#HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BE PARANOID IF EVERYTHING ENDS UP BEING OKAY

[jerrsterrr]

AGHAAGAGAGAGAG

[stephreyna]

Book of Bill Spoiler

I wanna talk about this

I’ve been seeing an interesting divide in the fandom about how they feel about Dipper and Mabel’s parents having marital issues.

It changes the show a lot, in terms of how the kids act, why they got sent to Gravity Falls, why Dipper was looking for an idol, and why Mabel didn’t want summer to end. I’ve seen some people hate it and some people like it. I am the latter.

Marriage problems doesn’t always mean a terrible home life, or abuse. Dipper wasn’t supposed to hear it, which means his parents are keeping it behind closed doors and not letting their issues become the twins’.

Which makes me believe this isn’t an abusive situation. Alex will torture the shit out of Stan and Ford (we know this), but Dipper and Mabel are precious to him, I don’t think he would put them in a bad/dangerous home life.

If Dipper’s having nightmares about it, it’s because it’s Dipper. He’s an anxious and paranoid kid, who makes mountains out of molehills and overthinks absolutely everything.

We don’t know the status of Mr and Mrs. Pines’ relationship. For all we know, the summer was just what they needed to patch things up, and everything was fine when the kids came home. But if at the end of the summer they have the oh-so-infamous sit down with the twins about a change in their family, it’s not inherently a bad thing.

Yes. The twins would be devastated if their parents separated.

Dipper would be extra moody and angry and our hopeless romantic Mabel would fall into a depression. I can see them both diving into distractions and finding comfort more with their Gravity Falls family. Keeping up with the Stans, Soos and Melody, Wendy, and Pacifica.

But things would settle down eventually, theyd get into a routine and eventually see how much happier their parents are. I can also see Mabel being excited she gets to decorate two bedrooms for herself, and getting to play matchmaker for her parents. Dipper would learn to live with it eventually, and I’m sure all he wants is to see his parents happy, but I think he’d fight it longer than Mabel does.

But they’d be okay.

This stuff happens, and I honestly love the representation, as a child of divorced parents. I don’t see it very often in children’s media, and I couldn’t relate to characters who had parents who got along with each other when I was a kid. And usually if they had step-parents it was because one of the parents died or something.

This is, classic Alex, left up to interpretation as to what’s happening in the Piedmont Pines’ household.

But whatever it is, our Mystery Twins will go through it together

[little-bumblebeeee]

Hey, this is my first time doing an ask so could you please do steve harrington angst where he feels a lil distrust cause of how things ended with nancy with comfort at the end. Feel free to ignore if you're not up for it 🙃

Omgggg babes sorry this took longer than expected, I started a new school and got food poisoning lmao 👍

Anyways without further ado,

Steve Harrington x reader, slight angst with a happy ending, hurt/comfort, Steve thinks reader might be cheating or is unhappy, 1k words ♡ (hardly proofread, forgive me love)

You had to stay late for work to fix a mess your boss made, and in your haste to finish it you forgot to tell Steve. Sure, you haven't been dating long and sure, you don't live together, but lately he's been staying at your place to escape the big empty birdcage that is his parent's house, so maybe you should have told him.But you didn't, that's the thing. The sun has already set by the time you get home, your cheeks flushed from the cold as you quickly close the door to let as little heat out as possible.

"Steve? Are you here?" You call out, seeing the light from the kitchen on but no noise. Not the clink of the dishes being washed or the sound of something being stirred, no sizzling of food and no shuffling of feet to the pop music Steve likes. No noise and no answer.

"Stevie?" You call out once more. You have a feeling that he's here, the imaginary hook in your chest that pulls you closer to him feeling short. When you show up to the kitchen, there he is, standing in front of the counter and looking down at his cup of hot chocolate, little marshmallows disintegrated and no steam rising from the top, he must've been standing there for a while.

"Hey." He says softly, bringing the mug to his lips maybe for the first time, frowning at the cold as if he was completely powered down before you stepped into the room. He sets it back down to be forgotten until the mug needs to be washed, turning the burner back on that has the pot of milk on it.

"Sorry I got home late, my boss is an absolute child." You say as you lean up against the counter, watching as he stirs the milk in the pot and shakes the chocolate packet. "Oh no, it's fine. It's fine. You don't have to tell me everything." He says, the muscle in his jaw clearly clenched.

"Steve, you alright?" You ask, stepping just a little closer with your arms crossed loosely upon hearing the tone in his voice, firm and steady, as if he's controlling every word, every breath, every little movement. It's a little scary and concerning– but you've seen him like this before. He's just annoyed and doesn't want to be snarky with you. Before he can say that he's fine, you raise your eyebrows at him, daring him to say that he is because you know he's not. Daring him to say that he had a tough day because he already called you during your lunch break to tell you how good of a day he had.

"I just.. were you actually at work? Just tell me the truth." He asks you. The truth? Does he believe you're lying? Sure, you haven't been together for a super long time, but why would he think you were doing something else? You told him what happened– does he not trust you? You just can't help but wonder what goes through his mind in times like this.

"I was. I just couldn't text you because my boss won't stop acting like a child, I told you." You say. The hurt and confusion you feel must be visible on your facial features because he puts down the packet of chocolate power, turning to face you.

"I don't mean to offend you or anything but how am I supposed to know I can trust you? We haven't.. we haven't been dating long, I know– and you can call me crazy or paranoid or say all of this is bullshit but I.. just want to know. I want to make sure you're okay– I want to make sure we're okay. I don't want to be lied to." He explains, running a hand through his hair and pinching his nose once or twice, a clear sign he's holding everything back. You two haven't really... talked about past relationships, but you've heard things. Heard and seen things. All you wanted to do that night at Tina's party was hide in the bathroom until your friend came to pick you up, leading you to hear a conversation you definitely shouldn't have heard. The air feels dark and heavy– something you've never felt around Steve, who practically has sunlight coursing through his veins, making every room just a little brighter. But the sunlight is gone, his blood red instead of gold.

"Steve–" You start, but he stops you in your tracks. "Don't start like that." He says, looking as if you're about to break the worst news to him. You kind of did start like that too– a sort of softened tone in your voice as if you didn't want what you were about to say to hurt him. But you continue anyways.

"You're not crazy, or paranoid, or whatever else. You're just a little cautious. But I was at work, and I can call my boss right now if you need me to." You say, your phone open and held out to him.

Steve just.. blinks a couple times. But he shakes his head, pushing your hand away and pulling you close, his arms snaking around your waist as he buries his nose into the crook of your neck. You feel more than hear the apology, but you know it's being said.

And you know he means it.

Because Steve doesn't lie. He doesn't say things that he doesn't mean, if he tells you that he loves you then he loves you, no doubt about it. "I shouldn't have. I'm sorry– I... things never went right for me, and now that they are, it's scary. It's scary as hell. Because I don't know when it's going to stop, I don't.. I don't know when things will go wrong again. I just.. I love you. Too much, sometimes." He admits, lifting his head up a little with a humorless chuckle, brown eyes boring into your soul.

"And I don't ever want to let you go." He adds. He proves his point by squeezing you tighter, putting everything he has into this one squeeze as if someone is waiting just behind you to steal you away.

His skin shines golden once more, the room feeling warmer and brighter. Everything seems to feel less dull when you love him, doesn't it?

[edibleashell]

TUA S4 feels

Pretty sure that Umbrella Academy S4 finale left a permanent scar on my psyche. Still one of my favorite shows but I might just end after season 3 in future rewatches. So many issues with S4.

In like episode 1 we got Ben and Jennifer touching and that started a countdown to the end of the world and the whole season was just junk to fill that time. So many good ideas that weren't done properly at all. Shuffling their powers? Alternate timelines? Hargreaves owning pretty much everything? Abigail just being alive? Pointless.

Luther was just a repeating loop of stripper and home decorating jokes.

Diego should have been a martial arts instructor or something not a depressed delivery guy. A bunch of jokes about him getting out of shape only to reveal that he's still jacked. He throws a potted plant and misses. His arc is just Big Sad for no reason and the relationships he built in the first three seasons were apparently irrelevant, if anyone would have been taking care of Safety Klaus it would have been him.

Allison's character was just an accessory to Klaus, after three seasons of her trying to reclaim the family she lost she ended up spending more time as a tool to Klaus's arc than she did with Claire. And Ray just being casually written out was so disrespectful.

Klaus, oh poor Klaus, my favorite character, what did they do to you? He should have been a nurse or something but instead he was paranoid, then pissed off because the writers decided that Klaus would equate marigold with drugs and just fall right off the wagon? And then he goes to some sketchy guy he owes money to even though S1 Klaus is shown just buying drugs from random people? All to justify his prisoner plot, none of which had any real impact. And he can fly for a second for some reason. Okay.

