#Episode 5: The Magician’s Left Hand

[wistfulnightingale]

The Metatron Misdirection: Nina's Magic Trick (A New Final 15 MetaTheory)

Part 1 of 8 in the Chess Moves Theory Set by @wistfulnightingale

**I believe it is new -- I haven't found it anywhere else.

Misdirection is a key element in the most skilled magic tricks. It's more than mere distraction, wiggling one hand while the other hides the ace. Misdirection in Magic means that the magician isn't "hiding" the trick; they are allowing you to think that you are looking at exactly the right moment, while convincingly focusing your attention away from the moment when 90% of the trick actually happened. Magicians Penn and Teller are quoted as saying, "The strongest lie is the lie that the audience tells itself."

This article on What Is Misdirection in Magic tells exactly how it's done. Check out the 7 Types of Misdirection in the article, or in my Chess Moves Theory Master Post. They're used easily and often in the final episodes of Season 2.

I think there might be a major misdirection in Episode 5 that set up the events of the second half of Episode 6, and makes sense of some of the crazy-weird scenes and out-of-character behaviors we see, both in that scene and later. But, it'll seem absolutely bonkers... so please, keep breathing, and hear me out, and please check out all the interconnected 8-Parts that help support my reasoning.

I include photos below, and I admit they're not clear enough to be "proof" on their own. But the idea itself would explain why Azi abruptly left Nina, and why Crowley babbled. Some of the other parts of my overall theory add some additional possibilities as well. (Interestingly, the photos are from videos that used to be available free on YouTube Prime Video, but have been removed from the Good Omens playlists in recent months.

In E5, while we were watching Crowley stammer, and listening to Nina puzzle out relationships, and when our belief in the Ineffable Marriage was shattered by Crowley's answer -- Nina was (without her knowledge) participating in the biggest Misdirection of Season 2.

I suspect The Metatron was already in the Coffee Shop. I know it sounds nuts, but I strongly suspect that Episode 6 was not his first visit. I believe that I can show you reasonable evidence (added up from here and from other parts of my Chess Moves Theory-series) that the Metatron made a "trial run" the day before, during this scene in Episode 5. Crowley and Aziraphale were each shocked to spot him through the window behind Nina. Misdirection made him almost impossible for us to see.

Almost. But I think he's there. At least, there's a guy in a long dark overcoat, who looks like he's talking to another customer. Possibly a coffee-confused celestial gentleman getting help from a good samaritan? Let me explain how I think it was done, and I'll show you what I think is the Metatron.

{Edit 11/25/24 to add: I've been made aware that the photos are not a strong case, if you have higher photo resolution than I have access to. But Azi and Crowley's odd behaviors also support my theory, as I explain if you scroll down. For more on this, and on my new idea about where I might have went wrong, check out The Metatron Misdirection New Note (Is it a Shell Game of White-Haired Men?) }

This screenshot (let's call it Photo #1) is untampered, basically what we see in the episode. Aziraphale was happily chatting with Crowley about the nonexistent pen of his nonexistent aunt's nonexistant gardener... Then Nina emerges, has "things to say" about Neighborhood Christmas lights (that's the moment in this screenshot)... and Aziraphale abruptly hurries away. Within minutes, Crowley is stammering as if he'd never had a moment's thought that he and his Angel could have a committed, romantic relationship.

How...? What...?! Crowley, really, dude, what the...??! (Please refer to An Old Married Couple for my thoughts on this!)

But when we take that same moment, come in closer, brighten and sharpen it, make it more vivid --

Photo #2. There. In the red oval. The white hair, the dark overcoat, rounded shoulders. The Metatron. We didn't expect to see him there. So we didn't.

Hold on! -- I don't expect you to be convinced yet. So I went through moment by moment. There are more photos. (I recommend that you also check the brightness of your own viewing screen -- it helps!)

Nina is used in the scene to perform a concealment and switch, a replacement (magician's call it a Change), and then a distraction -- A Magic Trick. Nina is a huge part of why we're not easily able to spot the Metatron.

Magic Trick Step 1: There's magical sleight of hand going on, even once you know what to look for. We are visually warned. When we first see Nina, as our Ineffables are talking about impossible French, she literally emerges from the shadows (see photo below). Remember, this is significantly Before talking about "Christmas lights" in Photos 1 & 2.

Magic Trick Step 2: If we do happen to look at the customers in the shop as Nina emerges, there's a white-haired man in line who is NOT the Metatron. Note his height compared to the orange-shirt guy. He's taller, and he's fairly slim. We can see his pants or denims, so he's wearing a short jacket, not an overcoat. He's also holding a lit cell phone and carrying a blue bag. I didn't brighten this photo at all. We're supposed to see this particular fellow. He's part of the magic trick, planted there for the switch, just in case we do notice a more significant white-haired man later.

Here's the same photo, brightened. You can more easily see that he's wearing a short jacket -- we see his legs as he steps forward.

(Pay attention to the man in the orange shirt. He's very visible with that bright color. In later shots, he stays near the Metatron, and helps us visually track them both, when both are blurred by distracting window reflections.)

Magic Trick Step 3: Next, Nina steps into the light. As she steps forward, she says, "Bravo! Just enjoying the show." Again, we are given cues that there's a show in play. She bends over to wipe a table, completely blocking our view of the slim white-haired man.

Magic Trick Step 4: The camara cuts to Azi, and that's the last we see of the slim man with the cell phone and bag. Presto-Change-o, Abracadabra! Like a disappearing act with a magician's silk cloth, or like Azi's trick for Nefertiti with the 3 cowry shells, the switch (in magic, called "the Change") has been made! The slim man is gone.

Magic Trick Step 5: When the camera returns to Nina, it's the first photo I showed you, with the Metatron in it. The man in orange isn't at the front of the line anymore. (Was he undecided about his order, and stepped aside?) We can see a sliver of his shirt to the left of the doorframe, just inside the oval, but he's almost entirely hidden. Nina's talking about the Christmas lights. "I have things to say."

It all happens in less than 30 seconds.

"Where, then, was the Metatron?" you may ask in disbelief. There's a big rectangular pillar in the middle of the floor behind Nina, just to the right of the line. There is a mural on it, so it's camouflaged. On the walls behind the pillar are menu boards -- we see them in the "How's your naked man friend" scene in E1. It's likely that the Metatron was behind the pillar, looking at the menu options.

"Well, how come we never see the slim cell phone guy again?" you may wonder. The tables at the far edges of the shop are never seen. If he sat down, especially at our far left, he'd be out of view.

Here's that "I have things to say" photo again --

That's when Aziraphale sees the Metatron. He's suddenly distracted. His response is brief, and odd. Just --- "Yes." We don't often see our Angel speechless. He walks away without another word. That. Is another out of character moment. He's gone from his "I'm having so much fun doing this" smile to the fake, nervous mask he puts on for the Archangels.

His eyes are wide and his expression frozen, until it fades into worry as he walks away. Azi nervously checks behind him for Crowley. Hoping he'll follow, away from danger.

Crowley hasn't spotted the Metatron yet. It's not until he starts to follow Azi, then stops for Nina, that he's at the right angle to see him. When Nina says, "You been together long?" Crowley's completely distracted. He just noticed the Metatron.

"Who?" he ridiculously asks. This made zero sense -- Azi was just here! However, on our far right, over her shoulder, we can see the Metatron, facing sideways towards our right. He and the orange-shirt man are on the far right, positioned as if talking to each other (maybe he's asking how this coffee-selection-thing works?).

Because he's facing sideways, we can tell that this man is not slender like the man with a cell phone and blue bag. The man we see now, in this photo, wears a long coat that comes straight down in the front. It's not a jacket, it's an overcoat.

The Metatron is almost the same height as the orange-shirt man. His dark coat nearly makes him invisible as the reflections in the window break up his outline and blur the orange-shirt man. The two have stepped back from the counter, closer to us. We can see his rounded back, white collar and hair.

Short height, rounded back, long overcoat, white collar. NOT the same as the first man we saw. That's why I believe we're seeing the Metatron. That, and Aziraphale and Crowley's strange behaviors.

When you look closely at Crowley, he's staring intently into the coffee shop window as Nina asks her question. His head is not at the same angle when he returns his focus to her. It's not just the cute little neck scrunch -- he literally turned his head slightly to his right to look at her and answer her question. Crowley is concentrating on what he saw inside, and is mentally scrambling.

After Crowley says, "Who?" the camera returns to Nina. "You and your partner," she clarifies. Meanwhile, the Metatron has turned and is now standing at the end of the coffee line.

You can see three men in line, facing the counter, with the orange-shirt man in the middle. He's the colorful backdrop to frame the padded shoulders of the Metatron's dark coat.

Nina does a lot of "patter" here, a classic magician's Misdirection technique. Lots of rapid, distracting questions. They keep our own minds as occupied as they do Crowley's -- we struggle to keep up, and share our demon's outrage about Azi as "a bit on the side!"

I had to do a lot of reduced videoplay speed, constant pausing the frames, and careful photo brightening and sharpening to make these images somewhat clear. There are also frames where the reflection of vehicles and passersby’s obscure our view. The distractions come and go. It's all designed to split our focus.

So I was astonished when I discovered that, in the moment where the Metatron is standing alone, not clustered with anyone else, Nina is almost looking DIRECTLY AT THE CAMARA. It's only a moment. It's the only shot I had, of Dozens(!) of micro-moments, where the Metatron is in full view, although still difficult to see. This is how it looks in the episode.

Here's the same photo, brightened and sharpened for definition.

There is almost nothing on the right side to reflect or distract in this moment. The lighting effects allowed a much clearer view.

Nina goes back inside, and has to deal with a busy line and a new customer, a posh older gentleman in an overcoat. One who doesn't know about human coffee shops or how to place an order, and who probably consulted orange-shirt guy for coffee-selection advice. He's confused, he's asking odd questions... She doesn't have time for this...! So when he comes back the next day, she warns him not to do it again -- "Order accurately and fast..." (For more thoughts on this, see The Metatron's Second Coming)

Meanwhile, Crowley stands there bewildered as worry sets in. The Metatron is dangerous. Why is he here? This could be very bad for them both, but especially for Aziraphale. Crowley's main concern in the conversation was to SAY NOTHING that gave away their relationship. "Just... an angel... I know."

(**There's interesting implications about the Final Fifteen if Crowley is concerned that the Metatron has the ability to hear him from inside the shop. Azi often gestures as if the Metatron could hear them from outside.)

Crowley leaves in the opposite direction. I wonder if he hung around near the cafe, monitoring where the Metatron was. That's why he's morose and worried when Azi returns to the cafe (see more in my post Ineffables In Check). Crowley is also now worried that Gabriel is actually NOT memory-less. Is he there to spy on them for the Metatron? Crowley aggressively tries to find out.

He'll do Whatever It Takes to protect his Angel.

Please check out the rest of my 8-part Chess Moves Theory Set at @wistfulnightingale to see how I believe all the moments fit together in this Life or Death Chess Game. The 8 Parts support each other -- I broke a massive idea into parts, and you'd need to read all 8 before you can decide for sure if I'm wrong, or totally bonkers! It's a crazy ride, and I'll be happy to have you along for it!

The 8 Chess Moves MetaTheory Set:

1 - The Metatron Misdirection

2 - The Metatron's Second Coming

3 - Ineffables in Check

4 - A Hefty Jigger of Death

5 - Nothing Lasts Forever

6 - The Circle Kiss Theory

7 - The Nightingale DID Sing

8 - Aziraphale's Jubilant Smile (Not the crazy elevator grin)

Also: The Chess Moves Theory Set, Why Chess & Magic?

And: The Metatron Misdirection New Note (Is it a Shell Game of White-Haired Men?)

[iwontusethis255]

Infinity Train theoretical Book & OCs! (long ass post)

INFINITY TRAIN BOOK ???: OVERT ATTACHMENT

Meet the cast!

Renae (They/Them) got on the train at the age of 16, 10 whole years ago, in that time they managed to make friends and adjust to life on the train. Every time their number hits 0, they're struck with such intense fear of going back to the real world and its real problems that the number shoots up. Shortly after arriving they lost their hand, and managed to find...

Liv (She/Her) is Renae's best friend, their left hand gal! she's a living car who gives a glob of her shapeshifting form as a replacement hand for Renae. Renae was actually the one to name Liv! She's eternally grateful for Renae coming into her life, best friends, through thick and thin.

Battrick (He/Him) is also there. A recent member of the dynamic duo, met in The Haunted House Car, Battrick is on a search with the others to find the scariest things he can to improve his house! He has ignored Renaes suggestions of mushrooms and pirates.

Episode Overview!

Episode 1: The Magician Car

Renae and Liv are on their typical trek when something goes wrong.

(Setup, shows the typical dynamic duo interaction between the two as they take down an evil magician guy, until The Living Car is moved far away, and they have to get back)

Episode 2: The Haunted House Car

Renae and Liv go through a spooky manor and make a friend.

(The two go through an unimpressive haunted house experience, and when Battrick, one of the denizens, asks for advice on what’s scary, Renae claims mushrooms and refuses to elaborate. Battrick joins them, hoping to find scary stuff outside the car. It’s shown how he’s not working well in the established dynamic, to Liv’s annoyance.)

Episode 3: The Catfish Car

Renae and Battrick have a moment on a shoddy fishing boat. Liv discusses with The Cat.

(Battrick asks Renae what they’re gonna do after they get off the train, and that sparks a conversation about their old home and the potential for a new one, as well as their past in general, with Renae mentioning they’re not a fan of boats. Cat strikes a conversation with Liv and is suspicious of how she talks about Renae.)

Episode 4: The Chillax Car

Liv and Battrick bond over video games and food.

(Renae finds friends in the car and hangs with them, to Liv’s annoyance. Liv and Battrick interact, with Liv talking about their frustration with Battricks addition to the group, but honestly reassures him that she’s warming up to him, and that it's definitely her just being ironically scared of change. Renae feels a bit bad for kinda ditching them, and apologizes, even though they aren't in the wrong. Battrick feels the need to reassure that, but doesn’t.)

Episode 5: The Telenovela Car

Renae and Liv put on a show.

(Renae and Liv are cast as romantic partners in a show, with Renae’s character revealed to be cheating on Liv’s. Liv’s acting reaction has a slightly concerning level of realism, talking about how she always had a feeling they were with the neighbour (Battrick's character) and yelling with tears in her eyes, her incredible “acting” catches herself, the others, and the audience off guard, but the audience adores the show.)

Episode 6: The Mushroom Pirate Car

Renae remeets a not-so-friendly face.

(Renae is back in the car where they lost their hand, and the mushroom pirate captain who took it is more than happy to finish the job. Liv is overprotective of them and underprotective of Battrick, to Renae’s concern and annoyance. Renae eventually takes down the captain themselves, without Liv.)

Episode 7: The Confessional Car

The three have to confess their feelings and sins.

(The three are forcibly separated, and made to confess in a freakily religious setting that physically cracks with every confession. Battrick says they’re unsure on how good Liv is, Renae eventually admits they’re a bit scared for Liv, and Liv’s is not revealed, but it’s clear it upset her.)

Episode 8: The Fear Car

The truth comes to light.

(The car seems to be a version of Liv, but way, way more hostile. When the captain shows up and they piece together that this is a fear themed car, Liv is incredibly confused and upset that they showed up as the main hostility. They then finally arrive at The Living Car, where Liv locks them inside.)

Episode 9: The Living Car

Liv snaps at Renae and Battrick.

(Liv separates Renae and Battrick, for Renae’s own safety, as she puts it. Liv is having a full on breakdown, constantly shifting and ranting, worried that they aren’t good enough for Renae and desperate to prove the opposite, with Renae trying and failing to reason.)

Episode 10: The Breaking Point

Renae learns to move on.

(Renae finally admits to themselves that their relationship with Liv is not healthy. After freeing Battrick, their number hits zero, but they don’t want to leave without talking to Liv, so they fight through the mass to her center, consoling her a bit before saying they wish her luck for the future and changing for the better, but they don't want to be a part of it. After they leave, she retracts and lets Battrick leave the car, and Renae goes forth on Earth looking for a new life.)

Other Notes

Each book has a genre and theme

Book One is a mystery about reality Book Two is an adventure about identity. Book Three is a tragedy about empathy. Book Four is a comedy about communication.

This Book is a horror focusing on moving on.

Each Book also has an irl classic book associated with it

Book One takes inspiration from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Book Two is basically Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio. Book Three has references to J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan. Book Four had nods and themes from Nikolai Gogol's short story, Nevsky Prospekt

Man, I wonder what book this one is based- OH.

Renae's Number is revealed to be 54, and stays as such in the majority of the story. Guess what 54 is in roman numerals :]. Go on guess :]. Renae's name also means "Rebirth", with their themes of finding a new life on the train and then leaving to find one off of it. In addition, before they met Liv they were taken in by the Mushroom Pirates and bonded with them, and when they were like "I wanna be a pirate too!" the captain replied "Ha, of course! but you'll have to LOOK THE PART!" and swiftly held down their hand with their hook for the amputation. If they succeeded in making them "look the part" they would have infected them with spores and fully turned them into a mushroom. This is meant to represent betrayal and manipulation that happened in their past as well as would soon happen in their future with Liv.

Battrick was created as an antithesis to Liv's ideals, and as such I chose an animal that apparently represents communication, long journeys, challenge, good luck, dreams, and fear.

Liv using part of herself as Renae's arm is to represent the emotional attachment to them in a literal sense, as well as her unintentionally girl-nipulating them to stay on the train, with her physically covering the (now floating) number. Liv as a villain is on a sliding scale between Morgan and Simon, in all honesty. shes unhealthily obsessed with Renae and wants nothing more than to always be in their life, and them to always be in hers. They NAMED her, they gave her a LIFE, if Renae leaves, what does that make her? She sees herself as an extension of renae rather than her own person, and in the end Renae does feel bad for her, and genuinely hopes she gets a better mental state, but they don't have to or WANT to be a part of it.

Bonus Funnies!

[13thdoctorposts]

Do you have a recap of the panel from the earlier day that you posted pics from as well? Or only the last day? (No rush to post it if you do, just want to know whether it’ll be coming).

The Saturday VIP panel was awkwardly run, and not as good as the Monday Panels. I did take some notes after I left just for myself so I would remember what they talked about. They aren’t as comprehensive because I hadn’t yet realised people would be as interested in knowing.

I have had a few people ask about the first panel so I’ll put my notes below for those who are interested. I haven’t edited these so if there’s any spelling or grammar mistakes forgive me. And just to note, a lot of what was said was repeated again in the Monday panels because people asked similar questions.

Michelle

My favourite Michelle story was her saying when she pinned Peter to the wall and kissed him and she held her other hand back behind her and Jenna just took her hand and held it in her own and she turned to Jenna and said you’re weird.

She auditioned for a different role got it had to turn it down because she was working on something else at the time, wouldn’t say what, but told Moffatt that if anything else came up to give her a call because she really wanted to do Doctor Who. Then she got a call from her agent they asked if she was sitting, so she sat down, and they told her that Moffatt wanted her to play the master and she asked her agent is Moffatt new she was a woman, her agent said yes and the rest is history. Also a number of answer were similar to the main panels because people asked similar questions between the panels.

It was Moffatt’s idea for Mary Poppins to be the most terrible villain in the universe, which she thinks is great. And she gave props to the costume designer for bringing the outfit to life.

In SVU her first scene was with Mariska Hargitay with 4 pages of dialogue and at the end of it she walked off and in character shoulder tapped her, that wasn’t in the script or directing, and she walked around the corner and freaked out because she realised she just shoulder checked her boss, and she heard Mariska go… who is that? And she thought oh no I just got myself fired but Mariska loved it.

She had a crush on Peter back in the day… long before Doctor Who. She remembers him like a Scottish David Bowie when she was up and coming as an actress

Her first job out of school was playing David Bowies girlfriend in a movie.

She talked about if wanting to pursue acting be ready for rejection and understand what parts you’ll be able to play. That she found success later in life because she couldn’t really pull off the girl next door but once she got older and grew into her face and could play villains and witches she was able to get more parts, but that can take time and lots of rejection and you need you push through and not let it get you down.

One of Michelle Favourite episodes is when she turned up to set with her 8 year old son and there were daleks everywhere and she put her son in one and stayed in all day he was so excited (she wasn’t sure the episode name but maybe it’s The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar?)

She didn’t adlib much in doctor who because Moffatt was very good at writing in her voice so when doing the scripts nothing ever felt off.

When asked about where is like in NZ she said she had only gotten in the morning before so she’d have to come back to that but she was planning on doing some sight seeing after the con.

Sacha

My favourite Sacha story was saying he had to send in an audition tape to Chibs of his interpretation of the Master and Chibs was like, great but could you take it down a notch, because the Master isn’t on drugs. Could you imagine a more unhinged Master? That could have been epic! 5 episodes was not enough of my little SpyMaster.

Sacha said it’s easy to get caught up in acting and getting jobs but make sure you make time for life because all those lives experiences go into your acting and if you’re so caught up in acting and finding work you’ll miss out on that. Michelle agreed.

Sacha talked about how when he was in Sherlock he was doing a fight scene with Ben and it ended in a pool so there kept having to go to a heat unit between takes and strip down out off the wet clothes and while they were in there talking he told Ben he had audition for the marvel show iron fist and Ben made a phone call and told someone there to make sure they took a look at his tape and he got the job. Then at a convention he saw Ben there so went up and said hi, and they had a quick chat and as he left he say I love you, and Ben said it back but he has no idea why he said it. But obviously they love each other.

Name dropped Ray Holman asking if that was who design Michelle’s costume too, but Michelle just looked at him like ‘I don’t know’ so he didn’t say any more. Lol.

Mentioned that lots of people talk about who came first him or Missy, and this was new information to Michelle’s and she was like ‘really’, and he explained because her arc was a redemption arc some people wanted her incarnation to be the last master.

Sachs’s favourite moment is the O revel, when they did it in rehearsal and the cast and crew got to see how he did it there was such a positive reaction he knew it was something special.

When asked about ad libbing he talked a bit about the fact that the shooting schedule being really hectic so there wasn’t a lot of time.

*The impression I got was that he wasn’t able to do much ad libbing because of the hectic schedule there probably wouldn’t have been time for multiple takes.

When asked about favourite place in NZ Sacha mentioned his trip to Hobbiton but that sadly he was returning home on Tuesday so didn’t have much time to explore.

Both

They both said they would be interested in doing a multi master story together.

They only just met yesterday here in New Zealand when they did a radio interview together

Both were honoured to play the role.

[luci-on-the-moon]

Buddy Daddies theory: The Major Arcana

Episode 10 had me thinking, the ferris wheel was a very prominent element in it, and we also see it twice in the opening, so the writers clearly meant for it to *mean* something.

Now, I love tarot cards and their symbolism/meanings, so ofc I thought of the "wheel of fortune" major arcana card.

Then it clicked.

The major arcana, also called "the fool's journey" each has major themes that (in my opinion) correlate to it's corresponding episode number.

– Episode 1: Piece of Cake/ the Magician, the 1st card

UPRIGHT: Manifestation, resourcefulness, power, inspired action

REVERSED: Manipulation, poor planning, untapped talents

How it relates: Kazuki's resourcefulness, and also his poor planning. Also I thought the whole Santa/Rei hiding in a box looked like a magic trick.

– Episode 2: Kiss of Death/ The High Priestess

UPRIGHT: Intuition, sacred knowledge, divine feminine, the subconscious mind

REVERSED: Secrets, disconnected from intuition, withdrawal and silence

How it relates: This card urges us to feel, rather than think. Also represents a secret (Miri)

– Episode 3: Spice of Life/ The Empress

UPRIGHT: Femininity, beauty, nature, nurturing, abundance

REVERSED: Creative block, dependence on others

How it relates: this is the episode where we meet Miri's mother, Misaki. The empress represents the maternal figure.

– Episode 4: What will be, Will be/ The Emperor

UPRIGHT: Authority, establishment, structure, a father figure

REVERSED: Domination, excessive control, lack of discipline, inflexibility

How it relates: This is the Episode where Kazuki forfeits documents to legally become Miri's guardian.

– Episode 5: Crunchtime/ The Hierophant (the Taurus card)

UPRIGHT: Spiritual wisdom, religious beliefs, conformity, tradition,institutions

REVERSED: Personal beliefs, freedom, challenging the status quo

How it relates: in this episode, Kazuki (a Taurus) worries about the family's finances. Taurus rules over the second house in astrology, which is the house of finances and material things.

In this episode we also see Kyu reminding them about their "tradition", their institution, the organization, and we also get a bit of a "wedding" imagery, whether they intended it or not.

– Episode 6: Love is Blind/ The Lovers

UPRIGHT: Love, harmony, relationships, values alignment, choices

REVERSED: Self-love, disharmony, imbalance, misalignment of values

How it relates: "our genes!!" "Our *what*?"

Lol but really the whole episode is about love. Miri and Taiga, Kazuki and Rei, Miri's values being questioned.

– Episode 7: After Rain Comes Fair Weather/ The Chariot

UPRIGHT: Control, willpower, success, action, determination

REVERSED: Self-discipline, opposition, lack of direction

How it relates: this is Kazuki's backstory episode, very sad, his wife was killed bc of a car (two cars), and the chariot represents moving on forwards.

– Episode 8: Nothing seek, Nothing hide/ Strength (the Leo card)

UPRIGHT: Strength, courage, persuasion, influence, compassion

REVERSED: Inner strength, self-doubt, low energy, raw emotion

How it relates: well, it relates to Rei specifically, since it's his birthday, he's a Leo, and there's a lot of fighting, persuasion, self doubt and raw emotion.

– Episode 9: No Sweet without Sweat/ The Hermit

UPRIGHT: Soul-searching, introspection, being alone, inner guidance

REVERSED: Isolation, loneliness, withdrawal

How it relates: maybe it's bc Kazuki and Rei are isolated from their real world.

As The Hermit walks his path, the lamp lights his way – but it only illuminates his next few steps rather than the full journey. He must step forward to see where to go next, knowing that not everything will be revealed at once. In his left hand, the side of the subconscious mind, The Hermit holds a long staff (a sign of his power and authority), which he uses to guide and balance him.

This reminds me of when Kazu, Rei, and Miri all ran towards the end goal of the race, to win the gold medal. They do not know how the rest of the journey will go. Only the next few steps.

– Episode 10: Lost at Sea/ Wheel of Fortune, the 10th card

UPRIGHT: Good luck, karma, life cycles, destiny, a turning point

REVERSED: Bad luck, resistance to change, breaking cycles

How it relates: the sudden turn of events. The ferris wheel. Leaving Miri to her destiny with her bio mother. Knowing that their destiny is to be alone, live in the shadows, and that they "weren't able to change"

Now what's left are three episodes, 11 (Justice), 12 (the Hanged Man), and 13 (Death, the Scorpio card, Miri's card)

Death doesn't need to mean actual death, it symbolizes change. If I'm gonna be optimistic, maybe they will be able to change by the end.

