#But I'll have to investigate a lot cause I want them to be as accurate as possible

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Hi! I love your writing so much, you portray all the characters so accurately!! Could I possibly request the M6 with an MC that procrastinates a lot?

The Arcana HCs: M6 with a procrastinator MC

~ ... why do I feel personally called out by this lol

Dear procrastinators, you are not alone and you are not lazy. It is very likely that you experience executive dysfunction or are a perfectionist, and neither of those things say anything negative about you - brainrot ~

Julian

This man screams undiagnosed ADHD

He is painfully familiar with looking at several large tasks made up of lots of smaller tasks and mentally blue screening

It's such a common habit for him to put things off until the last minute and then do two days' work in an hour and a half that he just assumes it's the default way of functioning

So the first time you tell him about how you're going to put off practicing a spell until two hours before you need to use it, his reaction is just "mood"

You'll have to be the first of the two of you to bring it up and point out that it hurts your ability to function

Once you do, he's giving you all of his emotional support. You agree to hold each other accountable since neither of you can justifiably hold a grudge about it

Just don't say "I'll start working on this once you start working on that," or else you'll end up in a procrastination deadlock as you sit and experience the existential dread together

Asra

They don't seem to understand how much stress this causes you. They're the kind of easy-going person who shows up five minutes before an airplane flight

He assumes it's just your working style

Until they catch you stressed to the point of tears one morning because you know you have to take inventory today and you know you're going to wait til sundown and you know it'll keep you up late

He's immediately pulling you into a firm hug, rubbing your back and giving you little forehead kisses while you rant about it

Volunteers to begin tasks with you until you have the momentum you need

"Would you like me to read the numbers to you while you check? Or would you like to make some tea for us while I get started, and then you join me when you're ready?"

Faust is very good at reminding you to take breaks when you start to work too frantically

They will (lovingly) tease you about it

He will keep a kisses reward system and praise you until you blush over every effort

Nadia

She doesn't deal with this at all, but she does know what it's like to feel overwhelmed

Picks up on your struggle instantly

The moment she asked you to take over a murder investigation with 0 leads she saw the frozen dread on your face and knew

She doesn't want to cramp your style by imposing her own habits on you, so instead she'll ask you questions about your day's to do list and guide you through formulating a plan of attack

She's an excellent strategist, you're in very good hands

Tackling a big goal is a lot easier when you already have the steps planned out and can concentrate on one at a time until you've picked up enough steam to carry through

The struggle never goes away, of course, but in the moments when something unexpectedly big makes your brain begin to stall you can almost hear her silky voice in your ear:

"There is no such thing as only one problem, my darling. Look for where it breaks apart, and we'll conquer one piece at a time."

Muriel

He doesn't procrastinate things the way you do, but he certainly avoids uncomfortable issues for as long as possible until he's forced to confront them

He can tell that this is different. Sometimes the thing you put off is actually good and pleasant for you, you just can't seem to do it

More accurately, you can't seem to start

He notices you, and he notices how well you work once you've started. It's the part where you have to set up the tools, or write the first word, or get up out of your chair that makes you balk

There's a book on magic you need to read? He'll leave it open on the table to the chapter you mentioned, next to a pretty feather

If it's just a matter of getting up, he'll start sweeping the floor and ask you to move your seat

Sometimes he misreads the situation

You might be relaxing after having finished something on time for once, only for him to come in and start hustling you around because he thought you hadn't started yet. It's fun to call him on it and watch him blush

Portia

She cannot relate at all

Nobody can fit as many tasks into one hour as she can. Nobody can wrangle a to do list like she can. She gets stuff done

She might get frustrated with you at first

When she left you this morning, you had one thirty minute task to do before you could enjoy your day off, and now it's evening and you're stressed out because you still haven't done it yet

This makes no sense to her. Just do the thing

Once she realizes that it's not on purpose, she'll support you tirelessly. Tell her about your to do list

Oh, that task? Here's a few tips she follows to make it easier. An errand to that part of town? Here's a shortcut to try. You need to write a letter? She'll dictate the salutation and opening sentences to give you some momentum

It can be hard not to compare yourself to her productivity levels, but nobody has the unquestioning faith in you that she does. You'll be alright

Lucio

Procrastinating? He loves procrastinating

But only if it's something he'd rather not be doing. Or something that takes more effort than he thinks is worth it. Like chores

But when it's something that will make life easier, or something actually fun? It takes a while for him to notice, but once he does it really bothers him how much of a party pooper it is for you

Not to mention that when you get stressed, he gets stressed, and that's not fun

As loathe as he is to admit it, he knows he can be really annoying when he puts his mind to it. So that is what he does

He'll threaten to sing the entire score of Phantom of the Opera until you start doing the Thing that you need to do

All it takes is him mimicking the pipe organ's starting notes for Mercedes and Melchior to start whimpering, howling and barking:

"Don't get mad, you asked for it, MC." *deep breath* "BWAAAAAAAA! BWAM DUN DUN DUN DUUUNNNNN -"

Your productivity goes up but now you wince every time you see a chandelier

[halevren]

FHJY Spoilers || my live thoughts as I watch episode 11

three hours. three hours along. this might take me a bit to get through 😭😭 I might not note every little thought because that's. A lot. But definitely a good portion of the normal random stuff

THE CONTENT WARNINGS ARE CONCERNING ME.... BODY HORROR??? GORE??? THIS ISN'T A HORROR SEASON. I THOUGHT THIS WAS GOING TO BE A FUN HAHA SEASON???? WHAT??????????

HELLO ONE AND ALL

Ally Brennan Beardsley Mulligan

"What if just shows up for the interview" well I guess that means riz and fig have to create a

PETE WENTZ IS WANDA'S (RECENT) EX BOYFRIEND

"Cause if I say it to Brennan, I'll just be wrong"

CANCELLED 😭

im showing my emo autistic friend this session because they know literally everything about emo bands and apparently Pete Wentz has drank piss multiple times before. Hm.

"Let him sweat"

Mommy/baby time??????

"You are my little baby"

Sklonda embarrassing Riz to Fig is so real and accurate

spys tongue

spy's tongue or spies tongue

Very Humanoid Animals 😭😭😭😭😭😭

AN ORANGUTAN

NAT ONE BECOMES 23 🔥🔥🔥🔥

19 steal orangutan tho

VOMITING

NAT 20 MURPH

BROKEN CRYSTAL??

BLOOD SPLATTER?

oh goodness

Something happened here

CONFUSED?

STABS HER HAND?

Copperkell

Riz asking his mom to see dead bodies

omg did Kalina say Ragh Barkrock because she wanted them to investigate everything that she did back then in reference to him specifically (like the killing clone Lydia / destroying the house, etc.)

Emergency meeting. Even you Fabian.

CARBONIZED BLOOD?

rage kills

CRRRRRRIT it's a 7

IDENTIFY SPELL!!!!!!!

oh no. Brennan why you asking the state of emotions

"Fuck"

TWO IN ONE ONE IN TWO

Identify spell is overwhelmed

ATTACKS ADAINE????

NAT 20 PERCEPTION CHECK

The rot of dead gods??

INTERIOR OF A BODY?

gross gross gross gross

"gorgug..... very good....."

"You have to tip me this time" "nah"

building a God??? oh my...