Five working for the CIA was bad. He should have been the retired fun uncle to Claire and Grace. After spending fifty years trying to get back to his family why did he keep leaving them? Why did he hook up with his brother's wife after only six years? And am I supposed to believe that in every timeline he has the same haircut? That none of the other Fives lost their arm? How did he never notice his boss's blatant umbrella tattoo? He just casually strolls through "his" apocalypse as though he doesn't have ptsd, and why were he and Lila living off sewer rats when they had infinite timelines to scavenge?

I was so excited to see Ben witg the family but one episode in he becomes a bomb and fucks off with a girl who can hardly be called a character.

Viktor was the only character I thought got some form of authenticity and justified growth, his arc kind of seemed like a ripoff of S3 Klaus though. And we missed out on what could have been a really beautiful scene of him drawing the upside down umbrella on his arm.

Lila went from "I don't want to be like my mom" to a motherhood cliche. And what was the deal with her family? She just found her parents and they immediately accepted her or something? Was there another Lila in this universe? That made no sense. If anyone would have joined the CIA it would have been her. Her and Diego should have been weird parents teaching their kids how to fight and kill but instead they got some domestic life that those characters never belonged in.

And there's so much more! Abigail is alive? Hardly relevant. Why did she body snatched Gene, it didn't really seem to change anything. The Keepers existed only to be a minor obstacle in the last episode. And are her and Reggie aliens? Why? How? What's the point?

AND DURANGO? THAT'S A CAR! Harland named marigold and for a farm kid that makes sense (though the retconned acceptance of that word into Umbrella vocabulary was irksome) But Durango? Abigail is a scientist and she names The Bad Dust after an SUV? Why?

AND WHY WAS THERE ZERO QUEERNESS? Each of the first three seasons had some sort of queer arc but not this one. I still wonder if some higher-up didn't intentionally assassinate the show as backlash for the immense respect S3 gave Elliot Page.

One last thing, music is a big part of the show, they've always put such thought and care into the soundtrack and it makes sense knowing who the creators are, so why, of all songs, was Baby Damn Shark the first song to be featured in like three episodes? It seems intentionally disrespectful.

I'm done, rant over, I'll never recover from this.

[birdmitosis]

Are you still dining the ask game? If you are what are your thoughts on the pristine blade

[ask game here]

LOL okay I will definitely do this one. This is a very cool ask actually and I am so excited to share my thoughts on the pristine blade itself!

First impression

This is just our implement. We had to have a weapon of some sort available to us to be able to slay the Princess, right? Mostly I just kinda dismissed the blade as a storytelling convention and that's about it.

Impression now

Much more intrigued, honestly! The pristine blade is one of the only parts of the Construct besides us, the Princess, the Narrator in our head, and the environment. It is almost always there (besides in The Wraith, interestingly enough) and it is always "pristine" -- even in the dirt or covered in blood. Is it a piece of us? A piece of the Princess? A piece that came from the messy tear that separated us? And does it have any connection to the Princess's chains -- the only other part of the Construct besides those things? What does its being "pristine" signify? There is definitely something about this blade...

Favorite moment

When you hold it the "cool" way by default if you take the blade in The Apotheosis. That combined with the swell of epic music and us facing down a Biblically Accurate Princess large enough to have her own gravitational pull just made me cheer out loud when I first saw it!

Idea for a story

This one's a bit harder. I haven't had any real ideas up to now, except to explore in various fic how the voices might choose to arm themselves post-Construct, who would continue to choose blades, or if they managed to have the blade when they left who would most often have it (or be allowed to)...

I could also, though, see a fun fic coming from the idea of "what if the blade was available in The Wraith?" Or maybe what if it wasn't available at all in The Den or The Thorn?

Unpopular opinion

IDK if this is super unpopular, but I think it is even more interesting and fucked up and badass of her if you go the route of screwing up so bad with Thorn that she swallows the blade whole. If nothing else, it really shows how much of Witch is still in her, and I love that!

Favorite relationship

I can't narrow it down to just one!

I love the relationship Cold has with the blade as almost an extension of himself, as both being weapons. I love Contrarian's dedication (until the Stranger ending) to throwing it out the window and also his insistence to hold it the other way that comes back in The Apotheosis even though he's not there! I love Hunted's relationship to the "steel claw." I love Paranoid's moment of "steel can't lie to us," and how she's perfectly willing to use it to slit our own throat despite desperately not wanting to die before. I love Skeptic refusing to let you not take the blade and being willing and able to stop your heart if you don't use it in the leadup to The Grey!

I also love Adversary wanting us to stab her with it. How Damsel is perfectly willing to let you chop bits of her off with it (how metaphorical), and accepts her death if you slay her with it with tears in her eyes, and has it firmly in her heart as the Burned Grey, and if you reach for it she gently holds your hand there. How Prisoner uses it to cut off her own head. Everything about Witch and Thorn's relationship to it, whether things go well or terribly. How in The Wraith it just disappears entirely, for the only time in the entire game!

And I love how desperately the Narrator clings to it, needs it to be there. And I love the relationship the Princess (Harsh, Soft, or Stranger) in Shifty's heart has with it; her line that since you chose to take the blade, it has to be used, just gets me right in the heart.

I guess if I had to chose, out of those three... "categories" I suppose? I'd choose Skeptic, Damsel -> Burned Grey, and Shifty's Heart.

Favorite headcanon

I mean, it's not confirmed, but I think I like the idea that the pristine blade and the Princess's chains are similar things. Only you can use the pristine blade to attack with, though the Princess can use it against herself (Prisoner and Thorn most obviously), she never stabs you with it even when she winds up with a blade of her own; you have very little effect over the chains, only being able to be trapped in them in The Prisoner, while Prisoner can attack you with them, several of the vessels can free themselves from them, and the ones you free from them plant the idea in your head first (Damsel, Tower). The chains, like the blade, are always in the same place until certain Chapter IIIs, where sometimes they disappear.

The pristine blade is tied to the Long Quiet in some way, may be a part of him, while the chains are tied to the Shifting Mound in some way. Again, not confirmed, but I really like the idea.

ETA: @salty-an-disco pointed out a thing that makes EVEN MORE sense and is super cool: the idea that the pristine blade is actually a piece of the Shifting Mound (a piece of death that you can use to kill with), while the chains are a piece of the Long Quiet (stagnancy trying to trap her)! So the pristine blade is actually tied to the Shifting Mound as a part of her, while the chains are tied to the Long Quiet likewise.

Again, not confirmed, but this idea rocks so much that I am immediately adopting it forever.

ETA 2: I AM SO EMBARRASSED I forgot the three damn times the Princess canonically uses the pristine blade to kill you. Scratch that part. /)////(\

This actually makes Sal's theory more likely to me, too, though: The blade can be used to kill, but the chains actually never are; the Prisoner is never able to kill you before you can kill her if you get close enough that she attacks you with the chains.

[saber-monet]

Hey I came across your post about embracing the “manifestation coincidences”, and one about making sure to not be unfazed by how well things play out. I’d like to ask how you make peace with the ‘insanity’ of it? Bc I think I’ve shifted to a higher timeline and now am living a better reality. But I spent the last 2 days looking up parallel universes on reddit & now I’m scared I’m going to run into my doppelganger and get killed or that I’m actually supposed to have died in my actual universe.. I’m scared and I can’t talk about it with anyone in fear of them suddenly turning into a demon just like in horror films.

Hey! First of all, everything you’re experiencing is more common than you might think, especially for people who, like me, grew up skeptical or secular about spirituality and are only just now exploring it. Shifting your mindset and embracing manifestation can feel so surreal at first—like you’re stepping into something “forbidden” just by allowing yourself to believe that things can work out in your favor.

I went through the exact same thing when I started three years ago; I felt paranoid, like I was breaking some unspoken rule just by thinking positively. I promise—you’re not going to run into a doppelgänger or anything bad. That’s just your mind processing a huge new perspective.

One thing that’s helped me is thinking of the “surrealness�� you’re describing as an emotion, like anxiety or sadness. It can feel jarring, but it’s temporary and will pass. When I feel that surrealness creeping in, I just acknowledge it: “Yeah, this feels weird right now, but it’s going to end soon.” I know my mind will eventually latch onto a less intense thought process, and things will go back to ‘normal’, and so will yours—sometimes in 30 seconds, other times in a couple of minutes. but you will feel fine again.

Also, if affirmations work for you, lean into those! Remind yourself that you’re safe and fully capable of handling these new feelings. It’s all part of the process, and you’re going to get more and more comfortable with it.

And honestly, one tip? Steer clear of Reddit or anything that brings up new fears. I stay away from things that make me question my safety and, instead, focus on what feels grounding and calming, whether that was music, a walk, cooking, talking out loud or even talking to chatgpt helps me (there's a voice call option on the app so you can talk to it like a real person)—anything to keep me from overthinking.

i treat myself like a worried child, what would you say/do to a worried child to make them feel better? You would tell them everything's gonna be OK, put on their favorite comforting TV show/movie/musical, give them a snack, you remind them that you're here for them and that eventually they will laugh about this moment in the future etc.

