward, the lenses hitting the light at an angle so you could see through the dark glass. He was staring just as intently as you. 

Nanami let his hand cup your jaw to keep eye contact, as an unfortunate knock on the door from Gojo came at the wrong time. “What’s a few more minutes, hmm?” he let out a chuckle, ignoring the sound. “Answer my question,” he directed you. “Yes,” you nodded quietly. 

Nanami pulled off the glasses and tucked them back into the box, shutting the lid. “I agree they are quite cumbersome,” he let you go to the door. “You actually told me you liked my eyes on our first date, I would be surprised if you preferred them,” he smiled at you, letting out a sigh as the banging continued. “I enjoy looking at your eyes as well, just please don’t mention it to Gojo.”

[damnsparce]

Top 5 Dunsparce merchandise that you think should exist

Hi! I struggled with 5 so here is 10

10. Dunsparce shaped salt cellar

9. Dunsparce welcome mat 

8. Dunsparce themed stationary set

7. Dunsparce shaped crossbody purse with ample storage 

6. Dunsparce shaped ottoman

5. Dunsparce face slippers

4. Dunsparce themed fashion line available in plus and petit sizes 

3. Dunsparce shaped butter dish

2. Dunsparce dishwasher safe and high quality pots and pans set

1. A true and honest real dunsparce

Game freak I am willing to provide design documents for all of these items. Call me

[theminecraftbee]

OMG i got a better pc recently and i JUST realized i can play vault hunters now!!! :000 any advice for absolute newbies? (kinda scared of it)

YAY! you’ll enjoy it I have trouble playing normal minecraft now that I know there’s a Minecraft I can be playing that has Goals and Objectives and also Storage Systems.

and then yes I absolutely have newbie advice! don’t take any of this as gospel I’m hardly a top player these are just things I find handy:

make sure you’ve allocated at least 8 GB to the game before playing to save yourself some headache. 6 GB can work if you’re pushing it, but not much less.

vault hunters discord can be a useful place to join to find various advice and also things like community documents on everything in the game as you need.

you don’t need better armor than iron; since all vanilla armor was nerfed, diamond armor has the same protective strength as iron armor, just with more durability. save your diamonds for other crafts, like a vault enchanter, a diamond pickaxe, and the altar itself!

you do not need a librarian setup because the vault enchanter exists, but you will need some kind of emerald income. I normally use a classic sticks to fletcher in the early game, but more efficient trading halls aren’t terrible to have (farmers, for example, are also good). you can pick up a villager from the overworld as an item with shift+right click, just don’t do that with a villager that currently has a workstation, because that can cause pretty bad lag!

animal jars and animal pens exist! use them! an animal jar works by shift+right click while holding the jar on adult animals. place a jar with at least two animals into an animal pen to be able to breed them; hit shift to see how many animals is in the pen and the cooldown. you can use a bucket to get eggs from a chicken pen or a turtle pen. you can shear a sheep pen to get all the wool from the sheep, a bee pen to get honeycomb. to kill animals in a pen and get drops from them, just kill them with your sword. later, using some combination of modular routers and bee pens is helpful for automation.

JEI is your friend, but doesn’t show you a few vault hunters recipes (namely, any tool station or vault forge recipes). you can view those recipes in their respective workbench. however, JEI does have lists of what loot is found in each vault chest. that’s handy for pouch filtering!

a pouch with a pickup upgrade is your friend; multiple pouches is even more your friend. the sooner you can graduate to using a magnet to pick up items into pouches without using your shulker boxes, the faster you’ll get at running vaults, I promise! so as expensive as pouches seem early on, it’s really, really worth it to start using them. the filter is also handy to prevent picking up junk items.

similarly, breaking chests with vault tools will seem slow to you at first; it’s not it’s faster than manually grabbing the items from chests. you will get a quest about making vault tools, and a chest breaker should be one of your first tools when you do!

anything you find inside a chest in the vault you should keep; any vanilla items you find you should keep. however, any modded item that isn’t inside a chest in the vault can’t be an altar item, so if you’re short on storage space, you can throw those out.

early skill points should include at least one in heal and at least one in vein miner. strength is very good early game, especially all the way up to strength four. speed is really good but expensive so save getting speed until you’re ready. you only need two levels in un-specialized stonefall to negate fall damage altogether when you use the skill, which, if you’re like me and can’t mlg, is a lifesaver. I also recommend early points in dash and javelin. don’t be precious with skill points, though, they’re easy to change later! also unless you take the intelligence talent, early game you’ll NORMALLY have better strength than you do ability power for the skills that require AP. however, you can re-spec this easily later.

expertises, however, CANNOT easily be reset—you’ll get a free neuralyzer (check spelling haha) at level 50, but beyond that you need an omega pog, which is… expensive to say the least. so you SHOULD maybe be precious with these! experienced is the only one I’d say is definitively BAD. personally I recommend maxing out fortune and bounty hunter with your first 25 levels, but not everyone likes having the double bounties so that’s a “I prefer it” thing. late game, infuser and mystic are really good, but early game you won’t use those. angel is SUPER FUN and always really convenient to have but angel blocks aren’t cheap, so I never unlock it until I actually have the materials to make an angel block. jeweler is definitely actually good but I kind of hate perfecting jewels so I don’t take it, but most people who like maxing out tools do want that one.

I had a whole post about knowledge unlocks but basically, do the ones you want most as you need them, but drawers, the vault compass, double pouches, or stack upgrades are normally my first choices.

level matters more for gear than rarity, especially early game when you level through new tiers of gear quickly. if you get new gear with better implicit stats in a new, higher-level tier, replace your old gear, even if your new gear is common and your old gear was omega. later game is when having higher rarity gear will actually start to matter.

unless you’re very good at the game don’t try to be iskall, use a chestplate, not an elytra, in the vault. so you know, you don’t die.

keep up with the quest book! it’s handy like that! you can go back and read old quests too!

don’t be afraid to change your difficulty settings to whatever you have the most fun with—I basically always play in vaultMode casual and I like it that way!

watching other vault hunters like the hermits can help a lot!

and most of all: HAVE FUN!!!

[rottenpumpkin13]

Mass text from Director Lazard:

Attention! According to my sources, the Department of SOLDIER is getting a surprise inspection by the President in less than 2 hours. Please wear your uniforms (shirt included!) and be on your best behaviour. If you have to, you can use the storage room 4903, but please no human or animal corpses this time. Use the incinerator in R&D. Please remember to pick up all your belongings after the inspection, let's not traumatise our cleaning staff again.

The Fire Olympics scheduled for Saturday is an unofficial event and we are NOT going to mention it to the President.

Kind regards,

Lazard

Inspection Day

• Lazard sends the email, then casually goes back to work, reviewing some documents, the norm. The SOLDIERs are a handful, sure, but trusts his men. They're good people and that's why he's letting them have the fire olympics. After all, they deserve it. They've been on his best behavior lately and—why does he smell smoke and hear screaming?

• He gets up and rushes out into the main hallway.

• First thing he sees is Sephiroth running from a determined Angeal and four other SOLDIERs. Angeal has a uniform shirt in his hands and the others are all holding tranquilizer guns.

• Angeal is laughing manically while chasing him, screaming "HAHA WE GOT YOU NOW BITCH" and Sephiroth is heard replying with "I REFUSE. NEVER. OVER MY DEAD BODY."