And if I'm gonna be really, REALLY optimistic, maybe last episode has an open end, and we'll have a second season, with ten episodes, to end the major arcana.

I guess I am done for tonight. Am I okay? No. Do I need help? Yes.

[crimsonblackrose]

.

On the one hand I'm happy Daniel finally got a pool with water in it, on the other hand LA is like in a constant drought.

The kids are having croissants, omelettes and fruit for breakfast, which is very cute.

Espresso clink is my favorite

How long do you think it took between episode 1 and 2? Not like in filming but in actual canon? Because:

That's a sign, and window decor. And Johnny's on a super tight budget. So did he just hand paint/stencil that all himself? Who made his sign so fast? I mean half the time signs take forever to go up. Also kebab places signage is totally different.

Miggy in his LA dodgers jersey is giving Daniel in his Halloween day outfit. It weirdly doesn't have a number. I don't know sports, don't they usually have a number?

The amount of interior work Johnny did is huge. Like he put mirrors up? The mats are down. His little silhouette karate guys are all over the walls.

Every time I see that box of trophies they're going to multiply. Now I see 5.

I think...despite everything his stencils were crooked:

Maybe it's the camera angle.

Do you think Daniel and Mr. Miyagi had to fill out all that paperwork for insurance and certification before they opened out Mr. Miyagi's little trees? I suppose we never actually saw it open officially, just the set up, and they actually got a lease from a realtor, not a handshake with a dude outside of a strip mall.

Daniel spent his summers playing in a broken fire hydrant next to his Aunt Tessie's.

Do you think Daniel picked out Encino Oaks on purpose since he'd been there once? (It is supposed to be the same country club right?)

Amanda and Daniel like Dirty Martini's ice ice cold.

Aisha drives her father (Isaiah's) Q5

The summer party they're at they go to every year, so it's annual event with magicians and clowns.

Junior year Johnny didn't lose a single point in the All-Valley.

Miguel tells his mom he's on the debate team

Johnny recommends Guns 'n Roses and while doesn't seem to own a phone or know what one is does know what a ring tone is.

Kyler still has a bruise on his left eye from fighting Johnny, which makes me think not a ton of time has passed between episodes, and Johnny spent a lot of time decorating.

So Daniel drives an Audi but I guess they also have a big silver van, that he also drives.

Moon has a 'channel', I guess youtube channel? I wonder since it was originally a youtube red if they could've done a silly little spin off channel with extras and content.

One thing I've noticed, I don't think Daniel and Amanda have a lot of kitchen storage space, i.e. cabinets and what not. Thus:

All the pots and pans and tools are hanging on the wall. The amount of noise that must make.

So Sam's in trouble for throwing a party, but it kind of looks like Daniel cleaned up the whole thing by himself. That's a weird parenting choice.

Newspaper clippings that Daniel framed include: "Mystery Dojo with Single Student Defangs Cobras" with a photo of Daniel and Mr. Miyagi and the other says "Local Valley Champ Defends Title Against Karate's Bad Boy" Which has Daniel versus I guess Mike on at the tournament.

It's interesting that the flashback lesson they show is of Daniel teaching Sam how to break boards. Since that's arguably the worst lesson he ever got from Terry Silver and not something he probably learned from Mr. Miyagi. It is thankfully something a whole lot easier than =what Daniel was doing in TKK3.

"Never give up your defense, beware the spinning hug move" is just so adorable.

Yasmine was driving a Range Rover that hit Johnny's car. And the fact her dad just bought her a new car...

I dunno, I don't think Daniel particularly over reacted to a bunch of strangers in his house and wearing his clothes and also Sam telling him she wasn't expecting him back so early and then he was the one to clean up and she's just sitting talking to her friends.

LaRusso Friday family dinners is cute.

I also like that they talk about the boys she texting.

Daniel tells Sam she's 'Jersey tough'...but she's born and raised Californian.

This school lunch is pringles, a banana, a hostess cupcakes, Organic chocolate milk and what looks like maybe a cheeseburger?

Look at these babies (affectionate) and their yoohoo. They've also been given two trays and a plastic sporks. What is this school? Clearly you get some options because both of them got fruit cups (different types) and the main course differs since Elis got something else. I guess you also get to choose between pudding cups and hostess cupcakes? I did not get this many options in school. Also like most of the other kids who brought their lunch just have brown paper bags.

Sorry lots about the food but why would Miguel be offered organic Valley chocolate milk and these everyone in the above shot has yoohoo? Why are there that many chocolate milk options?

So...the popular girls drink apple juice from juicy juice and the nerds drink different brands of chocolate milk? Because literally everyone's drink choice is by table. Lol even Kyler has the same apple juice when he sits with them. What's with that?

Karate lesson one "cobra strike" which seems to be a lunge and the "bite" a punch to the nose, mouth or neck. Kudos to Johnny for getting an actual punching dummy.

I feel like this is the first little kernel of Johnny's 'some mercy' when he looks at Miguel after this example and goes 'uh for only extreme situations' rather than go for the throat.

Johnny did not correct Migue's hands. His thumbs are sticking out.

Robby goes to North Hills High and the vp is Carla Jenkins and Robby has molly on him.

It's kind of funny that Johnny doesn't know what that is, but also makes sense seeing as he rolled the tiniest joint on the planet for the first film.

Like Johnny Robby wears band t-shirts, specifically Misfits.

So plot issue. Small one. Johnny is literally only a few feet away when he's taking this phone call where he says he's this kids dad and yet a big sticking point later is that Miguel doesn't know Johnny has a kid.

Daniel being such a sweet infodumping foodie nerd with his fancy yanagi knife. He made: sashimi he calls "Larusso ponzo toro" which uhhhh is like the fanciest sashimi ever. Omg I didn't realize this is what he tried to feed Kyler before. This is like....wagyu. It's extremely expensive bluefin tuna. Holy moly Daniel what the hell? No wonder Sam and Amanda look so excited. That makes making it for Kyler who doesn't like sushi/fish so much more of an oof, that was such an expensive purchase.

Is that the pickled ginger and wasabi?! They're huge! Daniel for the size of fish you got that's ridiculous. You gotta realize that's ridiculous right bud? Also is that just a bowl of soy sauce? Like a whole bowl?

Daniel didn't like sushi as a teen. (Then why the heck would you buy the rolls royce of fish for a teenage guy you don't know anything about other than your daughter is texting him????)

All these teenagers lying really get Johnny in even more trouble than he already is in.

Uh...so Miguel lives in what apartment 109 and Johnny lives in apartment 2. How does that make sense?

Johnny wrote down that the karate dojo is for teaching karate to anyone who wants to learn karate which is very...him since he doesn't kick anyone out and keeps Stingray.

Dojo is at 6 Herons Nest Reseda meanwhile his apartment is 7428 Saticoy street Reseda. Dude writes in big blocky all capitalized letters for everything which, thanks, easier to read.

So what is the idea here? Daniel leaves his fancy toro behind to go confront whoever owns the cobra kai studio? Is he expecting Johnny or is he expecting Kreese or heck even Silver? Did Kyler tell him any thing else? Did Daniel stay through finding Kyler some fish sticks or something?

They may have been awful Johnny but they were still teenagers.

Daniel is surprised someone is calling Johnny sensei. Like what are you expecting this place to be Daniel? A place without students? A museum? You thought Johnny just moved into a strip mall and decorated it like a dojo because that's gotta be what his house would look like? Or again, did he think someone else was the sensei and Johnny just happened to be around?

[my-brothers-corrupted]

JJ and the Other Order - Part 2/3

Part 1 here l Part 3 here

tws for discussion of trauma and anxiety, bugs, guns, and violent fighting

nikkilbook asked:

Puppy for Jackieboy

“Yeah, maybe JJ should have thought of that,” Jackie grumbles, sinking down over the old cafe table. “Should have got me a puppy instead. Should have got me a corgi.”

Max sets a cup of coffee down in front of him and leans down to kiss his face, mumbling something into his ear. Jackie tilts into his face and hums back at him, wrapping his hands around the coffee. “No, I’m okay. Let’s just find him.”

“I’ll come with wherever you’re going,” Max replies warmly.

Jackie looks like he has mixed feelings about that, but all he does is squeeze Max’s arm, rubbing his face into his sleeve for a moment.

the-earnest-system asked:

Now we’re getting somewhere!

Quintrell sits down at one of the tables inside the abandoned cafe, locking her arms over her chest again. Jackie glares back at her and she lifts her chin to his gaze, scowling. Chase looks between the two of them and throws his hands up.

“Is there really a need for that?”

“Yes,” says Quintrell, at the same time Jackie says, “Seems that way.”

Quintrell sniffs and throws her white-blonde braid back over her shoulder. “Ask me anything, but let’s be quick about it. If JJ’s not here, whether or not he meant for us all to meet, well - I think it’s likely he walked himself right into the belly of the beast.”

Anonymous asked:

First of all I love this au and am beyond thrilled it's back. Secondly am I crazy or weren't there 5 books, I remember 1-4 getting compiled but not 5. I never read 5 because I couldn't figure out how :( but I'd love to so I can catch up to what's happening now.

-🌙

Thank you for asking! Unfortunately I was never able to compile chapter 5 - it would have taken hours and hours, and when I compiled chapter 4, it got very few notes and no comments, so I have not had the motivation to put in that much (really tedious) work to have it available. Chapter 5 starts in March of 2021 if you want to go back and look at the blog archive at all.

And if you want a lowdown on what happened, here’s a summary…

After Anti died, Jackie burned his body and organized his siblings to get back to Ireland. Actually, he first wanted to get back to England, but JJ had to reverse time after they attempted to go there because the magicians in the country were hostile to him and Marvin as unregistered magic-users.

They found their way to Ireland and were homeless for a while, living mostly in an abandoned house or sometimes an old bus. After JJ began having severe psychotic episodes, they were forced to seek real help. JJ was in a psychiatric facility for several days, where he struggled with the containment but benefited from actual psych care and regular meds for the first time in years. Social workers and doctors at the hospital helped all of them find an apartment to share. Jackie started working in AV for a theater, Marvin worked as a librarian, and Chase sold Marvin’s roses in the street whenever he could.

Throughout most of Chapter 5, Henrik was in a shut-down, numb silence, pretty unaware of what was going on around him - his brain’s best defense as he tried to process the torture Anti put him through at the end of Chapter 4. When they eventually settled into a feeling of safety, he came back to himself slowly. They definitely all have PTSD, but Henrik’s may be the most debilitating.

Marvin had a hard time after killing Anti: he felt that his brothers had abandoned him, in a way, by leaving him to kill Anti himself, but at the same time, he insisted on being called Blue for most of the chapter, because he was harboring a lot of anger at the original Marvin for failing to save himself or the others. Marvin began lashing out at the others, even putting his hands on JJ at one point, until he decided he couldn’t be around them anymore. He left for a while, which was hard on them, but in that time, he found the Lapwings, the magicians of Ireland, who knew him as the magician who used to be their leader. Marvin gradually re-discovered himself and made peace between the Marvin and Blue parts of himself. He became the leader of the Lapwings again.

Chase was able to make contact with Stacy, who had fled with them when Anti started coming after all of them. Marvin and Chase had helped her find a safe place to hide with the kids in Sweden, but Marvin’s mirror portals allowed her and Chase to travel between Sweden and Ireland so he could reconnect with the kids. Izzy had developed magical abilities of her own because of the trauma of the night they ran away from Anti and he came after them. She’s now able to glitch the way he did, but it’s more under control now that her life has stabilized and her dad is back. Hunter is also doing well. At the very end of the chapter, Chase tells Stacy he still wants to be with her. She turns him down, but gently, and they’re finally able to understand exactly where the other lies and to become parenting partners again while also moving on romantically.

Henrik and Chase also settled their own relationship, acknowledging that they were co-dependent and resolving to do better while still supporting each other. Henrik was having difficulty becoming a doctor again because he’d developed triggers related to blood and injuries, and he admitted that he may not be able to work again. Chase talked about wanting to become a nurse because of the things Henrik taught him.

JJ dealt with some grief over Anti’s death in a different way than the others, still seeing Anti as his brother, but learning to acknowledge all the ways he hurt him. He started going to a support group for the Deaf community, began going to his church again, and was preparing himself to start working soon.

For most of the chapter, Jackie would bury his own needs and focus instead on everybody else and on making sure they were cared for financially. But on his own, his mind was constantly wandering to Max. He would have reached out sooner, but he was guilty over the way he abandoned Max in Peru and scared of being rejected by him. With some help, he was finally able to call Max and let him know he was free of Anti. Max didn’t believe it, but he came when Jackie called anyway. Max was still traumatized by the last time he was left, and he told Jackie that he needed Jackie to prioritize him for once if he wanted to be with him. Jackie struggled with the idea of putting anyone in front of his siblings, but he was finally able to pursue Max whole-heartedly and agree to spend time away from the others.

Oh, and they found the house they used to live in before Anti came! It’s a house in a mirror dimension Marvin made. Anti burned most of it, but there was enough for them to repair, and they found cats living in the forest, which they named Peanuts and Jam.

The chapter ended with JJ looking around at his much happier siblings and going back to visit some of the miserable moments in their life, thinking about how things will turn out okay after all. He had the option to spend a little more time with Anti, but chose to let him go, and he no longer visits Anti through time travel. They’re all learning to live in the present.

The end!

[for what its worth as of 25th of dec 2023 chapter five HAS been compiled -🪷]

[next post is a full summary of mbc which will not be included because it is giant, but is available here: https://beerecordings.tumblr.com/post/717415550174871552/have-you-ever-made-like-a-mbc-summary-if-not]

Anonymous asked:

No offense to any of the bros, but i am really glad Max is here to help today. :) World's greatest detective is on the case!

“Oh, wow,” says Max, apparently touched. “That’s nice, thank you. Sure, I’m happy to help.”

He sits at the table in between his in-laws and his partner, the odd one out in a pair of look-alikes.

“Are you actually quintuplets?” asks Quintrell.

Marvin shakes his head. “We’re two sets of twins and then JJ.”

Not true, but much easier to explain than quintuplets - or the truth, of course. Besides, they look less and less like each other or Jack these days.

“So he’s the ultimate little brother,” Quintrell grumbles. “Figures.”

scunneredzombie asked:

Hi Quintrell, it's interesting to meet you. Right time and place, it's definitely JJ's intent. How long have you been working with him? Is this magically related or something more worldly?

She lets a slow breath slide out of her. “I met JJ a few weeks back. Found him snooping, actually, around… our building.”

“The building where the British Magical Society headquarters,” Marvin cuts in.

She purses her mouth, but nods. “Yes.”

“You’re one of them,” says Marvin. “The red scarf. You’re part of their order.”

She wraps her hands around the cup of coffee set in front of her, refusing to break eye contact, though her chest rises with a careful breath. “Yes.”

Anonymous asked:

Is Miss Quintrell able to see us? I quite like your scarf!

Chase reaches out to adjust a camera carefully, while Quintrell squints at you suspiciously. “I can see that there are cameras.”

“They’re made from old magic and corrupted tech,” says Chase. “They’re secure, though, don’t worry. Nothing we talk about will get back to… anyone you’re working against. The cameras have always been on our side.”

Quintrell plays with the end of her thin red scarf. “JJ turned them on for you, I know. We’ve been talking about this day for a while, just… he always said it had to be the exact right day. When everything could come together. But it can all be done in a day - he insisted that too. We can get rid of the source of the corruption, and start cutting down the rest of it from here. From today.”

Anonymous asked:

Hey Quintrell, just checking:

do you have any injuries at the moment? And do you think that your location is secure

-🪷

She shifts, touching her body like she might find an injury there after all. “No, I’m not hurt. And this location - there are no magicians here?”

Jackie and Max shake their heads.

“As long as you’ve never gone up against the Magical Society before yourselves, this place should be fine.”

“JJ has a key to the apartment,” Max muses at Jackie’s side. “He could have been coming and going from the mirror quietly. He stops by frequently enough.”

“I always tell them they can come and go,” Jackie agrees. “But he wouldn’t bring dangerous attention to the place where we live.”

nikkilbook asked:

Could you explain what a changeling is, Q? That’s what Mateo and Cedar thought JJ was, back on the train. I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume it is NOT an infant/adult swapped out for a fairy baby and/or bundle of sticks. Because those are usually just out to play tricks on people or score some human food and milk, and aren’t actually dangerous in and of themselves. Usually they’re just curmudgeonly and, you know, taking the place of a human. Not really something to go all martial law over, ya know?

“JJ and I talked about this,” Quintrell mumbles.

“And he told me his magical signature was wrong somehow,” says Marvin. “Is that - ”

“Yeah, look - just listen,” sighs Quintrell, touching her forehead. “Okay, okay. Most magical societies track when someone with magic crosses into their territory. Just like with countries, some are unconcerned with this, and others are extremely controlling. Our magical society has become more and more controlling as the years have gone on. The point that we’re at - it’s just not right. Creighton’s a tyrant. He runs the society with this tiny group of over-powered magicians who lord over everything, especially who’s allowed to come in and out of the country. They charge exorbitant fees for magicians to become registered with them, and they hound and drive out anyone who doesn’t. Sometimes they even punish trespassers themselves.

"Now, JJ’s English through and through from what he’s told me, but his magical signature… it’s really odd. He doesn’t read quite like a human magician. He told me he was… tainted, I guess, by a magical creature. So when you see someone whose magic is part human, part magical creature - in this part of the world, we call that a changeling. And it’s considered an abomination.”

Henrik’s rubbing at the scars along the side of his face. “It is unfair to call him tainted. He is nothing like… our monster.”

“His words,” says Quintrell. “There is something about him that is not quite human. He told me a magical creature really did steal him when he was born, anyhow.”

Marvin scraping at the table, eyes distant.

“Besides,” Quintrell adds. “JJ’s magic is strong whether it’s human or something else. If the others got their hands on him, I don’t know what they would do. The things he’s capable of are dangerous in the wrong hands.”

“They came after me the same way,” Marvin mutters. “Talking about my signature being abnormally strong - I have two magics, you know. If I wasn’t the leader of the Lapwings, I think I may have never been allowed to come and go from this country.”

nikkilbook asked:

Two magics? Is this because of the bull crap he pulled in Singapore, or something else?

Marvin grins and shakes his head. “Nah. Just the fire and the plant life. Most magicians only get one gift. It’s pretty rare to have two - but I don’t think Jack knew that when he created me, so I got whatever he wanted me to get.”

scunneredzombie asked:

This seems like a big endeavor Quintrell. Are there more people helping, or just you two? And forgive if this is prying, but considering JJ is already a powerhouse, what magic are you bringing to the table?

“Oh,” snorts Quintrell, with a sudden laugh, a noise that seems out of custom for her, the sort of laugh that’s likeable because it’s so ugly. “You’re teasing me? No, I don’t bring anything like that to the table. I’m his informant and not much else. As for others involved, I don’t know if he’s alone or not, other than me.”

“But you are a magician, right?” asks Chase, frowning at her. “Come on, now you have to tell us.”

“It’s worth very little in most circumstances,” she sighs. “Just translation.”

Marvin gapes and throws his hands onto the table, deeply offended. “Translation? That’s brilliant. Of anything?”

“No, it’s not brilliant,” she protests, though now she grins, revealing these over-sized canines between the rest of her teeth, less like a vampire’s and more like something her dentist has probably had to shave down. “Because - oh, say something in another language.”

Marvin says something in Spanish off-handedly. The moment she turns her attention to him, her eyes light up with a ring of bright gold, the same way Marvin’s glow blue and JJ’s shine silver. Her magic smells like dusty wood. With her white hair and her eyes alight, she’s suddenly elfin, and maybe even a little ethereal.

“Can’t do that in my day-to-day life, can I?” She shrugs. “I can only translate with other magicians. Forget making translation my profession or working in the refugee camps where they speak fifty languages or anything like that, I’d be glowing all day long. Even translating ancient languages - I’d have no proof of anything! Sure, I can read anything you could find in the pyramids, but what am I going to tell the archaeologists when they ask me what code I used to crack it?”

“But you can talk to JJ,” Jackie reasons.

“Yes, we can communicate just fine.”

“Hm.” Jackie sits back, re-appraising her. “Okay. So you became allies.”

“Right.”

Anonymous asked:

Hey quintrell, when you refer to the “source of the corruption”, are you referring to the departmental corruption of the British magical society or the corruption that impacted JJ and the rest of these guys?

do you think they’re connected?

-🪷

A

“I don’t know anything about your ‘corruption, or JJ’s,” she says. “It’s none of my business, and he hasn’t said a word about it other than mentioning being marked by whatever creature left a mark on his magic. All I know is that he doesn’t like bullies.”

the-earnest-system asked:

So you and JJ are trying to make the British magical society better?

Quintrell takes a drink from her cup of coffee. “JJ wants lots of things. Yes, to improve the order, but - it’s more than that. He wants a rebirth. The old things can’t just become better, some of them have to be destroyed.”

Marvin and Jackie exchange looks at the table beside her.

“Creighton is cruel, I know that, and I was sick of watching him treat every magician in this country poorly. You must keep in mind, magicians are exceedingly rare. How many do you have in Ireland, Marvin?”

Marvin thinks for a moment. “Less than fifty, certainly.”

“And it’s less than two hundred, here, probably closer to one hundred. We’re not talking about a whole government here, we’re talking about a cult run by a power-hungry control freak with old fashioned beliefs about any minority you can think of - especially outsiders. JJ wants Creighton gone, full stop, and the rest of his posse has to fall into line or go too. He says he has found a way to get rid of him, now, I don’t know. I was just supposed to take him to our headquarters. He’s talked about this one day for weeks now.”

“Henrik, you good?” Chase mumbles to his brother. Henrik is leaning his head into his hand, eyes hidden from your view, half slouched over the table.

“Fine,” he mutters.

Marvin looks at Henrik too, mouth tightening. “Creighton sounds too familiar to us. I’m not surprised that JJ… well.”

“Would want him gone,” Jackie concludes. “Plus he’s always been so indignant about anything unjust in the world. And with his power… maybe he decided to do some good with it.”

“Yes, but how much does he take after his older brother?” Marvin returns, only a little teasing. “He can’t play the hero on his own - he could get hurt.”

“You think he’s gone to the headquarters himself?” asks Chase uneasily.

“He doesn’t know how to get there without me,” objects Quintrell. “He’s managed to locate some of our buildings in the past, but the main one is very well hidden.”

“Unless he has been through this day before,” Max says.

“And I’ve already shown him there?”

“But if he was going to go alone, why would he tell this girl to wait for him here?” asks Henrik, pulling himself out of his own brain with a heave, rubbing at his head.

There’s a pause as they all look around at each other.

“Cause he’s not trying to play the hero,” says Chase. “We’re his back-up. We’re going after him.”

the-earnest-system asked:

Not sure why he wouldn’t just ask you to back him up if that were the case. Or tell us to tell you

“Did he not tell you to tell us?” asks Jackie. “I was not at the house this morning and I have lost the plot.”

Marvin huffs. “Technically he told us not to follow him. But he also said it was a little dangerous.”

“Oh, so we’re definitely following him.”

scunneredzombie asked:

JJ you mad man, he prepared a whole storm of you to just go for it. Well, better go after him then - he seems to think you lot will fix the problem and he’s usually right about things. Quintrell will probably have to lead you all there, but what do you do after that? Do you know ways to get in undetected, Quintrell? Or did you and Jameson have a plan already set out?

“I’m supposed to lead a whole group of strangers to our most secret hideout?” Quintrell demands. “If the lot of you fuck this up, I’ll take JJ’s head off at the shoulders.”

“Charming,” says Henrik. “We just want to help .”

She gets up, glaring at all of them yet again. “Look, I’ll take you, but are you sure you can handle yourselves in there? Only one of you is even a magician.”

Jackie gets up from the table too, putting mugs away. “Everyone in this room has committed murder,” he says finally, voice calm. “The magician, only once, and that makes him the best of us. We can handle ourselves.”

She must not find any lie in his voice. Her arms uncross.

“Okay,” she says. “Only because of what JJ promised me. If it doesn’t come true, you’ll all have to answer to me.

"Grab what you need. We can take a bus downtown. The building is occupied only by four magicians: Creighton and his three lackeys. One is gone from the country this whole month. I can get in and scope the rest of the place as needed. I’m allowed in there, but not into the most secret part of the society - never mind that I’ve been a magician my whole life. I’m not powerful enough for the likes of them. Let’s just hope JJ’s on the upper floor and find out what his stupid plan is.”

nikkilbook asked:

Hey Q, how techy is Creighton’s little enclave? Are he and his merry band a bunch of Luddites, or do they have internet and security cameras and various other things our favorite genius hacker can sneak into and maybe sync us up with?

“There’s some security cams outside,” she says uncertainly. “But then - ”

“Oh, oh!” cries Jackie, suddenly vibrating with enthusiasm. “This is the thing, okay, this is the whole thing!”

“Yelling, yelling,” Henrik begs him. “Jackie - ”

“Magicians are terrible with technology, they really are! I had to totally revolutionize the Lapwing base for Marv, because magicians - like, there’s no reason for it, they just have this aversion to tech. It’s part of the reason Anti was always evading them, he could poke holes in anything they put together and they wouldn’t even notice. So if they have security cameras, they’ll be nothing against me. I bet their wifi is named ‘super secret Hogwarts knock-off.’ I’d love to hack it! I’ll get my computer!”

He takes off up the stairs like a shot.

“I’m just going to put the groceries away,” says Max mildly. “We’ll be down in five.”

He joins him upstairs, smoothing down his hoodie for a second, pressing himself against his chest as Jackie yanks at chargers and cords. “Juice Box, how we feeling?”

“Good, actually,” he says, jubilant. “We’ll go get JJ and it will be great! I’ll kill anybody who’s touched him, I swear, I - ”

“Jackie,” says Max, pulling at the cords of his hoodie. “Jackie.”

Jackie doesn’t look at him, but he stops squirming quite so much, and his hand reaches out to pluck Max’s sleeve. “Uh-huh.”

“It’s great that we’re going to go get your brother, but this is that adrenaline thing we’ve talked about, where you’re only interested and engaged if - ”

“Someone’s in danger,” Jackie grumbles. “I know. But he is in danger, can we just get through that and talk about it later? It’s not like I can do anything about it.”

“I don’t know. Before Anti you were excited about so many things.”

“I still get excited,” says Jackie weakly. “Into the Spider-verse.”

“That’s true, we love Spider-Man,” says Max, and kisses him. “Get your headphones for the bus, yeah?”

“Okay.”

the-earnest-system asked:

What did JJ promise you?

Her gaze turns mean again. “None of your business.”