Watching Abraham Hicks Workshop Excerpt videos helped me so much too (she talks a lot about exactly this topic, and if you’re interested, I can DM you a link, just message me). And these videos, she speaking to people who have gone through the exact same thing that you're going through and had the exact same questions/ concerns/ stories about reality creation.

Her seminars really put into perspective that I wasn’t alone, and neither are you. You will make sense of this experience. You'll know what works for you and what doesn't. It's a personalized journey.

You’re in good company, and there’s an entire global community of people who get exactly what you’re going through. Trust that you’re okay, you're being properly guided each step of the way and give yourself permission to enjoy the experience. You're not the first person or the last person to go through stuff like this.

There's a lot of older people who have gone through the " awakening process" and have reacted differently to it. Some become monks/teachers, others use it to grow their business and achieve their goals, others just use it here and there to get the things that they want and live a relatively normal life, and some never use it again . Don't feel overwhelmed by it, you have the choice on how you wish to proceed .

(also I'm going to dive into this topic in another post im currently working on: but you can ask for less synchronicity and for things to go back to “normal”. Just because you've learned this new information and this new way of interacting with reality doesn't mean that you have to continue if you don't want to. ( Yes, you have lifted the metaphorical "veil" but you can also put it back down)

Also, please reach out , or anybody reading this post, if you wanna chat. I did this alone, I got to this place of balance, reassurance and comfort alone, and I would have really like to have somebody to talk to so I'm here if you need me.

[eliotquillon]

would you be kind enough to give us some chameron spoilers for your time loop fic?

(sorry i’ll never stop pulling out this screenshot from my original rough draft outline)

so full disclaimer that one of the reasons why it’s taking me so bloody long to update/get stuff written is because chameron are giving me PROBLEMS!!! which is very fitting i suppose. the vision is that the fic ends not with chase and cameron ‘officially’ together, but with the understanding that things will be heading in that direction if cameron doesn’t immediately fall back into her old pre-loop habits — i am very, very fond of the way they get together in canon in the s3 finale, so it will be pretty similar to that in some ways. i am just having a little trouble getting them to that point. but as for a rough outline:

cameron sleeps with chase again pretty early in the loop - so far it’s looking like this’ll happen in chapter 4, but i might switch things around a bit and stick it at the end of ch3 instead - but this is mostly as another last ditch attempt to fix the loop. this, duh, is not going to work. (also, apologies to anyone expecting smut from me: this will be fade to black soz. this fic is consuming my life as it is without me having to teach myself how to write passable hetero smut for the first time LMAO.) things are going to be ROUGH for a little while after that — remember their screaming match in chapter 2? yeah there’ll more where that came from because cameron is going to be playing the most admirable game of emotional hide and seek you’ve ever seen. but the setup of the loop does, (un)fortunately, make chase one of the best people for cameron to confide in: he is already concerned about her from the moment she walks in. he already knows something is up. he’s willing to distract foreman and house to get her alone and see if she’s okay. obviously he’s still thinking in terms of meth aftermath, but he’s also perceptive enough to realise that something is still up with her even when cameron goes through her song-and-dance ‘everything is fine’ routine with him, and that starts to wear her down eventually.

it’s tempting for cameron to confide in chase, because even when she gets more into the groove of things…she’s still in a time loop. she’s still scared. she wants to find a way out. it’s all the same reasons she slept with him on meth. he’s offering her the chance to talk it out every single reset, and then when she does cave and tell him and he immediately BELIEVES HER…cameron freaks. because what the hell! foreman didn’t believe her! neither did wilson! he doesn’t have any memory of telling her he wants to be someone she can confide in all the way back in the second loop, and yet he’s putting his money where his mouth is. and then she has to grapple with the fact that, well…she keeps coming back to him for a reason. she slept with him on meth for a reason. she’s telling him about the loops for a reason. there are a few loops where she does enough prodding and poking to get him to admit that maybe he doesn’t just want things to be a one-off, and then she has to work through that and confront the fact that, well, yeah. maybe he’s onto something. and tbh being in a time loop is great for this because again—she can’t run away. the closer to the end of the loop she gets, the more upset she is that he doesn’t remember what they talked about the day before. that’s really the start of the breaking-free process, tbh. cameron’s actually pretty careful in what she does in the loops compared to, say, phil in groundhog day—she’s permanently paranoid/hopeful that the loop will break tomorrow, and doesn’t want to completely risk ruining the future—but the chase thing is a real crossroads because she has to be vulnerable with the very real risk of it not paying off and then the action maybe sticking if the loop breaks. She’s really normal!!

anyway. they do fumble their way to a happy ending, or at least the possibility of one! it’s slowburn and there’s a lot of repression on cameron’s end (and a fair bit on chase’s) so it’s not PACKED with intense hot moments or whatever, but there will be something for everyone. they do get there in the end.

and bonus extract from ch3:

[zabala0z]

Hi!! I went back to my notes. I need to scratch that itch in my brain (writing down information) anyways, WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERES A 15TH ENTITY?????

Mag 134: Time of Revelation

As you can tell from my above comment, I am very surprised. How was I supposed to know. The Extinction. Again, killer name. Is that what's going to be the main villain of this season? Thats what it feels like so far. Also, interesting The Web and The End never tried a ritual. Plus, the idea of The Extinction wiping us out to replace us with another race to fear it in return. Thats cool. But that makes me think are we like part of the cycle? Was there a race before us but then they got wiped out. I guess not because The Extinction is a newer entity. Okay ignore that

One thing that's been bouncing around my brain is like..if any rituals worked. Like these entities have been around for I dunno since fear was possible I guess. Rituals, while they take centuries to set up, would be pretty common to succeed so I'm just wondering if any entity succeeded in a ritual that led to the world now.

I still don't like Peter. "Hopefully our patron" SHUT UP. Also love that Martin helped out Jon with all those recorders. Because Jon can sense them. though I guess he didn't know that

MAG 135: Dark Matter

The last of the trio of statements (MAG 57, MAG 106). I did point out that in MAG 106, her fingertips were burned. I guess its because she handled a god damn SUN. A DARK SUN?? Anyways Maxwell Rayner appearance, woo. Also, an explanation behind Daedalus which i throughly enjoyed. Although the part about the nyctophobe being used as a battery did make me genuinely sick to my stomach. Dunno why that was the most unnerving part of this podcast to me.

Anyways, a ritual for The Dark. Took them a while, like a solid 4 years. in Norway too. Home of Jurgen leitner. You would think killing Rayner would stop them but no! Cant be that hard to end their ritual, just point a flashlight at them

MAG 136: The Puppeteer

I love seeing different perspectives to the same story oh my god. Anyways this is related to MAG 110, obviously. I wonder if neil lagorio knew about..The Web from the beginning. Was he in cahoots? They said he would send people to watch previews of his movies and they were never the same so i feel like he was. Plus he was described with no warmth behind his eyes and that sounds very not human so.

Annabelle Cain. She popped up before in MAG 69. Nice to see she's branching off to other hobbies like killing old men. I think she killed him at least. And now that were talking about her, I'm reminded of Jons zippo lighter with the web design. Did she somehow send it? Because that zippo lighter was given to him in like s1 and it hasn't been used for any plot important stuff and I'm getting antsy over it, who sent it, I swear to god. Chekhov's Lighter.

Also, "there's me, Melanie, Basira-" "Traumatized, traumatized, paranoid" that is the funniest thing wtf. Another thing, I am very worried about Melanies therapist. like very. Melanie please be careful girl

MAG 137: nemesis

War statements always make me feel bad. So Wallis Turner gave this statement at the Pu Songling Research Centre (MAG 105) which is yknow the sister institute. I wonder if they serve The Eye as well. Anyways "Nemesis" appeared before in MAG 105. Im guessing the entity related to this is The Slaughter. Crazy their ritual failed, those losers. The Risen War. God why are all the names so cool.

ALSO, Eric. What did Gertrude mean about telling gerry about following in his dads footsteps? I checked my notes and in Mary Keays statement, it's implied Eric serves The End. At least that's what I got. he did get a gruesome end. Sorry.

I think that's everything. I see the next statement is Robert Smirke, oh my god. I need to know what this insane architect was up to, I'm so excited.

[idv-brainrot-go-brr]

what if.. reader that always has a mask on and is really stoic around others so everybody is suspicious of them (naib, orpheus) but it turns out theyre just socially awkward and dont like interacting with people 😭😭

The terrifying prospect of being perceived

A/N: I have no idea if I did this right tbh I am so sorry Pairing: none

Additional Info: Reader is socially awkward

Content: manor games, awkwardly hanging out in the same house as like 40 other people

Chapter 1/1

Word count: 1.6k

"Maybe they're mentally disabled"

An interesting theory. However, unfortunately, it was entirely false. It really was incredible to see how much bullshit your fellow players could come up with to explain something as simple as not wanting to hang out with them. Did the Embalmer ever get these questions? Probably not. Everyone just automatically assumed it was part of his profession. What about the Postman? Was he ever questioned for his silence?