• Genesis is crying. He's playing tug of war with his red coat while two 3rds try to wrestle it away from him.

SOLDIER: Commander, I understand why you're upset, but it's not part of the issued uniform!

Genesis: But I'm the Crimson Commander! The Red Mage of ShinRa! How else am I supposed to show that I'm special!?

• Meanwhile Kunsel stumbles out of Genesis's office looking dazed and petrified.

Kunsel: The amount of illegal shit in this man's office OH MY god. Zack! Hey Zack, help us drag some of this kerosene, gasoline, fireworks, Molotov cocktails, Dynamite, Sephiroth cardboard cutout filled with bullet holes, and what I hope isn't drugs down into the storage room...Zack? Zack, where are you going?

• Zack ignores him. He's holding a box of leashes and cages and looks as white as a sheet.

Zack, mumbling to himself: I knew this was going to happen one day. Okay, Zack, you got this. You got this, don't panic.

• And then Cloud stumbles out of Angeal's office holding a.... suspicious..plant.

Cloud: CODE RED. CODE FUCKING RED. HEWLEY HAD MARIJUANA IN HIS OFFICE.

• Angeal, who was passing by holding a struggling Sephiroth with duct tape over his mouth, stops cold in his tracks.

Angeal: I had WHAT in my office?

Genesis, hopeful: Oh! It grew!? <3

Angeal: YOU WERE GROWING WEED IN MY OFFICE???

• At that moment Zack walks buy with about 8 dogs on leashes and a cage under his arm that contains a feral hamster.

• But no one pays attention because Sephiroth has freed himself, tears away his shirt, and is running away screaming through his duct taped mouth.

• Angeal and the other SOLDIERs run after him, nearly crashing into a dispirited Roche coming in

Roche: Bad news, guys. How are we gonna cover the hole in the lounge wall from the time I drove through it on my bike?

• Zack walks buy with 3 pigs on leashes and an exotic bird on his shoulder.

• Angeal walks back in dragging Sephiroth. Sephiroth has his hands and feet bound. They put him in another shirt and are now left with the arduous task of tying his hair up.

Sephiroth: #$*@&!

Angeal: Woah! You kiss your mother with that mouth?

Sephiroth:

Angeal: Ah shit, man, sorry.

• Zack rides by on a horse.

• Genesis walks in wearing the standard SOLDIER uniform without his added accessories.

Genesis: No, no, noooo! I look so boring! How am I supposed to—ACK!

• Kunsel crashes through the ceiling and falls on top of Genesis. Genesis is now partially unconscious on the floor covered in white dust, and there is now a gaping hole in the ceiling.

• Kunsel: Guys, quick, someone help me burn these illegal documents I stole from the turks and was hiding in the vents!

• A few SOLDIERS run out of the elevator hacking and coughing with watering eyes.

Luxiere: Commander Rhapsodos's illegal items broke the incinerator.

• Zack runs by chasing 7 chickens.

• Cloud runs in.

Cloud: You're not gonna believe this! Remember the stolen materia the Turks were investigating a few months back? I found the stash here. The culprit is a SOLDIER!

Genesis: Well they're not going to confiscate MY loot!

Cloud: IT WAS YOU!?

• Zack passes by with what could potentially be all of the Chocobos in Midgar.

• Angeal finally gets Sephiroth into the complete, official SOLDIER uniform sans accessories. Sephiroth looks severely miffed and wants to run away, but Angeal is holding a tranquilizer gun.

• Zack walks by with an Alligator. It's notable to mention that the alligator has a name tag that reads Lacoste.

• And then Roche walks back in.

Roche: Im gonna pass out. Did you guys read the handbook? Article 38 says all SOLDIER operatives cannot have hair that exceeds 30 centimeters.

• Angeal looks at Sephiroth.

• Sephiroth looks at Angeal.

• Angeal pulls out a razor.

Sephiroth: OH NO YOU DON'T

• Both he and Roche run away screaming.

Genesis: Oh, I almost forgot about the stripper pole we installed in the gym. Better go take that down.

• Zack rushes by riding an ostrich.

Lazard: I'm going to get fired.

[cleolinda]

Happy Indictmas to all who celebrate

Wikipedia Disambiguation: Prosecution of Donald Trump may refer to:

Prosecution of Donald Trump in New York, a criminal case following indictment on March 30, 2023

Federal prosecution of Donald Trump, a criminal case filed on June 8, 2023

CourtListener: Direct link to full PDF of unsealed indictment, United States of America v. Donald J. Trump and Waltine Nauta (r/politics discussion thereof: "I feel like I'm committing a crime just reading the document designations")

VIDEO: CSPAN: Special Counsel Jack Smith Delivers Statement on Indictment of President Trump

r/politics: Megathread: Trump Indicted by Federal Prosecutors on Charges Related to Handling of Classified Documents [dozens of linked sources]

BBC News: Trump charged under Espionage Act in secret files case. Here's what is in the indictment:

The indictment reads: "The classified documents Trump stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and to plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack." Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago club "was not an authorised location" for the "storage, possession, review, display or discussion" of classified documents, the indictment says. Nevertheless, it continues, Mr Trump's boxes of documents were stored in places at the club including "a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom, and a storage room". On two occasions in 2021, the former president showed classified documents to others who did not have security clearance, including a writer and two members of staff. At his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, he showed and described a "plan of attack" that he said had been prepared for him by the Defence Department.

r/law: Trump Indictment thread—this time it's Federal

CBS News: Aileen Cannon, Trump-appointed judge, assigned initially to oversee documents case

Business Insider: Trump was 'personally involved' in packing boxes and moving them to Mar-a-Lago, prosecutors say

"As president, I could have declassified, but now I can't."

-- Newsweek: Donald Trump Tape Reveals He Uttered 10 Words That Might Have Doomed Him

[securitywaiter]

Aftonverse (Good Route)

Reposting from my personal blog to this one >~<

CREDIT TO @swingitshakeitmoveitmakeit FOR THE IDEA

Concept: Since MatPat says his name is Afton in the FNAF Musical, what if that applied to Ness? What if he were Vanessa's brother?

After the Bite of '83, Mrs. Afton divorces William. She tells him, "You get one. Vanessa or Nestor?" William chooses to keep Vanessa, as she's the younger of the two, and he doesn't want her to get hurt like [Crying Child]. So, Ness goes with his Mom, and for the next 17 years, he knows nothing about Freddy's, or his father and sister.

When he moves back into town, he notices that Freddy's is abandoned.

This prompts him to start digging, to scour public records and interview the locals about what happened to Freddy's, and the restaurant's owners. Well, one of them committed, and the other... no one's sure. All we know is that he moved out of town, and that was the last time we saw him after those kids went missing at Freddy's.

Ness hears this and IMMEDIATELY latches onto it, using it as his lead to delve even deeper into the restaurant's history. He starts an online blog, documenting all of his knowledge about Freddy's, secretly hoping someone out there cares. He has yet to get into contact with his sister.

One day, a man walks into the diner that Ness works at, followed by a young girl, no older than 8 at the most. They find a booth, and Ness notices the Freddy's keychain hanging out from the man's pocket. His vest has the word "SECURITY" written on it.

There's a new employee at Freddy's.

Ness does his usual waiter routine, before asking the man about his job.

"How... how do you know I work there?" The man asks, genuinely confused.

Ness shrugs. "Freddy and I have some history behind us. If you don't mind me asking; what's your name?"