Chase snorts. “We won’t be much help with it, then.”

She ignores him.

They’re at the bus stop fifteen minutes later, and Chase sits beside Henrik at the stop, looking at him rubbing his head. “Seriously, man, you okay?”

“Fine,” Henrik says.

“I know sometimes public transport…”

“Let’s just get this over with.”

“We could get an Uber.”

Henrik feels a lurch in his gut. “No. Bus. We should all stick together anyway.”

scunneredzombie asked:

Henrik, are you feeling triggered? If you are you really need to let the others know. Just like adrenaline affects Jackie, it probably affects all of you.

“It’s not about adrenaline,” Henrik mumbles.

Chase waits for him to talk more, but when he doesn’t, he turns back to you. “Schneep is kind of more of a home-body than the rest of us.”

Henrik massages his head.

“There’s just a lot of strangers around, in public,” says Chase.

Henrik swears under his breath. “Yes, Chase, we get it.”

“Sorry. You know you’re - ”

“I know I’m safe,” says Henrik loudly. “I know.”

Chase scoots closer to him, hunkering down so they’re mimicking each other, side-by-side on the bench.

Anonymous asked:

Just curious, I don't suppose any of you have kept in touch with any of the Ipliers, have you? Shep and a few others did seem kinda decent at the end there

Jackie struts back and forth in front of the bus stop, humming to himself. “Oh, yeah, I remember! At the end they were pretty okay. I got on already with Shep. And they let us stay at the house for a couple days while Marv and I recovered from the first time we attacked Anti.”

“Problem is Dark,” Marvin interjects. “We can’t risk the chance that they might make another play at Dapper - er, JJ, again. They were way too interested in his magic. And Dark runs that group, no question about it.”

“Maybe Shep got away, though, like he wanted,” Jackie says, a little dreamily. “He chose to stay with Dark, but he talked about a life for himself. Maybe I could look for him in a city somewhere.”

nikkilbook asked:

Psssst, Jackie, hi! It me! I’m gonna distract you for a second because I seeee those descriptors, happy wedding!!! When did you get married, how was it, show me your ring! Show me a picture! Lemme see, lemme see—

Jackie starts all but purring, stopping to stand beside Max, rocking on his heels. “Oh, did we get married? I had forgotten.”

“Sure you did,” says Max warmly.

Jackie preens and pulls a necklace out from under his hoodie, where a silver band dangles proudly in the light. With his other hand, he holds up Max’s, showing you the same ring on his hand.

They’re the same rings Max bought in Peru, the day he gave Jackie up for good. Now, Max is looking at Jackie intently, his warm brown fingers wrapping gently around Jackie’s gloves, clinging to him, somehow, but not tight. Just secure.

“It was a really small thing,” Jackie says, almost in a hush, like he’s telling you something secret. “Just my brothers and us. Because Max’s family wishes he were straight. But Marvin did the flowers for us, in the garden, so you can just imagine - arches of hibiscus and lavender. And everything bright and warm. And we went to India for two weeks after, and just… yeah. We did get married. Huh, tiger?”

Max gazes at him, humming a soft agreement. “We did. You proposed.”

“Both times.”

“Both times,” laughs Max. “Yes. Years ago and then last year. You proposed to me.”

The bus is pulling up, and they don’t let go of each other’s hands as they get on. Luckily it’s not a crowded time of day, and Jackie, Max, Quintrell, and Marvin sit down in the front. Henrik beelines past all of them without waiting for anyone’s approval and seats himself firmly in the back. Chase gives Marvin a look full of meaning and follows after his twin.

scunneredzombie asked:

Aww Jackie you’re being adorable right now, it’s really nice to see you so happy - to see you and Max happy together.

Max snorts and covers his mouth, shaking his head. “Adorable, that’s the word I was going to use.”

“Can it, Deshmukh, I am not cute,” warns Jackie, shoving him into the window of the bus. Max fake protests, starting to push him back, and pretty soon they’re just straining against each other and laughing.

“But we are definitely cute,” Jackie adds.

“Nah, we’re hot. You should see us in our fire get-up.”

Jackie flushes red. “I like you in that.”

Max cracks up and shushes him, whispering something about being in public.

i’m just going to keep the boys on the bus for anybody who wants to ask them any questions that are not plot related, and then on saturday or sunday i will move plot along and we’ll go try to find JJ!

Anonymous asked:

How have things been recovery wise for everyone? A few of you were in therapy, one or two on meds. Are things okay concerning mental health? Have you made any realizations/breakthroughs you hadn’t before about the time you were trapped? I saw Chase refer to it as a cult. was that difficult to come to terms with for everyone?

It’s a big question and they sit with it for a minute, apparently considering. Quintrell seems to have decided to continue minding her own business, as she doesn’t look up from her phone.

“I think it’s been complicated for everyone,” says Marvin eventually. “We all have picked up some bad habits, and some good ones. I’ve really benefited from EMDR therapy. Talk therapy wasn’t really helpful, but just going back and actually processing some of my fucked-up, broken memories… letting it all come back with someone there to help me through it, yeah, it helps. Always wipes me out for the whole day, of course. But at a certain point you have to start wrapping your brain around some of the shit that’s happened to you.”

He ducks his head. “Then again, I sometimes keep making bad decisions, and then… it’s like, no matter how far along I get, I’m always just Blue again, the second I realize I fucked up. And then it’s like… sometimes feels like… like maybe I’m not getting better at all.”

Chase chatters in the back of the bus, swinging his legs back and forth. “I really like being away from Anti, and just realizing how much I hated him was so big for me, because he always forced me to feel like I loved him. So even after he was gone, I was glad he stopped hurting all of us, but I thought that I missed him. And as time has gone on and I’ve worked through it, I’ve realized I really don’t miss him, at all. He really altered my memory from the constant hypnosis and amnesia right before he died, when he was trying so hard to keep Dapper and I. I still get blanks in my memory and I don’t know that those will ever go away. But I love just feeling alive again and being a part of the world! I love seeing the kids, I love working, I love going out with Ash and feeling like a normal guy and somebody just - just loved, all the time. Everybody in my life is nice to me now, isn’t that crazy? I like it, I like being free of him. My depression still kicks my ass sometimes, but that’s really been coming and going, and when it’s gone, it’s gone! Right now it’s gone. I’m happy. Thinking about making some big decisions in my life, just… embracing the independence.”

He smiles at Henrik, kicking at him a little, trying to keep him out of his head. “What about you? On a normal day, not today.”

Henrik sighs. “Good. I’m good.”

Chase frowns at him and then makes a motion, like he’s asking for more.

“What do you want me to tell them?” Henrik asks, looking suddenly tired. “I stay in the house all day and work? The nightmares still wake me up twice a week at least? It’s fine, I’m well enough. This time last year, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to work at all. I was just…”

“In bed,” Chase mumbles, made sullen by the topic.

Henrik puts his chin in his hand, turning to look out the window. “I couldn’t take care of myself.”

“You’re a lot better than that now.”

“Yes,” agrees Henrik, a little dully.

“You just need a change,” Chase powers on. “Seriously, I think we should talk more about you coming to be a doctor with me at the hospital.”

Henrik glances at him uncertainly. “It would be good to work together again… right?”

“Totally,” says Chase, turning his whole body towards him. “Wouldn’t you like that? We could ease you back into it. The hospital’s great, Schneep, I have a lot of friends there! They’d love you too.”

Henrik gives him this tense, uncertain smile.

“How are you, Jackie?” Max asks, setting his head on his shoulder for a moment. Jackie looks back at him, focusing on his face.

“Good, yeah. I’ve made leaps and bounds. It was the fear, for me, that was the big thing. The longer we were safe, the more the feeling faded. And I used to think that feeling was ‘angry.’ But then I got settled and realized that feeling is 'scared.’ That was my realization. Now I don’t even want to hit anybody anymore, most of the time. I don’t snap at the others, because I don’t feel that they’re in danger all the time. I feel steady when my things are where they should be and everyone does what they’re supposed to.”

Max grins. “Yes… but then that means that when things aren’t where they should be, or we’re running late to work, or you’re too sick to make me dinner one night…”

Jackie scowls. “I don’t like that.”

“And then we kind of end up with Red again.”

Jackie grabs his chin with a little too much intensity. “I want you to have what you need and not get hurt by anyone, ever.”

Max takes his hand and kisses him again. “We work through the difficult days and the thrill-seeking. You’re still my man, even when you’re down.”

Jackie gazes at him fondly, stroking his chin. “Yeah.”

the-earnest-system asked:

Is there something you’re specifically afraid might happen, Scneep?

This deep laugh bubbles out of Henrik, raw and unintentional, and you see him grip at his throat for a second, laughing too hard, while Chase looks disconcerted. “Henrik,” he says.

“Something specific,” Henrik says. “As if! Wouldn’t that be manageable, if I could be scared of something specific? Of something realistic? Or feasible, even? If I was scared of something in specific, I could combat it. I could check if it was really there. I could have safeguards. I could rationalize through it. If I was afraid of something specific, you could teach me to pet a spider and show me that see? It’s not so bad. The fear was not worth having. You touched it. It doesn’t hurt.

"No, I’m not scared of something specific, ever. I’m just scared. People, fences, being outside too long, being thirsty, being trapped, dogs, crowds, porches, dirt on face and hands, my own scars - ”

“Working yourself up,” whispers Chase, touching his hand. “I’m here with you. Count your breaths.”

And Henrik’s quiet for a few minutes, staring out the window.

“My heart rate leaps and I’m there again,” he says finally. “For no reason, for everything. I’m lying on the porch and I can’t move and I hurt all over, and the monster is coming back again whenever he feels like it. I really am trying everything I can to escape my own head. But every day, I feel like a victim. A torture victim, a cult victim. It’s so tiring. And then I make everyone sad around me, and that’s tiring too. Sorry… I’m sorry.”

Chase just frowns at him and holds his arm.

nikkilbook asked:

Hey Jackieboy! I’m glad you get excited about Spider-Man. I know you weren’t sure about liking things for yourself before, so I’m glad you’ve got one of your things back.

I did want to say, just as something to keep in your head, that maybe you could go into this using your awesome brain looking for solutions that don’t end up with somebody dead. You save lives now, right? You’re a firefighter, a hero to so many people, even if they don’t know you. Judging by what you said in the kitchen, the people you’ve had to kill in the past still weigh on you. Sometimes that is the only—and even sometimes the kindest—solution, but you don’t know if that’s the case yet. There are other ways to assist JJ, and I think the ones where no one ends up dead or bloody or broken are worth looking for. You don’t have to wash more blood off your hands. That’s not the only way this can end.

I believe in you, Jackie.

“Yes, please no killing,” says Max, blinking like he’s been smacked in the face.

“I was just trying to express that we are all unwitting bad-asses,” says Jackie.

“You said you’d kill anyone who touched JJ.”

“Hmmm, well. I would.”

“Jackie.”

“But I won’t if there are alternatives,” he says earnestly.

“Sometimes you get worked up.”

“Well, grab me and call me Juice Box and I’ll come back to you.”

He says it so honestly that Max can’t help but smile at him. “Okay.”

Jackie looks down at his hands and sighs. “The adrenaline thing has been a problem for me, sometimes. Had a problem for a while there where I was going out to pick fights for whatever reason I could find. Oh, I think you were there for some of it. I just - I spent so much of my life anticipating danger every single second, I think my brain sometimes wants there to be some just so I can kick it’s ass and then go rest. It’s better these days, mostly, but sometimes I still get myself into some dangerous situations. And then when there isn’t that adrenaline, I get… sick.”

“Numb,” Max suggests.

“I get numb, I rock for hours and get frustrated over little things. I like when something’s going on. Max is good, helps keep me occupied.”

Jackie looks at Max. “Although you have your own shit too.”

Max rubs at his arms and hums. “For the sake of full disclosure. Yes. I worry about you not coming home. I don’t like thinking about living without you again.”

“There’s nothing in the world could stop me coming home to you. Could bring my monster back from the dead and he couldn’t stop me.”

“Does it haunt you? The people you killed?”

Jackie blinks at him. “Nightmares.”

“Yeah?”

“Sometimes. But they’re dead now, it’s done. It was Anti’s fault.”

scunneredzombie asked:

Henrik, you deserve to get that piece of yourself back. The trauma you went through doesn't define you. And you are also not defined and decided by what Chase needs. You also have needs, you are also a life that's worth being lived. You can call him every day if you have to, but I really think you and your mind need this. Sometimes doing what's best for ourself means spending time away from those you love. Video calling and texting and regular phone calls would be there to keep you two as close as possible. You're Chase's twin, yes, but you're also Henrik, your own person.

“I just think we could make some changes,” Chase is saying, on the other side of the bus. “Like, I know you like the therapist, but maybe we need some new meds or something, and if you won’t come work at the hospital with me, let’s at least work on getting you out of the house a bit more - ”

“Chase,” sighs Henrik. “We’ve been through this so many times.”

“Yeah, but you never want to do anything new! Can’t we just, like, go for walks out in the real world sometimes?”

“You know how that makes me feel.”

“Well, talk to me, man, I just don’t want you to get stuck. Isn’t there anything you do want to do?”

Henrik tenses slightly, looking over at his brother. He readjusts in his seat, eyes flicking away and then back to him. He reads through your message.

“Mh… there is kind of one thing I want to do,” he hedges.

“Okay, tell me,” says Chase, pleased.

“It’s just, I don’t know if it would work with your schedule.”

“Dude, I’m sure we can figure it out.”

Henrik stutters out a breath and fiddles with his phone. “I’ve been talking to the Ravens.”

Chase sits up straight, surprised. “Really? From Peru? That’s incredible that you even got in touch with them again.”

“I memorized some phone numbers,” he says. “Look, I trust them a lot. And they asked me if I would come out there again.”

“No way!” Chase grips his arm. “Holy shit! We should! We can go to Peru properly, instead of as hideaways!”

“Yeah?” Henrik flushes red. “I’d love to go with you.”

“I mean, money’s kind of tight - ”

“They said they’ll pay my way.”

“Schneep! This is amazing. Why did you think we couldn’t make it work?”

Henrik clears his throat. “They want me to go for six months.”

Chase pauses.

He scrunches up his face a little bit, tilts his head, frowns. “What will you do for six months?”

“They want me to be a volunteer doctor. In the mountains. Where we, uh. Yeah, in the mountains. A doctor.”

Chase is looking at him, expression shifting rapidly. Finally he just looks away, evidently trying to put his thoughts together.

“You could come with me,” Henrik says, trying to muster some enthusiasm. He really does want that. “You can be my nurse again.”

Chase looks back at him, bewildered. “Henrik. Of course I can’t do that.”

“Oh.”

They look at each other like strangers, brows knotted up.

Anonymous asked:

You don’t need to escape your head, Hen. Your head is just you. Try to see it on the outside, yknow? Your brain suffered a lot, you suffered. And even though you know your safe, your brain still thinks danger is everywhere. You could have died, and that hurts any human brain. Have compassion for… you, your brain. You have a body and your body isn’t at fault. You’re right to want someone to blame for the horror, make sure that your own mind isn’t taking the brunt of that blame. Idk, thinking of my brain as someone who went through the same exact thing, but doesn’t feel safe is good at getting me to be nice to myself. You comfort Chase all the time, you would probably comfort another trauma survivor. Talk to your body like a friend. It was a big help for me in therapy. Slowly learning to tell my brain ‘I’m sorry you’re hurting, I forgive you,’ because really it’s me telling myself that. I think hearing ‘you’re safe, I’m sorry’ from yourself will help with that constant fight or flight sensation.

Henrik sighs out again, more like he’s reminding himself to breathe than anything else, letting himself slump against the window and the side of the bus.

“I get so much good advice and talk so much with my therapist,” he says. “Still my brain keeps acting this way.”

He looks glumly at his reflection in the window for a moment. “My brain shut down,” he says quietly. “Do you remember? I was far away for so long. It protected me. It tries to keep me safe. It just lost track of what’s safe and what’s not. Yeah. I guess we’re both just… surviving.

"I mean, if I stay at home all day, I won’t get tortured again.” He taps his own head for a second. “Perfectly rational - completely ineffective. Please muster some courage, gehirn. I know you can do great things when we’re well. When I’m home alone, maybe I try what you said.”

scunneredzombie asked:

Chase and Henrik, do you feel like you absolutely totally could never spend time apart, or does 6 months of daily phone calls sound no bueno at this point in your healing? I know it’s be hard no matter what, it’s more a logistical “Are we healed enough to try this” question.

“We could spend time apart,” says Chase, voice small.

“We do spend time apart,” agrees Henrik. “We worked really hard to spend time apart.”

“Six months - ”

“It’s a long time.”

“But if you want to do this, I want it for you. I just…”

“What?”

“I don’t understand,” says Chase tightly. “I’ve been trying all year to get you working as a doctor again. And now the Ravens call and you want to go? To a whole different country? You told me you were scared to try doctoring again, but for them - ”

“Chase,” says Henrik. “I hate your hospital, okay? I’m sorry. I could never do that. I could never - never be normal. The Ravens, they know who I am - they pull me through my worst times. Just talking to normal people around a water cooler? Please. They’ll read me for a freak in two seconds.”

“No, man, I had the same fears! I was going to help ease you into it! Why couldn’t you at least try? Like, fuck, are the Ravens even going to pay you?”

“No, it’s volunteer work. What’s wrong with that?”

“Henrik, it sounds like an adventure, but I think you’re just trying to stay in your safety bubble. And what if you get there and you’re just as triggered by blood and medical shit as you are here, and I’m not there to help you?”

Henrik’s eyes water up for a second before he blinks it all away. “I’m not that pathetic,” he croaks.

“I never said -

"If you’re worried then come with me!”

“Henrik, fuck! You know I can’t.”

“I know you like your job, just - ”

“It’s not the fucking job!”

“What, then?”

“It’s my girlfriend, jackass,” says Chase. “Schneep, fuck’s sake! I want to be with her.”

“Oh, Ash,” says Henrik, and he turns away to do that same eye-roll as before. “Ash, of course, what was I thinking? By all means. Ash.”

“Schneep, I swear,” Chase says, a warning there. “I swear.

Anonymous asked:

Hen you don’t have to be jealous of Ash. You know good and well Chase loves you too, I know you do. No one is being chosen over anyone else, I’m certain that’s not what Chase is trying to communicate. You both want to do something important to you but they contradict. That’s all it is. The things you find important should be important to each other, and I know you two would love each other the same even an ocean away. You are allowed to do separate things but never stop loving each other. I know it’s more complicated internally than that, I know. But the scenario has arisen for you to finally each do something you care for, and even if it means doing it apart physically, you both know you’ll meet back at home and still have your twin.

“Oh, jealous!”

Chase starts laughing bitterly as Henrik protests.

“I’m not jealous!”

“I’ve told you that before and you denied it. Took the cameras two hours to fucking peg you for it - ”

“I am not jealous.”

“You can’t stand her, and you know what, it’s totally unfair to her. She has been an angel to you.”

“She thinks I’m your damaged twin psychopath,” Henrik snarls.

Chase’s teeth grit together again. “No, she fucking doesn’t. She’s good to you - ”

“Condescending.”

“I can love you both,” Chase snaps. “So stop being a baby, Schneep, for fuck’s sake.”

“I’ve held my tongue about it for months,” says Henrik sharply. “About her.”

“Oh, really? If that’s holding your tongue, I don’t want to hear you talking.”

Henrik says nothing, arms crossed, looking out the window. They’ve caused enough of a commotion at this point that Marvin is walking back towards them, frowning. “Guys, geez.”

the-earnest-system asked:

Do you not like Ash?

Henrik stares out the window as Marvin comes to stand over them like a referee, and Chase stares at Henrik, daring him to answer.

“Ash is fine,” says Henrik coldly.

“Fine,” snarls Chase. “She’s - ”

“You know what, Chase?” says Henrik, whirling on him, and that’s when Marvin pushes between them, grabbing Henrik’s arm, pulling him back from his brother. “She is fine. She’s fine. I don’t dislike Ash, I don’t hate her, I’m not jealous. I nothing Ash. She’s boring.”

You’ve never seen Chase make exactly the face he makes in that moment, something hurt and furious and thrown onto the floor like a rag-doll all at the same time.

“That’s enough, Henrik,” says Marvin firmly. “You are overwhelmed, you’re triggered - ”

“Don’t make excuses for me,” hisses Dok. “You want to talk about a safety bubble, Chase? Your little veterinary girlfriend with the trust fund and two brothers who live in Dublin and work in finance, who loves roadtrips and Overwatch - ”

Marvin yanks Henrik away from Trick, pulling him sharply to the other side of the bus and sitting him down.

Anonymous asked:

You alright Chase?

Chase sits in the back alone, folding his arms around himself. He glances out the window, back to you, and then up at Jackie, who’s looking at him with a thumbs up. Chase thinks about giving him a thumbs down - he knows Jackie would come sit with him and probably squeeze him til he bruised - but this is a damn bus, and they’ll be there in five minutes, and he thinks he better just take a second to be alone. He gives Jackie a thumbs up.

“I knew he didn’t like her,” he tells you finally. “Never thought he’d say it out loud, though. And it’s worse because… she does think he’s kind of weird, and - and… I don’t know. She’s nice about it. But she doesn’t know how to handle him, and he doesn’t know how to handle her.”

A shadow falls on his face and he closes his eyes. He starts playing with something in the inner pocket of his jacket, and for just a second you catch a glimpse of it - a small black box.

“How am I supposed to do this without him?” he whispers to himself.

the-earnest-system asked:

What kind of romantic relationship would you want for Chase?

“I don’t know,” he says.

He’s managed to work himself up properly now, and Marvin is shushing him and petting at his hair, not so different from what Chase did for him an hour ago. “What do I know?” Henrik says, voice angry and tremulous at the same time, eyes full of tears. His breaths come in ragged pulls for air. “I don’t get what anyone wants from a romantic relationship. What’s so great? What’s so worthwhile about any of it?

"Chase knows the risks anyway, and he still wants some girl who’s not good enough for him, just because she’s pretty and nice to him. He’s always falling in love. What about the last girl, who pressured him to have sex and scared the hell out of him? And Stacy, who nearly destroyed him? Why does he give them the power? He should stay home with me. I can’t watch my brother try to kill himself again over a girl - ”

Henrik chokes on a sob and Marvin grabs him, pushing the camera slightly away, whispering to him to come back on him, to focus on something concrete, to breathe.

“They’re fine, Henrik,” Marvin is telling, slightly laughing in this confused, horrified way. “She’s good to him, and she knows he’s been through some shit. Chase can decide what he wants. You’re catastrophizing, you know? The sort of illogical leap your shrink schools you on? They are just fine.”

“Max knew Anti,” Henrik is still explaining to you, as he clings to Marvin’s sleeves. There’s about five other people on this bus and they’re all pretending not to notice any of this. “Max knew Jackie before Anti, saw Jackie during Anti, all of it. Max knows. The Ravens know. But Ash - she’s just some person, she’s normal, she’s boring, what does she know? She’s going to realize, one day, how fucked up we all are, and then she’ll hurt my brother. She should go away.”

Henrik presses his face into Marvin’s stomach, whimpering. “I take care of my brother. We’re not normal. Nobody else knows, just us. Just us.”

scunneredzombie asked:

Don’t let yourself get stuck in the ‘no one understands but my family’ again Henrik. Hey, have you thought about ever looking into support groups for people who have gone through things exactly like you have? Cult survivors, torture survivors. I think it would let you see that there are people who get it who aren’t ‘us’. Anti used in-grouping on you guys a lot, so thinking this way in extremes makes sense but it’s not helpful to you.

“Oh, right, like any of them would know,” Henrik begins, but Marvin cuts him off.

“Schneep! There are people who get it. The cameras are right, you can’t talk like everyone else is an outsider. That’s how you wind up with - ”

Henrik looks up at him darkly, rubbing tears from his face. “With no friends, stuck at home?”

“With depression,” says Marvin carefully. “Listen to them for a second, Henrik. Anti was the one who taught us that other people are outsiders we can’t trust. We don’t have to live that way. There are good people in the world.”

“But not ones who understand.”

“Ones who understand parts of it, Schneep, big parts, the abuse and the cult escape and even the torture, my love. The PTSD and the terror. I know what it’s like to have your brain telling you the rest of the world wants to destroy you, but you can’t let yourself come to believe that, treasure, you just can’t.”

“I don’t want to talk anymore,” whispers Henrik.

“I’ll get you an Uber when we stop and you can go rest at Jackie’s.”

“No!” cries Henrik instantly, looking up with his face red. “No, I am damn sure not staying at home while you go marching off to get JJ without me. What if he’s hurt?”

“Chase is a nurse, Henrik. You need to prioritize yourself if this is overwhelming.”

“No, I’m going,” spits Henrik, positively sulking now, clinging to Marvin’s shirt. “I’m going to get my little brother.”

scunneredzombie asked:

Have you worked on loving yourself as Blue too, Marvin? Do you feel more whole after the therapy you’ve had, more connected to yourself and ok in your body?

Marvin sits back heavily beside Henrik and sighs out, rubbing his brother’s back.

“Blue,” he says, thinking it over. “Blue is… my magic. My protectiveness. My secret. My ferocity. My care-giving. My survival instinct. Yes… I think I feel more whole, more at peace with the Blue parts of me. I’m so glad to have had that part of me that helped us all get free of Anti - that killed him in the end. I have just had to learn to balance those parts of me with the ones that help me function in the rest of the world, the ones that recognize that not everyone is a threat.”

Marvin looks pointedly at Schneep, who ignores him.

“I like to get massages,” Marvin says after a moment. “Does that sound silly? I like to get massages and feel my whole body like one piece. And feel solid and safe. And I like my EMDR therapy where I just feel whatever I feel, and Blue can come out as much as he needs, and talk about how he protected me and what scared him.”

Marvin looks down at his free hand, humming.

“And I think I’m very beautiful again,” he adds softly, and smiles at you so brightly his whole face alights.

And he is.

the-earnest-system asked:

Oh chase buddy what’s that box? You haven’t even told her about the magic stuff yet

“Alright,” snaps Chase. “I already got it from Henrik, I don’t need it from you.”

He gets up and goes to sit next to Quintrell, who looks at him and then back down at her phone.

“You regretting taking us with you?” asks Chase.

Quintrell chuckles. “You think I don’t understand crazy, over-powered, magic-entangled families? Please.”

Crazy isn’t generally considered a nice word in their family, but Chase thinks he can let that one slide.

Anonymous asked:

Sounds like a story, Q darling 👀

“One for the ages,” she says, and then slides down in her seat to bury herself in her phone.

“Oh, come on,” laughs Chase, trying to recover himself. “At least give me a hint.”

“I told too much to your little brother already.”

“He can be very persuasive.”