Of course not. Just you.

All the rumours and talks behind somebody's back did nothing to make you like anyone here any more than you did currently. Which was to say you didn't like anyone here. In fact, if they were to stay 60 meters away from you at any given moment, that would truly be paradise.

Some were worse than others. The gardener was fairly friendly towards everyone. Emma was undoubtedly one of the most tolerable people here but still, her friendliness seemed almost unnerving. On top of that, it would probably only be a matter of time until she too decided you were weird for one reason or another. So really, there was no point in investing copious amounts of social energy into a platonic relationship that would fall apart in the end anyway. Really it was... useless. But she was an okay person, you supposed. Then there was the Seer. He was also okay personality-wise but... but he was just creepy as hell. How do you make an animal your eyes? How do you see through an animal? He was worse than that priestess lady even. At least she just talked about occult things, he actually pulled them off! But both of them at least minded their own business.

No, the real nuisances of this place were the overly nosy, overly suspicious ones. Meaning more specifically: Naib and Orpheus.

It was like they were addicted to staring at you for no reason. What had you ever done to warrant this kind of treatment?

If it was only the rumours, the stares or the side glances that they thought you didn't notice, if it was just that it would have been fine. Unpleasant, but not that big of a deal. However, at some point, you realised that it hadn't stopped there. No. You were being followed. What was initially assumed to be just standard levels of paranoia, that you simply develop automatically after being stuck in a life-and-death game for so long, turned out to be a very real circumstance. Certain members of the manor were shadowing you. This realisation was, quite frankly, incredibly disturbing and led to everything getting worse. You became progressively more paranoid and so you spoke less, interacted with people less, and barely showed your face around them. The more you tried to go into seclusion, the more suspicious you looked to the other inhabitants, and the more of an effort would be made to observe you, follow you, and question you. In the end, neither of you tried to hide it anymore. You only showed up to acquire food and participate in games and certain people would openly follow you when ever you went somewhere.

Seriously, did they do this to Aesop too? Unfortunately, you weren't around enough to really pay attention to it, but they probably did, didn't they? So cruel. This was precisely why you didn't want to be around them in the first place. All you could get out of hanging out with other people was judgement, shame and discrimination. There was nothing wrong with you physically, nothing that would justifiably warrant their suspicion. It wasn't like you'd shown up with blood stains on your clothing. Still, you could feel their eyes on you all the time. It made you feel less like a circus animal, and apparently gave them all the more reason to treat you like one.

This uncomfortable stalemate of avoidance of suspicion went on until one day you had a match. You were scheduled with the Psychologist, the Novelist and the Acrobat. However, right before the match was supposed to start, the Patient asked to switch places with you so he could be with Ada. You saw no issue with that and happily skipped out on having to socialize, instead, you went up to your room again. You always kept the door locked, no matter if you were inside or not. Now laying on your bed and peacefully reading a book, the knowledge that no one could disturb you gave you a feeling of safety. That was, of course, until you heard quiet scratching noises coming from the door. Before you actually realised what was going on, the door opened to reveal the Mercenary. You both looked at each other, shocked. He had picked the lock expecting you to be in the middle of a match. Still, despite having the absolute nerve to do that, he was still the one who asked: "What are you doing here?"

"This is my room," you responded, "I have every right to be here. The question is what are you doing here?!" Perhaps after such a long time, the issue was ready to boil over the top. "I want to see what you're hiding," he answered, honestly. You snapped your book shut and sat up. The book was placed on the nightstand and even though you didn't yet stand up, you didn't feel safe laying down anymore.

"I'm not hiding anything, I live here!" you replied. For the first time in so long, your stoic facade of never seeming involved, interested or intrigued began to crack. You were angry. People don't like angry people, and without a doubt would they use this against you to turn you into an overly emotionally crazy person. So you tried to stay calm most of the time, but there was only so much one can take, especially if their room was just broken into.

"If you're not hiding anything then why do you act so suspicious?"

"I'm not acting suspicious! I have done nothing to you people. Nothing!" your voice cracked. Great. Just when you thought the situation couldn't possibly make you look any more pathetic. "I don't like people's eyes on me. I don't like to be looked at. It feels like I'm on display. Like everyone looks at me like an animal. And I always think they see all of my flaws. And if they don't see any then they'll find some," you explained, finally. "And somehow to all of you this is some sort of unforgivable crime. I already try to stay out of your sight as much as possible. What more do you want me to do god damn it?"

Naib remained quiet. He sat on the chair across your room. You don't remember inviting him in, but at least he was no longer blocking the door, which prompted you to walk over to it and close it initially, but you didn't retreat back to the bed. You stood by the door just in case you'd need to make a sudden escape or something.

Naib remained quiet. He sat on that chair, across from you, and looked around your room. It was mostly empty. Safe for a few personal items like clothing or books there was nothing in here. Most certainly nothing suspicious. This went on for what felt like hours but could have really only been a couple of minutes, maybe even just a few seconds. Time dragged on seemingly endlessly.

"We thought," he began finally "that you might be spying on us for the other fraction. "Sure. And I would make it this obvious because then of course no one would know. Brilliant detective work." you responded and aggressively opened the door again, wide enough for a person to fit through. You took a step back and motioned towards it with your arm. He got up again, and the closer he got to the door the more you retreated, keeping a rather large amount of distance between the two of you at all times. He closed the door on his way out. God. That was terrifying.

In order to ensure your own peace and quiet you took the chair he'd sat on earlier that day and used it to keep the door in place. if one was unable to push down the door's handle, then no one would be able to enter even if they did manage to pick the lock. You skipped dinner that night for good measure, even though you tried to sleep early. You ended up not sleeping at all until dawn. Consequently, you didn't go to breakfast either, and it wasn't until the gardener knocked on your door around noon that you interacted with another human being. The patient, the seer, the magician and she had a match today. Since Emil had taken your place yesterday, it only made sense if you'd take his place today. Fair enough.

You didn't come out of your room until the match was supposed to start, and to your confusion, you found that the Mercenary had traded places with the Magician. Overall, the match was... strange. All of your teammates made an actual effort to keep you alive, and so even though you got chaired twice, you ended up managing all four people to escape. When was the last time that happened? Usually, you'd just end up being left for the wolves. They were so friendly with you today? Why? Did they want something? Did they feel guilty?

You accepted their friendliness only very hesitantly, and although most people still gave you cold stares or suspicious looks, you also found that some had magically warmed up to you more. It was odd.

These people were odd. All this time you thought you were the strange one here, but now look at them.

But hey, at least the Mercenary's presence didn't feel as threatening anymore. So that was something, wasn't it?

[holyshonks]

I just finished the Halo YA series. @bloodgulchblog already warned that the ending is bad (in an ethically dubious way, not in quality--the series is good as far as Halo novels go) but it was even more unsettling than I thought. Some snippets that stood out to me:

Dorian is one of the kids who joins up with the UNSC. A bunch of his friends died during the initial attack on their town. Here, he finds out that the attack on the planet started six months prior and the UNSC didn't sound the alarm to "prevent panic". This triggers his distrust for towards UNSC, ONI, and Owen because he believes his friends could have survived if they had been warned.

Dorian's distrust also spreads to Evie, who starts to question ONI's motives. One of the details that I feel like we weren't supposed to read into is that ONI promised the kids a scholarship to college if they agreed to join the militia, which, considering how the books ends is just.......so disturbing.

"They're clearly okay with lying when it suits them." "Evie stop."

LET HER SPEAK!!!

(As an aside, I did like that one of Saskia's primary motives is she's trying to get on the UNSC's good side because her parents sold illegal arms and she doesn't want to be held accountable.)

And then of course, the most horrifying detail:

Victor has completely bought into the UNSC and is the most excited to have joined up. He gets injured and the kids are brought into a room and told that he's not recovering because of an ONI artifact they were all exposed to.

After """"""""getting his parent's permission"""""" they begin the still-experimental Spartan-IV augmentations on him and tell the kids that they will also die if they don't undergo the process. It is a doozy.

"You really think we're boogeymen, don't you?" Yes. Yes, I do.

Dorian is one of those characters that gets written off by the others as being paranoid while saying the exactly correct thing the entire time.

"I was a child soldier like my father before me and it was no big deal, god."

I feel like Dorian is supposed to be a stand-in for the reader because my immediate first thought when I read that Victor was sick is that ONI not only didn't get his parent's permission, but that they made up the disease whole-cloth. Like, with the context of everything ONI has ever done, this is elementary.

I truly can't tell if the intent was for this to be as sinister as it comes off? Because by the end they all "agree" to undergo the augmentations together because found family, greater good, ect ect and I'm left alone in the room like um......they're in high school??

Ultimately, I am interested to see how four teenagers with wildly different motives would make out as Spartans, but I would be pretty sad to see Dorian as a Spartan because it means they beat the healthy (and very accurate!!!!) suspicion out of him. But Dorian the insurrectionist? Yes please.