"Mike," the security guard answers. "Mike Em- um, Schmidt." He warily eyes the girl across the table from him. They know something that they don't want Ness in on.

Ness pauses. "Nice to meet you. Ness Afton," he says, and shakes Mike's hand. "I'll be back with your drinks."

The next day, Ness snoops around the old Freddy's place, doing his best not to trigger any alarms or set off any security measures still active. One day, he finds himself in a storage room, and tucked away on a shelf, hidden under a tarp, is a strange black-and-white animatronic. Ness pulls it out to inspect it.

It's the Security Puppet. Marionette.

Ness quickly shoves it under his coat and hurries on out. He's just hit the jackpot---there's nothing else he needs from Freddy's.

Over the course of the next week, he observes the puppet, how its eyes light up silver every night. Ness presumes the battery still has some residual charge, in the same way that talking kid's toys sometimes go off randomly in the night.

The next week, it stops. It's gone completely inactive.

Ness decides to go back to Freddy's, now that Marionette isn't active. As he drives by it, though, he sees that the building is in shambles. He wonders what happened over the past week. His subconscious connects the puppet's activity to the restaurant's current state.

Ness decides to go in.

The building is completely ruined, and most definitely unsafe. But something catches his eye, one of the drawings on the picture wall.

An evil yellow rabbit, bloody knife in one hand, surrounded by five dead children.

Like the five missing children... a yellow rabbit, like his father's suit. Ness drops his flashlight in shock.

His father killed the missing children.

"You figured it out."

Ness whips around. Behind him stands a little boy, around the age of 5. How did he get in here?

"Who are you?" Ness asks, carefully picking up his flashlight.

"That doesn't matter," the boy says. "Can you bring me back? I promised Mike I'd keep them safe."

Ness thinks for a moment. He hasn't taken anyone.

Oh.

Marionette.

Ness nods. "Yes, I-- yes," he answers, and the boy smiles.

"Thank you," he says. He then runs off, hiding behind the stage's curtain.

Ness hurries out of the deteriorating restaurant, all the way back home, and collects the Puppet, quickly returning him to his rightful place.

On stage, with all his friends.

Ness can see a little blond boy smile at him from inside the restaurant as he drives away.

Maybe he should track down that Mike guy.

[adeelseo]

Incfile login

[novella-november]

Oooo i'm so tempted to participate now i've noticed your introduction post.... i've been doing nano w/ varying levels of success for like 7/8 years now, and (mostly fun, but stressful) life circumstances showed me last year that i should.... probably Not be doing nano anymore 😵‍💫

. . . But 30k words in a month is like. A reasonable, acheivable goal for me, judging by nanos past. And it's sad to have to stop a tradition, whatever the reason!!

I know nothing would change if i simply continued doing the same thing i always do for nano (write on my own, don't post it, stay up late to try and make up the wordcount goal i inevitably miss....) but i could do that any month. Having an 'organized' event makes it feel special haha

So, considering 👀 👀

oooooh yes! Please feel free to join :D You don't even need to stick to the 30k word goal if it feels like too much; but if you wanna go for it, 4TheWords is my brand-new go-to when I want to write!!

It has a cloud storage for your writing account so you can use it cross-platform similarly to Google Docs, and after you finish the tutorial, you can pick from a list of Monsters that each have their own timer and word goal, and every time you reach the word-goal within their time frame, you beat the monster and earn loot!

It also keeps track of your total words in the document + total words written each day automatically, as well as your active writing time, give or take 30 seconds.

Its a lot of fun, easy to use, and being able pick different word goals for x amount of minutes makes it easy to breeze through a few hundred words in a short amount of time; on the first day I used it I actually wrote 1k words in around 28 minutes battling monsters as my motivation to keep typing lol.

4thewords is great even just at the free tier, and I highly recommend it !

[natsumiheart]

Ever since I met you.

…Hello world! Lmao

Hi, I'm Natsumi, and I'm wondering who is even reading this but if you are, welcome to a very long post about how I got into Tears of Themis, how it helped me through such a hard time, and how I ended up falling in love with a certain detective.

I made this post for an event on hoyolab but I’m posting it here too in my trashcan! I already wanted to have a post documenting this online just for myself, even if in the future I cringe while reading it, I can look back and remember the emotions I felt through the year. I also wanted to share it with the world so that maybe people will feel like me, or come to appreciate this character that I love so much as much as I do. (you’re free to reblog btw!)

Warning: This post is mostly about Luke!

It contains spoilers about some Luke cards and some spoilers for his Blossom Chapter. There are small scenes from episodes 2 and 5 of main story as well. Oh, and Artem and Luke 2nd anniversary cards.

If you are here because you’re interested in learning or reading more about Luke and do not care much for the rest, I recommend the interlude, part 6, and The end: part 1. The other parts also talk about Luke and his stories but those are the most important in my opinion.

Due to Tumblr’s 30 image per post limit, this will be divided into 3 parts, each part added with a reblog.

______________________________

Index because this post ended up incredibly long so here are the parts laid out to read anything you’re interested in!

> Part 1: Introduction

(How did I learn about this game?)

> Part 2: Contact

(Getting the game)

> Part 3: The Beginning

(Starting the game and first impressions lol)

> Part 4: Falling

(FOR LUKE AHAH)

> Interlude: Luke Pearce’s Fear

> Part 5: Obsession

(How and why did this obsession start?)

> Part 6: Reflection

(Thinking back on Luke’s personality that attracted me)

> The end: Memories

(Extra memorable moments)

______________________________

Part 1: Introduction

I play Genshin (shocker) and I have some online friends who play it as well, so when Tears of Themis came out globally since it's made by Hoyoverse as well, most people who played genshin went to check it out. I discovered Tears of Themis through those people, and I was recommended the game by my online friends.

What was my response?

“I have no phone storage.” AAHAHAH, yes. I'm not a day one player. I only started during the second anniversary because back when the game came out despite being interested I could not play because I did not have any device that could handle the game. My phone could not handle Genshin's size either, it's not compatible to begin with- I played Genshin on the PlayStation [emoji]

However I did not forget about the game, I was just hoping that somehow one day, a miracle will happen and I will be able to play mobile games like other people LOL but what are the odds of that happening?... Well, a miracle happened 2 years later.

Bonus: I had a little beef at the time with Artem because I kept thinking drawings of him were actually of Jumin who is a very well written character I love like crazy from mystic messenger since 2016 BWAHAHA

Every masterpiece.. has its cheap copy.. IM JKJK PUT THAT KNIFE DOWN AHAHA

______________________________

Part 2: Contact

So one day I was visiting my aunt's house and met my cousin's acquaintance. I met the guy for like.. only 2 hours and during those hours my cousin told him about how I draw digitally but I have been drawing on an 8 year old phone that stays alive for like 30 mins at a time AHHAHA

The guy was like “That's it, I'm getting you an iPad to draw on.” I laughed, thinking he was joking- but then 2 days later I received TWO iPads, one for me and one for my little sister! W t f. Angels do exist on earth? And I was never able to thank him in person because he's a busy guy who only visited my village and I never saw him again o.o

Can you guess what I started doing when I got it? Download a bunch of games I wanted to try throughout the years but couldn't! Among them was Tears of Themis. My house didn't have the best Internet and had a couple hours of electricity a day so I downloaded it very slowly at my aunt's house.