“He thinks he’s cute, that’s the problem.”

“That is the problem. You should see my older brothers try to tell him no.”

She grins at him with her malformed canines. “Pansies.”

“Definitely.”

She scrolls through something on her screen.

“You’re not the only one with a monster for a brother, that’s all you need to know.”

scunneredzombie asked:

I love that you love so easily Chase, genuinely. You have so much hope in people, and that’s a virtue. I think that, after what Anti put you through, if you think you love someone that much I totally trust you. I hope we do get to meet Ash, she sounds nice despite her normal person syndrome. (kidding)

Chase manages to laugh, running his fingers through his hair. “I like that she has normal person syndrome. She feels like a new start. She just likes me how I am. And it doesn’t hurt that she has no shortage of sympathy for the shit I’ve been through.

"Anyway, she’s a special person. Whip-smart but really sly, my Ash. And she’s got this particular way her mouth curves up when she grins, and you just - she just - she breaks through clouds like the sun does. I like Ash a lot.”

Anonymous asked:

if you don’t mind me asking, what’s JJ been up to since we last saw him… aside from planning to take down a group of magicians

-🪷

“JJ,” says Jackie, stuffing his own phone in his pocket. “What has my JJ been up to? He’s a little church-going citizen, he made some friends at his Deaf support group, he worked in a wildlife preserve, then a movie theater, then a college, then an aquarium. He likes to roast nuts and bake with Chase, he goes swimming in the pond outside our house, he listens to all sorts of different music, he draws really well - obsessively, sometimes - and every now and then I think he needs to prove his independence, and he’ll run off with some friends or disappear for a day or two with no warning.”

Jackie taps his chin thoughtfully. “We all consider Jam to be his cat now. I like to come by his room when he’s reading and find him there, stretched out on his bed with the cat on his chest, and I’ll ask him what he’s up to, and he tells me about his book - Death Comes for the Archbishop, the Just City, Fifteen Dogs. He and Henrik like to argue about literature at the kitchen table. JJ puts caramel in his coffee. He has a sweet tooth. He talks about Anti sometimes, and then we all start talking about things we remember from that time, things we usually keep quiet, and we all get some stuff off our chests. He takes a new anti-psychotic and it makes him less twitchy than the other one, so he finally looks at rest when he’s sleeping. He wears gauges again.”

Max watches fondly as Jackie recites these facts about JJ like he was born knowing them.

Anonymous asked:

We got an update on everyone but JJ so, well, has he been healing and processing things too? I know it was still difficult for him when we left off. Still seeing the Deaf group, going to therapy and all? How has he been with interaction outside the family?

“JJ sees a psychiatrist,” says Jackie. “And the same therapist as Henrik. But he says he worries the shrink thinks he’s always delusional. Sometimes JJ has a hard time talking only about the things that normal people know about. He doesn’t like that he can’t bring up the magic things. It messes with his sense of reality.”

Jackie looks down at his lap. “I thought he was doing really well. The others worry that he keeps quitting jobs, but I don’t care. He can come and go if he gets bored. Why does it matter? But then he stopped taking his meds a while back, and I felt scared-angry. And I grabbed him too tight and left red marks on his wrists, and I felt bad, but he was signing like he was going to hurt himself.”

He sighs deeply. “He says he wants to feel like himself again. But the meds are what stabilize him. He can’t stop taking them. I don’t know what else I can give him but medication and the chance to choose his life from here.

"He has a couple tight friends, but mostly he gets to know people and then drifts away from them again. He says he can’t be open with them the way he wants. He’s not ashamed to have mutism, but it doesn’t make it easy for him: there’s always a degree of separation if you don’t have a translator, and that feeling of being ostracized is very… he’s very sensitive to that. The feeling of being different. He doesn’t want to be in the attic listening to everyone else. He wants to be with people who hear him and see him.”

Jackie looks briefly proud. “See? He tells me these things. I’m a good big brother now.”

Anonymous asked:

also, chase, if im remembering right you were planning on showing ash the magic by taking her to the house and showing her

do you have, and I don’t mean to harp on it or demean you, but do you have a plan for what to do if it goes wrong?

-🪷

Chase puffs out a breath. “Damn… if it goes wrong. It’ll be over, I guess. I mean, I’ll start her with Marvin’s garden. Who can be scared of that? And maybe once she’s seen Marvin casting, I’ll take her to the Lapwings, who are nice. We just… have to break her in slowly.”

He pauses and wrings his hands together. “And if she goes, then she goes. I don’t want her to be wrapped up in all this if it’s not what she wants, anyway.”

scunneredzombie asked:

Henrik, you don’t have to do this. I know you’re upset and that you’re nearer to a mindset where all of you have to be together when someone is in danger, but… It’s not good for you. You’re hurting yourself right now. Do you feel that this is something you can push through, or will this set you back in therapy to the point it’s not a healthy action. Would your therapist let you do this if they knew how upset it’s making you?

And no, Henrik, going home doesn’t make you pathetic either, as an addendum. You’re not pathetic or cowardly or anything like that. You need to know your limits or you could retraumatize yourself. Like someone else says, you really need to be nice to your brain.

Henrik takes methodical breaths as he sees Quintrell pull the line for their stop ahead, looking up at Marvin guiltily.

“You want me to call you a ride?” asks Marvin, his phone ready in his hand.

Henrik shakes his head no.

“Schneep…”

“I’m not upset because of this stuff with JJ,” Henrik manages. “I just worked myself up talking to Chase. That’s separate, it doesn’t matter. And I - I’m not pathetic. I’m the one who fought against Anti before any of you were ready, me.”

“Okay, good,” says Marvin. “But would your therapist approve of this?”

“My therapist is not here,” says Henrik stiffly, and he rises to exit the bus. “Just let me do this. I will rest when we have JJ.”

Marvin looks at him sternly, getting to his feet, and he says something, then, that they try to save only for the most necessary occasions: “Ask your big brother.”

Henrik tenses and looks at Jackie, who’s already hopping off the bus, pulling Max along behind him.

scunneredzombie asked:

Oh yeah it was nice to suggest what your therapist would think, Jackie will look at you with big worrying loving eyes and stare at you like you’re the damsel of the hour and you’ll be so overcome with sappy brotherly love that you go right home

“No, no, no,” Henrik growls. “I am going. Jackie can’t boss me around.”

Categorically untrue.

They exit the bus and Quintrell starts leading them down a block, into a progressively shadier part of town as they go. There are restaurants and a park, then pawn shops and liquor stores, and before long they’re approaching a dry cleaner’s that looks like it hasn’t been open in about ten years.

“What’s the problem?” asks Jackie, as Marvin catches up to him and intertwines their arms.

“Your little brother had the start of a panic attack on the bus.”

“Well, he hates public transport, what did we expect?”

“He was rude to Chase.”

Jackie stops to look at Henrik. “Were you rude to Chase?”

The twins are ignoring each other, allowing Max to divide them on the sidewalk.

“Yes,” says Henrik sullenly.

“Chase, were you rude?”

Chase shoves his hands in his pockets. “Only a quarter as rude as Henrik.”

“You two can talk it out later. Apologize.”

Henrik kicks something on the pavement. “Sorry.”

Chase doesn’t answer.

“Schneep, you want to go home?”

“No,” snarls Henrik. “I won’t. I’m going to stay and help keep you dumbasses alive.”

“You won’t be doing that if you flip your shit inside a stranger’s magical house, Schneep.”

Henrik’s practically stomping his foot. “I’m going.”

“Figure it out,” calls Quintrell. “I’m going to step aside and see if everyone’s around. If they see me, I’ll have to make conversation, so just wait for as long as I take. Hopefully five minutes, we’ll see.”

She slips into the laundromat. Jackie approaches Henrik and wraps an arm around him conspiratorially, putting their backs to you and speaking to him in a low voice. Henrik slumps against his body for a second, mumbling back.

“You think he should come?” asks Marvin skeptically, turning to Chase.

Chase sighs. “If we send him home now, he’ll just flip out alone, and he’ll be telling us for days we don’t think he’s capable of anything anymore.”

“Yeah, that’s been tender.”

Jackie turns around with Henrik, releasing him. “He’ll come. No more arguing though.”

Marvin gives his big brother a look, but no one argues.

“So this is the place,” says Max, wandering around the cleaner’s. “Is there more to it inside?”

“We are all familiar with magic portals,” says Henrik, straightening his rumpled jacket. “The Ravens, too, hid in the open.”

Anonymous asked:

I wonder if it’ll be a mirror or if they use something different in Britain?

“Psst!”

They all look up as Quintrell beckons them, following her in and ducking into the dusty laundromat. No mirrors here - it’s just a dusty laundromat.

“Downstairs,” she says, and she leads them towards a set of stairs covered by a wooden slat, which she pulls away.

“I saw one of the three magicians in his study, just pacing,” she says. “The other two, I didn’t see, and I don’t know where JJ is. If they have him, they could have him in the second lower level - but I’m not allowed down there, and I’m not even sure how to get to it. Been a magician here my whole life, but I’m not elite enough for Creighton…”

She bounces down the stairs and turns to see why the others aren’t following her. “It’s through here.”

Jackie and Marvin gape at her at the top of the stairs. It’s a rickety staircase made of rotting wood, which seems to sway even with no air flow down here. Cement lines the floor beneath it, and though there’s only one flickering lightbulb, they can still see them: thousands of enormous centipedes, writhing over each other on the dark, cold floor, which is damp with mold and water. An open wire from the light hovers dangerously near a puddle of wetness at the corner of the room.

“Mission cancelled,” says Jackie, reaching back to cover Chase’s eyes like he’s hiding a nude video from a kid.

Quintrell rolls her eyes hard enough to rival Henrik. “It’s an illusion, geniuses. Get down here. All you have to do is reach out and touch it, and it will go away.”

scunneredzombie asked:

Well to be fair that illusion works fantastically. Almost no one would consider going down there.

“Yeah, I think maybe they can keep JJ,” says Marvin.

“Screw this, I’m from India,” says Max, pushing through them. “I’m not afraid of bugs. Ah! There’s one on the stairs!”

A centipede leaps up onto his shoe and starts its way up his pants. Max yelps and Jackie leaps down to him, quickly brushing it away - then he stops, blinking.

“Oh,” he says. “It does go away.”

Max clings to Jackie for a second, staring down at the bugs around his feet. He steels himself and reaches down - putting his hand right in the middle of the centipedes. “Whoa,” he says, apparently oblivious to the ones now crawling up his sleeve.

“This I must see,” says Henrik, and they all make their way down, even though it takes everybody a gut-wrenching moment to reach out and touch the things that aren’t real.

“The cameras say they can see them too,” says Chase.

“Here,” says Marvin.

He holds up his hand to you and you can see a centipede squirming on his palm. Marvin blinks at something he can’t see in his own hand, and then, in one motion, squishes it. But there’s no nasty crunch or guts running between his fingers. It’s just not there anymore.

You’re in a cool, quiet room with a large wooden door. Quintrell has already unlocked it with a small brass key she carries on her. Through the door, a whole home exists there beneath the laundromat, large enough it must extend beneath the other buildings too. It’s the layout of a completely normal house - if you made the house underground like a dwarf. A large gathering space invites the boys inside, rings of couches accompanied by a pool table and a bar, but there are hallways to the right and left as well.

“And we have no clue where JJ is,” breathes Marvin. “Is that right?”

Quintrell listens carefully, peering off to the right. “The magician’s in the study down there. We have to avoid him. He may be the most powerful one of all of them.”

Anonymous asked:

Getting past someone with a big group will be hard, is there an alternative path or a way to hide yourselves?

“There’s lots of paths, looks like, but where are we going?” asks Chase.

“We could split up,” says Marvin. “I’ll put some vines in the walls and start looking for hidden entrances. Jackie, you could hack into their system - maybe they have tech in the hidden room and you could find it? Or camera-views? Quintrell, could you talk to the other magician and ask if something’s going on?”

“Hm,” she says. “Possibly. He trusts me. But then he will know I’m here, one way or another.”

Anonymous asked:

Oh, thank you, Marvin! Very considerate. If you don't touch them, does this whole place look all buggy even now - never mind, other priorities. Is there any way to track magical signature? I guess they'll probably be hiding it, but now that we're in their base? By hacking, can Jackie pinpoint, like, any control room or way of seeing what's happening anywhere in the base?

“I think the illusion is only in that entryway,” says Quintrell. “It would take Mateos a lot of energy to keep the whole place buggy, so he only places them where needed.”

“I don’t have the tech to track JJ’s signature,” says Jackie. “But sure, if you want me to find out if there are cameras here or if the wi-fi extends somewhere weird, I’ll look.”

“I’ll take you to the records room to do that where they won’t find you, then,” says Quintrell. “Creighton says he doesn’t do paperwork on weekends.”

Anonymous asked:

It could be fine if he knows you’re here Quintrell, you could keep him distracted pretty easily while the others sneak about. But it depends if you think you having no cover is worth it in this one or if the boys will need your personal help as they navigate.

“Alright,” says Quintrell. “Give me one of your magic cameras and I’ll go ask him what’s going on.”

“We shouldn’t leave you all alone,” says Marvin. “I’ll wait outside while you speak to him, in case he gets angry. Must be a closet or something I can hide in.”

“What about us, then?” asks Henrik, crossing his arms beside Max and Chase.

“I’ll go with Jackie to hack,” says Chase tersely.

“We could look around while you distract the magician,” says Max.

“Okay, everyone just keep a camera on them. Cameras, tell us right away if someone gets in trouble,” says Jackie. “And no hero business - if you find something out, tell everyone.”

Quintrell takes Jackie and Chase back to the records room, letting them inside, and then she and Marvin head towards the magician, down the hallway to the right.

Max and Henrik look at each other, left standing between the hallways to the left and the right.

“Which way do you want to start?” asks Max.

“This is not efficient or safe,” says Henrik. “This cannot be what JJ meant.”

Anonymous asked:

I agree, Hen, though JJ really didn't leave a lot to go off of... He said, what, left, forward, right, and then stairs? And then not to follow him? But he also said not to look in the drawer and then you immediately did... Hen, if you were in JJ's position (as much as we know about it), how would you give instructions, knowing you were talking to the rest of your brothers?

“Did he say that?” asks Max. “Jackie and I really missed the starting points here.”

Henrik’s already sweeping past him to the left. Three doors - he moves forward through the central one.

Max observes the place as they go, trying to remember how to see with a detective’s eyes, although that wasn’t the happiest time for him. Then again, it’s where he found Jackie.

The office - home? clubhouse? - of the magical society is done up with dark wood and paintings of countrysides on the walls. There’s nothing to mark it as particularly magical. There are meeting rooms and an entertainment center with big TVs, and a kitchen lined in gleaming silver appliances.

“Was the place in Peru like this?” asks Max. “With the magicians who protected you there?”

“No,” says Henrik immediately. “No, that place was a home. It was always full of people - kids, families. The young ones called their leader Mama. There was nothing fancy, but there were as many bedrooms as they could ever need, and a big table in the sun where everyone ate together. Pianos and a courtyard to kick a ball around. Nothing underground, nothing cold. Here, right.”

Henrik pushes into the door to the right and finds -

A bathroom.

He stands in the doorway, hands clenching together.

It’s clean, but not unused, a white bathroom with a big shower and a small closet for towels. The mirror on the wall is not large enough for anyone to go through, and there are extra paper rolls next to the toilet. Someone’s put a small statue of a bird in one corner. That’s all.

Henrik strikes the sink countertop with his hand, anger tightening his features. “Something is wrong,” he spits. “Something has not gone according to JJ’s plan. There are no stairs here. My brother - if they’ve taken him somewhere else, somewhere he didn’t expect, if he doesn’t have the energy to turn back time again - ”

Henrik pauses to close his eyes and breathe for a moment, turning away from your view.

Max examines the room carefully. He pulls open the towel closet to find that there’s nothing inside: the shelf is broken in half, and no one has bothered to repair it. It’s dusty and smells like mildew. The mirror opens too, and there is toothpaste and aspirin inside. Leaning down to look at the linoleum floor, he sees a scuffed mark on the ground that might be the edge of a shoeprint. Someone at an office might wear shoes into the bathroom, but why were they stepping so hard they left a mark here, but not in the hallway? He tilts his head. The shoeprint might even drag slightly. Like someone slipped or was pulled.

Max goes back into the hallway, but he doesn’t see any other right turns. There are no stairs.

scunneredzombie asked:

What do you think JJ meant, Schneep? He seemed to mean you guys should follow Quin and break in, but you know him very well and if you have theories we’d love to hear. Anything helps right now!

“No, I think we’re right so far, I think he wanted us to come here after him,” says Henrik. “And I think he would throw himself into danger without hesitation if he… if he knew we were coming after.”

His voice is fond for a second. “So adult now. But he has never lost the sense that we would drop anything for him and come running. Spoiled… No more banging on the attic floor wishing someone would come hold him. He knows he is loved, these days.”

scunneredzombie asked:

Wait, is something in the bathroom another illusion??

Henrik looks up with new eyes. Max comes back to the door beside him, glancing down at your message.

Schneep turns in a slow circle, eyes flickering. He touches the wall of the shower. Nothing changes.

“Touch it and it will go away,” he murmurs.

The back wall. “No. It would have to be somewhere hidden in the open. Somewhere no one would touch. Like… a broken closet.”

He opens the door to that dusty towel closet.

“Call the others,” he says.

Henrik touches the broken shelf. It disappears beneath his fingers, and there, descending into a dim corridor far below, is a long set of stairs.

Anonymous asked:

Ding ding ding!!! Henrik and Max found the passage! Head back to the main room, go left, take the middle door, then door to the right. :) How's hacking going? Did we start talking to the guy?

“Did they find something? Thank God. The boredom was killing me.”

“We’ve been doing this for fifteen minutes, Chase,” Jackie replies, his laptop on somebody’s desk. “Hey, are you seeing this? There is a camera in here, but look at the name it’s under.”

Chase, who had been rifling through a set of documents he definitely broke something to find, glances over at the screen. “It’s just a bunch of random letters and numbers, Jackie.”

“It’s the name of one of our cameras,” says Jackie. “Not one of the ones we brought with us, but one of ours nonetheless. Did JJ bring one with him? But he didn’t turn it on. The cameras would have told us if they could see him.”

“Whatever you say, whiz kid. Hey, is this weird? It’s an arrest record at the end of a report about how someone’s society fees weren’t being paid. I think they set this guy up because he wasn’t sending them money.”

“Let’s just get to JJ and figure the rest out from there.”

They take off towards the others.

the-earnest-system asked:

Schneep and Max found something! They went left, forward, and right and then found some stairs covered by an illusion. Like JJ said!

On the other side of the complex, Quintrell is stalking out of the study. Marvin slips out of his hiding place, which is, coincidentally, another bathroom. “So?”

“He lied through his teeth to me,” she says darkly. Her braid has started coming loose and there are curls flying around her face. “That’s all he ever does anymore. He says there hasn’t been anything strange here all day. He’s so reliant on his magic he can’t lie at all. Not to me.”

Marvin frowns at her. “Are you good for this? Like, head on straight?”

She turns to frown back at him. “Of course it is. Come on. Looks like they found something.”

scunneredzombie asked:

Oh man, getting closer! I really hope he’s okay. On a side not it’s so so good to hear he knows he’s loved now. I think he deserves a little spoiling. Ultimate little brother after all!

“We think he’s down here?” asks Jackie, checking with everyone around him, getting nods in return.

“These were his directions,” says Henrik.

“And I have never been told about this entrance,” Quintrell adds. “If they’re holding someone - and I know they have held people against their will before - it will be down here.”

“If you go down here,” Jackie tells her, “you go down here to fight. I don’t care if they’re your old allies or not. You aligned yourself with JJ, and he trusted you enough to connect you with us. I will use whatever force I haven’t to to protect my… ultimate little brother. Do you understand that?”

His seriousness has cleared away her veneer of irritation. She looks up at him with wide, surprised eyes, but when she nods, she means it. “I’m with you.”

“If anyone wants to turn back, do it now,” says Jackie, not unkindly. “We’ll come get you afterwards.”

No one moves, his brothers and husband circled around him. Jackie nods. “Kiss for luck?”

Max pulls him towards him just for a second, pressing their mouths together. “Let’s go, Juice Box.”

“Okay, then, tiger, here we go.”

He heads down the stairs with his computer in his backpack, and an old black fighting staff in his right hand.

Anonymous asked:

what's the guy's name that was set up?

“I didn’t recognize it,” Chase whispers. “A Greek name, I think. There were lots of files up there - money records, but also stuff about people’s families and where they lived, and info about the societies in other countries. I didn’t look through all of it.”

Anonymous asked:

(Marv? Are you able to quietly tell if the really dangerous magician might have done something. Like. Subtle to Q? Like seeing through her eyes or affecting her actions or anything?)

Marvin smiles begrudgingly, signing at you as Quintrell walks in front of him. “I have only the fire and the plant life. Magicians can cast other spells if they learn the correct words, symbols, or methods set in place by a magician who once had the powers they seek - I know, it’s a little complicated - but I don’t have access to any sort of mind-reading. Even if I could, I… have learned the dangers of that kind of power. I prefer to stay out of people’s heads.”

But he touches Quintrell’s shoulder anyway, pulling her back, just for a moment. “Hey. Are you sure he didn’t do anything to you?”

Quintrell shakes her head. “He never would. He doesn’t tell me the truth about anything anymore, but he would never use his power on me. He swore that a long time ago.”

Marvin doesn’t let her go right away. “Who is he to you?”

Her gaze falls to the ground. “Can’t we deal with the magicians down here first? JJ knows what he needs to know. That’s enough.”

Marvin lets her go, sighing through his nose.

Anonymous asked:

We're cheering you guys on!! Game faces on - but do remember you're here to save JJ and then take on the corrupt guys at the top. Probably plenty of people, if you run into more, are like Quintrell and are ready for a change. Step slightly and surely

The floor of the second level underground is smooth, blue, untiled concrete, slick enough you could slide on it in socks.

Jackie’s boots connect solidly, quietly, with the floor. He steps forward.

This is a smaller area than the one above them. There is a small office, and then a row of three empty cells, all of them visible through heavy glass doors. There are security cameras in each one, but the first two aren’t on. Makes sense - there’s no one inside those cells.

“That’s what you’ve said,” comes a deep, clear voice at the end of the hall. “But it doesn’t explain how you found this place.”

Silence in reply. Jackie’s throat tightens. He steps towards the cell at the end as quietly as possible, crouching down as he gets close, coming to a stop beside the third glass door.

“I don’t believe you for a second,” the voice continues, harsher now, probably spitting. “You’re playing games with me. If you won’t tell me the truth, I’ll bring someone down here who can take it from you whether or not you are willing to part with it.”

Jackie moves his head slowly, ducking forward just enough to see a man in a grey suit jacket moving inside the cell, bent over to speak to someone at a small silver table. He has an accomplice, a tall, hardy man with dark skin and careless, cold eyes, who’s standing, only half-engaged in the conversation, in the corner of the cell.

Jackie pauses to look back at Quintrell, holding up his hands to sign. “A white man in a grey suit,” he says. “And a dark man in the corner.”

She nods. “Creighton and Mateos,” she spells out to him. “The leader and the illusionist. See, this place is so exclusive even I have never been allowed down here. They should be the only two we encounter down here - and they are definitely at the top of the corruption. Old men, set in their ways, cruel men who chose every step they’ve taken. They deserve more than we could ever do to them.”

Jackie nods and looks back again. He has to verify that JJ’s in there, has to see him.

Anonymous asked:

Good luck everyone, keep each other safe

Jackie stares back into the room from the bottom of the glass door, feeling his friends around him. Creighton moves soon enough, revealing more of the table to Jackie, and he draws back his hand -

And strikes Jameson hard.

Jackie sees white in his vision, just for a moment, and he feels Marvin at his side, gripping his arm.

JJ’s seated at that silver table, head knocked against it from the force of the blow. His nice black jacket is torn, his backpack thrown aside and discarded. There’s a legal pad in front of him, an almost insulting attempt to force him to communicate, seeing as one of his hands is fully chained to the chair behind his back - and over his throat, there’s a band of silver, too thick for a choker, coated in markings Jackie has never seen before, and held together by a padlock better suited for a storage unit.

Jackie’s eyes water. He remembers what it’s like to be collared too.

“Marvin,” he signs. “We go in blazing. Bring the door down.”

Marvin smiles wickedly, a flame lighting up in his right hand, vines crawling into his left. As Jackie turns back towards the door, you see JJ raising up his head, his expression completely calm. Blood runs from his broken nose.

He sees you and he smiles.

Anonymous asked:

Fuck-a you, magical prejudiced ballsacks!!!!!

“You stole my line,” Marvin whispers to you, and then he gets to his feet.

The door goes down in a burst of ravaging vines and a little fire (mostly just for effect), but Jackie’s anger is a force of its own as he moves into the cell, that black staff flashing. As Creighton turns to look at him in shock, Jackie brings it down - but it never quite touches. Creighton’s eyes light up with a ring of cyan light, and Jackie feels a force hit him in the stomach and send him falling backwards. Marvin’s at his back, slashing a line of thorns across the room, but Creighton gasps and blocks these from himself too, letting the spikes embed in the wall around him.

“Marvin Ahearn,” Creighton breathes, and somehow the anger in his face grows even worse. “They told me you returned to your bog throne. I should have known the lot of you would turn against us one day.”

“Oh, you’ve got me wrong, old man,” says Marvin. His own amnesia doesn’t even factor in here. If he and Creighton were enemies before Anti, all the better. “There’s no politics to this: I’m here on a purely personal vendetta today. Step away from my brother.”

“You ally yourself with creatures touched by corruption. He’s no longer fully human.”

“You’re the only corruption here, Creighton,” says Quintrell, and despite everything, there’s a fervor to her voice, a delight, as she finally stands against him. “In your paranoia, you have driven away and excluded dozens of magicians who would otherwise have helped you. Now, you’re all but alone in this building.”

“Traitor girl, turning against me after all I’ve done for you? You should know better, Adrienne - and as you’ll soon find, I don’t need anyone but Cedar and Mateos.”

Creighton strikes. Quintrell is flung back through the air, and if Chase didn’t leap forward to intercept her, she would have been thrown against the cement wall. Henrik moves forward, trying to get close to JJ.

“The other one’s disappeared!” he shouts. “An illusion!”

It’s true, Jackie realizes: Mateos is nowhere to be soon. “Max, guard the door! He can’t leave without going through you, and if you touch him, you’ll see him.”

Max barricades the door with his hands out-stretched, waiting for a blow to come.

scunneredzombie asked:

Light it up red, team! Make sure you get one of them to tell you how that collar comes off. And remember one is an illusionist so don’t believe everything you see!