The daymare queen

Bobby Dawn.

Asking what would make Kristen angry is such a loaded question. So much stuff

"My president!"

gorgug just grabs the angry shard

"I did not tell you I shit." "No, the whole school knows about it"

ADAINE HAS A SCOOTER?

AELWYN ASKED THE SHELTER FOR ALL THE UNWANTED CATS 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

AND SHE'S ALLERGIC TO CATS 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

"I have so much love to give exclusively to cats"

Camaraderie in toxicity

SHE HAS NO FRIENDS 😭😭

omg aelwyn and fabian boned

"Fuck you. Bitch"

Malarkey

"Tell Kristen to not come back."

zac's little shrugs hehehehe

"I drive down to bastion city and do crimes."

"I shall steal everyone's bones"

THE CATS CAN SMELL THE WARD AND THEY WON'T TAKE THE MEDICINE

aelwyn my beloved I love her so much

FIG DISGUISED AS KIPPERLILLY COPPERKETTLE

Ruben is just constantly being terrorized by fig in the dreamscape

devil's nectar Gertie infodump

KRISTEN AND GERTIE KISSED

"Okay, well let's go out sometime. I'm painfully single, uh, and none of my friends wanna see me naked anymore." Kristen Applebees you are so fascinating

LOCAL FOOD TRUCKS? THE FUCKING FOOD TRUCK FEST

KRISTEN MAKING OUT WITH GERTIE TO DISTRACT HER FROM FABIAN

"Kristen, you know that's my nemesis right?"

KRISTEN GOT HER KISSES IN 🎉🎉🎉

RIZ IS ON THE SCHOOL STAFF?????

LET FIG BECOME THE CLERIC TEACHER

LET WANDA CHILDA BECOME THE CLERIC TEACHER

A CV OF WANDA CHILDA

A WICKER PAPER??????

"I pooped right now."

Adaine over break research paper of curses

RUBEN IS HENRY'S NEPHEW

NAT 20 GORGUG PERCEPTION

He leaves the motherboard.... I worry that it might be stolen by someone else

"Seems suspect." "What do you mean suspect?" "Seems Suspect" their sibling dynamic is so real

THEY BROUGHT ZAYN!!!!

how did they get Zayn through TSA

TELEMAINE HAS A LITTLE THING THAT SAYS GORGUG'S NAME 😭😭😭😭😭

YAK BAK

GRAPE NIP

Hillariel is so pretty

GILEAR IS SO STRESSED

GILEAR SAID FUCK

Gilear is the only person who has made the fig curse the main priority

"I want the yogurt back on my shirt"

ALL THE MONEY GILEAR IN THIS SITUATION MAKES GOES STRAIGHT TO ADAINE

"HE GRABS ME?"

RIZBERT

"TELEMAINE STOP BULLYING ME"

(High pitch voice) "how did she bring winter?"

I heavily fw gertie x tracker

THEIR PLAN B IS SHRIMP JUMP

CRAW FATHERS

GORGUG CLEARLY PISSED OFF

oh fig.... I feel so connected to you

"Who's Wanda Childa....?" "She's my alter emo"

Sandra is so true. I often ask my friends how they percieve me so I can understand myself better.

"What if I punished this man to eternal rock"

"I don't want to see that." Sandra grabs fig's cigarette and takes a hit instead.

SPY'S TONGUE LORE

Kalina with the Spy's Tongue........

I love this lore and conspiracy theories talk

they're annoying but have great record keeping

GORGUG PUT HIS HEADPHONES ON THE SECOND THEY ENTERED THE CHURCH

NAT 20 INSIGHT

Narnia burning man

Fig and Fabian are living it UP

tracker............. i can't say I like her very much after that phone call. So I'm not the most thrilled to see her.

GORGUG PUSHING EVERYONE OUT OF THE WAY TO THE HOT CHOCOLATE

WORLD STAR

Half the party is living it up having hot coco while the other half is experiencing / witnessing a very emotional moment

RUNES RELATING TO GIANT DEITIES

GIFT EXCHANGE

PIPES OF THE SEWERS

CHA CHA CHA CHA CHA CHA CHA

THE RATETTES

EAR WORM?

"PUT ME IN YOUR BRAIN"

A PULL UP BAR!!!! IMMOVABLE BAR

BRACERS OF DEFENSE

"Oh shit they're so practical. I have to wear bracers. What can I do? They're so tactic?"

RIDDLER RIZ?

FIRE GIANT JUICE

"Is this legal?" "It's Not."

WOODEN ORANGUTAN MASK

SO MUCH HOLE

HE SENDS A TEXT TO MAZEY THEN PUTS HIS PHONE ON AIRPLANE MODE

KRISTEN NOOOOO

THE BAR

assisted pull ups 🔥🔥🔥

Naradriel is actually so sweet

Hillsong / wolfsong close enough

NAT 20 INVESTIGATION CHECK FOR MURPH

SCORTCH MARK?

LIST OF NAMES??

WEDDING CONTRACT

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD

RUVINA MAID OF HONOR

THE MASK

"PUT THE HOLES AWAY AND MAKE THEM"

WHAT'S THE NAME. WHAT'S THE NAME. WHAT'S THE NAME. WHAT IS IT. WHAT IS THE NAME BRENNAN

OH GOD

ANKARNA

GLOWS RED? OH MY GOD FIENDISH ENERGY

ADAINE BROUGHT BACK ARKARNA AND LYDIA'S CHEST CRYSTAL

OH MY GOD IF LYDIA DIES I'M GONNA PUNCH MY WALL /HJ

negative one initiative........

SAVING ROLLS FOR FIG? WHY

PRIDE ARMOR

THE MOON BEGINS TO WHAT?

TEARS HER FLESH? OH GOD

BRIDE ARMOR

CASSANDRA IS PROTECTING THEM 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

SEVERAL DIVINE INTERVENTIONS ARE HAPPENING SIMULTANEOUSLY IN CONFLICT??????????

FIG INTO THE BRIEF CASE JUST LIKE GILEAR WAS

SIX LEVEL COUNTERSPELL

COUNTER SPELL CRIT!!!!!!!!!

FIG WAS ALMOST KILLED?????????????

RIZ JUMPS AFTER FIG

BARONNNN FROM THE BARONIES

ROËMAENCE PARTNÆR

FABIAN DIDN'T JUMP INTO THE BRIEF CASE. GORGUG, FIG AND RIZ HAVE SO FAR

okay thank god fabian did jump in

DIVINE INTERVENTION ROLL

DEATH WARD ON AELWYN 🔥🔥

BARON IS WARNING KRISTEN?

DID WE JUST WATCH GILEAR FIG DIE?

NAT 20 DEX THROW FOR KRISTEN

what dimension are they in. What is riz's briefcase

ENDING OFF ON A ROLL FOR INITIATIVE??

I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FEEL WHAT

[tallerthantale]

ppl don't tag random posts with neil gaiman's name, that tag should be reserved for his sexual abuse of 5+ women

As I commented on the top of the post, you might want to jump to the end note. It was not a random post. But I'll copy the end note here for more efficient visibility.

Due to a series of unfortunate events (or two), there was a considerable delay between the bulk of my "What does Aziraphale Actually Believe" series and the last instalment. While I initially felt very negatively about that, it also presented a particular opportunity, as I found myself reviewing the final draft details of The Metatron's manipulation tactics and how they messed with Aziraphale's mind at the same time as I was following the allegations against Neil Gaimen.