I remember so clearly about how I sat next to my sister as I was downloading the game, and it started playing the second anniversary promotion video since it was starting during that time. At first I was like “aww, they proposing!” but suddenly things turned spicy and I almost dropped the iPad from my hand HAHA.

I did not know what to expect going into this game because I stayed away from spoilers and videos about it since I knew I wanted to get into it myself one day (I was interested in the main story). It made me sad too to be honest because I wanted to play it but couldn't, so I avoided it for years.

I however, did not expect at all that the game would get THAT spicy LMAO my sister noticed my reaction and she was like “What's up?” And I was like “you cannot see this” though she is older than the game’s age rating AHAHHA

______________________________

Part 3: The beginning

I was so excited getting into this game! When I started I was incredibly hooked to the main story, and at the time.. hear this.. I had a bias towards Artem because he looked like Jumin AHAHA

I was honestly more interested though in the main story than the boys, because the boys didn't make me feel much at the time- I do not have a “love at first sight” I never had that kind of experience for real life people or fictional people. (Anyone can experience it, and that's valid! It's just for me personally that never happens.)

After knowing characters and learning more about them, that's when sometimes- I fall in love with them as a character, they end up giving me so much happiness just seeing them, they give me comfort.. And they fill up my sketchbooks HAHA is this love romantic? Usually no, that's very rare!

I did not feel much for Artem (turns out the only thing he and Jumin have in common were their looks and being socially awkward, shocker-) but I had a little interest that led to me pulling for his second anniversary card when I started being able to wish. I lost- and got a standard Artem, but then I won and got his card LMAO you can get a lot of wishes starting off. However I was doing the stories of the standard SRs, along with the main story and someone.. someone was warming up a lot to my heart.

______________________________

Part 4: Falling

The boys were all very interesting and lovely characters! (The NPCs as well!!)

Artem, despite how he comes off at work, is actually just a shy guy who is bad at communication outside of work.

Vyn is actually a very interesting and well written character being very different than the rest of the cast due to his unique upbringing (honestly? His family feels like a cult, bro literally is running from a cult) and you learn more about his own psychology the more you get to know him.

Marius is literally just an artist who wants to chase the life he wants but is hindered by responsibility and his position.

And Luke- Luke stole my heart LOL

First off, he's a detective and I've already confessed online to having a thing for detectives by a drawing- that starting since I was a kid and I watched detective conan🧍‍♀️his introduction chapter.. was very interesting. It was literally the first episode, Rosa clearly knows and cares about this character right off the bat you're like hmm? What was this guy doing for 8 years? Why did he show up now after so long? Almost making him suspicious even. But he and Rosa seemed so close despite it all.

After that Luke had started showing up in the story here and there, a moment that made me go “ohh.. what a cool guy.” Was when after Marius’ case in episode 2, he shows up on a bike like “get in we outta here” and saved her from all the reporters.

His theme plays at this scene.. my heartttt

Revealing he'd been watching her and the case from afar and was literally waiting for her to get out and get her away.

I started reading the standard SRs, the first one I did was “Among the great blue” which honestly I recommend everyone doing again because I bet you all do not remember Luke saying this about Jellyfish

The card made me go *the rock eyebrow raise* GAHAH and at the time I was all innocent, not knowing anything about what Luke was going through, so when Rosa woke up and did not find him sleeping next to her (after she invaded where he's supposed to be sleeping lmao) and Luke was hunched over like “I'm fine I just accidentally swallowed gum lol” I actually believed him 💀 there were signs, but it would fly over a player's head until things are revealed ON THE FIRST FREAKING ACT OF HIS PERSONAL STORY and suddenly everything makes sense. Wow.

When I started personal story, I was just starting it because starting all of them is part of the “Rookie tasks” event you get when you start the game. Only to be punched in the gut immediately.

This is LITERALLY what you’re greeted with when you start his story 💀

I was starting to warm up to this guy and you're telling me.. he's sick and planning to leave us.. omg.

I got to choose one limited SR from the Rookie event, and I thought Luke looked adorable so I picked his card "A star in the palm" and the story.. omg that card, I'm weak. Everyone needs to see it, READ IT!

It’s illegal to be BOTH handsome and adorable smh

After that I started WANTING to do more Luke stories so I did the other standard SRs “Radiant Sunlight”, “Timely Rescue”, “Inner Sanctum”. They were all so good, my favorite being Inner Sanctum for how much it messed with my heart.

Dude is literally falling and he STILL makes sure to protect her.

I- was dying. I started pulling for Luke's anniversary card, starting to regret my choice going for Artem's. But he wouldn't come-

So I went back to main story because that's how you get the most schips, and guess what- I had reached episode 5…

______________________________

Interlude: Luke Pearce’s Fear

The way episode 5 starts, Luke joins the NXX and Rosa is incredibly surprised seeing him there introducing himself as an agent from the NSB. Meanwhile Luke… is mad.

At first he can't believe Artem would even make her do this but she confirms to him that it was her decision, and then he spills the truth about his identity, and about where he's been the past 8 years. He apologizes, for lying, for planning to leave her again, for everything.

And then this happens.

You guys, this scene made me go straight up insane. You can tell how much he had cared and loved her for all these years, and how his biggest fear is literally the main character getting hurt or something happening to her. I felt so emotional over it, that after this act I started DESPERATELY pulling for his card and I finally- finally got it

Episode 5 BTW is one of my favorites in the main story, it is 3 parts because it's THAT good. It's when people will start seeing what Luke is as a character, what's beneath the surface you see in episode 1. (Also this episode introduced the best character: Hugh Moss AHAHH)

The parallel between Rosa, and Jasmine (the reporter whose case you investigate), was not lost on me. That reporter died trying to expose the truth which is exactly what Rosa has been trying to do. I think the entire chapter literally is showing you why Luke is so scared of her continuing the path she's in.

But you know what's the best part? He's freaking terrified, yet he never forces her to leave. He says this:

People keep saying Luke is a red flag that keeps trying to control Rosa and her actions and I swear my reaction is always “Are you even paying attention?” Luke never forces Rosa, he only shows he's against it, but he always says he will support her whatever decision she makes.

A similar more light-hearted situation is the story of his summer card “Iridescent Heartbeat” where Luke is afraid of Rosa getting hurt or doing things that are too much for her so he doesn't consider doing things such as Bungee jumping or rafting. But Rosa insists that she wants to do it and when she's visibly afraid later, Luke teases her a bit (LOL)

but then holds her close to him and soothes her saying there's nothing to be afraid of cause he's there.

He encourages her to do what she wants! And when she does indeed get hurt because the rope was too tight around her leg, he does NOT put the blame on her, but on himself-

Y'ALL HOW IS THIS GUY CONTROLLING??

(The scene after kinda got on my nerves cause Rosa got “angry” that he’s not his usual “cheerful self” like girl I love you but please- can’t you see how much you getting hurt affects him? She pretends that she’s angrier than she actually is making Luke apologize over and over like 💀 but tbh it was also funny, I don’t like how she handled it but it was funny lol)

When they go rafting Luke lets Rosa take the lead and he will follow her because she wanted to prove to him that he doesn't need to plan everything, however Rosa's plan backfires, things go horribly wrong and she can't figure out how to get the raft to go straight. Luke again, does not reprimand her in any way and only helps her so she can do what she wants. Later on even after they've fallen off the raft and onto the water he immediately holds her and takes her up to the surface so worried like “are you okay???” And despite all that, he says she's right. That she's always right and he will stop trying to plan and go more with the flow. 