[angelmelon]

MEET ANGELICMELONNNN

hi guys it’s me hit artist Angelicmelon He/It pronouns

I used to be called CheezyBakedRat on Amino. If anyone remembers this very niche era of our life DNI/hj

3rd gen Irish Diaspora living on Shawnee land, plan to move to Ireland with my beautiful partners and my service doggy, Little Melon when I turn 18 or soon after for the better disability benefits and connection to my ancestry

I am a veiling Satanist, I only veil part time but I aspire to begin veiling full time one day!! I veil as a spiritual protection, I find it gives me a clearer mind and clearer energy

My favorite fruit is watermelon 🍉, though I like many other fruits and foods!! I like pomegranate, macaroni and cheese, chocolate hummus, mint ice cream, all things sweet, and I make a damn good Waraq Dawali (I think. I know I will end up very embarrassed when an actual Middle Eastern person tries my Waraq Dawali recipe.)

I am pro 🇵🇸!! If you support the displacement or harm or death of indigenous people in any capacity DNI. In other words, if you support Israel DNI. You do not belong on my page and I will eat you

Other DNI Criteria include:

🍉 Endogenic systems or any other genic that is not traumagenic systems. System hopping is not real stop being delulu 😭🙏

❤️ TERFSSSSS!!! BOOOOOO GET OFF MY PAGE YOU PUS POSTULE COVERED ARBYS BAG GREASE PLAGUE ERA VAMPIRES!!! TRANS PEOPLE EXIST!!!

🍉 Fundamentalist religious folks of any kind!! I am chill with pretty much everyone of every religion!! However, I do not feel comfortable nor safe around fundamentalists. This may mean many things to many people, but the definition for this page is any religious person who proselytizes to others unprompted, or any religious perosn who utilizes their religion for purposes of eugenics, discrimination, or other forms of hatred rather than the love and respect religion is supposed to entail. I’d also prefer not to interact with any person who deems proselytization necessary; not necessarily to me, I already said that. Just deeming “spreading the word” to people necessary. You can do that with good actions, you don’t need to with missions or money.

❤️ this should be very common sense considering literally everything I have said up to this point but IF YOU HAVE WEIRD GROSS FETISHES BOOOOOOOO GO AWAY I am a minor 🙅 I guess some people apparently don’t care about that which reminds me IF YOU LIKE MINORS BOOOOOO DIE 🖕❌ I AM APPROACHING YOUR LOCATION AS WE SPEAK

🍉 non casual Hazbin fans. If you defend Vivzie go away 💔

oh yeah BYF

🍉 I am very VERY mean I apologize I am not exactly the most well socialized person

❤️ I WILL post and reblog Palestine and other humanitarian related things related things, regardless of graphic nature. People should be well familiar with what’s happening in Palestine right now, and I think people should know if they don’t already. I will make sure to reblog any educational posts I see!!

🍉 I make a lot of jokes at the expense of certain Christian denominations, I was raised Catholic and have quite abit of Christian religious trauma expanding beyond my raised denomination. Chances are if I bully your denomination it’s because the church unfortunately traumatized me somehow. I hold no ill will towards any person, but the institutions done screwed me up

❤️ I am a OSDD-1B haver and system. Will not talk about it much. Though if another alter posts something, be nice!!

🍉 HUGE oversharer. Like huge huge oversharer. I will tone it down from how I am in other spaces because iiiiii frankly don’t want my immediate family to know I have a Tumblr page 😭💔 you might be wondering how would they find it?? They would Not I am simply paranoid

❤️ I AM TAKEN X2!!! Shoutout to my lovely beautiful partners, neither of which follow me on Tumblr. It’s okay I only just started actually using this account 🙏 they’ll probably follow me in the future

🍉 may use this account to practice Arabic skills just abit, i have been learning!! Please, do critique my skills, it helps me learn!! Marhaba, esmi Angelicmelon!! wahadhih safhati ealaa Tumblr!!! 🫶

❤️ if you make transphobic BS and make it public I will comment on it sorrryyyyyyy jk not sorry 🖕

🍉 OH YEAH OH YEAH i have certain words that can trigger my Vasovagal Syncope, I can’t exactly say them and I don’t blame people for posting about them without knowing but know I will avoid certain posts like the plague

🍉🍉🍉 thank you for being on my page!!! 🍉🍉🍉

[archersxartxblog]

finally getting chapter three up, Emmet 'Tells' Elesa about things he discovered in Sinnoh He talks Trains with his nephews and Chandelure 'meets' the boys.

Chapter three

Eleas paced back and forth in her kitchen as she dialed Emmet’s number once more. 

Glancing at the clock, she muttered another curse. If she was correct, then it was almost midnight in Sinnoh, and Emmet was supposed to call her when he got out of the hospital. Yet, there had been no word from him.

It took everything in her power to keep her head. Telling herself that everything was fine. That this was, in fact, a good sign because it meant that the visit was long, meaning that this was truly Ingo and that Emnet had lost track of time. 

And if this was the case she couldn't blame him. If she was in his place the hospital would need a crowbar to pry her off of him, and Emmet deserved to have all the time he could after being separated from his twin for so long.

But at the same time something itched at the back of her skull.

What if Emmet went missing too? Snatched up just like his brother.

What if this whole thing had been a ploy to lure the last subway boss out, so that whoever had taken Ingo could take Emmet as well?

The thought made her sound paranoid, and it honestly sounded a little silly.

 but she had already lost Ingo. 

She couldn't bear the thought of losing Emmet as well.

"Come on, come on, answer your phone already." She muttered as she listened to the ringing from the other end. "What's the point of having your phone on if you're not going to answer it?"

Then finally a click and a groggy voice came from the other end.

"Hello? I am Emmet,"

Relief washed over her and the model breathed a sigh of relief. Yet at the same time…

"Emmet! Where have you been?! I've been trying to get a hold of you for hours! Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" She could help but be annoyed at him for leaving her hanging.

"Elesa, yes, right, I was supposed to call you, sorry." She heard him mutter, he sounded tired so he must have been sleeping. She almost felt bad since she knew he hadn't been sleeping well, but…

"So?" She pressed, wanting to hear what Emmet had discovered

Only to receive a confused and tired "huh?" In return.

"So, is it really Ingo?" She continued, not meaning for her annoyance to slip through, but she wanted to know…needed to know.

Skyla already had their flight plan all set for tomorrow and what happened afterwards would depend on what Emmet’s answer was.

If it really was Ingo, then Eleas would be driving over to the twin's place and pack her brother a bag of fresh clothes, and then she, Skyla and Emmet would be staying in Sinnoh until the hospital said Ingo could go home.

If it wasn't… Well, she would be cleaning up her spare-room, then they would pick up Emmet at the airport and head back to Unova to morning the last hope they had for their brother to return home.

She listened closely as she heard Emmet take a shaky breath, her heart already beginning to drop as she felt like it was a bad sign.

"Yes! It is verrrry much Ingo!"

Eleas nearly dropped the phone from how much she was shaking, tears quickly framing in her eyes.

Ingo… after so long…

"Are-are you sure?" Just as the words left her mouth she quickly shook her head. "What am I saying? Of course you are!" Emmet would know his brother anywhere, so if he said this was Ingo then it was Ingo. He wouldn't joke about this, never this.

"H-how is he? Is he okay? Does he know what happened? Why is he in Sinnoh?!" Questions came pouring out of her mouth as she tried to wipe the tears out of her eyes, yet the smile would not leave her face.

"He seemed fine to me, though he was verrrry scruffy looking. But he had a bunch of machines connected to him, so I’m unsure. And I didn't ask about what happened, it slipped my mind."

"O-oh, okay" of course, Eleas didn't really expect Emmet to grill his twin answers after being apart for so long.

"Look, Emmet, I'm running over to your place in a bit to pack a bag for Ingo." Arceus, just saying that, made her start tearing up again. "Is there anything I should grab while I'm there? Do you need anything while I'm there?" 

"I am Emmet, and I don't think I need anything. But I think Ingo would like some comfy clothes. Like a T-shirt and sweatpants. Simple stuff. Maybe a sweater, it is cold here, verrrry cold…hm" She heard him suddenly trail off, humming to himself in thought before continuing. "Actually, Eleas, could you do me a favor?"

"Ah, sure…what is it?" She replied, Slightly taken aback by this sudden request.

"Could you contact Drayden for me? I would like to know if he had anything from when me and Ingo were little…verrrry little. like clothes and such "

"Um… okay," an odd request. "Can I ask why?"

"Maybe get him to call-no, me text me later."

"Emmet, sweetie, why would you need clothes from when you two were kids?" She tried again, feeling like she was missing something important.

Silence.

"Emmet…you still there?" She started to wonder if his phone had just died on him, that was until he started speaking again.

"Um…how should I put this…ah… you'reanauntnow bye!" Then the line went dead.