As things currently stand I find the allegations against Neil Gaimen very credible and very damning. Information is still coming out, but the odds of something being reviled that would change the gist of my opinion are very unlikely. I don't consider that to be cause to stop engaging with the fandom and analyzing the story. A lot of people who take that position frame it as separating the art from the artist. That is not the framing I use.

Typically I try to keep considerable distance between myself and anything that looks like psychoanalysing public figures. This because of a psychology ethics rule that I take on a broad interpretation of. The gist of it is to not form professional opinions about the psychology of specific people based on their public statements / works. Because what follows is skirting the edges of the spirit of those rules, I want to emphasise that it is my personal opinion, and I am coming at it more from literary analysis than any kind of Sherlockian attempt at deductive reasoning about the workings of a particular person's mind.

The narrative arc of Aziraphale's religious trauma, the way it plays out, the way his opinions bend and reform, the way he gaslights himself in the presence of The Metatron, the way The Metatron wields his power imbalance with a friendly disposition, the way the threats that are never framed as a threat mess with Aziraphale's mind, the way he convinces himself to be happy about what he is being forced into, the way his mind flips back and fourth based on the pressures of the people around him, the particular ways he is vulnerable to being subtly manipulated into appearing complicit in his own exploitation, the detail in how that plays out, these things were all written very well.

Or I should say, they were written very accurately.

The motivation I had to write the "What does Aziraphale Actually Believe" series was that a lot of the ways those features of exploitation were accurately depicted weren't picked up on by the general audience. Because they rang so true to life to me, but were not followed by so many, I sought to explain my understanding of Aziraphale's behaviour to people who weren't sure what to make of it. These mechanisms are often very counter intuitive, not understanding them is pretty normal, and the Final 15 stood out to me as having been written with a very unusually high level of understanding of how exploitative power dynamics operate in real life.

Which is to say…

If the author of Aziraphale's Season 2 narrative arc came to me, and told me that he just didn't realize how power disparities impact people, that he was trying his best and he just didn't understand, I would tell him to go fuck himself with a rake. I can get behind wanting more to be investigated, wanting more information to be corroborated, wanting to see the actual screenshots and emails. I have respect for people who still want more documentation. What I want to push back against is arguments from people who believe the conduct happened, but either think that it wasn't a big deal, that Gaimen could not have been expected to know better, or that he made an unfortunate mistake. Someone that oblivious would not have been able to write the story of Season 2. Someone getting called out for their abuse of power absolutely would claim they didn't know any better as an excuse, it's the most obvious excuse to make.

People who abuse power knowingly are often still able to create a pocket fantasy universe, conjuring sections of time during which they can believe their own lies. They can sit better with themselves and their own actions that way. That isn't the same as not knowing better, it is the most willful of all willful ignorance, and it can flip on and off like a switch. I haven't read Sandman, but the people who have may be able to say if it seems like the work was written by a person who understands that people can create their own pocket realities to live in, and jump into and out of.

One of the common things expressed by those coming forward is that they want people to know that they are absolutely confident Gaimen understood what he was doing. There was a moment in the "Am I Broken" podcast where the survivor made that point, and the host either didn't process what they were being told or dismissed it at the speed of light, pivoting to hoping this would be a learning opportunity for other clumsy people in power who are probably making the same mistakes. It was a very frustrating moment.

I understand it is confusing that the people who engage in serial predatory behavior can rationalize themselves into their fantasy narrative of events while simultaneously engaging in an intentional strategy. But it is what people do. Getting to believe they aren't doing the very thing they planed to do is part of the strategy, and part of how they are able to gaslight people so effectively. The answer to "do serial predators believe they are innocent or do they do it as a honed deliberate tactic?" is yes. Knowing that is key to spotting these patterns in real life.

[callofthxvoid]

WHO: Karma Free and Quill Harker

SUMMARY: Karma has no idea who Quill is. Quill knows exactly who Karma is. Drama ensues.

QUILL's not really expecting much from this conversation if he's honest. She never came back and it's been more than a decade, but if there was one thing he'd learn from his father it was to cover his bases. He'd kept an eye out for her, she'd finally gone off on her own and he waited a bit before standing next to her and taking a drag from his cigarette. They were near the edge of the lake but far enough no one would hear what they'd say. "So do I call you Nicole or Karma?"

KARMA practically froze in place when she heard the name Nicole. She didn't mind people knowing it, but she did mind when she wasn't the one who had told them. In an instant, the comfortable, carefree Karma was replaced by a tense copy who just barely turned her head to look at who was speaking to her. "Well, one is my legal name, and the other one is what my mother called me," she replied, looking back at the lake and crossing her arms over her chest. "I'll let you guess which one I prefer."

QUILL raised a brow at the quick change in personality, then again he'd only briefly seen her all those years ago in person. She'd been a lot more timid, nothing like the wild child he'd seen in town. There was something ironic in that, she likely have fit well with their group, but unluckily for her, Cosima didn't share the spotlight with anyone. "Karma then," he said shrugging, really was all the same to him, "Doubt you remember me. We saw each other for maybe all of 5 seconds if I'm generous. I'm Quill, I'm friends with Cosima."

KARMA's entire expression and demeanour changed when he dropped the name that made it clear how she knew him, or more accurately, how he knew her. Suddenly, she wasn't twenty seven years old and at a lake party with her family and close friends—she was fifteen years old and standing in the home of a man who didn't want her, with nowhere else to go and no one else to turn to. "What do you want?" she asked, looking back at Quill. What a stupid fucking name. "I doubt Cosima sent you to talk to me."

QUILL hummed, exhaling and watching the smoke drift off as he glanced back at the festivities. He was letting her have her moment to process, people were usually easier to talk to when they didn't look like they'd just been hit by a cattle prod. Meeting Karma's gaze after a moment he shrugged, "No she didn't, she's not aware you're even here, yet," he said. Maybe it was being a twin that had him giving her a brief once over, idly wondering how alike if at all the two might be. "From you? Nothing in particular, I'm just being courteous. This town isn't exactly large, you're bound to run into each other eventually." Pausing he mused over a thought he'd had since arriving and poking around, "This town seems to thrive off that, the dramatics of it all, but you don't particularly seem the type for some confrontation. So consider this an olive branch to let you process whatever you need to."

KARMA raised an eyebrow but otherwise said nothing as she looked back at the lake. She tightened her arms around her chest. "Well, guess that's unsurprising, you people never want anything from me other than to make me go away," she muttered under her breath, glancing down at the ground and kicking a stray rock into the water. She hated feeling at a disadvantage. Since becoming a private investigator, she was usually the one who had all the information, and it hadn't occurred to her until now how comforting that was. "You're right, I'm not one for dramatics, so you don't have to worry about me causing a scene or anything. I have no intention of speaking to Cosima or anyone she associates with. I have my own family. I don't need her, and I certainly don't need you." She looked up at Quill. "How long have you been watching me?"