Luke never tried to control Rosa, he just loves her so much that he does not want to ever see her in pain or sad. He wants her to be the happiest girl in the world.

So who is Luke? Luke is the coolest mf, a guy that always jumps into action to help others with a heart so damn big that his own emotions slowly destroy him. He has felt an astronomical amount of guilt and regret since childhood- and has cared for and loved the main character just as long. The girl who is the reason he was able to keep his sanity, the girl who he always wanted to protect, and the girl who is the reason he is still here today. 

I wholeheartedly believe that without Rosa in his life, Luke would've ended up completely different, if still alive at all.

Bonus: I remember people being like, the characters have gemstones that match their color in the proposal ring, so why does Luke have Ruby instead of something like Topaz? This is why.. the ruby in the ring represents Rosa (getting emotional over here omg) and honestly that ring is freaking insane because not only did he design and make it and its box by himself for years.. but a ruby is inside the key that Rosa gave to him.

Remember how Luke when you click on the key in visit says “I wear it like this to have it as close as possible to my heart” now look at the key.. if the Ruby is Rosa, and Luke’s heart is the key, do you see what he conveyed in that ring? Yea, I’m crying too. 

______________________________

Part 5: Obsession

I have a bit of an obsession problem, I've been obsessed with stories, games, or characters and that obsession can last years of my lifetime. And it's understandable, when you're going through terrible things in your life, you get attached to what makes you feel happy and you hold on to that feeling. That's what starts that obsession.

When I got the second anniversary Artem card I did the story immediately and it was.. it was alright. Artem wants to propose, but in his attempt to keep it all secret distances himself too much and gets Rosa worried, but then wow! He proposes with the help of his coworkers and happy ending + things get a bit spicy at the end. 

But I felt like.. like I'm getting deja vu AHAHA like I've seen this kind of story a million times before. (Probably cause I did from watching a bunch of kdramas and having consumed a bunch of stories from a lot of media) It did not exactly get me to feel anything much, I'm sure it's different for Artem stans though having him propose after probably following his story for 2 years XD good on you guys have fun with your mans! 

For me though who had just started, it did not have that much of an effect. After I got the Luke anniversary card I was excited and went into the story oh so innocently not knowing back then that Luke cards are honestly heart wrenching. 

It led to me crying in bed while the sun was rising from the window as Luke says “That's because I love you.”

The way how he blocks the wind from her and lets it hit him instead at that exact moment is freaking PEAK writing.

That card showed me a lot more about this man who is so shackled by his own emotions and circumstance, that he's willing to sacrifice everything even his own wants and dreams for the one he loves.

Have you guys seen that one official art with Rosa posing as Themis? And the boys are represented by the objects around her? Luke is the sword, Artem is the balance, Vyn is the blindfold, and Marius is the snake by her leg.

It starts to make sense why Luke is holding onto her sword to the point of bleeding, he's bleeding yet he looks up to her in absolute devotion not caring for what happens to him and his eyes are only always on her. He’s willing to be her sword, to take all of the pain and protect her so she can be happy.

My life.. has not been what is considered “normal”. I'm not going to give my backstory in this post aHAHAH but at the time when I started Tears of Themis I was going through a very bad point in my life where I was close to have given up completely on my future and accepted my fate as it is. I had shut down completely, and I went back to becoming a shut-in which is honestly something I went through for four years before, it wasn't good. 

When you reach that point, you start becoming apathetic to everything.

Luke however, somehow started making me start having emotions again. Reading and learning about this character was actually affecting me in a way I have not been affected in a long time. He felt.. real, like I could feel his emotions, his love, his despair.

And that's part of why I got so attached to him and he became my comfort, because of him, I started to feel human again.

AHA CRINGE. OK enough with the sadness.

But I'll never forget how much Luke and Tears of Themis helped me keep a grip during those hard months. I'm in a better place now, it's not good- but it's better, and I still just open this game and visit Luke to help me ground myself.

One time after a bad day I accidentally touched him and he said this, I went insane-

I think that says a lot about the state of my sanity AHAHAH 

______________________________

[To be continued in reblog]

[lovethatmakingcoffee]

im going to write the same thing I did for the ko-fi page so followers, please bare with me.

I'm sorry to be suddenly springing this on everyone but for those who know, I got deported from Germany at the end of last October 2023. I had some help from a relative to get me out of that situation but she won't help me with anything financial ever again. Why I was in Germany was because a relative convinced me and my dad that there was work for us there and we should move in with them. That we would get the documents all squared away and immigration would be a snap. My dad got the job as working for her handy man to fix up her estate, and I… Didn't have a opportunity like that. There were a lot of details, but the end of it was that there really wasn't any job, she lied, she didn't help me get citizenship and I was basically deported after spending 8 months there. I was thankfully saved by my mom so I wouldn't become homeless, but my dad is still there. Still with that psychopath. He had no way to leave, cause he no relative to swoop in and help, so he had to stay and work for this freak until he could financially leave. I was trying to make as much money as I could from my end, but my job is mininum wage and I had other expenses but we both thought that he would have time (a years worth) cause she would renew his work visa cause she wants him to work for her. But lo and behold, she remains true to her selfishness and craziness, cause she said she won't renew it because he isnt doing this project for her anymore, but for himself. Which, what? No, he is doing the project so you will pay him and he can escape, but whatever. She had one of us deported, it seems that she wouldn't mind having both of us deported. And that is why I ask for help. I didnt press for financial assistance with my deportation, but I plead with his. He has no one to help him and I'm not enough. Please help him, he gave up so much to help her cause he trusted and loved her (his cousin). But she wouldn't return the favor. So now she is throwing him away cause she's done with him, so I beg anyone to help. He will need at least 10k to get a semi fresh start. 20k would be a comfortable one even though that is asking for so god damn much. But to explain, the finances would be for the plane ticket so he won't be thrown on a thirty hour flight which is possible and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. A $200 ride to the airport cause thats how much it was for me and my luggage and she didn't help with any of that. He had several luggage items so that combined with the plane ticket. Then he will need money for a place to stay until he can get back on his feet and the state he will be moving to is a pricier one but it will have my sisters who will be there for him. They can't help much either cause they are also poor. I intend to ask, and I'm sure they will hand over some but it won't be enough. And then he needs a car since he got rid of his moving to Germany and just general expenses like credit cards and we have a storage space filled with stuff we were going to bring with us but that's not happening. So I ask this much, because it's what he needs but I don't know if it's what he's going to get. I'm sorry for springing this one everyone, but I am literally not enough and won't get any outside help. So please, if you can, please help my dad.

I will make art if requested or short stories if asked for. I won't have too much time balancing out my job and things, but I will commit. Just send a request and I'll type that shit like there is no tomorrow. Just please, help us. I am actually begging and losing my mind over it. Please.