The dial tone beeped quietly in the dark, as Eleas stared down at her phone, the glowing screen telling her the call had ended. her mind working at a Sliggoo's pace to try and make sense of Emmet’s rapid fire speech.

The sound of soft footsteps echoed quietly in the dark as Skyla slowly padded down the hall, yawning as she looked into the Kitchen. "Hey, Eleas, did you get a hold of Emmet yet?"

Slowly, she turned her head, eyes wide as she looked over at her tired Girlfriend. Her mind still struggling to grasp the realization of what Emmet had just told her.

"Eleas?" Skyla asked, worry written across her face as she took a careful step towards her. "Are you okay? What happened? Was it not Ingo? It's okay, I'm sure he's out there somewhere. Look let's get you some hot coffee and then we'll go get Emmet-"

She couldn't keep it in any more. 

Throwing her arms around her girlfriend she screamed, not caring if she woke the neighbors up.

"WHAT DOES HE MEAN I'M AN AUNT NOW?!"

"WHAT?!"

—

Emmet was starting to wonder if Arceus itself was trying to keep his visits with his brother short.

Thanks to Eleas's call last night, he had overslept, making him verrrrry late. 

He still might have made it on time if there had not been a line at the café he stopped at to get a cup of coffee and a bagel, probably not the best idea when you're in a rush but the last thing Emmet wanted was a repeat of yesterday.

So by the time he made it to Snowpoint hospital, up to his brother’s room, they had only had time for a fifteen minute visit before Ingo was whisked off by the doctors.

At least this time he hadn't been asked to leave, and this time he wasn't alone. 

Ingo had not been too thrilled about leaving his kids behind, wanting to take them with him to whatever test that was being done. But the doctors and nurses managed to convince him that the boys would be better off left in the care of their uncle, rather than watching their father get an MRI.

With a reluctant sigh, Ingo told his boys to ‘be good’ and promised his brother that he would be ‘right back’, before finally following the doctor's out…

Leaving Emmet to stand awkwardly in the room with his two Nephews, whom he had only met yesterday.

And oh was the awkwardness palpable.

Emmet stood, rocking slightly back and forth on his heels, as he tried to figure out some way the silence between himself and the little passengers. He knew nothing about these kids other than they were his brother’s and they were verrrry young. So finding a subject that he could use to break the ice without his brother around was proving to be more of a challenge then he would have liked.

“Are you a Warden like daddy, Uncle Emmet?” The two year-old’s…no… Caleb's voice cut through Emmet’s thoughts. The young boy looked up at his uncle, holding his brother in his arms.

“Warden?” Emmet tilted his head, unsure what the young boy was talking about. “I am not sure what a Warden is.”

“Um…” The boy hummed, his little face scrunching up in thought. “a Warden takes care of a special pokemon” 

“I see…” was this what his brother had been up to all these years? “No, I am not a Warden. I am a Subway boss, one of two.”

“Subway Boss?”

“Yep, we conduct the Subways of Unova, and battle any trainers with a win strike of twenty or higher.” Emmet explained upon seeing the confusion on the boy's face. It was fine, most people from other regions were confused with the idea of involving the battle Subway. something about battling on a moving train seemed to baffle people for whatever reason. 

And since his poor brother currently didn't have the best memory at the moment, it was no wonder his children didn't know what a Subway boss was. But that was fine, Emmet was happy to explain.

“What's a Subway?”

Now that caught Emmet off, if only just a bit. 

Had Ingo forgotten Subways as well?

But this was fine. Most regions didn't have Subways. After all, it was rather easy to explain. “A Subway is a train that travels underground to its destination.” 

“What’s a Train?”

Now that Question had been like a Sucker Punch right to the gut.

“your-you're father never told you about trains?” Emmet questioned, looking down at his Nephews as Caleb shook his head. 

Ingo never told his sons about trains. The notion almost seemed ridiculous. Blasphemous almost. 

So did that mean…

Ingo had forgotten Trains as well?

Just how bad was his brother’s amnesia?

“Well then…” Emmet started, straightening his hat and standing up just a little straighter. “We'll just have to fix that, won't we. Come.”

Quickly, he ushered the boys towards the bed. Excitement pumping through his veins at the thought sharing all he knew about his favorite mode of transportation. He even scooped Fjord out of his brother’s arms and rested him on his lap, without even realizing it. 

As he waited for Calab to crawl up beside him, Emmet dug out his phone, opening his personal gallery and pulling up some of his favorites.

“This, my dear Nephews, is a train.” Emmet turned his phone sideways, so that the kids could have a better view of the image of the old Galarain steam-train. 

“Whoa!”

“A train is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track-”

—

“And this one is the magnet train, in Johto that runs between Goldenrod City and Saffron city in Kanto.” Emmet explained flipping to the image of the Johtoan train he had taken several years ago. “it can travel over 340 miles per hour”

“Wow, really? How can it go that fast?” 

“It uses a magnetic force to levitate along the rails, allowing it to move without any rolling resistance.” Emmet happily answered, flipping to a Poketube video that showed the train in motion, and turning the phone just enough so Caleb could get a better look. “It's like how a Magnezone levitates.”

He wasn't sure how long they had been at this, but at this rate he could hardly care. Emmet was having a blast. It had been so long since he'd been able to just info dump about trains to someone, to have them genuinely be interested and actually engage in the conversation. 

Sure, Caleb's questions were fairly basic, and Emmet was pretty sure a lot of the finer details flew right over his head. Yet he still seemed to hang onto Emmet’s every word with wide eyes and a want to know more. 

Even the boy's brother Fjord, as young as he was, seemed to show interest. While the baby had not been as vocal as his brother, (Emmet wasn't sure he could even string together words yet,) Fjord had a very tiny death grip on the arm. Like he was trying to keep Emmet from moving his arm too much as he stared at the screen, mesmerized by the pictures and videos in front of him.

If this was what being an uncle was like, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad. 

“Now this is an old Steam train.” Emmet flipped to a new photo, which he had taken the last time he had been in Anville town. “It is currently decommissioned, but they have it on display at the railyard.”

“Wow! It's so big! Is it like the other one you showed us? The one in Galar?” Caleb asked, leaning forward on his Uncle’s lap, trying to get a closer look.

“Close, the one in Galar is a newer locomotive, and mostly transport people. This one was used for freight when it was in use.” Emmet explained carefully and as simply as he could. “This picture does not really do it justice, but we can go see the real thing, once we are settled back in Unova.” 

Then a thought occurred.

Emmet looked over at Caleb, watching as the boy stared wide eyed at the screen. It still seemed strange to think that he'd never seen a train before. Even if there wasn't a railway system in their region,  surely they would have at least seen one in tv.

“Are there really no trains where you are from?” Emmet asked, titling his head slightly as he watched Caleb closely.

The boy shook his head looking away from the screen. “Nope, Hisui doesn't have anything like that” Caleb hummed “except maybe the angry steelix that lives down the mountain.” 

Ah! Perfect! 

Now he had a name for the region his brother had been taken to.

Hisui!

He’d honestly never heard of the region before. But that was what the internet was for.

“As much as I hate to say this, but we must switch tracks away from trains for a little bit.” Emmet announced, returning to the home screen on his phone. “I need to look something up.”

The second he looked back at his Nephews, he was met with sadden faces and Lilpup eyes that pulled on his heartstrings. 

“awe, can't we look at just one more?” Caleb asked, looking up at him with big sad eyes. Even the boy's brother, whom Caleb had pulled into his own lap,  looked up sadly at him once he realized the images on the phone weren't coming back. “Please, Uncle Emmet”

This was honestly not fair, he was being hit by a tag team using super effective moves, with no back up of his own.

How did Ingo mange this on his own.

Just one more train couldn't hurt…

A short one.

Emmet shook his head, no, he needed answers now, he was so Close to understanding what happened to his brother that he could taste it.

What he needed was a distraction of his own.

“We can look at trains later, but for now, would you like to meet some Pokémon?” The moment the words left his mouth, the assault stopped and the two boys looked at him with curiosity.

“You have pokemon, like dad?” Caleb almost sounded shocked by the concept.

Just what kind of place was Hisui?

“Of course, in fact, I have two on my person right now, though I normally have six.” Emmet answered, standing up and slowly reaching for his belt, taking the two pokeballs resting there, one of which shook ever so slightly. 

Technically, this was verrrry much against the rules, but so long as they weren't caught, it should be fine. Besides he couldn't back down now, not when his Nephews were staring at him so expectantly “I have known both of these pokemon for a verrrry long time, one of them is even my partner.” 

Emmet held out the two pokeballs, having every intention of releasing Eelektross first as he wanted to keep control of the situation even if he would be otherwise distracted. But the shaking of the other ball started to intensify until it burst open in his hand, and Chandelure appeared before him, twirling in the air as she shook off the glow of the pokeball.

She must have sensed her trainer nearby and broke out of her Pokeball, Emmet reasoned, she had been very anxious to see Ingo again after so long. 