QUILL was tempted to correct her, that it really had made no difference to him, that it was Cosima's family's decision. He tilted his head watching the ripples of the water, giving a hum of acknowledgement as she spoke. "None of us really have the option of going away," he said shrugging. Taking his cigarette he lifted his shoe to extinguish it on the bottom before tucking it away into his pocket. "I didn't think you did, but like I said. Small town, you're bound to run into each other, least now it's not a surprise?" Meeting her gaze he tilted his head back in thought, "Mm about 2 weeks, and not so much watching. People in this town really do love to talk, it's a bit unnerving honestly," he said shaking his head. He paused glancing back at the crowds of people then back at her, "I didn't come here to start anything with you. Like you said, you have a family and you seem happy. I have nothing to gain from making you unhappy, if you want a list of who all we came with, I can give you one."

KARMA was aware that Quill was being perfectly polite. But that didn't stop her from being on edge, and it didn't stop her from feeling wildly uncomfortable at the thought that he had been asking around about her, or her family, for the past two weeks. She briefly wondered if this was how anyone she had investigated in the past had felt. "You didn't come here to start anything with me, but you have been talking to random people in town about me for two weeks," she answered, clearly keeping her guard up. "Apologies if I'm not immediately breathing a sigh of relief at your reassurances." She paused, taking a moment to think, before letting out a defeated breath and shrugging. "Why do you even care? I did what he asked. I stayed away. I even changed my name. I have no interest in him, or any kind of inheritance from him, and there is nothing out there that links me to either." She stared at Quill with a raised eyebrow. "I'm assuming that's who you really answer to. I can't think of why else you would bother paying attention to me."

"You were a talented private investigator, you know these things aren't personal," QUILL replied with a shrug, "You also know how quickly people can change their minds, especially when it involves familial ties." He paused for a moment to actually consider her questions, glancing out at the lake and kicking his own rock out. "I'm not particularly fond of making people miserable. I prefer to avoid conflict when I can," he finally said after a beat and meeting her gaze. "To be frank you for all intents and purposes were here first, in a way we're intruding on your home. I know how they act and are, I'm not making excuses for that, I'm just personally not a fan of acting like I own the place when I clearly don't. Seems only fair to let you know about us instead of being in the dark and seeing us in town." He made a half and half motion with his hand, "Half correct, my father is the one who likes covering his bases. Yours seems to follow the philosophy of out of sight out of mind," grimacing for a second, "Sorry that could have been more tactful."

In spite of herself, KARMA listened to everything that Quill had to say. Obviously she was a talented private investigator, but she didn't expect that compliment to come from him; and even if she was miffed at the insinuation that she would ever change her mind about her familial ties, she could recognise that he was making a good point in general. The biggest surprise, however, was that he had such an enlightened attitude to the privilege Cosima and people of her ilk carted around along with their giant egos and platinum credit cards. "Well, thank you for the heads up, I guess," she replied, her arms slowly loosening across her chest before she dropped them entirely and shuffled closer. When she turned back to look at Quill, her expression was a lot less antagonistic; not friendly, just not actively hostile. "And you're fine. I prefer honest over tactful anyway. I appreciate you talking to me like I'm a person with a brain." She paused. "Most people don't."

QUILL stayed where he was despite her moving closer to him, it was her call how friendly this ended up being, if it simply remained civil he'd consider it a successful conversation. A person could be reasonable, it was why he preferred one on one interactions. His eyebrows raised in surprise for the first time, now the one caught off guard. "Is that a fault of theirs or intentional on your part?" He asked genuinely curious, it wasn't like he'd never used the rich boy act to get past things. "Though I guess I'm not like most people, neither are you really," he mused out loud, bending down to grab a rock and flick it towards the lake, "You're likely one of the few in this town whose had a similar enough career to my own. It be insulting to both of us if I tried to speak to you any other way."

KARMA shrugged. "A little of column A, a little of column B," she replied, turning to watch as the rock hit the lake and rippled out. "A homeless fifteen year old would have to be a genius to track down her biological father with nothing to go on but the date, time, and hospital she was born at. But it always seems to work out better for me when people don't see me that way." She looked back at Quill and offered him a curious look—not necessarily interest, or intrigue, but a step up from the indifference that had replaced her initial anger and defensiveness. "Uh-huh. Right. Did you also go from a hacker to a private investigator to a bartender?" In spite of herself, there was a playful amusement to her tone.

"And humble to boot," QUILL said shaking his head even he had an amused smile as he flicked another rock. Snorting he shrugged, "No I went from professional bodyguard to glorified babysitter to a stock worker. Truly this town was an upgrade for my career," he said shaking his head again. Vaguely he could feel a pair of eyes on him, sneaking a glance and seeing her brother occasionally glancing at them. Past him though he could see the next person on his list to speak with. "I do have someone else I need to speak with, thank you for being willing to talk. I can't promise anything but I'll try and keep them all out your hair," he said giving her a small nod.

KARMA actually laughed at that. Granted, it was more of a snort than a laugh, but it was still the closest she had gotten to feeling anything but dread during their whole conversation. "Wow, you make my career sound lucrative," she quipped back with a small smirk, and there was a little bit of relief in starting to feel like herself again. She followed his gaze to Neptune and gave her brother a small wave as if to say that she was fine. "You didn't really give me much of a choice, but sure, you're welcome," she replied, looking back at Quill. "I'd say it was nice to meet you, but I already told you I prefer honesty over tactfulness, so I won't." She pushed past him and started walking back to her own crew before pausing and looking over her shoulder. "Hey, if we do run into each other in the future, guess it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. You're... Interesting. I'll give you that."

[ramuneempiremtl]

Slave-kun's Happy Life in Another World: Chapter 11

Daine took a deep breath and sat back on the couch. And then he began to talk about what he had "seen".

"──First of all, the moment he entered the room, he immediately checked the structure of the room."

"Wait, wouldn't you normally look at the people first?"

"He must have heard about us from Hulk. Anyway, he checked the room first. Then he looked at us."

"…… Please continue."

"As soon as he saw Shuza, he realized that he was the 'leader'. And he probably also figured out that Shuza was from a knight's family. He looked at me and judged that I was a 'shield user'…… Well, never mind about Nove. He said Aki was a 'tiger'. Ah, it looks like the porridge was good after all."

"Hey, what about me?! Don't skip me!"

What did Daine "see"?

Daine possesses an ability called "Authority". When "Authority" is activated, he can use advanced skills that are difficult to reproduce even with magic. It was a very rare ability in this country.

With Daine's "Authority", he could read the surface thoughts and deep memories of people.

Of course, there are various conditions, and there are times when he cannot read them, and there are times when there is a backlash on the reader. It is also possible not to use the ability.

As soon as Owl appeared, Daine immediately activated his authority. It is easier to read from an opponent who does not know about the authority, so Owl's thoughts had been read from the beginning.

Although there were some inconsistencies, he was generally "seen" and transparent.

However, Daine decided to keep quiet about the fact that Owl had called Nove a "white person" or "mother".

"He looks like a sullen kid, but he's pretty smart. He has good analytical and judgment skills, and he understands his position and situation accurately."

"…… What was he like when I was asking questions?"

"He didn't lie. However, he speculated that the president of the Chamber of Commerce was likely using 'powder'. He thought that it must have been the 'powder' that caused such a big merchant to collapse so easily."

"Is that so?"

"But he was reluctant to talk about the adventurer woman. He wondered why she wasn't caught… and then he thought about the distribution of 'powder'."