Henrik tries to push towards JJ, but he comes up against a wall of energy. He yells and pounds his fist against it - yeah, that’s real. “Let me to my brother!” he shouts. Creighton sneers at him and Marvin comes to his side, wreathed in flame.

“I don’t need to be able to get to you to hurt you,” he warns, and his flames begin on the other side of the cell, blue with heat and trickling towards Creighton. “You’re outnumbered, old man.”

“I will throw you all like ragdolls til your necks break,” says Creighton. “I’ll twist you into pretzels and mush you into meat pies.”

Chase is pressed back against the wall as if a door has appeared to crush him, and he gasps as his chest starts to feel tight, pressing his hands up to try and push it back. Jackie turns to look at him, only to feel his arm grabbed and twisted behind his back, making him shout and drop the staff. Marvin gasps as the same power tries to pick him up from the floor, but he grabs Henrik and stabilizes them both with strong vine, holding his brother close.

“Pretty cool, Magneto,” Chase manages to shout. “But you are bluffing and we all know it. See, we’ve been pinned down by magic before, and let me tell you something I know to be true: Jack always knew that five would be too many to hold at once.”

“He’s right,” says Max, realizing that there’s no power touching him. “You don’t have the strength to hurt us all.”

Re-invigorated, Marvin doubles his fire, and Creighton turns as the heat becomes painful. Jackie slips out of his power and grabs his staff, lunging forward, and for a moment, he’s able to connect: he strikes Creighton hard in the head, vengeance for JJ, and makes him yell out. Jackie’s shoved back a second later, but the headway’s possible with the right opportunity, and he’ll do it again, and again, and again, til this tyrant goes down.

Quintrell pulls Chase from behind the telekinetic door, and they move forward, dodging blows from forces they can’t see, like planks of energy being thrown towards them. Henrik begins feeling along the wall made by Creighton’s distracted concentration, and finally he’s at JJ’s side, grabbing his chair to try and pull him towards safety - but the damn thing’s bolted to the ground. “I got you, James, I’m here.”

scunneredzombie asked:

Could one of your cameras be with him, but in the hands of someone else right now? Someone who doesn’t know how to turn it on?

JJ looks up at Henrik, smiling softly, his one free hand giving a little wave. Henrik touches his face tentatively, trying to be sensitive of his bleeding lip and nose, his eye ringed in a bright red and purple bruise, while his cheek bleeds from a cut. He was struck more than once, maybe thrown around the same as they’re being thrown now.

Henrik tries to ignore Marvin’s fire and his siblings converging on Creighton, grabbing his brother chained wrist. He doesn’t have any way to break it, but he wants JJ out of here.

It’s as he’s looking down at him that he sees a small gleam of light. Adjusting his glasses, he sees one of the tiniest cameras Anti ever gave them, smaller than a gopro, clipped discreetly onto JJ’s pocket.

And it’s as he looks up that Henrik sees a man appear in front of him, a gun pointing at his face.

He freezes solidly, one arm still wrapped around JJ’s shoulder, holding his brother to him.

“Don’t you fucking move,” says Mateos, cocking his handgun. “Do you know how many of your friends I could mow down before they could do a damn thing about it? Do you want to die right here?”

Henrik closes his eyes for a second, stroking JJ’s arm. “Schneep!” he hears one of his siblings shout.

Anonymous asked:

The more hits to the skull the weaker his magic will get, I figure. Go nuts Jackie.

Creighton’s telekinesis is like being in the middle of an invisible tornado, and Chase gasps as he’s thrown to the ground for a second time, his chin striking hard against the concrete this time. “Ow,” he whimpers, but he pushes back to his feet. For all that the attack feels constant, the truth is, it’s a chaotic scramble from a cornered man: and they’re pushing through it, while Creighton is being cornered by the fire.

Marvin’s shoving him back against the wall with vines, managing to smack his head against the wall, when Chase hears Jackie cry out. Everyone seems to freeze for a moment, Creighton and his power included, and Chase turns his head to see a man he’s never met before pointing a gun at his twin.

“You back the hell off,” Quintrell snarls, and her own gun emerges from her purse, pointed unabashedly at Mateos.

Anonymous asked:

Stay on your guard everybody!! Invisible man makes for easy hostage situations too!!

“Good call,” Chase tells you shakily. “Good call, camera, that was - that was a very good warning that we did not manage to heed.”

“Adrienne,” cries Mateos, aghast. “Where the hell did you get that?”

“I’ve been willing to shoot you for a long damn time, Mateos,” she snarls. “You’ve hurt enough people in your life. Drop the fucking gun.”

Anonymous asked:

Yeah, that’s grounds to go apeshit on this guy, Chase

And Chase feels it then, that rage inside him, a fountain pouring out of him. He clutches his fists together, shaking.

He still has nightmares, sometimes, about Anti, but one thing he’s found is that they’re very rarely about himself. The problem is that all his memories of Anti - even the memories of being hit or cursed out or worse - they come with this syrupy sweetness that makes Chase want to gag. He’s never been able to muster anger for himself, and he’s stopped trying, too; it won’t help anything.

But he does nightmare about Henrik. About sitting in his bed, cold and alone, knowing that Henrik was upstairs being tortured, and not doing anything about it. He nightmares about Anti hugging him and telling him how good a pet he is, while Henrik watches on with fresh lacerations hidden underneath his shirt. He does nightmare about seeing Henrik on the porch, below his locked room in that mansion in California - and then about turning away, and going back to sleep.

He never got an opportunity to tell Anti how much he hated him for that. And now all that anger comes back, powerful as the day he realized it was there, and he wants to throw himself at Mateos like a wild animal, and punish him the way he wanted to punish Anti.

But something is not right.

Something’s not right.

Chase stares at that gun in Mateos’s hand - and then he grins.

“Yeah, right,” he mutters.

Anonymous asked:

not a real threat until we feel the gun you powerless illusionist fuck

“You stupid fucker,” says Chase, striding forward without hesitating. Matoes yells and re-cocks the gun. Re-cocks? Please. As if.

“You don’t know a damn thing about my family. Don’t you know my only name was Trickshot for years of my life? No. And you don’t know a damn thing about guns either.”

Mateos looks afraid of him, then, and it feels good, but better yet is the moment he realizes his brothers are in on the joke - Henrik’s posture relaxes with a gasp, turning to look at Chase in relief, and JJ - oh, JJ’s going to be in so much trouble when all this is over, because all he’s doing is giggling.

Anonymous asked:

Is the gun even real?? Well, your own gun is at least, the one Henrik has

“Yeah, it’s fake,” says Chase, pointing right at that black gun. “Worse than a movie prop. Dude, it doesn’t even have the right kind of barrel. Have you ever seen a single handgun in your life?”

“Cute trick,” says Henrik, reaching into his pocket. “The cameras are right, though - this gun is real.”

And suddenly they’ve got two guns pointed at Mateos, and Creighton is trapped beneath vine and flame, with Jackie towering over him, that black staff spinning in his hands.

“Gentleman,” says the older man, smiling as blood trickles from a bruise in the side of his head. “I’m sure we can make some kind of deal here.”

Anonymous asked:

creighton they'd call you a snake if it weren't an insult to snakes

“Am I being insulted on live television?” asks Creighton.

Jackie glances at you in triumph. “See? Magicians don’t know a damn thing about technology. No, you stupid fuck, those are magic cameras.”

“What do the lot of you even want?” Creighton demands, red in the face from his anger.

“Your reign is over, Creighton,” says Quintrell, turning her gun towards him. “You’re not going to lead this society with your exploitation and hatred any longer.”

Creighton starts laughing aloud. “And you think this will stop me? What are you going to do, kill me? You’ll be hunted down by the magicians still loyal to me in this country, the ones who know I do what must be done for this order. And if you don’t kill me, if you keep me down here, they’ll come for me anyway. All you’ve done is beat me in one battle! My power is political. It can’t be destroyed with a stick and one magician’s flowers.”

Marvin grows flowers in a sudden burst of color, close enough they threaten to suffocate Creighton. “You were saying?”

But Quintrell has turned to look at JJ with big, worried eyes, and Chase realizes Creighton is right - deposing him is more than a single battle.

“We need to get JJ out of his cuffs,” says Max, apparently thinking along the same lines.

“All of you stay back,” warns Mateos.

“Dude, we already decided your gun isn’t real,” Chase snaps. “Get on your hands and knees before my brother puts a bullet in your leg.”

It’s Henrik’s turn to cock his gun. Mateos looks at him for one panicked second, and then -

The flash of light that bursts up is so bright they all fall back, yelping and covering their eyes. Max feels himself shoved out of the way in the door, and he kicks out, managing to hit something solid, but Mateos is booking it down the hall already. “I’ll go after him!” Max shouts.

“Not on your own, Max, wait,” cries Jackie, but his husband is already running after him.

“Jackie,” says Marvin. “He can handle himself. We need you here.”

Anonymous asked:

max still good? no sneaky getaways?

Chase sighs, rubbing at his face. “This came in two seconds after that jackass slipped out. Sorry. He’s not armed though - it’s all just illusions, right?”

“Right,” says Quintrell, looking frazzled. “But Mateos and the magician upstairs… let’s hope Max catches him, that’s all.”

scunneredzombie asked:

JJ, are we dealing or killing here? You would know best

Marvin pins Creighton down, watching him carefully for any sign that he’ll try to escape, but they seem to have exhausted him for now. It’s Jackie who pulls the fancy lock-picking kit out of his backpack and strides over to Jameson, making quick work of the cuff on his locked hand.

“You,” says Jackie, freeing him, “are in so much trouble - ”

JJ hugs him tightly around the stomach, burying his face in his chest, letting Jackie hug him to his chest. When he finally pulls back, his eyes are shining.

“Knew you’d come,” he signs. “All of you.”

“JJ,” calls Quintrell, coming over to him hurriedly. “Great reunion and all, but what about Creighton?”

Jameson Jackson stands up, stretching his neck against the collar resting there.

“Yes,” he says. “Let’s begin putting the pieces together. Jackie, would you take the lock off this collar please? There’s someone else who needs it more than I do.”

Anonymous asked:

run like the WIIIIIIIND boi!!!! trust what you feel not what you see!

You see Max taking off after Mateos about as fast as a thirty-seven-year-old can go - but Max, unaccustomed to your presence, has not brought a camera with him. He runs upstairs and leaves your view.

Anonymous asked:

alright check in

how is everyone doing?

-🪷

“Yes,” says Marvin quickly, looking around. “Pause everything, who’s hurt? I know I went down a time or two in the midst of all that.”

“Where does it hurt?” Henrik asks him, as Jackie works to pick the padlock on JJ’s collar.

“My ribs, but not broken. I remember broken.”

“And Chase, you - ?”

“I hit my chin pretty good,” Chase admits. “Bit my tongue.”

He opens his mouth and then looks startled when blood comes out. Henrik promises to look after everyone properly when they get home, but Jackie -

“Oh, you’ve strained this at least, Jackie!” cries Henrik, looking over his injured wrist.

“No, no,” Jackie insists, although he’s grimacing. “It’s just a bruise.”

“Jackie, it’s not. Isn’t it bothering you?”

Jackie looks tempted to flap his hands, irritated by the pain, and Henrik grabs him gently, trying to hold him still. “I’ll splint this with, uh…”

“There’s supplies in my backpack,” says JJ.

Henrik gets into his bag and finds a whole first aid kit waiting for him. He looks up at him in surprise, but JJ just smiles wearily, and Henrik, tempted to feel manipulated by the whole situation, instead feels bad that JJ has had to plan all this out on his own.

Henrik splints Jackie’s wrist and then goes to JJ, who’s holding his side tenderly, although it’s actually his back that’s been hit, in addition to the bruising on his face, and some of his fingers have been pulled back hard, maybe broken. His throat is pinched red beneath the collar.

“Did they do this for nothing at all?” Henrik asks tenderly, pulling his shirt up a little.

“I knew they would,” JJ signs, repeating that slightly sad smile. “It had to be done. Admittedly, it was a little more severe than expected, but it will only help my case in the long run.”

“Alright, that’s it,” says Jackie. “Talk, you little mastermind.”

“Of course. You all deserve that much. Thank you for coming - I could never have put this in place without you.”

And he gives you a wink too, his teeth gleaming as he smiles, only a little blood staining the bottom row. The others have evolved to look less and less like Jack as time goes on, but JJ really has started to embody Jack’s younger self in some ways - the gauges, the curly brown hair grown long in the front, the bright blue eyes with long lashes, and, of course, the hint of mischief which has come back to JJ so naturally. He looks well, somehow, even with his bruised face.

scunneredzombie asked:

Jameson J. you are a badass

“Thank you, my friend,” he says, straightening up despite his injured back and pushing his fringe to the side a little. “As I said, none of this could have been done without the performance of everyone involved, and you all answered my call without hesitation.”

“Even though you told us not to come?” asks Chase, bewildered. “Were you just trying to be a little shit?”

JJ grins. “Sorry. I found that just telling you point-blank to follow me into danger exacerbated the concern over my well-being. The best reaction needed a little more mystery and a little less panic. But you would never be able to resist coming after me into danger even if I really didn’t want you to follow me.”

“So you have relived this day before,” says Marvin.

“Only once,” he says. “To get the timing just right, and ensure that Creighton and Mateos would not kill anyone. It’s my fight and I knew you’d come to help me, but I wouldn’t risk your lives like that. Besides, I needed Adrienne to show me where this hiding place is.”

“You just used me,” she says, looking hurt and bewildered.

JJ turns to her, frowning. “Adrienne,” he signs, and Marvin blinks at the sign there. For a second, he thinks JJ has signed ‘password,’ but then he recognizes the A, combined with the way he intertwines his fingers. The word he’s signing is just 'word’ combined with her A. Marvin didn’t realize he had named her at all.

“If you came with me to this place, you would have insisted on coming with me, and then you would have been found out,” he says, stepping towards her. “We would have both been beaten bloody, and your chance to reason with Cedar would be lost.”

She looks at him, blinking rapidly, mouth tight. “It’s not your decision to make, to use my info to keep me safe. What if I wanted to stay with you?”

“I made you a promise,” he says. “Cedar doesn’t know you’ve turned against the order yet, and so he didn’t have the chance to control you. Now you and I can handle him together. You must trust me - and in fact, I know you do, because you came here with no instruction, with strangers, just because I led you to them. Adrienne. Thank you.”

Her eyes are that vivid gold as she reads his signing. She looks away from him and inclines her head, a tiny nod.

“I led you all together and gave you what you would need,” JJ continues. “But it was necessary that you all let me come here and be hurt before you could protect me.”

“I hate that,” says Jackie, looking angry now, but Henrik seems to have pieced something together.

“The extra camera! You were recording.”

JJ grins and pulls the little spy camera off his shirt, handing it to Jackie. “Could you download the footage before anything else, Jackie, please? We’re going to need it to discredit Creighton.”

It’s at this point that JJ turns towards the beaten leader in the corner, his posture changing and his smile slipping away. He lifts up his hands to sign, and without hesitation, the brothers hear Adrienne - Quintrell - start translating for him. Jackie glances at Marvin, who looks back at him curiously. It’s a weird moment for all of them, as they realize they’ve never heard anyone else other than the four of them translate for their youngest brother.

“Marvin,” Adrienne translates for JJ, her eyes blazing. “Please keep him gagged. Since he didn’t allow me the privilege of speaking, I won’t give it to him either - although I am a better man than you, Mr. Creighton, in every way.”

Creighton, bound in flowers, glowers at JJ with burning eyes.

“You don’t know who I am, Mr. Creighton, although I have encountered you many times in the course of my investigation. You see, I have been aware of the way you treat outsiders - and even your own magicians - for years, ever since, in an alternate timeline, you sent Cedar and Mateos to hunt my traumatized, refugee siblings and I just for entering your country. Because our magic looks abnormal to you, you converged on us without mercy. And it’s not even because you truly believed we ever represented a threat to you, Creighton: it’s because you crave, in every form, magic and power.”

JJ steps closer to him, head tilted ponderously. “And I am the most powerful magical creature, human or not, you have ever encountered. I would never have given you access to my reversal, Creighton, but I saw the delight in your eyes when I walked into your hideaway just this morning. You had caught something good, and you were going to pin me down and find a way to force me to use my power. You immediately collared my power, trapped me in a prison cell, and began beating me and exposing me to brutal illusions meant to scare me into complying with you. But I knew who you were, and you had already taken the bait I set. It was all recorded.”

JJ points at the camera in Jackie’s computer, and Adrienne continues without hesitating.

“This is the first of many pieces of evidence I will soon relay to every magician in this country. I came to you asking to be registered, polite and unassuming, even white and male, and this was your reaction. I have spoken with Magdalena - do you remember her, Creighton, or does the name mean nothing? A woman you and Mateos assaulted only two days ago, demanding she tell you where her son, a powerful magician, had run to hide from you. As we speak, she’s making a police report. Human police will be looking for you soon - there are cameras in her building that show you entering the place.”

Creighton shouts something muffled, shaking his head.

“You deleted the footage? That was clever of you. I went back in time after you had, of course, and retrieved it. She’s a seventy-year-old woman. You’re sick. And the records in this place will show a pattern of the same behavior, which I will provide to both police and the magicians of this society. Most of them hate you already. The ones who don’t will recognize that you can no longer lead, and you’ll be in prison for a couple years anyway. Those magicians who share the same views as you will recognize that change is coming whether or not they like it. The majority will outgrow the minority rapidly.”

The more she reads JJ’s words, the more Adrienne seems to shine: the glow in her eyes is vivid, and she looks at him unhesitatingly, translating his words like they belong to her too.

“You’re done, Mr. Creighton,” says Jameson, and though he’s so thoroughly in control of the situation, he doesn’t gloat in this moment. Maybe, for a second, he’s almost sympathetic. “I will be warning every other magical society in the world about your crimes here. Yes, we’ve been exclusionists for too long. We’re going to start reconnecting with the rest of the world, allowing in anyone who wants to come. I think it’s high time that the magical societies of this world start establishing rules about behavior like yours.”

JJ turns to smile at Marvin. “I already have an in with the Lapwings, I believe.”

“You mean to lead here?” says Marvin, almost laughing aloud he’s so delighted. “You fucking mastermind, you did this all on your own?”

“I do mean to lead,” says JJ. “We’ll hold an election, no more tyranny. But I didn’t do this all on my own - I had a lot of help.”

Everyone’s smiling at him, and Jackie’s laughing at how angry Creighton looks, and Adrienne glows - but this isn’t the end, and they know that.

“That magician upstairs,” says Chase. “Cedar? You said he was one of the magicians who came after us in the alternate timeline - and Quintrell, you said he might be the most powerful one of all.”

Quintrell looks at Jameson, and he looks back at her. “He is,” she says. “Yes… he has to be dealt with, today. He could still undo all of this.”

Anonymous asked:

Is. Is Creighton of sufficient age to be "OK boomer"d. Is that where we're at? Are the bros or Quintrell Gen Z enough to inflict an "OK boomer"

Chase starts cracking up, immediately distracted from the intensity of the situation, and even Quintrell covers her mouth with her hand like she’s trying not to laugh.

“Is he?”

“I mean, he’s got the vibes of a Boomer even if he’s not one literally - ”

“JJ and Quintrell are definitely young enough, right, and Chase is a dork, and - ”

“I think someone has to say it, I think the cameras asked for it and now we got to.”

“You are all morons. But you’re right.”

“Hit him, Quintrell, you do it - ”

“No, this man practically raised me, he deserves a lot worse - Chase, you - ”

Creighton manages to spit out the marigold in his mouth for a moment. “Would you all stop talking for five damn - ”

Marvin slashes his hand and the flowers burst back into place. Jackie shakes his head at Creighton as though hugely offended. “Um, okay, boomer.”

Chase is so delighted he might be crying a little. Henrik shakes his head at him, his mouth twisting up with amusement, and they look at each other with a little less tension in the air between them, smiling.

Anonymous asked:

You could go upstairs in waves, maybe. People as a distraction right in front of an attack swelling behind.

Max comes back a moment later, panting hard, but empty-handed. He looks confused for a second, and then just grins and shakes his head at them all laughing, going to Jackie, who wraps an arm around him.

“I’m sorry, darling,” he says. “Lost him.”

“You didn’t go play hero,” says Jackie, apparently inordinately touched. “He could have hurt you. You came back instead.”

“I can face anything in this world, but only with you next to me,” purrs Max. Marvin fake-gags next to them and Jackie slaps his head.

“Is that the play?” asks Max. “Just go upstairs and overwhelm him? He could have escaped already.”

“If Mateos has fled, all the better,” says Quintrell. “He’s hated by everyone but Creighton and Cedar, and he has no allies to help him outside of here. The police will be looking for him too, and even if he flees the country, he’s disconnected from his position of authority. But if he’s gone upstairs to get Cedar…”

“Quintrell,” says Jackie. “I think it’s time you told us what Cedar can do.”

She looks to Jameson, mouth drawn in a deep frown, eyes big. He nods as though she’s spoken to him and comes to her aid, holding up his hands.

“Cedar was born with the power of… perhaps mind control is the easiest way to describe it, though that isn’t quite right. He can insert thoughts into another person’s head. They only last a little while, but you can imagine the damage that could do.”

The mood in the room has taken a dark turn. “We don’t have to imagine,” mumbles Henrik.

“Between his thought-intrusion and Mateos’s illusions, they can create extremely powerful convictions in people,” Adrienne says. “I’ve seen them do it, they… they can convince you your whole family’s being tortured in the next room over. They force people to do things they would never do otherwise. Which is why I - I don’t expect anyone else to help JJ and I handle them.”

There’s a chorus of protest, but she shakes her head hard. “No, no - listen to me. JJ made me a promise, and I gave him what he needed in return, but the rest of you have done this just for him. Facing Cedar… that’s just for me, and I know he acts like a monster. I know he’s capable of doing monstrous things to you, and - though it’s none of my business - I know you’ve been through monstrous things in the past. None of you should have to go through it again.”

“James,” says Jackie softly. “Have you seen this play out already?”

Jameson shakes his head tightly. “No, only up to this point. It was too great a risk. If Cedar does gain control over me, I won’t be able to reverse anything he does to any of you. I know you all want to protect me, but I intend to do this, and I… I believe that Adrienne and I can handle it. Neither of us expect or ask that you will come with us to deal with him.”

Anonymous asked:

OI. Max. Good to see you, glad you're safe. But we TALKED about the buddy system earlier. You don't just LEAVE your CAMERAS-IN-LAW behind, dude!!! What if you DID catch Mateos and then Cedar just TOLD you you didn't, huh? That's what we're here for!!! Visual evidence and light chaos and assisting with interpersonal conflicts!! What the fu k!! Don't do it again!!

“Oh, my bad,” says Max. “We were in the heat of the moment, I - ”

“Here, I’ll check that he’s real,” says Jackie cheerfully, and he grabs Max and starts kissing him. “Hm, nope, that’s real - no, that one was okay - I don’t know, I think maybe - ”

“Jackie!”

Anonymous asked:

Is there.. I mean, do you two have a plan? Without pressing too hard... Do you believe, fully, that you'll be able to reason with Cedar, Q? Or a backup plan if things start to turn?

Quintrell steadies herself, straightening up. “I can reason with him,” she says. “JJ can help.”

“What are you intending to do?” asks Marvin, directed at his brother, but Adrienne continues.

“Cedar and I have been with Creighton since we were kids. He used to be torn up over the things he was being made to do, but as time has gone on, he’s… become the cruelty. But I know he’s still in there.”

Chase blinks, a slow realization coming over his face. “You’ve been together since kids,” he says. “He’s your brother.”

Adrienne gives him a look like he’s just told her his dog was hit by a car. She looks away again a second later, breathing in.

“Creighton took us in after our parents were killed… although the killer was never caught.”

She turns slowly towards Creighton again, nostrils flaring. “Wasn’t that kind of you? Wasn’t it a coincidence? The most powerful magical child in England… and you got the chance to raise him.”

There’s no guilt in Creighton’s gaze, then, no pity, no concern. He’s pure fury, staring her in the eyes. Jackie’s already locked the magical collar around his throat, and it’s a good thing, because there’s no telling what a gaze like that could do.

“You took my parents,” she says. “And then you took me and my brother, and you turned him into this. But he’s still in there. He’s never hurt me before, never commanded me. I still mean something to him. He’ll see that I’ve turned on Creighton. I’ll remind him of everything he used to hate about this order. And I’ll tell him who really killed our parents.”

She turns back to the brothers and Max, that fierce look in her face again, though her voice is small. “And then he has to see reason. If he doesn’t… he’s not my brother anymore. And I’ll kill him.”

Her hand goes to her gun, tucked back into her bag. “I’ll shoot him in the head, I will. Sometimes, that’s the best thing you can do for a real monster.”

You see Marvin staring dead-eyed at her bag, arms crossed over his chest. After a moment, he turns and walks out of the room.

scunneredzombie asked:

I think she does need to do it herself. All of you understand, you’ve been exactly where she is. You need to let her face her monster.

“He’s not - ” Adrienne almost snaps, breathes in, recollects herself. “He’s not my monster. He’s everyone else’s. That’s why I have to find out if my brother’s still in there. With JJ.”

JJ looks over at her, nodding his head. “Not alone.”

She gives him that same tiny nod back, looking up at him.

“How?” asks Henrik flatly.

“I can help make sure she gets through it safely,” JJ says. “And… I can show Cedar things he might not be able to see otherwise.”

Henrik frowns at him, eyes narrowing. “With your magic.”

“Yes.”

“Like… alternate timelines.”

JJ looks uncomfortable for the first time all day, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yes.”

“Can we talk in the hall for a minute?” Jackie asks.

“Fine, but I’m going to the other room,” mumbles Adrienne. “And don’t take too long.”

As they filter out into the hall, where Marvin stands with his back to them, she moves to sit at the bottom of the stairs, out of their earshot or sight.

Anonymous asked:

We've, ah... read some chapters in some other stories that are similar to the one you're going through now, Q, to put it loosely. We wish you luck, and, all the best. Sincerely. Whatever backup you can bring, please do. We're behind you. If there is something good to be found, I really hope you're able to find it.

Quintrell sighs on the staircase, kicking her legs. She has out-performed Max by bringing a camera along, but she looks pale and tired now. For her, the worst is still to come.

“It has to happen,” she says. “For a long time, it’s had to happen, and I’ve never been able to do it alone. I… have watched him be destroyed. I wish I had acted sooner. I just want this to be over with. I will always love him - but really, I promise, I will kill him if I have to. I can’t watch him hurt anyone else.”

She puts her chin in her hand. “It’s good to have as much back-up as possible, but if it was just JJ and I… this is just a lot of eyes witnessing… all of me. All of us.”

She looks down at her hands. “I told him things I’ve never told anyone. Now I just have to trust him… bastard.”