I'm sorry to be suddenly springing this on everyone but for those who know, I got deported from Germany at the end of last October 2023. I had some help from a relative to get me out of that situation but she won't help me with anything financial ever again. Why I was in Germany was because a relative convinced me and my dad that there was work for us there and we should move in with them. That we would get the documents all squared away and immigration would be a snap. My dad got the job as working for her handy man to fix up her estate, and I… Didn't have a opportunity like that. There were a lot of details, but the end of it was that there really wasn't any job, she lied, she didn't help me get citizenship and I was basically deported after spending 8 months there. I was thankfully saved by my mom so I wouldn't become homeless, but my dad is still there. Still with that psychopath. He had no way to leave, cause he no relative to swoop in and help, so he had to stay and work for this freak until he could financially leave. I was trying to make as much money as I could from my end, but my job is mininum wage and I had other expenses but we both thought that he would have time (a years worth) cause she would renew his work visa cause she wants him to work for her. But lo and behold, she remains true to her selfishness and craziness, cause she said she won't renew it because he isnt doing this project for her anymore, but for himself. Which, what? No, he is doing the project so you will pay him and he can escape, but whatever. She had one of us deported, it seems that she wouldn't mind having both of us deported. And that is why I ask for help. I didnt press for financial assistance with my deportation, but I plead with his. He has no one to help him and I'm not enough. Please help him, he gave up so much to help her cause he trusted and loved her (his cousin). But she wouldn't return the favor. So now she is throwing him away cause she's done with him, so I beg anyone to help. He will need at least 10k to get a semi fresh start. 20k would be a comfortable one even though that is asking for so god damn much. But to explain, the finances would be for the plane ticket so he won't be thrown on a thirty hour flight which is possible and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. A $200 ride to the airport cause thats how much it was for me and my luggage and she didn't help with any of that. He had several luggage items so that combined with the plane ticket. Then he will need money for a place to stay until he can get back on his feet and the state he will be moving to is a pricier one but it will have my sisters who will be there for him. They can't help much either cause they are also poor. I intend to ask, and I'm sure they will hand over some but it won't be enough. And then he needs a car since he got rid of his moving to Germany and just general expenses like credit cards and we have a storage space filled with stuff we were going to bring with us but that's not happening. So I ask this much, because it's what he needs but I don't know if it's what he's going to get. I'm sorry for springing this one everyone, but I am literally not enough and won't get any outside help. So please, if you can, please help my dad.

I will make art if requested or short stories if asked for. I won't have too much time balancing out my job and things, but I will commit. Just send a request and I'll type that shit like there is no tomorrow. Just please, help us. I am actually begging and losing my mind over it. Please.

If I reach 20k on both goals combined, I will freeze them so no one adds anymore, thanks you.

[grahamfolgersdeliciousnotebooks]

Happy Jmart-iversary!!! Have some S1 annoyances-to-lovers (or, well, annoyances-to-mutual pining) Jmart to celebrate their day!

Martin usually has more shame than this.

Despite what certain Archivists might think, he isn’t oblivious. He knows Jon doesn’t like him, and while Jon seems to think that Martin has made it his mission in life to bother him whenever possible, Martin usually does his best to avoid Jon as much as civility and his job will allow.

But the thing is, Martin is lonely.

Worse than that, he’s 1 AM Lonely.

Martin has become something of an expert in loneliness, over the years, and he can confidently assert that 1 AM loneliness is the absolute worst. 7 AM loneliness is rough. 8 PM loneliness can be dire. But 1 AM loneliness is utterly, entirely hopeless. If he felt this way while the sun was still up, he might be able to find an excuse to call Tim and Sasha that wasn’t just, “I wanted to hear your voice.” If nothing else, he could walk to a library, or a coffee shop, and remember that there were other people in the world. But at 1 AM, he has nothing to do but sit with the yawning, aching emptiness in his chest, and feel like he is the last person left on the face of the earth.

Except for Jonathan Sims. 

He’d always sort of suspected that Jon had a deeply unhealthy work schedule, but he was still surprised at how often he wandered out of Document Storage after midnight, expecting to have the Archives to himself, only to run into Jon in the breakroom. He’s always more irritable at night – which Martin wouldn’t have thought possible, a month ago – but an irritable Jon is better than nothing, which is how Martin has found himself standing outside Jon’s office in his pajamas, socked feet barely keeping out the chill of the scuffed linoleum floor.

There’s still time to change his mind. He could still turn around, go back to the cot in Document Storage, and sit in his insomnia with some semblance of dignity intact.

He knocks. 

There’s no response, but Martin’s used to that, so he lets himself in. When the door opens, Jon lifts his head from his work to stare daggers at him.

“Yes?” he snaps. “What do you want?”

“Just– J-Just checking in. Do you need anything?”

“No,” Jon says with a finality that borders on rudeness.

“Right.” Martin can take a hint, so he starts backing out of the door. “I’ll, uh… I’ll leave you to it, then.”

Jon purses his lips like he wants to say, See to it that you do, but is aware that that would be rude even for him, and says nothing. Martin winces as he pulls the door shut behind him.

Well. He did achieve what he was setting out to. He no longer feels like he’s completely alone in the world – there’s at least one asshole here with him.

Somehow, that thought comforts him enough that he is finally able to sleep.

*

The next few days, Martin manages to sleep a bit better. The Archives are remarkably empty on the weekend – not even Jon is working Saturdays, this week – so he has to contend with 3 PM loneliness (and 4 PM loneliness, and 5 PM loneliness…) but by 1 AM he is sound asleep. When the work week starts again on Monday, Martin is feeling almost well-rested.

Jon, it seems, isn’t.

He hasn’t stayed late at the office for the past few days, but whatever he was doing away from work, Martin feels confident that it wasn’t sleeping. He’s in an even worse mood than usual, and chews Martin out for a full 5 minutes about a simple formatting error that Martin has seen Tim and Sasha make before. 

(Tim used to work in publishing, he thinks but does not point out, he built his career on finding formatting problems, so if even he screws this up occasionally, I’m pretty sure it’s not a huge deal. But of course, when Tim makes a mistake, he gets a note on his report asking him to revise it, not a 10-minute lecture in which it’s implied that he doesn’t take seriously the historic institution for which he works, and that he may as well be spitting on the grave of Jonah Magnus with each misused semicolon.)

Which makes it all the more embarrassing when 1 AM rolls around and Martin once again hesitates outside the door to Jon’s office. He’s got tea this time, which is a pretty feeble excuse to barge in at 1 in the morning, but it’s a better one than he had last time. He has to shift both mugs to one hand to get the door open.

“Tea?” he asks in lieu of a hello. “I was making some for myself and figured you might want some.” (It’s a bald-faced lie, but Jon doesn’t need to know that.) When Jon doesn’t respond, Martin trips over himself to fill the silence. “It’s, uh. I-It’s herbal. I hope that’s alright. Thought caffeine was probably a bad idea, this time of night.”

“Hm,” is all Jon says in response, but he still takes a sip.

Martin settles into the seat opposite the desk. Jon eyes him suspiciously, but once again says nothing. He turns his attention back to his laptop, and they drink their tea in silence. 

It’s almost pleasant, somehow. The tea is delicious, in Martin’s completely unbiased opinion, and Jon relaxes enough to become a reassuring presence. He doesn’t speak, but he’s a living, breathing human in the same room as Martin, and that’s all Martin needs right now. Jon sighs and coughs and taps his foot, and whenever he notices a mistake in whatever it is he’s reading, he gives an irritable click of his tongue and starts typing furiously. At one point he even laughs. It’s not much – a quiet little bark of a laugh, barely any louder than his sighs – but it still comes as a surprise.

“What?” Martin asks, and Jon startles as though he forgot Martin was there.

Jon looks vaguely mortified to have done something so human and unprofessional as to laugh, but he explains, “Tim’s report on the Ramao case. His methods for obtaining Ramao’s marriage license were… very Tim.”