"He was thinking about such things…"

"──But above all, he… noticed that I was reading his mind."

"!"

Shuza looked at Daine with a rare look of surprise.

"Really? What did he think about that?"

"…… Ha. 'I can relax like this, so please keep reading.'"

"Eh…?"

"He's a big shot…"

"I'm curious about how inconsistent he is. He looks like he's healed on the surface, but he has terrible scars all over his body. He's been through something that has left him speechless, but he's strangely thick-skinned. He can do calculations, but he can't read or write. He has knowledge that I don't know where he got it from. And he's very eager to work. Usually, slaves and servants tend to be lazy."

He takes a break. Daine had spoken about five times as much as usual, so his mouth was dry. Aki thoughtfully handed him a glass of water.

"On that note, my conclusion is that there's nothing wrong with him."

"…… I understand. Thank you, Daine."

"Well, I'll keep an eye on him from time to time."

"Thank you. I may have to ask you for help soon."

"…… I don't like 'seeing' memories."

"Only if Owl gives permission."

Daine's opinion, who can use the foul play technique of reading people's minds, was very important in this party. It can be said that we are taking on this special investigation request because of Daine.

The "Authority" that had not been very well received, but no one could have imagined at that time that the encounter with Owl would change that.

Anyway, after a lot of information sharing, this party was finally able to start moving to fulfill the request.

"It's easy if he's smart. Hulk made a good purchase."

"Right?"

"But Hulk, weren't you saving that money? Is there somewhere you really want to go?"

"……"

"Did you forget?"

"I didn't forget… How should I put it, I feel like I'm being driven by something that transcends that… I don't feel like I chose it, but rather that I was chosen."

"Maybe it's a 'circle'."

"Be a good master. He's not a dog or a cat."

"I know."

"So, let's decide what to do next."

Thus, the exchange of opinions about Owl was made while he was fast asleep.

＊＊＊

[Next is the protagonist's point of view.]

[shot-tothestars]

Ahhh I'm not sure if I'm doing it right but... Welp here we go!! 😂💖

Thanks so much to @modern-oedipus for the tag!!! 💖💖💖

So!! I got an au idea a few weeks ago and decided to make a quick... Wip/pilot chapter?? To see if I was comfortable with it?? 😂 It may sound weird but welp😂😂

The main idea of this was to make it a tpn Canon divergence "chat story"?? And Canon divergence in how do they get to the human world and mostly them living "normal lives" but having to deal with the trauma the demon world left them (cause welp they are still kids and the things they had to go through must have done something to them)

English is not my first language and there must be tons of mistakes in here but since it's a wip... I decided to say, why not? And post it😂😂

Here!!!:

(curious note: the "for now" title is "The (my kids need therapy and Momma Isabella is alive au)" 😂😂😂)

_________________________________________

Emma loved her siblings. They were mostly the reason why she had kept fighting to survive. The reason why they were finally in the human world. 

When the social services told her that, in order to assure the mental health of her siblings and hers, she had to get away from them and be adopted by a family she had panicked for a bit and quickly regained her composure,smiled brightly and accepted the project. 

The project itself made a lot of sense, or at least that's what she wanted to believe. Different tests and psychologists had shown her how dependable she was from her siblings and vice-versa … In that way they would never be able to grow up and she wanted the best for her family. If the only thing she had to do for the wellbeing of her most beloved ones was to stay away from them on a weekly basis then so be it. She could do it! 

That's what she said 4 days ago to the therapist that was treating her. She really though she could spend five days without her family by her side. 3 days later on the week and she was proved wrong when she woke up terrified and screaming their names, hoping that the nightmare she just had wasn't reality itself and that everyone she cared for was safe and sound. That night she didn't mean to disturb anyone but the woman that was taking care of her gently tried calm her with words and called Mama when she noticed she wouldn't be able to ease her nerves. She ended up wishing good nights to all of her siblings and laughed at Ray's remark of how he would even wake Norman, Gilda and Don up and take them away from their different houses to hers if she still needed a reminder that all of them were alive and safe. After that she proceeded to sleep for 12 hours straight, her body trying to compensate all the stress she had been under without knowing. 

The next morning she woke up to a delicious small. Her mind screamed pancakes and tired and excited at the same time, rushed to the kitchen. Her care taker was waiting for her with her breakfast and a gentle smile. 

"Good morning, Emma. How are you feeling?" 

She almost forgot what had happened that night. She answered trying to put her best smile on her lips to calm the woman. 

"I'm feeling better, thanks for asking Ms. (I need to think in a name sorry). May I.." 

Ms (...), who must had been in her fortys, smiled amused and nodded. 

"Yeah, Emma. I didn't made this for the ghost of this house" 

She laughed a bit while starting eating her breakfast. Pancakes really made her feel better, probably, she guessed, Ms (..) asked Mama for a way to cheer her up. It was really kind and sweet from her. 

She was enjoying her glass of orange juice when the other decided to put out from her pocket a strange device. It was plane and dark, really thin and with a tiny but flat box appearance. She asked about it, curiousity getting the best of her. 

"Well you see Emma, this is a mobile phone" She explained " You'll be able to call or even chat with your siblings thanks to this" Emma could feel the amazement and excitement after listening to those words "But you'll only be able to chat on a daily basis with your other siblings that are in a shelter house, so you won't feel alone" 

That let her down a bit but she still was pretty much excited to know how that device worked. She had seen phones but all of them were from different eras and with extremely different designs. 

"That's great Ms (...)!!" 

They spent the morning exploring the new possession. 

……. 

                  6 of August of 2047

Hey, Emma, is this you? 

Gilda!! How have you been?? Yeah it's me!! 

Ohhh what a relief… Well answering to your question, I've been good, my new family is really kind and sweet to me, what about you? 

Aww that's amazing Gilda!! And yeah same, they are really nice and amazing!! 

Are you sure? I heard you were down last night, are they really treating you right? Emma, you know you can always tell us everything… 

Ahhh please don't be mad!! You are scary when mad… And yeah don't worry they are really good with me it's just… II rreally miss all of you… But now we have phones to contact each other!! 

Ohh about that, I've been thinking we can make a group chat to check on all of us? I've been talking separately with all of you but it will be nice to talk at the same time?? What do you think?? 

Oh Gilda that's a great idea!!! 

---------------------------------------------------

Ahhh!! I still have to change some things and fix plot holes and stuff but welp😂😂💖

(also @spaceoceania this was the fic I was talking about😂😂💖)

Work in Progress Wednesday

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[needsmorewlw]

Heya,

I really like all the ideas you have for the Quarry gang in different AUs, like the superpowers or lingering werewolf changes.

But if each one of them was a different mystical/paranormal creature in hiding, who do you think would be what? Like maybe Max and Laura would still be werewolves, but we could have a vampire, harpy, kelpie, mermaid etc.

Can either be classic monsters or mythological creatures in hiding.

Thanks for the awesome content!

HERE WE GO

I apologize for how long it took me to answer this I rly needed to think about it.

I wanted to stick with a kinda spooky theme for all of them while also picking things that I felt matched with their vibes but I'm so happy with these.

Almost all of these creatures murder people for fun but we're going Teen Wolf style where these funky kids are doing their best not to murder anyone because they don't want to, also they're in hiding.

Also turned this into a full-on story Au. Apparently I can't help myself.