Anonymous asked:

JJ. Love you. This feels like... a lot. How's everyone feeling?

“I have to do this,” says JJ. “And I will.”

“Well, I feel that this is a bad idea,” says Marvin, voice cutting as he turns around. “JJ - ”

“I have to do this,” JJ repeats.

“No, here’s what happened, darling, let me lay it out for you: you found a girl with a horrible, evil big brother, and all of a sudden, you were committed to helping her. Now, that’s great, except that this isn’t about Cedar and Adrienne, this is about Anti.”

JJ is already denying it, but Marvin pushes on. “Because you have always wanted to save him, you always wanted there to be another way, you never wanted me to kill him - ”

“I knew who Anti was better than anyone, I knew he needed to die, I did love him but I know I shouldn’t have - ”

“And now you’re trying to live out that fantasy of ‘finding the good in him,’ JJ, but let me cut it down for you right now: you can’t save people who don’t want to be saved.”

JJ stares up at him, breathing picking up. He’s shaking his head.

“You can’t change people who refuse to change. Anti never loved you - ”

“Cedar is not Anti,” JJ snaps, harder now, insistent. “And she is not me. She is bolder than I am. She will kill him. He has never abused her or forced her into anything. He’s the little brother, a 20-year-old who was raised by a magical tyrant. Adrienne still holds power over Cedar. I swore to her that I would at least give her the chance to try to get through to him.”

“This is risky, JJ,” murmurs Henrik.

“None of you have to come with me,” JJ says. “Truly, I mean that.”

“Everyone calm down,” Chase says, pushing between all of them. “We’re all on the same side here. Marvin, maybe you’re the one making this about Anti - let’s all take a deep breath.”

Jackie stands back from them, watching the conversation carefully.

Anonymous asked:

Deep breaths for a second, yeah? Adrienne's life is not all of yours. And if we are drawing comparisons, Creighton was her Anti. Cedar is her all of you. There was obviously good still in all of you, we saw it every day and still do.

But the comparison isn't going to help anyway. JJ, is there a full plan beyond Adrienne talking to him? Are you waiting outside? Does Cedar realize you're a threat and immediately act on it? Is there any additional preparation you two can take to make sure you're safe and capable of doing this? Cedar's actual actions aside, this is a risky, scary, potentially retraumatizing situation to be in, and no one wants this to come to harm for anybody.

“I’ll be staying with Adrienne,” JJ says, reviewing the message carefully. “I promised. He needs to realize the take-over is already complete: there’s no point to him fighting. She and I have discussed what can be done, but she doesn’t feel that speaking with him beforehand will help. They both needed to be free of Creighton. Once he is, she hopes things will be different. But he’s very used to being able to tell everyone around him what to do, and I expect him to try it on anyone who helps her - which is why no one has to come.”

“The safest thing will be to go with as many people as are willing,” says Jackie quietly. “In the end, it was our unity - our numbers - that wore out the last mind-control we fought against. Chase is right, Jack made sure there were plenty of us. I will be staying with JJ… but no one else has to come, just like on the stairs, and there won’t be any judgement if you choose to stay behind.”

Max puts a hand in the air, and everyone turns to him. “I would not like to face this guy,” he says quietly. “I… have heard a lot about Anti’s powers from Jackie, and it’s upsetting enough. I don’t think that I want to know what that actual experience is like. I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about how that… happened to my husband for years.”

Everyone nods. Jackie touches his hip. “You can stay down here and keep an eye on Creighton, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I want to stay too,” says Chase, even quieter. Henrik turns to him, blinking in surprise, and Chase meets his gaze. “I’ve always felt that I was really susceptible to Anti’s powers. My memory has been fucked with enough. And I’ve been doing really good, lately. I don’t feel ready to revisit it.”

“I’ll be going,” says Marvin, a little coldly, and without waiting for anyone, he turns and stalks back down the hall, towards the stairs.

“Schneep?” asks Jackie.

Henrik looks around at everyone, gaze calm, if a little distant. For a second, he looks faraway, lost in something else.

“I was really helpless the day we defeated Anti,” he says. “And I don’t blame myself for that, of course - I had started fighting first, and that’s why Anti punished me so thoroughly. He made sure I couldn’t fight, when we reached the end.

"I have heard about how you all got to face those parts of yourself, the ones that he taunted you with, the ugly parts of you. I did not… get that. Or I was spared of it? I don’t know anymore.

"The point is that, although I have continued to struggle… I have a healthy body, in most ways, and I am stable for the first time in years. I am… a survivor, as well as a victim. Even if someone was able to control me again, it would not change who I am. It’s their action, not my weakness. I want to go with you. I know we will all protect each other even if one of us goes down for a couple minutes. I want a chance to fight, even if it’s not Anti, even if it doesn’t mean anything either way. I’m ready.”

Anonymous asked:

Ah, Q. I hear you. It'll be rough. But it's doable, and you're going to get through it, and people will be here to support you, no matter how it goes. You know who you are, and you know who he's become. Now's just the matter of making him remember who he can be. The rest will be on him.

She sighs out again, her hands a little shaky now, though her eyes never lose their determination. She looks up in surprise as Marvin stalks over to him, and for a moment, he looks angry - but when he speaks, voice tremulous, he’s just as determined.

“Hey, Adrienne, right?”

She blinks. “Yes - that’s my first name.”

Marvin nods sharply. “It’s really hard to kill someone who’s your family, no matter how many terrible, terrible things they’ve done to you or anybody else. I want you to know that you don’t have to. If you like - if it comes down to it - I could do it for you.”

It’s only now that Adrienne’s eyes get a little wet. She bites down on her lip, closing her eyes.

“Are you just wanting to kill him before I can talk to him?”

Marvin shakes his head, sucking in a deep breath. “No. It would be completely on your command. I would never wish - I would never want - you should never have to be the one to do that to your own brother.”

She coughs and rubs at her face for a second, hiding herself from you. When she’s ready to look back up again, she nods.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she whispers.

“Give me the gun, love.”

She pulls it out of her purse and hands it over, and Marvin’s hands wrap around it, steadying as he clutches it in his hands.

“It’s going to be okay, Quintrell. One day, it’s all going to be in the past.”

Anonymous asked:

Max. Chase. Really proud of you both. Thank you for considering your limits and not pushing through them, and for handling things down here.

Max grins weakly, watching Jackie with worried eyes, and Chase gives you a big thumbs up. Henrik hovers near to him, gaze low.

“Ah, Chase,” he says, a little less confidently than you expect from Henrik. “Um - it’s been a weird day, and JJ won’t… won’t let anything really bad happen, I think, but just in case, I love you a lot, and, um, I’m sorry for what I said about Ash.”

“Henrik,” answers Chase wearily. “Of course I know that.”

He reaches out to hug him and Henrik hugs him tenderly back, even pressing a kiss into the side of his head for a second. Max makes a gesture towards Jackie too, but Jackie waves him off. “Don’t give me that look, Deshmukh, you’re going to make me feel sappy too, and you know I hate that. No goodbyes, don’t even kiss me: I’m going to be gone for fifteen minutes! Best case scenarios, guys, come on. We’ll go upstairs, guard Quin as she talks to her brother, and they’ll make up and go home. Then I’m taking you to dinner, tiger, and getting you about ten appetizers for the day we’ve had. I’m starving.”

He’s managed to make Max smile, and Jackie keeps blustering as he walks down the hallway towards the stairs, Henrik and Jameson coming with him.

“Ten appetizers and a lot of alcohol! We’re going to need it! Want to get you buzzed and bring you home - and when everybody else leaves, that room with the mirror portal in it? Yeah, we’re locking that for the night, if you know what I mean.”

“Jackie,” laughs Max.

“Okay, fifteen minutes! Be right back!”

He makes it to the stairs and his joviality slips away a little, though he keeps his head high. “Come on, guys, we’ve got ‘em on the ropes. Let’s finish this up once and for all.”

[virtuissimo]

Fox Curio's Floating Bookshop: Ch. 6

Previously on:

Last episode was packed! Rabbit bookseller Espuma is visited by a magician who reads imperative, Leon. He instructs Espuma to pay more attention to messages they have been receiving on the River. Next, Mistress Jacoby visited the bookshop and ordered Espuma to stop promoting non-traditional literature, which Espuma refused to do. A fortune-teller came by and confirmed Leon's warning, and a small child learned about bisexuality. Espuma went into town and met Heli, who loves to dance, and Espuma immediately decided to host a music night with local bands with the Bookshop as a venue. Time to get to work!

LAST DAY OF BIRDSONG: NOT A MOMENT'S REST

Rueberry

Weather: 2, 5 Warm, light breeze all day. Pollen drifts in. (6)

One thing I witnessed today: word spread fast about tomorrow's music night. It was quickly becoming a potluck, with lots of animals volunteering to bring drinks and pastries. I booked three bands, promising to give them half of my proceeds from the book shop today.

I painted on the window a picture of a guitar and a reed flute, and the time they should arrive tomorrow. Hopefully it's a busy day so the word gets out!

And it was. The busiest day I'd ever had. People were filtering in and out since the moment I opened the door, and so many of them asking questions. A weasel came in and genuinely didn't know what was going on, where they were, or anything. I asked if they know what town this was, and at least they knew that much, and that he lived here. I directed him to get some medical attention, but not before promoting my music event. Gotta spread the word.

Later on, an owl came in, floating above the floorboards, I suppose to avoid making contact with the same wood the rest of us were touching. He spoke very properly.

"He-lo, Master Espuma. Your reputation precedes you."

"How could it possibly have done so?" I could sense where this own might have gotten his information.

"A colleague of mine in the archival industry has indicated the volume of obscure texts you have at your disposal. Penny Whistle is a highly respected archivist, although at times fringe in her ideas. She indicated there were books here that had been out of print and out of circulation on the River for several decades. What, pray tell, is the source of your inventory?"

"I just use the contact information left by the previous owner."

"Hm. I see." He appraised me. "Be that as it may, this is my selection for today." He placed a biography of the lighthouse keeper-- a position that had been vacant for some time-- and claimed his prize.

The heavy business was good for event promotion. It was bad because the line went out the door. Logistically, the rush was a nightmare.

One animal was complaining from start to finish. Nearly 30 minutes. He flagged me down to try to get checked out first, with no argument as to why.

"Being in a line is part of life. Live in it." I had to yell this over the line since, as should be clear, I was the only one ringing everyone up.

Once the line died down, I collapsed onto the couches for a moment. Three echidna kits came up and stared at me. They each held a children's book in their hands.

"...Are you ready to check out?" I asked. They giggled and exchanged a conspiratorial glance.

"Which one.. no you ask."

"Which one should we buy?"

"You need a recommendation?"

They nodded vigorously.

"Well, I like this one," I said, picking one up. "but you should read them a little so you can know for sure!" Delighted, they leapt onto the couch and opened their books, whispering lightly.

i got up and started putting books back in the shelves. In all the commotion, I hadn't noticed: far more books were strewn about than usual, even accounting for the increased customer volume. And when I put them back on the appointed shelves, I noticed too that everything was wrong. Biographies in fantasy, YA in crime nonfiction... a mess! While i was preoccupied someone must have shuffled everything around. I would have to spend some time unscrambling that tomorrow when I leave town.

I got other groups-- a family looking for some enrichment. The children eagerly asked if they might come to the show tomorrow, and the exhausted parents said, eh, maybe. The teen said "I'll definitely be here," although the parents didn't even acknowledge she'd spoken. The teen bought a book about the Great Sea.

Towards the end of the day, Mistress Jacoby came in again. Clearly she had heard about the music night.

"Mx. Espuma," she bellowed. "I have been disobeyed."

"I am not under your orders, Mistress Jacoby. I must remind you that I am not a citizen of Rueberry."

"You should be so lucky! I will mention to you that we have our OWN book stores and your services were never needed!:

"I shoud tell you, my services have been greatly appreciated! Today has been my busiest day yet!"

"Rueberry is full of people who love to indulge their whims. They work long, hard hours during the harvest months. As such, they lose control during the off-season. If the townspeople were to indulge every incidental desire, they would be lost .Even this small temptation of a bookshop with useless books may prove too great."

"They are free to make their own choices," I said. Mistress Jacoby gave a long slow smile.

"Of course they are." She did not make a purchase, surprising no one.

Just before closing, an elderly badger lumbered inside. They walked slowly, but not because of an aged and aching body. It was the slowness of someone afraid, perhaps of a threat or perhaps simply the threat of memory.

"How can I help you?" I asked graciously. They nearly jumped and looked shocked to see me.

"Oh... yes, why wouldn't it... Nevermind. Hello, young trader. Where did you get this shop, if I may ask?"

"The shop?" I explained its origin. My venture into the woods, the thumping beyond the glade, the dried arroyo, the beached wooden creature, the fully stocked shelves, the map and the ledger, the howling walls. I left out my despair, then my joy, then my surrender.

"My dearest Cassiopeia... My dearest love..."

"Who is Cassiopeia?"

"Oh, she was grand. This place... this was hers."

"You mean she was the previous owner? The one who abandoned the shop?"

"Abandoned... yes I suppose she did."

"What can you tell me about her?"

"So many years since I last saw this place. So many hours we spent here." I let her ramble for a few good minutes, then blurted out.

"Are you Ena?"

"She burst out laughing.

"Ena was an old woman we knew in Kiowake. We were young women then, she has been dead for many years."

"Where did you hear that name?"

"I found a note in a book saying Ena's grandson has a message for her."

"And the grandson?"

"He was a friend of ours," she said with some trepidation. "He is still alive. I believe he lives in Thistle Down now."

"Oh... I just spent Brisk there."

"Cassiopeia was convinced he would be the answer." She clicked her tongue. "Shows what she knew." I tried again.

"What can you tell me about her?" The old woman did not answer.

"It's Bloom now. You'll see her people when you get to the next town." She turned to leave.

"Wait! Who are you?"

She looked back. "I'm Nina. Don't be a stranger."

I closed the shop. I decided to leave the window decor up for another day. I went around and visited the bands to let them know about times and logistics. While I was out, I got the special book of Rueberry, Love & Lemon Myrtle, and parsnips too (-40c).

Tomorrow is the day. People stopped me on the street to express excitement. Heli's students streamed out of her dance studio, many ready to come to the event tomorrow. It was the last day before school let out. Manuka the Wallaby sat on a bench, folks told me, all day every day, and she flagged me down.

"This is a grand, happy town, but this music night is the most anticipated event of the season. What a stir you've made in just a few days!"

It really has been so fast. Rueberry is a beautiful town. Mistress Jacoby aside, the spirit of it is fantastic. I'm nervous about tomorrow, but I'm confident I'm up for the challenge!

Till: 360 Book inventory: 171 Total customers: 109

[kevin--of-desert-bluffs]

WTNV quick rundown - 157 - The Promise of Time

Read the rest of the rundowns here!

If it walks like a duck, and sings like a duck, and excretes slime like a duck, then it’s a…you know I don’t think that’s a duck. Welcome to Night Vale.

Cecil is still very excited at the idea of having his and Carlos' brain frozen so that they can be revived in the future and thus technically live forever. Carlos is not as sure, believing that death is a very scientfic process.

Eventually there are only a few people left in NV who haven't signed up for the programme and vast swathes of NV real estate have been given to Kasper by City Council for storing brains. Cecil and Carlos are amongst those not currently signed up due to the expense but also because Carlos still wants to talk about it.

A professional futurist and digital prophet called Enzy released a lengthy report where they most important say that in the future all labour is done by robots that really start to catch on in about 100 years until humans do basically nothing and are extremely bored all of the time. Cecil becomes bored of their predictions and isn't interested in talk about robots.

Enzy appears in Cecil's studio and says they are not a futurist, they are from the future and have come back to warn them. They have brought with them a robot which contains the brain of Charlie Bair. Kasper Rhodes company, Quality Cyborg Corporation, is actually harvested brains to be turned into robots in the future. Instead of giving the people of the past new life, they intend to turn them into robotic slaves.

Cecil starts to incite resistence against Kasper, who appears and is pleasant but clearly displeased by what Cecil is now saying about him. He also reveals himself to be a believer of a Smiling God.

Weather: “Good Intentions, Bad Advice” by Nicky Flowers

Frank Chen's sister, Lauren, is filing a lawsuit against the city, declaring criminal negligence in allowing a 5 headed dragon to take on the identity of a 1 headed human simply because he had Frank's ID.

City Council says they have '18 hands' which may or may not tell us how many people are part of their united form.

There is once more no sign off to the episode.

Proverb: As Dolly Parton said: tumble out of bed, and I stumble to the kitchen. Have to fight an evil magician, yawn and stretch and fight him for my life. Wise words.

[sonkitty]

This list is way beyond a lot of me, but there are a few things I feel I've found and understand, so here is my take.

"Crowley's sunglasses. Could this be explained by POV switches? If so, why do they change halfway through and then stay that way?"

They cannot be explained by POV switches. Aziraphale "proposed" at the end of episode 2, that they borrow each other's homes to form a special connection. Crowley accepted despite his verbal and facial cues. It helps to watch how he manages his left hand to see how his response is a Yes. I'll go into it in my own series of posts when I can, but I'm not at that point just yet.

Crowley's sunglasses are his door to himself. He gave his door a new finish because it's a big step in their relationship to form this connection.

...

"Why does Micheal do the magician's "nothing in the box" display with the matchbox? It's a very specific action. Something's in that up with that damn matchbox. We're being asked to look at it, while something else happens that we're missing. And someone noticed that her nails are in terrible shape when she does it, but our eyes are on the matchbox."

That sequence is a clue to a hidden game in the story called Earthly Objects. It's a layered type of game the characters are playing. An audience member can play it by trying to figure out how the game works. The mechanics are heavily based on touching.

I suspect the Book of Life is actually disguised through the matchbox.

You can find me ramble on about these things in these posts:

Post #8 (finding out Gabriel is in the bookshop)

Post #10 (storming out)

I cover the matchbox touching sequence in the "storming out" part, the closing section.

...

"Crowley put something in Aziraphale's mouth during the kiss. I don't know what, but something he had to swallow. obligateweirdo pointed out that he seems to palm something out of his mouth when he touches his lips the second time, and that Houdini's wife used to slip him the keys to his cuffs with a kiss before his shows. Whatever Crowley gave Aziraphale, it's physical. And Michael Sheen has said he doesn't want to share what's in Aziraphale's pockets -- because Aziraphale put whatever Crowley gave him into a pocket?? Was it the fly? (But didn't that go into Gabriel's eye and stay there?) And if it was the fly, what was inside it?"

Pockets are a big deal in Earthly Objects. They are a really, really big deal. They are the more advanced mechanics within the game.

The game has a lot of findable, solvable puzzles, and a certain group that is very much meant to be found is 6 Threshold Tricks. Among those 6 is something called...The Pocket Trick...which is a giant pain due to a significant increase in difficulty scale. It impacts many things all over the place, including the other 5 Threshold Tricks.

I think the thing you found was a tie clasp of one of Crowley's ties, resized as necessary because it's too small to be just one as it is.

The tie strands are connected to the hands because they are Crowley's Tied Hands.

I wrote more about it here:

The Pocket Chain Rainbow Connection Part 4: The Door Trick and The Door Catch

...

"The rainbow lens flairs sure look like eyes. Like a pupil and iris. Is this a subtle hint that we are seeing through someone else's eyes?"

I don't know what parts you mean look like eyes, but rainbows are very much related to the pocket mechanics mentioned above. The Pocket Trick's core concept is, "Think outside the pocket," because a player has to use their imagination with word play.

Elvis Presley has a song titled, "A Pocketful of Rainbows." Each touch in The Pocket Trick has a "rainbow" to find. The Bigger Thresholds Trick, The Door Trick, and The Window Trick also have rainbows, all of which happen in episode 6. The Sunglasses Trick receives a reflection of white light, I assume, because it is beautifully layered.

There's a rainbow at the start of Crowley's first present day scene. There's a rainbow at the end of Crowley's last present day scene before the cut that is going to be used for the credits.

And there's a Rainbow Connection. I linked part of it earlier, but the more simplified post for the whole thing can be found here:

The Pocket Chain Rainbow Connection

My murder board

Updated 4/22/24

I'll add links as I can, but here's what I've got so far on the Good Omens season 2 puzzle/game. I feel it's important to note that I think we've been given all the puzzle pieces and a bunch of helpful hints besides.

The continuity errors:

Crowley's hair (POV thing)

Crowley's sideburns (POV)

The Bentley, "our car" but then it is Our Car in 1941 also -- WTF (There is a line in the book about someone being powerful enough to make something change and then make it so the change always was that way, but damned if I can recall the line or context now. Need to re-read AND re-watch! Found it! It's when Crowley first meets Adam after he's come into his powers -- he reads Crowley's mind and history like it's a book and this is the impression it leaves Crowley with. Adam's power is very similar to how the Book of Life is described in the show. Curiouser and curiouser!) (POV!)

Eccles cakes when Crowley leaves the shop, it's still morning, the continuity of time is messing with me. When they get the eccles cakes, it's light out. When Crowley leaves, it's dark out. He throws a lightning temper tantrum. He comes back after 9 by the clock in the shop. I still think it's not unreasonable to assume Aziraphale simply tidied away the eccles cakes in that time. Nina would have liked her plate back, after all. But all of this begs another question: 4a. Why is it around 11:30 when Aziraphale leaves Maggie's shop with the record and says he knows what he'll be doing for 21 minutes, but after 4 pm when Gabriel shows up? What happened for those 4+ hours? See 6. Clocks are wrong. Time is wrong!! (4.b the eccles cakes are prominent in at least one promo poster. Even if they don't disappear, do they mean something else??)

Portal rug it's a faded rug right up until the ball, when it becomes a thick red rug, then it's back to faded once the ball is tidied away. It just got made pretty for the ball, then changed back. The change is a nothingburger.

Clocks are wrong -- all over the damn place!!

Cross on Gabriel's statue -- appears to disappear. (POV)

Honolulu roast sign -- appears out of nowhere. (POV)

Title/location cards -- but there are some spots where the S1 title cards are used, what's going on there? (POV clues? -- this needs a closer look)

Drawing of Gabriel -- the one Aziraphale draws in the shop is NOT the one he shows the pub owner in Edinburgh. Why? (POV)

Wet roads/series poster -- what is up with all the rain??

Lights at Marguerites -- on again, off again. (POV? Or is it just when she's closed and open? It's a cafe, after all, they won't be open in the morning.)

Aziraphale's chair position in the Final Fifteen

1941 photo, Crowely's hand

Repeating extras -- not just repeating, but acting oddly -- walking back and forth, touching things, not eating, dressed the same every single day, etc. Do the people on the street in Edinburgh behave the same way?? (POV?)

Resurrectionist sign at the pub -- one with a scalpel, one with a butcher's knife. And it makes me think -- was Mr. Dalrymple a surgeon and a scientist with a scalpel, or a butcher with a cleaver? (POV. Wait, Aziraphale is the only MC there -- whose POVs would we be seeing?? Crowley's. He calls to tell Crowley what he found, what we're seeing is Crowley's idea of what happened.)

Store front signs -- appear and disappear. (POV)

Whickber street as seen from Heaven vs. on location -- the one Saraqael looks at in Heaven is the Google Maps picture of SoHo from 2019 with the book shop added in. It's not even from 2023! There is a building being torn down in it. In person on the show, it's different -- and the building is long gone in actual Google Maps 2023. (I think Saraqael is trying to hide the big miracle. She's showing the arc angels the book shop when it got reset by Adam in 2019.)

When Shax talks to Crowley and he takes off driving. When she appears, he is parked further up the street than when he leaves. Noticeably so. (POV? Or scenes out of order and this is a different time than it looks like?)

Edinburgh castle -- when Aziraphale arrives in Edinburgh, the castle is behind him. When the camera switches angles to behind him, Edinburgh castle is in front of him. The street he is on (streets, actually) are real streets. The castle was put in the first shot deliberately, but exists for real in the second shot. (POV)

Edinburgh streets -- when Aziraphale arrives in Edinburgh, the street he parks on is cobblestone. When the camera switches to behind him, the street is paved. (POV)

Weird sounds of all kinds?? (POV? Some of them yes.)

Crowley's sunglasses. Could this be explained by POV switches? If so, why do they change halfway through and then stay that way?

Questions about things the characters do:

Where did Crowley go during the Job flashback? And why was he wearing his spy turtleneck? (To meet up with Saraqael, perhaps? Seeing as Shax interrupted their meeting earlier that day?)

Where else did Aziraphale go in Edinburgh? And why did he go to the graveyard?

What did Gabriel need to bring to Aziraphale? What happened to it? (God's voice? A message from god? The Book of Life?)

Why does Micheal do the magician's "nothing in the box" display with the matchbox? It's a very specific action. Something's in that up with that damn matchbox. We're being asked to look at it, while something else happens that we're missing. And someone noticed that her nails are in terrible shape when she does it, but our eyes are on the matchbox.

What else did the Metatron say to Aziraphale? (Anything? Are we getting the whole, accurate story? Most of it? Any of it?)

How long was Crowley in Heaven, and what happened while he was there? (Did he sneak around and steal something? Did they harm him? He's acting a bit weird when he comes back.)

What happened to Aziraphale's briefcase? The one he took to Edinburgh. Where he did who knows what. (Is that a POV thing??)

What, if anything, is wrong with Crowley's memory? (Or is he just dissing Furfur and Saraqael?) (OR! Given the Gabriel removed HIS OWN MEMORY AND PUT IT IN THE FLY, so apparently angels ((AND demons??)) can affect their own memories, did Crowley deliberately do something to himself to get rid of unwanted memories??? He seems pretty untroubled by not remembering Furfur or Saraqael or why they made gravity -- almost as if he doesn't care the memories are gone. Okay, maybe he's gotten rid of some memories himself, but then WHY??) This could be a big old nothingburger. Or is he dissing Furfur and offering plausible deniability that he's met with Saraqael before -- like, when he was wearing his spy turtle neck??

What is Shax's mission? She says she's Crowley's replacement, but then she asks for "what she needs" from Crowley on the bench. Huh? What does she need?

How does Crowley know about hand washing in the Resurrectionists minisode? (This strikes different than the "lead ballon" remark on the wall. It's hard to say if Crowley knows about lead balloons, or if they're speaking an angelic language and it's being translated for us and the translator has a sense of humor or is trying to convey Crowley's sense of humor. The hand washing is actual, concrete, specific knowledge of the future.) Ah, I just re-read the book, where he mentions helicopters to DaVinci, and also Neil said this. It's something Crowley can do. He's a demon, he knows things.

What is going on with Maggie? I don't think she's a demon, but there is something up with her. (Also, one of the men in the graveyard in Edinburgh has a tattoo that says "no regerts." That's a real tattoo that circulates around the internet every once in a while -- I think it's a subtle reminder that humans aren't necessarily great at spelling, either.) But she has a Mason symbol on her necklace, and I still think the Masons are significant somehow; Aziraphale can't miracle-influence her; Aziraphale expects her to feel the arc angels arriving.