“Chandelure!” Emmet called out, trying to catch the ghost's attention as she looked down at the two children below.

Just staring at them like she had never seen children before. 

Odd…

“Chandelure” He tried again. “These are my Nephews, Caleb and Fjord-”

Before Emmet could even get another word out, Chandelure let out an excited chime and suddenly charged towards the boys, bowling into them and knocking them both back onto the mattress.

“No,no,no,no” panic shot through the subway boss’s  veins as he quickly reached out to try and pull the ghost type away from the boys. That would be just luck, Ingo's partner pokemon mauling his kids while under his watch. 

Chandelure resisted the first couple of pulls, but finally she gave way, turning to look back at Emmet with an indignant stare. The boys on the other hand were…totally fine. their hair was a little messy from being squished against the bed, but otherwise they were completely fine. Fjord was even reaching up towards the Pokémon, as if trying get Chandelure to come back to him.

But still, that was a shock to the system that Emmet just did not need.

He'd never seen Chandelure act like that. She had always been good with passengers but never aggressively so. 

Perhaps it was the excitement of wanting to see Ingo again, and she could sense him on the two. Or, she somehow knew that these were his kids. Either way, safety checks must be maintained.

“Please be a little gentler, Chandelure,” Emmet warned, letting go of her arm. “Ingo would be quite displeased if something happened to his children while he was out.”

There were a few chimes in reply, that Emmet was positive was some form of sass, but she remained in place, so she was at least being compliant. 

With any luck, she would be able to handle the two herself.

“I am Emmet, and I need to look something up, right quick. Can you keep these two entertained for the time being?”

Chandelure bobbed in the air once, before once more charging towards the two again. 

Emmet stood for a moment, making sure he was hearing giggles, and not screams, before taking a seat and taking his phone back out.

“Now, time to see what I can find about this…Hisui.”

[exploding-mush00m]

random long-ass vent warning lol

i’m so mentally tired at this point.

i genuinely don’t know who i am or what im even doing anymore

i go back to school soon but i’m tired even from doing nothing all day. how am i supposed to fucking survive that. if just sitting around trying to cope with depression through my phone is tiring how am i supposed to start learning crap again.

my grades last year started slippjng and i have a feeling they’ll only get worse from that point on.

i feel on edge all the time. my entire body and brain feels exhausted constantly but i can’t rest because then my summer will feel over even quicker. i’ll just feel like im wasting time.

i have to make new friends next year too (transferring schools, 3rd year in a row babyy). it’s been a struggle in the past to actually make friends myself without it being an introduction to my friend’s friend or ppl randomly coming up to me. how am i supposed to do that on my own?

friends are genuinely the only thing that helps me cope. i can hangout with them and feel distracted for a while but as soon as im alone everything comes rushing back.

i don’t even feel comfortable with myself. i always feel like im going crazy. im always anxious/paranoid or sad. even when i try to be happy by myself, my anxiety spikes.

i messed up a friendship too and that’s been mentally draining. every time i think im doing okay and i’ve moved on, i get a reminder of them. every time i think of them it hurts. it makes me angry and sad at the same goddamn time :,)

anyways that’s the end of my rant. going back to my regularly scheduled content soon /j

[thephantomchronicles]

“i know this hurts, but you have to stay awake.”

“don’t close your eyes, please don’t close your eyes!”

with willexxxxxxxx pls and thanks :))

ao3 link here

“I know, I know this hurts, but you have to stay awake,” Alex pleaded with him. “Okay? Don’t close your eyes, please don’t close your eyes!”

Alex woke up with a gasp as he shifted on the bed. He fell back against his pillow, squeezing his eyes shut once again and breathing out. He wasn’t even sure whom he’d been calling out for in the dream. With everything that’d been going on lately it could literally be anyone because all Alex could feel was worry and uneasiness.

And it was over, they were okay, they were safe once more, but this time it’d just been… He didn’t know if he could describe it. He didn’t really like thinking about it to be honest. Julie was gone, but now she was back. And Alex would love to carry on with his life uninterrupted, but there were so many loose ends left and so many talks he felt like he should have with a lot of people and he just…

How much longer would they keep getting away with it?

Maybe he was just being paranoid. Maybe he was just extra worried because now he had a kid to care for too. And he had to do everything in his power to protect him. But by the Angel, all he felt right now was fear. For Matt and everyone else. For the next big thing that happened to them.

He reached for his phone on the nightstand, only to find out it was 1 am. Still early for his usual schedule, but he didn’t have to go on patrol tonight which was supposed to mean he could actually catch up on some sleep, but that didn’t really seem to work out for him well.

The other side of the bed was empty which wasn’t alarming since Willie was just supposed to get off work at around this time, but Alex didn’t really think he could just go back to bed right now while his head had started buzzing. 

He sighed, leaving his phone back on the nightstand and sat up, a hand going over his face. He figured he could just spend the rest of his time until Willie got back, pacing around in the living room or something, when he suddenly heard quiet voices coming from inside.

He frowned, getting up to go check out what was going on. The lights were dimmed, but there was definitely a conversation happening and Alex was actually surprised to find Willie and Matt on the couch even though they were the only other two residents of this apartment.

“Hey,” Willie said, noticing him first. Alex wasn’t sure if he’d actually heard him waking up, but he also had many other questions here. “Did we wake you up?”

“No,” Alex said, coming closer. “But I thought you were at work. And I’m pretty sure I left you in your bed hours ago,” he added to Matt as he sat down on his other side.

“Willie came home,” Matt said as if that explained everything.

“Yeah, I finished with my shift a bit earlier,” Willie said.

“And… is everything okay?” Alex asked, glancing up at Willie. They were past the point where Matt woke up every night in tears, but still, not every night was a quiet one and they were doing their best to deal with every situation thrown at them.

“Willie was telling me about werewolves,” Matt said. And Alex fully believed that this all made sense in Matt’s head, but he was pretty sure he was missing the context to actually be able to follow.

“Right,” Alex said with a nod. “And what prompted the sudden werewolf curiosity at 1 am?”

Matt seemed kind of reluctant to answer, staring at his hand on the couch. Was Alex still disoriented from sleep or was he really out of the loop tonight?

“Well, you’re not the only one with cool lore to share,” Willie jumped in with a smile when he didn’t answer. “And Matt’s mom was a werewolf too.”

“Oh,” Alex realized belatedly what was going on. He still wasn’t sure why it was happening at 1 am, but he wasn’t going to really question it either way. “That makes sense.”

“You’re not mad?” Matt looked up at him.

“Wha- Why would I be mad?” Alex asked, confused.

“Because I’m a Shadowhunter,” he said.

And finally it clicked in Alex’s sleep deprived head what was this all about. “Oh, Matt, of course I’m not mad,” he said. “It’s not bad wanting to know more about your parents. And the Shadow World.”

“Sarah didn’t like talking about werewolves,” he said.

Well Sarah was a prejudiced Shadowhunter who didn’t even tell you goodbye when you moved to LA, Alex wanted to say. He didn’t.

“Well, that doesn’t sound right. How else are you supposed to learn about werewolves if no one talks to you about them?” Alex said.

“Willie knows a lot of things,” Matt said.

“Thanks, I find being a werewolf has increased my werewolf knowledge,” Willie said, making him giggle. “And we can definitely talk more about it in the morning because it’s incredibly late right now and we should all be asleep.”

“Yeah, okay,” Matt said with a yawn. “I want a story,” he added.

“Go lay down and I’ll be there in five minutes, okay?” Willie said.

“Okay,” Matt said, getting up from the couch. “Good night.”

“Good night,” Alex called out, watching him walk back towards his room. “Okay, I woke up for an entirely different reason, but what was that?”

“I guess he must have woken up around the same time I came back,” Willie said. “He’d probably come looking for you if I wasn’t here.”

“He wouldn’t ask me about werewolves because apparently he thought I’d be mad,” he said.

“It’s not your fault,” Willie said. “He didn’t exactly have the best role models before coming here. We’re trying to fix that.”

“I’d say you’re doing a pretty good job,” Alex said.

“I’d say we both are,” Willie corrected him. “Why were you awake though?”

“I don’t know.” Alex gave a shrug. “Residual anxiety that everyone I know and love is going to die and I won’t be able to do anything about it, especially now that we have a kid to protect too. You know, the usual.”

“I’d say we’ve been doing pretty good till now,” Willie said. “He’s alive, safe and happy.”

“I know, but what about tomorrow?” Alex asked.

“Tomorrow Reggie and Kayla are bringing Han over. The worst thing that can happen is he bites you,” Willie said.

“By the Angel, I hate that dog…” Alex sighed, making Willie laugh.

“No, but seriously,” Willie sobered up. “You went through a lot with Julie and everything that followed… It’s only been a few weeks, nobody’s expecting you to magically be okay with everything.”