👇 The Quarry counselors as mythical creatures in hiding 👇

Max&Laura

I love the idea of them still being werewolves. And I love the headcanon of them being a cryptid hunting duo even more and I think that's where they all meet in this universe. I say that like I have the ability to write a fanfic. I do not. But I'll obsess anyway.

They're both werewolves, though they look more furry than the game designs. Still big and freaky but not as gobliny

They get paid to investigate "mysterious deaths" typically caused by creatures posing as humans. They probably get paid by Travis who's just a human cop who knows that monsters exist and hide among humans and needs a way to get rid of them without seeming like a crazy person. They hunt down said creatures and that's how they meet the others.

They're all innocent but Laura and Max need to scope out their vibes before they can find the things actually repsonsible.

Emma

Emma was the first one I thought of because there's so many hot monster ladies who kill men and she just has that vibe to her, but also I was looking for a real specific energy for the love of my life.

Lamia in Greek mythology are half snake half women who eat kids. They also seduce men and convince them to give them their kids and then kill the men too. They're known to pose as performers to get attention and scope out vulnerable targets and lure them in with their ethereal beauty.

They're basically spicy land mermaids and that's on being hot. Though they're technically a type of demon. Like I said, hot.

Some stories pitch them to have mind control abilities as an alternative to seducing their victims. They can also straight up induce fear to make people leave them alone or just outright scare them to death.

They can shapeshift to change their size to be like an eight feet tall monster snake lady and also shed the snake skin to just be hot human ladies. They can see into the future and they practice witchcraft 😌🤌💕

Emma is just the local beautiful woman™. She definitely still has a YouTube channel or a Tiktok account and sometimes does her scarily accurate tarot card readings. She just lives her life doin whatever because it's pretty easy for her the hide. She travels a lot because she wants to see what the world has to offer but this makes her suspicious to the lil hunting duo who assume she's roaming around leaving bodies behind.

Laura and Max find her minding her own business. Maybe she did kill someone but if Emma was killing anyone, they definitely deserved it.

Abi

For Abi I almost went with something cutesy but I was also leaning towards something ghosty related because of how much contact she has with Eliza in the game. I just wanted her to be powerful but completely unaware of it, like it was something dormant she had to unlock and I actually had two that are basically the same thing but with very different aesthetics.

Banshees are fairy/spirit ladies who appear when you are close to death. If you can hear her wails it means someone you know is going to die or you're going to be in danger sometime soon.

Dullahan's are also fairies and are also omens of death but they're headless (lol) and ride around on horses holding their magic heads that can see massively long distances. Both are rad but I'm sticking with Banshee for now which is also a Teen Wolf thing.

She can disorient you with her scream and deafen you if you're close enough. Tinnitus all around. They also have visions of the future. (blygbank fortune teller duo)

Eventually she works out how to see and talk to ghosts but for most of her life she's just plagued with confusing dreams and gets weird feelings in certain places that later turn out to be haunted, and around certain people who end up dying shortly after.

Abi doesn't know about her powers she just thinks she has the worst luck. Every now and then, she'll go somewhere and she'll see someone get hit by a car or spontaneously have a heart attack. She aimlessly goes for walks and always ends up near where an ambulance is parked in front of someone's house or on the side of the road. Because she's always around the scenes of crimes, Laura and Max think she's their target but they eventually see that's not the case.

She's subconsciously using her powers and I think Laura and Max are the ones who tell her that she's a banshee when they realise that she's clueless and definitely not a serial murderer.

Ryan

For Ryan I was thinking along the lines of mythical creatures who kept to themselves/had some kind of camoflauge or shapeshifting abilities but most of them were tiny chaotic creatures or things that seduced humans to kill them and none of that matches up with Ryan

Then I read about djinn/jinn/genies and they seemed more like what I was looking for.👀

They're typically reclusive, only interacting with humans they deem to be wise/intelligent enough to offer their power to. They're antisocial and picky about their company just like our good good boy.

But more specifically I was thinking Ryan would be a half-djinn. Since Djinn are invisible, wispy beings with god-like powers associated with demons since they can possess humans. But their offspring pass as slender, pretty humans. Which is kinda boring but I think his eyes glow and he gets all these coloured tattoos all over him if he's in his djinn form 😌🤌

Their powers are limited to shapeshifting and psychic-like abilities where they can make humans hallucinate, experience false realities and basically just mess with their minds in general. They can also see into or interfere with humans dreams like Djinn. But Djinn cause sleep paralysis and try to possess sleeping humans.

But since Ryan canonically has one (or two depending on your hc) absent parents. It matches up with a human getting down with a potentially evil being and having a funky magic baby.

Ryan mainly uses his powers to avoid people. He's not out looking to make people go crazy by breaking their brains, he just doesn't want to be cornered into a conversation with an acquaintance when he's trying to do his grocery shopping. So he'll do some minor mind-fucking to make them forget they saw him.

It also makes it SUPER hard for Laura and Max to find him. The first time one of them try to approach him, he instinctively makes them forget him because he's too shy to talk to strangers and then they have to start from square one again. Then they come back and accuse him of messing with their brain and he gets nervous, so he messes with their brains again.

Djinn also have the silver weakness and can be killed or trapped inside anything made of silver. So there's something in common with Laura and Max. Also it's super funny to think about them trying to get proof that he's a djinn by using silver while trying to not touch it themselves.

Dylan

I really wanted something intelligence or music related for my sweet boy and as I was searching GUESS WHAT I LEARNT

Sirens! Were originally! depicted as half-BIRD MEN! Who hung out on big rocks in the middle of the ocean and sang or played music. The stories varied between them doing it to cause mischief and get sailors killed or lost at sea. Or singing to warn sailors travelling through fog that were was stuff to hit their boat on or that a storm was coming. Then later they added lady sirens (or stories with lady sirens got more popular) and stories of them exclusively trying to lure sailors in with their voices to kill them started up. Then they changed it to fish people, then some boring asshole decided that it was just female sirens who lured men to their death. Probably some lame ass who didn't want to be lured to his death by a hot man. But I'm not a coward so I'm going with the OG lore.

The idea of Dylan with wings does in fact, make me go feral. Maybe he just has wings or maybe he gets feathers on his arms and bird feet when he's not in human form but either way he's ethereal. He has super soft hair. Beautiful bird boy.

He uses his charm powers mostly for his own gain, occasionally to help his friends out. If he gets lonely he'll go somewhere and hum or whistle a song and people will immediately come over to him and talk to him 🥰 He makes music and anyone who hears it feels compelled to reach out to him in some way. He has used it to get money many times and he'll do it again. But he doesn't make people fall in love with him because that's where his morals kick in. He doesn't use his powers to kill people, he just likes the attention. Because you can't convince me that if Dylan had the ability to make people pay attention to him, he wouldn't abuse the hell out of it.

I imagine that creatures with mind control-esq abilities are immune to his charm and he gets real mopey about it. Not because he's run into a potentially dangerous creature but because he got rejected and he's not used to that.

I think he singles out Max and lures him in because he's smart and figured out Max and Laura were tracking him. Cue Laura going to save her bf and her and Dylan recreating that picture of the cat with the shit-eating grin surrounded by knives (Laura's holding the knives)

I have another similar one for Dylan but Sirens are more noteable so I went with that.