Why does Gabriel speak with god's voice? (Was that what he needed to bring? That message? But he says he needs to give Aziraphale something, and both times he speaks in god's voice, it's to Crowley. Hmm. IS that God's voice? It's a woman, but who is it?)

How did the pub owner recognize Gabriel's picture so fast? He says himself, "Look pal, I see a lot of people -- oh, yeah, I remember him!" ?? Was it just because Gabriel was weird at him?

Why is Crowley throwing books? It gives us a laugh, but is there a reason for it? He even seems confused as to why he's carrying them right before he does. (This is a POV thing -- the lens is "Aziraphale's" lens, so I think we're seeing Crowley tell Aziraphale what happened while Aziraphale was gone, and how Aziraphale imagines it would go.)

Why is Saraqael the only angel to react with fear before anyone else recognizes the Metatron? (Is it because she's been working WITH Gabriel, Beelzebub, AND Crowley and Aziraphale to thwart the second attempt at ending the world? Neil says he had some secret things for Sandalphon to do, but the actor wasn't available, so Saraqael does some of those things instead . . .)

Aziraphale gently laughs at Muriel's Inspector Constable persona, but then IMMEDIATELY adopts a just as over-the-top reporter persona. Is he doing it deliberately, or is he that un-self-aware? If he's doing it deliberately, why? Who's he trying to convince he's not that savvy? The pub owner? Anyone who might be spying? US?? Is that a POV thing? And if so, whose?? (AHA! I think this is Aziraphale telling Crowley what happened, and Crowley picturing Aziraphale being adorable in his disguise. Aziraphale is not that silly actually, but probably not as slick as he wants to think.)

Why the heck did Maggie and Nina go talk to Crowley while the Metatron was talking to Aziraphale? What they had to say wasn't important enough to leave Nina's shop during a rush, and I definitely don't think they derailed Crowley from what he needed to say to Aziraphale, though it might look at first as if they did. So what was that about?

When Shax stops Aziraphale for a ride, he says, "Oh, I really need to get to --" and then is cut off. He really needs to get to where? It's an easy assumption to think he means the book shop, or London. But is that all he means? Or was he on his way somewhere else? And if it was just the book shop, what does he mean he's late? Late for what? And that lens is still Crowley's lens -- Aziraphale is relating the story to Crowley. Crowley also knows where Aziraphale was going besides Edinburgh.

Crowley can tell something is wrong. Something. What?

Good God, this questions list just keeps getting longer. Why would the Metatron allow Beelzebub and Gabriel to leave, after trying to stop Armageddon 2.0, but come after Crowley and Aziraphale like that? Just because of the big miracle? (Which I'm not sure they did.)

Why does Crowley say "Oh, God," right before his confession in the final fifteen? To let Aziraphale know that he understands what Aziraphale is saying? That God (or the Voice) is there? Seems possible.

Why didn't Gabriel come down the lift in the Dirty Donkey? He also says he had to carry that box for sooo long. Where was he wandering around?

When Crowley leaves Heaven, he tells Saraqael and Muriel to come, too. But in the elevator, Michael and Uriel are there! When the fuck did they show up??

The whole time Aziraphale is in Maggie's shop asking about Every Day, he is looking out the windows and is VERY nervous. Is he just concerned about leaving Gabriel on his own, or is he nervous about something specific? He does react to the car horn outside as others have noted, but he is already jumpy and checking the windows repeatedly, the car horn isn't anything particular, he's just already fixated on the windows.

Why does Beelzebub tell Shax to attack the bookstore? Aren't they worried about Gabriel being harmed? And they know Hell is understaffed. Maybe that's why they command it? Because they know Shax won't be able to get the demons?

Questions about the world:

What about the Masons? It's such a specific thing for the pub owner to bring up, what is the meaning of it? And Maggie has a Mason symbol on her necklace. Did the Masons carve the statue of Gabriel? When did they see him?

The only narration we hear in the entire season is Aziraphale in the Resurrectionist flashback. Why? (Maybe to throw us off? I think we have multiple POV characters in season 2, not just Aziraphale, but we only hear Aziraphale so we assume he's the POV for the entire season. But still, why do we only hear him narrate 1 flashback? Argh, is he reading the diary to himself in the present day? That would explain the end, "And that was the last I was to see of Crowley for some time." If he is reading it in the present day, why? What made him think to go back to THAT entry?? Oh, duh! He JUST heard the story of the jukebox from Maggie. And Gabriel appearing -- same city that statue is in. Of course he thought of something important from that diary entry! Now, what did he notice?)

Is the Book of Life a real threat? We hear two stories about it, that it's real and that its ability to erase beings was something to scare the cherubs with, this is inconclusive. Crowley gets nervous after Beelzebub talks to him, but he could just be upset that their little break is interrupted, and now Heaven and Hell have taken an interest in them again.

Is reality fucked up? How? Whickber street bubble, Aziraphale's power turned up (how?), etc.? A LOT of it is POV shifts!

Job 41:19 on the matchbox: 1941?? YES. Bullet catch/kiss scene!

Where TF is God? "There was nothing for Her to do" my ass. She narrates. That's it. So there was nothing for her to narrate? Hm. (Because there was a host of other narrators? Are the Crowley/Aziraphale through the ages flashbacks in S1 narrated by God? I don't think they are, but I need to rewatch. They are not! And they aren't narrated by God because Crowely and Aziraphale are the POV characters in them.)

So many promo posters show Aziraphale, Crowley, and Jimbriel together, or symbols of them. Three feathers: two white, one black. Tea cup, cocoa mug, wine glass. The three of them. Not with Beelzebub, not with Muriel, the three of them. And all three of them have been Jesus-coded in some small way. No one else. Those three. What. Why. Are they the sacrifice required to bring about the new world? Why not Beez, then?

Wait. Two Crowleys?? WTF. There are two Crowley puppets in the magic shop, and Crowley doesn't remember Saraqael or Furfur. Is he dissing them, or is that the second Crowley that never did meet either of them? Am I insane? I have no theory here, just some wild speculation that needs a lot more time to simmer. Two actual Crowleys, or two ideas of Crowley? Or something to hurt my head?

Why are they in a cave in the opening sequence? The guy who made the opening sequence says they are in the fly that Gabriel stores his memory in. Okay, why? And Crowley lights a match to see. Hm. What else was in that fly that Gabriel didn't take when he got his memory out?

An album on the wall in Maggie's shop says "Rat Keith." This seems to me to be an allusion to The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, by Terry Pratchett. In the book, some men have tied several rats' tails together to create a rat king that keeps the wild rats under control -- except that the rat king has too much power and is doing way more than just that. People die. So who's been given too much power and is now running the show instead of being a puppet? The Metatron, perhaps? Hm . . . Also, Keith is the young boy who plays the part of the Pied Piper for Maurice's scam. He leads all the rats out of town, never mind that the rats can talk and are in on the scam.

Things I think I know:

NEIL GAIMAN IS A LYING LIAR WHO LIES. Except when he's dropping hints or answering straight out. All of his answers to anything anyone asks about GO are suspect at best. (I cannot blame him or anyone else on the cast or crew -- they spent A LOT of time and energy building this very meticulous puzzle game for us -- why would ANY of them give ANY of it away? That would ruin all the fun!)

God has been removed/has vacated. Where did she go? I wonder if anyone knows. Is She just standing back and watching? In the book, Crowley says that anyone who can create a whole universe in six days doesn't let a war of rebellion happen unless they want it to. But that he and Aziraphale wouldn't understand, because if they understood, they wouldn't be them. It's INEFFABLE. He also then FORGETS what he was talking about a minute later.

God doesn't narrate because She's busy being Maggie. Aha!

The Metatron is working for himself. The dice on his tie seem to imply that while God does not play dice with the universe, this jerk surely does. Also, see the rat king observation above, #10.

Gabriel was bringing Aziraphale a message, the box is a red herring. But that brings me to another thing I suspect -- there was something else in the box, and the box is deeply important. Ah, damn -- is that what Crowley gave to Aziraphale in the kiss? Whatever was in the box? Was that what he found out while he was in Heaven? What Gabriel took? Did Gabriel put it in the fly with his memory?

Heaven did something bad to Crowley while he was there. That coffee is a red herring to draw our eye away from him. But that brings me to something else I suspect -- Crowley's knackered and a bit off when he returns from his TEN HOUR JAUNT in Heaven not because they did anything bad to him, but because he stole something very important. Maybe the thing he gives to Aziraphale during the break up?

Crowley and Aziraphale did NOT perform a huge miracle. I don't know what happened, but it wasn't them working together. (Or did they? Are angels and demons more powerful together? Did the Fall create a schism between them that weakened them all? Or are they and Saraqael hiding who did do the big miracle?)

This is a 2 man con. Of course it's a 2 man con. I read American Gods. Crowely and Aziraphale have a plan. This might be version B or C, they might be springing it sooner than they hoped, but that break up was a ruse. A hard, painful ruse, but a ruse. They knew their respite would be short-lived, they've been putting something together for years now.

Crowley put something in Aziraphale's mouth during the kiss. I don't know what, but something he had to swallow. obligateweirdo pointed out that he seems to palm something out of his mouth when he touches his lips the second time, and that Houdini's wife used to slip him the keys to his cuffs with a kiss before his shows. Whatever Crowley gave Aziraphale, it's physical. And Michael Sheen has said he doesn't want to share what's in Aziraphale's pockets -- because Aziraphale put whatever Crowley gave him into a pocket?? Was it the fly? (But didn't that go into Gabriel's eye and stay there?) And if it was the fly, what was inside it?

Gabriel went somewhere else before he went to the book shop. He didn't come down the elevator at the Dirty Donkey. Did he go to Edinburgh? Is that why the pub owner recognized that picture so fast? "Oi! That's that naked bloke was in here last week!" (Or was him walking down the street because we first see him from Nina or Maggie's perspective?? POV muckery?)

SECRET SONGS??? Why are the songs secret?? I'm losing my mind, what is happening??

Several narrators. I'm not even sure how many, but we're seeing the world through the eyes of characters, not God or a faceless narrator. This is part of why things are weird. I don't think that's the full explanation for the whole season, but I think it's a big part of the weirdness. A book that comes up often in the show is The Crow Road by Ian Banks. A brief description of the book says that it is written from the point of view of several characters and the story is told out of order and in no particular fashion, with changes from character to character POV coming at no particular interval and with no warning. AHA! (I did come up with the idea before I saw this post, but @highlandwhackamole beat me to writing it. Well done!) NOW I'm wondering if we aren't also seeing the story as told by the characters we see, but as heard but an as-yet unknown character . . .

The scenes are out of order. The DAMN SCENES ARE OUT OF ORDER! I don't know their correct order, but they are out of order. The Crow Road, again, is told out of order, forcing the reader to piece the scenes together (from a brief description, I'm thinking more and more I need to read this book rather than try to skim it). Is it as simple as watching the scenes in chronological order??

Our angel and demon have hidden something in the book shop. Something important. I have no current guesses as to what. Crowley still has his crank from starting up the nebula. What else might he have taken with him? Is that it? Or something else? HOLY SHIT ARE THEY HIDING JESUS??? Is THAT who did the miracle??

When Aziraphale tells Crowley that their Gabriel miracle set off alarms in Heaven, he sort of raises his eyebrows and says it in the same way he says other things he doesn't mean -- the same tone he says "I forgive you" after the Kiss, or how he says "He says he's Bildad the Shuite," in the Job minisode. It wasn't the Gabriel miracle that set off alarms in Heaven, it was whatever Saraqael was doing, or whoever Saraqael is hiding, and Crowley is well aware of it and whatever Saraqael is up to. Aziraphale just told Crowley that they have to take responsibility for whatever Saraqael did to allay Heaven's suspicions. They are talking in code through more of this season than we first think.

The rainbow lens flairs sure look like eyes. Like a pupil and iris. Is this a subtle hint that we are seeing through someone else's eyes?

When Crowley and Aziraphale argue about what to do with Jimbriel, behind Aziraphale is a privacy screen, and behind Crowley is an open door. Does this reflect how each of them feels, that Aziraphale believes they are speaking in private and Crowley believes they are being listened in on?

Repeating themes:

Beverages of all kinds -- tea for Aziraphale, wine or whiskey for Crowley, cocoa for Jim.

Time -- lots of clocks/mentions of time

Love/partnership/togetherness being stronger than separateness

Queer couples -- is literally everyone in season 2 in a non-cis-het relationship?? Even the guy in the graveyard says he uses his phone for Grindr -- a gay men's dating hook-up app. Nothing wrong with it, but it's an interesting writing choice. Why? Equality and representation -- or a Clue? (I think it's a POV Clue!)

Memories/forgetting/remembering

Payment -- money comes up in both the Resurrectionists minisode and the Flesh Eating Nazi Zombies minisode, but no one pays for anything in present. There is bartering, but no money.

Rising from the dead -- Job's kids (even though they weren't actually dead), bodies used for science, Nazi zombies, the Second Coming.

Unreliable narrators

Death in general -- but 9a., I'm a dirty pagan, why didn't I make this connection sooner, death always leads to REBIRTH, change, something totally new and 9b. there are tarot cards in the magic shop, and even if you're not a dirty pagan, the Death tarot card means transition, something must die before a new thing can be born. Hmmmm.

Morality and what is "good" and what is right

Recognition and identity

Repeating words and phrases OMG the list goes on:

Technically

Properly

Isn't it just?

Too late

Funny old world

Not as such

Made for each other

EVERYWHERE

Obviously

Hints:

Powell and Pressburg films

The Crow Road

Catch 22

The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, Terry Pratchett in general

Jane Austin

Book Good Omens

The titles of episodes, minisodes, places, etc. 7a. The Arrival: a book and a movie, though the book seems far more relevant. And lovely. The Clue: a movie. Companion to Owls: a line from a Bible story. I Know Where I'm Going: a movie. The Resurrectionists: two novels, each called The Resurrectionist, singular. Both look unhinged. The Hitchhiker: a Twilight Zone episode. Nazi Zombie Flesheaters: Literally no other reference. ?? Nazi Zombies do appear in a LOT of movies, comics, and video games, usually as a dark joke. The Ball: a video game. Irrelevant? It's a puzzle-based game, so maybe not. Every Day: a song AND a movie. Some themes repeat here: Puzzle games, being re-directed from one's path to find true love, death and being brought back to life in a gruesome and unpleasant way.

That's what I have so far. I'll try to update with new ideas and information, as well as links to things that support my theories as I find them.

[floveslondon]

Things I noticed/thought while watching GO S2 (again) Episode 5

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Zira giving away books! After he specifically asked Crowley over the phone the day before to not sell any books, let alone give them away.

‘Maggie and Nina are counting on me’ But they aren’t are they? You want to make them fall in love with eachother so Heaven doesnt suspect you anymore, and you both can go back to the somewhat free life you had after Armagedon’t. So you’re doing it for Crowley and you. I think he’s justifying his fantasies, and believing those all too well himself.

Crowley’s thoughts after the magician says no: 4oh, go on then, give away ANOTHER book, I dare you’

Crowley in a fez and acting silly, glad we saw that, because it shows that there is still a lot of Angel!Crowley left <3

Crowley is so done with his husband when speaking French.

Mr Rossignol = mr Nightingale 😭

‘But you understood me’ I can only hear Lady Mary Crawley from Downton Abbey when he says that (also, Crawley!?!)

‘Only because for 250 years you’ve been wittering on about the plume of your imaginary taunt’ 🤣

Does Nina say ‘Bravo’ because she is reminded of her own relationship, because they do bicker quite a lot?

Poor pookie looks like he has been hit over the head, either because he hasn’t realised he loves Zira before this, or because he didn’t realise how obvious it is that they like each other. Oh to live in a world where anybody can love anybody…

That line ‘Smitten, I believe. You’re being silly’ The first part made me smile like an idiot, and then the second part gave me butterflies. The money I would give to watch this series again for the first time.

C+A in a heart on the blackboard <3

‘When you told my only friend to shut his stupid mouth and die…’ Goosebumps every time, damn David

Crowley testing if Jim/Gabriel really is telling the truth, because even if Gabriel was thick, he would still know that jumping out of a window is a bad idea. And now Jim was more than willing to jump to be able to help.

It hurts, my head isn’t built for that I know, do it anyway! Crowley how do you know that? Because you heard it from someone else, or because they wiped your memory when you fell, and had to do a lot of very painful thinking to get some of it back? I would bet on the latter…

Ooooh when they show the matchbox I can hear a fly buzzing!

‘Wait and see.’ NEIL FUCKING GAIMAN I am in your walls. Just kidding, I love you really, this is just perfect in its weirdness

Zira just sneaking a long glance at his thin dark duke, his body is fully turned away after e few seconds but he’s still looking, even though Crowley isn’t looking and is nearly out the door

Such a nice touch that people’s clothes change as they enter the bookshop, yet Zira and Crowley remain unchanged. Neil has said that there was a whole outfit planned for Zira, but Michael felt like he would keep on his normal clothes. Many people have also mentioned it is because even if the meeting is supposed to be a fantasy for Maggie and Nina, it shouldn’t have to be for them.

The exchange between Crowley and Maggie is weird, but I can’t put my finger on why…

Ms Cheng looking around before she enters the bookshop is so ominous, I don’t like it. Is she noticing the demons approaching, or is it something else?

Both Crowley and the metatron (next ep) mention the weird name for the coffee shop

The miracle for the clothes and the feeling better and knowing the dance works on Nina and Maggie, but when Zira wants to make them forget all about it, it doesn’t seem to work. Why is that?

Zira again shutting Crowley down, let him speak!

In my head, if it weren’t for the legion of demons outside of the bookshop, Crowley would be blushing so hard when being dragged to the dance floor and while dancing with Zira

I hope we get to see Crowley and Zira do the full dance, including holding hands and getting very close to each other <3

So cute that Zira only loosely holds hands with other people, but every mm of his hand touches Crowley’s

Majestic Jim is majestic, that suit and coat sure are something

‘That arch- traitor Crowley’ Archangel Crowley, is that what you meant Shax?

I want to know Zira’s suggestion!

Maybe Zira’s miracles don’t work on them because Nina and Maggie have too much love for Zira, and love is way more powerful than miracles?

Why does Crowley specifically call for Nina whether or not she’s coming? Why not Maggie too? Or just say ‘Everybody ready?’

Look at the rug in the bookshop and then go look at the rug when Crowley is cleaning up in the next episode. Here it is mostly red with a white border, in the next episode it is all white! I doubt it’s a continuity error, why did they do that 🧐

Episode 6

[fyeah-jigendaisuke]

[akira-cr]

CINDEREKI and its REFERENCES to the CANON Episodes

Before we get into the References, here are some important notes to keep in mind:

This Cindereki is happened (behind the scene) in Reki's dream the night after episode 10 (Renga Made up) and before episode 11. So, i think his subconscious mind repeating past events and turning them into a Cindereki story.

But that DOESN'T mean this Cindereki comes from Reki's POV only, but it could also be from Langa's POV as well.

Numbers in Red for Reki's POV, Blue for Langa's POV.

Here are all (in chronological) the references I found in Cindereki and tried to connect them to what's happening in canon

1) "‌Evil stepmom n sisters went to Castle n Leave Reki behind" is refers to how Cherry, Shadow n Miya DIDN'T reach out to Reki when Reki stopped coming to 'S' but canonically only Joe DID, which is why he took on the role of Fairy godmother/Magician and the other three as antagonist.

2) ‌Snowboard made of Glass = Reki's Reason for coming to the Tournament

Sounds strange but hear me out. Before, we all thought a 'Glass Skateboard' is a foreshadowing to Reki's S pin but sadly we found out that pin seems to be not so important now in ep11. So maybe Snowboard made of glass is not represent by an objects, but by Reki himself (or Reki's reasons).

Joe/Magician give Reki a 'Glass skateboard' so he could enter the Crazy Rock Castle. This reference to Canon when Joe encouraged reki to come even if it was just to 'Watching'. This was Joe give Reki a 'Reason' to come to the tournament.

This's how Reki headed toward crazy rock castle (S arena) holding on hard to that glass Skateboard (he holding on to a sole reason on watching Langa's beef)

3) ‌This line 👇

are reference to 👇

4) ‌"He was alone in this country to" That reference to Langa's lonely Flashback and him forgetting the reason to Skating.

5) ‌Reki run into Prince Langa and collided is refers to this iconic moment

6) ‌Langa admires Reki's glass Skateboard and called it PRETTY, is Langa thinking of REKI himself PRETTY/AMAZING

7) ‌Narrator's Line

This is a reference to Reki's voice that calling out to Langa, burning his jaded body back into full of adrenaline heats filled with excitement again.

8) ‌Reki telling Langa Skating is infinite (this is a literal references of Langa remembering Reki's words).

9) ‌Langa catches Reki from falling and Reki says 'you saved me' is also a literal reference from Canon. Reki's subconscious mind brought back the beautiful memories he had with Langa.

10) ‌"The prince that had looked so bored was nowhere to be seen" is reference to

11) "‌The ending bell" is refers to the end of the Langa-Joe (Joe's Magic) beef and Reki leaving Langa onesidedly, and left (the Prince) to searching/asked anyone for Reki.

12) ‌"Prince Langa went to houses w daughters and had them skate w glass skateboard but NONE of them could produce the ice Road" is a reference to when Langa went to the tournament (and even tho he had such a rad beef) but he DIDN'T hear the sound of his Heart beating.

This is the most FUN references🔽

13) ‌The Magic Ice Road = Langa's Beating heart

You see in Cindereki when They both LAUGHED and Skates TOGETHER an amazing ICE ROAD appeared. This refers to when they skate/being TOGETHER, when Langa skate w Reki it feels so FUN/amazing LANGA's HEART STARTS BEATING so fast.

Langa's "I finally found you" "would you ride w me?" is a reference from

Langa's "I knew it was you" ONLY with Cindereki that Sparkling Ice road✨ appeared again. This reference to "it really was what i thought" My heart only beating when i'm with Reki

"Prince Langa Gently took CindeReki's hand n the two of them lived happily ever after" is a reference to Langa proposing this

❄️🌺

That's all guys, i hope you likes it😆

Full Cindereki Translation check➡️ @kudouusagi

[thealmightyemprex]

Top 10 Faerie Tale Theatre episodes

I love this silly anthology series .Created by Shelley Duvall ,this 27 episode series adapts classic fairy tales ,some serious but often with a tongue and cheek sense of humor .They are also jam packed with celebritiesand even a few big name directors . Now I am going to talk about my 10 favorites,but keep in mind this is just my oppinion

10.Princess and the Pea

This is basicallly a romantic comedy in Fairy Tale disguise.I was reallly impressed by the performances and chemistry between Liza Minnelli and Tom Conti , and loved Beatric Straight (Who I know mainly for Poltergeist ) in a comedic role

9.The Pied Piper of Hamlin

Directed by Nicholas Meyer (Known to me for directing Time After Time and Star Trek's 2 and 6 ) ,this is possibly the darkest episode in the series .Eric Idle plays against type as the titular Piper ,delivering a honestly unsettling performance

8. Cinderella

Iwont lie this one has some filler....But the humor and performances make it for me .Jennifer Beals is a perfect Cinderella , MAtthew Broderick is a charming prince ,Eve Arden is great passive aggressive Stepmother , and Jean Stapleton might be the best Fairy Godmother I have ever seen (So much southern aunt energy ) .Night my favorite adaptation of Cinderella but its a good one

7.Hansel and Gretel

While Pied Piper is the darkest episode this is a cloase second and easily the scariest ,due to an effectively terrifying duel performance by Joan Collins as the abusive stepmother and as the child eating witch

6. Rip Van Winkle

I have seen some call this one of the weakest episodes ,but I love this one .It has a perfect performance by Harry Dean Stanton as Rip (Like this is perfectly casted ).It is also directed by Francis Ford Coppola (Yes,THAT Coppola ) ,and the purposeful artificiality and theatricality in this episode REALLY reminds me of his adaptation of Dracula .Coppolas stylistic direction reallly make this one of my favorites

5.Sleeping Beauty

A rather comedic take on the classic fairy tale and with one of the strongest casts in the show ,including Christopher Reeve PERFECTLY cast as the Prince ,the always magnificent Bernadette Peters as the titular role ,Beverly D'Angelo hamming it up as the Evil Fairy ,George Dzundra as a humorus narrator,and the always reliable Rene Auberjonois is quite comical as the king .(Also fun duel casting with Peters as a not so nice Princess and Reeves as a not so nice prince )

4.Little Red Riding Hood

An expansion of the classic Fairy Tale that reallly works .It's got a sense of humor , Mary Steenburgen is a great Little Red , I love its atmosphere ,but the best part of this episode is Malcolm McDowell as the Wolf .It is such a fun performance from him I HAVE to reccomend this episode

3 .Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp

First episode I ever saw and still one of my favorites .Directed by Tim Burton ,you can reallly feel his influence on this episode (Especiallly in the Cave scene and in all the Sultans wacky contraptions ) .IT als has two strong performances by two Sci Fi veterens ,Leonard Nimoy as the evil Magician and James Earl Jones not only providing narration ,but playing TWO Genies,the subdued Genie of the Ring and the bombastic and comically menacing Genie of the Lamp (In fact the Genie of the Lamp is one of my favorite performances by Jones ) .....Not how I expected a Star Trek and Star Wars crossover to go but its a good one :D

2.Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Just a solid adaptation,one of the best I have seen of Snow White .Solid performances (Particularly by Tony Cox and Vincent Price ) and hands down the BEST Villain in the series ,with Vanessa Redgrave being legitmately menacing as the Queen

1.The Boy Who Left Home To Find Out About The Shivers

Yeah the title is way too long but this episode is great .It is a legitimately funny horror comedy (And I LOVE Horror Comedy ) with a MAGNIFICENT CAST ,With the great Peter Mcnicol as the lead ,the fantastic Christopher Lee as the antagonist ,narrated by the phenominal Vincent Price ,and with supporting performances by Dana Hill , David Warner ,Jeff Corey and FRANK ZAPPA of all people. This episode is so much fun I had to make it number one

Honorbule Mentions

Beauty and the Beast (Susan Sarrandon,Klaus Kinski ,and Anjelica Huston )

Thumbelina (CArrie Fisher,William Katt and Burgess Meredith )

Three Little Pigs (Billy Chrystal ,Fred Willard,Stephen Furst and Jeff Goldblum )

Repunzel (Shelley Duvall ,Jeff Bridges ,Gina Rowlands and Roddy McDowell )

The Emperors New Clothes (Dick Shawn, Art Carney and Alan Arkin )

@ariel-seagull-wings @princesssarisa @metropolitan-mutant-of-ark @filmcityworld1 @sunlit-music @marquisedemasque

[jadoue1999]

The X-Men and the member they lost - Chapter 4

Summary: This chapter references the 6th episode of WandaVision and the events from Wanda's point of view in my previous story in chapter 2-3-4. I recommend reading those before continuing, but the best would be to read the entire story. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Previous parts: Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 , Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, 

Chapter 4: Regrets

The episode continued with both the twins talking directly to the camera. Erik frowned at this unusual situation, was this how television worked past the eighties? Billy was dressed up as some sort of magician and was talking about Halloween. The two brothers argued about the true meaning of the holiday, one saying something about being someone else for a day and the other one saying it was all about candies and scaring people. Erik smirked, from the little time he had been with Peter, he, too, would have probably said the same thing had he been asked. Speaking of him, he had yet to appear. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long as the twins moved to the living room, where he was laying on the couch, sleeping. The metal bender was still feeling uneasy about the blonde hair. The boys talked, the one wearing the cape seemed suspicious of him. They argued about waking him up, but he beat them to it.