“I know…” Alex trailed off. “I just… It was unbearable. And the thought of doing it again…”

“Alex, you don’t have to-”

“I don’t have to go there, I know,” he said. “And we have many good things to look forward to. But it’s the middle of the night and that’s the best time for your fears to come knocking.” He fell into Willie’s side with a sigh of relief this time, glad to at least be close to him now. It wasn’t enough to make the nightmares disappear, but it made things quieter.

“You wanna talk about it?” Willie asked, his arm wrapping around Alex, bringing him closer.

“Not right now,” Alex mumbled. “We’re both tired. And you promised someone a story before bed,” he added, regrettably pushing himself back again. “But I’m still glad you’re here.”

Willie smiled, leaning in to kiss him softly. “I love you so much,” he said. “And I know it’s hard to block the bad parts out, but I promise there are a lot of good things coming. I heard something about a wedding?”

Alex chuckled. “Yeah, I heard that too.” There were good things coming. Maybe he could focus on them. “Come on, don’t leave the kid waiting.”

“You should go to bed too,” Willie said.

Alex snorted. “You’ll come read me a bedtime story too?”

“You doubt my skills?” Willie asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Never,” Alex said, before pecking his lips once again. There really was something about Willie that just put people at ease. Alex didn’t know if he could really explain it, but it was reassuring. A constant in his unstable life. And he really could use that right now.

There was more to discuss, Alex knew, but going back to bed that night… It didn’t feel like his world was ending anymore. Not when he had Willie by his side.

[knucklegagging]

I know this is mostly an anorexia tumblr account but tbh I havent been really struggling w my anorexia lately. Found old emaciated pictures and I think thats a lot of the reason why. Side by side my highest weight and lowest weight one looks weak and the other looks sexy. And Like... I wanna live. If i can. Especially now. And maybe a lot of this is that I was dealing shit no one is ever supposed to talk about but I have never been fat. I have been big busted hourglass booty girl slimthicc milkshake walking cunstain looking barbie body. And I have been emaciated. Thats so weird to really notice for the first time in my twenties. And it's not like I've been actively wanting to die or anything intense like that, but I didnt know life could feel good. And lately it really does. And my set range right now is 111 to 116. Which is healthy, as is my bfp. So i get that this is an anorexia tumblr account primarily... But maybe it doesnt always have to be? Idk tonight just feels really good. The girl I like seems to like me. And by that i mean shes made it clear she does in more ways than one. And frankly ive been a migraine and she still around. Its been a lot to adjust to. I have not been an easy person for her to be around. At least, i know I would be tired of my anxiety bullshit by now. She has so much patience and kindess and goodness in her soul. I feel like I have known her before, almost like memories from a dream that you woke up from too quickly. The taste of thoughts percolate my mouth with painful dripping sighs that crave to know her better, like filling in the blanks. Theres something so different, so unmistakable about the way that she is.

I dont know how to comfort myself at times because I cannot be running away in the opposite directiom but sticking my heels into blue on the treadmill next to her is terrifying. I get these scared moments thinking that I am going to ruin everything in one fell swoop w one stupid comment or being too hyper, talking too much, saying shit she wouldnt care about, moving too fast, not moving fast enough, not being whatever it is she expects of me. ...but yet she just roll w the punches. I dont want her to know how inexperienced i am w relationships. I dont want her to know anything bad thats happened to me and have it sour the interest that she has in me. I'm like paranoid that somehow she would find this blog and see my thoughts spelled out even though ik she won't. That wouldnt happen. But out of nowhere sometimes I just get scared like she will wake up one morning and decide I am not good enough. That I am too autistic or I have too much of a past behind me. That I have already been defiled and that makes me too much drama. I cant say that sentence out loud. I can't say many if any things out loud. I am always writing them down for her.

I am terrified about how to play my sleeves. At some point she will probably see my arms or thighs if we continue to spend time w each other. How the fuck is that all supposed to play out? Do i pretend its nothing and just rip the bandaid off? Wear a tank top when i see her next? That sounds dumb. There is no way to gradually unveil my body in ways that are not jarring when you have as many scars as I do. I like myself fine I just sometimes notice how much i do not know and that can psyche me out. But today has been good. Tonight has been happy. I am very much okay today. I just wish time would move faster slowly, so that i can know how we end up so that i can have a road map. I want thw answers for how to behave so that i dont cause any problems for her. If i could read her mind, if i could see the future, if i could know now what i will know then about whether i am going to make her life difficult... I am so scared. I am so happy. But I am also so scared.

Whats gonna happen when I am really visible and she can really see me? I've done so well at being invisible. With her I dont want to be. But it is all unknown and I'm a big ol scaredycat

[amytheforgetmenot]

Chapter 7: Commit To the Bit

Commit To the Bit: A Danny Gonzalez tale sequel

Chapter 7: Jarvis kidnapped???!!!??? *CHOKING HAZARD: IF UNDER 3 NOT ADVISED* 😨

Sequel to Lost In the Rainforest: A Danny Gonzalez Tale

Overall story description: After being returned home Danny Gonzalez works to find the rat that kidnapped him, and in the process discovers disturbing secrets about the workings of the government, and finds they may have had a hand in his abduction. What will he do after learning about their plans? Will he find Marcelle? Will he save all of his friends?

"Jarvis is gone! They kidnapped him!!!"

Danny gasped! "What! How? I thought it was safe here!" Danny exclaimed. "Well, it turns out there was an imposter and while Jarvis was distracted they kidnapped him!" Amy cried, "It was all caught on our security cameras."

"We have to find who did this and take revenge!" Drew said. "We do have security camera footage of the whole thing, but we don't recognize who did it." Amy said. "Is there any way we can help find him?" Jordan asked. "Well, yes"

Amy led them to a dark room with at least thirty screens. All of the screens were playing Danny Gonzalez videos. "Hello Ms. Tech person can you please play the footage of Jarvis being kidnapped please." Amy asked politely. "Oh, um, s-sure" She said, clearly star struck from Danny's presence.

"Now, see if any of you can recognize who was kidnapping Jarvis." Amy frowned. The video began to play on all thirty screens.

Jarvis was walking down a large hall, and was talking to himself, "How am I supposed to find Gooby in the Siberian taiga? I guess I should buy one of those big jackets." He mumbled, staring at his phone. When suddenly a man emerged!

He was holding a butterfly net but the perfect size for a Jarvis and had a rat costume under his arm. He snuck up behind Jarvis and quickly put the net over his head! "What is going on!" He yelled! "If you cooperate I will give you expensive items!" The man said.

"No! I don't want expensive items right now! I need to help my friend!" Jarvis said. Honestly Jarvis seemed more irritated than afraid. "You must wear this rat costume." The man said, "I have to deliver you in the rat costume! I will get a commission if I do!" Jarvis and the man struggled more, mostly pushing and shoving. "Okay, okay!" Jarvis huffed, "If I cooperate will you stop pushing me and take this net off my head?" The man nodded and took the net off of Jarvis's head.

"Where are you taking me?" Jarvis asked. The man came closer, looked around them in a paranoid manner, and whispered to Jarvis the location he was taking him! The man moved back, "Now, put on the rat costume!" The man said annoyed.

"Can I just wear the hat? It's too hot to wear a rat costume like that." The man nodded again and Jarvis put on the rat hat. "Follow me!" The man said, and Jarvis followed him, but as the two of them began to walk away Jarvis turned his head and looked directly at the security camera! He then mouthed something, and then walked away. The video ended, and the screen faded to black.

"I can't believe this!" Danny cried. Everyone was very upset seeing something so horrible. "Jarvis must be terrified." Eddy blubbered, barely holding back tears. "Get it together! We have to find this freak!" Kurtis commanded, also barely holding back tears.

"So, does this mystery man happen to ring a bell with any of you?" Amy asked, "Anything?" All of them looked at each other, and everyone was quiet. Amy sighed, "It's okay guys. We'll find him."

Danny looked around, and saw all of his friends being distraught. He had no idea what to do. They all walked out of the room and went their separate ways. He just walked around the base thinking about everything that had happened.

He thought about how it was all his fault. If he hadn't asked Jarvis to hunt Gooby, none of this would have ever happened. He thought about the rat suits, and sparkling water.. He thought about how afraid Jarvis must be, being kidnapped and all, and somehow he found himself at a large window in the rebel base.

He looked at all of the dirt, sand, and the sun. Not much to look at, they were in the desert after all. Danny stared at the sun. "I wonder if Jarvis is staring at the same sun I am.." He thought. He then saw a plane go by. He was suddenly reminded of what had happened to him.

Being kidnapped, being forced to wear the rat costume, gross La Croix flavours, and the rainforest. He remembered all of the times he didn't know what to do, or wanted to give up, but then he also remembered after all of those times a strong motivation, a strength, overtook him. The times adrenaline filled his veins, and electricity his bones. Relentlessness. He has to make this right.

He was going to save Jarvis, no matter what it took, and end this war

Once, and for all.

Author's note: Genuinely sorry for the story image on this one... I can't explain.