Kaitlyn

I wasn't sure about Kaitlyn. My only prerequisite was that it had to be dope. I wanted to find some way to make her a dragon then I remembered wyverns were a thing and I saw stars.

The difference between dragons and wyverns is that wyverns are smaller and bipedal. They still walk on their hands and feet but they have hand claws instead of four legs. Some of them breathe fire, others have some kind of poison smog breath or spit acid. I can see Kaitlyn's bite and claws being poison when she's not in human form.

She has three forms. A human form, a half wyvern lady form and a full on wyvern. They're smart and like collecting/hoarding things. They're independent but inquisitive and like learning about human things which works with their interest in mechanics and engineering 😌🤌

She minds her own business and rarely goes into creature mode. She's a human 99.9% of the time because she's a responsible, tax paying member of society who doesn't feel the need to randomly use her powers for any reason. But when she does use it you better make sure you're on her side because she'll whoop your ass.

I'm also obsessed with Kaitlyn and Dylan being winged buddies. I think they met from Dylan luring her in when he was bored and once it wore off, she decided he was funny and harmless enough to not immediately kill. Now they're besties, They have to be besties in every au, I don't make the rules.

Laura and Max are real careful with tracking her because they know how tough she is and I'm debating whether they even tried to do so or not. Kaitlyn could definitely immediately tell they're werewolves and vice versa. Their animal instincts clocked each other right away. I think Kaitlyn went to them to find out why they were following her and then probably helped them find the real culprits after she scares the shit out of them.

Nick

I wanted SOMEONE to be a water dwelling creature and I had good arguments for most of them. I almost made Ryan the merman but I eventually settled on Nick.

My final decision was ultimately based on Nick being an adorable Australian shark merman since Australians are all about the beautiful beaches and swimming and the coral reef and all that good stuff.

Specifically he's a tiger shark, they have stripes down their sides, they're a little stupid and they're entirely food motivated. Like they'll swim through disaster weather just on the off-chance they'll find dead things to eat when every other species of shark swims away from the area for safety.

There's a bunch of different stories about merfolk and what they're capable of in terms of shapeshifting but I'm going with the style where they can either have the half fish body or human legs whenever they want. They can live on land for as long as they want without it affecting them physically but they do feel an urge to be near water. Which is why I think Nick is a lifeguard in his spare time. He just has the vibe of those handsome, charming lifeguards.

There are stories about how merfolk would innocently try to take humans they liked to their underwater kingdoms, which resulted in the humans drowning or their lungs crushing from the sudden change in pressure because they swim down so fast. Which is so bimbo/himbo of them tbh but it makes sense they wouldn't know humans can't breathe in both air and water like they can. But that's why Nick's a lifeguard because he's well aware these humans are fragile and they need a lot of taking care of.

They can read minds which is how they talk underwater but Nick knows not to pry. He's polite. Living on land gave him human etiquette.

He has a set of human teeth and a set of pointy shark teeth that he can retract and he's real strong. Similar to the werewolves, he can smell blood and it can potentially send him into a bit of a frenzy if he's hungry or you just catch him on a bad day mentally. Luckily he's a generally happy boy and doesn't have a lot of bad days but when he has a bad day, it's a real bad day. (Future cryptid friend group HC is that Dylan or Emma have to calm him down by charming him before he goes rabid and tried to eat someone. Same with the werewolves.)

Laura and Max absolutely hate this job because it's entirely water based. The dude is constantly in and out of water and covered in water. In the end, Max literally just walks up to Nick and chats to him about the weird deaths in the area and Nick is SO friendly and helpful and after half a conversation with him they know he's not the culprit but they DO wanna hang out with him.

Jacob

I was at a loss for Jacob, I truly just had no idea he could be. We don't have any info about his family dynamics or his interests that could spawn some train of inspiration in my head like the others do and this was sixty percent of the reason it took me so long to write this.

He has a similar energy to Abi where he just doesn't know what's going on most of the time so I played off that. Eventually I decided on him being a mythical creature by proxy. As in, he's possessed by something that turns him into a monster.

Y'all heard of a show called Teen Wolf?/sarcasm

There's a being called the Kanima which is a South American myth that involves a shapeshifter in the form of a were-jaguar. It's known as a demonic spirit that brings misfortune to everyone it's near. If you're out in the woods and you keep experiencing bad luck; tripping, stuff from trees falling on you, getting attacked by animals, it's a sign that the Kanima is after you.

It has the power to posses humans or animals and it's stare can drive the recipient insane. They have a paralyzing poisonIt can't fully suppress the consciousness of the one they're possessing unless they're asleep or knocked out. The spirit is only released if the one they're possessing dies and I think this is the final chapter in this little cryptid hunting story.

Jacob went out for a walk one day, was even more unlucky than usual and didn't come home. Kaitlyn and him are definitely still friends in this universe and she started getting concerned/suspicious when Jacob popped up the next morning acting like he didn't know what happened the previous night.

Her instincts are telling her something's wrong, she calls Laura and Max and they also can't do anything. When the Kanima reveals itself they can't get close to it because if the stare and the poison. Not only that, everything goes wrong, their car breaks down, they hurt themselves in ridiculous ways, all because of the Kanima. Kaitlyn can fight him but her poison doesn't work on him and the stare would make her go crazy.

They end up calling all their new friends to see if any of them can help. Abi's new to this, she might be able to help but she's not ready for combat. Nicks strong enough to fight it and would love to help but one look from the Kanima would make Nick go into a frenzy. Dylan could pacify and lure him in but he absolutely does not want to get close to it because he'd get messed up by the poison and the stare.

At the end of the day Emma and Ryan are also demon-esq and they're the only ones immune to the poison and insanity stare. Emma pacifys him while Ryan roots around in his mind to essentially disable the Kanima so it can't take control of Jacob anymore.

Now Jacob just has the strength and speed of the Kanima. In Teen Wolf it's like a gross lizard thing but when I look up were-jaguars, they're just these big ol' hell-demon-cats so that's what he can turn into because that's sick. Parkour time for this lad.

[naancypants]

I came across this post on the Nancy Drew reddit and I would love to hear your thoughts on it https://www.reddit.com/r/NancyDrewCW/comments/sgewsg/the_true_ending_for_nace_not_about_the_possible/

it's made me worried for for the future of Nace because (as much as it hurts to say) these points do make a lot of sense to me. Idk if the shortened season ruined the wholeness of Nace's relationship, but I agree that it feels like we missed majorly important moments with them and their feelings. And then we finally get their sex scene, but it's in a dream (kind of like a consolation prize), and then the whole multiple soulmate thing - why was that even brought up at all? Do you think this post makes good points? Should we be worried?

**Anxiety-prone Nace followers, be warned you may not want to read the linked post!

Anon: This is pretty much how I felt when I watched the finale for the first time, to be honest - bUT I don't necessarily think that's the case anymore. I feel better after hearing other fan interpretations and some of the writers' interviews.

Full thoughts under the cut

1. First of all, the episode descriptions are NOT always accurate - hence Nancy's feelings for Ace "resurfacing" in 3.04's description, despite still being clear and obvious in the episodes prior - or a "shocking reversal" at the end of 3.12, which I assume was about Ace being the last soul piece, but it's such an odd way to describe that reveal imo. What was reversed? The expectation that the soul piece would belong to a rando? "The turntables"?