“Ah.” Martin has a few guesses at what that could mean. “B&E, bribery, or flirting?”

“Flirting,” Jon confirms. “Honestly, I’d prefer a good B&E. At least then I wouldn’t have to explain to Elias why dinner for two at Frescobaldi counts as a business expense.”

“Always happy to do my part,” Martin grins, but his smile droops as he adds, “Though my last break-in didn’t quite go to plan.”

Jon’s face grows serious as well. “Right. How, uh, h-how are you… adjusting?”

“Fine,” Martin says, and it’s not the biggest lie he’s told in his life, but it’s close.

“Right,” Jon says again. He doesn’t ask any follow-up questions, and Martin can’t help but be relieved to let the subject drop, even if the rest of the conversation drops with it. They go back to drinking their tea in silence, and soon enough it’s time for Martin to collect their empty mugs and slink back out of the office.

This time, at least, Jon says good-bye.

“Good night, Martin.”

Martin’s lips twitch upward, just a hair. “Good night, Jon.”

He sets the mugs in the sink and heads back to Document Storage, and he’s asleep within minutes.

*

Tuesday night he manages to fall asleep at a shockingly reasonable hour. Which is wonderful, right up until it isn’t.

He wakes up in a cold sweat from a nightmare that is already fading from his memory. His dad was in it, which is rare. He tries to recall what his face had looked like, but it’s gone. Maybe he hadn’t even had a face – dreams are like that sometimes – but he can still feel it at the edges of his memory, slipping away with each passing second.

He does his best to remember what the dream had been about. He was back in the apartment he used to share with his mother, the tiny, dingy place that forever smelled like mildew and cigarettes even though neither of them smoked, and his father was there. Then he left, again, and his mother was furious. She didn’t need to say that she blamed Martin, he could read it in her face, but she told him anyway. And then the apartment was a hospital room, and there were nurses yelling at him, too – how could he upset his mother at a time like this? Didn’t he know how ill she was? And then the hospital was his new apartment, and the mildew smell wasn’t mildew at all but worms, worms and rot, and he hadn’t spoken to anyone in weeks. He hadn’t spoken to anyone in weeks, and no one had thought to check on him, and the only one in the world who cared whether he lived or died was the woman trying to break down his door and fill him with worms.

So not the best dream he’s ever had.

He checks his phone. 12:22. Great. Too late to talk to anyone, too early to just get out of bed and start the day.

He stares out at the dark room. Document Storage has no windows, and with the hallway light off, there isn’t even any light spilling in under the doorway, so his eyes have nothing to catch on. He can do nothing but sit in the dark as the afterimage of his bright phone screen gets swallowed up by the gloom.

It’s not as though the dream was real. He’s safe for now; the worms can’t get to him here. And he’s not alone in the world. He’s not. His coworkers didn’t just abandon him to die – he’s seen the texts, he knows they had every reason to think he was safe.

Still, if Tim had been out for two full weeks with a stomach bug, Martin would have been on his doorstep with soup and ginger chews and an offer to drive him to the doctor any time he needed. He would have checked up on him. So would Sasha. So would Jon, probably – as much as he likes to present himself as aloof and coldly professional, Martin knows he cares about Tim and Sasha a whole lot more than he lets on. There’s only one person in the Archives who could disappear without being missed.

It isn’t that his friends don’t care about him. He knows they do. But he also knows, with bone-deep certainty, that they don’t care about him as much as he cares about them, and that’s a very lonely feeling.

Martin pushes himself out of bed. He doesn’t know what to do, exactly, but he’s had enough nightmares in his life to know that getting out of bed and away from the room he woke up in is a good place to start.

There’s a light on in Jon’s office. This time, Martin can’t even bring himself to be embarrassed when he steps inside.

Jon is sitting behind his desk, like always, scribbling furiously in the margins of some document Martin doesn’t recognize. He doesn’t even glance up when Martin enters the room this time.

“Yes?”

“Do you–” Martin’s voice is hoarse and rough – he hadn’t thought to get anything to drink when woke up, and now his throat is painfully dry – but he clears his throat and pushes through. “Do you need anything?”

“No.”

“Right.”

Martin takes a seat in the chair beside the desk. He doesn’t try to make conversation. He doubts Jon wants to hear it, and he isn’t feeling up for it, anyway. He just sits and listens to the scratching of Jon’s pen.

He’d be more than happy to sit in silence all night, but Jon keeps pausing his work to shoot suspicious glances Martin’s way, and Martin knows he ought to say something, so he clears his throat again and asks, “Are you sure you don’t need anything?”

“Quite sure, thank you.”

He sounds more than a little irritated. Martin should definitely take that as a sign to leave, but he isn’t ready to go back to sitting in the dark in Document Storage just yet.

“I could make tea?” he offers. “It’s no trouble, really.”

“I don’t need tea,” Jon snaps. “And I don’t need help, and I certainly don’t need a nosy coworker barging into my office every five minutes to try and guilt me into leaving work.”

“What?”

“I know what you’re doing,” Jon insists. “And it’s none of your business how late I work–”

“I don’t care how late you work! I mean, I think you could stand to get some sleep once in a while, but that’s not–”

“Then why are you always hovering around any time I work late?”

Martin is too tired to think better of it before he snaps, “Because I’m lonely, Jon! Because it’s one in the bloody morning and I can’t sleep and everyone else I know is already in bed. Believe me, if there was a single other person I could be talking to right now, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Oh.”

That’s all Jon says. Martin isn’t sure what he’s going to say if he stays in this room any longer, so he stands up.

“I’m going to make tea. Do you want any?”

Jon nods.

When Martin comes back with two perfectly-brewed cups of camomile-and-vanilla, Jon has set aside his pen and his notes and is fidgeting at his desk. Anxiety and shame flicker across his face when he accepts the mug that Martin offers him.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I wasn’t thinking. I thought you just wanted me out of the Archives.”

“Yeah, well. Not everything’s about you.”

And Jon laughs at that – the same soft, barking laugh he’d given to Tim’s report – and Martin feels a strange sort of affection flood through him at the sound. Pretty inconvenient, given that he was just getting used to being irritated with Jon.

“I suppose I deserve that.” Jon smiles, and it’s somehow worse than the laugh. There are a few more minutes of silence before he speaks up again. “Have you, um. Have you ever tried lavender?”

“What?”

“Whenever I tell people I have insomnia, they always recommend lavender – lavender essential oil, lavender tea, lavender eye masks…”

“Have you tried it? Does it help?”

“Not in the least,” Jon says. “Not for me. But maybe it would help you.”

“Maybe,” Martin agrees, more out of politeness than any real hope. “Never hurts to try.”

Jon nods. He looks for a moment like he’s debating with himself whether to say anything else, then he clears his throat with an awkward little grimace and says, “If– i-if you ever need to talk… I can’t promise I’ll be very good conversation, but I can promise I won’t yell at you next time.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

*

Martin’s insomnia doesn’t get any better. Breathing exercises don’t help, and neither does the white noise app he downloads. A box of lavender tea mysteriously appears in the break room, and it doesn’t make him tired, but it does leave him with a warm, fuzzy feeling that can’t be entirely explained by having drunk a hot beverage.

Jon starts staying late more often. Some nights, just knowing that he’s there is comforting enough to stave off the worst of Martin’s loneliness, but some nights he finds himself once again sitting in the chair in Jon’s office while Jon sits across from him with his nose buried in a statement. Jon never asks for an explanation anymore, just nods at Martin when he comes in and then gets back to work.