“Blood is thicker than water, I show you!” Peter screamed as he sped off the couch. The twins yelled and started pacing around the couch as Peter used his speed to circle around the sofa. Erik smirked despite himself, it might have been a pretend, but the speedster really did seem to have a good time with his fake nephews. The scene cut to Wanda going down the stairs wearing a costume she qualified as a fortune teller. Peter watched her, unimpressed.

“Wow, that is so...”

“Rad!”

“Lame”

He frowned, that was a little strange, and rude. Charles probably felt his confusion since he turned to him. His gaze was enough to inform him that he too found the line strange. It switched to a reference to their childhood to which the redhead seemed confused about. But that didn’t make sense, she had casted him as Pietro; surely, he would have his memories as well? The husband walked down the stairs wearing a frankly ridiculous costume. Peter also made fun of him by trying to guess what he was dressed as. Vision walked to his wife and seemed to challenge her authority once again. He quickly moved on and pointed out how Wanda hadn’t really talked about her brother before. The scene cut to him and the twins playing games. Then the android decided to go off on his own, to which Peter stepped in.

“Don't sweat it, sis. I got the old XY chromosome. Uncle P to the rescue, uh?”

Raven spoke up at the strange line, “is- is he referring to the X gene? I know it doesn’t make any sense since it doesn’t seem to exist in this universe, but it’s so specific...”

Erik agreed with the shapeshifter, while it technically made sense in the sitcom word; it was way too specific to just be a throw away line. Was Peter conscious to a certain degree? He secretly hoped not, he must have been suffering greatly if he was.

Peter then asked about balloons and shaving cream, something that had apparently happened at the manor before because Charles sighed suddenly in exasperation. He was vaguely whispering about the clean up it took after one of his pranks. Peter and the long-haired twin sped off at Wanda’s complaint about their lack of costumes, coming back with matching ones and spiky hair. From what Erik could gather, they were probably dressed as runners, their hair up perhaps meant that they were going fast? He had no idea; he had never really dressed up for Halloween before.

The scene cut to the neighborhood where everyone was out and trick or treating. He had never seen so many town resident active at the same time, and now there were children. Erik noted with curiosity that the ratio parent to child didn’t really make sense; not enough kids were out for the number of adults present. He suddenly had an idea.

“Charles,” he said, turning to the man, “with that many residents, perhaps Wanda’s hold is weakened; can you read any of their mind?”

The telepath put a hand to his head in concentration and stared at the screen for a few seconds. His gaze didn’t falter as he desperately tried to make contact with the poor townspeople. After a moment, he shook his head.

“There’s something blocking me from seeing into anyone’s mind; I’m betting Wanda has something to do with it.”

Erik sighed in defeat and turned back to the screen, the children were off, and the redhead was questioning Peter.

“You're testing me.” He told her accusingly, she widened her eyes at the accusation, apparently not fond of being so easily read.

“No, I'm not.”

Peter raised his hand in surrender, showing he didn’t blame her. “Hey, it's cool. I know I look different.”

“Why do you... look different?”

Erik stared at the screen anxiously, Wanda was definitely aware that something was wrong. How could Peter answer anything that wouldn’t sound suspicious? He had always been quick to find something to say, hopefully he would still have it, even mind controlled.

Peter tilted his head, acting nonchalant. “You tell me. I mean, if I found Shangri-La, I wouldn't wanna be reminded of the past either.”

Whatever that place was, he had never heard of it, but the context made it seem like a perfect place without remorse. The children came back, asking for more candies and Peter suggested to use superspeed to be more efficient. That was... strange to say the least. He was running with the boys without worrying about whiplash, they were holding on to his belt. They really seemed happy, like any uncle and his nephews. Slight worry crept into his chest as he noticed that his speed now showed up on camera; something it never did before. Was he slowing down for the sake of the show? Also, there was a little blue lingering behind him. Raged filled Erik as he realized that Wanda had changed the aspect of his speed to match her late brother’s. She had erased his name, his hair and now his speed; was there something this woman couldn’t and wouldn’t do to fulfill her fantasy world? 

She went to talk to the neighbor on the left, Herb if he remembered well. It turned out that Vision wasn’t actually on duty, which meant he had broken out of her control for now. That assumption was right, the next scene showed the android walking through the neighborhood, feeling uneasy about his surroundings. He smiled to some passerby as he noticed a couple putting up decorations. Except they were not.

“Is this a common occurrence?” He questioned his friend. Both adults were stuck in a loop, the woman was in the process of hooking up a ghost, but she lowered her arm before she ever reached the fishing line. The husband in the back keep picking up and putting down a bucket.

“No, it isn’t,” said Charles. He frowned as a tear rolled down the woman’s cheek, ”they are trapped in their minds, but unable to do anything. Wanda is sidelining them because they’re not useful to her right now, but they have to keep acting as they would be if she were there.”

Erik stared at the wall, deep in thoughts. They were all suffering, that meant... “Is Peter stuck in his mind as well?” The telepath was silent, but it was enough to confirm his fears. “I wish he could have told me earlier, perhaps I would have been enough to save him from this fate.”

Charles shook his head with a serious face. “Don’t say this, old friend, even I did not sense anything amiss the night of his disappearance. As for knowing earlier, Peter didn’t tell anyone other than Raven. She’s the one that told me.”

He looked at the screen where Vision was still observing his surroundings with discomfort. “Watching this woman puppet my son on her show just serves as a reminder that I missed nearly thirty years of his life. And even now that I’m aware of his existence, I can’t do anything to save him from this nightmare.”

Charles stopped him from saying anything more as he put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Erik, Peter is a very secretive person. And as much as he rambles like his life depends on it; we never knew his real name or the fact that he had a twin sister.”

He had to give it to his friend, Peter hadn’t really spoken much about his past to anyone. But had he been aware that he had a son, could he have made a difference?

The screen now showed Vision walking away and it cut to a commercial. Erik didn’t watch much as he was contemplating what the episode had been so far. He had seen horrible things in his life, but Wanda’s little perfect life was unsettling. There was no record of how she made it in any of the files, it just appeared out of nowhere. The only other person he had seen displaying a power that was close to what the redhead was doing was, ironically, Jean; the other redhead he knew at the mansion. He had seen her unleashing hell to destroy En Sabah Nur back at Cairo and had been impressed since.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as Kurt panicked at whatever was going on at the television. The little boy was slowly decomposing. He wasn’t sure was had happened previously, but he watched in disbelief as the boy’s cheeks hollowed out and his eyes slowly disappeared. Then all that was left was a skeleton as the screen showed a picture of a yogurt brand.

‘Yo-Magic! The snack for survivors!’

What was that commercial? What did it even mean? Was there a threat looking to consume Wanda’s magic or was it a metaphor for what was happening to all the citizens? Everything in this show seemed to have a double meaning. He really should have paid attention. The screen switched to Wanda, Peter and the boys. They were walking in front of a theater that showed movies that hadn’t come out yet. Well, except maybe parents trap but he doubted it was the original one. Peter was complaining about having to return the candies and Wanda was teasing him about being a bad influence. The speedster turned to her, offended.

“I'm just trying to do my part, okay?” Erik frowned, his part? Could he be aware about his predicament? If so, why not try to escape? Or perhaps she wasn’t able to completely subdue him, and he ended up being casted as someone that knew too much for his own good. There was no telling what was going in the speedster’s head. Peter continued his rant, explaining his purpose, “Come to town unexpectedly, create tension with the brother-in-law, stir up trouble with the rugrats, and ultimately give you grief. I mean, that's what you wanted, isn't it?”

His remark earned a general frown from the viewers in the room, what did she want?

Wanda narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion, “What happened to your accent?”

Peter didn’t let her get to him as he snapped back, “What happened to yours?” That caught her off guard, though Erik couldn’t think why. Perhaps she was supposed to have an accent? Her files did say that she was from this Sokovia place in Europe.

Kurt suddenly spoke up, “I know Peter can be sarcastic, but he’s being very rude. He’s never like that normally; is that his role or is it him being conscious and trying to hide it?”

The teen had a point. The speedster was hyper and excited, but he wasn’t rude. The lines he was forced to say definitely didn’t sound like something he’d just blurt out at someone he was supposed to consider family. Peter continued talking about being shot for no reasons and hearing her voice calling to him. That was definitely the other brother’s memories, that was for certain. Erik wasn’t sure how to feel about this. Did it mean that his son would now be stuck with a double set of memories trapped in his head? Was he torn between two versions of himself? He couldn’t dwell on his questions as the children came running back. “They've got full-size candy bars a few blocks up. Mom, can we go?” Tommy was suddenly gone in a blur and back in an instant, with candy bars in his hand. He looked proud as he exclaimed, “Next stop, Cavity Town!”

The excitement on Peter’s face was something that made Erik smile. He found himself wishing that the circumstances were different, perhaps Peter could have reacted the same way to a student. The way his eyes gleamed up and his mouth turned into a wide grin seemed so genuine, so much like Peter. “Right on, little dude! Chip off the old Maximoff block. You've got super speed!”

Wanda and Peter looked at each other with pride in their eyes. If Erik hadn’t known better, he truly could have believed that they were siblings. They simply felt right together. He watched as Tommy broke into superspeed, running all around the place as Wanda slowly began to get more serious. Peter, though, was grinning like a mad man and repeatedly nodding in approval as the mini speedster raced through the street. Their fun was cut short as Wanda grabbed her son, stopping him abruptly. He frowned at her movement, if there was one truth about Peter, it was that once he started, he couldn’t be stopped by anyone. He was simply too fast. It was because of his superspeed, no one could touch him. It had to be the same for Tommy. How could she even see the young speedster in the first place? Let alone being able to grab him without any whiplash. Wanda then warned them to not go past Ellis Avenue. From her tone, he had to assume that it was the end of the barrier.

Raven turned to Charles, “he has superspeed, is he a mutant?”

The professor continued to look at the screen. “By how it manifested so suddenly, we have to assume that they are. The real question is, did Wanda steal mutant children from our dimension or are those children her own?”

The next few scenes were unexpected to say the least. Vision had found the dreaded Avenue and realized that no one was moving. He switched to a futuristic looking suit and flew in the air. The voices of the residents were echoing in the screen. Vision spotted a lone car, which ended up being Agnes’. She wasn’t moving either, that was unsettling since the woman usually was always so full of life. The robot did his best to question her, but she seemed barely aware of her surroundings.

“How can she even move at all? No one else is,” chimed in Raven.

That... was a valid question. Perhaps the fact that she was usually so close to Wanda gave her a slight immunity against the end of the barrier? He didn’t have time to tell his idea, Vision suddenly woke up the neighbor. It didn’t help much though, she confirmed that it was Wanda who controlled them and then started freaking out. He put her back under the spell and she drove away. The scene cut away as he was nearing the barrier.

Peter and Wanda were walking through the straw maze and sat on one of straw bundles. They talked a little about their parents and how she truly was living her best life. Then Peter pulled a face that was very unlike him and started questioning her. That made no sense, he was pushing for information Wanda should have known. Was there something else in this town talking through his son? She looked frightened for a moment, but Billy ran to her, screaming about their dying father. He was a telepath. Both twins apparently had mutations.

‘Don’t sweat it, sis. It’s not like your dead husband can die twice!’

This remark greatly angered Wanda and her eyes glowed red as she blasted him into nearby decorations. She turned to her son and made him focus on his claim. Judging by the screaming outside of the base, Vision had gone outside the town and the twin sensed it.

The broadcast suddenly cut off.

An alarm blared through the base, ringing loud enough to feel the vibration. Shouts outside of the bunker quickly made them aware of the situation. The barrier was expanding. The three other people with him were quickly picking up their stuff, but Erik couldn’t move. She had blasted his son away, like he was nothing. Was he dead? He hadn’t moved at all, he hoped he was just unconscious. Charles was grabbing his arm, telling him to snap out of it. The world suddenly caught up to him, they were in danger, the barrier was expanding. They had to get away.

He got to his feet, trying desperately to not think about Peter and the pain he had to be in. They ran out of the bunker; the barrier was already beginning to move towards the base. Soldiers were scrambling around, trying to get into cars and escape their upcoming fate. No one was paying attention to them, so Charles turned to the teenager.

“Kurt, you have to get us out of here,” the young man was frozen in place, staring at the approaching red wall. The professor pulled his arm, “Kurt!”

The blue mutant snapped out of his trance and told them to hold on to him. He closed his eyes in concentration, but they didn’t move. He opened his eyes in fear before closing them and trying again. “I- I can’t!” He panicked, “I’m sorry. This is my fault; I can’t do it!”

Raven gave him a reassuring smile and encouraged him to try again. He nodded and concentrated once more. After a few agonizing seconds, the world melted into a puff of smoke and they reappeared a mile away from their previous spot. Erik felt a nausea similar to the one he felt back when Peter broke him out. He looked around with a smirk. They had done it; the boy had succeeded. They looked at each other and laughed in relief, Kurt had saved them. They would live to fight another day, they were- they were-

Not far enough.

The red wall was still moving towards them with increasing speed. There was no escape now, the teen was too exhausted to try moving them again. He grabbed Charles’ hand and braced for impact. The telepath warned them to try to hold on to whatever they deemed was their story. Perhaps they would be able to remain unaffected if they could block their minds from Wanda’s control. He quickly followed his friend’s advice and focused on his life and the reason he was here.

His name was Erik Lehnsherr, he was a mutant, he had lost his family because of the Nazis and he had traveled to a different universe to find his son, Peter.

The wall crashed over them, he felt everything around him pulsing.

His name was Erik Lehnsherr, he was a mutant, he had lost his family and he had traveled to a different universe to find his son, Peter.

He felt Charles slipping away from beside him.

His name was Erik Lehnsherr, he was a mutant, and he had to find his son, Peter.

Raven kept calling for him, telling him to hold on.

His name was Erik Lehnsherr, and he had a son.

The teen he had been traveling with kept apologizing, but he wasn’t sure why.

His name was Erik Lehnsherr.

The woman had gone silent.

His name was... Erik.

He was alone, had he always been alone?

His name was...

It was...

What was his name?

***

Notes: Props to anyone who can tell me what was my reference for Erik going into the Hex (Not Marvel) Thank you for reading, reviews are always appreciated! Next chapter: Charles the Xtraordinary has a visitor

[fu-aki]

So this is going to be my attempt to summarize the newest episodes of the fairy gala event (episode 1 to 10) of twisted wonderland.

Again, spoiler alert since I’m about to write out everything that happened, and I apologize for my grammar in advance.

Both Kalim and Jamil are asking Crowley what is going on, the warm Scarabia dorm suddenly started to snow -> and on their way here, the mirror room was hot like oven -> Crowley explains how temperatures in this school are kept by the fairies and they use a magic stone as a source of energy, so maybe something happened to the stone -> so they all went to check -> the stone was gone -> Crowley called for all dorm leaders for an emergency meeting

Crowley explained what happened -> Azul mentioned about the big fairy in the room -> Malleus “are you saying, that I, the next in line for bramble valley, will do some petty crime like this?” -> Azul apologized -> Kalim “nobody here think you did it, we just want you to tell us if you know anything related to the topic, anything about fairy.” -> Malleus mentions how he saw an unfamiliar fairy when he was taking a walk yesterday, it carries a rainbow color stone with them and was around botanical garden -> everyone headed towards there

The fairies are crowning a bigger fairy -> that tiara has the missing magic stone on it -> Malleus recognized the bigger fairy, that is the queen of fairy town, and if she’s outside in time like this, it’s likely that she has chosen NRC as the location for fairy gala -> Malleus also explains that fairy gala is when fairies dress up in elegant clothes and participates in a fashion show in celebration of spring -> Leona “fashion show? Don’t joke with me, let’s just take the magic stone now” -> Crowley disagree since he don’t want to anger the fairies that’s controlling the temperature of school -> since the celebration of fairy gala last around 3 months, if they don’t get the magic stone back, the school won’t be able to function for 3 months ->

Crowley “why do none of you look motivated!” -> Riddle “it’s not our job after all.” -> Vil “it should be you, the school principal’s job.” -> Crowley then announced that if this problem keeps going on for 3 months, everyone would have to repeat for a year -> no one want that to happen so they went back to brainstorm on how to get the stone back

Kalim “Malleus you are also a fairy right? How about you go and just ask them nicely?” -> Malleus ”there’s many different types of fairies, from thistle fairy to dragon fairy like me. Their size and languages are all different. And it’s not guaranteed that we get along, just like humans. Besides, if I just step in, the smaller fairies will probably run away in fear.” -> Leona “tsk, so useless... if we can’t do that, only way left is to take it by force right?” -> Azul “maybe there’s someway we can take it without being noticed?” -> Vil suggests to switch that tiara with a fake one -> since it’s a big event, it’ll be easy to sneak in too -> Crowley “sounds like a good idea, it would be nice if we can have something to disguise ourselves as fairies..” -> “IN STOCK NOW!” -> Sam says he heard about this from his friends on the other side so he brought some fairy dust, which is the power source for fairies in fairy town, so if we sprinkle it on, fairies would register us as part of them -> Crowley bought it with school budget -> now they are trying to decide who’s going to sneak in fairy gala -> Malleus mentions that fairy gala is the place where only upper level fairies gather -> Sam also said that he heard the theme of fairy gala this year is “exotic”

Kalim “what’s wrong? Is there anything on my face?”

Leona “hey, stop staring at me.”

Malleus “exotic to the fairy town... that will definitely be you two.”

Vil “yes, it would be rare for them to see werehumans or the culture of the desert.”

Azul “and no matter how much Leona has fallen, he’s still royal, and Kalim is the son of a rich family.”

Riddle “won’t that means they are used to parties like this?”

Idia “k the infiltration team would be Leona and Kalim, gg!”

-> Azul then left -> Malleus left too since he wasn’t invited in the first place -> Kalim happily took the position -> Leona refuses ->

Crowley “Kingscholar, if Asim failed and the spring won’t came, wouldn’t it bother you the most? As a feline, you won’t be able to use your full power if the winter just keeps going. Most of Savanaclaw students are werehuman too, and there’s a lot of them that can’t do anything if the temperature changes right? Savanaclaw’s power will go down greatly, are you... really okay with it?” -> Leona then agrees to join -> Kalim was excited and ask if he can bring Jamil -> Crowley agrees and suggest Leona to bring someone too, since he don’t want Leona to ditch halfway through -> Leona decided to bring Ruggie along -> Crowley called for you to work on it

In ramshackle -> both Jamil and Ruggie are complaining about Kalim and Leona drag them into troublesome things again -> but if they didn’t everyone has to repeat a year -> they finally stopped fighting and started to plan it out -> Kalim suggests to just use magic -> but fairies are really sensitive to magic, so it’ll fail right away

Ruggie “we are magicians but can’t use our magic, this feel so hopeless.”

Leona “i-diot, this is the reason why you are here, Ruggie.”

Ruggie “me?”

Leona “you’ll switch the tiara with the fake one... by using your hands, directly.”

Ruggie “...EEH!!!! ME!!???”

Ruggie mentions how it’s actually harder to steal something that’s on top of someone’s head like that -> Leona ask how many seconds do Ruggie need to do it -> Ruggie “15” -> Leona “make it 10” -> Ruggie “where did that 5 seconds go!!!” -> Leona “you could do it easily anyway” -> Ruggie “darn you see me right through” -> Ruggie “but if you can’t distract her, it’ll still be tough for me.” -> Kalim suggests to make a parade for distraction -> but only 4 people can get in the event -> Jamil suggests to do some performance to distract them on runway -> Grim and you has to support Ruggie -> so rest of them has to go on the show -> but all of them are super amateur at fashion shows -> Jamil says he has an idea

He brought Crewel and Vil -> then Crewel gives them some clothes ->

Vil ask them to show some walks, since no matter how pretty the clothes are, if the person’s posture are bad, it’s going to be a waste anyway

Vil “really... it’s surprising.”

Vil “you can actually walk this elegantly...”

Vil “...you did a great job, Jamil.”

Vil “Kalim too, your posture is really proper, is it because of the education at home?”

Kalim “is it? Hehe thanks, but I think it’s because we liked to dance.”

Jamil “Kalim has been learning the traditional dance since he was young, and I have an interest in street dance.”

Vil “compare to that... Leona, what’s with your lame walk. Your feet are dragging, your postures are wrong, and”

Vil then completely roasted Leona -> Crewel “for a bad puppy like Kingscholar, shouldn’t we teach him how to walk on twos first? Or else it would be the same as letting a new born kitten on runway.” -> in the end they decided that Leona is just going to do a walk while Kalim and Jamil doing dances to grab attentions -> and then the training starts

Vil commented on Kalim has beautiful moves but always make mistakes on swings, in comparison, Jamil made no mistake at all but it felt lacking because of it -> Leona on the other side, has vases full of water on his head and shoulders, he has to walk around the room without spill anything -> to make sure everyone can do great on runway and remember everything, Vil announced -> if they sit without Vil’s approval they’ll have to do 500 squats -> if Leona spills the water again, he’ll have to do wall sit for an hour -> if either one of Kalim and Jamil made a mistake they have to do three legged race around the school -> Leona “ordering us around like that... who do you think you are!?” -> Vil “I’m the world’s super model... Vil Schoenheit sama!!!!!”

And that’s all of the episodes so far, I can finally go check out Leona’s personal story now, he look so great and life is so great

[my-brothers-corrupted]

First of all I love this au and am beyond thrilled it's back. Secondly am I crazy or weren't there 5 books, I remember 1-4 getting compiled but not 5. I never read 5 because I couldn't figure out how :( but I'd love to so I can catch up to what's happening now.

-🌙

Thank you for asking! Unfortunately I was never able to compile chapter 5 - it would have taken hours and hours, and when I compiled chapter 4, it got very few notes and no comments, so I have not had the motivation to put in that much (really tedious) work to have it available. Chapter 5 starts in March of 2021 if you want to go back and look at the blog archive at all.

And if you want a lowdown on what happened, here's a summary...

After Anti died, Jackie burned his body and organized his siblings to get back to Ireland. Actually, he first wanted to get back to England, but JJ had to reverse time after they attempted to go there because the magicians in the country were hostile to him and Marvin as unregistered magic-users.

They found their way to Ireland and were homeless for a while, living mostly in an abandoned house or sometimes an old bus. After JJ began having severe psychotic episodes, they were forced to seek real help. JJ was in a psychiatric facility for several days, where he struggled with the containment but benefited from actual psych care and regular meds for the first time in years. Social workers and doctors at the hospital helped all of them find an apartment to share. Jackie started working in AV for a theater, Marvin worked as a librarian, and Chase sold Marvin's roses in the street whenever he could.

Throughout most of Chapter 5, Henrik was in a shut-down, numb silence, pretty unaware of what was going on around him - his brain's best defense as he tried to process the torture Anti put him through at the end of Chapter 4. When they eventually settled into a feeling of safety, he came back to himself slowly. They definitely all have PTSD, but Henrik's may be the most debilitating.

Marvin had a hard time after killing Anti: he felt that his brothers had abandoned him, in a way, by leaving him to kill Anti himself, but at the same time, he insisted on being called Blue for most of the chapter, because he was harboring a lot of anger at the original Marvin for failing to save himself or the others. Marvin began lashing out at the others, even putting his hands on JJ at one point, until he decided he couldn't be around them anymore. He left for a while, which was hard on them, but in that time, he found the Lapwings, the magicians of Ireland, who knew him as the magician who used to be their leader. Marvin gradually re-discovered himself and made peace between the Marvin and Blue parts of himself. He became the leader of the Lapwings again.

Chase was able to make contact with Stacy, who had fled with them when Anti started coming after all of them. Marvin and Chase had helped her find a safe place to hide with the kids in Sweden, but Marvin's mirror portals allowed her and Chase to travel between Sweden and Ireland so he could reconnect with the kids. Izzy had developed magical abilities of her own because of the trauma of the night they ran away from Anti and he came after them. She's now able to glitch the way he did, but it's more under control now that her life has stabilized and her dad is back. Hunter is also doing well. At the very end of the chapter, Chase tells Stacy he still wants to be with her. She turns him down, but gently, and they're finally able to understand exactly where the other lies and to become parenting partners again while also moving on romantically.

Henrik and Chase also settled their own relationship, acknowledging that they were co-dependent and resolving to do better while still supporting each other. Henrik was having difficulty becoming a doctor again because he'd developed triggers related to blood and injuries, and he admitted that he may not be able to work again. Chase talked about wanting to become a nurse because of the things Henrik taught him.

JJ dealt with some grief over Anti's death in a different way than the others, still seeing Anti as his brother, but learning to acknowledge all the ways he hurt him. He started going to a support group for the Deaf community, began going to his church again, and was preparing himself to start working soon.

For most of the chapter, Jackie would bury his own needs and focus instead on everybody else and on making sure they were cared for financially. But on his own, his mind was constantly wandering to Max. He would have reached out sooner, but he was guilty over the way he abandoned Max in Peru and scared of being rejected by him. With some help, he was finally able to call Max and let him know he was free of Anti. Max didn't believe it, but he came when Jackie called anyway. Max was still traumatized by the last time he was left, and he told Jackie that he needed Jackie to prioritize him for once if he wanted to be with him. Jackie struggled with the idea of putting anyone in front of his siblings, but he was finally able to pursue Max whole-heartedly and agree to spend time away from the others.

Oh, and they found the house they used to live in before Anti came! It's a house in a mirror dimension Marvin made. Anti burned most of it, but there was enough for them to repair, and they found cats living in the forest, which they named Peanuts and Jam.

The chapter ended with JJ looking around at his much happier siblings and going back to visit some of the miserable moments in their life, thinking about how things will turn out okay after all. He had the option to spend a little more time with Anti, but chose to let him go, and he no longer visits Anti through time travel. They're all learning to live in the present.

The end!