2. Additionally, "A star-crossed choice that will change things forever" can be interpreted in many different ways. Nancy chose Ace over the town at first - and that star-crossed choice changed things forever, causing a massive shift in every single character's trajectory. Relatedly to the previous bullet point, the network also wants to make things sound as dramatic as possible. There's no need to take the wording literally.

3. @aceandnancy put it best: the writers know Nace is their golden goose. There's no way to avoid or deny that. I agree that it seems like Melinda loves the angst and longing, but ultimately, to take Nace off the table forever would be on a whole other level of buffoonery. Not that such buffoonery has never happened before on tv, but I'll call it what it is and I'll say it with my chest: to do this would be BUFFOONERY.

4. I'm not going to hold anyone to the exact specific wording they use in any interview ever. Conversational communication that's being done on the fly is far from ironclad. If Ace investigates and finds out about the curse - something the writers have said 100% he will - then the curse plot isn't going to be dropped. Nancy's willingness to risk his life to break the curse is very different than Ace deciding to risk it. The writers might drag out the storyline, but they would be souring 95% of their audience if they didn't resolve it. Also good to note that (I think it was) Noga said "Nancy is not one to sit idly by, and neither is Ace" in relation to breaking the curse.

All the other storytelling complaints I unfortunately chalk up to being too ambitious plot-wise with too little episodes to flesh everything out (especially the relationships). I still don't love the conversation with Carson, personally, lol - but @nancy-drews pointed out that it could have been to provide a tiny bit of closure just in case this was the series finale*, to at least end on a more hopeful note in Nancy's time of deep despair. Since there isn't a solution to the curse AS OF YET, she is very much in a headspace where she's trying to shut herself down as a way to cope with what she believes is her life now - so the conversation with Carson is promoting the message that there's always a sliver of light to be found when you think all is lost.

Idk. Just some thoughts. 🤷‍♀️

*it won't be the series finale. not manifesting that shit

[aalt-ctrl-del]

@aalt-ctl-del Where I live (the United States) the term mass shooting has nothing to do with the use of military weapons; here this term means that 4 or more people are shot during an interaction regardless of whether the interaction is illicit or not. To be clear mass shooting are nearly always illicit here. You are mistaken about not being able to”take a pistol and kill a dozen people in a minute flat” the way you can with a rifle.  The difference between most pistols and rifles is that rifles tend to be more accurate at greater distances than are pistols. This is because (basic physics) longer barrels stabilize projectiles better, and because a greater distance between the front and rear sight allows for greater precision in aiming (the term I would use is longer-radius). A pistol can shoot just as fast and often faster than any sporting rifle. With regard to the data I am seeking; I want to see data which shows that a particular change in regulation should have a given effect on homicide and attempted homicide rates and how that hypothesis was determined.  What I see instead typically is either emotionally-based arguments or unsubstantiated claims with no science supporting the assertions.  

cringe

There is a lot of data that I can go off and browse through to really tackle this block text. What I'll hit up first is the definition for "mass shooting" versus that of "gun violence", since those two sort of get lumped together. Here's an interesting article about the terminology and what constitutes a mass shooting (click me).

The short end is that certain data bases which track the epidemic mass shootings are still struggling to negotiate an appropriate term. If we say "mass shooting is 4 or more people, shooter included, have received a fatality from a firearm." The term will sooner or later need adjustment, as a mass shooting event is not entirely and isolated to a domestic dispute, gang violence, or other event - all of which can amount 4 or more casualties easily.

Specifically and for the simplicity of my argument, "mass shootings" as the media has latched onto them right now, are those which are spontaneous phenomenon wherein the gunman has no prior direct affiliation with a group, but seeks to cause terror and mayhem with a firearm. Which is the key characteristic to the most heinous sort of mass shooting events we have witnessed back-to-back, and which especially single out old or the young.

While it is true that a pistol in a trained shootists hands, can fire off in rapid succession - it still depends on the make and model, as well the care of the equipment.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation among the other databases such as EGS, GVA, or SHR take interests in the characteristics and psychology of those individuals who take up a weapon with intent to 'become' a mass shooter - at this point, that is the goal and intent of the perpetrator. In this instance (this sounds like a fucking SCP) the perpetrator does not typically have the essential training to gain that frequency of attack nor traction, not if the shooter is to achieve the impact they desire in the time frame they are allowed. The time frame is short, unless prior planning is involved - please see the Columbine Massacre and all that entails (click me).

Hence why the focus on military assault rifles, which is an easy target for managing better firearm control and regulation. And is typically the sought weapon when a mass shooter seeks to initiate the event. Automatic rifles do not need to be accurate or neat to get the job done, and regardless where bullets of the weapon hit upon the target, the optimal amount of damage will be done. And the children of Uvalde texas did need to be identified using DNA swabbing, they were so badly mangled by the sloppiness of the shooter. But again, the shooter wasn't trying to kill children. He was there to rip them to pieces. That as well is an important note to bear, but there is a note here to make on mental stability - which I cannot make at this time since we've talked about how useful background checks and mental health evaluation would help with these sort of things like whether certification for carrying a firearm in public is allowed.

"What I see instead typically is either emotionally-based arguments or unsubstantiated claims with no science supporting the assertions."

I'm pretty sure your parents didn't phrase the response like that. I wouldn't expect any less of someone who lacks empathy, or at the very least could show sympathy, or something like humility. But this is prime American indoctrination, and when we are children we are trained from pre-K that one day someone might come into our school and begin mowing down our teacher and our peers with a firearm they probably shouldn't have. We turn the lights out, hide under our desks, and we be very quiet - noise and movement draws the shooter. Most of us will survive to adulthood, but not all of us. Luck is a factor in genetics.

Anyway, the statics regarding gun violence out of American nationality are varied, and depend on the socioeconomics of the country, its politics, and regulations on firearms. Here's an article (click me). Here's a gateway link to other information regarding gun violence in Australia (click me). Here's a fun graph you can play with to see how states and countries compare to New Zealand in terms of gun violence (click on me). I compared Alaska and NZ and Japan. wtf Alaska? Yall alright?

Meh. This wasn't a great article (meh). It focuses primarily on the general term of gun violence, but at the end of the day does support the demand for better regulations on gun ownership, mental checks and background evaluations. The stuff that might bar anyone unfit for owning a powerful weapon, pistol or rifle.

But none of the data or statistics will ever be good enough for politicians, or for crafting stronger guns laws, because at the end of the day it's the ideal that it won't "be me" that keeps gun hoarders snug in their beds at night. There isn't care for the community or concern for their people. The mentality of "me-me-me". "It won't happen to me" "It will never happen to my children."

And how selfish and ignorant. How stupid and gutless. I don't care how strong or capable I might be, how fast I can move, or how agile I am - I rock climb btw.

I care about MY PEOPLE. I care about my neighbors, I care about my fellow shop goers. I care about the schools in my city. I care about the little kids playing outside this summer in the evenings. I care about the old people, retired in their assisted living and care homes. I care about other people. Caring about them is caring about me.

And sure as hell no amount of laws will ever completely stop gun violence or prevent another Sandy Hooks. But I would like to make it an iota of an ounce more difficult for someone to go out there and reach a school.