They don’t talk much on nights like this, but they do talk. Mostly it’s just chatter – how was your day? Did you see what Tim was wearing today? How long until they fix the aircon in this building? – but some nights the conversation opens up to the kind of vulnerability that only 2 AM can bring.

“I wish I was as close with Tim and Sasha as you are.”

It’s not a complete non sequitur – they were just talking about their coworkers – but Martin can still feel the tone shift between them.

Jon just blinks. “What do you mean? I’m certain they like you more than they like me – The three are always going out to lunch–”

“And we always invite you!” Martin reminds him, “You just never come! And anyway, you three go way back, you all know each other so well… They don’t even know me well enough to know if it’s me texting them or some evil worm woman.” He’s gotten to know Jon well enough over the past few weeks to know that, supportive or not, Jon’s never very quick with words of comfort, so he goes on. “I can’t complain – I mean, they’re nice! They’re really nice! It’s just… it’s not fun, feeling like the odd one out.”

Jon flashes him a grimace that Martin thinks is supposed to be commiserative but mostly just looks awkward. “For what it’s worth,” he says, “I also wish I was closer with Tim and Sasha. Things haven’t been the same since we transferred from Research. And it doesn’t help that they both know Sasha should have been promoted over me.”

Martin wants to reassure him, tell him that Elias must have promoted him for a reason, but he’s the last person who can argue that Elias always hires the most qualified person for the job.

“Anyway,” Jon says, “I know for a fact they like you. Have you just told them how you feel?”

“Have you?”

Jon smiles. “Alright, fair enough.”

The conversation moves on to lighter topics from there, and Martin almost forgets about it. But the next time 1 AM loneliness hits, it’s a relief to know that he isn’t the only one in the Archives who’s lonely.

*

Jon stays late every night the next week. 

Martin knows Jon doesn’t want anyone chiding him, but he worries. He looks more and more worn out by the day, and Martin’s pretty sure he’s getting less work done for all the time he’s spending in the Archives.

When Martin wakes up from another nightmare (just a Prentiss nightmare this time, not a Prentiss-and-his-mother double feature) he doesn’t have to question if Jon’s around. When he checks his phone and sees that it’s well past 2 AM, some small, optimistic part of him thinks Jon might have gone home by now, but he isn’t at all surprised when he sees light spilling in from under the door in Jon’s office.

Jon doesn’t look up when Martin enters the room. 

He looks rough. His head is resting in his hands, shoulders slumped, fingers wearily massaging his temples. When he hears the door click closed behind Martin, he finally looks up, and Martin can see that the dark circles under his eyes have gotten worse.

“Go home, Jon,” he says, and Jon shakes his head.

“I’m fine.”

“You need sleep.”

“I doubt I could get any sleep tonight regardless,” Jon says. “Insomnia, remember?”

“Well, try,” Martin says, patience waning. “Go home.”

“I can’t.” Jon’s voice is small and hoarse, and he sounds more vulnerable than he ever has in all their late-night chats.

“What do you mean, you can’t?”

 “You were alone for two weeks, Martin,” he says, voice hushed as though he’s confessing something. “I can’t leave you alone like that again.”

Oh. Martin puts some pieces together. His boss has been running himself ragged, staying at work past 2 in the morning most days, because he’s convinced Martin can’t handle being alone at night. He thinks that Martin is a child in need of a security blanket, and has decided that the best course of action is to simply never leave work. It is, unfortunately, very sweet, but it’s also utterly humiliating.

“I can handle being alone!” he sputters, mortified beyond belief. “Believe me, I’ve had plenty of practice. I don’t need you to always be around. I-I know I said I get lonely sometimes, but, God, I’m not that pathetic.”

Jon frowns. “I don’t think you’re pathetic,” he whispers. “Believe me, Martin, that’s the last thing I think. I know I haven’t always been… fair to you. Or kind. Or even civil. If I had been fair to you, you wouldn’t be living in this basement.” He drops his gaze and addresses his next words to his hands. “It’s my fault you have to stay here,” he murmurs. “The very least I can do is ensure that you don’t have to stay here alone.”

Martin doesn’t know what to say to that. His brain cycles through several options and discards them all as insufficient. In the end, he decides to forgo words altogether. He stands up, reaches over, and pulls Jon out of his seat and into a hug.

Jon startles, and for a moment Martin thinks he’s made a horrible miscalculation, but then wraps his scrawny arms around his middle and squeezes tight.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers.

“I forgive you,” Martin says. “Now go home.”

*

That Friday, the four of them go out for drinks after work. It’s Martin’s idea, and he insists that they invite Jon. Tim and Sasha tell him it’s a lost cause – Jon’s never agreed to get lunch with them, he certainly won’t agree to drinks – but lo and behold, Jon agrees.

It’s awkward. Martin hasn’t left the Archives much since Prentiss, and he’s on high alert for worms, but he can’t deny that having his coworkers with him is a comfort. Sat around a sticky high-top table in a pub that smells like stale beer and fresh sweat, the conversation simply flows. Every now and then, the other three will laugh at some inside joke from their research days, but Jon always makes a point of bringing Martin up to speed.

Afterwards, Jon walks him back to the Archives. Martin is floating in a warm, hazy middle ground between ‘tipsy’ and ‘drunk,’ and Jon seems to be feeling much the same.

“I could stay, if you’d like,” Jon says.

“I’ll be fine,” Martin says.

When he makes it to the cot in Document Storage, he’s asleep the moment his head hits the pillow.

*

It would be nice, Martin thinks, if getting closer to people were the straightforward antidote to loneliness – if making friends were enough to stop him feeling so utterly friendless. But loneliness is never a simple thing, and some nights he still finds himself lying awake at night feeling like the last man on earth.

He checks the time. 1 AM. Naturally.

For the second time in a week, Jon doesn’t look up to see Martin when he enters the room. This time, he’s slumped over the desk, dead asleep.

He looks smaller, somehow, when he’s sleeping. His face is slack, the perpetual furrow in his brow is gone, and his hair is falling across his face in a way that leaves Martin itching to reach over and tuck it behind his ear. He looks cute, if Martin’s being entirely honest, but Jon’s only started being mostly-nice to Martin in the past two weeks or so, so Martin isn’t ready to be that honest with himself quite yet.

He reaches out a hand and gently shakes Jon’s shoulder.

“Jon.”

Jon stirs but doesn’t wake, so Martin shakes harder. 

“Jon,” he repeats. No luck.

He sighs. He’s still wide awake, and he doubts that’s going to change any time soon. At least one of them should get some use out of the cot.

It’s surprisingly easy to pick Jon up. Jon stirs slightly as Martin scoops him into his arms, and for one terrifying second he thinks he’s going to wake up in Martin’s arms, but he doesn’t. Opening the doors to first the office and then Document Storage is more than a little tricky with his hands full, but he manages.

He sets Jon down on the bed as gently as he can, but Jon finally rouses as Martin tucks a blanket over his shoulders.

“Martin?” he mumbles, voice still thick with sleep.

“Go back to sleep, Jon.”

It doesn’t seem like Jon needs any encouragement. His eyes are already slipping closed again, but he manages to ask, “Will you be alright on your own?”

“Yeah,” Martin says, “I’ll be alright.” 

And he means it.

(View this story on AO3)